I'm Spoiled

I received my third and final package from my Sockret Pal today! My spoiler is none other than Kate (click on her name and give her a visit, she's a fabulous gal and wonderful knitter). She has been sending me great stuff the past 6 months and this last package was stuffed to the brim. Inside was all this: a beautiful shawl pattern, a ball of Temptations (hairy) yarn, a ball of Naturally Tibet yarn (this wants to be a hat, I think), a ball of some lovely (friend) hand-dyed yarn (it looks sport weight, don't know the fiber content or yardage but it might make some socks), a package of some mini dinosaurs gummie candies (they are in my tummy already and they were yummy), and a nice cosmetic pouch with this in it.... a bar of lavender soap, a tube of lotion and a scrubbie. And as if that wasn't enough she knit me a pair of socks too!

They fit!! She must know how anal I am about my socks matching, because she made them match! They have a pretty lace motif going down the center front of the socks and another pretty lace motif on each side of the leg. Thank you Kate! You have been a wonderful spoiler.

A Girl Should Know Her Limitations

I participated in a "knit-off" this weekend. Over at Socktopia (come on over and join in on the fun). This past weekend (crazy sock knitting) volunteers were divided into two teams and were given a pattern to see who could knit a pair of socks the fastest (it turned out it was Monica, my dear sister...not on my team) and which team could knit the most pairs. I started knitting around 1pm Saturday afternoon and pretty much knit for about 8 hours straight (ok, I did take potty breaks...and I did eat too). I really tried to finish the first sock in 12 hours and I got close too, but my eyes just wouldn't stay open. I kitchnered the toe at about 8am Sunday morning. The second sock I finished this morning at 11:38am. Less than 48 hours and I had a pair of socks. My hands were cramping up (esp the right one) and my left arm was killing me. Gigi (Momma Monkey) gave us a great pattern to knit (she calls it Eleanor), I chose to knit it in some Cherry Tree Hill Potluck that has been sitting in my stash for a year and a half (it finally decided what it wanted to be). I'm very pleased with my new pair of socks, hopefully we'll get some more cool days and I'll be able to wear them. Mandy's lime green sock is to the foot, as is my Opal Elements sock. I'm about to begin the 4th pattern repeat on the leg of Monica's birthday sock. So progress continues on my SIP's after a brief interuption. More later!

A Little Bit of This And A Little Bit of That

Woo Hoo!!! I finished my first Edelweiss Sock (Vogue Knitting fall 2006). And all the ends are woven in too (very tedious work that). I haven't cast on the second yet (but I will soon). I was afraid that it would be a tad tight but it fits very nicely. I'm quite pleased with the way this first one turned out.

And since I had empty needles, I started a pair of socks from a new book on my shelf, Favorite Socks (Interweave Knits new book). This is the Mock Wave Cable (the name is misleading, no cables on this sock at all). I'm using Knit Picks Essentials Tweed in the plum colorway. I got this yarn last summer when it first came out. I like it better than the original Essentials, but it's very slippery on the needles.

Another pattern in that book is the Retro Rib socks. I'm knitting these for Mandy. She requested lime green socks and our LYS happened to get in a shipment of Cherry Tree Hill that had a skein of lime green in it. She is so lucky. This is 9 repeats on the leg so far, I'll do a few more before starting the heel.

And to give myself a break from all those patterned socks, I started a plain sock in some Opal Elements for myself. These will look great with jeans.

The pair I started for Monica for her birthday is coming along nicely too, but you'll have to wait until after May 13th (her birthday) to see those.

That's all for now. More later!

Shades Of Grey...

...For Project Spectrum. These are the socks I knit for my son. The pattern is the Railway Stitch from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I knit them in Trekking XXL 102. 60 stitches on size US1, 4 repeats on the leg, 13-1/2 repeats on the foot. C.J. likes short socks and these are probably longer than he would like but I'm not ripping them out. He's tried them on and they fit (but he still wants to know when I'm going to finish his sweater, he's like a broken record about that sweater).

One more work day before the weekend (I can not wait!!!!), this has been longest, most boring week. And my SIP's are dwindling, I think I need to cast on a few more (get that feeling of normalcy again).

Have a great weekend! More later.

It's Been One Year

Today is my 1 year Blogiversary!! I can't believe it, time is flying by. No contest, no prizes. I just wanted to acknowledge it.
My Pal (SockretPal) has received her package so I have put a picture of the socks I knit her on my Flikr. She hasn't blogged about them yet, so I won't put one up on this post.
Have a great week. And I hope you've remembered (those that have to) to set your clocks ahead 1 hour.

I've Been Seduced

I finished my March Socktopia Socks!!! Here are my "It Isn't Easy Being Green" socks. I used the Seduction Sock pattern from IK. Because I had only one skein of the Louet Gems sport weight yarn (thank you Monica) I wanted to make sure I had enough to finish a pair of socks. Monica advised me to knit them on size 3 needles and with 48 stitches. It worked out perfectly (thanks again Monica)!! I had enough but there wasn't much left over. They fit great (although the legs are about an inch shorter than I normally knit them, but that's ok). So, that is one seduction.

The second is....

Everyone knows that sock yarn doesn't count in yarn stash or purchases. I mean it's one maybe two skeins for a pair of socks. So, since it doesn't count, I acquired some more this week. Enough to make 4 pair of socks (ok maybe more, if I knit some baby or child size socks from the leftovers). Would you like to see? It's very pretty and oh so tempting.

At the top is Fleece Artist in Seashore. And the three Lorna's are from left to right: Child's Play, Vera, and Sand Ridge. I think I'm balancing out the "Martha and Frank" in me.

I think I will work on C.J.'s socks now and finish those up. I don't have much more to knit on the first one. And I have started a pair for my favorite sister for her May birthday (I will not be showing those off until they are gifted). And I still need to finish my Edelweiss socks. And Mandy would like some lime green socks. So, I better get busy! Have a great weekend!! More later!

Double Duty

This pair of socks is pulling double duty. It covers UFO Resurrection and SAM3. I give you the completed Cable and Rib socks (Nancy Bush IK Fall 2005). The stats are as follows: Regia 4-ply 5033, Leg: 70 stitches, Foot: 68 stitches, Started: can't remember, Finished: 3/6/07.

I also finished the first of my Socktopia March socks..."It Isn't Easy Being Green" (Seduction) socks. And as you can see, I have cast on the second (no SSS for me, thank you very much). Hopefully I'll have this pair done by the end of the week.

So that's what I've been up to lately. Just my normal obsessive sock knitting. I'll be sending my SockretPal her last package tomorrow, so as soon as I know she's received it I will post a picture of the socks I knit her. I hope they fit her and she loves them. Please love them. Ok, I'll obsess about that privately. I am so my mother's daughter! More later, promise.