Saturday, December 31, 2005

The last pair of socks is done

The last pair for 2005, that is. I just finished them moments ago. They will be for the Prodigal's friend C. I'll give them to him later tonight when the Prodigal gets home from work. They are a belated Christmas present.

Purple hand knit socks

Purple hand knit socks

The pattern I used, which is not at all obvious in the photos, doesn't have a name since I didn't get it from any of the pattern books I have. It is quite simple and very texture-y.

Round 1: k
Round 2: k
Round 3: * k1, p1 *; repeat * to end
Round 4: * p1, k1 *; repeat * to end
Round 5: * k1, p1 *; repeat * to end

Happy Hogmanay, everyone!

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

And more books



The cross stitch book is my Christmas present from the Best Friend. The knitting books I indulged in myself.

I have a pair of socks in the works, but I've only been working on them during my lunch break at work. Right now I'm caught up in re-reading George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books. I've finished the first two and I'm about 100 pages into the third while the fourth waits patiently for me to get to it.

Funny thing about the books, though. I pretty much remembered what happened in the first two books, but I seem to have wiped the memory of the third book from my mind. I really don't remember what happens in the third book. Oh, well.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

A tisket, a tasket

The commission socks are done. I just finished them. I used a woven stitch pattern on them. I love the colors. I almost hate having to give them away.

Socks in shades of red, purple, and pink

Socks in shades of red, purple, and pink

The woven stitch is worked over multiples of two stitches.

Round 1: * k2, p2 *; * repeat to end
Round 2: * k2, p2 *; * repeat to end
Round 3: k
Round 4: k
Round 5: * p2, k2 *; * repeat to end
Round 6: * p2, k2 *; * repeat to end
Round 7: k
Round 8: k

Friday, December 23, 2005

Guess what I got?

More sock yarn!

Skeins of sock yarn

Skeins of sock yarn

I think I'm plummeting into the murky abyss known as obsession. Ain't it grand?

;D

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Number 5 be done

The 5th pair of socks is done. This makes the fourth pair for the Prodigal. I really wish I could get better pictures. Mine just don't do the colors or the pattern justice.

Orange socks

Orange socks

I officially have a stash!

Got lots and lots of yarn today. Two skeins of lace weight and five skeins of fingering/sock weight. And guess what? One of the skeins of yarn was a prezzie from the lady I get my yarn from. It was a wonderful, unexpected surprise and I love it. If you want to get some lovely yarn, do a search on eBay for kbrece.

My yarn stash

My yarn stash

My yarn stash

Can you tell I like purples, blues, and greens?

I almost forgot. The prezzie is the skein on the right in the back row in the picture above.

It's mine, I tell you! You can't have it! Away! Away!

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Not a lot of knitting

I've been blessed with one heck of a cold so I haven't done a whole lot of knitting in the last two or three days. The one orange sock is done, but the second is only about 1/3 done. I'm still working on the leg. Knitting and NyQuil just don't go really well together.

I did get a new knitting book in the mail today. It looked interesting so I ordered it. I'm not sure when I'll tackle a sweater.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Professional sock knitter

I may have to become one. One the Prodigal Son's friends handed me $20 tonight and asked me to make him a pair of socks in red. Two other friends strongly hinted that it would be awfully nice if they had warm socks this cold winter and they didn't even have to be done by Christmas.

Oh, lord, what have I gotten myself into?

I swallowed half a herringbone

No, not me, silly. The sock.

Not that you can tell from the picture. I tried different angles, different backgrounds, zooming in and out, but I just cannot capture what this pattern really looks like. Technically, I suppose, it's half a horizontal herringbone and it is a much tighter pattern than any of the others I've done so far. I wish I could have gotten a more true to life picture.

5th pair of socks

The half horizontal herringbone is worked over multiples of two stitches.

Round 1: *sl 1 as if to knit, k1, psso but instead of dropping slipped st from left-hand needle, knit into the back of it; repeat from *

Round 2: knit

Friday, December 16, 2005

No. Five is alive!

Sock pair number five was begun last night and two rows were added today before I snapped this picture. I didn't work on them during lunch 'cause I went out with the boss and two other co-workers. Had Chinese. It was loverly.

You cannot see the pattern in the picture so I'm going to wait to list it until tomorrow when there will be more sock and I can get a better picture (inasmuch as I ever get good pictures.)

Orange socks begun 12-15-2005

As always, these are for the Prodigal Son.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

I've discovered the secret

To photographing socks, that is. In order for the pictures to come out well enough to actually see the pattern, arrange them decoratively in a wicker basket. (If you look closely, you'll see my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.)

4th pair of socks

4th pair of socks

The fourth pair of socks is done. The Prodigal Son now has three pair he can wear without washing until they felt.

Don't laugh. It's happening.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

What kind of knitter am I?

Knitting Adventurer
You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.

You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.
http://marniemaclean.com

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Saturday, December 10, 2005

More stock for the stash

Got another batch of sock yarn today. The Prodigal Son gets the orange. I don't know who will get the pink.

Sock yarn in shades of pink and another in orange

One sock is done

But I need a break. My back is killing me this morning. I think I'll do a little reading and address some Christmas cards and go to the movies later. Tomorrow I'll work on the other sock.

One finished sock

You can actually see the spiral pattern on the larger picture although the photos still don't do the colors justice.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

More stash, more socks

Got another batch of yarn for my stash today. The green is lace weight and the purple is more sock weight. Both are 100% Merino wool and hand dyed. The balls are the same size, but there is twice as much of the lace weight yarn as of the sock yarn.

Balls of yarn


And I started another pair of socks for the Prodigal Son who is about to wear out the two pair of socks I've already made him. The photo doesn't do justice to the color. The shades of green vary from very dark forest to teal blue. The shading reminds me of peacock feathers.

Fourth pair of socks, inprogress

I'm making this pair a bit smaller since the Prodigal has complained about the socks falling down and puddling around his ankles. He does have skinnier legs and feet than I do.

I'm not sure what you would call the pattern I'm knitting into the socks, but it spirals around the sock leg. This sock is 48 stitches around on size 3 US double pointed needles.

Round 1: *k3, p3; repeat from * around
Round 2: k
Round 3: p1, *k3, p3*; repeat * until the last 2 stitches; p2
Round 4: k
Round 5: p2, *k3, p3*; repeat * until the last stitch; p1
Round 6: k
Round 7: *p3, k3; repeat from * around
Round 8: k
Round 9: k1, *p3, k3*; repeat * until the last 2 stitches; k2
Round 10: k
Round 11: k2, *p3, k3*; repeat * until the last stitch; k1
Round 12: k

Repeat rounds 1 through 12 around the leg and on the top of the foot until done.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Toasty toes

The third pair of socks, but the first pair made for me, are done. I will now have the joy of having toasty toes when it gets cold again.

My feet covered in my new hand knit green socks

Saturday, December 03, 2005

One for me

One sock of the pair I'm making for myself, with the Prodigal's gracious permission, is done. That is my actual foot modeling the actual sock.

My foot modeling my green sock

The Prodigal Son is right. They do feel good.

That was awfully kind

The Prodigal Son just popped in to say he was going to spend the night at a friend's house and he was impressed by how far I'd gotten with the sock. I said that I really liked this pattern and he very graciously offered to let me make this pair of socks for myself if I really wanted them. Wasn't that just too awfully kind?

Dancing bear icon

That's what I love about socks

I picked up my knitting about 8:30 or so after I got through playing on the computer and after I flipped through my magazine. It's now about four hours later and the sock has grown to the point where I'm turning the heel. Knitting socks is as close to instant gratification as you can get.

Progess on the sock as of midnight

Friday, December 02, 2005

Sock-knit-aholic

This is becoming an addiction. I've started my third pair of socks. In one of the multi-green yarns I got the other day. The lighter one, as a matter of fact. This one has a pattern as well although I don't think it shows up well in the photos. The book calls it twisted stocking stitch. It looks lovely in person. Basically, you knit one round into the back of every stitch and the next round is knit normally.

Beginning of a third pair of socks in shades of gree

Two knitting books, a knitting magazine, and the green sock

I got the two books yesterday. They are absolutely wonderful. I'd really like to get the other books in the Harmony Guides series. (Hint, hint, oh Best Friend of mine. The books are on my wishlist. Speaking of which, have you updated yours yet? Christmas is fast approaching, you know.) The magazine arrived today and is the first issue of my subscription to Interweave Knits. I picked up one of the magazines at a Barnes & Noble and thought it was neato so I treated myself to a subscription.

I've become such a knit-aholic.

;D