Two fish...

2 fish, originally uploaded by crochet_chick.

now I have a pair of blue fish! (Apologies to Dr. Seuss.)

Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A published in knitty.com
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Jay, 1 skein, 100 g/294 yd
Needles: KP size 1 (2.50 mm) dpns
Mod: omitted last repeat of Chart A (leg)

I finally finished these socks w/a little bit of yarn to spare. I was definitely nervous about running out of yarn halfway through knitting the second sock. I was starting to knit tighter on the second sock because of it, but not too much as there's negligible difference in feel between the two socks.

I'm glad I chose to finally knit these socks in the yarn tapmouse gifted me as it reminds me of our Thanksgiving visit to Hawaii, especially our trip to the Maui Ocean Center.

Next up - back to the STR Christmas Balls Retro Rib sock that I started x-mas day, monkey2's second pink sock from a pattern in the second little Vogue sock book, and my darn SKB that I need to calculate and knit my darts into. :P I am so tempted to cast on another sock, but I can't decide what yarn in my stash to play with.

I've got the blues...

Will I make it? Will I need to buy another skein of Colinette Jitterbug in Jay? Hopefully the moment of truth will happen this weekend. And hopefully, in a good way.

eta: Hoping these are good signs -
While waiting at the dentist's as she cleaned monkey1's teeth, I of course, pulled out my Pomatomus to work on it. She was duly impressed as she's been knitting for years, but has stayed at the scarf-knitter stage.

Then, while we were waiting at the rental car company for them to drive us back to the auto body shop, I of course, pulled out the Pomatomus again. Another renter (a male) glanced over and exclaimed how impressed he was that I was knitting a SOCK! Apparently he thought knitters only knit scarves. (What's up w/that?!?) But in any case, I was really excited that I met 2 people (1 muggle + 1 knitter) that loved the sock. Too bad BMFA's bank wasn't as impressed w/the STR sock club. Apparently some muggles think sock knitting=scam. Doofuses. At least the awesome ladies at BMFA's have solved that issue, at least for all the sock club members.

I've been admiring the Project Spectrum KAL from last year and joined this year. Feb/Mar's color theme will be blue/white/gray so I'll be knitting something from that part of my stash hopefully. Not sure what I'll be making though. The Regia cotton on the right will obviously be socks as will the Polar Sea (I think) Fleece Artist on top, both from Yarn in Alameda's closing sale. The little 1/2 skein balls of KP Palette are from a sampler order I split w/a knitty board member. (Oops, I put black in there instead of gray. My bad!) Of course, I have no idea what I'll be making with these. Maybe a log cabin square and add in the other monthly colors to make a little, thin blanket? Will need to pull out the rest of the colors and see.

I also forgot to pull out my KP Shine Worsted in Bachelor Button. That stash was initially slated for a matching Debbie Bliss Molly shrug to monkey1's Snapdragon color version, but I didn't care for the pattern after I did it once. Then I started a Haiku sweater, but my garter stitch gauge wouldn't stay consistent and that drove me up the wall so I frogged that. What I'll probably end up doing is split the skeins up into a bunch of little hats and boy baby stuff since a few friends and family members are having boys now.

And one of these days, I'll find the spool of white ribbon monkey1 ran off with so I can put it on monkey2's lace up cardigan which I'll have her wear when it's not quite so frosty.

The SKB is still on hold as I have to estimate out my dart shaping which I think I'll need with a little help from the Fall 2006 issue of INKnitters magazine that tapmouse so graciously loaned me. (It's got a cute preview pattern for the next Barefoot Knits book that I think monkey1 will like.) I'll probably also stick w/the wrap & turn method as I understand it much more easily and seems less fiddly w/o having to use the safety pin/stitch holder.

One fish,...

One Pomatomus sock done, one to go. The Colinette Jitterbug yarn in Jay is awesome in this pattern. My only concern now is that the label on this 100 g yarn says it's 267 m or 294 yards. Although the second half of the skein feels like it's enough, I didn't get to weigh it. (Well, I didn't get the darn USPS scale to work is more like it. :P) I've omitted last repeat of chart A, so I hope that helps along w/not matching the color progression for the start of the second sock, so I don't waste any yarn in case I really do need it.

SKB - I did one more repeat of increases before splitting off the sleeves and it fits now. But since my row gauge is short (7 rows/in vs 6 rows/in), I like many other knitters, need to lengthen the bodice portion before I get to the empire waist lace section. I think I will follow one of the knitter's on the Craftster kal and continue the bodice increasing for the front 'til I hit the right point, but I'm debating if I'll also need to do some short row shaping, which I'll probably need to do. And even though I did some Japanese short rows on my Lotus Blossom Tank, it was simply by following the directions line by line. This time I will actually have to learn it and apply it.

I'm just a lemming

Pattern: Calorimetry from knitty.com
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden #233 butchered remnants from my Clapotis
Needle size: US #8
Mods: Thanks to all the knitty board posters recommendations, I cast on 108 sts & did 8 instead of the 15 additional repeats of row 5 stated in the pattern.

Since I forgot to bring any knitting books or magazine w/me when I knit this over the New Year's holiday weekend, I didn't wrap & turn the short rows. I didn't feel like trying to do it from memory. The Silk Garden isn't consistantly spun, so I figured the holes caused by not wrapping wouldn't be very obvious. As much as I love this colorway in my Clapotis, it's pretty darn obnoxious as a headband. I wonder if anyone I know is a Dead Head.

And my Pomatomus socks in Colinette Jitterbug Jay is progressing well enough, though my picked up stitches on one side of the gusset looks like crap. No amount of Grumperina's picking up stitches the pretty way was going to help since the slipped stitches to be "picked up" were horribly uneven. The scaley lace pattern is actually rather rhythmic & simple, so I was thrown when the heel flap was giving me grief. It's not like I don't know how to purl through the back loop (ptbl) since I learned that knitting my Clapotis, so I don't know what was up w/my knitting karma. My only concern now that I've gotten through the heel flap & gusset stitches is that the yarn's pooling now w/the darker blues showing up on the top and the lighter shades under the foot. I hope the colors shift over as I move down the foot.

In between wrestling w/my Pomatomus heel flap & gusset, I played w/my STR Christmas Balls Retro Rib socks. It's turning out to be a really fun looking sock. I hope my second sock turns out so well.

As for my SKB, I'm at a momentary impasse. Since a lot of knitters discovered the SKB was a tad too wide for their size, I went down a size per all their recommendations. Unfortunately, I forgot to account for my broad shoulders and the bugger is a bit small. I'm going to knit one more round of repeats and see what happens then. If it still doesn't fit, I may need to start over going back up a size and maybe reduce the stitches down when I get to the lace portion.

P.S. Can you tell I've switched over to the new Blogger? Still playing around w/my templates.

Squeezing in some knitting stress relief

For just having 1-2 people over Christmas Day, I'm surprisingly wiped out, mostly mentally. However, it probably didn't help that I'm starting to catch a cold. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas Day.


Pattern: Broadripple socks from knitty.com
Yarn: Socks that Rock (STR) Sock Candy in Hurricane
Needles: Size 2 (3.00 mm) Addi bamboos
Mod: 4-5" cuff/leg
Comments:
These socks are a great example on how to get a fraternal pair of socks from 2 skeins of handpainted yarn. The sock on the right was started on vacation last month in balmy tropical weather. The sock on the left was knit during the week before x-mas. My tension is all over the place on the second sock. But still, I'm happy w/how they turned out. Now the test on how these cotton blend socks will wear over time begins.

I couldn't decide on what to make for my next sock, so I'm kinda/sorta swatching away. The top swatch is the Seacoast Handpainted sock yarn in Butte I got from yarn4socks. I was too lazy to knit the swatch in the round but my flat sock swatches are usually are 1/2 stitch looser so I have a good idea what pattern size will work. Now I need to figure out what pattern to make w/this yarn. The second swatch is actually the cuff of Cookie's famous (or infamous) Pomatomus socks done in the new Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn tapmouse gave me. I want to see how far I get to determine if the Jay color is right for the pattern. And the last swatch is the cuff of the Retro Rib socks from Winter 04 IK done w/my new STR X-mas Balls yarn. Heh, when I go for color, I go for color. Not sure about this yet either as it's definitely too early to tell.

In the meantime, I'm slowly chugging along w/my Simple Knitted Bodice in Brooks Farm Four Play in Brown C. I hope this turns out well as it's such a nice yarn to work with.

Trying to maintain some holiday sanity

There's nothing so soothing as knitting a simple little sweater for one's little monkey, 'cept trying to seam a garter border to the sleeves & back. I'm almost done w/this little project 'cept to tweak the seam in a couple spots, block this puppy and get a ribbon or do an i-cord tie to finish it off.

Pattern: Barefoot Knits Lace Up Cardigan
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Nymph
Size: 2
Needle size: US 6
Modifications: absolutely none. Way too lazy to convert the pattern to knitting in the round or to adjust the collar (mainly 'cause I didn't read the pattern all the way through and so didn't realize I'd have to knit a garter strip & then seam it to the sleeves & back. Ack.)

In the really, really minor miracle department, I found my Addi bamboos! So now I can finish my STR sock candy Broadripple socks. Now if I can only find that little mu gift I hid from the monkeys for one of my mu addict friends...

And so I don't forget, I'm sending a really big holiday hug to tapmouse for my wonderful x-mas gift! It's Colinette's new sock yarn called Jitterbug in the color "Jay." It's got absolutely divinely dark stormy sea colors. Apparently it's close to Koigu in weight. Can't wait to wind it up and test it out.

Christmas knitting? What x-mas knitting?

Last year when I was newbie knitter for only a month, I made the insane decision to knit an insane amount of eyelash scarves as gifts. I vowed never again to do any x-mas knitting, especially those remotely related to eyelash scarves. So what have I been doing? I've finished most of monkey2's Barefoot Knits Lace Up Cardigan and am in the midst of seaming it up so I can knit & seam the back collar. And I've finally started my Simple Knitted Bodice - 2 very non-sock type projects. Pics of these later.


On the sock front, I finished the Infant Fancy Silk Socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks book. But now that I'm done, I realize I should've done a more normal heel decrease instead of the one in Vintage Socks for my toddler. While the heel decrease as written is great for newborns w/narrow heels, it's not so good for toddlers that as extremely mobile and have more "normal" looking heels. A good lesson learned for me. And Monkey2 loves wearing them, so all is not lost.

My STR Hurricane Broadripple sock #2 alas is in trouble. I somehow misplaced my Addi bamboo #2's and so I started knitting the second sock w/the KP #2 dpn's, since they're technically the same diameter, but of course, I'm getting a tighter gauge on the KP dpn's. They're 'causing a not-unpleasant slanted striping, but there's no matching the first sock. Sigh. So I'm afraid I've hit second sock syndrome on this pair 'til I find my Addi's or buy a new set. :( At least they're a cotton blend yarn, so I can wait on wearing them.

On a happier STR front, Purlescence Yarns got their next shipment in from BMFA and I'm now a happy owner of (l to r): Harlotty, Rocktober, Christmas Balls, and not shown: Moonlight Revel (tough decision between this and Rolling Stone) and Fire on the Mountain (which I think sold out in the first 15 min of Purlescence grand opening). Obviously my x-mas gift to myself.

A pair of vacation socks

Well, I didn't say they'd be matching. ;)

STR Hurricane Sock Candy
size 2 (3.00 mm) Addi bamboos
Broadripple pattern from knitty.com


Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock Somerset
Size 0 Susan Bates sock set
Nancy Bush Vintage Socks Child's Fancy Silk Sock
modifications:
1.5" cuff & leg
4.5" foot to fit monkey2's toddler feet

Currently in sleeve purgatory for monkey2's Barefoot Knits cardigan. I hope to finish the sweater by the end of the week making it my first non-sock project since I finished my Kyoto back in October.

Aloha Friday!

I've started working on monkey2's sock again last night and it seems to be going better. For quite awhile I'm been feeling ambivalent about this sock and I'm not sure why. The pattern is cute (though I upped the needle size from a 00 to a 0), the yarn colors are cute, and knitting w/the yarn is fine. The pooling's not too bad as it looks like really fat stripes on the cuff/leg turning into skinny stripes into the heel, gusset & foot. It seems like it'll fit too as I got it on monkey2 w/o it seeming too tight or too loose. I don't know.

And a snapshot of some b-day gifts I got from HI - Mom found the Easy Knitting book in Costco which has an amusing section called Vintage to Vogue where the yarn brands "update" a few of their vintage patterns. The craft basket is also from mom who bought it from one of her innumerable friends. The eyelash lei on the right & the scarf on the left were made by my sister's ex-bf's mom who we all still talk to. (The ex-bf, not so much. Heh.) And a new Hawaiian HK doll which I like to get on each visit home. Now I just need to keep the monkeys from stealing her all the time. ;)

Missing from the pic, but not forgotten is a lovely skein of Schaeffer Anne that tapmouse gave me before my trip. Now to figure out what pattern to knit it into.

And in honor of Eye Candy Friday, I'll end w/a Wailea, Maui sunset.

Home in the Islands in the middle of the sea

where the only good Hurricane is the STR kind. (Broadripple socks pattern by Rob Matyska in knitty.com)

Can you tell how much knitting I got done in 2 weeks? Obviously not much, though I did turn the heel on monkey2's Infant Fancy Silk Sock (Nancy Bush Vintage Socks) in Lorna's Laces Somerset. Pic of that later after I unpack and slog through all my work and personal e-mails.

Oh, and the Grand Wailea Spa is 2die4! OMG. Totally extravagant but what the heck! It's not like I go spa-ing all the time. Besides, I hit my "40 is the new 30"th birthday. Hence the trip back home to visit the family and to spend way too much money on Maui.

small Dublin Bay socks

Who knew that taking pictures of socks on someone else could be that much harder than taking them on oneself? Well, we were rushing and monkey1 really wanted to wear her socks to school today.

Specs:
Pattern - Dublin Bay socks
Yarn - squeaked by w/only 1 skein of Claudia Hand Painted 100% fingering yarn (50 g/175 yd) in Carousel
size 1 (2.25 mm) Susan Bates sock set dpn's
Cast on 56 sts
gauge 8 sts/in
foot size - 7" circumference, 7.5" long
other details - 1" cuff + 2" leg

Thoughts - Monkey1 wore the first sock all over the place Sat while I was still knitting the second sock and it's pilling in the heel area already and I made these socks snug, being a tight knitter and all . I suppose I could knit the next Claudia Handpaint socks on 0's, but I'll have to be in the mood. Monkey1's next socks will be on 2 skeins of whatever yarn I pick ('cept STR 'cause they've got nice yardage). (Or if there's only 1 skein for monkey1's socks, I'll just make them w/little 1-1.5" anklets.) There is absolutely no growing room in this pair of socks. Plus I caused myself a lot of undue stress and the end of sock 2 praying I had enough.

Kew socks

It's amazing how quick a project goes when it's the only one on the needles! No footies modelled shots this morning as I had touched up my toenail polish. So I put them on some d-i-y sock blockers and took an outdoor shot. Too bad it was a tad too early in the morning.

Specs:
Pattern - Kew by Polly Outhwaite in knitty.com
Yarn - Socks that Rock Nodding Violet
Notes - foot portion took 1.5 pattern repeats (rows 1-24, then 1-12) before doing the toe decreases

Kyoto

Put a big fork in me. My Kyoto sweater is finally finished. I was so relieved that I took this pic on self-timer (hence the chopped off head) before I washed & blocked this bugger. It's now in its final drying stages so when it starts to cool off again I can actually wear this outside the house.

Specs again:
needle size - 8 US to get stitch gauge consequently my row gauge is a tad on the long side
size 38

Yarns -
SR Kertzer Butterfly Super 10 Sage green #3715
Tahki Cotton Classic Cotton Candy #3449
Tahki Cotton Classic White #3003

Modifications -
short row shoulder w/3-needle bind-off
sleeves knit in the round
collar picked up & knit after seaming the back & sides together
picked up & knit the obi sash onto the sweater then bound off
picked up & knit the bottom portion of the sweater to get a mirrored seamed look as recommended in this knitter's blog.

Lessons learned-
1) always buy an extra skein
2) never trust someone else to calculate the yardage for you or at least double check their math- which makes lesson 1 very important
3) never knit 2 adult size sweaters at the same time or lots of boo-boos will happen or worse.
4) I probably should'nt have done the short-row shoulders as they fall to the back.

Okay then, off to finish my second Kew sock which is the only thing on the needles at the moment, making me momentarily a monogamous knitter. Up next, sweaters for the monkeys (1 at a time!) and socks for monkey1, probably Dublin Bay adjusted for her size using Claudia Handpaints Carousel (on the right in pic below). Clearly monkey1 is inheriting my taste in color.

And then probably my Simply Knitted Bodice in Brooks Farm Four Play in Brown C.

Ending Socktoberfest on a pretty note.

I didn't think I was that far along w/my first Kew sock yesterday. But it's done in time for the end of Socktoberfest! One down, one to go! Woot!

Counting my second KP Simple Stripes sock and my first Kew sock, my Socktoberfest count is 2 pairs of adult socks and one pair of toddler socks. Not bad. Not bad at all. :)

and continuing my STR list. Here are colors #151-190:
Boysenberry
Bronze
Carnalite
Celestine
Chicabiddy
Clay
Cock-eyed
Coral
Double Dutch Canyon
Downpour
Falcon's Eye
Gold Nugget
Gunmetal Gray
Heart Throb
Hornstone
In the Navy
Mermaid
Meteorite
Midnight Stonewash
Mist
Ms LaRock
Mudslide
Neptunite
Panzanite
Pastels
Peridot & Periwinkle
Periwinkle
Petrified Wood
Petroglyphs
Prickly Pear
Rhode Island Red
Rock Candy
Rock My World
Savannahlite
Scaponia
Spot Rock Two
Stoner
Thunder
Torridon
Yosemite

Thank you knitty.com board members and blogland knitters. Keep them coming!

Add to my Socks that Rock list!

As I told tapmouse, I had a slow moment last week and proceeded to list all the STR colors in an excel spreadsheet. (To clarify, I only own 8 of their colors.) Not being technically savvy enough to link that simple spreadsheet here, I decided to just list them. I'm sure I missed lots as there are supposedly 250+ STR colors and I've only found 111 so far. Want to help me?

24 Karat
Alina
Apple Valley Road
Atomic #6
Autumn
Azure Malachite
Azurite
Banded Agate
Beryl
Bleeding Hearts
Blue Brick Wall
Brick
Carbon
Carbon Dating
Carbon Dioxide
Celedon
Chanticleer
Chapman Springs
Cherries Jubilee
Christmas Balls
Citrine
Cobalt Bloom
Cobblestone Country
Copper
County Clare
Covelite
Cracked Canyon
Dreidel
Dust in Terra--
Dutch Canyon
Fairgrounds
Farmhouse
Fire on the Mountain
Flourite
Fred Flinstone
Gypsum
Hard Rock
Harlotty
Harvest Moon
Heartstone
Heavy Metal
Henpecked
Highway 30
Hot Flash
Hurricane
Hurricane Kaci
Jail House Rock
Jasper
Jewel of the Nile
Jingle Bell Rock
Kiwi
Kryptonite
Lagoon
Lapis
Lemongrass
Love In Idleness
Lover's Leap
Lucy
Lucy in the Sky--
Marbles
Mesa
Metamorphic
Mica
Midsummer's Night
Moonlight Revel
Moss Agate
Nodding Violet
Obsidian
Olivenite
Peaseblossom
Pebble Beach
Pebbles
Philosopher's Stone
Playground
Pop Rocks
Prism
Prove It All Night
Puck's Mischief
Purple Rain
Rainforest Jasper
Red Rock Canyon
Rhodonite
Rock Star
Rocktober
Rocky Horror
Rolling Stone
Romancing the Stone
Rooster Rock
Rose Quartz
Ruby
Ruby Slippers
Sandstone
Saratoga
Scottish Highlands
Seal Rock
Sherbet
Siren Song
Spinel
Spot Rock One
Spring Fling
Star Sapphire
Tanzanite
Terra Firma
Thistle
Tiger's Eye
Titania
Tornado
Two Can Rock
Velvet Moon
Waterlilies
Watermelon Tourmaline
X-mas Rock

ETA: I just saw this posted on the STR KAL as their new sock club color:

112 Pink Granite

Edited (Again) to add more:

Amber
Amber Waves
Amethyst
Auquamarine
Barney Rubble
Black Onyx
Blarney Stone
Blue Boo!
Blue Moon Rock
Blue Moon Stone
Cotton Candy
Crazy Lace Agate
Emerald City
Emerald Isle
Garnet Dream
Iolite
Musk
Onyx
Opal
Peacock
Pixie Park
Plymouth Rock
Queen Rock
Rare Gems
Rock Salt
Ruby Tuesday
Sand
Sapphire
Seastone
Sedona
Smokey Topaz
Sun Drops
Terra
Tonalite
Turquoise

That's 150! Only 100 (plus or minus) to go!

(progress on my Kew socks in STR Nodding Violet)

Medium well

I didn't work to much more on my Kew socks, but I did finally finish the sash on my Kyoto sweater. Technically I am done according to the pattern, but like all other Kyoto knitters, I want to make it longer. So I'll be adding in another "panel" of the sage green after the sash.

I did have monkey1 take a pic of me modelling this sweater, but I've come to realize it could've done w/a bit of short row shaping. Apparently this sweater really looks best on those below a B cup.

Four Meme

Because I got tagged by tapmouse:

Four jobs I’ve had:
1) babysitter – and not just my much younger sister
2) errand runner for a lawyer
3) Summer Fun student aide
4) Civil Engineering student assistant

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1) Lord of the Rings trilogy (I am a LotR geek)
2) Lilo and Stitch (my children get a kick when I slip into pidgin w/the characters)
3) Pride & Prejudice (both the latest version & the A&E mini-series)
4) The Last of the Mohicans (cause I had a thing for Daniel Day Lewis & Eric Schweig)

Four places I have lived:
Quezon City, Philippines
Honolulu, HI
Oakland, CA
Oakley, CA

Four television shows I love to watch:
Lost
Project Runway
Heroes
House

Four places I have been on vacation:
Vancouver, Canada
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Indonesia
Phoenix, AZ

Four of my favourite dishes:
Profiterole from a time share restaurant in Puerto Vallarta – nothing ever beat it
Linguine w/clams
Prawns anything
Prime Rib end cut

Four websites I visit (almost) daily:
Face Online board
knitty.com board
Yarn Harlot
Flickr.com (I do a lot of knitting pic searches)

Four places I would rather be right now:
Hawaii
yarn stores (stolen from tapmouse!)
My favorite Nars counter or Sephora
Library or book store

Four bloggers I am tagging:
a potty mouth among the puritans - a crafty jeweller & fellow mu addict
In the Shadow of Space - another crafty jeweller & fellow Nartian
Kel
and I don't know, whoever else finds my blog

Jaywalkers are done!

The silly cutesy Jaywalkers pic:

Thank goodness monkey2's daycare likes me, otherwise they'd be thinking even stranger thoughts about me draping socks over their little traffic signs. And the modelled shot of the fraternal pair.


So now tapmouse and I are doing our own little KAL for knitty Kew. I'm doing mine in STR Nodding Violet. I like this pattern cept for the annoyance that is keeping track of yo's at the end of a needle.

But before I cast on for Kew, I decided to give the Fancy Silk Sock from Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks a try in CTH supersock solid in Turquoise. Too bad I messed up halfway through the cuff. I somehow shifted the stitches over, so I need to either frog back and start all over or tink back to the error. I'll probably frog back all the way 'cause it'll be faster than trying to figure out what repeat I messed up on and get the stitches all on the needles correctly.

And the Kyoto progresses with it's endless rows of double seed stitch. At least I'm halfway done w/the sash.

I am whack

I didn't realize how much of a spendy mood I was in when I went to the grand opening of a new yarn store, Purlescence Yarns in Sunnyvale this weekend. As you can see from the pic, I had a blue-ish theme going here. Left to right, all lightweight Socks That Rock from Blue Moon Fiber Arts 'cept the last one which is Sock Candy (cotton/Elite): Peaseblossom (seen online as the STR Club Hippy Crunchy pattern), 2 of the Midsummer's Night Dream themed colors - Nodding Violet (Purlescence owner Nathania named this one) and Love-In-Idleness (ironically I did not grab the last Puck's Mischief, tapmouse's named one), Chapman Springs (this is the first one I grabbed out of instinct), Seal Rock (a tapmouse fav), and Hurricane. And thanks to tapmouse's cool idea, here they are opened up minus Peaseblossom 'cause you can see lots of pics of it knitted up on the STR KAL.

(Heh, monkey2 won't stay still enough for me to take a pic of her in the toddler socks, but she somehow manages to sneak her hand into this pic.)

I got to Purlescence 15 minutes after they opened and a lot of the STR stock was gone already. All the Fire on the Mountain went quick. There was one X-Mas Rock left, but I didn't pick it up. If there was any Watermelon Tourmaline it was gone 'cept for the one in the Fair Isle kit. Felt up the Bambu (very soft stuff) and merino/tencel, but will wait on those 'til November as I got a 10% coupon in my bag good for the beginning of November. Hopefully, they get restocked in the Socks That Rock by then.

And to prove that I am doing something w/my sock yarn, I finished the toddler socks. It's a good thing I only made 2.5" cuff/legs 'cause I didn't have very much left over when I was done. It's still a little big for monkey2, but she ran away while trying to take the socks off when I busted out the digital camera. Apparently, she prefers the sneaking her hand in a stash shot to be more fun. (See above.)

Pattern: His, Hers, Ours toddler socks from Rainbow Knits for Kids
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersport in Winterberry (discontinued) - sold as a half hank from Trash & Treasure
2T-3T size (40 sts)
modifications:
size 3 needles instead of size 5 called for in pattern, tighter gauge as a result
2.5 in cuff - using lace pattern

I also managed to finish my first Jaywalker this weekend and am gearing up to cast on the second before I get sidetracked w/all my other new sock yarn. So my thoughts so far on my Jaywalkers are:

- I may need to be one of those knitters that need to go down a needle size on my k2p2 ribbing since it's so much looser than my stockinette or other pattern stitches, 'cept maybe lace?

- I like Grumperina's pretty way to pick up gusset stitches, but I purposely neglected to pick up the extra stitches a la Charlotte Schurch's (Sensational Knitted Socks) method and ended up w/ honkin' holes in my socks. I can either call them design elements or fix them on the second sock. Still debating w/myself.

In which I refuse to answer the underlying question of how much of a sock yarn stash I have

So this week's Soctoberfest short meme is about one's sock yarn stash. Since I've slowly been posting pics of my sock yarn as I've gotten them, I've decided to go into denial about how much I really have in such a short time and not take a pic of them all together.

Do you have certain patterns planned for some of the yarns? Do you buy yarn and then choose a pattern?

I’m finding as a new sock knitter that I’m buying yarn because I find out about a sale on certain yarns that I remember having good reviews and I respond in a positive way to the colorway. Then I look for a pattern. This is very opposite of the non-sock projects I’ve made so far. Usually I see a pattern then find the yarn to go with it. The only exception has been the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed I bought from the Article Pract summer sale where I went looking for a pattern (Knit & Tonic’s Not So Shrunken Cardigan).

Does a certain sock yarn you have in your stash take you back to a certain event? (where you were when you bought/received it? what was going on in your life at the time!)

I just started sock knitting so it’s too early to give a substantive answer to this question. Well, I think all the sock yarn I've acquired so far will get remembered as Socktoberfest yarn 'cause apparently that's been my excuse to get them all. ;)

Oh, and pic info:

Top right pic - progress on my Koigu Jaywalkers & a re-start on the CTH supersport toddler socks, this time on size 3 needles. This time I'm doing the lace pattern (Rainbow Knits for Kids).

Pic directly above - STR Rainforest Jasper leftovers on a mini-sock keychain. Waves to tapmouse! The sock blocker key chain was looking awefully nekkid after I frogged the STR Rolling Stone off of it. I didn't remember where I stopped so I'd have to start all over again anyway.

Medium rare

You can't put a fork in me yet, but I'm slowly getting there w/the Kyoto sweater. I finally finished the top half and seamed the sides and sleeves together late last night, obviously after I snapped this pic. I'm hoping to finish this sweater this month so I can start my Simple Knitted Bodice next month.

And because I was working on my sweater this weekend, I didn't have very much progress on my very first Jaywalkers. I will say that I absolutely love love love this Koigu 123A colorway. This colorway, more than any of the commercial ones w/"Hawaii" in it's name or theme, reminds me of all things Hawaiian. The deep blue of the Pacific, the shallower reef water, the lush colors of the tropical flowers, the lush green vegetation. Just love it.

As for the Jaywalkers pattern, it's rather fun though I'm debating w/myself if I should rip all the way back and redo the cuff on smaller needles or tink back just to the cuffs and knit the rest on larger needles since the cuff is comfortable but the leg is a wee bit snug.

Socktoberfest questionnaire

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I just started the weekend of Sept 15. After petting tapmouse’s Socks That Rock (STR) WIP’s and reading a few threads on the knitty.board, I bought a copy of Sensational Knitted Socks by Nancy Bush and followed her “class sock” instructions.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
My first pair which I just finished earlier this week is made from Knitpicks (KP) Simple Stripes that I bought from their clearance sale. It’s too early to tell how they’ll hold up yet.

What would you have done differently?
Too soon for me to say yet ‘cept maybe ignore the self-striping color and stick to only a 1-1.5” cuff. 2” is a little too long for my taste. But in essence, I probably should’ve used a non-self striping yarn, despite my beginner’s luck of the stripes matching on both socks.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
Well, from my little swatches so far, I love Cherry Tree Hill (CTH) Supersock, Fleece Artist, Koigu, and the STR samples/left-overs tapmouse gave me. Is it me or are the solid colored sock yarns a hair thicker than the variegated, specifically for CTH and Fleece Artist?

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
So far, I’ve knit them on DPN’s. But I’ll try 2 circs as soon I put in and receive my next KP order. I suppose I will at some point try the Magic Loop method but that would require adding longer circs to my KP order. (Yeah, like that's going to be a hard decision.) And despite knowing how to crochet since I was young, I currently have no desire to crochet a pair. Am not fond of having to do a lot of single crochet.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
Too early to tell yet. So far I’ve only done a flap heel, but I’m looking forward to trying the short row since a couple patterns I like have that feature.

How many pairs have you made?
Including the class sock pair (which can be considered toddler socks), so far I’m at 2.

I have another toddler sock on the needles in CTH Supersport, but it needs to be frogged. It's too tight for monkey1 and way too big for monkey2. As for adult sized socks, I think I'll start w/Hedera in Fleece Artist Lily Pond and maybe Jaywalkers in Koigu.

eta: Well, actually I've started my Jaywalkers in Koigu and may do Hedera in a different solid colored yarn.

Beginner's luck

Specs:
Knitpicks Simple Stripes Snapdragon
size 2.50 mm (KP size 1) dpns
cast on 72 sts for my 9" ankle
pattern - a take off of Sensational Knitted Socks 4-stitch pattern section, but ended up going straight St st.

I finished my first pair of adult socks last night! Woohoo! Well, I kitchenered it this morning after all the made knitting I was doing last night through Heroes (only dropped 2 stitches!) and the usual background noise of the news. I didn't want to take the chance of really screwing it up when I was so close to the end. And amazingly there's almost identical twins. They're maybe 1-1.5 rows off w/the self-striping and different splotches of brown from where the dye mixed here and there. Of course, that means my sock knitting karma will now be filled w/lots of pooling and other challenges.

And in the good timing department, my second half of my Little Knits Fleece Artist order and my Brooks Farm Four Play in Brown C (pics of that later) came in last night as well. I had originally wanted Woodland but she had sold out so I chose Forest, but luckily for me I got a skein marked Woodland/Forest but it looks much more like the Woodland I wanted. Sweet. And that other skein in the pic is the very pretty Wild Flower.

So while I have tons of leafy/vine-type patterns to chose from for the Woodland/Forest, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of more floral patterns unless I pic a lace pattern and go for it. Off to inundate myself w/all the free sock patterns floating around as I now go off to swatch my new sock yarns.

Seconds

To avoid the second sock syndrome, I cast on my second KP Simple Stripes sock immediately and am madly knitting away, and not just 'cause of Socktoberfest. I only have one set of size 1 dpns currently (need to place another KP order!) and am also itching to swatch up all my new sock yarn brands to figure out what my next sock pattern will be. I had knit up a swatch in KP Dancing on size 0's and got a whopping 10 sts/in! If I want to knit monkey1 a pair of socks in Dancing, I'd have to cast on 72 sts! So it's a no go there. Will need to swatch up Dancing on size 2's (the KP 3.00 mm variety) and see if I can get closer to the 8 st/in range.

I'm also continuing my Kyoto sweater w/my second sleeve and in a moment of knitters AADD, the collar trim on the body. One of these days I'll be done w/this project, but not before my second sock is done. ;)

And speaking of knitters AADD of the sock variety, I started the todder sock from Rainbow Knits for Kids called something like His, Hers, Ours, and Theirs. The pattern calls for Cherry Tree Hill (CTH) Supersport yarn on size 5 needles w/a gauge of 6 sts/in! Since the size 2T-3T instructions call for casting on 40 sts, I figured by the time I knit a gauge swatch I might as well knit the sock itself. And if it's a little big, I figure monkey1 can grow into it. Heh. And to test how much growing room I had, I had monkey2 (grudgingly in toddler of terror style) model the sock in progress w/a lot of help from monkey1.

Clearly we have a lot of growing room. And to figure out how much room, I had a more cooperative monkey2 try on the sock. Heh. So it looks like the "toddler" socks w/a 2" twisted cable cuff/leg will now be socks in the 5-7 yr child range. Since the pattern suggests a 5"(!!!!) leg for the 2T-3T size, I should have enough yarn in the half hank to make the foot part long enough to fit monkey1. Besides, the Winterberry colorway looks better w/monkey1's skintone.