the winner is

...picked. but first, i want to share some stuff i have been working on.

i finally finished the hermione cable and eyelet hat for my niece. i did a cast-on of 132 sts for 12 repeats of the cable pattern; worked a total of 4 repeats of the pattern; and followed the decreases for the crown per the pattern-ending with 6 sts instead of the 5. i hope i didn't make the hat too big. she does have a lot of hair so this might work. the closest thing i had to a model was our ice bucket!

hermione cable and eyelet hat
woolease (for the college student) 70 gms
us 5 needles

i finally got bored of miters after almost finishing the leg of the second windowpane sock. so what's a person to do? start another project! i've been wanting a pair of fingerless mitts to wear when our weather starts to get a bit chilly (soon). i wanted to use a fingering weight yarn so decided to go with these. i love cables and lace.

merletto mitts (ravelry link)

panda wool (lacquer red)
will use slightly over a skein or i could frog back one repeat on the arm
us 1.5 needles (2.5mm)
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

i made a bunch of modifications. i am not happy with the top ribbing yet. i have done 3 different ones so far. i didn't like the pattern because it does not mirror the bottom ribbing. i may end up with a plain 1x1 ribbing which will at least match the thumb. i will post my mods when i finish the second mitt. (and no comments from the peanut gallery. yes, i am talking to you, ms d!!!)

ah, contest. i found this lovely skein of socks that rock in lightweight for the winner. isn't it purdy?! the colorway is turquoise.

before i announce the winner, i want to thank all of you for playing along. i have put some of your suggestions in my never-ending queue. thankyouverymuch!!!!

THE WINNER OF
KNITTING IN THE BELLYBUTTON OF CALIFORNIA'S
100th + POSTS CONTEST
is........

congratulations, gigi! please email me through my profile with your snail mail addy and i will get this out to you!

announcing

...no winner yet. i'm still thinking.

however, i did almost finish one of the windowpane socks. wanna see some pictures?!

just need to kitchener the toe

cth supersock merino (river run)
13 sts mitered squares/10 squares
7 tiers of miters
(could have probably gotten away with 6)
continued miters down heel flap
3 random miters on instep
used us 1.5 (2.5mm) needles on leg and heel flap
used us 1 (2.25mm) needles on foot
gauge: 9 sts/inch in stockinette (2.25mm needles)

check back later in the week when i will announce a winner for my 100+ posts contest!

started something new

here is a progress shot of hermione's cable and eyelets hat (as seen in the movie "harry potter and the half-blood prince"). it will be for my niece who devoured all the harry potter books on the first night they were released...reading into the wee hours of the morning. i guess you could say she loves! harry potter. i am using a very machine washable woolease as she is now a college freshman, responsible for doing her own laundry. i am not sure who was responsible for her laundry last year but she said she was NOT responsible for shrinking the horcrux socks i made her for christmas. i have learned my lesson.

i am still working on the mitered windowpane socks. gladys has posted part 3 of her tutorial. i am not there yet. i figure that i will do maybe 6 to 7 tiers before i get to the heel.

isn't this just too cute?!

don't forget to leave a comment on my contest post if you want to be in the drawing for some socks that rock yarn!

someone else is having a contest

...and she is giving away some handspun yarn. go check jc out! she is holding a drawing every friday for the rest of october.

don't know if it is the link or blogger but here is her blog addy:

http://garnfiti.blogspot.com

i don't spin so i am in awe of anyone who does. but if i did start spinning, then i would have even less time to knit and i don't have enough time as it is.

wow! a contest!!!

where did the month go?

i did finish a pair of mismatched socks from the hurdy-gurdy and jabberwocky. it is fun to see how the pattern looks different depending on the yarn. i like both the definite stripes and the more variegated look. now to write up the pattern before tina kills me.

i hate boring knits. show me something different and i have to try it. i may not finish it (ie, the sideways socks from january '07. all the attempts have been frogged, never to be resurrected again) but i will try it. my latest challenge has been the mitered windowpane socks, a recipe by gladys of the yarn floozies.

the mitered squares are very easy and gladys has a wonderful tutorial, full of pictures. my problem was finding my "magic" number for my yarn (wanted an even number of squares).

• i started off with some cth sockitome in blueberry hill, my addis 2.5mm, and 13 stitch squares: 8 squares too small, 10 squares too big.
  
• same yarn, knitpicks 2.5mm, 11 stitch squares: 10 squares too small.
• same yarn, addis 2.5mm 11 stitch squares: decide i don't like the color because there is not enough variation.
• new yarn: cth supersock in river run, addis 2.5mm, 13 sts squares: same as first attempt.
• supersock, knitpicks 2.5mm, 13 stitch squares: 10 squares is perfect. did two tiers with miters facing the same direction. didn't like them facing the same direction.
• supersock, knitpicks 2.5mm, 13 stitch squares, 10 squares, alternating directions: FINALLY!

so, here is the beginning of my mitered windowpane socks:


i don't know if it is just me, but i find that i knit to a smaller gauge with my knitpicks 2.5mm as opposed to my addis 2.5mm. i measured both and the knitpicks seem just a little bit thinner. anyone else notice this?! or am i weird all by myself? (and no, debi, don't go there!)

we still have a few more spaces open for the carefree holiday (or not) kal. here's a chance to win some yarn just for knitting and you might even get a few of your holiday gifts out of the way. we cap at 100 people so if you are interested, please go on over and sign up. the kal ends november 30th.

so, about that contest to celebrate my belated 100th post! i may be convinced to dig into my stash of socks that rock to find a nice prize there. let me think (which can be very dangerous!). leave me a comment on this post about a project that you find intriguing or a project that you really want to knit. i would love a link! as you know, i am a sucker for brownie points. so, extra entry for posting about my contest on your blog (again, leave a comment on here) and extra entries for you if someone says you sent them over.

deadline for drawing is whenever i get up on tuesday, october 14th. that gives you a week! let the game begin!

edited to help those who can't think of anything intriguing. grin!