The Snow Queen wears cozy socks

Way too long since the last post. 16 pairs of gloves were knitted and given away to friends and family. Still have enough for 3 or 4 more pairs, but that can wait a bit.

I finished "Unity", a Berroco sweater design, and I like it very much - warm but lightweight and soft.

Can't seem to keep away from sock knitting - I don't quite know why, given the fact that there are always two to make. Maybe it's the portability, but I think it's more because of the beauty of sock yarn and the huge variety of patterns available, many of which expand my knitting "envelope".

These latest socks are called "Snow Queen" from the book Enchanted Sole by Janel Laidman. I used the yarn suggested, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Lightweight in the "Winter Solstice" colorway. Had to go down a needle size to get gauge, but that's okay. The finished socks are, on my short calves, kneesock length - perfect for cold gray winter days.

Glovular Love

I've been knitting for 37 years now. I've knitted socks, hats, mittens, scarves, shawls, sweaters, vests, washcloths, ornaments, and tea cozies, but I've NEVER attempted to knit any sort of gloves. The idea of knitting all those fingers one after another just seemed too finicky for me. Besides, don't fingers stay warmer inside mittens?

This fall, however, I've been eyeing a lovely pair of gloves on display at Marji's Yarncrafts (knit by Marji herself). They're from Noro's book Mini Knits - "Design #27" The pattern calls for just one skein of Noro Silk Garden Lite. I bought the book and one skein of yarn, drove home, and cast on.

I was sure that I would make one pair, but ONLY one pair. All those fingers...all those yarn ends to weave in...one pair would be enough.

Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when I finished the first pair in one evening! The pattern was easily memorized, my size 5 Addi Turbos were smooth as silk, and the colors of the Noro yarn were constantly changing in lovely, subtle ways.

So, one pair was just the beginning. I'm now working on the 7th pair of gloves! I can finish a pair in two evenings. The only problem I have with the pattern is that it claims to require just one skein of Silk Garden Lite, but I've found that I run out of yarn just as I'm starting the second pinky finger. So I buy two balls of each colorway.

Guess what a lot of friends and family are getting for Christmas this year???

Look What I Made!

Well, I've completed two pairs of Yoga Socks (thanks, Yarns International!) for Christmas giving. Not very exciting, BUT I made them from my very own handspun! Go me! I'm very pleased at the way the two pairs turned out - the yarn is soft and seems to be balanced. Certainly better than the vest I made from the rescued (maybe shouldn't have been rescued?) single ply from years ago.

I'll be knitting several more pairs of Yoga Socks - but I'm not saying who they're going to!

Look What I Got!!!

Rhinebeck 2009 has come and gone, and what a fine time it was! Pam picked me up at 7:30 sharp - we arrived at the fairgrounds at 9:15. It was a cold and windy day, but the rain stayed away. A hat would have helped but we managed to stay fairly warm nonetheless. We hit ALL the barns, and my $300 was quickly drained as I bought (mostly) fiber for spinning. I did buy some yarn, including a hat kit, 5 skeins of "Sylvan Spirit" from Green Mountain Spinnery (along with their newest book, 99 Yarns and Counting), and some Shelridge Farm sock yarn for Nancy Bush's "Canada" sock in Knitting on the Road.

We were smart this year - had an early lunch of lamb ravioli and beat the LONG lines that formed by noontime. Later we treated ourselves to hot apple crisp with ice cream - yum!

Here's a photo of the fiber I bought!

Spey Valley meets Pine Star

I've begun Nancy Bush's Spey Valley socks from Knitting on the Road. The yarn is from Pine Star Studio, purchased at Fiber College in September of 2009. The colors are absolutely lovely, and the merino/silk blend is perfect.

Not Sure About This...

Here's the completed Abrazo Vest. I finished it this morning and modeled it for my husband. He hesitated for just a nanosecond too long - he doesn't like it. Actually, he doesn't like the yarn. Boohoo.

I guess I don't like the yarn, either. Though rescued from a life buried in the stash vault, it's unbalanced, thus it still skews.

Oh, well. I've got enough left to knit at least 2 pairs of Super Bulky Mittens.

Rescue Redux

This weekend I was rootling about in the stash - always a dangerous activity (I usually remember to attach a lifeline to reality but forgot this time) - when I came across several skeins of handspun. Handspun by Penelope, circa 2002??? Part of it was no longer in skein format, but was knit up into some monstrosity of a self-designed garment. The horror is that the garment was being knitted with - gasp - a single ply yarn. Nooooooooo, you say, but don't click the Back button yet. With my newfound grasp of the fact that singles are good for weaving but not so much for knitting, I yanked the skeins/balls/partially frogged garment out of the bin and proceeded to rescue - via plying - the yarn.Now, in 2002, my spinning prowess was, shall we say, limited. I knew so little about spinning...the tension band confused me (which way to turn the screw to tighten???), and predrafting - what's that??? Suffice it to say that the singles weight was a heavy worsted, and, now that it's plyed, I'm not sure if "Super Bulky" is descriptive of the rope you see in these photos.

Well. I'm now on the prowl for super super super bulky patterns. Or maybe I'll just donate this "yarn" to the nearest ship's chandler.