The Little Red Hen

Lacy Rib Socks

I've finished another sock! These are adapted from Evelyn Skae's Lacy Rib Baby Socks pattern.  Adele chose Bare by Knit Picks for the socks. It is a very soft Merino wool and silk blend. (70% wool, 30%silk)

I'll be taking a little break from the sock knitting to work on some other projects the next month or two.

I actually started a mini shawl - the infamous Ishbel - and found that I am very used to knitting in the round. Knitting rows in two directions took some getting used to. I am trying it in lace weight alpaca from Briar Rose Fibers. 

There are also a few secret sewing/knitting/crafting projects in the works with a deadline in a couple of months...I think you probably understand that.  

I  have a couple of shows coming up and would like to get some quilts finished for those.

How are your fall projects going?

John Moores Crew Socks

You would think I could have whipped out a crew sock pretty quickly. I have done it in just a few hours before. Well, not so this time. I have been working on this sock since back in July. I guess the problem was that I was NOT working on this sock since back in July. The end of summer brings so much to do with the garden and harvest that there just is not time to sit and knit. We work outside until it is dark most nights which can be quite late in the summer. It is getting dark at about 8:00 now so I have been squeaking in a little knit time before going to bed. Ah, fall.

So, here they are, the next in the "Two Make a Pair" series. These are A's. She has been very patient waiting for them. I think she has taken to finishing some of her own pairs in the mean time. Sorry, dear.

I do like the colors in this yarn. Very pretty. And the stripes matched up perfectly!

These crew socks were knit using Sox by Berroco in color 1425.

75% Superwash wool, 25% Nylon.

Matching Socks on a Beautiful Blue Sky Day

For our latest pair of socks in the two make a pair project we used some yarn I spun in the early spring. We whipped up a pair of crew socks to show off the color in the yarn. There was enough of the yarn left that I knit a pair for P too! Now we have matching socks. The roving I used is an interlacements superwash merino.
 
The sky was such a pretty blue we felt we had to capture that in our photos too! But we got a little itchy, and the sun was in our eyes so we had to be quick.

Stash Busting Crew Socks - or Bench Monday Socks

New socks on a Monday can only mean one thing, modeling the new socks while standing on a bench.  I got up this morning, put on my new socks Adele dropped off yesterday in a surprise visit, dragged out one of the new chairs I bought at the preschool garage sale, and took some photos.
The ground in the garden is very soft. Luckily I managed to stay on the chair for the timer count down.

The socks are quick crew socks in K2, P2 ribbing. The yarn is Trekking XXL from my stash.  They were an easy knit for hectic days.  And, again, Adele did a super job of matching stripes all the way to the toe! Thanks.

After the photo shoot I thought I had killed three birds with one shot as they say.
1. Photos of the socks for the blog.
2. Self portrait of the dayI
3. The Bench Monday shot of the week.

Well, P really likes Mondays. This is the conversation from last night.
me: "Do you know what tomorrow is?"
P: "no."
me: "Monday, what do we do on Mondays?"
P: "Take pictures of ourselves standing on things."

yeah, it's what we do.

Soooooo, this is what happened when P got up.

She stole my shot. You only get to have one photo a week in the Bench Monday group.

So. She got the Bench Monday photo and I got my photo shoot for the blog.

I hope you all had a great Monday

Monkey Socks

I am quite happy with the finished Monkey Socks. I think they turned out great. It is a pretty easy pattern to knit. The pattern we used is Monkey by Cookie A.

The yarn A chose is Heart and Sole by Red Heart.  I tried to match the stripes but it was not clear until I had knit a fair amount of my sock that the two skeins of yarn were wound in opposite directions. If I had knit my sock starting with the outer end of the skein the stripes would have worked out. 

Otherwise, they were a fun pattern to knit.  I finished knitting my sock this morning and had the pair photographed and in the mail to Adele by noon. I have already started my next sock.

It is a sickness.   You probably already know that. 

It is a good feeling to know I am writing to an audience who understands. You do understand don't you?

Two Make a Pair WIP

two socks

not quite a pair.

Limbo Socks

I mentioned earlier that I am on a mission to use up a lot of the yarn I have on hand. Since I started knitting socks about eight years ago I have made quite a few socks for B out of Limbo yarn. I hadn't been able to find any for a few years and only had one ball left. I was very excited when A found a ball of this yarn in her yarn stash. Each of us made a quick utility crew sock and- voila- another pair of socks for B. It was nice to add another pair to his sock pile as some of his socks have recently needed darning.  I need to find some other yarn that he will like as well as the Limbo.
Next up in the two make a pair project - monkey socks.

Waving Lace Socks

I got a package from A in the mail today! New socks! I have been having such a busy time lately that I had forgotten about the one I made!
The pattern for these is Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark in Favorite Socks by Interweave press.

The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot Lupine. 60% Superwash wool, 25% mohair, 15%nylon.  I know they will be toasty warm next winter.

They were a great pick me up today! I needed it as our freezer in the basement went out and we lost everything in there including the rest of our frozen pie fillings, 25 jars of jam, and three gallon bags of blue berries. 

Girl's Lacy Socks

I think everyone who knits socks should have a knitting partner. It is so much fun. I love getting hand knit treasures in the mail.  Just before we left on our trip to Florida I got a package from A. that had one of these socks and more pink yarn.

She had chosen the pattern, Girl's Lacy Socks in Vogue Knit to Go sock book and used some pink yarn she had on hand to make socks for P. This was a great project to work on while on vacation and I finished my sock on the plane ride home.

The yarn is Wildfoote Sonatina, shades of pink with a touch of orange for spark. 75% wool, 25% nylon.
The pattern was easy to follow and quick to knit, however, I did the cuff a little different from the instructions. I turned under the hem and knit it together as I went instead of hemming it after the sock was finished.
P loves them because, you know, they are PINK.

Sock knitting partner - if you don't have one, get one.

Waving Lace WIP

I'm working on my next sock, Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn Clark.  These are from the same pattern as the socks on the cover of Interweave's Favorite Socks.  I like the design but I find that mine are not turning out quite like the pink socks in the book.  For the lace pattern the eyelets in one direction are made with a yarn over after a purl and before a knit. The eyelets slanting in the other direction are made with a yarn over after a knit and before a purl.  I find that the latter eyelets are larger than the others because I have to wrap the yarn all the way around the needle before the next stitch. I know it is not a big deal but the socks on the cover of the book have that nice zig zag line of eyelets that I am just not achieving here. I do like the wavy ridge design when they are not stretched.

I have to remind myself that they are just socks. As my grandmother would say, "No one will notice from a galloping horse..."

Does anyone else have this problem with eyelets?