Sock It To Me!

Yes, I'm still here.  Its been a slow summer for knitting projects.  I admit I don't knit as much during the summer months, though occasionally I will work on something.  Not this year.  It was way too hot to have any project sitting in my lap!  So, since things have been slow, I posting some older projects...this time SOCKS!  The next few posts will be about my sock adventures, at least until I get some knitting projects underway.  The itch is happening, now its a matter of making it reality!  Don't you just love knitting in the fall?

There is something very comfy about hand knitted socks.  I've made a variety of types, from heavy winter "boot" socks to lightweight, lacy "fancy" socks.  They are all fairly quick & easy.  Even though I've read horror stories about "turning a heel", I personally found it to be no big deal.  It was all just basic knitting techniques, & even added a bit of adventure to the whole process. 

For my first "Sockesode", here are pictures of some of my heavy boot sock adventures.  These are all made from Stahl's "Big Socks", a thick superwash wool that is very soft & cozy to knit with.  Using a size 7 needle, these all knit up very quickly, I can make one sock in a few hours, a pair in a weekend.   Plus they are very warm to wear inside slippers or winter boots. 

The first pair was for myself, a heathery creamy grey.  Made simply, with a ribbed leg & upper foot, they have a nice fitted appearance while being worn.  I had some larger leftovers, so I combined some similar colors to make a complete pair for my husband.  I made the leg, heel & part of the foot a heathery steel grey, then the upper foot & toe with the creamy grey.  he was worried that the ribbing might bother his foot, so I did a rib on the leg & left the foot section plain.  My hubby just loves these in the winter because he is not a slipper wearer, so these keep his feet comfy!

My next pair was a rosy heather with a cabled ribbed leg & a plain upper foot.  Probably my favorite thick sock because it is a slightly more feminine color, plus I had some fun with the ribbing!  I didn't want the ribbing on the foot section, because it is a stiffer stitch, & I thought it might bother my foot.   

Hope you enjoy the pictures & until next time, Happy Knitting! 

 

Baggin' It!

Here are pictures of the latest felted bag project.  I decided to go ahead & show them.  Even though it didn't come out the way I had hoped, it wasn't too much of a failure. 

So, first I had to decide how I wanted to do the handles.  The traditional 'booga bag' calls for a needle to be poked through the felted material, then the handle is threaded through it.  While I liked that idea, I also thought about using grommets.  Awhile back, I had asked for a grommet kit for a gift.  As of this time, I still haven't used it for ANYTHING!  I thought this purse might be a good project for the grommets, but in the end I decided on the "poke" method.

So, I pulled out a thick knitting needle & poked it through the four layers of fabric.  Not too bad, just had to work it in a few places, but it went pretty smooth.  Now, getting the strap through was different.  I tried to use my finger to push it through..no luck.  So I grabbed a needle-nose plier, & poked that into the hole, worked it around a bit, then grabbed the handle end & yanked.  It took a little pulling, but it came through great!  I used this method to thread the strap through the rest of the holes, up & around to the other side.  I knotted the strap together, but didn't cut it like the booga bag pattern showed. 

Needless to say, my daughter got sight of the bag & ranted & raved & wanted it bad!  BUT, she wanted velcro closures on a few of the pockets, so I sewed them on (what a pain in the tookus) & she loved it!  The best part...she's using the bag as her purse!  Now her friends want bags too, so this could be a busy knitting summer after all! 

Its all good, I just love making bags, & felting them is so much fun too.  So now, I'm looking forward to some happy bag & felting adventures, and of course, I will post my efforts here!  Have fun with the pics!

New Project, New Pictures!

In my laziness, I haven't updated my blog because I haven't taken pictures of my latest knitting projects.  Shame on me!  So off my duff, here we go!

As usual, I am still making chemo hats, but my progress has slowed.  The extreme heat we are currently enduring does not make good knitting weather!  Not for a warm hat, anyways.  I do have about 9 or 10 finished.  As I've probably mentioned before, I like to wait until I have a dozen, then I photograph them & post the pictures here.  So that may be awhile.  I've also had a second glimpse at my failed booga bag.  It may not be as hopeless as I originally thought.  It just didn't do what I wanted, but it could be salvaged.  I think I will revisit it & see what I can do soon!  I will even post pics, why not?!

Summer is not one of my best knitting times.  I honestly don't knit much, but I usually do something.  My latest thing has been with beads.  Summer & beads DO go well together, in my book!  So, anyway, I got a bug to do something with beads.  Some time ago, I ordered a beaded bracelet kit from Patternworks.  Lovely matte finish black & white beads, along with a gold thread.  Perfect for what my "bug"!

On a recent vacation, I gave it a shot.  I have knit with beads before, see my entry http://journals.aol.com/spunknit/InnaneKnittingBabble/entries/1162 about my beaded purse for my wedding.  It is really easy, & goes along quickly, even on size 0000 steel needles!  So I threaded up the beads & got started. 

What a pain in the tookus!  The thread is not soft, it is scratchy & rough.  The pattern requires tight knitting, which also made it uncomfortable.  The stitch makes the knitted piece spiral, so sometimes I ended up with more beads than I needed.  Frustrating!  I do like the way it looked, so I perservered.  I still need to join the ends together, which has also been frustrating.  It just doesn't look right, so I've done it about 5 or 6 times already, & ripped it out each time. 

All in all, I like the look.  The kit came with enough for 3 bracelets or one long necklace.  I wish now I had done the necklace, because I would have probably finished it just to get it done.  I'm not sure I will knit the remaining 2 bracelets, just because I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. 

Anyways, I have pictures of the finished, but unjoined item above!  Enjoy!

A Tough Lesson

Again, its been awhile.  Just to update, I felted the purple bag.  Arghhhhh!  It did not come out like I had hoped.  What a frustrating situation.  The problem is that I should have known better.  My swatch shrunk very little width-wise, but tons length-wise.  So, of course when I felted it, it ended up puckering around the top opening of the bag.  It also came out much shorter than I expected.  I had washed it once, & I liked the way it looked, but wanted it felted just a bit more.  So I put it through another cycle on the machine...arghhhhh!  I wish I had stopped when I had it to where I liked it.  So now I have a short, puckery bag that used a pricey yarn that I'm unhappy with.  How sad. 

So what went wrong?  I'm actually not sure.  When I felted my swatch piece, I washed it 4 times to get it the way it is shown in the pictures.  So why did it felt so much when I only washed it twice?  Could the size of the piece be a factor?  I don't know. 

This won't deter me from doing future felting projects, though.  I still love the look & the feel of the finished product.  I'm disappointed because I loved the look of the yarn after felting.  I'm disappointed because I used practically all of that yarn.  I'm disappointed because I was really looking forward to the finished bag.  Sigh. 

Oh well, I'll move on & work on something else to occupy my time! 

Some Fun Things!

Has it really been that long?  Wow, I'm way behind!  Tons of knitting has been done & no one in cyber-land knows about it!  Time for an update, you think?!

So...around Christmas time, I showed the ladies at work the little snowmen I made last year.  They were a HUGE hit!  Needless to say, I was pestered almost daily about when they would get some of their own!  Since the season was drawing to a close, I didn't feel like making any more...so I only made these five.  Here are the ones I made!

I did the traditional snowman with the black top hat, a guy with red & green hat & scarf, a Santa hat guy, a lady with yellow & green hat & scarf & a lady with purple & pink hat & scarf.  Some have pom-poms on the hats, some have a contrasting hat band.  Whatever I could think of to make them a bit different!  These are so much fun to make & go very quickly.  Plus its a great way to use up those very small scraps.  I put a dollar bill behind them so you can see how small they really are.  Sometimes in the pictures, you just can't tell!

I was thinking that little bunnies would be great for Easter, but I didn't have time for them.  But maybe in the future for baby showers or gifts.  Maybe even a kitty, or dog.  I think the possibilities are endless.  Or at least as far as my imagination will carry! 

The bag is done, I have to get pictures of the felted, completed bag to show for next time!  I'm still making hats, hats & more hats!  Such a great portable project...& quick to finish, too! 

Well, that's it for this time, I hope to post again soon.  Due to some family issues, my time online has been severly limited.  Happy Easter to everyone!  See you next time!

The Next Batch!

Here is the latest batch of chemo hats!  Another fun dozen, I experimented with more stitch patterns, color patterns & styles.  I bribed my daughter into modeling them for me.  As you can see in the pictures, her cooperation was quickly declining as we went along!  Not really, she just was enjoying hamming it up for the camera...too much, maybe! 

Some of my favorites from this batch are the blue & cream Swiss check, the black & blue Quaker rib (probably my most favorite!), the green & white Quaker rib, & the rose & burgundy Thorn stitch hat.  I just love the Quaker rib hats, they look sort of slouchy, then open up to show the hidden color underneath!  Sort of like an accordian!  Plus they are fun to play with! 

The ladies at work seemed unanimous on the rose & burgandy hat.  It was the overall favorite from the bunch!

Oh Just Kick Me!

Here I go again.  Dreaming of yet another tote bag/purse.  Sigh!  This time, I'm thinking of using some pretty wool yarn that is hand dyed in lovely shades of purple.  I've tried felting it already, last year when I was trying to decide which yarn to use for the eyeglass case.  It comes out nice & thick when felted. 

So I'm thinking about a new knitting bag.  Maybe a bit smallish.  Just enough for a skein or two & a chemo hat or other small project.  Something I can just grab, stuff & go!  I don't really need another huge bag.  I've already got quite a few of those!  I'm thinking maybe in the "booga bag" style...with the drawstring type handle.  I'm not sure yet, because this yarn does felt up very thick!  Needles will have a hard time trying to poke through this yarn!  I want to add some nice pockets on the outside, for little gadgets & whatnots.  Maybe a pocket or two on the inside as well.  I have a ton of this yarn, so it won't be a problem!

I'm still making chemo hats!  I'm almost done with this batch, I have 3 more till I have my dozen, then I'll post pictures of them.  The ladies at work only see the hats in progress, they haven't seen a finished one yet.  They think I don't really finish them!  I promised I would bring in the batch when I'm done so they can see them.  I'm doing some different things to a few hats.  So its been exciting for me to work on them.  I'm excited to finish & show them off!  Soon!