miscellany

i could probably finish some things if i'd stop starting things, but .... it is my way.

i finished a sock! not a pair.


i finished this sock last night. or maybe the night before. hmmm. i'd like to cast on the mate, but i have been derailed by by making myself a lacy baktus.


and i love it ! i started this last night. i was looking for a mindless project, and thought this would be a good one. well, i had to rip out a couple of times before i understood the pattern and the fabric i was creating.

i was unsure if my needle size (3mm) was a good match for the yarn (brooks farm acero), so this morning i blocked what i had knitted last night. the yarn relaxed nicely, and now i know i can proceed w/o anxiety.

the yarn is a fingering wool/viscose/silk blend. i got it last fall at SAFF with the intention of making socks. but, when i swatched it, i changed my mind. it's going to be much better off as a scarf.

and this last little tidbit, i did not make, but saw at the mall in a diorama at the LEGO store. pardon the quality, as i was shooting through a plastic convex bubble, and shoving kids aside to see the cuteness!


LEGO sheeps!

i couldn't wait ...

... to play with the new yarn. i don't know if i'll get any of my kal socks finished before their deadlines, and i kinda don't care. i just want to work on things that excite me, and that includes my crochet hexagons, and these new socks with the bamboo & ewe yarn from joann's.


i'm knitted them with a stitch pattern from _sensational knitted socks_ ... it's called bluebell rib (page 49). i was looking for something simple, elegant, and mindless. this simple 6 stitch repeat fulfilled all those desires.

i'm already on the heelflap. i'm keeping these on the short side (the leg is only 6") because they're a summer blend (wool/bamboo/nylon) and they have holes (lace).

i cast on another project yesterday as well ...


it's going to be a beer cozy. i'm using some leftover sock-ease yarn to knit my wee cozy. it's just for fun, but it would be nice to have it finished for when i go out sunday evening to hear a friend's band play. click on the picture and there's a link for the pdf file of the pattern.

pretty things

hexagon crocheting came to a grinding halt yesterday, when i started to join my circles with the white red heart yarn. it seems, the first skein of white i was using either wasn't red heart, or was just spun differently.

but, i am back on track today, with a fresh skein of 'bernat super value'. i was really bummed last night when i had to stop crocheting. the good part is, it forced me to finish a pair of socks!


i think this is my first pair of socks for the summer! i'm happy to have them off the needles, so i won't feel as guilty when i figure out what socks i'm going to cast on next. and i will cast on more before finishing others. it's a given.

especially since i got some new yarn this morning (when i went to find the white acrylique for my hexagon blanket).


before i go to the shopping center that has 3 craft stores (acmoore, michael's, and jo-ann's) i always go online and print coupons. the yarn above is part of jo-ann's sensations label. i was able to use a 40% off coupon on each ball of yarn. yay! i hadn't seen this yarn in the store before. it seems that most of the craft store sock yarns are all self striping or variegated. i was very excited to find something in a slight heathered tone.

oh, something else i finished ...


this is "rick" from _sock innovation_. it's part of a kal, and must be finished before the end of the month. well, i have 10 days. i can certainly get it knitted in that time frame. maybe i'll cast on tomorrow ....

and one last finished thing(s) ...


my legs were cold the other day (air conditioning). i had started these leg warmers last fall. i knitted them up quickly, and even seamed one together on the way to saff. and then i never touched them again. all i had left to do was seam up the other leg warmer. i do stupid stuff like that all the time.

but now, they're done. and i have been wearing them. i've even queued some other leg warmer patterns to knit.

and here is where i get lazy ... if you'd like to know more about any of the photos, just click on the photo and you'll be whisked away to flickr where i left notes for each project.

the haphazard hooker

you'd think with all the socks i have on the needles that i'd be flashing a finished pair. of course not !

instead, i started a crochet project. i had seen (on ravelry) lots of examples of blankets, etc, with crocheted hexagons. it's the perfect project. you don't really need to follow a pattern. it doesn't have to "fit". you can make it as big or small as you like. and it's fun to create different color combinations.


besides, stuart loves crochet.



the hexagons are pretty quick to make. i think the slowest part is trying to decide which color is next. after i make a small pile of circles, i join a batch together.

want to make one? just click on this link and you too can be in hexagon bliss :)

i don't know how large my blanket is going to be. i have a quilt that is 64" square, and i like that very much, but i'm thinking this might need to be a rectangle. my goal is to finish within the next couple of weeks (crazy for me, i know). i'm starting a new job at the beginning of august, and i'd really like to have a large project like this finished, so i can come home in the evening and use my blanket.

the yarn is red heart. it's cheap, and colorful. and, it does get softer, and drapey, with a little steam.

it IS july, and summer of socks

... and i am knitting, knitting, and knitting. i have started so many new sock projects, and want to start more. because of the number of projects going on, i haven't really finished any pairs. whoops!

first up, is a pretty koigu sock that is in progress. i am almost finished with the first sock. all i really have left to do is bind off, if i could only decide which bind off to use.


the pattern is called "on-hold" by wendy johnson, from her book _socks from the toe up_. i'm knitting it as part of a kal on ravelry. the pair must be knit in the month of july. i won't have a problem finishing, i know, but when one is knitting multiple socks for multiple kal's, all with deadlines ... something's gotta give.

at least, having knitted the first sock and keeping good notes, i know what to do on the second sock. i figured this koigu was a good choice because koigu has such skimpy yardage, and it's nice to use it all up w/o leftovers, or running out.

next up is another kal sock, also via ravelry.


this very green sock is rick from _sock innovation_.

the yarn is knitpick's bare superwash merino/nylon, dyed with wilton's icing dye. it's been in my stash for at least a good year (which is really not a very long time!). i had started this sock with malabrigo sock yarn, but for this pattern, i found it too lifeless. i'm knitting on 2.5mm dpns, and i think those needles were just too big for the malabrigo ... but smaller needles would had made a smaller sock (which was not the goal).

another kal sock? why YES! but this one is for the june challenge (the sock knitter's anonymous group gives you 2 months to finish the pair).


this is nancy bush's birch leaf sock, and the pattern is found in _a gathering of lace_.

this sock is the second sock ! soon there will be a pair :)

next up is a sock that's just because it's summer ....


i stalled a bit when i got to dividing for the heel because the pattern i am using wasn't written for the lace to go down the front of the foot (just on the leg). also, i knitted a heel from a different pattern ... this heel is a short row garter stitch heel with a mini-gusset. both sock patterns are by a woman named debi, and though i downloaded the patterns via ravelry, she does have a blog and both sock patterns (lizzie's lacy ribs and crystals, 'combs and cables) are on her sidebar.


of course, there are more socks and yarns i want to knit. i will work on finishing my socks for these various kal's, and i will also knit other socks just because it's summer ....

it's july ?!

goodness! since it is july, it's quite appropriate that i am knitting summer socks. the thing is, i don't know why i knit summer socks because i don't wear socks in the summer. but, i cannot stop knitting socks ... so i knit summer socks.


i am really enjoying this pattern. it's virtually mindless, which i always enjoy for movie watching. and little effort with a good pattern and yarn makes a very simple thing quite beautiful.

i am not totally pleased with the yarn though ... it's meilenweit cotton in an unknown shade (no color number or dyelot printed on label), and i can already see two upcoming knots. i got the yarn at a swap, but i'm wondering if maybe this skein was a sample the lys decided to sell for profit.

otherwise, it's like sockotta in its fiber content. and i love sockotta. this is actually a bit softer (which is not a bad thing!).

the pattern is called "lizzie's lacy ribs" by fluffyknitterdeb on ravelry. here's the link if you're on ravelry ...
and if you're still NOT on ravelry, go sign up here.

notes to self: 2.25mm clover dpns, 64 st cast on, 15 repeats of leg.