Twisted Limone Yarn: 2 Day Socks

I've never made a pair of socks over the course of a weekend before.

I would not have dreamed it possible actually, even for kid sized feet.  

Truly, 'kid' sized feet of an almost 8 yr old boy are getting quite close to the size of my own feet.  He's a little like a puppy with those huge feet.  I often wonder how tall he'll eventually become.  Much taller than me, that's for sure.

Instead of using 3 double pointed knitting needles (DPN's) to make these socks, I decided to use a teenie tiny circular by Clover.  Size 1, 9" circular to be exact.

Initially it was bothering my hands to use it because the needle itself is so short.  I almost gave up on making these with that needle set and cut over to DPN's.

It all seemed to just 'click' at some point, and it was really fast to knit them up.  The almost knit themselves really.

If this continues my family may become really REALLY sick of hand knit socks.  I take them around with me to swimming lessons, piano practice, soccer...before you know it, a pair or two show up. 

Magic!  

Yarn by Twisted Limone, one of my favorite shops.  Socks hold up VERY well to serious punishment.

Every Flavor Socks

Similar to the famous Harry Potter "Every Flavor Bean" where you're not sure if you will get honey or toe nail flavor, I am still knitting what I call the 'Every Flavor Socks."

Have I gone too far?  Of course you may not want to wear these into the board room, but if you're a 4 year old boy, you might be able to pull it off.

How much color is 'too much' anyhow?  

There is much debate on this topic.  It really depends on what school of thought you are from.  The Kaffe Fassett school may think that even these socks are quite tame!

Yarn by British dyer Trailing Clouds in colorway Mind the Gap.  

The best part about knitting for feet this small is that it takes hardly any cycles to whip up a teenie pair of socks.

Of course you have probably seen this viral knitting hip hop video already, but it you haven't, it's pretty silly/cute.

Just Ducky

Anzula is a yarn company that makes perhaps THE softest sock yarn I have ever felt. 

The base is called Anzula Squishy and the colorway I picked up is called Ducky.

At $34/ball, it isn't for every pair of socks you want to knit, of course.  On the rare occasion you want to make something really REALLY special, I think this is a good contender.

My final vote for/against the sock yarn doesn't happen until I have knit up a pair of socks with it and worn them for a while to see how they hold up.  Stay tuned for that.  I'm toying with the idea of knitting up the Waffle Cream socks by Anne Hanson of Knit Spot.

Argyle love

 I set out to knit a pair of argyle socks for my DH because after all he watched the boys while I took the class.

It turns out that these socks unfortunately fit our 8 yr old, and not my DH.  Oops.  Well, the boy is excited about them, even a little extra excited because he is getting them out from under the nose of his daddy.

I guess this means a second pair is in order.

The class I took was from Anne Berk, a wonderful teacher.  I would actually love to take another class with her.  She did a nice blog post about teaching our class where you can even see a photo of me and some girls from knit nite. 

I intend to buy her book when it becomes available.  It will probably be great.  Until then, I have about 3 more socks to make if not 5 if my younger boy chimes in.

Stitches West 2014

There are only two 'events' in the quilting and knitting universe that make my pulse rise.

PIQF (of course!) and Stitches West.

Last night was the Stitches West market preview, so I took a run over there in the evening to check out the yarn and take advantage of the late hours.  It was a real hoot.

I ran into boat loads of podcasters, including the Knitmore Girls, The Yarniacs, and Never Not Knitting's Alana.  I also had a sighting of the Knit Lit Chicks but they were on the go so we didn't get to chat.

It was fun to see all the latest goodies in the yarn-land.  I ended up with a couple more balls of sock yarn because, well, one can never have too many socks.  Right? 

My family may be sick of all the hand knit socks I make them but they have yet to ask me to stop and the kids are growing out of them at times too.  I have a bit of a more is more approach to socks.

The most fun I had was of course in the A Verb For Keeping Warm booth where I could have just stayed all night, but resigned myself to a couple of yarn balls  (including what you see above) and headed home.

I'm taking an argyle sock class all day tomorrow so wish me luck with that.

Have a great weekend.  If you're in the California Bay Area, stop in at stitches...the colors are amazing and it smells like clean sheep!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow Socks

I would say I'm over the moon with these socks but it's more like over the rainbow. 

It has not been super warm yet for me so I am still getting a chance to wear these at night. 

The baseball season ended just in time for me to finish them. I can knit plain socks without looking at my hands so it gives me something to do but I still see all the plays. I often wish I could sew without looking too. 

I'm playing around with another appliqué skirt these days. When I have a quarter of it done I will grab some photos for you. It is extremely simple compared to the last one I made. 

Hope your summer is off to a good start. There are many more topics I need to fill you in on soon. Happy fun exciting ones. Ones that will warm your creative hearts. Stay tuned. 

Socks - on the run

I knit the above socks for my DH from Twisted Limone yarn.  This yarn is addictive.  I have been working on socks during swimming lessons, piano lessons and basically whenever I'm on the run with the kids.  Amazing how quickly they knit up when it's self-stripe yarn.  Only need to carry around one ball with you.

I used the afterthought construction method to make the heel  in case you're curious, in order to make a cute little bull's eye on the heel.

Check out these awesome Yoko Saito blocks over at Isadarena Passions Blog - so pretty.

Want to see the cutest teenie quilt/mug rug ever?  Small but adorable by my friend So Sue.

Tanis Fiber Arts just posted a cute way to photograph her yarn balls.  I'm thinking it would work well for quilt blocks too.  Never enough good photography tips!

Twisted Limone: Like Totally Tubular Dude

The 80's are back, right?  

Do you see neon colors here and there around town?  Have you bumped into girls who might make Cyndi Lauper proud?

If you loved the 80's (like I did, sorry...but I did!!) or if you hated them....they are back in a small way in my house this week.

I just finished knitting a pair of socks out of yarn by Twisted Limone.  It has thick stripes that create themselves from a single ball which is quite handy.  Or footy in this particular case. 

The last time I made my older kid a pair of socks from this yarn, he ended up wearing them basically every night to bed.  They have held up really well, but in the last year his feet have grown a bunch.  The are almost as big as mine now.  Scary!

So here's to a tiny taste of the 80's on the toes, and a pair of socks that may blind you with their neon beauty.

In quilty wanderings - have you seen all the photos from QuiltCon in Austin?  I did not attend, but it looks like it was pretty fun.

I am also enjoying photos of a 9 patch quilt over at s.o.t.a.k. handmade - very pretty!

Socks of Evil Deeds

 I call these socks my socks of evil deeds.

Always the villain uses purple and acid green in their costume in order to try to gain the upper hand on either Superman or Wonder Woman.

These are knit out of Twisted Limone yarn and were really quick and fun to complete.

For some eye candy, check out this beautiful modern quilt over at Lily's Quilts.  The saturated colors are awesome, they just pop.

Having a bit of unexpected car trouble this week.  Sigh...pressing on.

Hand Knit Socks: Getting to know Cookie A (again)

The last time I knit a pair of socks by Cookie A it was her most famous pattern called Monkey.  Almost 17,000 pairs of them have been logged in on Ravelry.  Not bad for a little sock pattern. 

I decided to branch out and try  her pattern called Wanida, a significantly less popular pattern with only around 1,000 projects noted on Ravelry. 

Not sure why one pattern becomes more popular than the next.  Maybe it's the photos.  Maybe it's just viral.  Either way, I am enjoying knitting Wanida and hope to cast on the 2nd sock soon.

"Second Sock Syndrome," AKA "SSS" or basically a lack of interest in knitting the 2nd sock (no more mystery, once the first sock is complete) is my current state of being. 

What does one do when overcome by this disorder? 

My "helpful" DH has recommended one could have one's second foot surgically removed.  An interesting (sick?) notion.  I was sure I could come up with a better alternative to that.  How about....

Sewing instead!!

I may have a photo for you of my newest hand sewn creation soon.  Stay tuned.  So far, I'm navigating uncharted waters and having a serious blast.

2009 Resolutions

I cannot believe it's already half way through January, and I still have not posted my resolutions for 2009! Here goes:

1. Find my desk again under all the clutter

2. Finish my Baltimore Album quilt (see un-done resolution from last year, ahem)

3. Make progress on the baby books / scrap books for my boys - oh, how I have procrastinated on this one, or at least get my sister to make the pages for me.

4. Finish quilting the quilt tops that I have waiting in the wings (house quilt, plaid quilt, antique quilt, and niece baby quilt).

5. Work out with my husband.

6. Do something cool with my hair. I think a cut is long overdue.

7. Write up a Do's and Dont's of blog photography to inspire folks to take better photos of their crafts for the greater bloggy good.

8. Knit a pair of socks. Yes, that would be 2 of them. Not just a half of one with a bunch of holes in it. No, the goal is 2 wearable socks.

9. Enjoy being a working mom.

10. Contine to eat local as much as possible, and use our CSA at every chance we get.

In other news, I don't think I can resist getting some Ecology Cloth to try with my quilts. Kathie mentions it's on sale!

'Tis The Season

With Thanksgiving behind us here in the US our thoughts are starting to turn to the Christmas Holidays.

The kids and I made an Advent calendar together today 'Just In Time' to open the first installment on December first.

It was a lot of fun, I'll have to take a decent photo of it for you.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we ended up visiting Southern California with a brief stop through Los Angeles.

The Last Bookstore is located in downtown LA and is a HUGE shop where you can get almost any book you could imagine, used, for a great price.  The kids went crazy in the children's section, grabbing up handfuls and handfuls of books, begging me to buy out half of the store.  I bought them a copy of A Light in the Attic which they have fallen in love with.  It makes them really laugh.

The shop itself is a beautiful space, I highly recommend a visit if you have the chance.

On the 2nd floor, there is a small but very interesting yarn shop called Gather.  I was smitten by their boxes of tiny 'mystery yarn' balls for $5.  You could make a lot of striped socks for next to nothing.  They also had sock yarn by a British company called The Uncommon Thread.  I picked up a skein of their Lush Twist in a cream colorway called Manuscript.  Very pretty, will have to finally knit myself some socks from it.

I also did some sewing on the trip.  I'm working on an Alabama Chanin style 'coaster' - meaning a very small piece of fabric that you may use to put your coffee cup on.  It has a ton of bead work on it and has been quite slow going.  Sewing with beads has proven to be fun but it is far from a speedy undertaking.  I want to eventually use this technique on a larger project but it will likely be limited to the lower couple inches of a skirt or the lower sleeves of a bolero or something.  Photos of it soon for you.

And in other news, Jay recently left me a comment to a link where you can get EVEN MORE Yoko Saito books in English (thanks Jay!), so check out this shop called Willow Lane Quilting Company - it looks quite cool.

Stitches West 2014: Recap

Stitches West is a knitting convention in San Jose, California.

They have lots of vendors and tons of classes so for me it's a great chance to pick up some cool new yarn and take a class or two.

This year I took the argyle sock class with Anne Berk.  She was an awesome teacher and everybody in class learned a ton.  Class was especially fun because three of my best friends took it with me and we had a serious blast.

The above photo is of swatches that we all made in class.  Mine is the aqua colored one near the lower center.  

I'm looking forward to making some fun socks with what I learned.  I may even make some mitts for the kids.  That would be even faster to finish.  

Spring is coming though, so time to knit faster is here.

I got some yarn from this vendor Plucky Knitter.  They have their own yarn base that no other vendor uses, it is made strictly for them.  It gives you amazing stitch definition and I think that may be due to it having more twist in the yarn.  Either way, their yarn is hard to come across so the booth was wall to wall people.  I did work my way in though so plucky socks are on the horizon. 

I also got some Bugga! yarn and started in on a shawl called Catkin.  It may take me a zillion years to finish it.  Maybe more than a zillion.  I'm still very focused on my DIY Alabama Chanin skirt, so the knitting is happening but...at a certain pace I guess.

Oh and I tripped over some stitch markers by Neese's Pieces that were made out of hand blown glass.  Very unusual and pretty.

Next year I hope I can take another class with my buddies.  I cannot remember when I've ever had so much fun.  See So Sue's blog post about it here, and check out my friend Sharon's blog Knits are for Kids too!

Turtle Soup Recipe

Eating cute little turtles is hardly something I intend to start doing. 

In fact I was shocked that there are lots of recipes out there for them.  I was thinking that they are too adorable to eat.  Apparently not!

Anna Hrachovec, the mastermind knitter behind MochiMochiLand just came out with a pattern for a tiny turtle. 

I knit this to match my 4yr old's most recent socks.  He is actually willing to wear the socks now that he has a matching turtle!  Wow, a small miracle. 

Mind the Gap self striping yarn in tons of colors, made it easy to find a good color combo that pops.

I'm slipping a couple more photos in here for you, I just cannot resist.

After several hours of hard work, the tiny turtle progressed from the starting link on the ankle to half way up the shin.

He really is small as you can see.  Knit on size 0000 needles!  Yowza.  Teenie tiny.

Oh how many feet you meet!

I finally made a pair of socks for myself.  


I have made several pairs already for my family, but this is the first pair for me.  Funny how sometimes I get a lot more excited to make stuff for them.  I did follow through and actually finished knitting a pair for me.  Last time I tried this, I only made 1 sock, and you can imagine how useful that is.


The yarn (by Blue Moon Fiber Arts) was a gift from my quilting friend (thanks m.a.!) and it was really fun to knit.


The pattern is by Cookie A and called Monkey.  It is so popular I think most knitters on this planet have already knit these socks.


In between clothing laundry duty this week I slipped in a load of Liberty of London fabrics.  They were all quarter yards so of course they ended up in a giant ball when the laundry was finished.  They are all ironed and in a neat little stack now.  Just waiting for me to play with them.  Oh so pretty.

This weekend was pretty slow given our little one had a fever for the better part of it and is still trying to get back on his game.  

Speaking of game, I played tennis with my 6 yr old and he gave me a decent workout.  I may have created myself a little tennis partner.  Who knew that was possible.  It all starts with love!

Stripe Invasion: Socks = Twisted Limone, Quilts, Walls...

My fondness for self-striping sock yarn has landed most folks in my family a new pair of hand knit socks using custom dyed yarn by Twisted Limone.  I'm working on a pair for myself in green and purple.  

Why are the colors kelly green and dark purple always saved for the villains?  Joker, Riddler, Lex Luthor...and shortly me, if I ever finish knitting these.

My stripe baby quilt is still in the hoop.  I wanted to finish it by Easter, but it is probably not trending in that direction unfortunately.

I have been looking at the work of Markus Linnenbrink lately and wondering if the colors he uses could be applied for inspiration to a quilt.  Would love to see his work on my wall someday.  Maybe I'll buy one someday if I have a mid-life crisis (instead of a sports car?).

2012 Holiday Gift Guide for Quilters, Knitters, and Spinners

Not sure what to get your quilting friend for Christmas?

Looking for a link to give your DH a not-so-subtle hint? 

Here's the first annual Quilt Otaku 2012 Holiday Gift Guide for Quilters, Knitters and Spinners!


Quilters:

For the space constrained - I have a tiny house and a tiny space for my quilting.  In the interest of keeping it 'small' - how about a gift that doesn't take up any space?

Q1)  Creative Bug:  This is on the top of my list for Santa.  With videos from Alabama Chanin, and Christine Schmidt from Yellow Owl Workshop, you couldn't go wrong with a gift subscription to the awesome classes here.
 
Q2)  Calligraphy Class:  I Still Love Calligraphy has a class that would help you ink on quilts in style.  Your labels would probably never be the same.  You may even find yourself inking all over your quilt tops and fabric.  I haven't taken this class...but you know I kinda want to! 

Q3) Tote Bag:  I have a couple of tote bags that I like, but the one available at The General Store in San Francisco is the cleanest looking large one that I've seen in a while.  You could fit a pretty big hand quilting project in there.  For sure a baby quilt.  Made locally.

And for the tool junkies -

Q4)  Pin Cushions:  I find it hard to believe that Foxtail Creek Studio can keep pincushions in stock because they are so well made and so affordable.  This is my top pick for cheap thrill, and they look like hours of time have gone into their creation.


Q5)  Scissors:  Sajou makes so many beautiful pairs and you can find them all at Bagsmith.  You can pick up a super tiny pair for around $50, or a fancy pair that has been on my 'someday' list for ages in the shape of a horse and cart for $180. 

Knitters:

K1)  Learn to Knit:  Purl Soho just came out with a really cute learn to knit kit.  Even an older child could really get into using this cool kit.
 
K2)  Lace Yarn:  I have used a lot of lace yarn in my knitting life and nothing is nicer that the Reliquary II from A Verb for Keeping Warm.  It's merino and silk, and for under $40 you've got almost 900 yds of pure joy to whip into just about anything.
 
K3)  Needles:  Chiaogoo Interchangable knitting needles set has gotten rave reviews out there.  Pointy and coming in a very impressive variety of sizes.  If you're looking for a set of needles - look no further.
 
K4)  Sock  Yarn:  Willing to get up on Saturday morning in order to purchase yarn balls on Etsy?  If you're as crazy for striped socks as I am, you'll love knitting with this yarn.  It's an addiction really.  Maybe you should stay away from Twisted Limone.


K5)  Sock Needles:  If you knit socks, you need to check out Blue Sky double pointed needles.  They are my favorites.

Spinners:

S1)  Spindle:  Who isn't after another drop spindle?  Bosworth spindles are both beautiful and start at $55.

S2)  Fiber:  Local bay area dyer Pigeonroof Studios has some very cool color combo's for spinners who like a little variety in their yarn.


S3)  Wraps Per Inch:  Knowing how thick your yarn is turning out is really important.  I like the card that comes with this Wraps Per Inch tool from Nancy's Knit Knacks.  It tells you WPI info for various yarn weights.

S4)  Fiber Basket:  When you spin a bunch of fiber, it's hand to have a bag that can hold it but won't snag it.  Baskets made out of cotton cord by Doug Johnston are perfect.  Order quick for holiday arrival.

If that list doesn't keep Santa busy, I don't know what will!

White Elephant - Handspun yarn

My knit nite friends were over for our holiday party last week and we had a real blast.

I even taught one of the husbands how to make yarn using my spinning wheel. He actually wasn't half bad at it.

The white elephant gift I got was awesome, some beautiful yarn that I'm planning on using to make a scarf for my husband, and needle holders for when you make socks. So cool.

I ended up giving away around 300 yards or so of handspun (photo above). The gal who got it is a seriously talented crocheter and I just cannot wait to see what she does with it. The fiber is hand dyed by Pigeonroof Studios in the Collision Course colorway.

I'm sure you know about this already, but have you checked out Barbara Brackman's new Civil War Quilts blog? It's pretty darn cool.

Time for Knitwear

Our older son had a soccer play off series this weekend and the little one was sporting a little congestion.  My solution to this was to pull out all the knitwear I could find for him.

This included a beanie out of Madelintosh in a yummy copper color, a scarf that I knit ages ago that is too short for me, and a Little Oak Cardi  - pattern by Alana Dakos. 

The socks are cheating, just from SmartWool.

Still though, this was one very wooly 5yr old.  It was early and cold, so was a lot more cooperative about it than usual.

I have been knitting up a storm today and made some progress on a gift for somebody special.  More about that in a couple weeks.

Hope you're all out there keeping warm too.

And by the way, have any of you tried making custom photo moleskin books?  I think they would be cool for holiday gifts, but I'm interested in a recommendation....anybody?

Dear Yoko Saito

I made block "F6" from the Dear Hannah quilt pattern using Japanese taupe fabrics.

Maybe I should call this quilt Dear Yoko instead of Dear Hannah. Do you think that Ms. Saito would approve of my use of taupe colors? I sure do hope so. I'm in love with little taupe applique blocks.

I'll be making another similar block for my sister's wedding quilt (which she will be lucky to receive on her 10th wedding anniversary at this rate! sorry sis - eek!).

It's starting to look very Christmas-y around here, and the kids can smell the closeness of Santa's arrival. We are still counting days instead of hours which is perhaps the only blessing there.

Mona, a friend from Singapore, visited the Yokohama quilt show and mailed me the catalog. Thank you so much Mona. Those quilts just blew my socks off. I'll have to photograph my favorite page for you or something.

She sent me Yoko Saito's business card with her email address on there. I sent her some fan email, but she has yet to invite me to lunch with her. I'm sure that will happen eventually.