I love my husband – does he know me, or what?!

Merry Christmas!

Happy holidays, everyone!

My husband has found his sock pattern. And by ‘his’, I mean ‘the-one-I-shall-knit-for-him-again-and-again’. This clever pattern isn’t difficult at all, though it helps to keep track of what row you’re on. The sock has increases on the bottom and decreases on the top that result in both sides of the sock wrapping around the foot at an angle. This sock really hugs the foot, and John loves it. Here are a few photos and the details for those of you looking to make foot-huggers.

The lovely yarn comes from a hand-dyer out in Colorado. You can find Kimberly’s shop right here: http://www.catmtn.com/tyg-online/.

May your fingers be swift and clever, and your holidays relaxed and bright.

Details:

Started:	2 Oct 2009
Finished:	18 Nov 2009
Pattern:	Oliver by Marlowe Crawford. Link to pattern on Ravelry here. It was $7 US when I bought it.
Yarn:	Superwash merino fingering weight yarn in ‘latte’ from the Yarn Gallery. I got a size 10.5 US men’s pair of socks from one skein with plenty left over.
Needles:	US 1 / 2.25 mm
Notes:	I accidentally decreased until the foot was 70 sts instead of 72. Oops. They fit, but the next pair will have 72 sts on the foot. These were made with 8″ cuffs. My Ravelry project page is here.

Hi all! Much crafting has been going on; it’s only the blogging bit that’s been going slow. So, this is going to be a quick fly-by of what I’ve been up to. First, a giant’s belt for Mr. Titanic in the local homeschool production of Jack and the Beanstalk. I sewed metallic ribbon in a trefoil on each side, then sewed two layers of felt together for the belt. In order to accommodate different sized kids (or, more likely, one growing one), I sewed a small piece of felt across the front on the inside for a velcro closure. I put two bands of the velcro ‘hook’ side facing out and vertical on the fastening bit, and two horizontal pieces of the velcro ‘loop’ side on the back of the belt. The velcro pieces come together like a tic-tac-toe board, making it easy to adjust for different sized waists.

I finally finished my pair of River Valley socks. I had extreme second sock syndrome with these socks, for the simple reason that I’d gotten most of the way through the gusset on the second pair and figured out that I’d been using two different sizes of needles during the gusset portion. Yes, it takes talent. So, they were stuffed into a knitting bag and sat on the top of my bookshelf for far too long. Once I took them back down I had the gusset ripped out and everything back on the needles in no time. This is a nice, easy knit and a lovely first lace project for sock lovers.

You can see the first sock in its native habitat in this old post from July 2007. Yarn and pattern details, as always, are at the end of today’s post.

Next up is a funny little project I made for my mom to give to my cousin Lu. Apparently Mom had made Lu one of these pot handle holders for a gift years and years ago. It finally wore out, and she asked Mom for another one. I was up in Ohio for a visit, so I was there when Mom sat down to go through her hundreds of Workbasket magazines looking for the pattern. Oh, lordy. We started in the mid 1960’s, I gave up and went to bed sometime during the mid to late 1970’s, and she found it in the wee hours of the morning in the 1980’s. She couldn’t quite fathom how the pattern worked, so we dug out some old yarn and I started it for her. Long story short, I took it home and finished it for her, too. Behold the Ear of Corn pot handle cover! I made it in acrylic, but I think wool would work better.

I’m still two pairs of socks, a dishcloth, and a pair of mittens shy of being caught up, but I’m feeling a bit better. Stay tuned for socky goodness!

Details for the River Valley Socks:

Started:	June 2007
Finished:	26 Aug 2009
Pattern:	River Valley socks by Anni Design. Ravelry link to pattern.
Yarn:	Cabin Cove Mercantile Merino-Nylon Yarn in ‘Ink Blot’.
Needles:	US 1 / 2.25 mm
Notes:	Ravelry link to project.

Details for the Ear of Corn pot handle cover:

Started:	15 September 2009
Finished:	7 Oct 2009
Pattern:	Ear of Corn Pot Holder from Workbasket magazine, Vol. 50, No. 10, September 1985.
Yarn:	Ancient mom-stash: Jack Frost Wintuk Knitting (worsted weight yarn in yellow) and some acrylic yarn without a ball-band in yellow-orange. The husk is from my stash: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solids & Heathers in green (I don’t know the color name.)
Needles:	US 4 / 3.5 mm for knitting. Unknown hook size for crochet – I probably grabbed the 3.5 mm hook.
Notes:	The swirly, curly thing at the top of the husk is a hanging loop. The husk is crocheted. If you’d like to see the project on Ravelry, click here.