A Whack of Socks

I pity the person with the second sock syndrome... maybe it's envy, it's really hard to say. In any case, with four little-boy feet and two little-big-girl feet, socks do not come by the pair at my house. They come by what the Harlot refers to as a "whack". I'm not Canadian, but - for our purposes, at least - socks come four to a whack. Of course, if you do have a problem with finishing a pair, you may want to consider knitting 'em by the whack, then. You can finish when you're half done and still have a sock for each of your feet.


Madam's slipper socks. These have actually been done for a while, but they were snatched, worn and funked before I could photograph them, so the picture had to wait until after I washed them. Generic short-row heel pattern, in Bartlett 2-ply (heavy worsted/aran) and some unknown cream color wool.



Crocs socks for little boys who are obsessive about their crocs. Again, generic flap-heel (which I like better) recipe, in sport-ish weight BFL/mohair handspun from Spinning Flock Farm. Lovely and soft. I will totally be stalking their booth at the Sheep & Wool festival in a couple of months. (Yes, those socks ARE all the same size. Really. It's just the stacking that makes them seem off.)

Finished objects...

I've finished some objects this week. Let us be clear that said objects have been languishing in my knitting bag (one of the many, actually) and really only needed minimal finishing. The boys' woolies are getting a little long in the tooth and short in the waist, so it seemed like time to add some legs and weave in my ends on these.

LTK longies, knit knee length, with the curly-purly waist in 100purewool "winter joy".

LTK Longies, knit knee length, in HPY thick and thin (discontinued), unknown colorway name.

Bailey's party!

Grandma and Pop-pop did some festive foraging in Chinatown and in the goodies packed away from their trip to China, and Auntie - in the regular Auntie style - decked the halls with lanterns, dragons and fans and set up a Chinese eatery for the kids.

Bailey is most thankful for the party.

The boys are only there for the hats, really.

Wait! Was that the lo mein that was just delivered? Nope, just another picture of the marzipan on top of the cake!

I also finally got Natalie's birthday gifts to her. I felt terrible at Christmas - already three weeks past her birthday - that the gloves weren't done and I totally couldn't find the hat... of course, being late meant that I had time to knit her the calorimetry from this winter's Knitty issue. She almost always wears her hair up and when I saw that, I knew it would be perfect. Now her ears will be nice and toasty! AND I found her hat, so if she decides to wear her hair down, she's still warm and fuzzy. She was very excited about the flip mittens, too.

Holden models the new LTK longies

These were knit in Bartlett yarns Rangely line, Blueberry colorway. I decided on seed stitch leg cuffs and matching cargo pocket. (The pocket it stuffed with the un-woven tails, it doesn't normally stick out like that.) I like that they're tall enough on the boys for me to fold over the waistband. I think it will keep them from untie-ing and dropping trou' this winter. I love Bartlett yarns. And this color was out of their bargain bin ($4 a lb) at the mill. Even better.

Please ignore the dog hair on the floor. No, not the big pile of it with the tail - that's the actual dog - but the ones lying here and there like Autumn leaves. We need to rake or vacuum or something.

Also, has anybody noticed the level of skill in my picture taking? This is the only modelling picture that wasn't blurry. And you like how I got Aaron's leg and Mia's butt in there, too, don't you? I know. Sometimes it's difficult, being this gifted.

And now I'm off to work on the "super-secret-excellent-surprise-that-I-can't-add-photos-of-until-after-it's-done-lest-the-intended-recipient-for-so-unknown-reason-look-in-on-my-blog-and-discover-it".

Peace.

Red and blue soaker

This red and blue soaker is for somebody else. The yarn looked a little thin coming off the spool (I bought the blue in a 2 lb spool and a khaki in a 1 lb spool, the khaki is definitely worsted), more like a light sport weight than a true worsted, so I knit it double stranded. Yeah, it fluffs up quite nicely when you add water. Duh. So this is the nighttime soaker being sent to a mom in need. There should be room for fluffy nighttime diapers and room to grow, too.

Rugby, anyone?

These are the first pair of LTK longies I've made for the boys. Obviously, I am a glutton for punishment to start out with a rugby striped version. Tourquoise and goldenrod are next.