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:

What could disrupt one's schedule so much that a pathetic blog fails to get any attention for months? Buying a house! Every weekend--just about-- for several months, we looked at houses and neighborhoods. We closed in March, and now we spend more of our free time doing projects around the home. We painted the living room/dining room, and we still need to get actual furniture for it. I started a garden this spring, and we've already been eating some of the veggies. I planted lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, an eggplant, tomatoes, a pumpkin, and beans as well as an herb garden. The lettuce was prodigious, but is over now. The broccoli is pretty spent, too. The tomatoes are just starting to come in, and the peppers and eggplant are getting started. We've had 2 cucumbers so far, and there are a few more that are nearly ready. I love checking on the garden and seeing the new veggies coming in, or seeing how much bigger the pumpkins are getting. Next up, making some pesto from our basil!

Our house in March

The new fall knitting magazines are out and very exciting. Lots of great cabley sweaters. I think my favorite new magazine was Rowan 44. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Amazing classic styles with a 40s glamour, as well as plenty of amazing colorwork for which Rowan is known.

Besides these print magazines, the new online magazines Twist Collective and Knotions are out. There's so much out there, an abundance of talent, making choosing what to knit a little more difficult.

We just got back from our trip to Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival. This was a much needed vacation after a busy month of tons of extra work.

We started on the right foot with a great B&B. Dean at Blue Moon is a great host, and the breakfasts were above and beyond fantastic. The bed was excellent, too, as a matter of fact.

Our schedule was full, 5 plays in 4 days. We saw The Clay Cart, A Midsummer Night Dream, Our Town, A Comedy of Errors, and Othello. I really enjoyed the Shakespeare plays, especially Othello, but I tend to enjoy intense drama.

I decided before our trip that I ought to visit The Web-sters yarn store, for souvenir yarn, of course. The problem with this theory is that I'm not exactly starved for yarn selection in Portland. Nevertheless, we stopped by after lunch, in the hour before our matinee show.

I was excited by all the yarn, lots of different stuff and a lot of luxury yarns. I had almost convinced myself that I was going to get some raspberry-colored angora (#4 color) for a fluffy scarf. We realized eventually that we needed to be going to the theater, so I headed to the register. Just then, another woman came in and started asking for help fixing her knitting. She was trying to pick up the collar, and she was having a tough time.

Well, normally I would be happy to continue wandering around the store until the clerk was free, but I had to go! I was so angry at the clerk for not helping me and for this woman for be so needy and pushy. I decided that both of them were idiots and that the sweater in question was ugly. I put the angora back, and headed off. After the show, and some cooler thinking, I returned to the yarn store.

First thing, the clerk started apologizing for the delay. What could I say? I knew in my heart that she hadn't meant to ignore me, she was just trying to deal with what was in front of her. I let her know it was okay, we just had a show to see. I changed my mind about the angora, though. I went with a small amount of habu silk instead. I spent half what I would have, and I'm happier than I think I would have been.

Summer, as most people think of it, comes late to Portland. It's not raining non-stop, and occasionally the sun comes out these days. With slightly warmer, drier weather and getting older (!), I have been trying to work some exercise into my schedule. I’ve biked to work a couple of weeks now. It’s mostly downhill on the way to the office, and Portland is extremely bike friendly. There are plenty of little side streets with almost no traffic, and also busier streets with bike lanes. Almost every night, on the way home, there are a ton of other cyclists on the road. I was getting passed a lot, but it’s a combination of not really being in shape (other than “lumpy”), having a heavy mountain bike, and my low gears not really working. I want to ride at least 3 times during the week, and work up to riding everyday. It means giving up my commute knitting time, but since I have to transfer midway anyhow, I don’t really get much knitting done when I commute, so I can’t really say I’m sacrificing much there. I’d rather get in shape in those 75-90 minutes of total commuting. Plus, I don’t like squeezing onto the crowded trains, dealing with the crazies, the rude people, and the plain obnoxious. It’s win-win.

I'm having a problem getting excited about my knitting. I want to cast on for new projects, but I'm having a hard time deciding what to start. I'm trying instead to faithfully finish everything I've started, and it's slowly coming together, but I'm ready for a new love, too.

I’m picking away, very slowly, at a shawl.

This is Ene’s Scarf from Scarf Style. The yarn is Kaalund Classic Two in “bushfire”. I have two skeins, and I’m nearly through the first one, but just over half way done with the pattern.

Another slow moving project is a pair of socks. This is a particularly slow, fiddly project that I used to work on during my commute, but since I'm commuting less, it's gotten a little stalled. I have the first one done, and I'm past the heel flap on the second.

Pomatomus Socks by Cookie A. I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in "Black Purl"

So, I wanted to show all the Christmas knitting I did last year. I had the brilliant idea to make knitted items for my mom, my sisters, and my in-laws, as well as for Walker. I started early in 2007, making socks first for Walker's mom. I found a yarn that seemed just right--colorful and fun. The first ones started and finished.

Pattern: Spey Valley by Nancy Bush from Knitting On The Road Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Gold Hill, 2 skeins Worked on 2.25 mm needles from the top down.

Next, I tried some different things for Mom. I finally settled on some cozy socks for hanging around the house.

Pattern: Heelless Sleeping Socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting Vintage Socks Yarn: Cider Moon Flurry in Hocus Crocus, 1 skein Worked on 2.75 mm needles from the top down.

The third pair of socks was for Walker's dad. The only problems I had was resizing the pattern to a men's size, as most of the sock patterns in books tend to get sized for ladies.