Something small ...

So it's been awhile - it's so hard to blog while I'm at school and hard for Mom to blog as well. But summer is well underway, and lots of knitting is happening here at knit two tog. So here's a little project to get things going:

Quidditch Socks
Pattern: Gusset Heel Basic Socks [modified]
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns Soft Sock Yarn in Gryffindor Stripe
Needles: 2 Addis size 0
Start Date: June 18, 2009
Finish Date: July 10, 2009

Though Mom and I both have a prodigious amount of Sunshine Yarns in our stashes, I'd yet to actually knit anything with it. When the Sunshine Yarnies group on Ravelry announced a Harry Potter KAL, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to not only use a bit of the stash, but also make myself fully finish something! The yarn is wonderfully soft, and the finished socks feel great on. I had a few problems with splitting, but as long as I made sure I was careful on increases, it all worked out fine.

Now for the pattern - it's from Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up. This was just a plain vanilla sock pattern, but I added a 6x2 rib (making sure to center it on the foot of the sock). I want to make pretty much every sock in her book (I think I will be starting her Lacy Ribs sock next) and was absolutely thrilled to find out that she actually has another book coming out next spring!

There's been a lot of other knitting going on around here - Mom and I are both making Liesls as well as some other projects. And the family is heading to the beach at the end of the week, so hopefully lots of knitting will happen there (both Milkweed and Ishbel are on tap!). I also have some finished projects that still have to be blocked and photographed, so there should be lots to come in the next few weeks!

Happy summer!

The Grass is Greener ...

Yesterday the sun was shining (something I've learned to really value during my stay so far in London), and I decided that I should take advantage of this rare and possibly brief break in the rain and head into the great outdoors. And by great outdoors I mean, of course, the tamed nature of one of London's many lovely parks. I grabbed the sock I'd started and headed for Hyde Park and was absolutely in awe of it. I found a nice bench with a view of all sorts of tulips and other happy flowers, and spent quite a pleasant hour knitting. This my first sock ever, and so far, I'm loving making socks. Which is a good thing since a) I already have a stockpile of sock yarn and b) I joined Sundara's Seasons Yarn Club, so I will be getting plenty of gorgeous sock yarn over the next year (I already have the Tulip sock yarn .. it got delivered to my house right after I left, and I can't wait to see .. Mom has promised to post some pictures soon ...)

Isn't Hyde Park lovely?

Today I went to my first ever knitting group and met so many lovely women. Knitting with a group was so fun, and they reassured me about my sock and I now have successfully turned the heel! I'm so excited. I'm thinking I will stay up late this evening to pick up gusset stitches (although I should be working on a paper ...) But I'm just so excited about the socks! I will have more pictures (maybe even of a finished sock?) soon!

On a completely different note, I had another first this week .. first celebrity sighting. I saw Jeremy Northam at a production of The Importance of Being Earnest. It was all I could do not to jump out of my seat and go tell him how great I think he is. Just thought I'd share...

Hope everyone's having as exciting a week as me. What I'm most excited about though is Mom's visit in two weeks! Don't you love when things are looking up?