FOs and WIPs

The week after school let out, Kent and I went to Ubud, Bali. We stayed at Ketut’s Place. Our room had a huge lovely balcony that reached out over a steep ravine and a rushing river. I spent each morning out there knitting. It was bliss.

On that balcony, I finished my purple Lacy Mock Cable socks.

They are knit in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids in the amethyst colorway. I made them longer than usual because instead of knitting a gauge swatch, I just jumped in.

After a few inches I decided I wanted to go down a needle size but rather than frog it, I decided to let the bigger needle part act as shaping. The socks fit really well. In part that is because I finally realized that if I pick up extra gusset stitches, the foot part will be too loose. It also helped that this stitch pattern is stretchy. It made a good traveling sock

I also finished my Pretty Comfy socks.

The yarn is Cascade Fixation. I don’t remember which colorway, but I like it.

I tried a rounded toe but my formula wasn’t right and after 3 tries I gave up and knit my standard wedge toe. Thanks to the way the pattern dissolves into the stockinette toes, it makes a pretty toes. I tried three times to kitchner the toes closed and couldn’t do it so I gave up. The next day, I finished both toes in 15 minutes. Go figure.

As on the Lacy Mock Cable socks, my only mods were to use a heel-flap instead of a short row heel. I know they aren’t as pretty but they fit so well and are so comfortable.

In any case, these turned out lovely and I may have to make a pair for me.

On that same day, I cast on for Cookie A.’s Monkey.

I’m using my Pagewood Farms Yukon which is a merino, bamboo, nylon mixtures. It feels buttery. I wanted to cast on before I was on the plane back to Singapore.

I’m not as far as I expected to be because although I brought them on the long flight to the US, I actually slept a bit which is rare for me on flights. As a result, I’m only this far.

I did bring them to run errands, and made lots of mistakes because I don’t know the pattern well enough, so I cast on for a pair of ‘Vog on socks using Plymouth Happy Feet yarn. (Color is more accurate in first photo.)

I’m not certain this was a good call for this yarn. I’d thought the yarn was solid enough, but between the variegation and the darkness of the color, the pattern is being lost, and although it is a simple pattern, I have to look at it so it isn’t good when I am with other people.

Then I decided to knit my mom a pair of socks. She picked out a truly lovely yarn. It is Dream in Color Smooshy in the Bermuda Teal colorway.

I’m using Ann Budd’s Diagonal Ribbed sock pattern. It is an easy to memorize pattern but I also need to watch the stitches I’m knitting. It is a real bugger to rip out due to the diagonal stitches.

And as long as I’m knitting patterns that require me to watch what I’m knitting, I cast on for the Sumac Leaf Shawl.

It is a worsted weight shawl and I’m really enjoying it so far. I’m using Lamb’s Pride worsted. I just started the fourth repeat.

It is beyond good to be home visiting my family. I haven’t seen any friends yet. I need to rectify that next week. The only bad part about being here is being away from the cats. Here is Kapas in her favorite place for an evening nap.

That cubby is on the bottom shelf of our bookcase. That puts her near to us on the sofa.

Speedier Socks

During the Ides of May I finshed two socks.  The first pair was Kent’s Kyoto socks.  I knit them quickly to see if I liked the  yarn. He’s only worn them once so I think they were not a success.  His garter rib socks done in Chameleon Colorworks’ Bambino yarn seem to be his favorite.   No finished photo yet.

The other pair is my Northshore Socks done in Regia using the Groovy Stripes pattern.  They are too big in the foot. I now understand that is because I picked up too many gusset stitches.  This is a good take along pattern because it is a two row repeat, and one of those two is stockinette.  I still managed to muck it up often, but really should not have done so.

I cast off the Northshore socks one night and cast on these Lacy Mock Cables the next night. I’m calling them my Purple Kosong socks since they look like lots of zeroes. Could also be hugs and kisses. It is my first time using the Cherry Tree Hill yarn that I stashed.  Very soft. It is the first all wool sock  yarn I’ve used. I hope it hold up well.

This is a test. Or rather, it’s a poll.

I’m trying to figure out how the integrated poll feature works in WordPress.  I’ve made a poll. Now let’s see if it appears here for you to take it.

Progress Report

I am in love with my Pretty Comfy socks.  I’ve finished the gusset decreases .  I am worried they are going to be a bit small.  Given that this Fixation yarn has cotton and elastic in it, I don’t think they will be blockable.  They will progress faster if I can figure out where I’ve set the pattern. It’s around here somewhere.

I am making good progress on this pair for Kent. They are my first attempt at Magic Loop and I’m liking that technique. Less time spent repositioning and no loose needle flopping around. I’m knitting two-at-a-time. The color is perfect for Kent. Jury is still out on this Knit Picks Risata yarn. It is splitty and likes to unwind. However, it feels like the final fabric will be quite cool to wear. The pattern is just made up. I’m using the rounder heel turn I found online and am very pleased. It looks like Kent’s heel.

I’ve turn the heel and picked up the gusset stitches on my Groovy Stripe socks.  I think of them as my North Shore socks because the colors make me think of the area long the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. I am realizing I like the stripes best when viewed upside down, but that isn’t a problem since when I’m wearing them and look down, that is how they will be.

The Regia yarn is very splitty, but I am liking the fabric very much. The pattern is an easy two row repeat, but I still keep mucking it up anyhow. Feeling very proud of myself that I was able to fix a major error. I didn’t want to tink because I was a few rows past picking up the gusset stitches. It would be messy to tink back.

Instead, I ripped out those stitches and after two hours, I finally had it all right. And I learned a bunch. This is the first time I’ve successfully ripped back and reknit lace. Very satisfying.

I decreased two stitches before starting the heel flap because on my Smooshy Garter Rib socks, the heel flap has too much fabric. When I put my foot into a shoe, the extra fabric is problematic.

The Smooshy Garter Ribs have other problems as well. I knit the soles in ribbing to make it thicker and more comfortable. That didn’t work so well. The ribbing s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s. As a result, the socks are big, and the sole is not that comfortable to walk on. Fortunately, the color is so delicious that I don’t care. Wearing them makes me smile.

And sometimes when you try to photograph a sock, you get a cat instead.

Update on Blue Projects

Before I went to New Zealand in December I cast on a pair of socks but then ended up knitting other projects so I’m finally getting to these now.

The yarn was a birthday gift from my sister. It is a Regia wool yarn. The colorway was designed by Kaffe Fasset. I was of two minds about it before this project. I liked all the colors but one, but I was thinking it would make rather bold socks. I wasn’t sure I wanted bold socks.

I decided I did not want to knit them plain, but I figured most patterns would be obscured by the stripes.  I spent a long time on Ravelry trying to find the right pattern. I considered many different patterns from Jaywalker to Ann Budd’s chevron pattern, to Charlene Schurch’s chevron pattern, to someone else’s chevron. However, so many of those patterns had two strikes again them for me. First, they required some form of knitting three stitches together. That would be a challenge since I tend to knit tight. (How can I have a loose gauge and knit tightly? That mystifies me.) Second, chevron patterns tend to have very little stretch; many knitters on Ravelry complained that they couldn’t get the socks over their heels.

Therefore, I was delighted to find the Groovy Socks pattern by Sock Pixie. It is a more subtle than many of the chevron patterns and it is more stretchy.  It is only a two row repeat, with one row being stockinette, so I hoped  I could travel with it as long as I used stitch markers.

It is a top down pattern and I am halfway down the leg.  Although I keep making mistakes, the pattern is easy and fun.  Like so many lace patterns, it seems to race along.  To my delight, the waves produced by the pattern are giving the stripes  a watercolored or Impressionistic affect.  It is soft and rich.  I am enchanted.  And it is a lace pattern that looks even better on than off; I often find that patterns I like on the needle don’t look as nice on the foot. (I’ll post a more current photo when I get home. This early shot doesn’t show the effects.)

To add to my delight, I’ve been able to knit much more this week than usual.  On Wednesday I was at a meeting all day and it wasn’t my turn to take minutes.  It was a discussion-type of meeting and knitting during it helped me keep focused.  I was an active participant throughout.  Thursday afternoon I flew out to Ho Chi Minh City for a two day workshop, so I was able to do lots of travel knitting.  Then today (and hopefully tomorrow) I was able to knit during the lecture portions of the workshop. Sunday, I will travel knit myself home.

On other fronts, I knit three premmie caps. I’m trying to find a local premmie ward that will take them.

I am working down the foot on my Pretty Comfy socks. They are still a very fun knit.

Life is Good.

Return of Service Notice

Dear World,

We, the United States of America, your top-quality supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption in service.

The technical fault that led to this eight-year service outage has been located and the software responsible was replaced on November 4, 2008.

Early tests of the newly-installed program indicate we are now operating correctly and are fully-functional as of January 20, 2009.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage. We look forward to providing full service and hope to improve in years to come. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

The United States Of America

(A friend sent this to me. I haven’t yet found its source.  If you know it, please let me know.)

Help! Everything I’m Knitting is Blue!

Okay, at the moment there are a number of strong trends in my knitting.

1. I keep having to restart projects because they aren’t fitting.
2. I keep frogging projects because I decide they won’t work as started.
3. I’m becoming a sockhead.
4. Everything I’m knitting is blue.

I’m not quite sure how that last list item came to be, but I have plenty of ideas on the first three.

Yes. I am not knitting gauge swatches. Knitting a gauge swatch seems a lot like actually knitting the sock, so I’d rather just jump in, especially since I can so easily try the socks on as I knit them.

I extended this philosophy to knitting a pair of hand warmers and found a flaw in my thinking.  I started knitting the Malabrigo Hand Thingies and first the fabric seemed too loose so I went down a needle size. Then I went down another needle size because they seemed so loose and I knew I would hate wearing them if the cuffs weren’t snug.

However, the cuffs are knit in a purl two rows, knit 3 rows type of pattern and that does not behave like ribbing or stockinette.  As I knit farther on, the cuffs seemed to do a magic shrinking trick and soon I could barely pull them on. So I frogged and started again on bigger needles. At least  I’ve learned a bunch and I’m getting much faster at the pattern. These are for my trip to New Zealand. I know it is summer there, but I’ve got thin, tropical blood now and they’ve been having temps in the 40’s and 50’s.  That is going to feel cold to me and I want to knit in the car.

Another  project that I frogged project was this lovely Snow Drop Lace scarf. I was knitting really well; my best lace so far. The Dream in Color yarn was so lovely that every time I’d catch sight of it I wanted to drop everything and knit it. I like the pattern although I suspect it will be pretty dull by repeat 50. So why frog it? I decided the pattern would look better in lace weight yarn. The Smooshy is pretty thick so it is a bit bulky for the pattern. I can block it a bunch when I’m done, but why not use such smooshy yarn for socks as it was intended?

And so my another of my WIPs is a pair of Garter Rib socks for me. I know. I seem obsessed with this pattern. I’m knitting this pair for me in hand painted yarn that doesn’t stripe because I’m doing some research knitting.

I’m trying to devise a more cushioned sole because I’ve been displeased with the thin soles on the two pairs I made for Kent. Granted, those were not all wool. They were blended with bamboo which made them much less sproingy. However, my plan, thanks to a suggestion in Ravelry by ladiosaRosa, is to hold two strands together for the sole, and carry that strand over the instep. Then, when the sock is done, I cut those instep strands, leaving a long enough tail that they won’t pull through.

I had though of doing heel stitch on the sole, but kind Ravelers pointed out that heel stitch is shorter than stockinette or garter rib, so I’d need to work in short rows to make the sole as long as the instep. I also wondered how it would feel to walk on. This method will waste yarn, but I’m going to give it a try anyway. Smooshy comes in a generous hank so I should have plenty of yarn. Do you think it will work?

Yet another frogged project was the Fixation on Lace socks.  They were also turning out fine after a few false starts and the insertion of stitch markers after each repeat.  I love how the pattern looks in the book, but as I started looking up FOs of it in Ravelry, I made the disheartening discovery that I don’t actually like how it looks when people wear it.

That yarn is now in the process of becoming a pair of Pretty Comfy socks.  I just finished the cuff last night and started the lace, but I frogged the lace today because I realized that the way I was intepretting the pattern to be knit two at a time on two cirucular needles rather than one at a time on DPNs, was flawed.  Luckily I was only a few rows in when I realized my bad reasoning, so not much is lost.

Notice the lovely stitch markers? They are from Ayumi. I’m pretty sure she made them!  Amazing.

Why so many socks on my needles? The usual reasons…

• They are portable.
• They are useful, even here in Singapore.
• They don’t require much yarn.
• I have quite a bit of sock yarn in  my stash.
• I’m getting better at them and learning lots which is gratifying.

Are those good enough reasons to become a sockhead?

I can’t explain the last item. I don’t quite know how I ended up with all WIPs being blue.  I have plenty of other colors in my stash.  Any suggestions? Should I seek medical help?

Do You Like Handpainted Yarn?

Lookie what I found on Amazon…

New book by Carol Sulcoski titled Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns. It is only available for pre-order, but it looks brilliant. It is all patterns designed to look good with handpainted yarns. Let’s face it, most patterns get lost in handpainted yarns, and plain stockinette socks are boring. And so you knit Chevron and Monkey and Jaywalker which are great, but we’ve all got a lot more handpainted in our stash than those will take.

Another new thing, at least new to me, is Opal’s new Harry Potter yarns. Check out this page on the Opal website and you can see each of the yarns, both in skeins and knit into a sock. I think I like the Hedwig colorway best (pictured) or maybe Harry’s own colorway.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Go take a look and let me know which ones you like best.

Snowdrop Lace in Some Summer Sky

I used my new swift for the first time last weekend. It played nicely with my wool winder, making short work of turning 3 hanks into lovely balls. Of course, today I heard someone on a podcast talking about the evils of pinching the yarn between your fingers as you wind; it stretches the yarn and will mess up your gauge. I’m already gauge-challenged enough.

The first ball I wound is my Dream in Color Smooshy in the Some Summer Sky colorway. After many false starts, I now have the first repeat of the pattern done. I’m loving the pattern, fun to knit but not too challenging if I’d only remember all the yarn overs.

Last night while watching “Wall-E” I finished the toes of my Fixation on Stripes socks. I would use this yarn again for warm weather socks, but I’d not do straight stockinette. However, I kept this first pair plain to get used to the elasticity of the yarn. At first I thought they were too long in the foot, but now I think they will be fine. Actually, they must be more than fine because Kapas gave them the Chin Rub of Approval.

A few weeks ago, I finally finished my first pair of socks for Kent. Or rather, they are the first pair I started but the second pair I finished. I followed the Garter Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. My goal was to knit a pair of socks that stayed up but didn’t leave welts around the legs. I succeeded in that. Knit on US #0 needles, they are full of unintended design elements, but that’s okay. I learned a bunch, and most of the time they can only be glimpsed between his shoes and trousers. They’ll do.

The yarn, Chameleon Colorworks’ Bambino is a wool, bamboo, nylon blend that was splitty to knit but made a lovely finished fabric that is washing just fine (in a garmet bag in cold water) and I even dried them the other day and they didn’t complain a bit.

What I Should Do…

What I need to do over the next four days…

• figure income taxes
• complete re-licensure forms 
• go to bank to fix online access problem
• set up budget in Quicken at work
• move back into my office
• finish lesson plans for next week

 What I want to do…

• finish my Fixation on Stripes socks 
• cast on Snowdrop Lace Scarf
• go to a knit out up in Woodlands
• cast on new socks

I was going to knit Fixation on Lace socks (ravelry link) but looking at the finished projects in Ravelry, I find I like the striped ones but not the solid colored ones.  I wasn’t going to start other socks until my long KnitPicks needles arrived so I could try magic loop instead of two circs at a time, but I don’t think I’m going to delay gratification any long. I may cast on using the Regia yarn my sister sent me for my birthday.  Maybe it is time to learn how to do that magic cast-on for toe up socks.