Moving Right Along

I haven't had much time to knit in the past 2 weeks -- or to blog -- but Barbara said she was going to catch up with me on the blog tomorrow so I decided I wanted to write something to keep her amused in this cold, snowy weather. Hi Barb!!! Hey...enjoy your trip to Arizona and your family visit...we will miss you at knitting group but really want you to go and have a great time!

The purple-ish hand-dyed sport weight yarn that has been in my stash forever (see last post) is knitting up beautifully in the Feather and Fan pattern. As you can see, one sock is done and the other is knitted to the middle of the heel flap. I expect it will be done by sometime Monday. Aahhh, speaking of Monday -- President's Day -- in all of my years of employment it will be my FIRST paid Monday holiday. How am I spending the day, well knitting and looking for office space. The latter is my choice as I want to get a list to my boss this week so a spot can be selected.

Look what I found in a knitting bag. I started this sock from Trekking XXL before Christmas and forgot about it. I love the mix of the dark navy/black with the brighter colors. And, this first sock is past the middle of the foot. What a bonus find!

I am still pondering the next socks on the needles -- many, many choices. I think on the size 3's (sport weight) will be one of the Lorna's Laces I bought from Sheri at The Loopy Ewe which has become my VERY favorite site for buying sock yarn. She is the best and her customer service cannot be beaten. She is always getting new yarns and has a fabulous selection. One the size 2's will be one of the Fleece Artist colors I also bought from Sherri...and more were ordered yesterday.

Finally am making myself spend an hour a day organizing yarn and eventually will have the project completed. Yes, I have a lot of yarn but it takes me so long because it is so disorganized at the moment and I am trying to make some sense of it. I am moving it to a storage area that I rent for the Golden Retriever Rescue -- there is plenty of space for my yarn boxes and having them out of the bedroom will make the cats so happy! More space to chase their little mousy toys...

Look at this book, Sensational Knitted Socks that I bought at Barnes & Noble with a discount coupon. All sorts of lace patterns and other designs for socks. Humm...this one is going to get a work out. Am waiting for the Spring issue of Interweave Knits to hit the newstand next week. The preview of patterns on their website looks interesting.

February Socks and More

As promised -- total sock content for this posting. I love knitting socks...anyone who knows me can attest to that. I do knit other things but socks are my favorite. They are portable, quicker to knit and those sock yarns that are on the market today are so yummy...everything from self-striping to hand-dyed to some nice solids.

Many of you have asked me where I get my sock yarns. Well, some I knit are from my stash while the Trekking XXL was purchased either at Knitters Underground in Centre Hall, PA or at Mad About Ewes in Lewisburg, PA. I love Trekking XXL. However, these days most of my yarns are from an on-line shop located in Missouri...The Loopy Ewe at www.loopyewe.com. Sheri continually adds to her available lines and colors. On Monday she is promising to add sock yarn from more designers and many, many colorways. I can't wait!

See the pink shorter socks in this post? They are my finished February socks. Yes, I started them in January but they WERE finished in February. My rule is when they are finished not when they were begun. These are a hand-dyed, soft merino wool in a DK weight from Black Bunny Fibers and I knit them on size 4 DPNs. I usually use size 3 DPNs for DK weight yarn, however these are not to wear with shoes or boots but rather to keep my feet warm while I am sleeping. They did a perfect job last night during their trial run. Soft, warm and cozy...just right for a cold winter night.

The socks from the purple-ish hand-dyed DK yarn are my first venture into knitting a sock design that I like in the yarn I selected! This is a top-down Feather & Fan pattern that I found on the internet via a Google search. I love it because it is 48 stitches...just the perfect number of stitches for my DK yarn. Speaking of stash yarn, I was digging through a yarn drawer the other day and lo and behold his gorgeous yarn that I bought on ebay at least 5 years ago. And please note the DPNs...a set of size 3 metal needles from Knit Picks. I also bought a pair of size 2's and am so glad I did. I was hooked on wooden needles but these pointy metal ones (that are not much heavier than the wooden needles) are quickly becoming familiar in my hands.

I am so excited. My new sock pattern book arrived today from Interweave Knits www.interweave.com. Their customer service is also outstanding. I ordered this book via phone on Wednesday and it came today -- Saturday. Favorite Socks is a gorgeous hard-backed sock book with 25 patterns, complete with color photos and very readable written directions and charts that have been printed in Interweave Knits (my FAV knitting magazine) in the past few years. Some use more than my usual 56 stitches so I will have to swatch and see what I think. Those with 60 stitches can still be done on size 2's but the others might have to be knitted for someone other than me. BTW, this book offered a nice surprise when I opened it...the inside pages are spiral bound and it lays flat. Woo-Hoo!

Groundhog Day

Today is Groundhog Day. That poor creature was pulled out of his sleeping quarters by a bunch of high-browed men in top coats and top hats. Poor little Punxsutawney Phil was quaking and shaking. He was so scared.

What did he do? Well, he didn't see his shadow...which supposedly translates into an early Spring. Well, I think he made a bigger joke out of those pompous guys in Punxie than they made of themselves. Right now it is snowing harder than it has all winter! You go Phil!!!

Knitting content tomorrow.

A Fiber-y Day

Today was such a knitting day in my mailbox! Woo-hoo!!!!!

Drumroll please...I am going to knit my first sweater -- well, that announcement just sent Billie heading for cover! Come on Billie, it is really an easy pattern...honestly....would I kid you??!! You betcha!

I love this Lorna's Laces Swirl DK in a great color combination -- raspbery-purple-gold. It is going to look great in this mock turtleneck sweater from the book Modern Classics. The yarn was supposed to be for a gorgeous lace vest but I decided that lace and this swirl really won't work well together. So, the sweater is plan B. But of course there is a little hitch...not enough yarn. This morning I quickly called GotYarn.com in Virginia and she had enough skeins of the colorway in this dyelot. So, as I write, the yarn is winging its way from VA to PA.

Also got some patterns in the mail from Annie's Attic so now I am searching through stash to find some yarn and match them up.

Check back tomorrow or Saturday for TOTAL sock knitting content. The February socks will be done. I proposed finishing a pair a month this year...I NEVER said they had to be started AND finished in the same month.