Herbology Socks

 Last year I bought myself 'The Unofficial Harry Potter Knits' magazine from Interweave. This is the first of the projects from it I have completed. It won't be the last! I love all things Harry Potter, and the knits in this magazine are beautiful.

These socks were designed by Rachel Coopey. You can read her blog here. Her sock designs are amazing! There are two more of her sock patterns in the magazine that I will be trying out in the future. These are the 'Herbology Socks'. They have tiny, little, cables and lace. On the first sock I messed up a few of the cables and didn't realize until I was quite far along. At which point, I decided not to fix the mistakes. The second sock appears to be perfect, but don't look too close. The yarn I used came from a yarn swap, but didn't have a label. I believe it is 'Knit Picks Imagination', that has sadly been discontinued. I used this yarn for my 'Hermione's Everyday Socks', and I really like it.

 I love how they turned out. I'm sure they will get a lot of wear this winter. I've got a couple of other finished projects to share with you soon, I just haven't photographed them yet. See you soon.

Almost forgotten

 I realize I have not blogged for a very long time. I have not stopped knitting, there have just been some really big changes going on for me and my family. Here's what I almost forgot to share.

Another Grrlfriend Market bag. This one was for my sister, Mrs. B.

I decided to try out Susan B. Anderson's pattern for worsted weight socks. These were for my Mum.

My lovely knitting group friends threw me a party, and sent me home with three bags and a basket full of knitting goodies.

Knitters truly are the best kind of people. I love them!

My second time knitting an Owls sweater. This one was for my sister, Mrs. M. She turned 40, so it was a special gift. This photo was taken before I sewed on the button eyes. I gave her white eyed owls in contrast to my black eyed owls.

So the big changes involved moving, which is why my knitting friends threw me a party.This is my house not long before it sold. We lived here for five years, and in the area for more than 6 years. That is the longest I have lived anywhere since I got married. It was not part of my plan to ever leave, but life doesn't always go the way we plan.

This is my new view. We have gone from east to west. It's going to take some getting used to, but I will knit my way though it.

Hermione's Everyday Socks

 These are what I worked on for most of June. Socks always take me a while, but I love handmade socks so much, so they are totally worth it. These are for me, and I'm looking forward to wearing them once the weather cools down again. The pattern is available as a free Ravelry download. The yarn is Knit Picks Imagination Hand Painted Sock Yarn in the Wild West colourway.

I started the heel on the first sock and did not really like it. I picked it back and re-knit it using the pattern from the Susan B. Anderson's socks. I also followed her pattern for the toe.

I love the way this yarn looks with the texture created by this simple pattern. I feel sure I will use it again.

Tomorrow I'm off to visit family in Utah for a couple of weeks. I'll have something fun to share with you when I get back, and of course I will be taking a project along with me to work on when I have a chance. I just hope I won't have any problems taking my knitting on the plane with me.

A month of pink knits

 May was a very pink month. Starting out with some pink socks for my Mum's birthday. They are knit up in in Zitron 6 ply yarn. I used the Susan B. Anderson's pattern for how she makes her socks again. This yarn was a little thicker/heavier that than yarn I've used for socks before, so hopefully they won't be too big. I figured if they are, they will make great house socks, as they are very warm.

One of my little ones wanted to get in on this picture.

 Next up in this month of pink are these fingerless mitts made for my sister Mrs. M. They are to match her Meret I made her last year. I added thumb holes and a little extra ribbing at the beginning and end of them. I love how they turned out.

 I'll end this post with possibly my favorite knit of the year so far. I can't remember where I first saw this idea, but I immediately knew I had to find someone to make it for. It's a Boobie Beenie, you'll find the free pattern here. It's a really simple rolled brimmed stockinette hat. I knit it up in Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool. It's a really soft, washable wool. I gave it to my friend who is expecting in July. She is a fellow kniter, and a breastfeeding mama. I wish I had seen this pattern when my kids were babies. I would have loved one.

 I'll have more to share with you soon. Keep happy everyone and enjoy your summer.

Handmade Christmas.

It wasn't so handmade this year. I always have good intentions, but it just doesn't quite work out. All I managed to make on time this year was a pair of socks for my Mum. They are using the Susan B. Anderson pattern from her blog. They are knit up in Patons Kroy socks FX in the colour cascade. I started knitting them while I was over in England this summer. She had said she liked them, so I knew they would become her's.

This slithery snake was made for my little Miss. I. It came five days after Christmas, because other things got in the way of my knitting. The pattern is from the book Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor. I have made two of these snakes before for my older kids. This time I decided to knit it in the round, and stuff it as I went. It's knit up in Lily sugar'n cream cotton in lot's of colours. It is by far my favorite snake (don't tell the other snakes). Every kid needs one to snuggle up in bed with.

It was very well received,  but now my older kids feel it is their turn for some handmade toys. I'd better get back to work. Happy creating everyone.

Socks and a scarf.

 My husband had surgery last week. While waited for him I took the opportunity to work on these socks. His surgery was a lot longer than either of us expected, so I got a lot done. I think I started them in November. The pattern is called Jaywalker and is available here for free. I used Knit Picks Felici sock yarn in Minty. They are kind of hard to get on and off, but they are really warm and comfy and I love they way they look.

 This scarf was for my neighbors 18th birthday. She said she loves bright pink and bright green. This is just a  simple single rib knit scarf. It's made out of Vickie Howell Sheep(ish).

While I was knitting away last Friday, CNN was on in the waiting room. I watched in horror as the news unfolded of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. I feel a great sadness over this incident. Two of my children attend our local elementary school in our quiet commuter town. I feel like it could have been us, and wish there was something I could do to make a difference for those who survived. While listening to the radio I heard about this request from the Sandy Hook PTA. It's for snowflakes, to turn the school into a winter wonderland for the students. I'm sure they hope it will help with the healing, as they return to school after the Christmas break. I plan on making some with my kids over the break and I hope you will too.
Happy Christmas to you all.

Knock yer socks off!

 Here is my second attempt at making socks. You'll remember the 'manly socks' I made for my other half for valentines. I wasn't totally happy with them. They were a little too slouchy, so I knew the pattern would never work for me. This pattern is from Susan B. Anderson's tutorial of how she makes socks. I bought a bunch of yarn from Knit Picks last month. This was the only skein I bought that was not on sale. I couldn't resist. I just fell in love with the colours. It's stroll hand painted sock yarn in 'Retro'. The only change I made to the pattern was to knit the cuff for seven inches instead of six. I love the pattern. I'm really happy with how well they fit, feel and look on my feet. I can't wait to knit another pair.

Manly Socks.

 So when I first moved to the States and married Mr. H, I did not have a job. I got pretty bored. We lived on the outskirts of a small town in Idaho, and we only had one car. This is when I started to knit. At the time I could pretty much only make squares and rectangles, so scarfs were pretty much all I made for years. I made scarfs for all my family, except my other half. He has always told me not to make him one. Even when I started branching out to other knitted items a few years back, he didn't want me to knit him anything. For me giving hand knitted items as gifts is really my way of saying I love you. The fact that my own husband had none of that love was pretty weird! Now we live in a great house, which my husband works out of his home office in our bacement. It gets pretty cold down there in the winter and he is always complaining that his feet are cold. So I decided it was time I tackled hand knit socks. For the first time in our life together, he agreed to me knitting him something. Horay!

I used this pattern called Thuja from http://www.knitty.com/. They are knitted up in Berroco Vintage in boring, manly, black. I got a little help with my sock knitting by reading Getting Started knitting Socks by Ann Budd. I was at my local library and I got chatting with a lady knitting socks, she recomended this book to me. I'm so glad she did. If you are thinking of knitting your first pair of socks I would check it out. I also had a friend from my knitting group to show me how to knit majic loop. So this was a project of firsts for me.

 I finished them up on Valentines day, and I'm so glad I did. I'd been afraid of knitting socks for so long. My Mum had kind of put me off by telling me turning the heal would be too hard. I think I'm going to have to get her to try socks now. I'm looking forward to knitting more socks soon.