Knitting, sewing, cross stitching, my life in general.





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Yesterday on my lunch hour I finished the first of my July SOTM (Lang Jawoll). I tried it on and wow, does it feel nice (note to self: no, you can't keep these, they are for mom). I even cast on sock #2. Last night I also frogged my Fortissima cotton kool-aid dyed sock. I think that yarn had to go to "time out" for a while and decide what it really wants to be. Anyway, to celebrate all of this I started a new sock for me. I've been saving my first 2 skeins of Koigu for something special. I got it out because it's a beautiful autumn colorway--oranges and browns. I figured the perfect pattern would be the sockguy's Harvest Cable socks that everyone has been raving about. This yarn is so yummy.....I keep stopping to admire the wip so I don't know if it will ever actually get done. The pattern, by the way, isn't "all that"!
posted by Stephanie at 10:35 AM

 
Last night I played around with my ball of Big Wool and made a hat. I decided 2 things: 1) This is some darn nice yarn (soft!) and well worth the money--poo on anyone who immediatley hates "big knits"! 2) I don't like the way the hat turned out so I'm going to rip it out and do it again. I don't feel bad about this at all cuz you can whip out a hat in like 2 seconds on size 19s!!

Today I am wearing my Fortissima cotton socks and I am a little disappointed in them. They fit great when I put them on and feel wonderful, but they bag and slouch and don't retain their shape. Of course I knew this about cotton, but since this yarn is made specifically for socks and contains 25% nylon I guess I thought they would be ok. I bought a bunch of this stuff when it was on sale so I'm not sure what to do with it. Put it away for baby clothes? I was also thinking about just doing the heel and toe in a wool blend. We'll see.
posted by Stephanie at 9:53 AM

 
Last night I did a little knitting on my sleeveless cotton sweater because I think I should finish it while it's still warm. Naturally, that made me get bored of it instantly and start cabled sock #2. I am almost done with the back of the sweater, though, so the front should be much more interesting. I think I will steal a cable pattern from a Rebecca magazine!
posted by Stephanie at 9:45 AM

 

Which Disney Princess are you?

posted by Stephanie at 2:45 PM

 
Yay! Last night I finished the cabled sock. It's beautiful and feels great on the foot. I really think I need to make a pair for me after I finish these! (pic in my album--"knitting", "new stuff").
posted by Stephanie at 10:18 AM

 
Lessee, yesterday I stopped in Common Threads in Encinitas after hitting the farmer's market in Solana Beach. Nothing too exciting there, but I did pick up a set of #19 needles to make a hat from the ball of Big Wool that I have.

I was also a sock knitting maniac yesterday. I started the cabled sock and am already almost done with the gusset decreases and that's with a 7" cabled leg. It's a bit tight on me, but my sister has smaller ankles/feet than I do so hopefully it will fit her ok. If I made these socks for me I would use a #5 instead of a #4. They are turning out to be really beautiful socks, though.
posted by Stephanie at 10:39 AM

 
Yesterday was a very good knitty day! I received two pairs of socks from Esther, my sock swap partner on socknitters. They're beautiful and I put a pic in my album.

Then I finished the Summer in Door County sock and realized that the foot part was huge. I had to use a large needle/lots of stitches for the heavily stranded leg (which fit fine), but I should have gone down for the foot. So, I decided to block it out to an even bigger size and make it a Christmas stocking for my sister's bf Jens. I was planning to knit him a stocking anyway and this one fits his personality perfectly. Yay! Photo of this in my album as well.

I also finished sock #1 for my sister in red emu superwash dk. I did the heel and toe in stripey regia crazy color. Very nice.

I think today I will start a cabled sock for my sister from a pattern I found on the internet and I will use my LB fisherman's wool. Very much my sister's kind of sock plus it's something a little more stimulating than st st!
posted by Stephanie at 9:26 AM

 
Yay, it's Saturday!!!

Yesterday I received my 1 ball of Rowan Polar from Colourway. Wow, is this stuff soooooooft!

Last night I realized that I have about 10 wips going and they are pretty much all st. st. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz So this morning I picked up my "Summer in Door County Sock" which is fair isle. I am on the foot so it would be nice to just finish it up. I'm also thinking about working on the intarsia xmas stocking I have going or starting a lace scarf for a xmas gift.
posted by Stephanie at 9:54 AM

 
I have a confession to make. I started a new sock last night. So much for my "rules". My hands started to hurt from knitting with that cotton on large needles (for my sleeveless sweater). And I was really bored with the Fortissima cotton socks. Sooooo, I got out a ball of my new Emu Superwash dk in red and started a pair of socks for my sister. I guess I'm a little bit tired of doing fingering weight socks on 0s and 1s so these socks on 3s will be like instant gratification. Besides, snowboarding season is quickly approaching and my sister really needs these socks right away LOL.

I took a pic of my Rosa Reef sweater and it's in my album. See the link on the left hand side of the page and go to "knitting", "new stuff". Now it just needs to cool off a little so I can wear it!
posted by Stephanie at 10:50 AM

 
YEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAW! Rosa Reef is done! I washed it last night and it's drying on the bed in the guest bedroom. It's a bit big on me--someday I will learn to pay attention to the fact that I knit loosely. D'OH. Not a problem though, I think it will be nice and comfy. If I really want to I could always throw it in the dryer for a few minutes as it's 100% cotton. I will post a picture shortly.

To celebrate, I started a new sweater for me. I am designing a sleeveless sweater for me using yellow Novita Maxi (cotton/acrylic). Plain st.st. back and I think on the front I will put 1 or 2 large cables.

I alos received my package from elann yesterday. Lots of Emu Superwash dk for socks. yay!
posted by Stephanie at 9:28 AM

 
oooo, I almost forgot. I am doing a little trade with someone who owns an alpaca farm. She's sending me enough yarn for 4 pairs of socks and I'm sending her back 2 knit pairs. Then I have enough yarn for 2 pairs for myself. I know, it may not be the greatest deal for me, but I don't care. She seems like a very nice parson, I like knitting socks, and I am dying to try her yarn. Now I don't have to spend more money and feel guilty!
posted by Stephanie at 10:41 AM

 
Ummm...last night I did some sewing and weaving in ends on my cotton sweater. I hate finishing! I still have to do one sleeve and one side seam. blech. I put it down in disgust and did some reading. Then I picked up my koolaid anklets and did a few rows on those.
posted by Stephanie at 10:28 AM

 
I am so excited. I finished all the knitting on my Rosa Reef sweater. I even started sewing it up and did the neckband. I held up the sleeves to the sweater to get the perfect length as my row gauge is usually way off. Now I just have to finish sewing it up, weave in 1/2 million ends, and decide if I want to duplicate stitch the centers of the intarsia flowers. This is definitely going to be my new favorite sweater.

Now my head is going crazy thinking about what sweater I can start next. I'm also thinking about all the different socks I can make for my sister. I think I still need to finish some of the wips in my knitting basket first. Then I might design a sleeveless cabled sweater from some Novita cotton.

Yesterday I finally received my sock of the month kit for August. Tres ugly, IMNSHO. I'm thinking about cancelling my membership.
posted by Stephanie at 9:53 AM

 
waddayaknow....2 blog entries today to make up for no entry yesterday. This afternoon I ventured to Michael's and picked up a skein of LB Fisherman's wool with my 40% off coupon. I figured I could make my sister some nice thick wool socks. Good idea--I asked her and she said she would love more wool socks, especially thick ones for snowboarding. Ahhh....someone who can appreciate my crazy socknitting obsession.

I am very close to finishing the sleeves to my sweater. I don't think I will have enough yellow since I did the back in all yellow instead of intarsia. Oh well, they are stripey so I will improvise.
posted by Stephanie at 5:34 PM

 
Saturday I received my order of Confetti sock yarn. It's supposed to be very similar to Regia, but much cheaper. I'll get to it eventually!

I actually got a lot of knitting done on my Rosa Reef sleeves over the weekend. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
posted by Stephanie at 9:57 AM

 
Yesterday I received my order from Colourway. Love the new Rowan mag and the Cork pattern book. Not sure how I feel about the Cork yarn yet, but they do have a hat pattern for it that only uses one ball so I will probably make that. They sent me a ball of Big Wool instead of Polar so I don't know what's up with that.

I am starting to feel overwhelmed by the number of wips I have and how little time I have. I feel like I never finish anything other than socks, which I really don't even need here in So Cal. Plus I need to get cracking on some xmas presents. I've decided to only work on 2 projects at a time--a sock and something else. The sock I have at work of course doesn't count.
posted by Stephanie at 1:58 PM

 
Last night I finished my sock swap socks! I hand washed them and they are drying right now. I told myself that next I have a cross stitch I need to finish and then the sleeves of my sweater. But, I just can't be without a sock on the needles so I cast on my cotton kool-aid dyed fortissima socks. So cute!

I don't know how much knitting I'll get in this weekend cuz we have lots of cleaning to do before the in-laws come on Sunday. blech.
posted by Stephanie at 11:03 AM

 
ooooooo! I am excited. Just when I decided not to buy any more yarn (yeah, that's what I always say). I've decided to make the sweater pictured in the advertisement for Fortissima Mexiko. I can get the yarn from Martina for $30 instead of $60 or more here in the U.S. plus she gave me the pattern for free!!! I think I might faint. Yesterday I also ordered some dk weight superwash from elann for socks.
posted by Stephanie at 1:05 PM

 
I didn't get much knitting in last night. I was too busy trying out a new vegan recipe, turnovers from "Living Among Meat Eaters". It was puff pastry filled with chikn & herbed cream cheeze. YUM! DH said they were awesome. I also made some steamed broccoli with garlic & olive oil.

I did knit some on my sock swap socks--I'm not to the toe decreases on the second sock yet.
posted by Stephanie at 9:54 AM

 
I finally received my "Cast On" mags yesterday. I didn't think the regular issue was totally super awesome and fabulous like everyone has been saying (except of course for the beee-utiful pic of darling Karen). The accessories issue was really nice, though. Lots of basics that I might end up making and some nice sock patterns. Let's not forget the awesome Kureyon gloves by Liz (lizknits)!
posted by Stephanie at 11:03 AM

 
Yesterday I placed an order with Colourway, which I do believe is my favorite online yarn store. I'm just getting so addicted to Rowan & Jaeger now that I can afford them. I got the new Rowan mag (#32), the pattern booklet for the new yarn called "Cork", 2 balls of Cork in red to see what it's like (maybe I'll make a scarf), and 1 ball of Rowan Polar in winter white.
posted by Stephanie at 2:11 PM

 
The knit together yesterday was lots of fun. It's always nice to sit under a big tree in the park and knit and eat lunch and chat. Someone was even spinning and there was another person there who brought a bunch of fiber from her sheep and angora goats! I worked on my swap socks and Karen helped me on turning the heel as I forgot my pattern. d'oh.

I'm continuing to work on the sleeves of my Zoe Mellor sweater (both at the same time). They have stripes of 4 different colors so I will have lots of ends to weave in. So cute, though. I really adore this Rowan handknit dk cotton. That reminds me, I need to go place an order with Colouway...
posted by Stephanie at 12:33 PM

 
My Crystal Palace Carnival came in the mail and I think the colors will be really nice for the "little trees" sweater--the only thing they didn't have is the winter white. Now I still need to order the pattern!

Last night I got bored with my sock so I started on the sleeves to my Rosa Reef sweater (Rowan #31). This is going to be such a cute sweater if I ever finish it. Oh well, it's too warm to wear it right now anyway.

Karen is going to pick me up in just a few minutes and we're heading to the vegan fast food place in Ocean Beach. Then to the San Diego Fiber Folk "knit together" at Balboa park. It doesn't get much sweeter than that on a Saturday! :)
posted by Stephanie at 11:16 AM

 
SOCK YARN, PT. II
Yesterday I received 2 balls of the coveted Opal "Tiger". I am so bad.
posted by Stephanie at 8:37 AM

 
SOCK YARN!
I received a pkg. of sock yarn yesterday from Germany. 6 balls of Fortissima Kolibri which is the same as Opal bumblebee and each ball makes a pair of socks. Fabulous! I was dying to cast on a pair for me, but I was good and instead cast on my second sock swap sock. Poo on SSS!
posted by Stephanie at 9:52 AM

 
Yarn Substitutions.
This has been a hot topic on the knitlist lately. It has become an issue for me as I'm kind of on a yarn budget right now. So I decided I just *had* to make a sweater from the new Rowan mag (I think it's called "Little Trees"). It's in "Polar" and would run me about $100, which of course isn't in my yarn budget at the moment. BUT! I have substituted Crystal Palace Carnival (100% wool) for Polar in the past with good results. onefineyarn.com has some for super cheap in several colors. score! $30 is much better for my VISA!!!

Last night I finished sock #1 for my sock swap partner--just have to weave in the ends. Yay! I think I will cast on #2 immediately tonight to head off SSS.

Today I am wearing my red white & blue Fortissima cotton socks with my birks and they are very comfy. Life is good.
posted by Stephanie at 9:35 AM

 




Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

posted by Stephanie at 10:12 AM

 
Woooo! Yesterday I received my 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon in the mail. I had to fight the urge to immediately cast on for my xmas stocking as I have a million other things started at the moment.

I'm still working on the foot of the sock swap sock and I also did a few rows on a simple Homespun shawl that if going to be a xmas present.
posted by Stephanie at 10:02 AM

 
Yesterday I finally picked up the new issue of FCEK. I like the cover sweater, but it's a bit too warm for Southern California. I also like the Big Wool tank top thingy, but I think it would be a bit pricey. Oh well, it's not like I don't have a million other things to work on.

Yesterday things got in the way of my knitting--cooking, cleaning, shopping. The horror!! But I did finish the heel and gusset on my sock swap socks.

Today I am wearing my summer tweed top. I love looking down at it and seeing all the bright colors that make up the tweed. Cool.
posted by Stephanie at 10:09 AM

 
Yesterday I finished my summer tweed sweater and to prove it I put a pic in my album (see new link on this page! "knitting", "new stuff"). While I was sewing it up I wasn't too sure how I would like it, but it turned out cute. I like this yarn--the only thing is because of the fiber composition it's very inelastic.

I also started a pair of socks for my sock swap partner on socknitters. I will have to keep them a secret just in case. :) I am working on the heel of the first sock right now.
posted by Stephanie at 9:03 AM

 
Last night I picked up the new Interweave Knits at Borders. The cover looks different so it freaked me out for a second. It was a cool issue and somewhat inspiring, but nothing in there that I just have to knit.

Yesterday afternoon I was working on Coral in Rowan 31 (Summer Tweed). I started this a long time ago and it should be a really quick knit, but I keep getting bored with it. I will finish it this weekend, though.
posted by Stephanie at 9:02 AM

 
Yum--vegan junkfood for breakfast! Vegan donut and chocolate soymilk. Who says vegetarians are healthy? LOL

Last night I did finish my cotton sock--yay!!! I was too tired to weave the ends in, though, so I will have to wait and wear them on Monday. Today I am wearing some handknit socks, though. I'm sporting a denim dress, opal Mexikos, and doc marten mary janes. I'm just too cute.

Yesterday I received Barbara Walker's first treasury in the mail. I got a really good deal on a used copy through amazon.com. Very fun to look through.

Now, to decide what to knit this weekend?? I really should finish some wips, but of course if I say that, I won't want to. I do need to start a pair of socks for a sock exchange and work on a cross stitch piece for a round robin I'm in. Hmmmmm.......


posted by Stephanie at 9:28 AM

 
Last night I baked peanut butter cookies and worked on the foot of my cotton sock. I think I'm going to shoot for wearing them to work tomorrow!

I am starting to feel like I have too many WIPs/UFOs and of course there are other things I want to start. I need to get some things finished.
posted by Stephanie at 9:06 AM