Cushy Socks
My latest socks are lovely, cushy and even a bit girly. And, at this gauge, a super fast knit!
For Tiny Cold Feet
But whom will they fit? I’ll leave them in the herb garden for the fairies come fall. Even little feet get cold.
Deb H
Archive for the ‘socks’ Category
Pretty Little Socks
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009Learning to Knit Socks!
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009Some of my students from my last sock class; yes, Jacquie, Gayle, Pat, Pam and Lorelei are concentrating hard – this one was an advanced class; “Toe-Up, Two at a Time on One Needle Socks”. I made ‘em work!
Sock students knitting socks!
Starting this Friday (June 12th 2009) at Heritage Spinning & Weaving in Lake Orion, MI – I will be teaching a Learn to Knit Toe-Up Socks class. This one is aimed at learning to knit socks for the first time. A lot more relaxed 
There is still room for one more!
Deb H
On the Fly!
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
I’m packing like mad, we are off to California for a week to soak up sunshine and visit with DH’s family. It will be a lovely, relaxing and knit filled week, out of the snow. I’m ready for it!
I finished my latest pair of socks. The ones I was knitting two months ago and had all but the toes done and completely ripped them out. I restarted them with toe up method – my favorite – and got interrupted with Christmas knitting. But they are done and beautiful! Made from SWTC Tofutsie yarn that I dyed, the lace pattern (which doesn’t show as well as I had hoped) is the “Fishtail Lace” from the 365 knitting patterns a year perpetual calendar (January 15th) and… I love them!!!
They fit! They dance, they walk nicely, they do everything a fine pair of socks should do but sing 
They are just soooooo my colors!
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Since my laptop chose today to die. As in belly-up and curl it’s toes. I will not be online until I return. Then that miscreant puppy goes to the shop – thank the Gods and a thumbed nose at The Lord of the Cosmic Jest that it’s still on warranty – ha!
Deb H
PS – Knit Michigan was way cool! Plan on it for next year
Life After Retreat
Saturday, October 25th, 2008
Returning to the regular routine after a wonderful artistic retreat or adventure is a minor letdown. But it has been mitigated by the fact that my work is with fiber.
Working part time in a yarn shop is not without its dangers though. One has to resist, literally, thousands of temptations in an 8 hour shift. The lure of color and texture can be quite overwhelming and resisting can cause serious physical discomfort; sweats, tension headaches, shakes, even dizziness. Let’s face it, the yarn store (or fabric store) clerk is a pusher, an enabler of the most sinister of addictions. Life is tough.
I digress.
I still have a broken Internet at home. My satellite has simply died and the big bucks to fix it are (to put it mildly) highway robbery. Since I’m not under contract to the offending satellite company anymore, my new system is being installed next week. This is much cheaper than repairing the existing one. There is more than one way to afford modern technology. I have to admit, if it had gone on much longer, I may have learned to like not having it. I’ve gotten much more knitting done the last couple of weeks without Internet at home and besides, Starbucks will miss us. This is exactly what happened with our satellite TV, we turned it off for lack of use and never missed it. Two years later, it’s still off.
I digress again.
So, what have I done since returning home? I’ve helped my boss at Heritage proof a pattern she is about to publish – aren’t they cute? (see top picture, click to big-ma-fy) These are Joan’s button cuff gloves. I think they are so nice I’m proofing the pattern again. She should have it ready for sale soon. You can e-mail her for more info if you are interested.
And those Tofutsie socks I was knitting that I had dyed the yarn for? I had them all done except the toes. Well… they were a bit too tight. So here they are now, a totally new pattern and toe up (my favorite sock technique) this time. They also fit, I tired them on!
I died some yarns that I cannot show you as they are a project for later release and did some silk noil at the same time. I can’t resist throwing silk noil in the batch every time I dye something.
My Hanne Falkenberg sweater is progressing well too, its much farther along than the last photo but I haven’t stop knitting on it long enough to shoot it again, more photos on that later.
It’s time to finish my second extra-dry cappuccino and head home.
Deb H
An Artistic Journey
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
I haven’t done much artwork since I finished the Italy quilt. I have done more organizing, re-organizing, thinning, weeding in the garden, and knitting. I even did some (shudder) mending (I loath mending). While it is all a productive use of time, it is not art related (except, maybe the knitting. Unless you consider that while all these mundane chores are being handled, the brain is engaged in an entirely different arena.
My father was a bit of a philosopher. It’s probably a common side effect of being a Sea Captain; all that ocean to look at for months on end. At any rate, I can tend to wax philosophic on occasions myself. Some call it waffling on… I often ponder the meaning of life – but mostly the meaning of art. Striving to be an artist (or at least artistic) is a journey through many dimensions. One must consider the tools (toys?) of your craft, one usually spends a lot of time learning about techniques and art in general. One must consider and study the world; the world that is and the world as we would like it to be — this requires actually leaving the studio, the world is an interactive entity — and one must learn to speak with their muse(s), inner self(selves?) and daemon(s). An artist’s head studio can get pretty crowded even if there is only one person there! Striving to be an artist is a journey in every sense of the word.
So, while the body toils in the mundane, the mind is off on it’s own artistic journey. An Art Journal (top photo, click to big-ma-fy) is a good way to document your journey. I wish I could say mine is neat, orderly , and a work of art in itself. It did start out that way but the odd bits are definitely sticking out at odd angles and in no particular order now. It is still doing the job for which it was intended however. It is collecting my thoughts on art in general and on specific projects. It is the storehouse for all of my expelled creativity; the flotsam and jetsam of my brain.
Bit scary at times.
I have finished the socks I showed you in April when I thought to help knit Spring into Existence. I have several pictures of them here, mostly because they were a rudy bit of work! The pattern is “Bartholomew’s Tantalizing Socks” from Cat Bordhi’s book “New Pathways for Sock Knitters; Book One“. I adore Cat’s designs and how her mind works.
Her patterns are a bit of challenge to follow as you have to do some book flipping to find the instructions for various sections of the sock. But, I did them and they turned out pretty well, even if the yarn is such a bright and busy variegation that you can hardly see the linen stitch I carefully put on the instep or the fabulous way the shaping is different from a standard sock. I’m not blaming the Tofutsie yarn, I love it; so soft and wearable and perfect for summer socks. It’s just my choice of this particular colorway for this pattern. Obscure linen stitch aside, these are making me happy. I will do more patterns from this book. The designs are so cool, they are worth the effort!
Pointy toes too!
I also knit on my Hanne Falkenberg “Mermaid” jacket. I am getting my money’s worth out of the Silky Wool yarn as I have ripped it back to ground zero 812 times (just a guess) to”improve” the stripe pattern, the final result is very close to the original pattern with only a slight alteration.
Some of us are just tinkerers.
For those with questionable color representation, the colors are navy, purple, and bright brass. I’m loving the contrast. It is knit side-to-side and this photo (click to biggie it) is the left front with an i-cord for the front edge. The top edge is stepped; the highest bit is the shawl collar which drops down to the front and the shoulder line. The first of several gussets is at the bottom edge. Now that I’m done ripping it out every 6 inches, progress is steady. I just hope my gauge is still on.
Oh, my…
Oh, and I taught a dyeing class at Heritage Spinning and Weaving. My students had a blast as they discovered just how addictive color can be. . I managed to throw several skeins of yarn and some silk noil yardage in some dye while my students painted yarns and rovings of their choice. I just laid down the first layer of color for the silk, some wool superwash for a vest, and 4 skeins of sock yarn.
With at least one more layer (maybe two) planned, only one sock yarn is done so far; I call this “Planet Earth” as the colors remind of the Earth as viewed from space.
Deb H