Mad Color Weave

They are done!
Pattern: Mad Color Weave by Woolgathering
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zarina, two skeins
Needles: #1 (2.5mm) KnitPicks circulars (Magic Loop)
Modifications: Did 10 repeats on the leg instead of 6. Added a great touch of color at the toe when I ran out of yarn about 5 rounds from the end.

Love. This. Pattern. There was no way I was doing only six repeats on the leg. I needed more. I really didn't care when I ran out of yarn - I just added a "design element" and continued on.

The pattern was fun and addictive, much like the Monkey pattern. It went very fast and by the second sock, I had the 8 row repeat memorized. The solid color just makes the texture in this pattern pop. The heel. The beautiful heel.

I have never done an Eye of Partridge heel before. I will be doing it again. The subtle texture is so pretty! This pattern was unusual as you slipped stitches on the purl side, not the knit side. Either way, the result is stunning.

After knitting the second sock, I did have some leftovers.

About a yard. It may have made it to do both toes, but I kind of like the little green dashes of color. Makes them a little different. They fit perfectly and I'm really happy with how they came out!

After I finished the socks, I had some free time this weekend so using the pint of blueberries we got with our produce delivery last week, I made some muffins.

Both Blueberry (from this book) and some Zucchini Blueberry as well. Both turned out yummy. I think I may have put too many blueberries in them as they tended to fall apart a little. Nonetheless, they made for a wonderful leisurely Sunday breakfast.

This week is pretty hectic. Lots to do - packing, choosing what knitting to take and gathering all the boys stuff to send them off to my parents. We leave on Friday first for Baltimore to spend the night and also the day on Saturday, then we are off early Sunday morning for the Outer Banks! Yay!

So Close

I was so close. In working on the foot to Mad Color Weave Sock #1, I knew there didn't look like enough yarn left. My usual approach is to race the knitting to the end - if I just knit fast, it won't have time to run out. Usually this works. I have been lucky in the past. I think my luck ran out. So close.

Just a tiny "dash" of color. About 4 rows short. Not like anyone will really see the toes anyway. I'm still very happy with it!

The turning of the heel was a little confusing. The heel flap leaves off at a knit row, and the turning instructions also start off with a knit row. I just used my knitters judgment and threw in an extra purl row at the end of the heel flap. The eye of partridge style heel flap is very pretty. The texture is nice and isn't as ribby looking as a typical slip stitch heel flap. I'm about halfway through the leg of sock #2. The tail is a bit shorter on this second sock, so I may have enough to finish. I'll have to see - if I have extra, I may just rip out the green tip and make it blue.

Another big accomplishment of the weekend - Tucker got his AD (Agility Dog) USDAA title! We have been really close for a few months now, but little bobbles in each round has kept us from earning the title.

We are a bit lower in level in USDAA trials than at AKC. The different venues have different rules and there are not nearly as many local USDAA trials. They sure are fun though! They have some game type classes that AKC does not have. Typically you do about 4-5 runs a day at a USDAA trial, where you only do 2 at AKC. Makes for a much more exhausting day!

Sarah came up to the trial on Saturday to watch us compete. Tucker always loves having a fan club. After the trial, we headed over to the Hub Mills Factory Store - the outlet for Classic Elite Yarns. The area it was in was kind of sketchy - downtown Lowell, Massachusetts.

It was in a huge warehouse, and we took the slowest elevator up to the 4th floor. The store was small, but had quite a bit of yarn (Classic Elite brand as well as many others like Noro and Cascade). The biggest find (I think) was the shopping cart full of sweaters. What it looked like was all the sweaters from the past trunk shows. They were all for sale as well. The prices - not bad at all - we found one sweater (too small for both of us) that was only $50. After looking it up in the pattern book, it would be at least 11 balls of $8-10 yarn to make it. Of course, being a knitter, I could hardly buy a fully knit sweater, right?

All I ended up with was a cute little green Chibi. I had wanted some pointier needles for sewing in ends, as well as smaller needles - this had both! I also got a locking row counter (also seen on that page). I guess green was the color for me for the day! My pink locking Katcha counter somehow got lost on the trip to Vermont a while back.

On the way out when we were getting in our cars, we noticed an unusual object above us.

A rocket. With a radioactive symbol on it. In front of a yarn warehouse. Very strange indeed.

For the Love of Texture

I am in love. Truly in love with the texture and pattern of these socks.

It's not the quickest knitting pattern, but I don't care - the texture of the slipped stitches which are then twisted two rows later is beautiful. The mini twisted stitch cables down the sides - brilliant. The fabric it creates for the main part of the leg is just beautiful. Purl stitches set off the mini cables and add just enough to the more woven look of the main part of the leg. Love Love Love. The pattern calls for 6 repeats for the leg. Too short for me. I wanted more of this beautiful pattern! After four additional repeats I have finally started the heel. I wanted plenty of pattern and texture to look at on the leg.

The heel flap is also not your typical slip stitch or eye of partridge heel. The stitches are slipped on the purl side, and the twisted stitch cables continue down the heel as well. Love Love Love.

After missing out yesterday on the book I really wanted at the Interweave hurt book sale (by the time I could get through on line, it was gone - seems like they had the exact same server issues as they did last year!), I was glad my books from the huge KnitPicks sale arrived.

All packed full of beautiful inspiration. Just in time for more colorwork! I'm not so sure about the Vogue Color book. There is a lot of Intarsia, (which I don't really like) and not as much stranded patterns as I would have hoped. The other two - Selbuvotter and More Sensational Knitted Socks both look like they are chock full of goodies. I'm not a huge mitten maker, but the patterns in the Selbuvotter book will work very well for socks, hats and just about anything else. I'm looking forward to really diving into these this weekend.

Hazy, Lazy Days

It sure has turned to summer around here. The weather has been hazy, hot and humid with thunderstorms popping up - it's been feeling more like August than July, but I guess summer is summer!

We got another veggie delivery yesterday. More green goodness!

(click to see what's what)

I'm finding it hard to keep up - we get another delivery before we've even finished the last one. This week we got fresh beets. Any suggestions on how to cook them best? I have never had fresh before, and I'm not a fan of the canned/jarred ones because of the mushy texture.

We had a wonderful weekend at the trial. Tucker closed the season in style with 2 qualifying rounds, one earning a 3rd place ribbon. Now, we have a nice break from those crazy weekends until the big three day Labor Day trial.

I couldn't leave my sock needles naked for too long, so I cast on for the mad Color Weave socks. Neat pattern.

It looks way more complicated in the chart than it actually is to knit. Even just being a few inches into the first sock, my mind is already wandering to colorwork socks. AGAIN. Sigh.

After two wonderful outcomes, I really want to knit more. A pair for my sister are next in line, and the week we have together at the beach coming up soon seems like a perfect opportunity to get both a bunch of knitting done and a bunch of custom fitting sessions in. Sun, Sand and Socks - what could be better!