Sapphire socks for mom

I found this pattern ages ago and had the “perfect” yarn for it.  Or so I thought.  These socks seem to have worked out well in the end, but I was freaking out near the beginning because there was so much purple / burgundy.  I couldn't see the pattern and thought I had made a giant mistake when it came to colouration. 

When the yarn finally started changing colours though, these turned into magic.  The pattern makes the socks *look* like they were really difficult to make, when in fact they were really very simple. 

So bright!

 LOVE this pattern.  LOVE the outcome.  So pretty.

Halloween Colours - sort of.

Well, coincidentally, 2 of three projects I'm working on at the moment (well, 4 projects if you count seaming those #%&$ slippers!) are in Halloween colours.

I'm very pleased to report that my husband LOVES his socks.  He put them on last night the second he got home (I might have been a factor in that).  They were brand spanking new and just finished - so on his feet they went.  However, they are apparently "house socks" that will not be going outside of the house due to his fear of wrecking them.  (This means he loves them, right?)  Also, they're black!  GO GO HALLOWEEN!

black socks they never get dirty

the longer you wear them the stronger they get

I'm making huge strides in my Rust cabled shrug - LOVE this.  I am so excited to get finished it.  Currently I've finished the left arm and the back, and am just starting to go down the right arm!  It's actually a really simple "build" - knit the arm, back, arm in one piece, sew up arms, pick up stitches around the rest and make a nice little ribbed "cuff" not really sure how to describe it aside from "cuff" but that's not really what it is... Anyhow, once you've finished the "cuff" bit, you're done.  The majority of the "hard" stuff is the cables in the big long piece you make (arms / back), so I'm thinking I'm about half-way done?  Also, rust is approximately orange, so Halloween, right?

Starting the right arm!

And then there's this cowl.  You know, the one that wanted to grow up to be the cowl it always dreamed of being?  God, do I love this thing.  I am beyond excited about the progress I've made on it in the past couple weeks.  It's currently blocking on my ironing board.  It will require some grafting after that, but really, it's pretty much done.  LOVE!

blocking!

The second it was sewn up, I wore it to work. 

See, Halloween and lots of love.  This is a great post.  :)  I'm assuming the next one will focus on these god-forsaken slippers (so, it will be less full of love and more full of frustration / rage).  I have this funny feeling that I'm not going to make 3 pairs of these.  Maybe just one.  We will have to see how these ones come out because if they're really THAT gorgeous and I can figure out how to sew them together properly, I MAY make more.  However, they're a TON of work and I could make so many other more amazing things that don't take NEARLY this kind of effort.  GAH!

I totally don't have ADD...

Squirrel!

Or at least that's what I feel like I'm doing this week.  I think I'm overly excited about everything and when I'm working on something, I want to be working on something else.  So, the only progress that is being made is in fits and starts on multiple projects.  I'm not actually accomplishing anything.

I have these socks (yes, they are what's occupying my sock needles) that I am working on - I'm seriously about 1/4 inch from the toe decreases and I just can't find the motivation to keep working on them.  They should be done!

sooooo close!

Pretty twisty pattern!

Then you know how I mentioned a scrap-ghan?  And you know how I was attempting to make that woven blanket that got shelved?  Yeah, well, I took the colours for the woven blanket and started something else instead.  Does that count as a scrap-ghan?  No?  Ok then... still no scrap-ghan in progress.

I like the colour combo

... you know how there was a baby Bryce and he got a pretty cool baby blanket made for him?  Well, I decided since I had some time I would make a bear amigurimi for him too...

Nearly headless?

AND THEN - there's the ball winding.  I'm loving it...

SEE!  It looks red now!

And of course, when you're ball-winding and you've got little sample balls - since I bought that grab-bag from Yarns of Italy - you're looking for smaller patterns that will turn out amazing and allow you to test those single skeins of yarn, so here's where I've ended up...

Ready to go!

Really, all I should be doing is finishing those socks and starting on Mr. Pitt's socks for my husband - since I was SO gung-ho to make those for him when I brought home the black merino superwash yarn that I nicely wound (see above).

Oh well, at least it means I'm excited?

Socks - in the meantime

So, I'm slow this week and I haven't finished clue #3 yet (only one more piece to go).  But I did say that I finished those socks I was making right?  Right.

I took pictures with my blackberry because I was feeling incredibly lazy, sorry if the quality is kind of crappy.

Anyhow, from the socks from the toe up book by Wendy Johnson - here are my Traditional Gansey socks.

mmm... stripey.

I started out making these as the posie socks, but the stripes overpowered the pattern (I honestly didn't realize that this sock yarn was MAJORLY striped.  oops).  Anyhow, so I tore out my first sock after getting just about to the heel, and then went searching for a pattern that would compliment - or at least not detract from - the stripes in the yarn.  TA DA!

That totally isn't a two-at-a-time sock book in the background.  Totally.

Now, back to the crochet along... *sigh*

Blog? What blog?

So, it's been a while, oops.

Anyhow... why don't I just do a massive dump of everything I've finished since I last blogged (really, it's not that much) and then we can get on with the future!

So, my sister came over around Christmas and asked me to teach her how to knit.  So, I started her on a dishcloth, which means that I started a dishcloth at the same time.  This is one that I had knit a long time ago, and FINALLY got around to using... then decided that the pattern - though I hated making it - was amazing, as it makes a nice thick dish cloth.

I knit tight... oops

 The details

I also am a copy-cat as usual, and Jenn was making this awesome scarf for her mom and I just happened to find some similar yarn at the store, so I picked up some colours that I thought MY mom would like.  Lovely.  Easy.  Don't think I'd do it again.  The yarn is just kind of strange to work with, and man, garter stitch all the way is just plain boring.

I made two!  Pretty blues & browns + blues

And... I finished another one of those adorable cross-stitch ornaments.  Then I figured out that I wasn't going to pull off six by Christmas, so they got put on pause.

Even more adorable than the last two!

FINALLY, my wonderful husband got me the socks from the toe up book by Wendy Johnson.  OMG... I am in love.  I really like two at a time socks, it's great - but I still get lots of holes where I join the heel flap... this method is amazing and really cuts the hole out... it's fantastic... though I was a little off-put by the wrap and turn... what the heck is that?  You tube is my friend.  :)  So I made trilobite socks.  It has nothing to do with being a geologist, I swear. 

I used Kroy Sock yarn in "clover colors"

The toes are too pointy - oops, but you can't really tell...

I'm BACK! And I made socks!

I'm a married woman now!  WOO!

Anyhow, before we go off to see the world (well, okay, maybe not the WHOLE world, but parts of it... in Europe...), I should put some "stuff" up here.

So, I've recently rediscovered my love of cross-stitch - but with a twist... so stay tuned for finished projects (oh yes, I said finished).

This means my knitting has taken a hit though.  I finished these socks right before the wedding (I know, I shouldn't have been knitting then, but it really helps with the stress levels!)

They're awesome!  From the 2-at-a-time socks book... can't remember what these were called... huh... oh well..

Feet!

Aww... what a fun sock pattern!

So, what I'm looking for now is a really really really amazing pattern for a kitchen hand towel to knit.  You know the ones with the button that go through your drawer handles?  Yeah... one of those!  If you know of a great pattern, let me know!

I've been busy - here's some socks

I made these lovely socks because... as we all know... I don't think before I start a pattern.  Jenn got me a two-at-a-time sock book for Christmas... and... it uses the magic loop method of knitting socks... I haven't used this method before.

Starting these socks was incredibly painful, as all I could tell I was doing was making a giant bungle of my yarn (and that made me sad).  AND... then I realized I had started a size that was too big (!) so I tore the whole thing apart and started fresh.

Aside from the fact that the twisty-ness of the pattern seems to make the foot of the sock twisty... I like it... it looks great... and they're comfy.  Love the yarn - I got it from Mary Maxim.

FINISHED PRODUCT!

TWISTY!  FUN!

Love the colour of these socks.  It's so nice...

WIPs - what's left

So, only two more projects to speak of when it comes to my works in progress (I know, how do I ever FINISH anything if I'm constantly working on 8-10 projects at a time?  Well, in all honesty, the answer is that I generally DON'T finish the things I'm working on - shhh!  That's a secret!)

First, I've been working on a "Cleopatra Wrap" from the Sensual Knits book.  I am not even kind of using the right weight of yarn.  I was trying to make something a little more sunblocking than a very fine, lacey wrap.  I like working on this, but I've found I'm getting bored.  Not too much longer to go before I call it quits and graft the thing together, but wow have I been working on this for some time - maybe a year or so? - and every time I pull it out, I get all excited, do a couple patterns repeats and shelf it again.

Second, and most likely to be finished sometime soon, I decided in a moment of temporary insanity that I was going to try knitting two socks at a time, which uses the magic loop method - this is new to me.  BAH!  Why make knitting easy for myself when I can make it oh so very difficult!?!  Easy is for wusses!  Anyways, thus far, the verdict on socks two at a time, it takes a long time (or at least it feels like forever!  "But it's never taken me this long to knit a sock before" "you're making two right now" "and how does that change the problem??") and at the beginning your yarn is all tangled up, BUT... if you stick with it... it's stupid easy - not sure how, but it is - and well, no more second sock syndrome!

Faux cable socks!

So, I am way behind on my posting.  That is mostly because I keep forgetting my drive with all my photos on it at work.  Ooops.  I have really got to stop doing that.  Anyhow, another good excuse for forgetting to post a lot is that I've actually been working on a lot of projects recently (yay me!) and ones that get finished sometimes... :)

So, I bought a whole bunch of sock yarn from Mary Maxim not that long ago and I thought I would just go nuts and make lots of socks... and, well, I finally finished - A pair.  Guess I'm not going to be a sock knitting machine.  Oh well... I'm trying.   This pattern came with my lovely sock yarn, so I don't think it's actually available online... my bad... but I'm really happy with how they turned out.  It's a faux cable pattern.  No actual cable crossings, but all the effect of cables. 

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how to not make things ladder on dpns without putting a hole in my index finger (aka knitting too tight). 

Sockies!!!

So, after the scarf was finished, I decided to move onto something completely different. A friend of mine had got a ball of sock yarn and a pattern (from Make One Yarn Studio here in Calgary) to go with it for me for Christmas, now seeing as I had never used double pointed needles before, I was a teensy bit wary, but no pain, no gain, right? So, I consulted almighty youtube for some advice on how to work in the round on double pointed needles. The going was slow and after half of the first sock I was wondering how on earth people did this to make their clothing (especially because the pattern was not as easy as it could have been and I was contemplating making only one sock)! But, lo and behold! Once you get the hang of double pointed needles - sock two goes much faster!
So, for me, this was something entirely new and I'm still not sure if I liked doing it, by my socks are SUPER COMFY!!! <3