Surprise... Socks!

Who'd have thought it? I've knit... socks! I'm working on non-sock projects, really I am, but I haven't felt like lugging them around in this heat. The Clapotis is a thick, stifling blanket, and even Geodesic and the lace shawl I'm knitting are too much. So it's socks.

Vampire socks (March '10 Mystery Sock for the SKA on rav, not really called vampire socks). Top of the foot:


Side of the foot (How much you wanna bet yoga was invented by people trying to take pictures of their handknits???)


Both of them together:


And from the back (speaking of contortions...)


I love how these came out. The twisted stitches made my hands hurt, but aren't they pretty?

The boring details:
Yarn: Louet Gems Pearl Fingering in a freakin' bright blood red
Pattern: Belle Vittini
Needles: US #0
Comments: I only did one repeat of the second chart. I love the stitch definition of this yarn, but for some reason can't get gauge with it. My row gauge was off so much, I ended up with an 8" shaft even though I left out 20+ rows of shaft pattern! Still, I love how they look. Lots and lots of twisted stitches, though.

Purple Sock of Awesomeness

I wanted to get a better shot of these, but somehow, the weather hasn't been cooperating. So, without further ado, I will share my not-so-good shot of the purple sock of awesomeness, AKA Hyacinth by Janel Laidman. It's so pretty. This is the instep.


And this... this is the heel.


Yeah. Genius. And so much fun to knit! I'm usually not a fan of intricate cables you can't memorize, but this was fun. There's a definite learning curve -- the design starts out relatively simple, and new techniques get added as you work your way up to the cuff. As somebody who doesn't knit a lot of toe-up socks, I have to say I learned a lot.

Now I have to finish sock #2. Except... it's too hot to knit. Maybe tomorrow...

Back in the Red

Not financially, more knitting-wise. I think I am experiencing a red phase. I'm spinning red fiber and knitting no less than 3 projects, all red -- with a fourth waiting for caston. But before I share some of my reds, here is what I found in the mail room when I returned from vacation. There have been some thefts, so I'm lucky to have found my stuff still there.

A new spindle and some of the lovely, squishy St. Seraphina Knits roving. Check her out on etsy, I simply adore her fiber, I'm a ... ahem... frequent customer, shall we say.


Then, there is my first-ever Zebisis spindle. I ordered the one on the right -- dark green with lucky bats on it. I also received the 1 oz spindle on the left and... some lovely fiber. A whole order full. Just because she's nice and generous. I've never spun any kind of silk and am not quite sure how to go about it, but it's so pretty, I'm sure I'll figure it out.


Now, back to my red phase. Here are the vampire socks... one sock is done, and I'm working on the gusset decreases for the second. This won't take long, I have small feet.


Then, the Geodesic cardigan. It's taking a good long time because I decided to knit the 38" size -- I want this to close properly over my chest and not have the arms-like-overstuffed-sausage-look. I've tried on some cardigans recently, and lemme tell you, it's not a flattering look.


I am knitting the 11th repeat of the straight section on my Clapotis. I love it. Has a bit of a volcanic-island-camouflage thing going, but I really like the effect. Oh, and the Lion & Lamb... it's heavenly to knit with. Shimmery and silky. Mmmmm.


There are more socks, but I don't have good pictures of them. Truth is, twisted stitches require good lighting and no flash, and these socks are too gorgeous to show with bad photography. I'll try again when it's nicer out -- it's getting gray and gloomy.

Nantucket. Part 2

Before we get to the knitting (because, as I said, there has been knitting), here is more Nantucket. The first couple of days were cool and foggy, a lovely spooky atmosphere. We still managed to walk around the beach barefoot. Then again... maybe that barefoot beach walking in the cold is part of the reason I'm currently on antibiotics.


The town of Nantucket is very pretty, I love the narrow streets, cobblestones, and cozy atmosphere. Words like "quaint" and "charming" come to mind.


The thing about Nantucket real estate, though... it's very expensive. I mean, extremely. You're looking at multi-million dollar cottages here. I'm not kidding. Now, they're very nice, but... that's a lot of money. We saw a shack, a converted garage, more or less... and you can get it for an affordable 1.4 million. Cool, huh? Maybe next year...


So my Nantucket real estate dreams are not going to amount to much. But if I could, I'd buy a house like this one. It's an inn, not a private residence, but doesn't it look wonderfully Victorian and spooky? I love it and want one.


Lastly, I have to show you a picture of this garbage truck. It has two remarkable things about it. One, it's incredibly clean. It's the cleanest freaking garbage truck me or Mr. Batty had ever seen. But the most remarkable thing about it is the sigh in the front. It actually says... wait for it... Optimus Prime. How awesome is that?


I'm still wondering what a garbage truck transformer would look like.

Nantucket Vacation, Part 1

After a week of no e-mail or Internet, I am back. We spent the week on Nantucket, our first time on the island, and we loved it. As soon as we arrived, I immediately found my natural habitat... the bed at our inn.


Then, there was yarn. Mr. Batty and I walked to Sheep to Shore, a yarn store with a great selection and a very friendly owner. See the skein of Madeline Tosh sock yarn I'm holding? Its big brother, a skein of worsted-weight in the same colorway, came home with me. This is my one and only yarn purchase since December. I'm on a roll.


Unlike other islands I've been to, Nantucket has a lot to offer to vegetarians. The food was excellent wherever we went, but one of the highlights for me was the tofu scramble below, served for breakfast at the Even Keel Cafe. Yes, it's vegan. It's delicious. Yum.


And... a silly hat. I've seen a knitted version of this on rav. Look, the shark is eating my head! Aaaaaah!


There was much beach-walking and knitting, so stay tuned for Part 2. I don't think the pictures would all fit in one post -- it would take forever to load.

Annual Luddite Retreat

Thank you for all your lovely comments about my sock! I have started sock #2 and will be posting pictures when it is ready.

In the meantime... it is time for my annual Luddite retreat: a week without computers, internet, all the technology that connects us to people around the globe, but also takes up time that would otherwise be used for knitting, reading, reflecting, and connecting with people directly next to us. So... I'll be off for a week, and I'll see you when I get back online.
Stay tuned for more knitting and spinning. I won't be idle.