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I'm hoping this will be the third and final installment of today's ginormous post.

You might remember that I had started, long ago, some Rainbow Socks out of some awesomely green Knit Picks Felici. I finally got around to finishing them! I love, love, LOVE them.

I started out thinking that perhaps the longer stripes of the Felici were too long for the pattern, sometimes the diamonds got obscured because the stripe color hadn't changed by the time the next section was started (see the bright green swath at the ball of my left foot, that's actually two diamonds blended together). But when all was said and done, I really like the effect.

I also thought they might be a bit big, or maybe that the fabric was too loosey-goosey with the US 1.5/2.5mm needles. The pattern calls for 7.5 st/in, and I couldn't bear to knit at less than 8 st/in in sock yarn, so I went with that. I'm not sure if maybe the designer has really big feet or what, but even at a smaller gauge, they're definitely not tight. In the end I tossed them in the dryer for just a bit, and they tightened up to a perfect fit. And the Felici yarn is SO soft. I highly recommend it. Sadly, the irregular-length stripes that the original had (easier seen in my kids' socks) has been discontinued and replaced with equal-length stripes in different colors, but if they've kept the base yarn the same, I can testify that it's significantly softer than their Essential solid sock yarn. Super soft. Even J, who complains at the slightest amount of itch in any yarn, hasn't complained at all about his Firefighter socks. And trust me, that's really saying something. Awesome yarn. I really should try some of the new colors, just to see if it's the same. I can't believe that they discontinued the original colors so quickly. Luckily, I have one more batch of the original in browns, that are soon to be kneesocks for me! I'm definitely sad to see the irregular stripes go.

A side view--the diamonds work from side to side, so the sides show the whole height of the short row sections, and from the front and back you get maximum zigzag action.

Pattern: Rainbow Socks, by Susanne Kitzmann, formerly posted at MagKnits, but now available on the designer's website.
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, in Arugula
Gauge/Needles: 8 st/in on US1.5/2.5mm needles
Notes: I couldn't quite figure out the short row instructions in the pattern, and since I had recently finished the On-Your-Toes socks and the yarnover method was fresh in my mind, that's what I used for all of the short rows in these socks. Other than that, I don't think I changed anything in this pattern. I'll definitely be making it again, it was fun to do something completely different than the run-of-the-mill sock pattern.

And now for something NOT socks! Will wonders never cease? I have to start out by saying that I LOVE Knit Picks Sock Garden yarn in Zinnia. LOVE it. The colors are so me. I bought 3 skeins eons ago, and so far I've made:
Jaywalkers
A Wee Tiny Sock
Mitten Ornaments
a square for my sock yarn blankie (although it isn't pictured there)
and my iPod Cozy.

This is the yarn that never ends,
It just goes on and on my friends...
Somebody started knitting it, not knowing what it was,
And they'll continue knitting it forever just because
This is the yarn that never ends...

Despite the fact that you now hate me for getting that song stuck in your head, I'm thrilled that this yarn seemingly has no end. I still had tons left over, what to do with it?

For my dreamy yarn, a Dream Swatch.

I've never really been a headwrap sort of person, but I really love this and have already worn it. For one, it's nice to have knitwear that can be worn in the summer! Excuse the dorky smile...

How can you resist the colors of the Zinnia? And why is red so impossible to get right in photos?

Can you believe I still have some left? I'll save it for more blankie squares later on.

Pattern: Dream Swatch, by Wendy Bernard of Knit and Tonic
Yarn: My beloved and discontinued Knit Picks Sock Garden, in Zinnia
Needles: US3/3.25mm
Notes: I only did three repeats of the stitch pattern (18 sts across), because I just wasn't sure I'd like the wider version on my head as much. I love how this came out. As many others have commented, it does curl, but blocks well in this yarn, and I have no problem keeping at least the part that goes over my head flat while wearing it. I did play with adding in some garter stitch to counteract the curling, but I didn't like the look of it, so I ripped it and went with the pattern.

Last but certainly not least, I finally knit up the yarn that I dyed at my knitting group's dyeing party! These are my happy socks.

I'm calling them my Ke'e Socks, named after my favorite beach on Kauai, where civilization ends and the Napali Coast begins. Lush vegetation and flowers meet sand and water in one beautiful place. Here's a picture of M with baby C, in September 2000:

Anyway, I love this combination of blue, green, and yellow--almost as much as I love the red, orange, and yellow of the Zinnia. As I explained in the other post, it's Knit Picks Bare, dyed with Koolaid in lemonade, lemon-lime, and ice blue raspberry. I am beyond happy with how they came out!

They're just a standard stockinette sock, top-down, and I added an eye-of-partridge heel, just for fun.

I'll definitely be dyeing more yarn in the future, I think I'm hooked!

Pattern: Stockinette on 64 stitches, with an EOP heel. Cuff down, standard toe.
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare, dyed with Koolaid on a warping board to get self-striping yarn.
Needles: US1/2.25mm
Dates: 7/15/08 - 7/30/08

OMG, I think I'm caught up. My "to be posted" folder is empty. Hallelujah! Not that I don't have some new WIPs, but no photos as of yet:
A hoodie may perhaps be in the works
I'll finally be knitting a Clap, for the summer knitting Olympics (Rav link)
And a Wallaby is my backup if the Clap gets done too quickly.

I'll try to get pictures of my Apres Surf progress soon, I'm about halfway done with the back and I think it's looking good!