In which knitting appears on the knitting blog!

It seems like I've been knitting a lot of socks lately. Now, I don't by any means consider myself a Sock Knitter, but socks are just so darn easy to design that I've been doing a lot of that lately. Two of the pairs will be seen in the upcoming "Tops & Toes" by DRG Publications/The House of White Birches, due out this fall. The other pair, well, we'll have to see.

So anyway, since I've been knitting all these pairs of socks, I started thinking I needed to get a pair of sock blockers. After looking in all the local yarn shops and finding only those awful plastic things (no offense, Amber!), I decided I wanted something a little prettier. And where else do you go for something that's pretty and practical but Etsy??

swoon!

I got these from Leggy Creations on clearance at a stunning $20 - for the pair. Her usual price is only $30 per pair, which is a steal considering that most of the plastic blockers are $25 per pair. If you're in the market for sock blockers, I'd highly recommend checking out her Etsy shop. I believe she takes custom orders, as well as the items already in her shop. I only regret that I only need one pair, because these could get addicting! I was also really happy with the friendly, personal service that Becky gave me, as well as super-quick shipping. Very, very happy! And these got put to use as soon as they arrived. On what, you ask? These:

monkeys!

Yes, I know there are like 5,000 pairs of these on Ravelry. Mine are the non-lacy version, knit in Koigu. Didn't they turn out pretty though? I absolutely love how they blocked so nicely on my new sock blockers! Hmm...maybe I will become a Sock Knitter, after all!

Till next time,
Sarah

A Brilliant Ikea...

I paid a visit to the Sunrise Ikea before leaving south Florida (that's a whole other story for a whole other blog post, but I can sum it up in one word: Hellhole!!!) and snagged some goodies. Among them was this lovely herb garden container, which I filled today:

pretty little green things!

Clockwise from top left, we have lavendar, large-leaf basil, chocolate mint, lettuce-leaf basil, rosemary, and sweet basil. I like basil a lot! I use it quite a bit to make fresh pesto. Yummy! Plus, it smells unbelievable! And since this lovely little collection is inside instead of on the porch, my whole sitting room is going to smell delicious - and I can't wait!

Loads of knitting is going on at my place these days. I'm trying to finish a dress, a sweater and half a pair of socks before the end of the month. Wish me luck!

Till next time,
Sarah

Rusted Root!

I finished my Rusted Root a couple of weeks back, and have been too lazy to take photos until this morning:

Look, there are green things here now!

I love my back porch!

I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease, 3 skeins for the Small size. I thought it might be knitting up a little too tightly at first, but now that it's finished I love how it turned out! Get all the gritty details here.

I'm also currently test knitting a design by Jennifer Hansen for Stitch Diva Studios. It's a sweater, and it'll be out for the fall line.

100% Cashmere by Jade Sapphire

It's coming along nicely and is going to be just gorgeous! One of the things I love about working for SDS is getting to use these wonderful luxury yarns that I'd never choose to afford for myself. This stuff is just amazing! It's also eerily similar to the 4-ply mongolian cashmere that Sarah's Yarns carries.

I'm also working on a sooper-secret project for an upcoming book by Cherry Tree Hill Yarns! Here's a tiny peek:

Shhhh, don't tell anyone I let you see!

That's it for now!

Till next time,
Sarah

They Do. . .

This past week has been a whirl of activity, preparing for my oldest brother's wedding on Friday. Here's a shot of the happy couple:

Cutting the Cake

And what did I wear, you ask? Why, this:

6 yards of silk dupioni!

I designed it myself! I wanted a super-full skirt (over 300" inches at the circumference), with a satin cumberbund at the waist and neckline. The back slopes sharply from the neck to the small of the back, attaching to the cumberbund. Finished the whole thing off with these, this and a 10-inch black satin bow worn aside my parted, chignoned hair. Only about 4 days from start to finish - I was surprised I could pull it off without a pattern! I haven't worked with fabric in a long time. I may have to start doing it more often. . .hmmm. . .summer dresses, anyone?

Till next time,
Sarah