It never comes out the way you think...

Well, I wonder why??? Because I never have the yarn that's in the pattern, or not enough, or because I refuse to follow instructions??? Or a little bit of everything?

I am reading Adrienne Martini's Sweater Quest right now, and one of the questions she poses is how much a knitter can alter a pattern before it's not that pattern any more...

Okay, enough musing... Remember the 14 skeins of Berroco Cliche, color Krispie Treat and the DROPS Design "1-1 long jumper in moss stitch" on Ravelry? Well, here is what became of them:

And the two skeins of Vinca # 803 (a green-blue marbled hue) for the standard toe-up socks turned into this:

Since there is still plenty of yarn left over, I thought I would start another pair exactly the same way. This way, since the colorway is rather different between the two skeins, I thought I could match them up between the four different footsies. But again, I can't even follow my own instructions, so the second pair is coming out a bit different. I am making the toe part longer, so they are not quite as open and will hopefully stay on the foot a little better. Stay tuned...

Post-vacation blues

I spent two weeks in Vancouver, Canada. Beautiful!!!!! Great scenery, great weather, great people, great food, lots of stuff to do and see... And best of all, vacation! Time to knit :). And time to do jigsaw puzzles. My sister-in-law and I have this tradition that I always bring a puzzle whenever we see each other. Since our time in Canada overlapped shorter than usual, I only brought a relatively easy puzzle. Turned out, I totally underestimated our abilities (or tenacity), and we had finished the puzzle within a few hours. So Sarah was kind enough to get us another one. And it was really hard!!! It's a beautiful picture, and even our girls had fun with it. In fact, they were the ones who finished it up:

Okay, so since I was afraid that airport security would take my knitting needles away from me, I only brought sock stuff, knitted with wooden needles. I finished one pair of short socks.

And mostly finished another pair of long socks. Did the rest on the commute to work after I got back from vacation. It's an easy thing for me to bring along. Not a lot of bulk, easy to stuff in your purse to take anywhere you go, and by now I know by heart how to knit my standard toe-up socks:

• Needles: size 0, 1, or 2 dpns, depending on needed sock size, yarn, etc.
• Cast on 24-28 sts with Magic Cast-on method
• Divide sts over 4 dpns (6 or 7 sts ea)
• Increase 4 sts every other round until you have a total of anywhere between 16-20 sts per needle
• Work this until you get to where you increase for the heel (your foot is about 2 - 2 1/2 inches shorter than you want it to be). Now, every other round, m1 st at the beginning of the first sole dpn and at the end of the second sole dpn until you have 30-33 sts on each sole dpn, like so:
• Work dpn 1 and 2 (instep dpns) per whatever pattern you might choose or just stockinette
• Work dpn 3 and 4 (sole dpns) as follows:
• dpn 3: k1, m1, k rem sts
• dpn 4: k to the last st, m1, k1
• (Remember to increase (m1) only every other round!)
• Repeat this until you have 30-33 sts ea on dpns 3 and 4.
• To turn the heel work dpns 3 and 4 as follows (the rest of the sts are resting during this):
• k3 more than you have on dpn 3, ssk, k1, turn
• sl1, p7, p2tog, p1, turn
• sl1, k8, ssk, k1, turn
• sl1, p9, p2tog, p1, turn
• sl1, k10, ssk, k1, turn
• sl1, p11, p2tog, p1, turn
• Continue this way until all sts are worked. Divide them up over 2 dpns again, combine with the 2 dpns from the instep needles, and continue working in the round again
• Work in whatever pattern you choose for as long as you want your cuff
• Prepare for bind-off:
• Second to last round: m1 after every 2 or 3 sts depending on how loose (and/or ruffle-ly) you want your bind-off to be/look.
• Last round: k
• Bind off any way you like. My preferred bind-off is:
• *Ssk, put st back from rhn to lhn, rep from * until all sts are gone.
• This makes for kind of a wavy bind-off. Use a different method, if you don't like this. If you have any great and easy bind-offs that allow for enough stretch to comfortably put socks on and take them off, without necessarily getting the ruffled look, I would love to hear about it!!!!
• And to make it even easier I knit both socks simultaneously, so I don't have to remember how I did the first sock when I start the second one.

Our niece Alisha got the monkey I finished just before the trip. I started another one after I got back home. I think my daughter has some friends who really like my knitted critters, and she wants to give some of them away. I made another baby monkey (like the one our exchange student Theresa got), including the safety pin for the punk look (Theresa's creation).

I am still working on the monstrous shawl... Haven't touched it in a while, until this week. I am really pretty close to being done, but it's all getting a big cumbersome. I guess I am learning that I am not very good with larger projects. Patience and stamina are not my strongest virtues. That's why I like socks and little toy animals :). It's good to know your strengths and weaknesses...

And before I sign off from this post, one more garden picture. The fruit of our labor... Actually, my husband planted all the tomatoes and peppers, but I harvested :).

Monkey-ing Around

My vest-shawl thingy has not made too much progress yet. I do work on it enough here and there not to forget how the pattern works, but it's still a long way from being done... But then again, here in Texas, I really won't need it until it gets colder again, which is, like, in November, if we are lucky!

The socks I finished are done, though. Seems like I can always whip a pair out in between. So, another pair of socks for my stash.Opal sock yarn: NEON. I was very excited to try that Opal yarn, but have to say that I was a bit disappointed. If feels kind of rough, though I don't know how it will wash. Oh, and it came with this extra little skein of thin contrast yarn in dark purple. I looked online but couldn't find anything anywhere. So I used it as a run-along string for the toes and heels. I don't know if Opal sock yarn comes with this or if the seller on eBay just gave me a little extra gift :).

So here goes my latest addiction: I have gotten into sock-monkeys for the girls.

I started out with the Red Heart Sock Monkey. Though, you know me, I didn't use Red Heart yarn. I think this is Hobby Lobby's "I love THIS Cotton" Ivory Print.

It's cute, but not perfect... They don't all come out quite as planned - yet (I guess there is a little learning curve), but the girls like them anyway, take them to school, and take orders from their friends for more. I can't keep up!

Next, I splurged (I don't usually like to buy patterns when there are so many free ones floating around) and bought the Patons Classic Wool Monkey Business booklet. This is the "Baby Monkey."

Since Michael's didn't have the Patons yarn, I used Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice. Colors are Linen, Scarlett, and Taupe Mist.

Please note that Baby Monkey was adorned with a safety pin through the lips. I guess what we have here is a Punk Baby Monkey or a Baby Punk Monkey...

The next request was for "Ellie Elephant," also from the Patons Classic Wool Monkey Business booklet.

This is still a work in progress...

The picture is a little dark. So far I have the head and trunk (though I think I have to redo that because it really does NOT look like a head and trunk and might, in fact, be somewhat offensive... Also finished are the two ears and one leg. I really have to start using the suggested yarns to make sure my projects come out the way they are supposed to. I am using lily sugar 'n cream, one twist and two solids. May just not be the right yarn for "Ellie Elephant."

All I want for Christmas...

... is to get in one more blog before December is over as well (no post in November). Not much blogging, but I did knit. Lots of homemade presents again this year:

Socks for Wanda (who came for just a couple of days, but it was still great to see her!):





Remember the toe-up "circle socks" I made on our road trip around this time last year? The original design was on Ravelry by Anne Campbell. Yarn is Patons Kroy Socks 4 Ply.




Socks for Melanie (our new friend and fellow exchange student host mom):

Oops, it appears, I forgot to take a picture of them before I gave them away. I need to catch her wearing them...

A very simple Lion Brand Fun Fur scarf for her niece, Brianna, who, by the way is a wonderful, beautiful, I-am-running-out-of-adjectives young lady:



A chap stick or lip balm holder with Sugar'n Cream for Theresa:



And presents from the heart (with no material content) for Malinda and Gwen (the two invited me this year to come along on their annual pre-Christmas shopping madness trip - it was one of my best Christmas presents to hang out with them for hours while hunting for some last minute presents), Theresa and Katrina (not knitted, but hand-made, nonetheless):

Oh, and, of course, the usual barrage of cookies for friends and coworkers. This year, I had a lot of help with baking from Theresa, which was fabulous!!! It was so much more fun and so much easier. She loves to bake and decorate, but she also likes to eat cookies :), as do I, of course. Aside from tons of cookies, we also made the most wonderful cheesecake (with a few tweaks: add a little eggnog and reduce the sugar, no extra sugar in the crust, 6 eggs instead of 5 eggs and 2 yokes, and then drip a little eggnog on top, along with a little nutmeg and cinnamon) - a real joint family effort - it was quite cute, the four of us in the kitchen, all doing our part to make this work.

And then Theresa also made a super yummy and very light cake - Maulwurfkuchen - that was gone within minutes :).




Now, if that doesn't look yummy!!!!

Toe-up cabled socks

These socks are pulled together from bits and pieces of the following patterns:

Wendy's Fingering Weight Toe-up Gusset Heel Sock
Judy's Magic Cast-on
Freaksngeeks' Noro Kureyon Socks (on Ravelry)



Yarn:
ONline Supersocke 100 Cotton Summer Color

Needles:
Size 0, Knit Picks Harmony dpns

Cast on 28 sts with Magic Cast-on method
Divide sts over 4 dpns (7 sts ea)
Increase 4 sts every other round until you have a total of 68 sts
Divide as follows:
Two sole dpns: 19 sts ea, these will be knit
The remaining 30 sts can either go onto one dpn or you can divide them onto two any way you like. Divide them as follows:
p2, k8, p2, k8, p2, k8, p2.
Every 8th round, the instep sts will be worked as follows:
p2, slip2cnb, k2, k2cn, slip2cnf, k2cn, p2, k8, p2, slip2cnb, k2, k2cn, slip2cnf, k2cn, p2.
Or, alternatively, you can have three cables, in which case you would do this:
p2, slip2cnb, k2, k2cn, slip2cnf, k2cn, p2, slip2cnb, k2, k2cn, slip2cnf, k2cn, p2, slip2cnb, k2, k2cn, slip2cnf, k2cn, p2.

Work this until you get to where you increase for the heel (about your foot is about two - two and a half inches shorter than you want it to be). Now, every other round, m1 st at the beginning of the first sole dpn and at the end of the second sole dpn until you have 30 sts on each sole dpn, like so:

work dpn 1 and 2 (instep dpns) (or 1, if you decided to put the remaining sts all on one dpn) per above pattern
work dpn 3 and 4 (sole dpns) (or dpns 2 and 3, if you have all the "pattern" sts on one dpn) as follows:
dpn3: k1, m1, k rem sts
dpn4: k to the last st, m1, k1
(Remember to increase (m1) only every other round!)
Repeat this until you have 30 sts ea on dpns 3 and 4.

To turn the heel work dpns 3 and 4 as follows (the rest of the sts are resting during this):
k33, ssk, k1, turn
sl1, p7, p2tog, p1, turn
sl1, k8, ssk, k1, turn
sl1, p9, p2tog, p1, turn
sl1, k10, ssk, k1, turn
sl1, p11, p2tog, p1, turn
Continue this way until all sts are worked and you have 34 sts left. Divide them up over 2 dpns again and continue working in the round again.

Combined with the 30 sts from the instep dpns, you now have 64 sts.

For the cuff, I decided to have cables all around. For this I needed 70 sts. I picked up 3 sts on each side of the heel (this has the added benefit, that you can avoid any holes you might have there).

Work the heel dpns with plain knit stitches until you have picked up the right number of sts, then start your pattern with the instep dpns, and then continue from there with the cable pattern: p2, k8, p2 until you get to row eight again, where you do a round of: *p2, slip2cnb, k2, k2cn, slip2cnf, k2cn, p2* as with the two cables, except that now you have seven cables around.

Work this pattern for as long as you want your cuff.

You can also add a ribbing, if you like. I chose not to do that with this pair of socks.

Bind off with your favorite loose bind off.

I used:
2nd to last round: m1 after every 2 sts.
Last round: k
*Ssk, put st back from rhn to lhn, rep from * until all sts are gone.

This makes for kind of a wavy bind-off. Use a different method, if you don't like this.

Enjoy!