18 November 2009 · 4 Comments
Well I didn’t get eaten by (or even see) a coyote. I did, however, see an armadillo (dead), a donkey, a few sheep, horses, cows (all alive), and several goats (quite lively). No, we didn’t go to a petting zoo, these were just all hanging out by the side of the road as we drove around. There were also a variety of spiny plants that would have been perfect for hanging socks on. Alas, my organizational skills were not up to par and I never managed to find picturesque plants when I had completed socks with me. Instead I found them when I had half an inch of the cuff of a super secret sock with me. The first half inch of socks is not usually all that interesting, and super secret socks are not yet fair game for photos anyway.
I was correct in my concern that the three to-be-toed socks would not have been enough knitting. I finished all three the first day. The first toe was for the pink socks shown in an earlier post. Those socks are now done, washed, and being blocked. The pattern is done except for a final photo and should go up early next week.
The other two toes were for members of the secret sock society I’ve been running of late. They were the toes of my grandfather’s birthday socks. I didn’t know his shoe size, so I had to bring the socks with me in an almost complete state and then finish them after deploying my spy (sister) to determine his size. I had taken a picture of the toeless socks before we left, but I wanted to get a picture of the finished socks as well. The hotel didn’t provide any picturesque backdrops, so I was starting to lose hope. Then we stopped by the local yarn store (totally accidentally I’m sure) Stonehill Spinning, and I bought a bit of yarn. As we left, I realized that both the porch and the parking lot fence were suitably photogenic. I did a quick sock shuffle and snapped a few pics. I figure it’s a yarn store, they’ll understand the need to document your knitting, right?
12 November 2009 · 1 Comment
I believe I may have a problem. I am going on a trip. I leave tomorrow morning and return Monday evening. I have three socks that need toes, and I had planned to bring them with me. I’ve just realized that this is likely not enough knitting.
I have two layovers (about an hour each), at least three hours of driving, and a fair amount of sitting around talking with family. That’s hours and hours and hours of knitting time. A toe takes about an hour, so three toes will likely take about three hours. That’s not enough knitting.
This is dire. This means I have to pack the stuff to start an extra project. This, in turn, means I need to decide upon and locate the stuff for said new project. At least packing my clothes only took 15 minutes.
12 November 2009 · 2 Comments
Lots of little bits today, and no overarching theme. Is scattered a theme? No? Could we pretend it is?
First, some business. Today’s lucky winner is Darcy! She will be getting a skein of lovely yarn from Dicentra Designs in her favorite color, Opal Creek. I’ll be in touch to work out the details.
Next, knitting progress. I’ve actually been knitting rather a lot, I’m just keeping it secret to spite you. All will be revealed in time, but for now I can show you these. They’re almost done and I’m just itching to finish them so I can hurry up and wear them. I’ve lately fallen into the terrible habit of knitting one sock, putting the pattern out, and moving on to the next project. This lets me get out lots of patterns, but doesn’t really augment the sock drawer much. The trend must end. Socks are meant to be in pairs. I must allow them to fulfill their destiny.
That won’t be much of a challenge for these socks. The left and right socks are different, which is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. I’d like to think it takes more than that to hold my attention, but apparently not. The yarn is also far too tempting to put down for long. It’s Moby DK by Liberty’s Yarn in the color Baked Apple. The color is gorgeous, and the yarn has been a delight to work with – the perfect balance between soft enough to enjoy knitting with and tough enough to make nice sturdy socks. With any luck at all these should be done this weekend.
Finally, I’ll be away for the next few days and will have only sporadic internet access. I’m off to Texas to celebrate my grandfather’s 90th birthday. I’ve not been to Texas since I was a kid and my mental picture of the place is straight out of Saturday morning cartoons and old style westerns. I’m considering trying to find an actual cactus to hang a pair of socks on. Somehow the idea amuses me to no end. I should be back on Tuesday assuming I’m not eaten by a coyote.
9 November 2009 · 25 Comments
Bedizen is up!
These are shamelessly frilly, fluffy, girly socks — because sometimes that’s exactly what you need. It’s hopeless to fight it. The stitch pattern is unapologetically lacy and swirly. It looks complicated, but it is actually surprisingly simple. The pattern repeat is only 4 rows high, and it is very easy to memorize.
The yarn is a delicious 50-50 merino alpaca blend by Dicentra Designs. The alpaca adds the perfect touch of luxury. If you’re going to make a confection like these, you really should use a marvelous yarn, shouldn’t you? And at least one lucky reader can. Just check out Dicentra Designs’ shop, and leave a comment here with the color you’d use to make these socks. The winner will get that yarn and a copy of the pattern. I’ll keep the comments open till Wednesday evening, and announce the winner on Thursday.
5 November 2009 · 5 Comments
…the kind with yarn though, not the kind with criminal charges and embarrassing social diseases.
So, I’m planning out my knitting for the upcoming year. Yes I realize there’s a bit of a disconnect here. Half a year ago I was agonizing over whether it was ok to charge for patterns. Now I’m making a knitting schedule. It feels rather odd, but odd in a fundamentally awesome way, so I’m sticking with it. I’ve got lots of exciting collaborative projects coming up in the next year, but it looks like I still have a few spots left. So this is where you guys come in.
If you make or dye yarn, and you want me to design a sock with your yarn, get in touch! I love working with independent producers and am very open to coming up with arrangements that work for everyone. Don’t be shy, I want to hear from you.
Now I know not all of you make or dye yarn, but I’m guessing pretty much everyone reading this uses yarn, so here’s the second part. If you have a favorite yarn maker or dyer, and you’d like to see me work with their yarn, let me know. Better yet, let them know too! Help me find great new yarns. Feel free to email me (hunter at violentlydomestic dot com) if you’re feeling stealthy and don’t want to put suggestions in the comments.
3 November 2009 · 1 Comment
The newest sock is ready to go to testers. I know some people have been upset to miss testing opportunities in the past, so I thought I’d mention it here too just to give everyone a shot. If you’d like to try for a chance to test these, head over to this Ravelry thread, and volunteer! I’m picking testers tomorrow afternoon, and plan to release these socks at the end of this month. I’ll be back in a few days to tell you more about the socks (and about the yummy yarn I used for them), but I wanted to get the testing announcement out promptly.
2 November 2009 · 1 Comment
Now that it’s officially November, I’ve succumbed to temptation and turned on the heat. Woolly socks are marvelous things, but they can do only so much once the lows dip into the 30s. However, the cold weather does provide lovely atmospheric backdrops for photos. Or at least that’s the excuse reason I’m using for not having raked. Laziness has nothing to do with it.
The testers have worked their magic, and the pattern for these should be up early next week. Once these are out, I may be a bit light on the knitting for the next few weeks, as most of my projects are secret at the moment. Rest assured, the quiet now will lead to a flurry of fuzzy feet come the new year.
Thanks so much to everyone who got in touch and wished me well as I battled the flu. I really appreciate your good thoughts. I am feeling much better (knitting now seems curative rather than taxing) and might even be fully human in another few days.
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