It's the Eighth Wonder of the Modern World...

Ok it's not the eighth wonder it's just one of the world's prettiest socks! Just look....

It's the Caramel Apple Twisted Flower Socks!

A closer look

Which side do you think is more photogenic? :)

One last peek...

Now this, my friends, is a serious pair of socks!!

Specs:

Pattern: Twisted Flower Socks by the amazing Cookie A

Size: M

Magic loop, US #1.5 (2.5 mm) 32" addi turbo

Dream in Color Smooshy, Chinatown Apple colorway

Mods: NOT A SINGLE ONE!!!

Cookie A is a designing goddess so why mess with perfection altho I confess I tried to! (apparently I am genetically unable to knit a pattern unaltered)

The pattern calls for a US #1.5 for the medium size but it "seemed" a bit too big because of the stretchiness of the lace (we'll just ignore how much cables, even tiny ones, pull in the fabric for now...) So I went down to a US#1 and ended up with a too small sock! Of course I didn't listen to that nag inside my head until I was past the gusset on sock #1...D'OH!! So I am once again back to the school of WWCAD - what would Cookie A do! hehe!

The pattern is immaculate and easy to follow altho the teenie cables really slow down the knitting flow even when cabling without a cable needle. These are definitely not mindless TV time socks. I moaned about the fussy cables while I was knitting the sock but truth be told now that I'm finished, I really miss them!

I think the yarn I chose is perfect and I'm so completely happy that I broke out of my color rut and got acquainted with brown!! The color is so rich and full of depth yet it enhances the texture rather than detracts from it.

These will be leaving Casa de Fluffy soon as they are a holiday gift. I hope the new owner loves them as much as I do and to ease my pain, I KNOW I'll be knitting these again!

I think Pumpkin looks like he'll miss them too, doesn't he?

Actually I think he looks like he just got caught with his paw in the wild salmon jar, doesn't he?

Have a great weekend!!

To those that celebrate...

Happy Thanksgiving

Florida Style!!!
Have a wonderful day and enjoy your blessings!!!

Random Friday

Thanks for all the compliments on La Dolce Vita!

I'm hoping my SIL likes it as much as everyone here! I'll try to get some modeling pics once it's gifted so you can see it on a real body cause it sure is pretty and will look stunning with her olive-toned beauty!

Regarding my Veteran's Day post...I know lots of us have seen the familiar poppy boutonniere but I'm guessing many of us didn't know the origin of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance, me included.

The poem I posted In Flander's Fields, written by Canadian field doctor John McCrae during World War I is the inspiration for using poppies for remembering and honoring our veterans. He wrote it after presiding, in lieu of having no Chaplain, over the funeral of a close friend and comrade and was touched by the poppies growing amid the headstones in a small cemetery in Belgium. I think the poem is just as touching and important 93 years later...sadly.

Now for some less sobering randomness, look what I got in the mail.....

How cool is this??
Anyone who's ever gotten an email from me knows my address is CherryRipeGirl@comcast.net. Altho many of the online losers are sure that has some deviant meaning, the origin of the name is simply that an ex-boyfriend who was an Aussie ex-pat from Perth gave it to me. Cherry Ripes are a very popular candy Down Under and it was his Aussie way of calling me his sweetie (awwww!)

Donna, knitter extraordinaire and owner of the cutest whisk broom lovin' bunny ever was sweet enough to think that I should taste my namesake and so she sent me a bag of Cherry Ripes straight from Oz!! So YUMMY!! And that purple-y black something else peeking from behind the candy is a really yummy, gorgeous skein of cashmere sock yarn from The Knittery in the colorway, Midnight! (no Beth, you can't have it!) Thank you so much Donna, both your gifts were totally wonderful!

Because I had a few requests I've added new pattern to my side bar - my
Extra Warm Kureyon Wristers in two sizes! Enjoy!

One last bit of random before I go, heh...

On Ravelry, I belong to the Sock Knitters Anonymous Group (as an aside, a very fun, active group with a cool Sockdown Challenge every month - come and join us!)

I posted this to the group and the subject still intrigues me so I'm posting it again here....

In one of the Ravelry forums there is thread titled "Not feeling the sock love?" or something to that affect...

It was a thread for people who don't knit socks and don't get sock knitting (Imagine that???? Hehe)

Some of the comments really surprised me tho -- many posters responded that they don't knit socks because "they don't wear socks" or they "don't wear handknit socks".

This indicated to me that unless the knitter is wearing the socks herself, she's not knitting them! This concept really surprised me cause here at Chez Fluffy, 90% of the socks I knit are for someone else. I would also say that at least 50% of the other items I knit are for someone else too.

So what do you all think, are most knitters "selfish"? ***

***I used the word selfish in quotes because I don't think knitting for one's self is a bad thing, it was just a surprising observation as a reason not to knit socks.

Lastly, a random pic of my favorite kitty man

Getting a random and much appreciated head scratch!

Have a wonderful week, see you before Turkey Day!!

Thank You

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Thank you, dear soldier, your honor and bravery is remembered...

Busy, busy, busy!!

Why is it, despite planning and executing holiday knitting year round, I always feel sorta *crunched* this time of year?

The good news is I've been a busy knitter and that puts me in the homestretch for meeting holiday knitting goals!

I don't mean to imply that I don't love holiday knitting, I do!! And my recipients love my handknits just as enthusiastically which thrills me to no end! There is nothing better than seeing someone truly happy to receive a handknit and love it so much that they put it on immediately and wear it with a huge smile on their face!

I do however confess I have weeded out the less than enthusiastic from my list, I wouldn't want you to think it's all knitting Utopia here at blog de fluffy :)

I have so much to show you so I'll jump right in!

Here's a pair of Kureyon Wristers I whipped up...

I'm not the biggest Kureyon fan cause despite it's glorious color I find it horribly scratchy and I hate pulling extraneous crap out of my yarn! But I had this pretty colorway in my stash and I wanted some really warm wristers - and believe me, Kureyon knit at 7 sts/inch makes for a dense, toasty wrister!

Specs:

Exactly one skein of Kureyon, colorway #150

My own pattern

Magic loop, US#4 (3.5mm)

I literally used every inch of the skein for these. Once knit I washed them in baby shampoo and then while still wet massaged some Redken "Soft" hair conditioner into them and rinsed very well. Now they are super soft and super cuddly!

Next up, I give you La Dolce Vita!

Here she is lying down after a bath...

(The color is kinda off here, it's not quite so orange)

And the money shot...

This color is spot on on my monitor - it's a vibrant, sunny coral

Specs:

La Dolce Vita Tank by Dipsy Doodle

9 skeins Knitpicks Shine Worsted in Coral

US# 3 (3.25mm) Addi Lace needle

I totally LOVE how this tank came out!! I think it is truly lovely!

It's an original design by Angela of Dipsy Doodle and as soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect for the person I plan to give it to. The pattern is not for the feint of heart tho!

Altho the lace isn't really difficult, there is no guidance for maintaining the decreases in pattern so a knitter has to "knit on her feet" - not at all mindless but not terribly difficult if you pay attention.

Mods: I felt the armscythe as written was too deep and the V-Neck, too shallow, so I redesigned both to suit my needs. I added an extra inch to the body length. I did short row shoulders and used a 3 needle bind off for the shoulder seams. The pattern calls for a crochet edging to the neck and armscythe but I wanted a more finished look so after sewing the tank together I picked up stitches around the neck and arms and did 3 row garter stitch neck and arm bands to match the garter ridges in the pattern.

All in all, I'm very pleased with this top and despite all the mods I think it's a wonderful design (thanks Angela!) and will probably knit it again, albeit not too soon!

Wait, there's even more - I told you I was busy, busy, busy! I'm still working on my Caramel Apple Twisted Flower socks but since that was my only WIP, I cast on for a new pair of socks - check off another holiday gift, woot!

Here's my Marigold Sock...

I'm using Opal Petticoat #1290 which I think is *perfect* for this pattern! Isn't it pretty?

I'm loving this pattern cause it's really cute yet super easy! It's become my "mindless" sock when I need a respite from teenie cables and because it's such an easy pattern it's infinitely more portable than the Caramel Apples! BTW, this would be a GREAT pattern for those toe-up sock virgins out there - if you're looking for the perfect pattern to get your feet wet with, imo, this is the one! I subbed the Turkish Cast-on (of course!) for the short row toe as written so that makes it even easier.

Whew, that was a busy post! I leave you with this cute pic of the P-man...I love it because it appears as if you are looking directly into his eyes, especially if you click to embiggen...

You're getting sleepy...you're being hypnotized...send organic wild salmon treats...hehehe...

Have a great weekend/week and don't stress about holiday knitting too much - it's still early :)

Can it really be November already?

Sheesh time sure does fly, doesn't it? Wasn't it just Independence Day?

At least it's gotten a bit cooler here and we managed not to meet Mr. Noel so a girl's gotta be grateful for the little things! (one more month to avoid the big "H", doo dah, doo dah!!)

I've been knitting A LOT or should I say re-knitting :(

I completed the first sock of the gorgeous Caramel Apple Twisted Flower sock past the gusset and once again I failed to heed that nagging little voice in my head telling me the socks were too snug! So of course the little voice bitch slapped me and I had to rip out all those annoying tedious pretty little cables! You would think she would speak up sooner, wouldn't you? heh...

But the Smooshy yarn is beyond stunning and sooo delightful to knit with I almost didn't mind a second take, almost! I switched to the #1.5 needles the pattern recommends (duh! but it *seemed* too big with a gauge of 8 sts/in on 72 sts cause the cables aren't all over the sock!!) and all is well!

So now I'm about an inch away from starting the toe decreases on the first sock but I wanted to show you this gorgeous heel...

Isn't that a thing of beauty?** You can really see the subtle nuances of color in this amazing yarn and the pattern is just breathtaking! It's about as far from "mindless knitting" as it gets and as I alluded to before the tiny cables are really tedious, even without using a cable needle but the end result will be so worth it! No more pics til a finished pair tho!

** the "beautiful" knails are shockingly NOT OPI, they are OPI's edgy little sister Nicole (the line is named after OPI's founder's daughter) I was sneaking in one last summery mani with the lovely shimmery pink called Provocative Pink

I got so embroiled in the Caramel Apple socks I neglected my Dolce Vita tank a bit but I'm on the home stretch now. I should finish the knitting this weekend and will give it a wash and a block and then seaming town, here I come! So in other words those pics will be coming soon too.

We may be low on the knitting pics here at Blog de Fluffy but I do have something spectacular to show you. Check these goodies out...

This is a slightly belated birthday gift all the way from England thanks to the kind and generous Emma! That's cashmere and silk bay-bee!!

The plump skeins on top are Posh Lucia sock yarn and the stunning purple shaded skeins are about 1200 yards of laceweight silk from Fyberspates - aren't I the luckiest knitter?? Thank you SO MUCH sweet Emma! I see some yummy socks and a killer shawl in my future thanks to you!

Look! Even the nosey P-Man is in love...

I guess he's just doing his job, he is my knitting supervisor after all!

On a side note, Michaela, a good friend of Emma, is raising some much needed funds for Emma's son Oliver. Oliver should be the poster child for making the most of every single day despite disability but unfortunately his winning "getter done" attitude doesn't pay for the VERY expensive adaptive equipment Oliver needs. Michaela is sewing together a cozy, colorful blanket that will be raffled off with the proceeds going to Oliver's Fund. If you can help either with a donation, a few knitted squares or buying a raffle ticket or two (a mere $2 each!) wont you go pay Michaela a visit and do what you can? You can even get an early start on Knit Unto Others 2007!

What we lack in knitting here at Blog de Fluffy, we make up for in handsome kitty man pics so here's another for the P-Man fans...

Kitty Dude is so photogentic, isn't he? :)

Enjoy your weekend and your extra hour of sleep! (YAY!)