Another pink sock

At lunch and tonite I worked on the first of a pair of pink 'cascade fixation' toe-up socks. The toe cast on works very cleanly. Now I'm about half way through whats left of the solid pink color so I'll put this sock on a holder and start the second one. In this manner I'll use the yarn evenly. I have another ball of varigated pink that is enough for the heel and legs of each. The heel should be interesting as there are more than a few ways to do this.

Rainbow Socks

Finished the toe of the rainbow socks today. They came out very nice but it's not my favorite yarn coloration at all. I like a more varied varigation, and more earthy or blue/purple colors. I also checked my gauge on the sole and found I'm knitting very tight (9 stitched per inch) so I need to go up a needle size or two for the next pair when I use this yarn.

I decided to do a toe up sock in cascade fixation. I cast on using a technique where you crochet a chain of stitches using a piece of waste yarn. Stitches are picked up from the back of the crochet chain, then you knit a row, purl another row then carefully remove the chain picking up the stitches from the other side. Now you have an invisible start at the toe. Again I checked my gauge and found it was too tight (7 stitches per inch) so I'll knit a few more rounds with larger needles to get the correct gauge then rip it all out and start again. I need to do my swatches in the round when doing socks because a flat swatch just doesn't work out the same when doing a knit then purl row.

Rainbow Sock

Worked on the rainbow sock tonite, turning the heel and over halfway down to the toe. With another project waiting in the wings I'm really concentrating on getting this one finished. I'll have a lot of yarn left over so there is going to be another smaller size pair made of this yarn at a later date.

Updates and progress

Had a great day today, attending a quilt show, shopping for yarn and eating out and even doing some crafting. Here's a picture of the 'cascade fixation' pink socks (for Red Sox ladies) that was a secret gift project prior to Easter.

The Hello Kitty/Chococat mug had flowers sprinkled around the design. I stitched it into a tube so it fits snuggly in the mug and then glued the mug insert into the mug after positioning the fabric. It came out cute but the flowers just added that special touch to make it even more special.

I'm up to starting the heel on the rainbow sock. I have to finish it because at the yarn store I bought yarn for two more pairs.
This is 'jitterbug' colorway lagoon. I love knitting with this yarn but the color is out of my comfort range but I'm going to love it anyway.
This is a new brand for me 'Skakel trekking hand art' in colorway atlantic. It's soft but superwas so I'm sure this will knit up wonderfully.

The quilt show was fun to go to. Not having been to one in a while it was good to see the range of color palets, styles, patterns and quilting techniques. There were lots of full size quilts which makes the show more interesting. A total craft day.

Wilhelmina the Witch

Worked on finishing the witch that I had completed all of the knitting on a month ago. She had a bag full of part including each finger and thumb knitted separately.

Here's her body all stuffed and weighed down.
Here are her two arms with individual digits sewn on.
Her shapely legs with boomers, ruffles and fancy high heel shoes.
A cauldron for brewing potions.
A hat for her head. You spray it heavily with hair spray, pat it into the fibers, shape it and then let it dry. This lets the knitted item hold its shape. The cauldron handle was shaped in the same manner. This method of stiffening doesn't effect the feel of the yarn or change its look at all.

Here she is with her legs attached and now she's a fully formed witch. The hair is put on by using a crochet hook and looping a strand through, one at a time. I worked in a circle around the crown of her head so it looks nice if she takes her hat off. The yarn was kind of kinky from beening in the skein so you just use a steam iron and holding it up to her head give the hair a blast of steam. This worked really well, and her hair falls smoothly down her back. Her nose is a little big for my taste but over all I'm very satisfied with this project.

New room

Here's a picture of the new room looking out into the back yard. There's plenty of room on the shelving for the family treasures and all of the future craft projects. The gang of cats were all checking out the room today, laying in the sun beam spots on the carpet and looking very happy with themselves.
Here is Fern looking all fluffy and pretty after a brushing this morning. She was a very happy and contented little cat this morning and allowed my son to take her picture.
Before work I worked on the 'chemo beanie' and finished it. Then I tried it on for fit and it was too short. This is a project I'm making up as I go from a description and I had underestimated the amount of length a cap needs to be to actually sit on a head. I did find out that the decreases measured 2 inches, the ribbing 3 inches and the plain knitting inbetween needed to be 3 inches not a half an inch. Ripping insued, back to the start of the decreases and then it all went back on the needles. As you can see it worked up quickly and I finished it on my dinner break this evening. It will be wrapped up tomorrow and hopefully it will be what the recipient envisioned.

New Project

Didn't get to do much in the way of crafting today. Did a few rounds on the rainbow sock but you can't even tell the difference. It was 'prayer shawl' knitting tonite so the comfort blanket got blessed and is on it's way to an yet unborn baby. I cast on for a requested 'chemo hip hop beanie' tonite and knit a few inches before doing a test fit. This is Tahki 'Sky' yarn, nice and soft, 100% biofil cotton so it doesn't have any chemicals in it at all.

Promise to post pictures of the 'heritage room' tomorrow. It's been rainy and gloomy and I need to take a good photo during mid day.