Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Too much to say, too much to say...

Whoa - so it's been a while since my last post and lots of things have happened.  I had a great time at SAFF.  I got to finally meet Emily and grab lunch with her which was a real treat and I finally got to meet Katie and her lovely family as well.  I've "known" Katie since I started blogging and to finally meet her in person was wonderful - she is a total sweetheart.  Things were hectic so we didn't get a chance to sit down and chat but I'm hoping we'll get the chance sometime again.  Maybe next year Katie?  =)

I took a class on how to dye roving and it was fun.  I can't say I learned tons but it was nice to step through the process.  I also went to the FRI Ravelry meetup.  Want proof?  Wanna see me with Bob???  Pics here! (eek! shiny forehead!)

I did some large scale purchasing at SAFF,  I won't go into all the fibery details, suffice to say I covered all major fibery food groups - merino, mohair, angora, alpaca, bfl, etc.  I also purchased two new toys, the first I've been having fun playing with all week.  The second, well I won't tell you about that til it gets here, I'm waiting for the manufacturer to make me one and ship it.  Any guesses?

Otto Strauch and his wife were there doing demos and it was such a treat to talk with them as they demonstrated how to use it.  I may have been a wee bit starstruck.  Just a bit. =)  Suffice to say I was sold, how often do you get to buy a carder from the creator themselves?  I even got a little matching light as a bonus too.  Check out how crowded my car was, I almost ran out of room!

I have been having so much fun playing with it, just look at what I've been making, beautiful battlets, each 1 ounce for a total of 4ounces.  Dyed with permanent wash fast dyes in superwash merino blended with just a hint of icicle for the lightest bit of shimmer.  It's so subtle, can you see it?

I'm having so much fun with my new toy, I may list the little battlets on etsy but if anyone's interested I'll sell them here too,  just send me an email ($16+ship) for 4ounces (Edit:  I just put it in etsy.)  And yes, I will be making more.  I've bought a ton of dyes and fibers to play around with and I'll be stocking my etsy shop soon.  I'm also working on more sock/project bags so if you're interested keep an eye out.  I'm using brand new moda fabrics for those in gorgeous patterns.  Truthfully I love the fabric so much it's hard to give them away but I guess I'll have to get used to it. =)

Oh and a belated Happy Halloween - Did you trick or treat?

I wore my new Count Sockula socks to get in on the festivities, just in time for the end of socktober.  Woohoo - I met my goal to start and finish these in October!  I also started a koolhaus hat in brooks farm fourplay (wool/silk).  This was one of my only yarn purchases at SAFF and it is really scrumptious to knit with.  Happy Thursday!

Socktober is here!

October is my absolute favorite month - fall is (usually) finally here by now and I love the crisp cool weather, the changing of the leaves and the feel of warm wool knitting.  Plus it's my birthday too this month, so who doesn't love that? ;)

Socktober is one of my favorite knitalongs, socks in October just feel right and this year is no exception.  I have only one goal this month and that is to knit me a pair of socks that I can wear on Halloween.  I searched high and low for the perfect yarn and found Lovesticks hand-dyed self-striping yarn in Count Sockula.  Count Sockula people, don't you just love that name??! =)  It makes me smile everytime I say it!

This is a simple, plain vanilla sock pattern with a picot edge.  Rachel gave me the idea after I saw her gorgeous Lovesticks socks.  I've been wanting to do a picot edge for a long time, there's a great tutorial here.  And if you want to make your own pair, there's my plain vanilla sock pattern here.  I did a crochet CO with 64sts on 2.25mm needle, knit 4 rows before the picot and 4 after and joined the hem.  Very easy-peasy and fun.

Happy Socktober!  What kind of socks are you knitting? =)

I'm baaaackk

Thank you all for the well wishes, I really appreciate each and every one of them.  I'm feeling much better, thanks for asking and I am able to turn my head side to side which is a skill I took for granted until recently.  I now feel like I'm a safe driver and can check before I move over a lane.  Before I was asking the hubby like, "Honey is it clear???" and he'd say, "Wha?  Oh sure I guess."  I guess!  I need a little bit more confirmation before I just get on over to the lane.

Ah well! =)  The wedding was beautiful, they held the ceremony at Duke Gardens which are just amazing.  The reception was held at a park and it all would have been quite lovely if it wasn't rainy and cold and there wasn't a lot of last minute things gone wrong like missing chairs and tables, flowers not delivered and a freak chemical fire which made the person who was making her cake have to evacuate and she had to find a last minute sub the day before.  How crazy!  We had a little bit of a bridezilla on our hands there for a minute but it all worked out at the end, they walked down the aisle, said their I Do's and that's the most important part.  I have caught a cold though from sitting in the rain so I'm just sitting here very hoarse and a wee bit miserable trying to work.  No pics of the wedding unfortunately I forgot my camera at the house so I'm waiting for people to email them to me.

   

I did start a sock for Socktober in the car.  It's from handknit holidays, the cabled house socks in Rowan Cork and they are so soft and they knit up so quickly!  They've been on my must-knit list for a while now.  I figured I would also answer lolly's questions as well...

Socktoberfest Questions

• When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I taught myself to knit socks from a generic knitting simple pattern and a few online tutorials.

• What was your first pair?  How have they "held up" over time?

I knit my first pair in black woolease for the hubby as a pair of bootsocks.  They turned out ok, no large mistakes but the acrylic does not hold up well at all.  They're a big pile of pills and fluff right now.

• What would you have done differently?

I don't think I would have done anything different, they were a good pair to learn on and I recommend knitting with larger yarn at first.  As a beginner that first sock took for-ever and a day.  If I started with smaller yarns I think I would have gotten bored and dropped it.

• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Anything superwash!  Really, I dislike handwashing hubby's socks because his get dirty and stinky and pick up the dog hair on the ground.  I like trekking, koigu and anything hand-painted and don't mind hand washing my own =)

• Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I learned on DPNs which I recommend, it gives you better feel for how the socks go together at the heel.  I them moved to 2 circs, then to Magic Loop.  ML is my preference, and would rarely knit a sock any other way.

• Which kind of heel do you prefer?  (flap? or short-row?)

I'm a flapper!  Short-row is just not my thing and I always seem to have holes on one side.  Haven't set aside the time to sit down and figure it out.

• How many pairs have you made?

I don't keep count but probably 25 or so...only 3 pairs for me, the rest to hubby and as gifts.