Kaylees Are Complete and I MUST Stop

Completed Pair of Kaylee Socks
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Yay, I did finish Kaylee (or Bee) socks last night. I wore them a long time, too. So comfy--they will be great around the house socks. I like how the color pooling flows across the socks in this picture, too. The Fiesta Boomerang yarn was such a joy to knit with--wow, it feels just great and has a little sheen to it, too. And this is one of the most fun patterns I ever knitted--dropping all those YOs then tying them back together is fun! And it was easy!

I've told nearly everyone I know what a great holiday gift a pair of socks like this would make! So, maybe I'll make a pair for my sister, who so far is getting tan and gray disco socks (that sock yarn from a couple of years ago with shiny silver threads in it).

I started a pattern from Knitty, Thuja for Lee's dad. These look like they will take just a day or two each, if I have time to knit. I am using size 4 needles and Cascade 220 superwash in navy blue. Nothing too wild for an old German/Texan farmer with cold feet! And they must be machine washable! I may even make him a couple of pairs, since he requested socks to keep his feet warm around the house. Then I'll make him a pair out of sock yarn, in case he likes that. I have located all my "manly" colorways.

Yarn Overload

Why I MUST stop is in the title is that I got my package from Astrid's Dutch Obsessions yesterday. Oops, I went over board. There are at least TEN balls of sock yarn, plus enough of the amazing stripey Kauni EQ Rainbow for that lovely stranded sweater so many people are knitting (thanks to the Yarn Harlot Lady), AND a 1144-yard hank of some incredible Kauni EG-260 lightweight wool (not laceweight, I don't think) in blendy stripey bright violets that wants to be one of those Victorian Lace Today scarves. So I think.

Why on EARTH did I get TEN balls of sock yarn? Well, here's what they are:

1. 4 Trekking Seasons balls--winter, spring, summer and fall. Had to get all 4, right? If you visit the Astrid home page, you will see what these will look like knit up, and I think you'll agree it's a nice variant on self-striping yarn.

2. 3 Trekking Autumn Fire series -- again, must have whole series, huh?? (These are quite fun, too)

3. Some Opal yarn with Bamboo, in the softest greens (it is greener than the picture shows). I love bamboo, and soft colors.

4. Regia in browns, rusts and blues, but what is cool is that they swirl and look like Jupiter when knit up, according to the package. Well, I just have to see THAT. I guess these are the Planets series. No, I looked it up--it's the Galaxy series in Jupiter Terra. I did manage to just buy one colorway. Even Lee said it looked cool.

5. That sock yarn with pom poms on it. I think it's Regia Pon, too, yeah this is it. I got white with blue puffs. Again, you can't get it here and I just wanted to see how weird it looked in person. It looks weird.

So you see, I nnneeeeeedddeeeddd all those yarns. Yup.

I will try to take a picture and stick it in here, but I was so embarrasses that I sorta scattered the yarn hither and thither so it didn't make a large mass, staring at me saying, "You are one sick yarn buying woman, Suna."

Note that this was ordered BEFORE My Man Lee got laid off. I am sticking with my yarn buying moratorium. All I have bought since then was the yarn for his dad's socks.

Funny PS!

My online friend Michelle posted this cartoon. If you don't get to read newspapers (I read mine online, and never get to the comics), check out the knitter's moment of fame!

Another Weekend, Another Sock on the Road

Bee or Kaylee from the Front
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I do love to take pictures of finished objects in moving vehicles. Well, it is fun. And if the car isn't bumping around, the light is nice. With a new driver, there are a few bumps, even in our new Limo Truck.

This is the Kaylee or Bee sock #1 in finished glory. There are two other photos, from the side and back, in the Flickr gallery, if you want to see them. I don't usually like to make socks with thick yarn, but the Fiesta Boomerang in Stargazer colorway has such a wonderful texture and subtle sheen--I had to make it into socks, even if they turned out to just be house socks.

I am so glad I happened upon this pattern in someone's blog (it was among her "I want to make these" listings). In the picture it appeared to be knit from something at least sport weight, so I figured it would work for the Boomerang, And as you can see, it did. What a cute central motife, and what a nice side pattern that echoes it. I did my usual toe starting with Turkish cast-on, then a short-row heel that I did fairly competently, thanks, and a nice twisted rib on top, ten rows of it, followed by the same bind-off I did on Campanula.

This certainly knitted up faster! I will have sock #2 done in a couple of days, I am sure.

I did get in my final Loopy Ewe order for a while (on a yarn diet until My Man Lee gets a job), and in it was a clear bag for carrying a sock project. Since my poor Louisa Harding bag has been carried so much it's getting all scruffy looking, I figured I'd better switch to something else, but something I can also hang off my wrist while walking around. This little bag does it.

Lee looked at all three yarns I got, and declared his love for Sea Coast's Panda wool and bamboo blend in a shimmery green and silver colorway that is very different and has a nice sheen. It seems sold out so I don't know the link to it.

I also got Spritely Goods in a perky Spring Tulip colorway and from the Knitterry, 4 Ply sock yarn in an orchid color (I hope the pix will show up if the yarn sells out)

Tomorrow: yarn that is not for sale yet but you will want it, I guarantee. Preview pix can be seen in the Flickr gallery.

Pentagon Is Felted; One Campanula Down

Pentagon Is Felted
Originally uploaded by sunasak

The Pentagonal Project has been felted. That's the best the front-loading washer would do, but I think it's felty enough. I had to be creative with what to use to shape it, so there are a number of food boxes and a wine bottle in there. Later, when the sides were dry I flattened the bottom with some Tupperware container with holes and a jar. Didn't have any cardboard I could cut to size hanging around.

I hope to get working on the next phase, which involves the crocheted line on the inside. THAT part was interesting--it's bamboo, and it didn't felt, but it lost whatever it is that softens bamboo yarn, and now feels more like linen, or raw bamboo. Interesting!

I did finish one Campanula for the Cure sock yesterday. It about killed me, though. Very frustrating knitting day for Suna. I went to the LYS and was rolling right along, when two women needing help showed up. One just needed to be reminded how to knit (thought she'd forgotten, hadn't!), but the other was a sweet lady who was little anxious and wanted to be taught how to knit in the round on DPNs (not my fave task, either) so she could make mittens for daughters up north. But, I got her to buy some expensive yarn so I figured she deserved some quality help time. It is SO awkward doing that at first, and she was nervous, so of course she made some errors which I was glad to help her with. And she left a happy camper (yay). It required me to stop and start a bit on my own stuff, naturally.

So all the attention focus changes got me all distracted and when I went home I forgot what row I was on. And for some reason could NOT read the knitting in the previous row to get back on track. I erased a bit and got to a part where I was sure where I was and knitted an entire pattern repeat. I put it on my foot. And I saw that I had repeated a section. There were two of the same "flower" in a row. I said to myself that there was NO way I was going to knit all that a third time. So, I erased it all and thank fully managed to get it back on the needles (lace, argh). And I knitted the twisted rib border from THERE.

I tried them on, rather upset with myself. Then lo and behold, I realized, heck these socks are plenty long enough as is. If I'd done another repeat they'd almost be knee socks! So, it worked out well in the end. I just really need to be able to concentrate to do these socks. Non-charted lace just requires too much concentration (it's just fine when I can concentrate, though).

To remind myself I am not a total knitting bozo, I started another sock, in Fiesta Boomerang, which is pretty thick and not really traditional sock yarn. The color is Star Gazer, which is some happy pastels. I figure I will make house socks. I am making a pattern (will look up the name) that looks like bees, with honeycomb on either side--another pattern that says "make a toe" then "make a heel." But, it's fun as all get-out, with lots of dropped YOs that make wings. And I just love that yarn. It is wound very interestingly and feels wonderful. I can work on those in public.