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.