The beginning of a Sock Madness sock

There she is:  a toe and 5 repeats.  72 sts on a foot that normally uses 56 sts.  I think it will be big on me.  We'll see.  In order to tighten it up, I'm using 2mm needles with their nasty pointy points that dig holes in my fingertips.  There's no way I can ever get 9 sts/inch with a larger needle.

It's pleasant to knit.  I'm not going quickly at all.  I don't mind getting knocked out on this round.  We're going from 30 places to 20, and for me to make that 20, I'd have to start zooming.  Not happening.  So, if I make it, I make it.  If not, that's OK too. 

I'm on a great team!  Many of my team mates have won in the past, and are now relaxed about it all.  Smart knitters with great attitudes. 

And now I have to get back to the socks.  Maybe I'll just make it.

A little layout

My string quilt will be 6x6, so a total of 36 10" squares.  Well, actually less than 10" because of the seams, but I like to make lap quilts, and I know, from having made a bunch of these before, that this size is quite adequate for a curl-up-under quilt.

So a layout with 9 blocks done.  Just playing around here; I have 27 more blocks to make and arrange.  What always surprises me with these string quilts is how how the colors ultimately interact with each other.  I carefully put together strips in some sort of order, but when you start to arrange them, the total effect is greater than the individual blocks.  Self-evident, I know, but I hadn't planned on this being a red/white/blue quilt, but that's what's happening.  Serendipity at its best.  Those dark blues were just tossed in because I needed more darks.  Surprise!

I love doing these things.  I lay down the first strip, and then decide how to put down the rest and in which order.  It doesn't look like I do that, but I do.  Most people just grab the next strip from the pile and sew it down; I don't.  What I do is slow, but what I'm most interested in in quilt making is the interaction of the colors and patterns. Speed is of no importance to me.

A new string quilt

After all the excitement (and pain) of finishing my Sock Madness socks, I need an easy peasy project:  A new string quilt.  I love making string quilts.  The best part is picking out the fabrics and deciding what goes next to what.  It's mindless, fun and pretty to do.

 

So, here I am, with 3 blocks sewn.  After I finish all the blocks, I'll pull out the paper foundation.  I have no idea on how I will arrange the blocks, although this is what I usually do.

I have my usual basketweave sock on the needles, but I'm working very very slowly on them.  My wrists need a good rest.

Sock Madness round 2

Echoes socks.  Stranded knitting on size 0 needles because I knit loosely and really wanted this pair for me.  So I knitted tightly and my wrists hurt and I'm not knitting for a few days.  But I like them, even though the toes are way too big and too long.  I'm not redoing them; they'll be covered by shoes and are not egregiously large or uncomfortable.

And now I'm going to start a new quilt, probably a log cabin because they're fun and mindless and I love to play with the fabrics.

Thanks, Deborah!  The pattern is easy, but it's hard on my hands to knit quickly with stranded knitting.