Socks That Need a Better Name Are Done

The Undulating Lacy Rib Socks are done. These are made with Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in "Lichen." I'm very happy with the pattern and I love the colorway. It's mostly green with a little bit of purple. It coordinates nicely with the "Logwood" colorway. I may have enough left to do something stripey with the leftovers.

The lace pattern worked nicely. I suppose it does look a tiny bit like ribbing but it really should be called Zigzaggy lace.

It sure does zig and zag. I'll post the chart that I used for the top of the foot if I can figure out a way to make a chart on-line.

It looks more purple than it really is in these pictures. Funny how I can't get my camera to pick up purple when I want it to.

Lily of the Valley Scarf is done

Every now and then something comes out just the way you want.

This was one of those projects. This is the Lily of the Valley scarf from "Knitted Lace of Estonia" by Nancy Bush. I knitted it with one skein of Schaeffer Anne, which has 560 yards. I did 15 full pattern repeats and could have done at least one more. The color isn't true in these pictures; it's a darker, mossy green.

Here's one more picture, just because.

The Not Amusing Socks Are Done

These were an experiment.  I wanted to see how much the nupps affected the elasticity of the socks. The good news is, they don't have a significant impact so I can incorporate them into a design without worrying about winding up with socks that have no give.

I started with just one nupp at the top and increased the number of nupps per row as I moved down the sock. The bottom of the cuff is just as stretchy as the top.

It's really evident how different the two skeins are in this picture. The nupps don't really add much on their own but I think they can be combined with cables or traveling stitches to create an interesting design. I also think they'd look best in a solid color. They could also be done in a contrasting color for a polka dot effect.

The top of the foot has lots of nupps. I didn't have to worry about stretchiness here but it turns out it wouldn't have been a problem. I'm glad they're done and that I can move on to a new pair of socks. They probably won't be made with Lorna's Laces since I'm still steaming about how off the two different skeins are.

We Are Not Amused

So I'm plugging away on the second of my nupp socks and I'm starting the heel so I pull out the first sock to count how many rows I did on the heel flap and how many stitches I picked up for the gusset because I couldn't be bothered writing it down and I look at the two socks side by side.

These are both allegedly the same die lot for Lorna's Laces "Vera" but that's hard to believe. They don't even look like the same colorway. There's no green at all in the first sock and it pools in a really unattractive manner. I realize that no two skeins of a hand dyed yarn are going to be exactly the same but I do expect them to have the same colors in them. WTF, Lorna's Laces, how does this happen when they're the same dye lot?

Undulating Lacy Rib Socks

I started these a while ago. The pattern comes from a stitch encyclopedia and is called "undulating lacy ribs." It's lacy and it undulates but it's not ribbing. Let's not quibble with the name because it's a nice pattern.

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This is Berroco Ultra Alpaca Lite, which is very nice but it wasn't working out for this particular pattern. It has a repeat of 9 stitches and I really wanted to work the pattern over 54 so I wouldn't have to deal with an odd number of repeats and an odd number of stitches so I frogged them and used Madelinetosh Sock in the "Lichen" colorway instead. My camera really wants to turn this purple but it's mostly green with just a little bit of purple. The colors are more saturated than they appear here.

This yarn is a little heavier so 54 stitches in a lace pattern on 2.75 needles gets me the proper gauge for socks. It's not fuzzy so the pattern is nice and crisp, although that's not apparent in the pictures. I was enjoying myself so much while knitting these that I got carried away and started the heel flap before the cuff was long enough. I didn't realize this until I'd finished the sock and tried it on so now I have to rip it back and do another repeat of the pattern.

The charting for the top of the foot took a couple of tries but I finally got it right. It's worked over 28 stitches (3 repeats +1) so the foot is worked over 2 more stitches than the cuff but it still fits fine. Also, I have lots of practice so it should go quickly when I knit it the second and third time.

Chugging Away

I'm about half done with the Lily of the Valley scarf. It's a fun project to work on. The pattern is interesting and the fact that the yarn is fingering weight instead of lace weight means it goes quickly and is easier to handle. I'm also working on two pair of socks.

The first is a basic 2/2 rib in Lorna's Laces "Vera" colorway with some nupps for added interest. I've had this yarn for years but the first pair I started with it pooled in a most unattractive way so I frogged them and put the yarn aside until I could find a better pattern. I thought the nupps would break up the pooling but it hasn't really worked out that way.

The pooling is still very pronounced. The nupps add a little texture and create an interesting jagged effect that's more pronounced on the other side.

I can live with this as long as the other sock does something similar. Actually, I'm going to live with this even if it doesn't do something similar since I don't feel like ripping this and starting a third pair that will undoubtedly pool in an equally unattractive manner. I like the nupps and am already planning another pair of socks with nupps and cables.

Denmark Socks are Done

I love these socks. I love the colorway (Twilight by Lorna's Laces) and I love the pattern (Denmark by Nancy Bush). These are knit with Shepherd Sport.

Coincidentally, Jimmy Beans announced in their July 2010 newsletter that this colorway has been added to their permanent collection. Obviously, I'm not the only one who loved it. My pictures make the yarn look brighter than it really is. Purples are difficult to photograph. I took dozens of shots, indoors and out, but none were accurate. These are the best I could do.

The pattern is from "Knitting on the Road" by Nancy Bush and is a fun pattern to knit. It's a very basic cable pattern with 54 stitches cast on. There are nupps at the top of each cable. They're not really nupps; they look like nupps but they're easier to knit. I think they're an interesting design element so I'm using them to liven up some basic ribbed socks that I'm working on now.

Lily of the Valley Scarf

This is from "Knitted Lace of Estonia" by Nancy Bush. I'm using Schaeffer Anne in a near solid olive green. I think all the Schaeffer yarns have an official name but there's nothing on the tag. I've done two and a half repeats of the pattern and Boy Howdy, was that ever painful.

The border wasn't too bad but I suffered for that first pattern repeat. I kept picking up the stitch after the nupp when purling the five stitches together and not realizing it until a few rows later when my stitch count was off. Once I knew what was going on I was able to avoid doing it and the pace picked up considerably after that but it made that first pattern repeat one of the more frustrating knitting experiences I've ever had.

The pattern calls for 9 1/2 pattern repeats using a yarn that has 400 yards. The Schaeffer has 560 yards so I should be able to do at least 13 or 14 repeats, which will result in a finished length of about 60". The nupps don't really pop but I can live with that. They might show better after it's been blocked.

The border's very simple but works well with the pattern. This is a knitted cast on with the yarn doubled, which gives you an edge that is both stretchy and pretty. Now that the pace has pick up considerably, it should progress quickly. It's certainly nice not having to change yarns every other row.

I Always Like to Try New Things

I'm knitting the Denmark socks on square 6" DPNs by Kollage.

These are 3.25s but I don't know how you measure that. According to the Kollage website, most knitters go up a size to get the same gauge but when I originally swatched this yarn (Lorna's Laces Shepherd sport) I got the same gauge on traditional 3.25s. It's true that you don't notice the squareness when you're knitting with them and they seem less inclined to slip than most aluminum needles. They're not as nice to work with as the Signature needles but they're also a fraction of the cost and I can buy them locally.

The points are quite blunt, which is fine for most projects but it would be nice it they also came in a stiletto point so you could use them for lace. They're also available only is US sizes, which isn't the end of the world, but it would be nice if they were available in all sizes.

Denmark Socks by Nancy Bush

This pattern is from "Knitting on the Road" by Nancy Bush. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shephard sport in Twilight. I didn't intend to order this in sport weight but I guess I wasn't paying attention and this is what ended up in my cart.

Turns out it works perfectly for this pattern, which only calls for 56 stitches cast on. For a pattern with cables, that's not going to work for me with a fingering weight yarn.

Love the pattern; love the colorway. I wish I could get more of it but it was one of the limited edition colors from Jimmy Beans (January 2010) and it's sold out. They describe it as "similar to Black Purl but without the black." I've got Black Purl in my stash so I think I'll dig it out and compare the two.

Whither Thou, Reading Comprehension Skills?

The kids are at camp for 10 days, which means I had a large bloc of uninterrupted knitting time today. I put it to "good" use by knitting, frogging, tinking and ignoring pattern directions. In spite of this, I managed to finish my Fair Isle socks:

They fit well, as they should considering the amount of time that was devoted to them. I put one repeat of the pattern near the toe:

There's lots of calf shaping since they've got no give at all. I cast on 97 stitches and decreased 16 so the foot is knit with 81 stitches. I included a seam stitch because I thought it looked better.

Having finished the Fair Isle socks, I thought I'd work on these.

That didn't go well; I had to rip all the way the back to the first pattern repeat and rework the cuff. I got down to the gusset decreases and realized I didn't have enough stitches for the top of the foot, which was a pretty clear indication that I should work on something else. I settled on the Lily of the Valley scarf by Nancy Bush, which I somehow managed to cast on correctly but didn't grasp the subtle but important difference between the phrases "right side" and "wrong side" and that's how I spent an entire afternoon knitting and had less done at the end than when I started.

Spectrum Scarf is Done

Here it is, being modeled by my cat. I don't understand why he seems so disinterested. When I was knitting it, all he wanted to do was sleep on it. Yesterday, when I was blocking it, he was facscinated by it and wouldn't leave it alone.

Maybe it's too warm for mohair. Or maybe he's mad because I threw him out of room while it dried. Sleeping on wet mohair doesn't sound that appealing to me but I'm not a cat. He certainly was miffed when I wouldn't let him.

This is 16 repeats of the color sequence (the pattern called for 12) and I have plenty left over. I knit it entirely in garter stitch because I don't like scarves that roll.

I don't know exactly how long it is; probably about 7'. It wll get plenty of use next winter but for now it will get put away so he can't sleep on it.

... Very Easily Distracted

While I swatching the Kidsilk Haze for the Viola cardigan, I was poking around in my stitch books (the "1500 Patterns Knitting Encyclopedia" by Pingouin and the 365 stitch perpetual calender that everyone one has) looking for simple lace patterns to liven up the cardigan and I found the Undulated lacy ribs stitch and thought it might work for a pair of socks so I started these.

It's not really a ribbing pattern and I'm not sure I can make it work for the top of the foot because of the zigzag aspect of the pattern but it's quite pretty and gives me something to work on while I avoid working on the Spectrum Scarf, which is now half done.

And after all that, I decided that the cardigan would be best in plain stockinette, as called for in the pattern.

I Am Easily Distracted

I'm plugging away at my spectrum scarf. It's moving along a little faster now that I've got a rhythm going with the Russian joins but it's still tedious. I've finished 6 out of 16 color sequence repeats. (The pattern calls for 12 but I'm not making the hat so I figured out there is enough yarn for 16.) I decided my favorite colors are the two greens, Jelly and Fern. They're both pretty on their own but are even prettier when they're combined. I got to thinking that it would be fun to make something stripey with just those two colors so I started looking through my books for a pattern that would work and found Viola in "French Girl Knits" by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes. A trip to the yarn store was exactly the distraction I was looking for so I got three each of Fern and Jelly. The two knit together look like this:

I've decided that I'm not going to do the stripes because I don't think the pattern, which is for a cardigan with short sleeves and lace detail in a contrasting color at the neck line and on the sleeves, would look good with stripes. Originally, I thought I'd use Jelly for the lace trim but I don't think there will be enough contrast. I think a very pale lavender would look nice but I won't have to make that decision for a while.

I've also finally finished the first of the Fair Isle socks.

This is very gratifying since I've gotten this sock down to the toe and ripped it back to the cuff twice. I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to make them work and finally decided that I didn't mind if the foot wasn't patterned. I think they look better this way and they're certainly more comfortable.

Fun? Did I Say Knitting This Would be Fun?

I cast on for the spectrum scarf, which was a long, tedious process since it's a provisional cast on. Then I proceeded to the setup row, which was a long, tedious process because it involved many, many short rows, which meant much turning while working on two different circular needles, which were determined to get tangled up with each other, the yarn holding the provisional stitches, and the two strands of working yarn. But I persevered and was finally able to settle down and knit the scarf, which is a long, tedious process because you have to do a Russian join at the end of every other row, which prevents you from getting any real momentum going. It looks like this after two repeats of the color sequence. Only ten more to go!

It's very pretty but I can understand why no one on Ravelry has knit this thing.

Baltic Sea Stole is Done

and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

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The colors are gorgeous and suit the pattern perfectly; very cool purples, blues and a little bit of aqua.

What Would Elizabeth Zimmerman Do?

The Baltic Sea stole is finished. I blocked it this evening so it will be ready to have its picture taken tomorrow. Blocking lace is very gratifying. It goes from looking like a used tissue to looking like, well, lace. It's the perfect time to do the "modest but triumphant jig" that Ms. Zimmerman recommends. The problem with lace, however, is that it can be difficult to spot a mistake until it's blocked, when it (the error) becomes glaringly obvious, like this:

I suppose I could pretend that it's intentional, in the spirit of the "humility block" that everyone but the Amish seems to think was included in Amish quilts so the quilt wouldn't be perfect, or I could just admit that it's a mistake and then dance a modest but triumphant jig because, mistakes and all, I love this wrap. It's the Faux Russian Stole by Kate Nagorney and  Ann Swanson from "A Gathering of Lace"  knit from Ellen Cooper's Yarn Sonnets Fine Merino.

These pictures don't really capture the color accurately. Its a beautiful dark teal green. I'll take more pictures of it tomorrow when I'm photographing the Baltic Sea stole. 

Enough with the Socks Already

It's time to work on something other than socks. I should finish the Baltic Sea stole this weekend so it's time to think about what to work on next. I have some good summer projects in the queue.

These are for the spectrum scarf from Winter 2008 Interweave Knits and a pair of gloves.The scarf is a two row chevron stitch pattern and is knit with two strands of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, changing one of the two colors every other row. The gloves will be knit with a strand of the Rowan Kidsilk Haze and a strand of the Rowan Felted Tweed. Chevron patterns are fun to knit and Kidsilk Haze is a gorgeous yarn, which makes me wonder why it took me so long to find the time to make this.

This is for Alice Starmore's Hat Trick, which is a set of three Fair Isle hats. I don't need three Fair Isle hats, so I'm going to make two hats and a pair of mittens instead.

This is Jamieson & Smith 1 ply cobweb. It's for a modified version of Mediterranean Lace by Maureen Egan Emlet from "A Gathering of Lace." The plan is to omit the center square and just make a rectangular shawl. This will not be a summer project; this will be a many years, and probably a many tears, project but I'm okay with that.

This is Alpaca with a Twist Fino and it's for the Maikell Shawl from "Knitted Lace of Estonia" by Nancy Bush. It's for my mother, who wants a scarf and not a shawl, so I have to modify the pattern. I started this once before and wasn't happy with the way it was coming out so ripped it and put it away but I think it's time to give it another shot.

Yet Another Pair of Cabled Socks are Complete

The good news is, these are done. The bad news is, they're still pink.

I'm really pleased with they way they turned out, except for the pinkness. The cables are 3 stitches (a knit, a purl and a knit) and are separated by 3 purl stitches. I crossed them by putting the first two stitches on a cable needle in back, knitting the third stitch, returning the second stitch to the working needle, purling it, and then knitting the stitch remaining on the cable needle.

The cable crosses on the cuff get closer together as they get closer to the heel but are uniform on the top of the foot.

These are 72 stitches worked on size 2.75 needles. The sole is 27 stitches and the top of the foot is 39 stitches. There are six sets of cables at the toe, each of which is reduced by two on the penultimate row, bringing the stitch count down to 27. I closed each set of cables by slipping the first stitch, passing the third over the second, slipping the second, passing the first over the second, returning the remaining stitch to the working needle and purling it.

Yet Another Pair of Cabled Socks

I don't really like pink but I had the yarn in my stash and it's perfect for cables.

This is Regia Silk 4-ply. I'm using 2.75 needles and cast on 72 stitches. The pattern is very similar to these:

except the cables and ribbing are K1P1K1 instead of K2P2K2 and I crossed all the cables the same way. I'm really happy with the way these are turning out. The Regia Silk is very nice to work with and the cables really pop. I don't know why I choose this color since I'm not a "pink" person but there it was so I will soon have a pair of baby pink socks.

Well... I Don't Know

I don't love them but they're done. I suppose sometimes that's all you can ask for.

The bottom line is, I just don't like this colorway. The green and the blue are too light so there's too much contrast. I'm happy with the pattern. They're very comfortable, not a pain in the neck to put on and they'll keep my feet warm while I paint my toes. In retrospect, a more neutral color would've been a better choice but I don't have a lot of neutral colored sock yarn and the point was to use up what I had.

For the open toe, I did six rows of ribbing around the entire foot, then cast off all but 24 stitches, cast on 8 more and then did six more rows of ribbing on these 32 stitches for the big toe.

It looks a little funky when the socks are off but I can live with that.