but i'm making significant progress. husband is eagerly waiting to wear this pair of socks.

also, i can't wait to start a new pair of socks for myself. how about the long neglected norwegian stockings? i think so, too.

Posted by blossom at 06:11 PM | Comments (15)

can you see the little beads here? they are glass beads from japan. i found them in this little bead shop in helena, alabama. they matched the smoky kidsilk haze pretty well. the only thing about knitting with beads is that you need to push the beads down to pull the threads constantly. it was a tempting entertainment for my cats, they were totally psyched.

my second attempt to make butterfly was definitely a lot better than the tragic first. my progress is much more advanced than the above photo. still, i think the hem is the best part of this whole garment, and the most time-consuming. i intend to find a midnight blue silk cami to layer with butterfly, with black taxedo pants and skinny heels, it should look appropriately chic for a night out in fall.

how about this grey wool socks? nancy bush's railway socks for husband. he totally loves this, especially the striped heels. socktoberfest is still happening here.

Posted by blossom at 11:04 AM | Comments (22)

why should it matter?

railway socks from nancy bush's "vintage socks"

our house is in a complete mess, i could not even find a calm place to knit, or sew. boxes are on top of each other, cats are in the boxes... where is my shirt? my shoes?

i wanted to use this yarn, sisu superwash wool that was retired from this, to knit my husband another pair of socks and had started this project a few weeks ago. charcoal is his favorite color. it looks really lovely and banana republic-ish. railway pattern is an alternate of knit and purl in various combinations. subtly sophisticated. but, can you see the pattern?

so subtle, you can't even tell. oh well.

i do love this pattern though, and will continue as is. maybe by the fall, husband will have yet another pair of handknit socks.

Posted by blossom at 10:35 PM | Comments (12)

potter, put your feet down!

knit project: gryffindor socks for husband
difficulty (1-5): 1.2
size: men's medium (64 stitches, long tail cast on)
yarn: dani's sunshine yarns in gryffindor
knitting specs: US 2 cir.

we are all fascinated by the world of harry potter; his friends, enemies and the hogwarts school of wizardry and witchcraft. last week, we saw the latest potter film and were totally in love with it. surprisingly, i found myself loving the less important characters more... like, hermione (my absolute favorite) and the weasley twins (totally hilarious)!

as we hogwarts groupies, the only thing we can do to satisfy ourselves is to make some knock-off harry potter costumes and imagine what it would be like to go to the interesting wizard schools than the boring grammar or high schools. so, over the thanksgiving weekend, i made a pair of gryffindor socks out of dani's house special, hand-painted self striping sock yarn for my husband. it turned out just perfect!

to accommodate for the size, i casted on 64 stitches and knitted the 1X1 ribbing using US3 needles, when i hit the first yellow stripes, i switched to US2 and continued on for the rest of the socks. they fit wonderfully. i also cut out the yellow sections for the heel to maintain the stripes. a brilliant slight modification copycated from alison. oh, i asked the husband if he wanted a short-row heel or a slip-stitched heel (not that he really knew what i was talking about), he picked the slip-stitched heel as, he said, he might have to fight dragons one day, a sturdier heel would be better. yeah... whatever.

it took me less than one week to finish this pair of socks. a record success for me. i think it was the magic. or, the magic loop on addi turbo's. whichever one you want to believe in is fine with me!

the feet of an aspiring sock model/wizard wannabe, aka, my husband

Posted by blossom at 03:23 PM | Comments (30)

i think november is probably my favorite month of the year. the weather is really starting to get cold and the house is smelling warm and cozy. come second week of the month, my mind is no longer at work anymore, but mentally planning holiday meals. and honestly, i think my working attitude ends right before thanksgiving and it lasts all the way till the new year. how awful is that?

ever since i came to the states i fell in love with thanksgiving almost instantly. coming from a culture rich with culinary arts and fine eats, i was a little disappointed to find that many american families eat processed food on a regular basis. but, during the thanksgiving season, i get to experience the joy of many families preparing a home made meal. i cooked turkey many times already, and usually not just for thanksgiving, but christmas, too! i just love the smell of the cooking turkey in my house.

before i gone totally absorbed in the holiday food, i am showing you this pair of masculine looking footlets i made over the weekend for my husband (as he is now completely in love with handknit footwear!). he loves it, of course, who wouldn't love koigu kersti yarns? i based the construction off alison's ankle socks, it was an easy, gratifying project. also, it is a perfect thing to wear in front of the fireplace while watching movies and having some hot chocolate.

my next sock project will be for me. i know i have been saying that for a while but only now, after knitted for friends, families and husband, i can relaxed and knit a pair completely guilt free. and i'll start off with the handspun yarns from my SP, mac. bet she'd love to see that!

knit project: koigu kersti footlets for husband
difficulty (1-5): 1.2
size: men's medium (44 stitches, long tail cast on)
yarn: koigu's kersti in K315 (less than 2 skeins)
knitting specs: US 7 dpn

Posted by blossom at 12:35 PM | Comments (21)

non-matching opal stripes, evidence of true handknit socks

not until the first sock was completed, he tried it on had i realized that making socks can be quite a laborious and patient deflating journey. so he put on the sock, wiggled his toes, he said "hmm... a little tight! can you make it a bit longer, and also, can this toe part be a little wider? i like my toes have rooms to move."

ok, all those modifications can be done. but i was so relieved to have finish one sock and knowing that i had to re-knit the toes was not the most pleasing things to my ear. but i knew that had to be done as what is the point of making a pair of socks if the person is not going to wear them.

the sock making was not the fastest nor the most enjoyable as i was not sure if i would be knitting socks on a regular basis so i just bought some cheap inox US1 needles to start with. these needles are not ideal for sock making, the cable joints are nothing but rough. i thought i could ignored this and kept going, which i did, but the knitting was really not fun.

so this past week, i slaved through the socks, after four (yes, four) modifications on the toes, the socks are done, done and done.

i was so relieved, now i can rest. the best though, a brownie point for listening as here are some words from the recipient (aka husband):

no, they are my husband's feet. not daffy's

"finally!

after much anticipation, i finally received my 100% completely tailor made...foot gloves! i love them! they fit wonderfully! i don't want to take them off! i can't wait to wear them out where they can be noticed and made the subject of conversation. i really didn't realize how poorly other socks fit until i put these on. Hmmmm....i may have to ask for more."

do i hear "harry potter" socks?

Posted by blossom at 11:00 AM | Comments (23)

father's day socks

knit project: ribbed socks for father's day
difficulty (1-5): 1.5
size: man's small (60 stitches, long tail cast on)
yarn: brown sheep's wildfoote luxury sock yarn in zane grey (SY36)
knitting specs: 2 X US 2 cir.

i know the father's day in the states is long gone, but my dad lives in australia, so, i'm actually ahead of the game for this one! oh, i'm actually quite happy with this ribbed socks! i wanted to knit a pair for my dad that is simple, comfortable, that he will actually wear it! so, i opted for a straight forward pattern! since there's nothing exciting about the style, i chose brown sheep's wildfoote sock yarn to add to the attraction.

the result: a pair of every day socks with understated colors, wearable and comfortable. that's why it actually stays on my feet longer than it should.

green self-patterned sock, can this be more interesting?

this will be my first try with the self-patterend yarn. i have to say, i quite like it! it keeps the knitting interesting, and the opal yarn is lovely! after seeing the socks for my dad, husband also wanted a ribbed pair (hmm!!), so i am hoping the self-patterned will keep me interested and i'll be able to finish this pair before the winter comes.

ok, now, a depressing and shocking news! i was ready to pack the yoked baby cardigan for friends last night, and guess what i found? a pink stain on the cream color yarn! what is the deal? i was so mad (emotionally and possibly psychologically) and i showed this to my husband, to verify my visual observation. he looked at it and said: yeah, a pink stain, you're not hallucinating!

now, before any knitting begins this weekend, i'm going to attempt the stain removal process. i guess i had used the same tub to wash my red wave skirt, and some residual pink water had sneaked its way onto the baby cardi. so, though i was mad, i knew it had something to do with my goofiness. so it shows.

pink stain. oh it's there!!

Posted by blossom at 10:14 AM | Comments (8)