Sockblocker Keychains

Since January I've basically been making socks. Another pair (number 9 for 2008) was on the needles when I just felt the need for a break. These little sockblocker keychains were purchased from Scouts Swag a couple of months ago and have been waiting patiently to be dressed. After a few experiments with short-row heels, I finally went back to my Crazy Toes and Heels book and was able to turn the heels without holes. I've made 6 successfully. These have been a nice break (love the small projects) and now I'm ready to return to my regular socks.

More Sockotta Socks

Another pair finished. Most of my Sockotta yarn was purchased a few years ago when self-striping yarn was so popular. By now I no longer remember how the yarn forms patterns, so every pair is a surprise. These stripes were so big I just made plain socks.

After completing so many pairs of socks using Crazy Toes and Heels, I'm needing fewer reminders of the steps. That feels good.

It's nice to see the stack of completed socks growing but I can't say my stash looks much smaller!

Sockotta Socks

Here are the first socks from my extensive stash of Sockotta yarn. I don't remember if this yarn is a recent purchase or has been hiding for a few years but the colors really inspired me. It felt like spring was finally arriving after an unusually cold March here in Oregon. (Parts of Portland got snow during Spring Break --- an extremely rare occurence.) And, to top it off, I finally managed to make a pair that truly match!

Panda Jaywalkers

I'm finding Panda yarn to be comfortable to wear but difficult to knit. The color of this pair is called sable and it doesn't feel at all like the last socks I made (picnic). This yarn feels more like rayon and besides splitting it also had a tendency to slide off the needle when I was trying to reunite strands that belonged together. Consequently, they took longer to complete. I really like the color and think they will be comfortable to wear, but I really had to pay attention while working on them.

Spiral Rib Bag

This is one of the patterns from the book Oneskein by Leigh Radford. The book has quite a variety of projects to choose from, but this one really caught my eye. I like the way the purls and knits twist around the bag. It was a very easy pattern to follow and took less than a skein to complete.

Panda Broadripple Socks

The first pair of socks using Crazy Toes and Heels I've made that are for me. These are made of Panda Cotton (the color is Picnic). The sock pattern is Broadway Ripple, although the colors of the yarn don't show the nice ripple design. This is my first project with Panda Cotton. I splurged on my birthday and bought enough for several pair because the yarn is mostly cotton and feels so soft. The yarn is really splitty to work with, so I guess it's a good thing I knit slowly. All in all, they feel good so are worth the extra care needed to produce them.

Stitch Markers

After seeing some of the pretty stitch markers other knitters have made, my little plastic rings purchased at JoAnn's didn't seem so nice. So I decided to make myself something cooler. My first effort involved getting out my beads. They turned out fine and were very nice to use on my almost-finished socks.

Then I made the mistake of looking at some of the sets for sale on eBay. There were all kinds of neat charms and elaborate beads and even photos. So I went to Michael's and browsed in the jewelry department. I still wanted something simple because I'd rather be spending my time on my socks. I was able to find 4 sets of charms that were small and very lightweight. With the addition of some jump rings, I now have a very large assortment of stitch markers for very little money and very little effort.

The biggest problem facing me on the next pair of socks will be choosing which markers to use!

Sassy Stripes Jaywalker

Another pair of knitted socks has been finished. I used the pattern for Jaywalkers from Knitty. With finer yarn there would be twice as many zigzags, but even so this shows off the striping of the yarn nicely.

Fingerless Mitts

This pattern is from Isela's book, Loom Knitting Primer. It is an extremely easy and quick pattern to do, and the mitts are soft and warm.

Sassy Stripes 4

Another pair of socks are done. The legs are knitted in the Basic Chevron pattern from the book I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Socks. (Since buying the book, I've found several free chevron-type sock patterns on the web.)I bought this yarn for a friend. She thought it was too dull so I made them to fit my wider foot. One look was all it took to change her mind about them!

Loomed Hotpads

I wanted to loom a hotpad. Not a potholder, but the pad you put hot dishes on. I was thinking about something similar to the crocheted origami hotpad but I wanted to make it on a Knifty Knitter.

On my first attempt, I didn't cast on enough stitches. After knitting a flat panel square, I removed it from the loom and crocheted around the edges until it was 12 inches on each side. Then I folded all four corners to the center and stitched the edges together. Here's how it looks on each side.













On the second attempt, I cast on 24 stitches and knit until it was 12 inches on each side. This time I did one row of single crochet around it just to make the seaming easier. Then I finished it the same way as before.














Both hotpads are soft and thick.

Furry Hats

It's been really cold here lately so I've been making hats. This one is Caron's Allure combined with a matching worsted. The Allure has a soft, silky feel on both the inside and the outside. The hat was done with 5 rows of e-wrap followed by 2 rows of purl.

Fun Fur now comes in self-striping yarn. The hat on the left was done with 2 strands of that and 2 strands of worsted. It's a little stiff so I think I'll try just a single strand of worsted next time. Most of the fur was on the inside of the hat so I turned it inside out. Then I fluffed it with an old toothbrush. The hat was done on the green KK and the Fun Fur ran out with the top row of pink. I had to add some blue to complete the hat but it was worth it to see the hat so fluffy.