where has the time gone?

i have been MOST unproductive. i've been working on all my little projects, some of which i can share, and some i won't until the recipient receives it/them.

i haven't finished too much either, since it's way more fun to start new things!

but, this is what i have finished ...



 1 christmas sock. yes, one sock. one very long sock, which uses up every bit of that ball of yarn, but still ...

i will cast on the mate at some point when i'm feeling the need for some mindless knitting. the parts between the toe and gusset are mindless, and then after joining back in the round, there's miles of leg to knit in twisted 1x1 ribbing!

the other sock on the right side of the screen is part of a pair.


 these are my "totem pole" socks. it is a published pattern, and the idea was to use leftovers, and change stitch patterns every time i changed yarns. i first thought these would be a piece of cake, ... oh, was i wrong!

 i decided to change the pattern. it's written for 66 stitches, but i decided i wanted to knit it with 64 stitches. so, that also changes which stitch patterns i can use, as they have to be a multiple of 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 32. and it's not that 66 has more factors, it just seems my stitch dictionaries had more choices (or better choices) for stitch patterns with the numbers of 2, 3, 6, and 11. go figure!

the other part that proved tricky, was finding compatible leftovers, and figuring out a color sequence. i didn't really want to have any repeats, but alas i did. i ended up using some of the colors more than once, but i did not repeat any of the stitch patterns. it was fun to try lots of different stitch patterns too ... i found some i'd like to probably use all over for an entire pair of socks.

knitting with leftovers is a trip down memory lane!

new year, new projects!

after stuart got his pony, and i got my pillows, and everyone got everything else (hello holidays!), i finally had some time to cast on a couple of things for myself ...

each new month of SKA means a new cast on, for a new challenge.

this month, i am seriously taking on the challenge. yes, i can knit socks, heck, i could probably knit a pair blindfolded. really.

but, that doesn't mean i've mastered all the techniques.




this sock is called "bulgarian blooms" ... it's from the book _sock knitting master class_. the sock is knitted toe up (eeks!) (lol!), and then when the flower portion is introduced, the flowers are knitted as intarsia-in-the-round. the technique is completely explained by the designer, priscilla gibson-roberts.

i'm anxious to start this part, and as you can see, i've chosen my colors. BUT, i'm going to probably wait 'til the weekend to introduce the colors. i just think i need some solid "me time" to try this thing out.

the black is the only "new" yarn (ie: from stash, but never knitted), and the other colors are leftovers. so, if you have a main color, this project will make a good stash buster.

the other pair i'm working on ...





is called linaria bipartita. this pattern is by hunter. oh, so beautiful! the yarn is dream in color "smooshy".

i haven't knitted so much on this, because i've been distracted with other socks ... but, it's such a keeper.

happy new year!