Cookie A.'s Blog

I’ve barely taken any photos since we landed in the Maldives 3 weeks ago. It looks just like every photo you see on the internet, absolutely no need to Photoshop.

Unfortunately it’s been ridiculously humid, so knitting had been minimal. I did start a pair of socks as part of the catch up kal on Ravelry, but have barely made it past the cuff (a little farther than in the photo). I’m using the fabulous Plucky Knitter Plucky Feet yarn from the 2014 club and the Reykjavik pattern.

I forced Mr. A to take some scuba diving courses and we’ve spent the past 2 weeks on a boat diving multiple times every day. It was amazing! Lots of Manta rays, eels, sharks (seriously tons, but the super cute ones not the scary ones I swear), octopi, stingrays, coral and tiny amazing creatures of the sea like nudibranches which I’m getting better at spotting. The crew on the boat was amazing, including our Maldivian Rastafarian dive master Jahvid.

Now we are back on land but Mr. A swears the ground keeps rocking. I finished a hat on the plane ride over weeks ago but just seamed in the ends in time to leave for Kilimanjaro tomorrow. I hope it makes it to the summit!

I’m hoping to make progress on the socks and finish then in time to wear on the summit. Tomorrow we have a very long layover in Dubai and are planning to head to the Burj Khalifa.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated and the past year has been a whirlwind! I’m headed off on a very long trip in 2016, but while I’m gone Barbara and Yavanna have signed up to lead a Knit A Long on Ravelry featuring club patterns from previous years. Prizes have been lined up, and the group is open to anyone. The first KAL will feature patterns and yarns from any past February club shipment which includes these beauties.

Haleakala from the first club in 2011:

Newton from the 2013 club:

Bjork from the 2014 club:

Pai Mei from the 2015 club:

To learn more details, check out the thread on Ravelry.

I hope your 2016 is full of wonderful knitting, socks and wool!

Flight and Striation were the final patterns from the 2012 Cookie A Sock Club and they are now available to the public!

Flight features a not-too-complicated airy feather motif.

 $6.50 – PDF pattern

Striation’s geometric lace pattern is mirrored from left to right.

 $6.50 – PDF pattern

The yarn is Sinful Sock from Stricken Smitten, a luxurious cashmere blend in a deep, rich violet that proved nearly impossible to photograph accurately – but was so lovely to work with!

The time is now to think about joining the 2014 Cookie A Sock Club! We’d love to have you join us for a year of new sock patterns, independently produced yarn, and delicious cookie recipes. For more information visit http://www.cookiea.com/club/.

October’s shipment featured a deep red yarn that recalls witches, vampires and other scary Halloween folklore. Dyed by Pagewood Farm in southern California, the Glacier Bay yarn has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it years ago. With a very tight twist and merino composition, it makes for sturdy socks. The generous yardage is great for slightly larger projects too. I’m surprised it’s not easier to find!

Worked in deep blood red colored yarn, the Vamp socks feature diagonal twisted cable panels that join

in a V at the top of the foot. The V is both for Vampire and perhaps a vampire fang. The panels also form a diagonal frame with nested knit and purl diamonds.

The Circe socks feature a swirling leaf pattern which is created from the biasing of the lace pattern. Left and right socks are mirrored, and the asymmetrical gusset shaping is formed using decreases within the lace pattern and one decrease in the usual gusset area.

The Vamp and Circe patterns are exclusive to the Cookie A Sock Club until October 15, 2014.

Want to join in on the fun? The 2014 Sock Club is coming soon! Sign-ups will open on November 25, 2013. For more information, visit http://cookiea.com/club/.

It’s mid-August and that means that more patterns from the 2012 Sock Club are now available.

August 2012 was all about green tea and… other things that are green. Like Yoda! The club knit on green-tea themed socks with green-tea themed yarn from Enchanted Knoll Farm, and baked Yoda cookies flavored with matcha. Green is one of my favorite colors, and I am a big tea lover, so this was definitely a fun month.

Gyokuro

Gyokuro is named for a high grade Japanese green tea where the leaves are fully intact and grown in shade to give it a brighter color and smoother flavor.

The Gyokuro socks feature twisted stitches and fully intact leaves.

The pattern contains charted instructions.

  $6.50

Jedi Mind Tricks

Jedi Mind Tricks features a unique and bold textured stitch pattern, created by binding off, casting on, and manipulating the stitches. “Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

The pattern contains written directions and a photo tutorial.

$6.50

June 2013 was bright and bold with the saturated red-orange of SweetGeorgia CashLuxe Fine, spicy ginger molasses cookies, zingy marmalade jammy dodgers, and two sock patterns that are dedicated to my love of Star Trek – Spock and Tiberius.

Here’s Spock… angular, striking, and… logical, if I do say so myself:

And here’s Tiberius, named for the beloved Starfleet captain James Tiberius Kirk:

These patterns are exclusive to the Cookie A Sock Club until June 15, 2014.

June’s patterns from the 2012 Sock Club are now available for purchase. Inspired by my trips to Iceland, these socks feature the glacier blue Vintage Icebox shade of Primo Fingering from The Plucky Knitter.

Reykjavik

The Reykjavik socks are modeled after an iconic Icelandic landmark, the Hallgrimskirkja cathedral, which is visible from all over Reykjavik and is quite an impressive sight with such elegant lines and simplicity. I designed the socks so that when looking down at your feet, you will catch a glimpse of Icelandic architecture down to your toes. The elegant lines and textures are translated into a twisted rib and wider angled lines.

The pattern contains charted directions.

  $6.50

Solfar

Sólfar is named after the iconic sculpture on Reykjavik’s waterfront designed by Jón Gunnar Árnason. Sólfar translates to “sun voyager” and is a modern sculpture of a “dreamboat”, and ode to Iceland’s rich history with the sea. The curves and symmetry of the sculpture translated well into the stitches of a sock, taking on an almost floral appearance.

The pattern contains both written and charted directions.

 $6.50

It was finally time to move out of my cramped, badly lit storage space and into a new studio. Now all my yarn and books are in one place, it will be easier to pack and ship the club, and … do I spy a leg?

There’s even a bathroom! We are almost done unpacking everything. Club yarn has been arriving and it’s an exciting time. It will be interesting to see what we can use this new space for. Of course now this means a (short) commute.

We also have some new neighbors! Lots of them seem to be very serious folks in lab coats with spaces packed full of machinery, making cool things like specialty miniature refrigerators and medical devices. Most of them are intrigued and surprised by the idea of a sock-of-the-month club when we explain it.

I just got such a lovely note from my mother-in-law! As you may know, all the sock patterns from Sock Innovation are named for family and friends. My mother-in-law, Glynis, has now been the lucky recipient of her namesake socks. I have to share her email and photos with you.

She writes:

Hi Cookie

The famed ‘Glynis’ socks are here! Attached are photos of the knitter Dorothy G of Mad About Ewe, and the comfy and beautiful socks on my twinkle toes out on our deck at home. Lovely!

When Dorothy and I were out front of the store to take a few photos, no less than 4 ladies stopped to say what nice socks they were – 1 tried to buy them! No way!

I’m wearing them at the moment – ooh-la-la – so good.

Love,

Glynis

What a generous friend! Here is Dorothy outside of Mad About Ewe Fine Yarns in Nanaimo, BC, Canada.

Have you done any gift knitting lately?

The second shipment of this year’s sock club was all about spring: beautiful flowers, tea-party treats, and light stitches to put a spring in your step. Dream in Color created a sweet lavender shade called Violet Hour on their Everlasting Sock yarn for us.

Tulip

The Tulip socks have a simple lace pattern that evoke the broad delicate leaves of tulips.

Pirouette

The Pirouette socks feature swirling panels that twine up the leg over a rib background.

These patterns are exclusive to the Cookie A 2013 Sock Club until April 15, 2014.