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July socks

More socks! These socks were started and finished in July, right on time. I like to start knitting Christmas gifts in the summer because the holidays really sneak up on me and I always underestimate how much time it takes to knit things and how much time there is in a given day and those two calculations somehow never add up to being able to get everything finished on time...hmm... Anyway, if I start in the summer I stand a much better chance of getting it all done. These socks are for a lovely lady who I hope will appreciate the double thickness of the soles when she walks around on cold New England hardwood floors this winter.

The socks are cute on their own and the double soles were what sold me on them to begin with. After knitting them for a while though...I began to have second thoughts. They don't actually seem to take any longer than a typical pair of socks, but that's only because the time you gain by not knitting anything above the ankle you use up by knitting across the soles more times than I care to remember...

The sole knitting is definitely tedious. Are the results worth it? The fabric is very thick and cushy, but I won't get to wear them for any length of time, so whether my efforts were worth it remains to be seen!

Details:
Pattern: Padded Footlets by Mary Snyder
Yarn: Mostly my own silky merino sock in mint cream, with a bit of Sundara Sock Yarn in brambleberry for the stripes
Needles: US 0 / 2.0 mm
See mine on Ravelry

No, it is not a mismatched pair...stay tuned for August's socks to see the yellow version!

June socks

Could it be? Am I really blogging about knitting? Shocking, I know... Well, these socks are from June. Yes, June. They were finished on time and everything but June in Texas is, well, warmish and I couldn't bear to drag myself outside to photograph wool socks when it was 100 degrees. So now that I've actually been wearing them to keep my little tootsies warm in the cool New England autumn, I have no excuses! And thus, June's delightful socks.

They were a pleasure to knit. I used Malabrigo sock yarn for the first time and it is so luscious and soft and richly colored that I couldn't get enough. The softness made me wonder how it would wear, long term, and so far they are holding up OK, though a bit fuzzy. And they have, much to my disappointment, faded somewhat but I'm not entirely surprised given the initial color. They are still some of my favorites - soft and warm and nicely fitting. I used the River Rapids Socks pattern for the pattern part of the sock, but I knit them both at once, toe-up, which meant that I didn't use the pattern for the actual construction of the sock - know what I mean? I found them to be a pretty quick, easy knit, good for bus rides and morning commutes.

The deets:
Pattern: River Rapids Socks by Sockbug
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Cote d'Azure
Needles: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
See mine, on Ravelry

:: photo friday :: preparing

I've been dyeing like mad to get ready for Sock Summit! It's no fun dyeing when it's 105 outside, but the results have been worth it - some of my new faves have been dyed in the past week or two. :) Check my Etsy shop for updates on lace yarn - sock yarn will be out until mid-August.

May socks: interlocking leaves

May's socks were knit while partially under the influence of pain, pain medications and muscle relaxants. And now I've learned the hard way that I should never knit one sock while loopy on drugs and the other sock stone cold sober. Because that first sock? Quite a bit larger than the second! Ah well...

The leaf pattern is lovely and I'm looking forward to weather cool enough to wear them! (Sadly, not for many months yet...) They were good socks to knit while home recovering from surgery (aside from the aforementioned drug-induced size difference) - not too complicated, but challenging enough that I wouldn't have felt comfortable whipping them out on the bus every day and trying to remember the pattern. Just a little bit of a bite to keep things interesting.

And now for the details:
Pattern: Interlocking Leaves by the lovely Kelly Porpiglia, who is delightful in real life.
Yarn: Sundara Yarn sock yarn in brambleberry
Needles: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
See mine, on Ravelry

:: photo friday :: tasty touring and public knitting

We went tasty touring to a few food trailers last weekend - check out Chris' Little Chicago for delectable dogs, Lulu B's for scrumptious Vietnamese sandwiches and Molly's Sno-Cups for sweet sno cones! In honor of WWKIP Day, my knitting accompanied me to all our destinations.

:: photo friday :: knit in public

Don't forget to knit in public this weekend. (Or next!) Maybe some new yarn would inspire you? ;)

April socks: Mom's confetti socks

I got a bit behind on photographing and sharing my finished knits lately. I was a little preoccupied this past month. (What with the blinding pain and doctor's visits, followed by spinal surgery and lots of sleeping...no big deal...doing much better...) Anyway, I'm still on track with my goal of knitting a pair of socks every month. April's socks sneaked in just under the wire, having their ends woven in on the very last day of the month.

I must admit. These socks? Don't love 'em. Luckily, they're not for me to keep. I just hope my mom likes them! When I went back home to visit in February, we went yarn shopping, which really meant that I dragged my mom to all the local yarn shops and she humored me by accompanying me and not complaining. At one of them, she spied this yarn and asked me to make her a pair of socks out of it. I, somewhat begrudgingly, agreed and she whipped out her wallet and bought two skeins of Skacel Trampoline right there on the spot.

I wasn't sure what the yarn would look like all knit up, but for whatever reason, I wasn't expecting it to look the way it does! It's very...bright. Also, I had never knit with any sock yarn containing "artificial ingredients" - in this case nylon and polyester - and I can't say I enjoyed the experience. I'm an all-natural girl myself, preferring the look and feel of pure wool.

Mom's confetti socks
Pattern by me, needs some tweaking, which I may or may not bother with...
Yarn: Skacel Trampoline in 233 (red multi)
Needles: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
See mine, on Ravelry

:: photo friday :: a pleasant afternoon

:: knitting Isabella on the lawn, what fun! ::

and the winner is...

Well, of course I'd put the names in a hand knit hat! What did you expect?

Thank you all for your lovely comments over here. I genuinely enjoyed reading what everybody is looking forward to this summer! It was really uplifting. Seems a lot of you are really itching to take your shoes off and do some gardening! I have a confession to make now. Part of the reason why I enjoyed reading all your comments so much is because I really need a reminder sometimes about the good things in the world. As you may or may not know, I live in Texas. As you also may or may not know, I hate, hate, hate the summers here. (Can you have reverse seasonal affective disorder? Ahoy! After a quick Google search, turns out you can!) Anyway, as the weather warms up I find myself with a sense of dread about the coming months. This year seems particularly hard. So thank you all! I appreciate hearing your little stories.

And without further adieu...the winners are:

Bertha: Gorgeous! I am looking forward to tomato salad! There is no better dinner on a hot summer night that homemade tomato salad with basil and olive oil and fresh, crusty bread to dip in the juices...mmmmm! and

Kitten With A Whiplash: I'm looking forward to the day (hopefully very soon) when Mom is totally recovered from the broken wrist she suffered in January. Thanks for the contest!

Congratulations and I hope you enjoy your new yarn!

:: photo friday :: summer sky yarn giveaway

Well, hi there! I've got two 50g skeins of my very own, hand dyed superwash merino yarn in a DK weight, about 123 yards. It's a lovely, lovely blue and white that looks just like the summer sky to me. Leave a comment here and let me know what you're looking forward to this spring/summer and I'll pick two winners on Wednesday the 15th. (See? Something good can happen on the 15th...it's not just tax day...) And seeing as I'm no Soulemama, I'd say your odds of winning are pretty good... I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!