Today I had the privilege of seeing the Son Of Aran sweater knit by Jerry at When Knitting Was A Manly Art. All I can say is that pictures do not do it justice. The yarn is a much darker, yummier green for one thing. And the workmanship that went into it is simply amazing. Kudos to Jerry!
After lunch today I ran down to Oregon City for the 18th Annual Spring Fiber Sale at Abernethy Grange because I really wanted to see that sweater! The Grange has two floors, and both were loaded with vendors selling all kinds of wonderful fibers, fleeces, yarns, spinning supplies, etc. I had promised myself that I would only look for yarn for #1 Son’s socks. He wants seafoam green. There wasn’t a lot of seafoam there. But I did buy a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ luscious “Soft Rock” handpainted yarn in the “Mermaid” colorway. It’s a blend of soft greens and purples. Yes it has some seafoam green in it. No, it’s not going in #1 Son’s socks. 
Jerry turned me on to a great book by Mary Ann Beattie at Queen Kahuna Creations. This is a good-sized, substantial book with lots of color pictures — good for knitters like myself who need to see something to get it. The book is full of all kinds of cool techniques like a long-tail cast-on for toe-up socks that Beattie calls the Aloha Cast On. I ordered the book as soon as I got home, and I can’t wait to get it!
I also saw a pair of blueberry waffle stich socks and I really like the way that pattern knitted up. I’m not that happy with the way the Wildfoote socks are coming out. At the gauge I’m knitting, they are turning out too big for my skinny feet. And the pattern doesn’t show against the multiple bright colors. I’m thinking I’m going to rip it all out and try the Aloha Cast On and the blueberry waffle stitch. Yep… I think that’s what I’ll do.
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It was nice to meet you also..
Good luck with the new cast-on. I expect you’ll have a sock finished long before I do.
1Remark from Jerry — Saturday, 3/19/2005 @ 9:31 PM
I don’t know about that! If I keep frogging these poor socks, they’re never going to get done!
2Remark from Judy — Saturday, 3/19/2005 @ 11:30 PM
Cast-on my first pair of toe-up socks this morning and this Aloha cast-on is cool…
Also knitting on US#1 instead of my usual #2. *Much* tighter stitches, but I think I like the fabric that is coming out.
I’d say the race is on, but I still need to finish Eileen’s sock first.
3Remark from Jerry — Sunday, 3/20/2005 @ 11:15 AM
Hello. Just discovered blogs, yeah I know go figure… I’m from Maine & we’re always 10 yrs behind the world. Just wanted to say you’ve got a great one here and I’ve had a hoot reading through some of your musings
Personally my smoke detector would have been in tiny tiny pieces 
Anyhow great job with your work here and thanks for providing this insomniac mom of 2 yr old with late night reading… now I can just hardly wait for the teen years! yikes! 
Oh and in case you are interested how I surfed over this way… I wanted to know wtf is a blog and what do people do with them. Sooo I found a list on some generic page of those updated within the hour and scanned for a title that looked as though it might be written by an adult and not all about sex… so I clicked on “When Knitting Was A Manly Art” cuz I thought my Dad was the only manly man knitter, surprise! Then from there clicked on Jerry’s ? link to you. I think Maine must be a lot like Oregon… took me 30 minutes of reading before it dawned on me ya’ll weren’t talking about our Portland lol! Cheers! G
4Remark from Gena — Tuesday, 3/22/2005 @ 1:52 PM
The Aloha Cast-on does leave a diffenent line of purl bumps across the toe. I don’t *think* they’ll be any problem on the finished sock, as they are right at the end of the toe, but it is not a nice smooth, invisible start.
Still.. As it’s my first toe up and I don’t know any better, it’s going to works for me..
5Remark from Jerry — Tuesday, 3/22/2005 @ 7:25 PM
Judy:
I hope you’re enjoying Crazy Toes & Heels! I used the Aloha cast-on for a year and broke down and got the book. Wow! I’m finishing up a pair with Wildefoote right now and can’t wait to finish so I can start a pair with my Socks That Rock yarn. (a little heavier than the new Soft Rocks; probably Amethyst.)
First, Jerry’s right, there is a little bump from the cast-on. I’ve made 4-5 pairs with it and it’s never bothered me - or DH for that matter. It doesn’t look quite as slick as a seamed toe, but it’s so easy compared to the other cast-on’s I tried for toe-ups.
Secondly, I also tried to do a lace pattern with my Wildfoote for over a year and finally frogged and started again with toe-ups, plain ribbed cuff. I am much happier with a plainer cuff with these. The pattern of the lace was completely lost - the colorway seems to shout “Look at me!” and everything else disappears into the background. The blueberry waffle should be just enough to add a bit of interest.
Enjoy your CT&H and Soft Rocks…
6Remark from Karen in AZ — Tuesday, 3/22/2005 @ 9:44 PM
I’ll probably do the Aloha Cast On for my next pair of sock — that pair I promised #1 Son.
I don’t think that the little line of bumps would bother me. I just like the look of the figure-8 cast on. And, after quite a bit of practice, I’m getting fairly comfortable with that technique. It’s not as fast as the Aloha, I admit. But it doesn’t require Kitchener like most seamed toes, either.
Jerry — Hope you have fun with your toe-up socks! I like toe-up so much better than top-down.
Karen — Can’t wait until my copy of Crazy Toes & Heels comes! It was mailed a couple of days ago, so it should be here any time.
7Remark from Judy — Wednesday, 3/23/2005 @ 7:11 AM
Hi, Gena! Welcome to Oregon.
Did you know that Portland (our Portland) was almost named Boston? In 1845, Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove each owned 1/2 of the land claim that became Portland. Lovejoy was from Massachusetts and wanted to name it Boston. Pettygrove was from Maine and wanted to name it Portland. Pettygrove won two out of three coin tosses, and the rest was history.
By the way — enjoy your 2-year-old while you can! You have 10 years left! (just kidding) Actually, teens are trying but also lots of fun. #1 son is almost back to being a human being!
8Remark from Judy — Wednesday, 3/23/2005 @ 7:21 AM