getting ready for august

i think it's safe to say i knit A LOT of single socks. i just can't help it sometimes. i knit the first sock, and it's fun. and then, the thought of doing it again ... isn't as fun as starting something completely different!


but, a fellow raveler, mapleweave, has propossed the challenge of completing as many PAIRS as possible during the month of august. she's a lot like me, and has a sock orphanage to rival me.

i created a new tab in my projects for this challenge. and, some of the socks may or may not get mates. some might even get ripped and the yarn reclaimed. and some ..., some will get mates.

she said i could "cheat" and start working on them now. the only goal is to complete more pairs that she does in august.

so ... i'm very committed to this challenge! it will be nice to "clean house", so to speak.

monsters!

i'm pretty sure anyone who regularly reads my blog knows i'm a member of ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous (or SKA for short). and, more recently, i joined the Danger Crafts group.

what i like about the danger crafts group is we do swaps! (they do kal's too)
i have never joined a sock club, or any kind of swap, before this group.

i really like this group. we knit MONSTERS. and i LOVE me some monsters! ... whether knitted, crocheted, or sewn. teddy bears? ... not for me.

my latest swap partner and i were paired up, and we both love the color green (it's a color-themed monster swap). i'm very pleased to report she got her package in yesterday's mail.

mr. postman said, "should get there by thursday". oh, mr. postman, please don't jinx me! (yeah, yah, got there friday).

i wanted to share everything i made/sent to her ....

here's a shot of everything that went into the fabulous green bubble mailer. ps. i found the bubble mailer at office depot. they had red, green, and blue mailers.

monster on the left is sammie the sock monster, and monster on the right is max the sewn monster. i made a max for my last partner, and he's just cute! the sewing pattern comes in 3 sizes. the first time (for first swap) i sewed the size small. this time, i went for medium.









i also knitted a couple of dish cloths. i first ran across this pattern in the 1st mason-dixon knitting book. but, the pattern is from Elmore-Pisgah yarns, and they call it the ballband dish cloth (click link and scroll down just a bit). i like mine a little smaller than theirs, so i only cast on 33 stitches.



i also got her a couple of fat quarters ... they were on sale at the joann's fabric store for $1 each. i used the 3rd one to make the sewn MAX monster up above.
(i actually had a hard time deciding which fabric to use for the monster! maybe next time, my next swap partner will get nothing but sewn monsters?)



THIS THRILLS ME THE MOST!
so, the same day i went and got my ice cream maker, i ran over to the nearby barnes & noble bookstore. i was looking at the page magnets, and found MONSTER MAGNETS! ... a little $ (well, for a swap, that was 1/2 my budget), but how could i not?! i got a set for myself as well =)

if you've never used page magnets, they are awesome. i use them to mark the page of my knitting pattern from whichever book i'm knitting from, or as a general bookmark. and, the backside, it says, i ♥ monsters !

candy is usually welcomed, and it was a challenge finding green candy. but, again, i got lucky ... and there is a candy shop in my city (candy shop, not a chocolate shop). they had these bulk bins, to purchase candy by the pound. i was able to go through and pick up a variety of candies in green only. the little green tin came from the fabric store as well ... i found it in the $1 bin just before checking out.

it's always great to get things, but giving is so much fun too !!!

(beer) SOCK !

when i finished my last pair of socks, i decided these pretty leftovers should become a beer cozy. i made one last year, and you know what? it's pretty handy! it WORKS! it keeps the beer cold longer, and no more drippy bottle =)

it's really great for leftovers too. it only requires about 15 to 17 grams of fingering yarn. i already made one cozy from the leftovers above, and am trying to squeeze out one more. if i run out of this yarn, then i'll just finish it off with another leftover from stash.

i don't have many beer-appreciating friends, so, i won't be making tons of these as gifts or anything ... but i do have a couple of friends that would be jazzed to have one.

the pretty handpainted socks are finished

sometimes, you get a yarn that's just all so pretty, and you kill yourself trying to find the "perfect" pattern for it. sometimes, all that yarn needs is stockinette to show it off.

i had purchased this yarn at the nc fiberfest back in may (?). this pair of socks became my "mindless" knitting ... a pair to knit on when all other projects required too much of my attention.

and now that they're completed, i'm going to have to go stash diving for another yarn too pretty to be anything else other than stockinette ......

the same day i finished these, i also finished the first of my 3rd pair of papaver soks ...




the yarn was also purchased at the fiberfest. this yarn is The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes , in colorway Prince of the Wood Elves. it's a merino/tencel blend.

i love the sheen of the tencel. now, i just need to cast on sock #2!

happy independence day !

and, happy knitting (of course !) !!!

ps. on lucy's head is a new sock cast-on. it's a toe up sock, wendy johnson's "lacy ribs socks" from her book _socks from the toe up_. the yarn is crystal palace 'maizy' in colorway 'bittersweet'.

again?

i really liked how the previous pair of hexagon socks came out, so i was lured into knitting another pair. this pattern is really great for those self striping yarns with short repeats.

this time, i'm using deborah norville's 'serenity sock weight' yarn in colorway spring fling.

i was at the joann fabric store the other day, and the 'serenity' yarns were 2 for $5. so, these will be $5 socks (actually, $100,000 socks, considering over 20 years worth of knitting experience, plus the time put into the actual knitting).


this is my first time using the serenity sock yarn. i'll be sure to let y'all know whether or not i like it. so far, i do like it fine.

ps. i don't intend to take another year to knit these, but, anything is possible!