Stripey socks done and Swirly Mittens in progress

Love love love these socks!




Pattern: Generic toe-up socks (I use IK's pattern as a guide)
Yarn: Kool-aid dyed sock yarn (the dyeing of which was described in this post)
I finished these a while ago but only got a chance this weekend to take some pictures.

In other knitting news, I have been interested in making a pair of stranded mittens for a while and been scanning Ravelry for a good pattern. Of course I love Bird in Hand, but I wasn't quite ready for the commitment of buying the pattern. What I was really looking for was something with relatively intricate colorwork and that cool hemmed cuff you see on many Norwegian style mittens. These are beautiful, the pattern is free, and I am in love.

FO: Hairy Sweater

Hairy Sweater
Pattern: EZ's Seamless Raglan from Knitting Without Tears (the best knitting book ever)
Yarn: Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends
Needles: 10 1/2
While making Oscar's sweater, I realized how much I really like this yarn, despite its high acrylic content. It's super soft and warm. So I decided to make a sweater for myself, and finished this one lickity-split. I really like how it came out. The sleeves are a little shorter than I would like, but that's my only complaint. One thing I didn't anticipate was how hairy this thing would be. It sheds like crazy. But right now that's exactly what I need in this crazy Northwest weather. And should I encounter Bigfoot, he's likely to consider me a friend.