Love is on the Heel

It's time to introduce you to the February Sock I have chosen for the self-imposed sock challenge this year! 

February Self-Imposed Sock and Book(?) Challenge 


The Socks:  In honour of Valentines Day I am making LoveSocks by Devon Clement, free pattern on Ravelry. These socks have a simple stripe pattern with a combination fair isle and intarsia heart on the heel!

Photo from Ravelry page, see link above.

The Yarn (the stringy variety, not the story): I will be using leftovers of two great yarns. Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label in Sand and Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Ruby Red. 

I love Tanis's yarns and the purple label is extra special with cashmere. Seen here in the Sand colourway. I had a bunch leftover from a pair of fingerless mitts I made for a friend for Christmas. It is amazing how far a skein of this will go!

This is leftover from a secret Valentines Project that I will reveal next week,  Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Ruby Red. Available for purchase from the amazing online yarn shop The Loopy Ewe. 

The Books: Despite my success with my January socks, the reading didn't go so well. I'm still trying to find time to read Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - good book, but so little free time in which I am not knitting! On top of this I assigned a book review for the class I am teaching about aging and disability so I have this lovely stack of novels to get through in the next few months. I also need to find my copy of Tuesday's With Morrie as several students have chosen this book. So the reading for pure pleasure part of the challenge is on hiatus, but I'm sure to enjoy some or all of the books in this looming stack. 

My Progress: As you can see in the previous photo I have already managed to make one sock. This is a really easy pattern (very much appreciated after last month's cables), so I have been able to zip through it quickly. I love the yarn combination and heart on the heel is so sweet. My colourwork skills are nothing to write home about, but I want to get more practice so this was a neat way to combine fair isle and intarsia on the heel flap. 

Close-up of the inside of the heel showing intarsia technique at the top of the heart and the switch to intarsia for the body of the heart. 

All that I have left to decide is if I want to do my second sock in the alternate colour pattern (like in the pattern above) or if I want them to match. I kind of like the idea of matching them. What do you think?


msi. 

Fiery Puffs

This week I met my minimum requirement of 7 puffs. I had so much fun with the colour theme last week I dug around in my stash and found scraps of yellows, oranges and reds for this weeks fiery puff collection! Some more minis came in the mail yesterday so next week expect another collection of minis turned into puffs!

Yarns Used This Week:

ONline Supersocke Butterfly Colour in 1154
Knit Picks Stroll Tonal
Fleece Artist Merino 2/6
Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label (leftovers from My Vampire Boyfriend Socks!)
Mary Maxim Bamboo Soft Stripes

msi

Done in the nick of time...

I finished my My Vampire Boyfriend socks last night, just a few days ahead of schedule! I am super impressed that I managed to finish these on time and that I didn't give into second sock syndrome. So what did I think about my first month of my self-imposed sock challenge?

The pattern: A really enjoyable pattern by Kate Atherley. By the end of the first sock I had the pattern down. My chart was always near by, but the second sock went much faster and I managed to knit it in a little more than a week. It was a great pattern that you need to pay attention to and it challenged me (in a good way) the whole way along. I love the addition of the "bitemark" cable along the sides and the modified heart for the heel and toe. This pattern is available for free in the Fall 2009 issue of Knitty.

The yarn: This was a wonderful skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in a one-of-a-kind colourway. I love Tanis's yarn and it feels great to finally have a pair of socks in it! The socks are soft and sturdy and the colour variations are beautiful.

The book: As you may recall, I am also reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter as my book challenge for this month. I am not quite done, but it has been a great book so far. Between the three jobs and the sock knitting I have been a busy bee this month.

I'll be back with the February sock of choice soon.

Happy Knitting!

msi

Back on the Hexi Track...

After my complete failure last week to complete a single puff, I doubled my efforts this week and managed to turn this....

Into this...

The shipment of mini-skeins definitely did its thing and inspired me to make 13 gorgeous puffs in wintery blues and whites. Glad to be on the right track again! Also, I loved trying a bunch of yarns that I had never tried before. My favourites were the Wollmeise, Bare Sheep Company and JL Vinca. I will definitely be seeking them out for future knitted socks.


Yarns Used This Week:

ONline Supersocke Butterfly Colour in 1154
JL Vinca in 806
 Koigu KPPPM in Snowdrift

            Bare Sheep Company Merino Nylon Sock in Dumbledore  

      Lazy Perry Ranch Sock in Turquoise

      Woolmeise 100% in Karnblume  

      Dream in Color Smooshy in Lunar Zazzle

      Lion Brand Sock Ease in 100 Marshmallow
 Patons Kroy Sock in Blazing Blue
Regia World Ball Color in Argentine
All Things Heather Sock in Turquoise
Araucania Ranco in Sky Blue

      Happy Knitting, 

      msi

Baby Blanket Indecisiveness

I'm in a quandary. I have friends who recently found out they are expecting. My mind is already in overdrive for all of the things I will knit for this wee one. I love knitting for babies: booties, hats, sweaters, mitts, toys, you name it. I have some time before the little one is expected to arrive, but the largest investment of time and resources will have to go into a blanket. I want this blanket to be something that the little one will grow up with so I need something classic, soft, hardwearing and beautiful. I have been scouring Ravelry and Pinterest for some time trying to decide on the perfect first project for baby.

I absolutely love this...

Hansel Blanket From The Shetland Trader (link)

But I also adore this...

Baby Chalice Blanket from Lykkefanten (link)

And this...

Zig and Zag Sock Yarn Pram Baby Blanket by Debbie Orr (link)

And then there is this...

Forever Baby Blanket from Purl Soho (link)

Sigh... and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Does anyone out there have any advice for a knitter in need of a perfect baby blanket?

msi.

Belated FO Friday

Time for another finished object Friday (well Sunday, but who's counting?)! Despite the total neglect of the "me" projects over the past week (socks, cardi, puffs) I have been knitting for my next favourite group: babies! There is nothing more satisfying that making something warm and wooly for a wee one. Last weekend I made this sweet hat for a friend's baby. The I Heart Cables pattern is in the winter issue of Petite Purls, an excellent, free online knitting magazine specializing in patterns for small humans.

One of the best things about this hat was that I got to use the pom pom maker that Kevin made me for Christmas for the first time. It is so much easier than any other tool I have made or bought before. I plan on making another pair of the Frodo booties to go with this great heat.

'til next time,

msi

Let's Not Talk About It...

So its time for a Hexi check in, but I sadly have zero puffs to show this week. I found out last Monday that I would be teaching a new class starting Wednesday nights so I have been completely swamped with trying to get caught up with that. In fact this blog post is a brief break from writing a lecture about gerontological theories. Woot!

What did arrive in the mail today was this...

12 mini skeins of yummy sock yarns that I bought on etsy from LadyDanio for puffs. Hopefully this will inspire me to double my efforts to have lots of puffs for next week.

msi.