It's definitely been a month since my last post. January came in like a cyclone and turned my entire world upside-down! Between being victimized by bank fraud and credit card fraud and having my business financially paralyzed for the first three weeks of the year, I've not really had either the time or the inclination to say nice things on or about the Internet. But that's all done with and February is finally here. Hooray!
Since stress requires coping knitting, I do have a finished object or two to show off. First, I finally finished the behemoth Dawg blanket (1.7 miles of bulky weight yarn!), complete with embroidered lettering:
I think this will be my last afghan for years to come. Lesson learned: if you are going to embroider a knit blanket, acrylic is the last fiber that you want to interact with. What a slippery nightmare!
Just in time for my birthday, my Aunt Bee socks were finished. In my excitement to cast on with this new colorway, I didn't take the time to start both socks as the same point in the dye pattern, and I probably should have increased my stitches. (I used a US 2 with 64 stitches and probably should have gone with 72 to accommodate the needle size.) These pretty socks are a bit snug at first wear, but will hopefully loosen a bit with washing. I did a simple rib pattern with these and tried a new heel that I had never attempted before, the garter stitch short row heel. It was super simple and fast, but I am not fond of the little hole left on one side of each sock and will definitely have to make some changes to the pattern that I used if I knit this type of heel again.
In Etsy shop news, there's going to be a new sock yarn in the shop beginning February 18th: PACA TOES! Paca Toes is a 60% alpaca/25% wool/3% angora/12% nylon blend that is a bit heavier than Rocket Sock and a wee bit fuzzy. I've been working up some cabled socks in it and absolutely love it! Unlike Alpaca Sox from Classic Elite, the plies of my yarn do not separate as you knit them. I thought I would lose my mind knitting with Alpaca Sox and was sure that there had to be a supplier out there who could offer me a better grade of yarn and a better knitting experience. AND I FOUND IT! This is definitely a girly sock blend, perfect for people who enjoy a little heavier weight and warmth to their socks than traditional superwash merino. The colorways are still under consideration, but the test knit looks like this:
Of course, I've been working on a few other things during the month of January, like PACA BITZ, a smaller skein of pre-wound baby alpaca that is perfect for small projects like mittens and gloves and baby wear. Arriving around February 20th will be four new colorways of Rocket Sock, too: Seaside, Aunt Bee, Freesia, and Snowbells.
And did I mention I am having a sale? All Anya, Mistral, and Lots O'llama is on sale this week for 20% off (prices already reduced in the listing). These labels and a few others (Tibet, Belle Ewe, and possibly Gypsy) will be leaving my stock for good over the next few months. I've decided to refocus my attentions on more colorways and fewer fiber varieties. So, if there's something in the shop in these labels that you've had your eye on, now's the time to snap it up! Especially since the Postal Service has raised both domestic and international shipping and I will, later this month, have to raise mine a bit to accommodate these new changes.
Happy knitting (and February) to all!
Since stress requires coping knitting, I do have a finished object or two to show off. First, I finally finished the behemoth Dawg blanket (1.7 miles of bulky weight yarn!), complete with embroidered lettering:
I think this will be my last afghan for years to come. Lesson learned: if you are going to embroider a knit blanket, acrylic is the last fiber that you want to interact with. What a slippery nightmare!
Just in time for my birthday, my Aunt Bee socks were finished. In my excitement to cast on with this new colorway, I didn't take the time to start both socks as the same point in the dye pattern, and I probably should have increased my stitches. (I used a US 2 with 64 stitches and probably should have gone with 72 to accommodate the needle size.) These pretty socks are a bit snug at first wear, but will hopefully loosen a bit with washing. I did a simple rib pattern with these and tried a new heel that I had never attempted before, the garter stitch short row heel. It was super simple and fast, but I am not fond of the little hole left on one side of each sock and will definitely have to make some changes to the pattern that I used if I knit this type of heel again.
In Etsy shop news, there's going to be a new sock yarn in the shop beginning February 18th: PACA TOES! Paca Toes is a 60% alpaca/25% wool/3% angora/12% nylon blend that is a bit heavier than Rocket Sock and a wee bit fuzzy. I've been working up some cabled socks in it and absolutely love it! Unlike Alpaca Sox from Classic Elite, the plies of my yarn do not separate as you knit them. I thought I would lose my mind knitting with Alpaca Sox and was sure that there had to be a supplier out there who could offer me a better grade of yarn and a better knitting experience. AND I FOUND IT! This is definitely a girly sock blend, perfect for people who enjoy a little heavier weight and warmth to their socks than traditional superwash merino. The colorways are still under consideration, but the test knit looks like this:
Of course, I've been working on a few other things during the month of January, like PACA BITZ, a smaller skein of pre-wound baby alpaca that is perfect for small projects like mittens and gloves and baby wear. Arriving around February 20th will be four new colorways of Rocket Sock, too: Seaside, Aunt Bee, Freesia, and Snowbells.
And did I mention I am having a sale? All Anya, Mistral, and Lots O'llama is on sale this week for 20% off (prices already reduced in the listing). These labels and a few others (Tibet, Belle Ewe, and possibly Gypsy) will be leaving my stock for good over the next few months. I've decided to refocus my attentions on more colorways and fewer fiber varieties. So, if there's something in the shop in these labels that you've had your eye on, now's the time to snap it up! Especially since the Postal Service has raised both domestic and international shipping and I will, later this month, have to raise mine a bit to accommodate these new changes.
Happy knitting (and February) to all!
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