Fruity looking

I finally have pictures of a recent soaker. This was the second in a set for a trade (the first was the Elijah CP soaker).

Stats:

Needles 5, 6, and 8

Size Large

2 short row sets

Unknown hand dyed fishermans wool (leftovers; I can't remember if they were dyed with Koolaid or Wilton's Cake Dye)

Garter ridge and icrod bind off on cuffs

The original deal was with the WHW wrap pattern and using those colors and doing stripes. When we reworked things out I asked if she still wanted stripes and she said sure, she also liked surprises. I decided to still go ahead with the stripes and had to figure out how to do it. I had the least amount in the orange and the green so placement was tough. I didn't want to run out and have something silly looking. As it is now it reminds me of a bowl of fruit. It's really not crooked/offcenter either. I think it has something to do with how I had it angeled in the window to optimize the light to show the colors. I got surprisingly accurate color in them. I hope she likes it!

Could it be?

That I have a pair of matching socks and in less than a week? Why yes, yes it could be. :)

Things were hectic there for a couple days while we got settled in (we went on a trip) and nothing was in the right place. The charger for the computer was somewhere, not that it mattered. The plug is a three prong and the outlets here are two pronged compatible. It took some major cleaning to find a 3 prong one (it was hidden behind some HUGE boxes) and in that time the battery went dead. Last night I did find the camera and the cords that accompany it. During all the hustle and bustle I got to work on the second sock in my Regia Silk pair. Total knitting time was about 4 days. I started it the night before we left town and it sat in my bag untouched until the day after we got to our destination.

Disregard the slightly odd pictures. I was sitting on a yoga ball and the balance was off. We also have two windows in that room that are 5 feet wide EACH. We get a lot of natural light and it's hard to make it cooperate at times. :) The stitches are not really as stretched as they appear in the second picture. In fact looking at my foot they aren't stretched at all.

I'm surprised they striped as similarly as they did. By the time I got to the heel on the second sock the likeness stopped though. I don't mind....pooling and non matching striped items don't bother me. :) The second sock is a round or two shorter than the other one. It was hard to tell until I got it all done though. It's not enough to make a huge difference in fit and it may very well not be noticeable at all once they get worn and washed a few times. That may be the problem and not a lack of rows actually. The first sock was worn often in fits of admiration so it was looser to begin with when I finished up and was comparing. They seem to be fitting the same right now.

I am about halfway through the second trade curly purly soaker right now. I got started on it later than I planned and yesterday dealt with a sick toddler so progress was slow. I am so liking it! The mama likes stripes and surprises. Our original agreement was for a WHW wrap done in stripes but that changed. I still wanted to do them though so figured out a set up for the CP soaker. I'm on my third color right now (of 4 or 5....still decideding on the last color and whether or not I want to use it). I guess I'm a little less than half way through. After this color I will be.

I am about to start on another pair of socks (for my sister) and am looking forward to it. I am thinking I'll do them cuff down. I go back and forth on it though. I really like the toe for my toe ups and am not a fan of the shape of toes for cuff down. They are too pointy and goofy looking I think. Once on you can't tell but I'm shallow. I admit it. I am all about the looks. :)

One down, one to go!

The mom did want cuffs after all. Same yarn as the waist (Cascade 220) done on size 5's. Picked up 55 stitches per cuff and did a basic garter ridge with icord bind off. I am so thrilled with how they turned out that I am going to take the ones out on my newborn soaker and redo them in this pattern. Not sure why I never considered it before. I am so in love with this soaker. I think I will cast on for the second one tonight after bedtime for the wee ones. Maybe. I have a lot of cleaning to do.

Knitting Mojo

There is something to say about motivation. I cast off my lovely sock yesterday and set it aside and told myself, "DO NOT start that other sock until you finish the half done soaker sitting on the floor next to your foot." It wasn't quite half done. I was doing a large Curly Purly soaker and was about 5 inches into it. I needed to get to 6.5 before starting leg decreases so I was a little less than half but close enough. I wasn't sure I was going to have enough yarn. I have never done a large in anything so I wasn't sure I had enough yarn. I even had it weighed!! I was very nervous...I thought about doing a stripe of the solid I used for the waist to stretch the yarn a bit but decided to just plug along and get it done. I finished the soaker less than 12 hours after finishing my sock! The mom is worried about havinga soaker that will cooperate with chunky thighs so I sent her the pics of it so far and am just waiting on her to see if she still wants cuffs. I know the free Tiny Birds soaker pattern mentions taht adding a cuff makes leg openings larger and the legs on the CP are already 12 inches so I told her that and am just waiting on her reply. I like it without cuffs (which is saying a lot for me) but have no problem adding them.

There is the front. I'm very pleased with how it all turned out.

And the back.

Stats:

Size 5, 6, and 8 needles

Waist is Cascade 220

Body is LTK Farm Yarn in the Elijah colorway

Size large

2 sets of short rows

p2tog instead of ssp for leg decreases

I have been dying to use this yarn forever but not because it's a "me" yarn. About a year or so ago I was going to do a trade with a mom who bought the yarn and had it shipped to me. We both thought one skein would be enough for what she wanted but when it got to me we noticed it wasn't going to be. Instead of wanting it back she told me to keep it and use it for whatever I wanted! I have tried to use it for us a couple times but it never felt right so in my closet it has sat. I showed it to the intended mama and she loved it. I hope she likes how it looks knitted. I am pretty pleased with it all.

How's that for a size comparison!? That's my newborn CP soaker sitting on top. I knew the large was bigger but all by itself it doesn't seem that much bigger.

Amazing what motivation does

It really is. I started a sock the other day (not with the yarn throw up pictured before) with some FANTASTIC birthday yarn. Regia Silk sock yarn to be exact. Very nice yarn. The colors are oh so purtty and the yarn is oh so soft and it is just nice. I was surprised to see it stripe since for some reason I didn't think it was going to. Don't ask me why I thought, it was very obvious it would due to the long strips of color in the yarn. It also is darker in the ball than in the skein and darker knit than in the ball. I am so happy with it, it's silly actually. It just makes me smile to see it and feel it. I used Wendy's toe up pattern for a sportweight sock (yes Regia is fingering weight but it all worked out very well) with a gusset. I love me a good gusset and heel flap and that pattern satisified that. I do want to get a textured heel flap and I know Wendy has one for that. It happens to be her fingering weight toe up sock. I decided against it though because it used short rows in the heel and I'm just not a short row fan.

There is no mate to it yet but only because I need to finish up other things real fast. I have a soaker about half way finished I need to finish (it's part of a trade) and then I need to start one more (same trade). I think though that being so eager to have a mated pair I'll finish them off pretty fast. I managed to whip out this sock in 2-2.5 days. I was going to do a pattern on the top of the sock but opted for a plain ol' stockinette one when I saw how nice it was looking that way. Very happy I went that route. I think a pattern would have taken away from the overall look of the yarn. And it fits perfectly!

The colors are pretty accurate here despite having a hard time with the pictures. They are a tad darker in real life but nothing major. Oh and I used my standard magic cast on as opposed to the one in the pattern.

The tumultuous life of yarn

That lonely ball of yellowish ArtYarns is sitting there lonely because behind it is the mate. Being worked into a sock. That ball (the one behind it) became: this sock. A very basic top down sock done on size 3's while watching the Notebook. Here lies the trouble...when I learned to knit I taught myself using the videos on Knittinghelp.com. Excellent way to go about it in my opinion. If you can manage to pay attention that is. :) Turns out I had been knitting my stitches twisted for the first 11 months. It wasn't until a friend pointed it out that I even realized it. The problem? That sock was knit entirely twisted. It fits but it's a tad snug and odd on the comfort level. That was done on 64 stitches on size 3's. I just made a pair of socks on the same needles with the same kind of yarn and my cuff on those was 52. HUGE difference in fit and everything. Since learning about my "improper" knitting (I hesitate to use that term since it's not really improper...just not condusive to sock knitting) I have thought about this sock. It's mate was never knit. So last night you know what I did?

I unraveled it. I frogged the whole thing. That is some kinky yarn! Granted it has been sitting in twisted stitches for about 7 months. It has been wound up and stuck back in the closet next to the other ball. I do have plans to reknit it (correctly of course!) but man.....frogging an entire knit garment (no matter how small) can certainly take the wind out of your knitting motivation sails. :)

Have no fear! Your package is near!

Dear swap pal (you know who you are):

I am a bad swapper. This we know now. However, tomorrow morning/afternoon I will be able to send you a tracking number for a box. A box filled with what I hope are lovely enough things that you will forget how long it has taken me. I hope the extra little goodies make the tiny ones they are intended for just as happy! And now for a sneak peek:

Do not fret! They are not as neon as they appear to be. I'll share details but I'll wait until you get them so as not to spoil all the fun for you. :) I will share this though: the heel is one from a pattern you plan on trying out! Great minds think alike no?

He's not as crooked as he appears to be either! Again, I'll share details once you get everything. Yes I am sharing pictures but only to provide a little somethin' somethin' for your curiosity.

And with that, I pack up your box and place it in front of my front door to trip over (and thus not forget). I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

Sincerely,

A craptastic swap pal