Socks That Rock Silkie that came in the 2007 sock club. First time I've ever knit with a silk blend. It's wonderful. The skein was just enough for some chevron scarf action.
It was also the first time I had ever blocked using those lace T-pin things. Fun!
After using leap day to make my Feb. quota, I revved up the engine and finished a pair of socks for March with time to spare.
Pattern by Jeni and yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in a custom colorway for Bobbin's Nest in Santa Clara, CA.
I'm done with one of the Moon River socks. 
Jeni's pattern is great and the Hazel Knits artisan sock yarn is delicious.
Also, it looks a lot less like a wine cosy if I pull the sock farther down the bottle!
I cast on for the second and am sailing through it. Woo!
Here's the Moon River sock so far (75 row chart). The pattern is great, fun and fast. The Hazel Knits yarn base is lovely, very smooth and tightly twisted.
I'm about to divide for the heel, but first, a photo shoot.
My husband watched this photo shoot and then asked me if I'd ever made a wine cosy.
Thank goodness for leap year. It bought me an extra day to finish my 2nd pair of socks for 2008.
The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill in the African Grey colorway, purchased from my LYS, Full Thread Ahead.
The first pair of 2008 were socks I started back in October for socktoberfest but totally lagged on. These are the Cedar Creek Socks by Kaci Kyler Hayes.
Pattern purchased from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and yarn is Socks That Rock in Mist, on size 1.
What's next? The lovely Moon River socks by Jeni, knit of the fancy sock yarn dyed by Hazel Knits.
Stitches West in Santa Clara never disappoints. The classes were excellent and the vendors had wonderful yarns, kits, patterns and gee gaws.
Some Fleece Artist and Handmaiden came home with me. I had first purchased Casbah at my LYS, Full Thread Ahead. A Canadian retailer was at Stitches and had some other colorways.
It's lovely stuff. The small percentage of cashmere is noticeable by touch and the sheen of the yarn.
I also bought handspun for the first time. I'm thinking a nice hat of this Fiber Fiend handspun:
A fun time was had by all and pics of the bobaknitters have been posted at Knitflix.
Ok, when my Brittany Birch needles snapped, I ran to Purlescence to buy replacements. I ended up getting the Hiya Hiya needles, and very shortly after I emailed the folks at Brittany, they sent me replacements. Way to go with that warranty!!!
Anyway, I only went for needles but then I saw that they had Manos silk---Manos makes silk?!
Isn't it purdy? It's very soft too.
Anyway but I digress. I have been on a serious hat knitting kick--but not my usual one of kiddy hats. I am pretty much obsessed with kiddy hats but hey, after reading Crazy Aunt Purl, I realized my standard kiddy hat recipe would work for adults too if I used bulky yarn. Genius!!!
Since I think 64 is the magic number for hat knitting (and makes such pretty decrease spirals), I was pretty tickled when I realized the Brangelina hat that Crazy Aunt Purl cooked up is 64 stitches as well. Hey, I can do that.
So I put two strands of Merino Gold together with one strand of mohair and Voila, my first Brangelina hat. Cost--somewhere around $30...or it would have been if it werent' the fabu FullThreadAhead new year's sale!!!
The merino gold is firm and not especially soft, but holds its shape perfectly for a hat and gives just a bit of glamour. The mohair strand gives the perfect bit of fuzzy halo. I loved that hat. It was gorgeous. Apparently my mom thought so too since she snagged it last week. Here's the one photo I have it -- me in La Jolla at Torrey Pines waiting to see Jim Furyck tee off.
I loved this hat pattern so much that I went to Knitting in La Jolla on Prospect and purchased 1 hank of Berroco Ultra Alpaca, and 1 hank of Colinette Shimmer mohair (50% off!!!) to make a second hat. I double stranded the Alpaca too which gave a nice firm, warm fabric.
oh, and I'm still working on the socks for 2008. I have even been using stash. Feeling pretty virtuous about that. Here is the first of my Lorna's Laces, Argyle colorway in sportweight. I used the Ann Budd recipe in IK with an eastern cast on toe for the toe up, and then a simple ribbing pattern until I got over the calf. Oh, short row heel which I suck at, used Cosmic Pluto's tutorial which has good pics.
Went up one needles size over the last bit of ribbing and then did a very very very loose i-cord bindoff. I think it's looser than the EZ sewn cast off.
Have already cast on the 2nd one, so no SSS for me. I hope.
Very hard to take a photo of one's own leg. Is this photo gruesome? Maybe I should wait next time and only take photos when I've completed a pair.
or more accurately, the year of 12 pairs of socks, or perhaps, the year of 24 socks. That's my new year's resolution (that, along with taking vitamins). Anyway, I tried to finish the tofutsies socks from hell, but I was distracted by the loveliness of Maui.
Of course, before we flew out for Maui, we left some pretty chilly Northern Californian weather (I know, midwesterners think I'm a wimp) and so I was furiously knitting toddler socks.
Incidentally, I never realized it was so hard to buy wool socks for children until I had a toddler with cold feet. All the storebought socks here are cotton/nylon.
Artyarns from Full Thread Ahead to the rescue:
Toddler socks go quickly. So quickly that if you get distracted, you might do this:
Whoops.
Or even better, you resolve to make both socks longer and then you discover it comes down to this:
Doh! Had to kitchener the toe with some random stash yarn.
Of course, I did manage to finish these in Maui--not that we needed them in the 79 Degrees F weather.
This is the lovely Lorna's laces in rainbow in shepherd sport on size 4 needles, pattern from Ann Budd's Handy book of patterns.
Then I started some socks for myself but got too vigorous.
I have written to Brittany Birch so hopefully I will have some replacement needles soon. In the meantime, I picked up some Hiyahiya needles from my LYS to keep going.
btw, very proud to share that this is my oldest sock yarn from stash. It's Cherry Tree Hill in African Grey and Kristi and Cookie were the only reason I bought it. Now I'm glad I did, it's beautiful and it's the reason I was motivated to learn how to knit a sock in the first place. Go sock evangelists!
but it's 71 degrees F out, so clearly not scarf weather.
Pattern: A Scarf Askew from MagKnits
Yarn: Cascade Venezia from my LYS. 2 skeins.
Mods: Venezia is a lovely bulky merino and silk yarn. The label suggests a size 8 or 9 needle. I went up to 10.5, which still wasn't lacy enough. I cast on 28 stitches, instead of the 35 that the pattern calls for due to the bigger yarn and needles I used.
I love the yarn, very springy and lovely. The scarf will go great with my coats once the temps finally cool down here!
