This is all the yarn I've recently acquired from swaps, RAKs, and buying things.

As nutty as I am for color, sometimes there is just something awesome about undyed wool.  Sheep come in tons of different colors (sometimes even multiple colors on the same sheep!).  You could knit without touching a drop of dye and still have enough different shades to make a complex Fair Isle sweater.

Sometimes I knit for people and they suck and never wear/use said item.  However, sometimes they are AWESOME and order me a huge box of cool stuff as a thank-you gift.

The legwarmers are complete!

Everything I actually finished. Not including the things I intended to finish but didn't, or abandoned.

There are also a few more beer sweaters I need to photograph.

2008 is The Winter of Knitting.

Last year, I did a few handmade Christmas gifts, Y's Skywalkers and my sister's Fat Fuzzy Scarf.
This year, I got ambitious.

For Sister: Jaywalkers
For Mum: Evening Stockings for a Young Lady
For Grandma: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings
For Y: Noro Striped Scarf
For the neighbor's grandbaby: Better than Booties Baby Socks
And for Dad's birthday: Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock

I finished Dad's about three weeks ago, as his birthday is the 21st. My sister's are finished as well. Mum's first sock is done, and I'm doing the ribbing on the second. The baby socks I started but had to rip back as they were coming out too big. I have the yarn for the Shooting Stockings, and still have to shop for some good scarf colors.

Progress photos:
(top to bottom, Jaywalkers, Plain Winter Socks, Evening Stockings)





Three more months of this? I may go insane.

I love variegated yarns.

That said, I'm not too fond of how they look in a lot of stitch patterns. And there's no consistency at all, some look great in basketweave but terrible as a cable. Some make pretty good cables but disgusting lace. And there's no way to tell what yarn goes with what pattern without swatching (and swearing) a million and one times. Yeeargh.

The one pattern I've found that looks great in just about every yarn is the zigzag stitch, made famous by Grumperina's Jaywalkers. You get interesting skinny stripes without knitting miles and miles of stockinette.

One of my first socks was the Jaywalker-inspired Skywalkers. Because they had to fit Y's massive clodhoppers and because I wanted to do them "my way", I pretty much took the idea of Jaywalkers and ran with it, ending up with a completely different sock.

This time, I decided to do them the "right" way. I started with Knit One Crochet Too's Soxx Appeal in Raspberry Sundae. I've heard Jaywalkers tend to not stretch much, so I was hoping the elastic in the yarn would help me get a well-fitting sock without having to make it big and saggy.

I have the first sock done, and it fits great! The heel is snug but not too snug. The colors are awesome, they really pop when I go out in the sun.

Overall, a lovely pattern and fun to knit.

I've been acquiring things recently.

For the holiday knitting, some Knitpicks Essential sock yarn. In black, and the new kettle-dyed stuff in Jay. I LOVE the kettle-dyed, the little stripes you get are gorgeous.

Neighbor's nosy dog sold separately.

And something I couldn't resist: KNITTING BOOTS. Well, rain boots with a photo of knitting printed on them anyway.


I've been trying not to buy any more clothing, but damn, it's like they were made just for me. And I don't have any rain boots. (OK, enough rationalizing.)

Finally finished these drat things last night. This is the last time I make socks for a guy with a size 11 foot in a light fingering (really closer to laceweight) yarn.



Stats:
Pattern- Gentleman's Sock with Lozenge Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks (Interweave Press, by Nancy Bush)
Yarn- Southwest Trading Company TOFUtsies, in color #720 (Sweep You Off Your Feet)
Needle-set of 4 US 1 DPNs
Size- leg is 7" long, foot is 10.5" long, 9" circumference



I love the sock. I love the pattern and yarn. The one thing I don't love is how long they took to finish, even though I shortened the leg. Hopefully they'll last him forever.

The grapes in the sock picture are Muscadines from my arbor. They're native to Florida and were used by the Spaniards to make the first wines in the US.

Muscadines are sweet-tasting when ripe and have a hard skin that cracks audibly when you bite into it. You don't eat the skin or seeds, just the flesh. Birds and raccoons LOVE them and it's usually a battle for us to pick them after they turn sweet but before the critters do.

The two shown in the picture are sort of smallish for my vine, they're usually a bit larger. I've seen grapes the size of ping-pong balls, though mine don't get that big.

Here's another shot:

Sorry for the extreme delay between entries. I've been having technical difficulties, including a bricked laptop (now replaced), a missing camera battery (not yet replaced), and a broken camera phone (in the process of being replaced).

The boyfriend is in China (Shanghai) for the summer, and I'm going to try to finish his next pair of socks before he gets back. I bought needles and a book last night, and cast on with the SWTC Tofutsies he picked out (in TOEquoise). The pattern is Gentlemen's Sock in Lozenge Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks.

I took a short video of myself knitting on the first sock last night to post in this thread on Ravelry (note: link only works if you have a Rav account. If not, sign up, it's free and fun!). Annoyingly, I can't get it to upload on Youtube. I'm trying again with Google Video, but my problems are probably because the video file is massive, and I don't have any editing software that will cut it down. If I figure it out, video will be posted here.

For now, here's a picture of me holding the top of the cuff:

These socks are inspired by Grumperina's Jaywalker. The overall design comes out similar, but the construction is very different.

They're worked toe-up using short-row heels and toes, with a modified stitch pattern. They have ribbed instep shaping for a good fit and arch support.

They have finished measurements of 10.5" in length with a 9" circumference, and will stretch to fit up to 11" circ and 11.5" length. They'll fit a shoe size of 10-12 men's.

These particular socks are a gift, so no pictures of them on a foot until the recipient gets them. I'll try to have them up by the end of the week.

Skywalker Socks

Needles

Set of 5 US 2.5 DPNs

Yarn

Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, 2 skeins, or other fingering wt yarn

Zigzag Stitch Pattern 1

Rounds 1-4: K2, *Kfb, K8, DD, K8, Kfb* K2 across top of foot, K across sole

Round 5: K around

Zigzag Stitch Pattern 2

Rounds 1-2: *Kfb, K8, DD, K8, Kfb* around

Round 3: K around

Gauge

38 sts per 4 inches of Zigzag Stitch 1 (row gauge not important)

TOE

Using a provisional cast-on (I used the crochet cast on), CO 46 stitches.

Work a short-row toe:

R1: K until one stitch is left on needle, wrap and turn.

R2: P until one stitch left, w&t

R3: K until 2 sts left, w&t

Continue wrapping & turning until 20m unwrapped stitches remain.

R1: K to first wrapped stitch. Slip stitch to R needle, pick up wrap with L needle and slip to R needle. K stitch and wrap together. w&t.

R2: Slip 1, P to first wrapped stitch, P wrap together with stitch, w&t.

R3: Slip 1, K to double-wrapped stitch (created in last row), PU wraps and work together with stitch, w&t.

Continue working until you have double-wrapped the stitches on the ends of the needles.

Unravel the crochet cast-on and pick up the live stitches. You now have 96 sts total.

Distribute over 4 DPNs as follows:

Needle 1 and Needle 2: stitches from top of foot, 23 on each needle

Needle 3 and Needle 4: stitches for bottom of foot, 23 on each

BALL

K one round, working remaining double-wraps as you come to them.

You will now transition from the stockinette toe to the zigzagged foot.

R1-R2: K2, *Kfb, K8, DD, K8, Kfb* twice, K2, K across bottom

R3: K

R4-R6: K2, *Kfb, K8, DD, K8, Kfb* twice, K2, K across bottom

R7: K across Needles 1 and 2, for N3 and N4: K 21, K2tog, K2tog, K21

R8-R11: K2, *Kfb, K8, DD, K8, Kfb* twice, K2, K across bottom

R12: K across N1 and N2, for N3 and N4: K2, K2tog, K10, k2tog, K12, k2tog, K10,

K2tog, K2

For all remaining rows, work in Zigzag Sitch Pattern 1.

Work until sock measures 4”

INSTEP SHAPING

Continue in zigzag on N1 and N2.

N3 and N4: work in *K2, P2* rib for 3”, then go back to stockinette bottom.

Work in zigzag on foot top and stockinette sole until sock measures 9” (heel will add 1.5” to sock length).

HEEL

Slip the first two stitches of Needle 1 to Needle 4, and the last 2 stitches of Needle 2 to Needle 3.

You will now have 21 stitches each on N1 and N2, and 22 stitches each on N3 and N4

Work N1 and N2 in stitch pattern.

The heel will be worked over the sole stitches only.

Follow the same short-row instructions for the heel as you did for the toe (short-row down to 20 stitches, and back up to 44).

Re-join, and work rest of sock in round.

CUFF

Work in Zigzag Stitch Pattern 2 for about 1” or until cuff is desired length.

Work in *K2, P2* ribbing for 1”

Bind off using sewn bind-off or other stretch bind off. Weave in ends.

Update 04/14/2009:

There were errors in the ball of the sock:

What originally read "R1" in the pattern should have read "R1-R2".

R8-11 should have read "K2, *Kfb, K8, DD, K8, Kfb* K2"

The pattern was corrected as of 8 AM today, but if you printed or saved the pattern before this time, you should make a new copy.

Thank you to merely911 of Ravelry for pointing out my mistake!

I've been scrambling to finish my holiday knitting, and BAD THINGS have been happening.

Even with the support of the Ravelry group Procraftination, I'm still managing to avoid getting things done.

I've cut back my gift projects to two (Skywalker socks for Y and a Fun Fur scarf for my sister), rather than worry about two more pairs of socks for my parents. The Skywalkers are almost done, with only an inch of ribbing to go on the second sock, and I haven't started the scarf yet, since it will hopefully only take a few hours.

A few more things going on...

Nutmeg made a pair of my Ribbed Cable socks as a Christmas gift, in a beautiful dark blue merino. Photos by Nutmeg and used with permission. Click here to see her project on Ravelry.




For Sale or Trade



I'd like to destash this yarn, it's been sitting around for ages and I can't think of anything I'd like to do with it.

Yarn brand/name: Needful Yarns Kabir
Weight: Bulky
How much? 1 skein, 70 yds.
Fiber content: 50% wool/50% acrylic
Colors: Shades of green, khaiki

Made in Italy, an interesting thick-and-thin yarn to play with.

Retail value: $7-$9, I'm asking $8 including shipping within the continental US. Ask about prices for international shipping.

I'd also like to trade it for something of similar value. I've been meaning to try the KnitPicks Essentials sock yarns, and I always need hooks and needles. Make an offer!

I made this for my sister's teapot. Pattern coming soon!!

I've been working on this simple wool ribbed hat for AGES. I started it when it was actually cold enough to wear hats, and it got thrown by the wayside when I had a million other things to do.

So maybe if I post a picture as a reminder, I"ll actually get around to it!




And on to the socks:

I tried making the Straightlaced Socks
from Knitty, but they turned into a disaster. My gauge was spot-on, but somehow they turned out WAY too big for my feet. So I frogged and started over.

Right now I'm working on a pattern I adapted from the Universal Toe-Up Sock (also from Knitty) with a great cabled rib pattern I dreamed up, and some nice extra ribbing in the arches for support.

Here they are so far, with the foot about half done:Yes, it's a funny shape, but it will fit great on a foot (because those are funny-shaped too!)


I started a sock pattern discussion on Craftster, please pop on over and recommend your favorite, or just drop a link here!

I made this little guy following terpsichore's excellent tutorial!
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=166993.0

Only... he's a a boyfriend-toy instead of a cat-toy.


Yarn: Some cheap Red Heart I had lying around.

I made mine a little shorter than the tutorial said, I wanted him to be a little smaller.
I also changed the decreasing on the back because I wasn't happy with how it was turning out.

Oh, and I added a wire in his trunk so it's poseable!


































(last photo taken before I added the eyes)


Isn't he a cutie?

Josef's going to be thrilled!