Knitting: Catch up!

So it's been awhile since I've blogged. As per usual, I've been either too busy or just unwilling to spend the time doing regular updates.

Anyway, I've started of 2011 on the right note. I finished a pair of socks in near record time. The pattern was Pointelle by Cookie A from Knit.Sock.Love.

Then I was in a quandary. I didn't know what to knit. Wasn't sure if I should start more socks, don't want to have sock burnout and at the same time... wasn't sure what I wanted to make. So I worked on the sock blanket a bit and some other afghan squares from the BOM (which I'm horribly behind on).

So, I don't know what I started when, but I finally went into another sock. I had some yarn already caked from the "Butterfingers" sock mystery long ago. Liked the pattern, just didn't want to finish it. Anyway, ended up using that yarn and cast on Marilinda by Cookie A. The first section of the sock through the heel went pretty quickly, but then I hit a stopping point when it came to doing the gusset and decreases.

At which point, I decided to jump in the Hazel Knits Mystery Sock this month. It's a heavily cabled/rib pattern. I wasn't sure what yarn to use, so I finally broke out Belle. A color I have been savoring since I received it. So I started the first few clues and it's gone along pretty well, but in doing so, I realized, I must not really like cabled socks that well. I swear these things feel like they are taking FOREVER! They sure are pretty but, time consuming.

Between the 2 socks, I've steadily been making little blankie squares. I'm enjoying that project, but had been craving some new minis and wishing some of my swaps would be coming. So this past Friday, 4 of them, finally came through. So now I have new inspiration for the blankie.

Also, I've had a serious case of castonitis. I really want to partake in the Sunshine Kal on Ravelry. It's a colorwork KAL, but I need another color or 2 for my project because I am new to Sunshine. So, I decided since I've been very good at saving, I would have a little bitty splurge and ordered some yarn. I also re-upped by Hazel Knits sock club, so I will be getting a little stash enhancement through out the year. But I've also been very good about using the stash up, so I'm near to the point of having more stash out than in, which is a very good thing and the first time this has happened.

I still need a more firm plan of projects for the year so that I'm not rushed at the holidays. I have some gifts I'd like to make all the while keeping up with the sock knitting.

So for this week, I've stashbusted 5 yarns, 2 on new projects and 3 for mini skein swaps.

Knitting: Still on the sock wagon

Sadly, not much in pictures to post today, but I'm trying to blog more consistently. I'm still on the sock wagon and enjoying it immensely. I committed myself to 3 challenges this month. One is half done - Slip Jig.



An uber largish photo because I'm so proud.

With that one done, I moved on to get underway with the Cookie A mystery sock again. The first c/o was not big enough 60 stitches. And the 80 does fit, but looks GIGANTIC! Anyway, I'm nearly finished with Clue #2 on one sock. Should be done tonight and then will start Clue #1 for the #2 sock. Once both clues are completed for both socks my plan is to jump back over to Kristi and finish the leg chart. I'm on like row 31 of 38 (I think).

The Cookie A Mystery is being made with the LAPIS colorway from Socks that Rock and is simply gorgeous! Probably not the best yarn for this pattern, but I don't care because the yarn is pretty! And for the first time, I've had blue fingers (from the dye) with this yarn. I haven't had dye issues before as some have, no worries, it washes out, I just thought it was funny.

And somewhere in there, I need to start the 2nd slip jig, but I know it can wait a bit as it moves pretty quickly.

I'm really liking switching between these projects, they are all varying levels of ease. None of the patterns are difficult, but due to intensive chart reading, Kristi is the most time consuming. My eyes are glued on that chart every stitch of the way. The pattern is great though and looks wonderful once knit. I wish I would have jumped up a needle size or made a few increases for fit though. Lesson learned and now have a new plan for future (AKA Bex - if I ever get around to making her).

I don't know that I'll have all of these completed by the end of May, but the challenge end date is actually the end of June. I am hoping to be done with at least 2 pair though so I can start fresh for June with a new challenge. I'm not looking ahead though, I'm just concentrating on the NOW.

Kniting: Sometimes it just goes on... and on

SO I've been touched with this rabid case of castonitis.

I was working on Absinthe - snafu!

I started Kristi and the Cookie A mystery - little snafu

I then started Slip Jig (lovely).

And in the mean time, I've been designing a little anklet sock. It's cute.

I really want to start the bombshell, now that I have lovely yarn in which to make it, but I'm holding up some restraint here. Nevermind that I am behind on my Mystery Blocks. Still need to finish #3 and now I have #4 to do as well and be ready for #5 come June 7th?

Anyway, Absinthe was moving along at a nice clip and then I realized I had stitches out of place or was short or something. So I sort of tinked? Basically I unded 2 or 3 rows on the top needle, but not the bottom (sole stitches) and lo' and behold I can't figure out where the H I am! Shouldn't be that hard, right... I can read knitting like a book, but this does not make any sense. So it looks like I might have been OFF for sometime, but that doesn't make any sense because if I truly had been OFF, as it were, I wouldn't have continued on for so many rows. I'm tried of looking at this and might be calling it quits for now. Have also considered handing off to one of the knitting buddies to look at and assist. Volunteers????

Moving on.... Kristi, well, she's a lovely gal... I mean sock. :) Giong along nicely but the heavy cable intense pattern has me paying VERY serious attention which causes for a slow down in actualy progress. It's taking me several minutes to complete a round. So I'm on row 33 of the 38 repeat. You are supposed to then repeat rows 1-25 on the leg, but I think I am opting out of that because if I make it longer, it really won't fit me at all. It's quite stretched as it is. Had I known about the snug fit before getting this far, I would have added a few extra stitches to the 2-stitch columns of twisted stitches. But alas, it's much to late for that... and I am NOT starting over.

Then there's that darn Mystery..... It proves to be a great mystery... after all it's Cookie A! I started with my gorgeous Lapis Socks that Rock yarn. Did the 60 stitch cast on. I went UP a needle size and thought that would accommodate for my THICK ankles. No go! It's still pretty stretched when I try it on. So, I'm considering going up to the other size, which is an 80 stitch cast on, but before doing so, I want to see the 2nd clue so I know HOW this sock progresses. I love the yarn and I'm sure I'll love the pattern, but I just can't knit it blindly. I want socks that I can wear, I do NOT want to gift them. Call me selfish... yes I am!

Lastly Slip Jig is being knit with Boobie 1 Socks that Rock. It's a pretty great project even though I'm not crazy about the garter stitch cuff. It's moving along well and I hope to be very much progressed this weekend. Dare I say be to the heel or further?! I hope!

Knitting: Socks, socks, socks!

So as most know I've been a sock knitting fiend lately! I don't know what bug bit me, but it's helping me finish some stuff!

Firstly I finished my Secret Garden socks. They are warm and squishy and fun to wear. I just wish the cuff was a tad tighter (but I'm not ripping it out).

Up 2nd was the Wanida pattern by Cookie A. It is in her Sock Innovation book. At the first several glances of this book, I really didn't care for this pattern at all! The pictures don't do it any justice at all. However, there were a bunch of people in the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group that were making this and it looked awesome. And it was SO fun to knit! I LOVED it.

I used my new Cabana Hazel knits from the April sock club shipment (so glad it came early in the month). I still have the other skein, Surf and I'm trying to think of something spectacular for that. Normally I'm not really a brown person either, but there was something about Cabana that I loved. And once it was knitted up, I fell that much harder.

Here are my happy toes...


The picture is a little tweaked, so those brighter areas really aren't that bright. It's really quite a deep brown.

And just hanging out:


So with Wanida finished, I had 2 days left in April. Enough time to YES, cast on for another April SKA challenge. I went to the stash and found all my bright greens. I've been wanting to make Absinthe from knitty since first glance. Now was the time. I selected the color Creme de Menthe from Yarn Love. I bought this yarn while visiting Yarn Cravin' up in Perrysburg sometime last year. Anyway, I had a great start to this and was going well and had a snafu. :( I'm not sure if I will continue on with this or not. It's on hold.



In the meantime, I started the SKA May Challenges. Kristi from Cookie A. It's being knit up in my reclaimed Bird of Paradise by Pagewood Farms. It was reclaimed from a mystery sock that I didn't finish last year. It's moving along nicely, however a bit slow.



And the other May challenge is a Mystery Sock by Cookie A. I started, but have to start over. Am using Socks that Rock lightweight in Lapis. I LOVE this colorway, tho the photo below does not do it justice.

Knitting: Accomplishment all the way around

This was a fantastic weekend to knit! On Friday, I had the day off and it was lovely. I sat out on the deck for a few hours while the dogs lolled around in the grass. I had my Iphone playing some Itunes and knitted away on Secret Garden. I finished the 2nd sock and then had a pair. And LOTS of smiles! Was so happy. The pattern was a lot of fun to knit. For the entire second sock I barely had to look at the pattern. It was such a memorable one and really easy to read your knitting, etc. The second sock is a far better knit than the first. I spread the first sock out over weeks, picking up/putting down, etc. But this 2nd one, I finished in under a week, so it's a much tighter, more consistently knit sock. I love these socks, they are so comfortable. I can't wait to make another pair with Socks that Rock. I knit these socks for a challenge. I've been in the ravelry group Sock Knitter's Anonymous for over a year I think, but I've never finished a challenge. I've tried a few times, but have always failed. So this was for March and you have to cast on in March and finish by end of following month. I DID IT! With a few days to spare!

So, I opted to enter the April challenge as well. Earlier Friday morning before finishing the sock, I cast on for the April challenge, which was to knit a sock from an online magazine, or a Cookie A design. My first thought was to knit Pomatomus. I picked my new hazelknits Cabana yarn and thought it would look amazing. But, for some reason I just wasn't into the pattern, so I ended up with Azure (from Knitty). It's a great pattern and I had several great yarns in my stash. I picked one and started. So I did my cast on, a toe up using Judy's Magic and I began the toe. Paused to finish Secret Garden and went back to the Toe Friday night. I did quite a bit of the pattern and still hadn't knit very much in inches. I kind of panicked a little. The yarn I was using was finer than I normally knit and it was 100% merino. I had some concerns about durability because of the lack of nylon as well as if I'd actually be able to finish 2 socks in time.

Then Saturday comes along and I changed my mind yet again! Many people in the SKA group had made Wanida by Cookie A from the Sock Innovation book. Now I must admit, looking at that pattern in the book, I never really cared for it. Not sure if it was the yarn chosen or the photos, but these folks on SKA... wow! Their socks were amazing and it was great fun seeing all the different yarns used. So I jumped on the bandwagon, took my hazelknits and started Wanida. Holy knitting frenzy, 6 hours later and very late Saturday evening, I had knit the sock all the way through the heel turn and was decreasing for the gussets! I couldn't believe how far I had gotten. This sock has been so much fun to knit though. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just is. THe pattern, while easy to remember and follow, still has me looking at the chart... but it's so easily read if you get lost, you can just look at your stitches and know where you are.

When I started the sock, I had hoped to get through the cuff and a bit through the leg... but now as Sunday evening closes in, I actually only have like one inch left to knit. Had I not gotten this cold and slept so much today and knitted more earlier, I probably could have finished. OH well, it will definitely be done tomorrow, perhaps during my work lunch hour. I'm so excited about these socks. I'm hoping to continue this sock momentum and hopefully not come crashing down.

Couple of things on the horizon, Cookie A is designing the Mystery Sock Challenge for the SKA Group's MAY challenge, so I plan on knitting that. And I might even try my hand at knitting another sock during the same time (we'll see, let's not get over zealous). The 2nd thing is there is a designer contest to come up with a sock pattern for free or sale and it was to be posted by 5/21... so I have some ideas rolling around in my head for that.

I have put my sweaters on hold for the moment, Tappen Zee and the BSJ. Need to ride this sock wave out until it's over.

Here's the last pic I took a few hours ago. Tomorrow I'll post the finished sock.

Knitting: Oh YES I am!

So after a bit of a hiatus with the start of fall... I've jumped back into knitting full force. It's a good thing. I'm amped up, I'm ready to finish stuff. I've had thoughts of pulling WIPS out of hibernation and getting them done. That being said, I am still having a bit of castonitis, too.

I was fortunate to have a nice long 5 day holiday break. I started a hat Tuesday night at Panera with Brandy and Becky. I finished it on Wednesday. It's for my BIL, Patrick. I hope he likes it. It needs some serious blocking though because my stranding was a little tight and it's a bit puckery.

Then on Thursday, while Turkey was in the oven, I was trying my hand at designing another sock. I pulled out the Harmony Guides, Lace and Eyelets book. I have a lovely variagated yarn that I purchased in Portland at Sock Summit from Hazelknits. I decided on a cast on of 60 and started this pattern with a 12 stitch repeat. Well 2 repeats into it, I realized it wasn't going to work. The design was completely lost. :(

So I moved on to another pattern which was a 20 stitch repeat which fit perfectly with my 60 stitch c/o. :) So I've done a full repeat, but I'm not totally sold on this one either, yet. So I set it down. Then Turkey was done and there was the eating and the bloating (j/k). And I decided to go with something I knew. I'm jonesing to have another pair of socks, stat! So I pulled out more yarn from Sock Summit, Blue Moon Socks that Rock in the ST-1 colorway. It's lovely shades of gold, green, orange, red and brown. Very FALL! I could totally see this yarn in a nice leafy design, however, I decided to use this in a Cookie A pattern. I pulled out Baudelaire which was on Knitty sometime back, but it was a toe-up sock... and frankly I wasn't in the mood for toe up (I don't know why). So I said to myself, "Sock INNOVATION!" Pulled that out and found a pattern I thought would look nice with a variagated yarn, "Rick." Friend Lindsey made one of these and it looks pretty awesome, so I decided to give it a go. It's a 60 stitch cast on, so I started. I made it through the cast on and did like 1 or 2 rows of the pattern and it was time for bed.

On to Friday. Met up with Cath and Jimmy at Staufs in the afternoon and brought ST-1 Rick along with me. I did about 3 more rows and just was NOT happy with it. I was really not liking the SSK through a YO. It wasn't fun, I was tense, my knitting was tight. Rick and I weren't seeing eye to eye. I stopped.

I pulled him out, left the cast on and went with something I knew very well, the Ampersand (with mods). I wanted a tighter sock than the first pair. I used the 60 cast on I already had instead of a 54. I used US2 instead of US3 and it's coming along nicely. I made it through the heel flap and turn and picked up the gusset stitches, did a few rounds of decreases and then went to bed.

Here's where castonitis comes to play. While I was working that sock I watched a repeat of Bones in which she's wearing this lovely grey cabled hat and me things I NEED that! And I have this gorgeous skein of Purple Highlander I've been dying to use and it will match my new purple vest! Perfect! Anyway, I have been good and haven't casted on, but my fingers they are definitely twitchy!

And I've really been wanting to make Brian a new Chullo hat. His is a store bought one a few years old and it's seen a better day. I thought of surprising him with one, he rarely pays attention to what I'm doing anyway. So I could work on it and he wouldn't necessarily be the wiser. For a few weeks now, I've been surfing for "free" patterns and I've found a bunch of crochet versions, but little on knitted versions. Still searching.... So Sunday, I tossed him my Interweave Holiday Knits and told him to see if there was anything in there that looked cool. And don't you know the pattern he picked is a Chullo hat by Kenny Chua. I totally forgot that it was in there. I laughed and said I was planning on making you one of those already!

So, I went to the stash and pulled out a bunch of WOTA Kettle dyed colors I had purchased some time back and that project never came to life, so I asked him to pick colors. He didn't really give me any good suggestions, so I think I'm going to just make it up myself and he can live with it. One thing for sure, the boy likes colors, so I think it will be good. And I am twitchy to start this project, too!

But I'm going to finish that sock first. Then look out! Hats! Hats! Hats!

Knitting: Back in the saddle

Well, nothing like hanging out with Cookie A to inspire one to knit again. The class was a lot of fun and while much of the discussion went over items that were in Sock Innovation, hearing it and seeing her draw it up right in front of you, had a much bigger impact. I can extract a lot from reading, but seeing the visual come to life and the person behind it explaining lends quite a different perspective.

Let me start with the drive there. It was long! In part, probably because I had no clue where I was going and partly because I took a wrong turn a time or two. But with my keen sense of direction, I managed to make a few turns and came out on a "good" road that led me where I needed to go.

Anyway, once in town, I called Susan the owner of Ball and Skein and host of the class. She told me to head over to the municipal building area because class wasn't at the shop. I indeed went over and the class was in an old railroad depot building.



So with class underway, the students picked through patterns to find SOMETHING they wanted to make into a sock. I chose a heavily cabled pattern and Cookie helped me work out the sizing and math and placement of "things".



My start is here. I might have gotten further in the class but I opted to do an 80 stitch cast on and rib, so going around 80 stitches for nearly an inch of 1x1 ribbing does take some time. I don't have a name for it yet, but my example is below.



At one point we had lunch:


And of course as all great things do, the class came to an end. Here's a slightly blurry shot of Cookie and me.


And, if you want to see more about Cookie A's adventures here in Ohio, please see her blog (she also has the class photo up).

After class, a bunch of us headed over to the Ball and Skein, where I purchased some fantastic sock yarns! Susan had a great selection (and a coupon for class attendees). YAY! The lighting isn't he greatest so you can't really see the great colors, but here they are. I'll have to take better naturally lit photos later this week.



So after the shopping extravaganza, I headed home.

Last Thursday at Knit Knite, Brandy showed off her finished sock #1 from the Ampersand pattern. She used Jingle Bell Rocks from Socks that Rock. It was pretty awesome and I fell in love with that pattern.

Saturday morning, I wound up my Farmhouse (STR purchased at SS09) and cast on the Ampersand while at the OSU tailgate. Unfortunately, there was a piece of the pattern that wasn't quite clicking right for me. It was definitely a dummy moment, but after fooling around for over an hour or more... I put it away. After getting home, I brought it back out and figured out where my mistake was. Moved on and I finished the sock on SUNDAY!! The only sock I knit faster was my Starry Night sock from last year. Anyway, I still love the pattern and I definitely want to knit the SECOND sock! Like right now. I could have cast on yesterday, but I needed a small knitting break. Then I ended up going to bed early. So perhaps tonight, 2nd sock will be born.

However, before bed, I drew up 3 new sock patterns. With the help of some Barbara Walker stitch patterns. Now I just have to get swatching and see if they will work. But first... the 2nd ampersand sock! :)

Knitting: The lost Schooner Sock....

Just kidding, it's not lost. Of course it was lost to me for awhile, while I was ignoring them darn socks. They are cute and pretty and I still love them, I just didn't feel like finishing them.

So with some nudging from a friend about getting something DONE, I picked 'em up this past weekend and did some work. I had stopped about 4 rounds before the heel. I picked up and knit on down through the short row heel, which suddenly made more sense than when I previously worked it. So this sock looks beautiful in comparison to the #1 sock. Who knows.... anyway, am on the foot and I have a few inches to go there. I'm trying to make myself do a few rounds each day. My guess is I will have these done by the weekend!



IOSN (in other sock news) I am a glutton for punishment. I stupidly cast on ANOTHER sock. What the heck was I thinking?! I don't know, I wasn't. But I was pulled in by the fabulous Cookie A and her designs and I stared and stared at the book and I had pretty yarn... and my resolve just caved.

However... the punishment DID set in and fairly quickly. The pattern I picked, which isn't HARD really, but it is tricksy that one. So I'm a little frustrated. It's definitely not a mindless knit sock. You def have to pay attention. I don't have a pic of that. I think it's good I did cast on for that though because through all my frustration toiling with that one, it's making me want to go back and work on the other sock projects I have hanging out there in limbo. :)

Anyway... that's all. Still feeling not so inspired, but I am trying to knit a little each day... my mojo will come back, I just have to work on it.