a year in socks

I was surprised to see that I only knit 5 pairs of socks this year. I would have thought it was more than that. And only 2 were for me!

The year started with these socks:

"Commissioned" by my mom for my sister-in-law's Christmas gift.
(Raveled here.)

Next came a pair of Monkey socks for my mother-in-law's Christmas gift. Finished in mumblety-May-mumblety. Oops.

(Raveled here.)

Also finished in May were the Mystery Socks from Kirsten/Through the Loops. For me!

(Raveled here.)

Then, in early June, a pair of simple stockinette GREEEEEEEN socks for Kellee, as a thanks for several nice things she did for me.

(Yep, Raveled over here.)

Then, after a sock dry spell of about 6 months, I finished this pair, for me:

(Yo, over here, on Ravelry.)

I love my handknit socks. I'd like to make a few more pairs for myself in 2010. Maybe some from this yarn:


It looks like I have at least 20 sock yarns in the stash. Let's get cracking, self.

on blogging ... and knitting

Welcome, 2009! How ya doin'? Me, I'm good. I've been enjoying a nice few days off this week, and not looking forward to restarting life-as-usual soon.

In the meantime, I noticed that this here blog has been rather neglected (only 5 posts since October!). I've instead been spending most of my internets time reading your blogs, and playing on flickr and ravelry and twitter.

I mentioned a while ago that I've been doing a project 365 over on Flickr. I'm having a good time with it, and have finished the first 3 months or so. I've also started to write a whole lot more on my pics over there. Mini-blogging, I guess.

And then, despite my best attempts to avoid it, I got sucked into twitter too. Micro-blogging.

I really don't have enough time to be quite so socially-networked, or enough discipline to walk away when I shouldn't be playing around online.

Anyways, back to this blog, which is ostensibly a knitting blog. So, what have I knit recently? Lots of good stuff! (FYI, I'll spare you the details, and just post pretty pics. But if you want more info, it's all on my Ravelry projects page.)

I've been test-knitting Elinor's Grow Like a Weed Jacket, and it's almost done!

At my mom's request, I made her an eggplant hat. Of course, now she wants mittens to match!

Dad got a pair of socks for Christmas:


My FIL got a single mitten. I still need to knit the other one!


My MIL got some socks ... well, a promise to knit socks. She picked the Conwy pattern from Knitting on the Road, and I think it will work well with this yarn, although I'm already afraid of running out when I get to the toes.


I'm swatching for a sweater for my dad. I'm designing it myself, so it's not going anywhere fast.


I also started a pair of socks for my sister-in-law, with some yarn that MiniKate gave me for my 30th birthday last year.

Whew! I guess I have actually been knitting! I have lots of other projects calling out for attention, but I want to finish these ones first. Then, in 2009, a stranded yoke sweater for me, and some more socks. That's as close to a knitting resolution as you're going to get.

can't talk, busy knitting

Silly me decided to knit Christmas gifts for all 4 parents this year. I'm not sure how that's going to work out, but here are some sneak previews:

Socks for my dad:

A lined hat for my mom (click through to Flickr for details):

Socks for my MIL:
I think I need to buy yarn for these. See, she's a sock knitter too, so I want to make sure to use something really nice. And then I need to choose a pattern! Hmmm...

Mittens for my FIL:
These ones were a well-received gift 3 years ago, but apparently he doesn't wear them much because he's afraid of ruining them! I'm thinking of a pair of simple stranded mittens. Maybe these, no pompoms? Any other suggestions?

sock-a-doodle-doo

There's been a bit of sock knitting around these parts.

First is the Traveler's Stocking from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush:

I started these back in May, according to Ravelry. The pattern is really pretty, and I love the yarn (Dream in Color Smooshy, In Vino Veritas). And the one I finished fits great. What's the problem? I HATE knitting the twisted stitch part at the top!! I knit tightly, so it's a real exercise in dexterity to try to work the stitches. But, I'm through the tough part now, so these should move pretty quickly now.

The sock below is Spunky Eclectic sock yarn (color, Pop) with a modified version of a stitch pattern that I found somewhere online.


These are pair #1 and #2 of my rainbow of socks. I started the yellow ones too, but I tried two different patterns and neither worked. But it's probably better that way. I should finish these ones first!

I have another pair of socks finished too, but I need to take some better pictures first. Oh, and I might have started a sweater too :)

sweet anticipation

Every once in a while I feel like life is getting just a bit crazy, and I need to refocus. But, since I can't control most of the things that are making my head spin right now, I'm taking it out on my knitting. I decided that I needed to clear the decks, clean the slate, start anew ... and get rid of all my WIPs!

For the past three weeks, I've been devoting all my knitting time to two projects. One is done, but needs a photo shoot. The other one is close to being done, but it's seekrit, so I can't show you. Once I finish this second project, all my WIPs will be FOs! (In the interest of full disclosure, I do have one sock toe that should be ripped and an ancient UFO sweater, but I'm not counting either as a WIP... )

While project monogamy is good for creating FO's -- go figure! -- I'm dreaming of other knits. I'm hankering to knit up my rainbow of socks next. Last night I wound the red yarn. Mmmm ....

Patterns in contention include:
Hedera
Hedgerow
Bayerische
Traveler's Stocking
Latvian socks
Socks for Veronik
Lombard Street
Azure
Twinkleberry
Chalet socks
Leyburn
Whisper Lace
Froot Loop

Any recommendations, for these or others?

it's finally springtime!

Just the right time for a new pair of wool socks, right?

These are just a basic pair of socks in Kaffe Fassett Regia sock yarn. I love the colors, and the stripes amuse me. Yes, I am a bit obsessive about matching the stripes. I finished them a week or two ago, and they went right into my drawer for next fall. Details Raveled.

This leaves me with 2 WIPs on the needles -- a secret project and a very large and overdue project nearing completion. I am really, really, really trying to finish both of these projects before starting anything else. Let's see how long that lasts -- I have a rainbow calling my name.

a week, already?

I really thought I had posted more recently. Sigh. I've been spinning and knitting, though. I finished a few batches of fiber.

This is some merino-silk fiber in the Harvest colorway from Spunky Eclectic. It's not a color I would normally pick, but I've been trying to move outside my comfort zone. I got 130+ yards of aran weight yarn. I used the wet-finishing method I described recently. However, when I measured before finishing, I got 160+ yards. That seems like a lot of shrinkage to me. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Or did I just count wrong?

Details Raveled.

And this is some sock yarn, approx 380 yards, 4 oz. Spun from batts from Enchanted Knoll. It's a little less plied than I would like, but not bad. I'm looking forward to knitting with this. Maybe just some simple stockinette socks?

Details Raveled.

I am probably the only person ...

... to knit a sock during a performance by Chuck D.

(This is the before photo. The second sock is about an inch longer now.)

The MLK event on Friday night was great. A wonderful line-up of artists who talked about their work and then read their poetry, performed music, etc.

(Derek Walcott, Sonia Sanchez, Talib Kweli; photo by Allen E. Dines)

I don't know if I've ever read anything by Nikki Giovanni before, but now I really must find one of her books.

I almost didn't go, but this post, plus a colleague who decided to join me, sealed the deal. I'm glad I went. I should do things like this more often.

WIP wrangling

Where do things stand in the world of wool? Ummm, unfinished.

The clogs of last week? Not only are they still unfelted, they are still sitting in the same place as last week. On the dining room sideboard. Yeah, I don't think hubby is thrilled with that location. (He's probably even less thrilled that my suitcase from SPA is still on the floor next to the dining table ... I'll have to do something about that ...)

I started some new stuff. A sock, for moments like these. (Please note the unintentional matching of the sweater and the sock in progress.)

(Regia sock yarn in one of the Kaffe Fassett -- rhymes with "safe asset" -- colorways. More deets on Ravelry.)

I also started a sweater for the little sibling of this dude. He's now two years old, and expecting a brother or sister in April. The parents are friends of mine from childhood. There were 4 of us who lifeguarded together, in three different class years, at two different schools. We all went in different directions for college. Several years later, Tracie and Chris ended up back in the same area, and coaching the swim team that practices at the pool where we all lifeguarded a decade ago. They fell in love and got married, and a year later had their first kid, and now #2 is on the way. (Can I get an awwww?)

Tracie and Chris are both teachers, and the whole family (including the much-loved dog) lives at camp for the summer, the same camp where Chris spent every summer of his childhood and college years. Tracie asked for a baby sweater that kid #2 can wear at camp when the evenings are chilly.

Chocolate brown superwash wool with puppy buttons? Check!

(on Ravelry)

I'm also doing some test knitting for a friend. I'll have to ask her how much I can say about it. Here's a teaser. I think she'll let me get away with this much. This one will take some time and a wee bit of brainpower, hence the stockinette projects featured above.

Oh, and ummm, I also have an afghan that needs some attention...

And another sock. Almost forgot about that one ... better get cracking.

letting go of the rules

You might have noticed that the last 3 posts were all about my birthday. I still have one more birthday post in my head, but I need to scan a photo first. Over the past week, the chances of me, the scanner, the photo and the laptop all being in the same room at the same time were hovering right between "when pigs fly" and "snowball in hell".

I also have a bazillion other posts in my head, but I have yet to write any of them because, well, I made myself the arbitrary rule that all 4 of my birthday posts needed to occur in sequence with no other posts in between. So, I haven't blogged about anything else because that would be breaking the rules. Dude, it's my own blog, and my own damn rules. Yet, it did not occur to me until a few minutes ago that I could actually break the rules with no negative consequences. Yeah, I'm a bit of an obsessive rule follower. (It has also been pointed out that I am a bit obsessive about, well, pretty much everything.)

Today, I wanted to show you two of my favorite pairs of socks. I love WIP posts, and FO-shows, but sometimes I wonder what happens after the blocking and photography are complete, and the paparazzi go home. So, I bring you two of my favorite pairs of socks in their everyday habitats.

First, my study break socks. I began these towards the end of last semester, and finished them up pretty quickly. The stripes and colors amuse me to no end. But, it's a truly special look when I wear these with my polka-dot pajamas.

(I do believe that I look a bit like Bubbo here.)

I also really like my STR Monkies. I can't take credit for these, as they were a gift from the Mafia. The flash muddied the colors, so you can see a better photo here. They are super snug, which is perfect (I hate saggy socks), and very comfortable and warm.

This might sound gross, but I have to ask this ... when my feet sweat in wool socks, they smell different than in cotton or synthetic socks. But, when I wear my STR socks, they have their own unique smell, different than any other wool socks. Has this happened to anyone else? Or it is another one of those peculiar things that only happens to me?

And, with that lovely thought, I am off to class!

Christmas recap

Whew. It's been a while. Let me try to get through the last several days in one post, not too many words (yeah, right!).

I was paired with Yaga for the knitting wars. (Thanks, Yaga, for adding some posts in English!). Which means, I was busy knitting! Here's the final tally of 2007 Christmas gifts:

My in-laws get something knitted every year. This year, my FIL got some socks, and my MIL got felted slippers, both of which were requested, or at least strongly hinted at.

(Da's socks -- Spey Valley, from Knitting on the Road, in Regia 6 ply)

(Mim's slippers -- Fiber Trends' Felted Clogs, in 2 colors of Araucania Nature Wool)

Both were well received, although I need to felt Mim's slippers a little more -- I left them big on purpose, rather than felt them too much. So, back in the washing machine they shall go.

My boss, a.k.a. Boss Lady, requested some mittens this year. I opened up Ravelry at work (umm, because it wasn't open already, of course!) and we started looking for patterns. She saw a few convertible mitten patterns, and said "oooh, I want something like that -- I didn't know you could knit those!".

She traced her hand for me (teeny tiny little hands!) and I made these:

(My own pattern, Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in black)
(Boss Lady would like you to know that she did not plan for a photo shoot and had not had her nails done recently. She apologizes for the chipped polish!)

I also knit some ornaments as gifts. I'd like to start a tradition of making an ornament for each parent, sibling, and grandparent every year. I forgot to label these with the date, but here are my 2007 ornaments:

For the following people, from the top left: Thom's sister and family, my brother and wife, my mom and dad, Thom's brother and family, my Grandma and Sam, and Thom's parents.)
(More details on Ravelry.)

The Mafia, in another command performance, decided that the leftover yarn from her fingerless mitts should not go to waste, and managed to convince me to knit this for her:

I'm calling it the "My So Called Scholar Collar", since the stitch pattern is from the My So Called Scarf but the button idea and approximate size are inspired by the Scholar Collar. I finished it before Christmas, but not in time to connect with her before she went away to visit her family, so she'll get it on New Year's.

So, 10 knit gifts -- not bad! Oh, and I made my mom her earrings, too. She and I picked the beads together, and I made them. I've been making her jewelry since I was in high school, or maybe even earlier. She loves the brightly colored earrings that I will never wear myself. So, it's a win-win. I get to play with beads, and she gets earrings (and necklaces, and bracelets) that she likes!

(Click to Flickr-ize for more detail.)

I also got some lovely crafty presents. My mom made a donation towards the "my crazy daughter decided to take up spinning" fund. My MIL gave me a copy of Knitting America, a history of knitting in the US, with loads of photos and 20 period patterns. I've only read the first few chapters, but it's fascinating.

My sister in law (my brother's wife) made us the cutest possible Christmas ornaments with polymer clay:

These guys are tiny -- only an inch and a half tall. Both the penguin (right) and Santa angel (left) are dusted with fine glitter powder, so they look like they've been out frolicking in the snow. So cute!! She also made my mom a little sculpture of a polar bear, seal, and penguin all pig-piled upon each other. She's quite talented!!

So, this post has now exhausted me. I'm off to go watch some DVDs and knit some more. I started a pair of mittens for me on Christmas Eve, and I'm cranking through them (one done, except for the thumb, and I've started the cuff of the second one). Any guesses as to the pattern?

FO, FO, FO, Merry Christmas!

Yesterday, I promised to give an update on my Christmas knitting. I don't have the name of my knitting war competitor yet, so I don't want to give away too much information. I will, however, tell you that I finished three projects since Wednesday. One is a Christmas gift, and 2 are not.

Not a gift #1: Socks for me! Insane and striped. Perfect antidote for the winter blues. (Regia self striping yarn, size 1 needles.)

Gift: Ornament, to be sent to my inlaws in Wisconsin. Looks much nicer in natural light, but we won't see that at home until next weekend.

Not a gift #2: Mittens for Soaring Eagles. (Debbie Bliss Chunky Donegal Tweed, size 7 and 9 needles.)

Back to the holiday knitting. I'm off for now. Ciao.

about the white stuff ...

Did you see the beautiful snow photos all over blogland today? Amanda posted some lovely ones, as did Julie and Caro. Fluffy white goodness, making everything clean and bright.

Let me present the alternative perspective.

(Thanks for the photo, Boston Globe.)

This is what we saw while driving home on Route 93 last night. Yes, that would be GRIDLOCK. People just stopping on the middle of the interstate highway to clean off their cars. My personal favorite was the guy in the panel van who reached out the window with a 6 floot long broom to clean his windshield. While driving. (Yeah, it was only 3 mph, but still...)

It took us FOUR AND A HALF hours to get home last night. Usually, the drive is about 50 minutes. Yesterday, the first 58 minutes of my commute were spent in here.


That's my parking garage on a sunnier day. See that street in the lower left hand corner? Completely backed up, which meant that NOBODY was getting out of the garage. Lucky for me, I had a sock to knit. I think I completed about 2" before getting out to the street. What did non-knitters do???

The Mafia parks in that garage too, but she got a 15-minute headstart on me, and there was no line when she left work. She lives about 15 minutes from me, and stayed ahead of me for the whole commute. She was my "advance man," calling from along the route to let me know which street or intersections to avoid. If it wasn't for her, I would probably have been on the road at least another half hour, maybe longer. Thanks, Mafia!

[I'm done whining now. Although, I hear that this weekend's expected storm is supposed to be equally messy ...]

study break socks

While I was studying for a final exam last week, I decided that I needed to take a little break and knit something. Unfortunately, none of my projects were at a stage where I could just pick up and knit mindlessly, so I started some socks. The yarn is some Regia Crazy Color that I picked up in the back room of Webs for $4/ball. Such cheerful colors!

And yes, I did match the stripes.

Obessive? Moi?

Maybe just a little!

One more pair towards my goal of having a month's worth of handknit socks (inspired by Margene). I don't much care for doing laundry.

I'm a little further along then when I took these photos. I'm about an inch past the gusset decreases on both socks. I'm going to take these to lunchtime SnB today, and work during the commute. It looks like we might get 2 good sized storms in the next 4 days, so I'm thinking I'll spend some time indoors this weekend! Maybe a new pair of socks by the weekend's end?

Claudia Handpaint sock

I should have posted this in my last post, but this is the sock I started at Rhinebeck. The yarn is Claudia Handpaint, and I've started a Jaywalker with it. I love the yummy colors. Not sure if this is the right pattern or not -- suggestions are welcome. (Remember -- I dislike pooling and patterns that can't be seen in the variegated yarn!)

Rhinebeck knitting

Etherknitter posted today about her Rhinebeck knitting.

She wrote ...

Little minds (mine) are hopelessly entertained by the concept of Rhinebeck knitting. No, not the FO type. I'm speaking of the WIP species needed for the weekend's festivities. The well-known criteria include mindless pattern, easy project, just-make-the-stitches while communing with Our People. Many, maybe even most, choose socks.

The pattern is easy. I planned on my tried and true stockinette stitch sock. But isn't there a subtext here of cool yarn? Indie dyers? Hard-to-find-sold-out-instantly yarn? Those casually knitting with Wollmeise this weekend probably win this knitters' unspoken challenge.

That Etherknitter. She nailed it. I've been thinking about my Rhinebeck project for several days, and it will be a pair of socks.

Unfortunately, I have a Rhinebeck sweater to finish first. Update: The sleeves are done. The body is seamed, and I started weaving in ends tonight. I need to seam the sleeves, and graft the collar, crochet the edging, and buy buttons. I've got lots of other stuff I need to finish this week, too. Including but not limited to homework, real work, and a few nights of class, etc. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Back to the Rhinebeck knitting (not to be confused with the Rhinebeck sweater) ...

I figure that I'll bring socks, for the reasons outlined above. However, I have none on the needles! That opens up a world of possibilities. 14 possibilities for yarn, according to the contents of my sock yarn stash drawer, and countless pattern choices. The curious among you can see many that I've queued in Ravelry..

But, there's a big risk in bringing a new project. What if I don't like the yarn? The pattern? Like both, but the pattern doesn't work with the yarn? What if I need different size needles? OK, I guess that last one is not a huge concern if I'm going to be at a wool festival with dozens of vendors selling needles.

I could bust out with the Wollmeise -- because the competitive side of me thinks "hey, I could rise to the 'knitters' unspoken challenge'" -- but it hasn't yet told me what it wants to be. A stockinette sock would be best, but it should be variegated. Is Koigu cool enough, or is it sooooo 2004? I have some Socks That Rock, but are knitters over the STR craze? Claudia's Handpainted in a Jaywalker? (Yeah, passe, isn't it???)

Help!! I'm drowning in possibilities, and I don't have time to swatch before leaving. I'm strongly considering packing a duffle bag with all 14 different sock yarns, needles in sizes zero to 2, a few sock books, and my laptop. Shouldn't that cover me for any eventuality? Please, one of you saner knitters convince me that this is just a wee bit obsessive ...

warning: recycled content ahead!

Jane is hosting her annual "Show Me Your Socks Contest". I took this photo back in the winter, remembering her annual contest. We had just bought our new house, and were spending weekends there doing work on it, but had not yet moved in.


This was just after doing laundry. At the time, I wrote "What will we do when we move in and hang curtains???" Well, no curtains yet, but we have painted the walls and replaced the folding camp chairs with real furniture.

This photo shows 8 pairs of socks that I have knit for myself, plus one pair of Sockapalooza gifted socks. From left to right:
Generic socks in Artyarns Ultramerino
Generic socks in Jawoll Jacquard
Sockapalooza 2006 socks, from Ruth
Thujas in Big Print
Jaywalkers in Elann something-or-other
Broadripples in Cascade Fixation
Generic socks in Sweet Georgia
Simply Lovely Lace in Louet Opal
Generic socks in Koigu (shown below!)

It does not show the two pairs of socks I've finished for myself since then --
Diagonal Cross-Rib socks in Artyarns Ultramerino
Garter Rib Socks in Schaefer Anne

It also doesn't show the socks that I've knit for others since I started knitting socks
Generic socks for Thom in Smart superwash wool (read below)
Spey Valley socks for Da (see below)
Saucy Socks in Nature's Palette for my recent Sockapalooza pal
Friday Harbor socks for Boss Lady knit in Baby Cashmerino
Baudelaires knit in Koigu for my MIL last Christmas
Jaywalkers knit in Artyarns Ultramerino for my first sockpal
Whitby socks knit in Louet Opal for my dad
Embossed Leaves socks knit for my MIL 2 Christmases ago
Red Sox socks for my Mom
Red Sox socks for my Dad (both in red and white Silja)
Generic manly man socks knit in Regia Tweed for Thom

And, for the smaller feet:
2 pairs of baby socks for Afghans for Afghans, one in Koigu and one in Knitpicks Sock Garden
baby socks for the Wooly Babe, in Socks That Rock
baby socks for the Peanut, in Koigu
baby socks for MJ in Koigu

So, if you count the baby socks, that's 26 pairs of socks that I've knit!

And, in the interest of playing by the rules ("Take a photo of the very first pair of socks you ever knit, as well as your last/latest pair."), I present the firsts and lasts ...

These are my first socks for me:

Knit in Koigu, with a pattern cobbled together from various sources.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I knit my first pair of socks for Thom before these, in the days before Ye Olde Blogge. In fact, since I don't have a photo of them, I'm pretty sure that they were pre-blog, and therefore, my first socks ever. I'll have to go look in his drawer so I can take a photo for Ravelry. They are DK weight green tweed, and knit from the pattern in the Bible According to Ann Budd, green version.

Anyways, my most recent socks are these ones, a pair of Spey Valleys for my FIL, finished just a few weeks ago.

Sportweight green tweed. Like father like son.

sock sacks and woolly gatherings

Well, it seems like you liked the sock sacks that I posted yesterday! Thanks for the compliments.

Since several of you mentioned that you would want to buy one if they were available for sale, I'm considering making some to sell, to augment the wheel fund.

Here's the deal, though ... I work full time, and go to grad school (50% of full time schedule). And I coach 6+ hours per week. And I have a 90 minute+ commute to work. Which is to say that my crafty time at home is limited -- I do most of my knitting while carpooling to work (Thom drives in the morning, the longer leg of the commute!), or at lunch, or in the late evening before bed.

So, I'm going to make some bags when I have time and post them for sale, here or through Etsy, when I get around to it. I won't be able to take many custom requests. Of course if I know you in person or online, and you are really damn charming, I'll probably bend that custom request rule just a bit :)

sacks I have sewn

In fact, I may be at the sewing machine this weekend. I just found out that the school assignment that I thought was due on October 24 has been moved to the 31st. Therefore, I may find myself at a certain well known sheep and wool gathering later this month. In which case, I may want some extra cash on hand!!! Let me know if I'll see you there. Umm, I mean IF I end up going ...

greens and blues, part II

A while ago, it looked like most of my knitting/spinning/fiber acquisition was focused on things that were green or blue. I never posted about what became of those things. Here's a quick roundup:

This bobbin of singles ...

Became this skein of chain-plied yarn.

(144 yards of worsted or aran weight, I think)

This sock ...

Became this pair of socks ...

Project Specs:
Pattern: Spey Valley, from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Regia Tweed 6ply from Webs

Gauge: 6.5 sts/in
Needles: size 3 for the top of the leg, size 2 for the lower leg and feet
Size: Men's size 12 1/2 wide
Posted to Ravelry

These will be a gift for my father-in-law for Christmas.

And this skein of sock yarn ...

... became stash :)