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

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

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.

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

The Socks that Ate My Needles

Pattern: Zig Zag Socks form Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Sock Book
Yarn: Socks that Rock mediumweight in Mesa

Yes, it's true. These socks ate my needles. The sock pattern lists gauge at 7 stitches to the inch. I know that I get that gauge with Socks That Rock medium weight and size 2 (2.75 mm) needles. However, the cast on for these socks is 64 stitches. Normally, I would cast on 64 stitches for a yarn where I was getting 8 stitches to the inch. So, I started the socks using a size 1 1/2 (2.5 mm), but after a few rows, I knew the sock would be too big. I went down to size 1 (2.25 mm) and was happier with the result, but not for long.

I used my Knit Picks Harmony needles for these socks. If you have these needles, you know that DPNs come 6 to a set. Unfortunately, I broke one of them not long after I got them (I sat on it while it was on the couch). About half way down the first leg of these socks, I broke a needle while doing a K2TOG. Since I'd previously broken a needle, I didnt have any extras. (I prefer to do my socks using 5 DPNs.) So, the socks were put on hold, while I waited for another set to arrive from Knit Picks. (Yes, I could have used another size 1. I have other brands (Clover, Crystal Palace, etc.) but I was concerned that there might be some sizing differences that would affect the fabric.)

After the new set from Knit Picks arrived, I was able to continue on. I finished the first sock without incident. The second sock was going smoothly until I was about 6 or 7 rows from the end of the gusset decreases. And then guess what happened! Yep, I broke another needle. And of course, I was at Knit Night when it happened and didn't have any spare needles with me, but at least that was only a temporary set back.

What did I learn from this experience? No more using size 1 needles with medium weight yarn. I knew going in, it was going to be difficult to use such tiny needles with yarn that thick, but I had my heart set on using this pattern with this colorway. Next time, I'll either use a different yarn or use a different pattern.

Chickabiddy Socks

Another pair completed.


Pattern: Carolina, the Last Queen of Naples (Ravelry link) by Gigi Silva
Yarn: Socks that Rock mediumweight in Chickabiddy

I did modify the pattern slightly. The pattern repeat calls for one of the rows to be purled. I wanted a smoother fabric, so I knit the purl row. I'm very happy with the results.

Little Flowers Socks

I finished another pair of socks yesterday.


Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in Waterlilies
Pattern: Little Flowers from the Sockamania KAL

Aunt Petunia

I finished these one day last week. (I know, bad blogger for taking so long to post about them.)


Pattern:Petunia Dursley's Double Eyelet Socks
Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in goody goody (This was the July sock club colorway.)

These were another fun and easy knit. It was a great take-along project. I worked on these at a local craft/art show and in the car on our way to Hershey Park.

Pretty in Pink Socks

Thanks to Monica and Jill for their comments on my handspun.

I completed my Pretty in Pink socks. These were a fun knit.


Pattern: Pretty in Pink by Monica Jines
Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in Mist

Socks - On and Off the Needles

These were finished over a week ago and clearly I forgot to blog about them. The pattern is Spring Forward and the yarn is Socks That Rock lightweight in the colorway Blarney Stone. The color is a little busy for the pattern, but I like them anyway!


One down, one to go. These are also being knit in Socks that Rock lightweight. The pattern is Pretty in Pink (Rav link) by Monica J. The colorway is Mist. I'm loving this pattern.


Just getting started. The pattern: Petunia Dursley's Double Eyelet Socks. The yarn is Socks that Rock lightweight (yes, I'm on an STR kick right now). This is the July sock club colorway, goody goody.