Lucky Find

On a recent day trip to St. Michaels, I made my stop into Frivolous Fibers. They've got a new sign up and they have reorganized the store. It looks lovely! As usual, I didn't need any yarn but that didn't stop me from checking out the selection. I was drawn to their new wall of sock yarns with bold and beautiful colors. I asked my DH if he'd like me to make another pair of socks for him. He looked at the wall and then found a basket full of - wait for it - Blue Moon Socks That Rock lightweight yarn! One of the owners commented the store had the lucky mistake of getting the skeins by accident. Blue Moon doesn't want new clients (booooo!!!!) so the store has been unable to get the yarn. In the end, it was a lucky find for me.



The colorway is Mustang Sally. I've got a pattern picked out on Ravelry for some cabled socks but I need to purchase the pattern in order to make sure I have enough yarn and that the pattern will be large enough.

DH was warned at the yarn store that the date of completion for this pending project is way, way, WAY up in the air. Like, he might get this pair of socks in the next two years. In the meantime, it makes a wonderful addition to my stash.

Completed Project: Sean's Socks

It took a couple years after buying the yarn to actually get the socks made, but finally, here they are in all their glory!!!





Socks for Sean - size Men's Large, Socks that Rock Yarn - Colorway "In the Navy"
More details on Ravelry

These are the largest sized socks socks I've completed to date, and unlike my last pair - which I loved and Perches loves - this time the yarn weight matches the needle size and the pattern.

Sean really likes them. When I finished them and these photos were taken, he wore them as long as he could until his feet were too hot to keep the socks on. He's looking forward to winter when such warm socks will come in handy.

One pair down and two to go on my Crafty Resolutions list. I have plenty of skeins of sock yarn from which to choose. I do know who I will be making a pair for next, I just have to pick out the yarn. I'll also make a pair for myself, probably from the Lion Brand sock yarn I picked up in NYC. Maybe I'll have that completed before Halloween..but I'm holding myself to that deadline. Before any other socks can be started, I've got a couple of what I hope are quick side projects to complete before the Knit and Crochet Show.

Progress Report: Sean's Sock (singular)

I've completed one and miraculously, it fits!



I've started on sock #2 and I'm praying that I'll have enough yarn to complete it. I'm worried that either the pattern yardage is wrong or the yardage for my yarn is wrong.

Progress Report: Sean's Socks

It took a while to have photos to share, but here you go - progress on Sean's socks:



I've turned the heel and I'm working the length of the foot now. I'm a bit concerned with how much yarn this pattern at the men's large size is using. I'm hoping that it was just my inability to evenly split the yarn into two even balls.

The bright blue color is an appropriate post for today as I'm heading to the movies to finally see Avatar. And since we're seeing the first show of the day, I'm having popcorn for breakfast.

*Insert Clever Blog Post Title Here*

Over the weekend, I did manage to find the aforementioned crochet hook that was trapped in the couch. It took some time and I did have to detatch the chaise from the couch in order to tip it upside down. I'd hear the clinkity clink of the aluminum hook against the wood frame, then reach into the cushions hoping I had correctly pinpointed the sound. In the end, I was victorious!

I was not as successful with meeting the deadline for the third Ocean Waves blanket. There was no way it could have been finished by Friday (without staying up every night for many nights in a row). With the deadline and pressure gone, I've gone back to working Sean's socks. I'm using the basic sock pattern found in the book "Teach Yourself Visually: Sock Knitting". While I really like the book, the errors in the basic pattern were frustrating. Because of my previous sock knitting experiences for both adult and kid sized socks, I knew something was not right with this pattern. An email to the Queen and a search for the pattern errata proved me right. I still love the book for its instructions though I must admit it would be frustrating for any newbie knitter who didn't see the errors before working so much into the sock.

There is oodles of rain in the forecast starting tomorrow and through the weekend. I think I'll be spending quite a bit of time indoors working on the socks. Hopefully I'll have some photos to share this weekend.

Doppler Effect

I was just preparing for Thanksgiving....now, it's December 8th. I had a feeling back in September when I started crafting and shopping for the holidays that the season was going to fly by at warp speed. Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.

Sometimes.

Usually I like it very much. :)

In the last week, I've been all sorts of crafty but not much to show for it on the crocheted or knitted front. The afghan of the sandman has been worked on but it still has so far to go. I know the finished product will be so lovely - but I just can't seem to sit down and plow through the final rows until the border. The project has been ongoing for too long. I've lost patience with it and just want it to be done. I also lost a crochet hook while working on it. No idea where it went even though I lost it in the living room. The couch cushions have been searched, the couch lifted to check the floor and even the chaise was shook to see if I could hear the little hook inside the frame. I have another hook of the same size but I do hope to find the other one. It was a beautiful shade of lavender.

I've also been working on the sock-a-long with "C". Not much progress there either since my time is focused on the afghan and I've been dozing on the train instead of knitting. Good thing we don't have a deadline for completion (a stress-free knit-a-long). I also have a fear that I'm going to run out of yarn before the pair is finished. I'm making a men's medium sock and the weight of the yarn, the size of the needles and even the gauge match the pattern. It's just that the first sock looks really wide.

I also decorated my first ever gingerbread house. I don't really love it - mainly because I was lazy and used the frosting that came with the kit instead of making my own royal icing (which would have been a better consistency to hold the piping detail). It looks festive but I would have liked to do a lot more detail work on it.



This was a pre-baked kit that came with the frosting, tray, candy, gingerbread house, tree and scary looking gingerbread men. That's why my gingerbread man looks like an island medicine man with the crazy gummy headdress and multicolored beads all over. Just looking at him makes me laugh.



I used some fondant to make the snow man. He's definitely not for eating (it's a solid ball of fondant) except for the candy attached to him.

I'm hoping to make one of these from scratch next year - bake the gingerbread myself so I can have open windows. There's a way to melt down Jolly Rancher candies and make them into stained glass windows. Then you can put a light inside the house so the windows have a nice glow.

And maybe - just maybe - I'll contemplate the idea to someday enter the National Gingerbread House contest held at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. Of course, this wouldn't happen for a number of years and I should first just visit it in person. Did somebody say road trip for next fall?

And lastly - here's a photo of the ladybug cupcakes I made for my boss' farewell party last week. She's the woman who inspired the ladybug coaster pattern.



Look at all those updates in one post! Whoooosh! Right past you before you knew it, just like the past few months. Let's hope the rest of December slows down a bit so the holidays can be enjoyed and savored rather than rushed and frantic.

Sock-a-rific!

On Wednesday I started a sock-a-long with my cousin, "C", who lives in the Carolinas. She has knitted in the round before for mittens but has not yet tried socks. Since I was itching to knit another pair after the Harry Potter socks and to use a much better instructional book for my second pair, I asked her if she'd be interested in the sock-a-long.

We're using the following book - Teach Yourself Visually: Knitting Socks. I LOVE this book! The instructions are great and the photos are excellent. It is sooooo much better than the book I used for my first pair of socks. We were going to each use a skein of the ShiBui knits yarn I bought in Portland last year. I shipped one skein down to her and then I finally got around to winding my skein. I was less than amused when I had the finished ball in front of me. No way was there enough yarn for two socks, contrary to what I was told when I bought the yarn. Sure enough I checked the yardage on the label and then the yardage needed for the pattern and it was only enough yarn for one sock. D'oh!

Luckily, I had the perfect solution.

A couple years ago --- has it really been that long??? --- I bought some Socks That Rock yarn in blue to crochet Sean a pair of socks. I bought 2 skeins knowing that a crocheted pair would need the extra yarn. I had never made the socks because after my first pair of crocheted socks, I knew they would be too thick for Sean to wear. So quietly in my stash the skein waited patiently...

...until I yanked them out, stuck one in an envelope and the other on the swift.

It took a while for the sock-a-long to get started given other projects going on and general busyness of life. It was on Wednesday when we started. "C" was going to her knitting group and I had given up hope of finishing the baby blanket any time soon. The sock yarn was calling to me and it would have been rude not to answer.

Here's all I have so far. The k1-p1 ribbing always seems to take forever so I'm only a few rounds into the stockinette stitch. The sock color is "In the Navy" and I'm using size 1 DPNs. I'm yanking on the second stitch of each DPN to avoid the dreaded ladders. So far, it seems to be working.



You can see the Shi Bui knits ball - less than half of half a skein of the Socks that Rock yarn. You can also see Seamus hoping to get his paws on the ball of yarn. While a cat will take the ball of yarn to play with it, when Seamus gets a hold of a ball of yarn, he runs off playing catch-me-if-you can, gnawing on the yarn as he runs and hides. Funny to watch but bad for the yarn.

I hope your socks are coming along well, too, "C"!

Completed Project: Knitted Socks

I finally did it! I knit socks!!! Wahoo!!!!





And here's proof that I did knit the pair of them.



All the details are on Ravelry but here are the highlights... I used the basic sock pattern from "How to Knit Socks" and bamboo DPNs. The bamboo made it much easier to learn to use DPNs since the yarn wasn't sliding all over the place like it was when I used metal DPNs. The yarn is Opal Harry Potter sock yarn that I purchased in Ohio. I loved the colors of it - even more when knitted - as well as the name of this particular color: Dumbledore.

I'm going to be a bit boastful here and say how proud I am of myself that I learned to knit socks and that they came out looking so good. The only problem with them is that they are a bit too small for me. I can put them on and they are comfy but the knitting stretches a bit too much for my taste. I should have swatched it to make sure the yarn and needles worked with the pattern but I was so determined to just knit. So instead of keeping this lovely pair and never wearing them, I'm gifting them to the lovely KMP who just moved back to the area and will need some warm socks when the colder winter months approach. I'm glad to know these special socks will have a good home.

I'm now on the hunt for some good baby bootie/sock patterns to accompany all the baby hats I'll be making. Thank Goddess for Ravelry, Lion Brand and all the other online pattern searches! If you know of a particularly good one, leave a comment or send an email.

Lesson Learned

When NOT to try to learn to knit socks...

1) When tired
2) When watching something interesting on TV
3) When drinking scotch

Yep - I was doing all three of these things two weeks ago when I finally tried to teach myself to use DPNs and knit a simple sock. Believe it or not, I was actually getting it for quite a while. I won't lie to you - the whole working with 5 needles was quite stressful but I had cast on, divided the stitches, and made my way around about the circle about 6 times and I was doing great!

That is, until the three things one should not do when learning to knit socks coincided with a break to use the bathroom.

I sat back on the couch and proceeded to knit/purl - you guessed it! - in the wrong direction. I didn't notice until I got back to my stitch marker - which was at the end of my needle instead of at the beginning.

Damn it! I cursed under my breath.

But not to fear! I tried to reassure myself. I'd been here before and knew I just had to work my way back to where the problem began.

I successfully unknit/unpurled my way along two DPNs and then...

::SWOOSH!::

...the DPN slipped, 2 stitches slipped, and I swore like a sailor.

Sean quickly came to my rescue by getting my crochet hook holder. I took out an itty-bitty hook and tried to reloop my lost stitches. I could not for the life of me get those 2 stitches back. And as items 1-3 collided with frustration, I gave up, pulled out all the DPNs and rewound the yarn. I was not amused. ::insert more salty sailor verbiage here::

Sean, being the wonderful and supportive husband that he is, tried to reassure me that I had done a great job getting so many stitches on 4 needles on my first try. I, on the other hand, could not be consoled. So much work for nothing...NOTHING! I was in no mood for a lesson. I wanted a pair of socks in the making. But I knew my emotional limits for one evening and did not touch the needles or yarn again that night.

The next day I was in better spirits thanks to a good night's sleep. I was able to more realistically look at what had happened. There is only so much one can expect will or should be accomplished the first time one attempts to learn to knit socks. I was too hard on myself and I needed to try again under more ideal circumstances.

The following weekend, I tried again - this time with much better results.



Now mind you - there is only like 3 or 4 rows on this sock so far and I'm not anticipating that it will turn out to be a wearable sock. But as a first go at sock knitting, I'm enjoying it thoroughly. We'll see how much I like it when I hit the snag in my lessons.

Completed Project: Cabled Crochet Socks

This project is done but sadly, the heel fix didn't help the toe problem. This project is considered finished even though I haven't completed the second sock.

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Pattern: Cabled Crochet Socks by Little River Fiber Arts

Hook size: #2 (Susan Bates)

Yarn:
Approximately 1 1/4 skeins of Socks That Rock yarn in

• Fire on the Mountain

Size: supposed to be adult women's size 9 - probably closer to a 10 or 10 1/2

Modifications: My vertical gauge was larger than the pattern said so I took out one full cable (3 cable rows, 1 twist cable row) prior to the heel. I should have taken out two and/or reduced the number of rows of the toes.

The heel had half the rounds with 2 sc decreases in each corner and half with rounds of 3 sc decreases in each corner.

I finished the top of the sock with a round of dc (NOT fpdc) followed by a row of sc.

**************************************************************


These socks were supposed to be for me and while I tried them on again and again as I was making them, the finished product was too big in the toe. I think you can see it in the photo below. To fix it, I'll have to frog it all the way past the heel to remove a group of cables. Please note: This is not a reflection on the pattern - the pattern is great!



Plus, I rather like the way the yarn looks in single crochet, so there's a chance I'll frog both socks down to the toes and do all single crochet instead of the cable. But it will be awhile before I decide what exactly I'll do with these socks. I think I need a break to work on a new project.

Progress Report: Cabled Crochet Socks

My order of STR yarn arrived on Thursday and yay! the new skein matched the one I bought at MS&W!



You see I also bought 2 skeins of "In the Navy" to make Sean a pair of socks - even before I saw this fun little reminder on the label:



Crocheted socks use sooooo much more yarn than knitted socks. I really must teach myself to knit this year so I can make some of the wonderful knitted sock patterns out there. But for now, I'm very happy with the current project of the cabled crochet socks. Here's the progress I made over the weekend - this one is done except for the heel. The other one is just a couple of rounds away from being at the same place.



Now there was a bit of a scare with this as it was looking like the toe was too long for my foot. There was almost an inch of overhang that was not comfortable. I thought I would have to frog all my work until before the heel. But when I tried them on for this photo, I realized that it may come together correctly when I actually crochet in the heel. I'm going to finish both socks and if the overhang still exists, there will be some frogging and some crying. For now, I'm all smiles.

Progress Report: Cabled Crochet Socks

Voila! Photos of my progress! And I think it's quite a bit of progress since Sunday night when I started the second sock.





Because my vertical gauge is off, I've had to modify the pattern a bit as I go along. That's a bonus of doing a sock toe-up - you can try it on as you go to adjust the pattern.

My only worry right now is that I'm going to run out of yarn. You can see I don't have much yarn left on the right sock. While this currently means that my two balls of yarn were not even, I'm not sure how much yarn is left in the other ball and whether it will be enough to finish both socks with enough length at the ankle. I'm already 20 yards short of what the pattern calls for...so keep your fingers crossed that I have enough to finish.

Progress Report: Cabled Crochet Socks

No photos for you today - but the socks look pretty much like they did before, just longer with more cables.

It turns out that while my horizontal gauge is right on the money, my vertical gauge is off by about a quarter inch. I've sliced 4 rows off the pattern prior to the arch increase. I'm hoping that will work.

I've just started the first row of the increase and will probably stop on the first sock when it's done. I need to start the second sock and get it to the same point before I go further. The STR yarn is 380 yards - but the pattern calls for 400 yards. Thus I have to finish the socks together so I can monitor that I have enough yarn to make them even in length.

I'm having a hard time putting down this project in order to finish the Afghan of the Sandman that MUST be finished by the end of the month. The little Super Star is due in July and I want the blankets to be there before her arrival.

But I ... can't...put down ... the sock yarn... So beautiful...

Progress Report: Cabled Crochet Socks

I have recovered from the frogging incident. It's amazing what can happen if you use the right hook, the right pattern, and some beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn.



I don't think this multicolored yarn lends itself well to showing the cable pattern, but I love it anyway. Here's a close up - you might be able to see the cable in action.



And if this is any indication, these socks might actually fit when I'm done. (Do not attempt to adjust your monitor - I really am that pasty.)

Froggin' A!

Meh!

I seems that it is my destiny with any kind of crocheted footwear that I must frog and redo the pattern multiple times before it works. It happened when I made 5 pairs of bunny slippers for my bridesmaids and Maid of Honor, and now it has happened with the cabled crochet socks.

I had to frog the first bit I had done because the gauge was wrong - too big of a hook. I'm now using the correct hook (#2) and I got to row 12 - and I have to frog it AGAIN. While my stitch count is correct, the sc increases are not on the ends, which makes for some interesting angles instead of oval perfection.

Oh well - I will get it fixed and I will make these socks!!

New Project: My First Socks

I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to ball up my STR (Socks That Rock) yarn and start the Cabled Crochet Socks.

I'm using the STR yarn I bought at MS&W from The Fold in "Fire On The Mountain". This yarn is soooo incredibly beautiful!!!



Here's a close up of what I believe will be the toe of the sock.



These will be my first pair of socks ever (that I've made, not that I've owned). It's also the first time I've ever used such a small hook (size 00). So far, it's going well - but I'm only on round 3. Keep your fingers crossed that my progress continues with only minimal, if any, frogging.