Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Everything is beautiful, wish you were here!

Since Ruben and I are vacationing on Sleeve Island I thought I'd send you guys a virtual postcard!

Both the front and back are completed and I have about 1/4 of both sleeves finished (I'm knitting both at the same time!) so this gorgeous sweater should be drying on my blocking board by next weekend. Then a bit-o-mattress stitch and he's off to a rendezvous with Santa for a special place under a special tree :) Don't ya just love the holidays?

I did manage to finish another gift....I give you A Step Above!



Specs:

A Step Above entrelac socks from Knitter's Magazine Summer 2004

Just over 1 skein (for a size 7.5 - 8 woman's foot and 6 inch cuff!!) of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, colorway Seaside

US #1 (2.25mm) metal DPNs for ribbing and US #0 (2.0mm) for the rest of the sock

Mods: Because entrelac tends to bias the knitted fabric, it's hard to get gauge. When I first made these socks in 2004 I was in a group with the designer who knits TONS of entrelac and she suggests going down 1-2 needle sizes from your "usual" needles size to get gauge. The pattern as written was too large for my recipient so I knit it on less stitches and eliminated 2 of the cuff "tiers" for a 6 vs. 8 inch cuff.

These sock are made with an afterthought heel. As much fun as the socks are to knit, picking up the stitches for the heel is heinous! Bogie of Knit Flix made very similar mods to mine as well as suggestions for making the heel a bit easier...and she was smart enough to write em down, hehe...(link above)

I LOVE how these socks turned out! I think they are really unique and very stylish and I hope the recipient loves them as much as I do! Go ahead, make a pair - entrelac is fun!!

Since I do much of my knitting for family/friends/body parts that are far away you guys never get to see the "action" shots.

My brother and his family were here for Thanksgiving (sadly sans my niece who has a new job -- miss you Nicodemus!) and my beautiful sis-in-law was kind enough to do a little modeling....

Hedera with the recipient's actual feet in them! Imagine that! And my niece's beaded wristers....

My beautiful SIL the feet and hands belong to!


Last but surely not least, here's what I see 99% of the time when I'm sitting on my couch watching TV and knitting away...


My knitting supervisor hard at work....notice the silky wool and the addi turbo in the pic....the P-Man is taking inventory to facilitate Ruben's completion! Wouldn't you just kill to be that relaxed? :) Have a great week everyone!

27 comments:

Beth said...

That's great to have friends and relatives that appreciate all the time, effort, and love you put into their handknit gifts.

Hugs to the P-Man!

Anonymous said...

Next week I'm going to make a run up to Webs to see if that have that issue of Knitter's. They have a lot of old magazines. I. Must. Have. Entrelac. Socks.

Harlem Purl said...

I am in love with your entrelac socks. I went my LYS that has old Knitters magazines. Of course, they had 2005 and 2003 but not one magazines from 2004. I think I'll be souring ebay very shortly.

La Cabeza Grande said...

Back at you, with the beautiful peachy Hederas, kiddo!

Love the Knitting Supervisor at work. Such a taskmaster, that guy ;o)

Anonymous said...

Love those entrelac socks and your sil's socks and mitts. She's beautiful!

Anonymous said...

wow you're zooming through ruben!

the entrelac socks are interesting -- what a good way to use that LL too.

as for p man, well what can i say? he's as adorable as ever!

Carole Knits said...

A beautiful picture of your SIL. And Pumpkin clearly has the role of "supervisor" down pat. As for your title, I've always wanted to send one that says, "The weather is here. Wish you were beautiful." Hee.

Cathy said...

Those entrelac socks are fantastic! Your sil makes a great model and her socks and mitts look great, but you KNOW, that PMan steals the show everytime ;)

Suzanne said...

Your son is so beautiful! Peaceful and warm--it comes through on the photo!

I absolutely love those entrelac socks--I can see them in Trekking, simple stripes.....fabulous! Great idea. Still, your son is lovely!

AmyP said...

The entrelac socks are amazing. The striping in each section (?) gives it another dimension!

Nana Sadie said...

Lovely projects, model, and post, and yes, I'd kill to be that relaxed. What do they know that we don't?
(((hugs)))

Alison said...

Great socks! I'll be getting back to mine soon, but I'm still resting my hands a bit from the marathon knitting.

Your SIL is very pretty and of course, P-man is always handsome! (Not to jinx you or anything, but I'm glad we're getting regular picts of him again:)

Agnes said...

Lovely model ... lovely knits! I think the ASA socks are very good in breaking up pooling yarns! I have to try it some time ... maybe before the Forest Path Stole as a practice?
Talking about the FPS, it seems there are quite some people interested. Maybe we can really go ahead with the KAL. What do you think?
I would hate to leave home if I have such a cutie knitting supervisor! hahaha ...

Carol said...

Beautiful socks! And yes, how nice is it when you get to see them in use! Poor P-Man all that supervisory work. Well someone has to keep the yarn from rolling off the couch!

Jes said...

Wow! those socks make me a little dizzy, but they sure are cool =)

Can't wait to see the finished sweater, I'm sure it's a beaut!

Lorette said...

Love the socks! You're making good progress on the sweater; I can't wait to see a finished photo!

Monika said...

Your ASA turnout out great! I just love this pattern.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the recipient will just love them as only a fellow knitter can appreciate the time and love that goes into every stitch. Just don't ask HER to knit entrelac, as she will probably fling herself head first into a diatribe that might very likely end with the flinging of the fecal matter.

(Just kidding)

Oh, and you can send along P-man with those socks too, I'm sure she won't mind in the least!

hugs

Confessions of a Knitting Diva said...

I want to squish P-man everytime I see his picture!!! The socks are great!

alltangledup said...

my goodness those entrelac socks look nice. I've never tried entrelac before but the effect is really unique .. might make a good warm-up project for the forest path stole ;-)

Anonymous said...

Those socks are awesome. You've got me all inspired. I think leaning entrelac will be on my 2007 New Years Knitting Resolutions list.

maritza said...

Wow, those Step Above socks are amazing! Great job!

Anonymous said...

The socks are so cool. I love what the entrelac does to the striping!
P-man is soo cute-just give me a bed and I'll be out too. ;)

Dropstitchknitter said...

The Socks are Way too Cool!!! And I think that P-man is one supremely relaxed cat - I would love to snuggle up with some yarn and sleep!

Kathleen said...

I have never seen anything like those socks!

Hunter said...

What beautiful socks. I love entrelac, too.

And the P-Man. Just as gorgeous as ever. I watched as Tigger climbed up on the couch next to Chuck and fell instantly asleep. It's amazing how they can relax every muscle in their body.

We're jealous of Tigger's ability to sleep, too.

I hope you're having a wonderful day.

Hugs and purrs.

Darilyn and Tigger

soapy said...

those entelac socks are wonderful! nice job!