Earl Grey Socks
2008 @ 10:57 am
I’ve cast on for some Earl Grey socks… I was needing something portable and non-lacy… I like the pattern so far, but didn’t pick a solid color yarn that would highlight the cables. It’s not awful and I don’t think the recipient will really care anyway.
I’m using a US2 (magic loop) and Araucania Ranco Solid in a gray colorway. I agonized over which two skeins to purchase since they all appeared wildly different, even among dye lots. Hopefully the two socks won’t be too “off”!
Single Sock Spider Swap
2008 @ 8:05 am
WOOOOOOOOOOOW! This was hands down the best swap I have ever participated in. From soup to nuts, this one went according to plan for everyone involved. This was the very first Spider swap and it was an extreme success. Not only did everyone’s sock fit, they were all so beautiful! Everyone stepped up and knit gorgeous, fancy footwear. Perhaps there is something about wanting to impress your knitting comrade that pushed this one to the next level? Surprising a stranger is nice, surprising your friend is ever better…
I knit up a single Eleanora sock for Jess–it was completely addicting, but i am really happy not to knit another one. If for the size zero provisional cast-on and hem alone 
Pic to come when she posts–I didn’t want to stretch out the sock with my large and in charge feet!
And what did I receive? From Sandra, a gorgeous Twisted Flower Sock (Cookie A). The blue of this sock is beautiful and the pattern is enticing–I can’t wait to make the other. Check out that heel–super fancy! And not to get too sappy, but Sandra was one of my very first knitting friends–like pre-Spiders and everything–so it was pretty cool to reconnect this way
More details once I cast on!
Mr. Pitt’s Socks
2008 @ 9:14 pm
After a few people approached me on Ravelry, I decided to write up a pattern for the socks I knit my dad for Christmas. They are just so darned straight forward! The pattern is now available here in pdf version and html (click the PATTERNS link above).
On an episode of my father’s favorite show, Seinfeld, Elaine spends an exorbitant amount of time searching for the perfect socks for her picky boss, Mr. Pitt. My father has deemed these simple socks the solution to “Mr. Pitt’s paradox”. They are sized to fit a typical adult man.
secret knitting exposed
2007 @ 11:41 am
My dad’s socks were a hit! I think he especially liked the reinforced nature of the heel. The two socks were constructed differently and one definitely fits better. I’ll be re-knitting the toe of one socks to make it the same (larger) size as the first sock. The shortness of the second sock was not intentional. At crunch time I decided to forgo use of a tape measure. Not a good idea!
The socks also differed in their heel construction. I used a heel flap for both, but left more stitches “in the middle” when I turned heel #2 (I knit across 2/3rds of the flap stitches, turned, knit across 1/3 of total stitches, turned). The first socks left only 7 stitches for the back of the heel, rather than the 13 created by the fraction method. You can see where the sock bunches around my dad’s ankle on the left… that is surely a result of the looser heel. As he says it doesn’t bother him, I’m not going to rip back that far. But, I will always choose a smaller heel cup from this point forward!
My only other Christmas present was a scarf for my brother-in-law, requested kinda late. So, he got a nearly finished Multi Directional Diagonal Scarf. I did him the courtesy of weaving in the ends before presentation. i would guess I’m 3/4 of the way through…
He declared it was exactly what he was wanted, yay! I find this kind of amusing since what he requested was a “black and white scarf just like Jason’s“. We knitters know, it is nothing like Jason’s 
Its made from Misti Alpaca Chunky. I can’t wear the stuff, but I sure do love the way it feels!
I hope everyone is having a restful year-end!
PS-please send all your bubble wrap to our house. MJ is out of her mind over this stuff. New toys? Mildly amusing. Packing material? Fascinating.
First Post-baby FO
2006 @ 9:34 pm
That’s right, I finished my Jaywalkers… and this is how much Socks that Rock that remains:
About 4 inches on the sock and a bit left over from sock #1 that I found in my notions pouch after I finished seaming.
If I hadn’t backed out a couple of foot rows, I wouldn’t have had enough!
Finishing this sock only took me four months (yes, that’s sarcasm). I can’t exactly remember when I cast them on, but I know I was only a couple of inches in when I was knitting on them pre-baby in the hospital. Three months later, they are complete! I haven’t tried them on yet though because the heat is UNBEARABLE. Go ahead and leave me nasty comments on my parenting, but the kid is sleeping diaper-only in light air conditioning right now. It took me about an hour to convince her that she could go to sleep, but really I think she was just miserably overheated. Stripping her and putting her down did the trick. No rocking for me tonight mommy, please don’t touch me!
It also occurred to me today–over late lunch/early dinner at red bamboo brooklyn–with some familiar faces and some new ones (hey, guys, leave me comments so I know your blogs and can link to you!)–that I tried on the first sock with fat pregnant ankles. Dude, they better fit after all of this. Oh, that sounds like I was frustrated doesn’t it? Not at all! This pattern is perfection and looks fantastic. Truth is, I am not a sock person. I think I’ve mentioned that I was leaning that way before, but now I am sure of it. The thing I like most about socks? Kitchner at the toe. How sadistic is that?!
So, how did I finally come to finish a project? Behold, a major milestone in an infant’s life has recently occurred:
To the untrained eye, this may appear as no big deal. Baby in bouncy seat–big whoop. However, I am sure you baby savvy peeps out there recognize that MJ is actually LOOKING at toys. And people, she is talking to them. This means that she is capable of entertaining herself for short periods of time. So far I have used this time for:
1. extended stay in the wc
2. kitchnering toe of sock
3. making an actual meal, like, with the stove
4. well, it’s only been a couple of days…
She’s also started to get to bed at a reasonable hour (shift from 11:30 pm to 9 pm so far)… and stay asleep for 7-8 hours at a time! That’s happened for three of the last seven days. I know has nothing to do with knitting, but these are the exciting things in my life at the moment. The fact that I am blogging uninterrupted right now is a milestone in itself. I am giddy! Try not to get too excited, who knows when this will actually be consistent
a day in the life
2006 @ 11:46 am
Just a day, not a “typical” day because we really don’t have any of those. On this day, the morning began like this:
and ended like this:
I got through the entire heel! I’m in the home stretch of Jaywalker #2 and can say with reasonable certainty that I am not a sock person. That being said, the convenience of shoving a sock project into the diaper bag cannot be denied, so I am sure this won’t be my last pair!
post-xmas post 2005
2005 @ 8:16 am
It was a good one! Mr. Sassy and I are now in the market for a camcorder, thanks to the Sassy in-laws and I’ve got some FO’s to show off! I don’t think I’ve ever finished two things at once before.
First, we have the Crusoe socks.
As a first pair, this pattern was great! I cast on 64 stitches, about 20 more than the pattern calls for, for Mr. Sassy’s foot. I winged the rest of the pattern changes and made out pretty well. The toes are a little long, but he doesn’t seem to mind. I definitely recommend this pattern, but I know there is a pattern correction that has not been posted to Knitty, so I advise care at the heel turn. I used Reggia sock yarn in Crazy Stripe that I picked up at a swap over the summer.
Next up, Clapotis 2.0.
I decided to make this pattern for my mother-in-law when I received two skeins of Cascade Sierra color #39 from my pal for SP5. It was the perfect color for her! It appears a little brighter than reality in this photo. I bought two more skeins to complete the project on #8 needles. I made no changes to the pattern and, like everyone else, highly recommend making one or 25! I believe the gift was a hit, although I am not sure how mom of Mr. Sassy feels about being blogged. She obligingly sat for the photo though and I am glad to have the record of my project.
Yesterday I also cast on for my first baby project (for my baby, that is). After deliberating over the Japanese patterns for a while, I recognized that need to CAST ON RIGHT NOW and remembered the Crumpets pattern I had purchased so long ago. I’m one pattern repeat in and it’s looking really cute! I’ll post progress when there is something to show…
Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend!
more later…
2005 @ 8:12 am
Baby’s moving a ton, Clappy2 est finit, turning heel on sock two, back on track with Baccarat… MORE LATER! I just realized Christmas is this week. DOH!
Sock Love
2005 @ 8:37 am
Give the people what they want and they shall respond! Wow, thanks for all the comments on my sock! I think that might have been a record number of comments. All for a little kitchener? I guess socks really are hot right now. Hell, National Geographic magazine even said so. They dedicated a whole page in December to the global knitting phenom and told their readers that handknit socks are all the rage.
For those of you hailing my kitchener and bemoaning your own, I say this: Forget your books, burn your notes and watch the video. Watch it once and then do it with her. You can’t go wrong…
Today was my company’s annual holiday luncheon (yum). We share offices with another company (i work for her, they work for him) and we all do the lunch thing together. Today, I sat across from someone who works for him and let me tell you, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
Please picture this, if you will:
Collar: hot pink 2×2 ribbing, round neck for three inches
Body & Sleeves: hot pink fun fur with subtle white, blue and yellow accents
Cuffs: wavy cable knit, hot pink.
Holy crap people. I know she didn’t make it, which means she actually spent money on it. I just want to know what year it was.
First Sock… updated
2005 @ 2:04 pm
3:30 PM
What a long weekend. I got a ton accomplished, including finishing my first sock! Kitchener Stitch is a blast–I’ll definitely be using this technique whenever possible. So easy! I only had to watch the video once, which quite surprised me. Maybe its because Steph had been sing songing “knit, slip, purl… purl, slip, knit” to me earlier in the week? Pics to come… Mr. Sassy has been hogging the camera and taking tons of pics of the construction of his new restaurant. He claims he will be home tonight so I’ll get a model shot.
That’s all the knitting news for now! Second sock is already in progress…
7:50 PM
Oh well, I had to model myself! The toe is a bit long, but I’ll take care of it in Part Two.
