Did I blog that?

I finished a pair of socks this weekend. After taking a picture of them, all finished and on my sock blockers, I took them to my room and added them to my little stash of stuff I've knitted over the summer.  Ohhh, how I love to admire and fondle all the projects I've finished and set aside until the cooler weather comes :-)  A couple things jumped out at me and made me wonder if I've shown them to you?  After checking the blog I realized that I hadn't!  SO let's catch up!

First is a hat.  It's the Smocked Slouch.  I bought both the pattern and the yarn at The Plucky Knitter booth at Sock Summit.  Let me just say that I love love love this yarn! It is so soft, has a nice twist, and yet is still lofty, and it just slides along the needle like a dream.  I enjoyed knitting this hat too.  I was a little concerned about the smocking stitch.  I wanted it to be tight enough to really show off the smocking, but not too tight so that it would have plenty of give when you put it on.  I also worried that if I was too generous with the smocking that the stitch would be sloppy looking.  Overall I'm happy with the outcome, but if I make this pattern again I will be a little firmer with my smocking stitches.

These Summer Lovin Socks are the socks I just finished Friday night.  I made this pattern a couple years ago and really enjoyed it.  The sock were a bit on the loose side though so I gifted them to someone I knew would love them.  I used the same yarn in a different color but went down a needle size this time. They fit great this time!  The yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan sock in the colorway Belle.

This last pair I finished just before leaving for Sock Summit, which is probably why they found their way into the FO pile without a proper photo shoot and blog unveiling.  These are from the June Cookie A Sock Club shipment.  The pattern is Orange Pekoe and the yarn for the June shipment is also Hazel Knits Artisan sock yarn.  This color is called Oh My Darling, which is think is clever because I think of clementines every time I look at this color!  The left and right socks are mirror images of each other which was very fun to knit!

I think I'm caught up now on finished projects.  I have a few fun things on the needles now. I'm looking forward to sharing them with you!

10 on Tuesday

10 Things I Buy Each Week

This is going to be a tough one this week because we're not supposed to include groceries.  I think that I'm a creature of habit, but I'm not sure that there are 10 things I buy every week, other than specific grocery items.  I'm going to give it a try though.....

1. Dunkin Donuts Coffee.  I treat myself at least once a week to this.
2.  Gas.  DS3 is attending a Catholic High School this year and it is 46 miles round trip to school.  Twice a day.
3.  Audiobook.  I really enjoy listening to books.  Between Audible and NH Downloadable, I probably average 1 book a week, although it may only be 3 books a month.
4. Take-out Dinner.  Usually Pizza, because they deliver, but sometimes Chinese.  It seems that there's usually 1 night each weekend that I just don't feel like cooking!
5. Lunch.  I try to limit it to once a week.

Now I'm stumped, so I think I'll try to finish the list with things I wished I bought once a week.
6. Sunday Paper.  I dream of enjoying the paper on Sunday morning with a cup of tea or coffee.
7. Movie.  Whether it's a trip to the theater or a DVD at home.
8. Yarn.  Nice yarn.  I think you all know what I mean :-)
9. Flowers.  They make the house so cheery, but I seldom treat myself.
10. Music.  Whether it's a new CD or just a song I like that I heard on the radio.  I have some great music but I haven't bought anything new in a while.  Maybe I should try to change that.

That was tough!  What about you?  What types of things do you buy each week?

A little shopping

I got a package from The Sanguine Gryphon this week with a skein of Skinny Bugga in Dragonfly Tattoo, which is a summer colorway that is getting ready to retire.  It was one of a couple colorways from this summer's collection, that I loved, that I was not able to pic up at Sock Summit.  Every time I went by their booth, this color was sold out. I was happy to be able to score some during their sale a couple weeks ago.

Pretty, isn't it?  It has a little bit of every color in it.

So, as I was taking a picture of it to add it to my stash on Ravelry, I realized that I never did show you all the fabulous yarn I picked up at Sock Summit!  So I'm going to show you today.  Here it all is, in all it's glory!

It looks like more than it really is.  It all fits in my Sock Summit tote bag.  Spread out though, it looks substantial!

This is a merino/tencel blend from the Knitted Wit. There was a Marrowstone Shawl knit up in this in her booth and it was just absolutely lovely, really soft and fluid.  I need one of my own.

Kollage yarns had a nice presence in the Paradise Fibers booth.  I picked up some Riveting and the My Kind of Saturday pattern for it.  It's an interesting yarn.  I'm anxious to knit this up and wash it to see how it feels.

I also got a skein of Sock-a-licious.  I can't believe I only bought one!  It's really soft.

I also bought a skein of Djinni Sock from Dragonfly Fibers.  This color is Artic Pearl.  They were giving away samples too which I'll use to swatch.

I also went by the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth. A lot.  I did buy these 3 skeins of STR, although a sweaters worth of BFL Sport and Woobu were in and out of my cart many, many times.  These colors are Mmm, Mmm Good in MW, Sockgate DHD in LW, and Rare Gem Water in MW

I finally got to see The Plucky Knitter's yarns in person for the first time.  Wow! Sarah has some really nice yarns and her colors are fabulous!  I picked up 2 skeins of Primo Worsted in Bubblegum Flower and Barn Door.  I also got 2 skeins of Primo fingering in One Hit Wonders.

Next stop was Hazel Knits where I was delighted to be able to meet Wendee in person.  I've been in her club for about 2 years and was tickled that she recognized my name and remembered what part of the country I  was from!  What a way to make a girl feel special and that her business is truly appreciated!  I got a skein of the new Piquant Lite to try in Blueberry, and 3 skeins of Artisan in Plum Glace, Chocoberry, and Lochness, which were all colors that were on my wish list.

Last, but certainly not least, is Miss Babs.  I bought a sweaters worth of Yowza in the color Nori.  This is my birthday gift from my in-laws :-) I'll have more to tell you about this yarn later :-)  I also got a skein of Windsor sock yarn in Catherine.

So that was all the shopping I did in the Marketplace.  I flirted with some Signature needles too, but decided to spend my money on yarn instead that I wanted to pick out myself.  Signature Needle Arts has a nice Wish List feature, so I figured I could fill that out and send it to DH for future gift giving occasions :-)

Have a great weekend!  I hope to get lots of knitting time!

Ten on Tuesday

10 Fall/Winter Knits

It is good to get back to Ten on Tuesday!  I have really missed it, but couldn't' quite seem to get my act together over the summer to participate.  Thank you Carole for keeping this going.  You truly do a great job coming up with new ideas! I don't know about all of you but I am glad to have the kids back to school so I can get back on a dependable schedule!

This week's topic is 10 Things I'd Like to Knit this Fall/Winter.  Um.... only 10?  This is the hard part for me.  I made a quick list of the things that quickly came to mind and it is way more than 10.  I took out the projects for the Knit-a-Longs and Clubs that I regularly participate in and I was able to get the list down to 10.  Here they are:

1. Washington Square - I bought the yarn for this at Sock Summit with Birthday Money from my wonderful MIL.  I swatched this weekend and am ready to cast on!
2. Vodka Gimlet - This is a new release by Baby Cocktails and I looove it! I have a sweater's quantity of Cascade 220 in the stash that I bought for something else, but I think I'm going to reallocate it to this project.
3. Dark & Stormy - This has been in my queue for a while.  My LYS had a special on Madelinetosh this past July that I took advantage of.  I ordered some Vintage in Composition Book Grey.  It should arrive around Novemberish and will be a great late fall/early winter knit
4. Karren - The 2nd installment of the Sweater for all Seasons Club and I have the yarn for it already, Blue Moon Fiber Arts BFL Sport in Tanzanite.
5. Poet Society Tam - I'm making this with Malabrigo Rios.  I have cast on, but that's about it.
6. Koolhass - I know, I'm late to the party because I haven't made this yet.  Soon, very soon.  This will make a great Christmas gift for one of the many men in my life :-)
7. Marrowstone Shawl - Super pretty and an interesting construction.  I bought a gorgeous Merino/Tencel blend yarn from Knitted Wit at Sock Summit for this shawl.
8. Hazel Knits September/October Mystery Sock - I wasn't going to participate even though the designer is VeryBusyMonkey and I love her designs, but the 1st clue has been released and it is fabulous!  I can't resist.
9. A Noble Cowl - Simple pattern and doesn't require much yarn, and I really like the motif.
10. Winter Wonder - I just can't decide if I want to do the small version or the infinity version.  I may have to do both!

These are a few of the projects on my queue.  What are you planning to knit this fall?

Fun in the 'Hood

I love where I live and it is simply because of the 30 amazing families in my neighborhood.  There aren't many places left where everyone looks out for everybody's kids, supports each other, and knows how to have fun together.  For the 5th year in a row, this is how we end our summer.  It begins with a parade, followed by plenty of food & drinks and plenty of music and dancing! 

I hope you had a great weekend too filled with friends and family!  It's good to remember that Life is Good and we really do have so much to be thankful for!

Now that the summer is over and we are returning to our regular schedules, I hope to resume regular blogging too.  Tomorrow's topic for Ten on Tuesday is a good one, be sure to come back and join the fun :-)

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!