Feb
19
Snuggly Soft
Filed Under Knitting | 3 Comments
Finally! Something for me. For my always frozen hands.
The pattern is Daisy Stitch Handwarmers from the Purlbee, but I didn’t use the yarn they suggested. No way was I going to pay $12.50 a skein for 4 skeins of yarn that I would probably only need about 1/3 of. If I can’t even knit the second sock without doing both at the same time, do you really think I’m going to make multiple pairs of hand warmers? So during my first trip EVAR to Hill Country Weavers, I got some pretty generic 100% merino yarn in the suggested colors. It only cost about 1/2 as much as the other stuff AND I didn’t have to wait around for it.
Unfortunately, I did have to wait around for the DPNs in size 7 & 8 to show up from Knit Picks. I’ve pretty much decided I’m not gonna buy needles anywhere else. I really love how smooth and sturdy the Knit Picks needles feel. So out with the old and in with the new I suppose.
The daisy stitch is really fun. It works up quickly, and keeps my mind just occupied enough to not be boring, but easy enough to pay attention to the television. I’m trying to figure out if I could make a sweater using it.
Feb
5
Stripey Socks
Filed Under Knitting | 5 Comments
Here they are! The purple striped socks worn by their new owner. Yarn is Regia Cotton Surf. Pattern is two at a time toe up socks with a 2×2 rib on the instep and the legs.
I think I said before that I won’t use that yarn again. It’s just too cottony even though it’s supposedly mostly wool. I just really dislike the feel of cotton when I’m knitting – but when I sew I want everything to be cotton. Go figure. Not that the final product was yucky to the touch or anything, They’re actually quite pleasant on the foot. (I had to try and cram my foot into them and see if they were just an ooch small for me, because I needed them to be about a size 6 foot… )
Anyway, I’m really pleased with how they came out. And I think the recipient likes them, too, judging from her grin and exclamations of joy. But then, that’s my Becky… Enjoy dear friend.
Jan
9
Monday I got 2 lbs of dried flower buds in the mail. TWO POUNDS. Do you have any idea how many flowers that is? Or how much volume it takes up? OK, not as much as I expected when I ordered them, but still, about 2 shoe-boxes.
I immediately whipped up these little sachets. Lavender. YUM. I also got Chamomile, another favorite, but doesn’t come close to my love affair with lavender. I suppose I’m going to have to come up with a lot more ideas for dried flowers.
Speaking of ideas, I got the best idea for storing all my knit picks needles – and yes, I just took the plunge and ordered some of the interchangeable circulars. I really dislike their cases though, and I have come up with what I think is going to be a great solution. I’ll show it to you when I’m done. (I know, I know, I’ve been promising the same thing about the sewing room for months now! Someday it will be either clean enough to show you, or I just won’t care that day).
And I got my new yarn for someone’s birthday present. I should take pictures, but that would ruin the surprise. I mean she already KNOWS I am making them, I’m not giving away the entire picture before I gift them. It’s not bad as far as cotton blends go. In fact, it really doesn’t have too much of that sticky cotton feel at all. I might’ve had to trash it if it did. Cuz knitting with that kind of yarn is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
I also figured out how to wind centerpull balls. Do I need to get a winder? Is it better than using your fingers? I know my thumb starts to go numb after a while, but no pain, no gain, right? At any rate, centerpull balls is SO much better than using balls or knitting straight from the skein. For one thing, they stay put. Um, well that’s pretty much the only advantage.
So, as usual, I’m way too busy. So busy that I’d like to just crawl back into bed. But I can’t, because I have to go to the dentist now.
Jan
3
Socks!
Filed Under Crafting, Geeking, Knitting | 4 Comments
I did it! I finished my first pair of socks. Well, my first adult sized pair. Two at once is definitely the way to go for big people socks. No second sock syndrome. It didn’t really even take me that long. Maybe a week or so?
Anyway, they are far from perfect. There are so many accidentally picked up stitches that I later had to “decrease out”, so the stitch rows are all a bit off. And the short row heel has a bit of a hole on one side on both socks. I guess I didn’t pick up enough stitches there? Still, I really like them. I’m wearing them right now, in fact. So soft and snuggly on my always cold feet. You can’t see it, but I finished them off with a pretty long 4×3 ribbing on the cuff (cuz I have an odd number of stitches foot size).
And check out the cute little tiny socks I made for a friends (upcoming) baby. I swear they are sooo teeny. I think I cast on a total of 20 stiches – on size 1 needles no less!! I based the size on Alexis’ newborn foot print, so I hope they aren’t too big for the new baby. I can’t stop playing with them. They’re only as long as my index finger (which is small to begin with). I love making them walk and dance. I know, I’m a giant dork. But they’re so cute!
For those of you interested in such things, the yarn is two balls of Knit Picks Felici Arugala and I used two circular needles (also from knit picks). I had plenty left over even after the baby booties.
And, like Susan, I’ve been sucked in once again. After much looking I found a single ball of Regia Cotton Surf 5410. Why does no one have that? I have looked EVERYWHERE, and you know where I finally found it? On Etsy, of course. I hope I don’t hate it. I’m not very fond of cotton yarns, but this one is mostly wool, so I’m hopeful.
Dec
20
I’m not sure what made me decide I wanted to try knitting two socks on two circular needles with two balls of yarn at the same time, but I am. Some sock demon has possessed me and demanded that it be so. 
Actually, once you get the hang of it, it’s not really that complicated. Even if there are about fifty ends of something dangling about at any given time. Chris keeps staring at me in awe. It’s nothing new that he is fascinated by “women work” (that would be sewing and knitting and crocheting, etc), but he keeps staring at me with this face that says, “I can’t even wrap my brain around that without getting tangled up in the two balls of yarn”.
One day while he was staring so intently, he sort of muttered, “It looks like you are knitting a bra”. Now, of course, every time I pick the socks up, Alexis wants me to hold them to my chest like some sort of homegrown Madonna tit-sling. Thanks dad.
I do have to admit, that I LOVE that I won’t have to start the second sock when the first is finished. I can’t tell you how many single socks I have. In fact, I’ve only ever finished 2 pairs. One for Alexis, and another for her teddy bear. You can see how focused I am.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with these socks. They are so full of mistakes and the toes are too pointy, and it bugs me that they are fraternal (that would socks – oh never mind). When I started them, I was all like, “Hot damn! the pattern is starting in the same place for both center-pull balls”. Sigh, apparently there are two instances of each color in a repeat, so they are sort of staggered. Not that they look as bad as I always imagined fraternal socks would look, but still… The perfectionist in me is really trying to overwhelm the I-don’t-have-time-to-frog-this-and-start-over in me. I. will. not. let. it.