Knitting in pink

ETA: The comment function is now working again. If you wanted to post one you now can!

The theme for today, as you might have guessed, is "Socks". Lots of socks. Socks for the Sock a Month KAL 3, socks for Sockamania, socks for Socktopia and socks for Sockapalooza. That's a lot of socks!

First are the pair I just finished this morning. They are my Twisted DK socks in Wing.

When I see them I keep thinking of a Monet painting, but when I searched for that painting I just couldn't find the one I was thinking of. Maybe you know which one it is?

The first sock I knit was the one with the least amount of pink. I could have started the second sock in the same place to have matching socks, but I was going for a mismatched look so just continued the yarn where I left off. Now I wish both socks were like the second one I made, with the most pink. But I still like them, they're fun and they were super fast!

Stats
Fastest pair ever! Cast on sock one April 28, Bind off sock 2 May 6. Just over a week.
Yarn: Twisted DK in color Wing
Pattern: My own: Toe-up Magic Loop Short-row heel.

This pair will count towards my Socktopia and Sock a Month KAL 3.

Next up is the next pair I need to cast on, for my Sockamania KAL. The pattern is really pretty and looks like it's going to be fun. Now I just need to chose which color yarn to use.



I've never knit with a dark yarn like the one on the left and don't know if it is going to work out well with the pattern. I'm sure the one on the right would work though. Any suggestions?

Next up is Sockapalooza 4. My pal likes green and knee highs and I really wanted to do something she'll like. I found this pretty yarn by Dream in Color in the lovely color Happy Forest. The yarn looks like a sport/DK weight yarn and will be perfect for the Elegant Ribbed Stockings from "Favorite Socks" pattern.



The yarn is a semi solid and not a solid like in the book, so I hope it will still work with the cables of the pattern.

I won't be casting on quite yet. Gotta get a headstart on my Sockamania socks...

I was able to finish the second sock of the Child's First sock pair just a little while after I last posted about them. I am really, really pleased about them and will definitely wear them proudly. The pattern looks really difficult at first glance but it is really easy once you get into the pattern. Each row leads to the next and if you don't forget your yo's there are no other difficulty.

I used Socks That Rocks in the Apple Valley Road colorway. I think that it is the semi solid color is perfect for this pattern. The subtle color changes add some texture to the shell pattern.

Stats
The first sock was started March 24 and the pair was finished April 19. The first sock took 12 days, the second 7.
Pattern: Child's First Sock from "Knitting Vintage Socks" by Nancy Bush
Mods: I decided to knit the socks toe-up with my usual Turkish Cast on. I knit the pattern as written starting with row 1. 5 pattern repeats on the foot and 5 on the leg. 1 1/2" 2x2 ribbing. Garter Stitch short row heel.

These socks were my April Bumblebees and Butterflies Socktopia Socks and my pair for the Sock a Month KAL.

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Friday afternoon I picked up my wheel. They gave me an 8oz bag of Romney roving. I think I must have spun half of it yesterday. I will be posting about it tomorrow, but you can see some pictures in my flickr account.

My Dublin Bay socks are done. If you still haven't downloaded the pattern, you can get it here. It is a very easy pattern with a great result. It will look great with a variegated or solid yarn.

Notice the pooling? How it goes from one sock to the other? It's the second pair of socks that I knit that do that, is that common? Anyone else notice that in their own socks? I actually think it's kind of cool so I don't mind the pooling at all, but I know some people would mind it a lot!

Stats
Started February 3rd, finished February 23. The first sock took 10 days, the second 8.
Yarn: Grafton Fibers, color unknown. I call it "Rose Garden in the Fall". Bought at Rhinebeck 2006
Pattern: Dublin Bay by Mossy Garden
Mods: 7 inch leg, garter stitch short row heel. Knit using Magic Loop on US 2 Inox Express. Started with recommended 72 stitches but decreased down to 66 on the leg and 60 on the foot. 60 is really the right stitch count for me at that gauge.

I was really afraid that I would run out of yarn, especially since I did the leg so long. But after knitting the second sock, I still had this much left:



I guess I'll have enough yarn for when the holes that have been popping up here and there in peoples socks in blogland finally make it to my socks!

Now on to finish hubby's Austermann Step socks before it gets warm!

Let me introduce to you one finished Dublin Bay sock:

Maybe you can notice the garter stitch short row heel. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like it. I was mostly worried that the bumpiness would bother me but I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't and that it looks ok, definitely not ugly. And not having to purl on the tiny needles really helped my hands!

You can't really tell on the picture above but the yarn behaved differently at 3 different stitch count. I started the sock with the pattern's 72 stitches. Then about 3 inches into the leg I decreased to 66 stitches. After the heel and partway down the foot I went down 6 more stitches to a total of 60 stitches. Which makes for an interesting looking sock!



When I make the second sock I might decrease to 66 stitches faster so as to have a slightly tighter leg all the way down. Other than that I really like how the sock fits and how I was able to customize the fit for my leg. I knit 7 inches of leg, which is the longest leg I've ever made and because of that I was a little afraid I would run out of yarn at the toe. But I didn't, I had 4 grams left over and I don't have mismatched toes!

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For your enjoyment, especially if you read French. My sister in law is a reporter for the Montreal paper "La Presse" and she wrote an article on my hubby and I.

After my "Too many projects, too little time" post I decided that the 2 important projects for this month to work on were my Dublin Bay socks, for Socktopia and my Center Square hat for Fair Isle February.

And since I had finally received the yarn I was waiting for to knit Center Square, I cast on yesterday morning for it. This is what it looks like now:

Yeah, that is a fully completed Center Square. Once I started working on it I just couldn't put it down. And I finished it that same afternoon. My main complaint of the hat is that it is a little too tall for my head. If I were to do it again with the same yarns I might make a shorter ribbing and skip 2 solid rows at the top. It still fits well enough and keeps my head really warm. It still needs blocking but I might wait on that... I've worn it twice already and with the cold outside I can really use the warm hat. In the picture you can also notice my brand new KP Chart Keeper, which proved extremely useful for this project and will be used more and more.

Stats
The hat was knitted on February 8th 2007.
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Chianti and Victorian Pink
Pattern: Center Square from Knitty
Mods: skipped one plain solid row before the decrease to avoid making it even bigger.
Conclusion: My husband said that he would wear a hat like it in manly colors, so I might make another one of these. Maybe for next winter.

I've also been working on my Dublin Bay sock #1. I have just finished the leg and now I have to decide on which heel to do. Either I'll do the heel as written in the pattern, a band heel, a regular short-row heel or a garter stitch short-row heel. 2 of these would be new to me so I have to look into it more before I make a decision.



I really like how the yarn works with this pattern and the striping that is going on. The yarn I am using is from Grafton Fibers, color unknown, bought at Rhinebeck last fall. I call it "Rose Garden in the Fall", which fits the rose theme for Socktopia.

After a random Friday here is a random Monday. Beware, their will be lots of pictures!

First: Let me show you a before / after pictures

The boxes took a couple days each and were knitted out of two strands of Lambs Pride Bulky. I followed the pattern to the letter, except for a couple non-noticeable mistakes. I hope that my nieces will enjoy them!

Second: I'll show you my third FO of the year and my 7th pair of socks



Stats
The socks were started December 2, 2006 and finished January 19th. The first sock took 9 days, the second 12.
Yarn: Dicentra Design in Abalone
Pattern: Madder Ribbed socks from Knitting Vintage Socks
Mods: Did the socks toe-up with turkish cast-on with a purl row at the beginning of the pattern

Third: As soon as I finished my Madder socks I cast on for the second Austermann Step sock for DH



I would like to finish this sock by the end of January for it to count for Socktopia, but if it doesn't it will be my gray project for Project Spectrum in Feburary.

Fourth: I have a question for you guys


Click on it to make it bigger

This here is a handknit scarf made by J. J gave the scarf to her sister M for Christmas. Sister M has a dog, Lola. Do you see where this is going? Lola chewed on the edge of the scarf... Now we are wondering what to do to make the scarf better. There is no yarn leftover. Thankfully the yarn was angora and is sticking well to itself so there is no unraveling going on. Please help a girl out and make suggestions as to how I should help J fix this!

Thanks!

My first FO of 2007 is an MDK felted box. The pair to the one I knit back in December. Those boxes will be for my nieces. They still need to be felted, hopefully sooner than later. I'll show a after-felting picture then.

My Bejeweled scarf is about halfway done, it's an extremely fast knit and really enjoy it. It will make a great little scarf!

Not many people voted on which pair I should finish for this month's Socktopia but there was one vote for the Austermann Step soc and 2 or 3 for the Jaywalker. Which one did I pick? Neither of those two, sorry! I knew that the Madder Ribbed sock would take me the least amount of time and that with everything else I want to work on it would be the only one I would be sure to finish. So yesterday I cast on for it and now I've just started on the foot ribbing.



I've been restraining myself from casting on for the Fake Isle hat, I really would like to finish either the sock or Bejeweled before I do so. I hope that I can stay strong!

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I've got some eye candy for you today! This weekend, DH and I drove to Plum Island, MA. The weather was amazing, 70°F/20°C! Can you believe that kind of temperature in January? We walked up and down the beach enjoying the sun, the wind and the sound of the waves. A lot of people were there too enjoying the beach with their families and their dogs... I don't think I've ever seen this many dogs at once before! Anyways, it was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to going back!


Click on the pictures to see them bigger

I have joined Socktopia, the sock KAL for 2007. Each month has a series of theme and participants will try to knit socks that go along with one or more themes.
January's themes are the following:

Celebrate Good Times !!

Blue Monday

Snowflakes and Stary Skies

I have 3 half - pairs done and I'd like to have you help me pick which pair to finish as per this month's themes.



I think that the sock on the left could very well fit the first theme, the one in the middle fit the 3rd theme and the sock on the right fit the 2nd theme.

Help me out by commenting on the one you like best!