Sockapalooza Socks Arrived!

This will be double posted since this was my blog for Sockapalooza-

My socks arrived... all the way from Germany!

Julia knit Baudelaires from Regia Silk (oh-mi-gosh-is-this-yarn-amazingly-soft!!) They look fantastic and fit really well. I wish I could do more complicated patterns for socks. I may have to challenge myself more on the next pair. I have not taken them off since I put them on.


Today was a perfect day for this package- it was the last day of my job so I can focus on finding a job out of state. So G and I had already planned to go out for dinner and not stick to my diet. I rarely splurge with food since it knocks me off ketosis for a few days when I do. So it makes it harder for me to lose weight for a couple of days after the splurge. ... and inside her package was some chocolate. I can't even say when the last time I ate chocolate was. But since we had already splurged, I had half a bar. YUM.

And tomorrow? double cardio, extra situps and lots of veggies.

Thank you Julia!! These are perfect!

Finished socks!

I have pictures of them cutely packaged but that would give away my Sockapalooza's Pal's name, so that will wait until they arrive. I had to mail them out today since they were still drying yesterday on the official mailout day.

Specs:
Cherry Tree Hill Sport (Dusk colorway)
Needles: 2 pair size 3 Knitpicks classic circulars
Priscilla's Dream Socks out of Favorite Knits
Mods: my normal toes, garter short row heel

On these, I learned how to unknit a finished sock *groan* and how to finally do short heels! They are awfully squooshy but I could not figure out why the second one pooled differently... I knitted it from the center just like the first one was and tried to start it several times at different points.

Next on my to-do list... some major dyeing :) And socks for charity. Maybe this lonely baby sock can find its mate.

Socks, socks, socks!

First, I finished a baby sock and cast on the mate. It's so cute!

Yarn: leftover scraps of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Child's Play

Pattern: Baby Socks

Needles: size 1 Knitpicks classic circulars







Then, I finally found the pattern I want to use for my Sockapalooza socks, which fits my criteria (sport weight, cuff down, short row heels). It's Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' "Priscilla's Dream Socks" from my new Favorite Socks book.

I've made pretty good progress so far:
(the color on this yarn is absolutely beautiful- deep jewel tones in violet, green and blue)

Ravelry

I finally got my invite to the beta of a new knitting site called Ravelry and have spent a few hours playing with it. What a neat idea! The best part, for me, is that if I have a particular yarn I can see what others have made with it to get some ideas.

So far, I've queued up some upcoming projects and started to list out my stash (yikes). Then I surfed over to see other's WIPs and stash, then hit the discussion boards. After a while, I realized how much time I was spending doing this so now I am only allowing myself 30 minutes at a time, after I've made some progress on my homework! But eventually the entire stash and project list will be up there.

I have not posted much about my Sockapalooza socks- I decided to use Dusk but now I am looking for a simple cuff down (two circular) pattern that uses short row heels. It seems like a lot of the short row heel patterns I find are for toe-up socks. But I'm hoping to get started this weekend.

sock yarn choices...

I'm on the home stretch... my final project is due this weekend (and it's only about 40% done!) I came across this cute pattern for baby socks and I have some scraps of leftover sock yarn. So I might do some baby socks for near instant gratification.

My Sockapalooza Pal mentioned greens, blues, purples... so I've narrowed it down to Cherry Tree Hill in Dusk (which I think will be my choice)







Green Mountain Madness








or Tropical Storm.









Or... maybe something handdyed by an indie fiber vendor and a little softer in hue.

I received an adorable postcard from my Secret Pal with sea otters in various cute poses. It was so nice to find something unexpected at the end of a long day- thank you!

Sockapalooza!

I've been matched and have been trying to come up with an pattern that will match my spoilee's preferences. She's not a fan of the heel flap which is all I know so that will be a fun challenge (and a good reason) to learn short row heels. All the patterns I'm finding for short row heels tend to be toe up which is also a new area for me. So I may be learning quite a bit with this!

It's a lot of fun to work with someone's preferences and find a project you think... you hope... will suit their tastes. I think I have narrowed down the yarn options to two different ones.

In the meantime, I'm anxious to finish up my current sock project but my finals are not making that possible. I am counting down to Sunday night...