Recently in Socks Category

Over the last couple of weeks I've knitted up a number of little projects. Taking a cue from Stash and Burn, one of my favorite knitting podcasts, I worked on one skein items knit from oddball yarns in my stash. They have a contest running here, where you upload pics of finished objects. There are quite a number of images there, including these from me:

It's a generic roll brim hat (50 stitches, knit for about 7 inches, and a swirl decrease). I don't love the decreases because the k2togs happened to be at thicker points in the yarn, so I may redo that part. But I do love the colors! The yarn is Trendsetter Yosemite.

This is a generic ribbed hat I made for Julian. Please forgive the red eye.

The hat was knit from leftover Debbie Bliss Cashemerino over 84 stitches on no. 6 needles.

This is my third Bear for the Mother Bear Project, which sends bears to African children. This one used Knit Picks Swish Superwash for the green and yellow and Lion Brand WoolEase for the white. I thought the skirt was a fun addition. The others I made are here.

Lastly, I made Jamie some socks with a fabulous rainbow yarn made by Regia Ringel.

I cast on 44 stitches and used Charlene Schurch's garter rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks.

I also finished Poppy and am blocking it now.

I got my Sockapalooza 4 socks today! I'm super excited.

Thank you Heather! The socks are adorable and fit great. I didn't request ankle socks but she must have read my mind. Maybe it's just my summertime feet but I've been craving some anklets and here they are!

The generous package included two lovely stitch markers, some Victoria Secret lip gloss, lavender hand lotion, an adorable felted bear kit, and a clever book called Oddball Knitting that I'd never seen before. It feels great to have someone treat you like this, and I can see why sock exchanges are so popular, and so fun!

Here's a socks-in-action shot.

My Sockapalooza socks are on their way. Here's what I put in with them:

Two Scharffenberger chocolate bars, a pretty pad of paper, a postcard, a cute little sheep finger puppet (couldn't pass that up!) and the leftover yarn from the socks.

I hope she likes it all!

I'm going to be knitting my next pair of socks in the Campanula for the Cure pattern. It's a lovely, lacey pattern that Mezzodiva is giving away in exchange for a donation of any amount in support of the 2007 Weekend to End Breast Cancer, which is in Toronto in September. I have some Jaeger Matchmaker in a burgundy color that would be beautiful for thsi pattern.

Go check out her site and consider supporting her 60km walk. It's a great cause and a beautiful pattern. There's a KAL and everything!

Here are my completed Sockapalooza socks. I hope my pal likes them as much as I do.

There were a couple of knots in the second skein but I think I concealed the joins pretty well. Also, the lace that goes down the sides of the instep are reversed because I can't tell my left from my right. Well, that's not quite true: I put the left-hand lace on my left side, as I knit, instead of the sock's left as it would be worn. The result is that the bottom lace doesn't flow as nicely from the top as it should. I only noticed this when halfway done with the second sock, of course, so it became a feature instead of a bug, as they say.

My question is, what now? What do I do with the socks? Wash them or not? And since this is my first exchange, what do you suggest I include in the box? I know that nothing else is required, but what are some typical goodies that get sent to pals? And should I include the leftover yarn for her in case she needs it?

Thanks so much for your help along the way.

One more shot:

Pattern: Fools Rush Socks by Cassie of Too Much Wool
Yarn: Jaeger Matchmaker in burgundy
Needles: Addi Turbos, size 0