He's Arrived

Catty, with whom I share an office and a passion for knitting, had a beautiful little man yesterday.

I got to meet the little boxer today but, of course, forgot to bring my camera. I assure you, he's a keeper.

He's about 4 weeks early, so the communal knitting didn't quite get done....better get knitting, ladies (you know who you are....).

Congrats to the whole family!!

Multitasking

So, as you may know, I have been pondering sock yarn of late. I've considered the large quantity of sock yarn I have. I have inquired as to your favorites, Dear Reader. I have knit socks.

Spring is in the air, however, and it's time to branch out and try new things. I am planning on a few non-sock projects with my lovely sock yarn. I've been waiting to start this sweater with some Louet Gems. I'm going to whip up this hat with some fingering weight yarn that a dear friend dyed for me. (I'm planning on holding the sock yarn double. I hope I get something approximating gauge.) I've thought about a couple of shawls. Perhaps a scarf or some mittens?

Any other ideas?

Coveted

That's what this yarn is (Handmaiden Swiss Mountain Silk Cashmere). I keep it close. It stays upstairs with me as opposed to the rest of the stash in my basement. It gets pulled out from time to time for a quick visit, a pet and a snuggle, then gets gently put away again.

I surf Ravelry at least once a week to see if there are any new patterns that are worthy enough for this yarn. Something that will use up every single one of the 187 yds of luxury this little skein has. Nothing has met my requirements, yet...

But one day, I will find something that will match with my desire for this yarn.

Until that time it will retain it's place as my most coveted skein.

What's your most coveted skein?

Sock Yarn Survey

I have been knitting lots of socks lately. There are a number of reasons for this:

1. I have a lot of sock yarn and I want to use it up.

2. I have a lot of sock patterns.

3. Socks are small and I like that.

4. I wear only hand knit socks. (Except for running but I'm thinking of knitting myself some running socks. Any yarn suggestions?)

5. Hand knit socks make a great gift.

Here is my latest pair. Marilinda by Cookie A in Sundara sock yarn Marina over Icicles.

Now I'm wondering, what is your favorite sock yarn? What yarns have you used and not liked? Do you even knit socks?

I'm a big fan of Socks that Rock. The colours are lovely, the yarn is soft and it wears very well. Lorna's Laces on the other hand has not lived up to expectations. I find it pills badly and wears out long before I think it should.

How about you?

Getting rid of the Knitting Blues

I'm back baby. My knitting mojo has returned and with it a flurry of knitting activity.

Socks...


A Valentine's day Hat....

(there are 2 mistakes....J.'s already found them...can you???)

And other various secret activities.

It feels good to feel like knitting. AHHHHH. I'm a much more easy to manage person when I knit. I think my husband is glad I got my mojo back too. My knitting mojo people (get your head out of the gutter).

Next up??? I feel like spring knitting. This is calling my name. Unfortunately I have no yarn in the stash for it. Lucky for me, Webs has a plethora of options. Like this and this and this and this. And we all know I don't need any of it.....

BSJ for a February Baby

I suppose in retrospect, I should have made a February sweater for a baby that will be born next Tuesday, but the readers voted for a Baby Surprise Jacket and who am I to argue?

Here you have it. Knit up in 4 days, give or take, in Socks that Rock Heavyweight. I think the yarn turned out to be a good choice. It is washable, soft and warm. It has a nice twist that makes the garter stitch look clean and simple.

The colour is Puck's Mischief. Everyone at my knitting get together last night agreed that it was a good baby colour, not too girly, just bright enough.

Now I'm off to see if Canada Post can get a package to Vancouver in a hurry. Wish me luck.

If the Sock Fits...

Sometimes a pattern and yarn come together in such a way that seems divine. Such is the case with the STR January sock, at least for me. I love blue and these socks are definitely that.

I wasn't sure about the tubular cast on, but it is very stretchy and quite invisible. I think I'll use it again, if I can figure out how it works.

And the beads? Well, once I had a dental flosser, it was much easier getting them strung on the yarn. It was a bit of a pain having to shuffle them along as I knit, but well worth it in the end.

And now on to other things. There is a baby on the way that needs a sweater. To hood or not to hood?

For me!

Thank you to everyone for all my birthday wishes - here, on Ravelry, on Facebook, by phone and email. Thank you thank you. I had an excellent day. Highlights included cake for breakfast, a short work day, a lunch with my Love, and decorated cupcakes from my boys.


I also finished these (one day late) as a special birthday present to myself. I got the yarn from the retreat in November and decided to make them plain old socks. I wanted the yarn to be the focal point on the socks, which it is. I will remember starting these socks while being surrounded by knitting greats.


Next up, some more Crazy Cat socks in some yarn I came across in the stash that is too darned nice to be collecting dust. KPPPM. I have decided that I want to knit myself a pair of socks each month of the year. Considering the size of my foot (10 inches long people - that's like 2-3 inches longer than most of your feet....that's approximately 3000 more stitches I need to knit per sock compared to the average foot) this is still a large undertaking. So, pair #2, Tall Tibetan Socks.

Announcement

Happy Birthday, Auntie T!

Love Princesses 1 and 2

Coming up for air

Life has gotten the better of me the last few weeks. Nothing terrible, nothing bad. Just life. And to top it off, sicknesses of all sorts have ravaged our house. But we have survived like we always do, and mostly with smiles on our faces.

Given the challenge of the last little bit, I've lost my knitting mojo, making for rather dull knit-blogging. I think the main reason being that I have 2 projects on the needles that are in black yarn. Hate it. Love the projects hate the yarn.

So I've been entertaining myself with some plain old socks. However, these too have been a source of frustation. The colour of the first sock is completely different from the second. I'll still wear them and they'll look lovely, but it's just an annoyance. The first sock is nice though, right?

Not Helping

I read in the local newspaper that there is a new yarn store in town. Very close to where I work. Good thing I'm still on a mat leave.

This is not going to help out my efforts to bust the stash. In the interests of the blog, I will try to do a reconn mission in the next few weeks. I'll do my best to buy the least amount of yarn possible but I'm not promising anything.