Motley by Jane Richmond in Rowan Kidsilk Haze
My parents went to Newcastle and brought me back this wonderful yarn as a souvenir. I think the two colours really complement each other and wanted to make something that shows them of to their full potential. I found Motley by Jane Richmond on ravelry.com. It uses up every last bit of the Main colour and has stripes!
Can’t wait for spring to come, so I can wear this baby!
For a while now I have been intrigued with the stranded (Norwegian) sweaters and cardigans. However, the thought of cutting my knitting really scares me 
When one of the girls from my knit group announced she was pregnant, I decided to make her a blanket. There is a really nice free pattern on ravelry.com (Latvian Baby Blanket), with detailed explanations for the cutting part of the deal, so I decided to give it a go. I’m teaching myself to have one colour in each hand and do the picking and throwing as needed (which is not as hard as it looks).
The knitting went pretty fast, because the colourwork is very addictive: ‘one more row before I can start a new motif’, etc. Once I got the hang of knitting with one colour in each hand, it flew off the needles. The steeking was no problem. I had full confidence that I had reinforced the edges enough so the whole thing wouldn’t unravel before my eyes after cutting it and I knew the Knitpicks Palette yarn has a good reputation for steeking.
Sewing on the backing (fleece) and the satin ribbon around the edges proved to be more complicated than knitting two colours, but in the end I managed. Even though I have to admit it has a certain home made look to it that wasn’t part of my original idea 
Latvian Garden Baby Blanket
The New Year is of with a good start. I picked up my January shipment of the Sweet Georgia Yarns sock club about a week ago and couldn’t help but casting on a pair of socks as soon as I got home. I choose the Rib Fantastic pattern by Barb Brown. The rib looks like the tall buildings downtown (and it breaks up the pooling a bit).
The pattern is from this book:
My sock knitting has encountered some delays. It’s still fingering yarn though
Latvian Garden Baby Blanket
This was my first stranded colourwork: Latvian Garden Baby Blanket. The blanket is knit in the round and then steeked. I’ve taught myself to knit with one colour in each hand, knitting both continental and English style to speed things up. The first few repeats didn’t exactly go fast, but once I got the rhythm and figured out which stitches to wrap to get an even look it flew off the needles.
The steeking is actually not that scary. I did a hand sewn reinforcement, but with this yarn the risk of unravelling is really very small. After the steeking I soaked it for a bit and pinned it down. The yarn really evens out and gets very smooth. It’s perfect for colourwork projects and I bought a whole lot of it before the price increase. I’m seeing a nice colourwork sweater for myself in this yarn
Kleio - Rosemary (Romi) Hill
This year I signed up for the e-book 7 Small Shawls; Year Two: The Muses (ravelry link). Every few months you get a new shawl pattern automatically delivered into your ravelry library.
The shawl I’m wearing is the first one of the muses: Kleio; the muse of history. I used exactly the same yarn – even in the same colors – as the designer did and I’m not disappointed. I haven’t taken it off since I finished it and blocked it and I have never had so many compliments on a knitted object before while wearing it.
The second pattern came out a few days ago and it’s gorgeous: Melpomene. I have a few baby knits and a cardigan to finish, but then she’s mine I’m still debating the colour and the yarn I’ll use though, so I have time to make up my mind…
7/ 26 Juicy Monkeys
I just love the Monkey pattern by Cookie A. It’s my favourite go-to sock if I’m lacking inspiration and want something simple, yet stylish. The pattern repeat is easily memorized, so I don’t need to keep the chart next to me. It’s the ideal ‘snack’ pattern in between challenges. Also, by now I know how many repeats I need for the leg and the foot to get a perfect fit, so no counting or measuring
This pair is pair number 7 for the 26 pair plunge (I finished pair 8 before these, because the recipient of pair 8 was giving me the stink eye if he saw me working on something else lol). I’m a little behind in the challenge. Who knew that if you sign up for a sock knitting challenge, all you want to knit is cardigans! (I finished 4 already lol). Does it count if some of them are in fingering weight/ sock yarn?
It is a well-known fact that if you set yourself a challenge to knit a specific number of a certain item in a certain time frame, all you want to do is knit something else. So my sock knitting has been slowed down by some cardigans and a shawl. Pictures will follow, because I think they need to be taken outside while somebody (me) is wearing the item to show off their full awesomeness
However, I did finish some socks:
5/ 26 Crosshatch Lace with Sweet Tomato Heel
6/ 26 Nespresso
8/ 26 Jules Verne
Yes, for now #7 is missing, but it’s almost finished and I didn’t want to rename my projects.
4/ 26 The Scent of Lavender by Steffi van der Linden
The fourth pair is finished. The pattern is called The Scent of Lavender from the book Around the World in Knitted Socks: 26 Inspired Designs by Stephanie van der Linden.
The yarn is Austermann Step Classic. It has Jojoba oil in it, which is supposed to be good for your hands while you knit and nice for your feet while you wear them. Unfortunately, the yarn is not very stretchy and they’re a bit too tight for me. However, I’m hoping my SIL will like them. It’s the little extra gift in her birthday package.
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I’m trying to take nicer pictures, because the static picture of the socks still on the sock blocker isn’t doing it for me. (Don’t tell my husband this is our dinner plate with shower lotion on it). I thought the colours went well together. Very ‘cuisine française’ 
Summer has arrived in Vancouver
26 Pair Plunge II - July 2011
July has been a productive month for the 26 Pair Plunge. With 3 finished pairs I’m ahead of schedule
From left to right, I present you:
From left to right (the links are ravelry.com links) :
Chasing Snakes in Knitpicks Stroll Tonal colorway Royalty Tonal
Cast on: June 30th 2011
Bind off: July 7th 2011
Project Page
On-Hold Socks in unknown yarn (I think it’s a cotton blend, but the ball band is missing)
Cast on: July 9th 2011
Bind off: July 14th 2011
Project Page
Hearts and Flowers Socks in Dutch Wool Diva Sock Diva Superwash colorway Iolani
Cast on: July 14th 2011
Bind off: July 30th 2011
Project Page
On to August. I’m already working on The Scent of Lavender and Gush. Both have about a sock done and are coming along nicely.
I really like this challenge, since I’m getting to work from my stash and with patterns that have been lined up for a few years. My goal is to try and use as many of my sock knitting books as possible in this challenge. (There are quite a few!)
Happy knitting!
