Ravelry and socks

I got my Ravelry invite last month, the morning we were leaving on our family vacation! I knew it was coming (I had been stalking the check your place in line page) so I got up extra early to sign in and look around a little before my guys got up and got moving. That turned out to be not such a great idea! Wow, there is a lot too look at! The entire time we were gone I kept wondering if anyone would notice if I disappeared for a bit to "check my e-mail". We all had a great time on our trip and I saved Ravelry for when I got home.

The only problem with Ravelry is that you could spend hours there without even noticing. There is just so much there. If you haven't signed up for your invite, get over there and do it right now. It only takes a second and they are really zooming through the wait list now. Even if you don't think it's for you, check it out, you will probably find something there you didn't even know you were missing.

I spent a little time checking out all the things I could organize, mostly just stuff off the top of my head (and that I had pics of on Flicker). I am not what you would call an organized knitter, but I wanted to give it a try. Everything was super easy to do and I was completely amazed at how perfectly everything was linked together, not just linking my stuff together, but my stuff linked to everyone's stuff. The more stuff I entered, the more cool stuff I found that ravelry could do. It is just so cool! I got to the page to enter all my needles and decided to just put in my dpns, to check it out. My dpns are pretty organized so it was easy to just grab them and enter the info. It turns out that this is really the only place on ravelry that isn't amazingly awesome! It's just a chart that you enter your needles into, but it ended up being pretty cool for me. I went and got my dpns and remembered that I had a few sets in the sewing box in my bedroom. I rummaged around to find them all and came across a skein of STR heavyweight Stonewash that I had completely forgotten I had. I am calling this my "welcome to Ravelry" yarn, thanks ravelry!

I haven't posted in a while (you might have noticed) but it's not just because I have been spending all my time on Ravelry, I have been knitting too. I finished my Harlotty socks and promised them to my oldest. I finished grafting the toes while the boys were in school and left the completed pair on the table in the hall outside of his bedroom. That night at dinner I noticed that my youngest already had the socks on his feet! I can't really blame him, they are nice socks.

Pattern: Basic sock with slip-stitch pattern
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts - STR Mediumweight in Harlotty
Needles: US# 1 dpns
Gauge: 7sts = 1"

I have some more socks done, just waiting to get some pictures. I even finished up a pair from Cat Bordih's new book! Those will have to wait for my next post, which I hopefully will be soon.

Busy end of summer

I have been way too busy lately and haven't had much time to post here, sorry about that. I also haven't been able to finish up much knitting. I have had time to get a few socks started so that will have to do, but first I wanted to reply to Debby's comment on my last post.

Debby asked about how tight my knitting was on size #0 needles with the Panda Cotton. I am a rather loose knitter so I usually use needles 1 or 2 sizes smaller than recommended, but I like my socks to be knit fairly tight (loosely knit socks wear through quickly and are not as comfortable on the soles of your feet). So, with my loose knitting and size #0 needles I was able to get a gauge of 8 sts to the inch which resulted in a very nice sock.


I knit this sock up last month while I was up in northern Wisconsin for a week.

Pattern: Basic sock w/ Steeples stitch pattern from the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR Lightweight in Lunasea
Needles: US #0 dpns
Gauge: 7.5 sts = 1"

I really like this sock, I just have been distracted by other socks and haven't knit up this ones mate. I actually have the top inch of ribbing on the needles, tucked away in the bottom of my knitting bag.

This sock is Tamara's fault, she had this same yarn at knitting Group recently. I loved the colors and asked her what it was, when she told me I realized I actually had that yarn in my stash at home!

Pattern: Basic sock w/ slip-stitch pattern
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR Mediumweight in Harlotty
Needles: US #1 dpns
Gauge: 7 sts = 1"

I tried several different stitch patterns until I finally settled on an old favorite. This is a simple 2 row stitch pattern but it looks great with almost any yarn. I started with a k3,p2 rib and then:
Row 1 - Knit
Row 2 - * k3, slip 1 (k-wise), k1, yo, psso k1 & yo (pass slipped stitch over the k1 and the yo)*
This socks mate is almost half done and will probably be finished within the next few days.

This sock is Eunny's fault. I love cables, especially teeny tiny ones on itsy bitsy needles. I could not resist. I love them.

Pattern: Bayerische Socks by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Lang Yarns Jawoll
Needles: US #0
Gauge: 9 sts = 1"

These are not nearly as difficult to knit as they look, you just have to pay attention a little bit. It is a lot of stitches (96 sts.) and cables on every row. I am not crazy about the yarn (it's a little scratchy) but it might soften up after washing. I just couldn't think of a nice solid yarn that would be thin enough for this pattern. Claire came up with the perfect yarn, after I already knit this one, Lorna's Laces. Damn! I love that yarn. The only thing I DON'T like about Lorna's Laces is how long it takes to knit a pair of socks with because it is so thin. My favorite socks to wear I knit with Lorna's Laces. I can't believe I didn't think of it.

That's all I have pictures of for now, so I guess the rest will have to wait. Thanks for stopping by and I'd love if you left a note to let me know you were here. That way I can come visit you too.

Solstice Slip and some other distractions

I finished these last night and I just love them.

Pattern: Solstice Slip - Rockin' Sock Club pattern
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts lightweight STR in Firebird - June club yarn
Needles: US #0 dpns

I wouldn't normally care for these colors but I guess I was just in the right mood. I did make some minor modifications to the club pattern. I added a ribbed cuff (k3,p2) which flows beautifully into the pattern, I added a heel flap (personal preference) and a stockinette stitch toe (again, personal preference). This is a really great pattern and I really like how it looks in this yarn. The pattern is relatively easy to remember and knits up super quick, especially if you do the cables without a cable needle. These would probably have been done sooner, but I got distracted by the strangest thing. . .

I was reading through a pattern for a summer shawlette and it seemed to have a lot of stitch markers. I don't often use stitch markers (because I usually end up flinging them across the room instead of slipping them) but this pattern didn't have a picture of the front of the shawl or of any of the shaping. Stitch markers would probably be helpful, at least in the beginning. Next thing I know, I'm making these little cuties.

Now, not only do I rarely use stitch markers, but I'm not really a "beading" person either (not that there is any thing wrong with that, I'm just not). I am, however, the type of person that doesn't throw things away. I had all these little beads and wires and stuff from when my guys were little. (They used to make little beaded ornaments for Christmas presents, angels and snowflakes, etc. I do remember being surprised one year when I received a lovely beaded ornament of a Christmas Spider and I believe my Mom has a praying mantis on her Christmas tree. The joy of raising boys!) Anyway, I used some of the left over beads and such to jazz up my stitch markers and they turned out pretty cute. I guess I figured I would suddenly start using them a lot more because I kept going and made these.

And these.

I had to try them out so I cast on the shawl. The first few rows, I still flung them, but they didn't go very far. After a few more rows, I started to get used to them and they slipped quite nicely. I will admit, a few rows after I got used to them, I slipped them off, you really don't need all those stitch markers. I left two on there just because they are cute.

This is the shawl so far. I now have three shawls (wraps, scarves, whatever) on the needles; a white one, and white & blue one and now a blue one. I have a feeling this one might get finished first, I really like it. More details to come, I think this is enough for today.

The dangers of sock club membership

Warning - June STR club spoilers ahead - - -

I was running out of the house last Wednesday night, trying my hardest not to be late for knitting Group. We were having a surprise going away party for Alyssa. I was in the car and I had plenty of time, I really thought I was going to make it. I was just about to pull out of the driveway and that's when I noticed the package that was just barely sticking out of the mailbox. I knew the fine ladies at BMFA had started to ship the June packages, I just didn't expect it to make it to me so quickly. Needless to say, I was excited (and in a hurry, I still didn't want to be late) and in my rush to get the package I somehow caught my thumb nail on something and bent the nail back - OUCH!! I jumped back in the car and attempted to tear the package open. Well, those darn white mailing bags are really durable and my hand slipped and that same thumb nail caught on the package and bent back again!!

I finally got the package open and fondled the yarn and looked at all the goodies (a beautiful note card with pictures of yarn on the front, the dyers notes and a pattern for this months yarn) and then I hurried on my way, only to be stopped by a VERY slow moving freight train, delayed by an accident and further delayed by a traffic light that was out. As you can guess, I was late.

The party was wonderful, Liz made a fantastic dinner and then we all got to see her stash (which is all neatly stored and organized and all in one room - yes, I am jealous, my stash is everywhere in my house, it's kinda like an Easter egg hunt but with yarn - a skein behind the phone, one in the drawer, three over there on the bookshelf.) Later we all had way too much dessert, but the best part of the evening was being able to spend it with some of my favorite people!

Back to the yarn, this is not a colorway that I would have chosen myself, but something about it struck me. I even liked the pattern that came with it, I ended up casting on the first sock right away.

I did make some personal preference changes to the pattern - added a ribbed cuff, heel flap and stockinette toe. I am very pleased with how this sock turned out ( I finished sock #1 since I took this picture).

Pattern: Solstice Slip - June club pattern

Yarn: Blue Moon STR - lightweight - in Firebird - June club yarn

Needles: US #0 Crystal Palace dpns

While I was knitting these, I noticed the mailbox incident left me with a lovely bruise under my thumb nail that perfectly matches the colors in this yarn! What a coincidence.

Socks for Dad

I finished up the socks for my Dad in plenty of time for Father's Day. They fit great and he just loves them.

I love this yarn (one of my very favorites to knit with) and I am just mad about these colors together, but initially I had a slight pooling problem. I am not totally against pooling, but time it was bugging me. I adjusted the # of sts. and messed around with different stitch patterns, but I kept getting the green & yellow on one side and the blue & burgundy on the other. These four colors look so great together and I wanted them to mix at least a little bit. I decided to give it one more try and ended up with the colors perfectly stacked in four columns - green, yellow, blue, burgundy - no mixing what-so-ever! My husband thought this was very cool, I did not. Looking back, I should have at least taken a picture, it was pretty wild.

I decided to put it away for the night and try again in the morning. First try I ended up with these and they are exactly what I wanted.

Pattern: Basic sock w/ slip-st. rib

Yarn: BMFA Socks that rock (medium weight) in Scottish Highlands

Needles: #1 Crystal Palace dpns

These socks did have a fun outing while I was working on them. I went to the doctor about this little bump I have on my finger. It's just an odd little bump, not really doing anything or causing any trouble, but it has been there a while and I thought I should have it checked out. Doctor agreed and sent me off for blood work and x-rays. The blood work part was no fun, but it was quick, the x-ray part was more fun.

X-rays are so cool. It's not often you get to see your bones. The x-ray lady (o.k. that's probably not her official job title) was very nice and took lots of pictures of my hands and then explained that it would be a few minutes while she checked to make sure all the pictures where good and then a few more minutes to make the films. She told me to make myself comfortable and she would be back in a little bit.

I sat down and worked on my Dad's socks. A few minutes later, another x-ray person walked by the room I was in and noticing me, stopped and in a rather surprised voice asked, "Is she knitting in there?" Well, my x-ray lady was busy looking at my x-rays and apparently didn't hear the other person clearly because she jumped up and hurried toward the room I was in muttering, "She better not be naked, I only had to x-ray her hands!!" It turns out that knitting in an x-ray room is less shocking than standing there naked for no reason, but only slightly.

I'm back.

Things have been crazy around here so there has been no time for blogging, thankfully there has still been plenty of time for knitting. So, lets get right to it.

These socks were an accident - I didn't plan to knit them but a recent field trip with my knitting group resulted in my "to do" list being pretty much thrown out the window!

Pattern: Elegant Ribbed Stockings by Ann Budd from Favorite Socks.
Yarn: Artyarns Ultramerino 6 in color #144 and Blue Moon Fiber Arts Heavyweight in Black onyx for the heel & toe.
Needles: #2 dpns for cuff, heel & toe - #1 dpns for foot.

I never knit with this yarn before so I was excited to give it a try. Turns out, I loved it! The colors are wonderful (you can't really tell from this picture, I gotta work on that) gently blended shades of brown and black and a blueish grey. Just perfect for a guy, so it was not surprising that my guys all wanted them (also no surprise, Dad won). The yarn itself is soft and squishy and knitted up nice and thick.

The pattern was great too, I don't remember finding any errors but I did finish these a while ago so I might have forgotten. I chose to omit the eyelet round (too girly) and make the leg shorter (it's long enough). I weighed the sock once I finished the leg because it seemed like I had used a lot of yarn and I was right. The cuff alone was 24 g. and I only had 100 g. No way I was gonna make it, so I added the BMFA yarn for the heel and toe. The colors match up nicely and the heavyweight is a bit thicker which works great for the heel and toe. I went down to size #1 needles for the foot and was able to finish the pair with a whopping 4.5' of the ultramerino left.

Well, there is plenty more but I'm out of time for now. More to come.

And now for something completely different - More Socks!

This is my new STR in Monsoon. I love these colors so much. A perfect transition from winter to spring. I love the yarn too - medium weight is really great! Rah, rah, rah. I decided not to use the pattern that came with the kit with this yarn. I like the pattern, but I thought the yarn and the pattern detracted from each other, the yarn didn't let the cables show enough and the cables broke up the colors too much. So, I am saving the pattern to use with another yarn and I knit this yarn up using my basic sock pattern with a cartridge rib from Vogue Knitting Stitchionary. The first sock knit up quickly and I love the way the colors striped, but then I knit up the second sock and was surprised by the difference in the color pattern!


It's not that I mind so much that the socks didn't match (don't get me wrong, I mind, just not that much) I was curious as to why they were SO different. I had to think about it for a while then I remembered that when I was knitting the first sock the yarn was twisting terribly so before I knit the second sock, I rewound the ball in the opposite direction and just to be safe, I rewound the ball a second time in the opposite direction. It worked, no twisting at all! But it appears that I didn't remove all of the twist while I was knitting the first sock and now I had to either rewind the ball (with all that twist and remove the twist like I did on the first sock) or just tighten up my gauge. I chose to tighten up my gauge (which proved to not be so much fun) and the stripes started to match again. They don't match perfect, the stripes in the second sock are tighter, but they fit the same so all is well with the world, or at least with my sock knitting.

Pattern: Basic sock w/ cartridge rib from Vogue Knitting Stitchionary
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts - Sock that Rock - Monsoon
Needles: US 1 dpns
Start / Finish: March 13 - March 19

In response to Liz's comment about my knitting speed, I am not really a fast knitter, Alyssa is a fast knitter (I have seen her knit, wow, speedy!) I just knit all the time. With the amount of time I spend knitting I should probably have more to show for it. Even though, I will take it as a compliment. Thank you.

Hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day!

I am off to finish up my very first toe-up sock. I think I am starting to get the hang of it - I have stopped swearing and flinging needles about, that's a good sign right?