It takes so little to make me happy, doesn't it? Almost downright pathetic... LOL! 
So, what have I done? I've finished 3 pairs of socks that were begun way back when. I've got my last pair of Plymouth Happy Feet all set and ready to wear.
So, what have I done? I've finished 3 pairs of socks that were begun way back when. I've got my last pair of Plymouth Happy Feet all set and ready to wear.
I also finished another lovely pair in Stone Barn Fibers' Spring Fling. Geez, this yarn is simply divine to work with. Seriously, though, if you're a sock knitter and you haven't tried Cathi's yarn, you should. You're depriving yourself if you don't. She uses the same "blanks" as Koigu, but you get more yardage and enough to finish a healthy-sized sock. As soon as I get back to work, I'm placing another order because I'm running low and she's got some new colorways that are itching to be added to my stash... /wry g/Anyway, last pair is done in Cherry Tree Hill's limited edition of Cherry Blossom. Nice yarn, nice variation on color, but the yarn is thicker and loftier than their normal "blanks". In fact, the socks are a bit big for me. So I'm going to pass these over to a friend of mine. I'd promised her a pair of socks this summer and this will be the pair. 
She'd bought a skein of Farmhouse Yarns Fannie's Fingering.... Hmm, I think the colorway is Secret Garden. It's greens and pinks. Either way, I'd told Linda that I would knit her a pair of socks from it, but the CTH actually cost me more... Yikes! That's okay. Linda is a great friend. I've begun teaching her to knit because she absolutely LOVES handknit socks, but progress is slow and she's not ready yet for socks. She's not really a crafts type person. Long story, but she's one of the few friends I have who I'd consider knitting for rather than teaching her to knit her own. I'm not sure she'll ever complete a project, so I don't mind tossing in a project every once in a while. Anyway, I'm going to give her the CTH socks and I know she'll love them.
Lastly, I finished the Stone Barn Fibers' Blueberries n Cream fiber. I really think this yarn is fine enough for socks. I have 600+ yds of it, so I kinda hate to limit the knitting to socks, but my goal was to spin my own yarn to knit socks and this one fits the bill. So I'm now knitting like crazy so I can make a pair of socks for the Durham Fair. I can enter the other yarns into the fiber category for handspun, but this yarn definitely needs to be knit into something.
She'd bought a skein of Farmhouse Yarns Fannie's Fingering.... Hmm, I think the colorway is Secret Garden. It's greens and pinks. Either way, I'd told Linda that I would knit her a pair of socks from it, but the CTH actually cost me more... Yikes! That's okay. Linda is a great friend. I've begun teaching her to knit because she absolutely LOVES handknit socks, but progress is slow and she's not ready yet for socks. She's not really a crafts type person. Long story, but she's one of the few friends I have who I'd consider knitting for rather than teaching her to knit her own. I'm not sure she'll ever complete a project, so I don't mind tossing in a project every once in a while. Anyway, I'm going to give her the CTH socks and I know she'll love them.
Lastly, I finished the Stone Barn Fibers' Blueberries n Cream fiber. I really think this yarn is fine enough for socks. I have 600+ yds of it, so I kinda hate to limit the knitting to socks, but my goal was to spin my own yarn to knit socks and this one fits the bill. So I'm now knitting like crazy so I can make a pair of socks for the Durham Fair. I can enter the other yarns into the fiber category for handspun, but this yarn definitely needs to be knit into something. So I have several projects now dedicated for the Durham Fair. I have to check the categories, but I want to submit my Philosopher's Wool sweater into the sweater category. I want to submit handspun into the fiber category (I'm currently working on Crown Mountain Farms' Buffalo Soldier). A pair of socks in my Blueberries n Cream into the handspun/handknit category. Then I want to knit up that Secret Garden into a plain vanilla pair of socks. And I should be ashamed of myself for not thinking sooner, but I ran out yesterday and got a couple skeins of Koigu in a multi-hued pink/lavendar for a pair that I want to knit in Brenda Dayne's pattern called Pembrokeshire Pathways. I'd begun it in a variegated, but the colors hid the pattern and the pattern is really pretty. These socks have to be knit in a fairly plain color so the pattern will really shine.
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It's funny because I've looked at the pattern since it came out. It looks so durned hard and intricate. It's not. It's labeled for intermediate knitters, but it's really only a 4 row pattern. Yes, there's a 4-stitch cable. Big deal. And then there are some yarnovers and k2tog in the 3-st band. Seriously, not a big deal. But oh, so pretty.
So I have one sock to finish in Stone Barn Fibers' Winter Wonderland (yup, one lone sock for a pic) and then I can cast on for the Pembrokeshire Pathways. Lastly, I have to see if the girls know where their fingerless mitts are. I did knit those in the last year after the fair had finished, so they should be eligible for this year's fair. Actually this yarn would have been spectacular for the Pembrokeshire Pathways pattern, but I've already finished the first sock and I hate to even think of frogging the whole thing just to add a pattern. Maybe sometime in the future I can order more yarn and do a second pair in the pattern. I really do think this is one of the few with splashes of color that won't detract from a pattern, especially a pattern that looks as complicated as Brenda's.
~
It's funny because I've looked at the pattern since it came out. It looks so durned hard and intricate. It's not. It's labeled for intermediate knitters, but it's really only a 4 row pattern. Yes, there's a 4-stitch cable. Big deal. And then there are some yarnovers and k2tog in the 3-st band. Seriously, not a big deal. But oh, so pretty.
So I have one sock to finish in Stone Barn Fibers' Winter Wonderland (yup, one lone sock for a pic) and then I can cast on for the Pembrokeshire Pathways. Lastly, I have to see if the girls know where their fingerless mitts are. I did knit those in the last year after the fair had finished, so they should be eligible for this year's fair. Actually this yarn would have been spectacular for the Pembrokeshire Pathways pattern, but I've already finished the first sock and I hate to even think of frogging the whole thing just to add a pattern. Maybe sometime in the future I can order more yarn and do a second pair in the pattern. I really do think this is one of the few with splashes of color that won't detract from a pattern, especially a pattern that looks as complicated as Brenda's.~
Course, who knows? New patterns might come to my attention. Wouldn't it be funny to just order lots and lots of this yarn and make all different patterns from the same yarn? Oh boy, my brain is starting to fry... /wry g/
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Oh, I have to tell the most wonderful news! Cathi at www.stonebarnfibers.com created a whole new color just for my Mom. Mom was saying that she'd like to see more yellow. After all, it was spring and you can't help but think of daffodils and jonquils and crocus. So Cathi created Buttercup for my Mom. A beautiful hued yellow. I have to get over and order some.... but then, I already admitted that, didn't I? There are some lovely patterns that have come out recently that I'd like to try, but you really need either a plain color or tonal yarns so the patterns really shine. I've done a few socks combining very simple patterns with variegated yarns, but you either lose the pattern in the colors or the colors in the pattern. Usually, it's the first.
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Besides, I have that textured argyle that I still have to finish. I think it would look gorgeous in Cathi's new hued color called Miss Mary. Let the texture speak for itself. What's more is that the texture would really shine in Cathi's yarn because the yarn is very shiny, which relates to highlighting the individual stitches very well in the completed project. (If only I could afford to make an entire sweater out of Cathi's yarn... Wouldn't that be heavenly?) I think her yarn would show better in a textured pattern than, say, Crown Mountain Farms Bearfoot yarn, which has mohair and is a lot softer in texture.
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Can you tell I'm fumbling through what I'm trying to say? LOL! But some yarns are better for stitch definition than others. Not that the yarn is hard. It's not. It's just so smooth that it gives a better definition of the individual stitches than other yarns. Lorna's Laces is another example. Even though it's wool, it knits up similar to cotton. Very defined stitches. That would work well in a textured pattern like Cathi's at Stone Barn Fibers. Yes, even Blue Moon Fibers' Socks That Rock (STR) is good for stitch definition. Then others, like Sheepaints, Fannie's Farmhouse and Bearfoot give a softer appearance and wouldn't work well for stitch definition. Heck, my own handspun is too soft in appearance.
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Oh well, I'm beginning to ramble and, as usual, I haven't taken my shower to start my day. We have pictures to pick out for YD's yearbook in about two hours, so I s'pose I should get moving. Today is a day to catch up on bills and get more spinning in. I have a couple pounds of roving to spin up so I can do my Christmas projects and, though it might only be August, Christmas will be here before we know it. (Yes, this is me nudging not only you, but me! LOL!)
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