Another sock

Not just another sock, but my most unusual...
double knitted... which if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't believe it.  Which means you won't believe it either... instead of knit in the round, it is knit back and forth, both sides at the same time.  huh?

 One side and the other:

Finished!

It seemed to move along quickly... but it took me over a year to finish the first sock.  The second one was a few weeks...although anyone who knows my knitting, also knows I'm not very dedicated to one project at a time.  I think they are quite lovely, and tempted to do it again!
Thanks for the help, Leena!

Doublefun, ankle-high

by Leena Siikaniemi

from Think Outside the Sox

Time for Fair Isle

Love love love the look,
The feel of two colors entwined,
The bands of design,
See how it grows!
Just one more row before bed...

And then it will rest until August.  I'll be traveling, and no need for a nice sweater over the summer.  I'm going to take my time, and start many other projects...

Child's Redbird Pullover

by Tone Takle and Lise Kolstad

from Sweaters: 28 Contemporary Designs in the Norwegian Tradition

It's a beauty!  Using fingering weight yarn from other projects.  

To the mountains

What would you do?  Spring has sprung, trees are blossoming, some even have touches of green foliage, the grass is getting a taste of irrigation water, eyes are painfully itchy, the wind is blowing, so...time to escape to winter!  Crazy, but just a few days, and I'll be ready to brave more of the above.
A painfully bright drive over two 10,000 ft passes, to the quiet community of Silverton and I'm ready to listen to the deluge of melting snow following the path of icicles.  It's loud on the metal roof.

The road is clear.

The skiers are happy to have another few runs.

And I'm delighted to be here with longer days. Last November I watched the sun rise and set at the highest peaks of the mountains.  Now it comes up and goes down in valleys with five more hours of light.

New socks finished!

Effect Vest

I would like to say I'm finished with another project, but let's face it:  It probably has some work to be done, and yet I'm SO excited because it really seems to be "my" creation with borrowed ideas ...blocked...

And tried on:

and found it's a bit TOO minimal for me.  No closures/ties/loops... yet.  So, I've decided to pass this on to a smaller body and do a requested closure method.  (Maybe nothing, maybe "Knot Closure", ...loop and button... too many to choose.)
The pattern is a combination of Sandi Rosner's Vest from a book called Not Just Socks, with a pattern around the middle from cookie a's Bex sock pattern (found in Sock innovation).  It was fun, even though it has seen many Atlantic Ocean flights.  That's the problem when you don't have a clear destination for the project.  LOVE the yarn:

 Hand-dye Effect by RegiaLight Fingering / 3 ply
70% Wool, 25% Nylon, 5% Acrylic
459 yards / 100 grams (used 2 skeins)

The colors in that series are beautiful, but with such long color repeats, I find it isn't suitable for the kinds of socks I knit.  

The edging is attached I-cord per Rosner's instructions.  Makes a nice finish, yet I'm wondering if it will stay blocked, and not roll... It may need an iron touch-up.

Yesterday, April Fool!

Going out of Business

SALE!  Time to reduce and eliminate inventory... My stash is out of control!
Due to an unusual conversation yesterday, I have decided to start my third or fourth career (but who's counting?) and give up knitting.
I've always had a bit of my mind telling me that I really wanted to "start over" and buy a franchise (to be determined).  Pondering this I woke up to the fact that knitting is taking up too much of my life, so I'm ready to separate myself from my stash.  See my Ravelry page (stash) and first come, first to walk away with some great yarn.  FREE, for any shipping costs if applicable.
Who doesn't want a Blue Peruvian Rabbit?

Spring Cleaning!

NOT!  Spring Knitting, or trying to finish up a few items.  Not much for blogging this month, and I promise there will be less in April, ... and May,.... and... we'll see.  It seems a busy time for me, and I would rather be... outside knitting!
Funny story:  Years ago I saw this beautiful tee at Yarn (Durango), hanging there on a stick or something, catching the light just so that it called out, "Touch me, and you'll be forever mine."   I touched, and it has been mine, forever, or at least for almost FIVE years.  I felt the luxury of bamboo, and I bought the yarn and pattern in the summer of 2008.  I knitted it up in a flash, but never found the right buttons for the front tab.  Instead I found stupid buttons, and I wore it.  I loved the feel, but it didn't love my figure back, so I put it away.  I should have just handed it over to my daughter, who would look gorgeous in it, and have replaced the buttons with something stunning, ... but I didn't.  It languished in my closet, on a shelf.  Then THREE years ago, I decided that was silly.  I'll make something else, like a little dress for my Juju.  I frogged some of it, and used extra balls and completed my little dress.  And it stretched like crazy!  I don't know if that little dress ever got worn, but then a few years later, I looked at the cannibalized tee and decided I wanted it again.  All I had left was the boring stockinette of the body.  (Top down = exciting start, boring finish)  A few weeks ago, I decided to "JUST DO IT", and now I have... a finished tee, NO buttons, and it might be a bit short, but maybe someone with an attractive belly button will wear it.  It still feels YUMMY soft.

Almost Spring Fever!

Where do the weeks go? I know where the next few months will go:

1. Teaching a crash course from now until May,
2. Planning a REAL tour of Norway for my friends,
3. Packing for trip to Norway in May,
4. Packing for the hub who will be visiting Norway in April,
5. Yard work,  and 
6. Startitis!  I finish one and start two. 

Beaded Elegance Socks:

 Finished Striped Thaw Socks:

 On needles: Noro Socks

 Some colors to choose from:

 And the cuff of what I'll use them for:

Friend, EML, contaminated my environment with shared two gorgeous Norwegian knitting books. Full of colorful Norwegian non-traditional patterns. (See above cuff.) Sigh!

A month ago, I made a non binding  pact with myself that I would finish some beautiful projects on needles, and I worked really hard on a pair of socks that were only a toe for 2 years...FINISHED! I alternated with a vest that soon has a 2nd anniversary, and for which I ordered more yarn...and now...I've started two other pairs of socks, and a child's sweater from EML's book. It's a beauty!  Using leftover fingering weight yarn. 

Weaving/loom stands in the corner, patiently.

Tomorrow I have to deal with the time change.