Look what was at my door when I woke up this morning!

I am soooo excited! Look what I found on my doorstep this morning.

It must have been delivered first thing this morning sometime. What a wonderful surprize! It is from The Sanguine Gryphon's Etsy shop. I am really happy with it.


There is one skein of 100% silk in the colourway "foxtrot". It is really pretty and I am so excited to make... something... with it. Don't really know what yet, but I am sure that it will be great. This yarn I bought mainly as a treat for myself, since I didn't have a plan for it yet. Yumyum!

Then, what I was really excited to get was this skein of laceweight 100% alpaca. It is sooooo fine: 620 yards in 2oz. I cannot wait to get started on some lace work (right after this post!). It is a gorgeous colour, and I am totally happy just looking at it. Yay!

Orange Zigzag Sock Pattern

I've had some requests for the pattern for my Orange Zigzag sock, so here goes...

Cuff

Loosely CO 60 sts. Divide evenly between 3 needles and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist.
Work 10 rounds in 1x1 Rib.

Leg

Round 1: K2, P2 around.
Rounds 2 & 3: repeat.
Round 4: P1, K2, (P2, K2) around to last stitch, P1.
Rounds 5 & 6: repeat.
Round 7: P2, K2 around.
Rounds 8 & 9: repeat.
Round 10: P1, K2, (P2, K2) around to last stitch, P1. Rounds 11 & 12: repeat.
Round 13: K2, P2 around.
Rounds 14 & 15: repeat.
Round 16: K1, P2, (K2, P2) around to last stitch, K1. Rounds 17 & 18: repeat.
Repeat these 18 rounds until leg is desired length.

Heel

Work first 31 sts of next round in pattern onto one needle; these sts will be left on hold on this needle, to be worked later for the top of the foot. K rem 29 sts onto one needle; the heel flap will be worked back and forth on these sts.
Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, [p1, sl 1] to end.Next Row [RS]: K all sts.Repeat these 2 rows 20 times more.
Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, p15, p2tog, p1. Turn work.Next Row [RS]: Sl 1, k4, ssk, k1. Turn work.Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, p5, p2tog, p1. Turn work.Next Row [RS]: Sl 1, k6, ssk, k1. Turn work.Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, p7, p2tog, p1. Turn work.Next Row [RS]: Sl 1, k8, ssk, k1. Turn work.Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, p9, p2tog, p1. Turn work.Next Row [RS]: Sl 1, k10, ssk, k1. Turn work.Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, p11, p2tog, p1. Turn work.Next Row [RS]: Sl 1, k12, ssk, k1. Turn work.Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, p13, p2tog, p1. Turn work.Next Row [RS]: Sl 1, k14, ssk, k1. 17 sts rem.

Gusset

Slip last 8 sts of previous row onto one needle; continuing with this needle, pick up and k 22 sts (1 st in each slipped st) along edge of heel flap and 1 st between heel flap and held sts, k first st of held sts. 32 sts. This needle will be designated Needle 1.
Using next needle, work held sts in patt, to last st. 29 sts. This needle will be designated Needle 2.
Using next needle, k last st of held sts, pick up and k 1 st between held sts and top of heel flap, pick up and k 22 sts along edge of heel flap, k first 9 sts of heel flap. 33 sts. This needle will be designated Needle 3. There are 94 sts in total.
Next Round: K8, [k tbl] to last 2 sts on Needle 1, k2tog; work all sts on Needle 2 in patt as set; ssk, [k tbl] to last 9 sts of Needle 3, k9. 2 sts decreased.
Next Round: K all sts on Needle 1; work all sts on Needle 2 in patt; k all sts on Needle 3.
Next Round: K to last 2 sts on Needle 1, k2tog; work all sts on Needle 2 in patt; ssk, k to end of Needle 3.
Repeat these last 2 rounds 14 times more. 14 sts rem on Needle 1, 29 sts on Needle 2, 15 sts rem on Needle 3; 58 sts in total.
InstepCont in patt, working sts on Needle 1 and Needle 3 in stockinette st and sts on Needle 2 in patt as set, until foot measures approx. 1.5 inches less than desired length.

Toe

Next Round: K all sts.
Next Round: K to last 3 sts on Needle 1, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to last 3 sts on Needle 2, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to end of Needle 3. 4 sts decreased.
Repeat these 2 rounds 7[8] times more. 6 sts on Needle 1, 13 sts on Needle 2, 7 sts on Needle 3.
Using Needle 3, k to last st of Needle 1. 13 sts each on Needle 2 and Needle 3.
Break yarn, leaving 12-inch tail.Graft sts on Needle 2 to sts on Needle 3.

It's been awhile

Seems like I haven't posted in awhile. It's not that I haven't been knitting... it's just that I have been knitting anything really blog-worthy, I guess.

My orange sweater is coming along really nicely. The body and hood are all done and grafted together, and now all I have to do is work on the sleeves. The sweater is totally too small, but I think that it will work in an "i'mtootightinallthewrongplaces" kind of way.



My first monkey sock for the sock swap has been done for a little while, but I just haven't seemed to be able to start the second one. Here is a photo of the finished first one.

Probably the most exciting thing that I have started lately is this hat. You will notice that there is nothing really to it yet, and that is because I keep frogging it back to the beginning, trying to find the perfect style. But the yarn is nice in a really sensory stimulating kind of way.

Twinkle Knits

Here are some photos of my Twinkle's Big City Knits top. I realize that I am not as petite (in any sense of the word) as the models in the book, and I admit that this book made me feel wierd considering that I was at the largest demograph that the book represented, however I think that in the end the top turned out really nice. I knitted it out of Ecofil recycled cotton x yarn with 8mm circular needles. The pattern was so fun and kept my interest from beginning to end.

In other exciting news... I made my first Etsy yarn purchase! I have been wandering around that site for awhile now, but I finally took the plunge! I am oh so excited to get my yarn, and will definately post some pics upon its arrival.

Something cool

Here is a sweater that I have been working on for awhile that I just picked up again. I am knitting it from a Vogue Knitting pattern (can't remember the issue, but I got a photo of it). I am loving the orange yarn. Just hope it fits.


In other current projects, here is my progress on the little monkeys! I am just loving the pattern. I am actually slowing down my progress so that I stay interested and loving it for as long as possible. What fun! :)

A couple of finishes

Well, in exciting news I finished a tank top after a year and a half in the making. Admittedly, I haven't actually worked on it for about the last year and 5 months... all I had left to do was graft the straps together. You would almost think that I don't LIKE finishing projects! :). Anyway, here it is...

Also, my stripy socks are done too. These were so much fun because they were such a huge gauge that they knit up really fast. They were a great distraction, and used up a lot of tiny yarn ends that I had kicking around.


Finally, I have started on my MONKEY SOCKS for the monkey sock swap! I absolutely love the pattern! It is so perfect... exactly the challenge that I like in a project. I am even loving the tiny needles. I think that this sock swap is going to be sooo much fun!