The Yarn Harlot, WEBS, Socks, and the Loopy Ewe...

Last Sunday I went to the WEBS hosted Yarn Harlot talk with two friends, Kate and Katie. It was, of course, great! I got a few pictures at the talk then my camera died so I didn't get any at WEBS or around town. Thanks to Katie scouting out our seats, we were only in the fifth row so you can actually tell who it is in the photos, unlike last year. ;-)

Here's Stephanie getting the camera out
more getting ready

And here she is with the sock, taking a picture of the other side of the theater.


After the talk and the Q&A, we went back to WEBS for a bit. The book signing line was already long so we didn't do that (she said she'll be at Rhinebeck again this year and last year I was second in line with no problem so hopefully I'll get one then) but we did get these nifty tour buttons!

I didn't really have any shopping plans but Kate and I both fell in love with this Plymouth Royal Llama Silk and each got it in different colors. It is sooo soft and scrumptious! It might be a lacy scarf, or it might be a hat.

My other purchase was from the button department, which is quite extensive! Especially extensive was the skull button selection! There were five or six different designs, believe it or not. These were voted the two best designs, one of each for Trevor and my sister who is a big skull fan. Project to be determined, or I might just give them to her to add to something on her own.

Next, the socks! I finished them Tuesday morning just in time to wear them to work. I loves them and they got many compliments at work.
Then I cast on my next pair! I'm making a short anklet pair for the summer out of this cute pink, green, and lilac Fixation. I'm doing the leg using the broadripple pattern but then I'm going to drop the pattern because I'm going to wear these with my pink converse sneakers so the foot pattern wouldn't show anyway. Not enough done to bother with a photo yet though.

I needed a needle that The Loopy Ewe had in stock so I ordered that and got one of their cute little tote bags too. It's a good size, good for a baby sweater sized project, or my sock bag and wallet etc.

The hang tag says "Sock yarns don't count as stash!" hee!

This was my free gift from this order, a super cute Loopy stitch marker.

edited to fix a link

The Late Christmas Socks

Wait, I forgot to post my mom's completed christmas socks! I was waiting to post them until she got the package in the mail then I forgot.

Here it is on my lovely new sock blockers:


100_3597, originally uploaded by Alissao.

Excuse all the extra floor around the sock - you have to frame photos just right for Ravelry and I blogged this photo directly from flickr since I misplaced the actual photo.

I love the way these socks turned out. I definitely need a pair this color for myself, eventually.

First socks of Socktober

I veered a little away from the goals I posted just yesterday ;-) But! It was because I don't have the needles for one thing, and the needles for the other are tied up in the George WIP. I need to put George on stitch holders or something because he doesn't get finished until all my Christmas knitting is done. Anyway, what I did get done:

Voila, the Springtime socks! A Christmas present for somebody, who has similar sized feet to me so I could model these. The same pattern as my Koi socks except the ribbing goes all the way down the leg. However, when I tried it on I decided I don't like that as much for this particular sock so I think I'll keep the ribbing shorter the next time.

Then, I finished one whole sock today! Okay, it is toddler sized. But it is very cute and has cables even. Although the yarn I had for these socks is a little too patterned to show off the cables. Next time I do this pattern I'll use a solid color.

The left shows the colors better and the right shows the cables better.

These socks will be a Christmas present for my niece Lily. I like the pattern, I will probably make another pair for another toddler. But first I have to make the second one of this pair.

Happy Socktober!

Are you ready for Socktoberfest? I am! I love knitting socks so what's not to love about a month celebrating the sock. I have a few single socks that I'd like to finish the pairs but since Socktober is conveniently located near the holiday season I have other plans for Socktober:

• Finish the "springtime" Fixation socks (doing the gusset on the second sock now)
• Cast on and maybe finish one other pair of Christmas present socks - either another of these (same as George in another color) or, Lace Wings if I get a chance to get another set of 3s (shakes fist at cat who stole one)
  
• Make at least a few of the many tiny socks I need for holiday presents

Hopefully I'll be back with some FOs of the sock variety soon. :-)

Stash Enhancement

Some of my new christmas gifting yarn has arrived...

All Cascade Fixation: two balls of "Italian Ices" for a pair of christmas present socks (if you are uber observant this will look familiar - I already bought this color for myself and didn't recognize it online. Oops, so somebody on my gift list will have the same color socks as me.) One ball each of Celtic Green and Wine to make christmas colored tiny socks, One ball of Tahiti for a pair of little socks, and two balls of white for an experiment. I have been researching what kinds of dye can be used on cotton (not many) and I'm going to try it out to see if the Fixation will take the dye. I want to be able to dye my own sock yarn! :-)

One FO for now

I have lots of posts in the back of my head but a few include items that are in the mail to a friend so I don't want to post until she gets them in case she sees this... also coming soon a Yarn Harlot-esque sock trip! But for now... the purple shortie socks for my MIL for Christmas:
The pattern said you could get a pair from one ball of Cascade Fixation. I had my doubts and figured there was definitely no way I could make them for big-footed me. But, since I only had one ball of this color and the LYS didn't have any more, I decided to try. I JUST finished them for size 8 feet, we are talking around 20 yards leftover. Actually, I only had maybe 1 yard left over but that's because I had already made one tiny sock before I got the idea to make these. So if you don't make a tiny sock first you'll be in better shape than I was. This is one of those colorways that looks better to me knitted than it did in the ball. I wasn't sure about it in the ball (then why did I buy it? I don't know.) but I think it is really pretty as a sock. I finally figured out the color too (lost the ball band) - it is called Lupins, which I always spell with an e but they don't. Also, Lupin(e) makes me think of Lepus, a jump I'm sure. But who doesn't like a giant rabbit?*


* Anybody who has been attacked by one, I'd think.

Knitting update

Not too much to report, more socks of course. I've also started another little project but it is a secret for now. I finished the first Springtime sock, a Christmas present,
This is the same pattern as my first socks in Koi, except I did the ribbing all the way down the leg. Other than that I've done a little bit on the second George sock as it was the only thing I had cast on and I needed something for my purse for waiting around knitting. I'm also just about to cast on the second purple shortie.

Lots of socks that need mates...

Sniff, poor solitary socks. I am jumping around a bit but for good reasons!

First, a Broadripple in Cascade Fixation Coral #4545

I am absolutely thrilled with this sock! I love the pattern and it was my first kitchener toe! But, I am also v. v. sad because I made a mistake in the pattern in the middle of the foot. So sad that I messed it up. But not sad enough to rip out a sock, good lord no. I will just try to ignore it. Here's a close up of the toe area to show off the ripple pattern

Also, a note about this color. They call it coral but it isn't by any means my idea of coral, more of a salmon. This one is solitary until I can get to the LYS because one of my #3s is missing, and if you don't split the leg over 4 needles then the pattern will be off. sigh. I blame Cal, we already know he likes crochet.

Then, a "Shorty" (link is a pdf, it is the 3rd pattern of the file) for my MIL for Christmas, I think.

It is solitary for the same reason I only *think* it is for her - Trevor is supposed to confirm her shoe size with his Dad but keeps forgetting. I'm not making the second one until I know for sure I have a giftee (it is too small for me).

And, one that is just started since I couldn't work on either of the above (yes, I could have worked on George, shush.) - this one will be a christmas gift for somebody not to be named. I am using the same pattern I used for my Koi socks.

Yay, swap yarn!

I have a lot of things to catch up on (FOs, WIPs, and nifty husband made presents!) but for now, let me just post a big thank you to my No Sheep for You Swapper who sent me a great package for July. Thanks, Sam! Sam went above and beyond the call of duty by hand dyeing me something for the swap! And she also sent me two balls of Cascade Fixation (my sock favorite) in a color I didn't have yet - Tiger Lily #9349. Now some photos of the yarny goodness, then a question!
The colors are not right, I couldn't get them no matter how many pictures I tried. The Fixation is much redder than this picture. It is like a salmony pink with dark red throughout. And the lovely hand dyed - oh it is raw silk, I forgot to say that part earlier! - is... just more gorgeous and vibrant than the picture shows. pinks, corals, and "natural" off white. Really really pretty.
Also here's the silk all balled up. I think the colors might show a little better here. I really need a swift! I keep saying that but not getting one... (are you listening people who buy me Christmas gifts?) I totally lurve it. I've never worked with silk before. It is soft and yummy.

Now the question: What should I make with it? Suggestions are welcomed! The details: It is somewhere around 750-800 yards of raw silk in a "sport fingering" (think heavy fingering). I'm thinking it would look lovely in a simple lace pattern so I thought this might be good for my first lace project, if anybody has a suggestion of a pattern that this weight/amount might work for... then I can start swatching!

Coming soon: socks, broken needles, and... oh right, the surprise yarn related present Trevor made me!

Damn you, George!

"George" sock #1 is done, finally. Well, I shouldn't be blaming George - he's just the yarn color. ;-) It isn't his fault that I tried a different pattern with more stitches and it took too long for no-patience-me. But, it didn't quite turn out as I planned. The pattern was only supposed to be at a tighter gauge than the other Fixation sock I made. It did come out at a much tighter gauge but the result was that it was pretty thick (definitely a winter sock) and a little bit too big. For my foot that is. Then I got the idea to see if it would fit my husband's giant foot by any chance. And it did! He proclaimed it a perfect fit, "very comfortable" and said he wanted them. So I guess he will be getting socks sooner than I planned. Luckily I made this in a man friendly color so it all worked out.

Cascade Fixation 9891 "George" Pattern: Two-Toed Sock (without the color changes)

In other knitting news, I have started a Ballband Dishcloth - made famous by Mason-Dixon Knitting but also available inside the band of Peaches & Cream cotton and on their website. I really like the way it is turning out so far although it seems a little big for a dishcloth. (I have gauge but it is still bigger than the pattern says it should be. huh.)

Annnnnd, one more thing. My great-grandmother's darning egg! My mom had it and passed it on to me when I started making socks. I had seen it around the house (in an antique wooden bowl with some yarn bobbins) but I never knew what it was for until my sock class. My mom knows my great-grandmother (her father's mother) knitted but she's not sure if she made socks or if she used this for darning store bought socks. I used it today for weaving up George!

First Socks!

They are done! Here they are!

Cascade Fixation #9877 "Koi" Pattern = "Cookie's Beginner Socks" by my sock class instructor

I am so impressed with myself. :-) They actually turned out to match pretty good except for the way top of the cuff, despite the way it looked when I was working on the second one. The toes are the same, the heels are almost the same...
And now here is one of them on my feet...

Grungy porch floor we haven't painted yet. Don't ask me why I walked out there instead of asking the photographer to come in where it was clean. sigh. Oh shoot, and the cuff curled when I put it on and I didn't notice. They are actually the same length.

I am in love with the pattern, she chooses the simplest way to do each thing and writes out more of the lines - instead of saying continue in this manner as much as most patterns do. Some of the more advanced knitters learned kitchener for the toe finish but I did not. Maybe next class I take from her, after I am a more advanced knitter.

In other sock news...
a) My sock club has been postponed a week so it won't be starting tomorrow. :-(
b) This is the fixation I bought the other day - #9891 "George" It has light brown, green (doesn't really come through in the photo), and two shades of blue
c) And this is the "baby blues" Panda Cotton I bought the other day. I cast on the fixation first because I don't have the right size needles yet for this and the knit store was out of them...

Sock Report!

Both socks from my first pair are done up to the toe! Tomorrow is my last sock class when we will be learning the toe and misc. other things to do to them like weaving ends. Then we'll be covering other sock info she wants to share with us.

In other sock related news: Yesterday I went to a yarn store I hadn't been to yet - the Spinning Room which was really nice! I got two balls of Cascade Fixation in a color I hadn't been able to find yet (9891), a pair of dpns in a size I needed, and two balls of Panda Cotton - a bamboo blend (in baby blues). (Photo to come!) Plus, they are starting a sock club "Sock it to me" that I signed up for! It sounds like fun and the best part is that it is free with the purchase of sock yarn (which you'd need anyway). Here's the description from the class listing:
Sock It To ME! Sneaker socks, loud socks, wild socks, classy socks. Socks on double-points, socks on 2 circulars... We'll meet every Monday night during the month of July to work on a choice of several socks with different designs...not just your average sock! We'll share tricks that work, as well as what doesn't, and motivate each other to complete TWO socks... that's right, a pair of socks! The pulse of this congenial group will be discussion of favorite books or movies. So bring a pad and pencil, your yarn and needles and let's get knitting socks! Suggested patterns are available and we'll entertain patterns from the group...Members should have made at least one item that looks vaguely like a sock in their recent lifetime....We plan on scheduling this club into August as well. Monday nights in July, 7 pm - 8:30 pm
It starts Monday so I'll have a sock filled weekend!

Socks Part 1

Here I am finally remembering to upload the beginning of my sock. Just in time for class #2 tomorrow. ;-) I actually have two socks at the same point because with two weeks between classes and 16 hours in the car last week I had plenty of time to do both legs.

Yes, the tops are quite different on the two socks, thanks for noticing. Apparently Cascade Fixation cannot be trusted. I couldn't tell for sure how their colors worked, but since the first sock (on the right) came out pretty much stripey (o.k., sometimes diagonal stripes) I thought the other one might too. I even started them both with the same color in case that mattered. Nope. The sock on the left has a giant splotch of color (blue and yellow on this side of the sock and red and orange on the other side) then moves into the stripes. Eh, I don't care, it's not like it's real striping yarn or anything.
update: I just found out this colorway is called "koi". Yeah, I guess it is all the colors of different colored koi all in one sock...