A Square for Stitch Marker; Lucia Socks; More Knitterly Gifts; Contest Prizes Update

A Square for Stitch Marker


Knitting a square is really a pleasant delight after fudging with socks for so long. There's something delicate and surprising yet ordinary and extraordinary about a knitted square. This square was made for Stitch Marker's Test- Along KAL. I followed her pattern exactly using Knit Picks Sock Garden in the Daffodil colorway (discontinued). As you all may know, I absolutely adore this colorway for the childhood memories it evokes. This yarn was left over from my Jaywalkers and was enough to make this square. I was cutting it close: I only had a few inches left! Participants were asked to block to 7 inches, but this yarn would have blocked to 7.5 or 8 inches quite easily.

Lucia Socks


Dear Lucia,

I finished your socks. I made them over my winter break, which helped me to get them done quickly. Usually, with work and that thing called a prospectus, well, socks don't get churned out quite this quickly. Here are the specs for your socks:

Lucia Socks:
Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura 1602 (75% wool, 25% bamboo, no synthetics). (I know that I might have mentioned before that this yarn was not as soft as Regia Bamboo, but it really is soft and has a nice sheen to it.)
Pattern: Astrid's Twirls (modifications: decreased to 68 stitches after gusset)
Timeline: Begun on January 11 and finished on January 21

Don't worry about the tops of the socks looking too skinny--they are very stretchy. Now get over here so I can give them to you!

Love,
the Lone Knitter

More Knitterly Gifts

It's a good thing, a very good thing that I'm on a yarn diet. Every year, Manfeet's family does a little Kris Kringle gift exchange. This year, one of his sisters had me, and since I was away in Texas for the holidays, I got my gifts this weekend. I was really spoiled. She got me some nice clothes, three Roland Barthes books, a movie I've been wanting, and lots of knitterly goodness.

What you're seeing are four sock yarns. From left to right, they are Jitterbug in Toscana, the Great Adirondack Yarn Company's Soxie in Maple Leaf, Soxie in Spring Garden, and Jitterbug in Blue Parrot. Manfeet's sister kept saying that if I didn't like these yarns that I could return them. I told her that I loved them, loved them. What I wanted to say was that not even a pack of bears could get me to part with this yarn.

She also got me Sensational Knitted Socks, Not Tonight Darling, I'm Knitting (although the version I have features a funnier cover than the one linked here), and the 2007 Stitch 'N Bitch Knitter's Calendar. Lots of fun stuff to read through. I almost bought the calendar for myself, so it was a nice surprise.

Contest Prizes Update

Mom J assembled lots of prizes for the blanket drive contest. I'm listing them here in no particular order.

- TEN balls of Lane Borgosesia Merinos Extra Fine (100% merino) in color 33 (pink). These were donated by Susan Cahn and Harriet Shafran over at Knit-a-Bit in Westfield, New Jersey. Thank you, Knit-a-Bit!
- Two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport in the Watercolor colorway, accompanied by The Sock Journal: Knit the Year in Socks.
- Two skeins of Lamb's Pride worsted in Creme, accompanied by Traditional Aran Knitting.
- Big-Needle Knit Afghans.
- Knitting Journal, a really cool way to keep pictures of your finished objects, ballbands, patterns and pattern variations, notes, and sample yarns organized.
- A fabulous yarn caddy for keeping all those balls of yarn in place when you're using more than one ball at a time.

And, of course, a ball of Trekking 126 will be given away at the end of the contest. For January, the prize is a copy of Knitting for Peace.

Keep your squares, blankets, afghans rolling. Mom J and I are so excited about this drive and contest.

Yours,
the Lone Knitter