I Love My "Sisters"!

Ok, you might know that I don't have any sisters at all and just two pesky little brothers to my name. But Friday night was Ladies Night at Two Sisters and Ewe, my favorite yarn shop. It was a fabulously fun time with wool, beautiful pastries, and some beautiful works in progress.

I won a skein of fan-tabulous cotton in the raffle. It is heavenly soft; I am thinking of working it into a summery top ... I'll keep you posted! And best of all, the thing for which the spectacular ladies at Sisters win LYS of the Year ... they helped me wind the hemp into beautiful, (somewhat) workable balls:

Unfortunately, they told me AFTER we wound it that I could have soaked the hanks in water and conditioner to soften them up and remove the starch. Live and learn ... it's the little things that we share that make knitters so special!

Back to work ...

Knitting Socks

After about a year of knitting, which involved some waffling back and forth between crocheting and knitting, I had had just about enough of knitting scarves and blankets (note: rectangular shape) and I decided to branch out.

I walked into the fabulous Infinite Yarns in Farmingdale, NY with visions of sweaters - bulky, warm, cozy sweaters - dancing in my head. I saw some fabulous samples in the shop, I eyed and eyed them ... and then I asked Anne, the owner, what she would recommend for my next project.

Yes, I'm sure you've guessed: Socks. She then showed me the sock she was working on, showed me the fabulously tiny needles she was using, and set me on my way.

Here's where I began:

Sensational Knitted Socks This is an "infinite recipe for super-duper socks book. However, I ended up doing my first real sock in a 2x2 rib - not a single one of those fabulous patterns!

Lantern Moon Sox Stix, Size 3 (try them - they're divine!)

And Araucania Ranco Sock Yarn in #302. Splendid!

Ultimately I also added "Getting Started Knitting Socks" to my library to have a reference on hand for a few points. However, the whole "way of doing" is so different from "Sensational" that I'd probably choose one or the other, not both, if I were to do it again.

And, the next cool thing I added to the sock collection comes from knitpicks.com ... the nickel-plated DPNs are super.

Happy Knitting!

Oh, Beloved Sock ...

Today is a wonderful day.

I am DONE with the Foot and ready for a Toe. I tried my Sock on BOTH of my feet, just in case measuring each foot repeatedly and trying it on every three rounds wasn't really accurate enough. I'm sure. It's ready.

Hmmm. Happy sighs of bliss as I reflect upon this fabulous work of art ... Araucania Ranco yarn ...

"The lake Ranco is located in the south of Chile, in one of its most spectacular river and lake systems. The region contains a variety of outstanding natural resources, including lakes, islands, rivers, streams, hot springs, volcanoes, and beautiful valleys. All of these are surrounded by snow capped mountains and virgin forests. The colors of this yarn are inspired by that beauty."

I am using a color no longer listed ... #307, I believe. If your monitor is anything like mine, the color is like #320 ... blue, brighter blue, and a touch of maroon. It's such fun to work along and see each new color appear. Positively magic!

These socks are worked on KnitPicks nickel-plated DPNs. They are as smooth as silk and the 6" length is wonderful ... even though they're more slippery than wood, the length saved all but a few stitches from being dropped. And they are a whopping 2.25 mm in diameter. Each. I've had blood drawn with bigger needles!

Poetry in socks. Yep, picture to follow.