FancyPants McSockKnitter

I have been knitting like crazy over the last couple of days. The Jaywalker socks are moving right along. Sock number one is done and I cast on for sock number two this afternoon.

I am especially liking the heel on this sock. It's eye of the partridge heel. I think it looks nice. Might be my new heel flap of choice! I had seen it on someone else's blog and then when I was reading Knitting Rules! by The Yarn Harlot it was mentioned, so I knew I was meant to give it a try. Very easy, and I think it looks quite fancy. FancyPants McSockKnitter. That's me.Well, that's all I have for now. Nothing else is being worked on at this time. I am starting to think about my next pair of socks to knit. I am thinking about the Lorna Laces that I ordered from The Loopy Ewe last month. I am still thinking about a sweater. I saw this today and I did a happy dance. It might be exactly what I looking to knit and just didn't know it until today.

Back to knitting. . . .

Bears socks!

It's Saturday, it's 8:30 in the morning. There is something just not right about this. I have to go to work later, but not until 1pm. Why, oh why am I up?

Anywho. . . .

I have been working on a new pair of socks. It's been a little slow going, but I have been enjoying them immensely. They are some Jaywalker socks! I keep seeing this pattern out in blog-land, and decided that I needed some of my own. I decided this right about the times the Bears got themselves into the Super Bowl. So you know what that means--Bears socks! I am using KnitPicks Essential in Dusk and Pumpkin. This is yarn I have had for awhile, and was orginally intended for a pair of blue socks and a pair of orange socks, but I have to say, that Bears socks are a much better idea. I have dreams of these being done before the Super Bowl, but I am not sure that will happen. Although, I have no intentions of leaving the apartment tomorrow, so I might make some significant headway!

In other news, I felted my purse this week. For a first attempt, I give myself a grade of B-. The purse sort of shrunk more in one direction than I thought it was going to (even though I felted a swatch and did some math, and you think math would be my thing when it comes to knitting, you know, I did obtain a math minor in college, but knitting doesn't often require differential equations or linear algebra, but I digress). So, what does a girl do when her purse is a little on a shallow side and does not want her stuff to fall out? She sews in a zipper. A zipper that matches the purse. A stroke of genius. Granted, I am not good at things like sewing, so I did a bit of a crap job. But, I used it when I went out to dinner last night and nothing disasterous happened, so I am calling the felted purse a success.

Other than the Bears socks, the only other thing on the needles are another pair of socks that I have been working on that I am just not feeling. I am not quite to the point of frogging them, but it's getting there. I also have started toying with the idea of knitting myself a sweater. Perhaps a cardigan. We will see.

Happy Saturday!

A Pattern? Well, kind of.

Alright, a real post. Well, maybe. . . .

Kay wondered about a pattern for the beer cozy I made. I took the wine cozy pattern from Knitty and modified it. Below are my notes on it. I (of course) did not knit a gauge swatch and the cozies are long gone. I pretty much knit it with a beer bottle next to me for measuring.

Well, here goes:

Needles: Size 6 double pointed needles

Yarn: Some $2.99 a skein 100% acrylic yarn that was in my stash from when I was first learning to knit. Some leftover worsted weight yarn will certainly do the trick.

Gauge: Whatever you need to do to get this thing to go around a beer bottle! :)

"Pattern":

Body:

Cast on 32 stitches. Join round being careful not to twist. Work in K2, P2 rib for 2.5 inches. Continue to work in stockinette (knit every round) until piece measure 8.5 inches from top. After you have desired length work one row of purl and then one row of knit (this makes a nice little ridge at the bottom of the cozy). Continue with the bottom of the cozy.

Bottom:

Round 1: [SSK, K2, K2tog] across

Round 2: Knit

Round 3: [SSK, K2tog] across

Round 4: [K2tog] across

Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Pull yarn through stitches that are left on needle like you would do to the top of hat. Crack open a beer and enjoy!

Like I said, I just winged this one, so hopefully it works for you. On one of the cozies I knitted the word beer in it. I just took some graph paper and drew it out and then knit it. Just remember that you need to start at the top of the word beer since you are knitting from the top down! :)

In other knitting news, much is going on. I finished, blocked and already wore once the feather and fan socks. I love them. And that Koigu yarn is fantastic! I am glad that I have some lime green Koigu that I bought earlier this month. I also have diligently been working on my first felted project--a bag. I felted my swatch, and now I am on to knitting the bag. It just needs some handles! I have also been working on some more socks, but I am not super happy about them. Maybe they are too boring or something. Alright, well, that's all I've got for now. Tonight I have the apartment to myself and my Creative Knitting magazine came in the mail today. What else do I need?

A gift...of course.

So, yeah, that whole thing about not knitting for other people this year....out the window. I decided I wanted to be greedy ths year with my knitting. I have knit several pairs of socks and have some other ideas in mind, but there are just a few things that I need to gift people. My dear friend, Jennifer, asked me long ago for beer cozies. We realize that they may actually keep the beer warm rather than cold, but hey, your beer looks good. So, I whipped a couple up for her and gave them to her on Friday. One actually says beer. You know, so you know what it is. :)

I have been doing other knitting, although I have no pictures to show for it right now. I have been very busy today getting ready for the football watching party here today. Go Bears!

Hopefully, I will have pictures of socks, socks, and more socks later on today.

I should have napped instead.

So yesterday I came home after work and the gym to the darkness of my apartment. In a panic, I think to myself did I pay the electric bill? Well, yes, I did, and as it turns out several buildings in our complex were without power. What's a girl to do? I lit some candles and tried to knit. Tried being the key word. That did not really work out for me. I should have just taken a little nap instead. After growing frustrated in the darkness, I laid on the couch (under a blanket because it was so cold in here) and waited for Alex to get home. Then we got the hell out of here and ate some delicious dinner. The point of this story? I did not get to knit last night. This displeased me greatly. Well, I probably could have knit last night except when the power finally came back on we decided that the Christmas tree could not stay up a moment longer.

That's my story for today. It is brought to you by the letter G and the number 12. :)

If only I could stop knitting socks.

Ok, so here we have the completed Socks That Rock socks with the Broadripple pattern. I love them, love them, love them. They will be making an appearance at work tomorrow. I think they will go over well with my female coworkers who appreciate the art of a fine handknit sock.

And now here is the yarn I bought yesterday at the sock yarn sale at Mosaic Yarn Studio in Des Plaines. Oh what could it be? It's some Koigu sock yarn! Purchased at a 20% discount! I kept within my budget and I have $8.75 to roll over to next month. How grand!

After returning home from the yarn shop, I was in the mood to knit a new pair of socks. I have all this wonderful new sock yarn and could not decide what to do. So, Alex halped me wind the Koigu and with that, I was off. . . .

It's the Feather and Fan sock pattern from Socks Socks Socks. I like these socks because the lace pattern is four rounds and three of them are knit. And there is no purling. What a lovely pattern! I am loving it.

So, there you have it. This week is going to be a busy one. Work is going to be crazy because I have been given all sorts of weird projects like purchasing expensive lab equipment. No, no I would much rather just play with the expensive lab equipment, but I digress. After work there is much to do and the weekend is already filling up. It's like I have a social life. :) How I long to be sitting on the couch knitting. Oh well, at least I have the rest of this evening!

This was not a budget purchase.

So, as some of you may know, I have put myself on a crafting budget. After doing some math, I realized I spent way too much money on knitting and scrapbooking in the last year. Ok, I didn't really do some math, but I looked at some credit card statements and holy cow! Anywho, I decided that $50 a month it is. So, if I need yarn to make a sweater, I am going to have to save up. Need more road trip themed scrapbooking supplies for the road trip '05 scrapbook? Oh yeah, coming out of the budget. It's a smart move. I am sure I will abandon it my April. :)

Anyway, in another very smart move by me I decided that new crafting budget was going to start on January 1. A new years resolution for the crafty person, if you like. Of course, on Dec. 29 I was on the internet buying yarn like a crazy woman. I received box number one from internet yarn shopping yesterday: it came from The Loopy Ewe. I had read about this website on many a-blog, and had visited many times, looking at the same stuff over and over. So I did it--I bought the stuff I wanted. I got some sock blockers, which should be fun. I don't really ever block my socks. I always want to wear them the second I finish them. But since I am trying to improve on my knitting abilities and I want to be a real knitter, then blocking I must do! These sock blockers are gi-normous! At first I was concerned about the size, but then, remembering I have huge feet (size 11--yikes), I slipped my broadripple sock on it and it was a perfect fit. Good news. The yarn I got is one skein of Fleece Artist in Rose and two skeins of Lorna's Laces in Hawaii.

Well, in Broadripple sock land there is a pair of socks....the second sock just needs a toe to be closed. Perhaps this afternoon. I didn't take any pictures of the finished products but the monkey socks have been done for a while, and the skinny alpaca scarf has also been completed. So, really, the only thing I have been working on is the socks.

That is all for now. I must prepare myself for a shopping excursion. Where, you ask? The yarn shop, of course! There is a nearby yarn shop that I have yet to visit that is having a sale on all things related to knitting socks. Perhaps I will take some pictures. Can't buy too much though....damn budget.

A New Year for Knitting.

Happy New Year to all of my knitting blog fans (that being all four of you)!!

Well, I am on my last day off from work. I am sad that I must return to work tomorrow, but, alas, it is what must be done. At least it will be a very short week!

On the knitting front, there has been much going on. First of all....recognize this? Oh yeah, it might be the Trekking Socks. I picked them up over the weekend, decided that I did not like where they were going, so I threw them in the frog pond. I like the yarn, and the pattern was ok, but I think I was just not satisfied with them up close. I am not one to rip anything out when knitting, but it has to be done. It felt kind of good. I will have a second go with them sometime soon, I think. With the death of one pair of socks, comes the birth of another....or something like that. . . .

I have been knitting like crazy on my Socks That Rock socks. I am using the Broadripple pattern. I have used this pattern before, and I really like it. I have the pattern pretty much memorized too, so it makes for quick work. At first I was not sure if I liked the way the colors were coming out on the sock, but then I realized it was awesome....one might even say whimsical. So, sock number two is on the needles. I am thinking it will be done in the next 1.5 days!

Hmm, so other than these socks, there are a few things in the works in Jen's Knitty World. My brother Matt got me a Michael's gift card for Christmas so I took a trip there over the weekend. I bought some Patons wool yarn (and some scrapbooking supplies, but I digress). I have never felted anything, and I would like to give it a try. The yarn from Michael's is the right way to go here, because if it does not turn out at least I didn't spend a lot of money on the yarn. So, I knit a swatch and in my bedroom it sits. I plan to go to my sister's this week and throw it in her washer. I really don't want to be popping quarters into the washing machine in my apartment complex for the purpose of felting, so I must go where it is free. So, the plan is to knit a bag and then felt it. We'll see how it goes. And, of course, even though I said 2007 was knitting for me, yesterday I started work on something for someone else. But it is something very small and will be done today. I can't really say what it is. It might involve a special request for a watermelon themed kitchen...I'm just saying. I love that I could not go even one day without starting on something for someone else. Oh well. That's what promises like that to yourself are for....to break them.

Finally, here is a picture from my New Years Eve adventure. I went to Howl At The Moon in Chicago. We took a limo from our apartment down there. It was a very good time. I wish I would have had about four less drinks, but when you pay to have open bar, you have to do what you have to do. This picture, from left to right, is Alex, me, Adam, and Amy. We do not know the guy in the background. He was sitting at the table next to us. He spent his evening trying to get in all of our pictures. Whatever makes you happy I guess!

Alright, now it's off to do some cleaning and then off to visit my dear friend, Kimi. I tried to teach Kimi to knit once. It did not go that well. :)