Sockapalooza

I heard from my sock pal just after I had realized that I needed to get going with my sockapalooza socks again. I am now 6 rows away from the heel and expect to finish them next week.

Knitting these socks makes me wonder when a sock pattern is a new design. I have combined 2 patterns from different Treasuries from Barbara Walker and did something nice with the heel, but I am not sure if this could be put out as a pattern without infringing Barbara Walker's copyright. Possibly not.

It was nice to hear from my pal, but I had not been worried. (Waves to Pal!!!)

This Sunday my parents are coming for a visit, so tomorrow I need to do some cleaning and hope to combine it with a bit more decluttering. I am getting better at throwing things out, but there is still more than we can move.

Loot and Process

After more than 2 months I finally got the surface delivery of my Elann order. You can see my loot in the first photo.
This is the first of my ugly socks. Not much progress and you get a glimpse at my Mannheim tea cup (it lights the windows when you pour warm beverages in it, advertising the electricity company in Mannheim) and my PC table.
These look much less turquois than they do in real life, where they are more bluish. Those are blocks 5 and 6 of 12 for my current Jewel Box quilt. They are taking so far 3 fabrics from my stash so Judy's (Sunshine Quilts) July Stash Challenge is met. We will see what I do with those blocks once I have finished them. They would make a quilt of 120 cm by 160 cm on their own which is a size I do not like.

Along the brook

These two pictures were taken last Saturday when MyGuy and I went for an evening stroll. You can just make out one of the young swans in the first picture.

Time flies...

I have no pictures right now, but wanted to let you all know that I am still knitting, sewing and stitching. I have turned the heel on the first of the ugly socks and am almost at the heel of the second Lilac sock. I have sewn 20 Jewel Box blocks in turquois and black-brown and have made 5 sets a 4 blocks from them. I will add 7 more sets. This is my way of participating in the July stash challenge from Judy (Sunshine Quilts). And I have a bunch more ideas of what to do with Jewel Box blocks... This will be a series I think. Hope Mum does not get to put off when I bring her the "same" pattern to quilt again and again... I have done a few thread lengths on my cross stitch tree, but you can hardly tell. I am tempted to do some blue-/redwork, but the snowmen BOM I keep seeing, I can not track down...

Nine Patch and Leaves

Yesterday I finally finished this quilt, the binding was the only thing missing, I made the blogs at least 5 years ago and my wonderful Mom quilted it for me. While this quilt was not really a scrap quilt, more of a FQ quilt, it certainly could have been. I cut squares and put them in two bags: one light, one dark. Then I proceeded to sew nine patches 5 dark, 4 light, they are all the same. The last part made it a bit challenging when it came to sewing the blocks together, but the no sames touching proved workable, the similar ones not so much. The cross pattern that you see in the photo is not aparent in real life.
The quilt got the highest possible accolade: MyGuy said, he likes it and that this one I should keep. Wow! But I have to agree, it is a keeper.
This is the first of my embossed leaves socks in Farn by Wollmeise. I took 4 stitches out which I regret now, but they still fit. However all of the photos were blurry, this one least of all.

Armchair Traveler Booklist

Not being content with the many challenges I have already going I want to join another one. This one is the Armchair Traveler Challenge by A Life in Books.

The books I have chosen are:

English Passangers by Matthew Kneale ( a cross over from the Summer Reading Challenge)
Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry
Ladies Coupé by Anita Nair
Going after Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
Schmutzige Havanna Triologie by Pedro Juan Gutiérrez
Die Reisen des Herrn Baldassare by Amin Maalouf

Let's see how I will do with this. I need to read one of those each month which should be do able.

Summer of Socks Start

This is the sunspot sock with the first couple of rows. Not much progress, I know, but it is not a train sock, so it will be slow.


This on the other hand is my current commuter sock, a simple Nancy Bush Vintage Sock ribbing in an ugly yarn, that needed to leave my stash.
Since I am working on lots of things at the moment and have more WIPS than you want to count, here an old FO. I made this while I was at university. It only has two fabrics and it was quite a challenge to find enough sampler blocks for it. However I love it and think it turned out fairly balanced. I love the starkness of the two fabrics, made necessary by the fact that I could not find anything that would go with the purply-wine colored Jaquard. So plain muslin was used. I love two color quilts, but normally go with scrappy and different values.

No Photos - but knitting

I have cast on the yellow and orange Regia in the pattern sunspots from Barbara Walker, we will see how that goes in the long run. I have turned the heel on embossed leaves one and I have cast on for an extremly ugly sock in Regia Jaquard with one of Vintage Socks ribbing patterns. I love those, they are simple enough to do when your head swims, but entertaining enough to avoid throwing them in the corner out of pure boredom. I have out grown those Jaquard yarns, but since this was in the Stash and the only one to be knit with 2,5mm that is what got cast on. So I have 2 socks in progress for Summer of Socks and 3 that do not count.

I have also finally finished the Shell Collector for the TBR challenge, but think the book is fairly depressing. I have finished The Demon and the City which was much more entertaining. I am now undecided between the Mobile Library and starting Earthman's Burden, so I knit a bit.

We have found a flat and just need to sign the rental contract, so packing, sorting and tossing will ensue.

Summer of Socks - Start slightly off

This is the reason why my start of the summer of socks is postponed. The second sock for the Lilac Socks from the Townsend KAL, the second Sockapalooza sock and the first sock of my embossed leaves socks.






And this is the start going to be once I can get it started.

Ladder of Life finished

These are my ladder of life socks. They were originally intended for MyGuy, but were deemed to colorful and too patterned. Sigh! I have briefly considered giving them to MyGuy's nephew or nephew's girlfriend as they are both volunteers for the THW, but think the patterning might not be good in work boots. So they are mine. Much too hot for socks now, but at least the needles are free and I can borrow one for the sockapaloozas.

I finished sewing all the rows for my Bodensee quilt (calling a blue quilt Treehouse seems a bit ridiculous). Now the rows need to be joined and we will see if I add borders or just finish it like this which is what the book is showing.

Oh, man!

Just when I have reached the toe of my first sockapalooza 4 sock, I broke not only the yarn, but also the needle. Grr! So annoying. Now I have another set of 2.25 mm though not from the same company and I will borrow one of those needles, but to do so I have to finish my ladder of life socks where I am using those. Now that is not quite as bad as it sounds as I have just turned the heel on the second sock, but it threw a spanner in things and I did not need that grief!

On the other hand the sockapalooza socks look good and are a bit thight over the heel, but can be put on and off, so we are fine. My embossed leaves socks are a bit strippy which I did not expect, but do not mind and I am up to 1 1/2 pattern repeats. For something that only gets knit at MyGuy's that is not bad. I did sew the first 3 rows of my "Treehouse" quilt together and like it. I had to trim the blocks quite a bit, so it will be smaller than the original, but that is fine with me.

I have read Undead and Unpopular this weekend and have decided to stop reading the series, Betsy is too much of a selfish moron in this book. I am still reading my June TBR book, Shell Collector, but do not enjoy the story I am currently reading: Caretaker. I have started The Demon and the City this morning on the train, but can not say anything yet as I only read a couple of pages.

Red Scarf 2008

Since Project Spectrum is at red, black and metallics, this might be the perfect time to knit a red scarf for the Valentine's Scarves project for orphans in college. You can see more from the linked title of this post or via Norma (see side bar).

New Quilt started

I have wanted to do this quilt for ages and now that the drunkard's path and the jewel box quilts are both with my Mom to be quilted I felt I finally could start something new. This is following the pattern called Treehouse from the Modern Quilt workshop by Ringle and Kerr, but my inspiration is far from a tree and the light in it. Can you guess what this was inspired by? When I laid out the first blocks I was feeling sorry for myself because it was not a bit as I had envisioned it, but looking at it with more blocks and in this photo, I think it might actually work. The blocks are bit like potatoe chips, if you have made one, you want to keep going. I have finished almost half of the blocks I need. I have some lovely backing fabric, too.

Friday Check in

Just a quick post: i sewed Isabella together and she is wide enough, but the armhole shaping is off. Fortunatelly I will just need to sew it a bit tighter and then add the armhole edging. I am currently reading my TBR challenge book for June: Shell Collector. More short stories, which seem to be a theme just now. I have recently read Atwood's Tent and Gaiman's Fragile Things. I have joined two more challenges. My sockapalooza socks are tight, but should still work. I started embossed leafes with the Farn yarn from Wollmeise, because I could not not do it. I finished Moon Called and Blood Bound by Briggs and am looking forward to more of her books with Mercy.

Sockapalooza start

This is the current state of my Isabella from Knitty. The shoulders were crocheted together, the V-neck looks good. The thing might be too tight however. But for a final diagnosis I have to sew it up. Then the hem and the armholes have to be done up and it can go back to being hot.

This is the start of my sockapalooza socks. It is a mocaic pattern from Barbara Walkers Treasuries (the green one). The socks are slightly tight due to the yarn carried behind the slipped stitches, but I think they will be okay unless my pal as an extraordinarily high instep.

Bamboo Socks finished

My Guy's bamboo socks are finally finished. As a matter of fact his mother asked about the pattern stitch as she likes them. The pattern is ringwood from Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I am happy to have them of the needles. Because it gets me a good bit closer to my sockapalooza pal's socks.

This are all the skeins of Wollmeise yarn I own and some of it will end up on the needles above and eventually on my pal's feet. I have wound the first skein, but need a second one to get started. The other skeins will become more socks for me.
This is the quilt top finished (unironed as usual). I am trying two different fabrics for borders, but might just bind it without borders. Next Saturday we will visit my mom, so I will get more input.

I have finished reading The Golden Compass and have read Atwood's The Tent. The later is short stories which I seem to read currently. So I am looking forward to June's TBR book the Shell Seeker with more short stories. I have started Booked to Die by Dunning, but am not sure I will stick with it.

Quilty WIPs

This is my current project. A fairly old WIP that I started when I wanted to see how a Drunkard's Path would look. The colors are brighter in reality and the whole thing does not even get close to pretty, but I want to get the blocks and the rows sewn together by the 2nd of June when we plan to visit my mother. Mum does a lot of wonderful patchwork and on top of quitling her own tops, she does mine, too. I have bought a border fabric that I thought would be perfect at a quilt festival earlier this year, but now I do have some doubts. Well it can go to the back if it does not work for the borders.
This one was sewn during a a one day workshop based on Ricky Timms' book. I think I want to keep it in this orientation, but need to think about how to do this and what frames to use as I do not have most of the fabrics anymore. I think small black, small red, wide black might look good. What do you think?
This is Staufen in the Black Forest and just eye candy.

Sockapalooza 4

This is the first time I have joined the sockapalooza, and I certainly got a challenging pal. Not saying why that person is so challenging, that might spoil it. I am now waiting for my order from Wollmeise to arrive. I am considering stranded socks (which I have never done, so I may be in LaLa land here) with two varigated yarns. Maybe the dancing woman from Knitty, maybe something out of Barbara Walker. I really have to finish the socks on the needles to free selfsame needles, as obviously a lot of people are already knitting their pal socks.

Sightseeing near home

This weekend we did a bit of sightseeing not far from where I live. We went to Donaueschingen and saw the beginning of the Danub. Doesn't look like a big river that has made thousands of Romanians homeless last year? But that is what it will grow into.
The building you can see in the spring is a church but there is a palace with a nice park as well. Unfortunatelly they are currently closed as the palace is being renovated.


This is just a little eye candy and maybe an idea for a quilt some time in the future.

Some WIPs

As you can see I have the front of my Isabella cast on and am getting close to the armholes. I am not sure if I am going to do the split as written in the instructions as I have found that look not so great on me. I think I will modify it to a V-Neck.

This one is for Margaret who is still stitching on Federic. Instead of being a good SALer I am stitching the crab apple tree from Cross Stitch Collection 143. It is a very spring like pattern and I am stitching it on blue evenweave.

These are my current traveling socks, Ringwood pattern from Gentleman's Half Hose in Vintage Socks. They are for MyGuy.

This currently neglected sock is ladder of life, a free interweave pattern written to honor the helpers at 9/11. Originally they were intended for MyGuy too, but I think they will be mine, too busy for him.

Then we have a solitary Lilac Sock from the Townsend Socknitting Yahoo group. I have my needles in use for the current socks, so once those are finished this sock will get a partner.


I have come out of my reading slump a bit too and finished Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman and am currently reading Magyk, the first Septimus Heap book.