Sockotta and Kool-Aid dyeing

I received my SOTM kid from theknitter.com and this months yarn was dye it yourself with Kool-Aid. It was fun to do and looks great. I had some other yarns here that I decided to give a try too. I think they turned out pretty well although the white yarn gives the most vibrant colors. One thing I do know is that I will never drink Kool-Aid again. Anything that will dye my socks permanent colors is not going in my stomach!

I finished these Sockotta short socks for my friend Pam's birthday. I like the feel of them better than 100% cotton yarns and I think I have enough yarn left to make another pair for myself so it was really an economical buy.

I hit the jackpot on Freecycle this week! Someone posted that they had received a box of knitting machine yarns on cones and that they were no good to them. I picked them up and most of them are some kind of wool blend and will be perfect for socks. I have enough to make socks for at least half the world but hey it was free!


Another great find. Last week at Dollarama I found eyelash yarn for 50¢ a ball but being a moron I decided I would need about 4 balls to make a decent scarf. There were very few colors that had more than 2 balls so I bought 4 gold and came home. Later I decided to knit the scarf. I found out that a ball and a half will do it so I hurried back to get more. It was all gone! Now I'm kicking myself for being so stupid. There were some really great colors there too. I could have had half my Christmas presents done already.


I ordered 2 balls of Sockotta yarn from theknitter.com came that came this week. I just love the color of this one. These are going to be ankle socks for my friend Pam's birthday. I'm not sure I like the tops yet but I really like the colors.

Back to socks

I finished the 4th lapghan for the nursing home last night and that's about enough crocheting for a bit. I had a basket of granny's daughters that I added onto an afghan I started making with them eons ago. It looks interesting but in order to have lots of color to it you have to have a lot of odds and ends of yarn. I make a few everytime I have some bits leftover but it's still a long term project. It takes longer to join them together than it would to just crochet a few rows on an afghan. You can find out more about Granny's Daughters or Circles of Hope at this link.

So I'm back to finishing up some socks I started about a year ago. They're made with laceweight Baby Alpaca and I decided to do a cable pattern on them so it's pretty slow going. I'm not totally sure about how they will wear after I do get them done but they sure are soft. They were supposed to be for St. Patrick's Day last year and I didn't make it and I doubt I will for this year either!

Moda Dea Sock done

I finished the first Moda Dea sock. It looks nice and fits well but I'm still not impressed with paying $5.09 a ball for acrylic yarn. They'll probably end up going to my daughter since she likes any handmade socks no matter what the yarn is.

Nothing much

I haven't accomplished much this week. I started another lapghan, then got sidetracked with making a shawl for my mom. I made her one a couple years ago and apparently it was getting past it's best so she presented me with a bag of yarn on Monday night and asked for a new one. It's made with Bernat Illusions and a big crochet hook but it's a boucle type yarn and it's impossible to work with. The "nubs" catch all the time and won't pull through the loops. It only takes 3 balls and I've just started the 3rd so the end is in site.

I've almost finished the first Moda Dea sock and it looks alright. I'm less impressed with the yarn now since I found a join in the ball and the stripes don't match up after the join. I should have pulled it out and fixed it to match but I was at work and it just didn't seem like an option at the time. So now I either have fraternal socks or I have to make the second one wrong too!

Another lapghan done

I finished another one of my stash buster lapghans for the nursing homes. I sure hope that they like green. I keep finding more of it everytime I open another cupboard or tote. It has to be multiplying in the dark because I don't remember ever getting this much of it!

I started a pair of sock with the Moda Dea that I "accidently" bought at Christmas time. It looks nice and is knitting up well but I'm still not happy about the price I paid for acrylic yarn.

Winter has finally settled in to Southern Ontario. Last week it felt like spring was here and now it's snowing everyday. So much for groundhog predictions!

New sock kit

I started my new sock kit from theKnitter.com this week. The yarn is called Bollicine Dolly from Cascade and the pattern is Pink Ladder Socks by Nancy Walsh. It's all done with slip stitches so the pattern is very easy and the yarn is lovely to work with. I still have a sock on the needles that I really need to finish up but I couldn't resist just starting this one to see how it would look!

I finished the glowy green lapghan and started this one. The yarn is named Victorian Christmas Ombre but it doesn't look very Christmasy to me! It's interesting how the color pools as I go giving it almost a tartan look.

My freaky frog is still alive. This is the original one that I bought first and he seems to be a survivor. It's grown quite a bit and has decided that attacking the fish is no longer the fun he thought it was. Everyone in the tank seems to have settled in to live together peacefully.

Paintbox socks

My daughter had a better idea of what to do with the glowy green yarn. My dog blanket turned into a laprobe that I'll give to the local nursing home. A friend of hers volunteers there and said some of the residents are close to blind and like bright colors because they can see them so these blankets should really fit the bill. I thought I had used up about 1/2 of the green yarn and then I found another bag of it in my craft cupboard. I'm starting to think it's some kind of alien lifeform that's reproducing when I'm not looking. I'm sure I didn't start out with that much of it!


I've been working on these socks at work. The yarn is Kroy Sock in Paintbox. It's an interesting color combination and reminds me of autumn more than a paintbox. I brought them home this weekend to finish because I'm getting bored with the color. Seems I've been knitting the same socks for months which actually I have since I only get a few minutes at lunch to work on them.

My freaky frog is still alive and has discovered that he can hide in the plants and jump out on the unsuspecting fish. I'm not sure that the fish are enjoying the game as much as he is.

First sock of 2006

I finished my first socks of 2006 this week. They're just a plain sock done with some yarn I bought on a cone at Value Village for a dollar a couple years ago. It says Cashmoulon on the inside of it in handwriting and no one seems to know what that is but I made a pair with it before that I gave away and it seemed to be fine. It's a bit heavy for ordinary socks but should be fine as a boot sock or to just wear around the house. The photo isn't great but there's not much to see anyway.
PS: Thanks to Emily I now know the name of the yarn is Cashmilon and it is an acrylic.


Over the holidays I realized that my stash had become way overgrown. I've saved every bit of yarn that's been left over from progects plus I used to be a Girl Guide leader and people would always give me craft things for the girls. I was the proud recipient of many balls of this lovely "green" yarn. I can't think of anything I'd want made with it so my daughter suggested making blankets for the dogs at the shelter. I've gotten started on that now and hopefully dogs really are colorblind!

My freaky frog is still going. The two tankmates I bought for him weren't so lucky. I think I'm just not meant to have frogs. This one is the original frog and he is wired. My granddaughter loves to watch him zipping around the tank so hopefully he'll last awhile.

Disappointed

My daughter convinced me I wanted to go Boxing Day shopping yesterday. That little voice inside me said, NO, don't do it, but I went anyway. What a zoo! I dragged along behind her until I couldn't stand being pushed and shoved anymore. I have no idea why anyone would willingly subject themselves to this madness. There were no great bargains that I saw, just a sea a crazy people all looking for something cheap.

Another silly thing I've probably done is get a couple of African Dwarf Frogs. Same daughter convinced me I needed 2 of them on Christmas Eve. I have an aquarium with a few guppies and platies in it and so I thought it would be OK. Wrong! We put the 2 new frogs in and all was fine until Christmas Day when 1 of them was missing. I don't think it could have possibly gotten out but it sure isn't anywhere in the aquarium so unless someone ate him whole he must have escaped. Fortunately, they are only the size of a penny and can't live out of water so he's probably stuck in a dust buny somewhere.



So we left the mall and headed for my favorite fish place which was not crowded at all and bought another frog which we found out would be much better off in it's own tank. So now I have my old Betta tank set up with 2 tiny frogs in it. I have to admit that they are cute and interesting to watch. I just hope these ones stay put!

My next stop was my favorite yarn store which may not be my favorite anymore. Since I was there last they've rearranged the whole place and seem to have almost eliminated sock yarns. They had a lot of Bernat Sox which I did not want because it is acrylic, a few colors of Kroy sock but they were boring colors and a new yarn called Moda Dea Sassy Stripes. They colors of this yarn were super but Hope wasn't interested in yarn shopping and I didn't spend enough time checking it out. I bought 4 balls of it, enough I figured for 2 pairs of socks for $5.09 per ball. Last night, I got it out to check it out and decide what to make with it. It's acrylic! Now I feel really ripped off paying that much for junky acrylic yarn and I really don't know if I want to make anything with it. Maybe it can become cuffs for other yarns.

I did finish the second boring grey sock so it can go off to Sudbury on Thursday to it's new owner. Sure hope he likes them!

Christmas Gifts

I've been chugging along on my Christmas knitting and have almost made the deadline. Everything is finished except this pair of neverending, boring grey socks for my daughters boyfriend and I have until December 29th for those so there is still hope.




I made these mittens and socks for my friend and co-worker Pam. She loved the last socks I made her but asked for something brighter next time. I think I managed to fill her request with these ones! She saw me making mitts to donate to the local foodbank and asked if I made them in big sizes. I assured her that I didn't and then made these for her for Christmas. The yarn was something I found in my stash that I bought at the Spinrite outlet store a few years ago. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy more now. It's called Aspen and has 15% merino wool content and it is sooooo soft. I can just see a really cosy sweater made with it.

More stripes

I made another pair of these scrap socks to use up some of the little balls of yarn that I accumulate. I need to come up with some other idea because I'm getting tired of the stripe thing. I'm thinking maybe some kind of slip stitch design or just trying to match up some of the colors and knit 2 socks at a time doing longer stripes in co-ordinating colors.

My Christmas knitting is on track. I did a pair for my mom in Kroy Jacquards in a denim colorway. This is the third pair of socks I've done with that yarn and I still have another 2 balls of the colorway left! I must have really fallen in love with it the day I made that purchase! I still need to finish a pair for a co-worker yet that are in shades of pinks and purples. She said she liked bright colors!

Hawaiian Lei

This is the Sock of the Month Club sock from theKnitter.com for September 2005 and I love it. It's called Hawaiian Leis designed by Adrienne Fong and the yarn is Trekking XXL in color number 106 called Pastel. I really like Trekking XXL yarn and this colorway is gorgeous although I'm part way into the second sock and still can't see that there is any repeat. The pattern looks really difficult but was quite easy to do. I do have to admit that I cheated and turned the heel in my own way instead of following the pattern though. 

Making progress on WIP's

I've been making pretty good progress on finishing up some of the socks that I've had laying around here without a mate. I finished off the Turtle Track socks that I started back in the summer and am at the heel flap of the Basketcase socks. I've worn the Turtle Tracks and really like both the pattern and the yarn. The Basketcase look like they will be really warm.

These socks are for my daughter since she loved her Hot Tamale socks so much. They are made with Bernat's Hot Sox and the color is a bit off in the picture. The heels, toes and cuff are actually a bright purple not blue. I love the color of the jewel tone yarn, I just wish it was in a wool instead of acrylic.


Another co-worker is expecting a baby in December so I started this afghan for him. They chose to find out that it will be a boy so I'm safe on color with this one. I love the MAM patterns so I should be able to finish this up quickly.

Finishing WIP's

I finally picked up my hook again and finished a baby afghan that I started last year. On Thursday my supervisor mentioned that he might be off for a couple of weeks because his wife is expecting a baby any day. Nothing like not mentioning it until the last minute! I had Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today off so I quickly finished the afghan up and ran it into work today hoping that his car would be there. Sure enough it was and I was able to slip into his office and leave it for him.


This pattern comes from Liesure Arts book "mile-a-minute Afghans". It's supposed to be a fullsize afghan but I've adapted it to be shorter for a baby. It also looks nice with brighter colors & a black border to use up scraps.

I started these socks while on vacation last month. I finally finished up the first one and I really like it. The yarn is Kroy in a color called Fancy Free and the pattern is free from the 'net called Blueberry Waffle and the pattern is easy to follow.



This shows the pattern close up. It gives a nice tight fit so the socks stay up.

I was really busy and finished up the other Hot Tamale Ugly Sock and took them to the Post Office this morning so they are on their way to their new home in Newfoundland now. Now I only have about 15 more things to finish up and I'll be ready for some new projects!