2010 MDSW

2010 MDSW
Originally uploaded by shannanstitches.

Yesterday I went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. It was hot but I had a great time. This pic has notes at Flickr, so click over for the details.

About Me

Since I've been absent from blogging for a while, I thought I'd officially 'return' with an about me post.

I learned to crochet as a child, probably when I was 8 or 9 years old. I crocheted off and on making mostly granny squares and sewing them together till I was a senior in high school. Then I branched out and started crocheting afghans using patterns. I didn't take pictures or keep track of my earlier projects. I mostly crocheted afghans, but would make other types of projects here and there.

My youngest son was born in September of 2001. I got the knitting bug then and successfully taught myself the knitting basics from a book, but quickly lost interest. I found knitting slow and tedious and I was deathly afraid of dropping stitches. I resumed crocheting and participated in lots of swaps for crocheted items. This was also about the time that my doily fascination took hold. I've made quite a few.



My interest in knitting returned in 2005. I made lots of fun fur scarves, which was great for making me more comfortable with knitting. In late 2005, I took a sock knitting class at my LYS. I finished my first pair of socks in January 2006. And I've basically been knitting socks ever since. I completed my 100th pair of socks in February 2010.



I'm also a spinner. I purchased my wheel, a Schacht Matchless single treadle in 2007. I did a lot of spinning when I first got my wheel, but my interest in spinning has decreased some. I blame lack of time and too many great things to knit. I do still spin (more so now than 6 months ago) and I have a stack of yarns that need to be washed.



My most recent love is knitting lace. More specifically, knitting lace shawls. I started shawl knitting in 2009 and pretty much haven't looked back. In fact, I'm so smitten with shawls that I'm thinking of unofficially retiring as a sock knitter.



My current projects are:
Crew Socks
Arabella Shawl
Blackberry Brambles Socks
Mandala II Shawl

Returning to Blogland

I haven't blogged since late last summer. I've been thinking about returning to the blog lately. So, there may be some activity here periodically. I need to do some work on my template. Haloscan is still installed for comments, and I need to switch to something else.

Socks for Boys??

My youngest 2 sons like hand knit socks. I've made them a few pairs each and just finished up a new pair for each of them. But are these socks really suited for boys??

First are the socks for my youngest, Sam. He didn't pick this color. In fact, when I started the socks, they were intended for me. Even though they looked a little small to me as I was knitting them, the pattern was stretchy so I figured it would be ok. By the time I got to the heel I came to the realization that there was no way these socks were going to fit my feet. So, I asked the kids if either of them would want them.



Yarn - Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock in Pillow Mint
Pattern - Peak Experience by Fiber Trends



Next are socks for Devin. He did pick this color. Devin has always liked pinks and reds and such. He's tried to pick this color for socks before and I told him no. But, how could I refuse this time when I'd just finished a pair for his brother that had pink in them?



Yarn - Interlacements Tiny Toes in Summer Fruit (color #204)
Pattern - Yukon Rush Rivers of Gold by Darlene Thompson

Fraggle Squiggle Socks

Fraggle Squiggle Socks
Originally uploaded by shannanstitches.

Sock knitting has taken a bit of a backseat this summer in favor of knitting shawls. I've been participating in quite a few mystery shawls designed by Renee of Goddess Knits. But, despite all the shawl knitting, I did finish my May Rockin' Sock Club socks. Both pattern and yarn are from the kit.

Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in Pepe La Plume
Pattern: Fraggle Squiggle

WashDay

WashDay
Originally uploaded by shannanstitches.

I'm washing socks today!

Eva's Shawl

Pattern: Eva's Shawl
Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in Sunkissed Sands (2 skens)

Playing Catch Up - The Knit Sock Edition

It's been forever since I posted last. So here's a catch up post with socks I've finished knitting since my last post...whenever that was.


Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in Rosebud
Pattern - Copper Pennies by Nancy Bush from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn


Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in KMBFLA
Pattern - Shur'tagal Socks by Alice Yu
These were knit as part of the Socks That Rawk groups Quarter 2 KAL. The pattern repeat went pretty fast once I got the hang of the twist stitches that are used.


Yarn - Socks that Rock mediumweight in Gertrude Skein
Pattern - Papaver Socks by Anne Hanson
This colorway is from the March 2009 Rockin' Sock Club kit. Since I wasn't crazy about the pattern that came with it I chose a different one, but I do love the colors.


Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in Spring Fling
Pattern - Lacy Diamonds, April 2009 Sockamania pattern

I also have one lonely pair of socks on the needles at the moment.


Yarn - Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock in Pillow Mint
Pattern - Peak Experience

I have other finished objects and more projects in progress to share. Come see me on Ravelry or Flickr to see what I've been up to. Lately, it seems like I've been better at acquiring stash than using it. :o)

Posting here will continue sporadically.

Queen of Beads Socks

Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in My Blue Heaven
Pattern - Queen of Beads by Sivia Harding

I finally have something new to share. Both the yarn and pattern are from the January 2009 Rockin' Sock Club. I finished them just in time. The new Rockin' Sock Club kit is due to ship this week. I made a few mods to the pattern. I knit my usual cast-on & cuff and omitted the beads on the instep. This was my first time knitting with beads. Stringing the beads and constantly having to push the beads down were kind of a pain, but I'm very pleased with the finished socks.

Sunday Knitting

It's been a while since I've knit any dishcloths. Yesterday turned out to be a good dishcloth knitting day.


Pattern: A Little Lace Kitchen Cloth
Yarn: Peaches & Cream in Royal Casino
This was a fun, quick, and easy pattern to do. I see more of these in my future.


Pattern: Hero Cloth (Rav link)
Yarn: Peaches & Cream in Baby Pink
My 10-year-old son was looking over my shoulder as I was browsing my Ravelry queue to figure out which dishcloth to knit next. He saw this pattern and asked me to make it for him. He even picked the pink color.

Little Monkeys

Yarn - Lisa Souza Hardtwist Petite in Newtown
Pattern - Monkey Socks

These are for my 7-year-old. The only mods I made to the pattern were to make the leg and foot shorter to fit his feet.

Leyburn Socks

Socks That Rawk Leyburn KAL Socks
Yarn - Socks that Rock mediumweight in Pisgah
Pattern - Leyburn Socks

I knit these cuff down instead of toe-up as the pattern is written.

Kid Socks

Yarn - Colinette Jitterbug in Monet
Pattern - Twilight from 2-at-a-time socks

These socks were knit for my 10-year-old son. Knitting socks for the kids is lots of fun, because they work up very quickly!!

Staggering Monkeys and other Sock News

Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in Queen Rock
Pattern - Staggering Monkeys

I wasn't thrilled with how the pattern and yarn played together on these. I considered frogging after I finished the first leg, but obviously I didn't. I decided not to carry the pattern down the foot. It's probably a good thing, too, because I had very little yarn left over when I finished the second sock.

I'm anxiously patiently waiting for the first shipment of this year's Rockin' Sock Club.

In the mean time, I'm working on 2 other pair of socks.


More socks for my 10-year-old
Yarn - Colinette Jitterbug in Monet
Pattern - Twilight from 2-at-a-time socks


Socks That Rawk Leyburn KAL Socks
Yarn - Socks that Rock mediumweight in Pisgah
Pattern - Leyburn Socks
I'm knitting these cuff down instead of toe-up as the pattern is written.

Holidazed

November 2008 Rockin' Sock Club
Yarn - Socks that Rock mediumweight in Muddy Autumn Rainbow
Pattern - Holidazed by Anne Hanson

It's rare that I knit my Rockin' Sock Club yarn with the pattern that it comes with, but this time I did...and I love it! The pattern was great and I love how it worked up in this yarn.

I successfully knit all of the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club yarns this year (I still have 2 yarns from the 2007 club marinating in my stash). Only the first and the last kits were knit using the sock club pattern. The other 4 were knit using other patterns. I joined again for 2009 and hope to keep up with the yarns as they come in.

Happy New Year!!

I'm bringing 2 unfinished sock projects into the new year.


Yarn - Socks that Rock mediumweight in Muddy Autumn Rainbow
Pattern - Holidazed
This is the last kit from the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club. This pattern works up quickly so I should be able to get these finished before the first kit in 2009 arrives.


Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in Queen Rock
Pattern - Staggering Monkeys

I'm not one for new year's resolutions, so there won't be any of that. But I do expect there to be lots of sock knitting, some spinning, and maybe something new in 2009.

Another Drive-By Post

Just another drive-by post with a couple more completed pairs.


Yarn - bellamoden sport in Black Beauty (purchased from The Loopy Ewe)
Pattern - Top-down, 2x2 rib


Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in Tide Pooling (this is a 2008 club colorway)
Pattern - Niagara Socks from 'The Ecelctic Sole'

Blogging to Resume Soon

I haven't been very good about blogging in the past few months. I'll be back with more frequent posts after the first of the year.

In the meantime, here are some socks I've finished recently that I haven't shared yet.

Eyelet & Flame Socks


Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in Gypsum
Pattern - Eyelet & Flame Chevron Socks (This is a toe-up pattern. I knit my socks from the top down and just followed the chart as written.)

Pretty in Pink 2.0 Socks


Yarn - Storm Moon Knits Twilight Sock Yarn in Pretty in Pink
Pattern - Top-down, stockinette

Crow's Feet Socks


Yarn - Socks that Rock lightweight in Oma Desala
Pattern - Crow's Feet (Rav link) by Linda Welch

Kid Socks

I've taken a short break from making socks for me, to make socks for my youngest 2 kids. They chose the yarns from my stash. Here are the finished products!


Socks for Sam
Yarn - Scout's Swag merino fingering in Stocker Pond (a club colorway)


Socks for Devin
Yarn - Yarn Nerd 900mHz in Love and Peace or Else (purchased from The Loopy Ewe)

Pirate Socks

It's not a secret. I'm a big Socks that Rock fan. Just look at some of my most recent posts and you'll see that. But, here lately I've been smitten with Yarn Pirate. My most recent socks and some recent yarn acquisition proves it.

Here are the socks!

Pattern: Coins by Monica Jines
Yarn: Yarn Pirate Superwash Merino in Pretty Pirate

This is my second time using one of Monica's patterns and they are a joy to knit.

And here is the yarn! All of it is Superwash Merino.
From the Yarn Pirate Esty shop


Monster Mash and Gotham


Kona and Baladi

From The Loopy Ewe

Concord and Sweet Jules

From destashers on Ravelry

Hard Cider (the September Booty Club colorway)


Orange Crush