Numb Ass

July 10, 2007 By

Yeah. You heard me. I said NUMB ass. Somehow or other, don’t even ask me how, I managed to bruise a nerve located in my ass cheek and now it’s NUMB. Like go to the dentist, shoot your face with Novacain numb. Like I can’t stop touching it because it feels so weird but it feels weird when I touch it so I don’t want to touch it numb. And, yes, I’m very attractive walking around with my hand on my ass all day. The doc said it could be like this for awhile too.

Like I said. Don’t ask. But I’m sure DUMB had something to do with the NUMB.

I promised you a new monkey and here she is:

These socks are definitely SHE socks because a) they have a picot edge. I don’t think I need to say much more about that. And b) the yarn is STR Chickabiddy. CHICkAbiddy. CHICA. They can only be girl socks. Girl socks for me. I’m not doing minis this time though – I’m going to do at least 6 repeats on the cuff. (By the way, the Chickabiddy colorway is not on the STR website right now, but I have it on good authority it will be back in the Fall.)

Off to block Moth. That’s right. Me and my numb ass haven’t blocked it yet. Whatta gonna say about that? 😉

Filed Under: Monkey Socks

The Princess and The Picot

June 5, 2007 By

If you can stand it, so can I!


Finishing a pair of socks is like your birthday, all eight nights of Hannukah, Christmas morning, a gift from the tooth fairy, a visit from the Easter Bunny, fresh baked cookies, a good hair day, getting into your skinny jeans, making out in the car, and a Springsteen concert all wrapped up in a fantastic box with a shiny bow on top!! Okay. Maybe not as good as making out in the car or a Springsteen concert, but you get the idea. I love my new mini-monkeys!

I love that they are a bit tight (like my beloved Jaywalkers) so they stay up – no slouching here! And I love the colors and the STR and the undulations of the monkey pattern. I love that my friend Tina dyed the yarn and my friend Cookie designed the pattern and my friend Margene knit the modification. There’s just LOVE ALL AROUND!

Most of all, I love that when it’s finally chilly again I will have a drawer full of monkeys to choose from and you can bet your bottom dollar that my mini-monkeys with the picot edge will be the first pair I grab. There’s nothing like a picot to bring out my inner princess!


Monkey Socks
Pattern: Free on Knitty
Yarn: STR Lightweight in Watermelon Tourmaline
Modifications: I cast on with a picot edge and knit four repeats for the cuff. I did my preferred heel and toe. I used US#1 Addis for the entire sock.
Princess Rubber Ducky: My sister purchased them here. Knock yourselves out. There’s like a duck for everything.

Filed Under: Monkey Socks, Socks

Mini Monkeys!

May 31, 2007 By

Oh my god!! Can I just tell you how much I LOVE my mini monkeys?!? THEY ARE THE CUTEST SOCKS EVER! And, if I didn’t believe it before, I’m here to bear witness that a picot edge makes EVERYTHING in the world sunshine and unicorns and rainbows. It’s like a big hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and rainbow jimmies and TWO cherries on top for your feet!

Here is my mini monkey formula: knit 5 rounds, yo k2tog – repeat for entire round, knit five rounds, knit together stitch and cast on edge to create picots next round, knit one round, start monkey pattern. I then did FOUR repeats for the cuff, which gave me about a 3.5″ – 4″ cuff, then do the heel and foot as directed by the pattern. All done on Size 1 Addis. I DEFY you to tell me these aren’t the cutest socks EVER!

I made them with vintage STR from my stash – the lighter pinky color is Watermelon Tourmaline, which is still available on the Blue Moon website, and the green blue colorway is Seastone, which Tina told me is now discontinued. Both socks are from the old put up – 325yds. I’m not sure how much I’ll have left over, but it won’t be much. There’s a possibility that I could do another repeat on the leg, but I think I’m sticking with this formula. I don’t have to worry about running out of yarn AND I don’t want them any higher on my leg. This length is PERFECT. The best part is that the monkey pattern really has little to no give so they stand straight up. No slouching here. I LOVE THEM!

Last night I cast on for the second Watermelon Tourmaline sock. I just wish it wasn’t a million degrees outside. I might just have to crank up the air and sock it around all day.

I received a couple concerned emails yesterday regarding my self-proclaimed craziness. Thank you so much for caring, but I didn’t mean to say that I was crazy (well, no more so than usual) but that IT was crazy. Meaning life. And all the stuff I have to do. I’ve got a lot of work which is GOOD, but I’m feeling the pull of the deadline, so I opted not to kill myself by staying up late to finish the socks and thus have a legitimate post for yesterday. I hope today makes up for that fact. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Monkey Socks, Socks

I am an idiot.

May 29, 2007 By

Let me count the ways!

Firstly, it turns out I DON’T know what to do with miles and miles of acrylic. Oh I had grand plans, mind you, GRAND plans, but you know what they say about plans. Something or other about best laid and all that. My plan involved math and fibonacci patterns and my grandmother’s recipe for afghans and intricate color combinations and it was all going to be SO GOOD. Then I sat down and cast on 257 stitches on size 9 needles, knit two rows and thought OH MY GOD I cannot do this. Ripped it right the fuck out. I will admit something truly horrifying to you: I might just crochet Babette yet. With my acrylic collection. You heard me. I realized, while I was casting on 257 stitches that I could have crocheted like thirty million squares in the time it took to just CAST ON. I suck. I know. Sue me.

The fact that I couldn’t knit more than two rows of my most faboulous heirloom afghan might have to do with the fact that I’ve been hacking up a lung all weekend. A piddly annoying cold I had last week turned into HACKFEST 07 on Saturday. I worked really early in the morning and by the time I came home I couldn’t stop coughing. A few hours later and I was locked in my dark dark bedroom with a pile of pillows over my head so I could cough without my brain exploding in a million pieces. I’m no stranger to the headache, but I thought I was going to die. Or throw up. One or the other and I’m not sure that they’re not the same thing. I hate to throw up. I managed to sleep for a little bit and when I got up I was kind of okay and it’s only gotten better since then, but Saturday sucked.

Also, it was hot. I hate being hot almost more than anything. So I stayed in the house this weekend and knit a lot. You know how I know I knit a lot? I have a brand new hole in my left hand index finger – in a completely different spot than the old hole – and a brand new callus/blister on the third finger (yes, THAT finger) of my right hand. Guess what? I’ve got something to show for it! Which leads me to reason number 2 why I am an idiot.

It’s a MINI Monkey!! You may or may not know this about me, but I have A LOT of STR in my stash. A lot. Like, mindblowing amounts. (Although I bet there are a few people out there these days that could give me a run for my money.) Anyway, it’s not about how much you have, but how well you use it. At least that’s what I’m saying to you now. So, I’ve got a lot of it and a good portion of it is in the OLD put up, which was 325 yds. I’m beginning to think it was also a different recipe as well. This was before the days of lightweight and mediumweight and there was just ONE weight. Socks That Rock. I think the lightweight is a bit thinner now. Regardless, I thought monkey would make a great sock for my old put ups. I started knitting. I figured I could drop out one repeat on the leg and be good to go with my yardage. (Old put up=325; New put up=360.) I did Margene’s picot edge mod and started knitting away like a champ. I was about three repeats from the toe when I realized that I was DEFINITELY going to run out of yarn.

This is where the idiot part creeps in. Last Friday I had a lovely conversation with Margene about our monkeys. Now, you may not know this about Margene, but she’s 6′ tall. I’m 5’6″. So she’s got six inches on me. And, as biology would dictate, she’s got bigger feet than me. I’m about a 7.5 or 8 and she told me she’s about a 9 – 9.5. So we were perplexed at the fact that she did six repeats on her Monkey sock foot and I was doing EIGHT. We talked about how I like a really boxy toe and that I start my decreases right at the tip of my pinky and only decrease down to 14 stitches on each side (28 total) and that she does a much longer toe because, admittedly, her feet aren’t as pretty as mine. Which probably would account for ONE repeat on the foot, but TWO? What was going on here? Okay. Keep this in the back of your mind, but you’re probably getting the drift of my idiocy, right?

So I’m knitting away. Like a champ. Then I realize I’m going to run out of yarn blah blah blah. I think to myself, I better rip out back to the cuff and cut out a repeat on the leg because I still need to get EIGHT repeats on the foot, not to mention the toe decreases. RIP RIP RIP and somehow I’m back to where I started five hours later or something. Now I’ve got two more repeats to go and the toe and I’m TOTALLY GOING TO RUN OUT OF YARN. AGAIN! And I’ve already dropped a repeat on the cuff. I don’t want to RIP BACK.

Margene’s in my head with her six repeats on the foot. My other monkeys were a little long, but just HOW long? I take out my most recent sock and try it on – but this time I let the heel fall where it should and I stretch out the toe a bit and DUDE! I’ve been knitting a freaking EXTRA repeat on the toe this whole time! DAMN!

I finish off the mini monky and put it on and the foot/toe is PERFECT. I can’t believe what an idiot I’ve been! I must have put the ORIGINAL monkey on, thought it was fine where it was and cast off. Then, without thinking, I just copied that sock over and over and because it’s been so hot I haven’t been wearing them like I usually do. Sometimes I’ll wear that one finished sock the whole time I’m knitting the second.

It’s a good thing I figured out the problem because I had just enough yarn for the mini monkey with it’s cute picot edge.

This yarn is STR Watermelon Tourmaline, by the way. Once I was done this sock, I did was every self-respecting idiot knitter does and went stash diving. I came up with another mini monkey:

This is STR Seastone (which, I think, unfortunately, has been discontinued.) Hopefully I’ll have it finished today and a modeling picture tomorrow. The cuff is pretty short – about 3.5″ – but it seems longer on my foot. Very cute! And now I know that when I knit another full size monkey (there will be at least one more pair) I can add an EXTRA repeat on the leg. I’ve also gone back and fixed at least one of the finished monkeys. They’re so much better now. I’m an idiot, I swear.

Reason number three in the idiot dance is this whole I’ve got a secret game we’ve been playing. Now I feel like crap because you’re all coming up with these great fantastic things I might be doing and I’m not doing any of them! You guys! I’m very flattered that you think I would be capable of all these feats but the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t have to do with photography or a book or a new job – it’s just a personal thing and it’s HUGE in my life but maybe not so impressive in yours. So stop speculating. You’re making me feel bad with your confidence in my abilities when, in reality, I’m an absolute idiot. Just ask Ann.

More socks tomorrow because I’ve turned into a factory. Really. It’s sad.

PS – Happy Birthday Daddy! Happy Birthday Tina!

Filed Under: Monkey Socks

Two Little Monkeys

May 25, 2007 By

Jumping on the bed!
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
“NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!”

The monkey thing never gets old, does it?

Just this morning I finished my STR Dutch Canyon (Lightweight) Monkey Socks and I love them! So much so I’m casting on another pair this afternoon – using Margene’s FAB mod – the picot edge! Truly the new jaywalker has been born. I’m taking a chance with the new pair and going with the old put up – 325 yds – so we’ll see how I do.

(Oh yeah – and to all the people that questioned the validity of a DUTCH Canyon since Holland doesn’t seem to have any, Dutch Canyon is an area in Oregon near to Blue Moon Fiber Arts headquarters. I’ve got an answer for everything!)

In the meantime, a baby or a book?! That’s the best you could come up with it? Where’s your sense of adventure? Your sense of imagination? Mad props to those of you who thought things like – creative director of Red Heart – what was it? Acrylic Czar? HAHAHAHAHA! And especially to Kathy – she thought I might be taking over for Rosie at the View. Not on your life, my friend. Not on your life.

You’ll all just have to have a bit of patience. All will be revealed in time. Including what to do with miles of acrylic. I couldn’t get it together for today, so you’ll have to wait for Tuesday. I hope I don’t disappoint.

Have a great weekend everyone! Long or otherwise!

Filed Under: Monkey Socks, Socks

QUICK! Look out your windows!!!

May 15, 2007 By

Do you see the pigs flying by?!?!

Yes, my friends. Your eyes do not deceive you. I have crocheted.

Here’s what happened. First, Margene talked about crochet non freaking stop. Then Ann with the blah blah blah crochet crochet crochet. The final straw to fall was Vicki. She’s making up songs about crochet! Yesterday I actually told her to shut up and knit already.

This morning, though, I woke up to a dream about crochet granny squares and that damn bag all my girls are making. The honest to god truth is that I want that bag too! So when I talked to Ann this morning, I asked her if she thought she could teach me to make the square over the phone.

Three and a half hours later – I had a square.

I’m not going to tell you that I enjoyed it – because I didn’t. It was tough. At one point I started screaming in agony and Ann’s going what? WHAT? and I yelled TOE CRAMP because my foot started to cramp up. She’s all like, well then you’re doing it wrong honey and duh I was so tense that my foot cramped. That hurts. Add in my elbow, my wrist, my shoulders and my back and WHOO HOO! Crochet is FUN! Seriously, I know that with practice it will all get better. I need a new hook though. I have a few lying around the house but none of them were the right size really and the one I used was way to small for the yarn (which is Heavyweight STR). The square is going to be a coaster because the gauge is so tight the damn square could stand on it’s own. No drape, people. NO drape. Which might actually be good if I make this bag. We’ll see. I’m going to get a bigger hook and try again. Maybe.

Ann was crochet teacher EXTRAORDINAIRE and we all got a little bit of help from Laura’s crochet tutorial. Thanks Laura! All in all, I think it was a pretty good foray. Definitely room for practice.

I’m getting lots of practice on these:

A finished MONKEY SOCK! Surprise, surprise! This one is Dutch Canyon STR Lightweight. Casting on for the mate as we speak. Still loving this pattern.

Thanks for all the nice comments yesterday about the kids and the pictures. Those kids are a HUGE HUMONGOUS part of my life and it’s always fun to show them off. Alright – I have GOT to eat something. Too much crochet, not enough food.

THANKS ANNIE! FUCK THE YARN – YOU ARE MY LIFE GURU!!

Filed Under: Crochet, Monkey Socks, Socks

So happy to be ME!

May 11, 2007 By

I know I said I was signing off for the weekend, but yesterday was so miserable I thought I’d share.

Last night I went to the mall in search of something to wear to my 20th Year High School Reunion having decided that everything I own doesn’t fit and makes me look fatter and lumpier than I really am. That was a mistake. Not thinking that my clothes look bad on me, but going to the mall. At one point I was wandering aimlessly around Macy’s trying to find something, ANYTHING, that would make me look not so lumpy and I caught sight of myself in one of the many fun house mirrors they’ve got hanging around the store: my shirt looked funny. I walked up to the mirror and took a good look at myself. After trying on the 100th unflattering outfit I could find, I had put my shirt back on BACKWARDS. I was so depressed that I stood there, in full view of men, women, and children, and turned my shirt around thereby letting everyone know that I can’t DRESS MYSELF. It’s a true story.

I even talked to my mother, complaining about how fat I’ve gotten, and NOT ONCE did she tell me how beautiful I was. Isn’t that a mother’s JOB?

And then, after buying a pair of jeans that tout “an instant tummy tuck” that I can’t wear to the reunion, I sat in my car, in our parking garage, and listened to The River ten times, singing along at the top of my lungs while crying my eyes out. Doesn’t get anymore high school than that.

The truth of the matter is that I’m very content with who am I and what my life is all about. I’d love my house to be cleaner, sure, and dropping fifteen pounds would certainly make things nicer, but overall I’m incredibly lucky AND I’ve worked very hard on myself and my relationships to get them where they are today. Generally I don’t stress that much about my appearance (that’s what happens when you spend most of your time in pajamas) but there’s nothing like the thought of being around people that last saw you when you looked something like this:

to spur you into self-pity. Granted, they never saw me in an army uniform and this picture was taken three years after I graduated from high school, but it’s the sexiest picture I have of me. Things don’t change that much from 17 to 20. 17 to 37? That’s a whole other story!

Now I’m certainly not complaining about how I look now. I’ve grown into my face and my body and I know how to play my strengths. And most importantly, my husband thinks I’m beautiful and tells me so all the time. But there are (at least) fifteen extra pounds there and I am twenty years older. I can still rock it right? This picture is from a year ago:

I still look like this. Maybe an extra five pounds but I wore this exact outfit to a Bar Mitzvah last month and I looked good. My sisters told me so. GOD BLESS SPANX!

Anyway. I found something to wear. (Note: not the outfit above. WAY too formal for this event. I’ll try to get my sister to take a picture of me before I leave for the reunion.) Clothes I already had in my closet that I feel good in. My husband told me I look hot. And I’ll have my favorite shawl around my shoulders. It never fails to make me feel elegant and beautiful. I decided on the outfit about ten minutes after getting home. Then I did what any self-respecting fat girl trying to get skinny would do: I made myself one of my favorite Lean Cuisines for dinner, curled up with Grey’s Anatomy (anyone else think McDreamy is being a TOTAL DICK!), and knit on a sock.

(My new pair of monkeys. Dutch Canyon STR Lightweight.)

I really am confident that tonight will be very weird, somewhat uncomfortable and ultimately fun! But just in case, I’m bringing along some knitting.

PS – Go congratulate my friend MJ! YAY! Mazel Tov!
PPS – Go help my friend Claudia!! I have. Now it’s your turn! Do the right thing and win prizes to boot!
PPPS – This post is my own little pity party. No need to tell me how gorgeous I really am.

Filed Under: Life, Monkey Socks

Knanette and Her Monkeys

May 10, 2007 By

I stayed up late and finished my first pair of Monkey Socks – and then I stayed up later watching Inside Job. Clive Owen and Denzel Washington. Nuff said.

First though, I want to talk about Knanette! Thank you for all your encouragement. Some initial work has been done and I can pretty much guarantee that this will not (at least not right away) turn into another miter madness. There are lots of kinks to be worked out, I think, and also, it’s going to take a lot more planning on my part.

I need to say right off the bat that I take no credit at all for the construction of the square I’m about to show you. I was merely the workhorse. The genius comes straight off the brain of Kay. If you’ll indulge me please, I’m going to take a minute to talk about Kay. She’s a great friend, a fantastic host and most of all, she has been the single most influential person in my knitting life (besides, of course, my grandmother, who actually taught me to knit.) She has opened up possibilities to me that I never ever dreamed about. She has awakened my inner artist. Thank you, Kay, for changing my life for the better. You truly are my Kaffe.

Okay. Back to Knanette. Fifteen minutes on the phone with Kayye and I’m ready to tackle my miter in the round. I don’t know much about crochet, but I understand that if you know what you’re doing, those baby squares in Babette can go super fast. Not so with knitting. It will take CONSIDERABLY longer to knit this blanket than it would, most likely, to learn how to crochet from scratch, fuck things up a bit, then finally be on your way cranking out squares.

That’s not an option for me. I don’t want to crochet this blanket. I want to knit it.

Kay and I decided (or really Kay decided) that by knitting the square from the outside in, it gives you the best way of knitting the blanket WITHOUT SEAMS. You knit a square, then pick up one side of that square and knit another one. And so on and so on. Kay also suggested the garter stitch border – which I happen to LOVE. I think it gives the square a decidedly granny FEEL while being VERY different from an actual crocheted granny square. This is how I knit the square above:

Cast on 96 stitches. Join in the round. (When you’re casting on, you might want to place a marker every 24 stitches – this demarcates the four corners of the miter.)

Round 1: [Knit 10, k2tog, k2tog, knit 10] Repeat 3 times.
Round 2: PURL all stitches (For garter stitch in the round.)
Round 3: [Knit 9, k2tog, k2tog, knit 9] Repeat 3 times.
Round 4: PURL all stitches
Round 5: [Knit 8, k2tog, k2tog, knit 8] Repeat 3 times.
Round 6: PURL all stitches
Round 7: [Knit 6, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, knit 6] Repeat 3 times
Round 8: KNIT all stitches (You’re now doing stockinette in the round.)
Round 9: [Knit 5, ssk, ssk, k2tog, knit 4] Repeat 3 times
Round 10: KNIT all stitches
Round 11: [Knit 3, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, knit 3] Repeat 3 times
Round 12: KNIT all stitches
Round 13: [Knit 2, ssk, ssk, k2tog, knit 1] Repeat 3 times
Round 14: KNIT all stitches
Round 15: [ssk, k2tog, k2tog] Repeat 3 times
Round 16: KNIT all stitches
Round 17: [s1, k2tog, psso] Repeat 3 times

You should have four stitches left. Cut your yarn and thread them threw the last four stitches pulling them together. Change yarns wherever you see fit. I knit my square using two circulars because that’s the way I do things, but this pattern lends itself nicely to dpns seeing as it’s all in fours and such.

I just love the little bud in the center from the four remaining stitches. I LOVE this square. LOVE it. Some things I discovered: I think you really need to start with a stitch count, that when divided by 4, gives you an even number. I was going to try for a slightly smaller square, starting with 84 stitches, but the breakdown is 21 and when you’re decreasing by 2 for the garter stitch rows, it’s not so neat. Also, you need to knit three garter stitch ridges to get the stitch count back to something divisible by 3 so you can start the stockinette section and be able to get three decreases.

The worst part of this is that you have to cast on a lot of stitches. If I want to make a really big miter – I might need to cast on 400+ stitches. BUT you start decreasing at a very fast speed – 12 stitches every round. So you pay the price up front, but soon get to a manageable place. Re changing colors – I thought you might get a bad jog because you’re knitting in the round – but the color change wasn’t really noticeable at all. Maybe because really you’re knitting flat? I don’t know, but weaving in the ends seems to cover all ills.

The square above measures 4″x4″ and I really wouldn’t go much smaller. I mean, I guess you could cast on 72 stitches, but it would pretty much be garter stitch. This is acceptable to me as my SMALLEST size. I tried a bunch of times to cast on the next square by picking up 24 stitches on one side then casting on the next 72 and theoretically it should all work. I kept messing it up though – didn’t like my initial cast on. Twisted it when I went to knit in the round. Cast on too few stitches. You know. Bonehead stuff. I think I’ve got the cast on I want to use (cable cast on) and if I can just keep the round straight this should work pretty good. My plan is that I’d take a section of the blanket and attach those together – then move onto another section. So when it comes time to finish the blanket – you seam sections as opposed to individual squares.

As I said – this will take a good long while. I really want to plan things out – make up some rules color wise (already working this out in my head! It becomes clearer by the moment!) and layout wise. If I were you, I’d probably just learn to crochet. But, I’m a glutton for punishment. Don’t expect much on this for awhile. I definitely LOVE my little square though!

Hey Hey it’s the MONKEYS!

Poor sad little monkeys! Look how wrinkled and scrunchy they look! Dance MONKEYS! DANCE!

I totally agree with the assessment I’ve seen around the blogs that these socks look better blocked – they do. But only for their photoshoot. Don’t let the scrunchiness fool you. They look JUST FINE on your feet – the best blockers of all.

A thoroughly enjoyable knit, these monkey socks. EXTREMELY enjoyable. This p
air took me a week. And I would’ve knit them faster no problem if I didn’t have other stuff to do. I used Socks That Rock Lightweight, in the Rare Gems colorway (which means that it was a “special” skein that didn’t go as originally planned and then was overdyed and sold as a rare gem – these are one offs. This skein is UNIQUE.) I used Addi Size 2s for the twisted ribbing and the first two repeats, then switched to 1s. I love the fit – nice and snug. The only modification I made to the pattern was to do my standard heel flap and toe. The rest of it is as written.

I’m fairly certain I’ll be making a bunch of these.

Okay, so I’m signing off for the weekend. My one friend from high school, the one I’m going to the reunion with, told me she bought a new dress. So I feel like I have to go shopping – especially since all the things I thought I might wear don’t fit. On a happier note, I’m getting a pedicure! Have a great weekend – reunion details next week – and more Monkeys I’m sure!

L, C

Filed Under: Knanette, Monkey Socks, Socks

I got rhythm!

May 7, 2007 By

Who could ask for anything more?!


Sock modeled by my own personalized Leggy Creations Sock Blocker!
A fabulous birthday gift from Margene!

I finished my first Monkey Sock, and I’ve got to tell you, this could be my new Jaywalker. It’s got everything I love in a knit – especially in a sock. First off, it’s FAST. The repeat is only 11 rows so by the time you’ve knit four rows you’re like oh my god I might as well finish the repeat. And there are only six repeats for the cuff so you can polish them off and be ready to split for the heel in no time at all. The pattern lulls you into the perfect rhythm that makes you knit faster and faster. Like the Jaywalker pattern. Like miters. Apparently, I like to be hypnotized by my knits.


STR Lightweight, Rare Gem Colorway

While there is purling in the sock (I actually like to purl very much – but I HATE purling in a sock – I think, really, I hate ribbing in the round and on such small needles. Actually, I hate ribbing ALL the time.), for some reason it’s not bothering me. I love how they fit – nice and tight. I did the twisted rib and the first two repeats on size 2s, like the pattern calls for, but then I went down to 1s for the rest of the sock. They’re a little tight getting over the heel – but just like my Jaywalkers – they’re nice and snug and they stay up GREAT!

The foot is actually a smidge long – but otherwise I’d have to cut out a whole repeat and I’m not doing that – so they’re a smidge long. No biggie. I’m already lining up all of my old skeins of STR (in the 325 yd put up) to make Monkeys! I think if I drop one of the repeats out of the cuff I’ll be good to go. When I held them up to a pair of my Jaywalkers, the length is perfect with five repeats. I’ve got JUST the yarn to try too. WHOO HOO! Time for some sock knitting yessireebob!

As soon as I finished the first sock, I cast on for the second. In no time at all, I have five repeats under my belt.

I’m gonna have a pair of socks before I know it! Just in time for Summer! 😉

Filed Under: Monkey Socks, Socks

Be True

May 3, 2007 By

When in doubt, always, ALWAYS – and really – I can’t stress this enough – ALWAYS! – go with what you know.


Socks That Rock, Rare Gem Colorway

KT hit it right on the head with this comment yesterday: “Aren’t you the one who was just telling me that you only knit for yourself? My world is in disarray. I’m confused.” YES!! YES!!!!! I ONLY KNIT FOR MYSELF!

Why did I forget that? There are many EXCELLENT reasons that I basically knit for myself. It wasn’t always that way, but more and more and more it’s become my reality. A reality I’m very happy with. I wanted to try linen and handtowels and maybe I’ll still make a few for myself – but for now this project is deader than a door nail. I’ve never duplicate stitched and I don’t want to rework a chart and I tried this thing and it didn’t come out the perfect way it would need to come out for me to present it to my cousin in front of all the women in my family and besides, I can’t give a gift that’s not perfect, handmade or not. There was ALWAYS another gift – my sisters and I were ALWAYS going in on something off the registry – this was going to be my little side gift. No harm, no foul. What a relief!

Once I came to my senses, I did what any sane person would do and went trolling through my considerable STR stash. I’ve got stuff in there I don’t even remember. Collector’s Items at this point. I knew the pattern I was going to knit – I’ve been wanting to knit this sock for awhile – and I knew the type of yarn I wanted (something with a lot of colors and short repeats) so I went diving and came up with this:


MONKEY SOCKS! By Cookie A! YAY!

I cast on late afternoon yesterday. I started the socks on Addi Size 2s – I like to do my ribbing on a bigger needle – and actually continued on 2s for two repeats of the lace pattern. (A lesson I learned from this sock.) I then switched to Addi 1s and did another two repeats. The pattern calls for six repeats – only 22 rows and I split for the heel! Now that’s a sock I like! I love this yarn, it goes without saying, but I really love this colorway. Mostly because it’s MINE ALL MINE! Rare Gems are mistakes gone gold in the STR world – no two Rare Gems are alike so no one anywhere will ever have this colorway EVER. MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The pattern rocks – it’s easy – not too much purling (for some reason I have an aversion to purling in sock patterns. Actually it’s just that I abhor ribbing.) And I’m loving the effect. I’m thinking it will be nice with some of my other handpainted coughnotstrcough yarns. What? Did you say something? What?

Honestly, I really would’ve loved to have gone back to the Katharine Hepburn Cardigan – but I have to read my knitting and figure out the pattern again and where I am and what I need to do. I was just about to finish the back and I was doing some alterations to the pattern and I need to check my notes (fingers crossed I remembered to write everything down.)

In the meantime, it’s just like riding a bike.

Some random stuff to talk about:

— Mark your calendars! WE HAVE A DATE! Spin Out will be Saturday, September 29, 2007 – Central Park, Cherry Hill Fountain, 11-4. Much more information to come in the next month or so, but thought I should mention this now. I received the permit last week or so and wanted to get it out there.

— NEW SOCK CLUB! Linda LaBelle, owner of The Yarn Tree in Brooklyn, NY, let me know about a new sock club she’s started: A Sock Club For All Seasons. What makes this club stand out from some of the others is the talent she’s got lined up – Cheryl Shaefer, Darlene Hays, Nancy Finn, Lori Lawson and others. These are PREMIER fiber artists and for some of them, their yarn is very difficult to get your hands on. There are lots of other goodies that come along with the yarn. Check out The Yarn Tree for more information.

— RAVELRY! Generally I’m one of those “wouldn’t want to be a member of any club that would have me as a member” but this one is to good to pass up. The brainchild of Jess and her husband, Casey, Ravelry is a place to share project information, pattern information, yarn information, stash information – basically anything that has to do with knitting, spinning, crochet – anything FIBER related. Right now it’s still in it’s beta testing stages so membership is by invitation only – BUT you can get on the list for an invitation. Use the sign-up on the right hand side of this page. BE PATIENT! Ravelry is for everyone and it’s exploding as we speak so get on the list and get your pictures up on Flickr (even I opened an account – something I’ve been holding back on FOREVER) and pretty soon you’ll be stuck in the time suck as well. 😉

Have a GREAT day!
L, C

Filed Under: Monkey Socks
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