What's a weekend for anyway?

The past two weekends have been glorious to me.  I've relaxed, slept (kind of) late, and knitted and knitted and knitted.  I still have so many things backlogged to show you (completed projects from last weekend) and then I started all these new and really fun projects this weekend...I'm going to have to break my "one photo a day" rule and just show off a little bit.

(p.s. I don't have photos of the two finished scarves from last weekend.  They still need to be soaked and "finished"...but I can show you the rest!).

SO, on Thursday night I sat down and finished the baby blanket.  I blocked it on Friday.  It's just gorgeous.

Then on Friday I started a new little monster.  I'm calling it the "calico" monster, though I'm thinking her name might be Gabrielle...not entirely sure yet.  I'm using the yarn from the first hat I ever made (that was too big). She's going to be an adorable monster.

Saturday found me wanting to start a new shawl.  I love Noro yarns, and I love the way the stripes form in the sample...it was fun getting it started, and I can't wait to wear it.

And if that weren't enough, yesterday I started some mitts...the pattern is called "Snow Queen" but the yarn is in a colorway called "Spring Garden"...which means that these mitts are definitely going to be called "Spring Garden Mitts."  It's part of my desire to use the striping sock yarn I get in my yarn of the month club as something different than socks ALL of the time.  These are going to be some fun and bright and cheery mitts!

And that's it...if it had been a longer weekend, I probably would have started another new project!  I made good progress on the cabin socks.  I have the first one completed and the second one is to the foot.    They will definitely be warm and cozy socks come winter!  I also pulled out my block-a-day blanket and started working on it again now that the baby blanket is finished.

THAT, in case you're wondering, is what a weekend is for...doing things you love and enjoying the company of those you love.  Heaven!

Too tired to knit?

I remember back in grad school in Kentucky talking to one of my professors about my quilting.  I brought her some blocks I was working on for the Civil War block of the month quilt, and she mentioned how it must be so nice to sit and relax and quilt.  I told her it definitely was a relaxing endeavor, but was NOT a sitting endeavor.  There's a lot of standing involved in the piecing of a quilt--at the ironing board, at the cutting table, and somewhere for planning and laying out the fabric.  I remember piecing and being quite sweaty.  She was surprised at this and said that she clearly had no idea about piecing a quilt because in her mind it was a sitting activity.

Now, knitting is a sitting activity.  One of the reasons I wanted to learn so badly is so that I could knit in the car on long drives.  I like knitting in the evenings because I want to wind down and not have to get up and down a lot.  Knitting definitely lets me do that, and it's really nice.

But, last night, I found myself too tired to knit.  As I stated that out loud, I kind of laughed.  I mean, really, physically it isn't much work.  And sometimes mentally it's pretty much just mindless knitting.  But...last night, I was actually too tired to think about mindless knitting. I didn't thing I'd be able to do much other than just sit last night, so that's what I did.  I knew that if I knit, it would be messy and I wouldn't be happy with it...so I abstained.

It was nice to relax, but my hands felt itchy, restless, and like that didn't know what to do with themselves.  It's funny how my hands are so used to moving that being still is uncomfortable--even painful.

I read about yarn instead (Clara Parks' book "The Knitters Book of Wool."), and in doing so realize that I want to make every single pattern in the book.  I want to knit my way through the Knitters Book of Wool, using the yarns recommended in the patterns, so I can try out different kinds of wool, different kinds of techniques, and explore new items to make (like pillows and bags).

I also find it funny that even when I'm too tired to actually knit, and even though I have 10 projects started...that I want to start more, try different things, be creative in so many different ways.

I definitely think I'm crazy!

Today's picture is of me knitting at the quilt bee.  I worked pretty hard on this blanket, especially on Saturday, and made some pretty good progress.  I still love the colors, the pattern, etc.  It's not difficult, but isn't straight knitting either so isn't boring.  I also put it on a bigger circular needle, so now it looks like an even bigger hat...a hat for a giant instead of a blanket for a baby!

Why I love sock yarn

Yesterday I posted about R&R and how I really enjoyed my weekend.  I also made the observation that I've come to the conclusion that sock yarn is my favorite yarn.  I thought I'd expound on that today.

From the moment I started knitting my first pair of socks just a tad over a year ago I've been addicted to making socks.  And as I mentioned when I started knitting that first pair of socks it was really the whole reason I learned to knit.  I speculated in that first foray into hand-knitted socks that I probably wouldn't wear them every day with my regular shoes, but I was oh-so-wrong.  I actually bought new shoes to wear with my hand-knitted socks...and I'm still in the hunt for the perfect pair of sandals or Mary Janes that will show them off and still look decent when wearing them.

I wear my hand-knitted socks all year. Unlike people in the far north, I don't need special, extra-thick socks for winter, so I haven't made any in thicker yarn for myself, though I have made them for other people.  And I think that I will eventually make myself some just to wear around the house when it is very cold...our house gets cold in the winter even though I'm not from the far north.

But, back to the yarn that most socks are made of.  It's called fingering weight.  For socks, it's knitted at a fairly tight gauge of 8-9 stitches per inch.  It's most often superwash merino, which means that it's soft and machine washable (won't felt).  It's very often combined with specialty fibers such as silk, cashmere or tencel.  It will often have nylon blended in for strength.  Some sock yarns will have sparkly fibers blended in as well.

Fingering weight yarn is also great knitted up at looser gauges.  I recently completed a neon hat knitted with size 5 needles and I'm now working on a matching scarf (garter stitch) with the same size needles.  The yarn is super soft and snuggly and wonderful for those projects.  I've made a shawl knitted at an even looser gauge and in lace to create a beautiful drape that is perfect for a summer shoulder wrap, or for cooler weather tied around my neck.

I've seen patterns for fingering weight yarn to make sweaters, blankets (I'm currently working on 2 blankets made in sock yarn), and other items.  I love making up my monsters in the fingering weight yarn in a tight gauge like socks.  They're tiny and cute and fun.

But, fingering weight does not necessarily mean sock yarn...and sock yarn is super special.  A whole market has sprung up in the hand-dyed world.  Sock yarns can be variegated or solid, self-striping or slow color change.  They come in knitted up "flats" that have been hand-painted (I love these).  It's really very fun working with them because you're not always sure what's coming next.  I love all the colors.  It's also easy to buy them.  One 100g hank is enough (more than enough) to make a full pair of socks plus extras for leftover projects.  Or, you could make a shawl or a hat or something else out of one 100g hank.  That's pretty economical considering how many skeins/hanks of yarn it usually takes to make sweaters and other projects.

I could go on and on...but really, I think you get my point.  Sock yarns are special.  They have a particular place in my heart and hands, and I will always be working on a project made from sock yarn.  That I can guarantee you.

Today's picture is of the baby blanket I'm currently knitting as my "main" project.  It's for a co-worker who's having a baby at the end of the summer.  I can hope that I finish it before then.  This is a great example of hand-dyed yarn (Shibui sock).  It's mostly solid, but the color variations are slight and gorgeous.  The colorway is called "sky"...and to me it evokes a sky on a beautiful spring day--wisps of clouds break up the solid of the blue, but the blue is deep and true.

And I know that the picture doesn't look like a blanket, but instead looks like a hat...that's because the project is knit from the center out.  I won't know what it looks like until it's finished.  And that's kind of fun...but tense too because I don't know if I've made it big enough until I take it off of the needles.  This is going to be an exercise in patience, self control, and using up the allotment of yarn!

R & R

Refreshed and Relaxed.  That's how I feel after this weekend.  It wasn't even THAT difficult for me to get up and get to work this morning...something that's quite the feat.  I actually didn't even fuss that much.  That hardly ever happens.

Do you want to know how totally relaxed we were this weekend?  On Saturday we never even unlocked our door!  We just hung out in the house and chilled.

I worked on 2 knitting projects.

1. A new pair of socks (yes, I'm addicted, but that's ok.  I have a VERY large stash of sock yarns that will take me some time to get through...and I honestly doubt I'm going to ever see the bottom of those baskets...yes, the sock yarn stash now occupies two (large) baskets...I'm not embarrassed or ashamed.  Sock yarn is my favorite yarn to work with...there's a blog post in itself in why I love sock yarn).  I did decide that the square a day sock yarn blanket needs to be put on hold so that I can add a few more balls of yarn to the mix.  I've finished up 2 balls and need to replenish before I'm down to just a couple and things aren't as "scrappy" looking as I'd like.
2. The other project that I worked on is a baby blanket.  It's knit from the center out so right now looks like a fairly largish hat.  I don't know how many rows in I am...but I have about 6" from the center. It says to knit until it measures 13" from the center, so I have quite a ways to go and as the rows grow, so do the number of stitches, so the next 6" will take considerably longer than the first 6" did.  I have a couple of months until this baby is due, so I think that if I work on it every day I'll get there.  It'll be going to Texas with me this weekend, so hopefully will see some good progress in the car and at the bee.

I did not: hang pictures, weave, or go to a party on Sunday.  I'd planned to do all of those, but it was so wonderfully relaxing just to hang out that that's what I did.  

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Today's picture is of the luscious pink cabled socks that I finished weekend before last.  I love these socks. The yarn has a slight sheen to it from the bamboo, and they are terrifically soft.  They fit with the perfect snugness that keeps them up and my feet happy all day.  Those, btw, are some happy feet!