FO: Eleanor socks

It's all socks all the time around here. You know, except when it isn't.

These are the Eleanor socks. I knit them on size 2 knitpicks classic circs, 2 at a time top down. I substituted a short row heel for the heel that was written (because it's faster). The yarn is Icebox Fibers Superwash socks. I can find neither hide nor hair of this yarn on the internet, so I assume it is a very small local dyer. I found the base yarn to be a little thin. I would probably use size 1s if I were to do this again. But what is all this talk talk talk? Photos!




Had I said something earlier this year about not buying yarn? That must have just been crazy talk. I stopped by the LYS today to buy some yarn. Things have been crazy at work and I decided that yarn might be a nice soothing thing. So I got a ball of yarn in a color I don't usually knit: green.

Dream in Color Smooshy. I've never knit with it before, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm planning a pair of Thelonious socks for March. And I also got a hank of Chameleon Colororks footsie. The colorway is Indian Wedding, but I think of it as peach and raspberry sherbet. It was on sale. How could I resist?

I learned while I was in there that the folks at the Dancing Ewe read this blog. Hi Janelle, hi Cathy! Ain't the internet grand?

FO: Blackrose socks.

Blackrose socks from Winter 2008 Knitty. Knit up in Mountain Colors Bearfoot. I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn. Very solid and knits up nicely on 3mm needles. I substituted a short row heel because it's faster and I like to get finished.

The colorway is a bit busy for this pattern, but I can cope with it.


I've now started another pair of socks. But I think that, after I finish this pair, I'm going to focus on knitting down my lace stash for a while. I've done pretty well running down the sock yarn stash for the beginning of the year, but I seem to be accumulating the lace yarn (not all of it laceweight) a bit too quickly.

For example, I just recently swapped enough yarn for two pairs of socks in colors that weren't really doing it for me for this yarn:

That bit of lovely is a hank of Lorna's Laces Heaven. Destined to be a shawl of some sort or another. Time to get to getting on the lace front, I think.

EQ!

I moved 7000 rocks this morning. Well, lithics. Mostly chipped stone (arrowheads and that sort of thing). But it was still a lot of lifting! So I headed down to my LYS afterward. I had read in their newsletter that they had received a shipment of Kauni Effektgarn, and I was interested. You see, the EQ colorway knits into this beautiful rainbow and I wanted some. Like woah have I wanted the EQ colorway.

So I mosey on down and they have it! So I bought it. I'm thinking a triangular or half circle shawl for this pretty stuff.



Another yarn craving satisfied.

Spinning follies

I spin a little. And by a little, I mean a little. I have a drop spindle and all the training the internet has to offer. So I do... okay. I make yarn. Not great yarn. And not quickly. Like what I'm working on now. I bought 2.5 oz of black alpaca roving in JUNE 2007. And I've spun about half of it into 162 yards of a two-ply heavy-ish laceweight.


I think what's happening is that I'm underspinning the singles so that the plies aren't, um, plying enough. So it's a very loose two ply. And my operation is probably not the best. I wind the yarn off the spindle onto my ball winder and ply from both sides of the ball. Also, I haven't "set it" yet, which I believe involves soaking the yarn and then beating it vigorously on a counter top. But still, it is yarn, it is knittable and I did make it. I'm working on the other half, spinning a thicker yarn which will hopefully take less than 18 months. :P

My knitpicks order came!

40" classic circs in sizes 0-3, 40" cord for the options set, and a needle sizer with metric. My current sizer was a thrift store find with no metric readings... and old.

The current projects seem to be unphotographable. The light and the yarn isn't co-operating. Alas.

FROGGED: Cobweb lace stole

You know how I was obsessing over this silk yarn? Well I had finally decided to knit the cobweb lace stole. But after I got this far into it:

I decided I couldn't stand it anymore.

I wasn't happy with the way it was knitting up and the thought of using the blunt wooden needles I had for lace patterned on both sides made me want to gouge my eyes out. I ripped out the stole instead and re-cast on for Simurgh. I'm using needles two sizes down from the Cobweb stole and I'm liking the results much more. Although I'm not knitting on it very much - I'm a little obsessed with the socks I'm working on instead. :P

FO: Clover Socks

I finished a pair of socks. Well, not just a pair of socks, but the most favorite socks I have ever ever knitted for myself.

Pattern: Clover from the Inside Loop, by Kate Blackburn
Yarn: Regia Silk (I've expressed my love for it recently)
Needles: 2.5mm addi turbos

I knit these socks two at a time, top down. Except for the heel. I wasn't clever enough to do both heels at the same time, so I separated them and knit them separately. I might just be a convert to two at a time socks. It's fantastic to finish both socks at the same time. Love it. Not in love with top down, though. I continue to prefer toe up socks for the ease of it all. The only small mod to the pattern was a shallower heel - I did 11 repeats of the heel flap instead of 15.

I also really like this pattern, but I'm a sucker for simple cable and lace column socks. I adored Hedera (which, incidentally, were also knit in Regia Silk, but for my mom) and Pembrokeshire Pathways. Pembrokeshire Pathways gets a lot of wear from me. That Koigu is holding up pretty well.

Enough jabbering on, let's have photos!


And a full foot photo, with flash:


I should be doing my Latin homework right now, instead of posting this. Yep! Learning Latin with my pal Larissa. Who already learned it once and is way ahead of me. I need to go puzzle over the first declension now.

Better late than never?

I like to participate in swaps. I participated in a pre-Christmas swap and never posted the goodies! I took photos, but never posted. Bad form! In any case, better late than never, right?

I was spoiled by the ever delightful KashmirKnitter who sent me this bag full of goodies:


That's a lovely project bag, a couple of sock patterns, some lip gloss (which I promise not to use near my eyes), Hello Kitty pens, and a ball of On Your Toes bamboo sock yarn. I've never tried bamboo yarn before. It will be an adventure. And wound up in that ball of sock yarn? Lots of little surprises! A pair of earring, an anklet, point protectors, buttons, and cute little sayings. Thank you, KashmirKnitter.