A Few Quick FOs

While I was in Bhutan I finished another pair of garter-rib socks.  For such a simple pattern I made an exceptional number of mistakes. Despite that the socks fit fine. The Pagewood Farms Yukon yarn in the Camo colorway was lovely to work with originally, but since I’d previously tried it with two other patterns, it was a bit splitty by now.

I have started continuing the slip stitch heel around the heel turn and onto the bottom of the heel for a more cushioned sock. Occassionally I need to insert a short row when I do this to accommodate the slip stitch being shorter than the pattern on the insole.

My BroadRipple socks are also done. They are made from Cascade Fixation Spray-Dyed Effect yarn in the Pacific colorway.

I finished the first pair of  Waving, Not Drowning socks and am working on a second pair.  Much to my surprise, the Lana Grossa Meilenwett Cotton yarn (color 7002, lot 52219) that I thought was a variegated single color has a stripe in it.  I had wanted to make these in a solid color to better show off the pattern. I don’t think these are doing that. They look better in the photo than in real life.

This seems to be my year for learning how to (or how not to) effectively pair yarns with patterns. I’ve been largely knitting multi-colored colorways into patterns that would look better with a solid yarn.

Fiber Arts in Bhutan

I had the great good fortune to be in Bhutan for spring break. Imagine my delight one day, when we went to a preserve to see some of the endangered local beasties (takin and barking deer) and found women nearby engaged in fiber crafts.

I remember a discussion on Ravelry a few years ago regarding homemade swifts.  I saw a number of swifts like this one.

This industrious woman sold a number of her weavings in the short time that I was there.

Later in the week we were hiking down from a visit to a monastery.  As we walked through a small village I came upon this lovely sight, hand dyed yarn. I wonder if it is spun from yak hair.

I suspect one of these women was the dyer. Notice the heavy jacket but bare feet. These people are some much hardier than I am after living in the tropics at sea level for nine years.

A few days later we were in Thimphu visiting a school for the 12 traditional arts.  Here is a first year student using a backstrap loom.

And these students are sewing the lovely Buddha’s earrings and banners of triumph (celebrating the spread of Buddhist teachings.) Crafts such as these sell for big bucks in the local craft stores.

Men in Bhutan traditionally wear a woven garment called a gho. Our guide’s sister wove the fabric for his gho. He says he owns around 15 gho. I suspect that is more than most people. It is common for middle class families to employ their own weaver to weave the fabric for the family’s clothes and linens. Here are some art students wearing their school uniforms.

And these cuties are wearing their best kiras for the Paro festival. Our guide told us that people may only wear there very best clothes once a year at their local festival.

Quick Progress Update

Hello!

I’ve been knitting a bit. Here are progress photos…

BroadRipple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garter Ribbed

 

And now for an FO…

Lacewing Fixation - Despite my challenges knitting them, they are super comfortable. Color most accurate in first photo.


 

What’s on my Needles?

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

In honor of the holiday we have two days off of work so here I am.

Longest on my needles are my Waving, Not Drowning socks.  I knit on them for much of our trip to Sri Lanka with Kent’s cousin Beth and her husband John.  We traveled mostly by van so I had lots of good knitting time. No, I didn’t think to take any travel photos with the sock.  In any case, I am in the home stretch and may even finish them this weekend.

Next up are my new Broadripple socks knit in Cascade Fixation spray-dyed effect in the pacific ocean colorway.  A colorway that is knitting up a bit on the wild side. These are my super simple take along socks.  Despite the pattern only being two rows long, and one row being all knit, I noticed a number of mistakes yesterday in the taxi and had to drop down to fix them. Fortunately that is easily done with this pattern. I wear these colors often so I should get good use out of them.

As with the Waving, Not Drowning socks I am knitting these two-at-a-time using magic loop. I wish I could decide how long to make them. This yarn shrinks over time.  I thought of swatching first and then washing, but it takes a number of washings for them to shrink and couldn’t be bothered.  On the other hand, if I don’t throw them in the dryer they may not shrink at all.  I just ran my Pretty Comfy socks through the dryer because they were getting too lose.

My newest pair of socks are flying off the needles.  The combination of DK weight yarn and time to knit during a two day PD event was a good one.  The pattern is Lace Wings Fixation Socks by Anna Belinda. As the name suggests, they are knit with Cascade Fixation yarn.  I have found this cotton/elastic yarn really comfortable in steamy Singapore.

The pattern is only four rows long and two of those rows are knit.  All was well until late last week when I realized that I was on a different row of the pattern from one sock to the other despite knitting them at the same time on two circular needles.  Grrrrr….  I think I have them back on track now. However, the cuff is wider than the rest of the sock.  I guess the lacewing pattern pulls in more than the ribbing.  They fit fine but it looks strange when not on my leg.

Last is the ever aggravating Elm Row Scarf. It was going so well. I was six repeats from the end when I noticed a Big Problem.  I tinked back but must have kept dropping stitched as I went because I kept never ending up on a row that matched the pattern.  Now it is about half as long.  It had been banished from my sight until GetItKnitted fixed it in about ten minutes. She’s my hero!

Epic Fail

Cast on for a new pair of socks today,  Lace Wings Fixation socks.  First I cast on wrong for knitting two at a time on two circulars.  Recast on and managed to twist one sock when I joined them. Cast on again. Finish cuff. Start pattern. Think, “Gee, these are looking really big.”  Reread pattern.  I’m knitting on US #5 needles, not 5 mm.  Time to frog.

 

P.S.  After the next cast on I had to move one sock to the other needle because I had them set up wrong for knitting two socks at a time on two circular needles.

Photo Credits

‘臺北樹蛙　Rhacophorus taipeianus Liang & Wang, 1978‘

Christmas is Coming!

I am noticing that without me doing anything to cause a change, my blog template has changed.  It didn’t use to have the cream colored margins. I don’t like them.  If anyone knows how to make them go away, please tell me.

In month and three days I’ll be back home my family! Maybe it is the delight of that which has made me much craftier than usual, making more holiday gifts than I ever have before.

First done was the Good Luck Cowl. The pattern is available for free from DropstitchKnitter.  The yarn is Buckingham, a deliciously soft alpaca/silk mix from Bristol Yarn Gallery yarns.  If I were to make it again with this yarn, I’d go down a needle size since my gauge seems to be getting looser which is scary.

I love the pattern. It is a fun, interesting knit, so I decide to make another. This time I used the absolutely beautiful Crash Into Ewe yarn with REAL silver that GradSchool Knitter sent to me for winning one of her contests. The photo in no way captures the beautiful color of this yarn. The flecks of silver are subtle but very nice.

The skein was enormous so I should be able to knit another. I wish the yarn was still available. It would make it easier to give the second one away as a gift.

My most ambitious project is the Elm Row Scarf by Anne Hanson. I am finally using some of the JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 4/8 – Cone that was part of a group purchase a few years ago. It is my first lace weight progress. Or rather, it is my first lace weight project on which I’ve experienced much success.  Thus far it is going pretty well but I’m really grateful for stitch markers.

While working on the cowls I didn’t work much on my socks. However, I’ve been in taxis a bit this past week so I’m working on them again. I am enjoying this Waving, Not Drowning pattern. I’ve decided it does work with this yarn.

No current photos of my Origami Sweater.  I worked on it a bunch a few weekends ago when I was in a four-day workshop.  I was really glad no one seemed offended by me knitting.  They shouldn’t. I know that I listen much better when I knit something something simple. Unfortunately, knitting is not yet widely accepted as part of our culture at work, despite my careful attempts to change that.

What are you knitting for the holiday?  Please leave me a comment to let me know.

Summer Projects and New WIPs

Summer back in Minnesota was a soul-satisfying retreat of time with family and friends.  I never fit in as much knitting as I think I will, but I still accomplished quite a bit.

The BIG project this summer was a ten-stitch baby blanket for Kent’s cousin’s baby due in August.

Ten Stitch Blanket (Ravelry Link)
Plymouth Encore Worsted Colorspun
Colorway: 7722

It is the same pattern I used for the first blanket that I completed.  However, this time I used worsted weight instead of sock weight.  It turned out much better. I was able to finish it in time to send it off the day before I headed back to Singapore.  His cousin was delighted and sent me a note that is on his crib waiting for him to arrive.

Another summer project was to finish my Starry Ribbed Socks.  They are a simple top-down pair of K3,P1 socks.  I ran into a a weird gauge problem around the ankles but a few washes has tightened them up. The colors are untrue in this photo. The sock actually very dark colors with metallic flecks.  I bought it through DNBY because I love Dream in Color’s Smooshy yarn so much. This yarn wasn’t quite as nice– not as smooshy but still a nice sock yarn.

Starry Ribbed Sock
Dream in Color Stardust Experimental
Colorway: Midnight Madness

I continued work on my un-ending Ribbed Lace socks.  I knit a lot with little to show for it.  I had to knit the heel turn three times and it still isn’t right so I’ll try again.  I prefer socks with heel flap and gusset, but turning a heel on a toe up sock isn’t nearly as fun as turning one on a top down sock.  I’ll pick it up again sometime and conquer that heel, but for now I’m enjoying new projects.

First on the needles was a sweater I began last summer.  It is the Origami Pullover.  I haven’t loved any photos I’ve seen of this sweater, but Lila and Claudine’s had a sample of it in their store that made me swoon.  Fit me to a T and was flattering.  It is a truly mindless project since it is knit as two long rectangles in K1, P1.  I have the smaller one done that will become the front of the sweater.  I’ve done about five or six inches of the wider back panel.  It is a good travel project when I have room to carry it.  It is a pattern from Frog Tree and I am using the recommend yarn, Frog Tree Sport Melange Alpaca.

I cast on a new pair of socks as a travel project for when I don’t have the room to bring the sweater.  I am knitting Violet Green’s Waving, Not Drowning pattern, a title that makes me laugh out loud.   I am using a skein of Cascade Yarns Heritage Paints that I scored from the Bella Lana yarn shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Louisecat25 brought me there because the store is too good to not visit.

The pattern is easy. It is a four row repeat and rows 1,3 and 4  are stockinette . Row 2 is a feather and fan pattern.  This makes for a great travel sock. I’m knitting them using magic loop on size 00 needles.

I started a holiday gift today as well.  Not sure if it will be done for this coming Christmas but it might.  I am flying to Shanghai for a conference this month, and the flights might be a great time to work on it. It is the Good Luck Cowl by Christianne Gerstner.

I cast on in the taxi on the way to our September knit out.  I was able to finish the first repeat of the pattern.  It is an easy pattern so hopefully all will go well. It has so far.  I am knitting it magic loop as well on size 3 needles.  I was worried it was too loose but the more experienced knitters said it was fine.

I didn’t intend to only update this blog quarterly, but considering that I don’t spend much time knitting during the school year, I may not write again for a while. Thanks for reading.

Pretty Comfy Socks!

Yay! I just finished kitchenering the toes and weaving in the loose ends.  The pattern is Pretty Comfy knit with two skeins of Cascade Fixation yarn in the 2137 colorway (lot number 227054).  I used all but two golf-ball sized balls of the two skeins.

My modifications: I knit them two-at-a-time on two circular needles.  I added a heel flap and gusset rather than the short row heel the pattern calls for. I continued the slip stitch onto the bottom of the heel to make them cushy.   Notice the shadow in the top right corner of the photo. Batu was the sock inspector today.

They are a bit large for my size 7.5 feet, but since I tend to machine wash and occassionally machine dry my socks made with Fixation, I know they will shrink a bit.  I also started the toes a bit late. Next time I knit top-down socks I’ll start the toe at the base of my little toe instead of the base of my big toe.

Other knitting progress, my Stary Ribbed socks are waiting for me to have daylight hours in which to turn their heels and pick up their gusset stitches.

My Lacy Ribbed socks are toe-up and they are waiting for me to start the gusset increases. I took them with as traveling socks yesterday while I was at my annual health screening. Big mistake. The silky yarn kept jumping off the needles when I’d set them down.

This is an old picture – they are a few inches longer now but look essentially the same.

I am realizing that since the yarn is not stretchy and has lovely stitch definition which is wasted on this pattern, I should have done cables or some other more defined stitch. I am also realizing that while this stitch is stretchy, it isn’t going to stay up well. I think I will modify  these  into anklets with a long fold-over cuff so that they are not too slouchy. The lace won’t show very well if the socks slouch. Do you see a better solution?  Please let me know if you do.

Sock Progress

My second pair of Pretty Comfy socks are zipping along. I’ve turned, the heel, picked up the gusset, and finished the gusset decreases. When I finish this repeat of the lace it might be time to start the toes!

I am on the heel flap of the Starry Ribbed socks.  Unfortunately, they are so dark they are difficult to work on at night, especially since my gooseneck lamp needs a new bulb.

I mentioned that I hadn’t finished my first baby blanket.  I still haven’t but I did snap a photo, proof that I am indeed almost done.

The Blog is Done Hibernating

Wow! Didn’t mean to put the blog to bed in September but now it is spring so I will wake it from hibernation.

Since September, there have been woefully few FOs.  Much of the time was consumed with the unending baby blanket.

Diagonal Love Baby Blanket in Cascade Yarns
Cotton Rich DK

I ran out of yarn. I bought more when back in US for Christmas, then decided the blanket just didn’t look good enough to be a gift.  And I hope to never again knit such a large boring project.  It will be finished some time.  The cats would love it.  However, that is not a priority.

I frogged the Monkey Socks. Lovely yarn. Lovely pattern.  Just not a good together – we’ve all had friends like that.  Both will be revisited, but not together.

Monkey Socks in the Camouflage colorway

of Pagewood Farms Yukon

Next there is the Ribbed Lace socks being knit in lovely Panda Silk.  I’d been warned the yarn was not stretchy so I decided to make the Ribbed Lace socks from Wendy’s first book.  They are my first pair of toe ups.  Cast on went well.  pattern went well until I realized I was knitting it all the way around, but that the pattern wouldn’t be very nice to walk upon.  So, they are waiting for me to frog them back to the toe.

Ribbed Lace Socks in Crystal Palace Yarns

Silk Solids in colorway 3011

I am also a bit apprehensive about when to start the gusset.  I know on top down socks where to start the heel.  Don’t quite know on toe up ones.  In any case, this pair is hibernating because the pattern took too much concentration to do while talking with others. Then I forgot about them.

Another WIP is my Starry Ribbed socks. I’m knitting them out of an experimental Dream in Color yarn.  It has sparkles in it, but wasn’t sparkly enough to be a keeper for them.  I’m knitting a simple k3, p1 rib.  They were hibernating while I worked on the blanket.  Now I am about an inch away from the heel.  Eager to finish them because I need dark socks.

Ribbed Socks in Dream in Color Starry experimental

After a torturous six or seven (or more) start overs, I finished Yarn Harlot’s Pretty Thing in almost one sitting (the flight from US to Singapore).  It is nice but the yarn wasn’t as soft on my neck as it felt on my hand.  It has wool and silk in it, but feels only like wool around my neck. Scratchy wool.  Will still be nice for spring travels.  I started a second one but I noticed it has jumped off its needle in the bag and I don’t know if I can save it.

Pretty Thing in wool/silk mystery yarn

another Pretty Thing

The big item since Christmas is another baby blanket.  I started in Noro Silk Garden but frogged it. With the regular Noro and bigger needles, I can see it working. With the sock weight yarn, the thick-think nature of the yarn made the blanket look warped.  When I was home over Christmas I purchased a new  yarn – Poem by Wisdom Yarns.  The first skein was a royal pain. This wool and nylon sock yarn acted like sticky mohair, was most unforgiving when I needed to frog, and did not pull nicely.  Learning from that, I rewound the second skein and it was perfectly behaved. First skein also had numerous knots in it.

The project has been fun.  I learned to make a mitered corner. No row is longer than 10 stitches, and the colors keep changing so it is a high-interest project, unlike the other blanket I attempted.  Early on I was worried by the long blue patches so I switched to a different color.  Next time I would let it be because the way the yarn gradually shifts colors is so lovely.

The biggest challenge of this project came on my way home from Paris. I had knit most of the way to Paris, and I figured that if I knit all the way back to Singapore, I would be done. An airport security officer dashed that dream when he confiscated my needles. I sulked until we boarded the plane. Then in desperation, I riffled through our bags hauling out all the pens we had. I was able to take two of them apart and slowly knit on the pen cartridges. I had to knit slowly because the cartridges were not the exact same size as the needles and I wanted to keep gauge. I also had to ease each stitch over a rough spot on the pens.

It was painstaking and slow, but I made steady progress until about four hours into the flight I suddenly had ink all over one hand. Amazingly, it wasn’t on the blanket yet, only my hand. Kent came to the rescue, easing the knitting off of me, and me out of my chair. It took a great deal of scrubbing in the washroom to get the ink off and my nails stayed blue. Fortunately, I had one more pen cartridge so I was able to keep knitting.

Due to the slowdown, I wasn’t able to finish the blanket then, so it came to Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia with us the next weekend. I finished it on the flight home from there, and the next weekend Get It Knitted fixed a spot where I had split a stitch. I spent this week weaving in the ends. Today I hope to wash and block it today.

At that same knit out down at Orchard Central I started another pair of Pretty Comfy socks. They were zipping along until yesterday when I noticed that the front of the sock was on a different row than the back of the sock. I’ve been tinking back to a place where all was good. Haven’t reached that spot yet.

Pretty Comfy done in Cascade Fixation yarn

Batu is the photographic assistant