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Pattern: My own! Which I am writing up and will be available for test knitting… soonish? Eventually.
Yarn: Cascade Pima Tencel (the longer 109 yarn skeins), three skeins (I know. It was close.)
Needles: US 5/3.75 mm
I love this tank. I basically made it up as I went along (I took notes though), and it’s got waist shaping, a slight A-line flare, and a deep v cut. Love it. I suspect it’s a shape that looks good on a lot of people, though the tiny straps might be too tiny for some. I find it’s super comfortable. I knit mine a little short (I was worried about the yarn I had) so I have to wear it over a tank top (otherwise it’s opaque enough to just wear a bra under).
I’ve written up the pattern and it’s currently undergoing test knitting, and I anticipate it being ready about the end of July. Which is a little late in the season, but it gets pretty hot many places in August and September, so it should still be appropriate knitting: cool fiber and no long sleeves to try on. I’ll keep you guys posted when it’s available, of course.
If you’ve followed me here from The Adulterous Whores Club, welcome! I hope you’ll stick around! To start things off on the right foot with the new blog here, here’s a short post about some socks:
Pattern: It’s a 40 st. toe-up sock with a garter stitch short row heel.
Yarn: Cascade Fixation
Needles: US 3/2.75 mm dpns
I love knitting socks out of Fixation. The turn around time is amazingly fast–I knit these almost entirely today on the train from DC to Virginia Beach (though I started the toe of the first one yesterday on the Metro). They’re thick, cushy, and comfortable and great for wearing in the spring and fall. Love ’em. I have at least another ball in red and another ball in purple, so I’ll probably be making more. : )
I have two more finished knits that I’ll be showing off soon, and an interesting challenge/contest that I’ll be talking about later. : ) Stay tuned!
Specifically from inside of Borders, where I am spending the afternoon (or was at the time of this writing) because my boyfriend works there. It’s been a lovely couple of days and I am highly enjoying being here (well… DC. Not necessary specifically Borders). Yesterday we went for a walk to a very pretty park with a trail:
and tomorrow (today, when you guys get this) we’re planning on visiting the zoo (so I expect there will be pictures to share of that later).
I have also been knitting: I started a summery tank out of some Cascade Pima Tencel which is super soft and super wonderful to work with. I brought yarn for a variety of projects (including several socks) and I’m also planning to visit Fibre Space in Alexandria while I’m here, so on the off chance that I finish this tank (highly unlikely), I’ll have plenty of things to knit. As for pictures for this here blog of mine, I recently finished a gift for my friend Sarah’s birthday, but I still need to photograph it and send it, so a post about it will happen once she receives it.
I finished the Monkey socks I was knitting for a swap. : )
Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Yarn: True Love Fibers merino superwash sock yarn in “Further Under the Sea”
Needles: US 1
Mods: None!
Okay. Guys. I’ll talk about the patttern and the socks in a sec, but first: This yarn? AMAZING. Holy crap I loved knitting this yarn. Squooshy and plump and wonderful. And soft! I generally think socks in 100% merino are a bad idea (cause that’ll wear through in a hot second) but this yarn is so wonderful and lovely. I’m so happy I have more to knit (I received a skein in a reddish pink in return for knitting the socks.
Sadly, these are currently en route to their owner and not in my sock drawer. Sad. Because they’re lovely. The pattern is great too–this is the first of Cookie A’s patterns that I’ve knit, and it was great. The pattern was simple and easy to memorize and these socks flew by. I love ’em. Sadly… not for me.
These socks were my first top-down and my first flap/gusset heel. It went pretty smoothly. I can’t say I really like the plain stockinette heel (I think I’d just continue my pattern down the heel flap) or the way the heel turn fits, but I may be able to fine tune that. I don’t really knit top-down socks that often, but I’d love to find a good tutorial on how to knit a flap heel toe-up, if for no other reason than to play with fit issues.
Anyway, if you’re reading this, I’m hopefully on my way to DC. : ) On Tuesday I’ll have a post about some swap crafts and after that? Who knows….
Yay, I finished my first socks for my outstanding sock trades!
Pattern: Skew Socks
Yarn: Regia Nation Colors
Needles: US 1
Mods: None!
So… I am disappointed these socks are not for me. Because I love them. And the recipient even has my same shoe size. So I’m totally jealous. They’re totally great socks. And the pattern is wonderful and fascinating. They knit up pretty quickly, and even though they’re stockinette socks, the increases and decreases keep you interested. Fun and wonderful for self-striping yarns. I’m totally going to make another pair from this pattern for me at some point.
I love the way the stripes swirl around the heel. : )
I’ve started, by the way, the second pair of swap socks, and they are wonderful. The yarn is SO NICE to knit with. But more on that later. : )
While I have in fact been doing some knitting and spinning for me (sort of–the spinning may eventually turn into a gift), I have also been knitting for other people. Sort of. Like the mittens I made, I am working on socks for Will Work for Yarn trades. The first is a pair of Skew socks in Regia Nation Color. I finished one sock:
and started the other. In return for knitting them, I received three skeins of Aslan Trends Santa Fe (two in Jungle and one in World’s Ocean):
It’s pretty pretty–squishy and wonderful. : ) It’s a two-ply so I might have to do contrast heels and toes, but it does have nylon in it.
Once I finish the Skew socks, I have another pair lined up. I received these two skeins
of True Love Fiber hand dye in Further Under the Sea (for the trade socks) and Happy Lipstick (for me).
I’m not really sure what socks I’m going to knit for this trade because of the variegation in the yarn and because the person I’m trading with didn’t have a specific pattern in mind. It’ll be a couple days because I get to them because I have to finish the Skew socks first, so I have some time to think about it.
Yeah. Ahem. Anyway, I occasionally knit for money. Or yarn, as the case may be. Ahem. Look! Knits!
Pattern: Sort of Paton’s Monkey Around Sock Monkey, but I also just made things up as I went.
Yarn: Acrylic stuff from my acrylic stash. The blue came from a learn-to-knit kit, I think.
Needles: US 5/3.75 mm dpns
Mods: Many, since I just looked at the basic shapes and knit as I pleased.
Inn’t he cute? I knit him for a woman I know at school. Her daughter is pregnant and loves sock monkeys, so she commissioned me to make one for her! It was tons of fun to make and it came out super cuddly and wonderful and I briefly considered knitting one for me. Only to be stopped when I remembered I have no need or space for stuffed animals. He’s cute though.
(modeled by my sister)
Pattern: My Dinosaur mittens
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers and Berroco Ultra Alpaca
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm dpns
Mods: None! Cause they’re my mittens!
I’m pleased I was “hired” to make these cause I’ve been wanting to try out the smallest size of my pattern but had no kids to knit for. I think they came out cute. : )
I also sent along this card:
The picture is cut out from a little picture book of dinos I got at a library book sale. It’s highly unscientific (it’s from like, the 80s I think, but there are nice pictures. I think I’ll make a similar one and send it to Joe. : )
The arrangement for these mittens was set up through the Ravelry group Will Work for Yarn. As such, I was paid in yarn: One lovely, wonderful skein of Dream in Color Smooshy in colorway “Punky Fuchsia”. It will become socks. With contrast heels and toes because the yarn is 100% superwash merino, and I will wear through that shit in a hot second. I need some nylon in my socks. So I’ll just add some with leftovers of another sock yarn.
As you may have been able to tell, I am on a definite sock kick lately. Here’s my latest pair:
Pattern: Easy Adjustable Lace Panel Socks
Yarn: Premier Yarns Serenity Sock, one skein in Indigo
Needles: US 1
Mods: Well, the pattern is written fully, but it is presented as a lace panel you can also throw into whatever socks you want, so that’s what I did. I took my usual 54 stitch toe-up sock with garter stitch short row heel and threw some lace on top.
So I like these socks. They’re taller than I normally knit them because I split the yarn into two balls with my mother’s sort of reliable kitchen scale. They weren’t even, but I started with the smaller ball and knit until I was sick of knitting it (which was before the yarn ran out). I like ’em. They fit well. The yarn stretched out a little by the end of the day when I wore them (Wednesday, in case you were wondering), but once I throw them in the washer and dryer, they’ll be good as new again. It’s the bamboo. That stuff stretches.
Currently, I am knitting a couple of things. I’m knitting some dino mittens on commission (more on that later) and some more socks. I started Viper Pilots! Well, I had started them before then proceeded to knit the chart upside down, so I frogged and knit something less complicated (the socks on this post here). But I’m starting them again. And they’re going to be awesome.
So… I made another OWS claim recently. I claimed Faux_Valentine for some monster-themed goodies and a wisty surprise. For the monsters, I made another monster chunk:
out of Sugar and Cream and Serendipity Tweed. I also made an iPod cozy:
out of Wool-Ease and some nylon Fun Fur I had around. Cute, right? I like him. I decided at the last minute to make one more plush, so I knit up this:
out of some “Sullivans Crinkle”. I don’t even know. Glitzy/furry stuff from Big Lots. I love his big teeth though. : )
The wisty surprise I made was based on this bracelet from her wist:
And here’s my version:
I used a zipper from the ones that hngoodlett sent me and I bought some lace trim at Hancock Fabrics. There’s also some felt on the back. I didn’t have a jewelry clasp, so I used ribbon. I really like how it came out. : )
Welcome to Raglan month (well, April apparently was) and NaKniSweMoDo number six!
Pattern: Featherweight, mostly for the cast on number and divisions.
Yarn: Regia Silk sock yarn, two skeins in a lovely pale blue
Needles: US 5/3.75 mm
Mods: Clearly, shorter body and shorter sleeves and thicker yarn.
Okay, it looks a little funny on Elizabeth because her wide shoulders and tiny tiny waist make her distinctly apple shaped, but my proportions are more balanced, so it looks a lot better on me. I like it a lot, I have worn it a couple times already. I usually wear it open, like the first picture, though I often pin the bottom closed with a bobby pin or something. It’s a great layer over tanks and tubes (I’m awkwardly uncomfortable in tube tops even though I have a ton of them). The only problem is that the back section is a little too wide, and if I use this pattern again, I’ll cast on fewer stitches for the back section. I certainly don’t intend to knit Featherweight in lace weight again (oh god), but I could maybe use another little shrug like this ones. It’s totally casual–throw on and go–and that’s great.
Also: the yarn. It gets a bad rap on Ravelry for being pilly, and I wouldn’t make it into socks because of that, but as a shrug, this yarn is wonderful. It was such a joy to work with cause it’s SO SOFT. Plus, Regia is a pretty great company. So yes. Yarn love here.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 