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I am knitting a pair of vanilla socks in a blotchy yarn. I’m not too concerned with how they look since I like making socks and I like wearing handknit socks. They look like this so far:
I have also started reading a knitting related book:
It’s about that woman that knitted Mary Tudor (the sweater) and wrote about it. I’m not that far in yet, but Adrienne Martini has a great voice, making her book very interesting (plus I like knitting).
I must confess I haven’t been doing a tremendous amount of knitting lately, mostly because my job leaves me exhausted and I need to be working on my Whedonverse swap package (one more thing and some finishing touches). I have a bit of time before that though.
I started knitting these socks on August 20 and finished them on March 3. That’s over six months. For one pair of socks. To be fair, I knit a lot of other things in that time, but still. Six months. The only other thing it took me this long to knit was my Featherweight, which I also put down for 4-5 months. And there’s those shorts I was working on that will probably have the same time jump. Anyway, socks.
Pattern: Skew from Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Handpainted in “Tea Party” about 60g.
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Mods: I did the cuff differently because I was done following directions at that point. I did the decrease short rows til I had 60 sts then did regular short rows til the sides were even, then did a 2×2 cuff.
I am always surprised about how much yarn it takes to knit a pair of socks for me. I consistently use around 60g of sock weight yarn, leaving me with a somewhat awkward left over amount. Though I suppose with two 40g leftover balls I can make a whole other pair, so I guess it’s nice that out of two skeins of sock yarn, I can get three full pairs of socks.
I really love the way these came out. The heel makes them a little tricky to get on, but once they’re on, they fit so well. The instep hugs my arch and the stripe of increases across the back sort of feels like a strap, holding the socks in place. They’re pretty awesome socks.
I’ll probably make them again because it’s a pretty easy, fun pattern. I think I’ll do stripes next time. Maybe I’ll even follow the pattern all the way through. Who the hell know? I’ll just knit all the things.
Sooooo anyone remember the Skew socks I started in August and posted briefly about in September? No? Well, I finally picked the damn things up again. I finished the first sock:
And I’m almost up to the ankle shaping on the second:
Not really sure what I’m going to knit next. I might finish the shorts I started forever ago and I might knit a vest. Who the hell knows. Yay, knitting.
The Ivy Sockettes are finished!
Pattern: My own, sort of. Toe up with a wedge toe and an odd short row/gusset hybrid heel thing.
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll (Essential) in Ivy. Pretty much used up the rest.
Needles: US 1
So these knit up pretty quickly and are a simple, utilitarian object. They will get a lot of wear throughout the seasons. The yarn is a good, solid sock yarn and I believe I have previously professed my love for it. It’s cheap and works up into nice, soft, sturdy socks.
The construction of these sockettes, on the other hand, was…special. Because I knit my Artichoke socks two at a time, the leftover yarn was already split into two balls, so I knit these two at a time too. Which worked out fine until I got to the heel. As it turns out, I divided my yarn unevenly, so I ran out of yarn on the first sock and had to use a tiny bit of different sock yarn. Which is annoying because I had plenty in the other ball after I finished the second sock.
I knit a mini-gusset into each sock. The first heel attempt was a short row heel which resulted in a too-wide heel and some Issues. So I ripped it back and moved the short rows more to the center and worked some decreases like in a regular flap heel turn to decrease the gussets out of the number of stitches on the back of the heel.
All in all, they came out pretty well and the fit is great–the gusset means they’re higher in the back of the heel and the shallow toe means the sock is hidden under most shoes. So yay. Sockettes are a perfect use for the leftovers after a pair of mid-calf socks and I think I might write up the pattern the next time I make a pair. Would anyone be interested in testing?
And I have, of course, started another pair of socks (Skew in KP Stroll Handpaints), so I suspect I’ll be knitting more sockettes soon.
PS: I am in DC for the week to move my sister into college and to visit my boyfriend, so posting might be spotty. I am planning to visit a new yarn store while I’m there though, so there’ll probably be a post about that.
I currently have a whole series of works-in-progress going, of various and sundry crafts. It’s summer and I’m unemployed, which means if I only stick to one stockinette-based project at a time, I’ll lose my damn mind.
Anyway, yeah. There’s the Box 96 pullover I’ve been working on:
Finished the back and am working up the front.
There’s the aforementioned Ivy sockettes:
A somewhat-secret project, which is a new design, which will hopefully be somewhat seasonally appropriate when it gets released:
And some sewing projects. I believe I hinted about this project a couple of months ago:
I took all the shirts (mostly free) I got from my years at UMW, cut squares from the graphics, and am in the process of sewing them into a t-shirt quilt. They’re sewn in columns currently, so I have to sew the columns together, but I picked up a large sheet at the thrift yesterday for a backing, so at this point it’s just a lot of sewing. I haven’t decided if I want to do an edge binding (probably not because JESUS that would take forever), but I’ll definitely be quilting and top stitching. Loooooots of top stitching.
Finally, there’s one last sewing project in the works:
That there is a stack of delightfully soft felted cashmere squares cut from various thrifted sweaters. I need about one more sweater’s worth of squares and then I have to sew it all together. Not sure how I’m going to do that yet (overlap and zigzag stitch maybe?), but I know when it’s done, it’ll be ohhhhhhhh so soft and warm.
So that’s what’s in the works. I’ll probably finish the new design first but I might hold off on showing it off until the pattern’s done. What say you, readers? Do you prefer to see the FOs as I knit them and then the pattern updates or save everything for the pattern update?
So I finished those mismatched green socks yesterday.
Pattern: Artichoke
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll (when it was Essential) in Ivy
Needles: US 1 circ for magic loop
Mods: None. Did the flap/gusset heel and a wedge toe.
As you can see (and as I have mentioned), these socks are two different colors. Two different shades of green. Both socks were knit from one 100g skein of Esstenial. I divided the skein into two balls, the inside and the outside. So clearly there was some uneven dyeing or some fading or something. This is possibly why the yarn was on sale when I bought it. I love KP Stroll though and I have no problem with mismatched socks.
The pattern was also lovely. The lace pattern was very easy to memorize but interesting enough to make knitting the socks fun and not boring. Perfect TV knitting. They are a big large on me (they’re 64 stitch socks and I usually make 56 stitch socks for myself) but I think they’ll shrink just a tad in the washing machine.
And anyway, now I have a new pair of socks for the winter. Which, yay. I’ve already started a pair of sockettes with the leftovers, which shouldn’t take too long to knit.
Judging by the projects i currently have on the needles, I’m in something of a green jag (unsurprising seeing as it’s one of my favorite colors). Also, still on the sock jag. I’m working on two projects more or less simultaneously, so neither is finished, but one’s getting there.
First, there’s the artichoke socks I’ve been working on:
I’m currently cruising down the foot. They’re interesting enough to make for perfect television knitting. I finished watching through SG1 and a spotty re-watch of SGA (I re-watched the ones I like and now I’m sad there’s no more because OH I love that show). I’m currently about three episodes into Stargate: Universe and four episodes into the first season of Game of Thrones (which I like, but OH DEAR it is depressing as hell. Daenerys (WHATEVER) is hella awesome though).
My internet knitting (a simple project I work on when I’m trolling Ravelry or my Google Reader account or whatever) is the Box 96 Pullover from IK Summer 2010. I’m working it in a delightfully bright green cotton/acrylic mix I recycled. This is the back so far:
I like this pattern because it’s got year-round wear potential–as a tank in warm weather and a vest in cooler weather. And yes, I know people tend not to wear BRIGHT BRIGHT green in the dead of winter, but you know, I also wear white after Labor Day. So there. : )
Things I learned during this FO photo shoot:
1. Virginia Beach in August is HOT.
2. It is very difficult to photograph your own legs by yourself.
3. Aforementioned VB heat + acrylic/wool legwarmers = DEAR JESUS, MELTING.
Possibly I already knew those things already. Anyway.
Pattern: Sausalito Stirrup Socks from Lion Brand, sort of, not really.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, two(ish) skeins in Wood Print.
Needles: US 8/5 mm
Mods: I mostly just used the CO number then did calf increases where necessary/I felt like it.
Aside from the fact that it’s fucking HOT and wearing these outside was kind of miserable, I really like how they came out. I used up some stash, I’ll have warm socks come winter, and they’re pretty cute. They’re a little loose at the top, so I’ll have to wear a garter belt or some garters or something, but provided I can get them to stay up, I suspect they’ll get a lot of wear come cooler weather.
Also: Sock Jag? Still happening.
In case you’re living in some remote corner of the world and haven’t heard everyone in the US bitching about it, it has been HOT this week. I don’t actually go outside and we have air conditioning, so it figures that on the hottest days of the year, I knit knee-high wool socks and a stranded hat. Both of which I finished, but this post is about the socks, which I will love more in the winter.
Pattern: They are toe up socks. Do you need a pattern? Gusset/flap heel, wedge toe.
Yarn: Jo Ann Sensations Dolcetto, three skeins in light blue. The colorway reminds me of clouds and the sky, hence, Cloud Cover.
Needles: US 2 and 5 KP options circs
So the yarn held out long enough for these to go just over the knee, which is all kinds of awesome. They will be perfect for under skirts in the winter (not that I’ll probably be working somewhere where that sort of dress is acceptable, but there are weekends!) and they’re pretty comfortable. I can also fold down the cuffs for actual knee socks:
I don’t have especially high hopes for the longevity of the heels/toes of these socks as the yarn is a cotton/wool/nylon blend single (well, fake single; it’s like a fuzzy chained something or other) and the toes are not knitted especially tightly. I figure I won’t wear them that often and I can always darn them if they develop holes, but they should be alright for the time being. I can’t for winter to roll around again so I can wear my socks (and so this damn heat wave will end!)
In a fit of startitus, I cast on for All the Things. Okay, just two things I wasn’t already working on, but still.
I started some socks in KP Stroll (Well, Essential cause I’ve had it for while, but it’s the same)
It was a 100g skein I split and as you can see, the outside was a different color than the inside. Which is possibly why it was on sale when I bought it. Luckily, I don’t mind mismatched socks.
I also started a Multnomah shawl in Socks that Rock Silkie.
It’s the prettiest shawl ever, and you should be jealous.
Also, there’s these socks I’ve been working on in Jo Ann Sensations Dolcetto (which has been since discontinued)
They’re currently knee high and I have about 20g for each sock left, so I’m going to switch to ribbing and see how far I get.
I have FO shots of the most recent Leah vest and when I do that post, I will have some Things to Say because I am thisclose to scrapping the whole damn project. It turned out too big and I had to sew some darts and yeah. Anyway. Look at the socks and shawl!
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 