Category Archives: socks

January 27, 2011 · 10:19 pm

Three thoughts

Have you run across this book?

It came out last year and I never ran across it until I was browsing through the latest at my library. I was smitten with the cover so I took a look and realized three things:

1. I was really, really excited about knitting these socks. They are thick and warm and up to your knees with beautiful colorwork and stitch patterns. They look warm. Did I say warm? They look really, really warm.

2. Unless you live in a state that borders Canada (like myself) or if of course you live in Canada, or have family in such a situation, you will have absolutely no use for this book.

3. The stylist must have fallen and hit his/her head before planning these photo shoots, because no normal person would make a guy tuck his pants into his socks, especially green pants with white socks and black hightops. If you don’t meet requirement #2 above, I recommend checking this out from the library just to see the poor guy with his tucked in socks.

That said, if you had to pick a favorite sock book today, what would it be?

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Tagged as postaweek2011

October 9, 2009 · 8:52 pm

Socktoberfest

I’m always so revved up about Socktoberfest, but then I seem to lose my gusto and sort of forget about it after awhile. Not this year; I am determined!!

Despite the fact that I need to finish up Diminishing Ribs and Damson, and the fact that I really want to knit some mittens and a new hats for the family, oh, and finish up that sweater for Spinner, I am determined to get some sock knitting done this month. (Am I crazy? Just look at that list!)

For such a long time it seemed that all I knit were socks. And not even exciting socks at that, just plain old stockinette in the round sort of stuff. But then I made a resolution to branch out and I did, which is a good thing but then something happened last Spring, something very bad.

They started getting holes. Lots of holes. Bad enough that I’ve been walking around all day with my big toe sticking out of a lovely but very well work sock. And it’s supposed to snow this weekend. And we all know that I can’t just run out to Target, no, that’s not good enough anymore. Even the Smartwools from REI aren’t good enough for these tootsies. I need more socks.

So I’m going to try it Yarn Harlot style, and see if I sneak in a row here and two rows there if maybe I can get two pairs finished up this month.

Anyone care to guess how much I’ll actually get done?

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Tagged as Socktoberfest

June 9, 2009 · 10:11 pm

Sock update

I added my Copycat socks (hereby known as my SIL Copycat Socks) to Ravelry today:

Feel free to queue them up for an easy summer sock project!!

We celebrated Little Man’s last day of kindergarten tonight. I am absolutely floored that I now have a son who will be in first grade. Wow. My first baby is all, 100% boy.

My second baby is working hard to be all boy, but luckily Knittykid’s got a lot of baby in him yet. Any my third, well…. let’s just say that despite the fact that Spinner thinks he’s a big boy like his brothers (climbing the stairs already and all that, yikes!) I’ve told him that under no circumstances may he get any bigger. Nope, not even a bit.

We were sitting in Pizza Luce tonight, celebrating the beginning of summer. The Skeptic was talking about how he hopes that when the boys are all bigger, big enough that they don’t need anyone to cut up their pizza, or remind them to get out from under the table, or to take them to bathroom since it’s their first foray out in public without a diaper on (I decided today would be a milestone for Knittykid, too)…he hoped that even though it will be a lot of fun to be out for dinner with three teenage boys, we will remember how very, very sweet these times are.

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Tagged as SIL Copycat Sockd

June 4, 2009 · 10:34 pm

I Love My Dumb Socks (The Copycat Socks)

I can tell this will be the new game this summer. I’ve gone full throttle with the whole dumb thing, much to Little Man’s delight and confusion.

Here are the dumb socks. I have also knit another pair of even dumber socks, which I’ll show you in another post.

These are actually my Copycat socks. I copied the pattern off a pair of store bought knee-highs my sister-in-law was wearing. These are a few years in the making since I
lost the second ball of yarn for quite some time.

The pattern:

Size one needles, about 8 stitches per inch gives you a medium sock.

I used a Double Start cast on for 70 stitches. (Nancy Bush, Knitting on the Road. See a tutorial here.)

The basic stitch pattern is:
Round one: k8, k2tog, yo.
Round two: knit.

Knit a basic heel flap, continue the stitch pattern across the top and pick your favorite toe. I used the standard k2tog, ssk.

The sock yarn is from Sandy’s Palette.

Personally, I love them.

As for the whole “dumb” thing, I’m going to try the humor route with this one. Words like dumb, stupid and shut up have been favorites of Little Man’s lately. Some of it is from school, obviously, and it’s every kindergartner’s job to see how far he can go with certain words. (Believe me, he’s tried them all. Dumb is tame compared to what he let loose the other day).

Aside from what he picks up on the bus, a lot of it has surprisingly come from books we’ve read…. Superfudge? It was a favorite of mine as a kid so I grabbed it from the library, but wow, the put downs really fly! We love to read here, and Little Man will sit and listen for ages to just about anything. I still love Fudge, but it is a bit of a bummer when it seems that every book written is full of name calling.

Now, I’m not naive. Kids have been calling each other names for as long as there have been kids*. And I do believe that dumb, stupid and the like have their purpose. It just seems that when I compare The Secret Garden to Spiderwick (both of which are great stories) it’s a small handful of putdowns vs. dozens of them….

Not sure where I’m even going with this now. It’s late, I want to go knit. My point? I’m tired of shut up and stupid and dumb and all that jazz, but I’m going to play the game and try to have a bit of fun with my kids to get my point across. Which is why Little Man was totally confused today when I asked him if my new socks were more dumb, less dumb, or equally as dumb as my Copycat socks. And then I went upstairs and laughed like a crazy lady.

*Just yesterday, Laura Ingalls told Nellie Oleson to shut up in
“On the Banks of Plum Creek.” 🙂

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Filed under family, finished objects, home, kids, socks, Uncategorized

Tagged as copycat, Sandy's Palette, socks

August 10, 2008 · 9:13 pm

Not just soakers

I do have some socks on the needles. I actually forgot about them until I started cleaning my workroom out, and guess what I found!!

Waving Lace socks on Lisa Souza:

Thelonius on Smooshy: (Like I’ll get these done anytime soon…)

Some plain old socks on Spunky Eclectic Yarn:

Now off to put up my swollen feet and enjoy a little Olympics and the early bedtime that both boys took tonight….

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Tagged as Lisa Souza, Smooshy, socks, Spunky Eclectic, Thelonius, Waving Lace

February 25, 2008 · 7:39 pm

Flu One, Knittymama zero

I’m on day five of flu hell, although I do feel more like a human today than yesterday so that’s a good sign. It’s actually not been all that bad. It just sucks so much more when you have two little ones who won’t stop climbing on Mama, or waking up Mama, and who are wired from being allowed to watch PBS 24/7. ( Little Man is now an expert on volcanoes, although his information is a bit suspicious. Did you know, that if you walk to the top of a volcano and drop a match into it, the entire volcano will explode? Yeah, neither did I. We may need to take a trip to the library. But still, you’ve got to dig an almost five year old who loves Nova.)

So anyway, you all can imagine my state right now. So here’s a picture I’ve been saving for a rainy day. I can save it because it is the sock that never ends. It stays the same no matter how long I knit it. Spunky Eclectic, Blue Faced Leicester for her sock club. These will be lovely if they ever get done. This was her Halloween colorway. So soft.

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November 6, 2007 · 3:31 am

So what did I knit?

Wow, didn’t mean to go a whole week with no post. It’s been a long week. Some parts great, some parts not so great, and I could write for an hour and still not get into it all. So I’m going directly to the knitting. (I will say, however, that the Skeptic and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary on November 1st. Because that’s very happy news, too happy to leave out!:-)

So first, you’re all wondering what skein did I order? I’m taking my time, but right now I’m torn between Wollmeise (color!! yardage!!!) and Yarn Love (color! bamboo! silk!). Handmaiden had become my first choice, but my dear mom asked me to knit a hat for her, which means she’s buying. So I still get to knit up some beautiful Handmaiden Mini Maiden for my mom. (She picked out the Webs Tam).

What did I knit to hit ten?

Superhero Socks!!!

Little Man requested “superhero” socks in the colors of red, white and blue. I had some Lion Brand Magic Stripes sitting around that was perfect for the job. Both boys are extremely pleased I’m finally done. So am I, as I have to say Magic Stripes was not my favorite to knit with. There was just a feeling to the yarn that I didn’t like, too nylon-ish, maybe. But it did the job, the socks are comfy and the boys are happy.

Yes, that’s an end sticking out. Knittybaby doesn’t seem to mind. When asked, “Do you like your socks he says, “I do!” However, he also answers “I do” to every question asked these days, so who knows. He seems happy.

Just don’t tell Little Man I posted them on the blog. He informed me halfway through our photo shoot that these are “secret socks” and bailed as soon as he realized I planned to reveal them to the world.

Skeptic Socks!!!!

He refused to take off the sandals but I think you get the idea:

(Note to self, dining room with crappy need-to-be-refinished floors and crummy old table not the best place to take pictures, especially with a flash.)

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (unknown colorway) and Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino for the cuffs and parts of the leg on one sock.

It’s interesting, I started with two pretty evenly divided balls of the Cherry Tree Hill. I knit the first sock with the smaller ball and added the brown cuff for a bit more length. The second sock was knit with the bigger ball, and I was nearly out of yarn soon after turning the heel. I blended in the brown Lucy Neatby in with the Cherry Tree Hill, which worked out okay. But clearly one needs two skeins of Cherry Tree for a pair of man’s socks.

And the Skeptic??? He is coming around to hand knit socks. As for these, he says the fit is great and they are quite comfortable. The only problem? His feet got too hot. Now, it was only in the 50’s this weekend, so we’ll see now that it’s cooler out. But his next pair (yes, he loves them enough to get a second pair) will be in a cotton or bamboo blend.

After the knitting, we have goodies!!!! My Coffeeswap package arrived this week. I uncovered my batteries yesterday so I could finally take pictures. Look what Mrs. Pao sent!!!

This is such a gorgeous package. Chocolates, cookies, coffee, yarn and adorable stitch markers! I’m so happy with it all. Mrs. Pao will notice that some items are missing as we could not wait for the batteries to devour the treats. The coffee was quickly brewed up and the treats opened. I had two other smaller packets of coffee and a bunch of the 1 Euro white chocolate coins. Too yummy to wait! (Wow, my photography skills are not too hot here.)

Let’s try a yarn picture with the flash. This is much more true to the color (if I only had sunlight!)

She sent Posh Yarn and it is just gorgeous. I am so in love with this yarn that I cast on for a tam already. The color is to die for. (I’m crazy for green lately).

Thank you Mrs. Pao for such a wonderful package!!! I hope you love yours as much!!!

This last picture is for my mom.

The sweetest stray beagle in the world, as well as perfect houseguest. She totally wants to go home to you. Little Man says you’d better talk Grandpa into it. 🙂

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Filed under finished objects, socks, swaps

September 28, 2007 · 12:38 pm

Two Days Left!!!!

Wow, we’re getting there!! You have a mere two days left to get your contest entry in and have the chance to win some beautiful handspun from Jess, some Cherry Tree Hill, Spunky Eclectic or Fleece artist. Now, I know you don’t want to pass that up, right? $5, $10, $20, $50….whatever you can give, every dollar is helpful to those wonderful farmers. Help keep a small farmer in business and win some yarn. See sidebar for details. You’ve got until midnight Saturday (central time) to get in on the goods. Now go and sow those seeds!!

I should get a job for public radio.

Knitting, you’re here for knitting, right?? Okay, I’ve got knitting.

I present the Embossed Leaves Socks:

You may all collectively “oooohhhh” at them right now.

Yeah, I know. I didn’t block them yet.

The stitch pattern is a bit lost in the yarn, but I still love them. They are the most comfortable and best fitting socks I’ve knit. The toe is incredible and I might knit them like this always: circular decreases, no kitchener stitch, lots more room for my toes to wiggle around in. But I forgot to take a close up. Bummer.

I dig the garter stitch edging on the heel. I did use reinforcement thread to protect this precious yarn.

The details:
Yarn: Louts Toes in the Chocolat Cheries colorway, by Zen String. I notice she has a sale right now…..

Needles: size two, Clover double points

Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Favorite Socks.

Comments: Easy lace pattern. I highly recommend this one!!

Have a great weekend everyone. Remember, the coffeeswap opens up Monday. I’ll post a link to the new blog on Sunday.

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Filed under contests, socks

August 18, 2007 · 2:23 am

Randomness

Loved all your comments on the knitter conversation. I’m still trying to decide which one of you is right. I’m betting that she has an acrylic garter stitch scarf full of holes in her knitting bag and she was afraid I would see it! As long as she doesn’t think I’m a weirdo who looks in people’s cars I’m OK with whatever knitting sphere she dwells in.

My mom has been visiting us all week, which has been a lot of fun an a blessed relief from some of the more mundane parts of the week. It is so, so nice to cook supper without two children screaming at my feet the entire time. Instead they’ve been busy playing and I’ve had a chance to chill. In fact, my mom is upstairs and putting Little Man to bed right now. Thank you Mom!!!!

I finished up my anklets and one of the Embossed Leaves socks. I got back to work on the Skeptic socks and turned quite a nice short row heel. (Told you I would master that one soon.) He tried it on and the conversation went something like this:

Skeptic: It’s too baggy in the toe.

Me: No, it’s perfect.

Skeptic: I told you not to knit me socks. They aren’t gonna fit.

Me: Yes they are. These will be the best socks ever and you will beg me to make more of them for you.

Skeptic: They’re going to fall down.

Me: No they won’t, they are RIBBED!!!!

How can I possibly live with a person like this? And more so, WHY am I knitting him socks?

And since we’re on the topic of the Skeptic, here is a bag that I sewed at a Textile Center class last week:

I love this bag. See the lining? Yes, it is lined. I lined a bag…very exciting stuff here. I got home and the Skeptic said, “Looks like those straps might break. Oh, honey, but it is really nice… really… seriously… it’s very very nice. I’m sure your straps are just fine.”

Do you all see why he has this nickname now? But I do love him dearly. His glass half empty approach balances out my glass overflowing approach to life. Isn’t it funny how people match up like that?

Well, my mom is down, the boys are asleep and it’s time for a movie. One last random thing. (This is a very blabby post). Did anone read the old school/new school articles on the lastest Vogue? What did you think? I’m curious.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Filed under knitting, socks

July 19, 2007 · 1:52 pm

I’m a Sock Machine

Okay, not really a machine as nothing here is really that impressive, but nonetheless I have WIP’s and FO’s to report.

I put this all in on Ravelry this morning too. I’m loving that site but I have to say that the process of uploading my pics, putting them on Flickr, adding to Ravely and then my blog post is time consuming!

First, we have not a sock but rather a finished scarf:

Simple lace pattern of K2 tog and YO, then knit the even rows.
Yarn is Terra from the Fibre Company, alpaca merino and silk….nice! Took one skein only.

On to the socks.

First up, the Mystery Socks:

Why a mystery? I won this yarn at The Weaving Inn but she wasn’t sure what it was. Bummer as I love this yarn. These will make nice warm socks this winter as they are quite thick. See the ear on the toe? I still get them now and again and can’t figure out why. Tricks, please??

Next up, my Spunkly Eclectic sock yarn of the month in Strawberry Fields. (Great club, by the way).

On to WIP’s. The first Copycat sock is done:

This is the sock I’m copying from a pair of store bought socks my SIL was wearing last Thanksgiving. I’m using Sandy’s Palette.

Next, I started Embossed Leaves Socks from Interweave Winter 2005, in Lotus Toes Sport by Zen String.

Lastly, some plain old anklets in Regia Bamboo:

Oh, and I finished a bib too!

Bib

This went to a friend. Okay, actually it went to her baby. The weird squiggle? Hiding a weird loop that happened on the edge of the neck. I wanted to do more squiggles but finished this a half hour before the shower, so no such luck.

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Filed under finished objects, scarf, socks