For my very first Sockdown in SKA (Sock Knitters Anonymous) I WON A SKEIN OF YARN! Oh yes, my number was generated by that darling RNG (random number generator). I won a skein of yarn from Liza Souza Yarns. So I just spent hours drooling, and I mean drooling, over her gorgeous yarn choices. I really want to buy something handpainted, especially since I have been using so many solid colors lately. I know this will limit my pattern options, but I don't care. I will choose some simple pattern, like the Hermione's Everyday Socks that I made for my niece, Hannah
I've been listening to a lot of knitting podcasts lately, and one from KnitPicks, has a short thing on using handpainted yarn. They talked about yarn color choices, and how using solid yarns allows a pattern to be the main focus, and using simple patterns allows the yarn colors to be the main focus. I never think of these things. But I do notice in the posted FO (finished objects) in the SKA threads, that these gorgeous handpainted yarns sometimes "pool" the colors into weird clumps.
Anyway, I really wanted some wild handpainted thing, so I chose Mombassa, which I swear looks like an animal pelt. I checked it out in some FO in Ravelry. You can put the type of yarn in their search engine, then look for FO's or WIP (works in Progress) that are using that yarn. Very very cool. It really let me get an idea of how each yarn would look. So the Mombassa was amazing! I'm going to make someone a pair of tiger or leopard socks.
Birthday News
Yesterday was my 52nd birthday. I think that I posted on my husband's (the Doc's) birthday last month, that we have this joke since he is 1 month older than I am about how old he is UNTIL I turn the same age. So of course, the Doc woke me with the comment, "it's amazing how young 52 suddenly seems." And, indeed, 52 seems to be a super young age. As my daughter Samantha said when she called me, "60 is the new middle age." We both plan to live to 120 =)
I spent my birthday knitting. Of course we went out to a wonderful dinner at a little Italian place at Crossroads Mall: Firenze Restaurante. Doc, Allie, Luke and I went. I love their ravioli with tomato cream sauce with mushrooms. Yum! I also made brownies for dessert. Yum again. I have a secret brownie recipe, and I am not kidding, everyone LOVES my brownies. Doc got me 2 seasons of Dr. Who on DVD. Oh my! I do love the Doctor. My kids called from college. I miss them so much. My parents and older sister, S, called. It was really nice to talk to them all.
Knitting Knews
Since it was my birthday, I let myself knit a bit on MY socks, the Osier Socks by Nicole Masson. All I finished was the ribbing, but, wow, the yarn is such a pretty color. I can't wait to get more done.
I also "finished" the first sleeve of my Mystery Sweater that I am making for the Sharing Our Gifts Across America group. After we got home from the restaurant, I had Luke try it on (I should have taken a photo of him !) and like the body, the sleeve was too short. I had not bound it off, though, so I just continued making rows of garter stitch (knitting a row, then purling a row) until I had added about 3 more inches. This makes the cuff super long, but I hope that will seem a design choice...
I then picked up the stitches on the bottom of the body and am now knitting the same rows of garter stitch. It goes really fast, although it is 160 stitches around.
One of the interesting things about this sweater for me as a novice knitter, is the great example of how gauge works. The sweater starts with 80 stitches for the top of the sleeve, which I then reduced by 2 stitches every 6 rows and then every 4 rows until I had 40 stitches left on the needles. The socks I am making for M, Mr. Pitt's Socks by Kaitlyn Wong have 80 stitches in each sock.
These blue socks have twice the number of stitches on the needles as does the black sleeve...
Oh what a difference the yarn size and needle make to the finished size of the knitted object.
I have finished 9" of the Mr. Pitt's Socks, and am ready to start the heels. I hope to get one heel finished today.
On the Movember Mystery Socks by Deb Barnhill that I am making for the Doc, I have now finished 3 iterations of the leg pattern.
I am not sure how many I will do. I will probably keep making 1 a day at least until the next clue is posted. That should put the sock legs at about 8 - 9 inches. A good length for Man Socks.
Lots of good birthday knitting fun! And some free yarn to boot! I am a lucky person.
C. A. Losi
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