------------------------------- ------------------------------------ On and Off The Needles

Thursday, March 15, 2007

A Day in the Sun

With the temperatures topping out at almost 70 here yesterday (never fear New Englanders, we are slated for 2-4" of snow tomorrow!), I couldn't resist heading outside to take some shots of the first Garter Stitch sock.

Garter Rib #1

The yarn is Trekking 107. That very pretty short row heel is thanks to Misocrafty's tutorial. The recipient's foot is about 2 sizes smaller than mine, hence the bit of stretched and contorted look to it. It, like the Broken Cable Rib socks is being mailed up to New Hampshire to try the fit. No point doing the second one the same way if the first one doesn't fit. The yarn is Trekking #107. A really springy combination of colors. They are perfect for the next chunk of Project Spectrum - the Green/Pink/Yellow months.

In the meantime, to keep myself occupied while waiting for a verdict on sock #1, I decided to inflict some more torture and frustration and attempt another colorwork sock for my sister. I am planning on using a pattern out of Ethnic Socks and Stockings. There are bunches of stranded designs and some neat patterns. Hopefully, it will go better than my first attempt. I did end up buying the book. I saw one go up in the used section of Amazon for dirt cheap. How could I resist? I got it the other day and for a supposedly "used" book, the binding cracked when I opened it, and there is not a mark on it. Very pleased. It's kind of like a pick and choose book - she gives you basic outlines of styles of socks, and the charts, but then the heels and toes and cast ons (oh my!) are explained in other sections. There are so many different ones! After reading Knitting Vintage Socks and Folk Socks along with the unique ones in Socks for Sandals and Clogs I thought I had seen it all. Not by a long shot. There are cast-on's, heels and toes that I haven't come across before in here. Some really fun stuff.

So, that is my plan for the weekend. Some sock swatching and hopefully some baking and agility training. Considering it's supposed to snow, they all sound like perfect things to do. Speaking of baking - did you see Stephanie's yummy pie? She is churning out the delicious looking baked goods lately! I also joined up on A Year In Bread (link found on Steph's blog). A year's worth of recipes and tips about bread - how could you go wrong!

To commemorate the almost spring we had yesterday, a parting shot of the boys enjoying the sunshine......
Boys in the Spring Sun