Booby Socks Finished!!!

I know, everyone laughs when I say Booby Socks, but they are supposed to make you laugh. :) They are so cute. It did take me a while to get these done since they have so much pattern in them but I did have fun with them. I especially liked the star toe for the decreases. It was easy and no

Kitchener Stitch at the end. However, I've never really had a problem with the Kitchener Stitch. Just don't interrupt me while I'm doing it!

I will be casting on two new pair in a few days. One will be with Alpaca Sox yarn using a pattern called Crocus Toe Up socks by my fav designer Wilma. I'll also be casting on with one of my other sock yarns yet to be determined for another of Wilma's patterns called Diamond Chains. I'll post pics of that when I get them started.

OTN now is Paton's Classic Wool in camo colors for another ribbed cap for my grandsons. They work up fast so I'll get them done quickly. Katie has also asked for a scarf out of the rest of the yarn I spun for her hat. I'll post pics of those when they are farther along too.

Chili Socks Done!

I finished another pair of socks tonight. 10 days start to finish. Not bad huh? This is my 2nd pair using this Serenity sock yarn. Since it has bamboo as well as nylon and merino wool they are very soft and silky. I love these socks. I'm going to go backwards from the Paprika socks and try making Katie a pair of pedicure socks out of the leftovers of these... But I will try making hers "toe" up in case I run out of yarn. Gotta finish the Booby Socks before starting any new socks.

Waffle Stitch Socks

Since the Booby Socks are nearing the finish line I've started my next pair. I'm using Serenity sock yarn, the same yarn as Katie's Pedicure Socks are made from. I loved knitting with that yarn and it feels lovely on the feet. I got 2 skeins in the Chili colorway. I cast on last night using Judy Becker's Magic Cast on which you can find a demonstration by Cat Bordhi. Its my favorite cast on for toe up socks. I'm going to use a pattern from Wilma in my SocksToeUp Yahoo group called Waffle Stitch Toe Up Socks. I wanted to do some pattern but nothing too complicated since the self striping yarn would not show anything too complex. These should knit up fast as I am using size 2 needles. I used size 3 needles with the last pair and would like to have a tighter fabric.

I also wanted to show off my new project bag from Blue Tulips. I love these bags and she makes them for me with a divider so I can keep my 2 balls of yarn separate. While I'm knitting I fold down the top of the bag and lay it on its side with the balls side by side to keep me from tangling up my yarn while knitting 2 socks at a time. It reminds me to turn back and forth not around and around..... I love the sheep fabric. I had ordered one with that fabric to use as part of my gift exchange for the spinning guild.
I now have 3 of these bags, 2 smaller ones and one a bit larger. I think I may ask her if she can make one for me in the larger size that does not have a divider but has a plastic liner. In all her bags she puts a plastic pocket on the side. It would make a great bag to carry fiber in for spinning when going to meetings. It would look much nicer than a plastic zip loc bag! That would be perfect! If so, I will be sure to post a picture of it.

Car Coat

I finally got around to getting Anthony to take some pictures of me with my car coat. I finished this project in the spring but was at a loss on how to block such big pieces. Finally in September I found some of those interlocking play mats at Sam's Club and used them. That gave me the surface to lay some towels on and then to pin the garment down. Anthony had given me the yarn and pattern for Christmas last year and I started it right after New Years. I used Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes bulky yarn in the Hazelnut color with size 10.5 needles. I used the interchangable circular needles with the 32" cable on the needles. This is a Knit Picks pattern. This is the biggest and most complicated knitting project I have done so far. It taught me a lot about following patterns and charts. After it was dry and blocked I had to wait for cold weather to try it out. Believe me, its not suitable for wearing in Texas even in October! Now that we have had some cold weather I have worn it several times and I love it! Its warm and soft and really comfortable. It is even a good fit although its very forgiving with the pattern. Its a chevron pattern that acts like ribbing as far as stretchiness. I'm really, really happy with it although I think I'll stick to socks and other smaller things for now.

Booby Sock Update

Time for an update on my Booby Socks! I have knitted all the leg and have turned the heel. In these pictures I have picked up gusset stitches on one side of one sock. It should go pretty quickly now. I really love them and think I will be wearing them often.

I also had a great time on Saturday at the Song and Dance Ranch Fiber Gab. We had a demonstration on hand carding and I took home some wonderful alpaca fiber. I have spun nearly a full bobbin and still have tons left! I hope to make a pair of socks from it. I have some brown and some white alpaca to wash so I'll get it done and ready to spin also. That way I can use the white for the toes and heels and if the other brown is different color I can put some stripes in.

On Sunday we had our gift exchange at the North Texas Weavers and Spinners Guild meeting. We had wonderful fellowship, food and gift giving. The violence from gift theiving was kept to a minimum with only a couple of thefts. I chose my gift based on the packaging. It was in a wine tube and I had been reading about how they make good spindle carriers for your drop spindle. Since I want to start using my drop spindle again I thought that was a good gift to choose. In the container was this lovely hat knitted by Laura Easterling. It was a great meeting, I always have such a good time.

In case I don't post again before, Merry Christmas to all my friends and family and a Happy, Happy New Year. I for one am really looking forward to the new year, may it be a happy one! I love you all, thanks for your never ending support.

Autumn Prairie Roving into Yarn!

A couple of months ago I saw this roving on Etsy at Laughing Rat Studios and fell in love with the depth of colors and the vibrancy of them. When it came in the mail and I opened the package I literally gasp out loud. The colors were even more lovely than on the computer. I knew I wanted to try to spin thin enough to have enough yarn for socks so I set out to spin very thin and I managed to get pretty thin. Then due to the hand painted dye I decided to learn to

Navajo Ply which makes a triple ply yarn out of one single. It allows you to keep color changes together. For the most part I did pretty well with the color changes and don't have too much that is barber poled. Overall I'm very happy with the resulting yarn. I'll let you know how the socks turn out!

Update on Christmas Stockings and Katie's Afghan

I have one stocking finished and has been approved by Katie so I cast on last night for the 2nd one. If I'm quick I should be able to get it to her before Christmas. I've included 2 pictures of the progress as well as a completed one. I realized when I was knitting the swatch to test that I had yarn that was too thin for the pattern so I experimented with 2 strands held together. Since I had a skein each of red and green I used that. I liked the look so I sent a picture to Katie to make sure she liked it. The resulting pattern was very nice and definitely Christmas! Since this was my first experiment with felting I wasn't sure what to expect but it really went very well. I put the stocking in the washer with towels and hot water. It took about 10-15 minutes to felt to the point I was happy with it.

I also have an update on Katie's Afghan. I really wasn't that happy with the yarn I had found because it was so rough. Even if it was for an afghan, it was still rough. So when Anthony and I were at Michaels before Thanksgiving we found this other Red Heart yarn that had much more beautiful colors as well as being very soft. Because the color changes are closer and more varied you get a much nicer looking pattern. This will make a lovely throw. We found the coordinating colors as shown in the picture, 2 shades of blue and 2 shades of brown. So I will crochet it all up into hexagons and we will see how the pattern forms. No idea yet on how we will arrange the squares but I believe it will be lovely.

Finished!

I finished my brother's socks last night! I love them and hope he will too. But since they are for Christmas I won't have any pictures until then. They went really well and I would use that yarn again. I'll be interested to see how it holds up. Now its on to finishing my anklets and getting started on Katie and Dax's Christmas Stockings. I will probably cast on for the first one today. I have decided to do them in single colors. I think they will look nicer that way. Pictures soon I hope! This will be my first felting project. Here is a look at the yarn I will be using for them.
I love the yarn and with the white eyelash yarn in the cuff they will be really nice.

I'm also starting an afghan for Katie. She wants to decorate her bedroom in blue and browns and I found this yarn at Walmart.
And I'm using a hexagon crochet pattern. I'm going to crochet up the 2 skeins of varigated yarn and then go looking for coordinating shades of blue and brown to make up enough for a good size. The ones I have done so far look like this.

Sock Update

Ok, I've been working on 2 sock projects as you know. My brother's socks that will be done in time for Christmas are coming along nicely. I just have about 5 miles of foot to knit and then finish the toes..... Well, maybe not 5 miles, thats a bit unfair. Its not that he has large feet, its just that mine are so small that it makes his seem huge!. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of the progress. Its hard to see the heel turn so I took a close up.
Looking good huh? I may just have enough yarn left over to make a short scarf also. Not sure yet but if so it will be one where you have a slit in it to tuck one end through.

Ok, now mine are coming along nicely too. I am knitting mine toe up since I'm using left over yarn from Katie's pedicure socks. I've turned the heel and am knitting up the leg. I think I will end up with about 3" in the leg which on me is plenty long enough. I don't really like tall socks anyway.

My next projects are going to be felted Christmas stockings for Dax and Katie. I'm thinking of trying some needle felting with some white roving after the stockings are felted to put names on it. I've never done this before but have always wanted to try. Should be interesting. I also have yarn for an afgan for Katie as well as socks for Seth and Dakota. I also have several spinning projects going. I've finished spinning and plying some of my mohair as well as the hand painted roving I got for socks. I'll post pictures of those projects when they are washed and dried.

Where in the US I've Been

I found this today and thought it was cool. I was suprised to see how many places I have been. There is also a world map but it wouldn't be nearly as exciting so I'm leaving that for now. I need to make a plan for the rest of the white space.

To see the whole map and be able to create one of your own scroll down to the bottom of the page.


visited 30 states (60%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Lazy Kate

No, I'm not talking about my daughter (sorry Katie) I'm talking about my new Lazy Katie that Anthony made for me today. We only had to purchase the pegs and dowel. Other than that we used scrap lumber that we had here.

I had 3 bobbins of mohair I had spun and wanted to ply them together. My Lazy Kate on my spinning wheel has a built in Lazy Kate but it only holds 2 bobbins. I was going to make something temporary but after showing Anthony on line what I needed he put it together for me.
The secret of this is the tension string. It works like the Scotch tension on my spinning wheel. It allows the plying head to pull the yarn as it plies.

I'm getting a lovely tweedy looking yarn. I'm hoping to have enough to knit a shrug for Katie. 100% mohair is a bit scratchy close to the skin but I'm thinking this over a shirt will be ok. I think the yarn is beautiful and my Lazy Kate is perfect!

Katie's Leftovers, Louie's Socks Update

Well, there was so much yarn left over from Katie's Pedicure Socks I decided to cast on a pair of socks for myself. I'm doing them toe up so that I can bind off when I run out of yarn but I figure I'll have enough yarn for at least a pair anklets. I love this yarn, its really nice. I bought another 2 skeins of this yarn in another colorway called Chili. It has the same stripe pattern but different colors.

I'm also posting an update on Louie's socks. I've gotten about 6 inches so far knitted up. Another 2 inches and I'll be starting the heel flap.

These are knitted cuff down but since he isn't here for me to try them on I'm going by measurements anyway.

A Fine Day Out

I had such a good time today. I went to The Song and Dance Ranch, home of Howling Wolf Herbs today where I met Regina Dale and a whole bunch of really nice women. It was her monthly Fiber Gab. Regina and her husband, Tony have a lovely ranch in Bartonville and she raises several fiber animals such as sheep, alpaca and goats. She has a wonderful shop where she sells her aromatherapy products. I forgot to get my camera out of my bag (I did remember to take it) so I don't have any pictures to post but I'll try to get some next month. Check out her website and see some of her wonderful stuff. She has weaving looms, a sock knitting machine, several spinning wheels as well as a lovely collection of beautiful drop spindles. We spent our time spinning, knitting and chatting. I'm really looking forward to next month's Fiber Gab.

Shelly's scarf done, Louie's socks cast on!

Wow, I'm really on a roll right now. I've finished Shelly's scarf tonight and last night I cast on my brother, Louie's socks. His socks are knit with worsted weight yarn to make them thicker and warmer. I'm doing them so he can wear them with his boots this winter. Technically they are for Christmas but he knows I'm doing them so it isn't a suprise. I hope he likes them. Hopefully I can get him to send me a picture of him wearing them so I can post it. I'll post a picture of Shelly and her scarf also.

Update on Katie's Pedicure Socks

Just wanted to post an update. Katie got her socks today and sent me a picture of them. She says they fit great. Now she wants a pair in black and gray.... lol

Katie's Pedicure Socks

I finished Katie's Pedicure socks in record time. I cast them on September 19th and did the final stitch on October 1st. Technically I finished them on September 29th but I had to wait until I could look up a better bind off at the foot to really finish them. This yarn is really soft and nice to work with. It knits up really nice and the self striping pattern is lovely. I will use this again. Its Premier brand Serenity Sock Yarn from the Deborah Norville collection. The colorway is called Paprika. These are called pedicure socks because they end at the toes leaving them free to paint the nails. The reason I made these for Katie is because she loves to wear flip flops and this way her feet will be warmer in the winter! I think I have enough yarn left over to make myself a pair of anklet socks from these. I will have to do them 2 at a time, toe up in case I start to run out of yarn!

As you can see I figured out how to add a progress bar to my blog for the WIP projects I have going. I belong to a group called Ravelry where I can enter my yarn/fiber stash, patterns, projects etc. This new widget pulls information from there. I like this because you have to be a member of Ravelry to see my stuff on there. Hopefully I can figure out how to make it pull all my projects, not just the WIP ones. As always, stay tuned!

New Socks!

I finished my new socks last night. These were knit on #2 circular needles using JoJoLand Melody yarn. These were my first toe up, 2 at a time socks and I'm really happy with them. I had a bit of trouble setting up for the heel and I got a couple of ladders right at the heel but over all I'm very happy. Doing toe up lets me custom fit them. Now, on to the next ones...

Katie's Hat Part 2

I only got 2 pictures of Katie with her new hat and it includes the boys with their hats I made them from the indigo dyed blue yarn.

I'm making them more hats with some yarn from Michaels that looks like camo.

I also made myself a hat from the multicolored yarn.

Katie's Hat Finished!

Those of you who follow my blog will remember I posted pictures of a mohair/wool yarn I was working on for Katie's hat. Well, I have finished her hat and wanted to post pictures of it. I'm very pleased with it. Its a lovely shape and color and the mohair adds really nice texture.


I've taken pictures of it on the glass head we have. I'll be giving it to her next month when we are in Shreveport and will take pictures of her with it on and post those also.
The yarn was a bit harder to knit with due to the "stickyness" of the mohair so I switched from my usual Continental method of knitting (working yarn held in the left hand) to English method (working yarn held in the right hand) and that went much faster. I tried the hat on after finishing it and wore it for a few minutes in the house and BOY is it WARM! It should be great for this winter.