busy month

well, it's been a busy month here in the bellybutton. but i don't seem to have much to show you...yet. i got the yarn for theknitter's november luxury sock club kit around the time i went missing. it wasn't judy's fault that the yarn was late. i already had a design in mind for the yarn and everything came together very well. the colors and design compliment each other perfectly (if i do say so myself). judy and i selected some colors and let the indie dyer do her thing. it was kind of scary because the dyer does not do a prototype colorway so what you see is what you get. i also made the leg on my sample a bit too long so i ran out of yarn byjustthismuch (so my sock does not quite fit me). not to worry. the pattern has taken my shortage into account. the kits are arriving now so i should be able to post a picture next week.

i also designed theknitter's december sotm club kit. i hope that you don't get "bellybutton" overload this month! i designed the sock last year but judy and i couldn't find colors that worked. i had the pattern written up so i should have been able to just knit the sock for the photo but no! i had to tweak the pattern some more which then entailed a major rewrite. i added a larger size so that required more head-scratching, math, and more rewrite. i finally got that pattern off to judy for test knitting last week. can't show you this one.

then, i did a rewrite for blue moon fiber arts. nope, can't show you that one either.

here is one i can show you. it's a unisex design written in 4 sizes for crystal palace yarns. i sent it to susan a couple of weeks ago. it's hard to see the pattern stitch in the dark yarn but it's there. i was undecided about naming the pattern. i thought that the stitch looked like hershey kisses so was leaning towards "panda kisses" but susan wanted something hawaiian. well, hershey kisses and volcanoes look a lot alike to me! (besides, what kinda guy is going to appreciate wearing a pair of "panda kisses"?!) so, may i present....

"kilauea"

panda wool "nightshades" now with more yardage! (186 yds/50 gm)
us size 1.5 (2.5mm) needles
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

i swatched it up in a lighter color so you can see the stitch better. it has enough going not to be a boring knit but not so much as to distract from the yarn. i will let you know when the pattern is available.

and i have a secret but i can't tell yet. my lips are sealed. oh, i am so excited!!!!!!!!

i hope that all of you here in the us of a had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday!

the anatomy of a new sock

the august sotm club offering for theknitter has been sent so i can now show it to you. i named it "crazy over you" because i literally went "crazy" trying to find a pattern that would compliment the yarn and colorway. judy sent me some panda wool in "circus." no problem. i love panda wool! ah-h! variegated colors. oh, a slipped stitch pattern should be great. enter pattern #1. and yes, i stubbornly knit the sock almost to the toe before admitting that the pattern was TOO BUSY for the color. even my husband didn't like it and he almost never says anything.

so, i started another pattern with the second ball of yarn. another slipped stitch pattern (no, i was not going to give up with the slipped stitches yet). i got as far as half a leg before deciding that this was TOO BORING!! at this point, i frogged my first attempt back to the cuff. i still liked the cuff.

attempt #3: i thought maybe if i combined the exciting cuff from sock #1 with the simple leg from sock #2? knit all the way to the heel. NOPE! still too boring and i was not having fun. i feel that knitting should be fun. you know the feeling...you want to keep knitting just to see what happens next.

it was frog pond time AGAIN! i was ready to throw in the towel and tell judy that i just couldn't find anything to do justice to the yarn. but, stubborn i am! combing through the stitch pattern books, i finally found something else! and yes, it was a fun knit!

i proudly present attempt #4....

"crazy over you"

panda wool "circus" colorway
us 1.5 (2.5mm) needles
gauge 8 sts/inch in stockinette

and i mirrored the socks too. i am that way! see the toes?! you will be happy to know that the panda wool can be frogged an unmentionable number of times and will still look like new. it is that good! i swear that i must have knit at least 5 socks to get this one pair! but i think it's worth it!

of course, don't be surprised if you see attempt #1 or #2 show up in your mailbox sometime in the future. i have NOT given up.

eta: judy usually has extra kits available. just email her and let her know you want the august sotm kit.

happy 4th of july

...a day early.

meet "betsy" - my design for theknitter's sotm club kit for june.

"betsy"
regia nation (lost the color #)
2.5mm needles/gauge 8.5 sts/inch
and yes, i adjusted the yarn to make identical socks!
i was going to go back and redo the toes to have a narrower stripe of blue too but got lazy.

just thought i would show you my sample "swatch" for "betsy." colorful, huh?! i might redo this sock with some yarn with narrow stripes. the "waves" are kinda nice.

be safe!

eta: found the ball band. the color is regia nation color #5396

"the road to hana!"

i wish i really was on "the road to hana!" but, alas (with big sigh), i am not. although, i really can't complain. we have been experiencing some beautiful early spring weather here in the bellybutton.

"the road to hana" is the march sotm kit from theknitter that i teased you with in january. my favorite knit of cables and lace TOGETHER! and in one of my favorite color combinations (trekking #187) ...how much better can it get?! (and no, i didn't even try matching the striping. hey, i did mention that this was trekking!) these will be for my mom who kept telling me how nice the socks were every time she saw them. can she hint or what?! i kinda did want to keep them for me.

"road to hana"
my design for the knitter sotm club
trekking xxl #187
2.5mm needles
gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

and yes, i am done with one panda wool sock but i can't show you anything because my son "borrowed" my camera. "monkey #2" is almost to the toes!

vanilla sox with a touch of tiger

i hate knitting vanilla sox with a passion! however, this skein of opal rainforest tiger has forced my hand! i tried knitting the leg in a textured rib and got all the way to the heel flap; stopping every inch or so, trying to decide if i liked it or not. finally, it got to "i don't like it." my hubby, who rarely comments on my knitting, said he thought the sox looked too busy; so you know it had to be BAD. here is my second attempt at taming the tiger...

opal rainforest tiger

original opal tiger

i have been trying to decide whether i like the original tiger or the rainforest tiger better. i thought i remembered the original tiger as knitting up in a more random pattern but obviously, i remembered wrong. as you can see, i got stripes of colors with both skeins. i know some people did get more tiger shaped stripes than i did. i guess i still don't know which i i prefer.

i won a prize from the 200sox knitalong hosted by the purling p's . i finished 22 pairs of socks last year. i knitted more than that but this is the number of MATCHING pairs. i still don't understand why the pairs had to match. ;op i think i must have frogged at least 2 more pairs.

my prize is a gorgeous skein of regia surf color in something appropriate for guys (which i am sorely lacking in my stash) and a cute little stitch marker commemorating the kal. thank you, petra and p'la for a fun year!

and i've finished writing up the pattern for theknitter's sotm club. wanna see a picture?! here's the toe! hey, you know i can't show you the sock. if i did, i'd have to kill you! and i need all the readers i can get!

the colors are gorgeous, aren't they?
check back in march when i can unveil the entire sock