Becky

As I mentioned yesterday, there’s been a lot of sock knitting going on around these parts.  I finished the Silky Socks and will post those soon.  Of course I couldn’t be without a mindless project, so I cast on my Tropical Punch socks.  I won this yarn from Courtney - she dyed it herself and gave it my naming suggestion.  While the colors are super bright, I think they’re really fun.  The base is Louet Gems - very nice.  I’m just doing my basic sock pattern, which I’m thinking about writing up if there’s any interest out there.     

I’ve been able to work on Daniel’s Conwy socks a little bit and am almost done the first one, but these are a little tricky to do while studying because there are lots of twisted mock cables every other row, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull these off for Christmas.

I was planning to make socks for Daniel’s dad for his birthday in February, but last week he made such a sweet comment (that was a very obvious hint).  He said, "You know, I’ve received a lot of great gifts over my lifetime, but one of my all time favorites was those socks you made for me last year."  He was referring to these.  Luckily, I’ve had some Cider Moon sportweight/DK yarn (Glacier) in my stash that I bought to eventually make socks for him, so I pulled it out and quickly whipped up some Garter Rib socks from Sensational Knitted Socks.  This is sock 1 on Daniel’s foot (he wears a 7.5 and his dad a 10.5, so that’s why the toe looks so weird).  The colorway came out to look very much like camo, and because I was worried about yardage, I used Gems in a dark brown for the toe, heel, and cuff.  It looks really good, and was definitely a good choice as otherwise I would have had to make the leg really short.  I am using 4’s for the Glacier, but dropped down to 3’s for the Gems which will hopefully help them with wear. 

I’m almost to the cuff on the 2nd sock, so these will be some of the quickest socks I’ve ever made.  I hope he likes the sportweight, because there will be many more socks in his future if I don’t have to do them all out of fingering weight.  It’s amazing what a different it makes, and the size 10.5’s were far less painful this time. 

It’s funny because right before this request came about I was thinking about how much I like the Cider Moon yarn (I made my mom socks out of Glacier that I still need to blog about - oops).  I’ve been sad, though, because the company was closed.  After doing some research on Ravelry, I discovered that it closed because the two ladies had a huge disagreement.  Happily, I also discovered that each has recently started their own store.  I am guessing that they’re both still using the same yarn base, so I definitely plan to order from them in the future.

One is called Tuscan Grove.  It looks like Bellagio is the same as Glacier.

The other is an etsy store: Gaslight Dyeworks

The second has pretty limited supply, but Tuscan Grove has lots of colors and even a chart saying what new colorways match the old Cider Moon colorways!  When I need more DK sock yarn, I’ll definitely be getting some from them.

I bet you thought I had just gone on another blogging hiatus, but no, I actually tried to blog several times, but yahoo was having some issues.  I sent multiple help requests online, but to no avail.  As soon as I picked up the phone and called, though, I had everything fixed within 24 hours.  I have to say, the couple of times I’ve called Yahoo customer service I’ve been very happy, so I need to just remember that and skip the online help requests in the future.

I have some older posts about FO’s that I still owe you, but for now, let’s start with a quick update on what I’ve been working on these last few months.

As I mentioned last time, there’s been lots of baby knitting.  Here’s the Flower Blanket done in Berroco Comfort.

The Baby Surplice is almost done, but I haven’t worked on it recently.  As soon as I’m done my seminar paper I’ll probably try to finish it up while studying for finals b/c I know Daniel would like to gift it at the end of the semester.  It would’ve have been done by now, but there was a minor mishap:

I was knitting along, not paying much attention, and it got way too long before I divided for the sleeves.  So I had to rip out and start the sleeves earlier, but now it is looking much more proportional.

I’ve also knit a tiny bit on my Sahara during the brief moments when I decide I must clear my mind and not think about school.  I’ve finished the bottom trim and am about halfway through the trim along the neckline (not pictured). 

There are p3tog’s tbl, so this is not knititng that I can do while reading.  I am hoping to finish this soon so that I can wear it this winter.  I had that plan last year, but it took a long time for the Tilli Thomas beaded yarn to come in, so this year I really think I’m going to do it.  I could probably pick up for the sleeves and work on those while studying for finals, so if I get far enough along on the baby stuff to feel comfortable, I just might do that. 

As you can see, I have been far from monogamous, but I’ve been knitting a lot and am making good progress towards all the upcoming baby and holiday deadlines. 

Next post: sock updates, cause there’s a lot of them, and I’ve been working on them a bunch too.

Major says he missed you too!

While I haven’t been posting these last few months, I have definitely been knitting.  This summer, I was ambushed with announcements of many upcoming babies:

1. Baby Ethan born at the end of September
2. Baby Emma coming in January
3. Twins A & B due in January, expected in December
4. Daniel’s cousin’s baby due in March
5. Baby Aubrey (my cousin’s baby) due in February
6. Daniel’s co-worker’s baby due in January

I wanted to make a quick project for several of these babies, so I picked up my copy of Vogue Knitting Spring 2007 and have already cranked out several of EZ’s Baby Surplice Jackets. 

The first was made of Queensland Collection Rustic Wool and used all of 3 balls (I had to shorten the sleeves because that was all I had).  I used size 7’s and it probably would’ve been better on 8’s.

I made two more out of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted for the twin boys.  These were done on size 9’s which was a much better size.

The blue/green is the limited-edition Franklin’s Panopticon colorway…

and the red/gold is Maple Grove…

I had enough yarn on those to put cuffs on the sleeves, which I like because they can be folded up when the baby is little and then unfolded as the baby’s arms grow, which goes along well with the fact that the buttons at the bottom can be moved along the holes to make the sweater wider as the baby gets bigger.  

I also finished the Debbie Bliss Cabled Baby Jacket for Baby Brennan, but that one deserves a post of its own, so look forward to adorable baby pictures soon.

I have planned projects for a few more of these babies and purchased lots of yarn at HCW’s latest First Thursday sale.

I am going to do another Baby Surplice Jacket in the teal/blue/purple Dream in Color Classy shown in the middle for Daniel’s colleague.  The pink Dream in Color Smooshy is for another EZ pattern - the February Sweater, also known as Sweater on Two Needles, for my cousin who LOVES pink and is having a baby girl.  The Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton is for a Baby Bobbi Bear for a TBD baby. 

The Berroco Comfort DK is for a May Daisy Blanket for Baby Emma.  This pattern was designed by one of my fellow Lone Star State Knitters, Anne Haus, and I’m only the second person to knit it.  It’s been an easy knit so far, good for knitting while reading, and I think it’s going to be really cute.  Status pics of that once I’m a little farther along.

My first LYS stop in St. Paul was Borealis Yarns, a shop I had not visited before.  The front of the shop was very nice with a good selection of yarns.  They had Lucy Neatby yarn which I had not seen before, and many of the standards.  I then wandered into the glorious back room where they have a great selection of sock yarns. 

I had a VERY hard time holding back because there were so many beautiful items, but I ended up limiting myself to two.  First, this beautiful Silky Sock by Great Adironack.  Totally reminds me of a peacock - the color name is Fiesta.

And this Opal Feelings yarn will make fairly thick stripes.  The colors reminded me of something my mom would like, and wouldn’t you know, when I was showing her my purchases she claimed this one for herself. 

I would have liked to have purchased some of the Lucy Neatby yarn as well, but was trying to limit myself at this point.

My next stop was The Yarnery.  The last time I visited this store, I saw Malabrigo for the first time and purchased some laceweight which I am currently making into a swallotail shawl/scarf. 

This time around I went with some Malabrigo worsted weight in a color that is pretty close to burnt orange.  If paired with cream, it could probably pass for burnt orange.  I don’t have any specific plans in mind for this, so it will probably marinate in my stash until the right project comes along.

The next day on my way to Northfield, I stopped at this new store in Lakeville - Knitter’s Palette.  How I wish this store had been around when I was in college - it would have been so convenient!  I didn’t buy anything because I had already spent quite a bit, but it was a lovely store and I hope they do really well.  I will definitely go back to visit next time I’m in town.

And because I can’t resist a good wind turbine, here’s one of the many turbines I saw scattered around on my trip.  This is Carleton’s own wind turbine. 

So after finishing my 40 page seminar paper and 6 weeks at my first law firm job of the summer, I am finally getting around to posting about my trip to MN.  I flew in early in the day so that I could get the direct flight from Austin to Minneapolis, but my friend had to work, so I spent the day on my own personal yarn crawl. 

I began the day at my favorite Twin City LYS, Needlework Unlimited.  It’s located in Minneapolis, just past the Edina border, and since I spent a lot of time at the Edina mall and restaurants when I was in college, I was able to visit NU fairly often while I was in school.  They have a huge variety of yarn (and a needlework section which I have never paid any attention to). 

I had such a hard time deciding what to get because they have so much, especially a wonderful selection of sock yarn, and I had so many stores ahead of me.  I settled on this skein of Schaefer Anne sock yarn in colors that remind me of Sedona. 

Next up was what is quickly becoming another favorite store of mine, Amazing Threads in Maple Grove.  I visited AT on my last yarn crawl in MN a few years ago and really enjoyed it so I was eager to go back.

When you first walk in, this gorgeous wall of Malabrigo greats you.

My other favorite part is this wall of Koigu (sorry these pics are so blurry, but they’re the best I got).

So of course I had to get a little of both.  This skein of Koigu is kind of easter egg colored, but not  soft pastels.

And then there was this beautiful purple Silky Malabrigo.  I LOVE IT!  I’m actually debating on whether I want to buy enough to make a sweater, so I’ll probably swatxh with this and then decide.  It’s gorgeous.

They also have a great selection of sock yarn, and I couldn’t resist.  I got this skein of Schaefer Heather.  The fiber combination of wool, silk, and nylon really intrigues me, and the colors are very me.

Also in Maple Grove is another store that I missed on my last trip - Yarn Cafe.  I was kind of disappointed.  It isn’t really a cafe, but more of a store with some snacks and drinks, but certainly not what I would consider a cafe.  The lady who helped me was really friendly, and it is a nice local store.  They carry a little Rowan, Cherry Tree Hill, Schaefer, etc.  They also had some really cool buttons.

Interestingly, it seems one of their main focuses is to carry a line of yarn called Mooncake.  This yarn is made in China, but it reminds me of Malabrigo with its incredible softness.  It comes in a LOT of colors.  I picked up a skein in this fun pink color to make a hat or scarf or some other small accessory.  I’m interested to see how it works up.

Coming soon: Part 2 of the Yarn Crawl - the St. Paul side of the Twin Cities.