Socks Complete

I finished the socks about a week ago. My boss seemed to really like them. Someone else at work was going on about how I should make LSU scarves and sell them. I don't actually have any interest in doing that at all.

 The pattern is the "Easy Lace Socks" from The Big Book of Socks by Kathleen Taylor. Other than the brief confusion over the heels, they were a very easy knit.
I'm not entirely sure what I am going to make next. I am planning on making a pair of socks for my sister. They were going to be for her birthday but I've already realized there is no way I can make a pair of socks before then (her birthday is Thursday). So, I got her something else instead. I also have some other things I want to make, like a shrug or a tank top. Saturday there was a really huge sale at the local yarn store and I bought a ridiculous amount of yarn so I am itching to use some of that.
I am also still playing Final Fantasy XIII and that certainly cuts into my knitting time. That is probably what I am about to do right now, actually.

Sock Update

So, this sock is driving me crazy. I screwed up the heel (in my opinion, the instructions were a little unclear) then tinked back to where I started doing it wrong but now the stitches are so loose that it made a big hole. So, it seems I am going to have to redo the entire heel. This scares me because I am afraid of dropping those teeny-tiny stitches.

I have a feeling I am not going to have both socks finished (and blocked) before Friday. 

Goodwill Finds

I seem to have forgotten to write for a few months. Oops. I did finish my blanket back in February. I use it all the time.

 I haven't really done much knitting between then and now. I've mostly been playing video games. I picked up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the first time since Summer 2008, I believe. I still haven't finished it though. I moved on to Final Fantasy, which I downloaded on the Wii. I didn't get around to finishing that though because then Final Fantasy XIII came out. So, I have been playing Final Fantasy XIII quite a bit lately. I did, however, cast on a sock a few days ago. The weekend before last I went to New Orleans with work and my boss told me she would like me to knit her a pair of socks. Her birthday is coming up, so I am making them for that. Hopefully I will be able to finish them before that.

Anyhow, a few days ago I found some interesting things at Goodwill a few weeks ago. I found an old knitting book (Knitting Made Easy by Barbara Aytes) and a bag full of yarn and someone's unfinished object for $1.75. 

The unfinished objects are blue and white striped in 4x4 ribbing. The first is on size 8 circular needles and the second is on size 8 straight needles. It looks like the second one is the same thing as the first one.

I suspect the yarn may be the yarn from the kit that the pattern is from. The pattern is for a Sears Shell Sweater Kit that was said to contain Sears 100% Orlon Acrylic.

I don't really know what to do with most of this stuff--especially the yarn and the knitting.  I was mostly interested in the old pattern and the cheap needles. Plus, I thought it would fun to handle someone else's unfinished knitting. I also probably felt a little sorry for it, abandoned in the Goodwill like that. And, of course, I thought it would be fun to blog about!

Babies and Christmas

Since I started my last post writing about NaKnitMo, I'll go ahead and give my November stitch count: 43,548. I definitely met my goal.

I had to take a break from the Crappy Stash Yarn Elimination Blanket for baby knitting and Christmas knitting. On Thanksgiving, I found out my cousin's baby shower was a week later. I knit her some cute little booties and a hat. Both were pretty easy, although it was strange using the teeny tiny needles. I used an i-cord instead of a piece of yarn for the laces on the sneaker booties because I thought it would be more sturdy. I was a little nervous about them, but I think my cousin really liked both gifts.

Then, I needed a white elephant gift for the holiday party at work. First, I knit a hat out of some silly yarn that turned out, well, silly--the yarn stretched out way too much. My mom loved it so I gave it to her.

Then, I decided to knit some Christmas ornaments. I had to learn a new cast-on, the Emily Ocker Circular Cast-on. The written instruction and the pattern were not at all useful, so I went to You Tube. I watched a few videos before finding one that was useful. After watched this video about a hundred times, I was finally about to get the hang of it. I thought the ornaments turned out well, but nobody really seemed all that excited about them at the party. I kind of wish I had kept them for myself.

Then I was finally about to start my Christmas knitting for my family. I made a regular guy beanie for my dad--just a simple hat; I didn't think my dad would like anything fancy.

Then, I knit a hat for my sister, the Peek-a-Boo Cloche from Interweave Knits Accessories 2009. It's a really neat hat; it has two layers, the lining on the inside and the lace on the outside. You start off at the top of the lining, work downward, join the new yarn yarn the knit the rest from the bottom up. The most difficult parts were the very beginning because of the small amount of stitches on tiny needles; I had to restart about 10 times. Then there were a few times when I needed to knit 3 together towards the end, and that was a pain. This was my first project that was labeled "intermediate." I'm pretty happy with the hat, except it took forever to dry after blocking because of the layers, so now it's a little stinky.

After that, I knit a dishcloth for my mom, so I would have something to give her for her birthday. Don't worry, I'm giving my mom more than a dishcloth for her birthday: my sister and I are taking her on a cruise in June. The dishcloth has a hummingbird on it, but it was really hard to get a good picture with my phone where you can actually see the hummingbird.

Now, I finally get to finish my blanket. I do have some plans in mind for myself, if I ever get around to it. There is a hat and scarf I want to knit for myself. I was going to do it next but I really want to get the blanket finished.