I like making ornaments. I feel like I’ve come full circle about ’cause my mom used to have me make ornaments every year, but I stopped doing that a long time ago. But last year, I bought ‘Deck The Balls‘ pattern from my LYS and made several. I had fun making them! (My LYS even had kits this year).

I decided to make some ornaments again this year and I chose a free pattern this time – Alpaca Sox Mini-Socks. It was featured in a Classic Elite Yarns newsletter. I still have the yarn from the ornaments I made last year and will buy a couple more skeins. I’m using the pattern more as a guideline since I am doing a short row heel instead of a heel flap and a different decrease for the toe.

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

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!

First off all… what was in the box? My very own Majacraft Rose!! Whoo Hoo!!!! I haven’t had a chance to take some really good photos of it but here’s a peek:

I feel I made very good investment with this purchase.

See that little bit of pink in the lower left corner? It’s what I worked on first for Tour de Fleece. It was a work-in-progress that I had on my spindle for a while. I had totally over pre-drafted it but I wanted to finished it.

It was hand dyed by Spincerely, one of my favorite indie dyers, in the colorway ‘Goldflame Honeysuckle.’

I’m am very happy with the final results. I call it ‘Flower Petals’.

Started: 07-04-09 (as WIP)
Completed: 07-07-09

Weight: 3 ounces
Length: 208.3 yards

I LOVE it! I think it’s enough to follow through with my original thought to use it for a Morning Surf scarf. (If I can’t stop staring at the yarn, that is. )

Now I’m working on this:

It’s from the Spunky Eclectic Fiber club in the Colorway ‘Lame Duck Mallard’ – Superwash BFL. Not one of my favorite colorways so it’s perfect to practice chain-plying. I’m going to spin 2 ounces and then ply those singles and trying to figure out why I have such trouble. I’m enjoying spinning the singles – I’ve never spun BFL before and I’m like it.

In other news, my socks…

…I only have to do the cuffs and they will be done! Yay!

Fiber is so much fun, isn’t it?

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? )

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.

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.

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?

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. )