The Great Sock Off of 2009

My plan was to hang on to my sock yarn for the Limenviolet Sock Marathon starting February 1, but then I saw the sign-up on Ravelry for The Great Sock Off of 2009. I couldn't resist. It involves making one pair of socks a month for 2009. I also needed a project I could carry with me. So the the LnV Marathon is going to be down about a quarter mile for January. My socks for the Great Sock Off will count starting in February.

This pair uses the Ragtime colorway of Brown Sheep Wildfoote sock yarn. It's beautiful. This is my own pattern that I'm writing up. This is the toe-up version. I've a done a couple cuff down before.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 2 - Cat in a Midnight Choir, by Carole Douglas Nelson. This series features Midnight Louie, a black cat PI in Las Vegas - very entertaining and a great read.

12 3/4 Miles of Sock Yarn

I recently signed up for the LimenViolet Sock Marathon on Ravelry. Part of the marathon is to determine how many miles of sock yarn you have. Sock (aka fingering weight) yarn is my favorite weight of yarn to knit, so I knew going in I would have more of that in my stash than any other kind. I guessed maybe 5 miles worth of which I would try to knit up 3 in the approximately 6 months we have for the marathon. I was wrong. It came to 12-3/4 miles of sock yarn. Now that I've picked myself up off the floor and am trying to breathe normally and simply deal with the situation, I realize that knitting 3 miles in the given time is reasonable and I can only hope to knit more. I'd really like to be able to put the lid on the bin the yarn is sitting in now. I think that means more like 6 miles worth - but we'll see.

I did find some real treasures as I was getting all the sock yarn in one place - like five skeins of Lorna's Laces. I have no idea where I got it - it's in pink and blue, so I can only imagine someone gave it to me. Fortunately, the marathon does not require that you make all the sock yarn into socks - you can make others things as well. I also found out that four pairs of socks equal approximately a mile, as does a sweater. This should be interesting.

The Purple Yarn

Shortly before Christmas, I purchased some purplish roving on eBay. At first, I thought I would barber-pole ply it with black. After spinning the first bobbin, I knew that was not the right thing to do. I purchased a pound (and for some odd reason, most sellers include the weight of the plastic in the measurement). I have about a 1000 yards of 21 wpi, 2-ply light fingering weight yarn. I hoped for lace weight, but as you can tell from wpi, it is a tad heavy for lace weight. Even so, I think it will make wonderful lace.

I've signed up for a couple of challenges on Ravelry this year: 52 Books in 52 Weeks and the Limenviolet Sock Marathon. I will be posting my progress in both on this blog. One involves books read and the other sock yarn knitted. I leave it to you, which is which.

Book 1 for Week 1 of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge is: Rumpole and the Reign of Terror, by John Mortimer. I can't read a Rumpole novel or story without picturing Leo McKern as Rumpole. This Rumpole, like most, is a good read.

Sock Flat

I finally knit up one of my sock flats from this summer. It's always a surprise what comes out. I did these toe up and because my bind off is so tight, I used a picot cast off which is not only looser it gives the socks a very nice finish. As you can see it only takes about 2/3rds of a sock flat to make socks for me. I'm working up an idea of the remainder - film at 11!

It's Been a Christmas!

After my last blog entry, I had to rush down to Phoenix because my step-father was not doing well (he seems to be better now) and my mother was overwhelmed. It was a bad week to be gone, weather-wise, and I had some real concerns about getting back in time for some work commitments just prior to Christmas - but I made it. Unfortunately, my oldest cat, Hans, was not pleased that I left and gave me the cold shoulder upon my return. He can never keep it up long, because all I have to do is come close and he starts to purr!

For the first time in my life, my mother did not make me guess what she wanted for Christmas! She has a couple feather pillows which my grandmother made for her. I wove covers for them soon after I graduated from college and they had finally worn away (gives you an idea how long I've been out!) I only had a few weeks, but I made these out of Sugar n' Cream and included a zipper so she can wash and dry them. I used a pattern from one of the Harmony Guides for the pillow on the left and the cable one is from the new issue of Cast On. I sized them for my grandmother's pillows as "standard size" was not part of her vocabulary! (At least the pillows were both the same size.) Anyway, my mother was pleased with her presents.

Here's the scarf I made for my son out of the yarn Hans enjoyed a few entries ago. I wish the cable pattern showed up better. It was my first foray into Reversible Cables and I used the Palindrome pattern available at:

http://www.cometosilver.com/patterns/palindrome.htm

Rescue Chair Update

The cold weather has limited the amount of time I can work on my chair - but I've still been working on it - slow, but sure. I'm down to the last coat of paint in most places and down to the wood in others - like the seat. What has bothered me about the chair is that while it's as sturdy as the Rock of Gibraltor, it looks like it leans. I couldn't figure it out. At least I couldn't figure it out until I got most of the finish off the seat. The seat is not symetrical! So it's part of it's charm and it's not structural. I was very concerned that I would get to the last coat of paint on the chair back and see glimpses of rosemaling, but no, it's just wood. I'm may give up and get it dipped or have the rest of the finish stripped professionally since I'm kind of an instant gratification kind of person.

Biloxi Blues

When I purchased one of the hand spindles I wrote about a few months ago, I received some wool batts with the spindle. It's the Biloxi Blues colorway from Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber (www.mainewoodsyarn.com). I finished spinning and plying a week or so ago and here it is: About 278 yards of double-plied at about DK weight. I haven't figured out the wpi on it yet to be sure. It weighs in at 4.8 ounces, so it might be closer to worsted weight instead. I really like how the colors work together and the white just makes the whole skein pop!