Don't forget the Sale and Some Knitting Content

Wanted to remind you all about the sale that is going on at my Etsy Store the month of
February. 20% off all yarns and rovings!! Prices shown are with 20% off. You can click on the mini Etsy on the right of this page as well and it will take you there.

You have all been so kind in welcoming me back to the land of blogging. I think that you all deserve some knitting content.

These socks were made for Kevin out of Malabrigo.



As you can see he has a large foot. Sz 17 to be exact!



Unless I have completely lost it you won't be seeing me making him any socks out of fingering weight yarn. If you year of me talking about it, please slap me back to my senses.



Anyone that has knit with Malabrigo knows the lusciousness of it. It is so soft and lovely. Plus with the worsted weight it made the knitting go faster. Which is always a plus.



Kevin seemed to really like them, but he has yet to wear them. Grrr He said that he is afraid to ruin them. Sigh..... Isn't the point of me knitting them for him to wear them. I didn't expect him to wear them every day, but I thought that they would be nice for around the house since we have hard wood floors. Wool is much warmer than the cotton ones that he wears with his boots.



Oh well maybe one day he will put them on his feet. I will just continue to knit socks for James and myself, since I know that we will wear them. James loves a new pair, or old pair for that matter, of hand knit socks. You would think that you gave him a million bucks.

Well that is all that I have for you for now. Can you believe that there is regular blogging occurring now? :)

Knitting Content!! and a Contest!!

CONTEST INFO ->

My friend Rita over at Keeping Knit Simple is having a contest. All you have to do is leave a comment on her blog. If you would please let her know that I sent you I would appreciate it. Hurry over and leave your comment it is open until September 6th.


On to the Knitting.....

Can you believe it? I have knitting to show you!! Yep it is true, I have been one with the needles and yarn. Granted it has been mostly socks and small baby items, but it is still knitting none the less.

I will start off with my Olympic project. I have had the kit for the Marie Antoinette socks for quite a while now. I absolutely love Anne Hanson's/Knitspot designs. If you have never knit any of her things, run over and order a pattern or 5 and get knitting.

With never knitting lace before I felt that they would be quite a challenge for me and would take up most of the 2 weeks. I can say that I was wrong. The pattern was wrote so well and was so much easier than I originally thought that it took me less than a week! That was with them being ripped out many times for stupid mistakes that I made.



They just lack something just laying there. They are so pretty all stretched out to where you can clearly see the bees and hives.





I am excited to be able to wear them this fall and winter. I have a problem though.... what type of shoes do I wear with them? I am guessing some type of clogs, but I am not sure. I want to be able to show off how pretty they are. I guess I will figure that out when it is closer to cooler weather and I can stand to have socks on my feet.



There are more picture and knitting to come. Stay tuned. :)

Drive By Posting

I can't believe it has been over a month since I posted last. Thanks to all that have commented and sent emails wondering how we are doing. We all so appreciate it.

James and I are better from the nasty ick that has been going around, but now it seems like something else is trying to get ahold of us. James has been acting tired for a few days and has said that he isn't feeling well. Now I have a soar throat, but just on one side. It is nasty painful to swallow. My glands aren't swollen, so I don't know what it is. I just want to get well and stay well. I don't know where it is coming from. James and I don't go anywhere. *Sigh*

I have been knitting and will have 3 pair of socks to share with you once I get pictures of them. 2 pair are of a "normal" length. The other pair is a thigh high pair I made for my SIL. Nothing too exciting, but it is knitting none the less, right?

I have also been spending many hours getting my dyeing area organized and ready so that everything will run more smoothly. I am really liking the look of it. Kevin is going to build some little shelves so that I can have little houses for all my dyes. I have been dyeing up some sample swatches and the real things will be next. I have some new colorways for the spring and summer seasons that I am quite happy about.

Speaking of dyeing.... I have something exciting that will be happening to my yarns. I will reveal that later. I am very excited.

Sorry that there are no pictures on this post. Hopefully I will have some for the next one and it won't be over a month before I post again. ;)

Since I am on the Topic of Socks.....

I have decided to tackle socks for Kevin. Wish me luck in this adventure.

I am in no way brave enough to use a fingering weight or sport weight for him yet. He has a size 17 foot for cripes sake! So the poor guy has to settle with a pair of Malabrigo socks.

I am knitting them in a generic stockinette with a K1, P1 rib at the top. It is knitting up faster than I expected it to, but I guess that is what happens when you use a worsted weight yarn opposed to a fingering weight. Plus I am using a size 5 needle instead of the normal size 1 that I am used to using.

I hope that when they are done he will like them. They are so soft and squishy. I think I might just have to make a pair for myself. I have plenty of it to go around. Wouldn't it be cute to have a pair for James too? They could be our family socks. =)

Do These Look Some What Familiar?? :)

Well here are the secret socks that I was making for a friend's son. I can show them now since we have revealed who had who in the ecxhange. They are made from the same Cascade Fixation that I made James' out of (different ball/dye lot).


I said that I loved this yarn and I wanted to make more of them. Well I was true to my word. :)
















I do have more of the Fixation in different variegated color ways and solids. I like the softness, stretch and cushieness of this yarn knitted up. Honestly I was a bit apprehensive at first, but once I tried it I was hooked. If you have never tried it get a ball or two and I think you will love it. It will take one ball for baby/toddler socks and two balls for adult socks. I know that my NSLYS sells it for $4.60 for the solid and $5.5o for the variegated. I think that is a really good price for sock yarn. Especially something that will be a good yarn for a child.















Here are the socks almost finished. All I need to do is the foot, the toe and then Kitchener it together. As quick as they went that part didn't take me long at all.















I really like how they look like some sort of weird zebra. Everyone that has seen them in person think that they are really cool too. Anja said that she loved them. So I am glad that they were liked and are appreciated.


On to the details:

Needles: Sz. 4 DP

Yarn: Cascade Fixation 1 ball (Black, Grey, White)

Pattern: Same as James' K1, P1 rib for cuff, plain stockinette for leg and foot, Round heel and classic toe

It is time to cast on some more of these in different sizes for James. I think that this might be my travel knitting. Small, compact and a quick knit.

I didn't get a picture of the second finished sock or a picture of it all cutely wrapped up in it's label. I was in such a hurry to get it out in the mail that I completely forgot.

Up next will be what I made for Anja and I think I will be pretty close to being up to date on my knitting.

James' Socks

First off Thanks for all the Birthday wishes you gave my little man.

Here are the socks that I made for James. I am keeping them for his Birthday party to go with some clear boots that I got as well. Hummm maybe I should stuff the socks and get a picture of them in the boots.

I already know that he likes them since he carried the first one around the house after it was finished. LOL He is so silly.

I haven't tried them on him yet and the boots I know are too big at the moment for him, but he isn't getting any smaller that is for sure. I just hope that the socks either fit or are too big so he can grow into them.

They knit up so quickly. I loved the fact that I could get them done so fast and have something to show for it. I have more of the same color that I am going to use to knit up a pair for a friend's son. More on them later.

Now for the details:

Needles: Sz 4 Circular

Yarn: Cascade Fixation Black, Grey and White
1 ball will make a pair of socks for a child. I had a decent size ball left over.

Pattern: K1, P1 rib for cuff, generic stockinette for leg, round heel and a classic toe. Made to fit a Toddler size 8.


Sock #1













Start of Sock #2













Finished Socks

Socks!

First off we had a 3 for 1 Birthday party this past Sunday. It was for my Sister-in-Law, Brother-in-Law and Niece. It was the day that the rainbow socks were making their public arrival. I was keeping my fingers crossed that they would fit and most of all that she would like them.

The socks fit her perfectly! I was so happy. After opening all her gifts she put on the socks and wore them all night! I was so glad that she liked them. It is still exciting to me to have someone really like something that you put all the hard work into. She is such a sweet young woman and when we were leaving she thanked me for them and the other things. I can't believe that she is 15 now! Where has the time gone.

Here is a picture of the socks before they were wrapped in their festive birthday wrapping.



Here is my niece with her socks on. She looks sad because James refused to sit and take a picture with her. I think she was trying to guilt him into it, but he wasn't budging on his decision.




I finished one of the toddler socks last night and cast on for the next one. I am hoping to get it finished tonight. I am at the decreases for the gusset so I am going pretty good on it. I would really like to be able to have them out in the mail tomorrow and on their way.


I can't believe that it is almost Christmas. Only 1 week away and I still haven't wrapped any gifts. It might be a long night on Christmas Eve wrapping presents.

Done Done Done

Did I mention that I am done?.

My niece's socks are done! I finished them last night in the wee hours.

It seemed like it took just as long to weave in the ends as it did to knit them. I really dislike the process of weaving in ends. No matter how I go about it, it just takes forever. I have thought about using the ends like stranded knitting and wrapping them in as I go. I wonder how well that would work. Anyone ever done this or use this method?

Any way, they are brightly colored that is for sure. She is so into the bright colors now. She just got a new bedding set and it has all the bright colors in it with big flowers. The socks should match. LOL

Details:

Needles: Sz. 1 Ebony 5 Double Point Lantern Moon

Yarn: 1 Ball Regia Sock Yarn Bright Orange (Sorry lost the label so that is all I have)
1 Skein Lorna's Laces Rainbow

Since there was only one skein of the LL's I used the Regia for the cuff, heel, and toe. They were knit from top down with a round heal and classic toe.

I hope that she likes them.



After finishing them I cast on for the toddler socks. They will be black, grey and white. They should look zebraish (yes it is a word in my mind LOL). I did a few rows before I headed to bed at 2 this morning. Hopefully these will go quick. They are much smaller and are on larger needles, so they should go faster.

I am using Cascade Fixation for these and size 4 needles. Here's hoping that I can bust a move and get them done quick.