Oolong

I have been working on these socks for awhile... Lois 'threatened' that she didn't want to see it again at the next KO lol.



The pattern was great and the yarn was nice to work with. I initially had a tiny misunderstanding with the pattern and wrote to the designer, Mona about it. She was very kind and replied really quickly. And when I realized how silly I was, it was fortunately nearing the end of the leg. hehehe...



I worked two socks at once on two sets of dpns. I know summerknit warned me about using two sets of dpns from two different brands... (they might have a slight difference thus causing some tension problems) But so far, and I hope NOT to have such a problem in future, I have been blessed by the Goddess of non-SSS.

Oolong by Mona Schmidt



Made with Cherry Tree Hill in Green Mountain Madness

I have another 2 pairs of socks in the making... no progress on the cardigan. :( But I keep telling myself, a stitch is a stitch, so I gotta keep going. hehe.

Vintage Infant's Silk Socks

Yup, this pattern's from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I borrowed it from Lois and then I thought I should just get a copy for myself. And I did! It's on the way to my shelf now... I really love all the vintage stuff that's in it... Recently I've been in a 'traditional' craze. I guess it just grows on you especially since I'm someone who likes to learn and make things from scratch.

ANYWAY I thought I decided to give one of the patterns a try. I've heard so much about children's socks and wondered if there's any different from the normal adult socks that I make. So I decided to pick one pattern from the book, get some 4ply yarn and work on it. At the back of my head, I also thought I need a recipient for these little socks, and MLC's adorable daughter came to my mind.

I chose to work with Rowan's Cashsoft 4 ply because there was a very beautiful vintage pink. I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of the yarn since I started the project almost immediately. But here's a picture with some leftovers.



I actually worked the sock over the CNY period - when I usually get a lot of knitting time sitting in front of the TV! The thing is these socks went slower than I thought because I was using 2mm and I started them on some Susan Bates... which are 7" ... Definitely not a length I would want to work with for kids socks anymore! (initially they were on the 1,75mm pink needles and the whole project was so pink!!! But I had to go up sizes to make slightly larger socks so they got onto the gold 2mms)



There are a few little things about children's socks though. Firstly, longer legs are better - all the more they won't pull of the socks. Secondly, they have a short gusset!! Third, definitely a fast and satisfying knit, as with all baby and children's things... :) I'm glad to finish the pair before Isabel's birthday so I had some time to send it off to her! Yayy!

And here's our beautiful and adorable model with her knitted socks!


Infant's Silk Socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting Vintage Socks
Worked with Rowan Classic Yarns on 2mm Susan Bates DPNs

I've been hijacked by bears, if you haven't noticed. But all is not lost. I had a great KO on Saturday and seeing everyone knitting away and sharing their projects has kicked off my mojo. The weather does keep me off the needles, especially since I'm working on a cardigan. But I'm happy to say that I found stuff to watch on the History Channel last night and knitted for about 2 hours!

In the meantime, I do hope to use this time I have to craft as much as I can. I won't have the luxury in about a month's time!

Baroque

I've finished the Baroque last friday.



This was an interesting knit but I must admit one must MUST pay attention when knitting this. I had a lot of tinking moments and it wasn't fun with all the twisted knitting. This is also the first time I'm knitting something from the CURRENT issue of knitty. I've also made a new friend via ravelry because of these socks, and all in all, I'm a happy camper.



Nevertheless the outcome is very beautiful. I'm glad about it too because this beautiful yarn has been ill-fated. It has gone through a few castons for a project which didn't work. So now, I'm happy to see it as a beautiful, stunning pair of Baroque.



Baroque from Knitty with Louet Gems in French Blue on KnitPicks Harmonies 2.25mm

And guess what, with the cast off of Baroque, I now only have ONE wip!

Whitby in Maldives

I started this project on the first night in Maldives. I took three days to finish the first sock with an injured hand from fishing, and another few days to finish the second after I got back.

I chose Dream in Color's Smooshy to take with me especially since the name was Beach Fog. Here's a photo to demonstrate the wonderful choice of color hehe



The pattern is Nancy Bush's Whitby from her book Knitting On The Road. Just like all the patterns in the book is meant to be, I could memorize it very quickly and only needed to refer to it on rare occasions. It's also because of this that I could finish the pair in a short amount of time.

I took a picture of it on the dawn of the fourth day in Maldives before I packed it.



And here's the finished pair at home.



Whitby by Nancy Bush from Knitting on the Road
in Dream in Color Smooshy - Beach Fog - on 2.75mm bamboo dpns.

I really like the yarn!! I've read so much about it being splitty but perhaps because my needles were not very sharp, I didn't have splitting problems. At the same time, it wasn't difficult to do the cables and the stitch definition is great! I saw many on Ravelry using the same yarn to do other sock patterns that require great definition and they all turned out beautiful. (Oh and it has great yardage too!) So I really foresee myself getting more of these!

Trystero and other updates.

I finished Trystero yesterday!!



I have been knitting this sock almost forever. I started the first sock in April or May or something but had to frog and cast on again about three times. Although I got the gauge right, somehow it was just too tight to be worn unless I'm looking for wrist-warmers or foot-covers.



I don't really blame the pattern nor the yarn. Although the single-ply must have had something to do with the stretchiness of the sock, the colors made it all worth it. The pattern is also very fun to do and I can zip through a repeat very quickly! So while it's true that I love the yarn AND the pattern, and the eventual outcome, I guess there are times when I just get tired of things.



Trystero by Cookie A.
3mm Harmony DPNs
Noro Kureyon Sock

I really love the pattern and am looking forward to the next Cookie pattern I'll cast on. I have a teeny bit of the yarn left and I have another ball in another color. I might make a shawl out of it this time.

Meanwhile, I've finished Hanami but I haven't blocked it. I've also casted on Queen Anne's Lace which I might just call La Reine. It's in Zephyr (mahogany) and I'm still at chart 1. Muguet de Mai's center panel is finished and I've picked up the stitches for the border. I'm tired after picking up. blah. I think it's about 600 over stitches. *faints* And I've wound my Dream in Color sock yarn in Beach Fog for... Maldives~! I'm planning to do Nancy Bush's Whitby with it.

So yes I'm looking forward to knitting at the beach next week with La Reine and Whitby!

PS: I bought the Debbie Bliss VK mag.It's quite nice and the more I look at it the more I love the patterns!

Cotton

Actually I finished this on Sunday and was doing kitchener stitch on the toes of the second sock by the time we received our Olympic Medal after a drought of 48 years.

The first sock was done awhile ago but the second took a bit of time. So what could be more apt than to put this up for Ravelympics 2008? Of course after I finished Ester, I was all ready to finish more projects! I zipped through this with turning the heel on friday while watching the Table Tennis Women's Team Semi-Finals. And the rest of the leg and toes while waiting for and watching the Finals on Sunday. The Semi-Finals was such an exciting match I had to stop a few times for fear of breaking my needles. And the finals? Well it was such a good match I did stop and watch in awe many times~!

The silly thing is, I realized this wasn't tagged for Ravelympics after all!! For some reason, it was just not tagged and I just thought it was. Much to my disappointment, of course. Sigh. :( But in a way I'm quite glad since I got to finish another project.


Cotton in Regia Surf Color, using the Eyelet Bar stitch Pattern with Narrow Heel in Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. Needles were 2.25mm Ebony Sox Stix.

Gambling

no no i'm not gambling with money. But I'm taking chances.

So you see I finished Broadripple and currently have zero socks at hand. That WON'T do. How can I have no socks at hand!?

So then I want to try a few things. First I thought I want to try a Cookie A pattern, and then I also thought I wanted to use my Louet Gems. But there's a problem. The first pattern I queued from Cookie A is Gothic Spire (surprise surprise). I think the yarn and the pattern match, but I still think my Gothic Spire is a dark rich purple (or burgundy maybe), not French Blue.

On the other hand, I thought Scrolls in my queue would look great in French Blue. So... here's what I did.

Noro Kureyon Sock on Trystero so that I can try a Cookie A pattern.



And French Blue Louet Gems on Scrolls. Since I wanted to try out the Louet.



As you can see I'm taking a huge gamble here. Firstly I don't know how Trystero will turn out with Noro. I have no idea how the colors would work either.

Secondly, I'm knitting two socks at once, toe up on two circs with Scrolls. (Louise!~ two socks, toe up, two circs!!) Considering that I did half my work on Broadripple on two circs, and that's all, it's a huge gamble I say. Plus, this is toe up. For the record I haven't finished a single pair of socks from toe up in my short knitting history. I took an extremely long time casting this one on. For some reason my fig 8 cast ons were very ugly. It's not as nice and neat as the first time I've done it (on a sock i never finished). I spent a night and day at it, and my eyes were terribly sore by the time I was ok with them. For socks that had almost blinded me, they had better be finished!

I guess I've never been exactly the reserved sort, and would probably attempt to bungee jump and knit at the same time one day. But I think this is a huge gamble and I sure hope the efforts pay off, so Sock On Ayu~

argh...

Because there's a hash today I had the opportunity to stay home in the morning and do whatever I wanted (after Mang's bath of course). So I decided to knit the Reading in Bed shrug and got up to seven repeats. That's a good sign because it's past the 50% mark.

And then I decided I better cast on the toe for the second Elfine Socks. I have already done the first one up to the heel and just wanted to do the socks simultaneously. So I decided to put the first sock unto some waste yarn and started to cast on the second. However, I had a problem.

I suddenly decided not to lie to myself and admit that the pattern REALLY gets lost in the yarn. Consider this toe:



At first I thought that little piece isn't a good gauge, and lied to myself that it will look better on my foot, when it's a bigger piece. But now that it's done up to the heel, it's not looking much better. Just imagine the above photo times two. It doesn't help when the second ball of yarn refuses to be casted on as well, and it kept slipping off the needles when I wasn't looking. After that, I had ugly m1s.

Although I must admit I'm a bit sleepy, I really don't know what's wrong and then I just gave up trying. I think the yarn just doesn't want to be a sock. Or this particular sock for that matter.

Now I must confess that this is the first sock I am knitting from toe up. AND it's also the second sock (casted on) and knitted with the magic loop method. I have no qualms with the method but incidentally, I didn't finish the other magic loop sock as well. Before I casted this on, I thought this pattern was suitable because I wanted to try the toe-up with the magic loop. Now what's so difficult about that? I have no idea.

I actually don't know what I should do now. Should I

(a) Try again?
(b) Look for another sock pattern that uses the above methods? (any recommendations at that?)
(c) Look for another sock pattern regardless of whether it's toe-up or cuff down?
(d) Use the yarn for a non-sock project?

Sigh!

2 Socks

One of each

hehe

i finished one Seduction! See!



I actually didn't enjoy this pattern very much. I mean the sock is nice and all but the pattern was written weird. Then again I haven't made much socks so I really shouldn't be complaining. Still, I find the instructions a bit weird. Nvm... I'll make the other sock soon. I promise.

This one is lonely...



I think I'll have to cast on both Seduction sock 2 and Breeze sock 2.

They are both lonely...



Meanwhile, on the FurFront,
Mollie says: Why can't I have a sock too, Mummy?

all things random about k-ing

Firstly the second Thuja has been casted on. Finished an assignment (not really but it met part of the deadline before the edits - just waiting for partner's response now) so I thought I'd finish 'The Secret Life of a Knitter'.

I didn't but actually casted on Thuja 2 instead. Which is a good thing. I woke up this morning and made like 1/6 of a random scarf. It doesn't have to be finished, and could be frogged anytime. I just had a sudden urge to see what happens to that yarn when it becomes a scarf. So far it's not in my wip bag, but in the stash. I don't know what's going to happen to it - I'm not calling it a wip.

for the last 2 days i somehow couldn't find the printed copy of the Kimono and the last time where I did about 2 rows... (how pathetic - see here) I did it from reading the pattern from the computer. I think if I don't have the M&Ms and the hamhams, I would start talking to the computer. If no one already knows, I'm one who is not comfortable when there's no Internet, or the computer is not switched on, or if there's no gadget of anykind. I just feel a bit out of place. And now I've found another reason to switch this thing on - read my pattern from it! Yayyy~~~ \^.^/~

I'm up to row 8 now and counting.

Lois has informed of the WWKIP post. It sounds great! Maybe i should be sporting that punk rock look again. ... rofl rofl

i swear i wanted to say something else but i can't remember. oh well.

Not much time but lots to say

firstly, there wasn't any knitting done during the Hawaii Week. No knit shopping either. however, I did manage to finish one Needlecraft Mystery (Unraveled Sleeve) and have started on the second (Murderous Yarn). But things are ok, I came back and on the second day we already had a knitout. So I had a chance to rekindle the knit spirit.

We also received our Zephyr that day~ and of course they came in cones.



My choice was actually Ice Blue but I love the other colors as well.



I can't wait to get started on lace projects! (and start I will - as you will find out later.)

We had a great time there winding all the yarn (hahaha) - we kinda looked like a yarn factory. Someone stopped by to ask if we organized the meetup and 'displayed much interest'. He (yes, he.) wondered why we kept looking at the accompanying girl at the table and not really talking to him. I thought i might ask him to do the winding for us. HAHA And here are the yarn cakes



We had a guest at the knitout that day and she's none other that Louise. She gave us little stitch markers she made herself! They were so cute!! I'll have to take a picture and put them up next time. :)

Oh! We stopped by at Spotlight that day too, to check out the Lion Brand yarns that were new. I got myself Magic Stripes to try out.



Anyways I think I need to update my projects. I don't quite function in chaos, so says the lists person. The Andean Shawl has to go - there's a mistake and I'm thinking the Kimono Shawl would be better suited for the gift. After all I can use the yarn for something else. So here's the Cake.



As for Socks, I'm working on RPMs and Thuja now. The Thuja is started to redeem myself for the long long long time i'm taking on the Sweater.

Thuja



Thuja's worked with Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK. The yarn's wonderful to work with and I've got my Clover Takumi DPNs 4.00mm to work with me as well. So things are going ok.

RPM

No picture yet

The RPMs are worked with the Regia yarn I got from my SP. I've got two needles, Addis and the regular Aero. I prefer the Addis of course but I'm a little paranoid about SSS. I hope my Thujas don't suffer from SSS because I have no time to get another set of DPNs...

And since i'm at it.
Kimono



My Kimono's worked on 3.75mm needles with Elderberry Zephyr. So far I've not started on a single repeat yet hahaha ... :P I'm really far behind the others who have started but ok, it'll come heh.

Alrighty, I think that's about enough updates for now. Have to go back to the orig blog.

One Sock Done!

There are two good thing about these little projects. It makes me do my work quicker so that I can have time to finish 'one section' of the project. It also makes me finish the piece quicker because I tend to want to do 'the next section' and the next and the next and the next... And there I go - feverishly knitting away

by the time American Idol had its first break I was here



Then by the second break i was here



and by the time the show ended I was here! :D



Being my first sock, i was definitely proud of it. even though it's too small for me to wear. even though there was a little mistake. Even though there's this inexplicable 'hole' somewhere (it's somewhat smaller now, thankfully.) This sock taught me how to use dpns, how to knit a sock and the basic construction of one, it also taught me the three needle bind off. So it's a Great little Sock.

I think the wrong side looked better than the right side tho'.



Silly me realized that there's still more than enough yarn for another sock. (the pattern says 25g) I'll probably start on that after I come back from Honolulu. I like odd numbers, but 1 is too lonely.

Sock Fever

Yesterday I wanted to take a break and not use my brain for awhile. So I started to knit my sock.

That's not very smart if I was thinking i'll not need to use the brain. because i got all the way up to the Heel turning, and realized I did something wrong. So ok nevermind. I ripped out the wrong parts (which is really the entire heel flap), shown here



and started all over again this morning after my emailing and work.

After all it's a learning process isn't it? hmm





Then i got to turn the heel and do the instep, which was a little wrong too. and I ended up with this little row of k stitches out of the blue. I think i picked up the stitches at the wrong side. Nvm.



It's kinda cute so I think I'll just leave it there.



I'm up to doing the instep decrese now and taking a lunch break.



Right now, I kinda think that i love this yarn a lot, so i don't know whether I should make another sock that's 'a little wrong' or let this just be the practice piece. After all it taught me the basic constructs of a sock. and I can leave my other ball of pretty yarn untouched... :P

I'll come to that when I'm done with this I guess. It's one of the reasons why I didn't put a percentage bar for this too.

Socks are really fun tho. hehe Fun fun fun fun! See!

DPNs are cool!

Bird's eye view
Originally uploaded by st.jehanne.

I started a sock with this pretty yarn I got. Cleckheaton's Cocoon~

I love this color and the DPNs are a gift from my SP! I hope this will be completed in time for the next knit out~~ well... at least one sock! :D