Done, Done and Halfway Done

Done

Now that Spinzilla has ended and my spinning muscles have somewhat recovered, I am back to knitting.  It feels so good to have needles in my hands again!  I was only gone from knitting for a week, but it's kind of like coming home after a long vacation.  I love knitting.

I had to put a couple of things down to participate in the spinning event, but I picked them up the day after I submitted my data.

Done

First up is my second Noodle:

Once again, I don't mind making toys ... I just prefer not to.  This toy has no tail yet, but I had to put it down because I just had to quit while I was ahead.  It'll get a tail, just not today.  It comes in 8 easy pieces and the most tedious part for me is sewing everything on.  Still, it is cute, and the safety eyes and nose came from 6060 on Etsy.  They snap on, but they don't snap off.  I used Plymouth Encore (75% acrylic/25% wool) and US #5 needles.

Half Done

Second up was the Caffe Macchiato socks which were cast on before I had to put them down:

They're cute with a simple one row repeat and fast to knit.  The socks are right and left foot specific and the first sock started out a left sock, but ended up a right sock.  The patterning is on one side of the leg and on the top of the sock only, and the rest of the sock is plain.

I'm also using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel for the first time, there's no heel 'flap':

Interesting construction with YouTube videos so you can see how it's done.  It was easy to do and I like the way it feels on my foot.  I'd use it again, but I heard that the Fleegle Heel is easier and I'll have to remember to try that technique when I'm making my next pair of plain vanilla socks.

I'm using Vesper sock yarn and US #1 Karbonz.  Here are my issues:

The yarn is fine, it feels better as a sock than it does when you're knitting with it.  I realized that it's probably the amount of nylon in the yarn that makes it uncomfortable to knit with.  The colors are fine and the sock feels good on my foot, I'm just not real thrilled with superwash, it has nothing to do with the manufacturer, just a personal preference.

The needles, in my opinion, are poorly constructed.  The sharp silver tips are connected to a carbon barrel and the join between tip and barrel is horrible.  The tips are not rounded so there's like a little nib on the very tip which is sharp and scrapes against the barrel of the left needle.  If you push your needles around with your finger you might draw blood.  If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't get them.

Hopefully these socks will be done by the end of the month so I can get to the next pair which I have already picked out.

My next post will be all about the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY.  I have a short shopping list since my house is overrun with yarn and fiber.  First on my list is a Turkish spindle, second is a bag of raw fleece (hopefully a sweater's worth), and last on the list is fried dough.  Yum!

Maybe I'll see you there.