Hiatius from blogging, but never from knitting!

So many things! I'll go over them quickly. I lost my camera case a little while back, so I improvised and knit up a new one with some of my extra Peace Fleece, the same yarn I used for my sweater.

And what would a camera case be without an embroidered sheep on the back?

I also started a pair of Spot Check Socks, but I probably will never finish them. I'm not going to have enough of the green yarn and I'm not extremely in love with the color combination. I think it's a fabulous pattern for variegated yarn - it shows off the spectrum of colors without overwhelming the eye. But of the projects I've seen, my favorites are when the solid yarn is a color within the spectrum of the variegated. Oh well. Maybe I'll frog them someday when I have a solid color that I like more.

And for Kristen's baby shower!! I made up a chart for a cardinal because if the baby is a boy, my cousin Charles refuses to let him wear a blue hat in the hospital lest he unconsciously be swayed to cheer for the wrong team in his impressionable infantile stage. I love how it turned out, but I really need to work on my tension while color knitting.

And I've resumed my argyle hat project from a year ago!! This time not making the hat in the round, and it's much more manageable. I'll go back and do the criss-crossy lines afterwards because it sounds like that's easier.


And now for my current project!! It's a mystery knit! ;) I arrived in Beirut not quite two weeks ago and on the long plane rides over this is what I did while I wasn't sleeping. It's coming along nicely, but I still have a long way to go!

Here's a bit more of a hint at the pattern, some knitters may recognize it from its stardom on Ravelry. It's a fun knit, but does require concentration, at least every 5th row.


Well that's all for the knitting! I have (of course) already found out where a knitting store in Beirut is, but have yet to visit. Sounds cute though. I'm sad though because I apparently missed some competition or contest they had going on with a display of a bunch of people's work. Maybe next time! Maybe they have some knitting at the sou' (the market that they have every few days). I'll keep you updated!

Socks for a Lady

Haha, ridiculous title, I know, but don't these socks look like they should be worn by a lady? Aren't they graceful? The lace and all? PRETTY! And I love purple. It might be my favorite color again.

So... Berlin Muster socks: Finished!! Took me about 2 weeks. Actually it was more like 3 weeks, but there were a number of days in there where I didn't work on them at all, so I'm calling it two weeks.

Anyway, I bought the yarn at the Knit Nook. It is TOFUtsies: 50% superwash wool, 25% soysilk fibers, 22.5% cotton, and 2.5% chitin ("Chitin is fiber from shrimp and crab shells! It's naturally antibacterial!"). There were 425 m of yarn, but I probably used 2/3 - 3/4 of the ball of yarn. So I've got EXTRA! Which makes me excited because I had fun with this yarn.

Pattern for free here. The only adjustment I made to the pattern was that I purled 4 on each round so that I'd have 64 stitches around instead of just 60. Oh also I did a 2x2 ribbing at the top, knit 2, purl 2, instead of the 1x1 that the pattern says. But that was mainly an accident.

This pattern was really hard for me the first few repeats, but by the end, I had gotten the hang of it. It has 16 different rows that you have to do for one repeat, so you really have to pay attention. But it was a nice challenge for me, and I think it is such a pretty pattern.

So, then the Knit Nook had a SALE yesterday too. It rocked. I went in there and spent like an hour and a half trying to pick out what yarn I wanted. Jeez, it was way overwhelming. Like, I should have thought it through a little more beforehand, picked out a project so that I knew how much yarn I needed, and had an idea of colors. But instead I just wandered in clueless and hoped to be inspired. I bought this expen$ive yarn that was marked down 15%, but still was a lot for just about 400 yds, which probably isn't enough for a whole project. So I don't know what I'm going to make out of it. I love the colors and I love them together.

The blue yarn is soooo pretty, and it has all these subtle color variations in it that were hard to photograph. I am thinking about making a sweater, bolero, something like that, but I still need to find a pattern. I might go and buy some cheap-o yarn to do for the bulk of the sweater and then do stripes or something fun with the blue. I have no idea really. I'll probably save it for a while, because I don't want to knit impulsively with such pretty and pricey yarn. My God, I can ramble. Stopping now.

I think I am going to start knitting hats after all. And maybe a sweater. AH that scares me. We'll see.

Summer of Socks

So here are my green socks. I like 'em. 60 stitches around, though, a little small. So I had to make them shorter than I would have hoped because I couldn't pull them up any higher. Sad!


Pattern: Rib & Cable Socks - Nancy Bush. Well I didn't exactly use the pattern, I just copied off a picture.

Needle: US size 2

Yarn: Wildfoote Luxury Sock Yarn, Deco Lime; 75% washable wool, 25% nylon


Yay! These were another pretty quick knit. About a week. Oh, and I did the toe like this, and it looked better than the yarn over method.


This is really fun, knitting so many socks. I am trying to get this whole sock thing down. I think I'm getting there. I'm working on this pair of socks now, the pattern is called Berlin Muster. I linked to it at the bottom of my last post. It is such a pretty pattern. And so frustrating. At least it was at first. I've kind of gotten into a groove now, and it does take me forever but it's going faster now.

Look! I finished the first one :) This might be a cheesy shot, but I looove the yarn.

Summer's fun. My knitting companion has been my laptop these days. I'm catching up on all the old Gossip Girl episodes that I never saw. They are SO GOOD. I think I have fun watching them because they are so opposite of my life. Here I sit, staying in and knitting socks, and admiring the glamorous, drama-filled life of rich beautiful kids in New York City.

Yay, I really like how these socks are coming along. Except this one is a little tight. I should have done another row or two before starting the toe. But it's good enough. It was kind of weird, because with the lace pattern the number of stitches change every row, and the row I ended on was the closest number of stitches to the number of stitches used for the toe part. This is getting too confusing. Maybe I'll think up a creative solution next sock around.

Time for another episode of GG. Signing off.

You know you love me. XOXO.

Socks 4 Mary

Pattern: Jane's Hedgerow Socks, but with a short row toe
Needle: US size 2 (although I was wondering the whole pattern through if it would have looked better on size 1 needles.)
Yarn: Sockotta - 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool, 15% nylon

The pattern was pretty tedious and took a lot of attention and more time than knitting usually takes me. I like it, but I kind of wonder if just a regular ribbed pattern would have worked better with this self-striping yarn (best stuff EVER. especially after trying to get rid of the jog in stripes. go with self-striping.), and I think you might have been able to see the pattern more on a solid sock.

Cute, though. Right? I think I could have done with just a couple fewer stitches in my gauge for a cozier fit, but maybe if I run them through the dryer they will shrink just enough. Speaking of drying and stuff, guess what I did last Friday night. I washed all three pairs of socks I have knitted thus far! The sad part was that I actually enjoyed myself. A lot.





















The yarn I used says it's machine washer-friendly, but I wanted to hand wash anyway because socks are supposed to hold up better if you do. And the color is supposed to last longer. I followed directions I found here on how to wash socks, and just used lukewarm water and shampoo to wash and a little bit of conditioner in one of my rinses. The website said to rinse the socks until the water is clear. This yarn was bleeding, though, so I ended up rinsing these socks waay more times than I did the other two pairs. The water never really got clear, so I just stopped eventually because I was getting frustrated with the process and because I didn't want the socks to lose too much of their color. After seeing the socks dried, I regret rinsing this many times (I don't know how many times, maybe like 6 or 7?? Way too much. I rinsed the other socks 2 or 3 times.). They did lose some brightness in their color. But that means if I (or Mary) had thrown them in the wash, they'd have bled all over the other clothes, right? Or is that only a problem when you put them in with white clothes? Harumph. I think I'm being a perfectionist now.

Another fun thing, I finished this pair of socks pretty quickly. Definitely under a week. And casted on another pair of socks the same night I finished this pair and washed my socks. :)

This has basically (basically, Teresa?)... OK, it has COMPLETELY been my summer so far. I have done nothing else. I start working tomorrow (nannying), but I'm sure I'll be able to find time for knitting. I love knitting. And I am totally addicted to socks. They're quick so I don't get sick of the yarn in the time I'm knitting them, and they're fun to knit. I absolutely love turning the heel. Plus there's generally a lot of stockinette, so they're easy. And double-pointed needles are just cool, if a little awkward.

YAY KNITTING!!!!!!

Omg, AND, my mom and I are going to be visiting a SHEEP FARM sometime this week! It's in Kentucky, and my mom decided a while ago that she wants to get some sheep. I, of course, am completely in favor of this plan. I think the woman who runs this farm spins her own wool (!!), so maybe I can get a tutorial. And maybe I'll buy some and dye it myself??? Regardless, I will post more next week. Can't wait!

The second sock... for the second time!

I finished my second sock about a week or two ago, and I was excited, of course, especially as it had gone so quickly. So I eagerly tried it on, and it was HUGE. Realized I forgot to do two decreases in the gusset. Are you kidding?? Haha, what a stupid mistake. The pattern explicitly says "make sure you have 12 stitches on each needle", and I definitely counted, but I finished up the foot with 14 stitches on two of the needles. Boy, oh boy.

It was way too big for me to wear. How annoying, right?? So I asked Elizabeth what I should do. Her words of wisdom: "I was reading this book about knitting one time and it said that part of making projects you like is being willing to rip out and redo them over and over until they're right." Well, I listened to my wise, patient knitting partner and unraveled the foot of my sock. Redoing it really took me no time, and I am very glad I did it because now I can actually wear them.

I like them!! And see? They fit! Actually, though, they don't fit perfectly. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely pleased with how they came out, but here's the deal. The smaller sock (on my right foot) seems to fit better, but the heel seems to slide up as if the length of the bottom of the sock is too short. But the top looks perfect.

The sock on my left foot kind of looks big on the top, but the heel sits in the right place on my foot. E, do you have this problem? I think next time I'll try adding a row or two to the bottom of the sock and THEN start the toe. Oh, but that might not work on second thought. Hmm. I can't quite picture it. Maybe I'll ask the people at the Knit Nook what they think. I wish I were working there this summer.. sigh.

Now, the stripes (see pic to left). I think they turned out better this sock around, at least by the end. I know I messed up a few times and forgot to slip a stitch or something, but when I did it right, the diagonal line was much less noticeable this time. I guess it was just practice that helped. But I'm still going to see if I can find a better way to do stripes. Oh, and I wish I had thought to make the diagonal line go down the SIDE of the sock instead of right smack dab in the middle of the front.

I love these socks. I really do. They were a fun, quick project and I think they're adorable. The yarn I used (Lion Brand Microspun in Mango and Purple) is comfy and it was nice to knit with because it is pretty soft.

Now I'll leave you with a picture of my socks matching oh so well with my orange slippers. It just makes me so happy. Aren't they cheery?


Love, T

PS- Do you like my white sheet and natural lighting?

One Down...

I finished the first of my 2nd pair of socks, and I love blogging, and it doesn't happen often enough (come on, people, let's get knitting!!), so I thought I'd blog. This is my first experiment with different colors. I just did stripes of different widths with purple and orange yarn. The colors are a little shocking, but I think with the pattern it works alright. Aaaand, look how adorable the colors are with my orange slippers!!

The yarn I used is really soft so it was fun to knit, and this sock went pretty quickly, which is nice. I used one of the patterns from E's book. I forget which one it is.. the most simple one, 48 stitches, a little ribbing at the top, stockinette the rest of the way. Same ol', same ol'. I used the same toe I used on the second sock last time. I love that toe. My kitchener's stitch turned out almost flawless this time (picture to the left). I'm so pumped. I followed the instructions here, which I assume is the way I tried doing kitchener's last time, but for some reason it worked a lot better this time. There is a little bump in the middle, but for the most part the seam is unnoticeable.


Now, the colors deal. It wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be. Or, rather, just not as perfect as I'd hoped. I found two methods here to do "jogless stripes" because when you knit in the round, the stripes end up being one stitch off. My pictures and that website probably explain it better than I could. I tried both methods while knitting. The first one (stationary jogless stripes) didn't look very good. It was just really obvious that one of the columns was getting shorter and shorter. It was weird. Ick.

The second method (traveling jogless stripes) was better, but still noticeable. The website warns that a spiral will start to be seen, and it is. That's annoying. But it is less obvious than the first way. I don't know, I'll keep surfing the web and see if I can find anything else. If I do I'll try it out on my second sock and let you all know.

Well I think that's all I've got for now.

OH ! NO. I lied. So there's this sweet online network called Ravelry. It is a bunch of knitters, and you can get a profile and upload patterns and pictures of stuff you've knitted for everyone to look at. I just joined, and have surfed around on it a little bit, and it seems pretty cool and useful. They have a waiting list or something to register with the website, but it only takes a week or two for you to get the email to go join, and it's completely free! I recommend.

Happy summer. Finally lots of time to knit!

Blog, socks, finally!

Here we go! We've got a blog. And our first entry... my pair of socks that I FINALLY finished. This was quite the ordeal. And as much as I've loved making these socks, I'm definitely ready to be finished. It really shouldn't have taken me this long to finish the socks, but I ran out of yarn. Once I finally made it out to the store to buy more yarn, they were all out of the yarn I had used! So I just bought some boring red yarn to finish off the second toe with. Then I went into my yarn bag for some reason or another and what did I find? Just enough yarn to finish off my socks! Wonderful. I even have a little extra. Hopefully enough to make another pom pom for my sister's hat of the same yarn.

Anyway, here are pictures of my socks. Above are the finished products. A little imperfect, but I'm satisfied. I used the "Rock 'n' Ribbed" pattern from Elizabeth's Knit Socks! book by Betsy Lee McCarthy. They are a little loose. How would I fix that? Just decrease the amount of stitches? Or use stretchier yarn or something, probably.

I finished up the toes differently. On the first one (top) I followed the pattern, just decreasing (but I screwed up and cut out the plain rows between the decreased rows because I wanted to try that. It was too short, though.) and then ending with kitchener's stick at the end of the toe.

On the second toe, I used a different method that I found here (for free!). In this one, the seam is on the topside of the toe, like a regular sock you'd buy, which I found appealing. I just did what the pattern said exactly despite my slightly different number of stitches. I think I ended up with an extra stitch or two somehow when I was ready to bind off, but it worked out fine. I used kitchener's stitch to close the toe instead of the 3-needle bind-off that they used. But I screwed up my kitchener's stitch in the middle, so it's a little bumpy.

This third picture is the side of the second toe. It doesn't really show very well what I was trying to show - the yarn over's, which are the method that the linked pattern uses for the short row toe. Mine turned out a little imperfect and with some holes, but overall, I like this toe a lot better. It looks much smoother than the decreases, and I LOVE heel turning, so if I can turn a sock TWICE, it's just even more fun.

That's all for the knit blog now. This is so fun.

XOXO,
Teresa