more socks!

I am *loving* knitting with my handspun. It creates a dense, but warm fabric that is just amazing-- and the colours! wow.

One sock done, due to zooming through it at a hockey game; the other started, and on the needles. I'm doing 2by2 ribbing on the instep and up the leg; I like it. My feet are kind of weird, due to being born with bunions on them, so they're wide in some spots and narrow in others. And big!

This handspun was spun from some roving I ordered from handpaintedyarn.com (too lazy to link), then over dyed with some burgundy/purple to give the colour some more depth. It was a little too pink and white for me. While I'm at it-- the commenter who asked what colourway the last socks were in-- I can't remember. Sorry! Anyways, this roving was incredibly soft, as anyone who has ever worked with malabrigo will know. (same company.) Check out this awsome rustic striping:

I've been destashing a lot lately, making room for new purchases, and being stricter about what colours I really like and look good on me, and trying to only buy yarns that I have projects for. I'm tired of accumulating yarn just for the sake of it and frankly, I don't have enough money to do that. (but, er, we won't say anything about the fiber stash. shh.)

knit, knit, knit

I have SO been knitting. I've been knitting up a storm, in fact, what with a project for my LYS, a super secret project knitting for someone, a finished pair of socks, starting on another, starting a tivoli...oof. So my goal for this winter (fitting, because it's Socktoberfest) is to always have a pair of socks on the needles. The simpler the better, at least for toting around, since I am terrible at memorizing patterns. Even the simplest lace pattern is hard for me to memorize. I am numbers challenged, I think. anyways, having a pair of socks on the needles increases the possibility that my feet will be warm this winter.

Et Voila, one sock on one foot.

We now have a pair.

I knit these with my own handspun, spun from some wool blend I bought from Spunky Eclectic. I had the skein up for sale on Etsy, but it wasn't moving, so I decided it was destined to be socks for me. I love the rustic striping of them. these are some vibrant socks! I immediately cast on another pair, with more handspun, but haven't taken any photographs yet.

I also cast on for Grumperina's Picovoli, without the picots: This knitting from the top thing is cool. After the one skein wonder I made, I was hyped to cast on something else from the top (no seaming! yay!) and cast on this tee with some Mission Falls cotton I had in my stash. I had bought this in New York, at Purl Soho way back in May, and had been contemplating destashing it because I didn't know what to make with six balls. It works well for this, although it hurts my hands. It's pretty, and makes an interesting fabric, but I think that I just don't really like knitting with cotton.

I'm all about making actual sweaters and things right now, because winter is coming and I get cold easily. Plus I want to update my wardrobe. The whole style thing is hard for me--I love fashion, and read fashion mags religiously, but am reluctant to spend money that I don't have on clothes. Plus my lifestyle doesn't really call for it-- I'm the only employee in my office for a web-based business, and other than that I'm an artist. My usual dress style is jeans and a t-shirt. but there's this cool store by where I work that has the most beautiful, luxurious, unique clothes that I looove, and the saleswomen who work there are always dressed so amazingly. I go in there often, just to look.