Rockin Sock Club '08 - Leaflings

Last week I started knitting my March shipment Rockin' Sock Club '08 socks. After finishing my Undulating Rib Socks I felt I should just keep the sock knittin' momentum going. The Leafling socks in the March shipment was appealing to me..mostly because they have a cable looking motif in the front. Plus I'm feeling like a sock project is great to take with me to my weekly Stitch 'N Bitch meetings...small and portable and usually don't take a lot of brain power. If I take anything too complicated I loose my place while I'm chatting it up. That's the danger of knitting in a group.

I'm actually much farther along then what these pictures here show. I've just completed the heel ribbing section and am about to turn the heel of the first sock. So far I love the yarn - it's super soft and squishy and the color is nice too. No color pooling, as some people on Ravelry reported. I'm making the size mediums which have been running a bit big (also reported on Ravelry) but I pulled the top cuff up over my foot this morning and it seems OK. A bit looser then other socks I've made but still fits OK. Given the thickness of the yarn I think a bit looser will work out. The heel construction is done a bit differently on this pattern, though. I'm concerned about the sizing issue after completing the heel portion. A flabby out of shape heel just wont work.

Anyway, here are some other close ups of the leaf pattern. The back is all stockinette so it's rather boring to photograph.

Noro Socks - Done

My Undulating Rib Socks (needle knit) are finally finished! They've been hanging out in my WIP pile for (what feels like) quite some time. I got the yarn, new Noro sock yarn, not long after Christmas and immediately started to knit.

The pattern I used is from a book I got for Christmas. The Undulating Rib Socks from "Favorite Socks" by Interweave Knits. I chose this pattern mainly to suit the yarn, but it is easy to memorize and I think looks great. The "nubbiness" of the pattern texture suits the "nubbiness" of the yarn.

The Noro sock yarn I'm not really impressed with. The yarn is inconsistent in weight, going from very very thick to very very thin and while the colors are beautiful, the stripped patterning is impossible to match from sock to sock. The stripes on my pair actually go in reverse from one sock top to another...I pulled from the same place for both socks. Frustrating, but still pretty.

Here are some more close ups of the finished socks. I like 'em even if they aren't a matched set. "fraternal twins" as someone in my Stitch 'n Bitch group calls them...

Wire Knit Ring - my experiment

For Christmas this past year I made a bead crochet necklace for my mom. I had seen wire knit and beaded wire knit jewelry but I've never given it a try. I got a itch to give it a try this morning since I had wire and (obviously) plenty of knitting needles.

I sort of like what I came up with. The result is slightly flexible and light and airy to wear. I'm not sure how durable it is...I plan on wearing it a while and see how it holds up. I looked up wire knits on Etsy and came up with a few items. Most are beaded but use large chunky beads. Since I don't like chunky rings, I think I would need to use tiny seed beads in order to not add a lot of bulk. I also thought maybe only adding beads at the top part so the sides and bottom would not get too bulky. I think I'll be experimenting a bit more with these...