Esoteric Knitter

I would love to say tons and tons of knitting. But that isn’t so. Another little hobby has caught my eye. I became super obsessed with the idea and task of hand carving rubber stamps. Miss Violet from the well known Lime and Violet podcast spurred my interest when she mentioned hand carved stamps and letterboxing on the podcast. But see, I’m definitely a lazy bum so I doubt I’d go letterboxing, but hand carving stamps are really fun. Especially when I can make some knitting related stamps.

First Tries. I had to do the yarn ball over on a bigger scale since it was so small the first time around. The yarn image is from microsoft clip art.

This is my little doodle of a flower and it actually turned out to be a semi decent stamp.

ahhh, my tools. I kinda get really obsessed when it comes to crafts and have to have the tools and such right away. So off to Hobby Lobby I went.

I obviously need a lot more practice. A few books are on their way for more stamping inspirations. Yippee!

Well, I do have some knitting news. I finally finished the corded rib socks. I think I’m on an SKS kick since I’ve already started another pattern.

Pattern: Corded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Ruby Sapphire - Sapphire yarn: 75% merino 25% nylon
Colorway: Ivette
Needle: 32” Knit Picks circs US1 (2.25mm)
CO: 64sts
Started: 1-11-08
Finished: 2-22-08
Total Foot Length: ~8inches

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

I apologize for the late post but…the awesome Shannon of Knit Me a River is the lucky winner.

More contests to come when I can figure out more silly games. Thanks again everyone so much for stopping by. 

A big THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by to say hi and give a go at the contest. There were so many amazing responses to which photo was my pick. Well… I thought I’d go for the non-nature-loving photos that I am constantly drawn to. The winning photo is number 11. I love eyes, all types of colors, shapes and sizes. Quite a few of ya’ll picked 11 so there’s gonna be a drawing.

These people are your competition… Winner will be posted later on today…

Trish
Shannon
Amy
Helen
Rachel
Kris
Ruby

Side note… Rules to knit by:

• I have learned that it is not a good idea to try and knit after a few drinks.
• Also, please stay away from candles while knitting tipsy. They can be dangerous. LOL.
• I’m sure this list will grow as I continue my knitting adventures.

Howdy ya’ll… hehehe, there I go getting all Texan…

It’s been sometime since I had one of my contests, well this one is to mark the first time I started up this silly ole’ blog… Get your pick in by midnight central time February 7th, the lucky winner will be announced February 8th which is the exact date last year of my very first post. All ya’ll gotta do is guess which one of these fantastic Flickr photos is my favorite pick and you’ll win some fancy sock yarn. Instead of photos, I’m gonna let the winner choose thier favorite brand. You are welcome to pick any of these from my stash: Yarn Pirate, Fleece Artist, Cherry Tree Hill, Claudia Hand Painted Yarns, and the simple yet super working Trekking XXL.

ETA: There was a really nice mosaic of photos here but I had a Flickr issue and lost everything. I’m Sorry.

The photos are numbered like so:

1, 2, 3, 4, (First row)

5, 6, 7, 8, (Second row)

9, 10, 11, 12, (Third row)

13, 14, 15, 16 (Fourth row)

So pick your number and lets get this contest started.

A big thanks to everyone who plays my silly contest. Ya’ll ROCK!

Special Note If you mention my contest on your blog, make sure your readers mention your blog in their guess and if they win I would love to send you a special gift too.

Here’s the sock I’ve been working on. It’s the Corded Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. I’m using the yarn purchased from Ruby Sapphire yarns. It’s knitting up nicely. Its mate is on the needles.

I also thought I’d be adventurous and try out a short row heel and round toe (star toe?). It turns out I did the short row heel wrong since I only worked half of the heel. But it’s all good since this was just me swatching up the Aruacania Multy. I’m gonna throw it into the wash to see how it does in the washer and dryer since the label says to hand wash and what not. And I’m super lazy throwing all my socks into the washer and dryer. I’ll get back to ya’ll with some results. Oh, by the way, the color is Aruacania Multy 310. I don’t think my toe looks right. Any advice, suggestions? The toe doesn’t feel nice, but the yarn does.

ETA: Trish asked how the yarn felt, and well, it’s in between. Not the softest yarn, but not the scratchiest either. So I would put it in the middle in comparison to the hard working sock yarns such as Lana Grossa/Opal/Trekking  and the higher end  merinos from the popular indie dyers. Over all a good buy since the price for a skein runs about $14-$16.