I've gotten a little farther on the maroon socks with black toes and heels. These are toe up socks that are based (loosely) on Brooklyntweed's Chimney Socks.

I've gotten a little past the heels


I didn't do so good on the increase/decrease edge of the heel.


I'm hoping I can adjust the loops to take up and let out slack to close these holes. If not, I guess I can just stitch them up. I'm pretty proud of them anyway.

Here's a picture of the latest pair of socks I'm working on.

These are pictures of the the hand towel wash cloth I'm working on.

I gave my Maroon Socks to a friend as a Christmas gift.

Leilane's Socks

I started another pair of socks. But, this time, I wanted to try something different. These are based (loosely) on Brooklyntweed's Chimney Socks. Basically, I'm following the anatomy that he did, but I'm using Encore Worsted weight in black for the toes and heels and maroon(ish) - I can't remember the exact color - for the feet, legs and cuffs. Plus, I'm using US 5 circular needles.

I just started them last night and so far, I've finished the toes and have knitted two rounds of the feet. I'll take pictures once I've gotten a little more done so the different colors can be seen.

Nothing new to report here. Still working on my second candle flame scarf, pullover and hooded sweaters. And, I never seem to have enough hand towels or dishcloths, so I picked up a one pound cone of Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton (in Wedgewood) and I'm working on a hand towel wash cloth. I really need to put aside the sweaters and hand towel and finish the candle flame scarf because I'm planning to give it to someone as a gift.

So, I think I figured out why it takes so long for me to finish a project. 1. I'm a slow knitter; 2. I'm usually working on 2 or 3 projects at once, so I bounce from project to project; 3. I recently bought an XBOX 360 and have been more time playing games than knitting. I'm so bad.

I'm sitting at work - on my lunch break (in case my boss is reading this) - working on my latest candle flame scarf.

Knitting At Work

This is a slight variation on the Hooded Alpaca Parka pattern from Knitting With Balls (by Michael del Vecchio). It's done in 5X2 rib and the pattern calls for the 2 stitches to be cabled on the right side, but I'm doing it straight.

I'm using Caron One Pound (or, as I like to call it, Pound-O'-Yarn) Aran weight yarn in Midnight Blue.

Here is another sweater I'm working on. I wanted to try a raglan pullover, but couldn't find a pattern I liked, so I just started casting on until I thought I had enough to fit me; then started knitting 2x2 ribbing.

I'm using Caron "Pound-O'-Yarn" Aran weight yarn in black.

I finished another pair of socks. This is a variation of The Basic Sock Pattern from Antje Gillinghom's Knitting Circles Around Socks. I did these like I did my purple socks - 1X1 for entire leg and instep. The foot looks way too long though. These are the maroon socks I was knitting in the pics of my "socks on a train" blog.

Maroon socks



I ripped out my double cable x3 scarf to start another candle flame scarf.

My first pair of socks.

This drives me nuts.

Sooooooo, I'm sitting at my desk, at work, at lunch, knitting some socks. I was several rows into the heel flap and had just knitted a row on sock 1, when I noticed something odd. Somehow, the points of my needle were pointing in the same direction. I have no idea how that happened. I had to move the stitches of that sock to a DPN, then move the back to the working needle in the correct direction.

I went through my LiveJournal blog and deleted all my knitting-related posts after I moved them over to Blogger. BUT, I totally forgot to copy the comments over. I'm not even sure if that's an option, now that I think about it.

When I left work today, I meant to catch the 5:05pm, west-bound from CentrePoint station to Hurst/Bell station, but I didn't make it in time. Since it's a little bit of a walk back to the office (from TRE station) and, since the next west-bound train wasn't due for another 45 minutes, I decided to jump on the next east-bound train. At least I would be able to sit in a (somewhat) cushioned seat and get out of the heat.

Knitting on the train


Socks on a train

I've been using LiveJournal for a little over a year, but that blog is for anything going on in my life. I'm thinking about using Google Blogger just for knitting.

So, I have taken my knitting-related journal entries from LJ and copied them over to here. Once I decide 100% if I want to use Blogger for knitting journal entries, I will remove those entries from LJ.

This is a different type of iPod cozy. It wraps around the sides and back, leaving the face open so you can get to the controls and see the display.





This is another pattern from Knitting With Balls. I simply followed the pattern straight out of the book without playing around with the gauge or trying to make it fit my iPod. I had been thinking about trying this pattern and just wanted to work through it to see how difficult it is. It was pretty simple. The hard part is getting started because you start out by casting on 6 stitches between 4 double-point needles - 2 stitches on needle 1; 1 stitch on needle 2; 2 stitches on needle 3; and 1 stitch on needle 4. Then you start increasing.

I'm knitting socks...



I've tried socks before, and even got almost all the way through one - not one pair, but one-single-sock. I was afraid I would be a sufferer of SSS - Second Sock Syndrome. This is an affliction that prevents the victim from knitting the second sock of a pair.

I've seen people using two circular needles to knit a pair of socks and have always wanted to learn. Then, one day at Barnes & Noble, I found Knitting Circles Around Socks. The author explains in great detail how to use two circular needles to knit two socks at the same time. She also includes some great sock patterns.

It took me maybe 5 or 6 hours (total) to knit my Jayne's Cunning Hat. It was so easier, that I even knitting another one yesterday.

How's it sit? Pretty cunning, don't you think?

While looking for yarn at Jo-Ann Fabrics the other day, I found a nice little knitting caddy thingy from ArtBin. (No, this is NOT a blogvertisement). It has a pouch for straight needles and another with pockets for circular needles and accessories.




The pouches attach to the top crossbars on either side of the caddy.





Or, they can both be attached to one side.




The inside isn't huge, but it will hold a few skeins of yarn and a few projects (depending on their size).




But, something I didn't notice until I got it home is the pouches have strings attached so they can be rolled and used for traveling.

Here are some recent (and not so recent) knitting projects I've finished.

This scarf is 10 rows of black and 10 rows of dark red from end to end. I scaled the cap down to 5 rows of black and 5 rows of dark red.



For this scarf, I did 5 rows of red; 5 rows of black; 5 rows of red; 10 rows of black; 5 rows of red and 5 rows of black. This was done on just the ends. I am planning on knitting a matching cap.



Here is a skinny cable scarf.



And, a close up of the skinny cable scarf.



This is another iPod cozy. I've done one of these before, except in a blue. It's done with Smile yarn - which I love - and it's pretty quick and easy. The original pattern called for a turned down section at the opening, but I decided to make it straight.


Here's another view of the iPod cozy.



This is a cell phone cozy that's made with the same pattern - needle gauge and stitches - as the iPod cozy, except it's done with a smaller weight yarn.



And, another view of the cell phone cozy.

(Universal City, CA) - I'll be in California for the rest of March.



Here are a couple of knitting projects I've finished.

This is a close up of the candle flame scarf.



And, this is the double-cable scarf. It has three rows of double-cables, with the center row going in the opposite direction of the other two.



Don't Panic!