Sunday, November 22, 2009

Belated Candy Corn

I started the Candy Corn socks intending to finish them to wear on Halloween.

Well, two things happened - they didn't stripe which made them less candy corn-ish to me, and then I had a lot of other knitting to do. Actually three things, because I got sick over Halloween and only wore my PJs.

But while I was visiting Boston I saw my friend Cathy and she likes bright cheery colors and said she would take the socks off my hands. Because I am not a fan of yellow or orange (or white really!) if it's not candy corn.

candy corn socks

Yarn: Candy Corn from Macek Designs
Started: 9/5/09
Finished: 11/20/09

You can see a little candy corn-like triangle at the heel turn...

My dreams of candy corn striped socks continue, and I picked up some of the Yarntini candy corn striping yarn. Maybe next year!

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Birthday Socks

I have a tradition of knitting birthday socks for my little sister, and some for other holidays too. Actually, strangely enough, it all started with the first Ravenclaw scarf!

Ravenclaw Scarf

Then there was the Rainbow scarf:

Rainbow Scarf

And some rainbow socks:

rainbowsocks

Those ones had quite and adventure with a chewful puppy and were jokingly gifted to her again the next year with the foot re-knit. But her real socks the next year were these:

clementine done

And then, in 2008, these:

sistersocks

There were some other holiday gifts in between - a red and black striped hat and these bright cheery socks last year:

crazybright

This year my baby sister turned 21, and I can hardly believe it. But here are this year's addition to the lineup:

mbday

Yarn: Lisa Souza Sock! in Little Devil
Pattern: plain ol' socks
Started: 9/12/09
Finished: 11/10/09

This is the first time I've used Lisa Souza, but her base yarn is probably different now as this skein is pretty vintage. It seems to be the same base that most indie dyers were using in 2006 - the soft slightly fluffy 2-ply that's quite thin. This skein had great yardage, and I really liked the way the yarn knit up almost-striping - the black stripes don't always complete. The variation in the red part of the skein also gives it a neat look.

I asked my sister because I was considering doing a more exciting pattern, but she says that she likes the plain ones best. The yarn was acquired in a swap in October 2006, and had been patiently waiting in the stash. It was always intended for my little sis, so I don't know why it took me so long to knit it!

I'll see her for Thanksgiving, so the socks will be gifted then. She stayed at my place for Labor Day weekend, and it inspired me to pull the yarn out of the Expedit, wind it up, and start knitting her birthday socks.

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Friday, November 06, 2009

Yarn? Is that you?

A while back I ordered some Opal Feelings yarn on eBay. I've wanted some - particularly the blue one - since it came out a couple years ago, and now that it's gone I still wanted some. I've been waiting patiently for it to come in the mail.

Well, the weather in Seattle has been particularly bad these past few days, and tonight when I arrived home I was getting my mail out in the rain (and in the dark, I hate you DST!), I grabbed a package which I thought was a book that I'm also expecting. But upon bringing it to my apartment, I realized it was my yarn. Except... book shaped.

yarn vac

Yes, my yarn was vacuum packed. Supposedly to save on shipping, but I've found that yarn shipping to and from Canada is really very reasonable via air mail. In any case, it was amusing. I made a cut in the bag and a hissing sound started and soon I had two very normal (if slightly flat) balls of yarn:

yarn out

Yay for Opal Feelings!

Now, as for the knitting, there have been many secret projects lately. A pair of socks which I forgot to take a picture of (but one has been promised by the recipient) and this:

ravenclaw scarf

You may remember the other Harry Potter scarves - I knit one of the old style for each house, though I never got pictures of the Slytherin one. Well, this PoA one is a gift. :D

That is a lot of stockinette. Even more than the first ones, because this scarf is longer. Whew! But it's done and I think it turned out really well. It's on the way to it's new home and I hope she likes it!

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Sock Yarn

    A quest to use sock yarns:

    Yarns I've had:
    * means I really liked it

    4-ply Soft
    A Piece of Vermont*
    Alpafina
    Artsygal*
    Artyarns Supermerino*
    Austermann Step
    BMFA Sock Candy*
    Black Bunny Fibers*
    Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport
    Chinese Mystery sock yarn
    Claudia's Handpaints
    Conjoined Creations Flat Feet
    Crystal Palace Maizy
    CTH Supersock
    Dicentra Designs
    Dorchester Farms
    Fabel
    Fearless Fibers
    Fixation*
    Gloss (KP)
    handspun
    Inspinknity*
    Interlacements Beibi Seda
    Interlacements Tiny Toes
    Interlacements Toasty Toes
    Jarbo Raggi
    JKnits*
    Jojoland Melody
    Koigu*
    Kona Superwash
    KP Essential
    KP Merino
    KP Palette
    Limbo
    Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock*
    Macek Designs
    Madelinetosh
    Magic Stripes
    Mega Boots Stretch
    Microspun
    Nature's Palette
    Noro Kureyon Sock
    Opal
    Panda Cotton
    Paton's Kroy*
    Peru DK
    Peruvian Quechua
    Regia Bamboo*
    Regia Cotton
    Regia Strato*
    Ruby Sapphire
    Sockotta
    Socks That Rock*
    Star (Classic Elite)
    Stitch Jones
    Sunshine Yarns*
    Three Fates Cauldron Sock*
    TOFUtsies
    Trekking*
    Wick
    Wildfoote*
    Wollmeise*
    Wool Ease
    Yarn Pirate*

    In Progress:

    Perchance to Knit
    Regia
    Vesper
    Yarns in the stash:

    All Things Heather
    Ancient Threads
    Apple Laine
    Araucania Ranco
    Artyarns Ultramerino
    Autumn House Farm
    Baby Ull
    Ball and Skein
    Baywood Yarns
    Bearfoot (Mountain Colors)
    Briar Rose Fibers
    Brooklyn Handspun
    Cavyshops Handpaint
    C*eye*ber Fiber
    Cervinia Calzetteria
    CTH Superglitz
    Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks
    Chewy Spaghetti
    Classic Elite Alpaca Sox
    Colinette Cadenza
    Colinette Jitterbug
    Country Classic Yarn for Sox
    Crash Into Ewe
    Crown Mountain Farms Sock Hop
    Curious Yarns
    Done Roving
    Dream in Color
    Duet (A Swell Yarn Shop)
    Dye Dreams
    Ellen's Half Pint Farm
    End of the World Farm
    Fashion Trend Sportivo
    The Fiber Denn
    Fleece Artist
    The Flock Bransonas
    Fortissima
    French Hill Farm
    Froehlich Blauband
    Fyberspates
    geeyouknit!
    Gjestal Silja
    Great Adirondack Soxie
    Greenwood Fiberworks
    Jaeger Matchmaker
    Jarbo Mini Raggi
    Jawoll
    Jawoll Cotton
    Just Our Yarn
    Knit Purl Natural Collection
    Kona Superwash
    KP Dancing
    KP Essential Tweed
    Lime & Violet
    Lisa Souza
    Louet Gems Pearl
    Luxe
    Mama Llama
    Merlin the Cat
    Meilenweit Cotton
    Meilenweit Trend
    Mind's Eye Merino/Tencel
    Mirasol Hacho
    Misty Mountain Farm
    The Natural Dye Studio
    Neighborhood Fiber Company
    Over the Rainbow Twinkletoes
    Peterle
    Pigeon Roof Studios
    Pine Woods
    Posh Yarn Lucia
    Prism Saki
    Pucker Brush Farm
    Regia Surf
    Reynolds Swizzle
    Reynolds Soft Sea Wool
    Rio De La Plata
    Royale Hare
    Roz Houseknecht
    Schaefer Anne
    Scout's Swag
    Sheep Shop Wensleydale
    Shelridge Farm
    ShibuiKnits
    Sockenwolle Unipo
    Spirit Trail Fiberworks
    Spunky Eclectic
    Steinbach Wolle Sockenwolle
    Sundara Yarn
    Sweetgeorgia
    Tess Designer Yarns
    Twisted
    The Unique Sheep
    Universal Ditto
    Valley Yarns Franklin
    vanCalcar Acres
    White Oak Studio tvyarn
    Wisdom Yarns Marathon
    Wool in the Woods
    The Woolen Rabbit
    Yarn Botanika Radiance
    Yarntini
    Ysolda Yarn
    Zen Yarn Garden


    To check out:

    Pippikneesocks
    Sophie's Toes
    The Spinning Bunny Yarns BFL

WIPs and FOs