Startitis Attacks!

Oh my goodness! I can't seem to stop casting on new projects! I have one pair of socks almost complete...just the toe decreases on the second sock and I'm done.  But....




Almost Done With This Sock!


I pulled out yarn this morning for two more pairs of socks.  I've already cast-on one pair.  Both are just plain, basic socks, the second may have some kind of colorwork but, really, two?  Well, no, maybe three because I'm thinking about a particular skein of yarn making a really nice pair of socks.  What am I thinking?




Socks for My Husband


This moring, I gathered up all of my sock yarn for the purpose of picking out some for upcoming projects.  I'm going to match the pattern to the yarn instead of my usual vice-versa.  Kind of a priority list of yarn - an assortment of what I would like to knit over the next few months.  Not necessarily my favorite yarns...I'm picking yarns for people who will be the beneficiaries of all of my sock-y knittiness.

Really, there's quite a bit more sock yarn around here than I care to admit.  My children even had the audacity to question whether I could ever actually knit that many pairs of socks.  I patiently told them that my stash was as much a collection of something that I liked to look at as it was something that I liked to knit with.  :)  Hence, the big pile on my bed. I may even have to sleep on the sofa if I can't bear to pack it all away today....good thing hubby's on a business trip!

Spring Socks for Me!

Brooklyn Handspun

Yes, more new yarn. to love...and, again, from The Loopy Ewe.   It's so pretty and incredibly soft.  It's called Aquatic and it's dyed up by Marie in Brooklyn, NY. The yarn base is called "Soft Spun Plus".  At about 375 yards, it should make a beautiful pair of socks for me...I love the blues and greens combined with the coppery shade of brown.  It's 100% Superwash Merino and, did I mention, so so soft.

"Aquatic" from BrooklynHandspun

Think I'm going to use this to knit Spring Forward Socks  which appeal to me not only because of the beautiful Spring weather we are having right now in Georgia but also because the pattern is very, very pretty and (I'm hoping) easy to memorize.  Can't wait to start!

Oh Noes! What Did I Do to My Sock???!!!

Sunday night, I finished turning the heel on my second River Rapids Sock.  I turned the heel perfectly.  No extra stitches as sometimes happens.  Wasn't short stitiches as happens on other occasions.  It was perfect.

And, then, I compared it to the first sock.

Oh noes! The heels were not remotely the same at all.

See?

What did I do on Sock #1???

I had perfectly followed the pattern for sock number 2.

So what in the world did I do for number 1???????

River Rapids Sock #1 - Great Pattern!

Apparently, I didn't follow the pattern instructions toooooo closely.

So, what's a girl to do?  I frogged to the end of the cuff....no more perfectly turned heel, no more perfect, exactly followed the instructions heel.  Even though these socks are for me, I'd like them to be the same (as much as I am capable of doing that).

So rippppppppp.  And then I tried to guess what I did.  Well, attempt number 2 (in which I just repeated rows 1 and 2 of the heel instructions) resulted in too long a heel and the tension was all wrong.  Hmmm...what's next...well, I was fairly frustrated at this point so I frogged back to a point where the two heels are the same length.  The cuffs matched up perfectly.  So, I figure I will take Spindiva's advice and avoid clogs when I wear these socks!

By the way, I am using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport.  The colorway is Midway and it is perfect for the River Rapids Sock Pattern.  Soft and squishy and I can't wait to wear them!  I bought the yarn at Jimmy Beans Wool, another interned yarn store that I love, love, love!

Hopefully, in a few days, I will have Pics of the finished socks.  Stay tuned!

Yarn Love

I'll admit, I am addicted to yarn.  Just addicted. Love it.  Love to look at it.  Love to knit it.  Love to find new yarn so I love all of my fellow yarnies' blogposts and tweets about new yarn. I could look at yarn websites all day long. Last week, my husband might say I spent a little too much time looking at The Loopy Ewe, one of my fave, fave, fave internet yarn stores. This time, I found some beautiful, new to me yarn,  Yarn Love.  in the colorways, Nirvana on the left (one of my son's favorite bands) and Belle on the right (my daughter's middle name).  Guess I was missing my kiddos while they were at school that day!

The yarn itself is called Juliet, its a sock yarn, 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon, 420 yards.  I can't wait to start knitting my kids some more socks! Guess who gets which socks! 

We Did It!

Yes...my daughter and I both finished our Special Olympic Scarves....on time!  Here they are:



Didn't my dughter do a great job on her scarf?  It's the one on the right.  I think I like it better than the one I knitted.  Here's a closer look:



I really love this year's colors...so bright and cheery.  We are hoping that it's still cold enough in Virginia to wear them!

Lots and Lots of Sock Patterns to Share!

Okay y'all...I feel so bad...I was doing really well keeping up with my blog & now I'm a bit behind again! I even started this post a few days ago.  By golly, it's getting complete right now! Here goes!

I'm making a list with links of the wonderful sock patterns that everyone shared so I can start knitting socks: (all of the sock patterns with * are free!)

Knitmore Girls Plain Vanilla Socks*,     Plain Vanilla Socks by Keri McKiernan*,    Monkey by Cookie A*, Kalajoik*,    Popsicle ,     Pom Star Socks,     Charade *,     Maeva * ,    Hearts Abound Socks * ,    Be Mine ,    Basic Ribbed Socks * ,     Yarn Harlots Plain Sock ,  Swedish Fish Socks , Mesmer , Milo , Spring Forward Socks * , Baby Cable Rib , Skew Socks * , Angee , Jaywalker * , Maeva * ,

Enjoy! I am going to get backed to knitting some socks...first up, some improvised plain socks for my son!

Knitmore Girls' Vanilla Socks - I love these!

YAY! We Have A Winner!

Just used the random number generator at random.org and the winner is.....Rachel!

Congratulations!

Please e-mail me so I can get your yarn in the mail ASAP!

Thank you everyone for participating in my first-ever yarn give-away.  Check out my blog every once and a while because the next yarn give-away just might be un-announced!