SockapalOOOza

Sockapalooza Socks!

Sarah SockapalOOOza

My Sockapalooza pal, Jan from Indiana, sent me some absolutely fabulous socks and goodies! Check it out:

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The socks are made from Tofutsies yarn, and are soft and cabled and just the most lovely shades of blue. I can’t wait for the current heat wave to break so I can wear them! In the meantime, I have a teeny sock on a sock blocker keychain to make up for not being able to wear my socks. Plus a cute handmade sheep and a small bottle of wool wash.

What a lovely treat it was to come home to this the other night! Thanks, Jan!

Sockapalooza Socks Done

Sarah SockapalOOOza

Well, I didn’t quite finish my pal’s socks by August 1st, but I think the mailing deadline is the 7th so it’s all good. I really like how these came out, and I am fervently hoping they fit my pal. She has smaller feet than I do, and they look incredibly small to me! Then again, they fit my sock blockers with no problem, so perhaps they’ll be just fine.

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The yarn is Trekking XXL, color #167, and the pattern once again is Lombard Street from MagKnits. I’d like to do this pattern again in a solid yarn I think, it’s a fun, simple little lace and cable pattern.

A Very Crafty Update

Sarah Knitting, Mystery Stole 3, SockapalOOOza, Spinning

Apparently, a shawl I knit four years ago has generated some interest at Knitting Daily. How exciting! But when I clicked the link to my own page, I realized that all of my actual current projects weren’t even mentioned on my current projects list. So, without further ado, here are my current projects:

Clue #1 and the first 20 rows of Clue #2 of the Mystery Stole #3:

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It’s really hard to take a nice picture of unblocked lace, so excuse the lumpiness. Maybe next time I’ll at least pin it out!

The Tango baby sweater:

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This poor sweater gave up its needles for the sake of the mystery stole, but I’m happy to report that I got another set in the mail today, so there’s hope for it yet! Now if only there were knitting elves that would knit that ever-so-exciting second sleeve for me so it could actually get done before the baby outgrows it, that would be great!

Carrie’s “summer” sweater, Reid:

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Ahem. Yes, I’m aware that summer is a good portion of the way done, and that Carrie is growing quickly, and that I made this a size that would fit her this year and most likely not next. No, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m going to knit on in denial and trust that I can block it bigger if need be.

Never fear, sockpal, lombard street sock #2 is ready for the heel turn:

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I’m working steadily past my second sock syndrome symptoms. I have to admit, I still get a thrill out of each cable row, so it’s something of an encouragement to knit the other seven slightly-less-exciting rows in each repeat.

And finally, here’s the tiny 20-yard skein of my smooshy pink yarn, all balled up and ready to be swatched:

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Carrie was quite enchanted by my nostepinne, I think because it’s such a fun word to say!

Whew! See, I really can blog about things that are not related to potty training! ;)

One Down, One To Go

Sarah SockapalOOOza

The first sockapalooza sock is done! I have to say, I love cables in socks, even if the colors are a little too busy to see them well.

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I did the picot cuff for the second sock at Sit & Knit tonight, so now it’s just a matter of doing the same thing I did for the first sock. I’ll easily be able to make the deadline if I don’t get distracted by too much! Now I have to start thinking of what other little goodies to send my pal.

SockapalOOOza socks!

Sarah SockapalOOOza

Look what I got in the mail today!

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They fit perfectly, are extremely soft, and I just love the colors. Plus they have a pretty little cable alternating with the ribbing. This is the very first pair of handknit socks I own that I didn’t knit, and I think they fit better than any I’ve made! Thanks, Auntie Pita!

Also, Silke got the socks I sent all the way to Germany a couple of days ago. (Here is Google’s translation of her site. Um, I think the translator needs a little work. But since I never learned German, it’s all I’ve got!)

I definitely want to do this again. It’s a lot more fun (and motivating) to knit socks for someone else, and especially so when you know yet another person is making special socks for you at the same time!

My SockapalOOOza Socks Are Done!

Sarah SockapalOOOza

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Look! I’m so excited! These are quite the prettiest socks I’ve ever knit, and I really hope my sock pal loves them as much as I do. It’s just a couple of weeks before we mail them out, so I’m glad I finished them up early. Even though I started at the same point in the color sequence, something must have been off a little because the toe on the second sock ended with burgundy instead of orange, but I think they’re as close to matching as you can get otherwise. And there aren’t too many yards left in the skein, I would have been worried if I didn’t have a second skein of this sitting in my stash!

The pattern and yarn information is here, since I never got around to making a separate page for these socks.

Note To Self

Sarah SockapalOOOza

Sarah, when planning to steal random moments of knitting time during rehearsal, it helps to make sure that the knitting project you bring currently has the correct number of stitches on the needles – after all, you’re practically knitting in the dark. If you do discover that there’s a major error, it is not especially wise to try to fix it, still in the dark, during the 30 seconds in between two songs. This is even more important if, for example, you happen to be knitting a lace sock on size 0 needles. And Sarah, if you fail to follow this advice, you only have yourself to blame if you need to rip back an entire 12 row repeat of the lace pattern because you’ve somehow dropped a stitch and can’t exactly find where it went.

Oh, and quite frankly, Sarah, you wouldn’t have this problem if you hadn’t been so fickle about the second SockapalOOOza sock in the first place and had finished it before moving on to other projects. Instead you could be working on something simple like an intarsia baby sweater in the dark during rehearsal. Won’t you ever learn?

Got Socks?

Sarah FLAK, SockapalOOOza

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OK, so it’s only one sock. But I’m super happy with how it came out. I actually knit a good deal of it during breaks in rehearsals, so it was a pretty easy lace pattern to keep track of. I grafted the toe last night, but I didn’t cast on the second sock because the picot edging is a bit fiddly and I was too tired to concentrate that much. I should definitely do that tonight before I succumb to Second Sock Syndrome!
Update: I’ve gotten a few inquiries about which pattern I’m using, and although that information (and the details about the yarn) is in a previous post, it’s the Lacy Scallops pattern from sockbug for anyone who’s interested. Thanks!

FLAK_back_progress_TN.jpgI’ve also gotten a fair amount done on FLAK. In fact, I’m surprised at how quickly this is knitting up: I started the saddles just one week ago, and I’m flying through the back. Right now the armhole depth is about 7″, and I’m planning on making it 9″ – although I’m starting to worry that it won’t be deep enough. I don’t really have an Aran-weight sweater to measure the armhole depth on, so I’m guessing from the finer-gauge sweaters that fit me well.

I also guessed at the neck measurement, and I’m a little worried that that will be too wide at 8″. But then again, I don’t like anything too tight around my neck. Plus it’s going to be a v-neck cardigan, so if it’s a little on the big side it will still look OK.

The next decision I have to make is whether the cardigan will button or zip. I’m leaning towards buttons at the moment, but I will have to make a firm decision before I start the fronts so I know how many stitches to cast on.

This is definitely a fun project, because this sweater – even though it seems like half the knitters on the Internet are knitting it – will be completely customized to fit me, and I hope I can take some of this and apply it to other projects so I end up with things that fit well more often than not.

SockapalOOOza update

Sarah SockapalOOOza

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This is the beginning of my sockapalOOOza socks. The yarn is Regia Cotton Surf Color #5411, and I’m using a free pattern from sockbug called Lacy Scallops. I’m beyond pleased with how the pattern is working with the colors of the yarn, especially with the picot edging on top! It’s also going pretty quickly: this picture (from yesterday) shows 5 of the 6 repeats needed for the leg of the sock, and since then I’ve finished the last repeat. I’ll definitely be able to finish these well in advance of the deadline. The funny thing is, patterns more complicated than stockinette stitch seem to go so much faster – I think I need the extra motivation of an interesting pattern for something to hold my attention long enough to make progress. And the best part of these socks is that there’s absolutely no ribbing to get bogged down in!