Knitting@roosterhillfarm.com

It’s true, I joined yet another sock yarn club this year, Fiber Baristas. It’s a collection of indie dyers and they maintain an active blog and Ravelry group. Their first shipment from Bare Sheep Yarn Co. arrived with a contest to see who could finish their socks first. I’m halfway there.

The main yarn is a stripey-stripe of reds and browns, and the contrasting yarn is a mostly solid brick color. The pattern is from a new book, Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski. This is a great book, BTW, with many interesting takes on sock patterns. I highly recommend it!

I modified the pattern in 2 ways, one intentionally I made the sock longer as the original pattern was for a anklet. These socks are 7″ high, longer if you unfold the lacy cuff! I missed the part in the pattern that called for ribbing underneath that lacy cuff, so they are a bit snug. I am hoping the blocker helps in that respect.

So I am about to begin sock #2. I have to finish soon as the new shipment from Rockin’ Sock Club is in the mail, and I have seen sneak previews of the yarn and the pattern, and I need to cast that one on as soon as I get it – it’s that good.

Yarn: Bare Sheep Yarn Co. “Holy Crab”
Pattern: Zig Zag Cuffs by Pam Grushkin published in Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski

Believe it or not I finished my 2008 Christmas knitting — this week. yup, a little behind. But the pattern was great, and the yarn amazing! I didn’t realize until I was finished and looking for the yarn wrapper that I was knitting with some cashmere. No wonder I loved the yarn so much. So off they go to their recipient. I think I have more of this yarn in my stash so I may do these over for me.
 
Yarn: Pagewood Farm Alyeska
Color: Santa Fe
Pattern: Hidden Path Socks

 
So as soon as I wove the last end in, I cast on for yet another pair of socks. This yarn I found on sale at Michael’s – I mean someone else found on sale at Michael’s and I found empty bins. Morose, I wandered the aisles of their knitting section and came across a woman with about 20 balls of the sale yarn in her basket. “So that’s where all the sale yarn went to,” I joked. She laughed too and admitted she would never knit all that yarn, and did I want some?
 
Turns out she was the wife of a co-worker of mine, only I didn’t realize it at the time (she knew me however. I hate that when it happens!) She allowed me to pick some yarn from her basket. I think it’s only fitting that she receive socks from the yarn she gave me (she doesn’t knit socks as it turns out). So these will be hers.
Yarn: Patons Kroy Sock Stripe
Color: Bronzed Berry Stripe
Pattern: Basic Cuff down

 
The same visit to Michael’s is when I bought the yarn for the scarves in this post. They finally were mailed off last week or so and surprisingly enough were received by First Class Mail the VERY NEXT DAY. Impressive. More impressive is this card. I’ll be pinning this on my bulletin board: it’s just that beautiful.
 
Don’t you think so? And so …. SPRING LIKE!

Wow it’s been a long time. I have been knitting but nothing truly interesting.

I knit the Wrapper’s Delight from iKnitiative with some CTH Baby Loop (boucle). Never ending lump of goo. I hate boucle. Pattern was ok.

Then I made Abruzo from local Laura Nelkin on knitty.com with some thick yarn I bought at Hemlock. Easy pattern, love the yarn but when it was done I just wasn’t happy with its fit. Bulky yarn makes me look … bulky.

You will note there are no pictures of my own so far

Then I made a hat for my step-daughter.

Pattern: Fusilli Beanie

Yarn: Cascade Pastaza

and the Noro Scarf made famous by Brooklyn Tweed. This was a really fun knit. I did it on a plane flight.

Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden 244 & 268

On another plane flight I designed some socks. Simply because I had yarn, no pattern and needed a manly sock. I wanted the ribbed cuff to grow out into larger ribs, which I ended up making like a beaded rib. Nothing special really.

Pattern: My own, K4,P1 (allter rows knit all)

Yarn: Three Irish Girls “Campbell”

And another sock in progress which I can’t show you right now *wink. Christmas is coming you know.

I swung by a LYS yesterday to pick up some Jamiesons yarn for yet another Brooklyn Tweed pattern, Druid mittens (cover of last issue of Vogue, I am sure you know which ones) as well as enough for a baby surprise jacket. Also got some Plymouth Boku to try that with the striped scarf and also some white Brown Sheep to do a fake fair isle hat with even more Noro.

Like I said, Christmas is coming