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.

no pairs, just singles here

i am knitting socks like a mad woman ... but, aren't i always? i have more handknit socks than most people have store bought socks. and i keep knitting them.

i've had a heck of a time getting good pictures of this one though ...


this is a birch leaf sock by nancy bush, from the book _a gathering of lace_. i've had the book for years, but somehow this sock pattern kinda fell from my radar.

i'm having trouble getting good pictures of it too, because my yarn choice (Wendy Sunbeam St. Ives 4 Ply Sock Wool) has that rustic look and feel to it ... and it kind has a hairy halo. the yarn is heathered, and up close, almost has a kettle-dyed look about it. it's a good basic wool/nylon blend that will last for years.



i am almost finished with the cuff of the mate, so this sock won't be an orphan for long.



here's another sock on the needles. it was suppose to be my "summer sock". this pattern is cookie's new summer sox pattern (pdf link). i could had chosen a more season appropriate yarn, but instead chose socks that rock lightweight in cobalt bloom. though this yarn has been in stash for more than a year, this is the first time i've knitted with the stuff. and, it's so not lightweight. it's rather "beefy". but, i wanted pinkish socks. so, when the weather turns, i will have some very warm and wooly summer sox.

and just to keep things sane around here, i of course have a plain stockinette stitch sock on the needles ...



this pair is close to completion. i am on the foot of the mate. the yarn is paton's kroy stripes. it's great for mindless knitting (and knitting in a movie theatre). i knitted the leg of the first sock when i saw Land of the Lost.

with so many socks on the needles, you'd think i wouldn't be planning my next pair ... but i am. just this morning i was thinking about these pretty sandalwood socks from IK winter 2008. of course, by this afternoon, i may be planning for something completely different.

more blue socks !

i'm starting to wonder if blue is my new favorite color ....

these too are recently finished. these are my sunshine socks from cookie a's new _sock innovation_. i belong to a kal on ravelry for the designs in this book. i did not participate the first month, because i had already knitting both the patterns they offered. this month, both patterns were 'new to me'. but i picked the option from the book vs. the other (nebula). i could knit both for the month, but i don't think i can finish another cookie design before the end of the month, and i have other socks on the needles.

my favorite thing about the pattern is the yarn. it's shibui sock (in colorway 2955, midnight). the yarn has a lot of 'boing' and body. the socks are heavy ... i used up all but 7 grams (finished socks weigh 97 grams) (yeah, i know 97+7 doesn't = 100).

the stitch pattern eats up the yarn. the leg has 80 stitches. that's a lot of yarn when your yardage is on the skimpy side. the saving grace is the leg isn't that tall, so there's enough yarn to get to the toes.

this yarn has been in my stash for a little while (maybe 2 years?). it was nice to finally knit it. and i love the results. i love how the yarn seems more semi-solid in the leg and toes, and does this blotchy-pooling thing on the foot. i have another colorway in stash, which i might use for another cookie pattern from the same book.

chalet

i have finished some socks, but i keep forgetting to post them. these are the chalet socks from nancy bush's _folk socks_. after some knitting, ripping, and knitting, they are done.

the pattern wasn't as difficult as i imagined it would be. in the past, i found the symbols used for the traveling stitches very confusing. but, with a post-it note, keeping up with the chart was managable.

if my sticky note fell off, however, it was tricky figuring out exactly which round i was on (i blame the twisted stitches for that).

i used knitpick's bare superwash merino/nylon fingering yarn. i bought some awhile back to dye. i have dyed some, but this time i used it undyed. i figure i can always overdye the socks if i find i'm not wearing this color. of course, me and dyeing is always a gamble. i don't usually get the color i intended.

though not technically summer yet, it sure feels like summer. these socks, and many others, will be waiting for cooler weather before they're worn (like, maybe october?).

yummy socks!

i think what i like about this yarn and pattern combination so much is it reminds me of ribbon candy ... and the pattern mimics an interlacement of ribbons. it's just pretty.



this sock is wanida from cookie's new _sock innovation_. the yarn is malabrigo sock in archangel. knitting with this yarn was nice. i would certainly buy it again, if i found it in a colorway i could not resist (like this one). the pattern was virtually mindless.

i made some mistakes here and there, due to movie watching. but for the most part, all that was needed was a quick glance at the chart. i didn't even need a post-it to keep track of rounds.

should you want to knit this sock, remember there is a mistake in the pattern, one that i have not seen listed on the errata yet.

i posted this note on the comment page for wanida on ravelry:

"i say there’s something definitley wrong with the heel flap set up in wanida.

if knitted as written, you will be off.

but, it works out just fine if on the last round of the leg chart to knit to the end minus 1 (knit only 7 of the “red” stitches). then, in the heelflap, place the next 33 sts. on hold, then do row 1 of heel flap.

everything lines up that way."

it's raining today, and i'm kinda antsy because i want to cast on something new and i don't have full access to my stash :(

sock addiction

it is way past my bedtime, but i just wanted to post these socks. i am in love with this pattern! it's wanida from _sock innovation_ and i'm using my archangel malabrigo socken yarn. the color is crazy. so. much. color. the yarn is soft and yummy.

but the pattern ... i love its simplicity. it's almost mindless, with nice little rest rounds alternating with pattern rounds. i can definitely see myself knitting this again - which i will try not to do, as sometimes that "spoils" it for me.

i am on the gusset of the mate, so this is soon to be a pair.