Episode 12- Cotton-Eye Joe Socks

Thanks for joining me this week. Lots happened this week, I was busy all the time, but I still managed to eek out a bit of crafting. I don't think it's too terrible, considering how really busy I was. My episode starts off kind of slow, but gets rolling pretty quickly, and then I really get in the groove.

Needlework is a big deal in my family. My mom knits, crochets, cross-stitches, sews and quilts. She mostly quilts. My grandmother used to crochet and has tried to knit, and embroiders and sews. My aunt crochets. My great grandmother crocheted, and knitted. Another cross-stitched, and another crocheted. So there is a lot of crafting mojo in my family, and I think that has inspired me and kept me going in my own crafting life. There is a cross-stitch piece that was done by my paternal great grandmother, and it hangs in my living room, and I look at it every day.

I went to Project Linus Make-A-Blanket Day, and it was a blast! I got to see some of my yarn-y friends that make blankets for Project Linus, and then I also worked on my blankets while I was there. I am really close to finishing my corner-to-corner throw. The pattern is available on the Red Heart website. I am not sure of all the yarn that I am using for this blanket, because most of it was donated to Project Linus and is just various acrylic.

I also worked on my mitered square blanket that I am using the same pattern that everyone is using for their sock yarn blankets, but I am doing it with worsted weight. In reality I was testing to see if I wanted to do a sock yarn blanket. The jury is back and it is a decided "no". I have no desire to make squares that small, even if I don't have to do any seaming. I also needed to use up a bunch of different scraps, so I thought that the mitered square blanket would be a good way to do that.

My third blanket that I'm making for Project Linus I didn't actually work on at the Make-A-Blanket Day, just because the long hook can get unwieldy. I am working it in orange and black. I was going for tiger stripes, but I think it is coming off more like Halloween. I like working on it, and hope to have all three blankets done for Project Linus next month.

The name of the podcast comes from my rambling about the mystery yarn that my socks are being made out of. I never figured out where the yarn came from or what kind it is. I made up the knit and purl pattern on the top of the socks, and it turned out pretty well, I think. It's interesting and keeps me engaged in them when I work on them, but they are really purse knitting.

As promised, here are the pictures of me dying self-striping sock yarn with koolaid. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the finished socks. It was before I was really podcasting and blogging on a regular basis, so they just kind of fell through the cracks. The first picture is the yarn in the dye pot.

This second picture is the dyed yarn out to dry, so hopefully that gives you some idea of what it was like to dye up the yarn, or at least a better idea of what I was trying to describe in the podcast.

My last knitting work in progress is a shawl that I am making up the pattern completely myself, using lots of short rows to try and make it really long and not very deep. I won't be sure how well it has turned out until I bind off, but so far I think it is going pretty well. i am using Boboli Lace Yarn and Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Weight. I kind of wish I had chosen another color beside grey for the contrasting color, but I think that it is turning out pretty well.

Last but not least I finished the singles of the Malabrigo Nube Solis that I will ply with itself, and have about a sport weight yarn. I really love the colors and the way that it spun up so thin. I am really enjoying this spin.

Thanks for watching and I hope that you enjoy your week! See you next week with new scenery since I'll be at the lake, and hopefully I will be outside, with a lovely view.