Thursday, October 23, 2008

You know what I did last summer

Yes I am alive! Hurrah! It's been a crazy busy summer and autumn so far.

In knitting news my summer was mainly sock-consumed, and autumn has been about getting sweaters and scarves knit. Oh and mittens too. Mittens are good, especially when made on 6mm needles with Alafoss Lopi yarn which is woolly and hairy and warm.

Here are some pictures of my summer sock knitting:

IMG_5386 Waving lace socks from IK Favourite socks; Araucania Ranco solid yarn. I love these muchly.

IMG_5387 Priscilla's Dream socks from IK favourite socks; Opal Hundertwasser yarn. Why do I love these so much? I like the fact that the yarn's colourway is based on a Friedensreich Hundertwasser painting. I had never heard of this artist and the yarn inspired me to find out more. I had lots of fun doing so. I find his buildings very fascinating. Plus the socks are just so warm and woolly and scrummy.

IMG_5643 These are from Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. I knit them in Elann Sock it to me 4-ply (red) and SRK On your toes (ecru). These are a gift for my aunt, who wrote me a card to say she likes them, which means I will be happy to knit her more socks in the future!

IMG_5633 This one is knit in Cascade Heritage (which I love a lot) and is also from More Sensational Knitted Socks. It was for my little sister who has big ol' feet. This sock almost had a twin, but just as I was about 2 inches away from completing it, I lost it (and my favey Addi Turbo sock needle, too!). The people from the lost and found at the library and the mall were entirely bemused when I tried to describe to them the kind of sock that was lost (i.e. one with the needle still in it...) and were sadly unable to find it for me. I can't see how it would be of use to anyone else, though. I'll get another ball of the yarn and make another, one day.

IMG_5242 These I designed myself. They are knit in Elann sock it to me 4-ply. The stranded design on the cuff is a houndstooth check that is elongated and then goes back to its original proportions. I rather like it.

These were all knit for Summer of Socks '08. I hoped I could get 5 pairs done, and if I'd not lost that second Heritage sock, I would have met my goal! I did also knit another sock - in TOFUtsies
on a 2mm needle - that is still waiting for its twin (it's a boring plain sock and I don't really like it) so technically I did knit 10 complete socks over the summer, just not 5 pairs.

I have another on the needles now: IMG_6150 This is Gruen ist die Hoffnung by Steffi Linden in Cascade Heritage. The sock begins with the circular lace motif and then is worked to the toe and back, picking up the remaining live stitches of the lace motif as the sole is worked, then the heel and cuff are worked and voila*, a crazy little sock. Steffi is a genius.

I have knit other stuff too this summer, but I'm happy I filled up my sock drawer - nothing like cosy wool socks to wear on hardwood floors as the rain fills the sky and the darkness swallows up the evenings.

*note the spelling. One of the things that drives me nuts is when people spell this word "viola." A viola is a musical instrument. Voila (and I would put the accent on the a, except I'm too lazy to work out how to do that in blogger) is a French word meaning "There it is!" If you can't spell the French word, go ahead and use some English ones instead. Et voila**, sound advice from the woolcat.

**or maybe all these people really meant to use the word viola? Perhaps I should continue the trend of using the names of musical instruments as random expressions of accomplishment. Here are the socks I knit - oboe! And then I baked a cake - flugelhorn!

(it's entirely possible that I am really too tired to be blogging.)

2 Comments:

Blogger Zoe said...

My goodness all those socks are fantastic! xx

11:12 AM  
Blogger Zoe said...

Especially the red and white ones. They would make Winter dressing way more fun xx

11:12 AM  

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