Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Wow, look what came in the mail today!! A newsletter, a clover pin, tape measure and a set of 9" US 7 knitting needles from Clover-USA.  I had filled out a customer survey several months ago, and this was a thank you gift. What a nice thing to do.

Knitting Goodies

Finished Socks

I have finally finished the Cascading Leaves Socks by Jeanie Townsend. It is a very well written pattern and easily followed. I used the handdyed yarn I purchased from my friend Nina's etsy shop in Finland. Details can be found on my ravelry page. Unfortunately, the pair is too small for me. Hopefully my Mom will be able to wear them.  Now to finish another project.

Note: Thanks for all the comments on my In Search of the Perfect Sock Knitting Method.  I guess it boils down to personal preference. Also, it helps to work on the socks occasionally and perhaps not having too many items on the needles.

Cascading Leaves

Transformation of Noro Kureyon

First, buy 20 skeins of Noro Kureyon for the Lizard Ridge Afghan from Knitty.com. Then discover that you can't stand short rows.

20 skeins of Noro Kureyon

 Then start the Lady Eleanor Wrap from Scarf Style.

Lady Eleanor Wrap

Put nearly 10 skeins of Noro in the knitting of the wrap. Try it on your shoulders, it is very heavy. Study the color combinations. Very bright.

Close-up

Again, frog the project.  

Rewound yarn

Search the web and Ravelry for another idea. Finally, find the log cabin squares from Knitting-and.com.

Start of a Log Cabin Square

Start another afghan.

Finished squares

Squares completed so far. I am considering the stain glass look from "get your hook on" blog. Check it out. Just beautiful.

It is a good thing that I am a process knitter. I can knit a couple of years on one project, ripp-it and start again. It is the yarn that keeps on giving.

In Search of the Perfect Sock Knitting Method

I love to knit socks.  But it takes sooo long to make a pair.  I am trying several methods to see if I can turn them out quicker.

Hobby Lobby Walk About Yarn

1. Double pointed needles. Juggling 3-4 needles. Slow.

Nina's Hand-dyed Yarn

2. Two circular needles. Faster. Still dealing with 4 ends.

Regia Design Line

3. 9" circular. Working in the round. Seems to go quicker but sort of awkward using such a short circular needle.

4.  Magic Loop. One long circular needle. When I tried using it in the past, I had a hard time keeping my place in the pattern. Also, it was hard to keep ladders from forming.

Now to finish the socks without starting another pair!!

What is your favorite method for knitting socks???

Updated Look

Well, it has been a while since I posted. I decided to update the old blog with a new template. What do you think??

Happy New Year

Wow, another year has come to an end and a new year has started. I guess that my New Years resolution this year has to include knitting from my stash. I went through all my yarn recently. Whoa, I have accumulated quite a stash over the last few years. So no new purchases for a while. My new mantra is: must knit from stash, must knit from stash. I wonder how long I can last?? Probably not very long, but I'll try. That is unless a store has a really good sale.


On another note, I finished a lot of Christmas gifts at the last minute. Most were almost completed except for the bear. I ran out of time to work on him. If I knit this pattern again, I will embroider the face in a darker color.


This is the 3rd Sitcom Chic that I have completed. It is for my SIL. It turned out very nice and I think she really liked it.

The Jaipur Socks are for my MIL. I finally found something that she likes and doesn't want to return to the store. She likes the warmth and the fit of the wool socks. The stripes almost match this time.

The Baby Bobbi Bear has more knitting that I thought. I started it on Monday night and finished it Wednesday afternoon. Wrapped it up and gave it to my great-niece that night. I think she liked it.

Finally, this is the other present I completed shortly before Christmas. It is a Baby Tweed Blanket by Jared Flood. Very easy knit. The middle is knitted on the diagonal in garter stitch and then the edging is picked up all around the sides. An I-cord edging completes the blanket construction. I have never done an I-cord edging before so that was kind of neat.