Birthday Stash Enhancement

A couple days ago was my birthday (39th - I'm not age shy). Combining birthday money from my in-laws and my usual yarn budget, I purchased the following yarns. I also bought the bamboo needles in the sock pictured in the post below. As usual, clicking on each photo will give you a larger image with more detail, if you wish.


I've used the DG Confetti before and liked it, so I bought some more!

Briggs & Little was recommended to me by a friend on the Socknitters List.
Its official name is "Denim" but looking closely you can see the many colors that make up this gorgeous color.

The Opal Seide is for Father's Day socks for my husband. Don't worry, I can't keep a secret, he knows! ;)

Responses to readers

A few posts back, I received some comments which deserved a response, but I wasn't too prompt in answering. I shall answer these now.

Catty Contessa said: "I love the ribbing on the socks. Did you do 2 rows of 2x2 and 2 rows of purl?"

My response: I did 4 rows of 2x2 (k2,p2) and then 2 rows of purl.

Kelly said: "I am amazed with 5 children you find the time to knit! I love that pattern though. Where do you get your dpn bamboo needles? I'm in Dartmouth and have had difficulty finding a pair. I'd rather buy locally than go on line if possible."

My response: I don't really have time to knit. I'm more of an "opportunistic" knitter. I carry my knitting with me literally everywhere, and seize the moments as they come, and it all adds up. Add that to evenings and weekends and it works out ok.

I purchase my bamboo dpns (and other knitting needles) from The Loop Craft Café here in Halifax on Barrington Street. Also, LK Yarns on Young Street.
In Dartmouth you can also find Tangled Skeins on Portland Street.

"heel up" socks

I did these socks as an experiment. I did the provisional crochet cast-on for 72 stitches, and then knit the entire foot on 2 mm needles, starting with the heel flap . Then, once that was done, I picked up the provisional stitches and did a very tedious knit one, purl two ribbing (in retrospect it should have been k2, p1, but I was NOT going to frog it, as I wanted these done!). The socks are cozy and comfy, and I did it mostly for the experience of it all.

Playing Catch-up

Wow, long time no blog... I suppose it's time to catch up on a few things. I've made a pair of socks and have one pair on the way. Here is my most recent venture. I am a toe-up convert. I used the Turkish Cast-on using worsted weight Patons Classic merino. This is the start of the Star Toe increase. The needles I used were 3.25 mm circulars for the Turkish cast-on, then I switched to my Clover bamboo double-pointed needles.

I then knit to the point of the heel and used a double wrap short row heel. As you can see, the sock itself is nothing fancy, but it is very comfy and I am happy with the results.