Summer of Socks

I thought I signed up for Summer of Socks this year and it turned out I didn't. Oh, well, no big loss there really because it's not like I would win the contest for the most socks knit during the 2 month time frame. I'll just consider myself a member in spirit.

I don't know if you all hadn't noticed, but I was missing my sock mojo for a few months. It might have possibly been related to knitting the boring black/grey socks for M forever, or so it seems. I'm so happy they are done. I think I am saving these for his birthday (at the end of the month) or I may give them to him sooner, just not sure. He even asked me the other day who the socks were for and I told him they were for me. He mentioned that he liked those socks and they were close enough to black that he would wear them. I wonder if he's been reading the blog again, hmmph.


They may end up being a surprise or not, either way, they are done and now I'm happy to knit something fun again.



Project Specs:
Pattern: Men's Sock, using basic sock pattern, upped stitch count to 68 sts for M's foot
Yarn: Trekking XXL
Project start date: February 2008
End date: June 2008
Modifications:
Considering this is a basic pattern I've been using for years, no real mods, just changed stitch count from my usual 64 to 68 for M's larger feet. I still love using Trekking, although it's not as soft as other merino sock yarns, but it blooms wonderfully after washing and is a good workhorse sock yarn for socks that will get a lot of wear. And trust me, M is hard on socks.




Now, next up are a pair of socks that I am just loving! I am using a pattern, Apollo & Artemis by Kirsten of Through the Loops, which gives you two sock patterns for the price of one. I'm using some of Mary Kay's Red Rocks Fiber Works sock yarn in the Drink Me colorway and I am in love. The pattern is simple, but has a pretty lace insert on the sides. I'm knitting the Artemis sock pattern and the yarn and pattern are a perfect match.

Boy Colors?

So M2, the now 15yo, has selected sock yarn from my stash, no less, for the two(?) pairs of socks that he is requesting. I used to be able to get by with quick socks for him. A little ribbing, barely any cuff, turn a heel flap and get on down to the business of knitting a foot and you were done. The socks were done before you barely knew you got started. Now, his feet are growing (aargh!now we're up to a men's size 10) and wants a pair of shorty socks and a tall pair, read long and tall like his father's socks.



To be fair, I really don't care what color socks the boy wants to wear. If he wants to wear the crazy colors, then it's all on him. I will wear them, so I guess why wouldn't a boy wear them? I dunno. It just strikes me as odd, that he chooses the colors that I've picked out and love and really are for me, as opposed to the more sedate colors that I would assume a boy would prefer, and that M, his father, prefers.

M2 even selected my CampWannaKnitKnit colorway and I told him that I just couldn't bear to part with that one, so he has chosen two other Mary-Kay colorways. I do have to say that the boy has good taste. And the black and blue socks will be shorties, so perhaps there will be enough for me to get some anklets out of them? ;-)

Just Like Potato Chips

These squares are so addictive. You can't just knit one. They're even more addictive than beloved cotton dishcloths, if you can imagine. I'm knitting them for the Barn Raising Quilt. My knitting group has decided to exchange squares as well. I have to knit at least 9 squares to give away, but I keep using sock yarn leftovers that I don't want to give away! These squares go so quickly, I've decided to have two on the needles, one for leftover yarn for me and one for squares to give away.




The two that are pictured are squares 2 & 3. The first square, I gave away to Cynthia, since she was here from out of town and all. But I'm currently on squares 5 & 6. It will take me some time to finish this quilt, especially because I will be making the quilt larger than the pattern calls for. It looks sorta small with only 40 or so required squares, so I'll just keep going bigger until I have a size that's satisfactory. I'm enjoying using my leftover sock yarns in this quilt.

I've got to hurry up and get one square to Kim. I want my beaded skully square. Aren't they awesome?

Here and back again: a recap of 4th year Camp

Many people attend various knit camps and learn techniques from knitting instructors. In my circle of friends, camp takes on a different significance. Each year we head for the hills (or also known as mountains out here in CO) and with several knitting projects in tow, we prepare for camp.

Stacey is usually the ring leader with planning Camp, which includes oh-so-fabulous swag.

This is the house we stayed in for camp this year:



Pretty nice, right? Yeah, I agree. We had 15 ladies this year, including Stacey's niece, Miss Mimi.




I believe it is safe for me to say that we all had a ball. The time spent with good friends, relaxing, hanging out and knitting is unbeatable. We had lots of wonderful food prepared, including a traditional Hawaiian meal prepared by Kim, yummy crepes by The Knitty Professor and a southern breakfast with an egg/sausage casserole and cheese grits by the Beach girls! :-) Good food, good company and yarn, how can you go wrong?

Mary-Kay dyed a whack of yarn and after her orders were filled for stores, she had a lot of yarn leftover and what better place to sell it than to a group of women at camp who all love her yarns? I don't know how many of you could pass up all of that beautiful yarn waiting to greet you when you walk into the house. Lovely stuff and I believe everyone walked away with at least one skein.




This year's campgoers were treated to some wonderful swag, as per usual camp standards! :-) We had the pleasure of MaryKay dyeing yarn for us in an exclusive Camp WannaKnitKnit colorway. Isn't it purty? In addition to receiving Red Rocks Fiber Works yarn, we also received Piddleloop bags, yay! I've never had one of their bags before, so I'm excited to have one, with a pirate theme no less. If you didn't peep it on the pic of all the camp attendees, we had special shirts made up this year for camp with a logo. Sweet! I love my shirt and will be wearing it often.



We did something new this year, working on a group craft project. It was quite fun and I really got into it. We made dpn holders and as I typically knit socks with dpns, I use dpns a lot. These were fun and easy to make and I already have a set in use!



This was the laid-back, relaxed attitude that camp inspired. Shouldn't everyday be like this?

Estes Sheep and Wool 2008

This past weekend, I managed to escape the daily grind and hang out with my knit sisters. A lot of fun was had by all. We took off work on Friday and drove up to Allenspark and spent the night, so we were prepared to be up and early for Estes Park Wool Market. Estes was a lot of fun, as always. Some of the best times are seeing old friends.

This year wasn't all about the shopping. It was more for companionship, although a little shopping was done.

The Estes haul was small-ish in nature this year, although of course, I didn't attend Estes last year. I did a little shopping at my favorite vendor, Plain & Fancy Sheep and Wool booth. A couple of skeins of the sport weight were purchased for a shrug.



And this year, I also picked up some fingering, which I didn't recall seeing in previous years.



This year I bought my dream yarn. More Elsa Sheep & Wool cormo yarn. It might be nice if I knit with the laceweight I bought over 2 years ago. The yarn purchased this year is a natural, undyed color. I love it!



We stopped at Oskar Blues for lunch, as per our custom. We all like to stop for the wondderful sweet potato fries, yum!

That's it for now. I'm still working on the M socks. I was getting close and found a huge mistake and had to rip back quite aways. But still I keep pressing on.

Knitting (Somewhat) Merrily Away

Lots of work, between the real-paying job and school work, there's been some knitting.

I started on a Persephone scarfby Mim of MimKnits. The yarn I'm using is Handmaiden Sea Silk in the Midnight colorway. I'm loving the yarn and the pattern, a perfect combination.



I have been working on the Flutter Sleeve cardi as well. I finished the back of the cardigan and am up to the left cardigan. However, I'm a bit stuck with the short rowing this pattern requires. Hopefully I'll get some time to stop at the LYS get some help. If anyone has any videos, links, etc., I'm appreciative of all help.



Lastly, I started a scarf sometime in March. The pattern is Trekking is for Necking, a pattern designed by Jenn Jarvis. My friend, Kim, finished a scarf in Trekking. I opted to use some of my sock yarn stash and make a scarf using Colinette Jitterbug in the colorway Raphael.



I really like how it's turning out, but I tell you what, you do feel like it will never end. But hopefully I will have it done sometime by the end of the summer, or early fall.

June Goals

Reminiscing on my May goals momentarily, the success rate was pretty poor.

1. Knit three dishcloths. I might have to start changing this goal altogether from three to possibly two, because I have yet to accomplish this goal in two months. I did manage to knit 2 baby bibs and two dishcloths. The basic dishcloth is sort of my favorite, with a basic eyelet pattern in garter stitch. One was actually finished this month and the other in May. For these, I like to use the leftover scraps from other dishcloths, bibs, etc. They are pretty eclectic, but I like to call them rag cloths and they are easy to knit and good for using up the odd bits of cotton.






2. Finish the Caribou Cherub Thujas. I'm actually pretty close with finishing this pair of socks, but it looks like the first sock is a bit short. I'll have to go back and rip out the toe and reknit a bit longer.



Heh, no ripping, I say. I finally finished the second sock, but honestly it was not as pleasurable as other knits. I was merrily knitting away on the second sock, when I ran out of yarn. What I mean is that, of the yarn I purchased, each skein is 200 yards. Since the yarn is sportweight, I cast on fewer stitches than normal and used less yarn on the first sock. I was able to knit the second sock down to the heel flap before changing to the second skein of yarn. When that happened, the two skeins were markedly different, although it didn't appear to be so when I moved to the second skein. I looked down on the foot of the second sock and it appeared much darker than the first. That was really a bummer, especially as I really liked the first sock, but these socks are a bit heavier to wear with regular shoes, so they will be house socks or with clogs. Since I'm behind in blogging projects, this will serve as my FO report as well.

3. Start a Barn Raising square. All of my friends are doing it, why shouldn't I? Heehee. Nope, didn't happen. I do need to start at least one for June.

4. Pick up either the Hanami stole or the Enchanting Juno stole. Or perhaps start something new? :-) Hmm, I did pickup the Hanami stole again, but promptly put it down after a couple of rows because I realized I was reading the pattern wrong and need to rip back. Haven't gotten to that yet. But I did start a new lace project and decided to rip Enchanting Juno. Perhaps I'll start it again at another time or not.

June goals

1. Start a Barn Raising square. Since members of my knitting group are knitting squares for each other to put in our individual blankets, I need to have one completed by the end of the month to pass on to a special friend.

I won't even mention dishcloth cotton this month. The dishcloth cotton stash is getting low. I think I'm down to five actual skeins and I have scraps to knit two additional dishcloths, but that's fine.

2. Finish M's second sock. I finally kitchenered in the first sock and after more than a month, cast on the second sock yesterday. Since school is back in session starting last week, I managed to make some headway on the first sock with a mega-reading session tonite at a local cafe. I'm going out on a limb to finish the pair by Father's Day. I think I can, I think I can!



3. Continue working on my Flutter Sleeve Cardi (oops, haven't mentioned that one, getting stuck at the short rows currently).

That's about it for now. Life has been busy and blogging has been taking a back seat. My theory is life to be lived. I'll catch you all on the flip side.

Dishcloth Cotton Jag

Hey all,
Thanks to anyone who was able to help out my dear friend Mary-Kayand her yarn sale. I am sure she's thankful and glad there was demand for her yarns. I think she such a talented dyer and her colors are swoon-worthy.

As for me, I was in a bit of slump for a week where I didn't touch any knitting. Part of that was just that I spent my evenings either blogsurfing, spending time on Ravelry, or doing nothing. I didn't even feel compelled to cook or any other home duties. Now that my "break" from classes is coming to end, I'm starting to feel more refreshed. Also, hanging out with my girls tends to rejuvenate and fuel more knitting desires.

The weekend before Memorial Day weekend, I remembered that we were having a baby shower for a co-worker who's having a girl. I rustled up a couple of baby bibs and even managed to sew on buttons too. It must have been the short tie frame and I knew I wanted to finish them on time. Once the deadline passes, my enthusiasm for a pattern or project tends to wane, so it's best to strike while the iron's hot and all that.

Both bibs are from Mason-Dixon Knitting girls.

1st baby bib=knit in Peaches & Creme Country Garden colorway


Second bib knit in Bernat Cottontos


Both together now, say aww! :-)


And last in the cotton jag, for the moment, is another dishcloth. I found it on the Harvest Moon Designs blog quite awhile ago, and it was a free pattern. Now, I am not able to locate the actual pattern. This was also knit in Peaches & Creme in the Desert Sunset colorway. I really liked the pattern and how it turned out.



I also recently cast on for a simple dishcloth pattern. I like to use these especially for the leftovers from dishcloths and I just knit 2 or 3 leftover skeins into a dishcloth. As they are for my kitchen, I don't mind if it's not a fancy pattern. Nobody in the house seems to care one way or the other as to a fancy pattern or plain garter stitch. I figure I might as well do brainless knitting on those dishcloths.

I cast on for a new sweater, a summer cardigan too, but I keep forgetting to take pics. I will have to do that soon, as I have finished the back of the cardigan and have cast on for a front now

That's all for now. Must dash to work!

Yarn Sale!

No, not mine, but Mary-Kay of Red Rocks FiberWorks has dyed up some beautiful yarns, primarily sock yarns. If any of you are in the market for some sock yarn, or even if you're not, you should check her out.

We, as in all her friends, and locals in the Denver metro area have happily purchased her sock yarns at local yarn stores. However,for the first time, Mary-Kay is selling her yarns through her blog. She's a bit fearful that her yarns won't sell. But check out these beauties on her blog and let her know they will sell.




I've already scored four myself. Why don't you help her out with the rest? :-)

Oh, yeah, and the shipping is a flat $6 fee no matter how many you order. So get to buying, you won't be sorry!

I'll be back with some blogging later on today.