In from the cold

New socks...

my well-loved and well-worn Lace Leaf scarf...

and a steaming cup of cocoa...I'm ready for the cold and blustery days ahead.

Time to remember

some favorites from November as National Blog Posting Month comes to an end!

I made it. All. Thirty. Days. I almost stopped...but a quitter I'm not.

My goal was to have fun with the challenge of daily posts, and I had a total blast! I hope you had some fun visiting, too!

Again, thank you for all your wonderful comments and kind words!

Have a great weekend!! Knit on! Travel safely!

Vainglorious

Vainglorious: adj. Exhibiting excessive vanity; boastful. Proceeding from vainglory.
Peacock: noun. A vain person, or dandy.

Did you know that the peafowl is a pheasant (of the genus Pavo)? Who knew!? Although typically referred to as peacocks, technically only the male is the peacock and the female is called a peahen. (Yes, the babies are peachicks...too cute) A group of peafowl is known as a party. When somebody says "peacock", you probably instantly think of one of these haughty guys. Have you ever seen a white peacock? This is one gorgeous bird!! Shhh...don't tell him he's white...I don't think he knows for his ostentacious demeanor!

Peacocks were a symbol of vanity and pride in medieval times; recently, they have become a symbol of bad luck, particularly their feathers. I heart Google and National Geographic!!

I think Vainglorious is a great name for this lovely yarn from Chewy Spaghetti! The colors are brilliant and bold, and capture the essence of peacock-ness.

Thank you! Thank you for all your kind words about the Hollyday Monkey socks and more! Blush! I'm touched and left speechless....until tomorrow, then.

The Hollyday is over!

Perhaps only second to the Red Bark Monkey socks, these monkeys may be the most photographed pair of socks to be featured here prior to being finished. I loved knitting these socks! The color brought such warmth to my day and my hands hate to say good-bye to them, but it's now time for my feet to have a chance at them.

I leave you with these last few images to complete the series of photos that comprise Hollyday Monkey socks.

Specs:

Pattern: Cookie A. Monkey Socks
Yarn: STR 'Hollyday' mediumweight
Needles: Addi Lace 2.5 mm, 2.25 mm for the heels
Mods: The 3-Ps: Picot, Partridge and Priscilla aka picot cuff, eye of partridge heel, and anatomical toes ala Priscilla Gibson-Roberts!

A rare and radiant maiden...

...whom the angels name Lenore.

Picots

I heart the picot cuff. It is my favorite cuff and has been used on a statistically significant number of socks over other cuffs of late...i.e. a heck of a lot of my socks have picot cuffs!!!

I've had a couple of requests for a picot tutorial, so I thought I'd start the week off with a little picot-ing around. This technique works well for me; your mileage may vary. Without further ado, let's get started:

1. Cast on required number of stitches (an even number, you can adjust afterward as necessary)

2. Knit 6 rounds in stockinette stitch

3. *YO K2tog*, repeat between * * for 1 round

4. Knit 6 rounds in stockinette stitch

This picture shows the sock needles holding the stockinette stitches at the top, and the cast on edge is at the bottom, as if you had just finished the round.

From here, re-orient your knitting so that the wrong side is facing you

AND the cast on edge is held in your hand and the stockinette stitches are at the bottom.

You will be picking up stitches from the cast on edge, while the stockinette stitches wait.

I pick up stitches in the purly bump just below the cast on edge. Some people pick up a stitch from the cast on edge. Your choice. I like the finished look of the former method better. In the picture above I've just finished picking up a white stitch, the next bump I'm going to pick up

is the orange one. Pick up one bump for each stitch you have on the needle. In this example, I have 12 stitches on my needle. I will pick up 12 purl bumps below the cast on edge,

then fold up my knitting so that the wrong sides are facing each other on the inside, and the right sides are facing the public side.

Knit the first stitch on the front needle together with one stitch from the back needle (the just picked up stitches)

and slip off. Repeat K2tog as established until all the stitches from the front needle have been knit together with a picked up stitch from the back needle.

On the next needle, whether you use dpns, magic loop or the 2-circ method, pick up enough stitches to equal the number of stitches already on the front needle, knit the stitch on the front needle together with the picked up stitch from the back needle. Repeat this process of picking up and knitting together, until all stitches on all needles (magic loop, double points, etc) have been worked. The number of stitches remaining on your needles should equal your cast on number. From here you can add or decrease stitches as your pattern dictates.

Voila! Finished picot cuffs!

You can see the inside view here.

This picot production was made possible with the use of

See Jayne Knit Yarns "Fishy Wishy in a Dishy"

Good luck! Let me know how you fare! If you need clarification, feel free to comment and ask!

Taking Flight

We take flight for home today. Back to our daily routines. We are ever so grateful and blessed to have been able to spend a relaxed week with our family. With nothing more pressing than watching the hijinks of our feathered morning guests.

See you Monday!

Hollyday by the pool

Hollyday Monkey socks

on holiday.

A post-feast post...

The day after, our tummies are still full...

Pre-dinner fun was had by all!

The surgical slicing of the bird (note the gloves!)

demanded an audience.

Cranberry salad! Yum!

Dressing, fresh and hot from the bird.

Cheesecakes and a freshly baked apple crisp topped the evening's festivities.

Thank you all for your holiday greetings! Have a great Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chez NK is so thankful for your readership and the many kind words you've left!

We wish you a festive and fiberlicious day this Thanksgiving!

I better run, looks like Gibson is already getting into the pumpkin pie!!

Knit on!!

We're not in PDX anymore!

Sweet Baby Gibson, we're not in PDX anymore!! We've flown the coop! Like the birds, we've headed south to sunny (i.e. HOT) California visiting with my family over the holiday! So far, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet and I've gained 5 pounds!!

Do not fear...Neuroknitter does not stop knitting in sunny (i.e. HOT) climates.

Do you recognize this? Forbes Forest in Elann Sierra Aran 'Fiddlehead Green'.