Noro roadtrip socks

These have been a long time in the making: I cast on in May when Joe and I took a roadtrip from Colorado down to the border of Texas and Mexico. With all the miles and miles of driving, I was convinced that I'd have them completed by the time the journey was over. Hmm... wishful thinking! 5 months later here they are in all their stripey glory:


You know, at first I didn't like them -- the striping wasn't distinct enough at the cuff of the sock. And then there was the splash of turquoise that seemed so out of place. But now that they are done, I really am quite fond of the effect. And I love that they aren't exactly the same.


As for the details:

• Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn
• Needles: Size 2
• Pattern: My basic sock recipe. (This time I cast on 68, instead of the usual 64 on account that I'd gone down a needle size). And to create the skinny stripes I simply worked 2 rounds from one end of the ball, and the next 2 rounds from the other end of the ball.

With this 'portable project' complete, I'm already winding the yarn cakes for my next portable project that will be keeping me company on my trip out to California next week. No better way to while away the hours in airports and on planes...

Sam vs The Stash

I mentioned in a recent post that I have a ridiculous amount of yarn stashed away, and that I'm attemping to whittle it down. Thing is that for the most part the stash is comprised of lovely yarn with sufficient yardage to make sweaters, socks, and fancy schmancy scarves, and this I can live with -- it looks pretty, and it has a purpose.

And then there's the basket of worsted weight odds and ends.

It just goes against my sense of order to have this sat around without knowing what I'd be able to use it for. Especially now that I'd got through the annual batch of felted slippers. And then it dawned on me -- with the weather starting to turn cooler I should put it to good use by making a big warm blanket for the B&B Team. (Mostly for my big baby boy Buster who is a softy and, now that it is getting chillier, likes to be tucked under a blanket to go to sleep).


So I dug out my biggest crochet hook, stuck my hand into the basket pulling out odds and ends at random and started my seemingly never-ending spiral of single crochet. And I just kept going and going until there was no more scrappy bits of yarn left in that basket. I then stuck the whole thing in the wash to felt it slightly in the hope that it would make it a little more resilient as my dear sweet (and mischevious) Bella seems to think her blankets and bedding should double up as chew toys!


So it's a win win: I got to use up the scrappy worsted weight yarn, and the B&B team get a snuggly new blanket.


I think they like it, don't you? Although Bella obviously thinks it's even better when accessorized with her old dog bed and my old dressing gown!

Change of pace

Last weekend I decided to put the knitting down and go stamping with a girlfriend. It made for a nice change, and I have some cute Halloween cards and gift tags to show for it. Some fun goody bags will be winging their way to the UK this week.

We don't really celebrate Halloween in the UK, but it's a big deal over here. I kind of like it -- I enjoy seeing the various costumes on the kids in our neighbourhood and like to guess what they are when they arrive at my doorstep trick or treating. Last year was one of my favourites-- the girl was dressed in a big yellow square of foam. I though ha ha this is easy, you are Sponge Bob Square Pants. Alas no she informed me, she was a big piece of cheese! It was only a moment later that her friends, the cat and the mouse, appeared to round out the theme for me. (If you are not fron the US, you may be like me in thinking that Halloween is for dressing up in scary costumes... but it turns out any costume will do. )

The other reason I enjoy Halloween is that, for me, it marks the kick-off of the holiday season - Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. And I love the holiday season.

So, speaking of Christmas, thanks for the advice on the projects -- I picked up the Christmas crafting again and worked some more on the red ribbon lace scarf. This is going to be really pretty when done, and I'm excited to gift to the intended recipient. It's a simple pattern repeat and is proving to be a perfect project as I'm getting caught up on the new seasons of Greys Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters etc...

I also worked on another Christmas gift (although I'm wondering if this will really be done by then). It's another version of Dulle Griet's Bobby's Blanket. This time in Araucania cotton. I had a few leftovers of this yarn, and purchased some more to complement. I think it's going to be a fun blanket. And I love working on these addictive hexagons. This version especially because each side is only 10 stitches so it goes super fast! Jeanie asked (sorry Jeanie I had no way to contact you - I hope you see this) whether it is a difficult pattern. It's not. Anyone who can work socks on dpns can whip out one of these with ease. So get dipping into your leftover sock yarn ;o)

I received a couple of hints from Joe to work on his big sweater, so that's progressing nicely with the big chunky yarn and fat needles. And the weather this weekend has been perfect for huddling indoors -- cool, misty, damp... Perfect for sitting by the fire with a big cup of tea and basket full of projects.

Lacking focus

I don't know what's going on right now, but I'm having a hard time committing to any individual project.

There are however 2 things I have enjoyed working on:

The scrappy sock blanket -- I think because each hexagon takes about 30-60 mins so I feel like something is completed, and I get to vary the yarns to keep it interesting.

A couple of roses for Bea -- she's going to have knitted bouquets and buttonholes at her wedding. Isn't that just a wonderful idea. And these little roses can be whipped out in no time at all.

The things that are in active rotation are:

Phyllo Yoke in Rowan Calmer -- this will be nice for the autumn and so I'm thinking that would be a good one to try and finish.

Geno in 4 ply soft -- another that would be perfect for autumn, and pretty close to being finished with only half of one front side and the finishing to complete.

Hourglass in plain and fancy -- a good mindless knit.

And if that wasn't enough, I cast on for a sweater for Joe and a Christmas gift for a secret recipient. And still I can't help thinking of other Christmas projects that I could be starting.

So, if you were in my shoes would you focus in one one - if yes, which one and why? Or would you keep picking and choosing as your mood dictated?

2nd Year Bloggiversary

Come tomorrow, I will have been blogging for 2 years. Not bad for something I started out as a 'lets just see if I can do this'.

I really enjoyed taking a look back over the last year of posts. Here are some random observations:

• I completed approx 35 projects in the last 12 months. Whew! I'm thinking my speed must have improved this year. Either that, or other things have taken a back seat to the knitting.


• 25 of these projects were gifts. Which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Sharing the love... ;o)


• Of the 10 knits I made for myself, 4 were sweaters. And I wear them all! (This is a first.)


• My stash seems to have grown a ridiculous amount. Some as a result of the Colorado blanket. Others because I seem to lack self control in a yarn store. This coming year I am going to make a concerted effort to try and knit more from my stash.


• I have good intentions - NanKniSweMo, Ravelympics and the like - but rarely seem to meet these self-imposed goals. I'll probably refrain from signing up for these events in the coming year, and instead knit at my own pace.


• Most importantly, this year I made some really great knit friends - both locally and online. I appreciate you all for making this hobby even more enjoyable :) Thank you.

Happy feet

As the weather starts to turn a little cooler each year, the requests for felted clogs start coming in.

The finished items aren't particularly beautiful, but they are soo snug and well loved by the recipients that it's always worth the effort. (And when I say effort, a pair really only take about 3 evenings to complete). One request was for my 5yr old nephew. Since the pattern is only written for adult sizes I was pleased as punch when I figured out how to downsize to little feet size. (I've only partially felted these since I'm not sure of his foot size -- I'll let my Mum or Sis take care of felting them down further, if needed. )


The other advantage this year is that I really did try and use leftover wool from previous years' clogs, or other finished projects. So it's been a good stashbustingwhittling exercise -- this basket here was brimming over and now it's... erm... well... just full.

Next up, a pair to keep my toes toasty!

6 Random Things

Amanda tagged me with the '6 Random Things About Me' Meme.

Here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write six random things about yourself.
• Tag six people at the end of your post.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Let the tagger know your entry is up.

So here goes:

1. I work for a technology company, but haven't been able to figure out how to load my iPod with tunes. (And I've owned the darn thing for over 2 years.)
2. My right eye has a rebellious streak. Most of the time it behaves, but every now and again it decides to do its own thing.
3. I love to sing. Full volume. I'm one of those folks that likes to belt out a tune in an animated fashion whilst driving.
4. I often dance around the house.
5. The fact that I have absolutely no talent for either of the previous 2 activities has never stopped me giving it my all. But only in close company. Or with a few drinks inside of me.
6. And speaking of drinks, I picked my husband up in a bar. There's actually a far more romantic version of the story... but the facts remain the same.

I'd love to learn more about:

• Bea
• Donna
• LaDonna
• Ruth
• Terrie
• Tiennie

Does anyone else want to play?

Baby Miter Blanket

I finished the baby miter blanket yesterday with the leftover* corntastic yarn:

*leftovers plus 2 extra skeins to make the colour scheme work

The blanket was inspired by the Mitered Square Blanket in Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. But instead of stocking stitch, I used all garter, and alternated the colours every 2nd row.

Here's the basic instructions for my version of the pattern:

• Cast on 40 stitches. (Place a marker between the 1st 20, and the 2nd set of 20 stitches.)
  
• Row 1: Knit all stitches
• Row 2: Knit until 2 stitches before the marker, k2 tog. Slip marker, ssk, knit to end.
• Change colour.
  
• Repeat row 1 and 2 (changing colour after every row 2) until you have 2 stitches left -- k2tog and pull yarn through.
  
• Sew all squares together. Add a crochet border (double crochet around the edge, working 3 dcs into every corner).
  

Things I would have done differently:

1. Plan the colour scheme out in advance -- it wasn't until I was 2/3 of the way through that I decided to match up the colours so that each outer edge would match the colour of the edge it was placed next to, and each inner colour would match the inner colour of the squares that it was placed next to. You can only imagine how long I played with this 'puzzle' until I found a way to make it work, and then fill in the blanks.

2. Leave the ends until the end -- I thought I was being good by weaving in the ends of each square as I went along. If I was smart I would have left longer tails, and used these for sewing the squares together. As it was I think I did 2x the amount of sewing that was necessary.


3. Wash and block; do not iron -- I washed and blocked, but because I'm impatient and wanted a picture, I decided to throw in the dryer and then just iron the edging. Bad idea -- turns out this yarn doesn't agree with a hot iron! Luckily it was just an edge and I pulled the iron away before any real damage was done!

So there you have it. It's done, and will be winging its way back to the UK this week.

Serendipity, Buena Vista

Stop 14 on the Colorado Yarn Tour was Serendipity in Buena Vista.


Wow, what a store! Serendipity is a combination yarn store and gift shop.


It is a beautiful older house that has been converted into this wonderful welcoming shop where every room reveals a beautiful array of 'treasures'. There are goodies spread throughout the 2 floors. I could have spent hours brwsing, oohing and aahing over everything.


I think all of my favourite yarn brands were there in abundance too. (Joe is grateful it's not too close to home. ;o)


One of the ladies at the store described it as a destination yarn store. And I'd agree -- definately worth making a trip to go see. And if you do happen to be in the area, we had lunch at a lovely cafe called Mothers. Delicious food in cosy surroundings.

Oooh and before I forget, I picked up this skein for the 'myth' that is my Colorado blanket.


My sister and I toy with the idea of owning a yarn store back in the UK, and Serendipity is exactly the kind of place I'd love for us to run. Maybe with one of the rooms converted into a tea shop. 'Cause knitting can be thirsty work, right!

The Colorado Yarn Tour continues...

This summer Joe and I took Ian and Jessica up to Durango to see Mesa Verde. On the drive back to Denver we made a number of stops to add some more Colorado Yarn Stores to my 'Colorado Yarn Store Crawl'.

Stop 12 was Knit One on Pearl Street in Bayfield. Bayfield looks to be a tiny town but kudos to any small town that sees the need for a dedicated yarn store to serve the local knitters (and passers by :o). And don't you just love that they were able to secure a location on Pearl Street!


Knit One couldn't have been a friendlier store. The owner was a delight! She told me about other stores in the area I might want to visit; shared her current project with me; asked about Denver stores. All in all, a joy to hang out with. And then there's her trusty 4-legged friend who also seemed very happy welcome you... and get a little attention ;o) If you are in the area, I'd recommend swinging by.


It's a fairly small store, but has a nice selection of yarns, some of which I hadn't seen before -- I picked up some lovely Colinette Taos (it's a silk yarn - yum) for the Colorado blanket. (Which I'm thinking about renaming my Diva blanket because of the luxurious fibers that are going to be in it!)


Stop 13 was Edelweiss Needlework Chalet in Pagosa Springs. If you happen to be enjoying the hot springs in Pagosa then by all means wander over the street to see Edelweiss needlework chalet.


This store caters to a variety of needlearts -- in truth it feels a bit like a quilting store that has expanded to offer some cross stitch and knitting supplies. Nothing wrong with that of course.


What I'm trying to say is that there's probably more appeal for a quilter rather than a hardcore knitter. I found a great Irish linen yarn that though. It's not the softest, but I do love the fine, but slubby, texture on this one.


I'm avoiding the topic of the blanket's progress. Let's just say there's a miter square baby blanket, and an overdue ravelympics project, hanging in the wings first. Thing is, aside from the new job, I've had my nose in a book most evenings. I need to figure out a way to knit and read... I was thinking of bringing my cookbook stand out and seeing if that would do the trick! Ha can you imagine? Nope, I decided to stay consumed in my book and let the knitting sit to one side for a change.

More like a marathon, less like a sprint

As you can see from my last post, I've signed up for the Ravelympics 'Sweater Sprint'. My chosen project is Rowan Geno. In 4ply Rowan Soft.

That's right: A 4-ply sweater. In 2 weeks.
Am I nuts?

In fairness, I got off to a good start. My bum has been firmly rooted to the sofa whilst my eyes have been glued to the box, and my hands busily knitting away.


The good news is that the back is now complete, and the left front.
I've just started the right front. So there's that, the sleeves, the button band and the finishing. Doable by closing ceremony? Probably not. But a valiant effort? I think so. ;)

Let the Games begin

I've signed up to join the Ravelympics:

• My team: Team Colorado of course!
• The event: The Sweater Sprint -- I'll be attempting to start and finish Rowan Geno by the closing ceremony.

Don't you just love the Rowan model's look -- utter disbelief!
(And she could be onto something ;)

Here's to ambitious goals... now please excuse me while I get settled to watch the opening ceremony, and cast on.

Yarn, Durango

Stop #11 on the Colorado Yarn Store Tour was Yarn, Durango.


As we were in Durango the other weekend visiting nearby Mesa Verde, I took good advantage of the trip to spend a little time checking out the local yarn stores in the area (and en route).

The first stop was Yarn in Durango. This has to be one of the most stylish yarn stores I have ever visited. And it has a Tea Bar to boot! (That's right, what Brit isn't going to be happy with a yarn store that'll offer you a nice cuppa at the same time as you browse through the good stuff.)


It is located in the historic downtown area, in a beautiful location where you are greeted by sculptures, and then you turn the corner and see that colourful wall of yarn through the glass doors. Stunning.

The store stocks an abundance of Noro, including the new silk garden sock yarn. The Be Sweet products are stocked here too. There were also a lot of other brands that I like -- Lornas Laces, Manos, Mission Falls, Shibui. And some handspun yarns which I rarely see for sale in yarn stores.


I happened to visit when there was a trunk show for the Interweave Knits book 'Felt Forward'. I'm not big into felting but there were some cute projects including some felted table place settings. I might have to check the book out.

As for the yarn selection for the Colorado afghan, I opted for the Be Sweet Bamboo in a lovely olive colour. Yum!

World's Largest Sock

Jessica and I headed to Knitted Peace in downtown Littleton today to meet up with Ruth and Donna. The reason: we wanted to contribute to 'BigSock' -- an effort to create the world's largest sock.


That's right we could be famous (LOL), with our names entered into the Guiness Book of Records (along with the bajillions of other folks that are going to work on this before it gets to it's desired length). I'm thinking that fame won't happen any time soon though - this bad boy has been on the needles for a couple of years already, and I'd say it's probably still on the 'cuff'.

Check out the Big Sock Blog if you want to learn more, or participate.

Busy Bee

Things have been pretty hectic here recently. So unfortunately not a lot to report on the knitting/finished object front.

So what's going on? Well, my stepkids are here for the summer and I'm trying to spend as much time as possible with them as our visits are too few and far between. I think the world of these guys. This last weekend we spent 4 days in Durango, and visiting nearby Mesa Verde. It was a lot of fun to get away and hang out together.



And, I got to add to the Colorado yarn tour with 4 more stops to add to the list (more to come on that over the next week or so...)

The other news is that I got a new job! Yahhoooooooo! Same company, different part of the business. Lots of new lingo, acronyms, people, products and services to learn about. And a lot of wrapping up to do in my current job. Although the new job start date is Friday August 1 (which means tomorrow is going to be one crazy busy day!)

I'll be back soon with knitting content. Promise.

Mitered baby squares

Mitered baby squares, originally uploaded by samjoepics.

Yes, it's yet another blanket. ;)

I have a pile of Corntastic yarn leftover from the first baby blanket and since 2 of my friends are having babies in August, I decided it was about time I whipped something together for the 2nd baby.

Plus I've been dying to have a go at the mitered square blanket since I first saw one. They are soo pretty. This blanket won't be all pastels. They just happen to be the colours I started with.

General directions are:

• Cast on 40 (placing a stitch marker between the first 20 and last 20 stitches - this is where you'll make the decreases).
• Row 1: Knit all stitches
• Row 2: Knit to 2 stitches before the marker, K2tog, slip marker, SSK, knit to end
• Change colors after every row 2
• Repeat rows 1 and 2 until the last 2 stitches - K2tog and draw yarn though final loop. Weave in ends.

I'm excited to see how this will turn out. (Although I'm not excited about the prospect of sewing up all the squares.)

Hexagon blanket

I hadn't planned on starting another blanket. If anything, I should be working on the Colorado blanket (that continues to sit unloved in the corner of my room), or finishing up some baby goodies as August feels as though it is speedily coming around the corner.

But...
...at Camp WannaKnitKnit a bunch of the girls were working on their barn-raising/friendship blankets in a variety of wonderful sock yarns, and
...this past weekend I was clearing out the spare room (aka my dumping ground for various WIP projects) for the arrival of Joe's kids this coming weekend; I was stunned with the amount of sock yarn I have accumulated, and the leftover odds and ends that have been piling up in a bowl

At first I was thinking I'd attempt the barn raising blanket because the ones I've seen are going to be fab. And I even started a square... numerous times. (Kudos to the girls - those pesky squares are darn fiddly.) And then I remembered the Dulle Griet hexagon blanket I'd seen online. Yes that was it, I was going to use my scrappy bits of sock yarn to make a hexagon blanket.

I haven't put much thought into the 'design' other than to stick with shades of blue, green, pink and brown. And although I do prefer the original in the Noro yarns, I think this is going to be a fun way to use up some of my odds and ends.

Baby Blanket

It took me a while, but it's finally done - the modified corntastic blanket:

Corntastic Baby Blanket, originally uploaded by samjoepics.

Here's the background - a close friend of mine is about to have a baby next month. I wanted to make something for the wee one and asked what colours the nursery might be. She pointed me to the Blooming Marvelous site where the nursery of choice had lots of bright colours that reminded me of the Corntastic blanket I'd seen at my LYS.

I picked up one of each colour of the corntastic yarns and cast on for the small size. (Side note: can you believe that yarn can be made from corn?). Instead of doing the larger stripes called for in the pattern I decided to change colours every 5 rows, and did 3 repeats of each colour. Because it was lacking some red (and was looking a little too small), I decided to adapt the triangle edging from the Debbie Bliss alphabet blanket to add the finishing touch.

I love the end result, and am looking forward to whipping out some matching hats and socks or bootees.

***Edited to add:***
Jeanie said... What yarn did you use?
Answer: The stripes were made using a variety of colours of Kollage yarns 'Corntastic'. The border was made using red Rowan 4-ply cotton. Both are machine washable.

The Yarn Studio

A little detail that I omitted from my previous entry about the great weekend at Camp WannaKnitKnit was a visit to 'stop 10' on the yarn store crawl -- The Yarn Studio in Minturn.

The Yarn Studio, not surprisingly given it's location near the ski resorts, caters to a high-end audience. The shop is quite small and cosy and is packed to the brim with yarny goodness. This was the first store that I've been to that carries the Hanne Falkenburg kits. There are some strikingly beautiful colours in those kits for sure.


To my delight there was a stunning needlepoint section upstairs. I love needlepoint almost as much as I love knitting. And that's when I stumbled across these beauties:


I picked up the kit and the threads and am eager to get started on my new mermaid sandals. Love them!

I also picked up a skein of yarn - Rowan kidsilk haze - for the Colorado blanket. Yeah, I need to make some progress on that, and have promised myself I will... as soon as this baby blanket is out of the way. At this rate the Colorado blanket is going to be quite decadent - certainly far too nice for my 4-legged friends to slobber on!


PS - because I love this shot so much, I've swiped it from Stacey to share with you here -- a group shot of the girls at Camp WannaKnitKnit. Got to love our sweaters and t-shirts!