I made a lightbox. Look:

I decided to build one in order to get better quality shots of my yarn and knitted objects. I found this really awesome tutorial from jyoseph.com and pretty much followed it step by step.

Here are the materials I used and where I found them:
- 5 sheets of Elmer’s foam board (20″ x 30″) from Michaels craft store. They were $2.99 each, but I got them on sale–buy 1, get 1 free!
- 4 clamp lights (5 1/2″) from Lowe’s, $6.48 each
- 60-watt GE Reveal Full-Spectrum light bulbs from Lowe’s, $3.48 for a 2-pk
- 2″ white masking tape from Lowe’s, $2.48
- power strip from Lowe’s (didn’t have an extra one at home–4 lamps = 4 separate plugs)
- box cutter (already had this at home)
- straight edge & cutting mat (already had these as part of my sewing tools)

I wound up spending around $50. Not too bad, considering the results look pretty good! Voila:

Originally, I only bought two lamps but I could tell from this shot that I needed an additional two. The colors look great, but there are some grayish shadows around the edges. (The yarn is Crystal Palace Mini Mochi, btw.)

I bought an additional two lamps (for a total of four) and the result is much better. Still a wee bit of shadow, but I think that’s more because the skein is so puffy and not because of lack of light. (The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Handpainted.)

Here’s another test with all four lamps turned on. (Knit Picks Imagination)

Lastly, I took a pic of a WIP. I think this shot turned out so well since the sock-in-progress is flat (no shadows). (Just a basic toe-up sock; yarn is Universal Yarn Ditto.)

I’m really happy with the results of my lightbox. Now I don’t have to try to find daylight or perfect indoor lighting before taking pics of yarn, WIPs, and FOs. It was easy to assemble and (best yet), affordable! Can’t beat that.

Jaywalker Socks in Knit Picks Felici fingering weight, colorway Rainbow
@ Ravelry

It’s certainly not the most original idea (search: Rainbow Jaywalker on Ravelry), but I finally made myself a pair of rainbow Jaywalker socks. I’ve knit the pattern before, so I thought about making these toe-up to be different. However, there seem to be some fiddly issues with the sizing on the toe-up Jaywalker pattern, so I knit these cuff-down to make things easier.

The yarn I used is Knit Picks Felici. It’s very soft and I loved watching the colors change. However, I noticed a few negative things about the yarn. First, there are bits where the dye is kind of muddy–like there is green on the yellow parts, or orange on the yellow parts. It’s really not noticeable in the pics, but I could point out the spots if I looked for them. It doesn’t affect the general appearance of the socks, so it’s not a huge deal, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Second, I found knots in each ball of yarn. Not cool–especially with self-striping yarn, where abrupt color changes will be obvious. Luckily, both of my knots were toward the end of the toe, so I was able to work around them, for the most part. But I was disappointed because knotty yarn is just a pain.

When I bought the yarn, I noticed that Knit Picks had it listed as a Last Chance colorway. It’s now no longer available on their site. Maybe the aforementioned quality issues are to blame? I have another two balls of Felici in my stash (the Marine Life colorway, I think), so I’m hoping they won’t have the same issues as the Rainbow colorway.

Having said all that–I really do like the finished product! They’re happy and cheerful and I have dubbed them my Rainbow Brite/Care Bear Stare socks. They’re by far the most colorful socks I’ve ever made, and small gripes about the yarn aside, I love the way they turned out.

Footnote: not only is the Knit Picks rainbow self-striping sock yarn discontinued, but so is another rainbow colorway I have in my stash, Regia Nation Color in colorway 5399. I’m puzzled as to why both manufacturers have discontinued such an awesome colorway. Looking at stashes and projects on Ravelry, both yarns seem pretty popular; so why discontinue them? It’s a mystery to me.

Yesterday I turned 30. I wasn’t too distressed over it–my 20s were pretty tumultuous, so in a way I was relieved to leave them behind. I’m hoping that it’s gotten to the point where I’m no longer phased by numbers. In my mind, I’ve always felt much older, and not just in an “I’m very mature” way, but rather, “Sometimes I feel like I’m 80 on the inside,” if that makes sense. I never really had a wild youth, haha. So anyway, I’m hoping that my 30s are much better than the decade that preceded them.

I had the day off work anyway for July 4th, so I pretty much lazed around the house and took naps. lol I received some awesomely AWESOME yarn from M, which I love and will make pretty things with.

Birthday yarn of awesomeness:

I also ate way too much ice cream cake, but one’s birthday is the best time for making excuses, like being lazy and eating too many sweets, right?

As a knitter, I like to stick with what I know because that’s A) easier and B) more comfortable. However, lately I’ve been making a lot of socks, so I figured I’d try some different techniques to prevent myself from getting bored with sock knitting. In the past I’ve shied away from toe-up patterns because they always seemed fussy. My first pair of toe-up socks was a pair of knee socks [Ravelry link]. I didn’t enjoy the experience–I’m pretty sure I used a provisional cast on, which to this day is a technique I still don’t like. Also, I had trouble with the heels because I didn’t knit the wraps properly. Having several more years of knitting experience, I figured I’d give toe-up another go.

Wendy’s Fingering Weight, Toe-Up Socks with Gusset Heel in String Theory Caper Sock, colorway Atlantis
@ Ravelry

I had much better success with these! The toe was simple and the gusset wasn’t too complicated. However, although the gusset was interesting to knit, these socks don’t have heel flaps and I definitely prefer heel flaps because they fit better on my feet.

Caper Sock is really nice to work with–super duper soft and cushy. I doubt I’ll wear these all the time, though, because I don’t want them to pill too much. I think they might, due to the nature of the yarn. I have more Caper Sock in my stash–including a shawl in progress–and I think it’s much more suitable for shawls.

Next up is another pair of toe-ups:

Lacy Ribs Socks in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, colorway Glacier
@ Ravelry

This is another Wendy Knits pattern, but the socks are different for me because I knit them using Magic Loop! Like toe-up, I’ve avoided ML in the past–I liked my dpns just fine and didn’t see the need to switch. However, I now see the utility in ML. I was less worried about my stitches falling off the needles since I used a circ with a pretty long cable (40″). Also, there was less chance of laddering since the stitches were only divided between two needles instead of three or four. I’m not ready to turn in my dpns just yet–in fact, I’ve started another pair of socks that I’m knitting on dpns and cuff-down at the moment. But for my next toe-ups, I’m going to use ML again.

As for the pattern itself, I found it very easy and memorized the lace repeat quickly. I’m also very fond of the heel flap, for reasons mentioned above. I’m definitely a bigger fan of Wendy’s patterns now, having knit a couple and enjoyed them. They’re well-written and easy to understand.

Fleece Artist is one of my favorite manufacturers–their base yarns are nice and their colors are really great. However, with these socks, I found myself thinking that the colors looked nicer in the skein. I don’t dislike the end result, but I thought the colors would interact differently once knitted up. Also, curiously, one of my socks is noticeably darker than the other–even though both socks came from the same skein. That was kind of weird, but it’s only really visible on the foot/sole portion, so I’m not overly bothered by it.

As for current WIPs…I just started a shawl, but I’m sure I’m not bored with socks yet since I’ve got another one on the needles.

First things first–in my previous post, I mentioned some school drama, which thankfully has been resolved! To make a long story short–I applied for graduation back in January and my school approved my application in February. I finished my classes earlier this month, so to my knowledge I had unofficially graduated. When my grades were posted, I pulled up my student record to make sure that all my grades had been applied to my transcript. But when I did, my record showed ONE outstanding course. ummmm? So I went back and forth with the college trying to get an answer and finally got one: whoever advised me in February made an error, so they waived the final course and I really have graduated! My degree will be awarded on 5/30. PHEW! I really didn’t want to have to take one more class, so thankfully I don’t have to now.

On to pleasanter things, such as yarn and knitting and socks!

Vanilla Socks in Tess’ Designer Yarns, unmarked colorway
@ Ravelry

I love these socks! The yarn was so nice to work with–in my mind, the base yarn seems like a cross between Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock and Wollmeise sock, if that makes sense. It’s slightly thicker than Lorna’s but softer than Wollmeise. Either way, it has great stitch definition and I think these will wear well. Also, I made the cuffs pretty tall and had a bunch of yardage left over. This is a yarn I’d definitely knit with again.

I’m still on a sock kick and I’ve got another pair (in a different yarn) almost off the needles–it’s so fun to be making socks again!

Sooooo, this weekend I had some school drama, which I won’t know more about until I call the advising office tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I am distracting myself with knitting and other pleasantries.

I have some sock FOs to share!

Embossed Leaves in Madelinetosh Tosh Sock, colorway Windowpane
@ Ravelry

Embossed Leaves is one of my favorite sock patterns. It’s simple lace and the motif is really pretty. I don’t normally knit sock patterns more than once, but this has become my favorite go-to lace sock pattern. This was my first time knitting with Madelinetosh Tosh Sock and I really like it. It’s somewhat pricier than other sock yarns–I bought it from The Loopy Ewe at $24.50/skein, but I’ve seen it elsewhere for $26/skein. However, the yardage and stitch definition are excellent and I’d like to work with it again.

Vanilla Socks in Interlacements Tiny Toes, colorway Fireplace Embers
@ Ravelry

Thanks to the Knitmore Girls, I’ve decided to embrace the simplicity of the vanilla socks. I started this pair before Maryland Sheep & Wool and finished them at the after party. These socks were all about trial and error. I modified the number of cast-on stitches (64 instead of 56). But I ran into some difficulty at the heel flap, which I wound up making too long, which resulted in a really large gusset/top-of-foot section. The socks still fit, but for the vanilla socks I’m currently making, I made the heel flap shorter, which produces a much better result. However, I do like the pattern as a guideline for plain socks; I just had to make some modifications to get the best fit for my feet. With my mods, I plan to knit many more pairs of vanilla socks.

As promised, here are the spoils of my first year attending Maryland Sheep & Wool. I drove up with Laura and Lennis and we had a great time! But first, a sweet sheep for you:

I was so excited to see some sheep up close. This one was one of my favorites–look at that sweet face! There are a bunch more sheepy pics at my Flickr (and a couple of alpacas, too)!

Now, on to the yarn:

Miss Babs Yummy Sock & Baby Yarn – A Day at Blue Lagoon

Autumn House Farm Strideaway Velvet – Bracken & Gorse

Reflections at Roclans Out of the Dyepot – colorway 10-19

Tess’ Designer Yarns SuperSock & Baby – unknown colorway

Prior to going shopping, I had set a budget for myself and was surprised to come in under budget at the end of Saturday. I was focused on sock yarn since I’m really into socks again, and I also wanted to buy yarns that I couldn’t find locally or had never handled in person.

We got to the market around 9 AM on Saturday. It was fun walking around and seeing sheep before we bought anything–I even got to pet a sheep briefly, something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’m really glad I had someone with me because I’m sure I would’ve gotten lost a couple times otherwise. We walked through a couple of the exhibition halls, but after a while, they all started to look the same to me. However, we all found plenty of yarn to buy, so I was happy.

The crowds weren’t too bad–some of the booths were kind of crazy and I tried to avoid those or come back to them later. At one point, I spotted Anne Hanson of Knitspot in the crowd, which was rather exciting for me since I really admire her patterns. I was too shy to say hello, though.

By 11:30, it was soooo hot outside and we were basically done shopping, so we ended up leaving around 11:45 because the heat was becoming unbearable. We had water bottles and sat in the shade to eat and watch the fashion show, but it was just really uncomfortable, so we left.

Saturday evening, we attended the Fiber Crawl after party. Long story short, there was a miscommunication between Guido (the party organizer) and the hotel, so we ended up on the deck outside and some people even had to sit at tables set up in the parking lot (and other people didn’t have chairs at all, so they had to stand for the whole party). It was kind of muggy out, so I was slightly miserable after having been out in the heat all morning, but we stayed until the party ended. Unfortunately, none of us won any prizes, but we still had a pretty nice time. If there is a party again next year, though, I don’t think I’ll go unless it’s held at a hotel other than the Hilton, since I don’t think we got our money’s worth for what they provided in return.

I spotted the Knitmore Girls at the after party and wanted to say hi, but every time I checked, they were always talking with someone and I didn’t want to interrupt or bother them, so I settled for the celebrity sighting, lol. oh, and at the market I ran into happyneedle from Ravelry and Twitter, who introduced herself to me, which was nice. I recognized a few other people from Ravelry by their name tags, but no one I knew well enough to introduce myself to. At the after party, somebunnyslove from Ravelry as well as Guido came over to our table, and they both seemed really nice.

Overall, MDS&W was definitely worth the trip and it was a fun experience. It’s amazing to see that many vendors and booths in one place–so many pretty yarns, so little time! There was a lot of roving, too. I think I was expecting system overload–like I’d see all this pretty yarn and snatch everything up and blow through my budget really fast, which totally didn’t happen.

Sooooo, I was glad when Laura suggested that we hit The Yarn Lounge in Richmond on our way back to Hampton Roads! I still had plenty of yarn money to spend, so while at The Yarn Lounge, I picked up these three lovelies:

Fleece Artist Nyoni – Ireland

Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 – Salt Spray

Malabrigo Sock – Azules

I should point out that I had been on a yarn diet since December, so I think the yarn diet was appropriately ended and broken in an epic manner the weekend of MDS&W. Lastly, I bought the following yarn online a few days ago because I didn’t have a chance to check it out at the festival and I had coveted Laura’s skein in a different colorway:

Wullenstudio Designer Yarns – Wooly Bully

As the weekend was my present to myself for finishing college, I’d say the trip as a whole was a success! We had lots of fun, took home plenty of yarn, and I definitely want to go back next year.