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!

Summer of Socks 2007

Summer 2007 Socks
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Yes, August is almost over and I am declaring Suna's Summer of Socks 2007 over. (I didn't realize it was going to be a summer of socks, but it was.)

This picture has at least one image of every pair of socks I made this summer, with a couple repeated. I made ten pairs in all, starting in mid-June, which is not like some of the pros, but pretty good for someone with a full-time job who can't knit on the commute! I have three days of August left to finish the second Kaylee sock, which actually should occur tonight.

I will be trying to finish the sample of Jody's Color My Yarn Krazy laceweight by Friday so I can block it and take it to the LYS on Saturday. That should be possible--I doubled it last night and also worked on the sock AND did a rehearsal! Don't forget you can read more about her luminous semi-solids project and sign up for a mailing list about her new yarns, which will do until she gets a website set up (see yesterday's post for instructions).

Once those items are off the list, I will finish the pentagon project, which is growing steadily but with 250 stitches around, simply will take a while to finish. Then I PROMISE to finish the surplice top. Um, and start those Christmas socks. I found a pattern on Knitty.com that will liven up Lee's Dad's worsted weight in solid navy, which is a relief.

Happy Back to School week in much of the US!

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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.

Knitting Potpourri

Bee Sock
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I spent yesterday knitting a lot, but on three different projects, so not much got done on any of them.

Here you see the Bee socks, which are really Kaylee socks and are supposed to be fireflies, which makes sense if you ever saw that Firefly TV show. I still think they are bees surrounded by honeycomb, so I will name mine "Bee" anyway. The color in the photo is sorta weird, but I promise better pictures as soon as my camera is back from the warranty repair place (today!).

I am knitting these on size 1 needles (GASP, such huge needles!) and the yarn is thick, so they are sturdy li'l things. But, they'll be perfect with Birks or around the house. Love love love love love Boomerang.

The Campanula socks did get more work done yesterday, too, and I have only one repeat to go before the toes. That will ALL go much more quickly now that I have a CHART. So many thanks to Maggie who posted the chart to the Campanula for the Cure blog!! I love charts as much as Fiesta Boomerang.

AND I started the top to the Pentagonal Bag (yes it is a bag). It is turquoise SWTC Bamboo. And getting it started was hard on my hands, but it's moving along now. I will take a picture once I have a bit more done. This is going to drive poor Dragonfly and YvonneP crazy with waiting. I just hope I figure out a handle for it, eventually.