crazy socks

When I was in Creative Yarns a few weeks ago, Nina suggested that I try Crazy Zauerball sock yarn from Schoppel-Wolle. "It's lots of fun" she insisted, pressing a ball into my hands.

It's very interesting, this yarn. The two strands of the main ply are dyed individually and then twisted together. The result? The colours seem to melt into each other. But I've been warned, it's unpredictable; the likelihood that the second sock will match the first is almost nonexistent.

With so much going on with the yarn, I chose a very simple pattern - Soft Serve by Mindy Vasil. As I knit the first part of this sock, I debated this choice. The yarn feels quite warm and woolly; maybe the pattern is too lacy? Maybe the pattern is too simple? Maybe the pattern isn't stretchy enough for a good fit? Turns out, as soon as I put the sock on my foot my doubts vanished. These crazy socks are going to be great!

Leyburn Socks

The bright morning sun really shows off the criss-cross pattern on these Leyburn socks. They're narrower through the foot than most of the patterns that I've knit up until now - but I think that's a good thing. I like my socks to fit snugly! I'm really happy with the way these turned out. Now I'm thinking of adapting the pattern to make child size socks from all the Kroy self-striping sock yarn I've got on hand.

This Misty Highland colourway is the darkest yarn I've ever attempted socks with. It's fine for a simple pattern like this, but I wouldn't want to try any of the more complicated Cookie A patterns with a yarn this dark. It really is much harder to read your knitting! And the dark rosewood needles I've used are almost the same colour as the yarn, making things a bit tougher still.

For last night's supper I made a baked vegetable pie with a rice crust filled with thinly sliced zucchini, yellow squash, onions and kalamata olives, topped with shredded cheddar cheese. It is delicious, and thank goodness for that. To use up all the garden fresh zucchini and yellow squash, I had to make two pies. Looks like it's leftovers for lunch today and dinner tonight!

today

Today I'm going to catch up on all the jobs piling up on my desk at work and maybe my boss will notice and appreciate my hard work.

Today I'm going to make dinner from scratch with fresh garden grown vegetables given to us by friends and it's going to be delicious.

Today I'm going to finish my second Leyburn sock and then sit back and admire the finished pair before casting on something new.

Today is full of possibilities! How's your day shaping up?

a sunny Tuesday

It's another beautiful summer day - sunny, warm, with a light breeze. Seems like this summer has been one sunny day after another; certainly it's been the nicest summer I can remember. Almost a shame to have to go to work on a day like this!

Progress on the second sock is steady. Of course, with such an easy pattern I don't spend much time referring to charts. And I don't know about you, but I can't bring myself to put the sock down after rounds where the floats are started. I finish the pattern repeat so that it looks nicer.

Our cat is spending part of her morning nestled in Gavin's flip flops. Not sure whether she's infatuated with the smell, or whether she thinks that by lying on his shoes she is preventing him from leaving the house. She does love his feet, though!

weekend update

The first Leyburn sock is done. It's a beautiful sock pattern; I'm already thinking about knitting more pairs. And the yarn is just perfect. For this sock, I tried out Jeny Staiman's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. Aptly named, I'd say, because it really is surprisingly stretchy. Perfect for the top cuff of a sock!

And despite the technicolour look, my ankle is getting better. There's still a bit of swelling right on the ankle and across the top of my foot, but at least now I can fit my foot comfortably into a shoe. Every day it's a little better.

We spent this weekend at a friend's cottage on Lake Erie, and since the Leyburn socks are intended for this friend, I had to put them aside and knit something else. No problem, it was just the push I needed to get started on my second Caspian Seas sock.

coming along nicely

With the sprain preventing me from bending my foot comfortably at the ankle and applying pressure on my left foot, driving to work remains impossible - our car is standard transmission! On the upside, the train rides to and from work give me lots of time to knit.

My first Leyburn sock is coming along nicely. In fact, it's knitting up so quickly that I wouldn't be surprised if the first sock is finished tonight. The pattern is almost entirely knit stitches with the lattice created from long floats in front of slipped stitches. It's simple, but very effective; another pattern that works really well with variegated yarns. Looks like it's going to be socks for everyone this Christmas!

the stars align

For the last few days I haven't had much luck. Not knitting-wise, and not otherwise. Things took a definite turn when I slipped on the stairs at the train station and sprained my ankle on my way to work Monday morning. Ouch!

But it's Wednesday now and the news is all good. The X-Rays show no fractures. With a couple of days of rest, elevation and icing, the swelling has gone done considerably so that I can now walk slowly - although stairs are still a tedious and painful ordeal. And within a few days my left foot should be one big purple and brown bruise.

Speaking of purple and brown, I've moved onto this Misty Highlands colourway of Wandering Cat Alley Cat sock yarn. The pattern is Leyburn Socks and I don't think I could be any happier with how this is knitting up. See, the stars have realigned and my luck is back - knitting-wise and otherwise.