Bunting Socks

Just in time for Independence Day!  My local yarn store was carrying a lovely patriotic colorway by Fiber Seed called Stars and Stripes, and I decided to try to come up with a fun sock pattern using the variegated yarn and sparkly yarn by Kraemer called Sterling Silver and Silk.

The Sterling Silver and Silk is a lot of fun, because it adds a very subtle sparkle to the socks, very reminiscent of fireworks!

Breanna's feet are almost the same size as mine now, so I am shamelessly utilizing her as my sock model.  It is much easier to photograph someone else's feet, ha ha!

The pattern is now available on my Ravelry page (click here for linkhttp://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bunting-socks#) if you are interested.

Two at a Time

I almost never post pictures of a current work in progress (usually because I'm too busy working on it to bother taking pictures), but I'm having so much fun knitting these socks with my new-to-me method that I had to show.

Knitting socks with long circulars and the magic loop method is by far my favorite way to knit socks (although I agree with my friend Lynn J that Ninja Knitting with 4 double pointed needles does look way cooler).  However, this time I did an added bit by casting on for both socks at the same time on the same long circulars. 

 

I did this by first casting on 32 stitches with the first ball of yarn, then casting on 64 stitches with the next ball of yarn.  I pulled out the "magic loop" halfway through the 64 stitches I had just cast on with Ball of Yarn #2, and then cast on the final 32 stitches with Ball of Yarn #1.  

Sound confusing?  It is.  I was shocked when it actually worked.

 

(As a disclaimer I should note that I am by no means the author of this way of knitting.  I did read about it in a book somewhere, but somehow I managed to figure it out without having to look it up.)

The Knitting Fates are occasionally kind. 

(This is to make it all the more shocking and painful when they sneak up on you and totally poop on your wonderful project.)

Lynn's Birthday Socks

So my sister Lynn had her birthday in early September, so I decided to knit her a pair of socks as a gift. 

I'm sure she was shocked.  After all, I gave her socks last year, and the year before last (and maybe even the year before that?).  I'm not very adventurous when it comes to gift-giving.

I am so ashamed to admit that although I finished knitting the socks on time, they are still packaged and waiting in my van.  Considering that my sister lives almost 900 miles away from me, this is not a good sign.

I have every intention of taking them to the post office today and mailing them priority.  I have set it as a priority on my list.

 

Right after I find my energy . . .

Maybe I'll hang on to them until Christmas and they pull them out with a cheery "surprise! bet you thought they were lost!" which I'm sure won't work because by then they most likely will be lost.

Sue's Socks

When we were in Michigan visiting my aunt and uncle, we stopped at a yarn store.  Some people visit monuments or national landmarks.  

I visit yarn stores.

Because I didn't have enough yarn (please insert heavy dose of sarcasm here) I purchased a skein (or two, I have voluntary fiber amnesia at the moment) of lovely alpaca sock yarn called Alpaca with a Twist

Because my Mum sells alpaca yarn, it felt a bit like committing yarn adultery, but I honestly had to say that Mum's yarn, while infinitely superior, alas does not have any nylon content and so isn't really the stuff to use for socks (at least not if you want to be able to wear the socks for more than once before they get holes.)

This is a pattern I made up and which I hope to eventually write down (in my spare time) and either put it up for sale or just have it out for free in my pattern shop.  I wasn't paying attention when I knit the second sock, and made the diagonals going the same direction as the first sock.  My intention was to have them going opposite directions, but perhaps my brain was traveling starboard and the socks went along for the ride.

Anyway, I got them done really fast (the pattern is lots of fun to knit; simple enough to do without paying too much attention, yet interesting enough to keep one going.)  It's already packaged up along with a bag of chocolate chip cookies as a thank you gift for my Aunt and Uncle.

"Thank you gift" sounds much nicer than "bribery to let us come back next year and destroy their house visit".

Ha ha, not really, because Paul and Sue are extremely generous and hospitable, but it does help assuage my guilt for all the plants I got and the stuff the kids broke as well as any lingering mental trauma!

Snowflower Socks, Second Pair

 

I just adore this sock pattern.  I've knit a pair of socks from this pattern before, but I couldn't resist knitting another pair as a Christmas present for - - - - -.

One nice thing about fair isle socks is that I only need one skein of colored yarn and one skein of another color. 

It's a fabulous way to use up that odd 50 gram bit of yarn languishing in my stash.

Another Christmas present ready for wrapping!  Whew!

(Click here to see Ravelry specifics)

Snowflower Socks

These are my very first pair of fair isle socks, and I'm so pleased with how pretty they are! The pattern by Suzi Anvin is a toe-up pattern, but I found it wasn't difficult to alter it to knit it top-down (my preferred method of knitting socks).
My usual gauge for knitting socks requires that I use a size 2 needle, but apparently my gauge changes quite a bit when knitting fair isle, because these socks are a bit of a squeeze to get on.

Once they've been slipped past the heel (I worked a short row heel, which is different than the slipped-stitch heel that I usually prefer), they fit nice and snugly, which is how I like socks the best. Perhaps the tighter fit is just due to the fact that fair isle isn't as stretchy as regular knit fabric?
One of the great things about knitting this pattern is that it only used up .4 of the skein of purple Lang Yarns Jawoll Magic (the more expensive of the two yarns). I have plenty left over to knit another pair for myself, if I ever the get time to knit another pair of socks for non-gifting purposes. (This pair is a Christmas gift for - - - - - - -)

So fun to knit! I hope the recipient likes them as much as I do!
(Because if they don't I'm keeping them.)

Happy Birthday Penny!

My dear friend Penny of the All-Natural Mama blog had her birthday a few weeks ago. In honor of the auspicious event, I took her out to see the movie Eclipse.
I had no personal desire to see it, but I suffered through it for Penny's sake. I'm a good friend.

It was all for my friend.

Really.

Shut up.

Anyway, along with going to see the movie, I was able to knit her a pair of socks. I used Bernat Sox yarn which is a tiny bit thicker than fingering weight, and I was shocked how quickly they knit up. Plus, they made some of the softest socks I've ever felt!
Happy birthday Penny!
(Okay, now don't everyone else start expecting hand knit socks for their birthday presents. I only do this for one friend a year. It might be your turn next. This is my method of bribing my friends to stick with me long-term.)

Socks for Mum

So what's a gal to do when she wants a new pair of shoes, but doesn't want to tell her Handyman that those same shoes will cost $80?Bribe her Mum to buy them for her, of course!

Bribery rates have gone up lately, because a pair of shoes equals TWO pairs of hand knit socks. These were the first pair I was able to finish, and definitely a nice pattern to work. The cuff was interesting without being too difficult to manage while carrying on a conversation or watching TV.

Look at all that welt action going on at the cuff! (That's what that wobbly line thing is called; a welt.)

Ah yes, it was a bit of a wrench to give those away. Thankfully, my conscience (*cough cough* threat of my Mum's accomplished wielding of guilt) enabled me to do the honorable thing and package up these beauties.

(For more detailed specs, visit my Ravelry page here).

Backward Progress

I always like to have a sock on the needles, because they make the perfect portable knitting project. Small, compact, and generally rather brainless knitting (depending on the complexity of the pattern, of course).

It's been awhile since I knit Handyman a pair of socks, mainly because it's taken me a year or so to recover from the trauma of knitting socks for a man who has skis for feet. Another reason is that knitting for men is generally boring. No fancy colors, no cool swirls, no paroxysms of rainbow shading.

My favorite go-to pattern for a man's sock is the Dolomite Sock from Knitspot. I was fortunate enough to have test knit the pattern for her, and it's so fun and not too difficult to memorize.
I was merrily knitting away, well-pleased with my progress and feeling especially wifely and sweet when I noticed that the sock I was knitting was starting to look rather large. As I said earlier, Handyman has skis for feet - long and skinny. Drat. Only then did I remember that the last time I knit the pattern (I knit a size large) it was a little too floppy on Handyman's anemic feet.
I blame my lapse of knitting know-how entirely on trauma-induced amnesia. I have a feeling that this experience is going to be a repeat of the last.

Here's my progress as of now after several hours of intense knitting. . .

A Morality Tale

New Years' Eve is a wonderful time to spend with family.

It's a time to enjoy the company of loved ones we don't get to see too often (which might be why we love them so much, hee hee!).
It's a time to play games until late into the night.
It's a time to indulge.
(Forget love --- fall in chocolate!)
It's not the best time to knit.
Never drink and knit. You will knit socks in two entirely different sizes. (They should look exactly the same.)
As far as I know, these socks were knit with the same needles, using the same yarn, and the same amount of stitches.
But then again, I'm a little fuzzy as to the details.

A Love/Hate Relationship

When Flipflopping Mama and I went shopping a few months ago, I picked up a few skeins of knitter's crack (*cough cough* Colinette Jitterbug Sock Yarn).
This stuff is the most scrumptious, squishy yarn out there.
The colors are so vibrant and exhuberant and make me forget how dreary it looks outside. (My mantra, "Just watch my feet, just watch my feet, ignore the gray skies, don't look up until May".

If I could just remember that I hate short row heels. I hate the way they fit. I hate the way the look. I hate knitting them.

The good thing about short row heels is that I'd be ashamed to give away a pair of socks with short row heels. Shamed. Humiliated.

So I'll just have to wear them myself.

I'm very self-sacrificing that way.

Shopping Lessons

When my friend Flipflopping Mama and I went shopping during our recent St. Louis Expedition, she gave me a quick tutorial on Mall Shopping. I've already posted my personal shopping philosophy before, so hopefully it won't come as quite a shock to my reader(s) (again, being optimistic that there are more than one of you out there) that I'd never before been inside an Eddie Bauer store.

Or a Gymboree.

Or a Children's Place.

Or an Ann Taylor Loft. (Well, we ran out of time, so I've still never been in there.)

At Eddie Bauer, I was shocked to discover that it is possible to purchase jeans that fit. I mean, jeans that fit over my ample Hawaiian hips. As any Polynesian gal will tell you, there's a reason why island people do the hula - it's not a dance, it's just the way people with ample hips walk.
Best yet? I picked up these beautiful jeans for $20! They were originally $70, but with the clearance and F.F.M.'s nice 15% off coupon, I got expensive jeans for a cheap Wal-mart price!

At Gymboree I was able to combine a $5 coupon with another 15% coupon to snag this dress for Miss Boo for $10. I realize that's not uber-cheap, but I thought it was a decent price, especially since this dress is usually $45 and she was in need of a church dress.
The yarn wasn't cheap at all, but we all must have our weaknesses.

I look at it as being cheaper than therapy.

Sort of.

If I had a really expensive $21 an hour therapist.
Two skeins of the luscious, scrumptious, practically edible Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn in Chocolate Mint and Jay colorways.
I can't wait to cast on a pair of socks! Then I can wear them with my jeans!

(Which is why I bought the yarn. Nice jeans require nice socks. Logic is my forte.)