This is not a post about tulips, but it’s never wrong to start with a picture of tulips, regardless of the subject matter.

I straightened and organized my sock drawer. And then I straightened and organized my sock yarn drawer. And then KnitPicks had a sale on sock yarn, so I bought even more sock yarn (the sale is still going on for a couple more weeks, I think). I do like always having a sock on the needles, because first of all, they are so portable, and I can just keep them in my purse. Second of all, I love handknit socks. Third of all, sock knitting is (generally) therapy for me when I’m stressed. And fourth of all, many of my socks are starting to look pretty shabby.  I can and will repair them as much as possible, but sometimes there is a point of no return. I’m also on the lookout for the ultimate sock yarn, so all my sock knitting is also in the name of science.

I started a pair of toe-up socks recently, using Knit Picks Stroll (Tonal, in Thunderhead). The only other time I’ve knit socks from the toe was, weirdly enough, for the first socks I ever knit. I used Wendy’s Toe-up sock pattern and I think a sport weight yarn (this was pre-Ravelry). And then I never knit one again. I don’t remember it being terribly difficult, and it was a heavier yarn and a plain sock with a ribbed leg, so I don’t think it took all that long. I think I just found patterns I liked that were cuff-down and I was comfortable knitting that way.

I was looking for a sock pattern to knit a couple weeks ago, and came across this pretty pair. I love the lace and didn’t let the fact that the pattern started at the toe deter me at all. By the time I got to the heel, I realized that I really don’t enjoy knitting from the toe up. I vowed to press on, though, because these socks, they are so pretty! So I slogged through the heel and started up the leg. I tried them on and they were a little long in the foot, and the heel flap seemed a little tall. But still, I kept going, because I am not a quitter! Then I sat down last night to do just a little more, because it seems like every quarter-inch of these suckers takes an hour. I pulled on the cord to pick up my knitting and ooops! I had pulled the needle right out of half the sock.

I thought I could be stoic and brave

, and get all those k2tog and yo stitches back on the needle. I’ve certainly done it before. After a few minutes, though, in perhaps a tiny fit of hatred and frustration, I pulled the other half off its needle and ripped it out completely.

It was such a relief. I immediately cast on and knit a cuff, and I’m going to try to just knit the same lace from the top. It may not work, but I’m going to give it a couple inches, and if not, I’ll do some other lace-y cuff-down pattern, and I will enjoy every bit of it. Am I alone in my love of cuff-down sock knitting?

I’ve been having a quiet winter, but there has been some making going on.

I want to play with color more when knitting. Although I’ve been organizing my yarn stash the last few days, and I need to finish a couple sweaters and then make a few more (for which I have yarn waiting in the wings), so maybe that will be a project for next winter. Still, aranami is a fun color experiment.

This was a gift for my sister-in-law. Despite all the pink-ness around here, I do love cool colors.

This was so much fun to knit. I will probably eventually make another for myself.

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Happy New Year! I have high hopes for 2012, and I'm starting it off by cleaning out and finishing off and setting goals and figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. I'll be blogging up a storm here at Hey Lucy, and I'm starting to think about all the projects I can do and tutorials I can share, and things I can make for my Etsy shop. You see, while I was on vacation I learned that I had been laid off from my job. It was a bit shocking, and it's somewhat terrifying, but I really hope to turn it into something wonderful. 

It's quite fun wake up in the morning and have the whole day to putter and create, although it is surprising how much time all those mundane little things can take. I'm working on getting into a routine, a la FlyLady, and spending a certain amount of time in my little house studio. Later this week I'll be setting up my own little home office in a corner of our tiny guest room, which will involve building a desk, among other things, and I'm excited to see how it all comes together. 

In the meantime, I've whipped up and worked on a few things that have been waiting to be done for a very long time. I've had this polka dot fabric for dog beds for months, and I sewed one up the other day. It's just a giant pillow cover with an envelope back, and I stuffed it with some of our old pillows that have seen better days and needed replacing. I made it for Bear, our 10-year-old Golden Retriever, so he won't have to lay his old bones down on the floor, but Winston was eager to try it out and model for me.

He heartily approves. Oh, and Bear likes it too.

Ages ago I had the bright idea that I would hem some cheery blue plaid cotton squares and use them as handkerchiefs. I did a cute, hand-stitched hem on one and then ran out of steam. I really have to be in the mood for hand sewing, and the mood hasn't striked (stricken?) for awhile, so I zipped the rest through the rolled-hem foot on my sewing machine and called it good. The corners are not the prettiest, but it turns out I got them done just in time, since I woke up yesterday with a scratchy throat and runny nose. I have to say, it's no fun feeling under the weather when you can't even call in sick!

There has also been much knitting this past month, but I can only give you a sneak peek of a few projects, and I will have to tell you more later. I am finally testing my design chops, and the first photo is something I am working on that I hope to finish up and write up soon! I might need a test knitter or two, so let me know if you are interested! 

So, I could use a little help. I really want to build Hey Lucy into a great site and have it be something useful, and then eventually to accept sponsors. I should probably do a formal survey, but in the meantime, I want to know what you think makes a good blog, what makes you come back every day? Tutorials? Original patterns? Links to cool stuff elsewhere? More photos of Winston? 😉 Fashion, design, crafts? One more than the other, or all three? Do you want to know about iPhone apps? Do you like to have lots to read, or just look at lots of photos? Please share! Either in the comments, or via email, if you want to keep it private (lucy (at) heylucy (dot) net). It would be most appreciated!

Here's to a fun new year!

No time for blogging, I’m visiting family in Spokane this week. I went to a nice little place called A Good Yarn yesterday. After you buy your yarn, they let you use their swift and winder. That was much more fun than doing it myself at home.

I am vacationing without my laptop, so I hope this post works from my phone!

I'm working on a post all about some natural skincare things I've been making and using, but it's taking a little time, so here is some more knitting. Do you mind? Are you tired of knitting? Because it seems that I am not. 

I want to find a knitting group, so I tried one out this past weekend at a local yarn store and made a hat:

It's pretty darn cute, and was fun to knit. The only downside, which isn't really a downside, just my own disatisfaction was that I used the exact yarn in the exact colors called for in the pattern, which is great, it just makes it feel a little less creative. Know what I mean? It's a silly complaint, and I love the finished hat. In fact, I'll be making the matching mittens, so maybe I should just stopping whining. It's the perfect yarn in the perfect colors, so I don't know what I think I want. The pattern for the hat and matching mittens is from The Red Collection, which is a really cute bunch of patterns. I want to make the ziggity hat and mittens too. As for the knitting group, there were just a few people, but I found out about another, large group that meets at a nearby Panera on the second Wednesday of the month, so I'll be trying that out this week. Maybe there will be some readers there, so I'll find a book group too. Or maybe I'm just overly optimistic. 

I also whipped up a baby sweater for a co-worker. I've made this pattern before, it's not particularly exciting, but it's a nice, classic look for a little boy, I think. It's from The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss, which has lots of good, basic patterns. It's a quick knit too!

It's been awhile since I've done any seaming, it was good to practice. 

I spent a few hours on Saturday waiting while one of our cars was in the shop, so I used those hours for reading and finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. It's my second non-fiction book for the year, and it was really amazing. Louis Zamparini grew up in Torrence, California, where he was a Troublemaker-with-a-capital-T. With some help from his older brother and best friend, he became a track star, breaking records and accomplishing brilliant feats of speed around the track. He even went to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He had big plans to attend the 1940 Olympics, where his increased maturity would certainly make him a contender for a gold medal. And then, World War II broke out and the Olympics were cancelled. 

So he joined the Army Air Corps and became part of the crew of a B-24 Bomber. What follows is an amazing story of endurance, optimism and redemption. It might sound a little cliché, and I know there are probably more WW II stories like this that will never be told, but that doesn't make this one any less worth reading. I won't spoil it for you, just recommend that you pick it up soon and read it. Laura Hillenbrand, the author, has obviously done extensive research and spent a lot of time interviewing Louis, who is still alive. I really appreciated her obvious admiration for him, although her writing is at times a little dry. She has a journalistic style, which I think that I, as a fiction reader, am not used to reading, it's not quite as 'literary' as I am used to (not that I'm some literary snob, I'm in the middle of a slightly cheesey mystery novel at the moment), so that's not even really a criticism. 

 Just for fun, as is my habit, let's have a look at the one-star reviews, shall we? I wasn't sure how anyone could rate this story one-star, but right now, there are eleven who did. It seems that a common complaint is that the book is overly-dramatic. Really? A man survives unbelievable odds for years during a major war, and you don't think it should be dramatic? That's pretty funny. I can kind of, sort of understand not loving the writing style, but I really don't see how this story is anything less than amazing.