Congratulations to UCONN Men's Basketball.

What a ride this has been and tonight the women take to the floor! UConn Men had incredible ride to win the NCAA 2014 Title….if women do the same tonight they would have accomplished winning together for the second time. Amazing.

Some time ago I had come across a repurposed cashmere yarn from "Thoughtful Rose Supply" a shop on Etsy. It was a white lace weight pure cashmere and I paired it with a beautiful lace weight Baby Alpaca yarn Silver Gray in color from Alpaca Direct. The beautiful color that appeared was a variegated pale silver blue and white. I love the feed of this combination and the warmth and softness was made for socks. 

Heart Clog socks

It's that time again and my contribution to the holiday are these in the works. Customer wanted these using a basic rib sock. These are half way done but love the color combinational

Challenging Pair of Knee Highs

There are times that I take on a challenge in knitting custom. This pair was more than I had bargained for and a challenge it was to figure out how to reduce the circumference of the leg to the smaller ankles without upsetting the Staggered Cable pattern. The customer was very precise on her measurements with a very wide calf to a more narrow ankle. I had taken out the stitches at least 3 times to make sure of the fit. A 4" cuff and then a 16" leg length was a lot for me to handle. I had to order more yarn as I didn't figure in the 18" circumference of the calf! But as much  as a challenge they were, I was glad I took on the task. Very educational and challenging!

My Etsy Shop Is Barren

For the first time since joining Etsy I have actually sold out of my socks!!!! I usually have about 10 pairs finished with a couple of mitts and my patterns available on the site….I usually try to have about 18-20 items available but for some reason they went really fast this last few weeks with a backlog of about 4 pairs of custom socks to knit it is quite gratifying to see the shop do as well as I thought. I don't knit full time but in the new year will have to assess my direction for the shop. Really a WOW and a Bummer at the same time! I have always said that the quality of my knitting was much more important than the quantity that I have….don't know if I will rethink that as I have tried other knitters knitting for me and I think I am too fussy about the end results…so be it…I do love my shop and the people that I have met through the shop so probably will just bumble along until I can make it a full time effort! WOW

Eyelet Lace Socks

A fun sock to knit and was a fairly fast knit. Eyelet Lace….a favorite pattern on a sock, creates a lacy look. Knitted using fingering yarn on #1 DPN (2.50 mm). Love the subtle diagonal pattern of the heel. Pattern is now ready after 4 pairs knitted and I think one of my best to follow.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/171522619/pattern-only-eyelet-lace-socks-to-knit?ref=shop_home_active

Side view Eyelet Lace Socks.

Heel detail with subtle diagonal pattern.

Kodiak The Wonder Dog

A sad day…14 years the companion of Thomas and Leslie on many journeys has gone.

We all loved you Kodiak….resting easy now and at peace.