The Itch to Start a Sock

I was telling Ruth this week, the KAL sock is a Ruth sock
- she likes lots of detail and fun / different construction.
I told her that I was itching to start a plain, simple, ordinary
sock, and she totally understood. I look to socks to be small,
quick, and brainless. If I want to use my brain, I like shawls
or lace - I really love lace.

Thus the picture with not much more progress than last week
for me. The gold is a sock I started today. Toe up. Yarn from
Rhinebeck. One of my goals this year is to use Rhinebeck every
other yarn...otherwise...what's the point of going?



The gold yarn is called Shelridge Farm, Soft Touch
Ultra. The ball band calls for size 3 needles, but
I'm using 2 and it is working out nicely.

My kids are not thrilled with the gold color, but I love
it. I guess I get sick of the purply/blues after a while
and need a little break.

Oh, and it is very soft.

My scarf is done, and I have an embarrassing story.
The yarn is lace....Lace Lux. Very nice and very soft
and very vibrant colors. I wanted to do the colors
length wise - I had a vision. So, I picked a number out
of the air and picked 800 stitches, cast on and started.
I carefully weighed the skeins after every 2 rows so I would
be sure to have enough red left to finish, and I made it.

Talking to Joey yesterday, as I'm binding off I say to Joey.
I wonder how long this is going to be. I cast on 800 stitches
and hope its long enough but not to long.



He said "mom, why don't you take 10 stitches and measure
them and see how long they are and we can figure out how
long the whole thing will be.
OMG.
My non-knitting son was telling me to CHECK GAUGE.

DUH ON ME - I'm so ashamed. I should have done
that from the very start and I would have known that
500 stitches would have been plenty.

The picture above is with the scarf doubled.

I do love it though...a LOT.

Ruth and Martha are doing a wonderful job on
the KAL. Martha is done with both socks, and Ruth
with one. (final clue came out today, so pic next week).

Ruth:
She finished up her pattern from Book of Socks:


Martha: KAL


This is the "other" sock Martha is doing.
see...they are doing other socks too...LOL




I guess we are all sock girls....I remember when we
first started so many years ago....Ruth told me she
would go with me if she could learn how to do socks
on teeny tiny needles.....and now that is her project
of choice. There is just something so comforting
about having a pair going.....I bet you get it don't you
blog readers?

This weekend,I cooked up a storm.
Saturday: pulled pork and mac salad and brownies.
Sunday: stuffed chicken breast (a first for me )
and Italian Wedding soup for Tuesday......

I like cooking new things....and I like that my family
will eat it....thanks guys!

Abbey thinks the food must have been good or she
would have got more in her dish....


Winter arrived today for a couple of days anyway.
I'm going to go knit on a sock...can u guess which
one?

Plugging Away

Ruth, Martha and I are plugging away on our Through
the Loops KAL. Martha and Ruth are done with Clue
#3, and started Clue #4 which came out today. It is
the final clue.



Notice, I am barely started with Clue #2.
I swear, some rows take me 2o minutes.
Martha: All I can think of is "Oh Lord, how will I ever
make the 2nd one???"
Bahahahahahaha

Seriously, I am liking the sock and the challenge.

Notice I have done quite a few rows on the brainless
scarf. Each row takes me 40 minutes.

Tiffany has over 26" done on the baby blanket.
Tomorrow she starts her college internship, and will
still continue to work 25 hours a week.


I told her that knitting will save her when she is
stressed. The rhythmic back and forth of the needles
will allow her mind to relax.......

Ruth's colorful sock is from Book of Socks using Regia by kaffe fassett.


Her green sock is the KAL and the yarn is lovely.
(I got to fondle it yesterday).

Martha is moving along with two KAL's at once!!



Nice knitting girls, I'm so glad we are doing this....

Not much other news going on...

Mickey says "have a nice week"

Sometimes, it helps to talk about knitting....

So Ruth Martha and I are doing Through the Loops Mystery
Sock KAL. Wow are we really getting a bang for our $3. The
pattern is anything but dull. Cables, bobbles, - totally NOT
brainless. I was talking to Joe and telling him how slippery my
cable needles was, and could he make a wood one smaller.



He is pretty resourceful. He said if I make it any smaller
it will be the size of a toothpick. BINGO!
It clicked in my brain. I'm sure I have heard of this before
but just forgot. The toothpick is working fabulous. It has
really pointy ends, and has a little drag so the yarn does not
slip off.




I ripped the whole cuff out on Thursday, and started
over on Saturday morning with much better results.
My brain was able to think on Saturday......


I am starting clue #2 today, and Clue #3 came out
this morning. Ruth and Martha are much further
along than I am. But that's ok with me.


Ruth's sock is very nice.


Martha is so far ahead she is doing two at once:




I have been working on the 800 stitch scarf in my brainless
mode.


Ruth finished up a pair of socks in KnitPicks yarn from
the book Socks socks socks


Winter finally arrived in Western NY so she was wearing
them today..

Martha started a pair of brainless socks:



And tada............the unveiling of Martha's sweater.
Remember, she totally designed the sweater herself.
I am so amazed...it is absolutely stunning.




Tiffany has been working on a baby blanket for her
little friend Paetyn (5 months old now), and doing a
terrific job. She is having fun with the self striping
pattern.


She is holding two strands together. One multi
pink/purple, and one pink. It really is lovely.

We finally go some snow here and had a nice
lazy Sunday..


Mickey took a nice snuggle in between Joey's legs to
watch the football game.....


Catch you next week dear blog readers.....

Welcome Spring...or Baby It's Warm Out There

Well, this year certainly has not been blustery, stay in side and knit all
day long weather!!! But, I'll take it. I am so thankful I don't have to
drive in a snowy mushy mess.

A girl at work is expecting twin boys in February and I had decided
I would not knit her anything. I was really wiped out after all of the
Christmas knitting.



Then I saw a note that she didn't have very many
twin matchy matchy things. So Friday night I started
the blue hat, and Saturday I started the green hat.


I'm not thrilled with the colors in these pictures.

Yarn is my new favorite, Plymouth Select.
Size 7 Needles.

Pattern is my own - a helix strip pattern.
I love the way helix striping makes the colors just
pop - again these pictures do not capture the nice
colors.

Look up helix patterns and you will find a nice variety
to choose from. Most use three colors.

This size will probably fit them next fall..

Also, I am done with Clue 1 of the Through the Loops
Mystery sock pattern.


Clue 2 came out today, but I am much too tired to
think about it. Ruth and Martha say its very fiddly.

Ruth changed yarns today to a lighter color, and is
much happier with the results. Here is a picture
of a different sock she just finished.



Martha may decide to not do the leg pattern
and make her own - due to fiddleness.....



The blue is the mystery sock...she is doing two
at once. The red is creatively dyed...same skein...
weird..huh! Very pretty colors, just different.

Check out Martha's sweater - remember she designed
this on her own. It is now blocking...so so pretty.






Martha I think you should come up with a really
special name for your sweater.....




This was clearly a lot of work, from the beginning
design stages to now.



Can't wait to see it all finished.

Not much new on the family front. All is well.

Have a nice, snow free week dear blog readers....

Happy New Year!!

It seems like so long ago that I posted to the blog...sorry for the delay,
but the Holidays got in the way.
I have been off for 1.5 weeks and have to go back to work tomorrow.
I had plans to finish a lot of projects, and did not get to most of them.
I feel well rested, so that is a plus for sure!

I could not blog about a couple of things before Christmas because
they were for Tiffany.

Here she is in the Monkey Hat - pattern from
Anne Hanson (made same hat in green cashmere for
Aunt Charlotte) - yarn is my new favorite -
Plymouth Select - size 7 circ needles.



Mittens are from 60 Quick Knits book -
pattern: Cabled Cuff Mittens, size 7 needle.
I wish I would have used a 6 or even a size 5
needle for tightness.


Scarf is Just Enough Ruffles scarf - cast on 250 stitches,
which means I had to cast off 700!


I am quite pleased with her ensemble this year. I told
her she cannot possibly need more hats,etc. so I need
to make her something else next year.

I also finished a pair of felted slippers for Joe


they are not felted yet.....he asked for them. He already
has a pair from 4 years ago but loves them and wanted
another pair.


Yarn is Valley Yarn bulky.
Top color is dark forest green, bottom is gray, and inside
sole is blue. Stay tuned for felted pictures.....

My niece, Destiny, loved the hat and scarf that Tiffany
and I made for her. Tiffany finished the scarf up on
Dec 23rd, and she did a fantastic job!!



Yesterday, I had my first finished object of 2012...
too bad I could not have finished up one day earlier!!
I made a pair of socks for Joe in Jaeger wool.


There is a little mock cable on each side which is
hard to see in the pictures....
Right in the middle of turning the heel, the cable needle
I love to use broke!! I like 20" needles for socks, they
are perfect when using two circs.....I was able to order
more but had to improvise for the foot.

Ran out of yarn just at the toe decrease...I was so
mad....ugh! Luckily I found a little blue yarn that
blended in nicely. I think it is a little bit thicker, but
will be fine.



Ruth, Martha and I all signed up for Through The Loops
Mystery Sock pattern Knit A Long. The first installment
came out yesterday. The cuff is quite busy, so we'll see how
it goes.

I am using a mystery yarn!! I wound a bunch of yarn over a
year ago and the little tags came out of the yarn cakes. My only
fear is that is will not be enough to finish the sock, because I have
no clue how much yarn is there, but I have small feet so I think it
will be ok.

I also started a new brainless project. This is the most brainless
of them all !!


Found this yarn at Village yarn shop in East Rochester.
It is called Luxe Lace and very very soft. The colors
are very vibrant. I had a feeling that just knitting them
together long ways would make a stunning dress scarf.
So, I cast on 800 stitches. (you did not read that wrong,
it is really 800). I am knitting 2 rows, then changing
color. After each two rows, weighting it and then
writing down how much
yarn is left so I know how much to safe for the last row.
Started with red, and want to end with red.


It is very soft in my fingers, and sooo pretty.

Martha has been knitting on her sweater that she
designed herself. She is much further along now than
these pictures show. She has finished the front and back,
and is working on the sleeves.









Ruth has been very busy also.

Remember the hat she made a couple of weeks ago?
So so nice, but a little big, so she felted it a little.
This picture is a little dark, but it is very nice.




She has been knitting socks.
Finished sock is Periwinkle Yarn.
Pattern from Favorite Socks. Pattern is called
Waving Lace Socks.


The unfinished sock is from Socks.Socks.Socks .
The pattern is called Ribble socks. She is knitting
them with some Knit Picks Stroll sock yarn in Tuscany Multi color.

More of the Periwinkle:



We had a nice holiday...went by too fast.

Paetyn and Felicia came to visit a couple of times.


Christmas morning was fun:




Joel and Vicky were happy the girls were home.


Sandy is beautiful as always...



Mom and dad are happy and healthy, thank goodness!!


I think my Knitting resolutions this year will be:

*knit more for me
*learn something new
*use Rhinebeck yarn more.

till next week....