3KCBWDAY3-My Muse

Being a knitter, one would expect me to have a list of famous knitters that I would consider my muses and mentors. But the truth is, I don't. I do like Cookie A., (and that's mainly because I was in the same knitting group with her when I lived in San Jose). I also like Anne Hanson of Knitspot, but I confess it is because she is in an interracial relationship just like me and spoils her hubby the same way I do. The fact that she happens to be a kick-ass knitter is just a bonus.

No, my true muse is not what most people would expect. . . .

Music!

Nothing moves me and inspires me the way music does. I am a slave to its power over me. A duet between Kenny Loggins and Amy Grant can result in a knitted purse. The voice of Garth Brooks can start me knitting a pair of leg warmers. And the sound of Josh Groban can move my fingers to crochet a lovely shawl.

I could never work  in a void of silence. I am a quite person by nature, who usually prefers the sound of my own heartbeat. But when it comes time to create, my work can only be done with its own soundtrack.

For those of you who may be curious, I'll share with you some of the songs that move me the most to create. Those who have been following my blog for a while would not be surprised to know that Jamie Cullum is at the top of my list of artist whose music I love. Everything he touches turns to gold for me. I can't listen to one of his songs without picking up my needles or hook. He just has that power over me. And I don't mind saying that I like it.

[caption id="attachment_1440" align="aligncenter" width="298" caption="Click on the picture to see one of my favorite Jamie Cullum performances."][/caption]

Along with Jamie, here are a few songs that always work to get my creative juices flowing:

Alice's Theme by Danny Elfman

Aria by Yanni

Bad Romance by Lady GaGa

Bring The Rain by Mercy Me

Comfortable by John Mayer

Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble

Fireworks by Katy Perry

Right Round by Flo Rida

Footloose by Kenny Loggins

F**k You by Cee Lo Green

Hate On Me by Jill Scott

Grenade (Acoustic) by Bruno Mars

7 Days to Change Your Life by Jamie Cullum

Yeah! by Usher

Hallelujah by K.D. Lang

Hey Soul Sister by Train

Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani

The One by Mary J. Blige

I Belong To You by Muse

Nature Boy by Jamie Cullum

I Wish by Stevie Wonder

. . . and according to my iPod, 634 other songs that inspire me as well.

Naughty Granny

I saw this photo and just started laughing. Found out the photo came from another blogger and after reading their entire blog entry I just had to share. Below is a excerpt from the blog regarding this photo. You can read the full blog entry at Brain Debris.

 

"While not provocative, this photo did bring up several questions. 1. WHAT is she willing to knit for sex? Is she giving away swatches or sweaters? Does it depend on the requested act? Do men who provide merino alpaca blend get “bonuses”?Maybe she’s knitting patterns from Naughty Needles or DomiKNITrix. 2. Why is the man behind her so enthusiastic? Is he her pimp or is he just finally glad he’s figured out how to get her to HAVE sex? Notice the lip prints on his shirt? HMMMMM. 3. Who is the slightly inebriated looking gentleman with his dirty hands on gramma? Maybe he’s the infomercial guy and the man in the back is the testimonial happy customer. Maybe he’s an alpaca farmer and is throwing her this party for increasing his profits through her innovative entrepreneurship. 4. How long does it take her to knit for sex? She better be using Addi-turbos if she’s got a high sex drive! 5. Why is she advertising on a paper cone hat? Couldn’t she knit one? 6. Does this mean that we know what all the little old men wearing scarves have been doing? Is the length of the scarf indicative of anything? 7. Is this why so many elderly ladies take up knitting? I thought it might be because they needed something to do while waiting for the Viagra to kick in. At the very least I thought the needles would be a great deterrent. Seems not so much!"

A Knitter Is Thankful

I am thankful for:

The many balls of yarn that own me.

The store containers that Costco sales for me to hide my stash.

Bamboo knitting needles

Shiny crochet hooks

Patterns that actually knit up into a garment that looks like the picture.

A husband who loves me enough to still wear the ugly sweater I knitted for him while we were dating.

Mink and cashmere blend yarn

Sheep

Sock knitters

Every person picking up a pair of needles or crochet hook for the first time

My blog

Red Heart

Stitch markers

Yarn sales

Sanguine Gryphon for giving me my big break.

Ravelry.com

Men and women who knitted because they had to, so that now I can knit because I want to.

My wonderously creative hands

2x2 rib stitch

Babies that need knitted stuff

Family and friends that I deeply love and who are not ashamed to  loves this crazy knitter.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Little Red, Where Are You?

So, remember that red mohair yarn I talked about making into socks awhile back? Well, I did start knitting socks with them, (which knitted up gorgously by the way), but in the process of working on the leg portion I got struck with another idea to turn them into a pair of leg warmers. Well, it so happened that a couple of knitting opportunities have arise and my leg warmers seem like a perfect fit for one of them. So my once mohair socks are now  a swatch with sketch design for leg warmers, currently on their way to being considered for a magazine. Crossing my fingers. Wish me luck.

Homemade Condom

The title of this blog got your attention, didn't it? Well, I actually did make a condom, but it's not for what you think, so get your mind out the gutter you hussy.

I like all my yarn to be in nice neat balls before I work with them. Since 80% of my yarn are in center-pull skeins when I buy them, this means I need to convert them into balls when I get them home.

As anyone who has worked with yan knows, the stuff loves to roll around and away from you. So, one of the things I did to prevent this was to knit up a yarn condom. I used my Boy Toy's Knifty Knitter knitting loom to make a very stretchy and flexible condom that could hold yarn of all different shapes and sizes.

The loom used to make the condom was the small round blue one and the yarn used was Lion Brand Trellis.

The pictures below shows the condom in action as I convert a skein of Lion Brand Homespun into a nice fluffy ball.

[caption id="attachment_861" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yarn Condom"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_862" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Close up of Yarn Condom"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_863" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Another Shot of the Condom"][/caption]

Has The Dust Cleared Yet?

Well, I don't want to jinks myself, but it would seem that life has finally settled down for the time being.

I am more than happy to be seeing the month of May's ass walking away from me. It was a bad time and we are much better off parting ways with each other.

June seems to hold a bit more promise. I got an early gift from June in the form of my very first ever Jury Duty Summon!

Socking as it may seem, yes it is my very first time up for jury duty. You think that's strange, my mom is 63 years old and has never been called for jury duty! She has even called and asked to be put on the list and still no luck.

I've been serious about turning in my sock designs for consideration into various knitting magazines, hence th lack of patterns being posted as I am waiting to see if any of my designs have been accepted.

I've only let one deadline slip through my fingers, mainly due to poor time management and that whole little bit of moving from one state to the other.

Now all my stash is finally in one place and my life- though not taking the shape I had hoped- is starting to take on something that could pass for normal.

So, what's on my needles now?

I'm working on something wooly that i hope to turn in to Knitty.com for consideration. Sorry, must continue with the secrets. But I can tell you that I'm halfway through spinning that baby poo green fiber and when it's all spun I plan to knit a pair of socks knitting it straight from the spindle. Yup, I'm going to knit it without washing the yarn and relaxing the twist. I want those twist to be alive and wirery. It should be fun.

Dude, Where's My Yarn?

I'm here in California, packing up what use to be my home for the last three years. Now my entire house is being wrapped up in butcher paper and stuffed into uniform brown cardboard boxes.

It is fascinating to watch complete strangers tear down in a matter of hours what took you years to put together. My life here is now over.

The hard part for me was trying to figure out what to do with my yarn. We couldn't personally drive it back to Arizona as I was hoping to do. Those of you with a signficant yarn stash would understand the need for your yarn to have personal protection. As much as I tried, the driver of the moving truck refused to keep my yarn securely buckled in the seat next to him and my Boy Toy put his foot down on shipping my stash express mail with $1,000 insurance on it. Instead, I was reduced to shoving it all into a suitcase and having the moving guys toss it into the back of the truck along with the rest of my household goods.

I was shocked to find out that the driver would not be driving straight to the storage place we had selected. Instead, he would be making a few stops along the way- loading and unloading cargo. What if the tag on my bag of yarn falls off and he leaves it at the wrong location? What if one of his stops is at the home of another knitter whose keen noise can sniff out the scent of wool and takes my stash for her own use? What if the truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere and the only way the driver can get some help from the locals is to barter my precious yarn for water and a phone call?

These are serious scenarios that seemed lost on everyone but me. With sad eyes, I watched as the truck started it's engine and rolled away with my yarn. I don't know where my yarn is going or if it will reach its final destination. The last comforting thought I had as the truck drove out of sight, "Well, at least I was able to sneak the rest of my knitting needles into my purse".

Sock Yarn Saturday

These two sock/fingering yarns are the work of Lena Brown of Lena Brown Designs. These yummy yarns are made with Angora fibers that are sure to give your socks that warm and fuzzy feeling every time you slip your feet into them. Just click on either picture to learn more about the yarn and the many others she has for sale at her Etsy store.

[caption id="attachment_744" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Carmel Delight Handpainted Angora Alpaca Wool"][/caption]

Pixie Handpainted Angora Superwash Merino

 

The Will To Traveling Well

Well, I'm on the plane again this week, traveling to sunny California. I am attempting to pack all my things into one giant duffle bag and bring with me only one carry on. (This is the attempt I make every time I travel. The reality is that I end up with two over stuffed suitcases, my laptop bag , purse, knitting bag, coat and a personal pizza from that Pizza Hut kiosk that seems to be in front of every gate.)

My hope this trip is to test a theory regarding airplane travel that I often hear about.  I've read many times in travel magazines that airport staff treat people differently based on how they are dressed. The more "rich" or "business" -like you look, the better service you receive.

I've always been a sweatpants and worn out t-shirt kind of traveler, which usually has resulted in me blending in with the airport walls. It's not that I've gotten bad service from my appearance, just usually not much service.

This time I want to see what would happen if I came to the airport in a bit more high-fashion style. My inspiration is Ivanka Trump, who, in the February 2011 issue of Travel + Leisure, showed how to travel in true style.

[caption id="attachment_698" align="aligncenter" width="298" caption="Ivanka Trump Dressed For Travel"][/caption]

Read full article here: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/ivanka-trumps-jet-set-travel-outfit#

With Ivanka as my muse, I have actually washed my clothes and made the effort to match up an outfit along with a necklace and ring. I'm even going to sacrifice comfort for style by wearing *gasp* high heels! I've been cleaning up the scuff marks on my purse as I plan for it and a light sweater to be the only items I go through security with. But fear not!No knitting will be sacrificed during this event. Hidden in my purse will be at least two socks on the needles ready for me to knit.

My cell phone will be at the ready, tweeting my travel experiment as it unfolds. And I plan on doing a post the next day to let you know how things went. Wish me luck!

Making It Brief

No time for long posting today. Too busy knitting. Will leave you with a picture of Ricky Swavey, the sexy laimg src="http://images.demandmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/verify.png?id=B85NOfkP375Yz1lRcg58iAja"
alt="" style="width:1px;height:1px;border:0px !important;" />
tin lover peacock. Swoon ladies, swoon.

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2011: You Got Skills!

All this week my postings are a part of the 2nd Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week. To learn more about it, just click here.

[caption id="attachment_564" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="My Very First Two Needle Sock"][/caption]

Looking back on where I was this time last year, I am just amazed at just how much I've grown in regards to my knitting.

If you had told me last year that by this time I would have a pattern available on Ravelry, I would have laughed in your face. What started off as just me taking on another knitting challenge to conquer by knitting my first pair of socks, has now turned into a passion of wanting to make and promote two needle sock knitting. 

I can still remember being frustrated at how I was all thumbs trying to knit a sock on double-pointed needles. And how jealous I was watching Cookie A working on her latest sock at the local knitting group. She could make almost any sock yarn her bitch and I wanted to be able to do that.

I watched every YouTube video I could find on how to knit socks using various methods. I tried toe up and top down, sideways, knitting loom and even crochet. It was some random obscure pattern that I ran across online that finally made it all come together for me. Child socks knitted on two needles with a seam down the back and on the sides. Pure magic! 

After knitting my first sock with this pattern everything just started to make sense for me. I studied other sock patterns, learning about sock history and sock construction. Soon I was able to read a top down sock pattern and be able to convert it into a two needle pattern. Now, I have sketch books  full of ideas and thoughts of publishing my own book of two needle sock designs!

[caption id="attachment_565" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="A Recent Sock Design"][/caption]

I have learned and grown a lot. But I am nowhere near considering myself an expert by any means.  I am not ashamed to confess that there are still things I have yet to learn in knitting. My lace knitting is a true testament to resisting the urge to frog. I still have never done a cable pattern. My  I-cords look more like I-won'ts. And no matter how hard I try, I suck at Faire Isle.

The wonderful thing about the needle arts is that you are encouraged to always keep growing and learning and just when you think you've learned it all, there is always something new just waiting around the bin.

So, what new skills / techniques have you learned this past year?

Sock Yarn Saturday

 

Imagination Hand Painted Sock Yarn By Knit Picks

Content: 50% Merino Wool 25% Superfine Alpaca, 25% Nylon
Weight: Fingering Weight
Knitting Gauge: 7 - 8 sts = 1 on # 1-3 needles (2.25mm-3.25mm)
Crochet Gauge: 21 – 32 sc = 4'' on B - E hooks (2.25mm-3.5mm)
Amount: 219 yards/50 gram hank
Care: Hand Wash/Dry Flat

Interested? Find out more about this yarn at:

http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Imagination_Hand_Painted_Sock_Yarn__D5420173.html

Knitting Hand Me Downs

I do love how our society just assumes that if you are old with grey hairs, then you must spend your days knitting blankets for babies and crocheting slippers for your other elderly friends. This is the case for my grandmother-inlaw, Ann, and her sister, Wanda.

Every so often, they are given piles of yarn, knitting books and other needlecraft accessories from kind-hearted young people who feel they are doing a great community service by providing such articles to Ann and Wanda. Well, neither of them knit or crochet. Wanda dabbled in crochet for a little bit, but much prefers to do needlepoint. And Ann? Well, her gift is with a rolling-pin and cookie sheet, not yarn and knitting needles.

However, Ann and Wanda are far too kind to turn down such thoughtfulness. So they graciously accept these gifts knowing full well that even the finest skein of mink and cashmere blend couldn't  convince either of them to pick up needle or hook.

So, I end up being handed down these items, usually along with the same comment, "Now if you don't need any of this stuff don't take it. I don't want you thinking you have to take home this junk." (As of the day of this posting, I have yet to turn down any knitting 'junk' they have offered to me.)

Do you have any knitting 'suppliers' among your family? Anyone that knows you well enough to think of you every time they come across yarn?

My Knitting Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Well, here it is. My tools that help me through any knitting or crochet challenge that life brings my way. Allow me to walk you through the goodies.

Starting at the upper right corner is the sparkle bag that I permanently borrowed from my mother. I love it because it is the same color as my birthstone- aquamarine. I think she originally bought it at Taget in one of their $1 bins.

Below that is a grey crochet that I actually use to crochet! I know, shocking isn't it. I have yet to figure out the whole picking up dropped stitches with it as I find that my own knitting needles work just fine for doing those sort of fixes.

Next to the crochet hook is a small yellow box of stitch markers. These stitch markers came with my "I Can't Believe I'm Knitting" set that Lion Brand put out. I rarely ever use these, but they are a nice reminder of just how far I've come as a knitter.

Below that are two stitch holders. My knitting would be doomed to failure without these. I use them to hold stitches, mark repeats, pin patterns to yarn, hold pieces together as they're being seamed, clean the dirt under my nails, and many other things.

Then there is my trusty blue needle. My mom gave me this needle when I first learned to work with plastic canvas as a child. It has followed me ever since. This needle has tackled every type of yarn- from mohair to fun fur to bulky novelty. There is no yarn this needle can't handle.

The writing pen you see is the one  I stole from the Sheraton Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona. It was pretty. No one was looking. So I took it. End of story. (Like they don't have a million of them in some back room somewhere.)
The small pink handled scissors were my big 'splurge' when I took a sewing class in college. All the other students in the class had big expensive professional scissors. All I could afford was what most dressmakers refer to as 'thread cutters'. Yet these scissors prove that size doesn't matter. My scissors have made costumes for sixteen theatre productions and about a dozen quilt tops. And the whole time I've owned them, they've only been sharpened twice.

 Two random buttons that I honestly don't know why they are there. But since I do not dare question the logic of the knitting gods, I'll just let them be.
The pink measuring tape is actually supposed to be a novelty toy for kids. What kid goes around asking for measuring tape? Well, it was small and useful, so I adopted it into my knitting bag.
Hello Kitty came from a purse my hubby gave me for Valentine's Day. There are actually two of them in my bag and they help give me a little giggle every time I reach into my bag for something.
This handmade stitch marker is one of the many I just started making for my online Etsy store. It's a nice sample to show people when they ask me what I sell on Etsy.
The two felt flowers have no reason for being in my bag other than some munchkin put them in there and I haven't taken them out. Although they are very cute, they do have a real home, so alas, I must give them back at some point.
And the two small metal chains? They are what the Hello Kitty's hung off of. I'm sure I can find a good use for them if they stay in my knitting bag long enough.
And finally, one of my most prized possessions next to my vintage knitting needles- is my ruler/knitting needle sizer from Sears. This was one of those great thrift store finds that I still can't believe I was luck enough to find. I measure all my needles with this ruler and the handy two-inch stitch measure window really helps now that I finally learned to care about gauge.

So, there you have it ladies and gentlemen. The elements that make my knitting come together. So, what items are in your knitting bag that you just couldn't knit without?

The Mystery of B.A.

In case you didn't know, I volunteer as a knitting expert on Allexperts.com. Today I got a question from a knitter that has really stumped me.  Her question is as follows:

"pattern reads *K2(K1 wrapping yarn round needle twice) 5 times k1, rep from*
next row reads *K2, B.A., K1 rep from*

Have not come across this abbrev. before, so wonder if you can work it out - picture on pattern looks a bit like a blackberry stitch with a hole in centre.  Have lost the pattern part with the abbrevs.

Many thanks for any light you may be able to shed."

Well, after doing some research online, I couldn't find anything that told me what the 'B.A.' in the pattern means. But I did find out that back in 2009, someone else had a question about the same pattern and had provided some more details on it:

Here is the full pattern
1st row -(Wrong side) K1,P to last st.,K1.
2nd row- K.
3rd row-K1,* K.1 wrapping wool round needle twice,rep. from * to last st., K.1.
4th row-K.1,*B.A., rep from * to last st., K.1
5th row-K.1,P to last st., K.1
2nd to 5th row forms the patt.

Unfortunately it is an old Paton book and the page with the abbreviations I have lost.
Thank you for your assistance.

This information gave me a few ideas. I wrote back to the knitter to let her know that I was working on finding out this mystery knitting abbreviation then I worked my way over to Ravelry. I've learned that on Ravelry, if someone has knitted it, chances are good that there is a group for it. Once again, Ravelry did not disappoint as I found a group dedicated to collecting and knitting Paton patterns. I posted my question to the group and then headed over to Paton.com. There I found the email address of the person to contact for pattern inquires. I shot her an email and now I wait.

I'm a sucker for a good knitting mystery and this one has sparked my own curiosity. I do plan on knitting a swatch of this baby shawl myself once the mystery is solved. I'll add the swatch to my swatch book along with this story so future knitters can know that sometimes a pattern isn't just a pattern, but a mystery in itself. Who knows, maybe 50 years from now this story and the pattern will end up in Piecework.

I'll let you know how this mystery unfolds.

(Feel free to try out the pattern above and see if you can figure out what B.A. means. If you can solve it, please let me know.)

Knit On!

 

"Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." 
 Elizabeth Zimmermann, 1910-1999

Sock Knitter Interview: Cindy Petty

[caption id="attachment_360" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Prize Winning Purple Dot Socks"][/caption]

 

Please tell us your name, where you live and any special talent(s) you have, (other then knitting)?

My name is Cindy Petty. I live in Princeton, IN, which is near the "toe" of Southern Indiana. I am a former writer for LifeWay Sunday School materials, specifically for preschool teachers (which is why my Twitter name is preschoolwriter!)

How long have you been knitting?

I have been knitting steadily since 1978 but I really started knitting in middle school (which would have been around 1967). Wow! I just figured that out -- it's 44 years! I just did not continue after 6th grade until I got married. When I first learned to knit, I ran home and promptly taught my mother to knit, even though she was left-handed and I am right-handed.

Who taught you how to knit?

We had a lunch-time "club" in middle school (6th grade) and a teacher taught us to knit. All the "cool girls" were in this club and I was a "cool-girl-wannabe!" LOL!

When did you start knitting socks?

For a long, long time. Maybe 20 years? Not really sure.

Tell us about the first pair of socks you ever knitted? (What pattern did you use? Who did you make them for?)

I believe it was when I discovered the sock-knitting group on yahoo-groups and I started looking through the internet for knitting patterns and discovered one (I believe it was from Judy Gibson) that used Wool-Ease and size 4 or 5 DPs. Using that pattern, I pretty much picked up knitting socks, although I did have to have help when I got to the part about turning the heel as I had never done short-rows before. The socks were made for me.

Where are those socks now? (i.e., in your drawer, frogged, in sock heaven…) 

I think I still have them, although they do have holes in the heels. I keep them in my PJ drawer and sometimes wear them on cold nights.

What are your most treasured pair (or set) of knitting needles that you own? Tell us why?

Well, I really treasure ALL of my needles! My most favorite brand (my "go to" needles) are Knit Picks Harmony interchangeable needles.

Where is the furthest your knitting has ever traveled?

I guess it would be Florida, as I sent socks, etc. to my mom and dad.

If you were a yarn, what type and color would you be?

I would be wool-nylon blend of sock yarn, probably a blue and yellow blend and if I were really honest, I would be a THICK yarn!!

Fantasy knitting- If you could knit something for anybody (dead, alive or fictional), who would it be and what would you knit for them?

Hmmm...I think it would be a complicated Fair-Isle sweater with cables for me because I just can't seem to knit sweaters. I start them but never finish them. Just once, I would like to be able to finish a sweater!

What’s on your knitting needle(s) right now?

I have a pair of socks for me; I have a large Lucy Bag for me; and I have the Rambling Rows middle-size afghan that will probably go to my sister. I just finished two pairs of socks and the Felted Clogs from FiberTrends for my Aunt Jean! I also knitted socks, hats, and washcloths for Christmas presents (just so you know that I am normally not a "me, me, me" knitter!)

Some people just can’t seem to understand why in this day anyone would ever think of knitting socks. So, I’ll ask you the question sock knitters get all too often- Why would anyone waste their time knitting socks when you can get a 12-pack for five bucks at Wal-Mart?

Since I have very, very cold feet, my answer is that I knit socks to keep my feet warm!!! You can't find the 100% wool or even washable wool socks at the local big box stores (I know, I have tried to buy this type of sock for my DH when we was delivering newspapers at 4 a.m.!).

Could you please provide a link to your website, blog, Flickr, Facebook, Ravelry or Twitter, or all of the above.

Facebook is  Cindy Lou Petty; Twitter is Preschoolwriter Home; my blog, http://sockknitter1215.wordpress.com (I try to keep it more up-to-date). Ravelry is CLPetty

Thank you so much Cindy for your time and wonderful talent!

Sock Knitter Interview: Mary the Hobbit

If there is one thing I love more then sock knitting, it's talking to other knitters about sock knitting. I sent a call out for knitters who would like to be interviewed and a few brave souls responded. So, please enjoy the following interview with Mary the Hobbit-



Please tell us your name, where you live and any special talent(s) you have, (other then knitting)?

My nom de chaussette is Mary the Hobbit. I live in Reno now after working in Silicon Valley for 25 years as a computer programmer. I have an affinity for languages - studied Russian in college, and Japanese was an obsession for several years. I wrote a blog called Language Geek for awhile until the knitting bug bit. Also I have a serious book collection of translations of The Hobbit, hence the name.

How long have you been knitting? Who taught you how to knit?

My mother taught me to knit when I was little. In northern Wisconsin where I grew up, knitting was a fun thing to do in winter. After college I was working and living in California. When we moved to Reno 5 years ago I decided to knit a throw for the new living room, started visiting yarn shops, and discovered all the wonderful yarns that have appeared since I last checked 30 years ago.

When did you start knitting socks?
Tell us about the first pair of socks you ever knitted? (What pattern did you use? Who did you make them for?)

I was looking for interesting projects to feed my new knitting obsession. As a girl I knit mittens on 3 needles but I'd never tried socks. So I got a book of sock patterns, I think it was Vogue's Socks Two, and gave it a try with some purple and blue Red Heart yarn. They turned out clunky and enormous. Another early attempt was ribbed socks for The Spouse made with cotton/bamboo yarn because he thought wool was scratchy. Ha - little did he know that 2 years later he'd be begging for more wool socks!

Where are those socks now? (i.e., in your drawer, frogged, in sock heaven?)

I don't wear the Red Heart horrors, but sometimes I show them to students as an example of a first attempt at sock-knitting. Kind of a before and after thing - it's clumsy at first but with practice you too can make fine socks that fit.

What made you decide to become a designer?

It's been an evolving thing. First I knit a few socks, then I knit some more socks, bought more sock yarn, knit more interesting and complicated sock patterns, bought lots of colorful sock yarn, bought and read sock books, started tweaking sock patterns, went to Sock Summit, learned new sock knitting techniques, and eventually it turned into designing socks for fun. The first pattern I ever published was my Seriously Southwestern Socks and they were/are free. I didn't start selling patterns for awhile because I didn't think they were worthy.

What was the first design you ever sold?

I don't consider myself a Real Designer yet, because I've only sold patterns on Ravelry. Also I have no blog (sigh), which is de rigueur for Real Designers IMO.

What advice would you give to other aspiring designers?

Learn as much as you can about different techniques and architectures and yarns and experiment with them, so you have lots of possibilities for expressing your idea. When you have a design, make a good-looking sample and use it to market your pattern.

What are your most treasured pair (or set) of knitting needles that you own? Tell us why?

I have some Lantern Moon bamboo dpns, size 1, that I used for my first dozen or more pairs of socks. They're bent and battered but I still love them, even though I mostly use Addi Turbo circs these days.

Where is the furthest your knitting has ever traveled?

Birmingham, Alabama - The Spouse and I participated in the Mustangs Across America event, and I knit a pair of socks in the car.

If you were a yarn, what type and color would you be?

I would be a multicolor blue/purple Malabrigo Sock yarn, soft and fine.

Fantasy knitting- If you could knit something for anybody (dead, alive or fictional), who would it be and what would you knit for them?

I would knit some thick warm socks for Strider (Aragorn) of Lord of the Rings, because he spent all those years as a Ranger in the wilderness of Middle-Earth, protecting Hobbits from evil creatures.

What's on your knitting needle(s) right now?

I'm working on Yet Another sock design, of course! I keep swatching with different yarns, trying to get the right effect. For some reason, each swatch looks like a sock toe!

Some people just can't seem to understand why in this day anyone would ever think of knitting socks. So, I'll ask you the question sock knitters get all too often- Why would anyone waste their time knitting socks when you can get a 12-pack for five bucks at Wal-Mart?

Anybody who asks that question misses the point, which is not to obtain cheap thow-away socks. Knitting socks is a hobby that fulfills many needs: for relaxing activity, for a feeling of accomplishment (look what I made!), for self-expression, for creative impulses (what would this pattern look like with that yarn?), and of course, for comfy socks!

Could you please provide a link to your website, blog, Flickr, Facebook, Ravelry or Twitter, or all of the above.

This is embarrassing, but I have no blog. I keep meaning to start one but am easily distracted by new shiny yarn and pattern ideas. My Ravelry designer page is http://www.ravelry.com/designers/mary-the-hobbit.

Thank you Mary for giving your time and giving your talent to the world of knitting!

Blogs I Like: Knit One, Blog Two

 

Kiersten, aka,  Kirky is the woman behind Knit One, Blog Two. Her blog, http://knitoneblogtwo.wordpress.com/, is filled with pictures of wonderful knitted goodies and the joys of being a stay-at-home mom. Any woman who can wrangle a house full of kids and still manage to knit an impressive lace shawl, has my uttermost respect.