in the day's fading light ...

i have finished a PAIR of socks! i finished these last night, and there was less daylight this morning than when i got home this evening ... but, just enough.

i LOVE these socks! i don't remember where or when i purchased the yarn, but i love it all the same. it's arucania solid in red 118, which is really a semi-solid.

we all go through phases of loving various types of yarn (ie: handpainted, solid, semi-solid, self striping, etc). lately, i've prefered semi-solid or solid for all the lace and textures.

but, when all else fails, it doesn't hurt to cast on a self striping yarn and knitting ribbing or plain stockinette.

the pattern above is evelyn clark's acorn lace socks (fiber trends pattern AC-47). it is well written, with both chart and line by line instructions (i prefer chart).

i always live in fear of running out of yarn, but i had plenty left over (socks used 79 grams and i have 25 grams leftover, and i do realize that does NOT add up to 100 grams.

i have some other evelyn clark patterns in my queue. there's a certain sense of security when knitting any of her patterns, whether socks or shawls.

wow!

i thought i'd do something a little different this week, and actually update the blog (vs. take pictures and do nothing with them). my knitting time has been greatly reduced since the beginning of august. i simply cannot knit as many projects as i'd like. and actually finishing something means i need to stay monogamous.

i belong to several sock knitting kal's. i have realized that i cannot participate in all of them simultaneously. therefore, each month, i pick one or two to try to participate in.

this month, i chose to knit socks for two of my ravelry groups, sock knitters anonymous (or ska) and solid socks.

for the ska group, one of the options was to knit any (challenging) sock pattern in yellow (solid or semisolid). typically, this group does not have color restraints. so, i dyed up some of my knitpicks bare yarn using some koolaid and icing dye.



i did have some other yellow yarn in stash i could had used, but because the lorna's laces cost more, it felt more *precious*. plus, it's fun to dye yarn.





the pattern i chose is the nichole beaded band socks by melissa morgan-oakes. it's a $4 pattern, found via ravelry.

i'm using size 8/0 beads, and instead of prestringing the yarn, i instead dropped a bead on each stitch with a size 12 steel hook. i thought the hook might be too small for the fingering yarn, but when the yarn is under tension, it stays secure enough in the hook.

my sock is still in the same state as the photo. all i have to do is finish the toe. but, finishing (for me) isn't nearly as much fun as starting new things !



THIS is the sock i'm in love with right now. i am just loving this RED.

red is the color right now for the solid socks group. i switched gears to work on these socks because they have to be knitted in the month of september (the ska group gives 2 months to finish). i finished the sock above last night, and today cast on the mate. it would be nice to finish this sock within the next week, though i am realistic and may not finish until the deadline.

the pattern is evelyn clark's acorn lace socks AC-47. like all evelyn clark designs, the pattern is well written, charted and row by row. i always think her designs are a great place to start for beginning lace knitters because she offers both the charts and written instructions.

the red yarn is arucania solid (though, it's really semisolid) in color 118.

when this pair is finished, i will get back to the yellow socks. really.