Socktober already on it's last day?

I have a serious case of STARTERITIS. That is why I need to follow Sarah in extending Socktober (see this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/6626188). I still have the blue socks (child's first socks) with sock one close to the toe; I have started the witch socks that are due today for Petra's contest but due to work and the need to concentrate on two charts simultaniously that is far from the heel, but will look cool, maybe for next years Halloween; the yellow socks have not been touched at all, but will make nice mindless commuter knitting once I get over my love affair with Thujas; red Thuja for myself was started and is on it's way to the toe for the first sock.

Cross Stitching is even worse. I had a bunch of WIPs already: Flight Show, Reading Dragon, Santa (only beads missing), Fall scene, Heart by M Designs, Name Sign for my friend Monika, seahorses were all in different states off unfinished. Now I have added a Michael Powell's Mini design and by Heart in Hand Pumpkins. The last one might actually get finished stitching as it is fairly straight forward with lovely space died threads. But then it will join my Plant Kindness design in the cue to be finished. May be My Guy's father could make a frame for the kindness design.

Sewing: I need to finish my pj top as it is getting colder again. I also want to add some stars for friends and family to my christmas giving.

Christmas shopping will need to be done within the next 4 weeks, because I am NOT going shopping after 1st of December. I go to christmas markets, but for the Gluehwein not for shopping. So this Santa will have to make a list and check it twice.

What season am I - fits

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Stitcher's Question of the week

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Vash and is:

Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I stitch \\\ followed by /// and I am right-handed.

My Guy socks done

In a fit of very concentrated knitting I finished the My Guy socks yesterday evening. Now they just need a little bath and they are ready for his Halloween birthday. I actually liked them very much once I had them on my feet and already bought yarn for another pair of Thuja from http://www.knitty.com Mine will not be the worlds most boring tan, but red tweed like socks. But they have to wait a bit.

Yesterday I cast on for my witch socks for Petra's (Woll Normal) witch contest. I am not sure I can get the one required sock done in time as it will not be mindless, but it will be fun even if it takes a bit longer... I am starting of with picot which I have never tried with a provisional cast on, another thing I have not really mastered yet. At least the cast on came off so I am now ready to knit the two set of stitches together. Then a bit of lace and some twitsted stitches... Actually I have a second idea that would be great, but that would probably require double knitting and I have never tried that either.

Sharfika is on the second ball and growing nicely. This was my project in front of My Guy while I was knitting his socks. If you only required a short scarf you could stop already, but i plan to wear mine with my navy winter coat and want it longer. The other day I realized that I had accidently switched to cables every 8 rows instead of the 10 in the pattern, but since I have done this since the second crossing, I will just keep going and make the last one a ten row repeat for symmetry.

No stitching done lately even though my fingers itch after seeing the Just Cross Stitch Christmas 10th anniversary book and some recent magazines.

Sharfik in pink = Sharfika

In preperation of winter and considering it is October and therefore breast cancer awareness is heightened I have cast on a Sharfik in a lovely slightly blueish rose. It fought me from the start: the set up row went wrong, then I did the first and last stitch wrong on the right side row while correcting the miscounting in the set up row, the yarn does not like to be cabled with three stitches across and I can not count to ten for the pattern repeat. To add insult to injury I was very doubtful at the beginning about how that whole thing would look. But now I am fine with the look and the pattern and I have made peace. There will be a pink sharfik here, I call it sharfika, because it is so girly. I am not sure if Grumperia's dad will like his many scarf so transformed...

The My Guy socks were ripped to the ribbing and restarted with the pattern from Thuja in knitty.com. The first one is now past the heel and great commuter knitting.

Last Saturday I was at my parents and went with my mom to her patchwork groups UFO day. I finished sewing up the ship and kaleidoscope blocks, so they can make a baby quilt if a kid will show up. I got advise on what to use for the binding in my ninepatch quilt, but have not actually attached it. And I started a star for a table "runner" (I do not know what it is called, it is for decoration and to put stuff like tea pots on.). I finished the star on Sunday and added the backing yesterday, so at least I have one FO.

I am still knitting on Bob even though the weather is by now decidedly autumn and I will not need a short sleeved sweater for a long time. But the yarn and the color make me happy and I am approaching a finished project there as well.

Socktober 06

A bit late but here we go:

When did you start making socks? I have no idea, but it must have been in school during home ec as I am sure I knit the first pair before I graduated from high school.
Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class? My mom defenitly taught me as she was my home ec teacher and I learned all my early crafts from her. We still share a love for handicrafts, but mostly she does patchwork these days.
What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time? I have no idea as this is more than 20 years ago.
What would you have done differently? Probably nothing, but I can not say for sure.
What yarns have you particularly enjoyed? In Germany we do not have the wide varity of hand died and variegated luxuries, but I particularily enjoyed Regia Silk.
Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method? I have tried DNPs, 2 circs and the Magic Loop and have returned to my 5 DPNs. I love circs for other things, but not for socks.
Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?) I have only done one short row heel when I also tried toe-up, it was okay, but I prefer flaps as they are more mindless for me. However I like the flap with slipped stitches since I found them on the net.
How many pairs have you made? No idea, I think I have ten pairs in my drawers, 2 in My Guy's and I made a pair as a gift for a friend at some point.

My Guy sock started

I have started the socks for My Guy yesterday. I changed my mind about the pattern I would use, but am still unsure if I decided on the right one. The sock is much wider after the ribbing and I am not sure this will work out, but I will knit a bit more and then reevaluate them. Maybe instead of a knit purl pattern I should use something that is more like ribbing... I am not going to do cables with it though as I have already noticed that it splits and that is not good for cabling without cable needle.

Socktober has started

I am looking forward to doing some sock knitting this month in celebration of Lolly's socktober festival. I have two pairs on the needles that I want to get done and a third pair that I need to cast on and get done for My Guy's birthday on Halloween. I also want to rework the pair he got for last years b-day as they were too long (and possibly too wide, too). The ones on the needle are both on the first sock: blue cotton Child's First Socks that live at My Guy's place and yellow Opal socks in Twin Rib that I had to rib the heel back because I did not remember that I had more stitches on the fourth needle and needed to take some of those into the heel to get the requisite half of the numbers.

Unfortunatelly I am currently in love with my little cross stich project and the socks remain ignored. I need to cast on for My Guy's socks so that I can take them on the train. I dislike casting on there as I tend to have needles slip out when wrangling the dnp porcupine through the inital set up. Afterwards I love my DNPs.

Another new project

I could no longer resist and have started the Michael Powell Mini Spanish Cottages 6 from an old Just Cross Stitch. The pircture shown is the one from the magazine, I only have done a tiniy bit on the tree and the houses. I love Powell's work and this one reminds me of our vacation, even if we were in Italy and not in Spain, the feeling was pretty much the same. I have in a current WOCS another of his Minis, this time from Greece.

Jaywalkers done

Watching soccer I finished my Jaywalkers. I love them, they are cotton Regia and I am already wearing them. Let's see if I can get My Guy to take a photo of them at some point the next couple of days.

I had a rather annoying TV evening as the cable channels have changed and my TV does not adjust them automatically. I have now more channels, but it was hard work to find the ones I had before again and save them on their old places on my TV. And I am still missing the second Swiss channel. Grr. If I can not find it this winter will be BAD. They are my favorite channel for downhill skiing.

I had an okay day yesterday and then went swimming a 1000 meters with a former collegue. That was good and we plan to do it more often. After that I did not see a very low step and fell, skinned my knee and twisted my ankle. Then they had changed my TV channels and I could not find my fifth ebony DPN. I used a metal one to finish the Jaywalkers, but was seriously annoyed. I love those needles. Luckily that one took a turn to the better this morning as I found needle #5 stuck in my sweater vest. Yeah!

This is especially good as I want to use the ebony's for My Guy's socks. I think I know what I want to do for them. Diamond frames in purl stitches on a stockinette background. Now what ribbing to use with that...

Knitting History

I am one lucky girl: I won a wonderful Japanese book from Julia at Knitting History! It's already here and great. Not that I understand a word of the Japanese but the pictures are inspiring. I am really looking forward to trying one of the hats or shawls.

Knitting:
- the first pair of Jaywalkers is nearing completion during my daily train trips, this morning I reached the toe of sock number 2
- since the weather is turning cool, rainy and very fall like I am determined to finish my Bob sweater (from http://knitty.com ): short sleeved and cotton. Yes, I too think that that is weird, but I love the yarn and the color... I am knitting the sleeves: two in the round at the same time, not my favorite method, but it beats the alternatives hands down. Luckily they are only 2" until I will join them to the body. Yes, I am taking liberties with the construction of that sweater.
- coming up: boyfriend socks as it is his birthday at the end of October. I got some nice neutral tan Jawoll yarn. That will be my first time knitting with that brand, usually Regia is what I can lay hands on. Let's see if I can make them so boring that he will actually wear them...

Cold Weather but no progress

With August we got cold and rainy weather but instead of crafting a lot, I went back to reading for a while.

I read David Lodge's Think, The Giver, a book by Deirdre Martin, another book (a romance I think) that I already sold via amazon and am currently close to the end of Neil Gaiman's Anasi Boys. I had not read any Lodge for some time and therefore enjoyed it, even though it is the same old topics of affairs and academics. Gaiman's book is great and I had read American Gods earlier which gave me an idea of what to expect. I plan on finally finishing Amy Tan's Saving Fish from Drowning next. Just a few chapters left...

I did knit a bit on my Jaywalkers and am up to the heel of the second sock. I also cast on once more with the tan cotton sock wool I have, but once again am not satisfied. I will have to go down a needle size with those, I think. I knit a bit on my Noro Cardigan, too, but am not satisfied with the instructions. They are vague and lacking a diagram. But I am past the armhole decreases, so the fronts should be finished soon and then I can guess how much yarn I will need to purchase to finish it.

I stitched not at all on my Frederic and very little on the Seahorses.

My quilt URGENTLY needs a border to then go to Mom for quilting, if I want to give it as a gift in October.

A row here a row there

that is the progress of my projects currently. Turned a heep on my blue Child's First Socks, turned a heel on my Jaywalker and did the increases on the fronts of my Noro cardigan. I still love all those projects, so they will go on. The blue socks at My Guy's place, the jaywalkers are my commuting project and the cardigan is my at home project when it is not too hot to knit wool.

We are planning on going to see Caveman, a comedy, on men and women. We had heard good things about it and are looking forward to it.

Summer of Stash rewards?

I have not yet gotten to the end of the Summer of Stash and already I am contmeplating getting more yarn: Noro Blossom for an Eloise and this Sock Club: http://www.poshyarn.co.uk/sockclub.html . But then I have not defined any rewards when I joined the summer of stash...

CeCe finished

My CeCe is finished and I have worn it already. It is just what I wanted. Now I need to get my photographer to snap a pic and I will finally try to post one.

Also finished is the first sleeve of my Noro cardigan. I have not cast on for the fronts yet.

Ripped: my yellow jaywalkers. Restarted with less stitches and a different sock yarn. Now I am afraid the fabric is too loose, but will keep it up for a bit.

See more progress on: knit all the yarn I've bought

Summer Knitty Patterns

The summer knitty is out and I feel rather ambivalent about it. While the socks, hats and other accessoirs look great, I feel "cheated" that there are no short sleeved sweaters or tanks. I know it is free and the editors decision and I even can see that in summer you might need small stuff as it will not create the blanket effect of a large project, but still... That said, I like quite a few of the things and am sure they make great stash buster projects and I will refer back to this issue often.

Noro Silk Garden is yummy

I am currently knitting a cardigan in Silk Garden by Noro. In green purple colors: LOVELY. I did a sleeve as the gauge swatch and seem to have gotten lucky. This yarn was originally intended for Klaralund, but then got stashed and now I think I'd rather have a cardigan. I just hope there is enough yarn as the cables eat up yarn like crazy. But I can either knit a stockinett back or a uni one from a different yarn depending on how "bad" this gets. I am loving the sleeve, luckily I have taught myself after seeing this mentioned in the blogsphere how to cable with out a cable needle. Otherwise the love might not be all that great... Next to knit are the fronts as I want those to match as much as possible with Noro. The second sleeve will be next and then I should be able to tell what I can do with the back.

This is what I am making:

http://www.laughinghens.com/knitting-pattern-page.asp?patternpageid=2118

CeCe at neckband

I am sorry I doubted Bonne Marie as CeCe turns out just right. I just need to knit the neckband and sew the ends in. I am just trying to figure out if I can knit the neckband on instead of sewing it on. No help so far in my books, but if an applied i-cord works, this might work too. Any ideas?

The red socks are resting, but I did knit a bit on the blue ones.

See more progress on: knit all the yarn I've bought

Quilt magazines in review process

I am reviewing the quilt mags that I kept after the date cut off declutter and am dumping some more. Not easy, but it gives me a good feeling.

See more progress on: de-clutter my apartment

Heel of the second red socks

I am in the process of turning the second of my red socks and so far no second sock syndrom.

I also took up CeCe again and am getting closer and closer to the neckline.

See more progress on: knit all the yarn I've bought