Not so black Blackroses

Actually, "black" is the furthest from accurate description you could give these socks.

Pattern: Blackrose Socks, Knitty winter 08-09
Yarn: Knit one, crochet too, Ty-Dy in color 1574
Needles: US0, Knit Picks classic circs
Notes: I had a great time knitting these socks! even though they are in the "Knitty spin" section of Knitty, commercial yarn works just fine, imho. I knit them as written - with the lace panels different on each sock, except for the heels. I did my trusty short row heel - it just seams to fit me better.

The yarn looks great, and as usual, I love waiting for the next stripe. I am easy to please, I guess. My only caution would be the splitty factor. It could be because I was using super pointy needles, but I think that was a small part (if a part if all). The splits didn't prevent me from loving the yarn and the knitting of said yarn, but I did have to pay attention more.

I do think it is funny that the stripes almost line up exactly opposite each other. I couldn't have done that if I tried.

I'm looking forward to wearing these! They are really soft, and fit like a glove. Hopefully they wear well. Oh, and they are my January Socktopia submission!

All Hail Mr. Ship!

Things have been a little busy around chez' Costumechick this last week. I finished my July Socktopia socks 4 days ago, and still haven't posted about them! I either need to get my ass in gear, or I need to make more hours in the day. Either will work, but the "more hours in a day thing" in more likely, at this point. So, this morning, I'm stealing some Charlie time to post on my blog. You guys are do lucky. You rank above Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That says something...
First, some back story...
My Little Brother is a "type A" personality, "go-getter", "super human" type of guy. I say that because we are cut from the same cloth. (ah, a little plug for the awesomeness of Costumechick. :) ) He is 11 years younger than me, but we compete with each other like we are twins. Which has the higher IQ (me, for the record), which has more awards(him- he's a kiss ass), who had harder college courses (probably a push, but we both think our major was harder), which political party is better (he has no ground to stand on), and on and on and on and on.... But, I love him to death, and when he called me to tell me he own the "Mr. Ship" contest, I said, "the what?".

Name: Mr. Ship 2007 Socks
Pattern: My own toe up with a little color work.
Yarn: Regia Nation Color, #5396, 2 balls
Needles: Knitpicks classic circs, size 0 and 1.
Notes: "Mr. Ship" is chosen during a charity fundraising pageant at Shippensburg University each year. the contestants raise money while campaigning for themselves on campus. As a freshman my brother won "Audience Choice", but not the big prize. Last year, he won. Evidently, it is odd to win as a Sophomore, but Mark is odd. I asked if he gets to cut the ribbon at car dealerships and stuff, like Miss Pennsylvania. He just looked at me. But, his reign is almost over, and I wanted to make him some commemorative socks to remind him of his days before he became a "washed up beauty queen".
Shippensburg University colors are red, white, and blue, and the Regia Nation Color was perfect! On top of being Mr. Ship, my little bro' is also a big fan of his country. (We may not agree on political issues, but at least he still believes in something, and I can respect that.) Add that to the July Socktopia theme of "patriotism", and I was set! The yarn is a bit....loud, but that's ok, Mr. Ship is not known for his shyness.

To do the fair isle portions, I used the outside of the "other" ball. That worked out well, and left very little leftovers. I did have to wind off a little from the second ball for the second sock, just to start the socks in the same place in the color pattern. I was a little nervous, but they ended up matching almost perfectly!

Overall, I think this was a very successful project. Good Socktopia theme usage, good Christmas gift, and I get to check #16 off my summer knitting goals list! All hail Mr. Ship, 2007, and his fantastic socks!

A quicky

I know what you were thinking! For shame!
I suppose it's OK. You wouldn't be surprised if my post was about *that* anyway. But it's not, so don't go getting all hot and bothered on me.
Through the wicked humidity, I've been dong some knitting!
Another two repeats on the Zetor


Some foot on Sock #2 for Socktopia

yep... looks pretty much like last week. I don't know how much I will get done this week, as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fittings start tomorrow. Cross your fingers that it all will fit, and I'll just have to do finishing touches.

Independence Day

Happy fourth, a day late, 'cause that's how I roll. I had a nice, quiet Independence Day, mostly involving the task of Oompah Loompah puppet making. Ehh. I did have some knitting time too, and managed to finish off sock #1 for Socktopia, July. The theme I went with was "patriotism", and the socks coming off the needles are my "Mr. Ship 2007 socks".

I forgot how fast plain stockinette socks are to knit! Anyway, I added a bit o' color work to personalize Mr. Ship's socks.

I plan on reversing the pattern on sock #2, so the front of the foot says 'Mr. Ship', and the back says '2007'.

Mr. Ship, for those who don't know, is my youngest brother, Mark. He won the title in a pageant at Shippensburg University. Mark is no slouch in the ego department, so he never lets us forget that we are in the presence of Mr. Ship, and loyal subjects of his "Markdom". That's my baby brother for you. Anyway, the school colors are Red White and Blue, Mark wears loud socks, and I wanted to "honor" Mr. Ship - so out came my newest project.
These are on the Summer Knitting goals list too. I'm totally rocking my list.

Socktopia, June 2008

"Some man or other must present Wall: and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall; and let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper." - Bottom, A Midsummer's Night's Dream, Act III
Socktopia this month had the theme "Midsummer's Night's Dream" included among the list. I just had to use it. Midsummer is one of those plays that as a theatre person, you can expect to do upwards of 15 times in your career, and every time you get a little more out of it. It has some inherently complicated moments to deal with - people turning into fairies, bottom turning into a Donkey, and "magic"; but it also has some sweet and funny moments that can't be ignored. One of my favorite parts of the play is the "rehearsal" scene from Act III. The "rude mechanicals" or clowns, are getting ready to rehearse Pyramus and Thisby, and are assigning roles. All of the "play with in a play" cast members are tradesmen - weavers, joiners, smiths - and poor Snug, the joiner, gets cast as "the wall" - a piece of scenery. The last time I did midsummer, the actor playing Snug was one of my favorite people from the cast. He was a joy in real life, and a joy to watch on stage. So these socks are in honor of Mr. Shakespeare and his comic genius, and Mr. JoJo Gonzolas who played the funniest wall I've ever seen.

Name: Snug's Wall Socks
Pattern: Inspired by Barbara Walker's Bricklayer's Lace
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet, color 2
Needles: Knit Picks Classic Circulars, size 0 and 1
Notes: These socks were totally a labor of love. Mostly a labor. I love the finished socks, but dang! They took me forever! The pattern wasn't really hard, but it was the kind you need to pay attention to. No Movie knitting with this one. You'd think you could make a pattern as easy as you want when you design it, but evidently, I didn't realize that when I was knitting. (But they were good beach knitting!)

I typed this pattern up after sock #1 because I was afraid I'd forget what I did when I got to sock #2. I'm glad I did because I did forget parts of it as I was going. I also figured out how to make charts on the computer, so bonus! These seemingly straight forward socks needed three charts. Deceptive socks, these are.

The yarn was chosen because of it's color. It just screamed "bricks" to me. This sock adventure was my first time using Plymouth Happy Feet. I can't speak to the wear ability yet, but I can tell you they are going to fuzz up. As I was knitting them, they were already starting to get fuzzy. I don't mind, but others might. Just mentioning it. I did like the twist and the feel of the yarn. It is soft, and it doesn't split easily. HF is on the thicker side of fingering, but not quite a sport weight yarn. I'm used to working with a slightly thinner yarn, so that took me a little while to get used to.

Over all I am very happy with my Snug's Wall Socks. I ever put a "chink" in the wall for Pyramus and Thisby to whisper through... (Do you see it?)

I'm funny, I know. Anyway, I'm working on revising the pattern for clarity, so if anyone wants to take a test drive of Snug's Wall and tell me if it is written in "knitting english" or "crazy woman", let me know.
Incidentally, these finishing these socks lets me cross off #15 on my Summer Knitting Goals List!! WOOT! And they count towards Lace 2008, as they are, well, lace.

April is here!

Now, get WARM! GO! sigh.

Those readers that have been around for a while know that last year I participated in Socktopia. Socktopia was great fun. You knit a pair of socks based on themes chosen by the group moderator. Prizes were given away, free patterns made their way in, lots of fun stuff. Early this year the group founder and moderator, MommaMonkey passed away due to Lupus complications. Most of the loyal Socktopia peeps thought this was the end of our beloved event. Not so! A couple members made a Ravelry group and continued the adventure, with Momma's family's consent. I joined up again on Ravelry, and if any of the other Ravelers are interested, come on over! The rules about starting a pair, and finishing the pair in the same month have been relaxed, so it is totally non-pressure. join me! You know you want to!

This month's themes are:

April Showers (an original Socktopia theme in honor of Gigi)
Trees and Rocks (both Earth and Arbour Day land in April)
Hans Christian Andersen (born in April and wrote a story which mentions darning socks)
All that glitters is gold (Gold was discovered in the Yukon on April 4th, 1896)

I have some ideas.... And I'm leaning towards this yarn:


Also, I'm making progress on my zippery sweater! Only 3/4 of a sleeve to go!

Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble

Socktopia October is complete! I finished my entry on Saturday night, but just got around to post about it. With Rhinebeck to post about, it kinda came in second on my "to post" list.

Stats:
Pattern: "Trouble" by, me.
Yarn: Filitura De Crosa, Maxime in color 15
Needles: KP classic circs, size 1
Notes: I chose the theme "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble", because of both it's theatre theme, and because the recipient is a witch. (She is also a knitter that happens to dislike making socks. Wearing yes, knitting no.) I chose the color because it reminds me of "witch's brew", and if you wore the socks in black shoes, it wold look like brew bubbling out of a cauldron.

The socks are done toe up so I could steadily increase the amount of "bubbles" as i went up the leg, and well, I like toe up socks. I ended with a picot bind off, mostly because I don't use it often, and artly because I reminded me of the foam on top of a bubbling pot.

When I started these socks, I was pretty jazzed about them. I like them, now that I am done, but I didn't have very much fun knitting them. I got bored somewhere along the way, and had to really prod myself to work on them. But, I did. they are done. Ready to be gifted.

Cockelshells

September Socktopia brought us Nursery rhymes as themes. I choose to use "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary". I've always loved this rhyme. I have a very clear picture in my head of the drawing from a book. Somehow, I decided that the drawing was the outside of my Grandma's house. My Grandma was not a gardener. (at least not the kind of gardener that would grow a garden like in the rhyme) But, for some reason, it still reminds me of my Grandma, and I've picked it for my theme choice.
In case you are unfamiliar with this rhyme, here it is:
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle-shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.
Now, lots of people think that this rhyme is in reference to Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary), and her anti-protestant, torturing ways. I suppose it could be true, just like the "Ring around the Rosy" rhyme may be referring to the plague. I'm sure I don't know if this is so, after all- they could just be rhymes. What I do know, is that nursery rhymes have staying power. They are reprinted endlessly, and it is like kids are born knowing them. They spark imagination, storytelling and creativity. And for some reason, "Mary, Mary" is one of my favorites.
So with out further ado, here are my socks:

stats:
Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Interweave Knits, Favorite Socks
Yarn: Crystal Palace Maizey Solid, Pink
Needles: Knit Picks Fixed Circulars, size 0
Notes: I shortened the length by 8 rows to make them fit my Mom's wee size 6 feet, aside from that, no mods. I chose the Embossed Leaves pattern because of the striking resemblance to Cockleshells.


The color is pretty good too! I really enjoyed working with Maizey. I was unsure if I'd like the feeling of it, as it is mostly Corn Fiber (82%), but I was pleasantly surprised. It is soft, the elastic content keeps it springy, and it has a subtle shine. Overall, a very nice knitting experience.

Welcome to September

No back to school for me, but, instead, back to work. poo. I work all summer, but we really Gear up in the fall. Right now we are working on a brand new play, and it is hellish. rewrites, picky-ness, crabby director. blech. we all need naps.
I suppose nothing can be easy.
Do you remember when fall and "back to school" meant buying new clothes? I always got at least one outfit. I had to go through my closet and try stuff on. If it didn't fit anymore, it was handed down to my cousin. I wish I still got a back to school wardrobe. I always looked forward to wearing my new outfit on the first day, but rarely was it "cool" out. I always - or was always encouraged to -buy "fall clothes" so I was dressed too warmly for the first day. My school didn't have air conditioning, so, well you can imagine. Now, I love the summer and hate the cold. except when I want to wear my fall clothes. I'm impatient.
This September also is bringing about a new Socktopia Challenge. Our themes are all nursery rhymes!
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Eany Meeny Miny Moe
The Farmer in the Dell
Jack and Jill went up a hill…
Mary Mary, Quite Contrary
I picked my favorite - Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. I've always loved this rhyme. I have a very clear picture in my head of the drawing from a book. Somehow, I decided that the drawing was the outside of my Grandma's house. My Grandma was not a gardener. (at least not the kind of gardener that would grow a garden like in the rhyme) But, for some reason, it still reminds me of my Grandma, and I've picked it for my theme choice.
I decided to use my "maizy" yarn, and the "Embossed Leaves" pattern form IK Favorite Socks. I plan to give them to my Mom for her birthday.

Aren't they cute so far?