Feminine Footies

Yarn: Fortissima Cotton, 75% cotton, 25% poly, colorway 08.
Pattern: Footies by Louise M.
Needles: #1 (2.25mm) dpns
Comments: I love this pattern. It works up neatly and quickly and makes me want to knit a baker's dozen of these beauties (I made one pair in June). I did my own heel and toe, as many knitters do for lots of reasons. My reason for using my own heel is that a slip-stitch heel is normally too bulky to fit in my shoe, leaving no healthy wiggle room for my toes. That, and I just like the look of the stockinette heel.
The cotton yarn was soft to knit and the color is the softest pink, too.Get the golf shoes...I may have to take up the sport. Do I need a matching t-shirt?

A Small Indulgence

Yarn: Tilli Tomas Disco Lights, 100% spun silk with sequins, colorway Moroccan Blue.
Pattern: Winter Windows Silk Scarf (Ravelry Link) from the book, "Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Small Indulgences."
Needles: #5 (3.75mm) Prym Express circulars.
Comments: This yarn is soft, with a nice drape and lovely sheen. The final touch is a twinkling abundance of tiny blue sequins. I must also say that the Prym circulars were a very fine alternative to Addi Turbos. They have a finer point than Addis, are smooth but not too slippery, with a perfectly flexible cable. But their price was best of all--a sensible $6.60. Clearly, that didn't make up for extravagance of the yarn. My defense is that we were on Christmas vacation, and my judgment was clouded by a foreign land (Florida).

The pattern said the scarf would be aproximately 57" long. Mine was only 41," unblocked. Still, I like it and think of it not so much as a scarf, but sort of like a piece of jewelry or a lovely accent piece.

Small Projects

Yarn: Patons Stretch Socks, 41% cotton, 39% wool, 13% nylon, 7% elastic, colorway 31135.
Pattern: Personal Pattern.
Needles: #1 (2.25mm) dpns.
Comments: These socks are for my grandson, and he wanted them even shorter in the leg than I usually make them. He chose the yarn at Michaels, so I think he'll like them.

Dishcloth#1

Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream Stripes, 100% cotton, colorway 23143, Country Stripes.

Pattern: Bowtie Stitch Dishcloth
Needles: #7 (4.5mm) addi TURBO Lace circulars
Comments: Love the colors in this yarn.

Dishcloth #2

Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream Stripes, 100% cotton, colorway 23712, Lime Stripes.
Pattern: Kai'ale'ale - Ocean Ripple
Needles: #7 (4.5mm) addi TURBO Lace circulars.
Comments: I really like the pattern. It's easy but it looks so pretty.

Dishcloth #3

Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream Stripes, 100% cotton, colorway #23114, Tie Dye Stripes
Pattern: Feather and Fan Dishcloth.
Needles: #7 (4.5mm) addi TURBO Lace circulars.
Comments: See the large center row? That's a perfect example of a mistake that became a design element. Heh-heh.

Dishcloth #4

Yarn: Peaches & Creme, 100% cotton, colorway #181, Faded Denim.
Pattern: NYD '05, Ver.2
Needles: #7 (4.5mm) addi TURBO Lace circulars.
Comments: Simple pattern, nice texture.

Dishcloth #5

Yarn: Peaches & Creme, 100% cotton, colorway 1, White.
Pattern: Simple Eyelets
Needles: #7 (4.5mm) addi TURBO Lace circulars.
Comments: It was fun making these holes...

That's all, folks!

Impact!

If you have ever visited the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, you might find these simple experiments interesting. I have and I do.



This is geeky stuff, I know. Back to knitting later...

Striped Mochi Socks

Yarn: Mini Mochi, 80% Merino Wool/20% Nylon, Colorway 107
Pattern: Personal pattern, knitted top down
Needles: #1 (2.2mm) dpns
Comments: The yarn is wonderfully soft but I found myself splitting it at times. I had two different dye lots, and although there was no discernible difference in the color, I decided to do a two-row stripe, carrying the yarn up as I knit. One of the skeins had two knots and some skinny spots. The overall effect of the non-matching stripes is pleasing to me and the fit is soft and comfy.
Still knitting...

Knitting Inspiration

My fifth grade teacher (God bless her and all teachers who inspire their students for a lifetime of learning!) taught me the knit stitch. My brother and I both learned, since he was in the sixth grade and both grades were in the same small school room in the very school my dad attended for 12 years. My dad is in the sailor suit, front row--second from the left.
And here I am at my desk in that school room.
Many years after I learned the knit stitch, and when my boys were small, I bought a couple booklets and began to knit again.

My boys are grown and gone but those booklets are still with me.
Then I set knitting aside for many, many years. After 9/11, I felt the need to have some sort of comfort for my hands/mind/heart. So I visited my local yarn shop, bought a pattern book and some yarn and was off and running.

Lots of my knitting inspiration comes from friends, bloggers, local yarn shops, books, magazines, memories and web sites. Here are a few commercial sites that I find particularly inspiring and lovely:

Ravelry (of course)
The Sartorialist (fashion on the street)
Skif (click the arrows to scroll through several fabulous sweaters)
cocoknits (beautiful, elegant patterns)
Amazon (for books on knitting)
Rowan (they have free patterns)
Berroco (also free patterns)
Google (search for knitted fashion--images)
Vogue Knitting (save these magazines; the patterns are often way ahead of us)
Interweave Knits (everyone's favorite, for sure)
Knitter's Magazine (another great magazine)

What inspires you to knit?