Simplistic Peony Socks

Simple Socks
Originally uploaded by craftytails

I really should have taken the user ID "Astigmatism Photos". For right now, I will dispense with the whining and get on with the knitting.

Even though I have a plethora of projects to complete, I have been toiling away at a generic sock pattern. Honestly, I have been dying to knit up the two skeins of Madeline Tosh sock yarn that I bought at a craft festival. The fiber is buttery soft, with lovely variegation. It has failed to pool (score!) and there is more than enough yardage for a pair of larger socks. I neglected to make a gauge swatch (no surprise there) and decided to cast on 72 stitches for the cuff on size 2 needles. They fit perfectly! My knit-fu was strong with this project, it seems. I can't wait to knit up the second skein in the "vintage apron" colorway. A little gaudy, but sexy in the way that purchasing yarn in the rain under a tent at a street festival is hot.

I am torn at the moment. I have nearly completed so many projects, but I somehow lose steam when I venture close to the finish line. Lame, I know. I need to complete a few things and finally start the socks I promised my boyfriend many moons ago. I have a preference for knitting socks from the cuff down, so making them from the toe up (boy feet = yardage check necessity) is going to be a challenge. The short row heel will be a trial I have to face because the yarn I bought is self-patterning. Yes, I'm aware I am lazy.

Darkly Envious

Dark Envy
Originally uploaded by craftytails

Ah, yes. Another in a long line of blurry photos appears in my journal like magic. I blame gremlins because I don't feel like blaming myself this particular evening. I felt the need to share the picture, since this is one of the last skeins from the Dyeabolical Yarns "Alter Ego" series. I missed out on the Blue Beetle colorway, so I refused to let this one pass me by.

The Central Park Hoodie is slowly crawling along, and I am finally reaching the point where most of my projects come to an abrupt hiatus. Finishing is turning into my Achilles heel, which comes as a slight shock. This, from the same person who painstakingly hand-sewed plush toys for a year. It wouldn't be so bad if I could find a good tutorial on shoulder seams. I have managed to locate instructions, but none that cover the scary "shaped" shoulders where stitches are bound off in different increments. Bah!

Nancy Drew. Yeah, That's Me.

Lady Detective Hat
Originally uploaded by craftytails

So... Dee and I have purchased lovely Noro Iro and decided to make the Lady Detective Hats from Knit 2 Together. Her colorway is much better than the purchase I made whilst in Austin. I fully put the onus not on my lack of impulse control, but on the 'yarn high' I had when I entered Hill Country Weavers. Even though I could hear Satan laughing with delight as I carried a full basket to the cash register, I did it anyway. After a few months of surfing Ravelry, I can say I am not alone. Not one jot.

Although the documentation within the book mentions Miss Marple, I felt like Bess from the Nancy Drew stories when I put this hat on for the first time last night. I still need to make the band and affix a buckle. Did I think about matching my wardrobe when making the hat? No. Was there moment of thought that entered my mind saying I will probably never wear it? Absolutely not. All I felt was the impending need to bring back a nostalgic part of my youth, a part that yearned to go back to the first set of mystery novels that sparked a lifelong obsession with the genre.

Now, I am off to create a series of knitwear patterns based on Nero Wolfe. This, I swear.