Birthday Preasent # 5 (I think)

The latest finished socks are Embossed Leaves from Favorite socks, I like this pattern since it is easily memorized, pretty, very elastic, and impresses the Muggles. What else could one want in a sock pattern?

Since my Mom likes green, and socks, and has pretend stolen the socks I made for her sisters, (which are too big for her) I made her some pretty socks too.

No she does not read this blog, or any blogs for that matter.


The next socks are Socks that Rock in Mesa and will be 2X2 rib with baby cables in the leg portions I think, being sport weight they don't have enough stitches for fancy patterns so I will just enjoy the feel of the yarn and a simple pattern, since we are going on another road trip this will be good.

Also will get out one of my only remaining balls of Sockotta and start another cotton sock as well we would not want to run out of projects on the trip.

And What Did You Do This Weekend?

Lets start with a review of the week I have crawled down 5 inches from the underarm of beadwork. DK yarn, size 1 needles, (I broke one of my Crystal palace bamboo circulars) ancient anodized aluminum, have no idea of the brand. I have changed needles several times, started on an Ebony that was too short for the whole sweater, so moved to an Addy that is both too long and too slippery. Crystal Palace Bamboo was fine until it broke, and I dug thru the needle container and found the one I am using.

I like the way the pattern is coming out and
from more than working distance you can even see the diamond pattern. At working distance it blurs quite a bit.

The 2 pair of socks were the Springtime in Paris which were finished the other day, and the Solid Opal Embossed Leaves from Favorite Sock Book by Interweave.

These are the second pair and are easy to memorise, and knit even in a crowd. I am doing them toe up, (upside down) and had both socks up to the waste yarn for the heel, changed to 0 needles (foot worked with 00) on Friday evening
when we left home to pick up our oldest Granddaughter and off to That Book Place on the hilltop in Madison IN. Which is owned by Frank and Kim Hall.

Frank was a classmate of #1 son, who became a Baha'i while in high school so we have been close to him a long time. Attended his wedding, and see him every 19 days at least. Anyway Frank was one of the members of the teaching trip in 2000 and my boys had just discovered HP and had the first 3 books with them. Frank was with me when I went by the bookstore the day after it came out and got the 4th book. He wanted to know why I made a special trip to get a "children's" book. So I handed him the first book and told him to read it he might like it, For the next 2 weeks, the other kids would come and tell me to go take Frank's book away he needed to get on stage. All of the kids read the books on that trip.

When we walked into the bookstore Frank introduced me to everyone as the person who's fault it was that we were having the party. And told the first part of that story, (and I told the rest)

Anyway we had Chocolate Frogs, Treacle tart, Butterbeer, a Harry potter cake, chocolate wands, cockroach clusters, and Every Flavour Beans.

We played Harry potter Scene it, listened to the last chapter of book six. Had Harry Potter find-a-word and word-match puzzles. There was face painting, and a Costume contest.

We had a good time, picked up my copy of the book (Frank had sold all of the copies that he had) and then stopped at Kroger and got a copy for the granddaughter. Then came home and read for a while. A much better evening than I would have had at a large bookstore, I am sure.
I had not been intending to go get the book at midnight, but Frank called and ask us to please come. I had ordered the book from Amazon like the last 2, but he wanted me there and I thought Sierra would enjoy it so we went.

NO SPOILERS: I have finished reading it and will now go back to Beadwork, which has not been touched for 2 days.

New Week New Socks

Yesterday, Carl spent all day getting us back online, a lightening strike about 15 feet from the front of the house took out the network card in the gateway computer that connects us with the outside world. So while I was waiting to do some research that Megan needed I fumed and finished the Springtime in Paris (Six Sox Knitalong) That I have been making out of Knitpicks Yarn the merino no longer available.

They are supposed to be reversible and knitted inside out, so the purl side is the right side, and the knit side is the inside. But the pattern really doesn't show up very well either way.

Oh well it is another pair of socks and they will go with a lot of colors. This is the last of this yarn, I had 3 colorways and am not fond of any of the socks. But they will work for the "time to do the laundry" days.

Time to get some dinner and then off to collect the granddaughter and off to the local bookstore for the Harry Potter party. Butterbeer and chocolate frogs! Yumm! Blogging wil occur after the book is finished.

The Last Socks this week

I can say that because it is Saturday. These are Christopher's Birthday Socks.

They are Lorna's Laces in the Black Watch colorway, using the Sailor Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks.

And even more socks

Opal solids size 0 needles (00 for toes and heels) in Spey Valley pattern from Knitting on the Road I made the top of the leg pattern twice as long as given in the pattern and I like it better.

The Regia in blue/green/purple stripes are another pair of my version of Monkey Socks, upside down and afterthought heels. Size 0 needles with 00 for toes and heels and using the reinforcing yarn that comes with the Regia.

The Regia in shades of greens are knit in the Embossed Leaves pattern from Favorite Socks, same needles and reinforcing yarn.

And last there is one lone skein of Shetland 2 ply fingering weight yarn in dark teal. That is what I have done so far this summer, except for Christopher's birthday socks which I need to take a picture of.

And today I have knit 5 rows on Beadwork, no pictures because it looks very much like it did in the last picture.

I have some more Knitpicks yarn on the needles in the Six Sox Knitalong Springtime in Paris pattern. About half done.

More Socks

For my Stepfather's birthday I made him some warm socks. held a Regia sportweight medium grey with a fingering weight Milenweit black/grey/white fair isle self patterning and the reinforcing yarn for the heels and toes. Knit on a 2 I think. These should keep his feet warm and therefore the rest of him too. He complains of being cold all the time. Sits around in an insulated vest. And turns the air conditioning off if he gets half a chance.

Next up are some of the Sockotta default socks there is a blue-green multi color sock, and a red/ green/blue multi. and 2 pair of stripes.



The multis are knitted in the default pattern and one of the fair isle stripes is as well. I find this yarn very interesting since I cannot tell what it is going to look like when it is in the ball. I have one pair of Sockotta socks that I had no idea that they were going to stripe and the repeat is almost a whole sock.

The last of this series is a red/yellow/blue stripe in the Monkey socks pattern, at least it is my version of the monkey sock, since it is toe up, and has an afterthought heel and the pattern is upside down because I was too lazy to turn the chart up side down, and just knit it as written. I like them though.

These were all knit on 00 needles for the feet and the tops on 0's for a little extra room for the ankles to swell if they want to. (they often do in summer)

I'm Really not Dead

And I haven't even quit knitting but the interesting things have not been worked on. Rayne's sweater was finished and sent and I need a picture from Megan with Rayne wearing it. The Beaded socks were finished and given to Megan for her 30th birthday, and I need pictures of them too.

Otherwise I have finished the back of the Lizard sweater for Mark and started the front but at the moment it is a mass of ends, intarsia not much progress.

So what have I been doing? SOCKS, just socks, socks all the time. I wish i knew why Blogger has decided to turn the pictures sideways... Oh well.


These are the Knit Picks Landscape socks that I finally finished they have a baby cable in the ribbing, knitted on size 0 needles with an afterthought heel.

Knit pick sock yarn in Oriel from Sensational Knitted Socks page 63. knitted on size 0 needles. And I used almost every inch of the yarn. These were a fun knit but I did need the chart all the way through, so not a mindless knit.
These were made in Va Beach at my aunt Helen's house while we were there in May. We stayed with my brother Bob. I finished Christopher's birthday socks there


Next up are my Colinette Jitterbug Socks using size 0 needles and my default toe up 2X2 rib up foot and leg, afterthought heel they are soft and comfortable and fuchsia! What more could one want. The color sorta pools and sorta stripes so the dye was not completely even or my knitting is not completely even or something but I like them, and I will get some more if I see some in a color I like. I got this at Sophie's Fine Yarns in Louisville KY. One of my favorite local yarn shops.

The last time I was yarn crawling in Louisville I went to Dee's Crafts and found some ON Line Cotton in 2 colors I liked. It looks and knits a lot like Sockotta but has more muted colors. These are more pastel than they look in these pictures I don't know what was up with the camera, the light was off or something.

I did one pair in the default pattern and one in Waving Lace from Favorite Socks like sockotta I knit this yarn on 00 needles, to get the sock foot tight enough to be comfortable.

I have been knitting up all the cotton yarn (except the Fixation) because I felt that I was low on cotton socks for spring, summer, and early fall. I have 2 balls of Sockotta left in the stash boxes, and then I will be all out of lightweight cotton. Lots of Fixation left, I need to get some of it out and knit it up to see if I like them. (I have used it I just gave them away.)