Pomatomi

They’re done!

Pomatomi

The specs:
Pattern: Pomatomus
Designer: Cookie A.
Source: Knitty, Winter 2005.
Yarn: FlyDesigns Monarch, Blue Grass colorway
Needles: US1.5 bamboo dpns
Comments: Cookie A. is a freakin’ genius. The socks are gorgeous, and I love certain little details she includes, like telling you to pick up an extra stitch on each side where the heel flap meets the instep when knitting the gussets, and telling you to knit those picked up gusset stitches through the back loop on the first round. It’s little things like that that leave you with fantastic looking socks and you might not even know why. (Unless, of course, you already know those tricks.) But, let me tell you, I could go for a good long while now without knitting any more 1×1 twisted rib. Crikey.

The yarn reminded me a lot of Socks that Rock Lightweight, very bouncy and stretchy. My stockinette stitches twist a little bit, looking more like -/ than like the usual / – something I also get with STR. And I really could have used a little more yardage. Not a lot, but even one more yard would have helped! I had mere inches left after Kitchener stitching, and I shortened the toes slightly from the pattern. This is why people knit socks toe-up, I know. The color is fantastic. It’s all deep and rich and the blue and green blend so very nicely, rather than pooling or flashing. Now, if it would only dip below, say, 80 degrees around here, I’d like to wear my socks.

Now That’s A Sock

Embossed Leaves Socks

Two of ’em, in fact.

Specs:
Pattern: Embossed Leaves, by Mona Schmidt, from Interweave’s Favorite Socks
Yarn: Tempted Hand Painted Bad Grrl in the Clover colorway, purchased from her Etsy Shop (You can also get her yarns over at The Loopy Ewe.)
Needles: Size US1.5 bamboo Clover DPNs.
Modifications: Doing an entire first sock and then ripping it out gave me a chance to test out a few things and discover I didn’t like the fit of the specified 1×1 rib cast-on. So, I did my usual cable cast-on followed by the 18 rounds of twisted rib. I refused to cut the yarn after turning the heel, instead picking up the gusset stitches on the first round after the short-rows. Also, I slipped the first stitch on every heel flap row to make picking up those stitches easier.

I love these socks. They’re so pretty! And the yarn is soooo soft and luxurious. If it weren’t 90 degrees out, I’d be wearing them right now. Actually, I almost did wear them to work today anyway, but my green blouse is in the wash. Maybe next week.

FO (Felted Object) Friday

I go away for a while, and wordpress totally changes the look of things. Crikey.

Felted Bag

Last week, I was off work on Friday, and I decided to go through some stuff in the craft closet. I found a bag that I knitted up at least two years ago, but never got around to actually felting. So, I tossed it in our front loader on Hot with a few tennis balls, then ran it through again with a load of towels. And voila: a felted bag. The i-cord handle tied itself in a couple of knots during the process, but they came out easily. The pattern was supposed to be done in stripes of Lamb’s Pride, but I used either Noro Kureyon or Big Kureyon and let it stripe itself.

It’s my first felted project, and I have not fallen in love with the process. I think I’ll go back to socks now.

FO Friday: Frozen Hedera

I’ve been calling these socks “Frozen Hedera”:

Frozen Hedera

Pattern: Hedera, by Cookie A.
Source: Knitty, Spring 2006
Yarn: Yarn Pirate Merino/Tencel in “Icicle”, the December club yarn. I love, love, love this yarn. It’s so pretty.
Needles: Brittany Birch DPNs, size US1.5, 5 inches, set of 5
Comments: This pattern was easy to memorize. I printed it out, but then misplaced the hard copy, so I would just check the pattern online at crucial points. I made the larger size for my Flintstone-style feet, and they fit just about perfectly.

FO Friday: Hooded Jacket

Huzzah! The Debbie Bliss Hooded Jacket is done!

 

Hooded Jacket

Pattern: Hooded Jacket from Simply Baby, by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 7 skeins
Needles: Size 9 Denise Interchangeable
Notions: One large plastic button, picked up at a garage sale
Comments: A pretty quick knit, and not too hard. I learned the backwards-loop cast-on to make the hood, and I got to practice my seaming. (That would be putting a positive spin on it there. I got to practice my seaming more than I might have expected, since I sewed the underarms the wrong way and had to pull it out and do it again.)

Now for the bad news. After all that worry about finishing the jacket so she could wear it this winter, it’s too big. I suspect that by next winter, it will be too small. Gah. Maybe it will be just right on a day we have strangely cold weather. One can hope.

FO Friday: Socks for K

I was catching up on one of my mailing lists yesterday, and I realized that I’ve pretty much managed to avoid a problem that seems to plague knitters everywhere.

Unappreciated Gift Giver Syndrome.

Those of you who have experienced the UGGS know the symptoms all too well. Aching hands and tired eyes (from hours of knitting), only to have your beautiful gift insulted, abused, or sent off to the local thrift shop, leading to sore throats (from screaming about the unfairness of it all) and strange bruises (from kicking walls, curbs, or other stationary objects in an effort to relieve the frustration).

In these post-holiday weeks, scores of tales of knitters (and crocheters) suffering from the UGGS have appeared on mailing lists and blogs and Ravelry boards.

I have avoided this by protecting myself from the sole disease vector: I very rarely knit for other people. I knit for myself, and if I don’t like it when it’s done, well, I’m not insulted. And I knit for the Little Miss, who, being pre-verbal, can’t complain about what I give her. From time to time, I’ve knit for K, who reminded me several times before the holidays that I still hadn’t knit her a pair of socks.

How could I refuse a wish for handknit socks, I ask you?

So, I cast on in mid-December, and before midnight on New Year’s Eve I was able to present these to K:

 

100_1735.JPG

 

  • Pattern: Retro Rib socks, from Favorite Socks
  • Yarn: Lime & Violet Sasquatch Superwash in Connect 4, from the Loopy Ewe
  • Needles: Set of 5 Brittany Birch size US1.5 dpns, one of which snapped just rows from the end of the toe of the second sock.  They’re sending a replacement, because they are spiffy that way.
  • Comments: I really liked this yarn, and I really liked this pattern, although I always wonder if ribbing is easier for those who knit Continental.  I’ll have to try it sometime.  I liked the yarn and the pattern so much that I’m working up a matching scarf for K, using the pattern from the ribbing at the cuff, on US3 needles.  That may be ready for next winter.

I haven’t cast on a new pair of socks yet.  I’m still hard at work on the Hooded Jacket – all the way up to the beginning of the hood now.

Christmas Come Early

Yesterday, we had a family Christmas get-together, during which I was unable to resist the siren song of my knitting, since I was so close to finishing the Feather & Fan Socks.

 

Feather and Fan Socks

Pattern: Feather & Fan Socks by Judith Sumner, from Socks, Socks, Socks
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in Haida (Ravens series), from Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Needles: Brittany birch dpns, size 2, set of 5, all of which are now dark blue
Modifications: Swapped out the garter stitch ridge at the beginning of the heel for another pattern repeat, did Eye of Partridge instead of ribbing on the heel flap. I also did all the decreases on one sock one stitch over, but it will never be noticed from a trotting horse.

And, they fit! Oh, glorious day, I made a pair of socks that fit on my feet!

I wore them to work this morning and made everyone admire my fancy socks.

I worked half a day today, since the library was open in the morning, and when I came home, there were two packages waiting for me. The first was full of pink and purple loveliness:

 

Yarny Goodness

When Miss Violet of Lime & Violet put up some her stash for sale, well, the phrase “sharks on chum” really is the best way to describe it. Several items vanished out of my cart when I went to pay for them, but a skein of Doodlebirds Swell Socks in Goth Girl, a pink and gray skein of Austermann Step, and a cotton shawl kit from Rowan made it to my house, along with a note from Adminnie and a Thank You note and candy from V. I promise to do right by your yarn, Miz V.

But that was not all, oh, no, that was not all! (Sorry, Dr. Seuss moment)

 

Sasquatch and Stitch Markers

A little Loopy Ewe package was also waiting for me. It held two skeins of L&V Sasquatch Sock in Connect 4 to make a scarf to go with the socks I’m working on for K, some Stitchkeepers, and a packet of Entrelac stitch markers, which are very, very pretty.

It was like my own private little yarny Christmas around here.

One Week to Spare

 

Checking His List (Public Photo)

 

Last night, I put the finishing touches on Checking His List.  I trimmed the selvedge, hand-stitched the hem at the top of the aida cloth, braided the yarn for the loop, and stitched that onto the side.  K’s coworker had sewn up the seam for us Monday night.  It’s now hanging proudly over the fireplace.  Little Miss’ name is stitched at the top, though you can’t see it in the photo.

I think it’s fantastic, if I do say so myself.  And nobody can say anything about the appearance of the back side of the stitching, since I used the included white felt to line it and made the back out of red felt.

FO Friday!

 

pinwheel

That’s the Colonial Williamsburg Pinwheel Baby Blanket, all done and washed and dried and laid out and sat upon by the cat and brushed off and taken away from the cat and laid out again.

I put a bit of a rush on it early in the week so I could take it to a meeting on Wednesday to show the folks who might want to purchase it at next month’s fundraiser.

Pattern: Genia Planck’s Round or Pinwheel Baby Blanket, a KnitList pattern I found through Ravelry.
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in Colonial and Williamsburg, a bit less than one skein of each.
Needles: Denise Interchangeables, size US10.5, with a cord that just kept getting longer
Modifications: None
New Technique(s): I used the Lighter Circular Beginning (scroll down) to cast on.

Since I was pushing to finish the baby blanket, I thought I was going to fall way behind on Secret of the Stole, but I finished Clue 2 this morning while Little Miss was napping.

 

Secret of the Stole, Part II

The picture quality isn’t very good. The sun was a little too bright for the light yarn on the white blanket. I’ll get a better one after I finish clue #3, which I’ve just printed out.

Gone Fishing

clownfish2

K went back to work yesterday, but I had the day off, so Little Miss and I stayed home to supervise termite inspectors and watch Mirrormask.I also managed to finish a project I’d had the knitting done on for well over a year.  Behold, the clownfish:

clownfish1

I bought this as a kit at a church holiday bazaar in 2005.  In the picture on the booklet, the orange yarn doesn’t have nearly so much red, and it looks a lot like Nemo from the Disney movie.  My fish, not so much Nemo-ish, even with the “lucky fin”.  There’s also a note not to use the “safety eyes” if the fish is for a child under 3, so I’m tucking this guy away for a while.

Pattern: Knit Clownfish
Source: Kit from JudyKits
Yarn: White, Black, and Hand-Dyed Orange cotton DK weight
Needles: size 6
Modifications: None