WoolGirl package(s)!

Yup, not just one package, but two! Bad Andy, bad!

The yarns pictured are the following. Top: Chameleon Colorworks Bambino fingering weight (30% bamboo 60% superwash wool & 10% nylon) Briar Rose colorway. From left to right: Miss Babs: Hand-dyed Fiber Goods Yummy Superwash Sock & Baby Yarn in Raspberry Cane colorway; Cherry Blossom Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in Central Park colorway; The Unique Sheep Verve Superwash Merino Fingering in WoolGirl with a Twist colorway.

This is the yarn from my very first WoolGirl order, which I place on 02-22-2008, so a few weeks ago. It has been here for quite a while, but I am just now posting about it, so don’t’ think that it actually takes that long to ship and arrive, because it doesn’t. In fact, it was shipped the day after it was ordered—so super quick in my opinion! I’d been eying the Miss Babs “Raspberry Cane” colorway for quite some time, and finally just had to take the plunge and order it. The colors are even better than I imagined they would be! I’m not ready to cast on with it yet, but hopefully in the next month or two (or at least to have them done by fall)—no need to wait until you are ready to cast on to purchase sock yarn!

I was showing my husband the yarn, and asked him which one he thought I should cast on with first, and he suggested the Chameleon Colorworks Bambino. At the time, I thought I would take his suggestion, but in all actuality, I cast on my next sock with some yarn that I did not purchase from WoolGirl, but from Prairie Needles in Battle Lake, MN—but that is another post.

The packaging was very nice, and the yarn was even wrapped in tissue paper tied with real ribbon--what a treat! Jen even included a short note and a lavender wool wash sample–it smelled great, and I have already used it. Oh, and I should mention that the tissue paper wrapped yarn was also in a plastic bag for safety! What a nice touch. Obviously from my first sentence, this will not be my last order from woolgirl.com!

Sock Questionnaire

I found this sock questionnaire on the Sock It To 'Em Knitalongblog, and decided that it would be something to write about on my blog today, as I do not have anything inspiring to write about at this time.

Sock Questionnaire

1. What's your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word 'yarn' is singular. Just pick one. I know it's hard.)
Well, I do only have so much experience with knitting socks (I’ve knit I think 7 or 8 pair so far), but looking in my stash, I seem to be drawn to purchasing Claudia’s Handpainted.

2. What's your favorite brand and type of sock needle?
I’ve used Brittany Birch double pointed and KnitPick Harmony double pointed. I like them both, but knit with my Harmony needles much more often now that I have them.

3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways?
Cuff down. But sometime this year I plan to try toe up, I even have a pattern I want to try….. Loopy Laces Toe Up Socks by Wendy Knits that I purchased from The Loopy Ewe.

4. Both socks at the same time or just one?
Just one at a time.

5. What's your favorite toe and why?
No preference yet, but I’ve done many standard toes and like them.

6. Favorite heel?
I’ve done the heel flap many times and one short row. Both are fine. The nice thing about the short row is not having to pick up the stitches, but I’m getting better at it, so it is not so bad.

7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks?
Patterned. I’m still kind of afraid to knit plain stockenette socks, as I have it in my head that patterned socks are more “forgiving” in the fit than a stockenette sock. I only “kind-of” knit a gauge swatch, which is likely the root of my fears. There, I said it!

8. Who do you knit the most socks for?
Me!

9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them?
So far I have not. I have instructions to do so, but I find it very unlikely that I would ever do it. So far I have not found a need to darn socks, so I’ve not decided exactly what I’ll do when the time arises. Likely I’ll have to ask someone to throw them away for me, as it would just be too hard to do.

10. Do you only wear handknit socks?
No, I do not. My collection is not big enough yet. I think I have about 7 pair of my own—I’d have to count them. I doubt that I will ever only wear hand knit socks, but I could be wrong. As time goes on and my collection gets bigger, I do anticipate wearing them much more frequently than my typical once or twice a week.

Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic "I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks" sock pattern based on? Do you keep it on paper or memorized?
So far I don’t have a “go-to” pattern, as knitting socks is still fairly new to me, so I am excited to try new patterns. If I plan to knit for someone else, I do a ribbed sock of some sort. I think I’ll always have a pattern on paper, not memorized, but after knitting socks for a while and reading about them, I think that I could knit a pair without a pattern, but I really have no desire to do so.

Now, for my own entertainment, I think I may try to link a picture!

I'm back to try this again!

It has been many years since I've blogged, and you should have seen me try to access this account! What a riot that was!

Since I've last posted, my knitting skills have gotten much better, and I've started knitting socks! I even joined a sock club, and am in the process of joining another one.

No time to post more, but I was just happy to get in and post anything! Next I'll have to try adding pictures!

The Amazon Bootie!

Last week I finished the bonnet I was working on, and sent it to my grandma to finish for me (she crocheted the trim around it, put the french knots in and made the cord for it). I included the matching booties in the package for her to look at. She then sent me a very nice e-mail to say that the pattern did not mention the type of yarn or needle size, so clarified that I needed to use baby yarn and a size 1 or 2 needle. This did not mean much to me at the time, since I had use Baby Ull and a size 2 needle. It did however, take on a whole new meaning once she sent the bonnet & booties back to me, along with a bootie she had knit to show me the size they are supposed to be. I have now named my bootie "The Amazon Bootie", as it is a full 1 inch longer than the one my grandma knit. Mine was 4 1/2" long! It seememd little when I made it, but apparently I was mistaken!

I think for now I'll be done making booties (except to finish the 2nd amazon bootie I am currently working on so I have a pair). Soon I will look for baby yarn (likely the next time I am at the yarn shop), but I really am in no hurry, as I feel a little let down about the size of my bootie, but rest assured, I will get over it, and continue to make booties, as the really are kind of fun to make!

Thursday.....

It is hard to believe that I have been enjoying knitting as much as I have! Over the weekend I knit a bootie to match the "practice bootie" I knit when I first tried to knit booties. My mother-in-law wanted a pair of booties for a doll she has, so now her doll has a pair of booties to wear! One lesson I learned after making them is that the needles used my have an impact on the size of the booties, for example, my first bootie was knit on metal size 2 needles, and my second one was knit on birch size 2 needles. The second one came out larger (but that was ok for the doll, as she has one foot bigger than the other). While it could have been my tension, I don't think it was.

My bonnet is almost done. I only have about 1/2 inch left to go before I send it to my grandma to finish it for me!

Knitting Baby Stuff

When I was home in March I asked my grandma for her baby bootie pattern. She gave it to me, and also gave me the matching baby bonnet pattern. It is a quaker stitch. So far I've knit a practice bootie out of some scrap yarn and a pair of pale yellow booties out of Baby Ull Dalegarn and am working on the matching bonnet. The booties knit up quite quickly, I got them done in 1 1/2 days (I did have a 3 hour car ride, so got a bunch of knitting done then). The bonnet, however, is going much slower. I think once I get the frilly part done, it will go much easier. I've cast on those 200 stitches like 3 times! It is not perfect, but I will be satisfied with it since it is my very first one. My grandma said that she would finish it for me once I knit it. That will be good, as it needs to be sewn up, some edging crocheted on and some french knots put in. I am lucky to have such a wonderful grandma!

Coffee Break!

Coffee Break! I started Cozy from Knitty.com on 03-29-06. The yarn I am using is Andean Silk from Knit Picks in Hollyberry on size 9 needles. After 8 repeats, I was at my mom’s house and ran into a problem that she offered to fix for me. After about 20 minutes of working on my problem, my mom mentioned that her YOs were much larger than mine. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I had been doing my YOs wrong! Boy was I sad to have to rip all my work out! Currently I’m on my 17th repeat, and figure that I am just over 1/3 done! Hooray! It is knitting up rather nicely now. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a picture some time!

A First Time Blogger

Well, I must admit that I never expected to have a blog of my own! Truth be told, I've only been reading blogs for a couple of weeks, so I am rather new to the whole concept, even though I am aware that they exist.

I expect that I'll write about the projects I am working on and just the silly or not so silly things that occur in my life.