Let's Talk About Socks (baby?)

As you may recall, I started out the year with goals. Real, silly, and optimistic goals that I kind of managed to stick to for the first month (and third and kinda fourth). I really wanted to spend 2011 breaking out of the spell that knit hats seemed to have cast upon me and knit new things. My FO count has dwindled as each month has passed (excuse me for walking and designing and being silly), but I have tried new things. This year has seen shawls, shrugs, a pullover, 1.5 cardigans (I still hate you, February goal), fingerless mitts...and a few hats.

But the one goal that should have been accomplished in May (and then August) brings me to this very post: the sock.

I'm not scared of socks, but it would be a lie to say that they don't intimidate me. I've heard about second sock syndrome from countless people and I can share their pain. Remember the 6ish single gloves/mittens I have lying around? Yeah, remember these guys (and their lost little friends)?

So, yeah. SSS. I am a little intimidated. But I will survive! And celebrate my first Socktoberfest!

The yarn I've elected to use is  Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Rustic Wedding," the Jimmy Beans Wool exclusive color for September. If you know me, then you know that I love me some Lorna's Laces and some Jimmy Beans. Every month I look so forward to the JBW exclusive color, and while I have bought quite a few (oh man. Harry Potter madness), I decided that Rustic Wedding is the perfect, perfect first sock color. A couple of my crafty ladies were supposed to buy it too *cough, cough*, but they decided to be responsible. Boo. Hiss.

The colors in "Rustic Wedding" are nothing that I usually go for, but the combination was just too beautiful to not buy. As it is a variegated yarn, my sock options are a little limited in terms of what I usually go for (cables, lace, etc.). But there are some crazy beautiful sock patterns out there that were just  *made* for variegated yarns.

Like Monkeys. As you can see, October has not necessarily yielded me a bountiful, socky harvest. While I have knit a few more repeats since that photo was taken (this post has been sitting in Knit Blog Limbo for far too long), I still kind of suck at this goal thing. I selected Monkeys as my first sock because the pattern is interesting and simple without being boring. I like to challenge myself and I didn't want to do plain vanilla stockinette socks. Monkeys have managed to keep me entertained and make me think, but I'm still able to throw them in my purse (carefully) and lug them around the city with me.

And the colors...oh my. I love Rustic Wedding even more now that I've started knitting with it. On my size 1 DPNS (oh god, whyyyyyyy?). Maybe I will be able to finish one before November 1, but my hands have run away from me and picked up too many other projects. Too. Much. Knitting.

Did I mention that Christmas is only two months away? Maybe my second Monkey will have to wait...

*smacks self in face*

Happy Knitting!

-Ashley

Friday Favorites: Harry Potter Edition

You better believe this nerd saw it at midnight. Did you?

And yes, it was awesome.

There are some nerderies that I try to conceal, but my love for Harry Potter is too great to ever try and hide. I've read all of the books handfuls of times and they will always remind me of my childhood/young adulthood. The fact that this is all really "over" makes me super sad (who else used to line at midnight for the books?), but I will never really be Harry Potter-less.

And, as I say all the time...knitters are nerds through and through. A quick search on Ravelry will reveal Weasley sweaters, snitch socks, every hat Hermione has ever worn on screen and endless interpretations of house scarves (puts all the Doctor Who scarves to shame). So, though the saga may be over, the fandom will carry on for a long time. No doubt about that.

And yes, I almost cried. Several times. Enough about that. Here are some projects to keep you busy while reliving one of the most popular fandoms of all time.

Hermione Hearts Ron by Christy Aylesworth

This one by: Stanzilla

For when you're feeling a little bit evil...

Dark Mark Illusion Scarf by by Lindsay Henricks

Hermione's Striped Pullover (Order of the Phoenix) by Sirianne

The parseltongue hat by tiny owl knits 

This one by: Underreigns

Hurray Hufflepuff by Lykkefanten 

These ones by: Askja

Coolest "non-hp" Harry Potter project?

Poetry Mittens by Veronica Patterson and Jane Fournier 

These ones by: Abycat

Sassy AND Evil

Slytherin Pride Socks by Ann Kingstone

Godric's Hollow by Margaretha Ramselaar

Potter Pals Snape!! by Squidneyknits

Bellatrix by Monkey Toes 

These ones by: Mycrosquish

The Weasley Sweater by Alison Hansel 

This one by: Cguggs

And even a...

Sorting Hat by Diane Scott 

This one by: Frey-ja

Even though there is a lack of Ravenclaw love, I must say that might be my favorite house. Well, either that or Slytherine, but I did purchase "Intelligence," the limited edition Jimmy Beans color from Lorna's Laces. I bought one skein of Shepherd's Sock (possibly a new favorite yarn...) and love, love, love it. Act quick; they only have three left in stock!

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Intelligence"

/nerd

New Things: Lorna's Laces Solemate

Between TNNA happening a few weeks ago and Sock Summit looming on the horizon, things have been really busy at the shop. And we have been reaping the benefits.

New things are rolling in pretty much every single day, including Solemate, the newest yarn from Lorna's Laces. Solemate comes in a wide variety of colors (well, all colors LL dye in) and we are already almost sold out at the shop. And they just arrived two weeks ago! I got a sneak peak at most of the new fall colors (including Grant Park, which is an absolutely beautiful shade of green) Let me tell you, we are in for a treat. Kerfuffle and Tickled Pink are all that remain at the shop, so I snapped a few shots to try and show the texture. I usually consider Kerfuffle to be more of a blue, but here is is clearly much darker and more purple.

Kerfuffle

Ticked Pink & Kerfuffle

What makes Solemate stand apart from other sock yarns? It's composition is 55% superwash merino, 15% nylon and 30% Outlast, so it's machine washable, but that's not all. See that fuzzy halo in the first picture? That's the outlast. According to the Lorna's Laces folks, Outlast is a viscose fiber that interacts with your body’s microclimate to moderate temperature from being too hot or too cold.

Yes, that's right: temperature control.  Outlast has been used from everyone to the people at Ferrari (in their seats) to those working at NASA. And, as I touch it right now, at this VERY second, it does feel cooler.

Because of course I bought a skein. But not just any skein...A Harry Potter skein.

He Who Must Not Be Named

He Who Must Not Be Named, to be exact. This is Jimmy Beans Wool's signature color for the month of July. They are all nerds over there, which I love, and even put together a sorting hat kit, containing one skein of yarn for each of the four Harry Potter houses. The Bravery colorway is already Sold Out and it doesn't ship until July 15. Good thing I ordered mine last week :)

Seriously...how nerd cool is that? As for the Solemate, I am Sol(e)d.

My trip to Lorna's Laces (and a sale heads up!)

All has been quiet on the (Mid)western front.


Still, I chug along on my little shrug, which is damn near completion (still!) and, as I close in on the end of my skein, I think I shall have enough. A one skein shrug! Woohoo.

Action shot

Kate took this photo for me at the shop last week. At this point, I had one sleeve to go (pre-blocking). The trouble is is that I didn't measure the length of my swatch pre-blocked...only post-blocked. Ho hum, I may need to swatch some more. A swatcher's life is never done.


Also, I may mentioned this (or maybe not), but I ventured into the city this past weekend with the Fox Valley Knitter's Guild. We stormed the Lorna's Laces factory sale and I managed to snatch up some millends at great prices. Unfortunately, another group laid siege upon the building before we got there and that group CLEANED. UP. I won't be bitter, though, because I did find some nice skeins of Shepherd Sock that will make lovely shawls. The only thing I was really bummed about was that I didn't get any Helen's Lace, which I have been coveting ever since Rock Island was published.


Oh, woe is me.


Ok, not really, because, as we all know, the last thing I need is more yarn. Matt's mom managed to snag up a skein of Helen's Lace in "Kerfuffle" (woohoo!), which is a truly beautiful dark blue. I'm going to help find her a pattern. Huzzah for living vicariously.

Now, the Guild mentioned that tours would not be offered, so I didn't think to bring my camera. I did snap a few photos with my phone and I'll share those with you. Since they're carried at many different online retailers (and local shops), I thought Lorna's Laces would be much larger. But it's tiny! And it really makes you appreciate the work that goes into their yarn that much more.

Here we are!

Yarn waiting to go to happy, happy homes

Drying yarn (and yarn monster)

Kind of in love with this mystery color

Eliza with my haul

Eliza om noming my haul

I also wanted to mention a knitting related sale I stumbled upon this morning.
20% off EVERYTHING at the Knot Another Hat website. This includes Addi Turbos (and the interchangeable sets) AND Lantern Moon interchangeable sets. Oh, how I covet those Lantern Moon needles! Someone please buy them so that I can live vicariously? No? Ok, well I guess I shall have to live.

Just enter code KAHGO when you check out. This was my first time using them and they had shipped my order within three hours of placing it. I like the sound of that!

Yarn Pornz

Since I have work in a few short hours and still have another blog post to write for Knit&Crochet Blog Week, this yarn pornz is going to be a little quick and dirty.

I received all of these yarnz last week, but haven't had much of a chance to share. I still have more to upload, but the weather is quite springish today (cold and rainy) and there is a chance of snow, so not exactly optimal lighting conditions.

Tosh Merino Light in Malachite

I'm planning on doing a Multnomah Shawl KAL with a friend (or two) in April and I think that Malachite is the perfect, perfect shade for it.

Tosh Merino Light in Bearded Iris

No idea what to make with this one, but it was so beautiful how could I pass this up?

Tosh Merino Light in Venetian

I think this would look perfect with a golden shade. Maybe Faded Chinos if the stripe study doesn't pan out?

TML in Georgia O' Keefe

Now, I already shared some photos of this colorway, but I ended up buying two more to make a Folded sweater. If that day will actually come I cannot tell, but at least I am prepared. Plus this is probably one of my favorite colorways in TML.

TML in Grove, Tern & Saffron

 These are the newest skeins I've received and, for now, I will only offer a little sneak peak. The colors are super rich and I can't wait to photograph them in better lighting. I bought Grove and Tern to use together, but all three look pretty perfect together. I'll have better pictures early next week (I hope).

Lorna's Laces Honor

This last shot is just a cute one I took at work during a slow evening. We have a ton of different colors of Lorna's Laces Honor, a soft and yummy blend of baby alpaca and silk. These two colors were begging to be made into a strawberry cake. Did I mention that we store our yarn on cake platters at the shop?

And, finally, I finished my Daybreak. I used TML in Calligraphy and Nectar. Better pictures next week, but I just wanted to share it now. I made my March Goal! And I'll be back in a bit with another post.

Yarn Pornz

It's been a busy couple of days. I've been designing and knitting, knitting and photographing, photographing and redesigning...

You get the picture.

2/3 of my prototypes are done for this little ebook I'd like to assemble. The final (and largest) won't be done until April, so I'm kind of waffling about what I want to do at this point. I may release a pattern this week and then another next week and go from there. And I still have so many ideas stewing about in this noggin of mine.

We've gotten in some GORGEOUS, gorgeous yarn at the shop lately. I can't even stand how beautiful it is.

Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light

Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light. I've managed to accumulate six skeins since it arrived last Friday. These skeins are just so saturated with color and each one is a little unique, so even after you've *finally* narrowed your selection down to one skein you still have a difficult decision to make. And the names are great too! Molly Ringwald? Betty Draper's Blues? Georgia O'Keefe? See, it's just like I said: you need at least six. And did I mention that I have three more stashed away?

Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Crumble & Blackcurrant

Including these two bad boys right here. You can't buy just one; they look so nice together!

Monkeyshines, Tomfoolery,  Hullabaloo, Shenanigans, Kerfuffle

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. These colors are all new for Spring 2011 and I nearly died when I unpacked them the other week. With whimsical names like Hullabaloo and Kerfuffle, Lorna's Laces again pleases those who appreciate the little things like names and clever labels (like me!). Now, I haven't used Shepherd Sock yet, but I think that I am in dire need of owning Kerfuffle. And Monkeyshines.

Malabrigo Rasta in Soriano

Let me tell you. This yarn is HOT right now. Or it was when there was still the scent of blizzard in the air. Our first shipment of Malabrigo Book 3 and Malabrigo Rasta flew off the shelf. The booklet was so successful that it had to go into reprint ASAP, leading some people to wait nearly 2 months for it.

Laser cowl from Bitchin' Stitches

This yarn is so soft and yummy. One skein of this super bulky yarn is enough to make a cowl or hat. While waiting for Book 3 to arrive, I designed my Laser cowl out of color "Laguna Negra." This colorway featured above, Soriano, is still my all time favorite colorway that we have gotten in. The dark, dark purples and blues and shocks of yellow make this skein remind me of a summer storm.

And, after all that yarn pornz, I am spent. Well, I guess there is time for one more ;)

Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK in Fjord, Blackcurrant & Iris

Check back at the end of the week for some design sneak peaks.