A Princess of Yarnia

My Halloween costume this year really reflects my knitty alterego....a sparkly tiara for a Princess of Yarnia.  You know what I mean...one of the many who love to knit and love yarn, all yarn! Here's a sampling...

Red Heart yarn for Special Olympics Scarves 2012 project.  Great project that I have done with my daughter the past two years...can't wait to start this year in blue & red!

Pretty Lorna's Laces yarn....perfect for socks and shawls.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock....great colorways for awesome socks!

Sanguine Gryphon...more great colorways for socks and shawls.  And the reason for the missing tiara in the last two pictures?? I'm wearing it, of course!  Princess Yarnia is off to fill the trick or treaters' bags full of candy!

Happy Halloween!



Footsie!

So, you’re getting ready to knit some socks for holiday gift giving and all you know is that your niece wears a women’s size 6 shoe and your brother wears a men’s size 10? How long should the foot of the sock be? I’ve been known to trace my kids feet so I know how long to make their socks but what if your sweet niece lives in Connecticut and you live in Atlanta? Such has been my dilemma. But not anymore. I found these great Shoe Size Conversion Charts at ehow.com These charts will assist you in determining approximate length of feet in inches if you know someone’s shoe size. I’m sure they are going to help me knit perfect fitting socks this year!!! If not, I always can add a note to put those all wool socks in the dryer for a while if they are a smidge too big or explain how to block them a bit if they’re running a little small!!

A New Pattern to Celebrate Socktober!!!

Effervescence Socks by iknit2purl2 on Ravelry

To celebrate Socktober, I designed a sock pattern to share with all of you! Effervescence is now available  as a free download on Ravelry.  It's an easy knit, using the mock cable stitch.  By utilizing yarnovers and slipped stitches, you create a pretty cable pattern over a 2x2 rib.  This sock pattern alternates the mock cable stitch between the ribs which creates a bubbly, effervescent look over the sock.  And did I mention it's easy? An 8 stitch pattern over 4 rows creates this fun look!

The yarn above is The Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga in Miss Spider.  At 450 yards, one skein of this fingering weight sock yarn is more than enough to make a pair of Woman's socks in size Medium.  For the pair below, I used Blue Moon Fiber Arts Lightweight Socks That Rock yarn in Turquoise.  Again, one skein (360 yards) was more than enough for a pair of Woman's Size Medium socks.

 

FO - Hemlock Ring Blanket (and a Knitting Pictorial!)






Hemlock Ring Blanket - Pattern adapted by Jared Flood

 I just finished blocking my first-ever, Hemlock Ring Blanket. I have to tell you, once I started knitting it, I couldn't put it down. Really, it was much, much easier than anything I ever imagined! Nothing more complicated than yarnovers, SSKs, K2togs and PSSOs.
 



Fan and Leaf Pattern Detail

 I used about 1 1/2 skeins of Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool in Antique.  This yarn comes in big, generous 478 yard skeins and is reasonably priced at about $20 skein.  I should have bought 3 skeins so I could make two!  I used size 10 needles because that is all I had (size 10 1/2 is recommended).  As you all know by now, I knit loosely and, even with the smaller needles, my finished blanket blocked to about 60 inches through Row 55 of the chart.

The pattern is great and easy to follow.  I'd recommend stitch markers to keep track of the repeats.  (There are only eight).  I can't wait to start another.  And another!




Crochet Bind-off

 I was so excited to finish the Hemlock Ring Blanket that I chose to do the crochet bind-off instead of the knited one.  It's much easier, I think, once you get the hang of it and, I think, a lot of the completed projects that I have seen on Ravelry used the crochet bind-off.  I had never used this technique before and, while I was able to find knitting videos online for a plain crochet bind-off, I couldn't find a video showing how to crochet through 3 stitches, then chain 7.  I fiddled with it a bit and this is what I came up with:

• Chain 7 out of the last stitch ( I knitted through Row 55 and had 472 stitches, starting here leaves 471 stitches which is divisible by 3 and prevents any leftover stitches at the end).




Chain 7 stitches

•       Slip 3 stitches off of the knitting needle onto to the crochet hook. (At this point, there will be 4 stitches total on crochet hook)



Slip 3 stitches to crochet hook

• Pull yarn though the 3 stitches (2 stitches left on crochet hook) 

Pull Yarn through 3 stitches

• Pull yarn through remaining 2 stitches

Pull yarn through 2 stitches

• Repeat starting from Chain 7.

As far as blocking goes, you need a LOT of pins.  I pinned each loop from the bind-off.  If you did the math above, that's 157 loops! Plus the points of the flowers and the inner loops and, and, and!  I used my bathroom floor and my Alphabet Blocks when my husband was on away on a business trip.  And, I kept the door shut to keep the cats and dog out.  Too many pins to worry about!


Hemlock Ring Blanket - Blocking- That's a lotta pins!

I'm going to give this to my mother-in-law for Christmas.  I think I will knit at least one more as a Christmas gift and then, hopefully, one for me as well!

Socktoberfest - Right Around the Corner

One of my knitty pals, Susie, aka Knitting Knoobie, just reminded me that it's almost time for Socktoberfest, a month long festival of knitting which you can find on Ravelry.  I've been looking for some patterns on Ravelry (and I've been looking at Susie's project page on Ravelry because she finds great sock patterns!!).  Here's some patterns that I'd like to knit.

Diagonal Lace Socks by Wendy D. Johnson



Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Leuder



D-Man Socks By Karen Lauger

Now to go through my stash and select some yarn to use! What sock patterns have you run across recently that you are planning on knitting soon? Share with us here! 

Block Party!

I think most knitters would agree, a knitter's idea of a block party is significantly different than what most people would think...I finally blocked some finished knitting projects.  I had so much to block that my small set of Knitpicks foam blocks wasn't enough to get the job done.  I had my mind on completing this huge task and so last week I went to Target and found these children's foam blocks:

And, now, some blocking progress!

I finally cast-off Romney's Kerchief....I couldn't get myself to do the recommended cast-off...it seemed like it would be just too time consuming. Last week, I decided to go up to size 10 needles and cast-off.  A bit of a risk, as I was almost out of yarn but it all worked out fine.

My Not At Sock Summit Socks...I loved knitting with The Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga yarn although I was "meh" about the pattern....size 1 needles too...a never ending project but very nice results!

My Rose Lace Stole!! I love this! I love the lace pattern! I really love rectangular shape! I want to knit another rectangular shawl ASAP!

Andrea's Shawl - Loved this pattern too!  Such a pretty combination of green! And, surprise! Look!  The lace looks mostly like the pattern photos! (I thought I was making all kinds of mistakes!)




What did I learn from my block party? Wow, blocking can really accenuate lace patterns! And, all of my shawls blocked to the correct size.  Even the Rose Lace Stole which I was soooo worried about.  Now, to get some photos of all these finished projects onto Ravelry! 

Crimson Tide! A New Pattern on Ravelry




Crimson Tide Socks on Ravelry

 

I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoy knitting colorwork projects! And, now, just in time for fall (better known around here as Football Season!), I've designed a sock pattern called Crimson Tide.  Priced at $2 US, I am going to contribute all of my proceeds from sales of this pattern through January 9, 2012 (date of the College Football National Championship) to the Red Cross Disaster Fund.  Originally, I wanted to raise funds for the Red Cross to help with Disaster Relief from this Spring's tornadoes in the Southeast, particularly in Alabama (hence, my design inspiration!).  With the recent hurricanes in the Northeast and along the East Coast, I have decided to contribute to the general disaster relief fund to help wherever funds are needed most.


About Crimson Tide...a basic sock pattern really with an easy to memorize pattern that repeats around the leg of the sock and across the top of the foot.  The colorwork striping on the bottom of the foot adds extra interest to the look of the sock (and minimizes the need to weave in loose ends!).  I've used KnitPicks Palette in Pimento, Garnet Heather and White...perfect for all of you Alabama fans out there!  This pattern would also be pretty in blues and greens for a more aquatic look.