Wollmeise – This Tangled Skein

Victory is Mine!

November 16, 2009

6:00 am

Comments Off on Victory is Mine!

Finished, FO, Knitting, Loopy Ewe, Sock Clubs, Sockdown, Socks, Wollmeise

I finished the Zig Zag Diamonds Socks while watching the Illini lose to Northwestern on Saturday. Well, at least one of us was successful.

Details:
Pattern: Zig Zag Diamonds, by Jeannie Cartmel
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle 100% Superwash, in “Guide to Galaxy”
Needles: Addi Turbos, size US 1, 2 circs
Started: October 15, 2009
Completed: November 14, 2009
Comments: This would have been a quicker knit if I hadn’t messed up the pattern on the second sock. It was nice to have plenty of yarn for that 3rd sock, though. I’m not loving the way the pattern starts straightaway after the cast-on, even though it’s a 1×1 ribbed stitch pattern. The pattern and yarn were the September shipment for the Loopy Ewe sock club. It also happened to fit the theme for the Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown! for October, which is the main reason they got cast on and done so soon.

They are cozy socks. Now, what to do with that extra one?

Sad Sock

by beth

October 22, 2009

7:06 am

Comments Off on Sad Sock

Yarn

Finished, In Progress, Lace, Loopy Ewe, Mishaps, Sock Clubs, Socks, Wollmeise

One day, I will learn to look carefully at a sock before weaving in the ends. Yesterday, it seems, was not that day.

I had just finished watching Glee while doing the toe decreases and grafting the final seam. I neatly wove in the ends, turned the sock right side out, and put on my snazzy pair of socks.

Something didn’t look right. It took a minute to figure out what it was (and move past the Denial stage). The patterning didn’t match.

Somehow, on the second sock, I zigged when I should have zagged after the heel turn.

Wollmeise comes in a extra-large skein: 150g instead of the usual 100. My finished sock weighs 42g, and I have over 70g left. I would rather knit a whole third sock than rip out that woven in end, frog, and reknit the entire foot with the kinked-up yarn. I’m just not quite ready to cast on yet.

A Package From Pfaffenhofen

by beth

July 9, 2009

5:26 pm

Comments Off on A Package From Pfaffenhofen

Yarn

Sock Yarn, Stash Enhancement, Wollmeise, Yarn

A while back, the Loopy Ewe started selling this lovely sock yarn from Germany. It had intense colors and fantastic yardage, and everybody wanted it. “Sneak-ups” disappeared in minutes, people stayed up all night refreshing their browser screens in hopes of catching a few skeins, and there was much drama. Updates to the dyer’s personal online shop also went quickly, despite the higher shipping costs.

I confess, I was part of the “F5 Crowd” several times, but never managed to snag a skein from TLE. After the third (or so) batch that went up while I was commuting, I bought two skeins off of fellow Loopy Groupies. One skein became the Veronica Lace Cardigan:

The other I held on to for quite a while, searching for the perfect pattern. It is now slated to become the Entomology shawl, and I was feeling a bit sad as I strung the beads, wishing I had a bit more of the elusive Wollmeise.

And then it happened. I caught two updates in a row of the online German shop. The first package arrived yesterday. Inside a padded white airmail envelope was a cute brown/mauve bag.

Inside the brown bag, two skeins of yarn and a packet of Gummi Bears.

The yarn is lovely. Both skeins are 100% Superwash Merino. Fliederbusch, on the left, is a deep purple that my camera has great difficulty capturing. Vroni, on the right, is a blend of black and brown.

I have a few more skeins coming in the next week or so. And then the hunt for the perfect pattern begins once more.

Ready, Set, Wait

by beth

June 15, 2009

10:07 am

1 Comment on Ready, Set, Wait

Yarn

Baby, Beaded Knitting, Blankets, Chicago Illusion, Entomology, Illusion Knitting, In Progress, Knitting, Knitty, Mishaps, Miss Honeychurch, Shawls, WIP, Wollmeise

I’m all set to get started on Miss Honeychurch (which I keep calling Miss Honeydew – perhaps I need more fruit in my diet), except for one thing.

My yarn is somewhere between Ohio and California. My copy of A Room with a View is also somewhere between a shipping center and my house, but I expect it to arrive today. (A year of Amazon Prime is one of the best holiday gifts I’ve gotten. It is, indeed, the gift that keeps on giving.)

But I have my pattern and a short circular needle for swatching. My plan is to read the book and knit the sweater over the course of July and August. The sweater should will be done by Labor Day, which is still quite warm in this part of the country.

It’s not like I don’t have anything to knit in the meantime. The Chicago Illusion Blankie is coming along slowly:

Each charted row is actually four rows of knitting (two in each color). It’s going a little quicker now that I’ve marked every 10 columns on the chart for easier counting. And it only took ripping out two rows to get me to do it!

And my beloved blue skein of Wollmeise informed me that it didn’t really want to be socks (after I started a cabled sock not once but twice!). It wants to be the Entomology shawl. How could I argue?

250 beads down, 955 to go.

One Sock and a New Skein

by beth

September 5, 2008

11:55 am

Comments Off on One Sock and a New Skein

Yarn

BMFA, In Progress, Knitting, Knitty, Socks, Stash Enhancement, Vog On, WIP, Wollmeise, Yarn

I finished up the first ‘Vog On sock the other night during Palin’s speech. Yes, in this house, we watch both party conventions, although our politics are firmly left of center.

That picot bind-off gave me something else to focus on, at least. I’m not in love with the way it folds down at the top, but I think the sock itself is very pretty. I’m already into the gusset increases on the second sock. I like this lace pattern a lot, and I love Judy’s magic cast-on, now that I seem to have gotten the hang of it.

A couple of days ago, my second skein of Wollmeise appeared in the mail (thanks, Sandy!).

That’s the Fluffy in Wilder Mohn. The picture doesn’t quite capture the rich reds, but it was the best I could do before heading out the door this morning.

I’ve been keeping both skeins of Wollmeise (along with my 2 new skeins of Numma Numma – never fear, I will get to that entry!) on my desk where I can look at them. And pet them. And maybe squish them a little.