KALs

OK, as the new year comes in I am doing some housecleaning here at Sock It To Me and I need to get my knit-alongs under control. I need to have time to do the kals and still have time to do my own things. I also want to concentrate on designing this year. So here are my current knit alongs, comments and decisions on what has to go.




Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road. One sock every two months. I am the owner of this kal and I love it so it is definately staying.




Mittens. No deadlines. No commitments. Just knit mittens when I feel like it. So this stays, also.




Nancy Bush's Folk Socks. Hmm ... well most of the socks in this book I would not realistically get around to without the kal. Both socks I've knit for the kal, I love. One sock every two months. Really don't want to give this up, so it stays.




Tough decision. I guess I haven't really been thrilled with any of the socks in this. Nice patterns, but not earth shattering. Definately enjoy the Nancy Bush socks more. I've done 5 patterns in a row, but find myself not wanting to knit the current one. I have to give up something ... so ... this one is going. Goodbye 6sox kal!





Nacy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. Haven't started this one yet but I did get the book for Christmas. One sock every two months. I love Nancy Bush patterns and it wouldn't seem right not to participate in this, so ... it stays!

Socknitters SAM


This kal has changed its format and is going more into techniques than actual patterns. I have other places I can learn new techniques so I'll say ... Goodbye Socknitters SAM!

Socks, Socks, Socks


Love the book. Love some of the patterns. one sock every two months. Have not knit this months socks and do not intend to. How about I make a bargain with this kal? With 70 patterns, there is no way I want to knit every sock in this book. So the bargain is I will participate if the sock pattern chosen is one I already want to knit and have a suitable yarn in stash.




This one is easy. No commitments to knit. Just use stash for all of the above!

Summary:
2 knit-alongs given the boot.
6 remain.


Commitments:
1) 3 socks every two months, possibly 4. That's 1.5 to 2 pairs of socks a month.
2) An occassional mitten when I feel like it (... and I will!).
3) Plus everything must be knit with stash.

2005 Books Read

No knitting content.

A few years ago I started keeping a list of books I read. I don’t read anywhere near as much as I used to and my reading is a lot lighter than in the past. But this year I managed to read 55 books and from the following you can see I have quite an eclectic taste in genres though mostly science fiction and YA Fantasy. These are organized by author or series rather than in order read for my own reference.

Andromeda – Destruction of Illusions – The Broken Places – Way Station
Angel - Impressions
Animorphs – Invasion – Andalite Chronicles
Robert Barnard – Death By Sheer Torture – Death of a Perfect Mother – Death in a Cold Climate – Death of a Mystery Writer
T.A. Barron – Mirror of Merlin (The Lost Years #4) – The Wings of Merlin (The Lost Years #5)
Vicki Blum – Shadow Unicorn
Buffy - Immortal
Orson Scott Card – Lost Boys
Michael Crichton – The Lost World
Catherine Cookson – Hamilton – Goodbye Hamilton – Harold
Paul Corkery – Carson , the biography
Patricia Cornwell – Hornet’s Nest
Coronation Street – The War Years by Daran Little – The Complete Sage by Katherine Hardy
Bruce Coville – Into the Land of the Unicorns (#1) – Song of the Wanderer (#2)
Kara Dalkey – Transformation (The Water Trilogy #3)
John Dunning – The Bookman’s Wake
Michael Ende – The Neverending Story
Neil Gaiman – Coraline
David Gerrold – Jumping of the Planet
Monica Hughes – The Isis Peddlar (#3) – Invitation to the Game – Castle Tourmandyne – Space Trap
Ardyth Kennelly – The Peaceable Kingdom
Keith Laumer – Earthblood
Valerie Martin – Mary Reilly
Ed McBain – Hail Hail the Gang’s All Here – Jigsaw – Fuzz
Sharan Newman - Guinevere
Garth Nix – Mister Monday (Keys to the Kingdom #1)
Christopher Paolini - Eragon
Kathy Reichs – Deadly Decisions
Anne Rice – Interview with the Vampire
JK Rowling – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
John Saul – Suffer the Children – Punish the Sinners – Cry for the Strangers
Star Trek TNG – Encounter at Farpoint
X-Files – Antibodies – X Marks the Spot – Goblins – Whirlwind – Ground Zero

I'm Back!

Whew! I've been so sick the last couple of days I've barely been out of bed. But the life in me is coming back, now I can blog again.

Hope every one had a fabulous Christmas and best wishes to all for the New Year.

We had a wonderful Christmas, my sister gave the surprise of my life by turning up on our doorstep Christmas Eve! They decided at 11:00 a.m. Christmas Eve morning to come down here, packed everyone and everything into the van without telling us! My best Christmas present ever. So, that made this year's Christmas dinner the first that the whole family: my family and the extended family on my dad's side from his marriage were all together for Christmas. Dinner was great and a houseful with 21 people from 80-something to 7 mos.

My knitting related Christmas presents included a few much coveted items:



I've spent more time using the ball winder than actually knitting this last week! But as I've been winding I realized just how much stash (never-ending stash) I have and was going to make some kind of New Year's Resolution about it when I found out about this Stashalong.

So I do hereby declare that I will not buy any new stash for the next 3 months!

In the spirit of the Stashalong I started a mitred square rug out of Phentex that has been sitting at the bottom of my stash since who-knows-when. Also in progress I have the Whitby socks (worked both at the same time) at the foot and my stranded sock I'm designing has come out of retirement now that the holidays are over.



Click here to enlarge.

Boot Socks

Knitting is down to a minimum as Christmas approaches. I am working on the stranded socks of my own design that I am using Lucy Neatby's Travelling Socks pattern as a guide but I have set them aside now until after Christmas as my knitting has to be portable and mindless at the moment. I have also just started the Whitby socks for the KOTR kal, easy pattern.

I also just finished these socks. My 5yo needed some warm, long socks to wear with his boots so I call these Boot Socks.



Pattern: used the Garter Rib stitch from "Sensational Socks"
Yarn: odds and ends of sport weight yarn
Notes: basic 48 st sock with 2.75mm (US2) needles

Also picked up some new knitting magazines this week:



And finally, I made myself a stitch marker. I am always envious when I see the gorgeous stitch markers that many knitters make themselves. However, this is not my scene. I hate fiddling with tiny things and would never have the patience to fiddle with beads and wires. So I simply attached a charm to a small ring and presto a stitch marker. My camera does not do close-ups so the photo is horrible but hopefully you get the gist.

Country Socks

Click here to enlarge.

Pattern: Country Socks by Nancy Bush from "Folk Socks"
Yarn: old yarn from stash. Gold is 60%wool/40%nylon, Navy is Pinguoin 100% wool
Notes: very easy, simple rib pattern. Followed the pattern exactly. I now love the star toe and it has become my favourite toe. Until now I have always used a 2.75mm for sport weight. These were done on 2.25mm and I am really impressed with fabric this creates. I will most certainly switch down to the smaller needles with sport weight from now on whenever possible.

I also finally received my free ball of Disco yarn from Bernat that was offered in the summer, I think. Not sure what I'll do with it but the colour is gorgeous, "Aqua Velvet"

Traveling Socks

Click here to enlarge.

Pattern: Traveling Socks by Lucy Neatby from the book "Socks, Socks, Socks"
Yarn: variegated yarn is Knit Picks Sock Memories "Hawaii" that I received from the Sock Scrap Swap. Solids are from stash.
Notes: Incredibly fun pattern to knit. Followed pattern but since some of the patterns intentially did not meet properly on the leg I increased and decreased so they would. Knit on 80sts, the heel and toe are somewhat boxy and next time I would go down to a 2mm to make them more fitted. Also note that the pattern calls for a 200 and something yard ball of the variegated, the knitpicks I used only had 192 yds and there was not enough to do the toes in the variegated so I used one of the solids.

I had so much fun knitting these that they inspired me to make my own following the same principles. I cast on the other night for another pair, using 2mms this time. I am using the same colour distribution as in the original pattern but am substituting my own stitch patterns and motifs.

Warm Hands, Warm Feet

Not as much knitting as usual going on around here but I do have some FOs to show.


Warm Feet


Click here to enlarge.

Pattern: Munstersocken for my niece. no pattern
Yarn: odds and ends of sock yarn
Notes: basic 56 st stocking stitch with a star toe.

Warm Hands


Click here to enlarge.

Pattern: Salish Mittens from "Folk Mittens"
Yarn: odd balls of bulky weight from stash, the brown is a mohair/wool blend that has a gorgeous halo that can't be seen in the picture and these mitts are WARM!
Notes: followed the pattern exactly, no adjustments. The colours are a bit lighter than shown in the photo. I love this pattern and will knit again soon.

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My November sock of the month club kit came on the 30th. This is an easy pattern but with a unique idea of double strands for the leg.



WIP Report
1) no progress on the yellow crochet blanket lately
2) one Travelling Sock finished, second one working on the leg
3) started the Country Socks for the "Folk Socks" knitalong

Upcoming Projects
1) Whitby Socks for Knitting on the Road Kal
2) Shadow Socks for sixsox kal
3) fingerless mitts for me and the 16yo