Knitting Talk

October has actually become Sock-Toe-Bar. This is crazy. At this moment there are no less than 8 different sock designs on the needles! (you can double click on the photo to see it larger)

I’m a maniac.

A sock knitter out of control.

A woman with too many size 2 needles.

A knitting machine.

Although I haven’t spoken of them each individually (and may not ever again) I did, want to open the knitting bag and give you a glimpse of what I’ve been up to.

#1. AP’s Slipper Sock is a straight stockinet stitch with Legend yarn by Artful yarns. It’s knit on size 9s. The first time with the Knit Picks Options needles and I must admit those tips are nice.

#2. Freaks and Geeks Sock is my second attempt at the padded footlets from Interweave Favorite Socks book. I absolutely love the color way, Connecticut by J.Knits, but I am unsure of how I feel about the socks. A bit of stripping and the V shapes in the pattern really pop so I’m feeling like it’ll be a success.

#3. My Friends Socks are Diagonal Cross Rib Socks I cast on during the second and my personal favorite Presidential debate. Mr. McCain said My Friends so many times I felt they deserved to be named after him. The yarn is a wool tencel blend from Mind’s Eye Yarn. I love the sheen of the tencel and wish I had more sock yarn with it.

#4. Serenity: Uptown Boot Socks are a great mindless pattern in Arucania Ranco yarn. The Communicator assures me that once they’re washed the yarn will soften up. It is stiff now but the subtle variation is nice.

#5. Pineapple Boot Sock is really a modified RPM. The yarn is an Italian Wool-Mohair blend. It may need a slight bit of felting to make it a bit more fitted.

#6. Dexter: Austrian Sock took some ridiculous amount of time to get an inch and a half done. Something like 8 hours. I can see these being finished in March since they will never be a main project, just something I pick up for a few rows and then put down again when my eyes start to cross from the intricate charts and cables. Also with the Arucania Ranco yarn, it’s an amazing chartreuse color.

#7. A Frogger’s Dream: Up-Down Spiral Sock is on it’s second incarnation. The first attempt was the two color passion socks but the yarn is too thin and that pattern was too nontraditional for this yarn. The yarn is Panda Silk so it doesn’t stick to itself and each stitch has great stitch definition. This new two color pattern is a mid calf sock with pink as the base and the variegated yarn adds the interesting details.

#8. Rocket Sockets RPMs were cast on in Rhinebeck and are moving along. As you can see the spiral effect of the dye got reversed on the first sock but I dislike the way the colors look mashed up together so much that I didn’t care enough to rip back and correct the spiral. On the second sock I caught it in time and it should match the foot and the spiral of the rib pattern. Actually I’m hoping to cast this off tonight. We’ll see how speedy I can be.

Really I should be swatching or working the Obama bag but that’s not what my fingers want. Knowing I have 8 socks going, I’d really like to finish what I can and get it down to 7. The Freaks and Geeks sock is calling to me next. I love the pattern and am anxious to wear these cute little anklets.

I took a break from The Wheel of Time (although I did find out that I would be Brown Ajah were I in the book) and returned to my podcasts. It seems I’ve been out of the knitting world for a while now. I’ve been knitting, that’ll never stop, and I’ve been going to knitting group, but I haven’t really been paying much attention to the knitting talk, magazines, patterns, or new books. It was good to hear about knitting and the latest and greatest patterns. It reminded me why I blog and why you read it. Knitting Talk. We all love to talk about our knitting since so many in our daily lives do not understand what exactly our nibble fingers are doing besides looping yarn and occasionally finishing an object. So I shall attempt to give you more knitting talk, more details, and yarn reviews.