Working up a nice sweaty glow

Hello lovelies! And a happy Family Day to you!

First, let's recap my recent knitting adventures:

Second knitting for hire project! These socks were requested by a woman I've never met, who attends the Thursday morning yoga class. I was subcontracted out by Sue, through email, with all of the lady's details, and I dropped these off to the studio last week. I've upped my price a wee bit, I'm now charging $30 a pair for hand knit yoga socks. I was out yarn shopping this weekend and realized that my deeply discounted yarn find at the Fair is not typical, and my pricing should reflect market value for the yarn at the very least. Also, I've realized that one 100g-ish ball of sock yarn yields two pairs of yoga socks. I just cut my costs by 50%! My original pair of yoga socks weigh in at 56.5g (thanks KnitPicks yarn scale, I love you), and the sock yarns I had were a generous 110+g each, and the numbers work out perfectly.

The pattern I used for these is from my toe-up sock book, just a simple scroll pattern. In my efforts to streamline yoga sock production, I've decided to do only a patterned front and do the back in simple stockinette.

Following in the footsteps of using half balls of yarn I already had, I've finally created a pair of socks for Slim Jim. This colour beautifully matches her yoga mat, and I chose a feminine hearts and flowers pattern for her socks. As of today, these are still a WIP, although I hope to finish them by the end of the week.

A quick detour back to early 2011 for the first pair of socks I've made for myself in a while. These socks feature Tanis Fibre Arts yarn, blue label, and Dead Simple Lace from Socks From the Toe Up

This little creature was finished last night for Fuzzy Head. He requested a netbook cozy for his precious little tiny laptop, and I whipped up a green orc in "kiwi" Lamb's Pride Bulky. The orc's giant underbite opens up to reveal a little netbook, safe and sound. I had a teensy bit of yarn leftover from Fuzzy's felted Christmas stocking 2 years ago, and I picked up some more at the Needle Emporium during a recent knitting field trip. I still need to add some kind of closure (Velcro, maybe snaps), and then he is complete for reals.

After I finished Slim Jim's yoga socks, I want to get back into some spinning. I picked up two 50g braids of roving from Spun Fibre Arts in Burlington, and I'm itching to get back on the wheel. Same thing with those two bags of roving from the Fair, they are destined to be something great, and I owe it to yarn to put my foot back on the treadle.

Also, I'm hoping to produce a dog coat this year for my beloved Oscar. I'm not sure if he'll wear one, but he looks like the kind of dog who can pull off big delicious cables in a natural colour.

Observe:

What a dreamboat.

And finally, I have hopes and dreams of making a sweater this year. I was truly inspired by Sanid Wiseheart in November when she spoke at my very first Knitters Guild meeting. She made knitting a sweater seem less daunting and overwhelming than I always imagined it, and above all, I want a sweater that will fit. She swears that that's a possibility too!

For now dear readers, I am off. I want to finish those yoga socks and move on to bigger and better things.

Onward,

vrock