Eleven Stitches

Second Sock! Contest!

Finally, I feel satisfied with eleven single socks.  I've been thinking about this for awhile, and I have picked out which pair is going to be completed first.  Do you think you know?

Below are the details of all eleven singles.  Leave a comment on this post before 11:59 pm EST on Saturday June 30th with your guess, and you could win!

1. Childs First Sock in Shell Pattern by Nancy Bush, Collinette Jitterbug in Velvet Plum
2. Merino Lace Socks by Anne Woodbury, Wollmeise Sockenwolle in Brombeere
3. Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt, Sundara Sock Yarn in Cherry Blossom
4. Spiral Boot Socks by Veronik Avery, Socks that Rock Silkie in Walking on the Wild Tide
5. Dalia by Sundara Murphy, Sundara Sock Yarn in Dahlia
6. Lombard Street Socks by Susan Lawrence, Tess Super Sock & Baby in pale green
7. Snicket Socks by Sabine Riefler, Sundara Sport Merino in Charcoal over Cotton Candy
8. Evening Stockings for a Young Lady by Nancy Bush, Brooks Farm Acero
9. Monkey by Cookie A., Apple Laine Apple Pie in Pretty in Pink
10. Sidewinders by NonaKnits, Wollmeise Sockenwolle in Amazonas
11. Loksins! by Cassie of Too Much Wool, Socks That Rock Lightweight in Sherbet

I'm sure you want to know what the prize is.  It's a skein of the same yarn that I'll be knitting up first (in your choice of available colors). Which leads to an interesting psychology experiment... are you voting for the sock that I'm most likely to be starting, or for the yarn that you most want to win?  I've checked around, and all of these yarns are available for purchase online or in my LYS, so availability should not be a factor in your choice.  If more than one person guesses the winning sock, I'll draw from those names to select a winner.

Leave a comment with your guess (and with your reasoning-- I'd be most interested to know) before Saturday is done!  Good luck!

Eleven

Once again, I've finished my last single sock.  It is for my Sockapalooza Sockpal, and I think that she will like it.  If this sock is not outrageous, I'm not sure what is.

Pattern: Loksins! by Cassie of Too Much Wool
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in Sherbet
Needles: Susan Bates DPNs size 2 for the first 2 cuff repeats, Addi Turbos size 1 for the remainder
Time to Knit: June 8 to June 25
Modifications: I did a picot edge and knitted the first two repeats on size 2s.  I also grafted the toe.

Because I didn't have any 2.5 mm needles, I had to resort to using my Addis.  I tried doing 2 circulars, but that was really annoying me, and I switched to Magic Loop.  It was OK, but I still think I prefer my standard DPNs.  Jody's hint about using a 24" needle helped a little bit.  I switched from my 32" to my 24" and things sped up.

It was fun knitting this sock to someone else's specifications.  I got lucky in that my pal's foot is about the same size as mine, but her color preferences were a little different.  Yay for branching out!

So once again I'm retiring from the Single Sock Liberation Movement.  For real.  Like, Michael Jordan retiring from basketball real.   (Does this mean I have to start crocheting single socks, kind of suck at that, and go back to knitting single socks again?  Hmm....)

Eleven has been my favorite number for a very long time, and it does seem appropriate that I knit eleven singles.  It's been a lot of fun!  But now it REALLY is time to stop, which means a contest will be forthcoming.  See you then!

Perfection

You know all of those times when you feel like you've built up a lot of good karma and it doesn't seem to be coming back to you?  This weekend, all of the good karma that had been swirling around finally settled and made a perfect weekend. 

There are a lot of ways to write the information in this post (most of them involve gushing), but we have a place for the wedding, and I now have a dress.  IF YOU ARE NOT MARRYING ME, you can see the dress here. The bridesmaids (the three who could make the trip, anyway) had a great time picking out their individual dress styles, and I love the color that I chose for their dresses.  It's a tomato-y red, or a bloody orange (I can't decide), and it soo my color.  It also happens to look good on all of the girls.

After a perfect day of shopping (easy, calm, cheaper-than-expected, great weather), we came home and cooked up a very inventive menu that Sara had planned.  We cooked, ate, drank wine and mojitos, and were happy. There were exclamations from all of us about the perfection of the day. 

The next day Sara and I (the other lovely ladies headed home) went to my LYS and she bought some fantastic lace weight Malabrigo.  I didn't even know it existed before.  It's the same style of coloring and softness as the worsted version, and I love it.  While walking around my little town, I found a dress (for attending a wedding) that I was willing to pay full price for, but I found out at the register that it was half price.  We ate ice cream while sitting on sun-warmed stone and talked about honeymoon ideas.  It was that kind of weekend.

Knitting content will return tomorrow, and soon there will be my first contest!

Eye Candy Friday

Happy Summer!

What She Wants

I've become very accustomed to knitting socks for myself.  I know what I like, and I know what fits me.  I'm not very used to knitting socks for other people-- in fact, I've never done it before!  I think that this is why it took me awhile to get started on my Sockapalooza pal's socks.

She wants outrageous.  I kept thinking about ways to define what I like as outrageous. Maybe Fair Isle?  I know-- a complicated pattern!  But when I was honest with myself, I really knew that I should be knitting something very bright and very colorful, with the pattern as a secondary feature. 

I've found a great yarn to fit the bill.  This is Socks that Rock Lightweight in Sherbet, and it is bright!  As Sacha put it, she wanted to go eat kids cereal after seeing this yarn.  It's magically delicious! 

I did find something to keep me happy, too.  Loksins is a pattern I've been wanting to try ever since it came out, and it is playing quite nicely with this yarn.  Maybe some day I'll knit it again in a more subtle colorway, but I am enjoying this bright version.

With a picot edge, it's cute, bright, interesting, and (I hope) exactly what my SockPal is looking for.

Sidewinder Sock

I finished the first Sidewinder Sock on Friday night.  It was such a fun and fast knit!

It was hard to understand how the sock was working at first, but I just trusted the pattern and kept knitting.  By the end of Day 2, I could see where it was going.  This was also a fast knit because I didn't have to switch needles so often.  All that time (at least twice per round, depending on your style) really adds up.

Pattern: Sidewinder by NonaKnits
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle in Amazonas
Needles: Addi Turbos size 2
Time to Knit: June 9 - 16
Modifications: None

I knit the pattern as written because I didn't feel like I knew enough to do otherwise!  Now that I've knit it once, there are a few tweaks I'm planning for my next pair.  Overall, the sock fit me well in my chosen size, but it was still tight at the very top of my instep.  I think I just have big heels.  Next time I'll make the heel a little larger to compensate.

Speaking of heels, the heel and toe were easy to understand and execute, but I had a little bit of difficulty making them look good.  The increase side is a little tight and it actually puckers slightly, while the decreased side of the heel has gaps.

I think that next time around I'll put two stitches in between these increases/decreases, and that should take care of this problem.

This was such a fun pattern, and it really made this variegated colorway interesting!  I found it funny that it still ended up pooling, but I don't mind it at all.

This brings me up to single sock 10 in my self-imposed craze.  It was well worth it!  I know I showed a lot of pictures already, but here's a few more.

   

Eye Candy Friday

Why don't I mind knitting single socks?  Because I'm wearing these until it gets cold again!

Have a great weekend!

Quick, Easy, and Intuitive

This is why I love Ravelry (OK, one of the reasons).  I'm planning to make Shedir for my fiance's father, who is in need of a hat and who also has a rather large head.  I went to Ravelry's pattern section to look at other examples of Shedir hats, and I found Janine's entry.  She used a heavier yarn to accommodate a bigger head as well.  I left a quick comment asking about her experience.

In the meantime, I used Ravelry's yarn section to look up the gauge of the three yarns in question:

Pattern Yarn  (Rowan Calmer):       21 sts/4 in
Janine's Yarn (Lana Grossa Bingo): 16 sts/4in
My Yarn        (Malabrigo Worsted): 18 sts/4in

Janine wrote me back to say that the hat was slightly too big, but that she was very happy with the results.  Perfect!  I now have a plan to use my chosen yarn (in Olive), with size 4 needles, possibly needing to go up to size 5.

This would have been possible on Google, but it would have taken a lot more time-- especially to find someone else who was using a bigger yarn for a bigger head! 

Falling Off The Wagon

So, here's the thing:  I have to knit socks for my Sockapalooza pal.  I'm not going to be able to finish all of my single socks AND the Sockpal socks by August 2 (maybe I could, but I don't want that kind of stress), so I've got another single sock to do.  That would bring my single sock count to 10.

Picot edge for a yet-to-be-decided pattern, Socks That Rock in Sherbet

Dave and Pam both suggested that I should do eleven single socks, you know, because of my blog's name. While I was originally overwhelmed by this thought, now it means just one more sock. There just happens to be a new sock pattern that is very, very intriguing, and it just so happens that I'm now finished with Act 1.

Sidewinder sock in Wollmeise sockenwolle, Amazonas colorway

OK, maybe the above reasoning wasn't so much at the forefront of my thoughts as the "Oh my goodness I want to knit this sock right now and I have the perfect yarn for it" reasoning was. In any case, here I am.  I'm back in the Single Sock Liberation Movement for another two socks, and I'm very happy about it.

I'm still knitting on other non-sock projects.  I'm very excited about them it too!

ETA: The new Knitty is up!

 

Happiness Is...

--- Starting again on a sweater using a fabulous yarn in a fabulous color.

--- Waking up 2 lbs lighter than yesterday, and 5 lbs lighter than Monday.  We've started getting vegetables from our share on an organic farm, and I can tell the difference!

--- Sharing quiet contemplation with this guy.  He was resting right outside my kitchen window.

--- Getting my hair cut by a stylist who really knows how to cut hair, and who also happens to be the cheapest in the salon.

--- Buying yarn to make a gift for a loved one, and chatting with the sweet women who work at my LYS.

--- Spending a gift certificate at my LYS, given to me by a wonderful (but alas recently departed) manager.

--- Walking to a local festival, and finding three books at their rummage sale.  They were a dollar each.

--- Swatching and dreaming of new projects.

I hope your Saturday has been as wonderful as mine has been so far!