Purlicue Socks Knitted (Cat Bordhi)

The first pair of socks in "Personal Footprints" are called Purlicue.  Purlicue being an odd word,which Cat says describes the distance between the extended thumb and forefinger.  She also says this measurement just happens to be a good height for a sock leg.  Every stitch in these socks is knit.  I knit mine on size 1 (2.5) addi Turbo Lace needles.  The yarn is Crystal Palace Mini Mochi yarn, 80 % Merino Wool/ 20% Nylon, 195 yds/50g.

 

I knit the first sock on the right in the picture cutting the yarn at the ankle and then knitting the heel, then reattaching the yarn for the leg, so it changed the sequence.  The sock on the left was knitted by leaving the yarn attached and knitting the heel with the left over yarn from the first skein, thereby saving the continuous pattern  for the top of the leg.  I did this to test the results, Cat did her socks like the left sock. I do like the continuous pattern on the left sock much better.

  

I did not like knitting with the Mini Mochi as much as I thought, it is not a tightly twisted yarn and I had a tendency to split the yarn at times.  I love the colors, but am not in love with the yarn for knitting.

 

I finished knitting the socks about 11PM on February 28th. It took me about 16 to 24 hours to knit them.  I am not a fast knitter.  I taught myself to knit from a book many years ago, and tend to try to figure out how to do things on my own if I cannot figure out what the pattern is saying.  Cat's instructions are very clear and helpful with lots of diagrams, so it's not a problem figuring out what she means for you to do.

Now on to the next pair, I had to order the yarn online as I could not find it in the local yarn shop.  There is a lovely yarn shop near me, in Mt. Holly, called Woolbearers (you can find them at www.woolbearers.com or www.woolbearers.net) and they carry an extensive selection of yarns. 

 

  The yarn Cat selected for the second pair of socks is called Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 2-Ply (65% wool, 35% silk, 100g/437yds). 

  

I anxiously waited for this yarn to arrive, and when it came, I was not disappointed, it is a luscious yarn.  I have started my second pair and it knits like heaven.  The colors are gorgeous and the yarn is soft and luxurious.

 

  

  

  

First I had to wind it into a ball, which took about an hour, I did it by hand, as I do not own a yarn winder.

 

This is my ball after I finished winding the yarn. 

One pair down and 25 more to go!

 

Sock Musings (Cat Bordhi)

This is my cardboard cut out of my foot, with the measurements marked on it. You will use this to determine heel and leg measurements.

My sock on the cardboard cutout, I still have a short distance to go before I have reached the leg line.

 

I have reached the leg line and now place the lifelines for my leg opening

  

These are the lifelines in the stitches.  You will cut the stitch with the thread loop  and unravel the stitches between the lifelines to make the entry for your foot.

My First Pair of Socks (Cat Bordhi)

 

I decided to get started on my first sock last night, so I opened the needles and yarn and cast on the toe. This yarn is very pretty, but it doesn't have a tight twist, so the first time I tried to knit the cast on stitches they were too tight, I had to pull it out and start over four times before I got a satisfactory first row. I use two different circular needles for my socks so that I can distinguish the top from the bottom.  I use a bamboo and an addi turbo needle and I always start with the bamboo. I finally got my rows started and decided to watch the winter olympics while knitting.  I love to watch the figure skating.

I was so absorbed in watching the skating that I failed to notice my kitty chewing on the end of my bamboo needle.  It wasn't too bad, I took a nail file and smoothed the little teeth marks.  

As you can see, he likes to chew on things, but I think my brass bed knob is just a little too big, but isn't he the cutest thing?

Anyway you can see in the pictures above how far I knitted.  I am going to try to have these finished by the end of this month. I love the colors of this yarn, however I am not loving the way it knits, could just be me.

New Project (Cat Bordhi)

 

  

I was reading Julie Powell's book Julie & Julia, about how she cooked her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and I decided to try to knit my way through Cat Borhi's book, "Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters."  I gave much thought to whose book I should choose, and finally decided on Cat's because I think she is such an innovative knitter.  So I rushed out and purchased the yarn for the first pair of socks in the book, Purlicue, the yarn is Crystal Palace Mini Mochi (80% merino, 20% nylon, 50 gr/195 yds) 2 balls in color 107, knit on size (2.25mm) needles. I discovered a wonderful yarn shop not far from me, lucky me.  The first pair of socks look fairly easy and since I have already knitted a discovery pair, this one should be a breeze.

I will post my progress as I knit the socks, along with pictures. If anyone would like to join me in this venture, you are most welcome. I thought I would try for a pair of socks a month, but that may be too ambitious, I'll have to see how it goes. I am trying to get back to designing and making my teddy bears and dolls. I am thinking of opening an etsy store, I always sold on e-bay, but maybe it is time for something new.

 We went out to dinner at a local mexican restuarant on Valentines Day.

This was my dinner, we also had a pitcher of Horchata.

This Mexican favorite was originally brought over by the Spaniards. Melon seeds or squash seeds were originally used, but rice became more popular and is the most common type of horchata today.

Prep Time: 6 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 of a cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 5 cups drinking water
• 1/2 cup sugar

Preparation:

Grind the rice in your blender until it is ground smooth. Toss with cinnamon stick and lime zest. Let rest overnight.

After resting, place rice mixture into blender and blend until smooth. Add in 2 cups of water to mixture and soak for 2 hours.

Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth a few times to remove any grittiness.

Add in the rest of the water (3 cups) and stir in sugar until dissolved. 

It is a delicious drink and goes well with the spicy mexican food.

 

This is my beautiful daughter Miakoda, looking so happy to have her picture taken.

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY!!!

 

Happy Valentine Day to everyone who reads my blog!!!

 

We went out to breakfast and we received these roses as we left the restaurant.

 

My little knitted slipper for my knitted doll.

 

  

I love this lamp. I bought it at a thrift shop last summer.

Cat Bordhi Socks

 

I just finished knitting these socks using a new pattern from Cat Bordhi's book,"Personal Footprints For Insouciant Sock Knitters".

They were really quite easy to knit and I love her method for the heel.  I can't wait to start another pair.

And this is my cat Thomas Henry checking out my new socks. He just had surgery, maybe you can just see where they shaved him tummy.  I love the socks and they fit me perfectly. I made these socks from Patons Kroy Socks FX, on two circular #3 needles. It took two 50gr skeins.

Some Valetine Bears

 

Jacque, made from recycled black denim. I loved making his coat and hat, with all the appliques and crochet.

And this was my little chocolate bear, made from recycled denim and painted with brown fabric paint.  I made the chocolates from fimo and they looked delicious!

And this little girl is Lida, made from red mohair, with a red fimo heart for her neck.

Guinevere, made from matted mohair and I made her outfit from green hand stamped felt, with pink heart fimo buttons.

This little sweetie is Clementine, made from recycled denim. I knitted her sweater and gave her a pink sailor collar and pink pants.

And last of all is Valentina, made from recycled denim, with a fimo heart necklace and a box of fimo chocolates.  She is wearing a vintage baby dress.

These are just a few of my teddy bears that I have sold on e-bay, to see more, please visit my website, www.jannebears.com