I took such a long break from blogging that I have a backlog of projects I wanted to add here. This is a big entry!

Socks:

Since the Sock Summit, I have finished the French Socks and Mona Socks.
I got to meet designers Nancy Bush and Cookie A. at Sock Summit when they were doing the book signing. I got a ride from my boss (!) down to the Convention Center, and she came to pick me up when I was done. That was great. I just wish I had more time to meet Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (although I saw her everywhere during Sock Summit) and Barbara Walker.

The French Socks are really a great pattern. I love the color, especially the name, “Butter Peeps”—I’m a Peeps freak. I also am enamored of the yarn—count on more Smooshy socks in the future!

*Pattern: Child’s French Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush

*Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy “Butter Peeps purchased at Twisted! in Portland, OR

*Needles: KnitPicks 32” circular needle size 1.5 (2.5 mm), Magic Loop

The Mona Socks are a direct result of joining Ravelry. I fell in love with the pattern and the yarn browsing around there. I had been waiting for a while, however, to actually bring them together. The variation of the color hides the pattern somewhat, but I still like the overall effect.

*Pattern: Mona Socks by Cookie A.

*Yarn: Ruby Sapphire Yarns Sapphire Sock “Yahto”

*Needles: KnitPicks 32” circular needle size 1.5 (2.5 mm), Magic Loop

I also made a mini sock for a Moo card holder, which was a hit. A lot of people I met also had cards, so I tried not to be too shy about offering my card.

But Wait! there's lots more after the break...

I have joined forces with my friend Natalie to start a knitting and crochet podcast.
It's called Cloudy with a Chance of Fiber!

We are still figuring it all out, but it was fun to give it a try. You can listen to it through the "Listen Directly" link or download it and listen to the podcast on an iPod or mp3 player.

It wasn't that long ago that I thought I would never knit a blanket. Blankets are big, and that means an awkward, time-consuming and probably expensive project. After knitting lots of socks, though, I found that I had a lot of leftover sock yarn, and I decided I needed to make something with it. On Ravelry, I found a pattern for a mitered square blanket knit from sock yarn and like-minded Ravelers willing to trade yarn. I decided my own way to make and attach the squares, however. The pattern attaches the squares in a zig-zag formation as each new square is knit, but I wanted to emphasize the square shapes and also have more control over which squares are adjacent. I knit each 40 stitch square on size 2 needles, using 2 mirrored decreases rather than a double decrease, which makes a raised line diagonally across the square. Getting to pick from all the colors keeps my distracted brain engaged, starting something "new" all the time.

My squares are 2 3/4 inches wide. So far I have knit about 260, so I am 1/4 of the way through the 768 squares I will need. I laid my squares out, and Isabel "helped".

So far I haven't sewn too many of the little squares into bigger squares. I put together some larger squares.

Sock Summit is going on in Portland right now. I have to work, but I'll be there on Sunday, for sure!

I work on socks all the time. It is the rare moment I don't have a sock project in my purse. It seems to take a long time to finish any socks, regardless of the complexity of the pattern. I used to have a short commute with a transfer right in the middle. Start, stop, start, stop again. Now I have longer commute with a transfer near one end. I can go and go and go! Here are the socks I've made knitting in transit:

Pattern: Diagonal Rib Socks from Knitting Daily by Ann Budd Yarn: Lotus Fibers? Toes in the Grass? Color: Irrigation Size 2.5mm circular needle, magic loop method I got the yarn from my sock pal in Sockapalooza 2007. It's shiny and soft. Very nice. It can be hard to find patterns that work with varigated yarns, but I think simple motifs like this work best. I hadn't made myself any blue socks until now, which is surprising since I have more blue sock yarn than anything else.

These socks were more fiddly, but I really like the effect. Working on double-pointed needless might have added to the fiddly feeling. One of many, many patterns I found thanks to Ravelry.

Pattern: Lemony Snicket Socks (Ravelry Link) Yarn: Louet Gems Fingering in Red Size 2.75 mm double pointed needles more after the break...

Isabel is our miniature poodle. She is an older dog, probably about 9 years old. She lived with her previous owner all her life, but around the end of April, she was brought to the Humane Society. We feel really lucky to have found her.

She loves playing fetch and being with us, taking walks in the nearby park or just hanging out. She is very affectionate, gives us lots of kisses and is excited when we get home from work. She has adjusted to her new home and we are glad to have her.

More pictures: