January socks - Done!

When is an Owl ...


... not an Owl?


When it has scales!


I was going for something a little more snake-like, and I think it worked out well.


I had a lot of down time over the Christmas break, so I managed to finish my January socks.



Opal Rainforest Owl, using the Scales Skin stitch pattern. It's a great pattern, and makes a wonderful fabric. All that lifting over of YOs means it takes forever to knit, but I like it so much I will probably use it again. Some day, that is.



That brings to a close the Sock a Month Knit-a-long, both 1 and 2, and my sock drawer has been nicely replenished. Although I'll always likely have a sock or three on the needles, I think it's time to turn my attention to other projects. Maybe a sweater that actually gets finished? A shawl? An afghan? Some hats? Gee, I guess you can knit stuff other than socks. :-)

December Socks - Done!

December is usually a busy month round here, so I knew that if I was to have a finished pair of socks this month, I'd have to use a thicker yarn.

Aqua, blue, charcoal & rust -- Hello Yarn Fat Sock -- 100% superwash Merino -- totally yummy.

A quick knit, soft, warm thick --no weird pooling or flashing -- just semi-stripey goodness.


They'd be perfect for a Canadian winter, except --

-- we don't really quite have winter yet. Despite the storms happening elsewhere, it looks like it could well be be a green Christmas here, as evidenced by this pic of the grass out front. I'm not complaining, though, because ....

In the Other News Department:

Christmas has come early! Look at this gorgeous yarn I won in a contest from Simply Socks! Schaefer Anne, in the Gertrude Ederle colourway! Thanks, Allison -- it's beautiful!

And my yarn has arrived from the Amazing Lace contest!

It's Helen's Lace, 50% wool, 50% silk, in the Pewter colourway. This is destined to become the Heere Be Dragone shawl .... umm, eventually. Thanks, Rachel!

I think I'll use the rest of the month to clear up some other little projects I've had on the go for a while, and I need some new slippers, so some felted clogs may well be in the future as well. And while I'm felting anyway, I might as well do the ... guess it never ends, eh. :-)

Happy holidays, everyone!

SAM2 - November done!

I finally finished my D-Mac socks! I can't find my sock blockers right now, so you get yet another "front stoop" photo.


I must say that I LOVE these colours. The yarn is Mama-E's C*eye*ber-Fiber in the D-Mac colourway. Very beachy -- steely blue, chocolate brown and a bit of misty green.

For some reason, these socks took forever. I've been knitting on them since the beginning of October, and now that they're done, I kind of miss having them on the needles.

I did the Vikkel braid short row-heel again, this time with a small gusset over the instep and the fit is improved.

However, just because production has slowed down around here doesn't mean that my mailbox has slowed down. The sock yarn still keeps pouring in.

I love Mama-E's yarn -- I've joined her sock club series twice now. I previously posted about how much I like Spunky Eclectic's wild colourways. I'm in her sock club too, and I'm always tickled with what comes in.

But I don't think I've posted about another one of my favourites -- this time more on the subtle side.

Jessie over at A Piece of Vermont does subtle like nobody's business.

She's been trying out different yarns, and now has one that is a mohair mix grown, processed, spun -- and dyed :-) --locally.

You know how sometimes you get some yarn and you just want to sit and look at it all day?

That's what I want to do with this ...

Soctoberfailure

October has continued to be incredibly busy at work, to the extent that I feel totally drained, physically and mentally. For the first month since joining Sock-a-Month, I have been unable to finish a pair of socks. In Soctoberfest, yet.


That is the sum total of my progress. One sock, just past the heel. I've had to re-do that heel three times, because I seem to have lost the ability to count, and, for the first time ever, I also managed to lose a needle along the way. Trying to look at the positive side, I am one-third of the way done for November.

I don't even have any doodads to share with you, unless you count this:


My new sock blockers! For which I have no new socks!!

So, in lieu of pretty socks, I will leave you with a picture of some pretty yarn.




I'm gonna go have a nap -- cya next month.

SAM2 - September done!

Work has been crazy-busy these last few weeks, but I did manage to finish my SAM2 socks for September.


The yarn is Regia Stretch Color, No. 85. I'm really like these colours, and Im' quite happy with the way they knit up. No blotches, streaks, pooling or zig-zagging, just nice little blips of blue & grey & brown & green.


I did find that the yarn wasn't as soft as other Regia I've used in the past. I'm not sure if that's because of the "stretch" component of the yarn, or because I've been using so many wonderful "non-commercial" yarns lately that the regular stuff feels harsh. I'm hoping the former, because I have a ton of Regia patiently waiting its turn on the needles.

These socks have the wide-Stahl-vertical toe that I've posted about before ...


... and a Sherman short-row heel, with Vikkel braid applied as I short-rowed back out again. Instructions for Vikkel braid are in most of Nancy Bush's books. I really like the look of this.


My swatches with Vikkel braid showed it to be fairly stretchy, but in these socks, not so much. I don't know if that's a factor of the technique or the way I was holding the yarn. The socks don't feel tight, but the stitches look a little stretched across my stupidly high instep. I'm thinking a bit of extra gusset shaping may be necessary in future endeavours. More experimentation is required. :-)



In the Other News Department, progress continues on the scarf for the International Scarf Exchange.


I'm a little over half-way done. The Cashmerino is indeed lovely to knit with, and I think I'll miss this project when it's finished.

My package for the Chocolate Swap is just about ready to go, and the same for the Tea Swap. I guess that means it's time to join a few other activities.

Socktoberfest? How could I not?

There is also Tweeding Along ...


... and the Fall Cable KAL 2006.


These are celebrations of tweed and cables, both non-project specific, with no dead-line time wise -- my kind of knit-a-longs!

There is also the Heere Be Dragone KAL on Yahoo groups. Yup, I'm there too. I think I'll need all the support I can get for that one ....... after I finish the Butterfly, which I haven't touched in way. too. long.

SAM 2 August - done!

August has certainly been a good month loot-wise. I wish my knitting was as productive as my mail box :-)

Before I can start talking about SAM 2, I must tell you that I won one of the "surprise" prizes in the first go-round! Wanna see what I got? Of course you do.

Very cool indeed. Thanks, Chrissy, and I'm very happy you decided to continue for another six months. I've enjoyed seeing all the wonderful socks that people have been making, and it's really helped me keep on track. At least I'm getting a pair of socks finished every month!

I also won a contest over that crankygrrrrrl had a while ago. (She's not really cranky at all; she's quite nice and a lot of fun! And she got a very cool birthday present -- you should go look.) Wanna see what I got? Of course you do.

Also very cool indeed. Thanks, cranky :-) I've recently started a pair of socks in Cherry Tree Hill, and I can see it becoming one of my favourites. Their potlucks are fun. Interestingly, this colourway is marked "water". They must have some strange water down there in Vermont.

You may have noticed that I also succumbed to a couple more of those extremely expensive "knitting stands." I had to go back and get a purple one and an orange one. I did show some restraint ... the Barbie pink and screaming yellow ones remained to grace the shelves. Yes, my name is Dave, and I am a Doodad Doofus.

In the Other News Department, I lost a toe. Maybe you know where it is? Please don't say it's at the end of my foot, because I'm talking about a sock toe. I'm sure I saw one that had you graft the final stitches vertically rather than horizontally. The band made by the decreases carried right across the toe. I can't find it now. I thought it was in one of Nancy Bush's books, but if it's there, I can't see it. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, here it is, my August sock. You'll be sorry you read all the way down here just to see these, because I think this yarn has made an appearance here more than any other. I was hoping to get another Trek-along out of these, but it just didn't work out that way. After carrying them around with me everywhere I went for the last six weeks, I finally finished my Trekking socks!