New Sock of Kindness

Ok, ok!!!! My knitting blog was getting increasingly jealous when I updated the boring blog with today's snowfall and the stained glass blog with progress on my fireplace screen, so I was FORCED to update this one, as well.

This is what I've been working on:

The new rendition of the Sock of Kindness. I think it looks lots better than the previous one done in the purple. As you can see, the second sock is well underway, and should be done within the week.

Unfortunately, it seems the blog had every intention of keeping me awake all night unless its demands were met and it was updated like it's sister blogs!

Don't you hate it when your blog acts up???

There Be Clogs Here!

I have finished knitting and felting my very first pair of clogs! Aren't they cool?

These are from a Fiber Trends pattern purchased at my LYS.

I used Cascade yarns, double-strand and felted in my washing machine for about 20 or 30 minutes. They are still a bit "moist" after a day and a half of drying, so have them on my feet. Not such a great idea, since it is only about 8 degrees in St. Louis tonight!

I fell in love with the colors and think they came out great, especially for my first try at clogs.

Finally Been Knitting Again

Ok - so I haven't blogged since May - I hear you moaning (or is that cheering?) Anyway, I finally got into the knitting mode just before Christmas with some nice, ancient KnitPicks Hollyberry yarn. Decided to make just a nice pair of socks and fell back on my favorite Blueberry Waffle pattern. No biggie. So, managed to finish these . . . . oh . . . . . about December 27th. Yeah - poor timing!

But for Christmas - got a "real" sock blocker. The ones pictured above I fashioned myself out of stuff called "foam core" - which is basically styrofoam coated with thick paper on both sides. Actually, I personally think they work quite well - especially when you consider how long I've been out of work! Anyway, today I got the required size "0" needles and made a sock . . . . Isn't it just the cutest thing ever???

And this is REALLY the coolest thing - when you put the two socks - one normal and one tiny - you get a feel for how incredibly tiny that thing is!! I'm just amazed by it!

Now I want to make an entire wardrobe of tiny keychain socks! Isn't like I don't have enough leftover skein ends to make all sorts of spiffy tiny socks! I can hardly wait. Wish there was a knitting fairy who would come and knit them while I sleep ;)

Hope you had great holidays and that the New Year brings all your knitting wishes true!

And Now for Something Completely Different . . . . .

The Sock of Kindness is really turning out very pretty! I cast on for this last night in Tofootsie yarn that niece Gwyndy gave me for my birthday over a year ago! It is turning out quite lovely and I can't wait to see how it looks finished!

Of course, I'm not a fan of the short-row heels everybody's raving about, so I'll mostly likely do my own thing once it gets to that point. Stay tuned!

New Pair of Socks - FO

I've officially finished another pair of socks! These came out so pretty. Made on size one needles, it was hard getting used to the tiny stitches! I'm glad these are done and I can move on to something new and different.

Actually, that's the most difficult part - finding just the right pattern for whatever yarn I have in my stash! But I'll be working on that tomorrow. Today, we bask in the glory and satisfaction of a new pair completed - no second sock syndrome!

Ah - Almost Spring . . .

And now, for my niece, who seems to have a serious case of the knitting "blahs," I present the following:

"What's this?" I hear her scream! Sock blockers??? Well - actually - NO. These are blockers of my own design. I made them from a sheet of foam core I had on hand . . . provided I had known where to look for it. Turns out it was in the basement - buried. So, for a month I've been cleaning and re-arranging the basement and have managed to toss (so far) three dumpsters of trash. Got rid of loads of really old, gross stuff, gave fluorescent light fixtures to my brother, and found countless things I've missed, including important papers (discovered hidden in my old brief case from yesteryear).

Anyway . . . here are the completed leaf lace socks, the first of the twisted rib socks, and - what the heck - took Lady Eleanor outside for a stroll in the sun.

Please note - these are the very first daffodills in the yard to bloom. Also, right at the toe of the twisted ribs below and kind of surrounding it are some snowbells.

The lady is stuck on the fence . . . as many women are. Yuc-Yuc. So, that's it for my knitting. As you can tell, I've been knitting throughout the winter, just not blogging about it. Sorry.

Semi-Retired

Even in my "semi-retirement" I have tried to keep busy. Not always easy, since "napping" seems to have become some sort of "activity." Anyway, in between naps, meals, sleeping, computer gaming, and working on stained glass (see blog link to left), I have done some knitting!

This is the Falling Leaves pattern done in Fiber Trends "Peridot." I'm really loving it! Even after completing the first sock, the second one seems to be going quite quickly!
So, here you have the lovely, completed first sock:



















A nice close up of the pattern:



















And the intimidating "star toe." I say intimidating, since I've only ever done one kind of toe on the socks I've knit, so even thought about bypassing this in favor of the tried and true variety. But once I read through the directions, this was even easier than the normal toe! And looks really neat, to boot!