A couple of observations.....

I was doing some "research" on the net earlier, looking for a specific sock pattern. I found myself linked to various blogs and got sucked into reading. I know I shouldn't have been, but I was a bit shocked at some of the extremely personal things people will post on blogs. I know it's rather impersonal, sitting here, seemingly typing to oneself, but there is such a thing as TMI. I really don't need to know about your ___________, thank you very much. LOL Granted, some of the blogs are very informative, very entertaining, and helpful, but let's face it....most of the blogs are like this one...boring and dull. :P

Another thing I find fascinating is people will claim patterns or stitches as their own, even though we all know that Barbara whatshername published these same stitch patterns years ago. I used to see that in the quilting world as well, and it really bothered me. I guess it's just human nature to want to take credit for something.

I finally found my pattern, but I am not sure who actually came up with the idea, because it was "claimed" by at least 1/2 dozen people!

St Pat's socks, times two

I finally finished both pairs of the St Pat's socks for me and the DH, and I think they turned out quite nicely! I wanted to finish them for St. Pat's day, but naturally it was too hot to wear them. LOL Last year it was cold and rainy, this year I think it was about 70. "Can't win for losing," as my mother has been known to say. :D

Mine are the ones from the FlatFeet yarn, and I think they turned out very pretty. I used a mock cable pattern for the cuff/leg and then just plain stockinette stitch for the ankle and foot. I seem to always do a short row heel because I can do them w/o thinking. I didn't have much of the yarn left, maybe enough to do a couple of coffee cup cozies or something. I'm stashing my leftover sock yarn and might do some monster socks at some point. The third photo is just a closeup of the stitch pattern. Very easy pattern-looks much harder than it is.

The DH's were done with Wildfoote "Desert grass" and I don't think I really like that yarn. It's pretty splitty, so it was a bit of a pain. They are pretty though, and he likes them, and is already wondering when he'll get the next pair. I didn't have much left over. For some reason, I bought three skeins, and I'm not sure why. I could probably make a short pair for myself out of what's left.

Nice day out! and a "meow" :P

I belong to a rather large quilt guild here in St Louis, Thimble & Thread, and the biannual quilt show is this weekend. I used to be a vendor at the show, selling Longaberger, but the last couple of weekends didn't work out for me, not to mention the vendor fee was $120 this year! Yikes!

I have this "friend" that I'm always calling, asking to do something, etc. She will say yes, and then right before time to pick her up or time she's expected at my house, she'll cancel for some dumb reason or another. No, it's not just me, this same thing has been going on with her and her DH as long as we've known them, which I guess is about 30 years, and they do this with everyone.

She used to be in the quilt guild, and in fact, is the one that got me interested in quilting again 20 years ago. I talked to her a week or so ago, reminded her that our guild mtg was last Friday and that the show was this weekend. I invited her to ride along with me, because I know she doesn't like to drive. She said she'd give me a call, etc. Well, of course, she never did....in fact, the joke around here is "did ____ call?" because she never does. Anyway, imagine my *surprise* to see her as soon as I walked in the door this afternoon! I touched her arm and said something like, "oh hi, ___, you should have called me like you said you were going to, and I'd have gladly picked you up today." "Oh, well I am here with a friend. But I will call you next week and we'll do lunch." "Oh, that would be great, you call me when it's convenient for you, and I'll meet you somewhere." She pretty much blew me off, and I could almost believe she was a bit embarrassed about it. Hmm probably not! lol When I got home and told the DH, he couldn't believe I would even talk to her. Well, I was being a bit of a bitch, because it's the same old song and dance with her. She's always going to call, never does. I call, she doesn't call me back. You'd think I'd take the hint, right? LOL If it were anyone else, my feelings would be hurt..... :P

Now that I think of it, this post is probably better suited to the usual atmosphere on LJ. ROFL

Anyway, back to the show....it's always a nice show, lots of quilts, demos, raffles, consignment, vendors, all the good stuff you go to quilt shows for! I made a beeline for a specific vendor that I'd bought some really yummy hand dyed yarn from two years ago. I loved working with it and wanted some more. I sought out her booth, and was disappointed to see that she didn't have any yarn on display. Thankfully she had brought it, but didn't have enough booth space to display it, so I was able to get first crack at it! I bought some really beautiful orange/yellow/red and some chunky natural that I think will make a great hat.

My friends Monica and Cindy have quilts in the show. (I haven't shown any in a few years since I got sidetracked by knitting again.) Cindy also has a quilt entered into Paducah (the AQS show) this year, so I think I'm going to go see that. I'm planning on meeting Nicolette at the show if she can get away from her job hunt.

Here's a pic of Monica and one of her quilts. I'm going back Sunday to see the rest of the show and can hopefully get some more pics.



After we looked around the show for a couple of hours, we all went to dinner at Olive Garden. Monica had picked up her mom for the afternoon, and we three had a lovely time!

Flag socks

I love patriotic colors and designs and finally started my flag socks. Simple 2x2 rib, nothing fancy.

Flatfeet socks

I've been enjoying the Flatfeet yarn "flats" or whatever they are called! They are machine knit "blanks" then died two at a time. You can two similar/sort of identical flats sewn together and that is enough to make a pair of socks. You just unravel as you knit. It's a bit disconcerting at first because it's so wavy, but it all works out in the end.

I am doing simple pattern stitches for both the pink and green. Both are from the flat of the month club at Heartstone-the pink for Valentine's day and the green for St Pat's. I have been working on the pink for a couple of weeks, but I put aside the pink so I can finish the green ones for St Pat's! I find it incredibly easy to do them both at once.

The pink pattern stitch is one I have no idea where it came from. I do know I sort of worked it out on graph paper. I'm not claiming it as my own, but I don't know what it's called or who originated it. Every two rows are knit all the way around, the other two rows alternate K2, P2 to make the basket weave pattern.

The green pattern stitch is the same mock/baby/one stitch cable pattern from the fingerless gloves pattern a few posts back.

Both socks are done on 1's, CO 68 st. The pink pattern seems a bit tighter than the green cable rib-just for future reference, I might CO 72 if using the cable pattern.

The "lowly" dishcloth?

Heck no! If you can't knit something useful, then why bother? LOL

I've made dozens of these in my life, and I never seem to have any! They always end up going to my mom or friends or church, so now I have a new batch to share.

I used Peaches and Cream from a cone. So far I have made about 10 from one cone and it really doesn't look any smaller than it did when I started. ;)

Scarves

Well I say "scarves," but it should really read "scarf" because only one is finished. I have been eyeing the blue/gold yarn at Hearthstone for months, finally decided the other day to buy it and the pink. I CO 26 st on size 10 needles and did a simple 2x2 rib, slipping first stitch on each row, and knitting the last stitch to get a nice clean edge. The yarn is Magallanes 100% wool, hand dyed by Araucania yarns from Chile. I was thinking of doing the pink scarf in maybe a mock cable pattern instead, but I think the yarn is interesting enough w/o any fancy stitch work.

Mock cable mitts

Looks like I haven't updated in quite some time, so thought I'd better upload some pics. I still have about 10 pairs of socks OTN, as well as a couple of scarves and hats. They'll get finished someday!

The red fingerless mitts are made from a pattern from Hearthstone Knits, and the green ones are from the same pattern, but using different yarn and tweaking the pattern a bit. The red yarn is Laines du Nord Cashsilk, 50% merino extrafine, 25% silk, 25% cashmere, and it is so nice and soft. I'd love to have a sweater from it, but that would be too costly.

The green yarn is a bit lighter in weight called Berroco Inca Gold, 80% Merino wool, and 20% silk. I completely used up the red yarn except for about a foot! I needed two skeins for the green, and have some left over-*maybe* enough for a hat. Next pair might be navy or periwinkle. I have the yarn, just need the time!

Happy Day!!!!

Well I thought I was going to get some knitting done today while watching the Inauguration, but I admit I got a bit sidetracked. I never think of myself as a news junkie, but I was unable to tear myself away from the telly today. I also had the laptop set up in the living room, so I could watch online, as well as tv! Sad.....

I've had some fun chatting with some friends, checking facebook and other networking sites, and I think I might have even gotten caught up on my email! (that's major!)

Obligatory sock content-I finished one of the navy tweed socks last night, and will finish the other one tonight.

Yay!!

I've decided that one of my "resolutions" is to finish something before I start something else. Meaning, I will only have about 10 pairs OTN, and no more than that. LOL

And now I think I'll turn off the news channels.....

Noro Silk Garden scarf

I know....how original.....but they are just so pretty, I couldn't resist making myself one!

Here's the original post/pattern idea: http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/2007/04/noro-scarf.html

I did pretty much what Jared suggests: size 7 straight needles, CO 39 stitches. But I used only two colorways of Noro Silk Garden, #264 and #241. I just knit until I ran out of yarn, and it's about 5.5" wide and about 7' long. I haven't blocked it yet, but I don't think it really needs it. I didn't have any trouble with the edges, and they don't seem to be rolling or puckering at all.




I hadn't really used any Noro before, and while it was nice to work with, I was very disappointed in the particular skeins I had. There were quite a few knots, and they weren't careful about joining same colors together! (I've since read online that they have addressed this to some extent.) But with something like this, it wasn't a big deal. There were only a few places where there wasn't much contrast between the skeins, but I think it makes the rest of it pop more. The pictures seem quite a bit lighter than the real thing, but you get the gist.... I enjoyed making it-it was something I could do while watching movies w/o getting too distracted or having to "unknit" anything.

I have some more of this yarn to do another one, and I also bought some Poems (Wisdom Yarns) to do something similar. I bought colors #517 and #557. The yarn itself was fairly reasonable-only about $5 a skein, so this will be far cheaper than the Noro scarf. I think it's discontinued, so perhaps that's why it was so cheap! http://shade.novayarn.com/t/shade-2/1153/

More 2008 projects....

I finished these for my mom the day before she got here for Christmas! She really likes red, so I chose this yarn for her. It's Lana Grosse Multiringel in colorway 5030 reds. She chose yarn for her socks when she was here in the summer and I thought this was what she wanted. HOWEVER.....I just found a skein of some blue/aqua/teal/red that was stashed away in my knitting basket. I think I had that saved back for her and forgot all about it! LOL Oh well, not a biggie, she's called me twice to tell me how much she loves them. And this way, I can do these for her birthday in May.



I made these for my brother for Christmas. When he opened them, I could kind of tell that he wasn't as thrilled as I'd hoped....so.....last pair HE gets! LOL



My DSIL is a big shot at UT (Go Vols!), so I made these to keep her feet warm at football games. Since she's a big shot (Vice Chancellor), she is expected to at least show up for kickoff. They are simply 2x2 rib on the leg and top of foot. When I chose yarn, my brother pointed out that there are several oranges, and if I'd chosen the wrong one, they'd be completely unwearable.....LOL UT orange, Texas Orange, Clemson Orange, Florida Orange....etc, etc. I haven't heard any negative comments on these, so I'm going to assume they are okay. Come to think of it, I haven't heard any positive comments, either, so I'm not sure what to think about that.....



These are mine-from Colinette Jitterbug. I used a basket weave type pattern for the cuff. Again, nothing fancy, but just something from one of those stitch pattern books. There isn't nearly as much yardage in Jitterbug as other yarns, but since I like short socks, it wasn't a problem. I have maybe 10 yards left!

I'm starting out 2009 with several things still OTN: the DH's navy tweed socks, a couple of the flatfeet socks (one is pink, the other is a fall colorway), some offwhite Regia cotton lace socks, some short lace socks out of Regia bamboo/cotton/wool, and a scarf from Oatmeal Cascade 220, an offwhite sport weight lace scarf, and probably others that I can't remember.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I'm having trouble believing that it's 2009 already.

I am a bit surprised that I haven't updated this for quite some time. I guess I've gotten sidetracked between knitting, uploading photos, etc. I finished quite a few projects in 2008, so I thought I'd share some of them from the second half of the year.



Twin Girs for the boy..... pattern here: http://www.johnnysstew.com/pattern/gir.html

I used some kind of Bernat worsted weight for the body and some aqua and hot pink scraps (again, some sort of acrylic worsted weight, probably RedHeart) for the accents. I used a much smaller needle than what was called for because I didn't want any of the stuffing to poke through the holes. It just seemed too loose when I started. I also made a few itty bitty changes in the pattern, but mainly I knit the eyes separately and then attached them. Since I was knitting it so tightly, it was very difficult to pick up stitches to do the eyes.

The blue one is the regular, non mad Gir and the hot pink one is the mad Gir. I tried to match the colors to a toy...er, I mean "action figure" found in the boy's room. I made these for his birthday and he seemed pleased! I'm seriously considering doing them again out of sock yard. Crazy? Yeah, probably. :P



Socks for the DH. Regia cotton blend. I have started a pair for myself, as this seems like it's very nice, wearable yarn.



Finally finished these "Online" that I started quite a few months ago. They didn't thrill me while I was working on them, but I actually like them quite a lot.



More Regia Cotton for me this time!



Lacy pattern from one of those "1001 Stitches" type books. The yarn is Sock-Ease and it was very nice to work with.

More in the next post!

Next pair?

http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer08/PATTmuscari.html

The designer Suzi is always helpful and friendly on and off the socknitter list, so I am glad to see her pattern published on Knitty.

Anyway, even though this is a really pretty complicated looking lace pattern, it doesn't look too difficult for me, so I think I might give it a try when I'm ready to CO a new pair.

The BMW socks

The DH has a Bimmer and a Beemer, and if you don't know the difference, well I just don't know what to say. lol Actually my brother, who has had several of each, had to straighten me out on which is which. Bimmer is the car, Beemer is the bike. (like us non BMW types really care..... :P)

Anyway, BMW colors are blue and black, so when he saw this Magic Stripes yarn, he immediately claimed it for his own to "match the BMWs." Well the bike is a black 1982 R65 and the car is a blue green 1998 Z3, so the yarn actually really does match both. If you look closely at the car pic, you'll see the bike's handlebars in the b/g.

Big whoop, eh?

If we continue that line of thinking, those gray stripe Austermann socks must only be worn when I drive my silver car. :P

mitts (repost from March)

Edited to ensure neutrality......A friend at church requested some fingerless mitts/hobo gloves, so here is the result. Regia stretch, one ball is enough for a pair, and you can see I had some left over. I used size 1.5's, CO 44, 2x2 rib for 3", 5 rounds st st, then usual mitt pattern. I have some more Regia stretch in blues that I think I'll use for myself. She has small hands, so I'd CO 48 for myself.

Eegad!

More frakkin sox.........

Cuffed ones for meeeeeee, cow sox for the DH. The cuffed ones were done in my toe up class, and I don't think I really enjoyed that particular technique. They are so long because I just kept knitting the cuffs/legs until I ran out of yarn. "Cow" socks because they look sort of like cows......I have some of that yarn left over, so I think I'll make a cup holder/koozie thingy for my cow lovin' friend Monica!

Yep, you guessed it.....

More socks! lol Lovely yarn, btw. I'd love to buy more (for a sweater!) but it was a bit pricey. Pagewood Farms, Yukon, color name is Crayon. I bought it at Kirkwood Knittery, or whatever the shop is called. Anyway, I did this pair on two circs, size 1's.

More socks!

I finished the blue and purple Magic Stripes socks last night-they are for MEEEEE!!!!!

Same basic pattern-2x2 rib for 4 inches, then stockinette for an inch, short row heel, foot for 5", then toe, then BAM we have sox!!!

I also finished Ned's socks the other day. He wears about a size 10 shoe. I barely had about 10 yards of yarn left. I'd used Jawoll green/brown/blue stripes, CO 72 on 0's. Nice yarn, but next time I think I'll make his a bit shorter. I was sweating it out toward the end there. :D You'll notice the toes are different. I'd unspun a bit in between socks to make them match and that was the left over. Close enough for toes, right? ;)

Color is a lot darker/brighter in person. Now he says he's a professional model since his legs are on the net. lol

Magic Stripes socks and the duckie DPN holders

Hey, I like this yarn! LOL I know there are some yarn snobs out there that will never entertain the idea of using it. I've used this for some fingerless mitts, and it's soft, wears really well, washes and dries really well, and IMHO, gets softer with each wearing/washing.

I'm using one skein per sock, since I have plenty of it, and wanted the stripes to match. I CO 64 and am using 0's. It's a basic sock pattern, 2x2 rib for the cuff, then stockinette for about 1 1/4", then SR heel, then stockinette for the foot. I'll most likely do the toe the same way I did the Austermanns.

A word about my DPN point protectors/holders you see here and in other posts........aren't these the absolutely most adorable thing you've seen in like......I dunno.....forever? LOL Seriously, when I saw them here: http://veganknitter.blogspot.com/2007/09/dpn-project-holder-tutorial.html I just had to make some for myself. I ran right out to Hancock's for some elastic cord (the ditz at jackman's had absolutely NO clue what I was on about....), then bought some of the pencil toppers. You can search for your best deal on these. The regular tan rubber ducks are too big, IMHO. The pencil topper holes are the same size, but the ducks themselves are about 3-4 times bigger than the devil ducks and pirate ducks.

So allow me once more to thank Vegan Knitter for sharing this great idea on her blog. Thank you, Vegan Knitter!!! :D

Online socks

I haven't made much headway on these, and I don't really know why. I think this is very pretty yarn, and it's working up nicely. I CO 70 on 0's and am doing a 3x2 rib on the cuff. Then I'll just a SR heel and stockinette foot. It's Online Supersocke Melange, 974. I bought this yarn at Loopy Ewe in Chicago when I was there for the Genesis concerts in October 2007. I stayed at the downtown Travelodge with Jennifer and her mom, and this shop was about 2 blocks away. For more details on the Genesis shows, see http://ssudio.livejournal.com/.

I also bought some clear clogs at that shop. It was nice to be able to try them on. Ummm, nope, I haven't actually worn them outside the house yet! lol