Rainbow Chills

Annetrelac

I picked up some Noro Kureyon sock yarn back on MLK day when I went shopping with my mom. Craig and Laura mentioned that a fellow sock enthusiast at the shop, Martha, was knitting Annetrelac socks with her Noro sock. It sounded like a great idea to me so I cast on about a week or so ago.

I absolutely adore the process. I have never knit Entrelac before and when I realized how much turning was involved, I thought it would annoy me. Nope! I love it. It keeps me engaged in the same way that knitting the Curlicue does. One of the things I like best about these socks is that there's a very clear pausing point. When I get to the end of each level of blocks, I ask myself whether I want to knit another round of blocks or not. I like neat stopping points. (I hate to stop reading in the middle of a chapter, too!)

Specs:

• Pattern: Annetrelac by Sandy Beadle
• Source: Interweave Knits, Holiday 2007
• Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Wood double points in 2.5 mm (did I mention that I got the dpn set for Christmas from Michelle? I love it)
• Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock, colorway 184, lot A

I had a thought when I cast on for the second sock last night to try to make the colors line up but in the end, I just cast on and started knitting. When the colors are this loud, does it really matter if they match? Not to me!

I'm taking sock #2 on our trip. We're heading to Alabama tomorrow to visit our very good friends, Michael and Suz. We're going to meet Rachel whose baby blanket I finished on February 4, her 2nd birthday. I started this blanket in May 2005. Before I knit my Pi Shawl. Before the first of three Curlicue Blankets. I'll take pictures before I give it to her. Stay tuned.

Jody asked me recently if I'd ever again knit another baby blanket. The first thing I need to do is finish the one other blanket I have half finished right now. It's the second of the Moderne Baby Blankets for the twins. I know that it's terrible that Aidan has had his blanket for a year and Jenna still doesn't have hers. Argh. Anyway, after I finish that, I do think I'll continue making baby blankets. Contrary to what this post indicates, I have given blankets to people before the baby has been born in the past. Or, at least gotten it to the parents before the baby can walk around the room carrying the blanket.

I'm crazy, right?

Note: These pictures suck but so does the light here. I miss the sun.

Monkey business

My Sockapalooza 4 socks arrived on Thursday- a great surprise when I got home after a LONG day of work.

Sarah from the Knitting Bee made me a great pair of Monkey socks in Knit Picks Essential Tweed. I love the color. Michelle said that they remind her of the yarn from my Santos sweater.

The socks fit perfectly.

I love new socks.

In other Sockapalooza news, Jo received the socks I knit and says that she'll post pictures next week. I'm so glad she liked them. I have had good luck in each round of Sockapalooza. I'm so grateful to Alison for everything she does to organize this wonderful knitalong and swap.

I am a happy knitter again- the new Mystery Stole clue came out yesterday. I'll be sad when this project ends next week. I love the wing.

Finished Sockapalooza Socks

I finished these on Friday. I knit the first sock while we read Harry Potter. I finished the second sock while we watched The L Word, Season 4 which we bought on iTunes last week.

This pattern is simple enough to work on while watching tv that you really want to be focusing on. Anyone who says that there are not enough roles for actresses over 40 needs to watch that show. Marlee Matlin was FABULOUS. Cybill Shepherd plays a totally wacky character but is thoroughly entertaining to watch. And Jennifer Beale only gets better with age.

See the prior post for specifics about these socks. My pal's feet are a few sizes larger than mine (otherwise I'd be seriously tempted to keep these for myself- kidding). I knit this Anne up at 10 spi which makes a nice dense fabric which I hope will wear well. The stitch pattern is plenty stretchy.

The pattern called for a few rows of stockinette before the toe decreases. It makes a nice long toe which I hope will fit my pal well.

I'll be sending these out on Thursday or Friday with a few Philadelphia postcards, some soap from a local store in a scent my pal mentioned on her blog and maybe one or two other little goodies.

Progress

A Sockapalooza sock:

Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Sock
Source: Knitting Vintage Sock
Designer: Nancy Bush
Needles: US 1 double points
Yarn: Schafer Anne
Start Date: July 19

Harry Potter Progress: 568 pages and still reading

Finished Loksins!

I finished my Loksins! in the fourth inning of the game last night.

I gave the rest of the game my undivided attention (except when knitters walked in and out of the row 9000 times). The Phillies were hitting amazingly well last night and we saw a number of home runs, including one by my favorite player Chase Utley. We also saw Carlos Ruiz steal home which was AWESOME!

Craig did a great job throwing out the first pitch and the Phanatic wrapped him in a very long scarf. Knitters, as a group, are not the most attentive group of baseball fans. I told my sister around the 6th inning that I was never again sitting in a section full of knitters. I have never had to stand up so many times to let people in and out of a row. SIT DOWN PEOPLE!

Anyway...back to the knitting. Cassie did a fabulous time with this pattern. It's interesting but repetitive. I followed the pattern except for two things:

• I forgot the knit row on the cuff. After the purl row, I jumped right into the pattern.
• I used the toe I always use- decrease down to 8 stitches on each (4) needle and kitchener.

I have LOADS of sock yarn in the stash. I'm still waiting for baby blanket yarn (long story-- have I mentioned that I'm knitting a Curlicue again?) so I'm planning to cast on for another sock today. Knee sock by Cookie A perhaps? I haven't decided. Stay tuned.

Play ball

Tonight is Stitch and Pitch night at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are playing the Reds. My sister Cathy is driving down, crochet project included. We'll be sitting in section 209 on the 1st base line. I'll be knitting the foot of my second Loksins! sock in BRIGHT pink yarn (Socks that Rock in the Hot Flash colorway). I'm really excited, despite the forcasted 94 degree temperature.

Craig from Loop is throwing out the first ball. I'll be getting there early to see him pitch at 6:30.

I'm hoping to finish the Lokins! in the next few days. With all of the time I've been spending on Ravelry (and trust me, we're talking about a SERIOUS amount of time), there are so many patterns I'm itching to make. I have yarn in the stash and patterns in the queue. I just need to start matching them up and knitting away.

Pictures of the Phillies and knitters to come later this week.

Loksins!

I started these Loksins on Sunday evening. The repeats go quickly but I am slightly crazed at work right now and have been knitting very little. Cassie did a wonderful job on this pattern I absolutely love it. I told Jody last weekend that both Michelle and I had cast on for socks using this yarn and that we were having a pooling issue. Loksins seems to have solved that. I love it.

Specs:

Pattern: Loksins!

Pattern source: Cassie, Too Much Wool

Yarn: Socks that Rock, Medium weight in Hot Flash

Needles: US2 Clover double points

Change:

Michelle and I have done some updating and rearranging at home. We spent quite a bit of time at Ikea over the weekend and quite a bit of money at the Apple online store. The result can be seen here.

Among the changes are a new dining table and a new laptop. Michelle is beyond thrilled with the switch to the Mac. It arrived last night and we set up everything including the wireless. The idea of visiting IMDB from bed is (a little too) exciting to me. I hate when I can't figure out who an actor is and I really do sometimes get out of bed to find out who the person is. Sickness, anyone? The next week is an incredibly busy one for me. I'll see you on the flip side.

Monkey Socks

Pattern: Monkey
Designer: Cookie A
Pattern Source: Knitty, Winter 2006
Needles: US3 Clover Bamboo double points for ribbing, US2 Clover Bamboo for remainder of sock
Yarn: Ellen's Half Pint Farm
Yarn Purchased: Rhinbeck 2006
Start date: Thursday, May 24
Finish date: Monday, May 28

I can now understand why everyone is knitting these socks. I have tried to knit a few patterns with this yarn and have always been annoyed by the pooling. The pooling in the Monkeys didn't bother me at all. The colors swirl a bit but the pattern is still pleasant and visible. By the end of the cuff of sock #1, I didn't have to look at the pattern anymore. Each pattern repeat took me between 15 and 20 minutes. After each one, I'd take a short break and do something else, knowing that if I didn't, I would just knit, knit, knit until the sock was done.

When I finished the second sock last night, I wanted to immediately cast on for another pair but I'm holding off until I finish the current section of the baby blanket for the second twin. This feels like the blanket that will never end. When I finish this section, I'll allow myself to cast on for another Monkey.

Socks

Specs:

• Yarn: Trekking XXL, color 80, lot 2282
• Needles: US1 Clover double points
• Began: March 2, 2007
• Finished: April 7, 2007
• Yarn Purchased: December 2006 at Granny's shop on a trip to see Katy

Easter was very nice. It was a great end to a really fun week where I got to see my family more often than I have in a long time. I'm not thrilled with any of the pictures we took, sadly. The kids are so active at this age that it's hard to get them to all look at the camera at one time and even the action shots are filled with funny looks. Today, it's back to life...until the end of the month when Michelle and I go away for our anniversary! Woohoo!

Blue Trekking

Is there such a thing as too many socks made in blue Trekking? I don't think so. (Confession: I have at least enough blue or blue-containing Trekking for three more pairs.)

I finished this one this morning. I love it. It's my standard Trekking formula- 72 sts, picot edge, US double points, heel flap with garter edge a la EZ, blah, blah.

The twins are not ready to be delivered today as planned because their lungs need some additional time to develop. I have another week to finish blanket #2 (progress is stalled as I need additional yarn). This is good news for me but not for our friend Mama Laura. The docs believe that each baby currently weighs at least 7 lbs and that in another week, they may surpass 8 lbs each. Can you imagine?