marly nillas and another wip already

pattern : TDTU Vanilla Sock by Rachel Roue 

yarn : Patos Kroy Socks FX in Grey Brown Marl 

needle : US 1[2.25mm] 

size : 9.5

This is my second project using Rachel Roue's fantastic and easy to understand pattern and I had as much fun with it as I did the first. What really added to my enjoyment was seeing how each loop coming from the skein translated into the stripes I see now. There's really something about seeing self striping yarn transform into these lovely unique things that I find really hard to explain, but I know that I'm going to see much more of this type of yarn in my stash box in the future.

The cuffs for these socks reach up to about mid-calf, which is quite a bit shorter than I expected them to be while still knitting them. I owe it to both the small gauge throwing me off and the length lost when the ribbing stretched to fit my legs [by the way. the idea to learn Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off for the ends of these socks was a great one. I don't know how I could have gotten these around my legs If I used my standard bind off method!].

This project and my shops orders have been a real opportunity for me to learn how to pace myself. Between knitting and art[which would be my day job], I've been putting a large amount of strain on my wrists and hands. It really paid off to listen to the advice of my fellow artists and knitters to take frequent breaks and stretch regularly. If you feel a niggling pain in your wrists after a long day of knitting, I highly recommend you make stretching during some downtime in a queue or in the car part of your daily life. Even a 5 minute stretch a day will make knitting noticeably comfortable. :]

It's really only been a night but I'm already quite a few repeats into another sock project from the stash! I was a little unsure of what pattern might work well for a color scheme with this much contrast but I settled with the really nice Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder. The repeating texture of the body of the sock brings something really nice to stripes I think, so it works pretty well with the intensity of my yarn instead of distracting from or competing with it. Excited to see how it turns out!

I'm already noticing just how stretchy the material is--hopefully it will fare well during the summer. I'm planning to wear it out really often.

I'm stoked about these socks UGGGH! With every month I've been a pair closer to a fully handmade sock drawer!

duckies

pattern : duckies by samantha hayes
yarn : knitpicks comfy sport in sweet potato
needle : US 3[3.25mm]
size : 9.5

I actually finished this pair in mid-april but it slipped through the cracks because of the rush of finals in school [passed all of my courses, btw. WOO] These socks have been resting on top of the yarn basket for a while just begging to be worn, but I promised to not wear them out before photographing them, so here the photos are--and the socks haven't left my feet yet!

I found this free pattern by Samantha Hayes on ravelry--it looked just challenging enough to bust some more of my stash of comfy sport. The stitch definition is really beautiful with this yarn. I can't stop staring at how nice all of my handiwork turned out, and the color really knows how to shine when bits of sun hit it in my room. I learned just how much the yarn likes to pill, though from the last pair of socks I made, so the plan is to very gently handwash these to help them last as long as possible. Care of knitwear isn't my strongest suit, I'll admit. If it can't last in the machine wash I naturally put it off or just let it disintegrate, but beautiful yarns like the comfy sport [or any other I might find in the future!]

I think my favorite part of this pattern would be how the cuff to heel pattern was resolved. It was the first time I've ever knit anything like that in a sock, and I was wowed by the simplicity of the solution while knitting it. I also love the little bow made at the bottom of the heel as well--little details like that really make pattern knitting a pleasure.
If you're a sock newbie like me, I recommend you give this pattern a try. The socks knit up very quickly and only need about 80g of sport weight yarn--less than 2 of the little skeins of comfy sport. :]

thanks, april

Things turned out better than expected this April. My plate was full most of the time, my days and nights long, but in many ways that effort paid off. Hopefully you've helped me prepare for the month ahead, I know May's gonna be a real doozy.
Hikes, cotton knits, long hot drives down the freeway, and a whole lot of sketching and R&R is in order.

Find me on instagram as @bapsii.

4KCBWDAY6 - a tool to covet

Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers.
The gang's all here.
top protectors, stitch marker and yarn winder from knitpicks, athletic click counter from amazon[cheaper and feels much more durable than the kachakachas--I recommend].

I'm not the type to just buy new supplies, books--anything-- without looking at it for a very long time first. As far as knitting tools go, I made do with paperclips, making tick marks on a sticky note, kneaded eraser tip protectors. You name it, I might have tried it to see if they could work just fine [and for the most part, they did].
These took a while, but I picked these overwhelmingly purple things to be part of my knitting workflow and journey, and have been very proud to have them in my life.

4KCBWDAY5 - something a bit different

It’s the annual challenge to blog in a way different to how you normally blog. You may choose to create a podcast, or vlog, create a wordless post or write in verse. You've already stretched your wings with an infographic, now it's time to freestyle. You can post on any topic you like, but be sure to post in a style different from your usual blog presentation.

find me on twitter if you'd like, by the way. i don't only tweet about knitting, though. also profanity!

4KCBWDAY4 - colour review

What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting. Only after writing this part of your post should you then actually look to see what colours you have used in your projects.  Make a quick tally of what colours you have used in your projects over the past year and compare it to the colours you have written about. Now think back to your house animal - do the colours you have chosen relate to your animal in anyway - if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?

Most of the clothes in my closet are muted, neutral in color, and pretty basic in style or construction. I've spent most of my knitting "career" working through an inherited stash of super bright and almost obnoxious looking acrylic yarns. Most of the fun and challenge of working with this stash is trying to pull attractive color combinations from what I've got in the basket. And I'll admit, it got a little fun.

'inherited' yarn stash

Now that most of that acrylic stash is done, I'm finally free to acquire my own stash and I think my own taste for muted or earthy colors is finally showing up! The sock yarn may be an exception. I'm just too excited about how the yarn stripes up to care about how bright the socks end up when worn.

Besides, brights make a great accent to a neutral outfit, so I can wear any pair of loud socks knowing they'll match whatever else I've got going on. :>

acquired yarn stash [so far]!

Out of the [soon to be[ 4 things I've knit for myself, two of them are in an orange shade. The first being my first pair of socks in the comfy sport sweet potato, and this now pilly and gross looking washcloth I made for myself [the poor thing gets thrown in the wash with all my darks(read: any and all of my clothing) so it's dim and ratty, and still just about indestructible].

I guess bright orange is my dominant color by default, but in just a few months I think we'll get a more accurate representation of my color-tastes and -tendencies. xD

As far as being curious goes, I guess I could argue that I'm like the monkey and the manatee alike. It's clear that I'm in love with muted and subtle colors when curating for my shop or considering stash for future projects--very comfy manatee-ish behavior imo. But I've been on a real sock yarn kick, picking up any beautiful skein I see to see how it looks knit up--curious try-new-things monkey behavior!

I'm pretty happy with this little balance I've got going on. Who knows, I may end up leaning toward one or the other with time.

4KCBWDAY3 - infographic

There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information.

I'm counting my current sock WIP in this graph, even if it's not finished.
So between May 2012 and today, I've knit a total of 312 objects [scrubbie sets for the shop, I count as a single item].