folk knitting

i love nancy bush! i even pre-ordered her latest _knitted lace of estonia_.


though, this sock is from her _folk knitting in estonia_, laila's socks.

i was just in the mood to start something new, something different.

my tension is a bit off, especially when i switch needles. i guess that goes with the territory? i know that sometimes people knit their stranded knitting inside out to help with that transition. i tried that, and it wasn't any fun. now, perhaps a wee 12" circ would do the trick? (though, in the past, i've found the tiny circs to cramp my hands). perhaps the answer is experience ....

the two yarns i'm using are from the stash. the brown is something very old by socka, and the green is newer, by regia. the green by itself is quite glowing. but, the brown tones it down, and it still pops.

size 2.25mm dpns.

excuses .....

there has been knitting here. there is always knitting going on here. what's been missing, though ..., is decent pictures to share my progress. sometimes i blame my camera. it's kinda old (4 yrs) for a p&s digital. sometimes i have a very hard time discerning how my pictures look in the the wee (7/8" x 1 1/8") lcd screen. sometimes i wonder if it is just overall failing .... a slow disintegration of quality that i just haven't realized yet.


(bear with me and my list of excuses) i can also blame that i don't think of taking pictures until after the light of day has faded, and all i have left is crappy indoor incandescent yellow (weak, low wattage) glow. again, that's where i blame my wee camera (and i do love my camera because it's wee) ... because i can only get ISO's of 50, 100, and 200.

and then there's the netflix watching ... i don't exactly think of taking pictures as i'm speed knitting away on sockens.

but, there is good news, i am almost finished with a PAIR! the above socks are knitted from opal's magic. i am very close to knitting the heelflap of socken #2.

and i have socks on the brain. so many socks on the brain. socks with texture. socks with colorwork. i think as summer comes to an end, my thoughts of socks grows.

and quilting. (gasp!) i actually started my quilt today! finally!

i gathered my coupons today, for the 3 big box local craft stores, and went out and got a 6" x 12" omnigrid ruler, a 12" x 18" rotary mat, and a quilting book (just for inspiration and bedtime reading)(i had a coupon!).

i started a motif, and it looks kinda wonky. and of course i misread the instructions. whoops! but, it will work out. it's going to be a lot of cutting. and sewing. but, i am determined to not let this one take me 8 years like the last one.

the long labor day weekend is coming up. i will be away from my home and visiting my folks. and i will take pictures. (in daylight) (really!) (of my knitting and such ....)

super fresh knitting

super fresh, as in, why finish other stuff ?!

all of my socks right now have some kind of pattern thing going on, whether cables or lace. they require following charts and keeping track of rows. i needed something different on the needles, for mindless knitting, for laundry day, etc ...


... thus, the opal magic sock. that's the name of the yarn, and appropriately named too! of course, now that i've created a plain sock, i am craving something a bit different. i think i might want to knit a different heel. i have consulted my _folk socks_, and am still undecided. if this gets to be too big an issue, i will just carry on in mindless fashion and knit the basic heelflap.

i am liking this particular opal yarn ... the orange parts and semi-solid, and it almost looks spray painted.

and this next one is so fresh i haven't even cast on yet!


i do hope to swatch tonight. i did not knit a summer sweater or tank this summer. and now, i'm wanting one. i have heard lots of good things about hempathy, so instead of going to a once a month meeting, i played hookie and went to a lys that stocks this yarn.

choosing a color proved challenging. the palette is nice, but not exactly in the realm of my color scheme. i also find it harder to choose a color when the fabric is going to be all stockinette. but, i did decide. and it's going to be lovely.

the tee shirt pattern is by hemp for knitting

i have been overheard saying, "you can wear any color you like, as long as you wear the right lipstick!"

knit mix

this is a pretty sock, in all its simplicity. i totally forgot about this sock, after i was in such a hurry to *knit faster* so i could weigh the leftovers. according to the scale, i do have enough to knit the mate. but, once i knew this, i kinda forgot about the sock altogether.

this pattern is called pillars and is a free download on ravelry.


since i had the pattern book, and yarn, i went ahead and cast for loppem yesterday. the yarn i am using is lang's silk dream ... and it is a dream to knit with. it feels like butter!

before i cast on, i read all the threads i could find in ravelry on this cardigan, and i printed out the errata.

it's kinda slow going because it's all knit in one piece. some people prefer this method as they don't like finishing or seaming. i, on the other hand, don't mind that at all, and like to see 1/2 a back knitted in one evening.

this new love does not mean i have forgotten fonn. i actually just started the second sleeve ...


... and am awaiting a replacement set of size 7 harmony dpns from knitpicks, as one of my needles split down the center of the tip. when i finish this sleeve, the fun of the yoke begins!

a knitter's prayers ...
please postman, bring my double points today, and that blue sky pattern, because we all know i need to cast on for another sweater!

the yarn-ho babbles, picture-free ....

uh huh ....

so, i work in a yarn shop. often, i am overwhelmed with the potential of most yarns in the store. and now, the fall stuff is rolling in .... and then there's ravelry (the perfect place to browse when you can't sleep in the wee hours).

as of late, i have "fallen" for a few patterns. it's just my luck that i have some yarns in stash that will work for these patterns too!

the first is blue sky alpaca's eyelet cardigan. i have seen many cute CUTE versions of it on (pattern intransit from kpixie (ps. besides their fabulous selection and customer service, they also have a discounted shipping rate if you are just ordering patterns).

the second is one from the latest berroco norah gaughan (vol. 3) book ... assemblage. isn't it lovely?!

the one everyone is inlove with, though, is norah's eastlake (i love it too, and intend to make it at some point).

but, i think my current favorite is norah's loppem (... and trust me, many a joke has been made regarding that name, inspite of it being named after a city in belgium). it's kinda like a vest. and i kinda have a nice yarn that meets the gauge and yardage requirements. but, that also means swatching and dedicating brain cells to another project (do brain cells get hung up in socken projects, and lace, and such?)

bedtime reading material ...

i am kinda lazy about checking my mail. i even bought a larger mailbox a couple of years ago to alleviate the problem.


this morning, i went to the mailbox to send out my latest netflix envelope, and behold !, my interweave fall issue was there (waiting since last night)!

and today, my lys got in the latest berroco, and i've been waiting for the norah gaughan vol. 3 book.

my favorite design (in berroco) (perhaps) is eastlake, and assemblage runs a close second.

interweave? i can't say yet. and the new fall vogue knitting ... awwww ... the mittens !

tonight, note to self: peruse berroco, VK, and IK.

SO EXCITING! I AM SO READY FOR A CHANGE OF SEASON ....

... the new girl

i think she's so cute! i'm calling her a she. besides, she has flower buttons for eyes ... and big red lips !


i made her for my niece's 17th birthday, by request. i asked melanie what she wanted, and she said, "a sock creature". done.

little devil girl is stuart-sized, so she's wee and plump. she does not have a tail (i lost the fabric for the tail somehow ....).