A True Sockamaniac Plans Ahead

A true Sockamaniac always plans ahead for the inevitable! We trust no one with our stash, knitting supplies or how we want to be remembered so to make sure our last wishes are kept, we went ahead and purchased our headstones with the epitaph of our choice. We leave nothing up to chance. Here are a few from my fellow Sockamaniac Sock knitters group members!

I hope you has as much fun reading these as we did making them!

Now it's your turn...

What would you like on your tombstone? I'd love to hear from you but
remember your epitaph has to be related to sock knitting. And if it's good, you will be accepted for burial in our Sockamaniac Sematary.

Tied Up in Knots

I spent part of today winding my hanks of yarn into balls. For some reason today was the day for knots. Knots in my hanks of yarn, knots in my knitting, knots, knots, knots! There was a time until very recently that I would freak out whenever there was a knot in my ball of yarn. You see I came from the school of knitting that says that the only time you should have knots in your knitted piece was at the end of a row. So if you reached the end of a row and you see that soon you will need to start a new ball, you cut the old off even if you had 2+ yds left and tie on the new. Think about this, let's say you are making a sweater using 13 balls of yarn and you cut at least 2 yds. to change balls, you would have wasted 26 yds of good yarn. That may not sound like much but with today's bad economy and high yarn prices can you really afford to waste ANY yarn? (Art by Arnie)

I mean what will happen if I tie on a new ball in the middle of my work? Will I be struck by lightning? Who's to know except me? Besides have you every tried seaming up the sides of a sweater with all the knots and strands of yarn that have to be woven in? Talk about bulky seams! So what's the big deal if I choose to add a new ball when I have only 6" left of the old yarn and I'm right in the middle? Well after all these years I bit the bullet and decided that I will add a new ball whenever and wherever I please. So what I do is leave at least 6", tie a knot, then weave the ends in. To make sure that the knot doesn't come apart, I add a touch of glue. Voila!!! Nobody knows my little secret. That is of course unless you tell on me.

What do you think? Am I right? What do you do?

Art by Arnie

The Moment You've Been Waiting For...My Braided Glory Shawl is Finished!

Drumroll please...

and here it is my finished Braided Glory Shawl! Isn't it a beauty? The pattern as you remember is by Deby Lake. I made just a few small changes to suit my preferences. I didn't add the i-cord trim because I liked the edging that was in the pattern before you add the i-cord. It was a garter stitch edging which I think looked fine without the cord. So in deciding that, I had to redo the back of the neck line. What I did was this...I picked up the stitches that I had bound off for the neck and did 4 rows in the garter stitch. I did have to stitch the corners but it was well worth it. Also, I didn't include the picot edging down the front. As I said, the garter trim looked wonderful to me. I wore it out to my knitting group and got many compliments as well as requests to make it for some but I begged off. For one thing, I'm too busy and for another, I would not do this to a designer. My knitting friends know how to knit so they can purchase the pattern and do it themselves. But this shawl pattern was the talk of my group.

Here's the back...

As you can see the back has a little bit of a flair to it which I think adds to it's beauty. This shawl felt so good on my shoulders and kept them and my upper back nice and warm. How that for being frugal? Beauty and warmth all in one.

After looking at my finished shawl, I knew I had to have another one except this time I decided to make the back in a V shape instead of rounded plus I'm going to add a little more length to the back. I'm doing this one in a yellow sport weight yarn. It will be drapey. As I said in an earlier post, I'm not crazy about shawls but this one definitely caught my eyes. I love the idea of not having to hold it or tie it to keep it closed. A unique pattern to be sure. I highly recommend it!

To Frog or Not to Frog???

No! No! No! Not that frog. Knitters frog as in rip it, rip it, rip it. Are you a frogger? Come on now, admit it. You know you are. If you haven't frogged then you haven't been knitting. Let's face it ALL knitters are froggers. Now that we've established that very important fact the question now becomes WHEN to frog. One of my Sockamaniac Sock-a-long group members was horrified when she discovered that after knitting 6 rows there was a mistake on the 1st row. What to do? Do I frog 5 rows to that mistake or forget it. What do you think? Keep in mind she's working on a complex pattern. Is it worth it to go back?

I am an absolute knitting perfectionist to the point of driving myself insane. Imagine that, driving yourself over the edge because of 1 silly stitch. Especially when you consider all the problems in the world that are far more important than my silly ole stitch. WHO CARES ABOUT THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS? This stitch is MY problem and I have to solve it! Did I say I knit to relieve stress? Ya right! Let's face it, I LOVE STRESS! I thrive on stress. Would I rip all those rows out? Now what do you think?

On a serious note, naw, I would keep on going. Usually no one else notices that mistake but you. It seems to jump right out in your face, doesn't it, screaming FIX ME, FIX ME, FIX ME. Kind of like the plant in the Little Shop of Horrors except this is YOUR Big Shop of Horrors. Forget it and move on. Keep telling yourself that it doesn't matter, only you see it, it's not the end of the world. Put your knitting down for awhile and go get yourself a nice cup of hot coffee and relax. If you can ignore that mistake then you have made it! You are a confirmed frogger! Frogger you say? Yes because the definition of a true frogger is that she knows when to frog or not... So are you a frogger?

Help yourself to my button!

I'm Not Just a Sockamaniac...

No siree. I'm not the kind of person to just stop at knitting and spinning. I love to be creative working with fiber, beads, clay. I guess I have to satisfy that need to be touchy, feely when it comes to textures. So another of my addictions is beading. I love clunky, dangly jewelry. It's hard finding jewelry to match my wild personality so I make my own. I thought you'd enjoy looking at some of the pieces I've made.

One thing I've learned about designing  from a friend of mine is that it's done in 1's, 3's 5's and so on. Three bracelets look better than 2. Or wear just one but never 2. Now don't say I didn't warn you.

Like my yarn stash, I also have a bead and fabric stash. Isn't life grand???

These two pictures are just a couple of my designs. How do I know which colors to choose? The best thing I ever did was to have my colors done by a professional. I'm an autumn so colors that work for me are most shades of green except pale, yellows, golds, oranges, orange reds, most blues except pale, browns, off white. My wardrobe consists of those colors so when ever I decide to knit or bead I choose colors that I know will work for me.

Mystery Sock Begins

November 2009 Mystery Sock Pattern

Well everybody, as you can see Ms Sockamaniac Sockaslueth is ready to solve this mystery pattern. Are you? You'll have to put your sock design caps on and take this stitch pattern and turn it into a sock but think out of the box. Try to make your sock design interesting, unique and most of all you. Follow the written instructions and you'll see what the pattern will look like. The rest is up to you. I will give you only 2 clues to start with:

Will look great as men's socks.
The pattern is a multiple of 17 stitches.

You will have to figure out how many stitches you will need to cast on for your socks. And please share pictures and thoughts as you go along. Are you ready? Here goes:

Abbreviations:

LTPB= Slip 1 stitch to cable needle, hold in front, p1, k1 from cable needle.
RTP= Skip 1 stitch, k1, p skipped stitch, drop 2 original stitches from left needle.
K= Knit
P= Purl

Row 1: K1, p1, LTPB 3 times, p1, k1, RTP 3 times, p1.
Row 2 and all even rows: Knit
Row 3: K1, p1, k1, LTPB 3 times, RT 3 times, k1, p1.
Row 5: K1, p1, k1, p1, LTPB 2 times, RTP 3 times, p1, k1, p1.
Row 7: K1, p1, k1, p1, k1, LTPB, RTP 3 times, k1, p1, k1, p1.
Row 9: K1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, RTP 3 times, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1.
Row 11: K1, p1, k1, p1, k1, RTP 3 times, LTPB, k1, p1, k1, p1.
Row 13: K1, p1, k1, p1, RTP 3 times, LTPB 2 times, p1, k1, p1.
Row 15: K1, p1, k1, RTP 3 times, LTPB 3 times, k1, p1.
Row 17: K1, p1, RTP 3 times, p1, k1, LTPB 3 times, p1.
Row 18: Knit

Have fun!

My Projects Progress...so far

Today was a typical rainy fall day here in New England. Just the kind of day where you want to stay in and knit. That I did! I love days like this! Sitting in my favorite chair knitting while enjoying the view of assorted colors from my picture window. What more could I ask for? I thought you'd like to see my little knitting area. But first here's my Magic Mirror sock so far. I finished Chart A and I'm now I'm ready to begin Chart B. I colorized it the same way I did my A chart, which I found so much better on my eyes. Getting this far wasn't as hard as the chart made it look. While the design looks like the pattern is complicated, actually knitting it proved otherwise. Now my next test will be the heel. This being my first toe-up sock, I can't even begin to imagine how to do the short row heel, however I love a challenge! So onward I go...

I'll bet you'd like to see the progress I've made on my Braided Glory shawl by Deby Lake? So here it is:

It's been such a pleasure working on this pattern. It satisfied my need to be challenged while at the same time was easy enough to just relax and knit. I can't believe how fast this knits up. I think this shade of green really brings out the beauty of the pattern, don't you? I'm pretty near the part in the pattern where I begin knitting the braids. Deby tells me that she's working on a larger version of this pattern. I'm really looking forward to that. I would love to have this in more of a cape style too! Go Deby!!!

Okay, now for the tour of my knitting corner. This first picture is a full view of my space and believe me it IS MY space. No one dares to touch it in any way for fear of my crazed reaction. LOL
A good firm straight chair is a vital part of my spot. Without it I wouldn't be able to move the next day. The old back doesn't work like it used to. Of course I gotta have my table for my coffee. Now don't be fooled into thinking that this is all the yarn I have. I have my stash scattered everywhere throughout the house and basement. But when I work, my area has to be uncluttered. Too much stuff around me seems to be a bit much for my brain to handle. LOL

And this is the famous music stand I was telling you about that has now become my chart holder.

Isn't that neat? It works great for holding not only my charts but also my patterns. Now just let my hubby try to get it back for his music. Did you notice the little black thingy on the arm of my chair? Can you guess what it is? Alright I won't keep you in suspense. This is my very favorite tool in my knitting bag. I absolutely love this row counter. It's the best one that I have ever used and I tried them all. Read about it on Nancy's Knit Knacks

Even if you have multiple projects going, like I always do, this is the only row counter you'll ever need. And believe me, I will not sing kudos about anything if I don't truly believe in it 100%

So what I did was put some velcro dots on the counter and my chair and voila, it stays right where I need it. How about you? What is your favorite knitting notion?