hola amigos !

until late last night, i had been babysitting my two nephews for about 10 days while my parents were in mexico. OMG i'm sooooo tired ! anyhoo ... they brought back a lovely sombrero for me, by request, and a matching one for little stuart!!!

in celebration of his new sombrero, i decided he needed the appropriate clothing to match. see, this is really a crochet posting !

specs:

serape red heart acrylique, crocheted with slip stitches and single crochets, all in the front of the loop. heavily steamed to make drapey, and then some fringe added.

pantalones red heart acrylique, crocheted in the round with single crochets through both loops. top edge crocheted with a slip st. in a contrast color from the inside.

socken central

it seems the first yarns i played with from the acquisition the other day were the ones for my pippi kneestockings. there is great satisfaction at knitting a sock at a larger gauge than usual ... it's speed knitting ! of course, it would be speedier if i stuck with one socken at a time.


but no, because i had to start giotto. i love the cuff. love the cuff! but doing the stitch pattern for the leg ... hmmm ... can't say i love it. i will give it more than one repeat before i decide for sure.


i have seen lots of pretty socks on the net using the giotto cuff with interweave knits summer '05 go with the flow socks.

see what i mean ....

if i had my interweave magazine with me now, i'm certain i would just go ahead with the flow !


last but not least ... more monkey !


i started this earlier today. it's my mindless knitting, as i've knitted them before, same yarn, same needles, different colorway. and i shouldn't stall on the toe ... shouldn't.

mission accomplished !

i spent part of my day in asheville, nc, soothing my yarni-soul! it was a beautiful afternoon for visiting three yarn stores !

yep, i hit yarn paradise first, then purl's yarn emporium, and lastly, earth guild.

i enjoyed every minute!

notes: both yarn paradise and earth guild carry the rainbow elastic, which is good for those falling down knee high socks. earth guild has a greater variety though, and they do mail order.
purl's yarn emporium arranges its stock by color. though pretty, i find that impractical. i didn't spend as much time there.
yarn pardise also has koigu!

of course, i purchased from all three shops ... that's the kind of ho i am.

click on the photo to read the notes on all the yarns ....

oh! and i got my ravelry invite today. too bad i have all this fresh yarn to play with, or else i'd get sucked into the vortex!

well ... with a slightly different look, i have figured out how to download and alter my pictures ... to a certain degree. the secret password for the computer came in yesterday. now, if i could only figure out how to print!

the above socken is my socks that rock hedera. i am a bit stalled. i tend to stall out at the toe ... always for the same reason ... "should i start the toe now ?".

i've really enjoyed knitting with this yarn! it's like butter ! and hedera is a very simple pattern. the only modification i've made (i think) is doing my heel the way i prefer. i also decreased the foot section to the smaller size on the pattern.



this socken is knitted with some fingering merino from fearless fibers. i stalled temporarily because when i resumed the instep, i couldn't remember what to do to stay in pattern. oops. it's all good now, and i'm half way through my gusset decreases. i should probably try it on to see if i like the fit, don't you think ?



this baby is about to be ripped! i so desperately want to knit up this koigu that i have started 2 different socks with it ... and now ... i finally figured out that it most desperately wants to be giotto. but, the computer gods are still working against me, and i cannot get the computer to print my freshly downloaded socken pattern. WHAAAA !

what's a girl to do with all this misfortune ? perhaps a bit of yarn therapy ? perhaps a little trip up to asheville tomorrow to get a little 'pick me up' ?

yes, that sounds like a good plan!

hmmm ... i am away from my computer for the next week ... and mom took her beloved laptop with her to mexico. and i don't know dad's password for his computer. and this computer sucks!

so, until i crack the code, or get word from mexico regarding the top secret password, i cannot post pictures.

and we all know i don't like post if i don't have any images.

so, until i figure out the kinks, or get back home to my computer, you will have to visualize an almost finished hedera, and a partially knitted merino scroll sock.

thanks!

...yes, this is knitting related !

... but, you know ... very soon here, in the coming week/weekend/week (i'm going home to babysit my nephews for about 10 days)(while the rest of my family is enjoying sun & fun in cozumel, mexico !) ... which means, i may be sewing and crocheting, or perhaps, maybe ... knitting more socks. or making voodoo dolls.

... but, on with STUART !


little stuart has a cape! a custom knitted cape. a custom knitted cape made by ms. devil kitty, from the same yarn (but different colorway) as my most recent jaywalker.


he's quite pleased with this new piece in his wee wardrobe. it's knitted with shortrows and a seed stitch border, plus a bit of crochet to make it wearable. stuart has some fitting problems, as he lacks things like a waist, neck, shoulders, etc .... so, one must get extra crafty !


here is the wee cape in all its colorful glory! quite cute, don't you think?! just for scale ... here's stuart with 1 pt 2.7 oz of nutty brown yumminess ! ....

another muy grande picture of sockens ....


on the left is marigold via flint knits. it's toe up with a short row heel. i am not the most successful at short row heels. i have not mastered the elimination of eyelets. the yarn is lorna's laces ... though i have a few colorways of lorna's in stash, this is the first time i've actually knitted it up (gasp!). but now that i have ... and i love it, i will have to plan some more lorna-sockens ... perhaps like pinky's roza sockens.

on the right ... jaywalker. what hasn't been said about this pattern? this is the 3rd or 4th time i've knitted, or tried to knit, a jaywalker ... only this time with success ! perhaps the good fortune is in the boingy yarn? this is adriafil's knitcol. i knitted top down, and may have knitted the heepflappen slightly shorter, and the toe slightly longer. hmmm ... i'll actually count stitches when i get to the mate, someday.

though i'm now feeling the need for a mindless sock project, i did cast on with a lovely combination of yarn and pattern ...


this is hedera and STR lightweight in ruby. for ruby, it's incredibly pinky. i do love a good semi-solid! and this stuff is super soft!

where to begin? well ... i finished something ....


ooooh! that's a big picture! ... well ... it's a pretty sock, and i want for you to see all the details. i finished this socken this morning. and i have not cast on for the mate. part of me wants to go ahead and make the mate, but ... there's other socks waiting in the wings ...

... and i only have one pair of the susan bates size 1 dpns. i need to get some more. there are good needles and there are snooty needles. i have a lot of sock needles ( and that's another post ! ), and the susan bates dpns are an easy favorite because they're lightweight, inexpensive, and they have a good taper.

... and ... i might be using them for this next project :


i think stuart is looking for some attention ...., but my next project is going to be hedera from knitty!

i already started the sock once today ... but, i had a slight gauge issue. i got gauge in stockinette ... but, when i knit in rib, or rib and lace, such as hedera ... i get kinda loosey goosey. so i ripped.

the yarn is socks that rock lightweight in ruby. the yarn is like butter! ... so soft! and the color is quite shocking ... it was handpicked by santa-mom last december.

i'll give it another go sometime this weekend ... if i don't get sidetracked by this ....


i have not seen this yarn floating around the internets ... it's adriafil's knitcol, a fingering wt. superwash wool. though pricey for it's yardage (only 137 yds in 50 gr), the color changes are quite captivating. i will be using this yarn for socks ... maybe even (gasp!) jaywalkers ! .... maybe .....

what was everything hiding in? ... one of these ....


... i just needed a little "pick me up" today ... thus, the bag ... and then ... coordinating yarn. i already have a lovely camo bag, and i love it, and use it almost daily.

i had a good time yesterday hanging out with a couple of knitty-friends, as we took a little road trip down to bella filati. yesterday was the first day of their summer clearance sale. i spent the ride knitting, of course, on a fresh socken. i can't get enough of the monkey socks! this is my fourth sock knitted (though i've only completed one pair).

the yarn is koigu, though i couldn't tell you what colorway, as it was gifted to me, already wound into little balls with no tags. we'll call it greens & blues variegated.


of course, i don't think i've ever left a yarn store empty handed ... these wee balls of panda cotton came home with me ... for socks (duh!).

there were lots of great deals to be had on sweater quantities of yarn ... but i guess after the (still unfinished) moving of furniture and stash monday, i could not even think about bringing home a fat bag of yarn. tragic, i know.

i am a dork

... and, no worries, i'm sure ms. scarlet will concur, because that's her special pet name for me !

so, tonight, after moving lots and lots of stuff ... bedroom furniture (meaning, my entire bedroom) and a sewing table (hardest to move because i had to remove the legs to get the table to pass through the narrow hall), and my knitting machine stuff, plus lots and lots of other stuff, i finally sat down to (perhaps watch a movie) (um, not happening, because it's subtitled and i can't knit and read subtitles) catch up on bloglines and flickr. and you know what? i finally subscribed to shannon's blog.

why is this a big deal? well ... because i am a dork !. and i've been following and commenting on shannon's flickr pictures for months ! and it finally occurred to me to perhaps, check out her profile, and subscribe to her blog ... so i can learn more about the pictures !

and i found something fun really quick, besides the fab knitting ... a little birthday meme. and, it's not my birthday. mine isn't until december 24th. ugh. but, in honor of the birthday meme ... and i'm quoting the criteria from shannon ....

"The rules are to go to wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday."

i found this very interesting, because i feel like my birthday is the day forgotten. because, first, and mainly, to reverse the order of the meme,

3) all the "holidays" revolving around december 24th are all about christmas. (yes, that's very selfish of me, but when you have a "holiday" birthday, good luck having a birthday dinner out on the town ... because everything is closed !) (and i will not apologize for my selfishness !)

2) births :

1922 - ava gardner, American actress (d. 1990) ... i can appreciate that because she's just down the road from me, she's a local gal. and ...

1166 - king john of england (d. 1216)

1) events are the most fun:

1951 - Libya becomes independent from Italy.
1968 - Apollo Program: The crew of Apollo 8 enter into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
1906 - Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first radio broadcast. The first program, consisted of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.

so, how's that for pseudo-knitting-related blogging?!

ps. don't forget to wish shannon a happy birthday on september 7th, and me on december 24th!

avoidance behavior

there are things i should be doing (like, completely flip-flopping my bedroom with my craft/sewing room ... meaning, moving lots of furniture, books, magazines, and stash) ... but instead, i am taking pictures and playing on the net. it's productive ... because i can share my latest knitting!

... and i finished something ....


i can hardly believe i have finished another pair of socks! what's my excuse ? well, the pippi kneestockings are the next best thing to a mindless knitting project. also, they're knitted on size 3 dpns, so they're a quick knit, with 64 sts at the cuff and upper leg, and 52 sts for the lower leg and foot. fewer stitches = faster knitting.

since this was my second pair of stockings, i now have leftovers in 8 different, yet homogeneous, colorways ...


these might become another pippi-pair, or i might play with some fairisle patterning for something different.


i started this marigold sock (pdf) a couple of weeks ago. i stalled because i wanted to do a reverse heelflap. well, i could not figure the math out (not that i really dedicated much time to it), so i decided to go with the short row heel as written, following cosmicpluto's tutorial. i still am having problems making my stitches look nice while knitting the two wraps with the stitch when on a right side row. my purl side is nice and tight (as shown in above photo) ... but my other side ... not as pretty.


... what's a post w/o a fresh socken ? well, take a nice long look, because the next time i touch this socken, it's getting ripped. it's too big. the yarn is lovely (fearless fibers merino sock yarn). the pattern (scroll socks from _more sensational knitted socks_) is quick to memorize and a breeze to knit. but, i need to go down at least a needle size. i am knitting 64 sts on size 2.75mm dpns, and because the yarn is 100% merino, when the sock stretches out, it doesn't recover. so, the question is do i go down to 2.5mm or 2.25mm ? hmmm ....

it's so pretty! and i love how it's pooling!

a quickie from the porch ....

this is how to do a quick post ... link all the photos to flickr! i have to be showered and dressed and at work in 45 min ... so enjoy the photos. click on any photo for details.

posting from the porch ....

i had this fabulous idea today, just as the sun ducked behind the clouds, to take some pictures of my sockens-n-progress. thus ... i had to move the activities outdoors ... onto my front porch ... which faces the north and a very busy street (scroll down a bit).

(ps ... this is a pseudo-lazy post, as i'm feeling rather lazy. so, please, click on any photo for further details)


i knitted myself some pippi kneestockings some time ago .... mom liked them immensely! when she came for a visit last early fall ? labor day? ... anyhoo ... we took a little side trip down to bella filati, where we were able to pick up the colors for her pippi kneestockings !

i actually cast on for these last night, while at jackie's yesterday. note: i spend many sundays at jackie's. anyhoo ... i swatched my yarn. i got gauge (with the same needles i had knitted my pair with). but, when i started the ribbing, i forgot to drop down a needle size, so my ribbing was wonky. thus ... i ripped it out. it's not all bad though ... because i know what to do, which kinda makes it mindless knitting. and, i know i'm on gauge. i just need to re-start.

speaking of mom ... i also am very close to finishing a couple of sockens for her. first up, monkey socken!


i am ready to begin the toe decreases ... but for some reason have not. i think it's because i'm totally distracted by all my other sockens.

also, gasp ! , it means i will have completed a PAIR ! perhaps, that's why i haven't finished? fear of finishing ....

or, because they're not for me ? naughty knitter !!!

and since we're still on this mom-trip, i present (yet) another socken that is ready for the toe ...


this is only the first of the two ... so, it will remain an orphan until i decide otherwise ;)

... or need a mindless project ... whichever comes first.

that's about all i feel up to in my lazy-state. stay tuned for other sockens on the porch !