Sock knitting = Crack

Favorite socks, a new publication of old IK patterns, is slated for release in April. Reading online that someone purchased a copy*, I thought I'd take a shot and ask for it at Barnes & Noble. Nope, it won't arrive until the Spring. So, is the book available at local yarn stores--- or did the store sell advanced copies? (perhaps from TNNA?) Anyone with a good theory or book release knowledge out there?

As long as resources avail, there's no real need to buy the book. I usually trek over to the Textile Center's library (thank you MN knitter's guild) to page through old magazines-- but I'm interested in this book. If there are a number of patterns I love, I'll get it.

Paco's feet were freezing last night. He literally was jumping/lifting his feet as we approached the door. It might be time for basenji boots!

*Copy was purchased at a yarn store. 6 other copies were on the shelf.

Mutant Amaryllis!

Work has been... ah, busy (stressful) lately, so there hasn't been a post for a while. Sorry, dear fellow readers.

The Amaryllis bulb below was planted the second week of December, and took FOREVER to grow. To my surprise, it actually bloomed just a few days ago. By Tuesday something funny started to poke through. Can you see it here? Yes, there are FIVE blooms from the first stem! Five, as is Five golden rings. Five! Craziness. I wonder if the flower will open straight up??? On top of that, this was a special bulb with two stems-- can't wait to see how many blossoms form on that one. I'll keep you updated on the second blossom. On Wednesday, Renee gave the boys a squeeky toy. Both Toby and Paco love it, and want to say "Thank you very much. Come over and play with us anytime. We're always here".

Renee also brought her needle felting accouterments on Wednesday night, so Mr. Hedgehog (still in 'puppet' form) now has a face. It's a Fiber Trend pattern, and was knit/felted last fall. Two-color eyes were created via democratic vote. He had a "Hedgehog of the Corn" look for a short while.

Paco loves the addition of both toys to the house.

I've been working on the January UFO. The second anklet should easily be completed by next Wednesday (and it will be!), although...

I've been cheating a little bit.

Have a great weekend!

January's UFO

Just a few weeks ago I promised to clean up one UFO each month-- I'll either work to complete something, or the piece would end up in the frog pond.

Sure, I've chosen a pretty simple one this month-- another anklet for mom.

The first anklet (Trekking XXL #36, and Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool* for toes & heels) was completed the day before I galevanted around the Twin Cities for the Shop Hop Treasure Hunt.

Low and behold, the yarn was missing from my bag. I called each and every store-- no yarn. I emailed my car-mate-- no yarn. Louise even offered to give me her skein!

Thank goodness I didn't have to take her up on her generous offer as the skein did show-- in a completely unexpected place-- someone's home I hadn't visited in months! (How is this possible????)

So, this is now lunch-time knitting with the ladies at work. (I taught anyone on the floor who was interested to knit. They're graduating to Fiber Trend's felt clogs next week!)

Toby wishes you all a great weekend!

*Although not marketed as such, Silky Wool can be washed on gentle/cold with fabulous results.

Knit Night

Last night was a fun-filled bonding experience with fellow knitters. How wonderful to truly find a group of like-minded, informed & intelligent friends that love pouring through Barbara Walker's as much as you do!



A little show and tell: Deepa wore her Sunflower Tam, designed by Norah Gaughan in Knitting Nature. (Malabrigo yarn, Amore colorway)

A view from the top

Oh, look. Now Connie's wearing it. Doesn't she look adorable?

Check your inbox!

Congratulations to contest winners! You have received an email-- so check those inboxes. One winner is from the mighty Midwest (blogless), and one winner lives in the South.

Project information from yesterday's post:

Pattern: chevron rib (see stitch pattern below)
Yarn: koigu kpppm and gems merino (stash)
Needles: Crystal Palace Bamboo DPNs sz US 1
Dates: ??? 2006 to Sunday January 14, 2007
Miscelaneous:
-Toe box (toe-up), Lucy Neatby's automatic garter-style heel
-tight gauge (per usual)
-garter rib/eyelet/picot edge
-nearly all of two koigu skeins were used. (approx 1.5 yds left)

R1: *yo, k2, ssk, k2, p2*
R2: *ktbl, k5, p2*
R3: *k2, k2tog, k2, yo, p2*
R4: *k5, ktbl, p2*

Toby is begging for play time. Have a great night knitters!

Finito!

Koigu sock
Originally uploaded by bedeedi.

Yes, the koigu socks were finished this weekend. One pair of socks down, two more to go until I can buy sock yarn. Woo!

(I'll post a pic with both tomorrow).

STR anklets

Stockinette or reverse stockinette? (blogger wants these images to be upside down)

The garter rib beginnings were ripped out due to gigantic-ness, and were resized to toe-up anklets for my mom. (She thought the striping was rather interesting.)



I've heard a number of guesses for my January UFO... I've decided to finish something that I completed 1/2 of because the yarn was missing for quite some time. .) Yes, this was around the time of the Treasure Hunt.

Details to come tomorrow...

Snow, Gorgeous Snow!

After a long brown spell in Minnesota, we finally have a dose of winter!Downtown St. Paul.
My neighbor's house.
The Front yard.
Under the tree.
Meanwhile, the boys snuggled up for a long snowy night.

Contest!

In honor of National Delurking Week, I'm asking you to speak up. Let me know who is reading this tiny fish of a blog in the massive knit-blog sea out there.

Leave a message and tell me something about yourself, your favorite knitting technique(s), or something random and facinating about the world at large-- and I'll enter you in a contest for a wee bit of knitting swag.

The person who leaves my favorite comment will receive a skein of Austermann Step sock yarn, colorway "gras" 03, a set of handmade millefiori stitch markers, and I'm sure I'll throw a little chocolate in the mix. The second prize will be chosen at random.

Leave your comments by midnight on Tuesday, 1/16/07. I'll announce winners the following day.

****Yarn is not from a pet-free home. Two basenjis life near the Yarnoire (tm). [an armoire just for yarn] In theory they have very little pet dander and are great for allergy-stricken people, but clearly could be the cause of a horrid reaction for some.

"You Knit What?"

Ahh, yes. Remember that fabulous website?

Oh, how I miss you.

But wait... Is that horrible monstrosity knit out of koigu????

The White box.

Paco was wondering, "What is the [wonderfully] stinky stuff in this terribly exciting white box???".

Why, it's a package from Cara at January one!

We had a good deal of fun last night opening up the package and sharing it's contents during an "Opinionated Knitter's" Book Review (snarky laughter-filled) session last night. Who doesn't love Socks That Rock (STR), with it's highly unique squishy-sproingy-ness and absolutely fabulous colorways? The Chibis and STR cards are great, and I'm excited to try Soak!

Thanks Cara! I hate admitting this, but as the dogs can attest I went home and immediately casted on a garter rib sock in the G-rocks colorway...

Fiber love transends all species

The cool thing about knitting the Celtic Harbor Hat is that I accomplished one of my 2007 knitting goals: learn to knit a fair isle project. Ok, ok... so I cheated a little. I'm still having tension issues with yarn held in the left hand, so I did a little two-color right-handed knitting... It all seemed to work out in the end. (There are a few fair-isle projects I'd like to tackle this year, including these gorgeous mittens!)

Here's how the top portion of the hat turned out (pre-blocking). I should have quit one row before I did to avoid the slight nubbin action, but it flattens down upon wearing.

Even though Toby refused to model the finished hat, he wanted to let you all know that he most certanly played a part in the project.

First Fair Isle!

Official begin day: Friday night. Official finish: late Sunday night. It's the Celtic Harbor Hat from Blackberry Ridge, the yarn is EL Angora from Webs.

Isn't Paco a great model? Toby would never stand for such shenanigans.

The hat has an interesting construction-- so interesting that I modified it greatly. Essentially, the inside brim was to be a 1x1 rib, and I just wasn't going to have any of that. Stockinette is much easier to wear against your brow, and it'll mess up your perfectly styled hair! I kitchnered the two ends together on the inside of the hat, then picked up the top row and created a classic star decrease at the top. I've been wearing it all week, and it's been a lovely addition to my morning commute!

Pic for construction insight purposes only.

Finally! The red socks.

Preview for tomorrow:

Mom visited again on Saturday morning to join the knitting ladies-- and this time she brought her red socks. Ok, ok... so she doesn't look too enthused about the socks here, but in all honesty she was concerned about not updating her pedicure and harming them. After a few minutes of coaxing, she finally put them on! Now I've got to convince her to wear them outside of the house!

It was dark outside when we finally took these. Sorry for the color quality. The sock yarn is Mega Boots Stretch. The pattern was a simple 3x2 garter rib with automatic garter heels a-la Lucy Neatby.

New STR website.

Matt's Socks - DONE!
Originally uploaded by cynic the lamb.

Check it out: https://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com

Sheep to Shoe, where are you?
(You facinate me, even though I don't spin... yet)

Knit Picks prices are one the rise.

Knit Picks!
Originally uploaded by Big Sister.

Their newest catalogue was in my mailbox last night, and clearly some knit picks yarn lines are on the rise. Pattern prices on the whole just went up by a dollar. (Conversely, they're $.50 cheaper if you download them with your order). Alpaca and Alpaca blends and their Essential sock yarns are the ones to look out for.

Prices have not been raised on their website-- yet, so if you need (ok, want) some KP at their previous prices, you better order it right now!

*although, the difference is only 30 to 50 cents a skein. Not earth shattering, but notable.

diversion...

fragile universe
Originally uploaded by Steve took it.

Aren't these little worlds marvelous? They look like tiny Venitian glass paperweights. It's "Fragile Universe" by Steve Wall. He's amazing, and a number of his photos are from Minnesota!

The digital camera I've been using is completely M.I.A., so I'm sorry. you must be diverted as koigu sock photos will not be forthcoming until the camera decides to come out of it's hiding spot.

Let the Freeze begin!

No entrance
Originally uploaded by beewebhead.

***WARNING: Exceedingly dull reading ahead for non-knitters!

Last year I inventoried and organized my yarn stash. How could you describe it? Oh, scary at minimum*. Six months ago if I chose to not buy any more yarn and knit at a quick pace, it could all be used in 33 months. Yes, 33 months. …and I kept buying! So dear friends, we’re looking at approximately four years’ worth of yarn in my house. Blame Webs, blame yarn enablers, perhaps we could even blame Canada. Sure, it may have a great “R” factor… but, I have a problem. Any non-knitter knows that I’ve entered the ‘crazy knitting’ stage. I MUST knit stash yarn!!!

Enter Ten Items for 2007:
Knitting Goals, a Yarn Freeze, (and yes) Loopholes

1. Do not buy any more yarn. *repeat* Do not buy any more yarn.
2. Tools can be purchased if needed.
3. Patterns may be acquired if deemed absolutely gorgeous and one couldn’t possibly continue to live without them.
4. Complete a fair-isle project.
5. Finish three previously started sweaters.
6. Work on one long-forgotten UFO each month. I don’t have to finish it, but I must work on it or rip it out if the love is lost.
7. Loophole A: After knitting three pairs of socks (not six socks, but matching pairs) I can buy 100g of sock yarn.
8. Loophole B: Yarn can be purchased during a project emergency where more yarn is needed. (exceedingly rare)
9. Loophole C: Up to four skeins of “decoration yarn” may be purchased.
10. Loophole D: ONE sweater’s worth of yarn may be purchased if a fabulous deal comes along—especially if it’s denim yarn.

*another knitter saw my stash around inventory time and said, "Is that it???"