Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I also received another club kit this week, the Rockin' Sock Club for January, from Blue Moon Fiber Arts . The kit comes with an intro packet for the year, two patterns, two yarns, two mini-skeins, a sticker, and button. The button is "nsk" for "Notorious Sock Knitters." The colorways are called "Pinkie Swear" and "Aubergine." They are Socks That Rock Mediumweight. The patterns are both colorwork. Both patterns use negative images between the two socks. That's a good way to make sure to use even amounts of yarn. The Distelfink pattern has a more traditional stranded colorwork look. With stranded work in mediumweight, they will be very warm, winter socks. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished the January KAL Hedera socks. Ravelry project page link . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

After three years, it is done. A modification I should have made, but didn't, was adding one to two inches of length under the arms. Some folks on Ravelry added a whole pattern repeat to the cable pattern. More photos and info on my Ravelry project page . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Quote of the day: Mom: "Who's the most wonderful boy in the world?" Mitchell: "Dad." Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

My first installment of Romi's Pins and Lace Club arrived, today. I don't think I can enjoy this pale green color. I plan to use a deeper color... and I ordered some JulieSpins 435 in a blue/purple color called Orion . It is larger gauge, which I think I'll like, and I think it will look great with the iridescent blue beads that came in the kit.

Today is the 25-year anniversary of the Challenger disaster . I was a senior in high school. The event provided a strange crossroads for me because I was about to embark on a college career in aerospace engineering... The disaster seemed to be a gauntlet thrown down, a direct, "Are you doing the right thing?" question from the Fates. Ronald Reagan's address that day included, "The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted..."

Well, the KSL KAL has sponsors each month, and if you use a sponsor's yarn, you get *two* entries to win prizes (for each pair completed), instead of just one. [Prizes are usually yarn, and you know how I *need* more yarn! Hah!] So, in the absolute interest of supporting KAL sponsors, and certainly not in the interest of *winning* anything, of course, I'm trying to knit with sponsor yarn. Next month is the " Monkey " sock pattern, one of the most popular sock patterns, ever, and one which I have knitted already, myself. It is also known for being quite friendly to hand-painted yarns, showing them off very well without losing the knitting pattern. Here are the (current) sponsors for February. Blue Moon Fiber Arts CraftsMeow Crazy4Dyeing Grant Creek Yarns Pampered Knitting Sheepaints Stitchjones The Painted Tiger Would you believe I don't have any yarn from any of these sponsors? (Hard to believe...) Or, at least I *didn't* until the last few d...

...but not sick of knitting. Knitting is soothing. I knitted in the hospital a few hours after my thyroid surgery (in 2008), when every shift of position made me think my throat would pop open. (Sorry for being graphic.) So... "too sick to knit?" It happens, but not as easily as a non-knitter might think. I've had either strep or flu since Monday... (still waiting for the verdict on this... depending on whether antibiotics work), and I've done a lot of sleeping, some lying about with no energy to do anything but shiver, but, when the Tylenol is working, I've also done some knitting here and there. I did finish off the first sock for the Knit Sock Love KAL, though it was not much of an accomplishment... I had it done through the first two rows of ribbing (toe up) on Sunday, and I didn't get sick until Monday. (I hope I didn't make Grandma or anyone else at the party sick. Bluh.) I only had to do 13 more rows of ribbing and bind it off. First Hedera...

My dad's mom turns 90 tomorrow. We had a special gathering, yesterday, with cake and people we don't see very often. We loaded Mitchell into the car for the 3.5 hour drive (each way), not quite sure how it would go. The portable DVD player earned its purchase. Mitchell signed the guest book, which I found a special gesture Four generations: Me, Mitchell, Dad, Grandma Lorene My dad's brother, Dennis (hard to tell, huh?) 90 years... Life goes too fast Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I joined a KAL group on Ravelry for Cookie A's new book, Knit. Sock. Love.  They're doing a different sock every month, with two months to finish. (If it takes two months, you'll only be able to do every-other one, apparently.) The January KAL is the Hedera pattern. I'm doing mine in Malabrigo Sock  (Malabrigo is one of the sponsors this month), in the colorway "Violeta Africana." I modified the pattern for toe-up, casting on 14 sts and increasing to 62. I'm using 3 repeats of the 10-st pattern in the instep, plus one extra twisted knit stitch for symmetry. I also received the Berroco Ultra Alpaca and Ultra Alpaca Light in "Pea Soup" to make Norah Gaughan's fabulous Draped Cardigan . However, first, I am planning to finish the Wrixlan Jacket . I started it about three years ago, finishing only the back at that time, and now I have the fronts about half done... I seems to be going a lot faster this time. I'm cabling witho...

Ellen has posted her hoodie test knit, here . Very pretty! :) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Mitchell found a new way to employ my knitting, in addition to monsters. We came across this cute book on an outing this week. It is full of a variety of fun little characters. He particularly likes these two little guys: Cletus Claw Tentacle Terry I guess I have a new way to use leftovers! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Mitchell got into the act with some cartoons of his own. He seems to have his dad's gift of capturing the sense of a thing with a few dashes of a pencil. "Daddy" "Walking Yarn" Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Roxanne at Zen Yarn Garden is offering a 15% discount on multiple skeins of Serenity Sock purchased to knit Morgana le Fay. For more information, see the Ravelry thread . Roxanne will be receiving the yarn base, soon, and she is receptive to custom order batches. Enjoy! Here is Roxanne's original photo of the Midnight Green that I used. Fabulous! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay P.S. By the way, my dad took the photos in the previous post, the Morgana le Fay shots. Thanks, Dad! P.P.S. The shoes are Dr. Martens Diva Marlena Mary Jane .

I am just jumping the gun on the test knitters... I gave them until today to finish, and here I am at a few minutes after midnight, posting the pattern. :) The test knitters , a group on Ravelry, were fabulous, by the way. Thanks, everybody! Morgana le Fay is a hoodie and sock matching set. The lace pattern is a simple leaf repeat that is easy to memorize, but the shaping for armholes, sleeves, shoulders, and hood are all charted in the pattern. I'm really pleased with how beautifully the pieces seam together. The yarn is Serenity Sock from Zen Yarn Garden . It is a cashmere blend and wonderfully soft. Roxanne's colors are amazing. I've posted the pattern on Ravelry, and it is available for download. It includes both the hoodie and the sock. Enjoy! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

My husband is an artistic wonder. It is so neat how he can capture expressions with a quick dash of a pencil. I story-boarded the cartoon, below, and he whipped it out... with a few little jabs worked in. I gave him a hard time about what was an obvious tease for my hair style. He then pointed out that he drew in sweaty armpits, too. After that, I asked him why he gave himself a comb-over. He said he was playing it meek and mild to my "Lucy" character. Sheesh. So, he is not only a great cartoonist... but a comedian, as well. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I think Norah Gaughan is the bee's knees. She does fabulous stuff and is absolutely everywhere. Of course, as the design director of Berroco, she has fingers in many pies (or knitting baskets)... but I continue to be amazed at how widely she publishes, and how constantly. She online, as well as print, including the Knitty Fall 2010 " cover " design. I have several books that include her designs, including her own book, Knitting Nature: 39 Designs Inspired by Patterns in Nature. Still, the sweater that has me swooning is a brand new one in the Winter 2010/11 Vogue Knitting , which just popped into my mailbox this week... The yarn is Berroco's Ultra Alpaca . The ruffle is Ultra Alpaca Light. Because of the multiple weights of yarn in the same colorways, it will be a challenge to substitute other yarns. (Dream in Color Classy and Smooshy, perhaps???) But I think the "Pea Soup" color is spectacular, so why switch? :) This design isn't loaded in Rav...

Mom, Mitchell, and I, visited Knitty Couture , this week, for the last time. Thi is closing her shop. :( There were only a few things left, but one was an Iris kit. Mitchell immediately latched onto it, and I couldn't say no. We already made an Iris , of course, a Danger Crafts and Lorna's Laces kit which we also found in Thi's shop, but now we have another one. Mitchell said it is Iris' sister. We named her Steel, for the color of the yarn. Steel, made with Lorna's Laces "Revelation" Steel is a ham, like Iris Mitchell thought she should try Harry Potter's glasses With Mitchell and the original Iris Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I really enjoy my knit vests, even though they are all store-bought. They are extremely fine gauge, and thin, and I like to wear them over dress shirts with the tails out. I decided to make my own variation, and I used some fancy cable patterns from a Japanese stitch pattern book that I found at Knit One, Weave Too in Edwardsville. I really like the result. :) The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the color "Creme de Menth." It took just under 2.5 skeins on US size 3 (3.25 mm) needles. Ravelry page here . I also fiddled around with a sock, and I do mean *fiddled*, including a "gusset in the front" in a style I've seen, such as here . The whole sock turned out a bit snug. I think this may be more due to the thin, un-stretchy yarn than the front gusset, but I think the gusset feels tight. In any case, I don't think I'll make a second sock like this. I have just over a skein left, and I think I'll make a pair of socks in a plainer d...