Something Socky this Way Comes

Yep, another sock pattern! This one was also at the Sock Summit without me. :)

Presenting Dynamique!

It's a fun lacy pattern. I started out with another pattern charted out and then I took it to my knitting group.

Oops. I totally changed it while not paying any attention whatsoever.

But it turns out that I like this one better anyway! :D

It's available on Ravelry.

Or on my site.

This one is a top down construction using two skeins of the Royale Hare's special Designs by Romi colorway, Flaming June. There are both charts and written instructions. Hope you like it!

Report from the Summit - Day 3

While I am away at the kids' swim meet, Ba the roving reporter continues to report on the exploits of my badge at Sock Summit. If you are at Sock Summit, don't forget to go by the Royale Hare booth (916/918) and get your picture taken with my wandering badge!

Ba sez...

-----------------------------------------

Our saga continues…

We find Romi’s Badge waking up far too frikin early (5:40 am!!) to a typical overcast Oregon morning. Back at the Market, yarn fumes are still strong. Joan, reading about the Romi’s Badge on her blog, comes by to say hi

(Joan bought a copper kitty pin that went beautifully with her Clapotis)

Later, Kathy from Purlescence stopped by with Baby Ellie

(Ellie was just too adorable naming all the colors in the fibers….)

Then Brianne and Jamie stopped by. Jamie had just gotten her first spinning wheel (an Ashford Traditional) and was eyeing the fiber. She gave us some great tips on where to find dinner. Thanks!!

Look who else came by, attracted to the wonderful dyed fibers….

The Tsock Tsarina herself…..(though we saw through her disguise)

Then Brenda Patipa stopped by…

(She won a pin in a Romi contest)

After lunch, Romi’s Badge stopped by the Purlescense booth to sign a Get Well Card for Alison Hyde

and then went to the Periwinkle Sheep booth, and wrapped herself around the Constance shawl (Which Alison knit out of Periwinkle Sheep yarn) to try to send Alison good healing juju.

Romi’s Badge then wandered over to Carolina Homespun to say hello to Morgaine

(Morgaine, I’m soooo sorry for the fuzzy picture….)

Then she helped Ba spin on a gorgeous 30” Schacht-Reeves cherry saxony wheel….

making sure the lanyard didn’t get in the way. (Ba wanted to take the wheel to the Royale Hare booth to spin. Morgaine didn’t think this was a good idea)

Whew…it was a long day at the market. After having dinner at the hotel, Romi’s badge decided to go back to downtown for dessert at Mother’s Bistro. Marionberry claufoti and a cup of green Jasmine tea. Yum…..

After that scrumptious dessert, Romi’s Badge had a nice hot, relaxing bath and listened to a knitting podcast before going to bed.

Stay tuned for the Final Installment of Romi’s Badge….

-----------------------------------------

What will happen next?!?! While Romi is away the badge does play!

Socks, Socks & More Socks!

Well, because, you know, it is the week of Sock Summit. I won't be there, because this weekend is my littlest one's very first real swim meet, and there's no other place to be. :) But even though I'm not there - in honor of opening day - here is another sock pattern!

Introducing Dynamique!

It's a top-down sock,

knitted in another of my designer colors from Royale Hare: Flaming June.

I really love the movement of this pattern. My husband says this is his favorite.

Of course, I doubt he'd wear it himself. :)

It is available for download on Ravelry and on my Designs by Romi site for $6. And if you are in Portland at Sock Summit this weekend, you can also go by the Royale Hare booth (916/918) and see the sample and the pattern in person, as well as my other patterns and pins! I hope you love it!

In other news, Brenda Patipa is the winner of my last give-away! Congratulations, Brenda!

New! Socks!

Inkeeping with the socky-ness of this week, I am very proud to present... :drumroll: ...the Queen Wil sock pattern!

I really love these socks, and even though I like the way the pictures turned out, the socks look so much better in person! These are knit with Royale Hare High Twist merino sock yarn in First Blush. It's one of the series of my designer colors, and I love this color sooooo much. If you're going to Sock Summit, you'll be able to see this sock and the yarn in person at Karen's booth (916/918)!

The socks are named after the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden in Golden Gate Park, just because I love that garden and the stitch pattern reminds me of little cabled tulips.

This is my second lacy sock pattern, and I think that, as a former avowed sock hater, I'm doing ok here. ;)

These are available for download on my site, as well as on Ravelry.

The pattern includes both charts and written instructions. These are top down, written for a women's size medium.

I hope you enjoy them!!!

btw, don't forget my weekly special (a sock shawl pin in honor of Sock Summit) and give-away!

Mixing Metaphors

I know I'm late putting my weekly special and give-away up. I've been going pretty deadline crazy here for awhile. One of my three secret projects was packed up and shipped off last week, and now I'm working on secret project #2. I can't believe I'm being monogamous with my knitting projects! Although I did sin a little in my heart; I've been thinking longingly of secret project #3 because it involves the most incredibly luscious soft fiber ever, and I'm loving the design I've cooked up in my head!

Just as I had sent off Secret Project #1, and was winding down a little bit, I realized that I had lost a week. Yes, truly. Lost. A. Week. Woodsock...er, Sock Summit, is this coming WEEK! And while I won't be going (it's the same weekend as my 6 year old's first real swim meet and I can't miss that!), I have a whole bunch of stuff to get to people who are going, namely Karen (in booth 916/918) and Shelli (in booth 929/1028)! I am working hard this weekend!

This week's new item and give-away is in honor of Sock Summit, and all of you sock and lace knitters who have been asking me to do this. Yes. It's finally here: a sock shawl pin!

Now you can wear your sock knitter's badge on your lace! And for those of you, like me, who like lacy socks, it's perfect. N'est pas?

So, the special? Through August 6th, the first day of Sock Summit, receive 20% off your purchase of a sock shawl pin when you enter the coupon code SOCKSES at checkout. And the give-away? Retweet (mentioning this blog post and @RomiDesigns), blog about, comment on Facebook, or plurk about my new pin with appropriate link to my post here, and be entered to win a nickel or copper sock shawl pin! I will choose a winner next Wednesday, August 5th. May the best sock knitter win!

Feeling plummy

Just feast your eyes on what came in the mail!

Aren't the colors gorgeous!?

They're even better in person.

Secret projects are happening. Shhhhhhhhh.

In other news, a sock is progressing.

This one is my husband's favorite of the three sock patterns I've designed. Look for the second pattern release at the end of this week! And there are another two skeins of delectable sock yarn just waiting for me to finish the third pattern. :)

Weekly Special!

Time for my Designs by Romi weekly (weekend) special! Through Sunday, June 22, take 20% off my copper treble clef clip! Just enter coupon code MUSIC at checkout.

I love these clips. They are perfect for a heavier shawl (sock yarn or heavier) or a nice cardigan. I've even worn mine on laceweight, as well.

In this picture, you can see the corrugated back of the pin. The rib helps it to stay put!

In other news, I'm doing the charts for my newest sock, and I've started on another pattern.

This one is in Flaming June, a new colorway from Royale Hare! (The first commenter that tells me the origin of the colorway name gets a prize!)

I know I've been a bad blogger this week. Things have been crazy; I've been working on wholesale pin orders, knitting up swatches for a secret project, working on a website and dealing with all of those little day to day issues that suck up so much time! I haven't even gotten up my pictures from Spinners Day on the Farm last weekend. I'll try to do that this weekend if the swim meet allows! We'll be leaving at 6:30 am both days and getting back in the late afternoon.

Blush

First blush, that is. :) It's a new color of Designs by Romi yarn from Royale Hare.

Isn't it gorgeous? And look what I've done with it.

Just a small sample of what's to come next week!

I can't believe how much fun I've been having with the lacy sock designs. Like Mel said, there's no one as fanatical as the recently converted! ;)

I've also decided to have a weekly special (each week!) on a single selected pin from Designs by Romi. So every Friday check here to see the weekend special! This week, it's my copper swirl penannular:

20% off through this Sunday, as many of them as you want, with coupon code COPPERY at checkout.

Hope you're having a great Friday! Have a fabulous weekend. :)

And furthermore...

Purchase the Verdigris Sock pattern for $6 here! Pattern includes both chart and line by line written instructions.

While knitting my Verdigris fingerless mitts for Knitty, I couldn’t help but see what a great sock the stitch pattern would make!

This was very uncharacteristic of me, because, you see, since being frightened early on by socks I knit on US 0s for my husband’s size 13 feet, I had completely lost my desire to knit socks. Sad, but true.

But this.

I credit this stitch pattern with the Great Sock Awakening. Well, Stephanie might have had something to do with it, too. :)

So far, I haven’t stopped knitting lacy socks.

This is a super fun knit.

It uses 2 skeins of the Royale Hare, Designs by Romi high twist sock yarn in Verdant. Have I mentioned how much I love this yarn?

You can purchase the Verdigris Sock pattern for $6 here! Pattern includes both chart and line by line written instructions.

Friday Eye Candy +

The Eye Candy:

Look at this great Sweet Nothing from Amy!


Isn't it gorgeous? I love the colors she used!

+ answers to some of your questions!

Charm asked of the Copper colored Baby Georgia yarn: "Is it just the photo or does it have gentle color gradation, sort of a hand dyed look?"

It is just the photo! The color is actually dyed quite evenly, but the sunlight was falling across it and the yarn has a slight sheen that makes it look a little hand dyed when the light reflects just so.

krissuthe asked (also about the coppery yarn): "Wonderful yarn color - would you mind sharing the colorway name / number?"

It is Crystal Palace Baby Georgia in color number 9016 "Sahara" - it is a coppery terra cotta in real life. It is mercerized, but it has a much more matte look to it than other mercerized cottons I've come across. I love it! I wish they hadn't discontinued it. :(

Re the sock, Marina asked: "Love the short bursts of colours. Cute! Does he have clothes to match?!"

Yes! He has some pretty wild cycling jerseys. :)

I'm thinking the second sock, plus another full length pair, will be good projects for the slog-along.

Happy Friday!!!

Sock Sighting

That's right. Right on this here blog. A sock.

Finished but missing its mate, poor lonely thing. But never fear, I have all sorts of ideas from Sheri on how to use it should it go mateless for life. This is a real consideration, since it is for my husband, who wears size 13 and likes his socks knit on US 0s. At least it's a cycling sock, which means it's nice and short!