Socks for Kenny

I started socks for Kenny. He got to open a package of yarn on Christmas, so I felt that I should start them quickly. The yarn is Mountain Colors Crazyfoot in the Red Tail Hawk colorway. Bought the yarn at The Yarn Sellar in York. (one of the last purchases of 2011...) The color is similar to some Lisa Sousa yarn I knit into socks for him, but he likes it. He doesn't have big feet, but I wanted to be sure I had enough yarn so I'm knitting them toe up, two at a time, magic loop. The pattern is the waffle rib from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. Easy enough, but I've managed to mess it up twice on the instep. Oh well, it will be in his shoes. The pattern is three rows of 2x2 rib and one row of purl. Looks good so far. The purl row helps to break up the colors. I used Judy's Magic Cast On. It worked beautifully. There is a lot of support for that cast on on the web! I just used the description on Knitty and it was easy to follow. I have never knit heel flaps toe up, and certainly not two at a time. This will be a learning experience. Usually I "run home to Momma" and put the sock on dpn's to do the heel.

The 2011 Post

I can't believe I have not blogged once this year. Ooops. I'm finding that I have miss not having written descriptions of each project, because I haven't been using my journal either. Time for a New Year's resolution.
Today was a fabulous day as far as Sally's knitting life is concerned. I went to the end of the year sale at Spinning Yarns in Dover. Margot had a swift with a damaged box, no damage to the swift, and she gave me a great deal on it. I couldn't be happier. No more cursing as I try to wind yarn that won't fit on Mom's old swift. Henry thought it was something to attack. I had to pick up a couple of skeins because of the sale, but I held myself back from going over the edge. I just bought two more bins to hold my stash and UFOs.

On the way home I saw the postman had just delivered the mail, and my excitement grew. Yes! He delivered the needles I had ordered on July 30th!! They are beautiful. The set is made of Vermont Rosewood, size 4 to 10.5 with an assortment of cables. I have been anxiously awaiting their arrival for months. The first time I ordered from DyakCraft I got a set of dpn's in different woods and I love them. They came in about a week. The company has obviously become quite a sensation.  The needles are in a lovely case,  I thought I had changed my order to lace tips, but I guess that message didn't get through to the shop floor. Not a problem. The needles are plenty sharp enough and I have the KnitPicks set for when I need them. Now I have to decide what to cast on.

I finished twenty-nine projects this year. Many of them were knit with stash yarn. My goal had been to only purchase yarn that was going directly onto my needles, no stash enhancement. Didn't quite follow through with that, but I did better. Joining the Knitspot Fall in Full Color club was a mistake. The yarns are lovely, but I only have knit one of the skeins/projects so far. I don't think clubs are a good move for me.
So, the 2012 resolution is:

Knit From the Stash

A quick check on my Ravelry stash, which I do keep up to date, comes in at a whopping  77,353 yards. Obviously there must be some mistake. 

This was fun! 2012: Blog and Knit (from the stash...)

New Blog Name!

This is the third time I've changed this blog name. Hopefully, the third time is the charm. It certainly is appropriate! Off to do some work, and a few rows.

Vacation Knitting

I'm trying to decide what to bring for a week on the beach. There are several works in progress in my knitting basket, but it's tempting to start something new. All the excitement over the Ravelympics has me itching to start something, although I have no interest in a Ravelympics project. I'm going on vacation and would like as little stress as possible. I lost my voice and taught for two days like that. Not talking is exhausting!
From what I'm reading knitting needles are often confiscated on flights returning from Mexico. People have better luck with wooden shorter needles, but they too have been taken. I have my Probability Cowl on wooden Webs interchangeables. That's not the most exciting project, but it might be worth trying. I can unscrew the needles and put them in with my pens/pencils. The cable is short and hopefully won't cause a problem.
As I write this post I've been searching for projects. I downloaded High Seas, beautiful stole/scarf that reminds me a bit of Hanami. I think it will look great in the Madelinetosh Lace I bought at Knitty City in December. I'll wind it up and stick it in my bag. It will use the same needles as the cowl and strangling vine so I can bring a few cable knobs and just switch needles. Now I'll have a lace project that will make me happy!

Penance Knitting

Main Entry: ¹pen·ance

Pronunciation: \ˈpe-nən(t)s\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin poenitentia penitence

Date: 14th century

1 : an act of self-abasement, mortification, or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin

The day after Christmas we were invited to my sister-in-law's friend and neighbor's for drinks. Lou has a penchant for white. I think the problem stemmed from the fact that I stopped knitting and starting drinking wine on an empty stomach. I spilled red wine on her white carpet. Twice. Lou insists that she doesn't hate me but I feel that I need to offer some sort of gift as a symbol of my remorse.
I went into the Yarn Basket thinking cashmere, but it turns out that I wasn't that guilty. I bought two skeins of GGH Silk today and started kniting the Strangled Vine Scarf by Nicole Hindes. This yarn is wonderfully soft and shiny, but it is ridiculously splitty! It will truly be my project of penance, and I certainly can't drink wine while working on it!

Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off

I finished my Little Shells socks from The Knitter's Book of Yarn. I was anxious to try Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off (this link goes to Cat Bordhi's video of the technique) with these toe-up socks. I have knit many pairs that feel like there is a knotted tie around the top. I can get them on, but it feels like it could snap! Horrors!
This bind off is fantastic! Love the socks, very stretchy, but not baggy. Perfect for this yarn that may shrink a bit. (Knit Picks Bare merino/silk) I have two more skeins left from the batch I dyed with the Seacoast Knitters in October, 2008. (A very fun time!)

The Monster has a Face

I finished the duplicate stitch. Still have to weave in many ends and graft the crotch together. Charting the eyes made it much easier.