Sunday, August 29, 2010

Gothic Summer

When I was at Madrona in Feburary, I got some of the coveted Goth Socks. It took me quite a while to knit it, but over the summer the Goth Socks Ravelry group was having a "gothic summer" knitalong. I decided to join. (Are we seeing a KAL theme going on here? Strange but true!)

August 28

I picked a skein of Oh My Goth in Blue Ballz. This actually wasn't one of the ones I got at Madrona, but I picked up a few skeins for a friend and she traded me this one. This made me very happy because I had been trying to get this color for ages.

One of my knitting buddies even got me a skein in an etsy update but didn't realize at the time it was worsted weight! Eventually I might have some matching arm warmers... we'll see.

Well, the deadline is looming (11:59 on Monday the 6th) but I got my socks done in plenty of time.

August 29

Yarn: Goth Socks Oh My Goth in Blue Ballz
Started: 8/7/2010
Finished: 8/29/2010

I just knit plain stockinette socks because I think they show off stripes the best. Maybe I'll be more adventurous with one of my other skeins.

As for the yarn, it was lovely to work with. The only minor complaint I have is that the black dye did rub off on my fingers a tiny bit. It was so little that I didn't notice it at first, but the last few days I've been working quite a bit on the socks and kept wondering why my fingers were so "dirty"... and then I realized it was the dye. Hopefully it won't cause any problems when I wear them.

Other than that, the yarn was squishy and soft and overall delightful. I can't wait to work with it again!

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Friday, August 20, 2010

Knit Along

I'm not very good at KALs, it's true. But when one of my knitting groups, PurlyGirls, decided to knit Cookie A's Summer Sox together, I decided to join in. You already got a sneak peek, since they were my chosen project at Stitch & Pitch!

I originally wound this yarn - a Socks That Rock Mediumweight mill end - to knit the Sunshine socks from Cookie's book, but the yarn was too thick and the socks were going to end up way too big. The Summer Sox have less stitches, so I figured they'd be a better choice.

August 10

To tell the truth, I wasn't a huge fan of this pattern. Sure, it looks nice, but the number of stitches is constantly changing - it's just something that makes me kind of crazy. In addition the yarnovers on each side are different. One is a purl-to-knit which means it's extra short, and one is a knit-to-purl which means it's extra long. These combine to make uneven yarnovers, which was the second thing that drove me crazy about these socks. I even tried modifying the yarnovers to make them more even, but it didn't really make much of a difference.

On the plus side, the stitch pattern is quite easy to memorize when you get going, so once I committed to knitting the socks they flew by - and since I knit them on 2.5mm needles, they were extra speedy!

August 16

If it wasn't a KAL, I might have given up. But it was, and so I kept on going and finished them at knitting Monday night. Of course, it took until now to get a decent picture of them on the blockers.

P8200011

Pattern: Summer Sox by Cookie A
Yarn: BMFA Socks That Rock Mediumweight - not sure what color this was supposed to be, maybe a too-purple version of Midsummer's Night?
Started: 6/12/10
Finished: 8/16/10

I'm glad I've managed to complete yet another pair of socks, and that I got to do it with so many of my knitting friends. And, although they weren't my favorite to knit, I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing them!

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Saturday, August 07, 2010

Secrets

Well, the secret knitting is finally done for now, though it's not un-secret yet.

But, in secrets that are no longer, I got a package from my no-longer-secret pal today!

sp package 1

This was an interesting swap, in that we weren't allowed to spend any money other than shipping. We sent yarn from stash, things we had crafted, etc.

sp package 2

My fabulous pal, mugwump, sent me some yarn, some patterns, an adorable project bag which I think she sewed, and a knit hemp grocery bag!

In fact, she did such a great job that she sent me a couple skeins of Melody (bottom left, 1st picture) in a color that I already have! No worries as this month I'll be sending her a package which will probably include some socks out of that very yarn!

And, as for things that aren't secret at all, I was at Stitch & Pitch on Thursday!

August 5

My Summer Sox were the selected project, and I got quite a bit done! I also had fun with a few knitting buddies, including my friend Nicole who has never been to a baseball game!

IMG_0218

She was knitting this lace bolero:

IMG_0217

Sadly the game itself was extremely boring, with no runs for the first 6 innings. Good thing we had our knitting!

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Friday, August 06, 2010

A new pattern - Jera

I had a new pattern come out on Wednesday in Knitcircus... meet Jera:

jera 1

Pattern: Jera
Yarn: Stricken Smitten Smitten Merino Twist in Rune
Started: 5/22/10
Finished: 6/11/10

It's in the Fall Issue of Knitcircus

issue 11 cover

This ended up being one of my quicker designs... I started it in April and had it accepted in May, then knit up the samples and sent them off. And the wait for publication isn't even that long - it's good for impatient me.

jera 2

These socks are inspired by the rune Jera (pronounced yer-ah). It's the 12th rune of the Elder Futhark, representing the year or the harvest - a good match for fall.

* The pictures are courtesy of Knitcircus *

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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