Chrissy's sock book

Chrissy Gardiner's sock book is now up for sale on Amazon.com. Here is the official website. I test knitted several patterns in the book. So, I thought I'd show off the socks.
--There are easier to make socks contained in Chrissy's book, but I like challenges.

Here is Sakura, with size 1 needles and knitted with Knit Picks Essential terrain twist.



Next comes Great Plains socks in Spunky Eclectic Super Nova with size 2 needles.



Then here is Fjordland with KP Essential yarn -- grass, pine, and buckskin. This was the first colorwork sock I'd ever done.



Finally, here is Diamond Lucy in mercerized cotton crochet thread (size 10) and size 1 needles. (The sock is designed for regular sock yarn. But, I wanted to see how cotton would work in a sock. It's supposed to work nicely and to get softer with each wash. I still don't know for sure since my DD liked it so much that she took it and its mate with her.)

a life line

I used a life line for the first time recently in completing this shawl -- Amethyst Wrap by Chrissy Gardiner. The wrap is made with Abstract Fiber Mighty Sock yarn in Broadway Bridge, using size 5 needles. (I sample knitted the wrap for Abstract Fiber.)

The pattern has a 24 row repeat. I wasn't sure whether there was enough yarn to work another last repeat. So, I threaded some dental floss through the tightening hole of one of my Knit Picks interchangeable needles and worked the pattern across and then broke off the dental floss. Then I started to knit another pattern repeat. I came up a few rows too short. But, it was surprisingly easy to frog back to the life line and start the edging from there.

I left the life line in while blocking the scarf. To my amazement, it helped in the blocking process. The edge with the dental floss didn't flare out at all. Plus it turned out perfectly even across. The other edge flared out slightly and showed the effects of the lace pattern in that the edge had definite peaks and valleys.

early May 2009

The other day when I went out to get the mail and also bring the trash bins back into the garage, I glanced at the front porch and wondered to myself "why is there a duck decoy on the front porch?" I stared at it a bit and then saw it move slightly and realized that it wasn't a fake duck but a real one. After getting the mail and trash bins inside, I took my camera and shot this picture of the duck, now on the walk in front of the porch.

I got some lovely flowers for Mother's Day. Here they are on our dining room table. In back are some forced bulbs that I'll be able to plant in the garden this fall (or maybe earlier). I also got seasons 1 and 2 of "The Office" on dvd and an ice cream cake.

Finally, for now, here's a pic of the May 2009 "dishcloth" from the Yahoo! Monthly Dishcloth Group. The local knitting group is making squares for a blanket or two to donate to Habitat for Humanity. So, this "dishcloth" is made from acrylic. And since it's going to be in a blanket, I didn't make as large a margin as usual. In fact, I started out with a knitted cast on and just knit 2 rows before starting the pattern. The side margins are slip 1, k1 to start and k2 to end. It's supposed to be 9" x 7", but it ended up only 8 1/2" wide.

Filbert nut trees

I received my filbert nut (aka hazelnut) seedlings from Arbor Day earlier this week and planted them yesterday. The trees are just babies. Two of the three still have a half nut attached. But, from past experience with Arbor Day, the trees will do just fine. (I got some lilacs last year.)

I'm getting caught up on some old knitting. After deciding that Estes Park (SotS3) wouldn't work as a curtain in wool (Though, I may try it in cotton.), I restarted the shawl and added beads. And since I was restarting the stole, I decided to make it more even (a la Monk). So, this is the result so far. It has size 8 beads with it (which are difficult to find around here.) I'm now using Knit Picks lace-weight bare (with size 4 needles). White just goes better with snowflakes and drifts. The first try at the shawl was in a brown heather.

I'm still also working on the kitchen curtain and the placemat/kitchen towel/runner. (I can't decided what to make.) My latest thought is to make a short runner and placemats to match. I'm almost done with the first of 2 panels for the curtain and now just have to figure out how to attach the curtain to a rod.

Another project is another shawl -- this one knit with size 6 needles and Noro Kureyon Sock (S95). I bought one skein of the yarn while visiting London. Then I started the shawl and discovered that I needed another skein (which I then ordered on ebay). It's hard to believe that the 2 skeins are the same color, but they are. I just haven't gotten to the bright part of the skein from England. The brighter-looking skein is the one I got from ebay in the US.

Weihnacht

The shawl that I started Christmas Eve (a design from Moni) is now finished. It was hibernating while I knit socks.

I worked it to Clue 9 and Edging 9 with size 4 needles and KP Shadow sunset heather. It took fewer than 3 skeins. It's a triangular shawl -- about 36" long.

Now I can work on the KAL from Rachel's knitting room -- which I think I'll turn into a kitchen towel. Though, it would make a lovely runner .... and placemats to match would look great (as a friend told me).

I've also restarted Nautical Knitter's Secret of the Stole 3 (Estes Park). A few months ago I decided that I wouldn't care for a curtain made from KP Shadow (or any other wool yarn). I'd much prefer mercerized cotton. Plus the brown color I was using wouldn't look good in the kitchen. But, I like the pattern and so I'm restarting it with the first few rows changed to make a smoother edge.

a late St Patrick's Day post

A few weeks late, here are some pictures from our visit to Chicago on March 14th. The Chicago River was dyed green that morning. And here are my DD, DS2, and DH gazing at the river downtown. (We actually got out of the car this time.)

It was also π (pi) - day. And our car (the G-6) turned π times a power of 10 as well.

On our way home (near downtown), we passed by this sign for Route 66 -- which I just had to take a picture of.

March summary

I've done quite a bit of test knitting in the last few weeks. At the right are a toddler's (2-4 yrs) scarf and hat designed by KT Vaughan. The hat is pointed and the scarf has a hole to keep it secure around the neck. I love the ribbing.

I even did some test crocheting.

Unfortunately, I can't show much of what I knitted. Suffice it to say that I knitted several short row toes and heels for a book that Chrissy Gardiner is going to self publish. And, I don't hate short rows as much as I used to.

-- pictures to follow later......

There is another picture that I can post -- a tank top designed by LFS Alden. I used KP shine worsted and size 7 needles. I changed the facing for the neck and armholes to purl 1 rnd after picking up and knitting and then to bind off with a yo bo. I'm so happy to have found a pattern that looks so good with this yarn.

Now, I've returned to knitting the Weihnacht (Christmas) shawl designed by Moni. I hope to have it finished by Easter. I'm also working on the latest KAL offered by Rachel.

Finally, I posted the pattern for the Fair Isle hat that I made as a result of Elizabeth Lovick's tutorial -- The pattern is posted at Ravelry. A picture of the hat is in a previous post in this blog.

Results of an Experiment

More than a year ago, I got into a discussion of whether giving a dishcloth a vinegar bath helped. So, I decided to experiment. I gave the upper right hand corner a bath in hot water with baking soda (a base) and the lower left hand corner a bath in hot water with vinegar (an acid). The diagonal from the upper left hand corner to the lower right hand corner did not get a bath. Here is a pic of the cloth just after blocking. It has faded a lot since then and stretched out a lot sideways.

Bases are used to set the dye for plant-based fibers. Acids are used to set the dye for animal-based fibers. And, of course, cotton is a plant-based fiber. However, a lot of people use vinegar baths for dishcloths. (I found out just recently that some people use a salt water bath.)

Then I waited a while before using the cloth so I would forget which corner was which (to make the experiment double blind).

Well, there isn't much difference in the two corners. To me, it looks as though the vinegar corner held its color a bit better, but not much.

However, I've come to another conclusion. Giving a dishcloth a hot water bath helps. This dishcloth is the hardest one I have to keep clean. In fact, it's the only one with stains. -- And this picture is just after it was washed in the wash machine. It also seems to have stretched out sideways more than any other of my dishcloths.

So, I don't think it makes much of a difference whether ones gives a dishcloth a hot-water bath in vinegar, baking soda, or salt. The important part is giving the cloth a bath before use. I'll continue to give my dishcloths a hot-water vinegar bath for the reasons that acids like vinegar, tea, and lemon juice are often used to rinse out soap and I like the smell (even of vinegar). I may try out a salt water bath, though.

Destashing

For the last couple of weeks, I've been working at using up yarn.

The first bit of yarn that I used up was leftovers from a couple of my favorite socks -- due to Liz Lovick offering a Fair Isle tutorial in the EZasPi Yahoo! group. I made my first Fair Isle hat and only the second bit of Fair Isle knitting I'd ever done. I even added a couple of gate addresses (from Earth to Abydos and back) to the hat -- since the Ravelry StarGate group had been talking about charting glyphs. I'm going to redo the top of the hat some time since it's a little bit too pointed for my tastes. (I finished off the top before the part of the tutorial on hats.)

The biggest stash buster is the Hippo Birdies (MMario design) shawl I just finished. I used up all my KP Palette fawn yarn I had plus a skein of KP Palette nutmeg left over from Casablanca plus half a skein of KP Palette apricot yarn left over from Mystic Light. Then I finished the shawl off with some Zwerger Garn Opal Prisma sock yarn that I bought a couple of years ago and never used. The Opal yarn along the edge made the shawl by tying the colors together.

The next bit of yarn I used up is some cotton yarn left over from dishcloths -- to produce a Domino potholder. It's 2-sided and crocheted together.



Finally, DS2 found a Möbius pattern on line. So, I turned it into a cowl using some more leftover cotton yarn.

I've also been doing some test knitting. I'm using up some KP Shine Worsted snapdragon that I hadn't found the right pattern for until now by making a B'licious Tank for summer wear. I've also been test knitting socks -- and getting a lot of practice with short rows.

January

It looks as though I'm getting in the habit of posting only once per month and, in fact, at the end of the month.

It looks as though I can knit sweaters again without feeling guilty. After finishing a pullover for my DS2, we had a big snowstorm. The weather here was unseasonably cold and snowy until I finished a cardigan for my DM. Then the weather turned unseasonably warm. Well, it's turned cold and snowy again without me finishing any knitting other than dishcloths. So, it looks as if it's safe for me to knit sweaters again.

I'm just about finished with MMario's Hippo Birdies. I've got 3 rounds to go and then the bind off. The picture shows the shawl to rnd 100 or thereabouts. The only problem is that I ran out of yarn about 2 rounds ago and Knit Picks doesn't sell that particular color (Palette fawn) anymore. So, I'm using a skein of Palette nutmeg that was left over from Casablanca. I'll probably end up doing the bind off in half of skein of Palette apricot that was left over from Mystic Light. Then I'll probably have to learn how to dye in order to make the color changes less noticeable. I know that I could probably get skeins of nutmeg online, but I'm anxious to see what the shawl looks like blocked. It looks really nice already. I have a little trouble working on it, though. One of our cats loves to sleep on top of it.

I'm also about finished with Moni's Weihnachts shawl in KP Shadow sunset heather. The picture is to somewhere around Clue 7, I think. I've just finished Clue 8 and will probably stop after finishing Clue 9.

I've knitted 3 dishcloth so far this year - 2 from the Monthly dishcloth KAL and 1 from COTW, both Yahoo! groups.

I've found a couple of projects to use up leftover yarn. One project is a Domino potholder (to use up leftover cotton yarn). The other is a Fair Isle tutorial given in the EZasPi Yahoo! group (to learn new techniques and to use up leftover sock yarn).

I also have to give a plug for a crocheted potholder that I redesigned for worsted weight cotton. It's a sunbonnet potholder that turned out so well, IMHO, that I posted the pattern to Ravelry.

DS1 visited us for about a week. He wanted to see snow, and he wasn't disappointed. It just doesn't snow too much (or at all) in the San Jose area. It was great seeing him again. While he was here, he installed the new computer we had just ordered. He also helped us pick out a sound system for the tv. We may have to wait until he visits again to get it put together, though. We went to a Sabres v Blackhawks game while he was here. He, of course, wore a Sharks jersey.

On a political note: It looks as if I'll have to start listening to Rush Limbaugh. I don't like being told by the government what I should and should not listen to. So, I'm going to search for his name online and find out when he's on.

Christmas 2008

I finally finished the cardigan for my mom. It was one day late -- mainly because I ran out of yarn while working on the last sleeve. I ended up undoing part of a finished sleeve to get sleeves the same length -- a 3/4 sleeve length -- which is ok since she has short arms just as I do. The pockets turned out well -- if I do say so myself -- , and I like the rib pattern -- also, if I do say so myself. I started out with plans to make the February Lady Sweater. Then I changed the garter stitch for the yoke to plain stockinette. Then I changed the rib pattern to a less lacy one and added pockets. It's made with Wool-Ease wheat and size 8 needles (except for the pockets, which are made with size 7 needles).

We had snow, lots of snow, in the weeks preceding Christmas. Here are DS2 and kitty standing in front of the mail box in front of our house. The city helped with the height of the snow around the mailbox.

And here are a couple of flower arrangements my sister made while she stayed here to take care of mom while we were in England. I think she could have a calling in that field.

The bare sticks in the table arrangement sprouted leaves a couple of days ago. It reminds me of Sweden -- when we would get sticks from the store around Easter time and wait for them to sprout.

Finally, here is a picture of the bottom of our Christmas tree with the two best presents of all -- our 2 kitties.

Christmas lights (and snow)

Well, it's snowing here. The man who sold us our snowblower said it didn't snow around here until the end of December. This is at least our third snow. The snow is now up to the bottom of our mailbox (and there are piles of snow, courtesy of the city, that are higher than the mail box).

So, what better time to blog.....

and to post some pictures of London ....




We visited London last week for my DD's graduation ceremony, for a Master's degree. We had lots of fun visiting with her and Chris and seeing the sights of London again.

Here are some of the Christmas lights around the town:

The first is Parliament with the London Eye in the background.

The next is Regent Street with its floating stars.

The next is obviously Carnaby Street with its floating snowmen.

Then comes Trafalgar Square.

And finally, one of our hometowns, GX, with the lighted trees angled out from the sides of the buildings on the high street.

And, yes, we did go to the British Museum, one of my favorite places. We also went to the Natural History Museum to see the Darwin exhibit. The Darwin exhibit had some of the actual animals that Darwin collected on the voyage.

Casablanca, at last

Casablanca is finally finished!!!! I've probably knit it enough to have made 2 shawls -- with all the frogging, major and minor. I frogged it once (when about halfway done because I decided to add beads). I frogged it again (when about 3/4 done because I decided it was too long for me). I probably wouldn't have had to frog so many times if I had just started the shawl using lace weight, as recommended, instead of fingering weight yarn. I also frogged and redid the fancy bind-off edge because I wanted it to extend the entire width of the shawl.

So, here's my final version -- all blocked -- KP palette and size 6 needles. I had to change some of the motifs around because of my decision to use a different weight yarn. (I added a wine glass in honor of Rick's.) I love the zigzag lines and especially the center back (not visible here) where all the zigzags meet. I also love the edgings.

I've also been finishing up dishcloths. I decided that this would be the year that I make all 24 dishcloths offered by the monthly dishcloth Yahoo! group. Here's the lot of them. The last one for the year is currently on the needles.

The only other items currently on the needles are Hippo Birdies and a cardigan I'm making for my mom. I'm hoping to get the cardigan done in time for Christmas.

I'm working on and redesigning a potholder for a crochet tutorial I volunteered to do. The tutorial is fun but a lot of work. Now and again, I wish I could get hold of the lady in charge of the blog to see if I should continue.

November

It seems as if I'm just getting around to one post per month now. Here's the summary for November.

Before my DD went back to London, we (my DH, DD, DS2, and I) went to see the latest James Bond film. I was amazed. The movie didn't follow the glamorous spy themes of the other James Bond movies I'd seen. (I hadn't seen the previous one.) It had a compelling storyline and was much more realistic than the other ones I'd seen. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

I sent back a scarf with her plus a hat I test knitted for Amy plus a pair of socks I test knit for Chrissy. Here is a picture of the scarf.

I also went to the trouble of adding the scarf pattern to Ravelry. This is about the only scarf pattern I make -- basically because I like it so much. It really looks good in Patons Classic Wool Merino Palais (and size 8 needles) -- if I do say so myself.

My DD is really good at getting me to finish projects before starting new ones.

I've restarted Casablanca again. Actually, I frogged down to about the 10th row -- after finishing over 3/4 of the shawl. It decided it was too long for me. Of course, I had been working it in a fingering weight yarn instead of a lace weight one. So, that may have been part, if not most, of the problem. I'm just over half done now.

I've finished one sleeve of the sweater for DS2. I'm getting more time to work on it now that the cat that had been using it as a blanket has moved on to a different part of the living room. He tried it on the last time he was home from university. I was surprised at how good it looked. I had used the yarn initially as a throw/shawl. I didn't like the looks of it.

So, after the announcement that SGA had been cancelled, I frogged the whole thing and started on a pullover for DS2. I started it out the first time with a v neck -- which didn't look good on him. Then I tried a regular crew neck. That was better but still not quite right. Finally, I ended up with a tight crew neck -- which does look good on him. It's made from Lion Brand Homespun Prairie and size 10 needles. He's going to try it on when he comes home for Thanksgiving to check the sleeve length.

I'm starting work on a cardigan for my mom -- loosely based on the February Lady Sweater. The cardigan she wears most of the time is on its last legs. ... I just have to figure out how to add pockets to the cardigan. I'm making it with Wool-Ease Wheat and size 8 needles (and no buttons).

I'm working on a MMario design, Hippo Birdies -- in KP Palette Fawn (which I mistakenly bought when I wanted KP Palette Nutmeg to finish up Casablanca).

I'm also looking forward to a new KAL from one of my favorite shawl designers, Moni, who is starting a KAL on Christmas Eve. -- as a "Christmas present".

Lastly, I've decided to move my crochet tutorial from the Bits and Bobs blog to a new blog, one that I have some control over. I was the only one contributing to the blog for several months now, but I didn't have any administrative authority over the blog. It will take a while. Until then, I'll still be posting to the Bits and Bobs blog.

I almost forgot to add the most exciting news of all. I'm going to get one of my sock patterns published!!!!

Ohio visit

Before October is over, I thought I'd include a couple or three pics from our visit to Ohio. We went to Ohio to attend a friend's wedding. We stayed with a couple dear friends of our while there. (My DS came out from Oregon to take care of our mom here in Illinois while we were gone.) The wedding was one of the nicest I've ever been to. It was held in the Franklin Park Conservatory. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera to the wedding, and so I don't have any pictures from there or from downtown Columbus.

But, here is a picture of our old house. Whoever is living there is taking really good care of the place. (We like to look at our old houses. Last time we were in the UK, we drove by the house we rented in GX plus some more of our old haunts.) The big tree in the middle of the picture was planted by DS2. It was given out at school for Arbor Day.

A trip to the area wouldn't be complete for me without a visit to Leatherlips. Here's the statue. And below that is a picture of the Scioto River that the statue overlooks.

We went past the Columbus Zoo as well. It's really changed. It now has taken over the Wyandot Park area as well. It always amazes us how much the zoo has improved over the years and continues to improve.

aol again

Just when I thought I was caught up, aol announces that it is closing its picture section. So, it looks as if I have more work to do, moving things around.

On the knitting front, my DD, who is visiting, is having a positive effect on me. I've finished the socks I was knitting as well as a scarf. Plus I'm making progress on the sweater I'm making for DS2. (The cat who likes to nap on the unfinished sweater is now spending much of her time with my DD.)

And lastly, but not least, here's a picture from a Blackhawks (vs Edmonton) hockey game we (including my DD and her BF) went to last week. It was a really good game . They played what I consider real hockey and played it well. This was the first NHL game my DD's BF had seen. He enjoyed it immensely as did we all.

the end of October

I feel I'm ahead of the game now. My aol journal is transferred before the deadline of October 31st. But, in addition, we've already given the Trick-or-Treaters their candy. We had 204 come by yesterday (Sunday, between 1:00 and 4:00, as dictated by the city). And we've voted. (Illinois has early voting.)

It looks as though I shouldn't have panicked so much about aol closing its journal and home page sections at the end of October. AOL ended up having a deal with blogspot to transfer journal entries directly to blogspot blogs. Now I have a couple more blogspot blogs, another one on knitting and one for recipes (if I ever keep that one up). The only entry from my home page that I thought was worth transferring was a walk-through for Sim City 4. (I occasionally really get into Sim City.)

The transfer wasn't perfect. A lot of pictures didn't transfer. So, I had to reload them. The spacing between words is iffy. But, it's still readable. Then there are the links. I hope that I've gotten most of them changed now.

I've deleted entries that I duplicated here. I've also added a few patterns from my old aol blog to Ravelry. It was interesting writing them up in "final" form. Oddly enough, I started the aol journal way-back-when as a way to share patterns. (I started this blog to join the Cinxia KAL and then later to talk about this, that, and the other.)

I'm still behind on knitting. There were so many great projects this year! In fact, I have enough projects to keep me busy for years.

Widdershins heel

Here is another entry moved from my aol journal, which thanks to blogger and aol and a little bit on my part is now here. The original entry was heels and toes. I'm expanding the entry and limiting this part to just heels......

One of my favorite heels for a toe-up sock is the Widdershins heel – which looks almost exactly like a cuff-down heel flap heel. My other favorite heel for a toe-up sock is Fleegle's – which looks almost like a short-row heel but isn't. By the way, widdershins means backwards, "in the opposite direction".

Here is a paraphrasing of the directions for the Widdershins heel:

Gusset increases: The first question in making the heel is when to start making gusset increases (to mirror gusset decreases for the usual cuff-down heel flap). The answer is:

1. Figure out how long you want the heel flap. For an average cuff-down heel flap, one picks up 15 sts on each side of the heel flap – which means the heel flap itself has 30 rows.
2. Start making gusset increases this number of rows before the end of the sock. So, for a 30-row heel flap, you'd start making gusset increases on every other round starting at 30 rows less than the total length of the sock.

Next determine how many gusset increases to make:

1. Divide the number of sole stitches by 9. Round down.
2. Add 1.
3. Double the result.
4. Subtract this number from the number of rows for the heel flap.

For a sock with 62 sts around (31 instep sts and 31 sole sts), you would divide 31 by 9 and round down. The result is 3. Add 1 to get 4. Double it to get 8. Then subtract this from 30 to get 22. So, you'd make 11 pairs of gusset increases to arrive at 53 sole sts. ( 53 = 31 + 22)

Finish the bottom of the heel: After finishing the gusset increases, place markers to mark the sides of the heel flap. For this example of a 30 row heel flap, place markers 15 sts in from either side, leaving 23 sts between markers. The stitches between markers are called heel sts. The sts outside the markers are called gusset sts. Then, working only on the heel sts:

• Row 1: k to 2 sts before marker, inc1, k1, turn
• Row 2: s1, p to 2 sts before marker, inc1, p1, turn
• Row 3: s1, k to 2 sts before gap, inc1, k1, turn
• Row 4: s1, p to 2 sts before gap, inc1, p1, turn

Rep rows 3 and 4 until the number of sts between markers is the same as the original number of sole sts – for the example, 31.

Note: For a more rounded heel, replace “2 sts” in Rows 3 and 4 with “3 sts”. For an even more rounded heel, change it to “4 sts” or maybe even “5 sts” for the last repeat of the two rows.

Note: For a squarer heel, repeat Rows 1 and 2 until the number of sts between markers is the same as the original number of sole sts. (Do not do rows 3 and 4.)

Heel flap: Then start making the heel flap:

• Row 1: s1, k to last heel st, ssk last heel st and 1 st from left gusset, turn
  
• Row 2: s1, p to last heel st, p2tog last heel st and 1 st from right gusset, turn
  

Repeat Rows 1 – 2 until there is only 1 st to be picked up, a right gusset st. You'll be ending with a Row 1. Do not turn. Start working in the round. When you reach the sole sts again, start with a k2tog to get rid of the last gusset st.
The heel is now finished.

aol journals

Aol Journals is closing down at the end of October. So, I'm taking the opportunity to write up some of the entries as patterns to post to Ravelry and to transfer other entries here. That was my blog for patterns, etc.

I started this blog because I wanted to join a Cinxia KAL. Since I needed to join blogger to take part, I thought I might as well start a blog here as well. This blog is much more personal than the aol one. It has progress reports on different projects, including all the frogging I've done and will continue to do, plus quite a few non-knitting-related pictures, including some sea gulls in the backyard of the house in Kent we used to live in.

Casablanca w beads

I've restarted Casablanca again. I was looking for beads for Mystery Stole 4 and saw some beads that I thought would look really good with the yarn I had picked out. When I got home, I decided that they'd look even better with the yarn for Casablanca. So, I frogged it back to where the first bead would be placed. And since I was frogging anyway, I decided to redo the pattern again a bit. The major change is to make the hour glasses at the beginning look like hour glasses (instead of vines, as in my first attempt). Then I also added a wine glass for Rick's.

It looks a lot better with beads (glass seed beads, size 6/0, Kirschberg turquoise/green mix). However, I discovered that Knit Picks isn't selling the color yarn I need for the stole any more -- Palette Nutmeg. So, I'm trying out buying yarn from someone on Ravelry. (I need 2 skeins -- for a total of 6.) The yarn is going to be shipped today.

In another vein, when we lived in NJ, we stained our mailbox a brownish cedar color. Then we ended up painting our house to match the mailbox. We recently got some new furniture for our living room. It matches our cats.

Now, getting back to knitting..... I'm again trying to make lace curtains -- this time for over the kitchen sink. I'm using the pattern from Secret of the Stole 3 -- starting at row 87. (I had started on some lace curtains for my DD's room with a different yarn. But, that was before we moved.)

I'm also making a pullover for DS2 using Homespun (that had previously been made into a shawl that looked more like a blanket and so was frogged). The pullover looks nice so far. In fact, I've gotten some compliments on the yarn. -- I had to frog and start over twice in order to get the neck as snug as he liked. To get it snug but yet able to fit over the head, I cast on 50 sts using a knitted cast on and then did 6 rounds of k1p1 ribbing -- using size 10 needles. (DS2 is taller than I am.)

By the way, I read online (Yahoo! Sockamaniac group, I think) that size 10 mercerized cotton can be used for socks. .... sounds interesting ....

Casablanca

I haven't been doing much knitting other than shawl and sock knitting recently. I'm anxiously waiting for the start of Secret of the Stole iii and Mystery Stole 4. Meanwhile I'm halfway through Casablanca with some minor changes -- since I decided to knit it with fingering weight yarn and make it narrower. I really like the zig-zag lines and the overlapping squares and, of course, the cat paw prints. Here is a picture of the shawl just up to the overlapping squares -- this time, lightly blocked. KP Palette blocks well. (The photo shows the yarn as a different color than it actually is.)

Socks, socks, socks

Here's a list of the socks I've made since my first sock back in January of 2006 -- with links to blog entries.

my patterns:

• The first pair I ever knitted are here and here. They're also the best fitting pair.
• A pair of feather lace socks, done toe-up, are here, here, and here.

Sockamaniac patterns from the Sockamaniac Yahoo! group:

• Ribbed socks w a twist, using a couple Sockamaniac mystery patterns by Gail Dennis, are pictured here and here.
• Fire on the Mountain, a Sockamaniac pattern by Char, is here.
• Orbit socks, another Sockamaniac pattern by Char, is one that must have been posted somewhere other than this blog. So, here's a picture to the right.

Cookie's patterns:

• Baudelaire is pictured here and here.
• Monkey is here and here.
• Hedera is here and here.

MintyFresh patterns:

• Anastasia is here.
• Zokni is here and here and here. My DD is modeling the socks. They were made for her.
  

Other patterns:

• Sherman heel socks by Mary Sherman Lycan are pictured here and here.
• Wyvern, which is a type of dragon and so the dragon scale look, by Marnie MacLean is here.
• Jaywalker by Grumperina, the first socks I made for my DH are here and here.
• Errant Lace Socks by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer are here and here. They have a lace heel.
  
• Diagonal Rib socks by Ann Budd are how I learned about twists and are here and here.
• #1 Husband socks by Becka are the second pair I made for my DH. They're here.
• Thuja by Bobby Ziegler were made for my DS2 and are here.
• Elfine by Anna Bell are pictured here.

And last, but not least, some patterns I test knitted. I didn't blog about the socks while knitting for obvious reasons. The links below are links to purchase.

Chrissy Gardiner patterns:

• Wavelet
• Lazy River
• Lobster Pot
• Walk in the Woods
• Karen's Sugar Free Diabetes Walk Socks

July summary

I got quite a bit finished in the last week. And, so, there are a lot of pictures this time.

First of all comes Casablanca. Sometimes, I make more work for myself than necessary. I start with an idea -- the idea in this case being that I had some KP Palette that I wanted to use and this would be a nice project for it. But, the project was designed for lace weight yarn, and so I decided to do the shawl over fewer stitches. That wasn't too hard to figure out. Then I decided that the second motif in the pattern looked like a spider web, and so I left it off and made the first motif bigger. So, here's a pic of an altered Casablanca, Clues 1 & 3.

Both dishcloths this month are lovely. To the left is the mid-month one, Summer Breeze, in Peaches & Creme fairy tale and size 7 needles. I did one more pattern repeat that called for in order to make it more nearly square.

Here is the first dishcloth of the month from the monthly dishcloth KAL in Peaches & Creme teal and size 6 needles.

The summer sweater, Lacy Rib, in KP Cotlin is finished. I'm glad that I redid it. It's so much nicer to wear now.

I have another sweater on the needles. I'm starting a sweater that has an i-cord cast on, and I wasn't completely happy with what I found on-line. And so I made up another way to do an i-cord cast on. It works great, if I do say so myself. It still needs work on the last stitch to be cast on to make the edges look similar.

Finally, the internet is great! The pilot light on our hot water heater went out. Finally, after about half a day, we decided to look online. There was a video on how to light a pilot light.

Summer Sweater

Believe it or not .... I haven't worked on any lace shawl projects for a while now. In fact, at this moment, I have only one project on the needles -- the sweater at the right. It's made of KP CotLin on size 5 circs. It's from one of Chrissy Gardiner's patterns, Lacy Rib. I'm making it from the top down because of gauge problems mentioned in my last post. (It was worth redoing. I love CotLin, the color Moroccan Red and also the lace borders.)

The main reason I'm knitting it from the top down is that I like to knit from the top down. Plus, I wear a petite sizing and so have to adjust most every sweater pattern I try. Starting from the top down is the easiest way for me to accomplish the adjustments.

Of course, the "only one thing on the needles" is about to change. The Monthly Dishcloth group is starting its July KAL.

This is why I don't get many socks finished. I started this pattern (my own pattern) about a year ago. Several friends thought it looked more like a pattern for a men's sock. So, I let it sit for awhile. I really like the pattern, but it is more of a man's pattern. Now I'm going to frog the sock, use the yarn to make a different sock (to be determined later), and use some gray KP Essential yarn to make a pair of socks in this pattern for my DH.

By the way, I'm still planning on casting on for Casablanca, but I haven't re watched the movie yet. Plus I'd like to knit it with KP Palette but am not sure if I want a shawl that big.

Finally, here is the result of my latest crochet project, Pleiades by Jennifer Benson. It's also available on Ravelry. I test-crocheted the shawl. .... I chose this picture to post more because of the cute cat than the shawl. But, you can see how nicely it drapes and how comfortable it is. ;)