Monday, March 24, 2008

St. Patrick's Day Socks (A Week Late)

I knit as fast as my little fingers would let me, but I still didn't these socks finished by St. Patrick's Day. Silly school stuff - always getting in the way of perfectly good knitting time.

I finished these over the weekend, and I really like them. I'm loving the color! I've definitely been on a green kick in my personal life lately.

I can't wait to wear these socks! They feel really comfy when I model them.

(Don't you hate it that self-modeling sock pictures always make the model look like she has cankles?)

I had several comments (both in real life and on the blog) of people not thinking that these would fit around the wearer's ankles. Rest assured - they do. Honestly, I never really thought about it until so many people asked, but in pictures like this one, it really does look like there's an extremely small leg that's going to fit into the sock. However, the leg is made out of ribbing which stretches for eternity, so once you put it on, it fits perfectly!

Final Specs:
Pattern:
Oak Ribbed Sock, from Knitting Vintage Socks
Needles:
Size 1 dpn's
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici (Arugula), About $9
Time: 3 weeks total without a lot of non-knitting school time in there

Monday, March 17, 2008

Calorimetry

I'd seen a zillion people make the calorimetry and it looks so cute on them! On me? Not so much.

I reduced the number of cast on stitches like people have recommended, but that wasn't the problem. I used some of my favorite yarn in one of my favorite colors, but that wasn't the problem either. It just wasn't... me.

However, as long as I live in the frozen tundra (aka Michigan), I'll wear this guy.

Finished Specs:
Pattern:
Calorimetry from Knitty, Free
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Jewel Blue, $11
Needles: Size 8 circs

Monday, March 10, 2008

Total Random Content

I'm in love.

I've been sick and cooped up in my house for the past few days and to entertain myself, I sat and knit and watched TV. Tonight, I turned the heel on a sock and I watched the season finale of October Road. I laughed and cried in so many cycles that I really couldn't keep track. There were even a few random shouts at the TV when I didn't agree with the twists and turns. I can't decide what it is that I love so much, but there's just something about that show that really resonates with me. Maybe it's the small town life that I've been missing so much lately. Maybe it's the soundtrack that has some of the best music of any TV show. Maybe it's just the close bond that the friends have. That's something I've been missing so much since moving North.

Whatever it is. I'm in love with October Road. I want to live in Knight's Ridge and be friends with them all too.

Just to throw in some knitting - here's a sneak peek of a sock:

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Waiting Scarf

Scarves are definitely my go-to project. When in doubt about what to cast on next, a scarf is always high on my list. Ironically, I only have two scarves that I wear that are handmade. The rest all get donated to charities. That's the fate of my latest scarf.

I started this scarf without a pattern in mind, and just kinda made it up as I went. This was my travel project for a few weeks, and I really only knit on it while I was doing other things, like sitting in moot court dress rehearsals, waiting on my oil change, getting my hair colored, etc. Because knitting only happened while I was waiting on things, I started calling it my waiting scarf.

I got the yarn on sale at Threadbear a few months ago. It's Mission Falls Wool 1824 in Rhubarb. It's normally about $6 a skein, and I got it for $3. Yay for deals!


Blocking really made a world of difference. The fabric doesn't even feel the same, and it blocked out really nicely. Here's the before picture so you can see for yourself:

Final Specs:
Pattern: No real pattern.
Yarn: Mission Falls Wool 1824, 4 skeins - $12
Needles: Size 8
Time: About a month of travel knitting

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Multidirectional Scarf

I'm so behind in blogland. I'm way behind in my blog reading, and it's been a month since I last posted. Oh well.. life gets in the way sometimes!

There has been some knitting happening even though it's not being reflected on the blog!

I finished up my multidirectional scarf and I've been wearing the fire out of it with all the snow and ice we've been getting lately. It "warmed up" to 40 the other day but rained all day and turned into sleet at night, so I refuse to count that as good weather.

Overall, I really like the scarf. I'm not a big fan of the sudden light purple streaks in the middle of the dark, dark purple spots, but I like the scarf in the end. Ironically, the stark contrast is what my friend Amy likes the best.

Overall Specs:
Pattern: Multidirectional Scarf, Free
Yarn: Austerman Murano, One skein - About $23
Needles: Size 9
Time: About three evenings of TV knitting

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P.S. I have yet to break my Lent promise of no yarn buying! I even held up through a HUGE sale at Threadbear.