One For the Guys

This sock has fairly subdued patterning and I think a lot of men would be ok with it.  My own man prefers his socks plain and dim, er, dark.  This pattern is a more interesting knit than endless stockinette.

It’s free, and you can download the PDF here.

Please let me know if there are any problems with the pattern, or if you like it, or hate it, or whatever!  I get thousands of visitors to my blog every month, but only a couple of comments ever, and we bloggers do like our comments, you know. 

Seven Sisters: Maia, a lace sock that knits up quickly

Maia was the oldest of the seven sisters known as the Pleiades (these days you can see the sisters in the night sky above and right of Orion the Hunter, if you’re in the northern hemisphere).  Maia was the most beautiful of the sisters and lived quietly in a cave in the Arcadian mountains.

These socks fairly flew off the needles — working up the pattern was a lot of fun, and they were quick to knit.

Requirements are approximately 400 yds/ 360 m of sock-weight yarn (the sock in the photo is made of bulk yarn I hand-painted myself; pretty much any regular sock yarn will do), and four US2/2.5 mm double-pointed needles (or size required to get gauge).  The size is adjustable by working the foot to the length you desire.

The downloadable PDF costs $4.00 USD.  Funds are payable through Paypal.

"Spring Showers"

As promised, a new sock pattern: “Spring Showers”.  I think these socks are perfect for this time of year — warm enough to be cozy, but a little lacy so you can show them off as the weather becomes more Spring-like (and it *is* going to become more Spring-like, right?).

This pattern uses about 400 yds/365 metres of sock-weight yarn and is worked on double-pointed needles from the cuff down.  The lace is two simple patterns (the body of the sock is a two row repeat, with every other row plain knit).   You can adjust the size simply by knitting to fit the length of your foot.

The downloadable PDF costs $4.00 USD.  Funds are payable through Paypal.

Super quick to knit, and the stitch pattern is easily memorized

This is a quick, super-warm knit done in a lopi-style yarn (in this case it’s a custom yarn of 80% alpaca, 5% merino and 15% bamboo, so it’s snuggly *and* luxurious!).

I used 6 oz (170 gm) yarn and US 11 (8 mm) needles to make a scarf 7 x 70″ (18 x 180 cm).

Please let me know if there are any mistakes or unclear bits in the pattern. Download the PDF and enjoy!

Quick Easy Peasy Scarf

Amelia has that top fashion model aloofness down pat

I finished the hat for Elisabeth (made out of that yummy llama/bamboo yarn I mentioned a post or two back) last night, and this morning convinced Amelia to model it out on the back deck in the fall sunshine.  I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, and if I can scam obtain some more of this yarn from Elisabeth, I’ll try it with a few different cable patterns.

Autumnleaves has bestowed a blog award upon me, which is so sweet of her!  I will write more about that in my next post, after I’ve had time to take care of the responsibilities that come along with this award.  This afternoon I’ll be outside working in the glorious sun, dealing with a different sort of autumn leaves, and contemplating the seven things about me that I have to share with you in my next post….

September, 8 x 10" acrylic on textured canvas

Yet another internet challenge painting, this time for the Wet Canvas landscape forum, which Karen the blogless (no blog, no web site, what’s wrong with that woman?) pointed me at.  Every month several photos are posted, and people choose one (or several, in some cases) to paint.  The one I used as my reference is here, but I’m not sure if you can see it unless you sign up as a member to the Wet Canvas site (if you make art, or want to, it’s worth signing up and taking a look around — there are hours’ worth of inspirational browsing and some great information there).   There are an awful lot of talented people out there, and it’s always interesting to see the different takes on the same picture.

I’ve started texturing the canvases before I paint, and I’m liking how that turns out.  One of my next projects will be a winter scene for a Christmas card, and I’m looking forward to trying out snow on the textured support.  I think it will add to the look of the snow.

Pinned out a bit so you can see the pattern better

Elisabeth’s llama/bamboo yarn is slowly becoming a hat.  I am really loving working with this yarn — it’s soft and cuddly and smooth and creamy (well, fellow fibre people will know what I mean by that), and just a really wonderful yarn to play with. By the way, the colour in this photo is much closer to the actual yarn than the picture in the previous post.

This may look more like a scarf than a hat, but it is the bottom band of the hat, which I’m working flat and will graft into a round.  Then I’ll pick up the crown stitches along the top edge and work those in the round.  When the hat is finished, it’s going to Elisabeth and may end up in her shop, or on her Christmas market table.  Hard to believe it’s time to start thinking about Christmas, but it’s not that far away….

A cable and rib patterned boot sock

Seems like ages since I’ve written here.  It’s been a busy time of appointments and classes all to do with Frank’s new diagnosis of diabetes.  Life is settling back to normal again (the new normal), though, and I’ve found the time for some knitting-pattern writing and some painting.

The half-a-sock on the left is something I’ve been working on with only a little enthusiasm as the weather gets warmer and warmer.  Knit in sport-weight yarn, it really is more of a fall and winter sock, and in summer my knitting fancy tends to turn to lacy shawls and scarves.  At any rate, there’s very little left to do, and virtually no figuring out of things because the foot will be a very standard heel-flap, rounded toe, ribbed foot.  If I can muster up the wanna-do-it-ivity, the pattern should be ready for posting sometime next week.  I suppose it might be timely for my southern hemisphere readers, but I doubt anyone around here needs it any time soon!

"Early Morning", 5 x 7" acrylic on board

This morning I woke up around 4:30 (not unusual for me in the summertime), had a cup of coffee and some cereal, and then, perhaps because it was still early, I felt inspired to do a little painting (it’s only 5 by 7 inches) of a sunrise over a body of water.  To me, this looks like a sunrise when most of the sky is covered with clouds.  Frank thought it was the moon peeping through some nighttime clouds.  Honestly, some people!    In any case, I’ve titled it “Early Morning” so there’s no room for doubt.  Of course, the more I look at it, the more it looks like the moon peeping through nighttime clouds….  Hmmmmmm.

Aquitaine Sock version one, with ribbed ankle and foot

The Aquitaine Sock pattern, named after Eleanor of Aquitaine, contains two versions of a top-down lace patterned sock: version one, with diamonds on the leg and foot-hugging ribbing on the ankle and foot; and version two, with elegant beaded diamonds on the leg, and an unbeaded continuation of the diamonds on the foot.  Suitable for intermediate level knitters, it would also provide a nice challenge to an adventurous sock or lace beginner.

Aquitaine Sock version two, with beads and all-over diamonds

The lace pattern is both charted and written out.  Approximately 400 yards (366 meters) of sock-weight yarn are required, and 48 “E” or 6/0 beads are needed for version two (as well as a crochet hook that fits through the beads).

The downloadable PDF costs $6.50 USD.  Funds are payable through Paypal.

Many thanks to Laura H, Les M, Carla S, Wilma, Cathy W, Mary S, Kris P, Phyllis S, Mary A, Suzie H, and Christel V!  Here is some of their beautiful work:

Wilma's Aquitaine Sock

Cathy W's Aquitaine Sock

Kris P's Aquitaine Sock

Laura H's Aquitaine Sock

Mary A's Aquitaine Sock

"Four Trees" -- this one is in

“Four Trees” is a painting I finished this morning, inspired by the stormy skies we’ve been having the last couple of days. I know that objects “should” be grouped in odd numbers, but I wanted to try an even numbered group, just because.  It’s my painting and I can do what I want.  Phhht.

“Red Yellow Blue” is a picture I did a while ago, but just recently sold (thank you, Jason T!), so it will shortly be out of the house.  I always like to think of my paintings being out in the world, brightening someone else’s space.

For everyone who’s waiting for the Aquitaine sock pattern — I will work on it this afternoon (I’ve been busy with lots of non-knitting things lately, that’s my excuse for not having it done yet!) and should have it finished except for the photos, which are waiting on Frank, the house photographer, who has been downed by a nasty flu or something (no, we haven’t been to Mexico lately) and is draped over the sofa mostly sleeping and occasionally moaning a little.    However, this is day three of the illness, so he should be perking up soon, right?  After all, my model socks are waiting, eyeing me expectantly from beside the phone….

"Red Yellow Blue" -- this one is going out

Happy mother’s day to Mom, and Nellie, and all the other moms out there!