Socks obsessed

Hey friends.... it's FRIDAY!! Are you as excited for the weekend as I am? This work week has been a real doozy; three surgery days in a row means chaos. I am ready for a stress-free weekend filled with lots of knitting and home improvement :)

A little while back, I fell in love with Andi's socks. And I mean, I really fell in love with them. I was pretty much obsessed with them night and day. I had to start my own:

Cast on May 14th

The pattern is Faux Cable Socks by Jen Lucas. The yarn is Berroco Sox and I'm using 2.5 mm needles. Looking back, this was probably not the best yarn choice; the cables kind of get lost in the bold stripes. Oh well :) These were also the first cuff-down socks I've knit in quite awhile and it took a bit of adjusting! (the last three pairs have been toe-up). There are certain parts of cuff-down that I really enjoy, and there are parts of toe-up I prefer. For instance, I like the heel turn on cuff-down soooo much better, but I like the cast on and gusset on toe-up. If only the two methods could get married and make the perfect sock construction baby.


I hope you all have a wonderful and fun weekend!

A Wee Giveaway!

Here it is! My first giveaway!

Fits a standard sized, 12 fluid oz. bottle

You could win one of these cute, hand-knit beverage sweaters!!

1. Blue cable

2. Blue & green stripes

3. Grass green cable

4. More stripes

I love these beverage sweaters! From the knitting standpoint, they are quick and easy to knit up, and a wonderful space to play with color and texture. And from the drinking standpoint, I use them all the time. In the summertime, they absorb beer sweat and I like to think they keep the beer chilled longer. I use them in the winter too, because the bottle is cold!

Beverage sweaters are knit with 100% wool and must be hand washed.

Two ways to enter! 
ETA: You can double your chances of winning, by entering TWICE! Here's how: 

1. Leave a comment on this blog entry, answering the question What is your favorite summer beverage? Make sure to leave your name and an email address I can reach you at if you win.


2. Visit my Facebook knitting page, Oocha Knits and follow the directions to enter there.

I will use the Random Number Generator and choose four winners, two from this blog and two from my Facebook page. Winners will be announced Wednesday, April 11th. 

Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

<3

(I couldn't resist. A little Hunger Games obsessed here).

I caved

I caved and bought 60 Quick Knits from the UM bookstore. It's originally $17.95 but I got a student discount which knocked almost two dollars off. Funny, though, I've never gotten a student discount at the bookstore before... it sure would be handy at the beginning of every semester when I have to buy school books!

This was the first, practically full-price knit or crochet book that I've purchased ever, I think. Let's see...

Found 7-Day Afghans at Powell's for only $3.99
Scored Stitch 'n Bitch at Goodwill (of all places!!) for $2.99
Bought an afghan book (blue ribbon or something like that) at Salvation Army for like $1!

So yes, I do enjoy a good deal! And I especially love hunting for them. Today has shown me that I'm not completely frugal, which is kind of relieving, really. Although, all the money I save by buying used craft books I spend on lots of yarn... so am I really saving??

Man! I need to take some pictures already! I think for Christmas I want a nice digital camera that has a good macro on it (is that possible?) My idea is, that if I have a camera that takes a good photo, I'll be more motivated to take pictures and upload them. Unlike my current one, which is a clunky old thing that only has 3 megapixels, or something. hey. it was $50 at Target, I think.

Well, in my dreams I'd love a nice, digital SLR Canon, but I definitely don't have the dough for that.

Still working on Christmas presents. About to start one now actually, if it goes well. Something like this:

via http://www.reachperspective.com/?p=ggniwtts&paged=8

But really, I'm altering a pattern for a cable headband like this:

via http://terrificfibers.blogspot.com/

to fit a cup! I haven't tried my hand at cables before and they look so beautiful. Plus, a girl in one of my lit classes has a cabled cup snuggy and it looks awesome!

There are so many patterns and pictures of pretty knits on the web!! I just google imaged "knit cable cup warmer" and found so many! Plus, quite a few good blogs to start following ^-^

Happy knitting! And it's almost Friday!!