We haven’t seen Marnie as much as we used to since she had Vivienne and then went back to work, so we were very happy to find these pictures in our inbox!

This is Viv in her February Baby Jacket knit in Koigu Kersti yarn. Viv’s 7 months old in this picture and the jacket, which was done months earlier, just started to fit. I love the lime green buttons against the pink!

Here’s Viv at 8.5 months looking ready for fall! The hat is Susan B. Anderson’s Pumpkin Hat from her book Itty Bitty Hats and the cardigan is the Squares Sweater from Susan’s book Itty Bitty Nursery. Both are knit with Blue Sky Alpaca Sport Weight yarn. Some of you may remember when Susan visited us last year. I think we need to see if she’ll come back. We had a great time and her books are just wonderful!

Now that I see Viv looking so good, I’m feeling like I want to knit more for my nephews. It won’t be much longer that I can knit whatever I want and they’ll wear it!

Thanks for the inspiration, Marnie! Great job!

The Hemlock Ring Blanket is another beautiful pattern from the very talented Jared Flood. He knit and posted about his blanket in the summer of 2007, and it continues to be a favorite among knitters. Since it is a lace pattern and uses charts, we thought it would be a good project for a class, which Elizabeth taught.

The pattern, which Jared modified from a vintage doily, has some tricky parts. I haven’t had a chance to knit one myself, but I kept hearing from people in the class about round 35. Still they pressed on!

Michelle sent us these photographs of her very beautiful blanket. She used 5 balls of Filatura di Crosa’s Zara yarn in crimson. It’s a perfect example of Zara’s amazing stitch definition. And Zara is so soft, Michelle will enjoy having it on her lap all winter.

Great job, Michelle! And by the way - I think your photos are almost as beautiful as your knitting!

We’re lucky to have our friend Martha Onusconich as a Loop regular. She’s not just a talented and knowledgeable knitter, she is generous and willing to share her knowledge and experience with you. Since she’s often knitting socks - Martha only wears socks that she’s knit herself, which I find extremely impressive - so she’s my go-to person for all things sock from yarn and pattern preferences to heel and toe variations.

You may remember that Martha had her sock design - Lucky 7 - published last year in the book Just Socks. Now we’re pleased and proud to tell you of Martha’s latest design - Corrugated Magic. Once again, Martha’s employed clever techniques to create a challenging and beautiful sock. And this time, punched up with bold color choices.

Corrugated Magic was designed at the request of, and exclusively for, the Six Sox Knitalong group. This group knits 6 intermediate to advanced original designs a year. Membership is open, but you will need to enroll.

If you still haven’t joined the world of sock knitting, there’s no time like the present. Our next sock class begins on Monday.

Congratulations, Martha! Corrugated Magic is a beautiful sock!

Lara is very generous with her knitting. Look at all these blankets she’s knit as gifts!

The first 2 were made with Koigu’s Kersti yarn using Cottage Creation’s Rambling Rows pattern. The clever thing about this pattern is that each piece is knit from the last, so there’s no sewing when you’re finished.

The blanket in the last photo is from Mason Dixon Knitting. The mitered squares are knit separately and sewn together. It’s a bit more work, but the results are fantastic.

Lara’s already sent us pictures of another finished project that we’ll show you soon. She was in yesterday and is really enjoying her knitting. We’re so glad and appreciate her sharing it with us!

Julie sent us this photograph of the hat she made for her mom. The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca’s Worsted Hand Dyes, one of our winter favorites that’ll be returning this season. For the pattern, Julie used Basic Hats from the Fall 2006 edition of Knit Simple.

Julie writes:

Started with size 7 for brim and changed to size 8 for rest of hat. Also, since my mom’s head measured 22” I started at the largest size. After making the brim, though, I was worried that it was going to be too big so I decreased 4 times on two rows in order to get my stitch count down to the amount for the next size and then started the alternating colored rows. While I was knitting it I was REALLY worried about the brim being larger and rolling too much but in the end I think it’s perfect. I’m very happy with the result. I hope my mom agrees!

I think it’s beautiful - I’m sure Julie’s mom will love it! Thanks for sharing it with us, Julie!

Shirley sent us these pictures of her just-finished cardigan in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn in the color pewter. It’s one of Lorna’s Laces nearly-solid yarns, which you can see really adds depth to the knitted fabric.

Shepherd Worsted’s crisp stitch definition makes the cables pop.

The cardigan design is called October Frost. You can find it in Lisa Lloyd’s book, A Fine Fleece.

Your sweater is beautiful, Shirley! Thanks for sending us the pictures.

Since I wrote about the Wave Blanket last month, we’ve had lots of knitters come in to pick out their colors. One of the first we saw finished was Ann’s, who chose sweet sherbert colors -

Here’s a few of the other combinations that have really caught our eye. All of the yarns are Blue Sky Alpaca’s Dyed Cotton, except for the ones in italics, which are Blue Sky Alpaca’s Organic Cotton.

aloe, sky, honeydew, lemonade, circus peanut, and bone

periwinkle, bone, azul, mediterranean, sand, and sky

sand, ladybug, mediterranean, pumpkin, fern, and pickle

sky, honeydew, pumpkin, ladybug, lemonade, and aloe

These are just a few of the wonderful combinations you can create. Please send us a photograph of yours when you finish!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to knit socks. I always have a few socks on my needles and I’m constantly trying to bring new knitters over to the Sock Side.

Socks are great summer knitting, and a perfect project year-round. I love that a sock is small enough to toss in my purse and isn’t going to make me overheat while I’m knitting in the park or while waiting for the bus. There are so many options—different heels and toes, and new patterns to try—that I never get tired of socks.

The socks you see here were knit out of the beautiful Kureyon Sock yarn, by our good friend Martha. In addition to new colors of Kureyon Sock, we have a huge selection of sock yarn in every color imaginable.

We offer sock classes regularly. The next class starts on July 7. I hope to see you there!

Michelle sent us these photos of the bag she knit out of two colors of Clip.

Isn’t it great?! She told us that she made up the pattern, and you could easily create a pattern of your own! All you need to make your own bag is a few rectangles and a little seed stitch for detail. And, of course, a fabulous handle to bring it all together!

Clip is a beautiful mercerized Egyptian Cotton yarn. We love it for summer scarves, baby clothes as well as bags. We have Clip in thirteen colors–which ones will you use?

Rebecca just sent us a picture of her finished Gretel Beret. She used one hank of Malabrigo’s Worsted Merino yarn and it looks beautiful! If you’re looking to get your feet wet with cables then Gretel might be the perfect project for you. Rebecca told us she had a great time making this one and she’s looking forward to casting on for other hats with Malabrigo.

The pattern for the beret is available from the designer’s website. We often forget about hats in the summer, but Gretel looks like a great project to have on hand during summer travel. Why not get a jump on your Holiday knitting while you’re sipping lemonade on the beach?