Cappuccino chill

This arrived yesterday. Yarn that I don't have to pay for but still get to play with is pretty cool. I told my mom about this yarn I found online that looked similar to Greenwood Fiberworks' cotton/lycra sock yarn and she bought this for me to make into socks for her.

Cotton/lycra sock yarn from Zen Yarn Garden (which also has an etsy shop)

Christmas stuff and more

Here's what I'm working on now, my first picot edge sock with short-row heels. I've done short-row heels on cotton socks I gave away but never on wool and never for myself. There are heel gaps, but I think I can ignore them.

My knitting gifts were great: a Clapotis-style scarf, some LL sock yarn, and the Yarn Harlot's book. Also pictured (not a knitting gift) is a cute matchbook notepad with a squirrel on it that will be much better than the receipts I usually use when I'm out and want to jot something down.

These socks went to Virginia a while ago. Still love that pattern.

Gifts

I gave this pair of fingerless gloves to my mom. Man, I have a bony wrist.

I started the green diagonal ribs last night, and sock 1 is going well.

One is not enough

One ball of Sugar 'n Cream is not enough for a baby genius burp cloth.

Goodies in the mail

So I got my birthday present in the mail yesterday from Melissa. I shook the box and wondered what the metal clinking sound was. I decided to open the box and if the present was wrapped, I wasn't going to open it until my birthday. But it wasn't wrapped. Oh well! :) I got very pretty Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the color Bucks Bar. Very yummy. I also got a sheet of Muppet stamps because I had used all of mine and my post office does not sell fun stamps (Muppets, quilts, children's book animals). Also in the box were Scrabble stitch markers and Gryffindor self-striping sock yarn, which Melissa said I could decide which one of us it was for after knitting it into socks. Um.... No, I really will consider giving it back, I swear. The clinking sound was from needles that came free with the Gryffindor sock yarn.

Gift Socks

I made socks for my friend Tasha after this yarn caught my eye. I thought it was perfect for her because it's cotton and brown and blue, the colors her wedding party wore one year ago this coming Sunday.

Scraps and scrapped

My castoff edges used to be a little tight. Now it seems I've overcompensated.

I didn't really like the purple and white burp cloth (seen on top of the back of the blue and white one), and I didn't have enough purple to complete it anyway, so I frogged it and started a Fibonacci-type bib, seen below before finishing.
I think I'll stick to one or two-color bibs to reduce the potential for unravelling. All those ends make me nervous.

I have lots of work again this week so I probably won't knit much.

As promised

I do plan on making several bibs but wanted to switch to the more interesting burp cloth for a change.

And I just took more photos but they are not showing up at all on my computer. Hm.

Finally knitting again

I finally finished the bib, and I started the burp cloth. Close-up photo of the burp cloth to come!

Button or no button?

One reason it's taking me so long to finish a bib is because I'm not sure how I want it to fasten. Here's my current, button-less idea: Or should I just use a button like everyone else?

I want pig bacon!

My friend sent me bacon stitch markers because bacon is really tasty and we both really like it. And now I want some real bacon, some pig bacon! This post's title is spoken by a little boy in Syriana whose parents feed him soy bacon.

Summer=cotton knitting

One pair cotton socks complete, one in the works, and one to be reworked (again)
I haven't knit with wool in a while. I went to FedEx today and right next door is a craft store I'd never been in. I picked up one ball of cotton yarn to try out the baby bib pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting, which I have checked out from the library. It's a royal purple, not the blue it appears to be in this photo, and I think it should work for a boy or a girl. I'd like to make several but the color choices weren't so hot. There are other places in town to try, however.

M-D Knitting is a book worth owning. There's a huge collective blog for people knitting projects in the book. Here's a completed bib on an unusual model.

And it's the longest day of the year

Here are cotton/ lycra socks I made for my mother.

Yarn: Greenwood Fiberworks in Genola Sunset
Pattern: Came with the yarn
Needles: Size 1 DPNs

This was my first time doing a short-row heel. I had wanted to learn how for a while and I didn't think I had much choice with this yarn, because of the lycra. I thought it would be too difficult to pick up stitches for the gusset if I did the flap.

I think this heel is more mental work than the flap/ pickup heel, and I am not sure I could ever do it without a cheat sheet. And there's the sometimes-awful purl 3 together through the back maneuver. But it does look nice and now I know two ways to make a heel. (This heel uses YOs and reverse YOs, not wrapping.)

Unexpected loot!

All this came in the mail the other day courtesy of my parents. They stopped by Baadeck Yarns while on vacation. The yarn is sequestered in an extra bedroom until I feel like testing the blue yarn for allergies. I had some symptoms after opening the box, but it could have been something else. I know I like Opal and am excited to get to try out a new sock yarn, the Fleece Artist. It's fun enough when you get a package of yarn that you ordered yourself, but one you didn't know was coming is the best. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Handmade knitting needle jar

Blogger hates me more on my own computer than on my husband's laptop, apparently. It would not let me log in on my machine but would on his. I restarted my computer and now we're getting along, but...sheesh.

Tasha recommended photographing my knitting needle jar on an overcast day, and yesterday provided a good opportunity. Here's the best shot I could manage, in front of the flowering rhododendron. That's a scarf, mittens, and a sweater, and there are also socks. The mittens and scarf go over the lip of the jar. I love it.