My New BFF

This was a project that just seemed to flow off my needles!  I started these socks while I was at Sock Summit because I wanted a simple project to carry around that I could work on anywhere without having to reference a chart.  This pattern is essentially a ribbed sock with every other rib being a 2x2 cable.

The genius of a Cookie A pattern though is that she has figured out how to deal with issues such as "Cable Suckage".  This sock started with 64 stitches in a 2x2 rib.  Then there was a set-up row where there was some increasing, and the placement of the new stitches is such that they are hidden behind the first cable cross.

Those same stitches were decreased very cleverly at the top of the heel flap and the beginning of the toe so that I was working with my usual 32 stitches again.

The end result is a very comfortable well fitting sock!  Now that I have these nice cabled socks completed in a colorway that reminds me of fall, I feel ready for the kids to go back to school!

Pattern:  BFF by Cookie A
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock
Color: She Sells Seashells
Needle: 2.5mm
Mods: None!

Sock Summit Recap - Part 1 The Learning Edition

I've been home from Sock Summit for just over a week and honestly, it's taken almost that long for me to recover from all the fun I had.  Sam, aka KnitQuest, summed it up best on her blog when she said it was like a Mack Truck full of fun!  I thought I would start by sharing with you a bit about the classes I took.

This is how we were greeted as we approached the Oregon Convention Center each day.

I'd say that sums it up pretty well!

The first class I had was Toe-Up Socks for the Stubborn taught by Deb Barnhill.  This was a perfect class for me because I am a Top-down girl.  I prefer a proper heel flap vs a short row heel for fit and I can never quite figure out the right place to start gusset increases so that the length of the foot is correct.  Without giving Deb's technique away, I will tell you that she has basically figured out how to reverse engineer a top down sock so that you can knit from the toe and it looks and fits just like a top down sock.  I picked a pattern from Wendy Johnson to get started and have started the gusset.  I'll show you this again when it's finished.

I then took a class with Chrissy Gardiner about using hand-painted yarns.  The long and short of this class was to swatch, swatch, swatch.  She did talk a bit about how directional stitches and purl stitches can break up a busy yarn.  I also picked up a neat trick about determining if a variegated is a high or low contrast and how you can convert a picture of it to gray scale to see the saturation difference.  Chrissy was gracious enough to take a picture with me too.

This was the yarn that I brought to class that I have struggled with.  My newest swatch will be Monkey.  Directional stitches and purls, I guess I now know why it seems to work so well with just about any yarn!

I also had a class with Anne Hanson who is Knitspot.  Her class was on lace and was intended to be a beginning lace class.  I have knit lace before so the stitches of it were nothing new, but I did learn so much. She talked about eyelets vs lacy knitting vs knitted lace vs compound lace, what makes each unique, the pros and cons of using each in a garment, and how the placement of yarn-overs in relation to decrease stitches affects fabric.  I personally got a lot out of her discussion.  Then she pulled out her Swatch Museum.  Oh. My. Gosh!  If you ever have an opportunity to see this, do NOT pass it up.  It may have been the best thing I saw at the summit!  Anne also was gracious enough to take a picture with me and her swatches :-)

Another class I took was on Stranded Color-work with Mary Scott Huff. The samples she brought of her work were amazing.  That girl can knit!  And she is so enthusiastic about her craft and loves to share it with anyone who wants to learn about it.  We were instructed to bring two contrasting yarns of the same weight to work with in class.  This is the swatch we worked in class.  I am thrilled with the result!  Here is the front..

and the back.  Look how nice and organized and relaxed those carries are!  Not too tight or too loose.  Seriously, I couldn't be happier if I tried :-)  Now I just need to practice and then I can tackle the exclusive sock pattern she designed for our class!

I also had a couple 1 hr Wonder classes, but I forgot to take pictures.  They were Provisional Cast On's, which is a skill I wanted to improve and I now feel much more comfortable with.  The other class was The Perfect Rib with Cookie A which was a quick class about feeling confident to modify the ribbing of a sock to better flow with the leg design.  She had many samples of her own designs to demonstrate how she has used this feature in her own designs and how that would look in chart form.


So that is the quick overview of what I learned. My brain was fried by Sunday evening, but I took at least one thing away from every class I took that I can use right now.  In my book that is a huge success!

Next post I will share with you some of the people I saw and met and shopping that I did!

I'm leaving on a Jet Plane

Today is the day!!!!!!  I'm leaving for Sock Summit in just a few short hours.  I've been thinking, and planning, and organizing, for weeks and I'm just about ready.

These are all the supplies that I need for classes.  I have just a bit more homework to do. 

At this point I think I'm going to be knitting instead of reading on the plane.  And hopefully a quick nap too.  I land in Portland at 10:45pm PDT which is 1:45am EDT. So a quick nap might be wise.

If you're at Sock Summit and see me be sure to say hi!  I'm looking forward to meeting so many people that I only know through blogs and Ravelry.  If I haven't told you before, my Rav ID is Woohoogirl.  Woohoo!  I'm ready to go!  Let the fun begin!!

Summer Wind

This is a perfect day to share my newest finished project.  It is a hot steamy summer day here in NH and we have a wonderful breeze blowing making the temperatures almost bearable.  So it seems like it's the perfect day to show you my finished Summer Wind!

Chandler was taking his friends tubing behind his little boat and there were too many of them to all go out together. While Holly was waiting for her turn in the boat, she was a good sport and agreed to model for me.  I love the look of this scarf either way you wear it.  Nice and long.....

and doubled up and cozy........

I really enjoyed this knit and I can see myself making it again to give as a gift!

Pattern: Summer Wind
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light
Color: Tart
Needle: US 5
Mods: I cast on for the larger size but knit the center panel for the smaller size. I was worried that I might run a bit short on yarn if I did the larger center.  That was probably a good call as I finished with a mere 9 grams of yarn leftover!  I bet if I'd used a US4 needle I would have had plenty of yarn.

I hope you're all enjoying your summer!

PS- 6 more sleeps until I leave for Sock Summit!  Woohoo!

WIP Wednesday

I've been trying to finish up a couple projects before Sock Summit next week so that I can a.) free up some needles, and b.) start a few new projects, aka homework, for my classes. I did finish my Summer Wind scarf and I'll show you that tomorrow. I am still working on two pairs of socks though.

I'm plugging away slowly but surely on Stricken.  I've finished the dreaded Chart E which flows into the heel flap.  I think what has made this chart dreaded for so many is that the cabling takes place on the wrong side of the heel flap as well as the right side.  I'm not sure I've ever done that before, but I completed it succesfully and now just need to add some more length to the flap so I can turn the heel.  I'm still on sock one, so I think these may be a long term project.

Here is the 2nd Orange Pekoe sock.  Next time I work on it I'll be able to turn the heel and then zip down the foot.

My Sprossling sweater hasn't gotten any attention in about 2 weeks and I doubt it will until after Sock Summit.  Before I leave, one week from today, I need to finish Orange Pekoe and do my homework for my classes.  I bet this next week will fly by!

2 Weeks and Counting!

Sock Summit begins 2 weeks from today!  I'm so excited to go.  Socks are my favorite thing to knit and to have a chance to go a 4 day event with classes and a marketplace dedicated to sock knitting.....  the only way to describe it is Fantastic!

One of the informal activities taking place is a stitch marker swap.  I love stitch markers and think they are fun to collect.  I've ventured a bit into making them, but until know they have been primarily for my own enjoyment.  I think swapping markers will be a fun way to meet some new people that I probably otherwise wouldn't meet.  After a few trips to Michaels, I finally decided on my design and materials and this is what I've decided on.

I love this charm and I picked beads using the prominent colors from the Sock Summit logo.  So far I've been mixing the colors up with each marker, although I do have one that is a solid color.  I may do a few more like that, but I haven't decided yet.  I have a dozen made so far and I'm aiming for 100.  If you see me at SS11 ask me for a stitch marker.  I'd love to meet you and share the fun!

I was also lucky enough to register for some great classes!

Thursday morning I'm taking Toe Up Socks for the Stubborn with Deb Barnhill.  I have a hard time getting a great fit with toe up patterns so I am really looking forward to learning some tips and tricks.

Thursday Afternoon I'm taking Designing with Handpainted Yarns with Chrissy Gardiner.  I'm not overly interested in designing at this time, but I would love to learn more about choosing stitch patterns that best showcase handpainted yarn.  How often have you paired a yarn and pattern and not loved it?  I'm hoping to get better at putting yarns and patterns together.

Friday morning I'm taking Holes in our Socks with Anne Hanson.  I've certainly knit lace before but I was really intrigued by the class description.  I know I will learn something, in fact probably many things from Anne Hanson.  She has an incredible collection of lace designs!

Saturday I'm taking Provisional Cast On's with Laurel Coombs.  This is not my best skill, but one I'd certainly like to improve, so this quick 1-hr wonder class should be perfect.

Sunday afternoon I'm taking Stranded in your Socks with Mary Scot Huff.  Again, this is a skill that I feel pretty weak on.  I can't think of a better person to learn this from.

I'm also on the wait list for Oddball Stitches with Cookie A Saturday morning.  My fingers and toes and legs and eyes are crossed hoping a spot becomes available.  Cross your fingers for me too, OK?

Are you going to Sock Summit too?  Let me know, I'd love to see you or meet you!

A little catch up

I can't believe it's been nearly 2 weeks since I've updated the blog.  We've been on vacation this week and my middle son is home this week from school as well.  We haven't done anything particular but have just been busy enjoying some down time and visiting with friends.

I have been knitting, and as you're about to see, I've had a little Knitting ADD going on.  I've been knitting but not making much progress on anything.  I've decided it's time to buckle down and finish a few things up.

I have finished a pair of socks that I haven't shown you yet.  I actually finished them at the end of June.  This is the Boysenberry Yo pattern from the Cookie A Sock Club April installment.  This is a new yarn from Lorna's Laces and we were lucky enough to have it a sneak preview.  When we got it, it did not yet have a name.  It has since been named Solemate.  I can't tell you how it compares to the Shepherd Sock, I have some in my stash but have not yet knit with it, but I can tell you that I did like the Solemate!

I've also been poking away at my Sprossling sweater.  I'm still on the back and have finished the waist decreases and have started the increases.

Going back to the Cookie A Sock Club, the June shipment came and it was all about Orange!  Even the cookie recipes that come in each installment were orange themed.  This week I made the Orange Creamsicle cookies.  They are a yummy orange flavored cookie with a cream cheese frosting filling and perfect treat on a warm summer day!

I started the Orange Pekoe pattern and have finished the right sock.  The left sock will be a mirror image.  The yarn is by Hazel Knits, and honestly, nobody does orange like Wendee!  I'm not a big fan of orange, but I do like this color!

I've also been working on Stricken for the Knit Sock Love KAL.  This is the June pattern, so I better get busy on it.  It's not a hard knit, it's just different every flippin' row, and I have to pay close attention to the chart.  I tried working on it while waiting at a car appointment last week, but forgot my post-its to keep track on my chart.  Yeah. Not smart.  Good thing I had a back up project with me.

Last, but not least is Summer Wind.  I love this pattern!  And I love how this is coming out!  I finally found a perfect match for the Tosh Merino Light that I bought earlier this year.  I was going to put this in the Gift Basket for Christmas, but I think I'm going to have to keep it for myself instead.  There is a KAL for this pattern in the Irishgirlieknits group on Ravelry.  It's not too late to come join us!

So that's everything I have on the needles right now.  Hopefully you'll see lots of FO's over the next few weeks as I try to get these finished up.

Happy Summer!