Little Gems and a clutch

I started a pair of mitts using the Little Gems pattern from the Holiday Interweave Knits magazine and I'm so jazzed about how they're coming along that I just had to show you an early in-progress picture.

Rather than the multi-colored version shown in the magazine, I opted for two colors of Fearless Fibers sock yarn. The darker one is Midnight Blue and the lighter is from the FF Seven Deadly Sins sock club and is called Sloth. Both skeins have a generous 550 yards (as all the FF sock yarns do) and I doubt these little mitts will make much of a dent in the two skeins I'm using.

Did I mention that I love how they're coming out? With the subtle variations of color in the yarns, and the complementary shades of blue, I think they look amazing. And I love how the middle stitch in the ligh-colored squares looks like a little heart. Now if I can just get them done in time for Christmas giving!

In other news, another of my test knit projects has appeared at Knit Picks. It's a pattern for a Floral Felted Clutch. This was an interesting project to knit and my first adventure in double-knitting. I loved working with the yarn, Andean Silk. It's got a lovely feel to it. I was sort of bummed to throw it in the washer, but I did and it felted into a wonderfully thick, fabric. It's a relatively quick project, so if you're looking for something for the holidays -- either as a gift or to use with your new party dress -- I highly recommend it.

When I sent it in, I used a bead from my bead stash for the middle of the flower. The folks at Knit Picks replaced that with a rose-shaped button. Of course, you can use whatever you like. Here's the comparison so you can get an idea of options when you purchase your own supplies. (Wish my picture was as good as theirs, but it is what it is.)

7 Deadly Sins

No, I'm not going to preach to you about the evils inherent in the world and how we need to rise above them. Do not worry.

Instead, I'm going to regale you with pics of the two new sock yarns that arrived in my mailbox yesterday as part of the 7 Deadly Sins Sock Club from Fearless Fibers.

This is my first sock club and boy am I glad I got in on it! Deb has outdone herself already and we're only talking about two out of seven sins!

The first sin on the table is. . .Gluttony! (Yes, I know that's punny. It's Friday, what do you want from me?) The picture is pretty true to color, but it doesn't capture the glow from this yarn. Shades of honey and chocolate and toast combine to make me hungry for more. (There I go again!) I think this would make lovely socks, but I have something else in mind that I'm going to keep under wraps for now.

Did I mention that each of these skeins has a generous 550 yards? Believe it!

Next on the sin list, we have Wrath. Now according to the dictionary, wrath involves anger on an epic scale and usually involves vengeance and/or belligerence . Artistically, anger usually translates into something related to red, as in "seeing red." In this instance, Deb has given us a fiery combination of red/orange/gold colors that seem to say, "You're gonna burn for what you did to me!" -- which of course, is in the best tradition of the sin of wrath. Excellent!

With this kind of a start, I can hardly wait for the next shipments of greed, sloth, envy, pride, and finally lust. This is going to be fun!

Yesterday, I felt the need to get something knitted and finished all in one shot. So I whipped out some Sugar & Creme cotton and made this cloth. Very satisfying!

And, my next test knit is now complete! I can't show you what it is or talk about how it's made, but here's a tiny glimpse of it. Makes me think of Christmas!

Tomorrow promises to be fun. A group of Portland knitters are going to meet at Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks and proceed to spend the day on a Sock Yarn Crawl. Rodger has the schedule posted on his blog.

Yeah, like I really need more sock yarn! Then again, can you ever really have enough? LOL The important part is that it will be a day with knitters and yarn and that's worth its weight in gold. If you're in Portland (Oregon, that is) and have some free time, join us!

Eyelet Chevron Socks!

Yeah! Another test knit project is published. I finished these Eyelet Chevron Socks in early April, but they're just now appearing on Knit Picks' Web site, so I couldn't talk about them until now.

This was actually the first pair of socks I made that were on small needles. Before that, I had made slipper socks on US10 needles, so I understood how things were constructed. The folks at Knit Picks took a leap of faith in trusting me to knit these and I'm glad they did. Of course, they're huge enablers, because now I can't stop making socks!

In looking at the specs for them now, I see I did them on US3 needles, which seem very large to me now, since I routinely use US2 needles for most yarns and occasionally US1 needles for some (like Lorna's Laces). US3s just sound too big for regular socks now. My how times change, eh?

Anyway, the Knit Picks Gloss yarn was wonderful to work with and made a very soft pair of socks with just a bit of shine to them. The 70% merino/30% silk mix is a nice combo. Great price, too. You can make this pair of socks for $7.98 +shipping. Not bad! Pool orders with some friends until you get over $45 and you don't even have to pay shipping.

Anyway, I just had to post it here, because I'm still at the stage where I get a real rush from seeing something I knit being used on a professional site. Yeah, I'm somewhat easily amused! :)

Do you feel lucky?

Apparently lots of folks feel lucky today because it's 7/7/07. While I hope they're right (everyone deserves to be lucky), I don't put a lot of stock in it. I sort of feel lucky every day -- lucky to be alive, lucky to have friends, lucky to have my health, lucky to know how to knit. . . you get the idea. I have to bowl in the finals of the State Games of Oregon this afternoon, so we'll see if I get luckier than usual. The way I've been bowling lately, I need all the luck I can get!

In my last post, I asked you to tell me what you think knitting proficiency looks like. Thanks to those of you who responded!

I think it's sort of hard to rate ourselves as knitters. I mostly consider myself a beginner, but then I'll go somewhere and talk to other knitters and find there are things I can explain to them.

I think Melissa hit the nail on the head when she said, "To me, proficiency in knitting is a learning curve that never ends." Life is like that, too, don't you think? :)

Okay, I promised pictures of WIPs, so here goes!

First, we have the Regia socks, which are almost finished. I should be able to polish them off today at the aforementioned bowling tournament or shortly thereafter. I really like how they've worked up. It's the first time I've used machine-dyed yarn and because I made a note of where I started in the color pattern and started the second one in the same place, the stripes match up almost exactly. I think these will wear very well and be warm, but they're not the softest thing in the world and I'm not sure I'd use this yarn again. I hope my friend likes them. She hikes and I think they'd be great hiking socks.

Second would be the test knit project that I finally finished. It took 113 grams of yarn. I had only received 100 grams, so had to put out the emergency beacon last week for an additional skein so I could finish it. So close! Anyway, it's finished and went to the UPS store today. I have to say it came out very, very cute. Unfortunately, I can't show you right now. Sorry.

Next we have a dishcloth that I started in the lull before the Summer of Socks began, but then forgot to post about. It's been set aside for now in favor of sock and shawl and test knitting, but that's okay as it was really just for cable practice anyway. :)

Finally, we have the "Cindy got a wild hair and had to try something" project. Yes, despite the fact that I already have two pairs of socks on the needles (the Regia ones above and the Mountain Colors ones I posted about before -- which have gotten a little bit of attention, but not much), I just had to cast on for another pair. It's not my fault, really. I mean, I can't really help it if an idea comes to me and won't be denied, can I?

So here you have the beginnings of a new sock. The lace is an adaptation of the lace pattern from the test knit I just did. It doesn't quite fit the stitch count for my standard socks, so I've added a pair of twists on either side of the leg. When the heel separates things, there will be a single twist on either side of the lace as it goes down the gusset and foot. It's a little too early to tell how this is really going to work out, but so far I'm liking the effect. The yarn is ShiBui sock in the color Sock Sky.

I'll let you know if this one flies (yeah, I know, that's punny), or jumps into the frog pond.

Oh, and I'm behind on the Mystery Stole 3 project. I thought I was going to make it through Clue 1 by Friday, but work and the aforementioned wild hair got in the way. I'm on row 90 of Clue 1's 100 rows, though, so I'm close. Clue 2 has 50 rows. I'm hoping I can catch up with that one, although I'm not going to sweat it too much. I can only do what I can do and unfortunately sometimes that means that knitting requiring high levels of concentration gets short shrift. :)

Tomorrow, the PDX Knitting Bloggers are meeting at Knit Purl from 2:00 to 5:00. Should be a good time. Someone please slap my hand if I pick up more than one skein of yarn! (Okay, maybe two skeins of Shi Bui sock.) I'll take my camera and post some pics afterward.

Ciao for now!

In the better late than never category. . .

Time flies, fun or not. Yes, I'm still here. Thanks to folks who have written asking about that. Y'all are sweet. I've just been (a) tired, (b) working a lot, (c) lazy about blogging, (b) not producing much knitting to talk about, or (d) all of the above. If you chose (d), you're right!

Oh, there's one more thing that keeps me on my toes, so to speak. The Sockapalooza Fire Socks are still seeking a good time! Even though the sun didn't come out for my car club's annual potluck picnic, the socks insisted on tagging along. Here, you see them eyeing the table of raffle prizes. Although food was plentiful (can you say 'spaghetti cook-off' and 'ice cream sundaes'? I knew that you could!) those darned socks were much more interested in prizes than food. Sadly, they didn't win anything.

True to our Northwest roots, we didn't let a little (okay, at times a lot) of rain deter us from a good water balloon toss. The socks really wanted to get involved, but I had to be firm. After all, it's hard to catch a water balloon when all you have is heels and toes to work with! I hadn't been to a club event for a while, so it was great to see everyone again. Always nice to hang out with folks who are like-minded, be it about knitting or cars. :)

Knitting has been happening here, it's just finishing that's up in the air. So, here you go with some in-progress shots.

First up, here's the progress on the first two socks for Summer of Socks. On the left, we have a sock that's shaping up nicely in Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Granite Peak colorway. This yarn is 60% wool, 25% mohair, and 15% nylon, which makes for a very soft, squishy, warm sock. I'm just working my standard pattern in a 2x2 rib on US2 needles, 68 stitches cast on. Love how the colors are moving around on this one. The picture did a good job of capturing the subtle changes.

On the right, is another standard 2x2 rib sock -- although this one is on US1 needles with 72 stitches cast on. This is done in Regia Strato Schiefer #5743, 75% new wool, 25% polyamid. This yarn isn't as thick as the Mountain Colors, so the smaller needles and extra stitches produce a better, more durable fabric. These will be for a friend who recently celebrated a birthday. I hope she will like them!

Finally, I've been working on a test knit project that I can't really talk about yet, but here's a close-up of the stitch pattern. It's working up quickly and looks pretty nice. The challenge for me is that the pattern is more of an old-fashioned narrative than a pattern in the way we think of them nowadays. It gives some particulars, some basics, and then leaves it to the knitter to figure out the rest. Couple that with the fact that I don't have a picture of the finished object, and it's been a bit daunting. My fear of failure has made me procrastinate on it a bit, but I'm almost finished now and it's coming out quite nicely, so I guess I was just being a nervous Nellie.

Tomorrow will bring the first installment of the pattern for Mystery Stole #3. I have my yarn and beads and needles and teeny-tiny crochet hook and even a swatch all done. The next challenge will be finding time to work on the lace, a project that requires much more attention than simple socks. Somehow I expect I won't finish this one 'on schedule,' although there's nothing that says that's a requirement. I'm excited to get started, though, and am anticipating a beautiful end result based on what Melanie has produced in the past.

Okay, back to work for me! Hopefully I'll have some FOs for you soon.

Oh! If you are in the Portland area, there are two yarny things of note this weekend. On Friday, a new store is opening on NE Broadway. It's called Twisted and will have knitting as well as other crafty stuff. Interesting.

Then on Saturday, Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks is having an all-night knitting party to celebrate our short, Northwest summer nights. It sounds like a lot of fun, although I don't know if I could make it all night. Not that you have to. They'll have a room available for being quiet and napping -- bring your own blankie, pillow and (optional) air mattress. :)

That's all for now!

ETA: Oops! I forgot to put my stash enhancement picture. How silly of me!

Okay, here are four new sock yarns that I'm anxious to try (not that I don't already have a ton of others in my stash I'd like to get on the needles). From left to right, these are:

From the Loopy Ewe: Dream in Color super-squishy sock yarn in Cocoa Kiss This is a nice one to pet! I think this will end up as man-socks.

Next up, All Things Heather sock yarn in Royal. Okay, so these are my all-time favorite blues. Couple that with a soft yarn and you've got a winning combination in my book.

Finally, we have two cakes from Extreme Yarn, some wonderful hand-dyed colors here. The top one is simply called "Purple" and it is. The bottom one is called "Go Cubs" and although I' not a Cubs fan, I think the name is uber-cute and I like the red/white/blue combo a lot.

Okay, now I really am done. Really!

New Knit Picks catalog arrived

Just got my mail and in it was the new Knit Picks catalog. Inside is a picture of the first test knit I did for them, a Ribbon Vest. They've had it on their Web site for a while, but seeing it in print is just. . . well, special for me.

It looks a lot cuter on the model than it did laying flat. I'm not so sure they should call it "easy" since knitting with two strands of the Sparkles ladder yarn was no picnic for me, but the pattern itself is quite simple and could easily be adapted to a different kind of yarn.

I imagine the other project I did for them will be in an upcoming issue. It's sort of nerve-wracking to do this stuff. I knit it and hope that they like it. They pay me and I think, "Okay, maybe the liked it, maybe they're just paying me to shut up and go away." Then they ask if I want to do another project and all seems well. But there's still this nagging thought that they won't be able to use what I sent them. I guess my knitting confidence isn't as high as it should be. LOL

"Waving" to my Sockapalooza4 pal

I heard from the Sockapalooza4 pal I'm knitting for. YEAH! (Still haven't heard from anyone who's knitting for me, but if you're out there, I'm not worried -- although you can leave me an anonymous comment here if you want to.)

There's a new thing called a 'pligg' where the Sockapalooza folks are posting links to the wonderful things they're making for their pals. It's mind-boggling to think of so many knitters out there agonizing over yarn and pattern choices to make the perfect pair of socks for someone they don't know and may never meet. Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, after swatching a couple of different yarns and looking through a bunch of patterns, I picked a set and started in.

Unless something goes wrong (as in my gauge swatch lies), my pal will be receiving a pair of Waving Lace Socks from the pattern by Evelyn Clark in IW's Favorite Socks book. I'm knitting them in ShiBui sock yarn in the Roppongi colorway.

This yarn knits up so nicely! It's soft and silky and has a wonderful amount of spring to it. And I like the way the colors are working with the lace pattern so far, even though I've only done the first chart for the top of the sock. They're going to look a bit like a lava flow, I think.

This pattern is relatively simple to follow and will be a good one for on the plane headed to Miami for the cruise. ACK! I'm leaving on Saturday and I haven't even pulled the suitcases out of the back of the closet yet! And still, I knit. Actually, I knit and think about what yarn and patterns I'll take with me and whether or not they'll get their own suitcase! Maybe I need a 12-step program for knitters who can't focus on anything but yarn and needles and patterns! :)

Oh, two quick notes before I go back to my 'real' work!

1. If you haven't seen CNN's poll on favorite pastimes, go take a look and vote for knitting!

2. My first test knit project is now online at Knit Picks! I have mixed feelings about that project, but there's no requirement that I love everything I knit for them. :) Let's just say that I was glad to send this one off. Knitting with two strands of ladder yarn is not my idea of a good time. :)

Socks are done!

Woooo! HOOOOO!!!! The test knit socks are done! Can you tell I'm relieved? I seriously had wondered if I was going to make the deadline on these. Thanks to my all-night knitting spree the other night, my confidence was restored and now they're done. I have pictures, but contractually cannot post them yet.

Now on to the next UFO -- taxes.

Now THAT's scary!

Sleep? Food? Who needs 'em!

I have a confession. I'd rather knit than sleep. Heck, that's not all that shocking, but here's something that is: I'd rather knit than eat! (If you knew me, you'd understand just how shocking that is.)

Yesterday I fell victim to something the Yarn Harlot warns us about: Gauge swatches lie! I got to the heal flap of my test knitting sock and checked gauge. It's the first place to really do that since the leg is all in a nice pattern stitch. Although my gauge swatch had advised me to use needles a size smaller than the pattern specified, it lied. Like. A. Rug. Yup, the darned thing was too small.

Off to the frog pond! Undaunted, I decided to use the evening as an opportunity to start fresh with the needle size specified in the pattern.

That's when another truth reared it's ugly head: When you're self-employed, just as you plan a quiet evening, someone calls and offers you 1.5x pay to do a rush job. Of course, you can't possibly turn that down -- it just wouldn't make economic sense.

Thus I cast on for the sock while downloading the files I needed for the job. When I took breaks from transcribing, the sock received my attention. Around 12:30 last night (or more correctly, this morning), I finished the transcription.and thought, "Gee, I'm not really that tired. Might as well knit for a bit and catch up on some DVR recordings." Sounds innocent enough, right?

The next thing you know, I had finished the leg and the heel flap and was ready to turn the heel. That's when I looked at the clock and discovered it was 3:30 a.m.!

Reluctantly, I put the sock down and went to bed. This morning, after a refreshing four hours of sleep, my complete and total insanity was affirmed. Before I went downstairs, before I even thought about making, much less consuming coffee, I picked up the sock and turned the heel.

Fortunately, some level of sanity must remain, because I did manage to stop knitting, go make coffee, read the paper, eat a little breakfast, and actually do some transcription before I allowed myself to pick the sock up again.

By 3:00 this afternoon, I had a completed sock -- in the right gauge. Hooray! Now what is that strange feeling? Oh! I missed lunch completely!

But I'm strong, dear reader! So far, I've resisted the urge to cast on for the second sock and instead have paused to write this missive. I even managed to take a picture for you. Sorry you can't see the sock better, but it is a test knit, so I can't really show you detail.

My sweet Ellie cat is unamused by the sock and wonders why I bothered her during her afternoon bath-before-nap ritual. I suppose I can't expect her to understand. After all, she doesn't wear socks.