Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I think I may be addicted . . .

My name is Sarah and I am a sock knitting addict. I'm kind of serious. I just learned to knit in December and have since finished 2 and 3/4 pairs of socks. And I already have plans (and materials) for the next 2-3 pair. Yikes! Help!

I am working on some cotton blend ankle socks right now for summer which are fun even though the cotton is a little harder to work with than wool. This is my first lacy pattern (found on Ravelry) and, after some initial hiccups, I am really enjoying it. On the first sock, you can see where I got a little off for a round. I left that weird spot in as a testament to the learning process.

I did finsh my first pair of circular needle, fingering weight socks this month (I LOVE Opal sock yarn). They fit well and I've worn them a few times already. No pictures since I keep forgetting (must write notes to myself . . . ). I will do my best to get some up when this next pair is finished (for next month).

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Knitting with the Harlot

OK, so it's not a finished sock, but this is how much knitting I can get done while the Yarn Harlot was in town.



Rose Garden (my best guess) Handmaiden Casbah (deluxe!) in Crest of the Wave Pattern.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Hi everyone,
This is my first post and my first KAL so I admit I'm a little nervous.
I finished my first pair of socks using my favorite basic sock pattern (60 stitches, magic loop using a size 1 needle).  For a slight variation I used a K4, P1 rib pattern on the sock.  It fits really well with a good grip from the rib pattern.  The sock yarn is a red, pink, burgundy self-striper with a dash of yellow between the dominant colors.  It's been in my stash so long I've lost the ball band.  Hopefully, it's a washable wool as that is what I intend to do with it. 
Now all I have to do is figure out how to take a picture and I'll be in!
Happy knitting,
Woodydotter

Friday, April 18, 2008

My Lacy Socks

My second pair this month is a pair of SFS socks. These were made from Opal tan and used four different needle sizes, from 0 to 2. The idea of the pattern was to make them so that they would mold to a soldier's calf better. Their legs are 12" long. That's so they can fit up over boots.

Anyway, a friend modeled them for me, and here they are.
I made these from the Favorite Socks book. I think the pattern is called wavy lace. I made them for an online friend I have known for 10 years. We met in person for the first time and I presented them to her.

The yarn is Smooshie purple. I love working with it. It is so very soft.

She was thrilled with them. She has never had a pair of hand knit socks before.




Thursday, April 17, 2008

My first pair!








I'm "officially" a sock knitter now because I've finished my first PAIR of socks!
I usually have socks in various stages, but never a matching pair. These are actually from my Fargo LYS sock club. The pattern is Leyburn Socks and the yarn was custom dyed by Castle Fibers in the LYS colors.

I enjoyed this pattern. It was easy to memorize yet not boring. Can't wait to wear them!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

What a difference a few stitches make

I finished the first of my cable lattice socks:



They're an excellent example of how self-striping yarn works with stitch count. You knit the leg on 80 stitches and as you can see, you get stripes with that stitch count. Then you do the heel and after you pick up all the stitches on the heel flap, you have 97 stitches. With so many stitches, the colors just fall really randomly. You start decreasing down and you can see when you get in the 80 stitch range, you get some stripes again. But you keep decreasing because the bottom of the foot is now stockinette stitch and so you go down to 75 stitches on the foot. And it stops striping and starts flashing. I know this would really bother some people, but I actually kind of like it. It REALLY reminds me of neopolitan ice cream now:

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Back to Socks...


I'm back to working on my Kureyon Socks. Last night I did the heel and I spent a little of this morning working on the cuff, but I now have to get outside and do some yardwork!. An inch or two more and I'll be working on the second sock. I didn't notice this when I split the skein of yarn, but I didn't plan well for the colors. The second ball is starting over where the first one started, so I won't get all the colors in this sock. On the plus side, for this sock, I started with purple for the toe on ball A and when I got to the heel, ball B was at purple, so my toe and heel match for this sock. I have no idea if this will work the same for the second sock. I do know that the second sock is going to have some colors that the first sock doesn't have, so these will be VERY fraternal twins.
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Friday, April 4, 2008

Rainbow Socks

The sock mojo is back, it appears. After I finished up the Sock Hop socks I cast on right away for these.


I had been meaning to try them out ever since they appeared in Magknits. I was very impressed with the idea of doing something different with self-striping yarn, so I dug in my stash and cast-on. The pro is that it is indeed a cool way to use self-striping yarn. The con is that working short-rows all the time is putzy and annoying. And I seem to get these little bulges in the fabric which is kind of driving me crazy. Though I think blocking or even washing and wearing will get rid of them. It's definitely cool to see wedges of color instead of the same old stripes.

These are the second pair for my husband. I'm thinking of them as "Summer" socks because they make me think of the 4th of July. (Ever wondered why so many countries have red, white and blue in their flags?) Since I finished the "Spring" ones in March, now just two more seasons to go! Good thing his birthday is in December.

The Winner...

...of a Yarn Harlot Book is

DEEPA!!

Congrats Deepa for answering the questions right, also for making not one, but two posts this month!!

This was a fun contest. And I'm also going to point out that this was a record month for blog posts!! Keep them coming.

Thanks to Rebecca A for blogging about something else that she made with sock yarn... which is going to be part of the next contest, keep your eyes peeled for the next post. (and Rebecca you will be able to re-enter with that same post).

Thanks again and congrats, Deepa. You can pick up the book at the store anytime.

Sarah