good-natured ribbing

I finished one sock while we were driving, and took pictures of it in Bellingham. You can see that the sock changes color at the heel. I knit until I reached the end of the first set of rectangles. There seems to be enough Flat Feet yarn to knit 3 socks my size. Or, maybe one pair my size and a pair of child size socks. There is plenty of yarn for a large pair of socks for sure.

I like the feel of this yarn a lot. It’s a little nubby from being machine-stitched, but when I get home I’ll block it and see how that changes the appearance.

Backing up a little bit, on Sunday, while we were visiting Portland, our hosts graciously took me to Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks, where I found more yarn I had never seen before!

Must be nice to live in the Pacific Northwest, with such great yarn to be had everywhere!

The joys of summer vacation! Yesterday I got to go to three yarn stores in Spokane with my mother-in-law, Mary, and my brother-in-law, Chas, both of whom are knitters. There were many great things about this. Since we all knit, and we’re on vacation, we took our time in all three stores. My favorite of these was Paradise Fibers, which is oddly (or maybe conveniently, depending on your point of view) located in a building adjacent to an adult bookstore. Also great was the fact that I found some yarns I had never seen before, which doesn’t happen all that often. And, finally, we got to go to Sonic Burger for lunch, which we never get to do in Michigan.

The first of the two things I had never seen before was this:

This is not a scarf. It’s Flat Feet sock yarn, which is sock yarn that’s been machine-knitted into material and then dyed flat. Chas explained this to me, since I don’t dye, but this method (quite logically) yields different results than dying skeins of yarn. There is waste yarn at the end of the flat material which you remove, and then you start knitting. Instead of having a ball of yarn, you knit directly from the material as it unravels. I’m not sure if my hotel-room photos are doing justice to the bright colors, but here’s a slightly closer picture.

The second thing I had never seen before is this: a lucet. It’s a little wooden thingie that you use to make i-cords. With a little bit of coaching from Chas, I got the hang of it very quickly. He says that you get to the point where you don’t need to watch, and then it’s really easy to do this on a bus or while you’re walking to work. I have to admit, it’s oddly addictive. I can’t wait to get one and then find a project that needs i-cords.

Now, from the hotel room window I see tons of smoke. There seems to be a warehouse fire north of us, which is bad news since it’s windy and hot and dry.

It was nice on the sock blocker, but once off, yech. The main problem was the yarn. It was too fine for the pattern, I think. The pattern looks nice in pictures I’ve seen of it, but on me the sock is slouchy, and puffs out over the heel.

I like the stockinette on the sole, though. I’m frogging this and will turn the yarn into a plain sock. This means that, once again, I have failed to complete a pair of toe-up socks.

A minor setback for me. I have 2 other pairs started, both simple enough to knit on the plane tomorrow as I fly across the country to Seattle.

Two days into summer, and the Summer of Socks, and some knitters have finished entire pairs of socks already. Boy, not me. But I have made progress. I decided to start with the pattern designed especially for participants, using some Schaefer Anne I’ve had in my stash for a while. First, I learned how to do a Turkish Cast-on (here’s one tutorial) which is what this toe-up sock pattern calls for. I’ve never finished a toe-up sock; started many, never finished. This may be a first.

Here’s the toe, held up by my very accommodating husband:

The instructions for this cast-on specify two circular needles. As soon as I could, though, I switched over to dpns. I’m just not comfortable with the circular needle method of sock knitting. Too many dangling ends. And here’s how far I’ve gotten:

Summer and the Summer of Socks both started yesterday. Coincidence? If you take a look, you’ll see a lot of sock frenzy going on. I am a slow starter–I began summer by finishing one pink sock, modeled here by its recipient.

This pair won’t count, but that’s okay because I’m not trying to knit the most socks this summer. Instead, I am in the group that is taking socks on vacation because, for the first time in a long while, we’re actually taking a vacation this year! In anticipation, I tried to find some socks from Knitting on the Road that fit with our vacation locations, but there are none from Arkansas or Washington State. So I am choosing to knit ones that I’ve wanted to do for a while. First, the New England socks.

Second, the two Hiiumaa Mismatched Mates.

Third, I really want to try the Francie sock pattern which I purchased recently, and think I’ll do it in green.

There has also been a sock pattern created just for the summer of socks that I may start with. So many choices, it’s almost paralyzing.

That’s all. Another pair done.

For years now (literally), in the middle of every shower, I’d think, “I need to knit myself a washcloth.” Last week I finally paused all my other projects and knit one. I was going to knit it out of purple hemp, but this is what I found when I went looking for it:

cats hate hemp

Or maybe they love it. But either way, this is what they did to mine.

I had no patience for disentangling this mess, and so moved on to some eggplant-colored linen. On size 6 needles, I knitted 10 inches of tile stitch (this pattern being one in the book Knitter’s Stash).

Here’s my favorite part.

i made a grommet

I knit in an eyelet and crocheted in a grommet so I could hang it up on a hook.

I am also spending spare moments on a crocheted afghan for Zoe. She wants to take it back to school with her in the fall, giving me a very good excuse for a yarn shopping spree. She chose yarns in oranges, browns, yellow, and reds. It’s sort of a Babette, except I’m not really following the pattern. I like the cheerful little squares, and estimate that I’m about a quarter done with the square-creation.

zoe’s squares, afghan in progress

It’s fun. I’m still new at crocheting, and, zen-like, still trying to make a perfect square.

It was warm and sunny enough to take my socks outside yesterday for a picture. Here’s a progress report:

Pink Socks

I’m using Lorna’s Laces Yarn in Flamingo. The cuff is simply k1, p1 all the way down. I have 2 skeins in my stash, so I can afford to make the cuffs a little longer than usual.

I decided to use a heel flap on this one instead of my usual short row heel just to experiment with what it does to the stripes. There’s a little bit of a garter stitch border there, too. Maybe I’ll make the second one with a short row heel just to see how the color behaves differently. For myself, I find that short row heels fit better.

Blue Socks

Since it was so nice, I took Nigel’s new socks out, too. Almost done! These are basic socks from Vogue Knitting Socks Two, except with a short row heel.

The heel on the right sock looks a little messy, doesn’t it? It’s my curiously recurring attempt to figure out the Jojo-Heel. I have tried knitting this heel seven times, but have failed miserably every single time. I always think I have it until I reach this line:

“After these 2 rounds work again short rows with double stitches, however this time from inside to outside.”

I have no idea what that means, so when I reached this step I just continued as if I were doing my regular short row routine, but with some sloppily wrapped stitches instead. I figure after a wash or two it will all even out…

I secretively delivered the socks of kindness to their recipient today (thus the bwa-ha-ha). This pattern is by Chawne (and here), but I can’t find a story. Why are they called socks of kindness?

Not that perfection has ever been a problem with me, but luckily all my socks end up with enough quirks to prevent hubris. In this case, I somehow lost my mind and knit the first sock cuff with a k2p2 ribbing and the second with a k1p1 ribbing. Way to be wild. But will the recipient notice?

As I said, this was a great pattern and it seems to have rekindled my interest in knitting socks. I already have 2 more pairs going. In addition to a plain pair of blue (see previous post) I’ve started a pair of pink ones with yarn purchased long ago. Beth knit a pair of socks for Ava with this same yarn, and it’s interesting to see how the stripes are coming out slightly different.

Quick post. This weekend I finished two socks, one (on the right) of kindness, and one, well, not. Just a basic sock with a short-row heel.

The blue one is made of Wildfoote sock yarn, a sturdy sock yarn that will last a fairly long time for my husband. He actually wears my handknit socks until they wear out.

Now, I must go to work.

There have been a lot of comments about the Nutkin sock twisting uncontrolably. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out why some twist and some do not. Thanks to Trish fromThe Tangled Arts, the mystery has been solved.

Behold the lovely Nutkin on the left. It has a minor amount of twisting, which is a natural effect caused by all of the left-leaning decreases. On the right, you see Nutkin’s evil twin.

You must take care to keep your stitches straight when you fold the cuff over and knit the cast on row with the live stitches. The first cast on stitch must be knit together with the first stitch in the round. If you are off just a stitch or two, you end up with the evil twisted twin.

To ensure you get the right stitch, it may help to put a split ring stitch marker or safety pin on the first cast on stitch before knitting the first round.

That is Reynolds Soft Sea Wool, by the way, and I don’t like it very much.

Life has been crazy, but I have been knitting away during my commute time in the morning. I’ve done a clapotis, years later than everyone else, but now that I’ve finished I love it. I want to marry it. (Sorry, dear.) It’s made of Sea Silk, which is 70% silk, and 30% sea cell. So, I’ve been exaggerating slightly when I’ve told people it’s made of seaweed.

I also realized, with shock, that I haven’t finished a pair of socks yet this year. I’ve started several, but they bored me. So when I saw the pattern for Socks of Kindness, I thought I’d give it a try. I bought a skein of Jawoll Color at Stitches East when I was in New York a couple of weeks ago, and really like the way it’s going with this pattern. I don’t know if there’s any story behind the Socks of Kindness, but I like that the initials spell SOK.

I like Christina’s and Erin’s Montego Bay scraves so much, I finally decided to make my own. I’m using Wollmeise Sockenwolle in Raku Regenbogen.

I had to start 3 times because I didn’t like the way the colors were pooling. At 63 sts and the recommended 43 sts, the colors were pooling in vertical stripes! I ended up going with 47 sts and it it working out great.

Although I feel like I’m not getting any quality knitting in, I am doing enough to finish a couple projects. I started a vest a couple weeks ago and finished it recently. This is work of my own creation. I spent a evening doing a little sketching and a lot of math to figure out how to get started. From there, I just guess at the shaping as I went along. It turned out pretty well - actually, it turned out just as I imagined it.

Sorry about the lackluster photo - I didn’t take any better ones, though! You get the idea.

I also started and finished a little neckwarmer this weekend. As spring approaches (at least, I hope it is approaching!), I decided I needed a light, non-scarf, neck-warming garment. This one fit the bill. I used some yarn I received in a swap a while back. I’m not sure I’m crazy about the color, but it is darn soft!

Pattern: Razor Shell Neckwarmer
Yarn: Fiesta Yarns Ballet
Needles: Size 5 US
Mods: I liked the idea of making this a little wider around the bottom, as I saw someone else do. After about 5 inches or so, I did one round with increases but no decreases. I did it again at around 8 inches, knit a few more rounds in pattern, then bound off. It turned out really well - I think it has just the right amount of drape because of the flare at the bottom. The alpaca/tencel yarn is soft and silky.

Ahhh… Just what I needed. When ever I find out I’m going on a trip, I use Google Maps to locate all the yarn stores around the hotel I’ll be staying at. Now I can get that, details about the shops, and reviews all in one place. Check it out:

KnitMap - Find Your Local Yarn Shop

I’ve had an overwhelming response to my Noro Kureyon sock. The pattern is now available at Knitzi.com.

I was lucky enough to have a fabulous test knitter, Donyale. She did a terrific job and helped to perfect the pattern. Check out her awesome red socks, too. The socks look great is the red semi-solid, don’t they!

Get Jenny Wren here!

Maybe it is because these turned out so lovely but everything I’m working on right now is orange. And I didn’t even notice until I took all these pictures today.

I started these socks for a recent trip to Washington D.C. I love the yarn (wollemeise sockenwolle) and I think the simple lace pattern works nicely with the colors. The pattern is called Express Lane and is fun and very easy to memorize. Unfortunately, I bound off a little too tightly. I think it will ease out a bit with wear, though.

I’ve had this yarn for a while and have been looking for something good to use it for. I finally decided that it needed to be a vest and that I’m going to wing it. I have picture in my mind and am keeping my fingers crossed!

I was sick for a while but still needed to knit. I grabbed some colorful yarn and started a plain toe-up sock. I’m still trying to figure out why I was drawn to this colorway at the Mich. Fiber Festival last summer. It’s pretty bad. The yarn is lovely, though, and I’ll use it again but in a solid color.

I’m going to try very hard for my next project to be in a completely different color scheme!

It’s March already, and I’ve not really knit anything since January! I was traveling for a while, but worse than that, I lost my knitting motivation. I have started one pair of socks three times now, and am totally bored with each pattern I try. It’s annoying because I OWE SOMEONE A PAIR OF SOCKS! (And you know who you are.)

Anyway, I’ve not been totally unproductive. I continue to teach myself to crochet. I found a pattern in Hip to Crochet for a scarf I liked, and I had some Socks that Rock yarn in the shade of Bella Coola. So I began with one perfect square.

Then many more perfect squares.

Finally, I joined them all together.

Now, I need to find some yarn with which to finish the border.

I was pretty sick with the flu over the weekend so I was in bed most of the time. By the time Monday (which I had off work) rolled around, I was starting to feel better but also felt like a bit of a slacker for not getting any knitting done all weekend. To compensate, I decided to go for a fast project to give myself a sense of accomplishment.

I picked the very simple Family of Slippers pattern from Knitting at Knoon. I cast on 36 sts on size 10 needles. Yes, it really was fast.

She wanted to have a fancy cuff but I’m a bit short on the eyelash yarn. I did have some white furry stuff from an earlier item I made for her. It looks a little be mangy to me, by hey, she likes it and that’s all that matters.

I don’t know why, but I had a feeling that she was going to revert to her old ways and refuse to put these on or throw them in the garbage or something. I was completely wrong. She way dying to get her feet in them. They are a hit.

Yesterday I went down to the National Museum of the Marine Corps (NMMC) to help knit helmet liners for a unit of Marines that are being deployed to the Middle East in September. The goal is for 500 helmet liners. Although Marines are issued helmet liners, they are synthetic (and will melt) and can’t be worn outside the green zone. Hence, NNMC is asking knitters and crocheters to make 100% wool helmet liners. I believe there are several organizations that are soliciting wool helmet liners. If you are interested in knitting one for NMMC, here is the web address (since I can’t get the link to insert properly!)
http://www.usmcmuseum.org/SupportMarines.asp

I finished a pair of socks that I’ve been working on for a while. I started them back when I was participating in that single sock swap. I couldn’t decided which yarn to use for my pal so I started knitting my chosen pattern in two different yarns. I decided to send the other one and put this one aside for a while. I got it out again for a recent trip and was inspired to finish them.

The pattern in Baltic Socks by Clementine’s Shoes and I used Oceanwind Knits Merino in Amber. I’d never seen this yarn before (ordered it via The Sweet Sheep) but I love it. It was a delight to knit with.

I made a few modifications to the pattern:

1. Picot cuff because I didn’t think the ribbing did the lovely pattern justice
2. Short row heel because I like doing them and they fit me well
3. Short row toe with 3 needle bind off because I was traveling and didn’t have a darning needle with me

I must say, I’m quite taken with these socks. They fit very well, they are very soft (especially compared to my last socks - Kureyon), and they have such a lovely leafy motif. And I really love the color.

Our old friend in Cleveland and his wife had a baby in November but I didn’t get the baby gift out yet. Of course, it only takes a short while to make my standard hat/sock set, but I got bored or distracted or something half way through the first sock. I finished it up today:

Patterns: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap and Hunca Munca Socks
Yarn: Louisa Harding Kimono Angora

Instead of using i-cord or crochet ties, I decided to use a simple ribbon. I thought that it would compliment the dainty angora well… plus to was a heck of a lot quicker! I just used a darning needle to pull it through and tied a simple knot and pulled it tight. To prevent the ends of the ribbon from fraying, I just added a dab of the wonderful and amazing Fray Check. I like the looks of the ribbon, I think.

It will be out in the mail tomorrow!

Just in case you are interested in these Ann Arbor-area events….

The Spinner’s Flock Winter Fleece Fair
Saturday, February 16
10 am to 4 pm
Beach Middle School, 445 Mayer Drive, Chelsea, MI

Amy Singer (of Knitty fame) at Ann Arbor District Library
No Sheep/Knitty® Knit-in
Sunday, March 9
2-3:30pm knit-in following the program; library closes at 6pm
Multipurpose Room at the Downtown Library, 343 South Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI

I haven’t been doing a whole lot of knitting lately. I do have a pair of socks going, but that’s it. I did decide to crank out a little baby quilt for an upcoming shower, though.

It is the easy lap quilt from Amy Karol’s Bend-the-Rules Sewing. I’m sure I’ll be making this again - it was quite easy and trouble-free… and I’ve quite happy with the results. I did all of the buying, cutting, and piecing one day and the quilting and most of the binding the next. On the third day, I just finished hand-sewing the binding and it was all done… washed up beautifully.

Ava asked if it was supposed to look like the ocean. And I guess it is - the shower/nursery theme is aquarium, so it fits. I even put a sandy backing on it :)

I finished my Kureyon socks a while ago but never took a picture of the completed pair. Instead of waiting until I get around to taking the picture, here is another shot of the first sock:

I didn’t bother blocking the socks before wearing - they didn’t really need it. After wearing them for a full day, I can say with certainty that my feet are not bothered by the roughness… I can feel it, of course, but it isn’t irritating. And they are VERY warm. If you are thinking about it, you should definitely try it out!

Now I must tell you about a new online yarn store called WhitKnits. You will be thrilled to hear that for the month of January, they have all Noro yarn (including the Kureyon Sock) on sale for 20% off. I just might have to get a little more!!