Question: What do Elliott Smith, Sock Summit, and my latest pattern have in common?

Alameda Summer Socks

Have a seat, grab a snack, and I'll tell you!

The Alameda Summer Socks are my newest pattern, hot off the presses. Don't let the twisted-stitch pattern intimidate you - they knit up quick in sport-weight yarn!

The back story: I designed these socks to commemorate the three years Tyler and I spent in Portland, OR before we got married and moved to Chicago. It was there that I got bitten by the knitting bug, and I discovered an exciting world of crafty people and yarn shops filled from floor to ceiling with yarn...up until that point the only place I'd purchased yarn had been Michael's.

My favorite yarn stores were Lint (no longer in business), Mabel's (formerly a yarn store/coffee shop combo, also no longer in business) and The Yarn Garden (still in business, hooray!). The last year we lived in Portland, we lived a few blocks down the street from The Yarn Garden - you can imagine how dangerous that was! I have many great memories of hanging out with my best pal Kate, knitting up a storm. Hard to believe that was before Ravelry existed. This reminiscing is starting to make me feel old...

Elliott Smith Memorial in Silverlake

Anyway, the name for these socks is taken from an Elliott Smith song - one of our all-time favorite musicians who also spent a good deal of time in Portland, and wrote a lot of songs about places Tyler and I also haunted. We were living in Portland at the time of his death, and we lived close to one of the memorial vigils that sprang up for him near Ladd's Addition. We also were fortunate to be be in L.A. shortly thereafter (fun fact - that trip was my first-ever live show in Shalloboi - we played at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood), and we had some time to drive to Silverlake to visit the wall that was featured on the Figure 8 cover and in the "Son of Sam" video - it had also been transported into a makeshift memorial.

Before I digress entirely, let me get back to the point - these are the socks that I wish I'd thought to make for our wedding day. If you can imagine it (I can't!), I wasn't really into knitting socks at the time....that came later, when I discovered Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road. Due to financial difficulties from earlier this year, I'm unable to make it to Sock Summit, which is a huge bummer - but I've got my sights set on SS2013 - Portland, I'll be back!!

So to honor my formative knitting years spent in Portland and in the Spirit of Sock Summit 2011, I humbly present the Alameda Summer Socks Pattern - enjoy!

Postscript:
I found a pretty decent video of Elliott performing "Alameda" live at the Reading Festival in 1998 with Janet Weiss and Sam Coomes of Quasi as his backing band - you should also check out this video from 1997 - he doesn't finish the song, but it's a classic Elliott Smith moment, and a perfect example of what I love and miss about him and his music.

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b...

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends, so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks). The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a...

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels? I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n...

handmade by stefanie

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