Knitting and a Thought

Knitting has been done this week. I both started and finished these socks, which are Rose's Fred & George pattern:
It was with great joy that I realized I had enough leftovers of two favorite yarns to knit a pair of of these - the variegated yarn is Socks That Rock (colorway: Moss Agate) and the nearly-solid is Dream in Color's Smooshy (colorway: Merlot).

Yesterday I realized that I had a few things deep in the knitting bag that have been sorely neglected, so I shall endeavor to finish them in the coming weeks. Some of you will remember this scarf, which is (slowly) getting longer:
But I don't think anyone has seen this sock...it's Judy "Magic Cast On" Becker's Tangled Up In Blue pattern:
It shouldn't take long to knit the cuff and then I'll be ready to knit the second sock. This yarn is what I received ages ago in the Dye-o-Rama Swap - it was dyed with Kool-Aid!

I will leave you with this thought (another from C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity) - Lewis is speaking of his spiritual life, but I can see how it could apply to other areas of life where one aspires to be changed:

"If I am a field that contains nothing but grass-seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be ploughed up and resown."

Socks and a Thought

I finally finished the RPM socks I've been working on. I wasn't sure how I would like the pattern with a solid-color yarn, but I'm happy with it. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solid in Loden.

I pulled out my old copy of Devotional Classics yesterday (which I've had since college), hoping for some fresh inspiration or insight. The first excerpt is from the classic Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and the following quote as been on my mind since I read it:

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."

Are you still in your shell?

Proof That I Did Stuff This Weekend

We did not have the traditional Memorial Day at my house this weekend. No grilling (need more gas for the grill), no picnics, no get-togethers. We did, however, watch some videos and work in the yard.

I planted this pot of annuals, plus another one just like it:
I split up some Black-eyed Susan clumps and moved this guy (Painted Fern):
Then I weeded, dug up the 4 clumps of dead Purple Fountain Grass from last year and planted a few annuals. I would have labeled the annuals, but I don't remember what they are called:

I did do a bit of knitting while we watched movies. The Bee Fields shawl still looks like a lacy blob:
And I finished an RPM sock:
I decided to get all wild and crazy and do a different toe this time, so instead of the usual decrease/grafting, I did a short-row toe and used a 3-needle bind off, which I liked very much.
I'll start the mate of this sock later today. Greg is off to the LIGHTFAIR trade show in Las Vegas today and won't be home until Friday, so I should have plenty of knitting time.

How was your weekend?

Finally, Some Knitting

Wow. With all the newfound freedom to branch out a little bit with my topics, I have amazingly little knitting to show you. I don't know why I haven't knit much this week. No good excuse, really. It would be so much more exciting to be able to say, "I would have knit a lot this week but I was afflicted with the plague," or "I would have knit more, but I had scurvy." I think those would be valid reasons...but I have been busy staying on top of Natalie's school work and trying to get the kids outside as much as possible before it gets too miserably hot and humid (which, I fear, is right around the corner).

I did start a new sock in the new(ish) Austermann Step Duett yarn "mit Aloe Vera und Jojoba Oil." Impressive, eh? I was happily knitting along and after trying the sock on I realized that it really needed a higher stitch count. Translation for you non-knitters: it was very tight. So here is where said sock stands now:
Clearly, I am back to square one. The yarn really is nice to knit with - you can definitely feel the effects of the aloe and jojoba. Interestingly, the colors of this yarn are a bit distracting to me because all I can think of is Trix cereal. You can almost smell it now, can't you?

I have also been (slowly) working on the Merino Lace Sock from Interweave's Favorite Socks book. It's an interesting pattern and I think the finished product will be lovely - but I only work on it in the evenings when I can concentrate on the charts:

I do actually have a finished object to show you...I finally knit my Jacobean pattern for myself! (see sidebar for free pattern ------>) These are knit in Socks That Rock in the Beryl colorway, which is darker than this photo shows.
I was really hoping to get some sewing or scrapbooking done this week, but so far, nothing. I suppose the week isn't over yet, but I feel like I need to get the house cleaned up before I can do either of those things. The house isn't terrible, but could use some sprucing up since both sewing and scrapbooking will involve dragging out supplies and having space to spread out. I am left wondering, though...am I letting the valid house-cleaning serve as a way to procrastinate about the crafting? I don't know.

A case of scurvy sure would make things a lot more cut and dry.

Let's Just Say They're Kin

I have two FO's to share today. Last weekend I finished this Pinwheel Blanket:
Yarn: Berroco Comfort
Needles: US sz 7

I used Fibonacci sequence for the striping. The Pinwheel Blanket is a great baby gift and is easy knitting, but does get tedious toward the end. I'm very pleased with how this one turned out, though. The final size ended up being about 36".

Last night, I finished some plain stockinette socks, which I am calling Amos. It only seemed right since they are so similar in color to my ill-fated Cedric socks. Normally socks end up being twins, right? We hope for identical, but with handpainted yarns they often come out fraternal. These...well...I think there were issues in the gene pool.
Yarn: Gypsy Girl Creations/Stone Barn Fibers in Brindle
Needles: US sz 1

I do have another sock in progress, as well as a shrug, but no pics of them just yet. In the meantime, I knit on.

Trying to Keep Up

I don't know why I'm finding it so hard to keep up with the blogging. I wish I had interesting things to say every day, but I don't. It doesn't mean I haven't been busy, though.

I finished Anne's "That Little Scarf" recently, which is a very fun knit and makes a great little neckwarmer.
Yarn is fingering weight from The Knittery.

I'm currently working on a new Pinwheel Blanket for an upcoming class at The Neighborhood Knit Shop.
Also, Ethan thinks these are the best things EVER.
Finally, I was happily wearing my Fawkes socks last night and thought a few times, "hm...I can feel something cold on the sole of my foot - these must be getting thin." I wore them to bed and when I woke up this morning I was crushed to see this.
They were one of the first pairs of socks I knit. (can't remember if I started these or Jaywalkers first) There's no point in trying to fix them as the other heel is about 24 hrs away from doing the same thing and the ball of the foot area is close behind.

Sold Old Stuff

Thought I'd share a few old projects to distract you from the fact that I don't have pictures of any of my current WIP's. Sneaky, eh?

The first is a short garter stitch scarf, knit with the leftover Alpaca Baby Grande of another scarf I knit recently. This yarn is HEAVENLY and I thought it would make a nice little neckwarmer, even if it isn't very long or wide.
Then we have another pair of Sonoma socks (for my sister), knit in black KnitPicks Gloss. I'd never used Gloss before and will definitely consider it for future socks!
Sorry about the weird, washed-out picture...it's very difficult to photograph black handknits if you want to show details.

So there you go. I am thisclose to finishing the Hanami stole and I can't wait!! I'm holding out on pics until I'm finished with the knitting.

Remember me?

OK, so I've been gone a while. It wasn't really on purpose - I was out of town and have been very busy knitting! Here's what I've been doing since my last entry.

Another pair of worsted socks for my aunt, done in Schaefer Lola:

A pair of RPM's for my aunt in Cherry Tree Hill, colorway "Martha's Vineyard":

The last pair of socks for my aunt, in Sea Wool (which I LOVE and will make it very painful for me to mail these off)...this is the Sedona Sock pattern:

Then I also finished the Waving Lace socks for Greg's aunt, done in Mountain Colors Bearfoot:

I managed to finish my Chevron Scarf, done in Socks That Rock (Tiger's Eye and Space Dust)...I couldn't get a picture of me actually wearing it, so you'll have to just imagine that:

Finally, I decided to knit myself a hat with the Tasmanian alpaca I received from Amanda...so here is Le Slouch:

I will leave you with a few pics of little people...first, trick or treating at the zoo (Ethan was a bat, Natalie was a cat):

Natalie lost her 3rd tooth this weekend:

And Ethan is still a silly goose:

P.S. I apologize for the lack of links today...if you have any questions about patterns or where to find them, just leave me a comment.

Slow and Steady

I'm still plugging away on spinning my first sock yarn. Last night I finished knitting with the yarn that was finished and I'll have a new batch of singles ready to soak soon.

Here is what the finished yarn looks like:
And here is where I'm at on the sock...heel is finished and I've knit a few rounds past the heel:
I'm getting 9 stitches per inch and knitting with US sz 1.5 needles, tho the yarn is so fine in places that I wish it was a 1 even a 0.

Busy Bee

So I took that yarn I made and turned it into a little bag for Natalie. It was 48 sts on US sz 7 needles and I just did a crochet chain for the drawstring. There was a definite difference in the weight of the first skein and the weight of the second...you can see that the stitches in the bottom half of the bag are much bigger than those in the top!
Then this week my aunt received her worsted weight socks and immediately requested more. I remembered that I had this sock languishing in the WIP basket from last winter (Lorna's Laces worsted, but the band is long gone so I don't know the colorway), so I pulled it out and finished it yesterday. I also started the second one and am halfway through the foot.
And finally, I bought this:
Which I spun into this:
And is now being knit into this:
I really didn't plan to start knitting with it right away - and I realize I'm probably tempting fate, but I had a little batch of singles that I wanted to ply and then the temptation was too great and I caved. I'm knitting it on US sz 1.5 needles, for what it's worth.

Finally Friday

And finally another finished object. I have an aunt who lives in Ketchikan, Alaska and she recently requested a pair of handknit socks. Since she is outdoors a lot, we agreed that a heavier weight "boot sock" would be suitable. Luckily for me, I had a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (colorway: Tuscany) waiting patiently in my stash - so out it came and these socks were born.

The pattern is the Chevron Stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks, worked with a short-row heel and a stockinette foot. I worked it over 52 sts on a US sz 4 needle, magic loop. Great stitch pattern, but you do have to be careful with the sizing as it doesn't have a lot of give.

New is Good

I finished the Pinwheel Blanket, but haven't washed or blocked it yet, so you'll have to wait for those pictures. I'm also nearly ready for the toe of the first Soxie sock, but again, no progress picture. However, I've started a new sock! This is the yarn I received in the Dye-O-Rama swap several months ago. It was dyed with KoolAid and I really love the colors and how it is knitting up.


P.S. We put our house on the market this week!! Squee!!!

Sockapalooza!

I got my Sockapalooza package this week! Thank you, Emily! The sock yarn is alpaca/silk and sooo soft and slinky and the socks fit perfectly. The other little goodies are fun, too!

This has been a crazy week. My parents came to visit last weekend and ended up taking my kids home with them for the week so we can do the final push to get the house ready to put on the market. It has been incredibly helpful to be kid-free this week and we've gotten so much done. A few things left to go, though! The realtor comes Monday to do the appraisal and then we'll be ready to list the house.

As a result of all the house stuff, I've had precious little time to knit. However, I did start a plain stockinette sock and turned the heel last night. This yarn is so hard to photograph - this picture shows the colors well, but overall the actual sock is several shades darker than this.

WIP's

When I finished the Orchid Scarf, I must confess that I was at a loss for what to knit next. It's not as though I didn't already having some WIP's in my bag, but they weren't all that appealing. Instead, I started these:
The Charade socks, in Lorna's Laces "Black Watch." I really like the pattern, but knitting two socks at once goes sooo slowly for me.

Then I got inspired to knit a little blanket for our friends (who will receive the little baby cardi and hat I did recently) and suddenly, I'm close to finishing this:
The Pinwheel Blanket, knit in leftover Plymouth Encore from my stash (except for the red, which I had to purchase).

While I was at the yarn shop getting the red Encore, I remembered that I told one of Greg's aunts I would knit her a pair of socks. Her favorite colors are red, black and white and lo and behold...I found a new yarn in just that colorway! It's not really my thing, but I think she'll like it:
The RPM socks, knit in Crystal Palace's new Maizy sock yarn in the "News!" colorway.

Like I said, I do have a few other things on the needles, but we'll talk about them later. ;)

Percy

Finally! A post AND something I've finished! I've been in an odd knitting mood since vacation and had to force myself to finish these socks before I cast on for anything else. In fact, I even frogged two projects yesterday. Strange.

Percy Socks
Pattern: Retro Rib from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Two Waters Fiberworks "Gryffindor"
Needles: US sz 1.5
Modifications: I worked these toe-up with a short-row heel.