Rusted Root, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Okay okay. This is a really old FO. Like months old. I played with the color a little in picture editing to make it more like life. I really like this sweater. I've been super lazy and haven't hand washed it in awhile, so it's not getting as much wear as it should, but I love it to pieces. It was a quick and easy knit. I used the yarn recommended, and even the color used for the Rusted Root pattern. The color is not as pretty as in the pattern pic or my pic, truth be told. It's a little more dull. I just didn't want to post with no picture.

I swore I would get back to the blog with renewed fervor, but you know I just like knitting so much more than blogging, and I spend oodles of time reading other people's blogs for inspiration and envy-making. I'm in love with Bloglines. I'm going to say it. I also love going to the blogs I read, then reading all the blogs they read and adding them to my subscriptions. It's a bit of an addiction.

I have other FOs coming soon. The green and white striped socks are done. I also finished some Regia Jaquard self striping wild colored socks, and am onto some gift socks out of Colinette Jitterbug. Love the Jitterbug color and feel, but wish it had more yardage. Will post pics soon.

In a recent measure of bravery, I began knitting in my summer school classes. I had done it in class before, but heard through the grapevine that it wasn't really appropriate for a grad student to do. Not from my teachers, but from one whose classroom regime I have yet to be placed under (and thankfully will not in my entire program). I decided to screw it and just knit. It keeps me sane. And the rest of the class is doing crosswords and sudoku anyway. I think I read about a teacher teaching her class to knit to help students focus. I may be making this up...but I bet it could help with ADHD. Who knows. Maybe I'll experiment with this someday.

Socks in progress...



These are some socks I've been making with Regia sock yarn and the Knit Picks Two At Once, Magic Loop, Toe-Up Sock Pattern. It was everything I've been looking for in a sock pattern. This is my first magic loop sock pattern and I love it. I also like having them both done at once. My first pair of socks came out at different gauges because I wasn't being careful about it. I also love the lack of laddering on socks. This pattern includes a heel flap...another big plus for me. I did a short row heel on my last pair of socks, but I doubt that they'll hold up like a heel flap. I extended the one on these a bit for extra stability.

Here is Seymour, looking adorable and confused about the sock goodness. He's a yarn lover for sure...his favorite, to EAT is Blue Sky Organic Bulky Cotton. I think he definitely prefers the cumin color over the sky blue. I got the cotton to make these. So far they've been a disaster. I made the first pair with the baby blue color, but they stretched to enormous proportions, so I ripped them out in a fury, and reknit with smaller needles and for the smaller size. Then they were too small. Bleh. So I knit them again with size 8 needles in the smaller size as a compromise. So far so good. My seaming is a bit whack, so I have to go back and fix it before I'm willing to show them.

Here is a sock on the foot of the intended recipient, Drew. This will be his second knitted gift from me. I'm considering making him some kind of old man cardigan for the fall...but I don't want to curse the relationship. Thoughts?
Sorry for the slightly blurry photos.