Twinkle Toes

Pattern: Twinkle Toes by Cookie A.  (Ravelry)  (Direct)

Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug - Moss

Needles: 2.5 DPN's

Date: July 18, 2009 - August 27, 2009

Twinkle Toes has been on my knit list for a long time. There were several times when I almost cast on but changed my mind at the last moment. It wasn't until I was searching through my queue for something to knit on a road trip to New Orleans, LA and Fair Hope, AL that I finally committed.  They were going to be my souvenir.  Never mind the silly t-shirts and Mardi Gras beads, I wanted a pair of socks that I could knit my memories into. The pattern turned out to be quite fitting for New Orleans since the lace pattern reminded me of the beautiful and detailed wrought iron prevalent throughout the city.

I was walking the city and knitting during every downtime, well, except for that stop at Cafe Du Monde since cleaning powered sugar out of yarn was not what I had in mind for my vacation. Sitting 18 stories up and looking at the skyline from the pool was pretty nice though. My souvenir socks were going pretty well until I discovered that they were too short and, since I was using Cat Bordhi's Riverbed sockitecture , that meant frogging most of the sock. Walking the of French Quarter and visiting The Quarter Stitch for another wooly souvenir did improve my mood though. Once I returned home, the socks eventually got past the heel flap but I was running out of yarn.  Luckily, I was able to get a half skein from The Loopy Ewe, which is one of my new favorite shops. Not wanting to have a bunch of leftovers from a 6" cuff, I figured out my own calf increases and kept knitting till I ran out.

The finished Twinkle Toes, despite all of the difficulties, are definitely one of my favorite pairs. Jitterbug, despite its low yardage, was a joy to knit and has become one of my favorite yarns. I've even ordered more for a pair of knee socks. Besides their appearance, I love these socks because, besides from the lace panel and Bordhi's sockitecture, I was designing them on the fly. I had to work out how to deal with the gauge difference since the pattern was originally worked in a sport weight, not fingering.  I had to figure out calf shaping and how to work it into the pattern. Then I had to make up a highly modified 2x2 rib to fit in with the modifications. These socks were a great test of my skill and my patience as well as a great souvenir from a fun trip. Plus, they look great with boots.

The Holidays are upon us but only if you knit (or crochet)

I started my Holiday knitting early this year by accident.  If left to my own devices, gift knitting would have taken over in late September instead of late July.  I'm definitely not going to complain though since I might actually finish everything I have planned.  It's not just Christmas, there are also lots of birthday gifts to finish.  Almost everyone I know has a birthday in the next four months.  With all these deadlines, gift knitting has taken over my thoughts completely. The recipients have been decided upon as have the respective patterns and yarns. I even made up schedule of when things needed to be finished.  Yes, the battle plan is complete and hopefully there won't be too much revision.  Must resist the urge to keep adding to the list. 

One goal on the list that I can tell you about is the accoutrement gift.  Basically, it's a small knitted gift that I can personalize and give to everyone on my list. For 2008, it was ornaments using the Knit Ornament pattern by Leigh Radford.  The pattern was a wonderful base because I could easily make each ornament unique without taking up too much time. This year's gift has already been decided but I'm not revealing it just yet.  In the mean time though, I'm getting back to my Hemlock Ring and a few episodes of Dr. Who.  Just because it's gift knitting season doesn't mean I can't make something for myself.

Hemlock

I started knitting my first blanket, Stadium Blanket, in January 2009 and finished it that April.  While I wasn't all that fond of the yarn, the finished project was warm and the perfect size to keep a lap warm. It wasn't long before I wanted to make another one.  So, Giant Miter cast on to be both a gift for my mother and a stash busting project. At 40"x40", this single mitered square definitely ate yarn and I had to get several more skeins to finish it.  The end project was definitely worth the work and the extra yarn. My mother was shocked when I surprised her with it one night.  It shocked my dad too since, at first, he couldn't believe I had made it because it was so large.

Despite finishing and gifting the mitered square monstrosity, I still wanted to knit another blanket and I spent hours on Ravelry looking at patterns.  Eventually, I settled on the Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood.  This pattern is quite beautiful but, when I first saw it last year, it didn't leap on to my knit list.  It was pretty but not my style. However, in addition to being beautiful, it's also quite popular and I kept seeing them popping up on blogs. After seeing all that woolly, lacy goodness, the pattern definitely grew on me I couldn't help but want one for myself.  So, when my birthday came along, my boyfriend gifted me with the yarn to make it in an earthy green.  I've been off and knitting ever since.

Officially, I started Hemlock, 3 days ago and it is such a fun knit besides from a couple of times when I had to tink back a couple rows because I forgot a single yarn over. I did eventually learn my lesson and started using stitch markers to distinguish repeats. Also, counting.  Lots and lots of paranoid counting before starting the next row.  Anyway, the Cascade Eco+ is working up wonderfully with softness and nice stitch definition.  Its also stood up well to tinking.  Hopefully, I won't have to do anymore of that.  

RantMedia: A Chart

"inspire.create.share is the mantra of RantMedia whose audio, video and print creations have inspired countless others to follow their artistic visions and share them with the world." 

www.rantmedia.ca

For the past 10 years, RantMedia has produced and disseminated such programs as Patrolling with Sean Kennedy, Tales from the Afternow, and Newreal in addition to a number of other programs on internet radio. In order to promote and spread Rant further across the net and into craft, I have created a version of the Rant logo to knit or crochet. I used the chart to make a few washcloths since, along with soap, they're a great tool for the clean wog. The possibilites, however, are endless.

RantMedia: A Chart | download | @ravelry |

If you're new to Rant and interested in what they have to offer, check it out at www.rantmedia.ca and spread the word.

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