Another View of the Bacchus Socks

Bacchus Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Bacchus Socks

Bacchus Sock
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

A picture from a funny angle, but I wanted to fully capture the bobble action. These are quite possibly my most favorite socks that I have ever knit. Knit out of Socks that Rock Mossay on 2 Addi Turbo Size 1. I love love love these socks! The pattern, the yarn, the bobbles, maybe I should stop knitting socks now :)

mustard yellow

bought some 24-karat STR, not mustardy enough!

i have never bought any sundara

how weird is that? I think I may sign up for one of their collections next time they have one because the pictures look oh so irresistible.

maybe they will also encourage me to knit other things besides socks!

sunstone socks

These are my most recent pair of socks. The Knotty and Knice Socks from the Fall 2008 IK. The yarn is STR lightweight in Sunstone. The pattern went surprisingly quickly considering that I am now a master of cabling without a cable needle. I think I was playing it on the risky side with the yardage as I barely had any yarn left. I am currently knitting the Bacchus Socks from the same IK. The Fall IK had two really great sock patterns, when I saw them I knew that I had to knit them. (The orange of the sunstone is not quite so bright, I think the flash of the camera is making them look brighter than they actually are.)

women in theory socks

I knit these socks on the way to the Women in Theory workshop way back in June. I like socks that rock and I like the baby cable rib pattern from Sensational knitted socks, but I hate the way these pooled! Oh well, they will be warm to sleep in. The yarn is STR Chapman Springs Lightweight.

India Socks

I knit these in India. My first and only Claudia Hand Painted. I really like Claudia Hand Painted. It's a tad more expensive than STR, but it just looks so beautiful knit up! I'm not sure how exactly to describe the fact that they are different from STR. Maybe the stitch definition is sharper and the lighter colors in the handpainting pop a little more. The pattern is the Anastasia Socks which can be found on ravelry.

Some socks!

I knitted these in Italy on the numerous train rides we took. My first Silkie Socks that Rock, maybe my last! I don't like the fact that the different strands are different colors. This colorway is Eggplanted. The pattern is one of the simple rib patterns from Sensational Knitted Socks.

sweaters...

I feel like knitting a sweater, but I don't feel like blocking and I don't feel like seaming, gosh I'm picky aren't I? I think that rules out 95% of all nice looking sweater patterns!

Happy Birthday to me!

I recently got some STR in the mail -- I guess it was a birthday present from myself to myself. Anyway, I got some Lightweight and then I thought I would try a skein of Silkie Socks that Rock. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about this yarn. It's a bit weird because (I don't know how to explain this but I will try) it's like two ply but its very obvious that it's two ply because the different plies aren't the same color. It's definitely very soft, but I think any pattern would be totally obscured by this weird ply thing so I will knit it up in regular stockinette.

Monkey Sock

Monkey Sock
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I only have one of these done so far and I knitted them while procrastinating studying for my exam. I like the monkey pattern a lot. This is my second time knitting the pattern (maybe I will take a break from the pattern after the second sock is done). Yarn is socks that rock Carbon.

Yarn Over Cable Socks

Yarn Over Cable
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I'm finally posting some pictures... I'm so bored of studying for my exam (which I'm going to fail). This is the yarn over cable pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks in Socks that Rock Henpecked. They are fun :)

One skein of Koigu?

I wonder what to do with one skein of koigu. I have three single skeins... it's weird I bought two as a pair and suppposedly they have the same dye lot which was suspicious looking at the hank... but after winding its apparent that they are not from the same dyelot. (The other is leftover from a shawl I made my mom...). I know that I can match each skein to a solid color and do a pair of socks with toe, heel, and ribbing in a different color but that would involve purchasing 6 more skeins of yarn which I don't really want to do esp since Koigu is so expensive.

I wonder if one skein is enough for a pair of fingerless gloves?

Or I suppose I could knit every two rows for the two skeins that are approximately the same color but that's kind of a pain with the heel and the toe...

You know it's a good day when...

you get yarn in the mail!



I didn't realize that the cotton glace I ordered would be fluorescent orange. I thought it would be a pale orange. I wonder what I should do with this... I like all the other colors that I ordered, I think the Mission Falls Cotton in Fennel might be my favorite. But the pale purple and deep orange Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece are also very nice.

IK Summer 2008!

So excited that the preview is out! I have my eye on the folded cowl tee and the apres surf hoodie. I guess the rest of the patterns are trying to tell me that I need to learn how to fair-isle!

I just ordered a bunch of yarn!

I ordered 14 skeins of Mission Falls Cotton 1824 (in Fennel) to knit the Dovetail Pullover from IK Spring 2008, 3 skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (in Orange) to knit the Rusted Root top from Zephyr Style, 3 skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (in Light Purple) to knit the Green Gable top from Zephyr Style and 6 skeins of Rowan Cotton Glace (in a Light Orange color) to knit a Knitting Pure and Simple fitted T-shirt! And I got a really good deal on it all since I ordered from Webs! And I'm super excited about the colors! It's so weird, I haven't knit with cotton yet so it's going to be my first few experiences knitting with cotton and cotton blends.

IK Summer 2008?

I wonder when the IK Summer 2008 preview will be posted. Should be soon right? I can't wait to see what fun patterns they have! I have no life. All day I dream about what I am going to knit!

Multi-directional Diagonal Scarf

Multi-directional Diagonal Scarf
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

And finally the last post of today -- this I finished sometime in January. I had been wanting to do this pattern again so I did it and now I'm going to retire it for a bit :) It's knit with Art Yarns handpaint stripes.

Currently I'm knitting the Lace Ribbon Scarf from the most recent issue of knitty. It's kind of slow knit for a scarf because its on US 3 needles, but I think it's going to look really nice when it's done. I like it because I get to try Alpaca Sox which I really really like!

Lady Godiva Drop Stitch Scarf

Lady Godiva Drop Stitch Scarf
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I love Lady Godiva! It is heavenly! It may quite possibly be the best yarn ever. This scarf was a super fast knit and I love the color. It may be kind of delicate for a scarf but of course feels great around the neck.

Argosy

Argosy
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

This is another scarf that I finished not too long ago, made out of Noro Silk Garden Lite. The pattern is from Knitty and was pretty fun. I didn't realize just how colorful the scarf would be, perhaps too colorful to wear? My friend Lolo says it can be my gay pride flag, ha! Anyway, I think it could use some blocking!

Karaoke Cable Scarf

Karaoke Cable Scarf
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I said that 2008 was going to be year of the sweater, but I think it might be the year of the scarf. I've been into braindead knitting lately so I guess scarves are the most braindead of all and they are a fun and short way to try a new fiber. I really enjoyed this project because I got to try Karaoke (half wool, half soysilk - no, not soy milk) and I learned how to cable without a cable needle (it actually goes pretty quickly when you get used to it). This scarf is so fun and happy to wear, I've been wearing it a lot in this Boston spring weather. Probably not good for the winter since the scarf is pretty thin like a rope!

for my next scarf

I'd like to work with soysilk or bamboo (does bamboo make for a nice dress scarf?), because I haven't worked with either of these materials.

I'm knitting the Karaoke Cable Scarf

and it's so much fun! Part of why it's cool is that I get to work with a new yarn (SWTC Karaoke which is half wool, half soysilk and 100% heavenly!). I think that I'm going to try knitting with pure soysilk at some point too, probably another scarf such as the Dayflower scarf. It's also really cool because I learned how to cable without a cable needle and it's not nearly as complicated as Grumperina's tutorial looks. The striping of the Karaoke is also really awesome, the scarf is going to be SO pretty, I will wear it with pride! Who would have thought knitting a scarf could be so fun? I think that knitting scarves can be useful to test out a new fabric or a new technique, because it's small, goes quickly and there's not a lot of committment involved.

I just got some Lady Godiva (in the Peridot colorway - so awesome!) and some Noro Silk Garden Lite (for the Argosy), so more scarves may be in my future!

I guess I'm totally into the brainless knitting these days because I've been working really hard and been kind of exhausted lately!

noro squares take 2

noro squares take 2
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

These things knit up so quickly -- I'm done with the second pair. I'm so amazed at how two squares that come from the same skein look NOTHING alike. Knitting the squares is more fun and less boring than I thought partly because the noro is so colorful, has an interesting texture that goes from thick to thin (much like Manos), I like the double decrease and the way you end up knitting two sides of a square in one row.

First two Noro Squares

Noro Squares
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Can you believe that these two squares are from the same skein. In case you were wondering what colorway it is, it is 180.

Noro Kureyon

Noro Kureyon
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

This will soon become a blanket! Two skeins are missing...

I am knitting Noro Squared

I just started knitting Noro Squared. I recently bought 12 balls of Noro Kureyon for the project and so far, I've been through one ball. One ball = two squares. I think the project is going to be really not fun to sew up, but it will be cool nonetheless. I like Noro although people say that it is really rough. The colors are so bright that its interesting to see how the stripe-age will occur. Maybe after this if I'm not sick of blankets and squares, I will do lizard ridge!

Should I knit a scarf soon?

Browsing the popular patterns on Ravelry has made me a little more excited about knitting scarves. I don't typically like knitting these because they can be kind of boring and I already have a lot. You can never have too many socks, but you can have too many scarves!

But anyway, I think I may knit a scarf in the near future. I really want to knit the karaoke cable scarf that was posted on kpixie because then I get to try out SWTC Karaoke and I've never worked with soy silk before, which could be very interesting. Other possibilities for scarvjes include the Dayflower Scarf (what yarn? something silky?) and Argosy (is Silk Garden Lite nice?).

Other things that I have thought about but won't do immediately are: the Drop Stitch Scarf and the Montego Bay Scarf (IK Summer 2007). Probably those patterns are good from the perspective that they let you work with Lady Godiva and SeaSilk respectively.

Baudelaire Socks are finished!

I finished them the day we submitted our paper since my mind was so numb to do anything else. Then I cast-on with STR henpecked (lightweight) and am knitting the Yarn-Over Cable from Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm happy that I'm reducing my sock yarn stash!

IK Spring 08

I got my issue of IK in the mail and honestly I'm not sure I like a lot of the patterns. What's this issues obsession with reverse stockinette stitch? It looks kind of flea market to me. I did like the La Luz cardigan however it is going to be extremely expensive to make. I do like the Slyph Cardigan but I wonder if it will look funny on me since it is a bit of a strange design. I probably won't knit this actually since I have two sweaters to get to first. I did like the stoles in this months issue however, I wish they were knit as once piece rather than knit as two pieces and then grafted together. This can get kind of messy with lace...

Karaoke Blanket

I'm thinking of making this blanket with SWTC Karaoke:

http://www.canknit.com/free/ns.html

I would need 12 skeins of Karaoke to make a 4 by 6 blanket. I could order it from Webs so that I get a 20% discount, but it will still be kind of expensive and perhaps I've spent too much money on yarn these days. Also, it may be a pain in the butt to graft the 24 squares together. But it looks so cool! Like an optical illusion. And I have never worked with SoySilk before. And the pattern is easy to remember and the squares are portable.

Go With The Flow Socks

Go With The Flow Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I am also working on the second sock in this pair (on my dpns, the others are on my addi turbos). These are top down and I just finished the leg on the second pair so maybe I will also finish these by the end of the month! This is also Koigu and I really love the colorway... There is nothing that I love more in the world than Koigu!

Baudelaire

Baudelaire
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I just finished the heel of these socks (these socks are toe-up), so I guess I'm pretty close to being done. This is a pretty easy pattern to remember and but the leg uses a cable needle and I don't know how to cable without a cable needle. I'll probably finish these by the end of the month!

Springgrass Socks

Springgrass Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I finished these sometime in January with the bulk of the knitting done during my family vacation in Vegas. I love Koigu and the colorway, but I only wore these once and they were pilling/felting :(

Wheat Ear Cable Yoke

Wheat Ear Cable Yoke
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I started my Wheat Ear Cable Yoke and there was a knot in one of the balls of yarn. It's bugging me because its making the knitting look not smooth. I'm wondering if I should frog it and redo. What do you think?

sweater yarns

sweater yarns
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I love the days where I get yarn in the mail. Of course, I ignore the fact that I paid for it! I was really happy with the price that I got for this yarn. I got it at 25% off so it was a really good deal in my opinion. Got to love Webs. I got the mauve Tahki Torino for the Wheat Ear Cable Yoke and the Berroco Peruvia for the Tilted Duster. I'm not sure I like the color of the Tahki Torino as much as I thought I would. It's darker and not as bright as I thought it would be. I like the Berroco Peruvia quite a bit. I think the color is nice and the texture of the yarn is really nice. I think I may start one of these at Katie's knitting group.

I restarted the Artic Diamonds Stole

While it's a nice pattern and looks nice and isn't boring, I find myself dropping stitches a lot because of the loose nature of lace. I wonder if I'm just out of practice when it comes to knitting lace. The frustrating thing is because it's lace I can always figure out how to pick up stitches so that it looks exactly the way it's supposed to. Oh well, hopefully no one will look closely.

Knitty Socks

In this season's Knitty, I noticed the Azure socks (these look so awesome!) and the Lighthouse Gansey Socks (I'm not sure I've seen anything like them before!).

I need to start using my self-striping sock yarn but I'm not really in the mood to knit a plain sock. Maybe I will knit a Broadripple using my self-striping sock yarn because I don't feel like doing a Jaywalker again. I think SKS also has a few patterns for self-striping sock yarn.

Multi-Directional Diagonal Scarf

I'm making a multi-directional scarf for myself out of Artyarns HandPaint Stripes because I loved the pattern when I knit it for Esha and I love Artyarns Merino. I like it because it's a really fast knit. It feels a lot faster than knitting socks!

Waving Lace Socks Take 2

Waving Lace Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Another look at the Waving Lace Socks with Anchal in the background.

Waving Lace Socks

Waving Lace Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Again a sock I finished last year but am uploading now. I think I finished it during one of the numerous snow storms in December. Maybe not the best picture, but I really like this pattern. Perhaps the colorful colorway obscures the pattern. I will probably knit this pattern again in a solid colorway to see what kind of effect it has in a solid colorway. This is also an example of a pattern that looks complicated but is easy to remember.

CTH is AWESOME!!! I love it almost as much as Koigu.

I have two socks in progress right now: Springgrass socks in purplish Koigu and Go with the Flow socks in brownish Koigu. In both I have one sock done and am working on the second one. I started these on the Las Vegas trip and got a lot done in a short while!

Jaywalkers

Jaywalkers
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Do you love my Jaywalkers? I do. I also finished them last year but am posting them to my blog now. They took a really really long time to finish. I must have started them in March of '07 and finished them late November '07. I finished them over the Thanksgiving break with the travel. I like how the toe is really short and the leg is really long. They are knit out of LL tuscany so they are a really fine knit and fabulous!

Check out tyra banks in the background. ANTM was on in the background!

Monkey Socks

Monkey Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I finished these last year, but I'm finally getting around to posting them. I loved this pattern, it was so easy to remember, looks nice, and was fun to knit up. I love these socks, they feel great on. Of course they took a really long time to knit since the yarn is so fine. It probably took 3 months or so to finish knitting them... I will deifnitely knit the Monkey pattern again. Cookie is genius!

Monkey socks in an almost solid color?

I'm thinking of knitting the Monkey socks again in this beige-y brown color (my other skein of Fleece Artist Merino), because I love the pattern and I like the size of how the other pair turned out. The only thing is I wonder if the Monkey socks will look good in an almost solid color... can't hurt to try I suppose!

2008 is the year of the sweater

Things I have my eye on are: the Titled Duster from IK Fall 2007, the Wheat-Ear Cable Yoke from IK Summer 2007 and the Refined Aran Jacket from IK Winter 2007 (though this may be too short for me).

Lotus Blossom Tank

I'm finally going to knit the lotus blossom tank in Fiery Red. I'm excited since I've never worked with Bamboo before, it's not a very expensive project, and hopefully it will look fab when it's done.

Knitting in the New Year!

My knitting new year's resolutions are to knit more things besides socks and to go to Katie's knitting club at least once in a while! Perhaps I should finish that Knitting Pure and Simple sweater I started because god knows that yarn wasn't cheap. I also have yarn for the Artic Diamonds Stole that I could also do at the knitting group... I think that's a really fun project since I love lace! I also must finish my second "fetching". I should also knit more fingerless gloves... ok, i should stop this post right now! ha.

I am also going to learn to fair-isle knit at some point or another in my lifetime.