10 posts tagged “socks”
For the next three weekends, anyhow! Next weekend is the annual Toronto trip, then the weekend after, I'm going to Boston, and the weekend after that, back to Binghamton! (And then I'll be home a few more weeks, then off to Poland! Summer is crazy!)
Anyhow, ahem. So I was home this weekend, and more than I'd planned to be, actually, because the boy was having car issues, so I told him to take mine. Being carless, it left me some unplanned time to sit at home, listen to knitting podcasts (I've finally found one that I like!), and get some knitting done too.
Pictures! Everyone loves pictures!
The Monkey sock! It had been stuck somewhere way up near the cuff for a while, as I hadn't been knitting much, or I'd been knitting while reading (which pretty much limits me to stockinette).. I sat out on my balcony for a bit, listened to Stash and Burn, and all of a sudden, the monkey had a turned heel! Amazing!
This hasn't made an appearance in a while, but it's my current project to work on while reading. I'm maybe not totally in love with size 0 needles, but I am mostly in love with this sock - it's so bright and happy, and I don't have to think about it at all, just around and around.. The dye job is my own, and I'm knitting it on such teensy needles because it's just plain merino, no nylon, no superwash, so I figured it'd be best to knit it to a smaller gauge.
A little more clapotis love, of course. This has been woefully ignored lately too, in favor of all socks, all the time. Now that I'm back to my senses a bit, I can't believe I put it down! The yarn is rather squishy and shiny and pleasant, and I can't wait to wrap myself in this thing (even if the colorway guarantees that it will never match anything). Granted, I have a while to go, as I just today dropped my second column of stitches, but still, it's progress.
Finally, the grandmother shrug begins! Otherwise known as the Fiery Bolero from IK Summer 2005, this is being knit for my grandmother (duh), as her arms are always cold. I'm making it long sleeved, from the Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk that I got not too long ago in Pittsburgh. It's a few inches in, I've just started adding stitches for the sleevey bits.
Unfortunately, that's all I got in this weekend - Rusted Root begged for some attention, but I never got around to it, Icarus was admired, but then stuffed back into the UFO bin, and that damn blue laceweight kept winding up within arms reach. If not a mystery stole, then I'm thinking it would make a lovely Print of the Wave.
Alas, I have nothing to show for my pretty new sock yarn yet, because I have too many other things that need to be finished first. I do have a new sock to show though, it's not quite finished, but you'll get the idea.
The last time I went to see a new Harry Potter movie, I wore my Gryffindor scarf. However, it'll be too warm to do that this time around, so I decided that DA socks would be the way to go, especially since I'll have a DA shirt to wear as well. Nothing too fancy going on here - toe up sock, short row heel, a bit of unfortunate laddering.. I'm going to go a bit further with the grey, then add in a thick red and gold stripe near the top. The ball of grey yarn is getting a little smallish, but I still expect it'll be enough to be a pair of knee socks.
Yarn: Elann Esprit, in grey, inca gold, and wine. Can't say that I love knitting with it, the texture is a bit much for me, and it's odd to knit with stretchy yarn.. but I'll manage. =)
Needles: Size 3 (US) Crystal Palace DPNs
I started these on Saturday, and should have a completed sock by this coming Saturday. Right now, I'm trying to figure out if I should try to be at all creative with my calf increases.. stay tuned!
I suck at cooking. I'm not too bad at baking cookies, and I can sometimes manage a decent pie. Otherwise, I'm fairly hopeless. Soups are risky business, I've screwed up boxed potatoes, and the thought of cooking a turkey or a roast terrifies me. (Luckily, the boy was a sous chef before turning to beekeeping, so I can leave the food prep to him.) Get some yarn and dye involved, however, and I'll try using everything in the kitchen!
I got this stuff all set up last night, dyes mixed and everything, so that I could start fairly early this morning.
High-tech, eh? Nothing but the finest yarn dying setup here.
No, I've never tried using my dishwasher to set the colors yet, and I don't think I'll be doing it again. I'm sure it works just fine if the dishwasher in question isn't ancient, but ours is old, and cranky, and doesn't do much actual washing or heating. After letting the dishwasher do what it could, I zapped all the yarn a couple of times in the microwave until it seemed all set.
I also started another project today, which is taking priority over the monkey socks, because I need to get these finished in the next three-ish weeks. It should be plenty of time, but I'd like to make sure it all works out as planned.
I may have a slight problem with socks. The monkey socks were finished this weekend, and I already got to wear them, as the boy likes to keep the apartment ridiculously cold. They're warm and comfy, and the yarn is super squishy and fun! (Oh, and the pattern is great too.)
So, none of that seems like I have a sock problem, right? How about this?
Still not a sock problem? Well, I also maybe ordered some sock yarn that I've been trying not to order for a long time. I'm not saying what it is until it gets here, and it's not getting here for a while, because she has to dye up some more of one of the colors. That's right, I couldn't even just order one. It's coming from pretty far away, and I figured if I was going to pay that much for shipping, I had to at least get two. To say I'm excited about it is an understatement. (And I did only get two, for now.)
Sock issues aside, I have some more knitting stuff too! (The mail was good to me this weekend.) My magnets arrived, which means I need to go wash my car, so I can rock the ssk magnet, and my Webs order came in, so I plan on doing a test dye later in the day to see what colors my Clapotis will be.
Lastly, my attempt at gardening! The pictures can speak for themselves..
This post brought to you courtesy of the AAN convention, which yours truly was not invited to attend. (That's okay, I understand, somebody has to be in the office, and technically, I've already been to one of these things, even if I was volunteering more than attending..). Anyhow, it's slow here, so my knitting gets to make an appearance!
Unfortunately, even though most of what I have to do today involves being on the phone, I have to type while I'm doing that, so I can't knit much. Anyhow, there's the second sock, I imagine it'll be finished this weekend - just 3 repeats left, and the toe. Next up? Either Hedera, or another pair of Monkeys. Leaning toward the Monkeys for sure. =) Also, if my yarn gets here fast enough, I will be dying up a whole mess of yarn - enough for a full sized Clapotis.
It is potentially a bit mad that I'm going to try to dye up that much yarn all at once, but my first choice for the yarn fell through. I had ordered Fiesta Ballet from Webs over two months ago, and apparently, someone got to it before me, and the yarn was backordered. Fast forward two months, I still have no yarn, and Webs is being completely vague about when it might show up. (I feel bad harboring so much ill will toward them, especially when everyone else loves them, but really, two months?) Frustrated, I cancel the order, and look for a suitable substitute.. a much cheaper alternative was found, a merino/tencel blend, but it only comes in solid colors. So I ordered up enough of the natural color, and will see what can be done with it. Wish me luck! I could certainly use a nice wrap - when they do turn on the air-conditioning at work, it's freezing. Moderation, people!
and for once, i'm staying home! my apartment is cleaner than it has been in a while, i haven't had to fight any traffic, and i'll be totally rested for my next long weekend, which happens to start this thursday. yay, beach weekend!
a couple of crafty things going on here:
dyed up some not entirely solid sock yarn, to become hedera. i can't even tell you how much i love how this turned out. the colors are right on, and i might just love this new base yarn.
initially i was a little worried, it seemed a bit flimsy for sock yarn. maybe i would have to break out the 000s? happily, the yarn poofed up a good deal after dying, so normal needle sizes will be in effect. (and sorry about the lousy picture. the camera and i seem to be having a fight.)
i also got some cute new shoes, for cheap, and comfy! and i finally finished those daisy socks! not that you can see the pattern, with all the crazy pooling going on, but it's the thought that counts, right?
i kind of feel like a bad person for admitting this, but i haven't been knitting very much lately. a little here, a little there.. but not as much as usual for me. maybe now that the weather is warmer, my desire to snuggle up with a heaping pile of wool is diminished. not to say that i haven't done anything, but it's been very slow going.
those mothers day socks? let's not talk about them. oh okay, fine. they were going along so well at first, and then i put the second one down right around the heel.. and then it sat on my couch, totally unloved. there isn't even much left. i'm just a bad daughter, i guess. i just have one more pattern repeat, and the toe, that's not so much. maybe i can guilt myself into finishing it tonight, and mailing them out tomorrow?
i did pull out the sewing machine the other weekend, though i didn't use the watermelon fabric that i'd purchased (turns out, i have way too much of that. enough to make a dress out of! so there may be a watermelon dress in my future.) anyhow, the sewing - i made a pretty basic skirt, based on another skirt i own. it doesn't fit very well, apparently i think my waist is much larger than it really is. i'm calling the skirt low rise, but honestly, it doesn't even sit on my hips right. eventually i'll fix it. and maybe i'll see if i can make that zipper part a little less messy too. i'm calling it a success though.
would it be wrong if i just decorated my apartment with roving? so pretty!
i ordered more roving before even finishing up with the fleece artist. initially i thought i could have one ply of fleece artist, one ply of the new stuff, and end up with a usable amount of yarn, but they really don't go together at all, so separate they shall be.
there's nothing quite like a new pair of handknit socks to make your morning cheerful. add to that the first sun i've seen in about forever, and an iced coffee? it's about as perfect as can be.
i had a mini-photoshoot this morning, and for taking pics of my own feet? i think they turned out pretty well. no stubbly legs, no bad pedicure, no sock lint between the toes.. (not that my toes are exposed, but ya know, the worst sock WIP picture i've ever seen featured sock lint between the toes, toenails of all different lengths, and stubble! it was horrifying! if you're posting a picture of your feet for all the world to see, take a few minutes and do it right!)
enough babble, on with the pictures!
specs: plain old cuff down sock, 64 stitches around, size 1 (US) needles. yarn is knitpicks bare superwash that i dyed on my stovetop with some wiltons gel coloring. i have about 30 grams of yarn left, which will go into my slowly growing collection of sock yarn remains.
some time ago, i recall thinking that i would never knit socks. too fiddly, and socks that i can buy at the store are perfectly adequate. it would be silly to knit such things. and yet, here i am, knitting nothing but socks. i love the tiny little needles, and the fun options of yarn, and the cute little rows of perfect little stitches. (well, i'm hoping for perfect little stitches. it may not actually turn out that way.)
my latest pair. yes, i was anal enough to bother with trying to match the stripes. i think it's about half a row off from matching exactly, which is good enough for me.
i finally finished my first pair of socks (for myself)! somehow, i managed to make all kinds of mistakes on the second sock. it's not like it's a hard pattern or anything, i think i just wasn't paying much attention to what i was doing. nonetheless, it's a completed pair of socks, and i'm happy with them, even if the second one has a few things wrong with it.
i also realized that taking pictures of my knitting is maybe not exactly normal to people who uh, don't knit. for example, i finished my socks this morning. i put them on, admired them for a minute or so, and then whipped out my camera. my brother and his wife, who were visiting this weekend, immediately scooted closer together on their couch and smiled for the camera. the smiles faltered a bit when instead of taking a picture of them, i pointed it at my feet. hi guys, don't mind me, just taking a picture of my feet.
and, two hats! these are old, finished long before i started this vox blog, but since the jaywalkers are a grumperina pattern, and the odessa hat is too, i may as well put them all together. the grey one is mine, love it, wear it all winter long.. the pink one was gifted to a friend, and was made from blue sky alpaca silk, which is beautiful, but sooo not right for this hat. (thanks again, bad yarn shop. i'm still mad at you for suggesting that as an acceptable substitute yarn.)
