Socktoberfest

If you are a knitter and if you are online, you probably have heard about Socktoberfest by now. Being from Germany, from the land of the "Oktoberfest," I felt a strong urge to participate, or at least to knit some socks in October - does that count?

I already had some yarn sitting around (which knitter doesn't!), so it was easy to get a pair started. I picked the red and grayish black (Volcano Twist) Knit Picks Essential and cast on yet another pair of toe-up socks.

I used my new favorite magic cast-on again. I only cast on 8 (x2) stitches, and the result is a rather pointy toe. Not sure yet, how I will like that.




I had seen these really cute mini cable socks online and used those cables for my Socktober socks. I like the pattern. It's basically a four-stitch, four-rows pattern:

Row 1-3: k2, p2
Row 4: rt, p2




And here is the finished product. Another pair of socks for my (present, as in gift) stash (my husband says he is all decked out and does not need any more of my socks for the time being - even though red is his favorite color) from my (yarn) stash...

More Totes

After my first market tote (with a limited amount of yarn) I had made from this inspiration...

















...I decided to make a couple more, slightly larger. I had bought a large skein of Lily Sugar'n Cream Super Size Green and started my first tote with that yarn. I didn't really follow any particular pattern, but rather just kind of winged it.


















I was pretty happy with the final product (this is my daughter modeling the tote):






















And a few more pictures (sorry about the strange lighting, but this really is the same tote with the same yarn):






As you can see, this tote has a relatively large opening and two handles. Since there still was lots of yarn left, I decided to make another tote. This time with a tighter opening and only one handle:



The yarn is pretty sturdy and makes for strong totes. Should hold some heavy groceries. And since the yarn is 100% cotton, the totes can be tossed in the washing machine.

I am putting both totes in my secret stash for presents, I think.