Clockwise from top left (for ease, all fingerless or wrist items are referred to as mittens for now):

A few of my own design samples: 4 pairs (8 mittens)
Failed design that I am still trying to work out: 2 pairs + 1 (5 mittens)
Samples from The Red Collection: 7 pairs (14 mittens)
The Worst Pile – Mittens with no comrades: no pairs (11 mittens)
Bag of pulsewarmers in various stages of completion: 4 pairs (8 mittens/not really but whatevs)
Mittens and gloves that live in the Mitten Bin and get used: 6 pairs (12 mittens)
The Best Pile – Baby Maggie mittens: 3 pairs (6 mittens)
Other people’s patterns that don’t get much wear anymore: 3 pairs (6 mittens)
Gifted mittens (from my sister and from Elinor): 2 pairs (4 mittens)

The math says that’s 31 pairs of mittens and 74 mittens total.

Like yesterday, I can only assume there are some mittens in my house that I cannot locate, and I know of at least one mitten on the pins. There are probably more half-knit mittens that I have hidden in a bag and stashed away somewhere deep.

I took another picture from the side, to show the extreme height of some of these piles.

Here’s a confession: I actually think I need more mittens. But more specifically, I think I need more mittens that fit the kids. Assuming it snows (and some years it doesn’t) the kids go out to play for 20 minutes, come in for hot chocolate, then want to go back out. But their mittens are then WET AND COLD. So they need at least two pairs each, and three would be better!

Okay, writing that last paragraph made me feel slightly insane. But I’ll probably knit more mittens anyway. I HAVE A PROBLEM.

On the other hand, the other categories (sweaters, socks, scarves, shawls) are totally under control. No really.

Today I did get all the knitting out, but it seems reasonable to just blog about hats today. The number of mittens is obscene and they deserve their own day to shine. Here are all the hats that live in my house that I could locate:

From top left, clockwise.

My self-published designs: 9
Self-published in The Red Collection: 13
Elizabeth Zimmermann hats: 5
Hats for which designs should appear eventually: 5
My designs published elsewhere: 4
Hats under surveillance for moths (in the plastic bag): 1
Improvised hats with no patterns: 9
Hats I keep, but were not made by me: 2 (more about these below)
Knit from other people’s patterns: 16

If my math is correct, that’s 64 hats on the table.

According to what’s been recorded in Ravelry, there are 2 hats not pictured that should be (one is in Gerald’s work truck, one is missing). I have knit 15 hats that were given as gifts, donations or samples.

I have at least 3 hats that are currently on the needles.

There’s gotta be plenty more that I don’t have a record of that are hiding in the house, or given away pre-Ravelry, or who knows what.

I like knitting hats.

About the two pictured above that I didn’t knit: The pink one is the one Maggie wore home from the hospital when she was born. It is handknit and had the world’s saddest pompom. The brown and orange one is from J.Crew. I borrowed/stole it from a guy I once knew in college. I’ve lost touch with him, but he was one of the coolest and most fun guys I ever had the pleasure of knowing. I keep the hat to remember him, and because it looks really good on me.

Warning: Tomorrow is mittens, and there are a lot.

Three hats have been knit, and I love each one. When I mowed the lawn today (with the bag on, thereby negating my need to rake, yay!) I wore the dark grey (SHELTER in SOOT), the one at the bottom. The hat is, if you’ll allow me to boast for a minute, the perfect hat. It snugs just so around the ears, making it highly functional for its intended purpose. It is an interesting and quick knit with worsted weight wool, and fun for knitters of all skill levels. The colorwork design is gender neutral and through color choice, the hat is well suited for girls and boys, men and women. And lastly, it’s a great looking hat.

Well, that was enough boasting for one day. I’m working on getting the pattern ready and then you can knit the perfect hat for yourself!

I showed Jerry the hat when he came home from school yesterday and he asked if he could keep it for himself. So much meaning bundled up in that one request! Mostly the fact that he likes it makes me a very happy Mom and Knitter. The hat fits him and me both, so I was kinda thinking it would be mine, but it’s already his seeing as he wore it to school today. I took these pictures in the glorious daylight as we waited for the bus to arrive. They usually play tag and today was no different.

Maggie was headed to her very first fieldtrip, and she was over the moon. As she ran to the bus, I told her to remember everything so she could tell me all about it. I know I’ll get an earful, as usual. She’ll be home soon with the full report, and I can’t wait.  When she gets here I’ll get to show her the hat I knit her; the same as Jerry’s but her size and different colors. Hope it fits! Then, as I write up the pattern and have it tested by my trusty tester, do I dare knit a third for myself? One can’t have too many hats, I say.

I was able to take the swatch from yesterday and turn it into a hat that is blocking right now on Maggie’s bed. Although I did spend some time searching my notes, I was not able to find out/remember what needle I used for that swatch. Instead of knitting another swatch, I dove right in with the needle that seemed most likely. Not a very scientific way to go about it, but whatever. I’ve got a new hat and it turned out Very Nice. It will be a pattern soon. It feels right for my first pattern after a big break to be a simple but sweet hat. Getting my toes wet, if you will.

I am seriously on fire with the socks. To be honest, I have been watching seasons 1-3 of Fringe on my computer (bought the instant videos on Amazon) and that leaves me with a lot of time for knitting that I can put on autopilot.

Do I even need to tell you what pattern I’m using? It is, again, Judy Gibson’s You’re Putting Me On Toe Up Sock pattern. And since I have a certain way that I do all the things in the pattern, I thought I’d give you some more details.

The Toe

I use a figure-8 cast on for the toe. It’s a little tricky when you first learn it, but it’s also really cool. I learned it first when I knit HelloYarn’s Top Down Bonnet for Maggie way back when (Oh my, that link has a picture of Maggie from 2007! You must click it!).

I’ve refined the way I knit the cast on. Here’s what I do. I loop the yarn around the needles (using two needles). Then I knit across each needle (now I’m using three needles). Most instructions will have you begin the increases on the next round, while also dividing the stitches between four needles. I do those things on separate rounds. First, I knit one round and divide the stitches evenly between four needles (so I am actually using five needles). Then on the next round I begin the increases. I find the work is less fiddly when I do it this way, and that makes me a happier knitter.

For the toe, I use a KFB increase. When the work is so tiny and fiddly at the beginning, the KFB is the easiest for me to handle, and it’s relatively quick. Here’s how I do it:

Needle 1: KFB, k to end of needle.
Needle 2: K to last 2 sts, KFB, K1.
Needle 3: Same as Needle 1.
Needle 4: Same as Needle 2.

The Bind Off

Getting a loose bind off at the top edge of a toe-up sock is crucial. I use the same one every time, and like Grumperina, the first time I used it was on the cast off edge of my Leaf Lace Shawl (again with the old knits! 2007!).  I don’t know what Evelyn Clark calls this bind off, but I’ve seen something called a Russian Bind Off that is very similar.  What I do differently is that I don’t slip stitches back to the left hand needle.

I described the bind off like this in the pattern for my toe up Celery Socks:

K1, *K1, insert L needle tip into the front of the 2 sts from left to right and knit them together from this position.* Repeat between *s until 1 st remains. Cut yarn and fasten off.

It is easy and effective. You need not change to a larger needle, either. If anything, you work this cast off just as tight as any other stitch. It’s naturally Very Stretchy!

The yarn I used for these socks is Cascade Heritage 150 and I loooooove it. It’s technically sport weight, but it’s on the thin side if you ask me. But the socks are cushy. I went back to the yarn store where I bought the yarn, to buy more, and they didn’t have any. And instead of the yarn being sold out because it was super popular, I think they didn’t restock it because nobody was really crazy about it. Oh, well.

Best part of these socks? Jerry loves them! He’s been wearing them around the house, and that makes this knitter very happy, indeed.

More info about pattern and yarn for these socks on Ravelry.

Since I wasn’t finished with Fringe when I finished these socks, I started another pair. Trekking XXL (one of my favorite sock yarns!) in pumpkiny colors!

I wouldn’t believe how big Maggie’s feet are except that I just knit her pretty big socks and they fit. I estimated her foot size when she was away at school and I thought maybe her feet were about 5″ around and 6″ long. WRONG. Her feet are more than 7″ around and 7.25″ long. The socks seem too big when I am looking at them but they fit her perfectly. I am so confused. When did she become not a baby?

It was gorgeous outside today after school, so she played with her new pocket knife at the picnic table and posed her feet for some pictures. It was cute. I love the pictures.

As much as I’d like to deny it, Jerry has big feet, too. If not big for his age, at least bigger than I expect them to be. I am taking no chances with him, so I had him trace the outline of his foot and measure the circumference of his foot and ankle. He picked out the yarn (blue and gray from the stash, good stuff) and hopefully everyone will have toasty warm toes if, by chance, it ever gets cold here in North Carolina.

More information about yarn and pattern can be found on Ravelry.

There is knitting! I always try to have at least one pair of socks in progress, so that if I’m running out the door I have something to grab. I started these socks forever ago, but finally yesterday finished the first sock of the pair! It’s a very pretty sock. I fully intend to knit its mate quickly and be finished in a few days. Maybe I’ll surprise even myself and do just that!

The yarn is Zauberball Crazy color 2092 I think, and it’s very reminiscent of the good old Trekking XXL colors that I don’t think they produce anymore. Like these socks that now belong to my mother-in-law.

The pattern I’m using is my favorite sock pattern ever, Judy Gibson’s You’re Putting Me On!  I just counted on Ravelry and I have 17 projects listed using this pattern. You would think that I wouldn’t need to carry around the pattern anymore, and you’d be wrong. I keep the pattern in my little sock bag with whatever pair of socks I’m knitting. Mostly I refer to the pattern for the heel turn.

What’s more, if you were to go into my filing cabinet and locate the knitting pattern folders, and then find the one labeled “socks” you would find at least 4 other copies of the same exact pattern. Sometimes during a knitting emergency, you can’t waste time locating the ONE copy of the  pattern for which you need to cast on. You need to print out the pattern immediately so you can CAST ON THIS SECOND. You know?

Anyway. These socks are knit over 72 stitches – a perfect fit for me or my Mom or my mother-in-law. It’s good to keep them all guessing. No one ever knows who I’m knitting socks for (even me!). After the toe I started working in garter rib. That means that one round is KNIT and the next round is K2,P2, and you repeat those two rounds. Near the cuff, I began working a plain 2×2 rib.

There is one other knitting project I worked on earlier in the summer. It had so much promise! But I messed up and then gave up. I should find the bag I stuffed it in and blog about it. Yes. That’s what I’ll do.

Like I said in my last post, I’m working on my first Cookie A pattern. This is a new pattern from her new book, Knit.Sock.Love. (as opposed to patterns in the book that have been previously published). I purchased the print and digital versions, and printed out the pattern for Cusp before the book arrived.

Then the book arrived, and although it was all the same as in the PDF that I downloaded (I think – I did not go through page by page), the book was spectacular.  My only complaint is that I don’t have enough solid colors of sock yarn in my stash to knit all the patterns right away. So that’s not really a complaint at all, you see.

Following a pattern by an amazing designer and superb pattern writer is very inspiring for this designer. I see this slump of mine as less of a bummer, and more of a learning experience. Thanks, Cookie A!

And that brings me to Thanksgiving! If you’re celebrating tomorrow, I hope you have a great time with your family and friends.  I’ll be busy today baking a few pies, resting my back after throwing it out while trying to find the right size turkey, and getting ready to host our very first Thanksgiving dinner!

I’m doing something special here on Friday, so check back then to find out all the details. Gobble gobble gobble gobble…

If you didn’t win (I’m so sorry!) I hope you’ll consider ordering Phoebe’s Sweater anyway. If only so you can have a moment like this with your daughter/son, neice/nephew, favorite kid:

She’s reading it (but not really because she doesn’t read in the traditional sense of the word). She’s flipping through and adding her own words. So cute!

The winner of the giveaway is Cheryl, who was chosen by Jerry from slips of paper that were in a bag, contacted by email and left this comment:

Congrats Cheryl!

In other news, I have had an epiphany regarding socks. See, my usual sock knitting pattern is the toe-up You’re Putting Me On pattern by Judy Gibson (see my 16 projects using this pattern here). I love toe-up socks because I have big feet, and knitting socks toe-up makes me feel confident that I won’t run out of yarn. I also love a simple 2×2 rib, because I can knit most of the socks without thinking too much.

But then I knit the Socktoberfest Mystery Socks. They weren’t toe up and they weren’t a simple rib. And yet I really, really enjoyed knitting them. I think I had some notion that anything other than ribbing would require a lot more attention, but that simply was not the case. Sure, I needed the pattern close at hand, but most of the time I had enough attention to spare for watching TV or whatever else was going on around me.

Pattern: TTL Mystery Sock 2010 by Kirsten Kapur.
Yarn: The Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! <- It’s supposed to have an exclamation mark.

With that small revelation and a whole pair of socks under my belt, I decided, on a whim, to buy Cookie A’s new book, Knit.Sock.Love, with the digital version and see if there were any socks that spoke to me. There were many, but I settled on Cusp, printed out the necessary pages, and cast on.

I found that I could knit these socks without my brain exploding (crazy, I know) and I have already finished the first sock and started the second. GO ME.

This is my first time knitting a Cookie A. pattern and I must say, it is brilliant. Yes, I’m late to the party, but wow. She really writes the heck out a pattern.

Nonetheless, I still worry continuously about running out of yarn and wonder what I would do if that actually happens. But for now, I’m enjoying knitting a wonderful pattern, with a wonderful (but sadly discontinued) yarn, and getting a whole pair of socks out of the deal.