I am so happy to be saying good-bye to summer this year. Autumn — bring it on!

First things first . . .

The winners in my Summer of Socks contest!

Twenty-four people guessed the correct number of pairs of socks I would knit during the Summer of Socks. They are: Sue C., Jumi K., Beverly S., Megan B., JoAnn V., Alison M., Sarah, Diana T., Margaret B., Zonda B., Gina F., Pat V., Vanessa L., Karin S., Barbara M., Jen H., Carlyn F., Ashley L., Leonara C., Sockie, Katherine M., Christy H., Angela G., and Kimberly W.

I have emailed all of you at the address you used to enter the contest. Each of the winners receives a pattern and sock yarn. Thanks to everyone who played!

Yep, I knitted nineteen pairs of socks. And here they are.

Summer of Socks 092307

Lucy of course had to check ’em out.

Summer of Socks with Lucy 092307

Eighteen out of nineteen of these are my own design — the “Solstice Slip” socks from the Rockin’ Sock club are the only non-Wendyknits socks I made this summer.

If you want to see better pictures of these babies, check out my Original Socks Designs Flickr set.

The nineteenth pair was, of course, the Hearts for Heidi socks, which I completed about 3:00pm on Friday.

Hearts for Heidi 092307

They are made from Fiesta Boomerang in the “White Zinfandel” colorway, knit with a 2.75mm needle. The pattern will be available for sale at The Loopy Ewe soon.

I wasn’t quite ready to stop knitting socks, so I immediately cast on after finishing Hearts for Heidi. I suffered some difficulties in deciding what to do.

Abandoned Toes 092307
But I eventually decided on this.

New Sock 092307

This lovely, lovely yarn is from J.L. Yarnworks, and it is a wool/bamboo/nylon blend. I am once again at a loss as to what to name this sock design. Any ideas? Leave ’em in the comments and we’ll vote!

Lucy sez:

Lucy 092307

“These socks make a fairly comfy kitty bed!”

Yes! It’s the home stretch for the Summer of Socks. I think I’m gonna make it to 19.

Hearts Sock 092007

And since a bunch of you asked, yes, Hearts for Heidi will be available for sale from The Loopy Ewe in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, hey look! I’m rich! My winnings from the Virginia Lottery for the past 6 months:

Lottery Winnings

Lucy is so not impressed.

Lucy 092007

P.S. Helena is holding a contest on her blog. She’s asking people to donate to the Make A Wish Foundation, and in return she will enter their name into a drawing for some of her hand dyed sock yarn, a sock bag for carrying around their current WIP, and other goodies! Read all about it here.

P.P.S. Storey Publishing is hosting a contest giving away FREE skeins of yarn for a whole year! You can enter the drawing online here.

Okie dokie, see you guys on Sunday with the Summer of Socks wrap-up.

Yes, today is Talk Like a Pirate Day.

But that’s enough of that.

I finished the first Hearts for Heidi sock on the train this morning. Behold:

Hearts for Heidi Sock 091907

Once again, it looks much better on a foot.

Sock on foot 091907

Or on a laptop!

Sock on Laptop 091907

I made the leg of this sock longer than I usually do. The Fiesta Boomerang is wicked-high yardage, so I just kept knitting.

Here is the lowly start of the second sock.

Sock Toe 091907

But I’m pretty sure I’ll have it complete by the Summer of Socks deadline, particualrly since I am off from work Thursday and Friday. It’s medical leave, but still — plenty of knitting time.

Several of you have asked if I had been at “full strength” (meaning in normal health) this summer, how many more pairs of socks do I think I’d have completed. I think I’d have completed fewer pairs of socks.

I’ve taken more sick leave this summer than I have my entire career up to this point. There have been many times when knitting a sock was the most strenuous thing I could imagine doing. Had I been feeling what passes for normal, there would likely have been less sock knitting, more of other stuff. I keep telling y’all — I really don’t knit terribly fast. 🙂

Another Options Question

Willi asked:

In my Options set I do have trouble with the giant needles staying sturdy on cables, why don’t you? Is there some sort of tightening trick (even with the key) that I need to know about?

Actually, I haven’t used any of the Options “giant needles” — I’ve only used the smaller ones. Anyone have any thoughts on the larger needles staying attached to the cable?

Speaking of Options, I think I’ll order the Harmony wood set, now that I know I’m happy with the small circulars I got.

Lucy Sez 

Lucy 091907

“Avast, mateys! What’s a pirate and why am I talking funny? Arrgggh!”

The KOARC posted this on his blog, but I think it is worth repeating here.

Disclaimer: Yes, in this video you can see piles o’ crap on my floor. (That would be a stack of knitting books, a tote bag full of sock yarn, and a couple of priority mail boxes.) I would be mortified if I had the energy. But I don’t have the energy to care, much less to actually clean the place up. So, onward to socks. Here is the first Hearts for Heidi sock:

Hearts 091807

Looks better on a foot!

Hearts on Foot 091807

It has briefly crossed my mind that what I really ought to do is pull all-nighters for the rest of the week. Finish these socks and bang out another pair, bringing the total for the Summer of Socks to 20 pairs. Upon reflection, this seems like a not-so-good idea. So my prediction for the total is 19 pairs.

Options Needles

Marji asked:

Do you find that you have to frequently tighten the Options connection or is that just me?

I never have to re-tighten the Options connection. But my buddy L-B does. So it’s not just you. 🙂

Mystery Fibers! 

Clara Parkes, of Knitter’s Review, is hosting a virtual fiber-guessing game and I was invited to participate. In anticipation of her new book, The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, once a week for four weeks, Clara is sending the participants a small package with two yarn samples and a question about them, plus a clue to help us figure out the answer. Here are the samples:

Mystery Fibers 091807
The clue: both of these yarns have a merino base plus one other fiber that gives a distinct look and feel. Can you guess the other fiber in each yarn?  A hint for one: be sure to wash your swatches in warm soapy water.

I have my guess — what do you think? We’ll find out from Clara at the end of the game!

Lucy Sez

Lucy 091807

Enough with the camera!

The Garden Path socks are done. I cast off the second one on the train this morning.

Garden Path Socks 091707

To recap, they are my own design (will be available for sale at The Loopy Ewe in the near future), knit from Dream in Color Smooshy sock in the “Spring Tickle” colorway on 2mm needles.

This makes 18 pairs and the Summer of Socks ends Friday at midnight. I’m betting I can crank out one more pair.

So those of you who guessed 19 pairs for the Summer of Socks may well be right. Those of you who guessed 18 pairs, no, I am not open to bribery. 😉

I did indeed start a new sock, from Fiesta Boomerang (sportweight) in the White Zinfandel colorway.

Fiesta Boomerange 091707

Love this yarn and love this colorway. Love white zinfandel wine, too, for that matter.

Here’s the sock in progress:

Hearts 091707

I’m calling it “Hearts for Heidi.” It’s being knit on a 2.75mm needle. Take a look at the needle:

Needles 091707

It’s one of the new Knitpix Harmony birch needles. I’m liking it very much!

I bought the circulars in 2mm and 2.75mm, because those are the sizes I use for socks (fingering and sportweight respectively). I do think I will be buying them in the Options set as well, because I’m very impressed with their performance.

And they’re pretty too. 🙂

Roseann asked:

Do you have a favorite sock pattern of all the ones you have created or perhaps one you found the most challenging to get the way you wanted it to look?

Good questions! I think my favorite design is the L-Bee Socks. The one I fiddled with the most was the Asparagus Cables.

Lucy Sez

Lucy 091707

Don’t forget — my 2008 Calendar, available in my Cafepress store, would make a lovely holiday gift. And I’m donating the $1 I make on each calendar to an animal charity! The link to the store is also in the sidebar, right under my picture!