Does the Pattern Really Matter?

When I start a new pair of socks I spend a good amount of time trying to match the pattern to the yarn. My general rule of thumb is the busier the pattern, the simpler the yarn, and vice versa. I've always wondered why some people churn out pair after pair of plain stockinette stitch socks when there are so may wonderful patterns out there.


So when I pulled out my Pigenroof Studios Superwash Sport in Plum Tortie, I found myself in a bit of a predicament. The speckled yarn definitely wanted something simple. A plain rib would be too simple, I thought.


I finally settled on Lace Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. And this is what they look like finished.

I don't like the pattern. It does nothing for the yarn. But you know what looks great? The soles knit in stockinette. Yep, I learned a lesson here. Ain't nothing wrong with plain old stockinette.





Book #10 What Do You Do All Day?

Book #11 White House Nannies

Ravelry Stash Count: 113

It's embarrassing, really

So Wednesday the mailman brought me my Wollmeise package from Germany:

Stunning, isn't it? From left to right, Versuchskaninchen 2 (light), Paul (dark), Vincent (dark), and Johannisbeer und Brennessel (light and medium). This is all 100% superwash merino. They are all gorgeous, but my favorite is the farthest right.

Also on Wednesday, Sheri loaded the Wollmeise sneakup. There were many people who stayed up all night on tuesday waiting for it. At around 8am, I parked myself at the computer, set the Loopy Ewe's "What's New" page on autorefresh every 30 seconds, and vowed to wait it out. It happened at around 10:30. When I saw the new colors pop up my heart started to pound. I just threw stuff in my cart and checked out as fast as I could. Then I came back and tried for more, but they disappeared from my cart before I could checkout. Which is fine, because this is what I ended up with:

Yeah, that's six skeins. From left to right is Lowenzahn, Farn, Suzanne, am kalten Polar, Paul, and Emil. All are 80/20 and medium.

There were a lot of people who were shut out of this sneakup. I can't claim any advantage, other than being at the computer at the right time. The autorefresh was helpful, but not crucial. It sold out in 5 minutes, so if you faltered at all, you lost. I just got lucky. Twice.

So that brings my Wollmeise stash to ginormous proportions, and I think I'll take a break from it for a while.

Am I blue?

You be the judge. Here's the yarn that has arrived in the past few days:

On the left is Briar Rose Grandma's Blessing. I bought this for a pair of Pave socks. That anne is such an enabler--she mentioned on her blog that if you mention codeword "knitspot" while placing an order at Briar Rose, you'll get a 10% discount. It's impossible for me to pass up a discount on yarn, so there I fell. That discount is good until March 22, so hop on over and get some yourself. The colorway I purchased (9005) seems to be very similar to the one anne used.

In the middle is Union Center Knits Whatnot sport sock in colorways Daphne and Myth. I bought those from Woolgirl. At the end is another Whatnot sport in "The cold" that I got from a Ravelry swap.

I've got no explanation as to why I bought the colors I did, but it does make me think a bit about my recent moods.

Still on its way to me is my Wollmeise order from Germany. I'm hoping it will be delivered today. Others on the east coast have been receiving theirs, and I'm trying to be patient. And another box from the Loopy Ewe--I fell down again on monday and bought a couple of skeins, plus a few christmas gift accessories.

And speaking of Wollmeise and the Loopy Ewe, there's a few hundred Ravelers who have been burning the midnight oil, waiting for the Wollmeise sneakup. It's supposed to happen before tomorrow, and just my luck, it will show up as soon as I step out the door to pick up HRH.

More yarn coming!

I'm shifting gears

Well. Two weeks since my last post? What HAVE I been doing?

The Loopy Ewe sponsored a Knitalong. Knit a sweater with Dream in Color Classy. So I started the sweater--and finished it. In 12 days.

Then I started a baby sweater for E. E was my nurse practitioner who took care of me while I was pregnant. She took very good care of me. So I knit a little cardigan (the sex is a mystery so I'm limited by color). Now I just have to add a couple hats and a few pairs of socks, and I can deliver the gift next week.

It will be a relief to get this gift finished because there's some hot stuff waiting in the wings. Apparently, I have no less than THREE sock club shipments arriving next week. The Loopy Ewe (yes, I was very fortunate to be one of the chosen ones), Chewy Spaghetti, and Rockin' Sock Club.

I've also been thinking ahead to this year's gifts. The first being my mom's Mother Day socks. I've got the yarn already, and she'll be getting monkeys. Then I'll be making a matching scarf for her birthday in June. Another scarf for my Gram in August, and after that it's Christmas gifts. Maybe I should have started this process sooner.

I'd better go finish this baby gift--maybe I can get those monkeys finished before the first sock club shows up.

oh, and I bought some Wollmeise! Wheee! Hopefully the shipment will arrive at the end of the week.

Book #9 The Good Life

Book #10 Meanwhile, Next Door to the Good Life

Ravelry stash count: 95