Socks!!

Add one more to my contributions to Year of the Sock! The rainbow beauties are completed! They're quite the pair, and I love the way the Sockotta pooled. It looks like fruity pebbles. No need to add to my server space with a pic of the pair, though... Take the pic from January 5th and double it. I finished them a few days ago, after telling the new boyfriend to go do something boring so I'd have an excuse to knit :)

Current project is a lovely mid-calf sock with picot edging done in some KP Simple Stripes. I turned the heel last night and I'm on the foot, which, while monotonous, should be made quick work of. I'll post a pic when I don't ahve 46 yarn ends hanging out everywhere. You'll see why.

Speaking of ends, winding mohair just plain SUCKS. My hank is now 3 balls of varying size. Apparently I don't know my own strength when trying to yank it off the hank. But hey, I've got plans for a crazy hat with it. Top down, since I doubt I have enough to make a real awesome hat, with Berrocco Quest to pick up the slack at the bottom, making the most ostentatious brim ever. And giving me an excuse to destash some Quest. I'll even get to ENJOY gauging! I got my Boye Needlemaster in the mail 2 days ago, thanks to Joann's online coupons and I'm giddy with anticipation to use it. I'm glad I got that instead of the Denise set... I like the metal needles and the different colors, as well as the size range. It'll give me an excuse to try that 2 socks on circulars thing... As will my ball of Opal. I tried to resist, but I was bringing a friend to the store, and I had a $12 credit, and it's just so alluring. At least it's just one ball instead of 5. I'm learning self-control, really...

THAT yarn.

Ever have one ball of yarn that just PISSES you off? You don't know why you bought it, you don't know what you'll ever do with it, and its very presence in your stash just angers you, because you know it'll never come out of the box to make room for something actually useful? Such is my problem with this ball of Apple Green Patons Melody. It's soft, yeah, but a hideous green that I can't justify making a scarf or hat or anything out of. Possibly a pillow, but that's really the last thing I need. Okay, possibly a pillow for charity.

I really hate that ball.

Polar Bear!

So my aunt was after me since May 18 for a polar bear from my World of Knitted Toys book. I decided to hold out to make it a Christmas surprise. I redid the whole pattern to take it from fingering to bulky weight yarn, using Patons Divine, which was just lovely to work with. Okay, my breakdown when sewing it together and losing my tapestry needles and being afraid it looked like a big white pig and losing my bag of eyes (the toy ones) and everything else about the putting it together was wildly unpleasant, but with a little creative sewing and turning over the final item in the living room to find my needles, it came out great.

Trendsetter Yarns - Jupiter

Ever see a yarn and think, wow, that's beautiful, but a little rich for my blood and I have no idea what I'd ever do with it... and then the shop owner comes by, catches you admiring it, and lists all its wonderful qualities and then it simply must be yours? And then, you just leave it in the stash box and wonder what if anything you could do with it?

Of course you have, you're knitters.

Such was my issue with Jupiter. Oh, she was alluring, with her soft black yarn and what I finally decided look like the hair samples you see in the dye section of drugstores. So, I remember the man that worked in the store (nothing as refreshing as a knowledgable male YSO) telling me the display scarf was in box stitch, and I seemed to remember big needles. Thanks again to about.com, I figured out box stitch, which sucks on too-big needles and black yarn in a dark house. Can you see it? No, not at all. But neither garter nor stockinette was giving me the look I wanted at all, and this worked out great. Fancy that. Click to... you know the drill.

Garter Lace Scarf

Knit in one of those cool new JoAnn's yarns, the Italian ones that are actually a decent amount of wool and fun colors, using a stitch pattern I learned off about.com. I made it for my aunt for Christmas and didn't realize how bad the picture was until I had sent it on its way. Oh well, just trust me, it's beautiful. Click to embiggen. ;)

My first contribution to Year of the Sock

Long time no blog, huh? Trust me, I've been knitting, I've just been lazy about uploading. So, I've been wanting to do something more exciting with my socks than "use a different color yarn," so I tried my hand at Becka's Loopy Socks pattern on KP. I added some personal interpretation and made the leg shorter because I didn't imagine myself ever folding down socks when I could just make them shorter, and added two more rows of loop stitch in the middle and at the ankle. And yes, that's Knitty's how-to-graft site behind my sexy, sexy foot. I think I've finally got it, though. Click to maximize the hottness.