at webs

Originally uploaded by lothie

A photo of me at WEBS while I was visiting my parents in MA. It was really cool to finally be able to see the store and purchase yarn there. I actually pointed out where they had some yarn mislabeled (it said it was sock yarn, but it wasn’t).

Mostly these days I am working on socks. I do have a hoodie to knit for a KAL though, so I should really get started on it — I was supposed to have started a month ago, but I’ve been busy.

sockage

Originally uploaded by lothie

My latest pair of finished socks, from Noro Kureyon Sock. For once, the two socks are almost identical, except for the last couple of inches or so at the toe (the other sock goes into very dark indigo and then lighter blue, instead of the deep copper and then purple).

I’m now working on a pair in Regia Silk (silk and wool), which is a lot easier to work with. I still have two balls of Noro Kureyon though.

latest sockage

Originally uploaded by lothie

I’d gotten a bit bored with socks, especially the ribbed anklets, but somehow I ended up starting another pair…and oh GOD they’re driving me nuts.

My first pair of Noro socks knit up like a dream. The yarn was overspun, but it was worth it. This ball of Noro is overspun, then underspun, then over…It broke twice on this one sock, plus there was a knot, so that’s THREE times in one ball I had to “change”….ugh. I have never had so much trouble knitting before.

But I’ve started the second sock, and so far it’s behaving. I may end up making four socks and seeing what kind of pairs I can make; the second sock started on the red and so it’s not going to look much at all like the first…

I hope there are no more breakages! Dammit!

first pair of noro socks

Originally uploaded by lothie

This is the first pair of Noro socks I made. I got this ball of Noro when I was visiting my younger daughter, Cherry, in Washington (she lives in Olympia). I love them to death, and many more pairs are planned (I’ve got about six balls of Noro).

The one thing I don’t like about Noro is how it kinks up due to being overspun. Then again, the socks it makes are friggin’ awesome. Right now I’m back to more conventional sock yarn, finishing a pair of socks for my son.

model muse

Originally uploaded by lothie

While I was visiting my parents, my mother, who originally taught me to knit, went with me to Colorful Stitches in Lenox, MA. We purchased, among other yarn, some Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky, which I used to make a Muse hat for her. She was out when I finished it, so I had my son model it. She really loves the hat. It takes only a few hours to make.

In addition to the hat, and finishing one Noro sock, I made a bunch of jewelry right before the trip. I’ll be posting those as well. They all went to family members.

for my mom

Originally uploaded by lothie

My mom has a lovely amber necklace, but no bracelet or earrings to go with it. She asked me a while ago if I’d make her some. It took me quite a while to get around to it — amber is gorgeous, and I was intimidated — but finally I made her this set out of Swarovski crystals and vintage glass. I hope she likes them.

This picture doesn’t really do the set justice, though it’s fairly accurate as to color. Obviously the crystals sparkle a lot more than they do in the picture. I really like working with Swarovskis and I intend to keep using them in my work.

more socks!

Originally uploaded by lothie

When I first started making socks, Stacey sent me a skein of blue and brown striped Regia from her stash. Here’s the pair of socks I made from it. They’re ankle socks, and the instep and cuff are ribbed. I’m very happy with them, although I probably should have made them slightly longer.

The pattern I used was the basic Socks 101 from Knitty, but I got the idea to make them ribbed and ankle length from a pair of socks I saw in Creative Knitting (I didn’t follow their pattern at all though). I still have enough Regia to make another pair, but I don’t know if I want to or not. Currently I’m working on another pair with another yarn, in amongst other projects.

sox!

Originally uploaded by lothie

So this is the first pair of “real” socks I’ve made for myself. Basically, I just really love making socks, but I started making them for other people after I finished that first pair using acrylic worsted.

I had bought a second hank of “Rauen” mediumweight from Blue Moon Fiber Arts because I was afraid I’d run out of the one hank I bought for Chris’s socks. However, I only needed the first hank for his socks, so I decided that even though it wasn’t the color I’d have chosen, I’d go ahead, wind the second hank (with the new swift and nostepinne that Chris made me!), and make a pair for myself. I further decided that I would make ankle socks…well, just right above the ankle really. That’s my favorite height for socks.

I think they turned out really well. I’m now starting on another pair of ankle socks, this time ribbed, with the Regia yarn Stacey gave me from her stash. I’ll get back to doing socks for other people too, of course. I have to frog my son’s sock because it turned out too small, but he’ll get them eventually.

I hate when something I make doesn’t work out. I think this is why I’m so cautious about new projects, actually — I’m afraid I’ll screw it up. I really need to stop worrying about that.

Still, I’m annoyed. I was making a pair of socks for my son, and the first one turned out GORGEOUS…but it’s too narrow for his foot. Generally when you’re making socks, you just size them for the ankle, but in his case, his feet are big but his ankles are small. I wouldn’t care, but it’s fairly fine yarn and so it took forever to make in the first place, and now I have to frog the whole thing and start over, bleah. In frustration I made myself another muse hat. I’ll get to the socks at some point though.

muse hat

Originally uploaded by lothie

Stacey from Charlotte Purls gave me some Baby Alpaca Grande for Valentine’s Day and this hat (the pattern for which I found here, through Ravelry). This is my new favorite hat!

I’d like to make a few more, in different colors, and using different yarns. The alpaca is awesome — I love alpaca — but it’s definitely a very warm hat ( alpaca is 3x as warm as wool). Also, I’ve made a whole bunch of things in green lately, and while I love green, I’d like to branch out a bit!

For summer, silk or bulky cotton would be great…well, we’ll see. This hat is really very quick to make, so I can see dashing off quite a few of them!