Fox in a Vest ~ New Pattern!

Hi, Knitters,

I have a new pattern that will be available in print format from Unicorn Books and Crafts available in your local yarn shops in June 2014. If you don't see the printed pattern in your local yarn shop just ask the owner about it. The shop can easily order it for you through Unicorn. 

The pattern will be available for download in my Ravelry pattern shop in November 2014. I am really excited about Fox in a Vest and I hope you will be, too.

Click here for the Ravelry pattern page for Fox in a Vest to find out more information!

Click here for the pattern on Unicorn Books and Crafts!

Unicorn Books and Crafts is the distributor of the Opal yarns, which of course are at the top of my favorite sock yarns. I have done several toys in Opal for Unicorn. The other two are the Opal Sock Yarn Bunny and the Little Dragon. 

Click here to see the Opal Sock Yarn Bunny!

Click here to Little Dragon!

The vest is knit separately with sock yarn held doubled.

Here is some information you might like to know:

Finished size: 6-inches tall

Yarn:

Main Color (MC): Opal Le Petit Prince in Der Kleine Prinz und der Laternenanzunder #7760 (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon; 100 grams/425 meters) - 27 grams used in the sample

Contrast Color 1 (CC1): Opal Sock Yarn Solids in Natural #3081 - 14 grams used in the sample

Contrast Color 2 (CC2): Opal Sock Yarn Solids in Black #2619 - 3 grams used in the sample

Needles:

Fox: US size 1, double-pointed needles, set of 4

Vest: US size 7, double-pointed needles, set of 4

Gauge:

Fox: 8 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

Vest: 5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch (fingering weight held doubled)

Materials:

Detachable stitch markers

Ruler or tape measure

Yarn needle

Small amount of fiberfill

Poly-pellets (optional and considered a choking hazard for young children and infants)

Safety eyes, 4.5 mm (optional, the eyes could be embroidered)

Black embroidery floss

The Fox in a Vest is knit from the top-down seamlessly and all in one-piece. It is a knitting adventure! The only stitching up is to whipstitch the front and back of the ear after they are picked up and about an inch on the top of the foot after it is picked up.

Here are a few more in progress photos:

I don't have a photo of the fox tail and as soon as I get my sample back I will take some tail photos to post on the project page.

The pattern is one of my favorites and I think you will really enjoy knitting a fox of your own. Your sock yarn leftovers can be put to good use!

Click here to find out more information about Fox in a Vest!

Have a great weekend, Knitters. It's that time of year when every weekend is filled with games, meets and graduation parties. I hope you can find some time to knit and relax.

See you next week with a giveaway and maybe I'll squeeze in a video podcast if I can find a moment....
best, susie

WIP Tuesday

Hi, Knitters,

I hope you are all well and good this morning. I am sharing a quick update on some work in progress projects today. Oh, and before I dig in, I wanted to share the results of the Solja and Emmanuelle sweater votes. Here is what I counted, I did my best to be accurate and a few voted for both:

Solja: 26 votes!

Emmanuelle: 30 votes!

I'm still debating and actually that's a pretty close outcome. After I finish Maude I will make a final decision. Thanks for chiming in, that was really fun.

The sock in progress (above) is in my new favorite indie-dyed yarn from Gale's Art. Honestly, the photo is not filtered and the yarn is even better in person than it looks online. It glows with depth of color. The play of the gray and bright colors is brilliant. Click here to specifically see information or to purchase the same yarn as in the photo!

The pattern is one I have knit before and one that works so well for variegated sock yarns and it is a super fun knit. The Monkey socks, of course.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A (free on Knitty.com)

Yarn: Gale's Art Wonder Sock in Graffiti and Asphalt  The photos on the Etsy shop do not do the colorway full justice in my opinion. I think it is difficult to capture the true beauty of this colorway in a photo. Believe me, in person Graffiti and Asphalt is about the prettiest sock yarn I have ever seen. And it is knitting up better than I could have ever imagined. You will LOVE this yarn.

I heard from Gale that she is busy dyeing up more Graffiti and Asphalt sock yarn to fill the orders that have been pouring in. I saw this yarn on a couple of podcasts, The Knit Girllls and Whatcha Swatchin. I am so in love with this sock yarn, which is BFL and nylon. I know I'll be posting a lot more about it in the future. Gale is really talented, and from what I hear, she's a lovely woman as well. 

I've finished my first sock in the Hundertwasser Opal sock yarn in the Winterbild colorway. This is my first glitter sock. I think this yarn looks so old-fashioned like a wool blanket or a flannel shirt. I am a big fan of the Hundertwasser line of the Opal sock yarn. It's a winner. You can most likely find this yarn on Ebay but I do believe it's a discontinued line. You'll have to search around.

6-inch cuff. Top-down. How I make my socks free pattern.

Knit on Signature Needle dpns, 6-inch length

I have this ball of Opal lined up next.....  it says Dr. Deiter Dornig on the label. The German labels really throw me for a loop, I never quite know what the line or colorway is called. I've had this for awhile and I can't remember where I got it. It looks like it's going to be a really good stripy jacquard sock in great colors.

My Maude cardigan is coming along nicely. This truly is my favorite type of sweater with a deep 2x2 rib and then loads of stockinette stitch. There's nothing better. The pattern does have several AT THE SAME TIMES going at once but none of them are too complicated. There is some row counting involved for sure. I'm so enjoying the yarn and pattern.

Pattern: Maude by Carrie Bostick Hoge

Yarn: Shelter in the Button Jar colorway

Yarn bowl: White Barn Farm Sheep & Wool

And last but not least, I knit a leaf. The first leaf of many for the Leftie shawl. I started this in the car on the way to Mequon last Saturday. Mequon is about 2 hours from Madison, north of Milwaukee. There was a track meet. After the one leaf I had to put it down, it took too much reading and looking for car knitting. I started feeling a bit car sick. 

I haven't made any more progress on the Leftie but I have to say I really loved knitting this first leaf. I think this shawl will be addicting once I get a move on. I counted 29 leaves in the sample in the pattern. I hope to get about that many on my version. We'll see where the yarn takes me.

Yarn: Miss Babs Leftie Kit in Slate and Reds

Pattern: Leftie by Martina Behm

I have so much work knitting to do this week. Wish me luck as book deadlines are looming. I am feeling a little stress about this fact. The funny thing is that most all of the knitting I share on the blog is my leisure-time knitting that is completed in my off-time (riding in the car, sitting at games and meets, early morning wake-up time knitting), not my daytime work hours knitting. It's a blurry line when work and play collide but I am used to it. 

Now to get back to my work knitting! Yikes.

best, susie

p.s. I just got off the phone with my son who is sophomore in college. He finished his finals this morning and will be heading home soon. I am so excited to see him. We talk about food and cooking and baking quite a bit, a mutual interest. He recommended this website to me and it looks to be a lot of fun. I can't wait to spend some reading and baking and cooking time on here. Click here to check it out! There is a podcast, too! I'm going to give a listen as I work today.

This Week

Hi, Knitters,

This week flew by faster than usual. My last post did not go out to email subscribers so I have tinkered around with a few things to try to fix it. I want to see if it will work today.

I finished writing a pattern for Unicorn Books for our Opal sock yarn toy series. I used the Lantern colorway of the Little Prince yarn line and a small amount of the black and natural solids from Opal. Once I see that this post goes out to subscribers I will write more about the new pattern.

I received a nice note from Gale of Gale's Art. I posted a photo of a skein of her beautifully dyed yarn on instagram and apparently she had lots of people show up at her booth at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival mentioning this photo and wanting to buy the same skein. I just started a pair of socks with it yesterday.... more to come on those.

Click here for Gale's Art on Etsy!  The yarn is called Graffiti and Asphalt Wonder Sock! This colorway is so cool and there is no filter on the photo above.

Click here to check out my Instagram!

I turned the heel and finished the gusset on the sparkle Opal sock. I am loving this yarn. It is the Opal Hundertwassers Werk 625 Winterbild Polyp Wintergeist. 

Okay, I'm crossing my fingers that this post will be sent out to subscribers.

I will count up the sweater votes from last time and let you know the informal results. Quite a few of you chimed in so thank you! I loved reading your comments and thoughts.

Happy weekend to you all. I hope you find time to knit over the next few days.

best, susie

What do you think?

 photo: Knitscene/Harper Point

Hi, Knitters,

Last fall I went to Cleveland to film a segment for Knitting Daily TV with Vickie Howell, which is produced by the good people of Interweave. While hosting the show Vickie wore all kinds of knits from the pages of Interweave Knits Magazine. When I was in the studio she wore the sweater in the photo above, called Emmanuelle. I remembered seeing this sweater in Knitscene when I got my issue and I remembered liking it. However, when I saw the sweater in person and on Vickie I fell in love with it. 

Click here to find out more about Emmanuelle by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark!

This sweater is knit in Nature Spun Worsted Weight and is knit flat in pieces with intarsia color work on the front. I think the key to this sweater is to make it roomy and loose fitting. It is supposed to have 4-6 inches of positive ease. The model is a 33-inch bust and it is knit in the 38-inch size. The same version Vickie wore was very roomy on her.

When I looked at the finished Emmanuelle projects on Ravelry it seems that many have knit this as a fitted sweater. When it is closely fitted I feel like the color work arrows going down the front look a little bit like..... a necktie? When it is loose fitting and roomy, as intended, it simply is stunning. I love the 3/4 length sleeves, too.

Anyway, I ordered the yarn in the same colors as the sample and in the Nature Sport Worsted. I really like this yarn a lot. I had every intention of knitting this sweater in the summer months ahead.

But then this happened....

photo: Juju Vail

I saw Solja.

I keep hearing about this new knitting magazine, Pom Pom Quarterly.  I decided to check it out for myself and I am glad I did. It is a digital and print magazine based in London. You must check it out if you are interested. The designs are beautiful and the magazine is so well done, great photography with whimsy, articles, talented designers, wearable knits, and more. It's super fun.

When I received my issue of Pom Pom, I fell in love with the sweater above, called Solja. I love it so much.

Click here to find out more about Solja by Anna Maltz.

Solja is an interesting combination of old and new. Solja combines the age-old bottom up color work yoked pullover, Elizabeth Zimmermann style, with added all over lace and corrugated rib. This combination makes the sweater feel different and fresh. Plus the yoke color work is so light-hearted and whimsical. I haven't seen a combination like this before and I think it is just so much fun. This sweater is knit in the round from bottom to top, sleeves are knit separately and joined in and then the yoke is completed. I love color work stranded knitting, it is one of my favorite techniques.

I am feeling like my Emmanuelle dreams might become a Solja instead.

It just so happens that the amount of yarn and the colors for Emmanuelle will work perfectly to make a version of Solja. If I make Solja I will throw in a creamy off-white hank of Cascade 220 I happen to have sitting around. It is funny, both call for a main color and 6 contrast colors.

Basically, my question to all of you is which one would you make? Should I stick to my intended plans to knit Emmanuelle or should I dive into Solja? I still like both of the sweaters very much.

I'd love to hear your opinions!!

 photo: Carrie Bostick Hoge

Ending with another change of yarn plans, quite a long time ago I purchased some Shelter yarn in the Button Jar color way to knit up a Levenwick by Gudrun Johnston. I had every intention of knitting a Levenwick, I even purchased the pattern and have buttons for it. I really enjoy Gudrun's work. She has a simple, wearable style that I gravitate toward in knitting. A lot of Gudrun's work is clean and simple but there is often some sort of single design point of interest. That makes the knitting fun and fast.

However, every time I went to start the Levenwick I hesitated. It is an asymmetrical cardigan and cleverly designed in a simple way with a touch of easy lace on the button band. Something about it makes me pause. Would I wear it? Would it be flattering on me? I am not much of an asymmetrical clothing person and I started doubting the project. 

I put the Levenwick on hold and started casually looking around for something else to knit with the beautiful Shelter yarn. 

Then I came across Carrie Bostick Hoge's recent cardigan pattern release called Maude. I think I put it in my Ravelry queue for later but I kept thinking about the pattern. Last week I looked at it again and realized that the Shelter would work perfectly for Maude. I immediately jumped right in. It just struck me as the perfect combination.

Click here for more information on Maude by Carrie Bostick Hoge!

Here is the start of the body. Maude is a very slouchy grandpa-style deep v-neck cardigan. The sample in Carrie's photo is knit with about 6-inches of positive ease. I am knitting the size 40-inch bust which will have about 4-5 inches of positive ease on me. I think that it will be perfect. I will keep you posted on my progress. It is working up really fast so far. 

Carrie is another designer who knits simple, casual sweaters and cardigans. I pretty much love everything she designs. She hits the nail on the head every time for the type of garments I want to wear in my everyday life. Comfortable, casual, wearable and fun to knit are key elements for Carrie's work. Her baby designs are wonderful, too.

Click here to see all of Carrie Bostick Hoge's designs!

I love the Shelter yarn, vegetable matter and all, and this color is gorgeous. I will use the buttons I purchased for the Levenwick on Maude. They are really cool wooden buttons that I will share with you later. I have missed my sweater knitting as of late and I want to get back into it for the summer months ahead. For some reason I love knitting sweaters in the summer which is perfect because when the fall and winter seasons roll around I am all set with a new handknit sweater or two.

By the way, I think I still may knit the Levenwick. Now that I am looking at it again I really do love this design. We'll see what happens. For now, it's all about Maude!

What yarn do you have that was intended for one pattern and became another? We all do it. It's part of the fun of knitting.

I'll be back soon with more. I hope you all are having a good week so far. Let me know what you think about Emmanuelle and Solja.

best, susie

p.s. Hey! The Fall Fling announcement just came out! I am teaching along with Ann Budd, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, and Marly Bird! I'm so excited about this. Sign up quick, it sells out fast. Click here for the information on The Loopy Ewe.

One More for the Drawer!

Hi, Knitters,

I am quickly popping in today because I am so excited to have finished another pair of socks for The Drawer!

These lovelies are knit in the Opal Hundertwassers Werk 956 Seeschlange. The yarn was gifted to me by the generous Joanna Johnson of Slate Falls Press. Thank you, Joanna! I'm not sure where Joanna purchased the yarn and I don't see it readily available. I think it may be a discontinued yarn line for Opal.

Edited to Add: I found this online shop has many of the Hundertwassers colors including the Seeschlange! Click here.

If you are interested in purchasing this yarn you could always google search or search on Ebay or Etsy.

Click here to see another photo of the socks on my feet.

My sock blockers are from The Loopy Ewe. I have had them for many years now and even though I have some other sets, these are still my favorites.

I used my How I Make My Socks free pattern (click here).  The socks have a 6-inch cuff this time.

I used my US size 1 double-pointed needles from Signature Needle Arts.

I am in love with my new socks. The print is so whimsical and different. The red and green checkered section definitely makes me think of tulips. That was my favorite section to work to while I was knitting. 

Now I cast on another Opal sock. I already have a few inches done on the cuff and I am crazy about the twists and turns this one is taking. It's so unexpected.

This yarn is Opal Hundertwassers Werk 625 Winterbild Polyp Wintergeist.  I thought it was described somewhere as Old Man Winter. I don't know if you can see it but this yarn has GLITTER! I am really excited about the glitter and Opal combo. I don't usually knit with glitter nor am I really attracted to it but for some reason this really makes me happy.

I bought this yarn not in a usual spot, it may have been Ebay or something. You'll have to search around for this one, too, because I am not seeing it when I search. If anyone knows a good source for the Opal Hundertwasser yarns, please post in the comments.

I'll keep you posted on my sock progress, as always.

best, susie

Dayton Knitting Guild Retreat & a winner!

Hi, Knitters,

I have randomly picked a winner of a copy of the book, Knitting Gifts for Baby by Mel Clark. The winner is...... duffysmum on Ravelry!! Congratulations. Thanks for entering and I'll host another giveaway very soon. 

By the way, Mel Clark's wonderful blog is back in action so if you missed it, please check it out again. It's worth your while.

Click here for Slip Slip Knit!

Well, last night I returned from the Dayton, Ohio Knitting Guild Retreat that was held at the Bergamo Center (the photo above was the view from the nature hike path). This was a three day knitting retreat for 53 guild members. There were many members that came from different states like Michigan, Kentucky, New York, Indiana and more. The president and vice president of the guild, and other members, too, were annual attendees of Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp in Wisconsin and they have  modeled their retreat after the older version of Meg's camp when Elizabeth Zimmermann was still around.

All of the knitters stay together at the Bergamo Center which you can find out about right here. There were private rooms and baths, a small vendors' market which was lovely, all meals served right at the facility, a spacious gathering room/classroom with good lighting and big windows, and most of all lots of wonderful knitters. 

The weather was gorgeous. There were leaves and blooming trees and flowers. To me it felt like summertime. I got in one long run after the pm class and one short run before morning class. I am glad I could get outside a little bit to enjoy the beauty of the center. There was a nature path that looped behind the retreat center. 

The event organizer, Kay, and Heather who is the future event organizer, picked me up at the airport and took me on a fantastic tour of Dayton before we went to the retreat center. Kay is a historian and a smart and knowledgable tour guide. I learned so much from her and I certainly didn't know very much about Dayton before this trip. I enjoyed the historical tour so much because I often don't get to see the cities where I am teaching. 

Here was my big group of students. I've never taught 53 students at a time but this group made it so much fun. The projector screen and camera worked well (with a little bump at first) and I became more comfortable with it by the end of the weekend. The camera and projector was used for projecting my technique demonstrations on a large screen at the front of the classroom. That was a really good experience for me and I am glad I got to try that out. 

We worked on the projects the Egg to Turtle, a Fair Isle Hat, the Opal Sock Yarn Bunny and the String-a-Long Toys. These are all project-based workshops that are packed full of skill builders and tips and techniques. Don't be fooled by the cute titles, we covered some serious skills in these workshops.

Here are some of the skills we covered:

-working in the round on dpns on small numbers of stitches

-face embroidery skills

-how to pick up stitches and knit onto your toy in several different ways

-afterthought techniques

-increases and decreases

-stuffing tips

-gauge tips

-corrugated rib

-two-handed two color knitting

-the Latvian Braid

-reading charts

-pom-pom making techniques and tips

-twisty tie making

-weaving in end tips

-floats and tension for color work 

-trapping or weaving in floats as you work

-making bobbles

-how to make an I-cord

-kitchener stitch

-different types of toy-construction

And I'm sure much more! The students worked hard, helped each other out along the way, asked terrific questions, stretched their skills and hopefully learned a few new things. I so enjoyed this teaching experience.

Here are some of the Egg to Turtle reversible toys we worked on, some are finished and some are in-progress. Aren't they fun? The students kept commenting on the varying sizes of the turtles (it's all about gauge as always). They are all cute!

Kay, the vice president of the guild and event organizer, has an energetic granddaughter, named Pamela, who attended the event. She is a really good knitter. At show and tell she shared her Star Wars finger puppets and I just had to get a photo of them to share with all of you. 

I kept telling Pamela that she should write up her patterns. The finger puppets and designs are so good and they are immediately identifiable. She is quite a talent. She assured me if she ever does write up her patterns she will let me know so I can share them with you.

Here she is with her puppets! She's adorable and smart, and she's an attorney, too.

Two of my students brought their Not so Itty-Bitty Giraffes to class with them. They had these hand-sewn bags that the giraffes hung out of when they carried them around. It was so cute. Both Mary and Carol (I hope I am remembering those names correctly....) took my Craftsy Class for the Not so Itty-Bitty Giraffe and loved the online class and the resulting giraffes. I really enjoyed these two fun ladies. They were both so positive and upbeat. They made class fun.

Click here for my giraffe class on Craftsy!

Here are the faces behind the giraffes, Mary on the left and Carol on the right. (Again, I am hoping these names are correct, please let me know if I'm wrong.) I think this is such a cute photo. 

I had so many interesting students with fascinating stories and ideas. This group had such a good energy. They were helpful with each other and so willing to share. It was quite a social atmosphere with knitters who have been attending the retreat for years and years. They had a lot of catching up to do. The love of knitting and each other was inspiring. These ladies know how to create fellowship.

The woman on the right front table was so sweet. Her name is Mary. She shared that she is in her upper-80s. I enjoyed her so much and she worked really hard in class. I hope I can still knit and learn when I am in my upper-80s.

And to finish off, meet Valerie, the fastest knitter in Ohio (or at least the retreat)! Valerie was a bright-spot all weekend long. She is an incredibly fast and good knitter. She had her String-a-Long Frog done in a snap, well before the class was over. All weekend she whipped through projects easily and with a good sense of humor.

Thank you to the Dayton Knitting Guild, especially Kay Wolff who invited me and took care of me all weekend. Kay is a gracious host and so supportive. She made my weekend go off without a hitch. Anyone can join the guild if you are interested. They invite people to join and attend their lovely retreat.

Click here for the Dayton Knitting Guild website!

As a side note, Amy Detjen was the instructor at the last retreat and boy do these knitters love her. I got to hear about the beloved Amy all weekend long and I loved every minute of it. There are never enough good Amy Detjen stories as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be back soon with more! I hope you are all off to a good start this week.

best, susie

Episode 6 ~ travel, socks, kits & a book giveaway!

Hi, Knitters,

I have a new video episode for you today! For email subscribers, you can click here to view directly on YouTube.

I talk about these things today so here are the links:

Hitchhiker Shawl by Martina Behm

Dianne of Kentucky Sheep Dreams ~ a great blog about farming, knitting, spinning, cooking! Dianne gifted me the roving in the autumnal colors when I first started spinning several years ago. 

Shalom Cardigan by Megan McFarlane, I knit this in Cascade 128.

Hundertwasser Werk Opal Sock Yarn I found it on Ebay! Werk 956 and Glitter Werk 625.
This was a gift from Joanna Johnson of Slate Falls Press.

Vincent Van Gogh Opal Sock Yarn ~ I found it on Ebay! Starry Night colorway

Regia Super Jacquard Sock Yarn (I found it on Etsy!) in the Kolibri colorway

Knitting Gifts for Baby by Mel Clark (click here for the Ravelry page to see all of the 26 projects, and click here for Amazon) Leave a comment to enter to win a copy!

I am having a giveaway to win a copy of Knitting Gifts for Baby so please leave one comment on this blog post and include your email or your Ravelry ID so I can get in touch if you win. You don't need to watch the video to enter, simply leave a comment. You will love this book! I'll be back soon to randomly select a winner.

Mel Clark's blog, Slip, Slip, Knit I love Mel's blog and have followed it for years. 

Leftie Shawl by Martina Behm

Color Affection Shawl by Veera Valimaki

Miss Babs Leftie Kit

The Plucky Knitter Color Affection Kit

Vesper Sock Yarn 

That's all! Don't forget to leave a comment to enter to win a copy of Knitting Gifts for Baby by Mel Clark. This is one of my favorite baby knitting books, one of the best I have seen recently!

My podcast is Susan B. Anderson on iTunes (click here for the iTunes link), and I am also posting my videos on my YouTube Channel if you prefer to subscribe there. Or you can just follow along on my blog.

I'll be back soon with more.

Good luck on the book giveaway and let the comments begin!

best, susie
p.s. I compressed the video for download but I think I didn't do it quite right. I'll work on that and try to fix it. Sorry for any inconvenience, I am still learning how to do this stuff. You can still download the video but it is taking a long time. I'll try to get that time shorter.

Sunshine & 2 More for the Drawer!

Hi, Knitters,
My family has been enjoying some warm sunshine and beach time together this past week. I have been knitting a little bit here and there but mainly we are just hanging out together, walking, swimming, reading, running on the beach and eating!

This one has a real love for the beach and hot weather.

I grabbed a couple of almost finished pairs of socks to bring on the trip with me. I want to keep adding to my sock drawers as much as possible and I have been off my regular pace lately. Click here to read about The Drawer. 

These finished socks are knit in Opal Vincent Van Gogh in the Starry Night color way (this line has been discontinued). I love this Opal sock yarn and the Van Gogh prints. The stitch pattern I used is in the free Hermione Everyday Socks pattern (click here!) but I used my regular How I Make My Socks recipe. It was fun and simple and a bit of a change of scenery. I most often knit easy stockinette stitch socks but every once in awhile it is good to throw a purl stitch in here and there.

 These fit great and I am excited to have another pair finished for The Drawer and off the needles. I have so many pairs of partially finished socks. I need to work on getting more socks done.

 I finished a second pair to add to my sock drawers. I have shared these before in progress.

This pair is knit in the Regia Super Jacquard sock yarn in the Kolibri color way. I think this can be found on Etsy if you search for it. I'm not sure if it is still available.

 Buddies on the beach.

The lovely Joanna Johnson of Slate Falls Press knit a pair of socks in this Opal color way and posted a photo of them. I asked her about the yarn and she gifted me a ball! What a surprise. Thank you Joanna! I love the yarn, it is so whimsical and different.

I never am quite sure what the name and numbers mean on the Opal bands so here is what I see:

Opal in Variation nach Hundertwassers Werk 956 Seeschlange. Farbe 1436  Partie 178.

I hope this helps if you are interested. I don't know where Joanna purchased the yarn.

Here is the start. I love the colorful little band of checkers.

And I love the black lines randomly placed.

 Here I am on the heel flap. I did 6-inch cuffs. Sometimes I do 7-inch cuffs but not usually longer than that. Those are 6-inch Signature Needles double-pointed needles, US size 1, 2.25 mm.

As I was rearranging the stitches for the start of the heel I noticed I had dropped a stitch quite a few rounds back. I hooked it on my stitch marker to hold it until I could fix it.

After I finished the heel flap and heel turn I worked the dropped stitch back up to the needle and it's as good as new. I am hoping to get this one sock finished up on the trip. Maybe it will happen, maybe not.

I hope you are all doing well. It feels good to have a brief break with my family. I will be back to the grind as usual next week. I am traveling to the Dayton Ohio Knitting Guild Retreat to teach all weekend as soon as I get back.

Take care and have a good holiday if you celebrate this weekend.
best, susie