A Brief Interlude

After a few error laden rows, I decided it was time to take a break from Mermaid and cast-on with some of the Regia Unicolor I recently purchased.


Front

Back
This is Dizzy a free pattern on Ravelry.

I'm not sure who these will fit but they are intended for my mother. I making my first pair of knee-highs! She's always cold so these should fit the bill. I bought the unicolor with colorwork in mind so I've been spending a lot of time looking at patterns for this type of knitting. I'd like to make hats, mittens and/or gloves and socks using this technique. I'm doing these as a prelude to knitting a sweater using the stash of Kauni Effektgarn I purchased a couple of years ago.

The nephews, Jaylon and Isaiah, spent the weekend with us. At the time I asked their parents if they could spend the night I had no idea I would end up with sick children. Needless to say, I ended up with a respiratory infection compounded by asthma. Thank goodness for Z-Packs. I feel tons better compared to yesterday when I saw the doctor and have told their parents not to send their sick kids to our house. I'm home until Thursday and hope to really feel like myself by then.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Slowly but surely progress is being made. I'm trying and mostly succeeding at not knitting for long stretches of time. I've spent all of my knitting time working on my mom's Christmas present Mermaid by Hanne Falkenberg.

I have professed my hatred for garter stitch, but each time I knit a Falkenberg design it vanishes. This particular pattern has so much variation that it never gets boring. I tried it against mom and it looks great. I'm hoping that it doesn't grow during blocking like my Skyline did.

We did our yearly demo at the fair last Wednesday. I checked my entries and I received blue ribbons for my Snapdragon hat, Ziprelaxagon socks and Greenleaves fingerless gloves. My Adamas shawl received a second place. When I got to the socks mother and I burst out laughing so loud that everyone was looking at us. We were laughing because even though I didn't win the sweepstakes this year I won the second highest award which is given by my guild, the Palmetto Purlers. It consists of a ribbon, a membership in the guild and a $30.00 cash award. I paid my dues last month so I guess I'll get a refund at this months meeting.

The hat is Ysolda's Snapdragon tam from Whimsical Little Knits Book 2.


I love everything about this hat. The design is incredible and this picture doesn't do it just. I used the yarn the pattern called for, a rarity for me, and the Madelinetosh is too die for. It is so soft and the color is gorgeous. This was one of my yarn splurges for the year and I'm certain there will be more of this in my future.

This weekend I'm headed to the mountains for SAFF and beading. We're planning to hit SAFF on Friday and the beading store on Saturday. Mom is joining us on this trip. The leaves are starting to show their colors so it should be beautiful up there. I'm going to try very hard not to add to the stash, but I'm not going to prevent mom from doing so!

Another Test Knit

This past month I had another top-secret test knitting project. It was another sock pattern for Kirsten of Zeks Lite. The pattern, Short Row Shuffle Socks, is now available on Ravelry.

I tested two versions of the pattern. The first is a top-down 4-stitch shuffle with a welted cuff

and the second is a toe-up 5-stitch shuffle with a ribbed cuff.


This pattern is designed for yarns that have defined and regular repeats of color.

I love Kirsten's patterns. They are always challenging and inspired. Each one exposes you to a new techinique or way to look at knitting. I love the short rows used in this pattern.

The family issues have calmed down. They haven't been resolved but we are more back to normal. I must say that I didn't get much done last month. I had to rip out most of the body of Buttercup due to split threads and got started back on it a couple of days ago. It's all stockinette so it is going pretty fast and should be finished soon.

A Raveler was destashing an amazing 14 Hanne Falkenberg kits and after looking at them I couldn't resist buying two of them. This is my first purchase since December so I didn't feel too bad about it plus the price was unbeatable. The Mermaid kit is for my mother and the Pagode for me.



When I opened the box I was surprised to find enclosed enough yarn to knit 4 pairs of socks. Two skeins of Colinette Jitterbug, 2 skeins of Regia Design Line and 2 skeins of Regia 4fadig plus I didn't pay for the shipping or insurance. This is the first purchase I've made from a Raveler and it couldn't have gone better.

Finishing

This past week has been all about finishing. For the most part I'm really good about finishing things once they're made but every now and then I hit the wall where it can take me weeks or months to get something completed.

October 2010 was when I had my first beading lesson. Millie wore a fringe bracelet to our knitting guild meeting that month and also brought several other bracelets that she had made for show and share. I asked her if she would teach me how to bead and we've been meeting to bead since then.

Our first beading project was the fringe bracelet I had admired. I used 11/0 emerald silver-lined AB seed beads for the fringe and 8/0 emerald silver-lined seed beads for the core. It's funny but what I just typed made no sense to me at all a few months ago and now I am totally immersed in bead speak.



This weekend three of us are going to Nancy's cabin in the mountains to immerse ourselves in a weekend of beading, good food and friendship. I've been planning my projects and can't wait to get away.

Thursday I finished the first installment of the sock club.




Specs:
Pattern: Split Reed Socks from Think Outside the Sox
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot Elderberry
Needles: 1 dpn's
Size: Womens large (10N)
Knitted: February 28- March 18, 2011

I made these for me and they feel fantastic. The only modification I made was to knit these toe-up.

Next up are two hats that had been languishing in the finishing line. First is the Cabled Chapeau which languished while I tried to figure out what to use to shape the brim. I purchased a hat kit at the Greenville Knit-Inn which contained a craft foam visor to use for the brim. I immediately went to AC Moore when I got home, purchased the foam and attached the visor. It then took me over another month to attach the strap and buttons.



Specs:
Pattern: Cabled Chapeau
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted Deep Sea
Needles: 8 US
Knitted: December 1,2010 - March 20, 2011

I made this for my mom's friend Velma. It is part of a set with the Saroyan shawl/scarf made with the same yarn. She has seen it, tried it on and loves it.

Last up is Limpetiole which I originally was going to knit as part of a Wooly Wormhead KAL.


Specs:
Pattern: Limpetiole
Yarn: Wool2dye4 Merino Silk Undyed
Needles: 5 US
Size: 20 (medium)
Knitted: January 2-10,2011

I knitted this for my oldest brother's friend Anne. I was a real slacker on this as I didn't get it blocked until this past Friday. I love the hat. It has wonderful drape and feels luxurious. I'm sure she'll love it even if she has to wait most of a year to wear it.

That's it for the project round. I always feel relieved once I cleaned up some of the loose ends.

Where's the Sock Club?

At the beginning of the year I created my own personal sock club. Last month I got out bag #1 opened it, assembled the pattern and needles and put it on the back burner when I got sidetracked by the Drip Candle socks. I realized that if I continued along this path I wouldn't get any of the socks done so I quickly cast on the Split Reed socks on the last day of February. I finally got things rolling Friday and have made good progress. The colors are much more intense than this washed out flash picture shows.


While knitting these I realized that this is the first pair of socks I've knitted for myself out of Mountain Colors Bearfoot. The other pairs have all gone to mom and I can see why she loves them. I tried on the foot to check the heel placement and it is soooo soft.

My mom is a hoot! She remarked yesterday that I've given up knitting for beading. As Flo used to say, "When donkeys fly!".

I promptly whipped out the sock I had worked on at machine knitting meeting and put it on. As much as I enjoy beading it will never take the place of handknitting. I doubt that I will find anything that replaces the calming meditative effect it has on me.

For those of you who also have multiple interests, how do you find the time to fit them all in? Now that I'm involved in a machine knitting guild once again I really feel the need to plan some time during the week to get on the machines and practice. That is in addition to also needing to practice on the spinning wheel and make bags for my nieces. Do you do them whem the mood strikes or do you have days designated to certain activities?

I've seen on other blogs where a certain day is designated for spinning or some other crafts. Does this really work? Any feedback is greatly appreciated as I try to figure out how to indulge in all of these things I like to do without neglecting something else.

Ziprelaxagon

Today I get to post the socks I test knitted. Yippee!!!





Specs:

Pattern: Ziprelaxagon by Kirsten Hall aka Spindleknitter on Ravelry
Yarn: Galesart Sock Moldy Pumpkin
Needles; 1 US and 3 US Knit Picks
Size: Medium
Knitted: January 1 - February 19, 2011

I test knitted these for Kirsten Hall designer of the cover socks on Think Outside the Sox and the Drip Candle Socks I am currently knitting. This is a challenging pattern but well worth the effort and had a lot of fun knitting it. If you're like me the second sock will be a breeze.

I will definitely make these longer the next time. They are the perfect length for my mother who prefers her legs shorter. I have enough left to lengthen them so I will eventually get around to doing that.

Where Did Winter Go?

Todtay I finished what is probably the last winter project that I will work on this season. Even though I have several other winter projects languishing in the unfinished state, I find it hard to think about working on them when the temps are in the 60's to low 80's. My mind keeps turning to summer tops like Buttercup. I even went so far Thursday as to get out the yarn and frog the little bit that had been knit into a sleeve for something else. Something else that I will never wear since I'm at least four sizes larger and wouldn't have enough yarn to finish it in a larger size because it was purchased several years ago.





Specs:

Pattern: Molly
Yarn: Plymouth Mushishi in a color I call Rose
Needles: 7 US Colonial Rosewoods
Knitted: February 9-27, 2011

This was a take along project that I worked on when I needed something completely mindless or needed a brake from other projects. There are only 4 rows to the pattern. Row 2 is a repeat of row and row 4 is a repeat of row 3 so it was a complete no brainer. This was a stash project and since I didn't want any yarn leftover I used all 491 yards. I will make this again for me.

I finished the first foot of the Drip Candle socks and started the second only to realize that I was using needles that are a 1/2 size smaller than those used for the first. Definitely a brain fart moment. Since I don't have any yarn to waste I'll frog what I have done so far and start over.


I seriously considered making these socks fraternal but I'm all about the matchy-matchy thing when possible.

I've been reading a lot of new to me blogs lately and I'm amazed at how many knitters are knitting down their stashes. My stash is insanely large and keeps growing exponentially so it was time for me to rein myself in but obviously there are a lot of others who feel the need to do the same or something close to it.

The last time I purchased yarn was in December and that was to make a hat, fingerless gloves and scarf for one of my nephews. The hat is made but was a tad too small and the scarf has been started. He's only five so I'm not worried about him outgrowing it too soon but with the current weather situation he won't need.

I'm not saying I haven't looked at, touched or wanted to purchase yarn I'm just saying I haven't made any purchases. I do feel great each time I finish a project and know that I didn't have to go out and buy the yarn for it. My goal is to go the entire year and I'm on my way to month 3.

I have been spending more time beading and that means spending money on beads. It's not as much as I would spend on yarn since I try to buy on a project by project basis. I really enjoy it and each time we do a different technique which keeps it interesting. My goal is to get to a place where I can conceive and execute my own designs plus it relieves some of the stress on my body from knitting too much. This year is about stretching out and learning new things and this puts me well on my way.

Take a Chill Pill or Time Out Anyone?

After a two month break we had a beading session today. We always have lunch before getting started and today Millie's mom made some great chili, Nancy prepared a wonderful salad and Gail made delicious homemade salsa and cornbread. For dessert I made Molten Chocolate Cakes and Calvin brought coffee and french vanilla ice cream. I haven't made this dessert in a very long time and it was every bit as good as I remember.

Our planned project was the spiral peyote bracelet. This project did not come easy to me and I experienced some serious frustration trying to get it started. My way to deal with project frustation whether it be knitting, sewing, beading or programming is to take a time out and step away for a while to clear my head and let my frustation level subside.

Millie took a look at what I was doing and realized that I was working clockwise instead of counterclockwise. This solved the problem and once I got restarted things went smoothly.


Looking at what I originally thought would be just a bracelet, I'm now considering making a bracelet and matching necklace with coordinating earrings. I don't typically wear a lot of gold or goldtoned jewelry anymore but I do wear a lot of red and I love the look of the bracelet. I don't want to get in the habit of making a lot of random pieces and would love to have some sets.

I made it to the heel of the Drip Candle socks Thursday and was not at all pleased with the results. Colinette Jitterbug is closer to sportweight and I chose to use it for the heel. This resulted in a bulky and not to attractive heel when compared with the rest of the sock. I sought mom's opinion and she agreed so I ripped the entire heel out last night. I will use the green supersock instead. In the photo you can still see some of the blue but that has also been frogged.


This has been a great weekend and tomorrow promises to be another beautiful day. I plan to get back to work on the almost finished test knitting and sit out on the deck for a change and enjoy the sun. I hope that you are having a beautiful weekend as well.

A Serious Case of Startitis

As if I don't have enough wip's already I've developed a serious case of "startitis". I see a project that I like and I just have to cast on. One of the Knit-Inn participants was wearing the most gorgeous ruffled scarf. Of course I had to investigate to see what pattern was used. It was the Molly scarf from Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool leaflet.

I made a quick call to The Needler yesterday, one of the lys' in the area, to put the pattern on hold and as soon as I got off work I drove over to Lexington to pick it up. I cast on this morning while taking a break at work with Plymouth Mushishi from the stash.


I was tempted to buy the Liberty Wool used in the pattern but I resisted. I'm not sure that I would have been able to hold out if they had more colors available but I'm pleased with the way the Mushishi is knitting up.

I restarted the Drip Candle socks over 72 stitches and the fit is perfect. I'm back to my original ending place with the first sock and have decided to use 8 colors instead of trying to use all of the colors in the bag. I'm saving those for the next pair and will need to knit some socks with more contrasting colors before I use them.

My mom has a friend who suffered some nerve damage to one of his hands and now has a problem with it being cold and hurting. I'm making a pair of fingerless mitts for him from Knits Men Want. I was almost finished with the first one when I realized that it was going to be to big in the Ultra Alpaca I was using. His hand is the same size as mine so at least I have a good guide to go by.

I finished the foot of my test knitting while I was in Greenville so now I need to buckle down and get the rest of the sock done. This is the first time I've test knitted for someone and it has been a pleasing and interesting experience. It has given me a great appreciation of pattern writing. I only wish more people were conscientious about getting their patterns properly tested before releasing them to the public.

Leftovers Are Good For You

For several years I've been saving the little balls of yarn left from socks and more recently (as in last year) fingerless gloves. I've used some of it to make baby socks but was at a loss as to what to do with the rest. I knew I wouldn't knit a sock yarn blanket because blankets aren't my thing. My original plan was to save it for sock repairs which have proven to be few and far between so that the amount on hand has continued to grow.

I bought Think Outside the Sox at Stitches South last year and one of the patterns that caught my eye was the Drip Candle Socks. They were knitted using one of my favorite yarns Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino. This past week I pulled out all of the balls that used yarn with a content and twist similar to the Cherry Tree Hill Supersock. Below is the result of that search.


I have enough leftovers to make at least 2 or 3 pairs. I started the first pair today and so far I've used eight of the colors I pulled for this pattern.


This first sock may not be keeper since it is quite snug on the foot. I'm going to put this foot in time out and cast on another with more stitches using the same color scheme. So far I've found the pattern to be quite meditative to work. It is a very simple 2-stitch, 2-row pattern that works up very quickly.

The Palmetto Purlers, my knitting guild, is doing a KAL for Miriam Felton's aka Mimknits Adamas Shawl. I'm using Karabella Yarns Merino Lace which is slightly heavier than laceweight but not quite fingering weight. My initial plan was to knit at least a row a day but as you can see I've already been derailed from that plan. There isn't any rush to get this done so I'm doing a row here and there until it's finished. This is another stash buster project as I try to work through some of the laceweight yarns that I have.

I've been successful in that I haven't purchased any yarn. I did add two skeins of Red Heart Heart & Sole that was in our Knit-Inn baskets. I have mom's skein and mine and will use them to make either socks or fingerless gloves. I'm having success going "Cold Sheep" and it's a pleasure to walk in the room and pick out yarn for whatever project I want to make.

Last year by this time I would have hit all of the sales and added a significant amount of yarn to the already burgeoning stash along with the associated guilt of buying yarn that I don't need. This year it's about making do with what I have and being happy and guilt-free without all the excesses.

First FO of 2011

The first knitting FO of 2011 is off the needles. It's a pair of socks that I've been dragging along since 2009.





Specs

Pattern: Elongated Corded Ribs from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Bamboo Color Passion
Needles: 1 US dpn's
Size: Women's 10
Started: May 26, 2009 Finished: January 8, 2011

I'm embarking on a serious stash reduction this year. To that end I've been going through the stash to sort out what I would like to make this year in addition to the project kits I've already created. I really liked the idea of a personal sock club so I created one.


There are 11 bags because 1 pair is already on the needles. It's a stealth project so the only thing I'll reveal is the yarn.


I purchased this lovely skein at SAFF 2010 from Gale's Art. The color is Moldy Pumpkin and so far I'm loving the way this is knitting up.

Wonder of wonders tomorrow is a snow day. I can't believe that we are forecast to have more truly wintry weather. Everything is pretty much shut down with all the closings. I'm hoping that the ice they're predicting later on tomorrow isn't too bad so that we won't lose power. It is going to be great to have another knitting day.

To everyone in the path of the storm stay safe and stay warm.

Burning Stripes aka Crayon Box Socks

Another fun pair down. I knew I would knit these the minute I saw Monika's. Four of her pairs are in this post.



Specs:

Pattern: Burning Stripes
Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball Kleiner and Regia 4fadiq Uni/Solid Black
Needles: 1 US Inox dpn's
Size: 10.5 women's for mom
Started: July 30, 2010 Finished: August 10, 2010

No mods needed. I enjoyed the twist on the short-row heel and felt like a kid in the candy store waiting for the next color. I only wish the color changes were as frequent in the first sock. I used most of the black but have more than half of the Crazy Zauberball remaining which means socks for me!!!

Kids in the House

Starting with last Friday we had kids in the house. Kids mean love, laughter and lots of noise. My nephew Isaiah and my niece Gina came Friday and my nephew Jaylon joined the gang on Sunday. After the weekend my sister took over. She asked if they could come for a week since she isn't teaching this summer.

Two or them are night owls and most of the time I was asleep before they were. Mind you Isaiah is 5, Gina is 7 and Jaylon is 10 which means they were a handful. We loved having them but when I came home from work Friday I was glad to enter a quiet house. The sad part is that we were so busy chasing and entertaining them that no one took pictures. Stephanie had them out and occupied during the day and when I got home I didn't think about it.

I cast on another pair of socks. They are the Burning Stripes available at 3 Sleeves to the Wind and on Ravelry.



After an initial problem with the start of the sock I'm sailing right along. These are for my mom and I'm using Crazy Zauberball for the contrast and Regia 4fadig for the main color. The repeats are so long that I may end up with one sock mostly one color. Disappointing, yes, but I'm going to see if I can knit four socks out of this one ball and mix the stripes that way. This pattern has some cool techniques especially the heel so I don't find it boring at all.

My guild, the Palmetto Purlers is doing a beaded scarf KAL. Guild member Millie is our host and instructor.


I'm almost halfway through but have run out of beads. I found one more tube at AC Moore so I'm waiting until more come in before I string these and continue. The pattern calls for us to knit to halves and use a three-needle bind off to join but I'm going to knit to the end and bind off to match the beginning.

My fair entry slips arrived last week. I still have yet to decide what and if I'm going to enter. Because I'm unsure of what I'll do I registered for a lot of categories. People don't realize that it takes a lot of work to enter. You want to be sure that your knitting and seaming is as perfect as it can be. I have a little over two months before entries are do so there is still time to get some things done if I decide to do so.

Marilinda

I finished these today and because I love them so much you'll have to pardon me for the number of pictures.








Specs:
Pattern: Marilinda by Cookie A
Yarn: Henry's Attic Kona Fingering dyed Grasshopper with ProChem One Shot Dyes
Needles: 1 US
Size: 9.5 Women's

Great pattern, fabulous socks. Nothing more to say.

Knitting Genius

No I don't have kankles but I couldn't resist taking a picture of the Marilinda sock heel. My model is out town so I had to resort to other measures. I stuffed the sock with a skein of Trekking hence the kankle.



This pattern makes me appreciate the genius that is Cookie A even more. From the 5 to 3 decrease worked into the center heel wrap stitch to the fabulous heel design the patterning of the sock is beautiful. Nothing beats a great knitting design that is also fun to execute.