Cool Summer Footies

White lace and promises....
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Stretch, 41% Cotton, 39% wool, 13% Poly, Colorway #8010.
Pattern: Footies by Louise M.
Needles: #1 (2.25mm) dpns
Comments: I totally love this pattern and its result! I wasn't sure I would like such abbreviated socks. They're quick to knit, the pattern is easily memorized without a lot of yarn/needle contortions. It's written for two circulars, but since I don't care for the dangle and tangle of that needle configuration, I used double points. Just right for summer--tennis, anyone? Golf?
Maybe I'll just fritter away on Ravelry! I'm real good at frittering...

Seeds on Socks

I may be in love with the seed stitch. Yarn: Louet Gems, 100% Merino Wool, colorway Aqua.
Pattern: Personal pattern
Needles: #1 (2.25mm) dpns

Comments: More seed stitch on a sock. I think Louet may have some of the most beautiful solid colors offered in a sock yarn.

Slouch Socks

Yarn: Cestari Sock Collection, 75% Cotton, 25% Wool Colorway Timberwolf Gray
Pattern: Personal Pattern
Needles: #1 (2.25mm) dpns
Comments: I cast on 56 stitches for these socks, as 64 was just plain too big, and because it's mostly cotton, the yarn does not have a lot of elasticity.
When first knitting socks, I really wanted to do a pair to replace the cotton slouch socks I had in the 1980s. They rolled at the top and were so soft and comfy I never wanted to take them off. These are not quite as slouchy as those were, but they are every bit as comfy--or more so. They don't have lovely cables and lacy, intricate stitches. But they are honest, hardworking socks.
And can you tell--I have already bonded with them.

Geek Alert! A Calendar to Mesmerize

The Uniqlo calendar is fun! I saw this today at Snowangels. You can add it to your iGoogle, MySpace, Facebook, etc. They don't have Minneapolis, but they have several other USA cities.


And check out the clothes (specifically the footies) at their clothing site.

Floral Surprise

A friend from my knitting club brought this bouquet of peonies to me yesterday, and I wanted to share it with you. Isn't it lovely? Reminds me of June weddings in small towns years ago.

Thank you, Deanne!

Door County Bling!

Have you ever been to Door County? If not, you must go. It's a vacation area in the Wisconsin peninsula that has been spared all commercial chains. My friends and I had fabulous weather for the days we spent together!

We visited the Peninsula School of Art:

Had a lovely dinner at The Whistling Swan (and I highly recommend it)...

Found a fabulous new yarn shop called Red Sock Yarns...

Added to our Trollbeads bracelets (it's all about the bling)...

Had dinner at Alexander's (and I highly recommend it, too)...

Savored several ice cream cones at Not Licked Yet--Oh My!...

Oohed and aahed over the sunsets from the front porch at Edgewater...
And did a pitifully small amount of knitting...Still knitting...

Dotted Swiss

It was a yellow dotted swiss dress with purple sequins at the neckline. The ballet recital was performed with friends dressed alike on the same stage two-time Grammy winner Maria Schneider graced as a schoolgirl and musician extraordinaire many years later. Thick, dark blue velvet curtains with gold trim hid our teacher, Mrs. Palmer, at the sidelines expertly dancing the same steps in case anyone forgot them.

I never wore the dress again. Did I grow out of it? I don't remember. Most likely my mother, the fashion expert of our family, deemed it not worthy of my wardrobe. But I never forgot it and that magical night.

Sometimes you get inspiration from memories. This is one of those times.Yarn: Regia Cotton, 41% wool, 34% cotton, 25% Poly, colorway 122.
Pattern: My personal pattern, with the Seed Stitch Border.
Needles: #1 (2.25mm) Kollage square dpns.
Comments: Color is faded on the two lower photos, but the top one is pretty true. I cast on 60 stitches for these, rather than 64 because they have some cotton and they might stretch out as I wear them. Also made sure they were of a length that I could fold over to wear as anklets. The square needles have disappointingly developed some wear on the edges near the points.No purple sequins for these babies!

Lacy Mock Cable WaRshrag

This is as true I can photograph the peachy pink color in all its unblocked glory:
Pattern: Lacy Mock Cable Cloth (Ravelry Link) by Vaunda Rae Giberson.
Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream, colorway #18046
Needles: #6 (4.0mm) straights
Comments: Loved this pattern. It moves along quickly and looks really pretty when finished. The pattern has an skpo (slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over), and after two pattern repeats, I tried an ssk (slip, slip, knit) stitch instead, and that seemed to look a bit smoother as a left-leaning stitch. However, it's a waRshrag/dishcloth), so any scrutiny it might be subject to would be minor, if it happened at all.In service!This turned out to be about 8" x 8," which is a nice size, as they grow a bit when wet. Do you like waRshrags large or small? If you have a favorite waRshrags pattern, click on "comments" below and tell me about it.