Sunday, August 30, 2009

Blondies

What, no pictures?
I have been knitting my sister's rainbow socks almost exclusively, but haven't made as much progress as I had hoped. My tendonitis is flaring up a little bit, and I figure it's best to restrict my daily knitting time before it gets worse. So I baked blondies. I was going to take pictures, but we ate them. They are all gone, not a crumb left. Nothing to photograph.

I think I'll go knit some lace now. Laceweight is easy on the wrists.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Socks, socks, uh.... socks!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! Yes, my sister has excellent yarn sense. Not only that, but she is a delight to knit for -- she really appreciates the love, time, and effort that goes into handknits. Just like me, she likes her socks colorful, which is also a plus.

I'm knitting her some bedsocks, and the first one is done. They are heelless, and they are quite long... on me, it's knee-high, on her, it'll probably be a bit shorter.


The yarn is Zauberball in Frische Fische. You can see the broken yarn and sudden color change near the ankle, but now that it's part of a larger sock, it looks OK.
These are socks for lying around the bed, flopping around the couch, and doing other things that cause a person to look at her feet every once in a while.


I've also finished some socks for me. These are tabi socks made out of Tofutsies. I liked it OK -- the wool/soy mix was certainly more comfortable to knit with in the heat than pure wool would have been. And the pattern was fun. Separate big toe! How cool is that?


And a shot of the toe socks in action. Check out those bling-covered flip flops. They're so tacky, they're awesome.

Project Details:
Pattern: Toe Jam, came with February Tofutsies sock club yarn
Yarn: Tofutsies, February sock yarn limited edition colorway
Needles: US #0
Comments: No modifications, knit as instructed. These were fun -- I enjoyed figuring out how not to knit two left feet! The directions just said to reverse shaping for other foot. I guess I got it right.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

BIRTHDAY YARN!

Yesterday was my birthday. Now that I'm an adult with a real job, I can't just take the day off, but that's OK. I had chocolate peanut butter ice cream waiting for me when I got home, the So Delicious coconut milk-base stuff. It's so creamy and yummy and just a bit coconutty. Worth every calorie.

The other thing that was waiting for me was a package from my sister. Now, keep in mind that she doesn't knit or crochet, and that, stereotypicall, non-knitters "just don't get it."
Once again, we learn that stereotypes are wrong.

Look what she got me! YARN! Really, really nice yarn, too.
I'd never touched or seen Japonica, but it's a lovely soft lambswool/silk mix. Mmmmm.


And... sock yarn! Paca Peds in lovely colors. Colorful squishy alpaca socks, just for me! If I'd been there to pick the colors in person, I couldn't have made a better choice.


And then, there were these lovelies. She got them from Tausendschon, they don't have any labels, but I think they are worsted weight. Hand-dyed, obviously, and very, very pretty. I'm thinking hats or gloves -- or both!
Ignore the gray splodge on the left, by the way... that's Merlin. I had to manually remove him from the yarn.


So yes, non-knitters get it, if they care enough about the knitters in their lives to find out about yarn. I'm so happy with my birthday yarn!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Almost done!

Just popping by to say I'm almost done with my tabi socks! Somehow, I had trouble visualizing how you'd turn the toe bit around to fit the other foot, and now it's clicked. Can't talk, must go knit!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Time Flies

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last blogged! Work has been busy, family stuff has been going on, and we've been getting some of the boxes around the house unpacked and thrown out. Finally. We've been living here for 9 months, and we still have boxes!

One of my cleanup efforts involves knitting up my stash. There's a "stashlet" in the bedroom, an outgrowth of the main stash downstairs. Two years ago, I didn't flash my stash in April because I figured it would shrink, so I wouldn't have to haul around that much yarn... the year after, the stash expanded, and now, it's budding. I have to stop the takeover of the house.

So... bed socks. Happy rainbow bed socks, using the Heelless Sleeping Sock pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks. The yarn is Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball, and I'm loving how these are turning out -- except for the fact that, like Noro, there's a break in the yarn, and 0range starts right after green. You can see the sudden change on the left. Not a gradual change, just green, green... whammo, orange.


I finally finished the Marlene socks I cast on months ago. It's difficult to see here, but the yarn is ever so slightly variegated. I love this yarn. And the pattern turned out so pretty!


Here they are, both together. There's a slight shimmer to this yarn, which is why the pattern is difficult to photograph.

And here are the details:
Pattern: Marlene by Cookie A.
Yarn: J. Knits Superwash Me - Sock
Color: LA
Needles: US #0
Comments: I love the way these socks turned out. The yarn is a dream to work with, it has a slight shimmer to it, is ever-so-slightly variegated, soft, and comes in lovely colors. I can't say enough good things about it. This is my new favorite sock yarn.

And, because you haven't seen any cat pictures lately... this is Merlin, sleeping. His butt is pointing to the right, his chest is facing up, and his left foreleg is stretched out in perfect Superman flight posture. He is...


SUPERCAT!

Now, I just have to knit him a superhero costume, and get it on while keeping my face.