I do still knit… and I can prove it

I finally finished my socks! I present to you my Monkey-ish socks! :D

These socks were definitely about the process than the finished product. I’m really not a big fan of wearing lacy socks but I really wanted to knit these socks but I didn’t want to knit them from the cuff down as in the pattern. I re-charted it in my 2nd year of knitting – it took three tries at reworking and reknitting to get the results I wanted. In doing so, I came to really appreciate Cookie A’s skill in designing socks because recharting this to be a toe-up sock was not an easy task. But it was challenging and fun. But that first sock I tried in this revamped pattern did not work. I was using lovely yarn by Claudia Hand Painted Yarns in the Carousel colorway. It pooled horribly and the stitch pattern was lost in the colors. So I eventually ripped it out. I never posted a picture then ’cause it looked so horrible to me, but here is one, so you can see what I’m talking about:

The color repeats were just too short for the socks to look the way I wanted. Cut to almost two years later, where I had one more year of knitting experience and some lovely dream in color smooshy in my stash that hadn’t worked for another project. (Colorway: Some Summer Sky)

Inspired by chrissythegreat talking on her podcast about knitting her Monkey socks, I started to think about that chart I’d did previously and I couldn’t resist casting on. This was an enjoyable knit. And they fit!

Now I have three pairs of handknit socks, two made by me and one I received during sockapalooza 4. Yay! :) Now … what else am I knitting?

I’m finishing up the hemlock ring blanket. I’m doing the edging and it is slow going but I’m over half way done so I know it won’t be long now. I can’t wait to see how it’s going to look. As soon as it’s done, I’m going to start work on the Voyager Stole with the Skinny Dyed Cotton yarn I got from my LYS. It’s such a pretty pink! :)

Also, I’ve been asked to participate in a project and have just finished a square for a blanket. I can’t show it to you yet ‘cause that’ll give away the recipient, but I will share when it’s possible to do so.

Talk to you later! :) Happy Fiber Fun! :D

lot’s o’ knitting goin’ on

I finally finished this hat. It was sitting on the needles for way too long and last month, I finally sat down and finished it in one sitting.

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda
Size: Regular (I did the slouchy last time)
Yarn: Kraemer Yarns Summit Hill in colorway Aquamarine, not a whole skein
Needles: US 7
Started: December 15 2008
Completed: May 17 2009

I love this pattern. Well worth knitting again. This will make a nice gift for a dear friend. It’s nice to have a Christmas gift done so early. :)

…aaand… this past weekend, I was knitting like a fiend and finished the heels on my Monkey-ish socks so I just need to do the legs and the cuffs. I don’t have a lot of knitting time during the week ’cause I usually only have enough mental power for spinning at the end of the day so this part might take a while, but I love knitting these socks – a combo of my creativity with that of the Cookie A. Lots ‘o fun, in my opinion. :) (The yarn is Dream in Color: Some Summer Sky … perfect for this time of year, wouldn’t you say? :D )

This is the Sherman short row heel, great for someone who doesn’t like to deal with wrapping stitches.

I decided not the carry the pattern all the way around the leg. I really like how it looks.

and I got a new knitting book!

and I know what I’m going to knit next … Oh… the anticipation. ;)

monkey-ish

It’s been over a year since I’ve knit socks. And I blame chrissythegreat from The Manic Purl Podcast for the nudge to start these. She’s been working on and talking about 2 or 3 pairs of Monkey socks that she’s knit and I was reminded of a previous attempt to work on a pair of toe-up monkeys (my own version). Those only ended up in frustration so I ripped them out. In mid May, I pulled out the chart and some Dream In Color Smooshy ‘Some Summer Sky’ and tried again.

Things are going much better this time.

dyeing to make socks

I wanted to make some socks. So I bought this:

Dream in Color Smooshy: Nightwatch

and this:

Dream in Color Smooshy: Some Summer Sky

But I needed one more color. I looked high and low in the sock yarn section at my local yarn store but I couldn’t find the color I wanted – Yellow. Actually there was a yellow but it was too Easter-Eggy. So I made the decision to dye yarn to get the color I wanted. So I bought some ivory colored ShiBuiKnits superwash sock yarn. … I mean, I just wanted a single color … how hard could it be? *thinks of previous dyeing yarn disaster* So I set to work this past weekend, using the crock pot I got from Goodwill for the first time.

Well, I am yet at the stage where I can translate what I have in my head to the dye pot, but I managed to get a nice color and there’s even a little variation (and I do mean little) to the color.

I think it came out nice, don’tcha think? :D

Now that you’ve seen the colors, can you guess who or what inspired them? (startrouble, if you read this, please don’t answer ’cause you already know. ;) )