Coupling Socks

I don't know which surprised me more - that it took me almost two months to finished these, or that if I had just worked on them they would have been done in 4 days. I finished the first one as we were driving through Santa Barbara last weekend. I learned two new techniques with these: a short row heel with a heel flap and a tubular bind off.

I liked the pattern. I liked the yarn. I like the way they look. I like the way they fit. Maybe they took so long because they aren't they type of sock knitting that allows for glancing.

I like to look up from my work in regular intervals. It allows for TV watching and taking in the scenery. These were not conducive to that habit. That's probably what took so long. In any case, I cast in another pair of socks on Friday and I still have a pair of Tofutsies on the needles that I need to finish.

Here are the specs: Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the colorway Parrot. Knit using the 2 circ method with size 2US needles. The pattern in Coupling for knitty.com.

Here are the socks completed:



Here is the detail:



They are pretty, fit very well, and I am sure will become a favorite before long. I can also say these are the first toe up socks that I have made where I am completely happy with the bind off. The cuff is loose and comfortable!

Utter cuteness

The hazard of knitting lots of projects is accumulating a lot of little balls of left over yarn. There usually isn't enough to make a functional item with what's left, unless you start combining.

I came across a key chain a few months ago. It's a mini sock blocker. Debbie Jennings of Felt Up Designs came up with a great idea. For $3.00 (plus s&H) you get a cute accessory and a pattern. Quite frankly, I love mine.

Here are my first batch of mini socks:


(LtoR top : Koigu, Zarina, Cherry Tree Hill, Schaefer Anne, Austermann
LtoR bottom: Opal, Socks That Rock, Jitterbug, Jitterbug, Koigu)

One note about the pattern - the recommended needle size created a sock too small for the sock blocker. I had to move up 2 needle sizes for them to fit properly. In fact, it's the 2nd one in from the right on the bottom row. I've knit a few more since I finished these, but I still have to sew in ends, add a loop, etc. I have about 4 more finished. They knit up quickly, use less than 20 yards and can be coordinated with the socks I am wearing that day. My goal is to knit a mini sock in all the yarns I have used for socks.

If you knit socks, you need a sock blocker key chain. Show off - be proud of your skills!!

Adventures in Felting

I really-really-really wanted to do some felting. So I dug out some feltable wool and got to knitting.

The first one I did was a pattern called Sophie, which I found at magknits.com. The designer is Julie Anderson. She has designed some cute bags. I decided to try the SWTC Karaoke that I purchased at Foggy Bottoms in Ferndale earlier this summer.

Here is the yarn:



Here is the bag knitted:



Here is the bag felted:



That little jar in the picture is a small Gerber food jar, used for perspective. One thing about Karaoke I learned is that once it starts to felt, it goes quick! This came out much smaller than I would have liked. Oh well, live and learn.

Next, I pulled out the Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes Tweed and knit two things. The first was the Booga Bag from Black Sheep Bags. The other was Special Companions from knitkit.com. Here are the results:

Yarn....



Booga Bag knitted......



Booga Bag felted.....



Special Companions knitted.....



Special Companions felted.....



Not too bad. I was happy with the overall results and now feel comfortable to move on to bigger projects.

Check back for other felting results!