One Cleopatra Sock

I finished the first sock today. It’s a little hard to take pictures of your own foot, so here’s my best effort:

Here’s the snake:

The sock seems a little small, but I like it so far. My daughter wants me to make a pair for her after I finish these. so I’ll need to do some math to make a pair for littler feet.

I still need to do the beading, but I’ll be casting on sock number two tonight.

Cleopatra Progress

My Cleopatra Sock is moving along. It feels like it’s moving pretty quickly, as I am encouraged to see what the next step will bring. I turned the heel:

And I’ve wrapped the snake around the ankle:

After knitting more last night, I’m nearly ready to start the head!

Attaching the asp

I figured out the attachment of the asp. These socks are pretty addictive!

I don’t have much to say, the yarn is wonderful, and the pattern is a lot of fun!

Summer of Socks Begun!

So officially the summer of socks started June 21. But in my standard style, I’m behind. I started the Cleopatra socks two nights ago. Of course, I messed up and had to rip out and start again yesterday, but I mastered the toe!

I started the asp last night, but am still trying to understand the attachment.

On the needles, off the needles and looking toward the summer

Having finished my Eyelet Cardi, I decided I wanted a spring summer sweater. Of course I want it now, but I’ll have to wait till I finish it. I’ve started it and am enjoying this yarn. This is a cotton soy blend from Sublime: Sublime Soya Cotton:

It’s knitting up relatively quickly, the yarn is a pleasure to work with and the pattern is so nice.

I did join the Summer of Socks, but wasn’t able to cast on as I wanted to finish my Healthy Spine Socks from Wendy Knits:

I love them. It almost makes me miss winter. Almost.

So what’s next? I’m not sure. I have to skein some yarn. I did go to the Massachuesetts Sheep and Wool Festival in May and met The Tsarina of Socks and Jennifer of vanCalcar Acres Sheep Farm. After much deliberation, I decided to get the Cleopatra kit. I think this may be my summer project.

I was so excited to meet Lisa and Jennifer that I asked them to sign the pattern:

E really likes the socks, and wants me to make her some after I make mine. I’m sure I can scale it down for her.
 

A new sweater!

Having admitted that I’m a true project knitter I seemed to have whipped through the Eyelet Cardi. I had some Jo Sharp DK Wool in Porcelain that I’d bought at Webs a few years ago. I started it last month and finished it last night. With the weather as cool as it’s been, I even got to wear it to work today!

Pattern Notes:
Pattern: Eyelet Cardi from Bonne Marie Burns
Yarn: Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool in Porcelain
Needles: 3.75 & 3.25mm
Notes: I really like this pattern. The yarn probably wasn’t perfect for it, it’s a little stiff, and I’m not sure how practical the three-quarter sleeves are in a not-so-soft wool. However, I’m sure I will wear it and want to knit it again in a softer yarn.

As the weather gets warmer, but the office stays cool I’m thinking about another lightweight sweater that will be good to wear to work. This weekend may bring another project to light!

In the mean time I started a pair of socks. These are Wendy’s Healthy Spine Socks available from the Loopy Ewe. I thought these were fitting as I brought them with me to a trade show. What better theme than healthy spine when standing for over eight hours a day on hard concrete floors? The pattern is wonderful, easy to remember and fun to watch.

The yarn is Numma Numma Toasty in Cinnamon & Brown Sugar (how yummy is that name?) - also from The Loopy Ewe

I’m still working on the moebius scarf as well.

I decided to sign up for Summer of Socks 2008. I suspect I won’t get many done, but it’s fun to see what everyone’s up to.
 

On the needles

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I have been doing a little knitting. I finally finished the monkey socks. Here’s a progress shot from a few weeks ago:

And the finished project:

I also cast on another moebius scarf. It’s moving along. This is a good project for when my hands are tired and I don’t want to think too hard. This photo is a good representation of the project, but not the color of the yarn. I’ll have to take another soon to see if I can get the color better:

The yarn is Hand Maiden Cashmere and Silk. 65% Cashmere/35% Silk. I got it from The Loopy Ewe, and it’s a dream to work with. Soft and not splitty.

After some deliberate thought, I’ve come to the realization that I am indeed a project knitter. I enjoy the process, but I knit to have a finished object. With this in mind I went searching for a pattern as I had some yarn in my inventory. It’s Jo Sharp Classic DK wool color #349 - Porcelain. After reading through and reading through all of the Interweave Knits in my house looking for a pattern which only needs 1,000 yards of wool, I had a brainstorm. I headed over to a favorite designer Bonne Marie Burns and found this! I cast on a couple of weeks ago, and have made some progress. So far I love the pattern. The yarn is a little stiff, but I think it will look good. Regardless I’m glad I have the pattern. I’ll have to take a picture.

I also started a pair of shorty socks for E. She picked the yarn out last summer, it’s a cotton blend self patterning yarn. OnLine Supersocke 100 Summer Color, color #788.

Socks and another Hat!

I seem to be on a finishing streak around here. We’ll see how long it lasts. I finished my Inga hat this weekend, just in time for the weather to warm up. I wanted to take a picture before I steamed it, to remind myself how much blocking helps:

And after steaming:

Doesn’t seem much different in the photos, but there is a big difference. The stitches look a lot better after blocking.

Project Details:
Pattern: Inga Hat
Yarn: Sublime Merino, Purple, off white and pink
Needles: size 3 and 5

I also finished socks for E. This was my first attempt at two socks on two circs:

I think I did an extra row on one sock.

Details:
Yarn: Interlacements Tiny Toes in the blues
Pattern: Toe up with feather and fan legs (54 stitches around)
Needles: Size 0 (2.0mm)

Having tried two socks on two circular needles, I decided it was time to try two socks on one circular needle. I’d picked up Melissa Morgan-Oakes Book, 2-at-a-time Socks recently and wanted to give it a try. So, I cast on the lovely Yarn Nerd 900 MHz mini merino that I won on Adam’s blog (I’ve never won anything before, so I was pretty excited). I decided I’d give the Monkey Socks a try. I’ve seen a lot of people having fun with this pattern, and so I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon. For some reason I felt the need to doubly challenge myself by trying a new technique and a new pattern. So far it’s going okay. I’m not sure I’m sold on the two at a time concept, but it’s fun to try new stuff! Here’s an initial shot of the project:

I really like this yarn. It’s smooth, and not at all splitty, and the colors are fun to watch come out! It isn’t a color I would have picked off the shelf, but I do like it a lot!

Hats & Mitts

I am loving this Inga Hat. I finished C’s on Sunday.

Project Details:
Pattern: Inga Hat by Sheila Macdonald
Yarn: Sublime Yarns Extra Fine Merino Wool DK (Blue, Ivory, Pink)
Needles: 3.25mm and 3.75mm

Notes: I blocked the heck out of this, and it seems to fit C pretty well. If I had to do it again, I think I’d add another braid (even though I am really not fond of knitting the braid and maybe find room for more stitches and see if I can make it a little longer too.

I’ve already started mine. Finished the braid tonight.

After I finished the hat, I decided to cast on a pair of Maine Morning Mitts from Clara Park’s The Knitters Book of Yarn. I have to admit I’ve seen a lot of mitts over the past few years, and I’ve been very skeptical. After finishing the Moebius scarf, I had an entire skein of Noro Silk left over. I had planned to return it and exchange it for some Noro Sock yarn. However after reading the Maine Mitt pattern, I thought it might be nice to make my mother-in-law some matching mitts for her scarf. So I cast on Sunday evening and had one done by the end of the night. By last night I’d finished the bulk of the second with only the thumb to do. I am a mitt convert. They are comfortable, warm and fast!

I definitely see more of these in my future. 2008 may be my year of repeat knits!

Right now I’m going to finish my Inga hat. I need to figure out if I have any washable worsted in my stash. There’s a call for squares, and I’d like to help out.

Another Inga Hat

So, the first one was such a hit, I’m planning two more. I bought yarn this weekend for one for me and one for c. I got the yarn at Twin Hearts Handworks (the site isn’t available right now, so I can’t link). I got blue & white for C and purple for me. I started C’s on Saturday. It’s going well, I just don’t seem to have a lot of time to dedicate to it. I’m still hoping to find a less fiddly way to knit the braid too.

I’m about 20 rows from the decreases. Once they start it goes pretty fast. I don’t think he’ll have it for skiing tomorrow, but who knows!