Sorta Wordless Birthday Socks

 This is the first new yarn  in maybe three years that I bought for myself for no other reason than I loved the color. A birthday present for me! Bookworm (note that the gray in my yarn is darker than shown in the website pic- I still love it) from Twisted Fiber Art, in the Playful yarn base (my favorite for socks- thick, soft, and cushy). I got the extra long skein, which has extra long repeats.

The sock pattern is my usual regular sock (2.75mm needles, 60 sts, short row heel, star toe). The Waffle pattern is so easy: *K 4 rnds, K2 P2 2rnds*, repeat.

More FOs

I finished the waffle texture hat, which goes with the waffle texture mittens (which coordinate with, but do not go with the waffle texture socks, because I'm keeping them). The hat is generously sized- not terribly big, but it could have been 8 sts smaller (I used 104 sts with size 8 needles). It would be perfect for someone with lots of curly hair.

I think the waffle texture looks really good with this thick 'n thin yarn, and it plays off the color variations really well. This yarn, in case you forgot (which is not likely, since I've been talking about it for a month), is handspun, from a  Decadent Fibers Jelly Roll. I still have a largish ball of the yarn left- certainly enough for a pair of fingerless mittens, but maybe enough for regular mittens (and I can always stripe it with other yarns). I feel the need to use up all of this yarn right away, I guess.

I won't be knitting this yarn up right away. It's 3.6 ozs, 215 yards of natural colored Shetland wool. It came out so uniformly (the 3 or 4 spots with slightly thicker plies notwithstanding), that I'm going to enter it in the skein competition at NCFF next month.

I've been spinning a loooong time, and very rarely does my yarn come out this pretty. I'm happy just to look at it for awhile (though eventually it'll become gloves. Or maybe a lace scarf). It won't win a prize, but at least it's worthy of entering.

(side note: the *centered text under images* glitch seems to have fixed itself. This morning, my text is justified left again)

FO, and then some

I finished the August Sockalong Socks

I love how they came out- thick and warm and cushy

With just enough texture to highlight the color variations in the yarn, and to hide the thick 'n thin nature, plus it kept the knitting interesting, but not so much that I couldn't work on them in the car, or while watching Grandgirls splash in the pool.

And since I had more of the same yarn, and a big ball wound

I continued on with it. You can't tell from this picture, but these mittens have the same waffle texture as the socks. I used Size 8 needles for the mittens (as opposed to the size 5's on the socks), and only 36 sts, which made for a very quick knit.

I really do love how the colors came out (and I'm thrilled that the sock striping lined up sorta). Since there is still more yarn left, I'm working on a matching hat. All in the name of stashbusting, dontchaknow- make the yarn, use the yarn, fill up the Christmas Gift Tub (though the socks are mine, all mine).