A Monkey Pair

The Monkey socks are done:

Whoo-hoo! Unfortunately, I can't count them for the Summer of Socks, because I started them in May. However, I have cast on another pair of socks already. More on that later.

Monkey Sock Parade

There are 435 Ravelry members working on the Monkey socks right now. 296 members have the Monkey socks in their queue. Check out all the Flickr photos of Monkey socks (there are more than 6,000). And mine are just about done (yay!).

Here is the second Monkey on Sunday, enjoying its morning coffee. I've now turned the heel and am working on the gusset. More photos later.

OMG

Ravelry is probably the best thing to happen to the knitting (and crochet) community since the invention of the blog. Talk about making the world bigger! Not only can you keep a notebook of your entire knitting (or crochet) life--including what's in your stash, what needles (or hooks) you have, what you're knitting right now, what you want to knit eventually, etc.--but you can also make connections with other knitters (or crocheters) out there in cyberspace. You can see what others are working on, what's in their stash, read their blogs, etc. Or, you can find a pattern, or see what yarns are popular, or find a knit-(or crochet)-along or local fiber festival.

This is huge, people. Ginormous, even. It's like joining your local guild/social knitting group, but members are all over the world. It's awesome. I can't even form a coherent thought about this because I am so blown away by how seriously amazing this is. I can't wait for it to be out of beta so everyone can join. I mean, wow.

In other knitting news, I will turn the 2nd Monkey's heel today

and finish my first sock for Summer of Socks.

I know, I know. It's kind of a cheat to knit a baby sock, but c'mon! Babies need socks, too!

Summer of Socks

Hooray! The Summer of Socks has begun! Last night, I was thinking that I would have to go out and get some sock yarn (darn) because the Monkeys do not count since I have been working on them for a while. So, I started rooting around in my stash to see what I had in the way of sock yarn and came up with this:

Not too bad, right? I've got some really nice stuff in there. See the Fleece Artist I practically forgot about? Shocking, I know. Now, what I DO need is a few extra sock needles because I only have the one and I am using it to knit the second Monkey. Which, by the way, is trudging along. I've done almost four of the pattern repeats on the leg. The pattern calls for six, so I'm a little more than halfway down the leg. Then it's a quick stockinette heel flap, a turn, and... Well, I have a ways to go. I have been itching to start a new sock, though, and now I know it's because of all that killer sock yarn in my stash.

Anyhow, I ordered the extra sock needles from Knit Picks last night. I do have a US 3, so I will have something to work on until my teeny tiny little teeny tiny needles arrive. Worsted weight socks=awesome. Ooh, I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun!

Monkey Revealed

Sorry for the delay! Here is the first Monkey:

and a closeup:

with an extreme closeup of the heel flap:

I finished it last night while watching a pre-Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston in "Second Coming". A great show with a great story, right up to the end, wherein I was sorely disappointed. I'm fine with it, though, because CE is an amazing actor and a pleasure to watch.

Today I dragged the boys to the Faire and a fun time was had by all. Here is Pirate Isaac:

Here is Ezra:

I could not get him to wear a costume. Oh, well. Maybe for the next Faire.

It is Done

The Monkey is done. I totally f'd up the grafted toe--can't seem to get the hang of it--but I'm still happy with it. Peggy was right. The finished sock weighed 25 grams and the remaining ball of yarn weighed in at 70/65 grams. Pictures tomorrow, when we return from the Faire.

Toe Started

I started shaping the toe of the Monkey last night and will probably finish this sock at knitting group today. Yay! Then I will only need to knit one more. Great.

A Stay of Execution

The Monkey is no longer on time out. I ripped back the two rows last night and will continue knitting on it today. I am still on the fence as to whether I will actually knit a pair of Monkeys, however. I really do like Peggy's suggestion--I'm going to check to see how much yarn is left and maybe I will have enough left over for a pair of Jaywalkers. We'll see.

It's not like I'm never going to be able to knit up the Jaywalkers--I have plenty of other yarn I could knit them in. Funny story... The other day I tripped while surfing the web (oops, my credit card slipped out and, oh my gosh, I typed in the number and clicked send) and I sort of purchased a little of this (arrived yesterday) and some of this (hasn't arrived yet, but, c'mon, it's on sale. What was I supposed to do?). Then there is this my sister gave to me for my birthday. Any of these yarns would make beautiful Jaywalkers. I just can't stop thinking about the Jaywalkers Peggy is doing. Seriously, I'm obsessed with them. They. Are. Gorgeous. Peggy, I'm sorry if I'm embarassing you.

It seems like there should be some sort of knitting commandment: "Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Blog Neighbor's Jaywalkers" but I just can't help it.

A Shakespearean Dilemma

Everybody in the knitblogosphere seems to be working on either Monkeys or Jaywalkers. Chasing Bunny has got a picture of the Jaywalkers she is working on. She happens to be doing these socks in the same yarn and colorway that I am knitting my Monkeys in and now I am faced with a dilemma. My sock is on a time out (again) because I screwed up (again) one pattern repeat before starting the toe shaping and I need to rip back two rows. That's fine, I can do that. But Noodleknit's Jaywalkers are just. so. beautiful. I think I must have sock envy because I really really want to rip back the Monkeys entirely and knit the Jaywalkers. To Rip or not to Rip? That is the question.

Memorial Day Knitting

I did get some knitting done while sitting at the parade yesterday.

Here's the Monkey sock:



When we got home, I cast on for Isaac's Halloween costume.



Yes, you read that right and yes, that is Red Heart Yarn. You see, Isaac wants to be a bat again this year and the bat costume I sewed for him 2 Halloweens ago a)does not fit him well and b)looks very ratty from almost constant wear. Since I don't sew anymore, I figured why not knit a costume? I bought 5 huge skeins of Red Heart super saver (on sale $1.99 each) which should be MORE than enough to knit him a hat with ears and a batty-looking cape. Cool, huh? I should also have enough yarn to make a matching costume for Ezra.

I know, I'm a geek.

A Letter

My Dearest Monkey socks,

I could never stay mad at you for long. Your beautiful Tofutsies yarn in colorway 728 and delightful Cookie-designed lace are too delicious for me to resist. I’m so glad we made up. Even though I had to rip back your perfectly turned heel, attractive stockinette heel flap, and one repeat of the lace pattern, I still adore you. Thank you for being so forgiving of me. I know that our bond will be ever greater.

Love,
Your Knitter

Untitled

The Monkey socks are on a time-out.

I made a mistake and am now faced with either tinking back all of the gusset stitches and (possibly) re-doing the entire heel flap or living with break in the pattern repeat across the top of the foot. I am annoyed and I can't decide, so I put the project on a time-out.

The Booga Bag is finished. Photo in the Gallery.

I have the best sister in the world.

Here's what she gave me for my birthday.

I am so blessed to have a sister who gets me. Thanks again, Rachel!

Finally, the big news in our family as of Friday is that we got a Wii. Normally a new game system in our house would be quite unremarkable and not at all worth mentioning on a blog which is supposed to be devoted to knitting. However, check out this game that came as part of the bundle:

Everything except the person riding that cow is textured to look like knitting. How cool is that?

Taking Care of Business

I'm actually getting knitting work done. Here is the Booga Bag:

It's officially off the needles, but I haven't felted it yet, so I'm not counting it as a FO. It's in the laundry pile and will be felted tomorrow.

Here are the Monkey Socks when I started them a couple of days ago:


And here they are tonight:

I've started the heel flap and will probably finish the first sock this weekend. This is an awesome pattern. If you haven't knit these up yet... Go. Go now and knit one up. I'll wait. ... ... See? Isn't is awesome? The pattern repeat looks very intricate, but it's actually very simple. Thank you thank you thank you Cookie A. I love it.

I've also done another swatch for TKGA and reknit one of them. Photos of those to follow at a later time.

Lastly, we've had Doozer for almost 2 weeks now and he ROCKS. He fits in so well with our family, it's like we've always had him.

Cool, right?

A couple of things...

1. How many Knitters does it take to change a light bulb? Various answers found here.
2. Ever wondered what your GI tract would look like if it were made from knitwear?
3. I finished my sock swatch and the actual gauge is 32 sts & 44 rows = 4 inches. So, I settled on this pattern for my next pair of socks. Awesome, right? I guess I will try a toe-up sock some another time.