It was a very good weekend to knit. Friday I worked at the museum and it was so quiet I was able to knit in between tours. In fact, it was so quiet I only had 2 tours...with the same 2 people...2 hours apart! I was able to finish my 2nd pair of socks, the pair my boss asked me to make. Yesterday I worked at the craft shop in Cooperstown, and again it was a slow day. (Actually, it was worse yesterday than on Friday. My total sales for the day were $25.70...and that's with every one who came into the store buying something!) The 1st sock of Fred's 2nd pair is about half finished. I really like the way the Maizy yarn works up. It is so soft! The color combination is Night Shade and is a nice brown blend. I hope he likes them. The pictured socks are the boss's, in Regia. I'll post both of Fred's pairs together. Hey, I'm on pair #3! I still think I'll be knitting Christmas Day on the way to the family dinner, but I love it!
I went to get my hair cut the other day and was working on a Regia sock while I was waiting. Four young women came in...2 with flip flops on...and I said something to the girl doing my hair that they must be cold. She said she likes to wear flip flops but you have to put them away this time of year. I told her that there were socks for flip flops called Tabi and that I could make her a pair. (My big mouth strikes again!) So I've added a pair of Tabi to my holiday gift list. The owner of the shop overheard and wants a pair of slipper socks...so add another pair. Will there be enough time?? I better stop finding people who want socks.
Fred's socks are done. The blue silk and wool blend made up very nice. It is so soft! I hope he remembers not to put them in wash with other clothes! The Maizy for his 2nd pair came yesterday. I couldn't decide between 2 colors so I got both! I really want to start working on them but I promised my boss I'd do a pair with yarn she had bought. I did about half of the 1st sock last night. It's a Regia self-striping wool and is working up very nice. She wanted a pattern on the cuff and Jane at work was doing a sock with a nice mock-smocking pattern so I asked if I could have that pattern. There is a big difference between working on a man's size 11 and a woman's size7! I have today off so maybe I'll get this pair finished this week so I can start Fred's other pair. My gift list grew by 1 today, I'll use the other skein of Maizy for that!
The drop-stitch scarf class last night was very nice...and very small: besides myself, only 1 other student and the instructor. The bamboo yarn is beautiful. The entire shop is filled with beautiful yarns. I could visit there everyday. If that was my shop I'd never want to sell anything, just keep it all for me!! The scarf is pretty easy but expensive. Now I've got to figure out who's going to get it for Christmas.Fred's sock #2 is almost finished. I wish the other yarn I ordered for another pair of socks for him would get here. I'm really in a sock mood. I may even make myself a pair! Or for my mother. Anyone else I can think of?
I ended up going into the knitting chat room at Yahoogroups and asking for help with the toe of Fred's sock. I got so many great responses that I actually managed to do a very nice toe on his sock. That was the first time I had asked for help from the chatters and was really very pleased with the help I got. So, sock #1 is finished and has generated as much oohs and aahs as a plain blue silk-and-wool blend sock can get. Sock #2 is going much quicker and I just finished the calf shaping. Tomorrow night I'll take both to the knitting circle, plus the purple blacksheep sweater that's 3/4 done. I need those needles and the shelves in the shop are almost bare!
I'm signed up for a drop-stitch scarf class on Wednesday night and I went today to buy the beads for it. The class cost $10, the beads cost $10 and I'm sure the bamboo yarn will cost that much too. So much for an inexpensive little class. Who can I give that scarf to for Christmas?
I was ready to do the toe to Fred's sock last night. I did what the directions said and it came out too sharp and too short. So-o-o-o, I ripped it out...picked up those blue size 1 stitches and put it down and went to bed. Now I'm ready to try again. I never have this trouble with baby socks. The short-row 'turn heel' method works very well. I wonder if it would work on an adult sock? Wonder if it's worth a try? It would be another rip and pick on that blue if it didn't. It's going to look old if I do that over and over. I have to master the toe method soon, there are 4 other pairs on my to-do gift list. Maybe I should try a toe-up sock next?
Well, today I looked at the calendar and realized that Christmas will be over in 2 months whether or not I'm ready!
I have 1 sock almost half finished. It's a nice sock...for Fred, in China...in that wool-silk blend from Knitpicks. It's making up quickly but it's a little boring so today I ordered some Maizy--Patternwork's corn fiber blend, to make him a 2nd pair. I'm not sure he's going to actually wear either pair but I won't find out until he comes home in June so that's ok. Postage to China is so high($25/lb) that I have to keep the package small and light. No sweaters. Socks and candy. That sounds like Christmas to me this year!
I've got a scarf for my computer tech about half done. It's in a ribbon yarn I got really- really marked down at AC Moore who knows how long ago. It was sitting in my pile waiting to be used and it's bright and cheery like her. I just got some beautiful yarn for socks...most of my gifts this year will be socks... that I haven't touched yet and last week I ordered wool for a shawl for a friend from Knitpicks. It hasn't arrived yet or else I'd probably have that started!
I usually do baby and children's sweaters and accessories for a gift shop in Cooperstown, NY (the Home of Baseball). Doing the same 'picture sweaters' over and over again thru the season gets old fast. Every year I say I'm not going to do that one or that one again but I always end up doing them. I try to do something new every year, too. Last winter I did 2 Elizabeth Zimmerman pi shawls that I loved! One sold this summer but the other will be mine if it doesn't sell in 55 days! Baby socks have been a big hit the past 3 years! All the left-overs from the sock yarn I bought for Christmas presents will end up being used for them. In fact, they'll end up paying for most of the glorious yarns I've been buying!
Enough chatter for now. Time to get back to Fred's sock. I've got to have the package ready to mail by the Monday after Thanksgiving.
