Things with holes in them

I'm taking a small break from my black Myrtle Leaf shawl and so I have started two other small items with holes in them to take its place.  Don't worry. There's nothing wrong with the shawl, I just need some variety instead of going hell for leather and exhausting myself on it.

The first is a doily. And not just any doily. It's a Hemlock Ring Doily, the pattern which was used as the basis for BrooklynTweed's Hemlock Ring Blanket. As we know, I've made that blanket twice. RoseRed said yesterday, 'you must be able to do the pattern with your eyes shut!'

Not quite.



It's a lot smaller than the 12ply wool I used for the blanket! I spent the better part of a sick day off work doing this. I got to round 37 and realised there was something wrong, checked the net for errata and sure enough, row 35 was the problem. I should have remembered that The Rainey sisters posted errata for this row some time ago. 

I stop every now and then and have the following conversation, or variations of it, with myself.

Me: I can't believe you're knitting a doily.
Me: I know. Weird. I hate doilies.
Me: So why are you knitting one?
Me: Well I'm not sure I REALLY hate them. There's certainly a place for doilies.
Me: Really? Then how come you don't have any?
Me: Because I haven't made any myself before and I think a handknit one would be so much nicer than a mass produced doily.
Me: Won't this look much the same?
Me: Maybe. But I'll have MADE it. That makes all the difference. It's such a cool thing to have made.

So we'll see what happens when it's done. Who says doilies can't be chic?

And in Personal Sock Club news, I have a new pair on the go. Blackrose socks from Knitty. 



The yarn was chosen late one night just before I fell asleep. The Pomatomus socks were done and the packages of Sock Club yarn were all lined up in the spare room. I remembered it was time to choose a new skein! 

From the spare room I called out to Sean, who would have probably preferred to be sleeping at that point, and asked him to choose a number between one and ten. The number he chose corresponded to the bag with the Socks that Rock in Ravenscroft. Oh joy! 

After some deliberation, I decided that Blackrose was the perfect pattern. I love gothing it up once in a while and it's gorgeous, lacy pattern that's quite easy to get into.

So you see, there's still plenty of lacy stuff, even when I'm not working on THE lace project.

Speaking of which, A Long Lacy Summer comes to an end on 28 February. I'll do a wrap up post shortly after that, so post your projects on your blogs, finished or otherwise, if you'd like to be included.

Bells

Buttery Goodness

I'm happy to say that the Pomatomus socks are done. Finished. Off the needles. And not a moment too soon. As I said the other day, they weren't the most fabulous knit ever, but I'm pretty taken with the results. I don't really know why I didn't like them but the comments on the last post where I mentioned them seemed to suggest I'm not alone.



I'm wearing them quite comfortably right now which is, as you can imagine, not expected in February in Australia. My feet are actually cold. 

Talk about freak weather. Sean's just called to say it's raining as he's leaving work. Bring it on. Maybe that crackly grass beneath my feet will turn green and maybe the bushfires will go out if the rain clouds can shift south.



I quite like the heels on these socks, the way the rib feeds into the pattern. Cookie A is one clever designer. Just don't ask me to make these socks again.



When I put them on last night, Sean declared them one of the best looking pairs of socks I'd ever made. I'm inclined to agree. I think they're striking, partly because of Donni's yarn, Burnt Butter. RoseRed dubbed these socks Butter Pomcorn Socks. Cute huh?

Can't say what's next but the Sock Club skein has been selected. More on that later.

***

If you would like to a) win some amazing prizes and b) donate to the Red Cross for the bushfires go check out the profoundly generous prizes available on Serendipity. Jacqueline has gathered together an absolute feast of luscious yarn prizes, all donated from a range of suppliers, and they are up for grabs if you donate to the Red Cross. I'd already given early on, but couldn't resist giving more. 

You can also see Kuka and Jejune for information on other creative ways to help, including in knitterly ways. For more info on a blanket project for fire victims, see Bec. Whatever we can do is good. 

Bells

This ceremony only fills my heart

So I thought I should give an update on how I'm going with my Personal Sock Club, the one so many sock knitters around the world are participating in. 

As a recap - if you can't afford/missed out on/just didn't want to join in any of the proper sock clubs where a package shows up every now and then providing you with new sock yarn and a pattern, make your own sock club. Easy as pie. Of course, it helps to have a bit of a sock yarn stash, which I'm glad to say I do.

I selected my sock yarns for the year ahead some weeks ago, but didn't actually gather them together (I just searched my photos on Flickr!). Now, they're all ready to go and what fun it was to dig through the stash and savour the finding of each one because almost every yarn that was chosen made me think good thoughts and recalled happy memories.  



I bought the brown paper bags from Lincfraft and will soon have the packages lined up along a wall in the spare room, ready for random selection when the time is right. And yes, they will be sealed so there's no cheating. I won't be peaking into the bags before undertaking the random selection process!

When I had them all packaged up, I stood and thought about it all and marvelled at the collection.

There are some big names in those bags. Koigu. Wollmeise. Socks that Rock. Schaefer Anne. Just to name a few. I feel really lucky to have them. More than a few of these yarns were gifted to me by lovely people and though I have been saving many of them, I figured in the end that well, they can be replaced (isn't that half the fun? Choosing new yarn?) and, like the good crockery, it's not much use kept for occasions that might never arrive.

Now I think what's really going to work about this sock club gig is the impetus it provides to finish the current socks in progress. Just knowing that some of my most treasured yarns are in there, with wonderful scope and possibilities, is a great reason to push on when the current socks are starting to drag towards the end. 

Socks? That drag? Really? Oh yes. I give you my Pomatomus Socks.

They are technically a year old. I actually began them this time a year ago, got half way through one repeat and gave them up. In January this year, with the same  yarn, I went into battle. These socks are my nemesis, I swear.



I think the problem was starting the pattern when. for reasons I now can't comprehend, it seemed a bit beyond me. Several false starts rankled me. I could have chosen another pattern, but I don't like to be beaten by something that is effectively just a fancy kind of rib sock, when it comes down to it.



I think the results are worth it and I could even say I'm comfortably settled into the pattern now, and loving the yarn which is called Burnt Butter and was dyed by Donni. But I'll be glad when they're over. A week of almost exclusive Pom knitting has meant I am now on the foot of the second one.

Finally!

Today I've worked on the Myrtle Leaf shawl but it's night now and the yellow of these socks is much easier to deal with than the fine black of the shawl. Soon, they will be done.

Bells

Summer Colour

So when the mercury is rising rapidly outside, what does a blogger in search of a topic for today's post do?

She goes outside wearing new socks and sits in the sun to take photos. 



Insane!

But really, the garden is is so brown, so scorched by the blazing January sun, that I thought the colour of these socks might alleviate that, if only for a few moments.



I've been working on these for months. Since about November I think. They were socks that were picked up from time to time for commuting, for social occasions where knitting was required, for the late night brainless occupation of my hands. And I love them.

The yarn is Regia 4ply and the colourway is one of the series designed for Regia by that colour mad man, Kaffe Fasset. I was so thrilled with it and what I loved best was not just the appealing blend of reds, but the shocks of peacock blue that jumped out at me as the fabric grew.

And that's all there is to say really. I never really grow tired of plain socks and get anxious if I don't have a pair on the needles at all times to keep me going when something simple is needed.

To that end, I've got another pair going. I call them 'Go Everywhere Socks' because that's exactly what they'll do, both on the needles and off. Same pattern as above, the Yarn Harlot's Basic Sock Recipe from Knitting Rules, on 2.75mm needles.



And finally, just because I am still absolutely enthralled by it, here's another shot of the Myrtle Leaf shawl. Eight repeats in and it's all going well.



Progress will slow when I return to work on Monday but at least I've made some good headway. I managed 1-2 repeats a day and a little sad that will stop now.

Bells

Sock Club 2009

If you read RoseRed, you'll probably have seen that she has set up a nice little arrangement for herself, inspired by others on Ravelry, whereby she conducts her very own Sock Club. She first floated this idea with me when I visited her last week and I thought it was bloody marvellous.

The idea is that you set aside skeins of sock yarn from your stash and earmark them for selection during the year. Like RoseRed, I've selected 12 but I'm not pressuring myself to get one pair done a month. There are always other commitments that come up, like gift knitting etc.

Never one to let a good bandwagon go whooshing by, I figured I would join in the fun. As RoseRed says, it's a good way to make your sock yarn stash exciting again. All I need now are the brown paper bags which are part of the fun - bag it up, choose at random throughout the year.

So, here's my selection, it's all special stuff. Items that were either gifted or which have been 'saved' for some time for a special occassion. But, like the good crockery, sometimes you have to just get on with using the stuff otherwise those special occassions never arise!



1. red koigu, 2. Light Blue Koigu, 3. wollmeise, 4. Knittery Autumn, 5. Socks that Rock Sapphire, 6. Schaefer Anne, 7. Socks that Rock Ravenscroft, 8. KnitPicks Gloss, 9. Socks that Rock Tanzanite, 10. Socks that Rock Mustang Sally, 11. Donyale's Burnt Butter, 12. Donyale's Bruised Bloodwood

Not all of it might be made into socks, either. I know for certain that two skeins of purple Socks that Rock are probably going to be a shawl, but that's ok, that's the beauty of a personal sock club - you can do what you like!

Now I just have to put them all together, in bags, so they're ready to be selected. Gathering the photos from Flickr doesn't quite count as getting fully prepared, does it?

****
Spinning Update Last night, I worked on my spinning for around 90 minutes. I got something that looks a bit like yarn. I accept it's not perfect. I'm cool with that now. And I even got some consistency in terms of having long bouts of spinning between accidental breakages.

Just not so sure I enjoyed it. I felt like I was neglecting my knitting. And I felt sick at the end, like I'd watched the wheel too much. There was some serious wooze happening in my head. Note to self: take breaks.

Bells

Socks for a friend

As mentioned yesterday, in Sydney today, we visited a very old friend of Sean's who is dying. They have known each other for nearly 20 years, thereabouts and he's just always been there. I met him the same day I met Sean, a decade ago this month. Soon, he won't be here any more. 

Today was strange. I kept feeling myself sink into 'remember when' moments and then stopped myself. It didn't seem right. I think we both just wanted to be there with him no matter the awkwardness, the sadness, the uncertainty.

Even though it's summer now and even though he may not ever wear them, I had to knit socks for him. I've been telling him i would for so long and I was continually put off by his size 13 feet. The state of things meant that last month, I decided at once I had to finally knit the socks, no matter the absurdity of heavy weight socks in an Australian summer.



In the absence of the words to say what we feel, sometimes we just have to do something. I couldn't let him go knowing I'd failed to knit these for him.

He was weak and quiet but he smiled and tried one of them on despite the fact that in Western Sydney today it was pushing 41 degrees (or 105 F). He smiled. I got the size right. They are huge. 

They are the Thuja pattern from Knitty, knit in 3 balls of Patons Jet, which is my new love. Lovely alpaca-wool blend and just great for so many things. I made these as inside socks for our friend, but I reckon the thickness of them could mean they are great winter weight boot socks. 

I sincerely hope he'll be around to wear them in winter when they are most needed.

Bells

FO: Birthday Socks

As I mentioned last week in the Stealth Knitting post, I have spent the better part of the last couple of months knitting socks in secret for Sean's birthday.

The day it occured to me to knit him socks, I felt like such moron. How could I have not thought of this months ago? All that agonising over what to get him and I never thought to knit for him?What kind of obsessed knitter am I?

So the rush began.

The obvious choice was the use to Knitpicks Essential he'd chosen himself when his brother was in the States and I'd put an order in. He chose 'Lumberjack' which we both laughed about at the time. Such a manly sounding yarn!

And here they are. Finally. On his feet, where now that he's a total convert to knitted socks, I imagine they'll spend a lot of their existence.

Pattern: Gentleman's Plain Winter Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. Love this book. Love this pattern. I made them for him earlier this year and they are the best fit for him. The long cuff and the Dutch heel are a winning combination.

Yarn: Knitpicks Essential in Lumberjack. It was my first time using Knitpicks and I was quite pleasantly surprised.

I quite like the seam down the back of the socks but it's a bugger to keep straight. I'm not sure it really has much purpose. 

Sticks: Knitpicks Harmony DPNs 2.5mm. I think that's my preferred size for manly socks now.

Modifications: None at all. Pattern as written. Might have stretched the toe a little bit. I think I may convert to the Dutch heel for all socks soon. I just like it very much. The little boomerang shape on the bottom is a pleasure to make and Sean finds them really comfortable.

And these are the other pair I made. This time from Patonyle, which was a gift from Kgirl. I love it!

The second pair of socks was a project I started about 3 weeks before the big day. I declared to RoseRed I'd give it my best and she said that if I managed two pairs for Sean's 40th when she'd not managed to finish one pair for her husby's 40th, I'd show her up.

Consider yourself shown up RoseRed!


The second pair flew off the needles. Admittedly that was because I decided to just knit them in front of him and hope he never asked about them.

He did.

And I confessed they were for him. The upside of that was that he thought they were the only gift socks coming his way so he got a surprise on the day. I could knit them with gay abandon after that, no more having to pretend that no no, I didn't mind if he caught the bus with me some mornings, while seething that I was losing valuable stealth knitting time.

These are the same as the Lumberjack socks but knit on 2.75mm needles, which for reasons that complete escape me now, seemed like a wise choice at the time. It's not. They're a little floppy and I think the Lumberjack socks fit much better. But they're still highly wearable.

I think I will pass on knitting plain manly socks for a while - they do go on. 

Anyway, happy birthday Sean. I hope you love wearing them as much as I loved making them.


Bells

Day 25: FO - Embossed Leaves II

Finally, I finished a pair of socks. These ones, though I've loved them, have continually been put down to make way for deadline knitting.

They were special though. I started them on July 13 - my birthday. Sean had given me a full set of Knitpicks harmony needles and I felt the need to cast on with some yarn I'd been saving for good.



That yarn was my first ever Socks that Rock in the Ravenclan series - this one is Valkyrie.

The pattern is Embossed Leaves from Interweaves Favourite socks. I've made them before and just love the pattern so much. I'll make it again and again. 

This time I did things a bit differently though. I did the eye of partridge heel you can see above, which I didn't know how to do last time.

And I didn't do the strange cast on the pattern asks for because it's just too damn tight. These ones are probably a little bigger than I normally make - they're roomier - but at least I can pull them up properly.

New socks, in fabulous colours. I love them. And given they are both lace and socks I'll say these fit into the themes of A Long, Lacy Summer and Southern Summer of Socks!

Bells

Too much!!

I have too much on the go and too much temptation, I just decided.

Check this out. Where I sit, right now I have this beside me - the basket of sock yarn which is supposed to be a sort of 'yarn art' display but lately is just becoming a reminder of all the sock yarn I'm not working through fast enough:


To my left is the selection of books from which I could choose patterns for this yummy stuff:


Nearby, is a pile of socks in progress

Second sock syndrome plagues me still, which is dumb, because I love these socks. I think I am VERY good at finishing socks on demand (gift socks, commissions etc) but not so good at finishing socks for myself. How silly is that? Who loves my socks better than I do?

Also close by is the jacket.


My evenings, as I said on Monday, are screwed for concentrated knitting while I'm getting used to a new job, which is probably why all but plain socks have come to a screaming halt. I'm claiming a few hours on the weekend all for myself.

On top of all this I want to knit socks for my nephew's birthday in March - that should be fine. How fast will a pair of toddler socks go? Pretty bloody fast, I imagine.

And another thing, there are way too many people around me having babies and while i want to knit for them, and think I might, I think I could be forgiven, considering my own baby making issues, for being a bit so-so on the idea.

I think I'll be able to overcome it though by making a Baby Surprise Jacket. Making one of those is about figuring out how the hell those things are made and joining the thronging masses who proclaim the greatness of the pattern. That'll probably be a way through it for me.

Finally, I got a package in the mail. I left a comment on a blog I didn't know well recently. I followed the link from a ravelry group and lo and behold I won a prize! It came all the way from Michigan, from Melissa of MLO Knitting.

It was a basket!


And inside were goodies!

A novel, some really lovely notepaper, Hershey's playing cards and some home made spicy ketchup. Given our chilli fixation around here, that was an excellent inclusion. So thanks Melissa - your generosity was greatly appreciated!

One last thing, if you've made it this far, head over to Southern Summer of Socks and vote on some great Socks on Holiday photos. RoseRed and I are holding a contest and the winning photographer will get some great prizes!

Bells

FO 2008: Gentleman's Fancy Socks

Well, by the end of the weekend, I can safely say I'm just hours away from completing the jacket. Both shoulder straps are done. The second one took a fraction of time of the first one and I was so involved in it this morning, that when Mr Darcy emerged from the lake, I didn't even look up! How's that for focused?

Sean has returned from Iron Maiden full of happy descriptions along the lines of 'awesome' and 'pure theatre.' That's apparently what many detractors of metal don't get (so I'm told). It's theatre. All that anger and violence is just theatre.

He said it occurred to him on the train full of metal fans all making their way home last night that he was on the safest train you could ever be on. Metal fans, of which Sean is a fairly typical example, are peaceful, thoughtful, gentle people. I guess it seems to me like they get to exorcise their rage through the music and then get on with their peaceful, regular lives. It kinda makes sense. I still think the music sucks.

Anyway, onto some socks. I haven't actually finished a pair since I picked up the jacket again.

Pattern : Gentleman's Fancy Socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: The Knittery in 'Earth' (love it! My first encounter with The Knittery yarn and I adore it! I already have more in the wings, waiting to go.)
Sticks: 2mm/size 0.

Result: They look beautiful but they are way too small for me. How this pattern, which I knit on the specified needles, just as an experiment, is supposed to fit a 'gentleman' I don't know. They're way too small for me and I'm a medium. There's no way they'd fit a regular sized man.

But it's a great pattern and I'll use it again. Probably for Sean.

Since they won't fit either of us, I'm donating them to Can Assist, a cancer treatment facility which has put the call out for knitted socks.

If you're interested in helping out, check out our Southern Summer of Socks blog and you'll find a few posts there outlining the project and how you can participate.

And finally, I got a new job! I forgot to mention it earlier. The day after I didn't get the job I wanted, a director in another area did a deal with my director and I start in a new area on Wednesday. Different floor, different work. It's only a short term measure but it has come at just the right time. Yay!

Bells

Hot Hot Hot

So I'm home early after yet another work Christmas party. Really, how many must we be forced to endure? This was party #2 out of three, out in a hot park in which we chased the shade around all afternoon. I took a bottle of my favourite New Zealand Sav Blanc, parked myself on a blanket and worked on my sock (the one you all voted on - I'm happy to announce the contrasting heel looks great!) I'm not entirely tanked, so my spelling and grammar should be fine. I can't guarantee the content thought.

I escaped early, am home in my comparatively cooler house and ready to do some catch up gift blogging.

The final part of RoseRed's enormously generous bundle of gifts was a rather sizeable project bag in blue and grey (to hold the st**ked jacket).

It's absolutely a perfect size for the jacket. It's found a new home. Here's how it looks, all nestled inside.


Doesn't it just look like it's saying, 'Hey Bells, I'm here waiting - but no rush. Whenever you're ready'?

Also, Quilting Mick, had the kindness to think of Sean and his close encounter with the pointy end of a DPN. Look at what she made for me!



Michelle, I love it but I can confidently tell you that Sean and his bottom are most sincerely in debt to you.

Now, if you know of my dear friend Carol, who blogs over at Pins and Needles and is also part of Southern Summer of Socks, it would mean a great deal to me if you'd pop over and leave her a comment about her dad. Her dad has been unwell for a long, long time and is now in hospital and not doing great at all. Carol and her mum have been there with him since Wednesday morning and I'm really not sure how things are going to go. Christmas is an awful time to be with loved ones in hospital and it's hitting them all very hard. So if you know her, she's coming home for a little bit tomorrow and I think it'd be lovely to send her some warm thoughts. That'd be so nice.

In the meantime, I think it's time for another cold drink. I'll drink to all you cold folk up north, ok?

Bells

It's Oh So Quiet

Call me insane, but it's the first morning of daylight saving and I am wide awake at 7:30am.

Didn't we just lose an hour's sleep? Didn't we go to bed last night at 11pm, making it really midnight?

And I'm awake because?

I'm insane. Obviously. Sean is fast asleep and I feel like everyone must be still in bed except me and I love it! After I'm done here, I'm going to throw on a DVD and make another pot of tea.

Here's some knitting. I feel like with all the Christmas knitting i'm doing, there won't be so much showing of knitting going on, what with family members reading the blog and everything.

I finished the first magic loop sock and my third for Southern Summer of Socks.


I've now decided I really do like magic loop. I'm over the hurdles. I'm not convinced I'll use it for fancy patterns but never say never. I love the yarn. Gift yarn (ONLine Supersocke 100) bought from Germany by my sister. Thanks Delly! It's gorgeous.

And my theory that magic loop would change my tension has been disproved. I used the same number of stitches on 2.25mm needles that I used for my koigu socks on DPNs and it fits me like a glove.

***

On other matters, I'm in mourning. For the past two weeks I've been devouring Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence read by Brenda Dayne from Cast-On. I'd not read the book before but I'd loved the film with Daniel Day-Lewis when I was about 20. The book, as so often happens, contains so much more than the film ever could and I was gripped for the entire thing. I got to the last chapter in the car yesterday and had to drive around my suburb for ten extra minutes to finish it off before getting home.

I can't believe it's over and feel somewhat out of sorts because of it. I feel like just starting back at the beginning immediately to cope with the loss. 19th Century New York is not a place I could ever want to inhabit, and yet the book captivated me and Brenda's reading of it was astoundingly good. Her voice is so measured and resonant. Is that how a 19th Century New Yorker might have sounded, perhaps a little?

Alright, off to boil the kettle.

Oh to be fashionable

Tomorrow night, Friday, I am going out on a girls' night. I only know one other girl there. She is the girl I sit next to at work and we are tight. We chat all day, share loads of ups and downs, laugh ourselves stupid and probably annoy many around us with our endless chatter.

She's not a knitter. Her late mother was a knitter and I've seen some of her work, so at least she doesn't think I'm a freak.

So as I said, tomorrow night, it's a girls' night, with many girls (women?) I don't know. Have never met. My work buddy has arranged it and I feel flattered to be included in what to her is aparently a really great and important night for her and her friends.

We're going to a Greek place for dinner (it was actually my suggestion!) then out, ahem, dancing.

I don't remember the last time I did any kind of dance that didn't involve me doing a happy dance in the lounge room because something good, and knitting related, happened. Apparently, we will go to the casino where on Friday nights an, ahem, 80s night, is held.

An 80s night? Look, I can recall Bananarama or Bon Jovi with the best of them, but usually in a state of vague, cringing amusement. I suspect it will be a lot more fun after all that wine with dinner. I'm gonna start with champagne. That'll set me on a course, I'm sure, that will make late night dancing to Like A Virgin somehow seem like a good idea.

There is of course the small issue of not being able to dance. Or as Sean puts it, a complete and embarrassing lack of rhythm. I was once told I dance like a penguin. Not by Sean. But I haven't forgotten it. My younger brother and sister have been known to laugh at me when I attempt dancing. Enough said.

But the alcohol should take care of that. Anyone can dance to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun after a lot of drinking, right?

But the real, crucial issue here is WHAT TO WEAR!

I'm not fashionable. I pass, but I'm not that sort of dresser. I accept that I am no longer 21 and that many, many of the shops carry items of clothing I have neither the youth nor body to carry off. But I still like nice clothes and I still care enough to not shame myself entirely. I just don't know what anyone wears out dancing. Even my sister declared, 'but what do you wear to that?' Indeed.

Nothing fits. Nothing looks right. Everyone who's going will look better than I will. Did I mention they're all in their late 20s? No? Well they are. My work buddy assures me I'll fit right in. I hope so. I covered up the shocking amounts of grey hair tonight. They'll never know.

Oh and before you ask, I'm not taking my knitting. Aren't I strong? Aren't I sensible? It's just not that sort of night and though I'll miss it terribly, I just can't.

Look, I'm sure I'll have a fun time. I may get Sean to pick me up around midnight though because 2am is a time I only see when I have insomnia and am knitting while watching an episode of Buffy.

In the meantime, there's a pile of discarded clothes on my bed that I should put away before Sean decides it's bedtime.

And just so there's some knitting content, look at this.


These are prizes you could win if you sign up to Southern Summer of Socks before midnight Friday 19 October. Yummy stuff from The Knittery up for grabs....mmmmm....sock yarn...mmmm

Wish me luck.

Bells

FO: Koigu socks

How about this! Two finished objects in a week!

Here are my wonderful (if I do say so myself) Koigu socks.




They are my first official Southern Summer of Socks project and they took exactly two weeks to make! Fastest socks ever. It was impossible to grow bored of the yarn. I loved every stitch. So thanks Julie! The yarn was a fabulous gift and I'm very appreciative. I knitted it up very tightly on 2.25mm sticks and I love that they are so firm and will stay up no matter what. I worked it all out myself using the Yarn Harlot's basic recipe. Yay me!

Secondly, a new plain bus knitting sock made from Online yarn, a German sock yarn my sister Adele bought for me in Germany.


I am just loving plain knit socks at the moment. All the fancy ones I've cast on in the last week came to nothing. I'm a bit brain fried and so perhaps this is just what I need. And I am reminded as I knit of something the Yarn Harlot said in Knitting Rules. She said, 'perhaps I am just dim enough to be entertained by the thrill of which stripe comes next.' Or words to that effect.

If I am dim, so be it. I love it. This is a very fun knit and perfect for the bus or for tired evenings.

The observant among you may notice something new. I magic looped! Yes, as one of my SSS challenges was to learn magic loop, I figured a plain knit sock would be perfect. What was I afraid of? It's cool. Very bus friendly and although I'm unsure what happens when you get to the heel, so far, I think it rocks. I may not magic loop everything. I do love my DPNs, but this method, I like.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my husband has offered me Roast Duck Noodle Soup for dinner.

Bells

FO: Lacy Mock Cable Socks

Aren't they pretty?

There's something about the Lacy Mock Cable pattern. I've made this three times now. It just never fails me.



I didn't make these for Southern Summer of Socks because I started them in, oh I think it was August, left them on hold while I did other stuff and finished them off last week.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi, which was a gift several moons ago from an anonymous Fairy God Knitter who wanted to offer me an incentive to finish my steeked jacket sleeves, back when I was tearing my hair out daily about the rotten things.

I love them to bits. The yarn is very soft and wearable and when my younger sister, who has much bigger feet than I do, tried them on today, she fell in love. So they must be good because I don't think knitted socks really rocked her world before today.

I mention the size of my sister's feet by way of saying that the mock cable pattern stretches beautifully. I did make them a few stitches larger than the 56 stitches required by the pattern (too small, I figured that out last time) and still stretched beautifully over her size 9.5 feet.

And here's a tip for today.

Don't eat a rich pasta sauce at your computer with a precious skein of sock yarn sitting next to the bowl. That way lies danger.

I just figured that out. Three minutes ago. Silly me.

One last thing, see the sock blockers in the first photo? Thanks to some gentle prodding by Georgie last night over dinner, Sean got to and cut out some more today. He'll be selling them for a modest price if anyone's interested? I seem to recall getting some 'yes me!' responses last time I mentioned it.

Bells

Fits and Starts

Does anyone else take forever to find a new sock pattern they want to start?

Or is it just me?

Take the start of Southern Summer of Socks. It was a public holiday and we were just sitting around waiting for the furniture arseholes to deliver our stuff. I pretty much used the morning to find which would be my first sock.

To be honest, I actually started the night before, staying up late so it was after midnight and I could say I really started on 1 October.

I believe I cast on no fewer than three different sock patterns. Couldn't tell you what they were now, oh except one was Pomatomus. Nothing felt right. Might have been the yarn I was using, too. I wasn't too keen on the Wildfoote. So thin!

I don't think I have commitment issues. Once I'm in, I'm loyal as all hell (hello steeked jacket!) but it's getting in. I tiptoe around, um and ah, wonder if I'm making the right choices, sneak glances at other patterns and other yarns, wondering if they would make me happier.

And last night, when I raced home to play with my new sock book, there was a mad flurry and digging through the stash, finding something that a)was semi solid or solid and b) didn't require winding it into a ball (Jojoland Melody) and looking for THE RIGHT PATTERN.

Have you seen 25 Favourite Socks? It's like a box of chocolates. Too much choice! I cast on Waving Lace eventually, (KMS, here's the answer to your question), worked my way through the rib and then stalled on the pattern. I wasn't focusing. I screwed it up. I’ve done stuff like it before so I’m not sure what the hold up was. I threw it down in disgust and went back to another sock I already had on the needles.

I think I need to approach starting new socks differently. This year has seen this exact pattern repeat itself over and over again. That’s why essentially I’ve only made about three different kinds of socks. They feel like a favourite cardigan. Put ‘em on and I’m happy.

I think the new approach should be to accept that the first time I try a new pattern, it’s not gonna work. So just go with it for a while, rip it out and try something else, knowing full well the first one was never gonna happen anyway. Thinking back, I reckon I probably cast on Monkey socks two or three times before it took.

Or maybe I should just finish the two socks that are on the needles, do some work on the jacket and let the ideas for a new pair of socks brew a bit.

Now there’s a novel idea.

Bits of this and bits of that

Alrighty. Am a bit run down from a fairly full on weekend with a bunch of friends in town, but I survived and am happy to say that unlike the last time we all got together, I vomited a lot less.

As in, not at all.

Perhaps I have evolved or something in the last six months.

So, being tired, we have few words and mainly pictures this evening.

First up, a finished koigu sock.


I love the way the eye of partridge heel looks like faux fair isle.


The pooling you can see there has come to be an acceptable part of this sock's personality in my eyes. I like it.

This is some yarn I got from Donyale late last week. She dyed it herself and had the goodness to sell it to me. Yummy scrummy. Not sure what this creature wants to be yet but it'll be special.


And this was a gift from Tinkingbell. What a gorgeous blogger she is. She sent me a bunch of stuff in an attempt to make me smile. It worked. Chocolate (all gone), tea and soap along with this Jojoland sock yarn.


I'm loving all this additional sock yarn. Now that we have reached no fewer than SEVENTY PARTICIPANTS in the Southern Summer of Socks, there's this huge frenzied mad dash to knit socks, socks and more socks and i wanna be part of the fun with as much fabulous yarn as possible.

I must share some news worth celebrating. My dear friend Carol, who was too sick to come visit on the weekend, put her time to good use and knit her first sock!!

Seriously, this is a big deal. Her phobia of DPNs and the concept of socks in general has plagued her for pretty much the last year. This weekend, she overcame it and I see a bright future for her involving pretty sock yarn and pointy sticks. Well done Carol!

A fabulous day

So today was a great day. I had the day off work. Yes, that alone makes it a great day, but there was more.

It was a day of friends, food, wine and knitting.

A blogger who is known to some of you, Tanya (A Barrister's Yarn) flew in from Brisbane and was collected from the airport by Georgie and her son, James. This was a favour to me as I was busy at the time that Tanya's plane landed.

Soon they arrived at my house, as did Jejune, and pretty soon we were eating, chatting and being amused by James who likes to play the drums (on any surface).


That's a loaf of bread in the centre of the table. I got up and made it early this morning. Yum.


And this is how we ate it.

When young James went to sleep, the grown ups sat knitting and chatting for quite some time. This was a big day for Tanya. You see, she's never had a knitting date before. Can you imagine? To never have sat with friends knitting and passing several very, very pleasant hours?

It had to be rectified. It just had to be. She's no longer an SnB virgin.

Later, James woke up and he made a friend.

Lulu. Who knew Lulu was so cuddly?





Or so kissy?



Nor did we know she was such a big Wiggles fan.

You can't beat a day like that. You just can't.

*****

In sock news, here's the most recent shot of the koigu sock.


This was taken last night by Quilting Mick. Tonight I started working on the toe during Wire in the Blood. I'll finish it in the morning. I freaking love these socks.

Bells