telegram!

esteemed sock gods and goddesses STOP having trouble with motivation for sock wips STOP need good sock mojo STOP please rescue mamluke and molly STOP will wait for your divine intervention STOP please hurry as socktoberfest is fast approaching STOP

the motivation for finishing my sock WIPS is lacking. (sigh). in the past, i rarely got distracted, and had only one WIP at a time. these days, there’s always something shiny and new. i blame the vast community of knit bloggers out there. and all of the yarn pr0n out on the net. and the great knitterly deals on ebay. take for instance this:

rowan yorkshire tweed aran in darkside #414
160 m / 100% wool; 10 x 100 g balls

i found this steal while searching for yarn for gifts of fingerless gloves. though i am on a yarn diet, i couldn’t resist. i bought the whole bag for less than $8 a ball including shipping. hooray!!! hip-hip, hooray!! recently, rita (my bestest friend in the whole world) bought me a couple of pattern books for my birthday, one of which was rowan’s vintage knits. i immediately fell in love with this pattern:

demi from vintage knits by rowan

love the pattern (minus the bobbles), love the color, love, love, love….i don’t think anyone could resist!! here’s the problem. i rarely knit on anything larger than a size 2 needle, much less the 7′s and 8′s the pattern calls for. so i don’t have all the tools needed! so i can’t swatch!! wah! well, let’s take this as a sign. i’ll finish my socks before i move on to more ambitious projects.

i hope that telegram gets there soon.

sockin’ molly woes

i normally don’t get so distracted with my projects. up until recently, i was a one project kinda gal. but these days i get easily distracted and find myself wanting to cast on for different projects. that’s exactly what happened to me when i finished the gusset/started the instep of sockin’ molly. the sock took a back seat to my pumpkin fetchings and me daydreaming about my next wip’s. but today, i happened upon lolly’s socktoberfest (yeah! go sign up. it will be fun.) and got inspired to pick up molly.

take a look.

sockin’ molly stalled

i’m just not liking the transition from the pattern to the instep. and the heel looks funny to me. should i plod on and risk sss? or do i rip back? maybe a short row heel will look better…and maybe extend the pattern a bit on the instep?

eh.

(picks up another ball of yarn…)

maybe i should start something else (or finish another wip)!

fetching pumpkins

just a quick post…wanted to show what i decided to make with my suri alpaca

how fetching!
pattern: fetching (knitty) in plymouth yarn suri merino (pumpkin)
50 g / 110 yds; 55% suri alpaca / 45% extra fine merino wool
needles: 5-#5 bamboo double pointed needles
alterations: used standard bo, the picot bo looked funky to me and curled too much for my liking.

i was a little worried that the tiny ball would not make a pair of these soft fingerless gloves. but i took out my trusty scale – only 19 grams for the first finished glove!! that leaves me a generous 29+ grams for the second. lovely!i was bummed to discover that i was off on my rows between cables, so they gradually get longer…but i don’t think it’s too noticeable, do you? (cough) um…that was my ‘design feature’ anyway (cough). right. can’t wait to get started on the rest of my gifts!

meet titania

what a good day! this morning i woke up to find a package in my mailbox. (gasp) it was from oregon! surely ohio would have to be one of the last states to mail out! i was one of the last to get my package for peaseblossom. {squish} nope, it’s soft…it must be my package!!

i’ve cut the post to prevent sock spoilage for you STR club members….click through to see the fun!!

oh, in the next day or so, i’ll show you what i did with my suri merino.

can you say 40% off?

(a-hem!)

a show of hands please, who can resist a 40% off sale?

didn’t think so.

the lys was having a secret sale. the lucky customer gets to ‘choose’ their discount out of a basket. one could get 10-50% off a single item or an entire purchase!!!! i picked out a ’40% off your entire purchase’. now admittedly, you only got to choose your discount once you got to the counter. and on my shopping list were small gifts (one for myself *blush*) that i had planned to knit. may i introduce to you:

plymouth yarn suri merino
50 g / 110 yds; 55% suri alpaca / 45% extra fine merino wool
colors: #2037 (pumpkin – 2 balls), #1310 (mint – 3 balls), & #282 (natural – 1 ball)
i also added a set of #5 bamboo dpns (no picture). i plan to make a few sets of fingerless gloves (maybe this or a shorter version of this) and a matching skinny scarf for gifts. oh, i did buy the pumpkin for me…check out how well this matches my winter coat!

sockin’ molly

i’ll wait for you till i turn blue
there’s nothin’ more a man can do
don’t get your bollocks in a twist
settle down, don’t take a fit
(“salty dog” from the album swagger, 2000)

for those of you who have never heard of flogging molly, get out there and buy a cd! df and i came upon this band when he heard that his former skate hero played accordian for the band. (by the way, the first song in the background of the video is by “the best band ever in the history of bands” according to df! operation ivy) anyway, we saw flogging molly in concert last year during the dublin (ohio) irish festival. you should have seen the crowd…there were punks in kilts and grandparents toting toddlers around. the appeal of the band, to say the least, is widespread. if anything, the music puts you in the mood for something a little green…

sockin’ molly kelly green yarn
80% superwash merino / 20% nylon
2 skeins – 2.5 oz / 210 yards
machine wash / tumble dry

this yarn comes to me by the yet unnamed sock club that i recently joined. (hi lynn and pam!) we had a great first meeting, i even met a columbus knit blogger! anyway, the moment i saw the yarn i thought of saint patty’s day and all things irish.

 

twisted cable sock
first sock club pattern!

denmark socks, they are finished!!

even though i am knitting the pattern ‘denmark’, i’ll sheepishly admit i know very little about the country.

<furiously types, then clicks> don’t you just love google?

the lonely planet describes denmark as “the littlest and most southern of the scandinavian countries, denmark offers a storybox mix of lively cities and rural countryside. ancient castles, ring forts, jazz festivals, the sleekest modern design you’ll ever see and the people who invented lego – who could ask for more?”… <click, click, scroll…> ah! and knitting as political statement was recently the buzz in copenhagen…anybody ever been?

anyway, i am happy to report that the socks are finally done. i just finished kitchenering the toe and bravely attempted photographing the finished project by the light from our ceiling fan. (it’s not pretty, folks, but the studio is out of commission. df is on ‘phase 1′ of finishing our basement). forgive the bad lighting, lack of creativity and blurriness.

denmark socks, from knitting on the road by nancy bush
yarnsmith’s sockezze in jazz
2 oz/145 yds; 90% wool/10% nylon
started: august 17, 2006
completed: september 3, 2006
needles: set of 5, #2 lantern moon ebonies

here is a gratuitous close up shot:

i twisted the stiches that i picked up from the heel, is it worth it?

these socks will shortly be on their way to my mother’s as a birthday present for her. she has been requesting hand-knit socks but refused to give me any guidelines as to what she wanted. hm. i hope she appreciates my first attempt at cables. otherwise, i suppose i could go shopping for more yarn…i’ve been very good these past few months, although stacey has told me that CTH is having a labor day sale…

<gets up and runs away from the computer…must…stay…strong…>

i’ve learned something today

1. never say that you’re going to post something unless you are

um, yeah, links to my resources, not so much…and about taking digital pictures…it’s a challenge, especially in the wrong light. i spend the last hour trying to play with my little studio, and all i’ve got to show for it is some lousy pictures. bleh.

2. always have the first sock with you so that you knit the second sock identically

the pattern for the heel didn’t make sense so i just centered the stitches and went from there…but on my second denmark sockezze socks, i used more stitches…and now it looks all wonky. rrrrrrriiiiipp.

3. when frustrated, go to target, you’re sure to get a pick me up!

yet another non-knitting post. i offer up these two photos as a consolation.

tyler

this is one of my cats. i should say was one of my cats. we had to find a home for him and his brother merlin, a black cat. my closest family and friends were deathly allergic to them. (picture this – at get togethers they would stand outside of the sliding glass doors and look into the party). sniff. i miss them so. df was charged with finding the boys a home with “a crazy cat lady”, where they would live together, and i would have visitation rights. amazingly, he did (love you babe!)…they are now living very happily with a new baby kitty brother and an older dog sibling.

 

our new pet is less cuddly but very sweet.

 

meet zoe. (say hello zoe…<gurgle!>)

zoe is a female beta fish. she used to live in bsd’s room, but now she lives in the kitchen. she doesn’t greet us at the door but gets very excited when we come to spend time with her (it’s true!). she doesn’t cuddle, though.

at least she doesn’t get into the yarn.