Crazy socks

I know it's been quiet around here lately, but I've been pretty swamped in wedding planning. It's a lot of work but I'm amazed at the progress we've made so far. Once I get all the major vendors in line I'll be able to think about more fun crafty/design stuff.

These are my second Socktopia socks for February, gotten in just under the wire. I made these socks entirely out of leftovers. I'm qualifying them as my 'Box of chocolates' socks because, as Forrest Gump warned, I never knew what I was going to get. I'm really pleased with the results. I think the mismatched stripes look great. Unfortunately, these didn't really finish up any of my leftover balls of yarn, it just made the balls smaller. It may take a few dozen pairs of crazy socks to get rid of it all.

Best Week Ever

On Friday the 9th the most amazing man I've ever met asked me to marry him.

I said yes.

Then we went away on an eight day vacation in Jamaica, and basked in the glow of our new engagement.

On Monday, he surprised me with an engagement celebration in Brooklyn with our families and my best friends.

Life is really, really good.

The gift that never was

I wanted to knit something for my dad two Christmases ago, and I decided on the Skye Tweed Vest from Interweave Knits 05 (in no small part because the grandfatherly man modeling it was so cute). I plugged away at it during the long nights in a hotel while I was traveling for work, excited by how good it was looking. As I seamed the front and back together, I had a sad realization. There was no way my father was going to fit in this sweater. Maybe my gauge was off, or maybe the measurements I had asked my mom for were wrong – whatever the reason, this sweater was coming out way too small. I thought about lengthening it, about adding inserts in the sides under the arms, but realized it couldn’t be saved. All that was left to complete was to add ribbing at the neck and armholes, but I tossed it in a corner and knit my dad some socks. I let the vest languish for at least 4-5 months and only finished it when I knew I was going to move from Boston to New York. I couldn’t justify packing an unfinished sweater.


All in all, I think it’s really beautiful, but it’s stayed hidden in the bottom of my closet for ages. This was its inaugural wearing because I’ve decided it’s not the sweater’s fault that I didn’t make it in the right size. It’s snuggly and warm, and good for casual weekend wear. It’s really big on me, but a big sweater on me is better than a too tight sweater on my dad.

An Oldie but a Goodie

My wonderful boyfriend indulged me in a mini photo shoot this weekend, so I now have a few pictures of old FOs that I'll be trotting out over the next couple of days. This is the Big Sack Sweater pattern from Stitch ‘n Bitch, knit with Cascade 220.

This was the second sweater I ever made, and my first attempt at cabling. It initially had a rolled hem, but it kept rolling too high, and the crop top look is not for me. Since I was (and still am) lazy about blocking, I undid the hem, knit a few more inches and added a foldover hem.

The result is one of my most worn handknit sweaters. Perfect for the cold weather we’ve been having!

February Socktopia is Complete!

I said I wanted to knit a pair of ankle socks so I could complete them quickly, but I'm shocked that I got them done this quickly! I'm really pleased with how they came out, especially because these socks used a good amount of yarn leftovers that I've had lying around. I think I'm going to try to make another pair of socks for this month, and I have a good idea to use up even more yarn...

February Socktopia

It's February, and it's time to start this month's Socktopia socks! I'm currently working on a pair of blue and green ankle socks with a picot hem for the "short and sweet" theme. I'm going on vacation for 8 days, so I wanted to make sure that I would get a pair done, but I have a great plan for the "Let the good times roll!" theme if I can squeeze them in.