Saturday, January 27, 2007

Knitterly Vibes Welcomed Here...

So tonight I cast on for my sock-swap partner's socks.
I am in love with the pattern so far, and I'm praying that these turn out.
I have about 3" done, and it is to the point where I am just starting to see the pattern emerge -- not enough to be 100% confident that it is working out correctly.

Choosing the pattern was a major ordeal; I went from one, to the next, to the next.
I thought I had settled, so I cast on a practice sock, just to make sure that it would work, and fit.
I made mistake after mistake, and ended up ripping it out after about 4".
Not the pattern's fault .. definitely mine.

Through serendipity, this morning I stumbled on the perfect pattern.
Since I don't have a lot of time (they are due to my partner on 2/28, and I am traveling the last week of February, so I have a self-imposed deadline of 2/21), I decided to throw caution to the winds and skip the practice sock.

So, no visuals. She knows where my blog lives, and it's a surprise.

But here's a photo from a week or so ago that I never posted. My belated Christmas present ... what a treat to not have to hand-wind yarn, using one of the kids' chairs as a swift. Isn't it gorgeous???


I've also engaged in a bit of shopping over the last few weeks, which I should probably confess. Purchases include:

  • A blocking board (yay!)
  • A set of antique sock blockers from ebay -- aren't they cool?:

  • A sock yarn assortment from Elann.com (what a bargain -- it's the self-patterning fake fair-isle type, at $4/ball -- perfect for making socks for the girls).
  • Knitpicks Gloss for socks.
  • The Imbas celtic sock kit from www.nysfarm.com. I had planned on casting on for this on St. Patrick's Day, but the instructions look to be a bit over my head right now. These may have to wait a bit.
  • A ball of Tofutsie's sock yarn in pink, for the Belle.
  • Some new crochet hooks -- I keep losing mine.
  • 1 skein of Malabrigo chunky to make myself a pair of mittens.
  • 2 skeins of handpainted alpaca, destined to be some warm socks for me.
  • And I signed up for 2 cable classes with Melissa Leapman, author of the fabulous Cables Untangled.
Gee, on second thought, it might not be so good to spell it all out like that. Yikes.