Socks, Socks and Socks...It is all about the socks!

As you may already know, I will be heading to Portland, OR for the the 2009 Sock Summit that runs from August 6-9th. I am super excited. I will be Tweeting from the Summit, not sure how much Facebook updating I will be doing but I will have access to email as well. If you are not following me on Twitter, I am Twistedstitches (original, I know!)

I am only taking two classes at the Sock Summit. One class is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Wearable Art Stockings taught by her daughter Meg Swansen. This class among several others has homework! I am a little behind on my homework, but that should be no surprise to many in my circle who know me well. Our homework instructed us to use two colors and any small 6 stitch repeat. They offered a couple of 6 stitch charts but I was not thrilled with them, so I pulled out several books in search of something that I liked better and would fit. This is what I came up with...

It is a bit argylish (if that is even a word!) I chose the baby blue and chocolate brown, I just love that color combination. I have no idea if I am going to make a complete pair or if I will just do one. If I make the pair, I have to find someone that will fit these knee high socks cause they won't go over my huge calves. I am using a superwash worsted weight wool, so they are not going to be socks that you can wear with shoes, they will be just too thick. Oh and the other class that I will be taking is Textured Colorwork Socks with Chrissy Gardiner.

And just in time for Sock Summit, I will have a new sock project to work on. Delia from Wine and Needles and I are having a mini-KAL. Through email and blog postings we discovered that we both had the same sock yarn, Shibui Sock, in the same colorway. This colorway was so hard to capture, it is really a beautiful blue green and I believe the colorway is called Peacock. So I asked her what she was going to knit with it and one thing lead to another and we are both going to knit the Snicket Socks by Sabine Riefler.

If you would like to join us, please do! The official start is tomorrow, August 1st, but by all means, start when ever you want and use what ever sock yarn you want. Since I have rather large feet, much larger than Delia's, I will probably stay up until midnight and cast on, I am gonna need a head start. That is fair, it would be August 1st! Now I know this is not a race, but I would like to have it started so I have some plane knitting on my way to the Sock Summit. Can't wait to see my friends in Portland and meeting new friends too.

Birthday Gift Realized....Finally

My sweet niece turned 7 back in February, yeah, that was a while ago. I started a cute navy blue cardigan for her but my finishing skills are something I need to seriously work on. The hems looked OK, but they just didn't look quality. My vision was not coming to fruition, so I abandoned that project and started something new for her. Since we were fast approaching summer and she lives in a very hot climate, I decided that A Good Striped Dress was the perfect project.

I did some modifications to the pattern. The first obvious one is that I made this a two color project instead of a 3 color project as the pattern was written. This decision was due to not wanting to purchase more yarn and just use what I had in my stash. The modification was that I did not do as many increases as directed and it ended up not as long either; I was a bit afraid of running out of yarn.

Little brother Josiah had to get into the action of the photo shoot. Let me say, my niece and nephew are NOT camera shy. As you can see, they love each other very much.

See, NOT camera shy. He loves making silly pictures.

And if you don't already know, I am going to be going to Sock Summit!!! Yay for me! I am excited for several reasons.

1. I will be knitting, duh
2. I am taking a class from Meg Swansen. (Elizabeth Zimmerman's Wearable Art Stockings)
3. I am pretty confident that I will be getting a picture of Barbara Walker, even if I have to stalk her or call in the help of some of my knitting buddies (Cookie A, yes I mean you.)
4. I have never been to Portland, OR and have heard such great things.
5. Lots of yarn, friends, and well there will be a bit of drinking I am sure.

I will be staying at the Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center and joining me are my knitting buddies Maribel and The Knitmore Girls (Jasmin and Gigi). Party at the Courtyard!

The Sock Summit is holding a contest called Dye for Glory. Vote for your favorite hand dyed yarns in several different categories if you are a member of Ravelry. For more information, log onto Ravelry and the homepage gives you all the details and to vote, go here.

Are you going to Sock Summit? Am I going to be seeing you there?

Hello, are you still there?

Wow, it has been a long time since I blogged. Several reasons, none of which I can go into length about, but suffice it to say that I have been on a huge emotional roller coaster and I am hoping the ride is about over. I am tired of being poked and prodded. I assure you that I am not terminally ill, but this will all make sense to you sooner or later. Positive thoughts and prayers are welcome. Now on to the fun stuff!

I have been knitting, not as much as I thought I would, but I have been. One project that I am working on is a sample knit for Curious Creek Fibers, that has been going slower than I am comfortable with because well, when I tell you I am going to get it done, I do it. But I have been attacked by the knitting gnomes with this project, I have had to rip it out several times. It is on a small time out for the moment.

Another knitting sample that I have recently completed is a pair of socks for my designer friend Kristi Geraci, Knitters Anonymous.

"Bailiwick was originally created as the pattern for theknitter.com’s September 2008 installment of the sock of the month club. The Bailiwick socks use cable and diamond patterns, which are commonly used in Guernsey (Gansey) sweaters. A bailiwick is an area that is overseen by a bailiff – Guernsey is one of two bailiwicks in the Channel Islands. These socks would be suitable for either a man or a woman, and knit up quickly. The socks are designed to be asymmetric, with the pattern down the leg mirrored from the right sock to the left."

Kristi wanted to show off the pattern in a solid also and I think that a traditional grey looks quite nice! If you want to knit your very own Bailiwick Socks you can purchase the pattern on Ravelry or at Knitters Anonymous.

Remember Stitches West? I do. And my good friends at Purlescence Yarns remembered me too. This past Stitches West I helped them out with the booth set up and a couple of market days. As a thank you, they had a get together for all the helpers and as a thank you I was gifted this beautiful handspun yarn by Sandi (one of the owners) a hand made stitch markers.

Yes, that is my name on those beautiful stitch markers! I am so happy to get some handspun, I have never been given handspun before and I can't wait to see what I can make with it. It is not my first handspun in my stash, but it is the first "knitable" handspun I have. My first handspun, well, you can read about here, the end is the best part. Enjoy.