But I have managed to push out a pair of socks. In the skein (and I wish I took a picture of it) the colors weren’t my cup of tea. But all knit up I think they look pretty good don’t you?



These are some funky cables aren’t they? I ended up breaking a cable needle in the process so I used an extra sock needle for the rest of the cables. I can never do cables without needles.

The funky cables are repeated from the heel down to the toe.
Pattern: Slip Jig Socks
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock “Wild Irish Girlie”

New England Autumn

Have you discovered Kangaroo Dyer yet?

Sage
I might have. (Although i don’t remember how…)

Painted Desert in Springtime
I just love the muted colors, and the way she chooses them to go together.

Rooster Tails

Don’t you?

The October Fiber Baristas shipment. This one comes DT Craft & Design from the UK! She sent it along with some candies and a recipe for Rhubarb crumble.

The color is inspired by rhubarb and the included recipe. It’s “Crumble Rumble,” a mix of reds, purples and dark pinks.

It’s amazing how inspiring this poisonous little plant can be! Look at the sampling of pix from Flickr. Many are inspired by its color, taste and texture. The leaves contain oxalates and are poisonous, the stalks not so much. Other plants that we eat that contain varying amounts of oxalates in their leaves are spinach, peas and potatoes.

But it continues to inspire dyers, and apparently me too. Here is Fiesta Boomerang in Rhubarb from my stash.

And Numma Numma ToastyBoo.



And that third one from the left is Rhubarber in Wollmeise.


I find rhubarb inspiring for it means spring and warmth and green growth. And for the next 6 months we will have none of that! Are you inspired by rhubarb?

Yesterday, I took advantage of the nice fall day to take some stash pictures. This skein is from Hazel Knits October Sock Club (I know, another sock club!) and the colorway is “Cascade Canopy.” It’s so pretty. The green just glows.

Here is the other skein. This color is “Path To The Peaks.” The wind blew that bottom leaf right on top of the yarn just as I snapped, I thought it was perfect.

I quickly had an audience!

No one was sure what I was doing, or more importantly, if it involved food.

Everyone had to take a look.

Even Murphy, and he’s an old pro.

It takes on average 21 days for a chicken egg to be laid and a chick to emerge.

It takes a turkey 28 days to make the same trip.

A duck takes 28 days too. So in 3-4 weeks, all of this life is created and ready to go! Less than a month!

So what’s my problem? I have been working on this pair of socks for 24 days now, and I have 6 days to go to finish this sock in time to be entered in the Wendy Knits “Socks From the Toe Up” KAL on Ravelry. (If you are not a member of Ravelry, take note that memberships are now immediately approved! No more waiting!)

So, chicken 21 days. Turkey and ducks, 28 days. Feathers and feet and eyes and all that. Me, not so efficient.

I can console myself that it takes a cow a touch over 9 months to create a calf. A 200 pound calf.

I have 6 days to turn the heel and create the leg, and bind off. At least I’ve got thyme. (groan).

The Nanner socks have been OTN forever and I finally finished #2 this morning. Sometimes the ribbing can take a very long time, as it did here.
Nanner Socks by Wendy Johnson
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silkie “Pond Scum”

The second sock I finished should have been a quicker knit, I am not sure what my problem was. This took me 4 days. A nice, short, lacy summer sock.

The yarn was the second shipment of the Fiber Baristas sock club and is from Zen Garden. Although I don’t have close-ups, the heel on this sock is really spectacular. Instead of typical SL1 K1, the lace descends and gradually tapers off.
Tripolini Socks by LImedragon
Yarn: Zen Yarn Garden serendipity sport in “Falls”

So you remember the Monkey sock I did, and because I am inept at crochet, the provisional cast-on required for the picot cuff was less than stellar! I tried threading some waste yarn through live stitches instead, and although it was a little slow going getting the stitches off the needle and knit together, I am happy to report I have found a method that works for me. When I am feeling more masochistic, I will attempt the provisional cast-on again.

So I had this other idea – create another pair of Monkeys in a yarn I thought was the opposite of the first one I chose. For this pair, I also did the picot cuff, but used the ‘no purl’ approach.

I think I like the ‘no purl’ pattern better. And unlike most of the world, I am not addicted to this pattern. I have to make the mates to this sock and I am done.
Pattern: Monkey Socks (4 repeats, both purl and no purl)
Yarn: (dark) Chewy Spaghetti Spaghetti “Festive”
Yarn: (light) Zen String Serendipity Fingering “Reflection”