Little bits

I've been knitting in fits and starts these days, snatching bits of time where I can to work on small projects. I had plenty of yarn left from the February baby sweater so I decided to knit this pattern that I've been eyeing for ages. These booties are a fast, easy knit. Oh, so cute when done, too!



I have no idea if they will actually stay on a wiggly baby's feet, but I suppose that's not my problem! Cute is what counts, right?

I also wanted to send a little thank-you to Jen for sharing her Jitterbug sock yarn. There were still plenty of leftovers after I finished the toe of my sock, so I decided to knit a wee one as my gift.



I have to confess that I ordered a second keychain for myself. Not at all practical, but again, cute gets the nod. Here's to some cute, fun, makes-you-smile projects on your needles!

The toe that almost wasn't

I knit the first sock of this pair in record time (for me). After casting on for the second sock and knitting the cuff, it was cast aside for baby knitting. Oh, the lure of a new project!

I began to miss my sock knitting, though, and pulled the unfinished sock out a couple of weeks ago. I was knitting fast and furious until the project bag began to feel suspiciously light. Taking a peek inside, I saw what no knitter wants to see: a dwindling yarn supply, one that obviously wouldn't make it to the finish line. In denial at first, I knit on, keeping careful watch on my yarn.



I finally had to admit defeat when it was time to start the sock toe. I had only 18 inches or so of yarn remaining and had to make a decision. Knit the toe in a different yarn (meaning I would have to rip back the toe on the first sock as well if I wanted them to match)? Frog the cuff of both socks to get the yarn I needed?

Before taking those drastic steps, I decided to put out a plea on Ravelry. I did a search for the yarn--Colinette Jitterbug in the Tuscany colorway--and found several knitters who had the yarn or had used the yarn. Bingo! I found a compassionate knitter named Jen who offered me the leftover yarn from her socks and mailed it to me right away. What a relief.



I now have a complete--matching--pair, thanks to a Ravelry, and a knitter willing to help a fellow knitter in need. Life is good!

The return of socks

Socks on the needles are a good thing. Once I conquered my fear of socks (yes, I was afraid they were too "hard" for me), I found they're a great source of everyday knitting. I stick with simple patterns and lovely yarn to keep the experience rather Zen. No need to stress over socks!

The newest member of my sock collection sprang from this lovely yarn.



That's Colinette Jitterbug in the Tuscany colorway. I saw this in someone's stash and had to own it. It waited its turn patiently in the stash.



A couple of days ago, sock number one came off the needles. Now it just needs a mate. Though there's pleny of time before sock wearing weather, but I don't want to take a chance on letting this one languish alone. Today's goal: Get crackin' on sock number two!

Details: Modified garter stitch rib, 72 stitches knit on size 0 Addi turbos.

C is for casting on

Starting a new project...ahh, the possibilities! A yummy yarn cake to start.



And then the fine, squishy yarn--good to be girl colorway by Yarntini--goes onto the size 0 needles.



Great TV knitting, coming right up!

B is for blue moon

Seems I only have an FO to show once in a blue moon. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. These are the first items to come off the needles in 2008, so I guess that makes them special. (No matter that the first sock was begun in 2007!)



Well, these actually ARE blue moon socks, knit in the Opal Der Blaue Mond colorway. I saw this yarn sometime last year on flickr and just had to have it. I love the colors and I know these will be spending lots of time on my feet this winter.



You'll notice these socks are nearly identical, which is something I don't normally try for. I actually enjoy the fraternal sock pairs I've knit. However, when the first sock came off the needles I was really happy with the placement of the dark colors on the cuff and heel, so I decided to try to match the second as closely as possible. I think it worked out pretty well. Mission accomplished!

Specs: Opal Der Blaue Mond yarn, 72 stitches knit on size 0 Addi circs. Garter rib stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

More yarn=more knitting?

More yarn available to knit should mean more knitting, right? Hmm...sometimes true with me. My stash is small so I usually do have a *purpose* for the yarn I buy. One thing I don't mind stashing is sock yarn.



This yarn was definitely purchased with a purpose in mind. My mom has been saying for some time now that she'd enjoy a pair of handknit socks. My mom actually does knit a bit, and learned to make argyle socks when she was a teen. She's sticking with baby items, now, though, so she'd rather have me handle the sock knitting. Her birthday is mid-August so I cast on over the weekend for what I hope will be a gift for that special day.



A few months ago I sent her links to several yarns, and this is what she chose. I'm happy! Trekking is pretty much my favorite and I haven't had the chance to try this colorway--#108--before. I think these will be great blue jeans socks.

I also have this yarn patiently waiting to be gifted.



It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport, color #42. Intended for a baby sweater, although I'm hoping two skeins will do the job. We'll see!

Summer socks

It's summer, and the sock knitting continues! I'm not cranking out socks the way Wendy is, but I seem to always have a pair on the needles. Sometimes they languish, sometimes they progress very quickly. At any rate, socks seem to be the *only* thing (knit-wise, that is) that's getting my attention at the moment.



Another pair of Trekking socks (#107), newly-finished and ready for fall. What's funny about this pair is that my daughter asked, "Didn't you already knit a pair of those?" as I was workig on this colorway. She was remembering my Trekking 100 socks, which are a bit similar until you see them side-by-side.



In other knitting-related news, I'm having fun playing on Ravelry. What a great place! I'm still in the process of logging all my past projects, which has led to lots of time spent updating photos on flickr, looking up yarn specs and generally spending hours of my time playiing online. Oops! Guess the housework will just have to wait...again.

Technical difficulties

I picked up this sock again a couple of days ago; I knit the heel flap, turned the heel, started on the gusset, then set it aside. This morning I was happily knitting along until I noticed this.



See that weird purl ridge? There are only a few stitches there now, but I had about 18 stitches that were most definitely out of place. I decided to go ahead and fix the problem now by dropping the stitches one by one, letting them unravel a couple of rows to the incorrect row, then using my crochet hook to correct the stitch. What I didn't expect was the appearance of the orange yarn that's now hanging there! What?!

For every stitch I fix, the orange loop grows a little longer. How is that possible? I can't even figure it out. The only thing I know to do now is to pull that offending loop inside the sock, cut it, then weave in the ends when the sock is done. What do you think? I guess this will be the "wonky" sock of the pair!

Update: My evil plan for repairing this problem did not work! After much frustration and gnashing of teeth, I'm now back to a workable spot.



Pretty, eh?

When in doubt

Cast on socks! That seems to be my motto these days. I have other things I want to knit, and plenty of yarn to knit with. But lately my motivation is low, so I stick with what I know. Here's the newest sock to emerge.



I'm using Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in the Champlain Sunset colorway, given to me by my sister last year. I'm not sure these are really *my* colors, but I'll reserve judgment for wearability until they're done.



And what about the cute little bag? It's a GoKnit pouch by knowknits, purchased online from Scout's shop just before Christmas.

I had another (boring) bag I'd been using for socks, but I love this one! It's larger than I thought it would be, with plenty roomy for those giant skeins you sometimes have for sock knitting. There's also ample space for the needles and even a small accessories you might need. Very lightweight, lots of fun colors, a drawstring to keep everything inside--this one's a winner! Check 'em out. You know you want one!