f i r s t look at s m i tty

b e g i n s m i tty

This morning I was out shooting pictures of eggplants, tomatoes and peppers, and figured...o alright, a bit premature, but I'll share the cuff and stitch. Actually, this doesn't even show a complete round of the pattern. Looks nice on my raincoat, though, doesn't it?

strip i n g yarn goes zig g y

No photo yet. This evening, had the great good fortune of another driver taking the wheel for 4 and a half hours. I'd been driving for a day and a half. NoFla to CentralFla to NoFla to SoFla and back. I was relieved on much of the "back."

I had a skein of OnLine Supersocke Sierra Color along for the ride, just in case - greys and browns and black. Fiddled around with a pattern...chose 66 stitches and size 0's. It has zigzags and bands of garter stitch. Not quite the same as the chevron or welt of SKS, but has characteristics of the same. I'm calling them smittysox, because this yarn has the same colors as my blue heeler whose name happens to be...s m i t t y.

Cuff is 1x1, 1 1/2 inches. Pattern is 11 stitches x 18 rows. It's tasty. A no-brainer. But that yarn is, well, dry. I hope it softens up after washing. There's a new heel I want to try. But, first, I need to sleep.

s w e a t e r s i p

s w e a t e r o n e

This u f o was begun...oh...you don't want to know how long ago. I have some of the same wool! After all these . . . years. I spun and dyed this wool more or less as I knit. I made a coat for my Mom over a two week period in 1990. (Told ya.) It was my Christmas vacation. I lived alone. I spun and dyed and knit and lost 10 pounds in the process. Anyway, after the coat, I still had yarn. And I was on a roll.

I saved this sample, because i could always imagine the finished product. And me in it.


s w e a t e r t w o

This u f o is like the coat. I don't have all the colors left, nor do I have the myriad fibers and yarns that went into this. Maybe somehow I can use this. A pillow cover perhaps? A wall hanging? I don't know.

The next project on the agenda is the sweater for Tom. Lots of brown wool to spin. I'm just getting my fill of color before I dive into Amber's fleece.

socka m a n i a socks complete

n o u g h t s n c r o s s e s

Nice to have these socks off the needles. The merino I used is quite heavy, and I used pretty small needles...so my wrist really started to feel SORE as hell. The fair isle pattern is somewhat obscured with the use of the fun fur. The "fur" has been trimmed both inside and out.

The original pattern used another repeat of the pattern, but I didn't have that much of the handpainted merino. I finished with about 2 yards to spare. Also, the pattern featured a contrast cuff, heel and toe, but I really didn't want fur flying all over. These are very cozy socks that will be great this winter with my "too big" Birky clogs.

o o o o o o o

fuzzy blue hole

What the? This is the interior of a sock leg. Insert toes into blue hole. Just finished sock 1 of the noughts & crosses for this month's Sockamania k a l. I'll not post more of the sock til sock 2 is complete. Worth the wait. Yep.

Pattern: Noughts & Crosses
Yarn 1: Dove's Roost Yarns Handpainted Superwash Merino
Yarn 2: Lion Brand Fun Fur - Indigo
Needles: Susan Bates silvalume 2.0mm (size 0)

e c r s in a n n e marching along the elephant trail

e c r s

Ta daaaa! Here they are...Completed ribbed socks in Schaefer Anne. I made my DH try them on...oh they looked great. "Too Girly." Cripes. Well, I think it's amazing that they fit the both of us. And they surely aren't too girly for this old lady.

Two nights in a row now, the temp has gone below 70 degrees F. THAT means, one of these days, I'll be able to actually WEAR a pair of these new socks that I've knit this summer. WHOO HOO!

e c r for k t c & s k s k a l progress

e c r progress showing nice pooling

After a strong start knitting the leg in an evening, night before last, I picked up this little beauty yesterday afternoon looking forward to turning the heel. However, I found that I had dropped 4 stitches. An entire rib. In my night blindness, I managed to lose a couple of YOs. Well the slidey schaefer anne didn't exactly lend itself to unknitting. My booboo was 3/4 of an inch up the leg. After a good deal of cussing, I ended up frogging the sock back to the cuff. Cripes.

So, last night, determined to regain my footing, I reknit the leg, turned the heel, and got through the gusset. This is going to be one yummy sock. Next time I knit with Anne, though, I think I'll make the heel flap a bit shorter or go with smaller needles. My 36 row slip stitch heel flap fit the formula, but my gauge is off enough to screw up the mezh.

So...after the barn dance tonight, I'll be finishing off sock no. 1. Feeling very good about this yarn. Almost as nice as mine! Whoo Hoo!