Rattlesnake Creek Socks

These are called Rattlesnake Creek by Anne Podlesak. I used Tess' Designer Yarns Super Socks & Baby in the colorway Tequila Sunrise. I made these as part of the Sock Knitters Pentathalon KAL on Ravelry. That's 3 for 3 so far. We'll see what they come up with for next month!

The Cat Bordhi Experience

The shop owner of my local yarn shop is Marianne of Yarn Boutique. She also attends the same weekly SNB I go to. She suggested, rather convincingly, that I should go to the sock class that she had arranged with Cat Bordhi. It's been years (5+) since I took a full day class, and I thought what could I learn about socks, having knit in excess of 60 pairs at this point.

Guess what? I learned something.

I have had Cat's book New Pathways for Sock Knitters since it was published. Have I tried to knit one of the patterns? No. It seemed overly involved, and I don't knit socks to think. I brought the book, some supplies and an open mind.

I learned 3 new things that will make my life easier: heel turns, a new cast on method and different ways to bind off for a looser edge.

Was it worth it? Oh, yes.

Am I thankful to Marianne for coaxing me? Definitely.

This is what I accomplished during the class:



A lovely pair of baby socks that someday will have some use!

I learned more from Cat in a few hours than I thought possible and her teaching style is warm and open and giving. She is a remarkable individual and I hope that I can spend some time with her again in the future.

Next weekend - the Yarnharlot!

Flying Arrows

I signed up for yarnsmackdown. I wasn't really ready for it - I forgot. Then when it hit, I got my dossier and went to town on the socks to get them done and in the mail. I really fell in love with these and hope that I get something as nice in return.



Flying Arrows by Helen Waite. I used Brown Sheep's Wildfoote in Blue Blood Red. Oh, they were luscious. I bought the yarn when I visited Idaho last, and had thought to make these for myself. But since I am poor, relatively speaking, and can't afford to buy yarn, I raided the stash. Susan Monroy was my target and her favorite color was red. I sacrificed for her enjoyment and she loved the socks.

To show how far behind I am in posting finished items, these were done sent these off on August 10th. Susan sent me the socks she was working on, and the dossier. They've been done for over a week now, but I have no idea who to send them to. The lady they were intended for (good english?) supposedly withdrew, then didn't. Her target wore the same size, so no harm. But I have emailed Helen and wait to hear. In the interim, there are another pair of socks that are done, that I haven't blogged about and have no home to go to currently.

Sigh - and no one has bothered to kill me yet. I think I may be done with sock competitions for a while.

With A Twist

My first sock pattern that I am publishing. This is called With A Twist.



It's a fake cable pattern, where you knit 2 together and before slipping the stitches, knit the first stitch again. It's easy and it's fits well. I used Tess' Designer Yarns Super Sock and Baby in the color way Ocean. I used US1 needles to get my gauge. I also tried two different cuffs to see how it would look. I'm rather proud of how they turned out.

The pattern is available through my website, in case you're interested! ;-)

Not knitting related

There are those who visit for knitting, and there are those that don't. This is for the latter.

I've been going through some stuff that I'm trying to work out. Real world-upside-down stuff. So if my posts are a still shallow with content, it's because I'm feeling a little fragile right now. One day at a time, right?

I took this picture at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the weekend Chris and his daughter were here. I moved the prisms around until I got an effect that I liked. I was happy that the camera picked it up. I like how the colors layer and intersect. I thought it was kind of cool.

What do you think?

Blue Marble Socks

There are times when you need to knit basic socks. I'm calling these Blue Marble. They are made from ONLine Supersocke 100, colorway 845. These were on the needles for a while. I started them back in June and finished them late July. I know, there are those of you out there thinking, "what does she mean - a while?" I knock out socks in a couple of weeks or less, and these are just ribbed. But I like them.

Lattice and Columns

So, I finished this one back in July, and I have written a pattern for it. You can find it here. It uses 120 yds of Sugar n' Cream. It also has good scrubbing qualities. I'm hoping to have another pattern up shortly for another washcloth that I've been playing with.

The Jewel Bag

I don't know about this one. In this photo, it's looking a little washed out, which it isn't. I think I'm just too lazy to take another picture.



This is how it looked before finishing and felting, and the colors are still pretty true. It's a fuzzy mess now that it's felted and needs a shave.

This is the second time I've had this happen, and there's one common denominator - Lamb's Pride. I like the colors, and I remain ever hopeful. I may try one more time and see what happens. The accent yarn is Pepita by Trendsetter Yarns.

I started this from the top with a garter stitch in Lamb's Pride only. When I moved to stockinette, I alternated the yarns in a set pattern, and increased the size 2 stitches on the sides of the bag every five rows. Perhaps when I have found some handles I like, and figure out whether or not it needs a clasp, I may be happier with it.

Sleeptight Eyemasks

So, I mentioned these a while ago, and I figured I should probably post some pictures. I finished writing the pattern, and it is available on my website. There are three versions, they evolved so to speak, so I named them G1, G2 and G3 ("G" stands for generation, a la Apple).

Here is G1:



This one is slightly narrower than the other too and can be done in a DK or Sport weight yarn. The benefit of these is that there is nose shaping, helping keep it in place, and there are no seams! It comfortably wraps around the head and can be easily adjusted.

Presenting G2:



This one has a different shaping for the nose, and cups the tip. Now, I don't know about you, but I have a problem with cold nose in the winter months. This solves the problem! Also, it anchors the mask, so even if you move around a fair amount, it won't. This one is also for DK or Sport weight yarn.

Finally G3:



My fingering weight solution. Have extra sock yarn? Here is a way to get rid of that 100 yards or so that has been languishing in your leftovers basket.

Depending on length and width, you need approximately 70-100 yards of yarn. These knit up rather quickly.

I would like to thank my husband for modeling these for me. These were his idea, because unlike me, he actually needs a dark room to sleep. If necessary, I could sleep with spotlights on and it wouldn't matter!