I must have these.

(click images for more information)

One more picture:



I'm pretty sure they made these with sock knitters in mind.

KCPSA (Knitting Community Public Service Announcement)

The new Knitty is up! Looks like there are a lot of lovely new sock patterns. Merry Christmas indeed!

Do not let this happen to you.

What's that? Oh, just the current total - 24 single socks. I know I'm usually going around saying "Oh, we don't talk about numbers," but I just had to share. I guess some might find this shameful, but I feel no shame. Here's another shot:



I guess if I had some advice to give to a new sock knitter, I'd just tell them not to let this happen to them. I mean, really. The fact that I still "have" to knit 24 more of these seems kinds of daunting. Oh, well.

Moving on.

I finished the sKNITches toe-ups!



I love these socks.



That's about all the news I have for now - I'm coming back to work today after being on vacation last week. My vacation was awesome. I didn't go anywhere, and all I did was hang out with Jacob. We had a very good time, and it was very relaxing. But, trust me...I still did my chores:


(socks laying out to dry)

Hahahhahahah, I make myself laugh. Happy Monday, everybody.

Smiles,
Erin

P.S.: NASHVILLE KNITTING MEETUP MEMBERS - TOMORROW'S MEETUP IS CANCELLED!! :)

Also.

This weekend, I plan to gather all the singles and give you an updated total and picture. I think we've got over 20 now, people.

Oh, boy...

1.75 FOs!!

I'm so excited. I just finished more socks:



I actually really like these. They're just some simple top-downs made with some sock yarn I scored from this shop. I'm not sure if the seller is selling through etsy anymore, or not, though. Regardless, here are some more pictures:





Of course, once these were off the needles, I immediately cast on for some more:





These are just some simple toe-ups I'm making with sKNITches Syncopation in "Blue Lagoon". This is VERY nice yarn. Highly recommended.

And, finally, I started just one more pair (again, toe-up):



The yarn here is Prism Saki in "Mojave" that I got from the Haus of Yarn. The dye job on this yarn is very unique...check it out!

That's about all I've got for now. I've made a bunch of stash enhancements lately, but you can check those out on Ravelry. But, just so you know, I may be making a slight deviation from sock knitting to make some toys for some tots I know for Christmas - I got this book last night:



Seriously, this book is amazing. I can now make a warthog if I wanted to.

Smiles,
Erin

Oh, how I love you.

These have always been my favorite Halloween candy:



I think I've eaten 37 of them in the past three days. I know that most people think they are totally lame, but I am taking a stand. How can you not LOVE these??? It's peanut butter taffy with an extra shot of peanut butter in the center!!

People are crazy. What's your favorite Halloween candy?

FO report!

Well, I had a fruitful weekend. I've now realized it takes me about a full week to knit one sock. Anyways, here's the pair I finished this morning!:



I actually really like this picture. And the socks, too. These were knit using my basic top down recipe (72 sts on size 1 addis) and some Schaefer Anne. I think I knit the first sock well over a year ago, but they're finished now, and that's all that matters. I don't love knitting with the Anne so much, but I do love the finished product. The only thing that stinks is that I have a TON of yarn leftover. And I mean a ton. I may end up making a pair of toddler socks with that. Here's another shot:



So, that's one less single sock in the pile, but I've recently added three more:



This was knit with some Regia, again, using my basic sock recipe. And here's a finished Wollmeise (but not) sock:



And lastly, one finished Music Man sock:



Here's a close-up of the stitch pattern and short-row heel:



In stash enhancement news, my skein of Merino Stripes from Mama Blue came in on Thursday:



I love this yarn already, and I haven't even started knitting with it. Really, it is gorgeous! I think I may need to cast on tonight...

Finally, I made my weekend-ly trip to the Haus of Yarn yesterday, and picked up many things, including this:



That's a skein of Araucania Ranco Multy. I love the dye job on this one, and also must say that this was very reasonably priced. Whoooopee!

That's about all I've got for now, except to say that if you haven't seen this movie, please do yourself a favor and try to at least catch it on IFC. You won't be disappointed. I mean, unless, unlike me, you don't really find ridiculous "hip-hoperas" that hilarious.

Smiles,
Erin

So bad!

...but so good! I couldn't resist. I just got some of this. I can't wait for it to arrive.

In other news, I have 3 new single socks to show you. I hope to take pictures of them tonight. I also went to Cleveland, OH to visit my parents a few weekends ago, and now have 2 yarn shop reviews for you:

Birds of a Feather - This shop, located in The Shoppes of Olde Avon Village, is one I have made a point to visit, pretty much every time I've gone to visit my parents during the past couple of years. The shop is housed in a very big, old barn, which is very, very cool, in my opinion. The bottom floor of the barn is the quilting floor, and the upstairs is all yarn. I like this shop, but the past few times I've been there, I must say that I can't help but wonder if the focus has shifted much more in favor of quilting. I think the last time I had gone to the shop was sometime in the spring, and it really seemed like the yarn inventory had not changed much. I guess time will tell, but I won't be surprised if this shop starts selling only quilting supplies at some point in the near future.

French Creek Fiber Arts - This shop, located right across the parking lot from Birds of a Feather packed A LOT of punch for such a small space. My mother, my sister, and I all walked out with a purchase, which was more than we could say after our trip to Birds of a Feather that day. I scored a solid blue skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock and also a skein of Twinkle Toes from Chameleon Colorworks. This shop had a fine selection of yarns, including Fleece Artist yarns, which I hadn't ever seen for sale at a yarn store. This little shop really is a dream for the fiber enthusiast, as the shop also carries supplies for weaving and spinning. A must visit for sure!

One more thing.

Check out the preview for the Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007 issue (available October 16th). Looks like there will be several awesome patterns!!

Holy cool pattern!!

I keep forgetting that MagKnits is now coming out monthly. I checked the site a few minutes ago and came across one seriously cool sock pattern. Check it out! I'm pretty certain these will be on my needles shortly.

Finished Objects!!

I'm long overdue for a post...sorry everybody! I don't really know what's been wrong with me lately. There have been many nights when I've just come home from work and then proceeded to fall asleep at around 7:00 p.m.. Not good. Needless to say the knitting has suffered, along with many other things (like the litter box), but I have managed to finish two pairs of socks! Check 'em out:



These are the Bubble Wrap socks from Sockbug, knit using Mountain Colors Bearfoot in "Bitteroot Rainbow" that I purchased from the Haus of Yarn. Here's the full monty:



Next up, I finished a pair of Leah's Sweater Socks:



And one more shot:



These were knit with some Koigu KPPPM, once again, purchased at the Haus of Yarn. I had to use three skeins, but I think these are magnificent and worth every penny. I also highly recommend the pattern. I modified the heel (standard Sensational Knitted Socks heel vs. the Eye of the Partridge the pattern called for), but other than that kept it the same. They fit very nicely, and are very comfy! Yay, socks!

So, in celebration of finishing TWO projects, I went ahead and cast on for another:



This is the start of the Wollmeise Socks - except I'm not using Wollmeise (I haven't scored any of that yet). The yarn I'm using has been calling to me since I bought it. It is heavenly, and I can't recommend it enough!! I'm going toe-up instead of cuff down, hoping that I can use up every heavenly bit of this stuff.

In other news, I uploaded the rest of my socks projects to Ravelry. I have a bunch of older sweater projects and sweater-type yarns to upload, but all of my sock stuff is now represented.

We also have a bit of stash enhancement. Just a bit - that's all. I got these lovelies from Simply Socks Yarn Company. I couldn't resist:



That's sKNITches Syncopation in "Lagoon"...



...and Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn in "Wisterious". Oh, delish.

And, lastly, Jake had a birthday a couple weeks ago, and I "surprised" him with a small gathering. My friend Brooke made the cake (check out the pics on her page - you won't be disappointed). She also made mine in January. Seriously, though, check this thing out:




The cake and the party were big hits!

Smiles,
Erin

Holy Moly. Or something.

Well, after I came home from Meetup, I finished putting the rest of my stash up on Ravelry. In reality, it didn't take that long. Looking at the entire list would make me hurl, if I didn't love it so much.

In other news, I got new shoes:



I like them very much. They're great for showing off the handknit socks. Don't you think?

Smiles,
Erin

Well, well, well.

The house is up for sale. Check out our listing. I'm a little bittersweet about it, to tell you the truth. I truly have enjoyed living in the house. If you want to see what the "before" looks like, check out Jake's blog. He's done such an awesome job.

Also, a buddy of mine passed along this article. Interesting - although I hate being filed into a trend. "It's sweeping the nation!" Oh, bite me.

Chucks, for knitters?

I was out shopping this weekend and came across a pair of these.

Right after I got out of college, I realized I had like 18 different pairs of Chucks in almost every color of the rainbow. Needless to say, I've since gotten rid of most all of them. Perhaps it's time to add just one more pair to the repertoire?

Stats.

I' m now on Ravelry, everybody. My username is putasockonit. Add me! I was uploading my projects today at lunch, and have come up with the following stats:

1. I have taken pictures of 10 finished pairs of socks (20 singles) - I'm have many more unphotographed pairs completed, though.

2. I have taken pictures of 28 socks in progress. And there's a bunch more I need to take pictures of.

3. Of those 28, 17 are plain, top-down stockinette socks. Mreh.

4. 1 is plain stockinette, toe-up.

5. 1 is toe-up with a stitch pattern.

6. 7 are top-down with a stitch pattern.

7. Only 4 will have short row heels.

8. I'm only knitting 1 with an usual construction (Sideways Socks from Opal).

I don't particularly like these "stats". I definitely need to start knitting more challenging socks.

What a weekend.

I had a pretty sweet weekend. Admittedly, I didn't do a whole hell of a lot, but it turns out that that was exactly what I needed. I finished a PAIR of socks! Check 'em out (please excuse the whitest legs on earth):



For details about the pattern and the yarn, see the post below. I adore these socks. I realize these are only a simple lace pattern, but I am so proud of myself (and my attention span) for knitting something more challenging than plain stockinette. Normally, I start a lacy sock, and then bail after the first day. After I finished these, I was good and started on the second one of these:



I'm to the heel of the second one. Hopefully, I'll have another pair done by the end of this week. You'd be amazed at how fast you can knit a pair when you have one already done. Heh, heh. Finishitis? Oh, heck YES! The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Bitteroot Rainbow (I think). The pattern is Bubble Wrap Socks from Sock Bug.

In other news, I broke the purse I had been carrying - well, technically, I probably could have fixed it, but you know, who needs an excuse to buy a new purse? I went ahead and got a new one:



Why is this worth mentioning on my knitting blog? Because it's two-sided:



See? That's a sock-in-progress on one side:



This is exciting (for me), 'cause now I only need to carry one bag, and can stop looking like a geniune bag lady. We also had the fortune (and NOT misfortune, JAKE) of finding a cat and her litter of kittens nesting next to our tiki hut:



There are two orange tabbies, and two gray tabbies. My favorite is this guy in the front with the soft white belly. I'm not sure if it's soft or not 'cause I haven't really touched them (yet) for fear that they may have some disease that I'd hate to pass on to any of the two cats I already own. We're not really sure how long they've been there. For all we know, they could have been born next to the tiki hut, and we're just now discovering them. Anyway, I have been begging Jake all weekend to let us keep one - specifically this guy in the front (we shall call him Boots, short for "Mr. [or Mrs.] Fancyboots). This is unfortunate timing, considering the fact that we're about to sell the house, but love doesn't ever consider schedules. Hahha. Seriously, though, they've been so much fun to watch. Here's one more:



Since we'll likely be showing the house next week, we're going to have to figure out what to do with at least three of them - we were hoping that Love at First Sight took strays, but they don't. So, we're hoping the Humane Society has room for them.

That's about all I've got for now - perhaps I'll see you on Tuesday or at the Sock Knit-a-Long on Thursday?

Smiles,
Erin

So many things to show you. Most of them are blurry.

CAUTION - THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LONG, AND VERY PICTURE-INTENSIVE POST. Mhmmm.

So, with the advice I got from Kim, and this very informative blog post from Wendy, I finally invested in a food scale:



There it is next to a toe-up sock in progress. I divided the hank into two even balls, and started knitting away. In case you're wondering, that's Zen String Serendipity Sock yarn in the Bloom colorway, purchased from The Sweet Sheep. I'm doing a toe-up version of the Music Man socks pattern found here. You can't tell it from the picture, but the yarn is awesome, and the stitch pattern is very simple and works well, I think.

Up next, I finished another single sock:



Again, I don't really know what's wrong with the camera, but I adore this sock. And you can't even see that it's pretty here. Also, note that I've started the second one. Here are a couple of close-ups of the stitch pattern:





This is the "Scrolls" pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks, knit using Knitting Notions kettle dyed Classic Supersock Merino in Green Apple. I love this yarn. LOVE IT.

Next up is another single (with the second started, mind you):



This is one tall sock. It's just a plain old, generic toe-up, knit using Crown Mountain Farms' Sock Hop yarn in Pink Cadillac. I'm knitting this pair toe-up because the notion of having any of this yarn leftover makes me want to hurl. I knit the first one using an addi size 2 (which you know is really like a size 3) and now have a very, very thick sock. So, what I learned here is that I can probably go up a needle size or two and possibly even get a pair out of one skein. Hmm. Here's a close-up:



I think it's glorious, even if I did knit it. Next up, I made my usual weekendly trip to the Haus of Yarn on Saturday and ended up coming home with this:



That's the new Cat Bordhi sock book and a skein of Arucania sock yarn. YUMMY. I'll give you a brief review of the book, although I haven't combed through it in excruciating detail yet. This book is insane, and looks extremely interesting, and I can't wait to start a sock using one of the patterns. I mean, check out Kristy's finished sock. AMAZING!

In other news, check out my first handspun:



Pretty horrid, no? I got together with Leah, who so graciously let me borrow her wheel AND some of her Spunky Eclectic pencil roving to try and learn to start spinning. I think I like it, but I've got to tell you that I got pretty frustrated. Hm. I think I just need to get a wheel and spend some time with it alone. Yep.

And, finally, I have a couple of finished plain stockinette pairs that I don't think I ever showed you:



(Trekking 100)



(Koigu KPPPM in some colorway)

That's all I've got for now...maybe next time we'll have more finished PAIRS!

Smiles,
Erin

Also.

I've been taking the whole moderation thing seriously. Today, I only bought one skein of yarn. This should last me all week. I hope.



(sock yarn from The Woolen Rabbit)

I owe you a post - complete with socks and a scale, and lots of other fun things. I hope to get that together this evening.