I posted awhile ago about knitting some socks for my MIL's birthday.  I finished them last week and presented them to the lovely lady earlier in the week!

Dream Again is a perfect name for this week's artist.  Looking through her shop, I was struck by the boldness and forward beauty of some pieces, the organic simplicity of others, and the intricacy of most.  Her etsy shop is really a stunning gallery and sampling of her work.

She's been a lover of feminine, pretty things since she was a child, spoiled as the first girl to her mother.  It wasn't a far leap from loving to creating; and, at the age of 20, she picked up her first jewelry supplies and that was all it took.

Above is one of the bold pieces I admire.  The fish and dragonfly motif are elegant, yet very feminine, and the alternating symmetry of the chain adds a lot of interest, for me.

An important part of creating is constantly learning, and this self-taught artist strives to expand her knowledge.  You can read on her blog about her journey into creating beautiful chainmaille pieces.  I really like to read stories about people exploring new avenues of creation and the process they go through, and I really admire the persistence and enthusiasm that Dream Again has for learning.  Below is a lovely example of her chainmaille.

I'm a huge sucker for pearls, so I have to share this last piece with you.  It's a delicate, yet stately bracelet, made up of irregular, fresh-water pearls.  The pale pink pearls are attached to a silver-plated, looped chain, if you need more pop than those gorgeous pearls give you!

This week, I'm happy to share iKnitQuiltSew with you all!  Sandi is obviously passionate about what she does; and, after flipping through her shop and blog, it's apparent how genuinely caring she is as a person and how much love she puts into her creations.  I've looked at her lovelies before, and I'm always struck by how sweet her shop is and how much fibery talent one person can be blessed with.

I'm particularly enchanted with this little guy:

How could you not love such a charming little face and a well tailored outfit?

As a knitter, I had to pick a pair of her booties.  She has many different styles in traditional and some more wild colors, and I am in awe of her patience!  Whenever I attempt a pair of booties, it's like the world is against me, and I can never get two that look even remotely alike!  Here's a pair of blue, newborn booties that are absolutely perfect.  It doesn't get any sweeter than that.

I encourage you to stop by her shop and her blog.  On her blog, you'll find features from other artists and photo tutorials.

I've reached an all-time high number of listings in my shop, so I've decided to slow down a bit on my tabi production.  I really want to beef up the number of traditional-toed socks before cool weather sets in, since they did so well last year, despite the limited colors available, and I was pretty stressed in getting them made.  I placed my order for the new yarn last week, so I've got awhile before I'm able to dig in on that.

While I wait, I've decided to work on some of my personal projects.  Things are pretty slow in etsy-land, so I figured it'd be a good thing to take advantage of.  I really want to crank out at least two sweaters before it gets cool, and have about six Chrismukkah stockings that I'd like to finish.

Knitting really causes a special kind of seasonal madness.  In June, the pressure starts to get warm woolies ready for The Season, so orders of wool, alpaca, etc. start arriving.  Thick sweaters, thrummed mittens, and warm slippers start production in the heat of the summer.  If you're not planning or already working by July, a little bit of a panic starts setting in.  By the end of August, you'd better have a nice bit of product stocked up, or the pinch is really on.  

And I'm a willing participant.  Below is the first repeat of the cabled cuff for a lovely, classic stocking.  I plan on making six of these, and I'm getting a head start!

I've been playing ring around the rosie with the supplier who I buy my alpaca yarns from for the past few months, and I finally gave up on Tuesday.  My refund is being processed and I've already placed another order with another supplier.

About a year ago, my favorite tabi yarn supplier dried up and I had a mad scramble to find a new source.  After that, I apparently learned my lesson and have spent a few hours each week keeping tabs on prices, shipping times, etc.  I'm very glad I did because it was much less painful to lose a supplier when I had another two lined up and ready to go.

I originally ordered only three colors (green, blue, black), but I decided to rethink the colors with this second order and I have black, gray, olive, and a lovely, soft lilac on their way.  I'm going to pay back twiddletoes for some of the lilac because I have a few women in my life who will love a pair of socks out of it over the holidays.

So we'll see how this goes.  I've been itching to play with more alpaca, and the brick/rust red that I ordered retail just isn't doing it for me, for some reason.  I'd like to have some blacks, grays, and greens ready for Father's Day.

A few weeks ago, I got notice that a bunch of yarn that was backordered was on its way to me.  I've been waiting and waiting and planning, and it still hasn't arrived.

I called and it turns out that it won't be shipped...and they haven't refunded my money.  I've spent several hours trying to rectify the situation, and it's pissing me off more and more.  I'm itching to knit more alpaca socks, but I'm tired of making them in blue!

I'd like to make a black pair, definitely, and maybe I'll start on a green pair for my brother for the holidays.  I'm craving alpaca and I can't have it.  I'm even shunning a lovely yak blend that I was itching to use.

Gah!  The frustration.

I recently ordered a test run of tags from nuvonova, and have decided I absolutely love them.  They wash well, the colors are vivid, and the fabric is sturdy.  

I decided to invest in some tags after someone contacted me about a month ago, overjoyed he'd finally found my socks again.  Apparently, he'd lost my business card, couldn't remember my name, and had been searching and searching (good thing I moved in to internet sales!) and finally found me.  He said that the screenprinting I used to have done on the bottom had worn off, which made me start considering my tags.  

I did some shopping and was really glad to find someone that could make small batches without me having to invest in plates, use stock fonts, etc.  So now I have tags!  They're located on the outside of the cuff on the left foot of my tabi, only.  They're sewn on and and easily and safely be removed, but I'm excited about them.  (Excuse the scraps of thread that i didn't remove before I took the picture, please! :))

Recently, I've noticed a lot of posts and received a lot of comments about washing woolen products and, especially, handknit socks.  Many people shy away from wool and handknit socks because of the maintenance involved in keeping them comfy, wearable, and clean, so I figured I'd write up a post about how I've cared for the socks I make and what I've found best.

My stock yarn is 85% wool, 15% mohair, traditionally not something that's machine washable.  My husband wears these socks exclusively, and hand washing 4+ pairs of stinky woolen socks by hand every week just isn't in my schedule.  So what do I do?  I chuck them in the washing machine.  Every time I mention that, I see several people recoil in absolute horror, so hang on those of you who are cringing and crying for socks long lost.


Check your washer setting.  Many washers, especially now, have tons of different washing programs -- some even have a wool setting!  I'm not lucky enough to have one of those magical machines, and always look for a few keywords when using a foreign machine: gentle, lingerie, sweaters, hand wash.  These cycles have little agitation, one of the big killers of non-superwash wools, and are what you want to select.  

Check your water temp.  My washer has four temperature programs: hot/cold, warm/warm, warm/cold, and cold/cold.  Cold/cold is the way to go.  Changes in temperature can 'shock' woolen products and cause fulling, and warm temperatures will make your non-superwash wools shrink to child size in no time at all.

Ditch the detergent.  There are several fine fiber, no rinse products on the market today (SOAK and Eucalan, for example) that are wonderful for woolen products, but I'd recommend, for machine washing, a regular bottle of shampoo.  Yep, shampoo -- I use an old bottle of TRESemme that someone left in the guest bedroom.  Regular detergents are harsh on clothing, and wool is hair, right?  Since I've switched to using shampoo in the machine, I've noticed that even my most felt-ready pieces maintain their structure and texture much, much, much better.  Guess those conditioning elements really do prevent tangles!

Bag 'em.  Rather than just throwing your socks in the machine, stick them in a lingerie bag or mesh washing sack.  These will not only prevent Missing Sock Syndrome, but it will keep them from rubbing, shedding, and commingling in the washer, which can increase the chance of fulling.  I use the Honey-Can-Do, multiple-compartment, lingerie bags, so I can fit four or more pairs of socks with one zip and I don't have to try and juggle a bunch of little bags when doing the laundry.


Avoid the dryer.  Even if your dryer has a no-heat tumble cycle (mine doesn't), the tumbling can be pretty hard and encourage fulling.  Either hang or lay your socks flat to dry.  Tops of dryers, drying racks, countertops, whatever work great.  I put a small fan on high on top of the dryer where I dry my socks, and they dry in a few hours and don't stay damp for too long. 

I use that regimen for all of my socks, including cashmere, alpaca, and other delicate blends (and my bras, fancy undies, etc...), and it works out pretty well.  I know everyone has their favorite method, but I figured I'd share mine for anyone interested in handknit socks but who've been turned off by the presumed maintenance.