Deep Sea Diving

This week I am taking you deep sea diving! That is where I found my inspiration. The sea anemones, as graceful as Victorian ladies in silks and laces helped create the Under the Sea Collection .I found these colors to have a unique glow. They are at the same time deeply saturated but almost transparent.

I hope you will enjoy going on this under the sea adventure with me.

Is Spring Here Yet

I am a patient person, but now I have had it with the cold. The official beginning of spring came, and went, but the temperatures remained bitterly cold. Looking out the window one could definitely have been fooled, with the shining sun, the blue sky and the singing birds. As a matter of fact I got fooled. I opened the door to go for my early morning walk...I took a breath, and I went right back in to get my gloves, my scarf and my hat. I still went for the walk, and it was beautiful. The courageous crocus were in bloom...

I love spring flowers in particular the lily of the valley. Its delicate little cups with their curled edges, and the fresh green always make me happy.

I just happened to be staring at the lily of the valley that my littlest pixie had given her father for his birthday, when the knitter in me took over. If spring does not want to come, I'll make spring!
So off I went to my studio, I grabbed a skein of natural cream colored yarn, dyed a smidgeon of fresh green for what will become a hat for babies/toddlers and cute little pixies in general.

So tonight, I'm knitting spring!

Go with the Flow Socks FREE PATTERN

The Go with the Flow Socks pattern is ready. As always I did my best to avoid mistakes, but these can still happen. Please let me know if there is any problem with the pattern. As you know, SockPixie has a new helper, which means that I will be able to answer your questions much faster, so feel free to contact me any time.

In the pattern you will notice that I do not give you an exact number of stitches to cast on. Rather, I tell you to cast on a multiple of 4. What that means is that you can really knit the sock for the intended person. Measure the ankle of the person, round that down to the nearest multiple of 4, and times it by your gauge. For example, if he person's ankle is 10", round that down to 8, then multiply 8 by your gauge per inch, which in the case of this sock should be 8, and you get 64. You should therefore cast on 64 stitches. I prefer to round down as this makes for a sock with a better body on the leg. This sock also has a lot of horizontal stretch because of the zigzag rib, so it is better to cast on a smaller number. Throughout the pattern, you will find instructions that will help you make a sock with a perfect fit.

You can click on the picture below to download the pdf pattern of the Go with the Flow Socks.




Happy Knitting!

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.