Waffle Rib Socks

Stitch Pattern:  Waffle Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Yarn: Regia

Needles: U.S. size 2 dpns

Modifications:  I knit them from memory, so they ended up being a weird combo of sock patterns.  It worked, though.

My Dad liked his Retro Rib Socks so much that he wore them out!  I can't begin to tell you how tickled I was to hear it.  Of course I had to knit him a new pair.  I used the same colors as the Retro Rib because they matched his huntin' duds so well.

I ended up running out of yarn, so they're shorter than he would prefer.  I could have made a longer cuff out of glittery space-dyed yarn, but it just didn't scream "Dad" to me.  Sorry.

This will be the last pair of socks I knit for a long, long time.  I've decided to brush up on my sewing skills - I think I'll start with a muumuu.  A loud muumuu.

Mom's Beaded Rib Socks

Pattern: Beaded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Yarn:  Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett in Landscape Storm (I think)

Needles: U.S. sizes 0 and 1 dpn's

I'm running out of ways to photograph socks, so Anemone was kind enough to help me out with this photoshoot. She is lovely and talented and beyond amazing, and I wish I could post the rest of the pictures, but I'm afraid her Daddy would throw a fit if I posted pictures of his baby in a leotard.  She's not a little girl anymore, I'm afraid.

But this post isn't about Anemone's mad barre skillz or intimidating musculature at all.  Really.  It's all about the socks.  They're for my mom, who has always dismissed my knitted socks as being an unnecessary waste of time and money. (She's absolutely right, of course, but I believe being an unnecessary waste of time and money is an integral part of their considerable charm.)  But last year I knit these retro rib socks for my dad, and he loved them so much and wore them so often that they fell apart.  Of course my mom wants in on anything that good, so I cackled "Neener, neener, neener," at her for a while, then got to work.  I hope she likes them as much as Anemone does.

Shetland Shawl

Pattern: Shetland Shawl from The Best of Knitter's Magazine: Shawls and Scarves

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (45% wool, 35% silk, 20% nylon)

Needles: 29" U.S. size 7 circulars

This is the first shawl I ever knit. I hadn't planned on making a shawl at all; I bought the yarn to knit myself a sweater, but after I got it home I realized the shop owner had sold me yarn from three different dye lots. Since it was an hour drive back to the store, I just kept it and tried to look at it as a learning experience. (You can bet I always select my yarn myself now!) I decided that if I knit a shawl it wouldn't matter if the the colors were a little off in places. I had never knit lace before, so I chose the simplest pattern I could find and went to work.

I finished it the day before a cross country flight in 2006, so instead of blocking it I shoved it in a backpack and used it for a travel blanket. It has served that purpose ever since, and I never bothered blocking it until last week. And I didn't bother blocking it very well, as you can see. After all, it's usually on a Goober or under the couch (or a dog) so I didn't see much sense in getting all nitpicky about it. Still, it's prettier than I thought it was.

Here is a detail of the mitered joins:

And here is a picture of the simple edging:

All of a sudden I feel like knitting another one in navy blue.

JellyMan's Slippers

Pattern:  Ribby Slipper Socks from Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2008

Yarn:  Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky (2 balls) and Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes (1 ball)

Needles:  U.S. sizes 11 and 8 set of 4 dpn

Modifications:  Hoo, boy!

I knit the first slipper (the bottom slipper in the picture) perfectly.  It wasn't the most elegant slipper in the world, but it fit and it was comfortable so I called it good.  The second slipper was a nightmare!  Somehow I knit it so it was nearly half again as big as the first one, and since these were a birthday gift I was crunched for time.  So I didn't re-knit it; I jerry-rigged it.  (By the way, jerry-rigged is probably a combination of the terms jury-rigged and jerry-built.  It isn't quite proper, but I spent my formative years in Oklahoma and I picked it up along with "fixin' to" and "crawdads.")  First I sewed a seam up the back of the slipper.  It felt lumpy to my fingers, but my heel couldn't tell.  Emboldened, I sewed a seam across the toe.  My toes were a lot more discerning than my heel, so I trimmed the seam.  Big mistake!  I hadn't sewn the seam firmly enough to prevent unraveling, so I ended up doing some serious darning around the toes.  When I finally presented them to JellyMan, I told myself that it was the thought that counts and not to worry too much about the imperfections.  JellyMan put them on and said, "Hey, I have an ogre foot!"  I would have been devastated, but he was sincere (I think) in his delight as he stomped off into the sunset.

"Aaargh!  I'm an ogre!" 

Twin Rib Socks For Anemone

Pattern:  Twin Rib from Sensation Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Yarn:  Trekking XXL

Needles:  Set of 5 U.S. size 1 dpn's

Modifications:  None

I started these socks on a trip to Alaska way back in August.  Then I stole a pen and karma came back to bite me on the ass.  But last month old Uncle Sam stole The Man away from me and I was so down and depressed that I finished every old project within reach, including these socks.  As you can see, Anemone has appropriated them for her own use.  She does that a lot.

Open Rib Socks

 

Pattern:  Open Rib from Sensational Knitted Socksby Charlene Schurch

Yarn:  Trekking XXL

Needles: Set of 5 U.S. size 1 double pointed

Modifications: none

I finished these socks on New Year's Day but am only just now getting around to wearing them.  They're comfy when I'm sitting still, but the air whistling through the eyelets when I walk is a bit disconcerting!  Of course, wearing shoes would alleviate that. 

There isn't much to say about the pattern; it was easy and it turned out pretty, just like every other pattern in Sensational Knitted Socks.  I approve.

Guitar Strap Cozy

Pattern: Described below

Yarn: Albatross Yarn (a.k.a. Noro Kureyon)

Needles: I don't remember. Probably U.S. size 6 or 7 dpn's.

I wanted to make a guitar strap for JellyMan, but I didn't want to buy new yarn.  I decided to use some of that stupid Noro I bought a few years ago (some of you might remember that ill-fated purchase, but for those of you who don't, I once bought 20 balls of Noro Kureyon just because it was on sale.)  Since it is a weak yarn, I thought I'd better make a tube to go over the cheap nylon strap that came with the guitar.  I cast on enough stitches to go around the 2" wide strap (looking at the strap now I'd say it was 20 stitches) and knit a very long tube with about an inch of ribbing at each end.  I used the yarn tails to secure the tube to the strap.

This next picture is just because I think JellyMan is insanely cute:

Thank you all so much for your tv show suggestions! I think I'll start with House and The Office and then go on to Scrubs.  Monk looks promising, too.  Thanks again!  Now for my next question: what's your favorite series of novels?  I want cerebral junk food, but I don't want my brain to hemorrhage from lines like, "My heart spluttered hyperactively."  Think along the lines of The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.

Spiral Rib Leg Warmers

Pattern:  Magic Spiral Socks from Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick

Yarn:  Stash yarn; all I know is that it's wool

Needles:  Set of four U.S. size 6 dpn's

Modifications: ended with 2" of plain 3x3 ribbing rather than closing for the foot

I'm more than a little late blogging about this, but The Goobers and I all gave each other homemade gifts for Christmas.  These leg warmers were my gift to Anemone.  She's got them scrunched up a little, but if she were to pull them up you'd be able to see how cute the spiral rib is.  Pull up your leg warmers, Anemone.  I don't care if they're so much cooler when they're scrunched.

She never listens.

Here's a useless nugget of information for you:  I became a devotee of "30 Rock" while knitting these leg warmers.  I know.  But I needed something to fill the long and lonely nights while The Man was on his ill-timed and inconvenient TDY, and Netflix is so obliging with its "Watch Instantly" section.  Does anyone have a favorite series they'd recommend?  I'm looking at six months of long and lonely nights to fill.

Work in Progress

I've been knitting a lot lately, but I haven't been finishing much of anything.  I was almost done with this sock, but a cheap pen from the clinic I accidentally walked away with broke inside my purse and left big ink spots all over it.  See?  That's what happens when you steal.  I've been so demoralized by it that I haven't picked it up since.  The yarn is Trekkin, and those are U.S. size 1 needles. 

I decided to cast on with my elderberry tribute socks yarn (also Trekkin, but this time on U.S. size 0 needles) while I was waiting for the shock of the pen debacle to subside, and so far I am pleased.  I sampled and ripped out about five different patterns on three sizes of needles before I settled on the open rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch.  It's pretty and stretchy and doesn't compete with the subtle stripe pattern.

I've also been making swatches of different colorwork patterns; this particular sample is from a pattern for mitts in one of the Interweave Knits magazines.  I don't remember which one.  I keep ripping back to the picot edge and trying something else; at present I'm working on a mosaic pattern, but it's in the car so I can't take a picture of it.  This is Classic Elite Inca Alpaca worsted weight yarn.  It's soft and warm, but it's awfully hairy.  The halo keeps it from looking crisp, but the lack of contrast between the colors isn't helping much, either.

I've made about three hundred of these gloves so far, and I haven't been perfectly satisfied with any of them.  Either the thumb is in the wrong place or the fingers are wonky or the hand is too loose or the cuff is too tight, or Norman gets mud on it.  It's always something.  The first finger needs to be ripped out of this one; it's too big around.  I'm trying to cobble together three different patterns to make the glove I want, and that's always a struggle for me because it involves math.  I don't like math.  The yarn is Jagger Spun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 that I'm holding doubled on U.S. size 2 needles.

There are more unfinished projects lying around, but I'd be concerned for The Man's mental state if I were to bring them all out.  It's better to protect him from things like this.

Hats

Due to the enormous response to the knit hats The Goobs were wearing in this entry (seriously, all the comments were overwhelming) I decided to give them their own post. Sadly, I don't have any pictures that really showcase the hats because The Goobs didn't want me to take pictures of their hats. They wanted me to take pictures showcasing their Goobiness.

"Goob #1, please stop being Goobery and let me take a picture of your hat!"

"How about you, Goob #2?

"Darn it, Goobs, hold still and let me pretend you are normal children!"

Wise guys.

Anyway, for JellyMan's Hat:

Pattern:  Kim's Hats from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

Yarn: Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran Tweed

Needles: U.S. size 7 24" circular and dpn's

Anemone's Hat:

Pattern:  SouleMama's Favorite Knit Hat

Yarn: Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran Tweed

Needles: U.S. size 7 24" circular and dpn's