thank you ....

lolly ! thanks to you, i could not resist getting my hands on some silk garden lite, and knitting up a a pair of socks reminiscent of yours.


'tis the last day of socktoberfest. but, i think we all know i won't (ever) stop knitting socks ... not as long as there are beautiful yarns!

specs: silk garden lite colorway 2011 lot A, size 3 dpns, 64 sts, toe up, short row heel, knit until the yarn almost runs out and then use a kitchner st. bindoff.
note: this is (finished socken) how far you can go with a ball of silk garden lite ... one ball for each sock ... almost every last bit.

SAFF sort of ....

i don't have much free time at the moment ... (and i should be doing other things right now), but ... i just wanted to share my first handpainted yarn ... painted by me !


it's a dk wt. superwash wool, 320 yds. i'm thinking it might become socks. because, i kinda (sometimes) can't stop knitting socks.

anyways, the yarn was handpainted at SAFF in nancy shroyer's class ... creating a variegated yarn that does not repeat. ie: no flashing or pooling, no matter the number of stitches or pattern.

i am eager to knit this up, but i first have to have some serious free time, and perhaps finish one or two other things ....

stuart's got a girlfriend now ....

and she's quite appropriate, as she's a holiday gal. she was made in honor of halloween, and stuart is a product of valentine's day. i think they make a good match.


and, she's kinda racy ! she has a tattoo ! she's still nameless ... but, i'm thinking she will be named within the week.

i don't know why ...

... i want to knit a toe up sock. i am not a fan of the short row heel. nor am i a fan of the bind off methods of toe up. but, i am a wee bit curious to try the reverse gusset with heelflap.

so, of course, i picked a pattern full of short row parts (heel and toe) ! but, i have a plan .... maybe.


this is knitty's falling leaves sock. the toe begins with a provisional cast on and proceeds with short rows, full of yo's and turns and untwisting. i was too lazy to read the instructions, so i just did a crazy 8 (that's what i call it, whatever it's really called) cast on, starting with the toe tip, and increased from there.

now, all those wordy instructions will come up again at heel time. but, i think i'm going to try the heel from knitty's diamante instead (both of these sock patterns are 72 sts.).

i've been told that i work awfully hard to be lazy ....

pattern notes:

c.o. 10 sts each needle, +'d to 18 sts e.r., +'d to 36 sts e.o.r.
work 1 rnd plain, begin lace.
32" 2mm turbos
lorna's laces shepherd sock in tuscany colorway.

whooo hooooooooo !

so, i did finish these about 2 days ago ... but, you know how it is .... waiting for either free time or good daylight. i finally got both earlier this evening around 5:30pm. thus, i present ...


and the picture wouldn't be so big if blogger was cooperating at the moment.
all i can say is whoooo hooooooo ! ... i finished a(nother) pair !

these are roza's socks from IK spring '07, knitted with panda wool by crystal palace, on susan bates 2.25 mm dpns.

i love the pattern ... i love the 3x3 rib in brioche. i don't love knitting with panda wool (it's splitty, but not as spittly as their maizy). but, i do love the fabric. i would knit with it again. and, i will knit this socken pattern again.

green socks rule ! ... seriously

quickie

.... because grey's is about to start ....


yeah! a real modeling shot! ... thanks to debalicious ... we had a little photo shoot after work in the parking lot. corbett did confirm that this is noro's kureyon. he did a great knitting and blocking job, as it's very soft and drapey. i just wish we'd get some cold weather so i can wear this!


fresh yarn ! this was a gift ... and who ever would had thought that pond scum could be so beautiful ?!


this girl was gifted to another girl that likes things with sparkles, bobbles, feather, fringe, doodads, and animal print. shopping for socks at target, i at least found two things ... sparkle and animal print ! i always forget how much i enjoy making sock creatures.

see, ... told you it would be a quickie .....

fiber festivals

over the past couple of years, i've had some opportunities to attend a few fiber festivals. my first was the perfect introduction, vermont's sheep & wool festival. it was small compared to others i've been to, but it was a very good one ... not to mention up in beautiful vermont when the leaves are changing, just outside of the swanky town of burlington, and the area has at least two fabulous yarn shops to boot.

after catching the bug i was eager to go to both maryland and rhinebeck. both were a blast, and both were big.

this year, i'm going to SAFF with chak-a-khan. i picked SAFF because i have wanted to go in years past and it's local ... not nearly as so far away as other festivals.

i was hoping to finish knitting my patons cabled pullover by then, but i seem to not be able to stop knitting socks.

instead, weather permitting, i might be wearing this instead ....


i'll get a full shot later. i just wanted to share this lovely handknit ... knitted by corbett for me! i sent him my hypoteneuse which he received on monday, the exact same day i received this triangular cabled shawl. YEAH!

i knitted a shawl for him because i can not go to rhinebeck this year. and i wanted to go ... it's more than just a fiber festival, but it's a social visit too, to hang out with jim & corbett in catskill ... just down the road from rhinebeck.

he knew i was making something (as he was banned from the blog), but i had no idea he was making something too. he just said we'd have an "exchange". i thought that meant yarn (i've been pining for his green fleece artist merino sock yarn for two years now). never did it occur to me that he was knitting me a shawl ....

socktoberfest = sockensploshen

i'm not trying to pass these off as a fresh pair, but i was thinking this new shot was better than the one in my previous post. maybe.

next up, a finished pair of socks ....


though started in may, this pair took me 6 months to finish ! i'm sure that's not a record, as there are plenty of other orphans that have been waiting in the wings even longer. though, i have "rescued" at least 6 of them ... and probably added a few news ones to the batch too.
the yarn is trekking xxl in col. 05, knitted at 9 sts/inch.

i have lots of orphan socks. and i'm okay with that. i'm so okay with it that i'm having another freak out over which ones i might like to knit next!

i think i want to knit some knee socks. perhaps knitty's clessidra or IK's spiral boot socks. or maybe something rather simple like diana's knee socks ....

and then there's other sockens, shorter sockens, with yardage i may actually have in stash, such as eunny's bayerische socks, magknit's tropicana socks (look at this beautiful version!), or knitty's cable net socks.

and just two days ago, i was contemplating some toe up's with reverse heelflaps, such as knitty's widdershins, diamante, and baudelaire socks.

socktoberfest = sockensploshen

sock report

first things first, i did get a photo of my monkeys, somewhat focused. i guess trying to take photos with the day's first light doesn't exactly make good lighting. actually, i think with the change in season, that the light is shifting more to the back porch instead.


but, they are finished ! and repaired. the hole i found two mornings ago was latched up with a wee crochet hook and then secured with a scrap of yarn.

monkey remains one of my favorite sock patterns ... and i have a feeling that the roza's socks (scroll down link) will be added to that short list.





i was out & about last night with agent scarlet and stuart. our occasional dates involves food & knitting. after knitting at one bar (where we also had dinner), we moved onto another for a nightcap and dessert (and better lighting).

stuart is modeling a knitted scarf in the lovely schaffer anne.


there was a bonus treat involved in the get-together ... as ms. acrylique gave me a whopping hank of yarni goodness! i actually had a choice between the pictured yarn and a 100gr ball of trekking pro natura. though i was extremely tempted by the trekking, i seriously fell for the reds.

of course, i will spend many hours perusing ravelry and my knitting books for a sock pattern worthy of this beautiful yarn (pagewood farm hand dyed sock yarn)....


in between sips of beer and bites of black bean quesadilla pts., i finished up my first raisinette socken.

yes, it is an orphan, and hopefully not for long. this is the spey valley sock pattern from nancy bush's _knitting on the road_. it's all based on a 5x2 rib, with a very interesting horizontal braid that defines the cuff. i really like the pattern, and the sock.

what i did not like so much was knitting with the yarn ... it's crystal palace's maizy. it's the absolute most splitty yarn i've ever knitted with ! the fabric is nice, and the fiber content (corn fiber and elastic nylon) is an interesting combo, but even on mindless knitting one must pay absolute attention that all the strands are knitted and not splitted.

this isn't ...

... a picture of my finished monkeys because of a failed photo shoot this morning ....

instead, this is a picture of the HOLE i found in my sock while taking pictures of my finished monkeys.

somewhere along the way of knitting speedily on socken #2, i apparently dropped a stitch, which ran when i put my socks on this morning for pictures. ugh.

and, there would be a nice picture of said socks, with hole, if every shot i took wasn't out of focus.

editted: it is fixable! and i did fix it this morning ... i just had to whine a bit ....

stuart is into socktoberfest

i have almost completed my "obligation" in regards to socktoberfest. i made a deal with a friend that i would knit mates to three of my orphans. the kaffe ones were first, and i've made a respectable dent with two more. the trekking sock (left) saw lots of action at the movies last friday, and a good couple of inches of foot on sunday. but, it's hard to work on the same thing for too long, so i cast on for a monkey-mate and am cruising rather steadily on a mere 64 stitches.


and, i created a new orphan ....


green socken above is knitted with panda wool. i like the sock and i love the pattern. i'm not crazy about using this yarn for socks, as it feels much like cotton when knitting. i do love the fabric and the slight variation of green tones. i was also a bit concerned if i would have enough to get me through the toe, but there's plenty to spare.

now ... the question is, how long will the green socken remain an orphan?

'tis socktoberfest

yesterday was the first day of socktoberfest! in celebration, i managed to cast on for a mate !


the first socken had been knitted back in may. many socks have been knitted since. but, i got the bug for another mindless sock ... and i do have some goals for socktoberfest (ie: knit some mates !).


also, just for the heck of it, i added another goknit pouch to my collection. i use these little bags all the time for my socks.


and right now, the camo bag is housing the roza's socks. i am using panda wool. i'm still on the fence about this yarn. i'm reserving judgement 'til i finish the sock. the stitch pattern i like very much!


hedgerow is growing at a snail's pace. again, i like how the stitch pattern looks, but i am a slow knitter when i'm switching constantly between the knit and purl stitches of this pattern. it is not mindless knitting, which i find a wee bit annoying.


hmmm ... what's in the blue bag ?!


OMG ! A PAIR ! i love this yarn. it's kaffe fassett's landscape by regia, in the caribbean colorway. i knitted the first one months ago, and didn't document it. so, knitting the mate required swatching all over again. knitting these were mindless bliss ... going 'round and 'round on size zero dpns.

finishing these is what inspired me to cast on the for the pink trekking socks up top. more mindless bliss of 'round and 'round on size zero dpns!


and lastly, a friend found this awesome t-shirt while away on a trip. (ps. it's not easy to take pictures of your own chest !)

i'm sure glad it's finally socktober ! oh yes, i almost forgot, jackie promissed she'd knit socks this month.