I broke down and grafted the toes of my Basketcase socks, not the best looking grafting, but it's done.

patterns are up

The patterns for the SocknittersSAM are up! WooHoo . . . stash diving time has arrived! I will be doing the Beginner socks for sure, my daughter will love them. I don't know if I will do one of each or just decide on one of the patterns and knit a matching pair. I will try and do the Intermediate socks if I have time. I have never done a toe up sock and it would be good to learn. The Advanced socks are actually ones I suggested to the mods, but they had already been looking at it for this SAM. I will try these for sure. The Colorworks socks (the HP socks in the free patterns section) . . . holey cow! . . . no way am I ready for these . . . VERY cool, but I am so not ready. For the Inspiration Socks I think I will do a pair of Halloween socks for each of my kids using the Beginner pattern . . . maybe I will end up makeing all three pairs of the beginner socks, one for the BeginnerSAM and the other two for the InspirationSAM.

It's here. . . it's here!

My yarn arrived today!! 18 beautiful skeins of KnitPicks WOA in Asparagus, I will be doing some swatching tonight! There is also 3 skeins each of the Merino Style in Pine and Fog . . . love them both . . . they will make some beautiful socks. Oh, and I love the color cards they are actually small knitted samples of the yarns, Sock Garden, Sock Landscape and Sock Memories. . . . and now for the Yarn Porn . . .

Basketcase

I finished Basketcase, the interSAM sock for Aug/Sept, last night. Well, as finished as they are going to get until I go to Knit Night and someone there shows me how to do kitchener.

Yarn

The mail carrier

continues on down the street.

A tear wells and falls.

another book and more yarn

After a disasterous customer service (or lack there of) experience at Weaving Works, I went to Acorn Street and found the new Nancy Bush book, Knitting Vintage Socks, I bought it and 3 skeins of Falk that were on the clearance shelves.

Yarn Order

Since my color cards came in from KnitPicks yesterday I ordered my yarn for Samus. I decided to go with the Wool of the Andies in Asparagus instead of Hyacinth. I think the cables will pop better in the green than in the very dark purple, although I love the dark purple I am afraid the cables would blend into the background. I also ordered 2 more color cards and some Merino Style in Fog and Pine . . . well . . . I was placing an order anyway.

color cards are here!

CIC Socks

Finally, here is a picture of the finished CIC socks. For once I finished a KAL by the deadline, shocking!

New Knitty is Up!!!

I am so excited!! There are so many cute/beautiful designs! I have to knit Samus, it took my breath away with it's wonderful simplicity. Ok, I prolly won't knit it in orange, maybe a deep rich green or purple. I really like Cinxia, too. It seem like it would dress up jeans, or could be worn with a simple skirt. Love Blackberry. I think this would be a great gift sweater, I don't see myself wearing it, at least until I have lost some weight, seels like the shaping would just accentuate the negative . . . hmmm . . . maybe I could just wear it open. The socks, Falling Leaves, are very cute, too. I like the solid pair over the varigated, but that is just a personal preference, I think it shows off the pattern better. . . . and Bubby, who can resist an adorable knit teddy bear? There are, of course, more patterns, but these are the ones that spoke to me the most.

Yesterday, I printed out a pattern from WildThings for a new knitting bag. I need to sew up the one I already have cut out . . . hmmmm . . . how many knitting bags does one really need?

Speaking of knitting bags, I was at Trader Joe's today and they had those wonderful lined baskets again. I had to buy another one. This time it was a larger round one (the previous one was a small oval).

Do you ever buy something because the container it comes in would be wonderful for holding your knitting or knitting accessories? Case in point, the clear zip bag that the Bert's Bees sampler comes in. Love the bag, love the products, it's a win-win.

Last night I finished the CIC socks. They turned out really well, I think I'm gonna make a couple of pairs for my kids to wear around the house this winter as slippers . . . maybe even a pair for me, too. I took a couple of pics, but they came out blurry, I wiil have to try again later.

While I was surfing the CIC sites I found a pattern for the What's in My Pocket Vest for CIC. It is very cute and I will be saving all extra wool yarn so I can knit up a few, I won't have time to get them made for this winter but for next.

After I finished the CIC socks I started working on a baby sweater for one of my mom's co-workers. I am using the Knitting Pure & Simple Baby Cardigan pattern with some Plymouth Encore worsted.

first CIC sock

This is the first sock of a pair for CIC. They are also the beginnerSAM sock for August/September, using this pattern. I used Lopi as suggested in the pattern and the only modification I made to the pattern was to use 2x2 rib and continue the ribbing down the instep. I knit up this sock last night in one sitting, they go together so quickly. I will try to finish the second sock tonight. When I finish the 2nd sock I will have my 3yo model them for you all to see. I am also planning on making a couple pair of these socks for my kids to wear around the house this winter, they would prefer go barefoot, but I think I can convince them to wear these cozy socks.