Happy Birthday Mr. SockPixie

I had not knitted socks for Mr. SockPixie in a very, very long time. So when I thought about what I could make for Mr. SockPixie's Birthday, socks naturally came to mind.



And then I remembered that he had been blessed with size 13 feet and loved really long cuffs! What to do? He just loves is hand knit socks so much...So, I compromised. Sport weight yarn, of course! I set out to dye a special batch for him, and played with the dyes until the yellow ochre was just perfect. I kept adding drops of green and brown to the dye bath until the color was rich enough. The yarn cooked, and cooked... Once it was dyed, I could hardly wait for the yarn to dry. Isn't it amazing how things can take so long to dry?


Then came the time to think of a pattern. I knit and frogged, and knit and frogged. I wanted something textural, masculine, yet fluid. Finally I found my groove, and came up wih this zigzag rib. I cast on for 2 socks at once on one circular, and started knitting.



Half way down he cuff, I realized that I should have reversed the pattern on the second sock. I debated, and debated, and eventually decided to redo the second sock to make it a mirror image of the first. Even though reknitting the cuff did not at first make me really happy, I am now glad I did, as it really gave the socks a more fluid appearance.



When I reached the heel, I chose a textured stitch stagerring the slipped stitches. After the heel flap was finished I realized I really liked the wrong side of the heel flap. No problem, I turned the socks inside out making the wrong side of the flap the right one.
The rest is history, turning the heels, working the gussets, and all the long, long, long way...down to the toe!


Mr. SockPixie's verdict: "He loves the socks!" and so do I. I love them so much that I am writing the pattern up, and will be offering it as a free pdf pattern (the pattern will be posted either later on today, or tomorrow.) I will call them Go with the Flow.
Happy Birthday darling Mr. SockPixie!

Happy Birthday Mr. SockPixie

SockPixie is off today to celebrate Mr. SockPixie's Birthday!I will be posting about his birthday present later on today.
SockPixie will be back with new colors next week!

SockPixie is Growing

SockPixie, thanks to your wonderful support has been growing. It has been growing so much that there were not enough hours in the day, inspite of all the pixie dust I sprinkled, for the dyeing, the packing, the e-mailing, and the blog writing to get done. I decided it was time to add a second pixie to the team. I am so excited to welcome her to SockPixie.

Treasures of North Africa

This week has been a soul searching week for some of the SockPixie family, and a time to reflect on, and reconnect with our origins. These moments of reflection, led me to think about my North African origins. My family, being Jewish, left Spain at the time of the Inquisition and settled in North Africa, and after living there of quite a few generations moved to Paris. My parents took me to visit Tunis, and Marrakesh. I decided to revisit these places in colors.

I hope you will enjoy the Treasures of North Africa Collection. The colorway at the center is called Feuille de Menthe after the famous Mint Tea served evrywhere in the region.

Spring Promenade in Paris

Spring is in the air. The light lately has been so much like the light in Paris. I miss Paris most in the spring. Paris was so much in my mind that I dedicated these colorways to Paris in the Spring.
Enjoy your Promenade...

Thank you to you and Itchiku Kobota

Dear Friends,

First I want to thank all of you for your kind words on the blog, for your many emails, and cards you sent me. Your support has meant a lot to me, Mr. SockPixie and the children.
After taking a little time off ( I thank you so much for your patience with the shipping of your orders...I am finally caught up with shipments! I am still catching up on answering emails...), I felt great joy in exploring the wonderful work of Itchiku Kubota. His kimonos are an ode to the eternal beauty of nature, of the seasons,and of the elements.
If you want to see more of his work, I recommend you read Kimono as Art: the Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota. I know you will love it.



Here are the 6 Itchiku Kubota colorways. I hope you will enjoy them.

Dear Friends

I have some difficult news to share. I had a miscarriage this week. I had waited to tell you all that I was expecting a new little Pixie, but life decided otherwise. I will be recovering this weekend. I will not be putting new colorways on the website this weekend but I know what next week's colorways will be. If you want to look at my inspiration, you can check the internet for the gloriously painted kimonos of Itchiku Kubota.