SOS #14 and why socks?

Another pair of socks for me and in a pattern that I could do over and over. This is the Stansfield 304 pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks. It's a textural type pattern with knits, purls, increases, and decreases. I think it looks great with variegated yarns. It's easy to memorize and easy to see where you left off if you have to put the socks down. There is only one downfall, if you want to call it that. It pulls in a lot just like chevron patterns. That makes it hard to get the sock on your foot. It's not binding once on your foot and it's actually quite comfortably snug. This pattern does not stretch out and sag during the course of the day.

The yarn is Lime and Violet's Sasquatch yarn in Pennicillin. It was in the Better Living Through Chemistry color line. I had to buy some yarn in that line. One of the phrases that Dwight says a lot is that at work they, "make life better with chemicals."

Details:
Yarn: Lime & Violet's Sasquatch sock in Pennicillin
Needles: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, two at once, Turkish cast-on
Pattern: Stansfield 304 from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: July 25, 2007
Finish: July 31, 2007

Anyone visiting this blog lately probably thinks that I only knit socks. I don't. It's just that I wanted to concentrate on socks during the Summer of Socks. I am itching to knit some lace, but that can wait. I like knitting socks because of their portability and ability to keep my interest. You can make them as easy or as complicated as you want. I started knitting socks as something to do when I couldn't sew. We homeschool and we have our lessons where I usually sew. I couldn't sew during lessons, but I could knit on something small. I can also easily set them aside when E needs some help.

I don't wear many sweaters, even in winter. I like layers and may attempt a cardigan one of these days. Another reason why I like socks is that I can make them in wild colors that I would never wear. The clothes that I wear are very basic in style and color. I really don't like to buy trendy clothing that will only look good for one year. So, I knit wild socks to wear with my basic outfits.

At first my goal was to knit enough socks and not ever have to wear store bought socks. I've reached that goal and beyond. If I knit up all of my sock yarn, I would probably have ................... I'm not saying it. Dwight reads this and he doesn't need to know how many. ;-)

Up next...more wild socks for me. Also, there is sock yarn coming in the mail, more sock yarn that needs to be photographed for Ravelry, and I need to think of something to do with the leftover sock yarns.

SOS #13 and back to normal

Things are starting to get back to normal. My parents left very early Saturday morning. I spent most of Saturday sewing some dress-up clothes for E's friend. The present consisted of two very long twirly skirts, a matching purse, two magnetic bracelets, and a necklace that E made by herself. The skirts were a hit and put on almost immediately. It's really nice to see something that you made enjoyed by someone else so much.

I didn't get much knitting time in this past week. I'm sure that I was passed as having the most socks knit so far with this down time. There is still a little less than two months to go, so anything can happen. I was interviewed while still in the lead. Here it is. Go read it and have a laugh!

These socks were finished early last week, but I didn't have time to photograph them until today. I enjoy knitting this pattern and I love the colors in this yarn. This is Flash by Perchance to Knit. The pattern is Welt Fantastic from Sensational Knitted Socks. I usually knit it without the welts (purl rows). These socks are for me.

Details:
Yarn: Perchance to Knit in Flash
Needles: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, two at once, Turkish cast-on, short row heel
Pattern: Welt Fantastic (without the purl rows) from Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: July 22, 2007
Finish: July 24, 2007

While my Mom was here, I gave her four pairs of socks to take home. She and my sister were to figure out who gets which socks. I was informed that only one out of the four was an acceptable color to my sister. Good grief! I thought that she might like the Baudelaire socks, but those were too light for her. I'll continue to make socks for her, but I'll just have to be sure to stick with the dark colors for her.

Now, I am back to knitting socks for myself again. They're a lot more fun and I get to knit with the fun colored yarns in my stash. I've started another pair and I'm to the heels already. They are out of Lime & Violet yarn and I'm using the Stansfield 304 pattern that I love.

This picture just about sums up last week. A lot of fun, a lot of laughs, a lot of time spent with Grandma and Grandpa, and a lot of happy faces.

SOS #12 done and visitors

Here's another pair that isn't for me. I forgot to mention in the last post that those Thelonious socks are definitely for me. ;-) This yarn is another yarn that I bought with the intention to use for Dwight, but he's decided that he doesn't like socks made out of fingering weight yarns. That's why I've been trying to use up all of these subdued Regia yarns. Right after I said that, he said that he likes thinner socks too. I think his goal in life is to drive me slowly insane. Anyways, I'm not making fingering weight socks for him anytime soon. They take too long and he does seem to like the squishier socks more.

Back to these socks. This pattern is called Moorish Lattice from the Sensational Knitted Socks book. As a word of warning to anyone wanting to knit a pattern from this book, check the errata!!! There is errata for this pattern and it is obvious because the stitches don't line up if you follow the stitch pattern for the instep. You have to modify two lines in the pattern to get it to work.

Details:
Yarn: Regia 4-ply color 5365
Needles: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circulars
Method: magic loop, two at once, toe up with Turkish cast on, and short row heel
Pattern: Moorish Lattice (p.49) in Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: July 20, 2007
Finish: July 21, 2007

I've been busy this past weekend. I just got word that I'll have some guests this week. I've been cleaning, straightening, and grocery shopping in preparation for them. Because of that, I don't know how much knitting or blog time I'll get this week. I also need to dust off my sewing machine. There's a birthday party next weekend and I need to sew a few twirly skirts for the birthday girl. I made her a few of those last year and they were a big hit.

I have started another pair of socks. I'm knitting the Welt fantastic (minus the welt) pattern again with some Perchance to Knit yarn in the Flash color. I love it so far.

SOS #11 done and rain!!!

We're finally getting a decent amount of rain. It has been so dry here. We primarily use cistern (rain water off of our roof) water for washing and everyday use around the house. We have wells for drinking water and back up. Last night and this morning we got some rain. I love thunderstorms and we had some good lightning and thunder this morning too. We haven't had many of those this spring/summer.

I've finished another sock. This one was a lot of fun to make. I love the yarn and the pattern and they went really well together. The yarn is Dream In Color's smooshy yarn and it is smooshy. The pattern is Cookie A's Thelonious sock. This is the first pattern of hers that I've bought and it is well done. The instructions and charts are great. If I had thought of it, I would have made these socks taller. Where they land on my leg makes them prone to slouching. Oh well. I might try running some clear elastic around the cuff to see if that helps.

Details:
Yarn: Dream In Color Smooshy - In Vino Veritas
Needles: size 1 (2.25mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, one at a time, cuff down
Pattern: Thelonious by Cookie A.
Start: July 17, 2007
Finish: July 19, 2007

I realized that I didn't have any recent pictures of E and D together. It's hard enough trying to get them to look at the camera when they're by themselves. It's near impossible when they're together. My method is to get them to make faces. Sure they're not smiling, but I'm just glad that they're looking my way.

The last picture that I took is my favorite. It probably sums up what they think of taking pictures.

SOS #10 done and it's not for me

Here is Baudelaire in blue. It is another sock that's not for me, but I'm really tempted to keep it. If I don't, I'll have to make another pair for myself. I actually followed the pattern and did the heel as written. It does fit nice, but I still don't like the look of this type of heel. I do like it when you're doing a top down sock and the patterning goes down the heel flap. This sock was done toe-up, so the back of the heel is just plain. On this pattern, I especially like the little cables that go up the sides of the sock. Instead of doing the 1x1 ribbing, I did a 2x2 ribbing, except on the sides. I let the cable go up into the ribbing like I saw recently on one of Wendy's socks.

Details:
Yarn: Regia 4-ply color 1932
Needles: size 1 (2.25m) Knit Picks Classic Circulars
Method: magic loop, two at once, toe up with Turkish cast on
Pattern: Baudelaire (medium)
Start: July 14, 2007
Finish: July 16, 2007

Next, I want more color! After doing three pairs of socks that aren't for me and that were a bit monochromatic, I want to do some wild socks. We'll see what I can dig up.

I'm also thinking about the Q3 challenge that Sheri posted about on her blog. I'm supposed to try some sort of socks or lace that's a challenge for me. If I went with lace, I would want to try a different construction. The problem is that square shawls or circular shawls don't appeal to me. I don't want to spend all that time knitting, just to have to fold the shawl in half to wear it. I went searching for a challenging rectangular or triangular shawl. The Inky-Dinky Spider Stole has caught my eye more than once. I bought the pattern and we'll see what I think when it gets here.

But if I went with socks, what kind of pattern would challenge me? I don't wear knee socks. I've done various lace socks and color work socks. I've tried entrelac socks and didn't like it. How about argyle socks! Now those would definitely be challenging. And intimidating. I haven't tried intarsia yet.

Of course, there's still the Mystery Stole #3. I haven't cast on for that yet. I'm not quite burned out on socks. I have been making magnetic bracelets for E and others. They're fun and so quick to make once you get all of those beads out. I'll have to take pictures of those for a future post.

SOS #9 done and sock blocking

This sock was so fast to knit, but I think that I need some sock blockers now. I've never understood why there was a need to block socks. Until now, I've never done a full lace sock. I've done Pomatomus, but that one looked great without blocking. I think because it was a ribbed sort of lace. This lace looks okay now, but will most likely look a lot better with blocking. Whenever I make that next Loopy Ewe order, I'll get some sock blockers. This is another pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. It's called Diamond Rib and is easy to memorize. This pair of socks is another one that isn't for me. Who is it for? I haven't decided yet. We'll have to see how she feels about lacy socks first. Dwight always asks me who I'm making the sock for and he thought it was odd that I didn't know who would get these.

Details:
Yarn: Regia Line Steps 5368
Needles: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic circulars
Method: magic loop, two at once, toe up using a Turkish cast-on
Pattern: Diamond Rib (p. 55) in Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: July 12, 2007
Finish: July 13, 2007

Speaking of Dwight and socks, he bought some smartwool socks while we were on vacation. He bought a pair almost 10 years ago and they have finally worn out. He has worn those pair once every week. I don't feel so bad making handknit socks after seeing the price tag on those socks. He bought two different kinds this time and they seemed a bit thin. They were under the same light hiking label as his old ones, but it doesn't seem like they'll last as long as his old pair.

This is what prompted my son to ask the deer in the house questions. Dwight has been pruning trees near our power line. The deer like to come and eat the leaves off of certain trees. This little one came after we were done with our dinner and hung around eating for a while. Awww, it was so cute to watch. It's so much fun looking out of the window and seeing the animals come strolling through. D saw a turkey a few days ago and called it a goose.

Up next? Mostly likely another pair of socks that's not for me. That means some subdued color knitted with a pattern that won't bore me. ;-)

SOS #8 done and What Happens If?

I used to have quite a stash of various Regia cotton blend sock yarn. I have a few pairs and like them, but I think they're perfect for my relatives that live in warmer areas. So, this pair is not for me. The pattern is Anastasia. I've knit this pattern last fall and liked it. I can see myself doing this pattern a few more times. It's easy to do, easy to memorize, and it keeps your attention enough to not be boring. I did try to match up the stripes on these socks since I was knitting these one at a time. for the most part, I was successful. I love how the diagonals cut through the stripes.

Details:
Yarn: Regia Cotton Surf - 5410
Needles: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, one at a time, toe up with a Turkish cast-on
Pattern: Anastasia Socks
Start: July 10, 2007
Finish: July 12, 2007

My 3.5 year old son is into questions. Many questions...all day long. What happens if I don't have eyes? (You wouldn't be able to see.) What happens if the deer come into the house? (They don't like coming inside and probably wouldn't.) What happens if we have a playground in the bathroom? (We wouldn't have room for us in here.) What happens if I was just like E? (Then I wouldn't have a cute little boy.) I remember E going through this stage, but it's killing me. ;-) I try to answer them, but it does get tiring. So all through knitting, cooking, and general things we do everyday, I hear those questions. Sometimes they just baffle me and I have to ask him to repeat them.

If I manage to think about something besides all of those questions, I'll figure out what I'll knit next. ;-)

SOS #7 done

What is this? Another sock! Yes, it's still all socks around here. I'm so tempted to cast on for some lace. I'll do that when I start to get burned out on socks. That hasn't happened yet. I still have a lot more pretty sock yarns that I want to knit. And now I want to knit more for other people. It's very convenient for me that me, my sister, my Mom, and my MIL all have similar sized feet. So really, I can knit a sock and then pick the person.

Summer of socks has done something else good around here. It's made me blog a bit more. Blogging can eat a good amount of time. It might take me an hour from taking pictures, resizing them, uploading them, blogging, etc. I used to let the finished knits sit around and just do a mass blogging of them. With summer of socks, each one has gotten it's own entry.

Back to the sock... This sock was started on the way home this past Saturday. It's been a pretty quick knit. Lace patterns tend to go very fast, especially ones that you can memorize. I wasn't able to memorize this one. The stitch count changes from row to row. I did change the last row in the chart. The yarn overs weren't lining up like I thought they should, so I moved them over to the right one stitch. The pattern is Grapevine from More Sensational Knitted Socks. I thought this pattern was perfect for this purple-ish yarn with green splotches here and there. The yarn is from Misty Mountain Farms and the color is Mossy Hollow. This yarn was different feeling. It sort of had a cotton feel to it, but it also had a shine too. Very cool.

Details:
Yarn: Misty Mountain Farm - Jubilee - in Mossy Hollow
Needles: size 1 (2.25mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, two at once, toe up using Turkish cast on
Pattern: Grapevine (p. 96) in More Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: July 7, 2007
Finish: July 10, 2007

Now I have nothing on the needles. I don't even have a yarn or pattern lined up next. It's weird not having something to work on. I do know that the next few pairs of socks probably won't be for me. Over on Ravelry, someone asked how many pairs of socks do you have. Let's just say that I have a lot. Eek!

Here are a few more pictures from our vacation. The picture on the left looks like we're entering the Paths of the Dead from Lord of the Rings. We saw a creepy spider in there with a funnel shaped web. The picture taking conditions were very difficult though. On the right, E really liked the beams of sunlight that made it down near this huge overhanging rock.

We didn't see any big fireworks shows this year. Instead, we played with sparklers. E and D had a lot of fun with them. As you can see, my camera isn't too happy taking ISO 400 pictures.

SOS #6 done and so many waterfalls

Here is the Vesper sock that I finished on our way home. The yarn is very nice and the colors are wonderful. I do knit my socks from both ends of one ball of yarn. The pinks on either sock to line up, but the black and red stripes are reversed. I like it. These socks are bright and very fun. I can't wait until cooler weather lets me wear them more often. Right now, we're having temperatures in the mid 90's. Not exactly sock wearing weather. Not even cotton socks.

Details:
Yarn: Vesper sock yarn in Strange Little Mama
Needles: size 0 (2mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, two at once, toe up with Turkish cast-on, short row heel
Pattern: Welt Fantastic from Sensational Knitted Socks (modified to make the zigzags wider and left out the welts)
Start: July 1, 2007
Finished: July 7, 2007

The first falls that we went to was called Lower Falls (left). Lower what? I don't know. ;-) I just know that it was quite a hike getting back to the parking area. There were a lot of switchbacks and a lot of obstacles (rocks, roots, etc) on the trail. The second falls that E, D, and Dwight went to was the Upper Falls (right). I was too tired and opted to stay in the car for that hike.

The next day, we went to Linville Falls. Hmmmm, this one was very familiar. Why is that? Dwight said that we've never been there before. I swear we have been there. I came home, looked into the honeymoon album, and I was right!! That's one of the falls that we visited on our honeymoon--10 years ago. It was fun to go back and take E and D with us this time.

After that, we took a loooong detour to the Crabtree Falls. Why the detour? Because we were slightly lost. Dwight said that his map was wrong. Right... I have to give him credit though - he did stop and ask for directions. These falls were beautiful. There was a bridge where you can get a full view of the falls. But you could also do a little scampering over rocks to get a bit closer too. E and D did that with Dwight and had lots of fun playing in the water. The twisty hike to this one was well worth it.

E did the 5k race again this year. She finished and her time was much better than last years. She's 6 and this is her third year doing the race. I'm so proud of her for finishing. She's said that she wants to do again next year too. She didn't do too much training this year, but maybe we'll do a bit more before next year's race.

The last waterfall that we went to was Looking Glass Falls. This is definitely a tourist waterfall. All that you have to do is park your car, walk down some stairs, and you there right at the bottom of the waterfall. This waterfall is very beautiful, but there is just something missing when it's that easy to get to.

We did do some camping on this trip. That was fun, except for the twisted ankle. E and D seemed to enjoy the whole trip. There was a lot of adventure and we didn't stay in one place long enough to get bored. ;-)

What am I working on now? I'm working on a pair of socks out of Misty Mountain yarn and using another pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks. I haven't started Mystery Shawl #3, but I'm sooo tempted. All of the pictures so far are beautiful. I think that I will definitely like this shawl made in black.

SOS #5 done and I'm baaaack!

We're back from vacation. We've been camping, visiting in-laws, shopping, and going on all sorts of adventures for the past week. I started these when we left our house and finished them the next day at our campsite. I had to sit around all day because of a twisted ankle. Ouch! We were on a sloped campsite with stairs leading down to it. I stepped on the one uneven step on the wrong spot and down I went. It wasn't pretty. :-( It did give me a lot of time to knit. These socks were so fast. They were knit on a 2.5mm needle, but probably could have been knit on something larger. I had to knit looser than I usually do for socks, but the 2.5mm was the largest needle that I had on hand. The yarn is Fiesta Boomerang and it's a very squishy yarn. I think Dwight would love socks made out of this. I'll have to look for Dwight compatible colors next time I see it.

Details:
Yarn: Fiesta Boomerang in Raspberry Mocha
Needles: size 1 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Method: magic loop, two at once, toe up with Turkish cast on, and short row heel
Pattern: Cross Stitch Block (p.97) in More Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: June 30, 1007
Finished: July 1, 2007

I did finish a pair of Vesper socks on this trip. Those were finished in the car on the way home today. I haven't taken pictures of those yet. So, pictures of the Vesper sock and some cool vacation pictures to come(hopefully).