FO: Horcrux socks

A project that I may have never blogged about are the Horcrux socks. I finished them last night. I really liked the pattern when I saw it as a serial pattern on Susan's blog. The fingering weight pattern is available through membership to the Six Sox Knitalong.





Pattern: Horcrux socks
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in the Castagna colorway
Project date: May 2, 2007 through May 24, 2007
Mods: none, I was a bit concerned that the pattern called for 60 or 70 stitches, but because the pattern utilizes a k3,p2 ribbing, the socks are quite stretchy. And it fits just fine. The only I would have done differently is the heel and the heel flap. In fact, on the second sock, I did change the heel because I didn't like how the first turned out. The pattern uses a stockinette heel flap which I didn't care for, but that's a matter of personal preference. The heel (whatever it is, b/c I don't know) didn't fit my foot properly, but it's wearable. It may be just fine for others.

The yarn was really nice to work, although I was a bit worried about the yardage. Since these socks are relatively short, it worked just fine and I still had a bit of yardage left over. I could have easily made them at least 1 inch taller, but that's again a personal preference. I would think this pattern would be good for those yarns with low yardage, such a Koigu or Colinette. I followed the pattern initially b/c I really didn't think about how tall it was, but it's not too short, but I'd prefer it be a *smidge* taller.

I think I'm falling a bit too tough for these merino handpainted sock yarns. I do worry about them wearing out and the lack of nylon, but I really do have plenty of hand knitted socks with nylon. Some of the handpainted sock yarns I have purchased are also wool/nylon mix, so I'm not buying all 100% merino sock yarn, but it is very nice to knit with, that's for sure.

It's been all about socks lately. The bigger projects, such as the CE Raglan Cardi *cough cough* is giving me fits and isn't working so well right now.

A Whole Lotta Randomness About Me

Hmm, I seem to have been tagged by several people for variations of the same meme. Andrea, Susan, Kim, and Pooch.

The premise is to post 7 or 8(depending on the version of the meme)random facts and then tag others. Well, I'm going to already go against the rules and not tag anyone else because it's taken me about 1.5 weeks to get to this, so if anyone wants to do it, feel free, if not, oh well.

I debated for awhile if I would even do this meme, as I tend to never get around to doing them, but then figured what the heck.

1. While I am childfree (lifting this from Beth's tag post) and have never had delusions of having children, although when I was in college I thought I might adopt, my partner has 3 kids and one lives with us. No biological children, but now I bear the moniker of "stepmom". How ironic.

2. My father died when I was two years old. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri where my mom met and married my father, when she moved to St. Louis to go to nursing school. I later returned to St. Louis to attend college. Life is cyclical, is it not?

3. I never met relatives on my father's side until I was 17, almost 18. He has several brothers and sisters (Grandma was a Rolling Stone) and there are still 2 uncles I have yet to meet, one is in jail for life and the other in TX.

4. No one in my family knits, except for me. My grandmother was a skilled seamstress and quilter. It wasn't until she died that I learned that she crocheted as well. Another of my aunts also crocheted, but doesn't any longer. I also grew up in the South, so knitting wasn't as popular as crochet tends to me in milder climates.

5. M comes from a family of 8 siblings, where I have only one sibling (but two stepbrothers who didn't live with us, if that counts). My mother comes from a family of 6 siblings, all female. Could you imagine if I began pro-creating? I leave it to my sister to be the fecund one.

6. Growing up, I was a voracious reader. I had dreams of living abroad and a life full of travel. While in college, I spent a semester abroad living in Leiden, The Netherlands and loved every minute of it. While there, I traveled to Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Gibraltar and Morocco.

7. Every year I mail out Christmas cards. My Xmas card list in years past was over 150+. This past year was the first year that it was just about 100. Over the years I've lost touch with some friends and then with the addition of M's large family, there's a lot of cards that need to go out.

8. I am considering a Master's in Political Science and I have no idea what I will do that. But yet, I still want to pursue it. After leaving school without fulfilling my Bachelor's, I never thought I would go back to it. Again, life =cycle.

9. Are you tired of my randomness? It's not as easy as one might think, unless you're way more random than me. My sister and I are like night and day, completely different people. As we get older, we both seem to appreciate the differences a bit more. There is also a 6 year difference in age between the both of us and I am the oldest. Can you tell?

10. Even though I love meeting new people, internally I am actually shy. Those that have met me IRL would probably tend to disagree. I have to muster up energy to be more outgoing than I am. When I go to a party where I barely know anyone, I tend to stay in my corner and talk to whomever I know. And if someone talks to me then I talk, otherwise I stay in the corner. Pretty funny that dichotomy, huh?

I'm sure there's more randomness, but that's all I can muster up for now.


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To the other half of the meme business, this is one I've wanted to do, more for me than others.

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do eventually and normal for stuff you don't intend to do

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk

Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns-Clapotis, anyone?
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with Bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn—soy blend
Cardigan
Toy/Doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers-Fuzzy Feet, yes?
Graffitti knitting
Continental Knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)

Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with Alpaca
Fair Isle Knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding

Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn

Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously-Why??
Fulling/felting

Knitting with wool
Textured Knitting
Kitchener Bind Off
Purses/bags

Knitting with beads

Swatching
Long Tail CO-that's what I use the most!
Entrelac
Knitting and Purling Backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegated yarn-umm, can you say socks!!
Stuffed Toys
Baby items
Knitting with Cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern

Gloves-tried them once and didn't care for them
Intarsia
Knitting with Linen

Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift

Knitting for pets-just wrong
Shrug/Bolero/Poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair-even more wrong
Hair accessories
Knitting in public-all the time

Such A Great Time

was had on my trip to Boston to visit a dear friend, Cyn. I didn't actually do a lot of sightseeing, but I was pretty tired, so I wanted to take it easy.

We headed to the NH Sheep & Wool Festival on Saturday. It was great fun and much bigger than Estes, although I was told that this was small and that Rhinebeck and Maryland Sheep and Wool are much bigger.

A bit of shopping was done there, as well as at Windsor Button. I also had the opportunity to meet old friends, as well as new ones. Absolutely tons of fun. Cyn was the guide and helped to make sure that we both hit up all the vendors.

At the wool fest, my wool haul was:


(from l to r)
2 skeins of Spirit Trail Fiberworks in aqua and a yellow-gold color, 2 skeins of Nature's Palette in a Zinfandel colorway purchased from Carolina Homespun, Fox Sox Yarn from Foxfire Fiber in the Loon colorway and lastly, a skein of variegated sock yarn from Judy at Ball and Skein.

Shopping at Windsor Button netted me the following:


2 skeins of Claudia's Handpaint in colorway Ingrid's Blues and 2 skeins of Lang Jawoll in a solid blue color.

The real gem of the day at Windsor Button was a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk in the midnight colorway.




That's all for now. I'm tired of linking to everything. More later with actual knitting!

Don't Envy Me

I planned to visit Boston in May to see a good friend. Turns out it's the weekend of New Hampshire Sheep and Wool. Guess who's going? Hmm, one guess, Cyn and I! We didn't realize I was coming the same weekend as NHSW until a couple of days ago. It's especially exciting as I will be missing Estes this year (have to attend a family function that weekend, the nerve! ;-))

So, don't envy me, I'll be shopping and festivalling and meeting up with some blogger friends in MA & NH. Whee! See you on the flip side.

2 FOs, Oh My

The Monkey socks were recently taken off the needles. I'm very happy to have them completed and I love the pattern. I can definitely see making more of these in the future.

Project Specs
Pattern: Monkey from Knitty
Yarn Used: Austermann Step sock yarn in color Melba color 10
Size needles: US 1.5 needles or (2.5 mm)
Project length: entirely too long (mid-January to May of this year)
Project modifications: none, knit pattern as written, although I didn't follow instructions for the heel flap. I knit my standard heel flap and worked the heel turn as for a round heel, which is my standard.

Oh, my the Chevron scarf was the scarf that would never end. While I like it mostly, I was happy to just be done with it. Knitting this on size 5 (US needles) needles felt like I never made any progress, but it was great to work on while taking the Light Rail to and from school.


Project Specs
Pattern: Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn used: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Valentine and Desert Flower, 1 skein of each color
Size needles used: US 5
Project length: Approx. 2 months
Project modifications: none, the scarf ended up being 69 inches in length, although I still have a bit of yarn left, but not too much.


And lastly, this was a little sumthin-sumthin' I picked up last week. I adore these stitch markers. The shop vendor is Aija and her Etsy shop is, Zero. She sells the most beautiful stitch markers and will size the jump rings according to your needs, at no extra charge. The price is quite reasonable and I ended up picking up 3 sets and Aija dropped in a couple of single ones on a signature card. Quick service and great quality.



That's all for today.

Allow Me a Moment

of sheer unbridled happiness. The semester is done and so is my research requirement methodological paper. Who is happy? That is me. While I still have to receive my grade from the paper and the class and transfer that credit in to my old university and have them review the paper, it is surely the first step towards finishing my degree and for that I am ecstatic. After putting it off for so long, I didn't realize how much it meant to me to have it completed.


The paper was done on Thursday afternoon, about 1/2 hour before it was due. Nothing like putting it off until the last minute, but I don't do well with getting the actual writing done before the due date. That's why I always thought in college that I should be a journalist, as the thrill of a deadline really gets me cranking.

Anyhow, enough of the self-indulgence. I also wanted to say thanks to all of you that have sent comments of support, that has been really helpful when my spirits were flagging. Thanks again.

Knitting is still happening too. A couple of projects have come off the needles, the second Monkey sock and the chevron scarf. Pics to follow soon. And a new sock has been started as well

Well, I hope to post tomorrow or Tuesday with more knitting news later

For the picture lovers in you, my sweetie got me a cake and surprised me with it this weekend while at a friend's house and I had a bit of an audience.



Later all . . .

WIP It Real Good

Hey knitfriends,
Life has not been too busy, but haven't really felt much like blogging. Not that life hasn't been busy, but no busier than normal, really.

I thought I'd mention all the projects that are on my needles, some of which haven't even made it to the blog yet. It felt nice to get rid of a couple of projects off the needles, but I still have more I'd like to see off. I feel like Jeni. She has a "Free The Needles" project, where she must finish projects on the needles before getting started with new projects.

First off, the Monkey socks, using Austermann Step. I love knitting with this yarn b/c it is so moisturizing, but I just finished the heel flap and am now on the decreases for the sock. I just feel like I'm knitting and knitting and getting nowhere, but that's not really the fault of the sock, b/c I've also been knitting here and there on the Opal "to go" socks in my car and those suckers will never end. I hope to finish these socks in the next 2 weeks, so I can be done with them.



Next up is a project that the blog hasn't even seen, it is my start to the Diamond Fantasy Shawl. I'm using some of the Hello Yarn I purchased earlier in the year in the color Staggering. I love how the pattern is working with this pattern. I haven't had much of a chance to work on it, although I cast on during my Spring Break mid-March. But as school is winding down, the classwork is not all done, so I haven't been able to sit down and concentrate on this one like I've wanted to for a few weeks. Hopefully soon it will get some love.



The Classic Elite Top-down Raglan Cardi is getting some attention again. I finally picked up the stitches to start working on sleeve #1. I wish it was done, but I've been working a lot on it. The sleeve is now at the elbow, so we're in the homestretch. I did think alot about the length of the cardi and if I needed to knit it longer. It's actually at a good length now, but I was thinking of a sweater I have at work and it's much longer. I compared the two sweaters and the "work" sweater is at least 5 1/2 inches longer. I don't think I want the top-down cardi to be that long. The work sweater is all about comfort and warmth as I freeze alot at work. The orange cardi won't be for work and I generally don't like them this long. After I finish the sleeves, I'll see if I want to make it longer. If I do, it would be maybe 2 inches longer. I think I have enough yarn to do this and that may happen. I'll keep you posted.




The last two projects are some baby raglan sweaters. Actually at this point, all pieces have been knitted and I'm in the process of sewing them up. Please remind me the next time I think about doing this pattern again how much I hate all the seaming. It's just way too much work for one little sweater. Top-down or bottom-up in the round from now on for baby knitting.




The last project that's being worked on is the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I decided to spare you another picture. It's just getting longer, although I am getting bored with knitting it. I will definitely be stopping at the end of the skeins I'm using. I'm at about 50 inches now. I think once I reach my height in inches (64"), if I'm not out of yarn, I'll be stopping then. I really don't like terribly long scarves either.

Well, that's it for me today. Hopefully you'll see another post this week. Things may be scarce on the blogging front between now and May 5th, which is the end of my semester.

FO Monday

Okay, two posts in one night. Pretty unbelievable for me, I know. As new projects seemed to have jumped on the needles with willy-nilly startitis, I started feeling the need to finish some things. One of them was the languishing Fair Isle Jazz Scarf. Truthfully the knitting was finished a couple or even a few months ago, and I fringed one end of the scarf, but never felt like doing the second side. Since I had issues with making tassels, I took the easy way out and fringed it.

So, a crappy bathroom mirror pic, but seeing as how I don't know when my photographer would be available, this is what you get. Besides, I just wanted to "get er done." And that has happened. As much as I enjoyed knitting the scarf, well, at least the fair isle portion of it, the scarf is really too wide for any true usage, at least imo. When I finished it, I really realized how wide it is. I'm a little less than thrilled at its utility, but quite pleased at how it turned out. It truly is a great (for me) piece of knitting and I learned a lot from knitting this. I feel that I've conquered my fear of cables, at least more advanced cables than what I normally did. Although I've conquered it, I still don't enjoy cables, but I can do them and that's what counts. I really enjoyed fair isle, I can see more of it in my future.

On my head is my completed Rasta Hat. Yay, I finally finished it. I sat it down for at least a month or more, hmm just checked the archives, ok, about 2 months and finally realized that picking up the stitches for the brim wouldn't be so bad. Which was totally easy, but in my head I'd made it so much more difficult, that I left it for awhile. I worked on it on Sunday evening for maybe 1.5 hours and the hat was done. I really like it, but it is very warm.



Project Specs:
Fair Isle Jazz Scarf from Scarf Style
Project length: Too long, started January of '06-end date April '07
Size needles: US 7 (4.5 mm needles)
Yarn used: Cascade 220 in various colors
Modifications: not really, but I subbed Cascade 220 versus Mission Falls 1824 Wool. Don't be scared off by the time it took to complete this project. I put it down for the summer and the cabling took me awhile to work through, but once I did, I could hardly put down the fair isle, which was apparently the part I enjoyed the most.







Project Specs:
Rasta Hat pattern by Shannita Alleyne-Williams (featured on Knitty Gritty)
Yarn used: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (3.25 skeins and boy was I was a little ticked that I needed that 4th skeins but oh well)
Needle size used: US 8 for the "body" of the hat and sz 6 US for ribbing, as well as elastic knit in for the ribbing
Project mods: none, worked as the pattern was written. Because I wanted to use yarn that wouldn't leave deposits or fuzz in my locs, I chose to go with the DB Cash Aran, which is the some of the yummiest stuff I've ever knitted. It's a bit pricey to use 4 skeins with about 90 yds each, but I did get some of it on sale, so it wasn't so bad. I wouldn't mind making a sweater out of this stuff, but it would be so expensive, so that would probably never actually happen. I'm very pleased with the hat and it's so warm. Not the best time to use it now, but it will be great for next winter. I love how the decreases on the top of the hat have this perfect star formation. I didn't notice until I took pictures, isn't that funny?

Back to the books people!

Blogiversary Contest Winners

Hello all,
Just a quick note to let you know I've picked the winners for my first blogiversary contest. Yay, fun!

I've sent an email to all of the winners. If for some reason, you did not receive an email, send me an email at awanda at gmail dot com.

And the winners are:
Sock yarn
Opal Caterpillar - Kat
Socks That Rock Peaseblossom lightweight - Amy
Trekking - Taexlixev
Claudia Handpaint - Del(formerly of Cozy's Place)
Regia Provence - Emiko

Lace yarn category
Superlamb Laceweight, color tourmaline - Jeanine
Merino Oro, color taupe - Ginny

Assorted yarns category
lilac Cotton-Ease - AmyP
Cascade 220 - Lucette
Lane Borgosesia - Jenifer
Rowan DK set (additional yarn not pictured0 - Lyndsey Jane
Rowan DK set (additional yarn not pictured) - Nicole

Oh, and in non-blogiversary contest winner information, for the Denver-area knitters, if you are interested in Edward Scissorhands, there is now a stage adaptation that is on tour.



DENVER DISCOUNT DETAILS::::

Buy one ticket, and get one FREE for all performances of "Edward
Scissorhands" at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (excluding
Saturday, April 21 at 8 PM).

Order online at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Online Ticket
Office
[http://ev10.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/evenue/ev68/se/DisplayPromoList.d2w/report?linkID=dcpa&RSRC=&RDAT=&caller=PR]
with the promotional code EDTOPIA to receive your FREE ticket.

Show opens Wednesday, April 18th and runs to Sunday, April 22nd!

Visit the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Website
[http://www.denvercenter.org/event_calendar/caldetail.cfm?id_production=58421373]
for show details or go to the Official Tour Website
[http://www.edwardscissorhandstour.com] for more info.

Based on the motion picture classic by Tim Burton. Devised/directed and
choreographed by Matthew Bourne ("Swan Lake", "Mary Poppins")

Offer applicable to top two price levels only. Not valid on previously
purchased tickets.

Next up, a couple of FOs.