No Owlmittens...yet.

Thanks again to everyone who took advantage of my Heart of December sock pattern giveaway. I still can not get over the response it received -- it was truly staggering! I can't wait to see all of the gorgeous socks that you all produce.

As for me, I'm not currently knitting an Owlmitten (though I'm supposed to be.) No, I'm doing this instead:Yes, it's another brand new mitten. It's currently bearing the working title of the Ribbon mittens, but that might very well change. The observant among you will note that that's not your average colourwork being sported by Our Fair Mitten, nor is it embroidery. It's an Estonian inlay technique called Roositud where contrast colours are wrapped around the stitches rather than knit in. This means that the contrast colours don't need be carried around the entire round of knitting -- you can just add them wherever you want them. Believe me when I say that it's the easiest, prettiest, most-satisfying colour technique that you'll ever try -- ever.

With any luck, the first of these mittens will be finished today! And then onto the second one, and then...Owlmittens??

Thank you, all! Here, look at something!

I'd like to thank you all again -- the response to my Heart of December sock pattern giveaway has been overwhelming! Most of you who have commented and/or contacted me up to this point should have received your copies of the pattern by now. But if you haven't, please let me know! I think I should also mention that if you've commented thinking that I can derive your email address from the link back to your blog, well, that isn't always the case. If you've done this there's a very good chance that I don't actually have and address to send your pattern to. It wouldn't hurt to drop me a line or to PM me on Ravlery just to make sure.

And just to make good on my promise that there will be something new to see around these parts...well, here you go:Yes, that's a sock. Wait til you see the rest of it!

It's hot! I'm bored! Free socks!!

The title pretty much sums it up. It's about 10 million degrees outside today, and I'm no fan of hot, humid weather. I realize, however, that some of you are, and I wish that I could box up my share of this balmy weather and ship it to your door in exchange for one of your nice, cool, rainy afternoons. So in a futile(?) effort to stave off (possibly terminal) ennui, I come bearing a free sock pattern.

The pattern up for grabs this time is Heart of December, a pretty sock that's both quick and fun to knit.This sock takes its name from a song by The Cure and features a leaf and lace motif that is reminiscent of frost (which I, for one, wouldn't mind being reminded of on a day like today.)

Now, here's how the giveaway is going to work: all you have to do is leave a comment below, being sure to include an email address where you can receive the pattern's .pdf file. If you feel uncomfortable posting your email address right here on my blog, send it to spillyjaneknits [at] gmail [dot] com so I can send your copy of the .pdf. Just make sure that you comment or email me before next Monday, 24 August 2009 at 1 pm EST. As usual, you have my word that I will promptly forget your email addresses and that I will not abuse them in any way. All I want to do is send you lovely peoples a nice sock pattern and that's ok, right?

Now I'd better run and get back to work on a New Something that I'll be sure to show you soon (as soon as there is more if It to See.)

ETA: Wow! I'm so thrilled that so many of you are picking up my sock pattern! The response has been overwhelming! Now, I'm trying to get everyone's copy out to them as soon as possible -- a good number of you should have already received it. BUT, if for some reason you haven't, just give me a little time to try to get them all out! Please keep in mind that I'm just one person sending individual emails to everyone. :) If for some crazy reason a couple of days goes by and you haven't gotten yours yet PLEASE let me know! I'd hate for any of you to miss out on the pattern! Thanks again!

Back on the socks...

Oh, and I'm back on them hard. They are just flying off my needles these days!

First off, I figured I should let you all know that Heart of December (Ravelry link) has been released. Here's a better picture of the socks: And here's a better view of the top of the sock, to show off the twin vines with their garter stitch leaves twining down the foot: Don't forget that you can grab the pattern over to the left or right over here. It should be turning up in my Etsy shop shortly.

As usual, here are the things you might like to know about Heart of December:

Size: Women’s Medium (or any foot/leg that is 8” in circumference.)

Gauge: 8 stitches = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Stockinette st.

Yarn: 2 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss (220 y / 50 g) in Dusk or the equivalent amount of any other comparable fingering weight yarn.

Needles: One set of five (5) double pointed needles in US 2 (2.75 mm) or size necessary to obtain gauge.

Notions: A stitch marker to mark beginning of round (optional,) and a sewing needle to weave in ends.

Skills Needed: Knitting in the round, lace, twisted stitches, chart reading and grafting.

And because I really have no sense of when to say "when," feast your eyes on these:This is Mokira (Ravlery link), yes, another new sock! Watch for him to come out before the end of this week (before 23 November 2008, that is.) Would you believe that he's my 20th knitting pattern? I can hardly believe it, myself! I told you I didn't know when to stop!

A sneaky peek.

I'm so glad you came
I'm so glad you remembered
the walking through walls in the heart of December...
~"Last Dance," The CureNew sock! Better pictures are on the way. This one's called Heart of December (Ravlery link.) I blame Robert Smith. This is not the first time he's turned up in my knitting (please pardon my Rav-link.)

But back to the sock! This is a new pattern of mine, which will be released into the wild before Thursday, 20 November 2008, in plenty of time for you to bang out a pair for your holiday knitting. Seriously, it's been a long time since I've knit a sock that was this much fun. I just couldn't put it down, it was that enjoyable.

As always, stay tuned for more sock-info.