moc-a-soc – SpringPlum

Away Goes A Gift

I finished the Moc-A-Socs. They are so cute that I think I may need insulin.

Time to drop them in the mail. Although I am very excited about giving my very first handmade baby gift to my cousins, it’s always a little hard to send something you’ve made away. At least at Christmas gatherings I get to see people open what I worked so hard on so the separation anxiety is eased a little. But when you put them in the mailbox, you just have to hope that they arrive and imagine that they are pleased.

To ease the pain, I bought The Sheep Shawl pattern with the intention of buying the yarn in a month or two as a summer project. Then I saw this–

Ladyslipper Zephyr

on a shelf at The Woolie Ewe. They didn’t have any Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 the last time I was there. What a lovely surprise. Poor Linnea had to watch me debate yarn colors for at least fifteen minutes. Since this was the yarn I was going to buy eventually, I decided to make then be now. Seize the yarn!

April 1, 2008

It’s All About The Feet

I finished one of the Moc-A-Socs.

Moc-A-Soc Left

The shoe part is done in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino–colorway: tan. The cashmerino line is always a very nice yarn to work with no matter the weight. This is the first time I’ve used the sport weight but I’ve used the dk and the aran before. Although I wouldn’t advise it, my Fetching mitts went through the washer without felting. I assure you that this wasn’t my mistake–I would never be so careless with my own handknits. The sock part is done in a yarn called Schewe Filigrana. Haven’t heard of it? I’m not surprised. Until I received it in a secret Santa gift, neither had I. It is a German yarn. As near as I can tell (the label is in German which I can’t read) it is 100% mercerized cotton. Usually I try to find something to love about every yarn, but this one is difficult. Filigrana is just not fun to knit with. It’s so stiff and knits up like a cord. But if I rub it with my hands, it softens up considerably like linen yarns do so that it feels more like a regular cotton yarn–which is what I wish I was using. However, it is pretty and soft enough on the sock which is why it didn’t get frogged and replaced; I’d never give someone a gift made of a yarn that didn’t feel good on them.

Speaking of gifts, my husband’s sock yarn came in. No, Matt isn’t taking up knitting; he’d have to put down the Xbox 360 controller for that. I bought yarn to knit him some socks. He has huge feet. Size 14. And he likes tall socks. That’s larger than a 100g ball, or pair of 50g balls, of yarn can handle. Luckily, I found Fearless Fibers and her sock yarns come in hanks of 550 yards which should be enough for a pair of Matt socks. He picked the Tiger’s Eye colorway.

Tiger’s Eye

March 25, 2008

Spring Break

It’s the last day of spring break which never lasts long enough. I got a lot of knitting done but not as much as I would have liked (but what knitter ever gets as much done as she/he really wants). I purchased the yarn for the Voyager Lace Stole and began it.

Voyager Lace in Red1

Those who are familiar with the pattern will remember that it calls for a provisional cast-on that you pick-up and bind-off later. Notice that there is no provisional cast-on attached to this fine bit of knitting. That’s because I can’t stand trailing around all that extra yarn and I think it looks tacky to boot. So after I knit the six rows of garter stitch, I went ahead and picked up the stitches, unpicked the crochet chain, and performed the longest picot bind-off that I’ve ever managed to date. No more trailing, turquoise waste yarn. Behold–a close-up:

Voyager Picot

During my visit home to see my folks and my sister, I managed a feat so spectacular that I still get breathless and my pulse races just thinking about it. Are you sitting down? I talking them into an LYS crawl. And none of them knit or crochet. Even my father went (although he didn’t go into the stores–that might have been expecting a bit much). At Sealed With A Kiss In The City, I scored some Sockotta yarn. BTW, when the directions say to look for a green house, they aren’t kidding–the house is margarita green. Then we moved on to The Gourmet Yarn Company, where I found my real prize–

Soup–Primary

Earlier that day I found out that Matt’s cousin Blair and his wife Andrea are expecting their first child. In fact, this is the first kiddo on my husband’s side of the family since his cousin Sara was born 18 years ago. This means that I get to start knitting baby things. It’s a good thing my mom was at the store to reel me in; otherwise, I would have walked out with the yarn for a blanket as well. As it is…well…I noticed later that the Soup Socks by KnitWhits are for ages 3-6 and it’ll be a while before the sprogling will be that old so I bought this pattern:

moc-a-soc

Don’t know what yarn I’ll use yet–maybe Baby Cashmerino or Knitpicks Shine. Hope to have both the Soup Socks and the Moc-A-Socs finished by the time we see Blair and Andrea in Captiva.

March 16, 2008

Tag: moc-a-soc

Away Goes A Gift

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It’s All About The Feet

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Spring Break

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