Knitting Knews .. or Gnus. Or News.

Or it could be a noose. The old saying is 'give them enough rope', right?


Anyway .. I finished my socks! I love them. I think I might have liked them a little higher up on the leg, maybe, and perhaps a teensy bit more snug. But I dunno. They're not falling down or anything, so I really can't complain there. And they don't feel loose around the ankle or anything.



I do think that for my first pair of socks they are definitely a huge success. I learned a lot... including not to be afraid of knitting socks. I think I will always have a pair on needles. Now it's time to tackle the whole knitting two socks at a time on one circular thing. I haven't exactly decided which yarn I'm going to use, or if I'm going to try a pattern. But I have plenty of yarn to play with.


That's all of them I could find. I may have a few more tucked somewhere, but that's the bulk of it. There's some Sea Wool, thanks to my darling honey. There's some Cherry Tree Hill in Cherry Blossom. I also have a CTH boucle in the same colorway. Love! THere's some Regia 4-ply, and two different kinds from Yarnsmiths I got at SAFF 2007. And some Tofutsies. Underneath I have more CTH, and some Lorna's Laces, and some Opal. Oh, I have a little more. Some Koigu too is hiding in my office I just found.

I'm so very pleased that I finished my socks, because I just got the package for the second installment of the Seven Deadly S(p)ins yarn club. This month is Wrath .. but instead of doing wrath they did peace. And while there's been some grumbling about it in the Ravelry forum, I think it's great. I utterly -love- the yarn. Peruvian cotton! Oh my goddess it's so soft. It's going to make a lovely facecloth and soap sack.


And the goodies! A candle, and soap, and bath salts .. and a little sheepy stitch marker and some chocolate! I still haven't eaten my jellybeans from Gluttony either. I might have to keep all the yummies and celebrate with them when it's all over.

I also have -another- WIP. I started working on a bag from this pattern for Trio, though I'm using my Trendsetter Segue in Tahitian Twist instead. And it looks gorgeous. It's going to be, more than likely, a knitting tote for me, but I'm totally okay with that. Who can't use more knitting bags!?


I'm actually a little further along now, but that's the last picture I took. And it shows the colors beautifully. It's like a peacock!

Ravelry Details - Gluttony Sock
Ravelry Details - Wrath
Ravelry Details - Peacock Bag

So much to do.

Perhaps now that I don't have schoolwork to do, and likely won't until at -least- Fall 08 and perhaps even Spring 09, I can get more knitting done. I have so many projects I want to do, as is evidenced by my Ravelry Queue and my list of stuff On Deck.


There has been much knitting however. I'm still working on my second Wicked-themed dishcloth .. I'm about a pattern repeat from finishing that one. But I have other dishcloths finished too; more of my ecospun and cotton ones.


Details on Ravelry

There is also the sweater I do intend to finish at some point. I'd like to maybe have it done by SAFF this year, but I'm not making any promises. I bought the yarn two years ago, started a sweater and got halfway through before I hated the design and the pattern and ripped it out, so .. we'll see. I have swatched though.


Details on Ravelry

I'm still plugging away on my Gluttony socks. A good thing too, because the new Seven Deadly S(p)ins project is on its way to us. I was -hoping- it'd arrive today, but they likely did not get shipped until yesterday, and I don't think Ellen shipped them overnight. Sigh.


Details on Ravelry

WIP - Gluttony Socks and FO - Pink Goes Good With Green Dishcloth

I was inspired, by my trip to see Wicked last Friday in Charlotte, to create something in Wicked colors. I didn't have green and Black, but I did have green and pink.


And thus was born the Pink Goes Good With Green dishcloth. I used the Ballband Dishcloth pattern from the Mason-Dixon girls, and I think it looks pretty good. a little Easter-y, a little cherry tree blossoms in spring, a little pink dogwood-y. But I like it. And I knitted it while at the show .. though not during. That would be silliness.



I also finished a sock. Not a pair. I haven't yet cast on the second one, though I'd best get to it if I intend to finish before the next Sin arrives.


If I were to re-knit it, I'd move the arch shaping a bit, and maaaybe make the foot a little longer, but we'll see how they wear.

Once I'm finished.

WIP - Gluttony Socks

We went on a trip to the mountains this weekend .. intending on taking a leisurely drive to see the blooming dogwood trees. Sadly, the dogwoods in the mountains aren't yet blooming. Best we saw was some cherry trees.


I did bring my sock with me, however, and managed to get quite a bit of work done on it. There was a bit of a dicey moment when I dropped two stitches, but I was able to catch them and work them back up, all without a crochet hook, cos I was silly enough to travel without one.




The trip was lovely indeed. We got to stop at two not-so-local yarn shops in the area. The first was Yarn to Dye For in Hendersonville, NC. There we got to meet the proprietor, a lovely woman by the name of Donna, as well as her husband and another lady whose name I've sadly forgotten, but I believe she helps out at the shop. In addition to many lovely yarns .. including quiviut, which is incredibly light I must say (no I didn't buy any, but I got to feel some. Lovely stuff!) .. Donna says that her passion is painting silks, and we got to see some of her creations. Absolutely stunning, I have to say. She teaches at the John C. Campbell school, and I'm highly considering asking my mother for a weekend class there so I can take Donna's silk painting class. It sounds like an amazing art.

Our second stop was in Brevard, NC, a lovely shop called Charlotte's Fibers. We even met Charlotte, and I have to say, I very much enjoyed my experience there. I even found that they carry Unique Sheep yarns, so I have a place I can go that's not a far drive where I can fondle the yarn before buying it. I actually did pick up some yarn there .. some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Cherry Blossom, and some Tofutsies in a colorway I've forgotten.

As we usually do, we asked in Charlotte's Fibers for a restaurant recommendation. We try to ask the locals where to go, rather than picking something touristy, or worse yet, going to a chain we could go to at home. Charlotte suggested to us a place called The Square Root, and if you are ever in Brevard NC, you should stop in. It's located in an alley, and kinda easy to miss, but it's a delightful little place and something you shouldn't ever miss. We opted to each get a different sandwich and share, and we weren't disappointed. They have a fried green tomato sandwhich that was a hit with hunny and Brandon, but wasn't to my taste .. not being a fan of the fried green tomatoes. They make a mean apple and brie grilled cheese, however. And their london broil sandwich, which was my choice, is divine. They also have sweet potato chips which are about the yummiest thing ever, and fried zucchini fries, which were notably yummy-licious.






This is a white squirrel. He's not, as you can tell, an albino. Apparently, there is a story about how the white squirrels came to be in Brevard NC. Something about a circus train back a long time ago. Now, they run wild. One of our main goals was to see a white squirrel, and unlike the unsuccessful trip clear through Maine to see a moose for Jason, we actually did get to see the white squirrel. Isn't he .. erm .. she cute?
So. That was my weekend. How was yours?

There is progress, I swear!

So I'm a very, very bad blogger. But I'm not a very, very bad knitter! (At least I hope I'm not!)

I took the plunge recently and started my very first sock. Well, -technically- it's my second, because I finished the mini sock for the mini sock-blocker keychain. But as far as socks that would fit a human of any size, it's my first sock. And though I've been a mite concerned about the stitch numbers, it's looking good now, so I'm pretty sure I've done alright thus far.


I absolutely love this pattern. Just some slipped stitches and pur rows to give it substance. No complicated lace or anything. This gives me confidence that I actually can knit socks.



See how lovely the pattern is! I just adore it. I made the cuff a wee bit smaller than the pattern called for, because I'm not a fan of cuffs. We'll see how that works out in the end, I suppose.


I knit a heel flap! And I (successfully?) turned a heel!


I picked up (probably a few too many) stitches for the gusset, and have remembered to knit the even rows as well as the decrease ones!

I suspect I'll be done with this sock this weekend, and will immediately cast on the second one, lest I get caught in the 'one sock' trap I hear so much about.

As with everything now, project details on Ravelry.

FO - Sock Blocker Keychain

Details on Ravelry

I figure if I can knit a sock this tiny, it's time for me to try a real one.

Spring Knitty

It's been out a few days, and I've finally managed to decide which patterns I'd really like to knit. Not that I don't already have a huge queue for Knitty patterns but .. isn't that why we all love Knitty?

Jaden
Nob Hill
Yosimite
Honeycomb
Salto
Laminaria
Brighton
Spirogyra
Marjorie
Posey - Just because I think they're an interesting construction.

Winter Knitty

Ice Queen
Quant
Tudora
Chevrolace Socks
Azure Socks
Jeanie
Modern Lace Henley

Previous Knitty Issues

This post is backdated just because it's meant to be a way for me to keep track of all the Knitty patterns I eventually would like to try. I will eventually go through Ravelry and add them to my queue

Fall 2007

Muir
Henry
Roam
Cherie Amor
Neiman
Mr Greenjeans
Foliage
Totally Autumn
Back to Basics Socks
Diamond Waffle Socks
Oblique
Juno Regina

Summer 2007

Tangerine Twist
'Vog On Socks
Sweetpea Socks
Unmentionables

Spring 2007

Carolyn
Isabella
Dashing
Queen of Cups Socks
Vanilla Spice
Victoriana

Winter 2006

Calorimetry
Legwarmer Socks
Emerald
Venezia
Brown Bag
Thermal

Fall 2006

Ivy
Lizard Ridge
Cable Net Socks
Intolerable Cruelty

Summer 2006

Fetching
Widdershins Sock
Universal Sock

Winter 2005

Pomatomus Socks
Starsky
Mrs Beeton
Thula Socks

Fall 2005

Pumpkins

Spring 2005

Soleil
Branching Out

Winter 2004

Tempting
Wine Cozy

Fall 2004

Cozy
Clapotis
Leaves
Leo

Summer 2004

Hush-hush

Spring 2004

Honeymoon Cami
Frill

Fall 2003

Sonnet