Yarnlust

If you are going to Rhinebeck this weekend, I AM JEALOUS OF YOU! I've never been and it had never bothered me before, but this year, maybe because I've been spending a lot of time at home, I am itching to go! A road trip sounds so good right now, especially a road trip that involves yarn! Note to my friends: if anyone plans on going again next year and if you have an extra space in your car, think of me! I can't help with the driving, but I can help with the gas paying, that's something!

But this year, I shall be living vicariously through all of you and I can't wait to read your blogs to see what you all got. In the meantime, I am window shopping on various online yarn sites. I'm currently lusting after a skein of Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Strawberry Lemonade. Doesn't it look yummy? But I'm trying to be a good girl and not order. According to Ravelry, I currently have enough sock yarn to make at least 25 pairs. Most knitters would say it's not that much, but it feels like a lot to me. At my current rate of about 5 pairs a year, it would take me... let me count... five years to knit it all! It's crazy when you think about it. So right now, I need to knit more and buy less. At least until Knit Picks' CyberMonday sale (if they have one again this year). I can't promise anything if the Stroll Tonals go on sale.

Speaking of socks and of Stroll Tonal... I finished a pair!


Pattern: Sunshine, by Cookie A
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Springtime (LOVE!!!)
Needles: 2.75 mm for the leg, 2.25 for the foot
Notes: I must have been drunk when I started the toe decreases on these because I made the foot a bit too short. I can still make them fit, but not as well as my other socks. Oh well.



One of the October Sockdown challenges is the knit a holiday stocking and since I wanted to make one for Julien, I didn't hesitate to participate. I'm making A NEW baby's Christmas Stocking in Knit Picks Telemark. I hadn't realized the pattern was toe-up when I bought it, but I've been able to figure it all out so far. Here's what it looks like now:

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas my love! I hope Santa (or your loved ones) was generous with you and that you all were spoiled as much as you deserve. And please, if you got some wooly goodies, please do share (I'm talking about sharing pics of course! You can keep the yarn all for yourself!)

I want to thank all of you who commented all through the month while I was doing my silly little sock pattern advent calendar. It was fun! Now, here are all the patterns I mentionned during the month. All are linked to their Ravelry page. If you're not on Rav yet... well I guess now is a good time to sign up!

1. Rib and Cable socks by Nancy Bush
2. Eclipse socks by Julie P. Miller
3. Double Eyelet Rib Toe-up Socks, by Wendy Johnson
4. Holly Christmas Stocking by Annie Woolens
5. Pillars by Lisa Stichweh
6. Bayerische Socks by Eunny Jang
7. Berlin Muster, by Kristin Benecken
8. Kai-Mei, by Cookie A
9. Magic Mirror, by Jeannie Cartmel
10. Paul Atwell socks, by Emily Johnson
11. Nine-to-five socks, by Nicole Hindes
12. Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks by Ann Budd
13. Stashbuster Spirals by Janine Hempy
14. Possibility, by Robyn Grauer
15. Heart of December, by SpillyJane
16. Summer Sliding, by Jeannie Cartmel
17. Lizard socks, by Beate Zäch
18. Loksins! sock, by Cassie Thoreson
19. Herringbone Rib Socks, by Kristi Schueler
20. Leyburn Socks, by MintyFresh
21. Spring Cable, by Elinore Gray
22. Having Hope, by Diane Mulholland
23. Esther socks, by Stephanie van der Linden
24. Licorice Stick Socks, by Chrissy Gardiner

Christmas - 1

This is the end, my friends. The end of the Sock pattern advent calendar, that is! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. It made me realize how many beautiful sock patterns I want to make. Too many! I could spend the next 5 years knitting only the socks in my queue and I wouldn't be able to make them all!

Anyways, here's the last one:

December 24

Pattern: Licorice Stick Socks, by Chrissy Gardiner
Licorice isn't a traditionnal holiday candy, right? It doesn't matter, it's one of my favourites and this pattern is gorgeous! I want!
You can find it for sale (6 $ US) in Twist Collective.

If you're celebrating tonight: HAVE FUN! And BE SAFE!

Christmas - 2

Yay! My work week is over! We're going to my mom's to celebrate Christmas tomorrow and to my in-laws' on the 25th! I can't wait to give away my gifts (especially the wooly ones!)

December 23

Pattern: Esther socks, by Stephanie van der Linden
This pattern may not be Christmassy, but I definitely find it festive. And beautiful!
You can find it for free, on its Ravelry page!

Christmas - 3

Christmas is almost here! Weeeee! I only have one day left to work (I do go back on the 27th though, no week-long vacation for moi!). I brought homemade cookies to the office today and they were a hit. Life is good.

I also have a FO. I'm not 100% happy about it, but it's ok. They definitely look better in person.





The one on the right looks weird! They really do look the same in person, I promise.

Pattern: Cabled Lace socks, by Chrissy Gardiner
Yarn: Knitpicks Stroll in Buckskin
Needles: 2.75mm

Donedonedonedonedonedonedone!

December 22

Pattern: Having Hope, by Diane Mulholland
Christmas is a time for generosity and giving. Proceeds from sales of this beautiful pattern are donated to Cancer Research.
You can find it for sale (4,95 $ US) on this page.

Christmas - 4

Christmas sock status: DONE and blocking! Woohoo! I can't believe I'm done with the Christmas knitting and I can now knit for ME ME and only ME! Don't get me wrong, I love knitting for other people, but everytime I finish my Christmas knitting, all I want to do is knit for myself. I'll have pics of my mom's socks tomorrow.

So, I did go to the LYS with the boyfriend yesterday. He got something for his grandmother and his aunt. And I got a little something for myself.



Malabrigo chunky! Yum. I actually fell in love with a neck warmer I saw at the LYS and I just had to make one for me. (Chris liked it too, he bought the same yarn for his grandma). It's the Herringbone neck warmer. I cast on for it tonight. I'm in love!

December 21
Pattern: Spring Cable, by Elinore Gray
Today is December 21st, the shortest day of the year. Can you blame me for thinking about spring?
You can find it completely free, here.

Christmas - 5

Christmas sock status: I think I have three pattern repeats left to do on the foot. One pattern repeat takes me a little less than 30 minutes. I think I'll make it ;)

The boyfriend wants to go to a LYS this afternoon to buy some yarn for his grandmother. Of course, I must go with him to help him with that. Will I come back with a little something for myself? We'll see. I'll try to be good.

I had fun taking pictures of our Christmas tree on Friday. I still don't know much about photography, settings and all that so I got funny results. Like this one:



I call it my "Fertility Tree", can you guess why? ;)

I finally managed to take one I was satisfied with.



I also had too much fun with Photoshop, but I like the way this one looks (on my computer. It may look really bad on yours):



Pattern of the day:

December 20

Pattern: Leyburn Socks, by MintyFresh
Can you tell I've been looking for patterns that work well with handpainted yarn? That's because I love them, but I don't like it when the pretty colours hide the beautiful pattern. But the Leyburn socks seem to work well with handpainted yarns.
You can find it for 0$ on its Ravelry project page.

Christmas - 6

Ok people. The countdown has really begun. Six days before Christmas and I'm still on the foot of the Christmas sock. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.

December 19

Pattern: Herringbone Rib Socks, by Kristi Schueler
Another cute pattern, that works beautifully with handpainted yarn.
You can find it for free here.

Christmas - 7

A lot of people I know are on vacation for two weeks starting today. And to those people, I say... Bleh! I hate you a little. ;)

Not really. But I will be working during the holidays (only 3 days a week, but still). Oh well. It comes with the career I choose. News never stop.

December 18
Pattern: Loksins! sock, by Cassie Thoreson
Every single FO I've seen made from this pattern is pretty. Looks like a winning pattern to me.
You can find it for sale (5$US) on this page.

Christmas - 8

I am happy to report that my Christmas shopping is pretty much done. I need to buy some candies for my mom's stocking (I'm in charge of her stocking every year) and a couple of cards, but other than that, I am DONE. And it feels good!

Christmas sock status: The heel has been turned. We are now at the gusset. I'm pretty sure I'll finish it on time.

And now your sock pattern!

December 17
Pattern: Lizard socks, by Beate Zäch
I don't think you can find anything cooler than those socks. Lizards! On socks!
You can find it for sale on this page. According to Ravelry, it's available both in German and English, but my German isn't good enough to understand all that's on the store page. I say email the shop owner before you buy to make sure you get the pattern in a language you understand!

Christmas - 9

Nine days before Christmas and I still haven't turned the heel of my mom's socks. Eeeps!

But I promised you an FO and here it is. I proudly present you my Jaroslav Spasocks!


GO HABS GO!

And now, the pattern of the day:

December 16
Pattern: Summer Sliding, by Jeannie Cartmel
Another beautiful pattern by Jeannie Cartmel. The only reason I haven't made it yet is because it's a toe-up sock pattern and I like cuff down so much I haven't yet tried a toe-up. Pathetic, I know.
You can find it for sale (6,00$) on its Ravelry page.

Christmas - 10

I know, I know, I promised an FO post, but I completely forgot to take a picture this morning. And today was crazy, crazy, with work, work and more work and then I had an appointment with the optometrist who confirmed that my vision hasn't changed since 1992! I'm slightly far-sighted and I have astigmatism, but it's not too bad. I usually only wear my glasses (or contacts) at work.

Anywayyys. Here's today's pattern!

December 15
Pattern: Heart of December, by SpillyJane
I thought the pattern had the perfect name for this month! It's a very pretty one too :)
You can find it for sale (6,00$) on this page.

Christmas - 11

I was telling my coworker this morning about the fact that I spent part of the weekend shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts and putting up decorations. His answer: "Already? Our tree isn't even up yet!"

What do you mean already? Dude, Christmas is in 11 days! I don't think he has realized it yet. Also, good news: this week is my last complete, 5-day week of 2009! I'll be working on the 21, 22, 23, then on the 27, 28 and 29. Other than that I'm off (until January 4th that is).

Ok, so I promised some yarn pics and here they are. It isn't much (only two!), but still, it's yarn.

First, the beautiful laceweight I got from Knit Picks.



Knit Picks Gloss, in Bordeaux. I only photographed one skein, but I got seven of them! I'm thinking of using them to make the Honeybee Cardigan, what do you think? Robyn and Tara tried to convince me to choose this as a Ravelympic project, but I just don't think I can pull it off in two weeks. But we'll see, I may feel crazy adventurous by then.

I also got in my order a set of 2.25 Harmony DPNs (my favourites in the world) and some size 5 Zephyr tips for my interchangeable set. I've tried the nickel-plated tips (love) and the Harmony tips (love) so I figured I might as well try these too.

I also got, from Robyn's nest, the following sock yarn:



Laines Magnifiques Champion BFL Superwash Sock, from Robyn's December sock club. I hesitated before purchasing it because I was on a sock yarn diet, but since Robyn is taking a break from her sock club in 2010, I couldn't resist. And I don't regret it, because I love the yarn and the pattern is so pretty! Speaking of which...

December 14
Pattern: Possibility, by Robyn Grauer
A beautiful pattern that looks good with handpainted yarn (Zeus knows that's not always easy to find).
You can find it for 4,95 $ on Ravelry!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a brand new FO!

Christmas - 12

Did you see the title of this blog post? I don't want any of you to panick, but there are only ten (10!) days left until Christmas. How is your gift knitting going? I'm pretty optimistic that I'll finish mine in time. My Habs socks are pretty much done. I only have about half the toe + grafting and weaving to do. My guess is that I'll finish it tomorrow during the game. As for my mom's socks, I'm almost done with the leg on sock #2. I can easily do heel + foot + toe in 12 days. Right?

Now, as promised, I got a couple of pictures from yesterday's little knitting meetup with the lovely Tara, Robyn and Kadi. I had such a lovely time. I hadn't knit with other people in a long time and I had forgotten how fun it can be.



Tara and myself, finally meeting for the first time. And yes, it does look like I have a double chin. I shall print this picture and tape it to my alarm clock so I'm always motivated to go to the gym in the morning.


Kadi and Robyn. I hadn't seen them in such a LONG time! And Robyn got us the loveliest gift of beautiful soaps, knitting needles and some DPN Wip tubes. I love everything, thank you so much again Robyn!

(Edited to add: Sorry about the different pic sizes. I had trouble with resizing!)

I also got some yarn. Tara and I's excuse for finally meeting each other was that we shared shipping on a Knitpicks order. I'll show you the yarn tomorrow, but let me tell you, it's beautiful. I also received my Robyn's nest December sock club yarn, which is equally beautiful. I'll post pics of the Knitpicks yarn sometime this week. I don't know if I can post the sock club yarn yet though.

And now, today's pattern!

December 13
Pattern: Stashbuster Spirals by Janine Hempy
This pattern is great if you have lots of leftover sock yarn and don't know what to do with it.
You can find the pattern on this page.

Christmas - 13

Thirteen days before Christmas. OMG! I may not make it! No. I will make it. Just because I haven't finished my Christmas knitting yet and haven't bought a single gift does NOT mean I won't make it. *breathes*

Ok. I must not think about Christmas today. Today is a grand, magnificent day that started with a great gym session (I love when I feel I've really pushed myself). And this afternoon is THE afternoon where I'll finally get to meet Ms. Tara! AND I will also get to see Robyn, who (whom?) I haven't seen in... forever. So I'm excited. Oh and I'll get new yarn! I promise you pictures.

But in the meantime, here's today's pattern:

December 12
Pattern: Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks by Ann Budd.
If you still want to knit socks before Christmas, these may be a good option. They're so cute and tiny! Of course, it'll help if you actually know a baby who can wear them (or an adult with freakishly tiny feet, but I don't think it's possible). Or a doll. See, you have options!
You can find it in the Summer 2005 issue of Interweave Knits or as a free download here.

Christmas - 14

Another late late post. I just got home from the movies, Chris and I went to see Brothers and I thought it was very very good. Tobey Maguire was just amazing and Natalie Portman is soooo beautiful.

Anyways, here's the pattern of the day!

December 11
Pattern: Nine-to-five socks, by Nicole Hindes.
This is exactly my type of socks. Not too complicated, not too simple. And classy. And beautiful. It's been in my queue for a long time and I'm not sure why I haven't made it yet.
You can find it for free on this page.

Christmas - 15

I have a busy busy day ahead of me. First, I really need to go to the clinic for that ear infection of mine (I decided not to go yesterday because of the snow storm). Then, I'll be working all day and after work, we have our office Christmas dinner. So I'm actually writing this post on Wednesday and am trying the scheduled post option. Let's see if it actually works.

Sock pattern advent calendar!

December 10
Pattern: Paul Atwell socks, by Emily Johnson
I found this pattern in October, when one of the theme of Sock Knitters Anonymous' Sockdown challenge was to knit socks for men. I think it's simple enough that most men would want to wear them, don't you think?
You can find it for sale on this page.

Christmas - 16

Quickie!

Sock pattern advent calendar!

December 9
Pattern: Magic Mirror, by Jeannie Cartmel
These socks are not symmetrical, which may drive some people crazy, but I personally like it. The pattern also works really well with handpainted yarn, and that's always a plus!
You can find it for free, on Ravelry (check the link above).

Christmas - 17

I have an ear infection (aren't you all happy to know that?). This morning, I finally got the courage to get up early and go to the walk-in clinic. I get there only to see a sign on the door: "Closed on December 8". WTF? I may try to get up early again tomorrow, but apparently we have a snow storm coming our way so we'll see.

But now, let's talk about more fun stuff. Yes, the sock pattern advent calendar!

December 8

Pattern: Kai-Mei, by Cookie A.
Anybody who likes to knit socks has admired Cookie's work, right? Her patterns are beautiful and well written so I didn't hesitate one mintue to buy her sock book a few months ago. Sadly, I haven't had time to knit any pattern from it yet, but when I do, it will probably be Kai-Mei. I just love it.
You can find the pattern in Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation.

Christmas - 18

I'm having a bad case of the Mondays. Bad. What do I do when that happens?

I watch models fall on the catwalk.

Ok I know. I'm cruel. I shouldn't laugh. Bad karma. But I can't help it, it's funny and the news anchors laughing is making it even funnier. I'm a bad person.

Another thing that makes me laugh: Jorge Garcia's blog. If you don't know him, he plays Hurley in Lost (aka the best TV show ever). He also has an advent calendar on his blog, but it's an advent calendar of stuff his dog likes to chew. And I think that's hilarious.

Now, time for my own advent calendar.

December 7
Pattern: Berlin Muster, by Kristin Benecken
Because any pattern that's named after one of my favourite cities in the world is a good pattern.
You can fin the pattern for free on this page.