It's getting hot, so let's get ice cream!

Well not real ice cream, but Ice Cream Sundae from Stone Fiber Barn looks yummy. Here is my latest sock. There was another sock that was started and frogged, but we'll not talk about that one. This one was fun to knit. The yarn is very squishy and stretchy. I thought that the sock might turn out too big, but it's perfect. It's too bad that 80+ degree days are here. I'll have to stash these socks for next fall. I fell back to the Stansfield 304 pattern again that was last seen in my Perchance to Knit socks. I still like this pattern. It's easy to memorize, not boring to do, and makes a cool zig-zag pattern with somewhat stripey yarn.

Details:
Yarn: Stone Barn Fibers in Ice Cream Sundae bought from The Loopy Ewe
Needles: size 0 Knitpicks classic circulars
Pattern: Stansfield 304 on pg. 101 in More Sensational Knitted Socks
Method: toe-up with Turkish cast-on and a short row heel
Start: May 19, 2007
Finish: May 24, 2007

Up next is another pair of socks for me. I've been knitting socks for a while and have a lot of pairs, but I'm just now getting more confident in making socks for other people. My sister has been a guinea pig for a while and I think that I might be ready to branch out to the rest of the family. Now everyone--don't start making requests. I still have a long to-do list. ;-) Now, it's time for some kid pictures. On the left is what I get when playing kids get asked to "let mommy take a picture."

And this is what E looks like when she cooperates with the camera. :-D I know her hair is a mess, but I like it in this picture. She has such beautiful hair, but what a pain it is to tame. So, I just let it be wild...kind of like E.



This is what D looks like when asked to smile for the camera. He's in the every smile must be a cheesy smile phase. I have so many pictures of E doing that same smile. This was taken a few days ago when we made some chocolate chip cookies. Can you tell how much he liked them?

Not socks

I'm still here. I've been doing some other knitting. I knit up two Fetching wristwarmers for The Loopy Ewe's quarterly challenge. I want to knit a few more things before sending those off.

First up, I made a Monica top for E. This was knit with some leftover Knitpicks shine sport. For a cotton, I really like this yarn. It's not hard on my hands and it does have a shine to it. E likes the yarn because it's soft and the pattern because of the ruffle. I did change the pattern to knit in the round. I knit the violet section in the round and did two rows at the top with the green apple yarn. I did this because I didn't want the violet peeking through when I joined the ruffle. I also knit the ruffle in the round.

Details:
Pattern: Monica (from Knitty.com)
Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Sport in Violet (2) and Green Apple (1.5)
Needles: size 5 Knitpicks options
Changes: knit both parts in the round and then joined
Start: May 15, 2007
Finish: May 16, 2007

Next, I tried the kidlet tank. I knit the largest size, but only made the body 10.5 inches long. That did turn out a bit too long for E, but at least her tummy doesn't show when she stretches. I used up various leftovers of Knitpicks shine sport. E likes all of the random stripes. I liked this pattern and I like the shape of this tank. I would definitely knit this one again, but not with all of those stripes (and ends-ugh!).

Details:
Pattern: Kidlet Tank
Yarn: leftover Knitpicks Shine Sport in violet, blush, orchid, crocus, and green apple
Needles: size 5 Knitpicks Options
Changes: knit largest size and made body 10.5 inches before starting decreases
Start: May 17, 2007
Finish: May 18, 2007

1 sock, 3 socks, little socks, big socks

Here are the little socks for D. It is a bit of a challenge taking photos of his constantly moving feet. These socks are so quick to make. It takes me about a day of here and there knitting to complete a pair for him. These were made out of leftovers. They took around 35 gms for the black/grey socks and less for the blue. The blue pair were the first and they fit him just right. I'm sure that they'll be too small by next month. ;-) I made the black and grey socks longer and wider around. Hopefully, those will last through summer. He loves the socks that I make for him. He usually picks the handknits first when he has to grab a pair out of his dresser. I think he mostly likes them because they enable him to skate across the kitchen floor. ;-)

Details:
Yarns: Regia surf 5415(blue) and Tiptop 4080 (black and grey)
Needle: size 0 Knitpicks classic circular
Method: toe-up with turkish cast-on, welt fantastic pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks(without the welts), short row heel
Start (blue): May 8, 2007
Finished (blue): May 9, 2007
Start (black/grey): May 9, 2007
Finished (black/grey): May 10, 2007

Here is another pair of socks for my sister. I started out wanting to alter the welt fantastic pattern. I was trying to eliminate the knit, yarnover, knit into one stitch. In doing that, what I did was exactly like the Jaywalker socks. Well, they're upside down jaywalkers since I did mine toe-up. I think that the welt fantastic pattern is faster to knit. The double decrease in the jaywalker pattern slows me down. When I try this pattern again, I want to use a different increase. I'm not fond of the knit front and back method of increasing.

Details:
Yarn: Sock It To Me Puzzle 720 from Elann
Needles: size 0 Knitpicks classic circulars
Method: turkish cast-on, upside down jaywalkers, short row heel
Start: May 10, 2007
Finished: May 13, 2007

What's next? I'm knitting wristwarmers, fingerless mittens, or whatever they're called. They're not for me, but for a good cause. After that, I'll have some tough decisions...which yummy sock yarn to knit?

Sea Wool Renaissance socks

They're done! The color on the left sock never darkened to what the right sock is. Oh well. It's not that noticeable in photos, but it's very obvious when you're looking at them in person. I even checked with Dwight to make sure it wasn't just my eyes. I still like the feel of these socks. I just wish the color didn't have to be off like that. I debated with myself whether or not to voice my disappointment. I did and Kathryn at Fleece Artist is sending me another hank. Sheri at The Loopy Ewe even offered a replacement hank. The customer service that I received was excellent from both Kathryn and Sheri. I will continue to buy Fleece Artist's yarns. Out of the other three hanks of yarn, all of their colors stayed consistent throughout the hank.

The pattern that I used is the crosshatch lace pattern on page 90 of More Sensational Knitted Socks. It took me three tries to get this right. This lace pattern is very stretchy. I started with 72 stiches around, dropped to 64(with modification), and then finally dropped to 60. I could have dropped even more if I wanted snug socks. These socks aren't completely snug, but they do fit.

Details:
Yarn: Sea Wool in Renaissance color
Needles: size 1 Knitpicks classic circulars
Pattern: Crosshatch Lace pattern on p. 90 of More Sensational Knitted Socks
Method: toe-up using Turkish cast-on and a short row heel
Start: May 5, 2007
Finish: May 7, 2007

Lovely socks and odd socks

I love these socks! Yes, they are a bit bright, but I like the combination of pink, purple, and green. Let me add that it's a bit difficult to take a picture of your own feet---that doesn't make your legs look huge. Shhh Dwight, I hear you laughing! The picture on the left was taken by me and my wonderful Canon Pro1 camera. The swivel lcd screen makes shots like that one possible. Back to the socks, this yarn was very nice to work with. It's Perchance to Knit in Bougainvillea. I forgot to mention in the last post that this yarn comes with a cute little matching stitch marker. I thought that was a very nice touch that makes this yarn stand out a bit from the various other handpainted sock yarns out there. The pattern is the Stansfield 304 from More Sensational Knitted Socks. It's a nice pattern that's easy to memorize. You can see the pattern detail better in the middle picture below.

Details:
Yarn: Perchance to Knit in Bougainvillea bought from The Loopy Ewe
Needles: size 0 Knitpicks classic circular
method: toe-up, short row heel
pattern: Stansfield 304 pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: May 1, 2007
Finish: May 4, 2007

And now I'll talk a little bit about my odd socks. Is there something wrong with the picture to the left? Hmm, maybe it's the sun. Nope. Maybe it's the photo. Nope. It's the yarn. The sock on the left is significantly lighter than the sock on the right. It's more dramatic in person too. Ugh. I can't say that I'm not disappointed. I am. This is the first time that a sock yarn has let me down and it just had to be a Sea Wool sock yarn too. :-( The sock on the right is so pretty. It's colors are bright and vibrant. The colors on the left are faded, muted, or sad. I noticed it when I started, but kept going. I was hoping that the faded part wouldn't last very long. I'm now around 2/3 done with the foot and they're still very different. I'm going to finish them anyways because I do love the yarn.

Spring is closing in on us

As I look out the windows, I can see less and less. The trees are starting to fill in and the dandelions are everywhere. Pollen is driving my allergies crazy. Carpenter bees are trying to attack our house. And ticks are found on everyone. Yuck! But it is so green and so beautiful outside. I just need to ignore the bugs and pollen as much as I can. Another sign that spring is here is D waking me up at 6:30am every morning. He's an early riser and unfortunately, I'm not. Birds are building nests around our house. But some of our regulars aren't here. The hawks, cardinals, and bluebirds didn't build near the house this year. I think this is because we were outside much more and probably scared them away.

Back to knitting, I've finished two pairs of socks. One pair is out of the Regia yarn for my Mom that I mentioned in the last post. The other pair is out of the left over Lorna's Laces for E. Details for Mom's and E's socks:

Yarn: Regia Surf 5411
Needles: size 0 Knitpicks classic circular
Pattern: my plain sock pattern
Start: ? didn't write it down
Finish: April 30, 2007

Pink and Yellow socks for E
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Sassy Stripe
Needle: size 0 addi turbo
Pattern: my plain sock pattern
Start: April 29, 2007
Finish: May 1, 2007

This is what I'm working on now. This sock yarn is Bougainvillea from Perchance to Knit. I bought this from The Loopy Ewe. Well, I didn't directly buy this one there. There was a major shopping frenzy going on when I ordered it and the system let me order a yarn that wasn't there anymore. Sheri gave me several options and I chose this one. I'm glad I did. The colors are so pretty.

I decided against doing my plain stockinette sock and wanted to do something patterned. Well, it's not easy picking out a pattern for sock yarn as colorful as this one. I picked the stansfield 304 pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks. I've only done two repeats of it in this photo. I think it looks much better when stretched out on a foot. Back to knitting...