Tres Chic Veronique

After struggling to force the stripes of the Vesper sock yarn to match Pam's Marigold pattern, I gave up. But I got back in the saddle again, this time using Regia's sock yarn in Fun Nation. I met Pam in real life (love it when that happens!) and she dubbed them "Pride Marigolds". Word. And then we went out to dinner with Minty and had my favorite, Nutella. Mmmmmm...
I finished one sock pretty quickly:

And started the second one right away. In fact, I turned the heel at a taping of the Martha Stewart show. It's an episode about knitting, and it will air today, Monday, February 25th. I hope there's an audience shot where you can see me, Wanett (who invited me and got me a ticket!) and Tammi.

(I modified the Lush and Lacy pattern so much that the fronts don't match the back... The knitting is fast, but the calculating, not so much! Socks are so much easier).

Labels: marigold

I swooned when I saw Gloriana's Lush and Lacy cardi and immediately bought the pattern from SweaterBabe.com. Well, ok, I might've checked out a few versions on Ravelry first... The pattern is knitted using Classic Elite Lush, an angora blend, but suggests Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran as a substitute. As it so happens (!), I have 9 balls of that very yarn that I bought at 50% off from The Point a while ago. In fact, I remember that then-pregnant Steph bought a few balls in a pink color because she knew she was having a girl. Her little Peanut is about to turn one, so that gives you an idea of how long the yarn has been in my stash... (Not long, not long at all).

After swatching, I realized that I was going to have to recalculate a few things. Not a big issue, but while I was at it... I'm not a big fan of the diamond lace pattern. After going through my Barbara Walker stitch pattern books, my eye fell on something familiar: the honeybee pattern that Schrodinger used for the Honeybee socks! My jaw dropped when she casually took those out of her knitting bag and I just could not figure out how she made that intricate bee. Next thing you know:

Check out the Bees:

I think they look like hearts! Very a propos for today ;)

Labels: honeybee

These socks have been the perfect beat-the-winter-doldrums project. Sandra's Charades pattern is elegant (not fussy) and easy to memorize (a must!). Throw in some addicting self-striping sock yarn (Yarntini's Chocolatini) and voila... comfy and cute socks!

Deets:
Well, I changed a few things from the pattern. Toe up, figure 8 cast-on, 64 st, US 1 Addis (2.5mm), magic loop, Misocrafty's no-holes short row heel (my fave!) and K2P2 ribbing at the top.
Sandra recently had a poll about matching/not matching self striping socks. Now, not only is the mere *thought* of non-matching socks making me hyperventilate, but I'm always nervous about the heel. You can be churning out perfect little stripes on the foot, and then you get to the heel. Oh heel! You can throw everything out of whack! Well, a minor miracle happened with these socks. Observe:

I can guarantee that each sock was made from one continuous strand of yarn. After I worked the heel, the yarn magically continued to stripe perfectly.

I love everything about these socks except the photoshoot. My boyfriend has been avoiding my camera, and I had about 30 seconds to take these pictures. Behold the action shot:

On the plus side, he is wearing them at work today!

Labels: Yarntini