Single Sock

You know what my goal was for 2011? 11 sweaters. You know what I've been knitting? Hats and socks. Mostly socks. The moral of the story: when I want to knit sweaters, I should sign up for a sock challenge on rav.

I'm currently at that awkward stage where I have several projects going, and there's one finished sock for all but the pair I'm working 2aat. This is Haleakala, the February shipment of Cookie A's sock club.


It introduced me to Caper Sock, the most luxurious sock yarn I've ever held in my hands. It's soft and squooshy and feels amazing -- I'm knitting slowly because I don't want to run out of this yarn, ever.


The sock is fun to knit. Not particularly difficult, but interesting construction. I've already cast on sock #2. My feet are tiny, so I may be able to get a second pair of short socks out of this skein. If not... well, there's always fingerless mitts.

Cake and the Blob

It's another gloomy day in New England, not rainy or cold but very sleep-inducing. Also not a good photography day. So what's a knitter to do? Bake, of course!

Meet the Raspberry Buttermilk Cake from Smitten Kitchen. Except mine is made with blackberries. This year, Trader Joe's has had some amazing blackberries, and I've been eating them for weeks. Time to try baking with them. This is before...


...and this is after baking.


I've only tried one crumbled-off piece so far, but I think it's going to be very good. Next time, I'll most likely reduce the amount of sugar to 1/2 cup instead of 2/3 because I think it's a bit too sweet. But I often find baked goods too sweet as written, so YMMV.

In terms of knitting, I've been working on a couple of things, including this shawl. I picked it up again after months of inactivity -- fixing a lace row that's over 600 stitches long didn't sound appealing. But it's fixed and I'm working on it again.


See how bleached-out the colors are? Yeah, it's a gloomy day in New England. I'll go eat some cake now, cake makes everything better.

Funky 80's Socks

My sister likes funky socks. I thought I'd look for the brightest self-striping yarn and found this -- Rebia Ringel Color in glorious 80's colors. Perfect! I knew I had a winner when I found a pattern that also reminded me of the 80's.


Taken in the evening, no flash to show off the structure. The weather is miserable, it's raining the entire week. But these Warmups make me happy!


Only thing you may want to know is that they take up lots of yarn in those welts. I knit 6 instead of 5, and this is how much yarn I have left over from one ball.


Usually, I'd try to match the stripes in the second sock, but with this amount of yarn left over, I'm cutting it close as it is. Whatever color shows up first gets used for the caston.

Dorktastic

Is there a reason not to take pictures of finished objects early in the morning? Right after you've woken up but before you've had any coffee?

You betcha!


Yes, the picture is dorktastic, but I quite like my Quincy hat. Here's what it looks like. A bit too much light, but you can see the structure.

It was fun to make and took about one skein of Ariosa. Ariosa is soft and squishy and a dream to work with. Just don't use it for a project you intend to frog a lot or pull on, like tight cables. I was sewing the provisional caston with the live stitches on my needles, and the yarn ripped twice. It's loosely spun -- more like roving than yarn, really. But it is very soft.

Guess What?

I know this is going to come as something of a surprise, but... I've knit more socks! Who'd have thought?
They're portable, in terms of speed they're relatively fast, and they're cheap to ship. Most people love receiving hand-knit socks.

This pair is for my dad. Can't send mom a pair of socks and send him nothing. That would be cruel. I hope the stripes aren't too wild for him.


Details:
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in colorway Aslan (I love this yarn!)
Needles: US 1/2.5 mm
Pattern: Zopfmustersocken
Comments: I tried the short row heel as written, but it was too shallow for my dad's instep. He wears a European 42/43, but his feet are skinny and he has a high instep. So I knit a heel with a flap instead. Eye of partridge heel: sl1 (k1, sl1) to end, k2. ws: sl1, p to end.

And for a preview of what I'm knitting now... yes, you're right. Socks! Socks from Janel Laidman's sock club in knitpicks yarn from stash (toe up! 2aat! taking forever!)


And socks from Cookie A's sock club, in String Theory Caper Sock. The picture doesn't do the yarn justice. The color is a bluish-green-brownish yarn, and it's sooooo soft. One of the nicest yarns I've ever felt.


Now the big question is: am I knitting anything besides more socks? Stay tuned for the answer to that burning question!

Sock Love

I told you I'd been busy! Here is a pattern I love, and I love the end result even more. Meet Hyacinth, the first installment of last year's Sole Mates sock club. Janel Laidman's designs rock. So much fun to knit! And gorgeous from all sides.

Here's the front


Front and back together


From the side


And a closeup of the back/heel section. Sometimes, I'm a bit skeptical about bobbles, but you have to agree that this is some awesome bobble action!


It took me almost a year to knit these. I started during good times, kept knitting through sad times, and have knit my way all the way into better times. They're for my mom.

Details:
Pattern: Hyacinth
Size: Medium
Yarn: German mystery yarn
Needles: US #0
Comments: Fun knit! Highly recommended. Loved working on this, knit as written.