Bon Tricot

So in keeping with my school year resolution, I cast on for my first Sockhead using a limited edition color of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Fraser.   I love the color orange and I debated whether or not to knit up a pair of socks or cast on for something else, and I don’t know why, but a hat using yarn named after Jamie seemed most appealing.  I’m a late arrival to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and when I saw all the publicity for the Starz television show this summer, I knew I had to check out the book.  I was not disappointed.  This is my first time making a hat with fingering weight yarn, so my patience and WIP commitment is being tested.  Plus, I’m a bit unsure over the fit.  I’ve read through a lot of modifications on Ravelry and I’ve cast on fewer stitches as well and have knit only 2 ¾ of the ribbing instead of 4.  I will probably shorten the body of the hat from 9 to 6 inches too.   I have a really small head – so much so that I’ve been known to purchas

I started these socks with my recipient in mind: my mom.  She requested a special pair to wear for a competitive 5K walk.  I ordered this particular skein from SimplySock Yarn Company , and I believe it was a limited edition to celebrate the store’s anniversary.   Given the walk is to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer research, I thought these would be appropriate.   But after I finished the cuff, I realized that the best way to show alternating stripes was to use a vanilla, stockinette stitch.   U nfortunately, my mom has freakishly small ankles.   Stockinette socks slide down her feet, despite casting on fewer stitches, using size 0 needles, or any other type of modification.   So these puppies will be worn on my doggies.   I love how the pink and brown pair together.   Although I must confess: in terms of anniversary yarns, I really liked SSYC's 2014 anniversary concoction.  This yarn was dyed by TurtlePurl Yarns , and I used the Fruit Stripe Gum pattern

In all honesty, I did make an effort, twice, to be eccentric.  Unfortunately, neither yarn worked the way I hoped it would.  I’m knitting something I need, and I’ve always found that when I’m on the hunt for a particular item, I tend to leave empty handed.  The same cannot be said for things I don’t need, which appear in abundance (yes, I’m looking right at you self-striping sock yarn).  Fall has arrived on the east coast and the mornings are chilly, but not cold.  It’s a bit overkill to wear a puffy coat and mittens at this point.  But even with my coffee mug in hand as I walk the kids to the bus stop, I’m still cold and a pair of fingerless mitts would be enough, but not too much.  I have small wrists, so I knew getting the right fit would be a bit of a challenge.  I purchased some Quaere sport weight yarn in Tokyo Underground, but unfortunately, the density seemed more worsted, than sport.  After knitting up a swatch, it felt less, or actually more, than what I desired.  Great

The first day of school.  New Year’s Day.  Spring.  Summer break.  The calendar, with its infinite periodicity, means  I resolve to re-resolve my resolutions.  Blogging is one these.  I wiled my summer away with sock after glorious, handknit sock.  I have generously replenished my sock drawer with self-striping, variegated, and tonal knit footwear, but in the midst of this efficiency I've discovered one (negative?) externality: an exponential increase in the number of sock yarns I’ve curated hoarded in my home. How could this happen?!  Because when I’m not knitting socks, I’m researching sock patterns, sock knitting techniques, and yes, different sock yarns.  I've  stumbled across stalked the Etsy, Big Cartel, and Ravelry Forums of several indie yarn dyers.   I have tried to knit other non-sock projects this summer, but my attentions always returned to my size one needles and fingering weight yarn.   My husband has proclaimed my passion  obsession with handkn

It’s been a rough week in the Crud Household.  We went through a bout of hand foot mouth disease last week.  And like all the illnesses I haven’t had since I was twelve (I’m looking at you strep throat and pink eye), this knitter didn’t stand a chance.  My body abhors being sick, but not for the reasons you might think…the headaches, the fevers, the chills.  Trust me - I’m not a masochist for viruses commonly associated with infants and children.  The reason I hate being sick is because I’m incapable of doing it well.  Most people take two or three aspirins, pull the covers up over their heads, and wait – wait for relief, wait to feel better…they lie and wait.  But my body?  It rejects these verbs.  It cannot process their meaning.  Lie down?  Wait?  And adding a conjunction between the two does nothing for clarity.  The phrase is not only incomprehensible, but it borders on the irrational.  Simply put, I CAN NOT sit around, lie down, kick back without doing one or more things at

Happy Belated Mother’s Day!  This year, we decided to go home for the holiday.  My husband and I are from the same town (we lived seven streets apart from each other growing up) so deciding where and with whom to celebrate has never been an issue in our family.  We’re very lucky that our kids get to spend equal time with both our parents who are only a few hours drive by car.  Since I knew we would be traveling, I decided to cast on for another vanilla sock.  Straight stockinette is easy to knit while on the go, and although I used to enjoy reading in the car back in my younger days, I now find with age it makes me sick, so following a pattern was out. of. the. question. for our four-hour drive.   Besides, I’ve been eager to get my needles into Opal’s Little Prince jacquard sock yarn, and a vanilla sock seemed like the sweetest treat.  The color I picked is #7763 and it reminds me so much of the dog-eared Le Petit Prince paperback that my high school French teacher assigned

It’s been a few weeks since my last post, but I’m proud to say I’ve survived a stint with strep throat, my son’s first birthday party (with 24 of his kindergarten classmates), and Easter, complete with a visit from the Bunny, an egg hunt in the backyard, and a trip to see Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s circus.  It’s been a whirlwind, to say the least.  But in that time, I’ve been sneaking in some knitting when I can.  To feel creative and productive (which don’t always co-exist happily), I find it best to have a pair of plain vanilla, stockinette stitch socks on my needles at all times.  I can trot them out of my project bag and knit a few rounds while waiting for folks to shop our yard sale, like I did this past weekend, or while I watch the kids play outside in the front yard.  The first time I saw the Regia Jacquard sock yarn was on Susan B. Anderson’s blog.  I was saddened to learn it’s since been discontinued.  But during my Google search, I found it discounted a

I’m addicted to indie sock yarn, and after the success of my Missoni knock-offs , I’m excited to merge my love of handknit socks with all things Burberry.  In my search for self-striping sock yarn on Etsy, I came across TurtlePurl’s Trenchcoat colorway.  The designer’s listing states that U.K. fashion plaids inspired the yarn. I have always adored tartan plaids.  I’m particularly enamored with Burberry’s iconic Nova Check, which accents many of its designs, including the brand’s signature trench.  What I’m less enamored with, though, is the label’s exorbitant price.  So imagine my delight when I found this smashing yarn!  I paid a little more money to upgrade the yarn base with cashmere.  I justified the splurge: I’m indulging a luxury experience without the luxury cost.  In keeping with Burberry’s classic appeal, I decided to use my tried and true vanilla sock pattern – ribbed cuff, stockinette leg, foot, and toes.  I’m delighted with the results so far.  Dare I say these soc

Back in 2011, like millions of thrifty fashion lovers, I camped outside (okay, I got there five minutes before the doors opened) my local Target waiting to shop the highly anticipated (and well-marketed) Missoni for Target line.  Weeks before the launch, I had scoped out the look-book and identified exactly which items I wanted to buy.  But despite having a disciplined plan of attack, all restraint, and apparently reason (my own, in case that wasn’t clear), was cast out of my cart, presumably so I could fill it up with things I had never planned on buying. As if that wasn’t bad enough, after hauling my purchases home and trying to forget how much money I had blown, I then… logged onto the website – or at least tried to – to purchase even more zig-zag wares!  From there, the my insanity escalated.  Before I knew it, I was trolling Ebay bidding on overpriced merch that would make the seediest loan shark blush.  There I was at 2 am scoping out auctions, initiating bidding wars, a

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted '13 Holiday Collection I’ve always been a huge Francophile, so it will come as no surprise that a yarn containing the words Paris, France, or any French landmark, will inevitably end up in my stash.  This was the case with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Yarn - '13 Holiday Collection - Christmas in Paris.  I’ve been a huge fan of LL’s Shepherd Sock Yarn and have knitted many socks in their unique colorways, but this was my first foray with LL worsted.  I couldn’t have been more pleased.  The yarn was light, soft, and squishy.   The linen stitch pattern I selected from Audrey Knight’s Reversible Scarves  highlighted the yarn’s pastel, multi-variegated hues.  I’m so pleased with the end result, and because of the weight and texture of the stitch, the scarf is seasonless.  I’ve already worn it out with jeans and a t-shirt.  And with the fluctuating weather that we’re having on the east coast (they’re calling for 2-4 inches of snow on