Camera-Shy Socks

I adore Bavarian Twisted-Stitch knitting. Let's blame it on my DNA. Last Christmas I asked for and received Maria Erlbacher's amazing Twisted-Stitch Knitting, and while I may have to wait for retirement to make one of those sweaters, it is definitely on my list.

My gateway to this wonderful corner of the Knitworld was this pattern for twisted-knit socks. They took a little longer to knit up but were worth every second. The difficulty came in photographing the finished socks. Nothing I could do resulted in anything other than a blurry, headache-inducing shot.

 

I'm going to blame it on the fuzziness of the yarn.

Pattern: Eunny Jang's Bayerische Socks

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Admiral in Jonny's Red, 1 skein

Semi-colorful

As colorful as I thought these socks were, the recipient, while appreciative, let me know colors could go even wilder.

Pattern: Handsome Devil Socks, by Terry Morris (my version is from the 2010 Knitting Calendar)

Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (discontinued) in Dusk and Burgundy (the colors are brighter in the photo, but even unlit, still brighter than those names imply), leftover from my argyle-making

Mods: I didn't have enough of either color to do cuff, heels, and toes, so decided to make "warm" red toes.

This is a great pattern. I will definitely make more of them.

A few months later the weather turned, and the socks recipient was in need of further warmth. I had enough Spanish Alpaca yarn left over from making Twin Hats, so I made every inch of it into a neck-warmer.

 

Pattern: Scrunchable Scarf, by Susan McConne

Yarn: Katia's Peru leftovers

Mods: Used Cranberry Scrunchable's notes on the edges. Used 2 colors: cast on 6+2 in each color, followed the pattern as if knitting 2 scarves side-by-side, twisting them at the color change.

Transitioning to Spring

Back in the winter, my Kansas-sister complained of the cold draft in her office, and the fact that she regularly sits at her desk with a sweater half-on. You need a shawl, I said. A lacy shawl wouldn't keep me warm, she said. A little working out of details, and now she is wrapped in this, instead:

Pattern: Beth Kling's Henslowe

Yarn: Davidson Old Mill Yarn Heather in Charcoal

Needles: Size 4 (3.5 mm) circular

Mods: I made it as big as mine! It is exactly the same as my shawl, except for color.

I hear it is getting daily use, and if that confuses you when thinking of Kansas in May, remember that office air conditioning is set for the benefit of the computers, not the people!







I love the DOMY Heather so much that I bought some in forest green at this year's Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, and learned the heartbreaking news that they closing by the end of the year! I am busy figuring out what would constitute a reasonable lifelong supply...

Next up in the summer sock race (and an added bonus for those of you who wanted a picture of our "woodified" stairs):

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Fingering in Lilac Mist

Pattern: Lisa Dykstra's Panda Cotton Periwinkle Socks

Mods: I sized down again from 68 to 56 stitches, cutting the extra stitches out of the knit columns of the pattern.

These are my favorites so far, very comfy and pretty (the fact that they exactly match one of my shirts has only a little to do with it). I made the leftovers into two pairs of baby booties yesterday.

The next pair in the race have been frogged (the pattern and I did not get along), and the fourth pair are already well underway.

Uncooperative

There are reasons my husband is the cook in this family:

pile of badly burnt bacon

I swear I only walked away from my cooking breakfast for a moment, just to jot down a better paragraph in a story I'm writing. The coffee beeped when it was done, the muffins beeped when they were done, but long before that, the bacon just silently turned to char. I need a bacon timer - want to get on that, son?

Meanwhile, I hatched a plan to knit five pairs of cotton socks, quickly, at the beginning of the summer. I purchased 100 grams of fingering weight mostly-cotton (with a little acrylic to help it stretch) in each of five lovely, summery colors, picked out five different patterns for summer socks, spent a lovely evening pairing colors with patterns, and off I went. My one-pair-per-week speed turned out to be more like two-pair-per-three-weeks,but I'm moving right along. Pair the first, already in circulation:

 

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Fingering in Peony

Pattern: Raquel Gaskell's Dottie Sock - easily memorized stitch pattern, lovely heel construction.

Mods: Sized down to 56 sts around to fit my foot, adjusted heel accordingly. The picot bind-off was just too floppy in cotton yarn, so I converted the cuff to 10 rows of 1x1 ribbing and Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off.

Results: They're about a half inch too long in the foot, but it certainly doesn't make them unwearable, and I'm learning about the ways cotton stretches after the knitting is done. Also, they only took one skein, so I have added a 6th pair/pattern to the race!

It never gets old

Blocking lace, that is.

I took a single skein (550 yards) of white, lace-weight, merino wool (Monocacy, from The Knitting Boutique).
 

 

Then I knit it into Evelyn Clark's beautiful Swallowtail Shawl. The nupps went much easier after I remembered that they rhyme with soup, not cup. (That's a joke, son.) After dropping one of the five purled-together stitches repeatedly, I did some research online. The crochet hook method was appealing, but a little awkward to execute, since I am left-handed (and crochet left-handed). The method that worked best for me was to k1, yo, k1, yo, k1 into 1 st, then yarn over again and pass all 5 stitches over the yarn-over one at a time. Then the next st in the pattern is a yo. This made the purl-back rows even simpler, and I couldn’t see that my nupps looked any different for doing it that way.

When it was done, I gave it a good twenty-minute soak, rolled it in a towel, threaded it onto blocking wires, pinned them out and went away.

 

I love the moment when it is completely dry, I put away the pins, draw out the blocking wires, and hold it up. Magic.

The Classics

I knit Flore. It was no small matter, turning this:

Knitwhits Freia Handpaints Worsted Cotton Mini Skeins

Into this:

Tina Whitmore's Flore

And now the little one has sworn off hats for life, or at least until she can choose one that her parents don't approve off. Never mind, little one, there are other hat-loving little girls in my life, and it will find a good home.

It was, in fact, part I of an experiment, to see if Flore could be made out of wool. Flore is such a difficult hat - at least it seems to have given a lot of Ravelers trouble - that I wanted to make it once strictly as written, before branching out. The last, most crucial step in the process is ironing the hat. Without it, the hat doesn't work. So the question will be, can I steam block wool enough to make the hat work without "killing" the wool. It remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, a new grandnephew put in an appearance, and I quickly turned some classic material:

into a classic blanket:

This is Diana Mathews' Sleeping Beauty Baby Blanket. I liked this pattern very much and would make another one without hesitation. It looks terrific even in unblockable acrylic!

Winter, still

I wrote this to a co-worker last week:

25 Feb: Something odd happened on my drive in this morning. It happened yesterday, too, but today was even worse. Some sort of light infiltrates my car as I'm driving in. It doesn't have the pulse of streetlights. Given the amount of snow  on the ground, my first thought was that the moon was still up, but it strengthens in an unnatural manner. I get distracted by the fact that I can actually see that my hand on the steering wheel is lighter than the wheel and my coat. I may have to keep my gloves on to lessen this effect.

The children have tried to tell me about a natural phenomenon called sunrise, but you know kids, always trying to show off what they've learned in school that wasn't a thing when we went to school. Like more than three states of matter (beyond solid, liquid, and gas), more than an animal and a plant kingdom (seriously, a mushroom kingdom?). I never know when they're pulling my leg, and this sunrise thing seems so... unlikely.

Of course, we "spring forward" this Sunday, so I'll be going through this again soon. Meanwhile, knitting.

In January I knit more leftover yarn into socks, this time for NKD, who appreciates the magic of perfectly matched stripes:

Just exactly like these, but in leftover Royal Holloway. And oh look, I knit those last January. Apparently this is a January thing.


While de-cluttering the house I discovered a plethora of baby sweaters. Apparently babies grow faster than their sweaters do, or I hate attaching sleeves, or finding buttons, or all three. I've decided to open a baby sweater store on Etsy in retirement. In the meantime, I whipped up (as in, actually finished) a baby sweater for a newborn (who does NOT have shoulders like a linebacker, it's just the way it was blocking) out of some leftover Paton's Grace. It's also one solid shade of pink; I really must learn to wait until things dry to take a picture.

 

Pattern: Baby's V-neck Cardigan, originally here, where it was written out so strangely that I had to re-write it on a scrap of paper before it made sense.

Block Party

Some things are better tackled with company. Both KD and NKD pitched in while they were home over Thanksgiving weekend to help block some large items.

The large purple object is KD's project, so I don't know much about it, except that it turned out exactly the way she wanted.

I did a much better job on the points when I re-blocked this, and have worn it often since then.

Meanwhile two other projects have flown off the needles since then. DH is de-cluttering, and brought some yarn-stash downstairs for sorting that I'd forgotten about. Most of it wound up neatly sorted into bins, but some yarn just stuck to my fingers until it became something.

I've come down with a sudden case of mittens

There I was, minding my own business, knitting away on various long-term projects, happy as a clam. Then, from out of the blue, came a call for help: a toddler's first winter outside, and she was mittenless!

The first pair flew off the needles and onto tiny cold hands so fast there isn't a picture of them. But the very afternoon that I delivered them, I cast on the next pair.

The invisible pair:
Yarn: leftover Paton's Simply Soft (acrylic, DK) in pale pink
Pattern: Baby Wallace Mittens, by Wendy Poush
Mods: Numerous! I grabbed the pattern for the shape and sizing for DK-weight baby mittens; I didn't make thumbs or do any of the color work

The pictured pair:

Yarn: leftover Severn (wool/silk, fingering)

Pattern: Heart String Mittens, by Crystal Guistinello

Mods: I didn't add the buttons or string





Then, since I was on a mitten-y roll, I finished these:

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Eco Duo and Eco Alpaca, as called for
Pattern: Double-Stuff Mittens, by Antje Gillingham
Mods: None; I'm not messing with perfection!


But I'm not the only one with an addiction. DH can't seem to stop exploring the candy cookbook I gave him:

That's maple sugar candy, butter mints, and marshmallows (the store bought strawberry candies were added to the plate for color). There was also a valiant attempt at molasses paddles (delicious, but able to remove fillings at a single bite).

Detente

I came home from work one day last week to discover that a tense situation had developed in the dining room while I was gone.

Initially, it looked friendly enough, a sort of pre-Thanksgiving communal cooking experience.

Then I got a closer look at what each group was planning on making.

 

Oh-oh. This can't be good.

Fortunately, the next day I came home to find they had evidently worked out their differences and repaired to a sunny shore...
 

 

For the curious, at the far end of the table in the first and last pictures you will find evidence of DH's current fascination with the candy cookbook I gave him - marshmallows, in this case. There's also home-made maple sugar candy on the table, but you can't see it. (Yes, I keep it hidden. Wouldn't you?)

End Game failure

Some time this spring/summer, I made a pretty little shawl. I purchased both the yarn and the pattern while on a knitting retreat earlier in the year, where the wool fumes are always particularly strong, and the inspiration of other knitters' creations always convinces you that anything is possible - easy, even!

Yarn:      The Knitting Boutique's Potomac (baby camel!, merino, silk) in Graphite, 1 skein

 Pattern:  Tanis Gray's Clara Shawl

 Needles: US 6 (4.00 mm)

The luxury fiber was, well, luxurious, and the pattern was a pleasant knit. Where things fell apart was in blocking it - I was too lazy to pay attention to the points, and wound up with a sloppy block, with the result that I have yet to wear it. It sits there patiently, waiting for me to have the time to re-block it properly.

 

Given that we're already headed full tilt into the holiday season, I can't imagine when that's going to happen. But anything's possible!

In Progress

I really need a pair of red socks. I have red yarn. Why I chose the slowest possible pattern for socks I need right now is a mystery. This is seriously the same yarn as in the shot below, and is not in the slightest bit orange. Photography is a mystery all its own.

 I did solve the mystery of why they are known as Bavarian socks - apparently this kind of traveling stitch is referred to as Bavarian knitting. I must admit I never noticed any socks like this while I lived in Bavaria, but then, I was raising small children and I don't remember noticing socks at all, unless the baby was kicking one off.

 

Because all this twisting eats up yardage, I don't expect them to be the usual mid-calf length I prefer. And since they are cuff-down, I'm having to guess how long I can make them. But I've turned the heel on this first one since I took the picture (they live at my desk, so photo opportunities are slim).

I really like the way the designer arranged the heel flap stitches to grow out of the established pattern. They're going to be very nice. Eventually.

I've also taking this yarn and roving, and begun thrummed mittens (from a kit bought at the Adirondack Museum). Sharp-eyed readers will note that Stewart-Pasha is assisting with the photo shoot. During my first attempt at the pattern, I made the thrums way too thick. Also, the short rolled cuff seemed like a terrible idea for cold winter days. But I had just enough yarn left from the recent hat to make ribbed cuffs to attach. And I figured  they'd given me just enough roving for the thrums and divided it up accordingly, and now things are going better.

Both projects have been ignored lately in favor of a baby gift, because babies don't wait. Fortunately, they also don't take much time.

 

Nothing says "instant gratification"

like bulky weight yarn and a good hat pattern. Oh sure, you can knit smaller items, and possibly even simpler items. But it's mid-October, the temperature's dropping, and when I mentioned to KD that I was awash in a sea of reverse stockinette, beginning to be bored with my current project, she stepped up. Or rather drove down, for other purposes, but she brought me a skein of yarn. The next day, I cast on a hat. Today, I wore it. And that's just enough of a break to send me back to that sea of blue, heartened to take on the waist shaping.

Yarn: Lion Brand Lion's Pride Woolspun, a bulky acrylic/wool blend of 12 twisted strands, not anything you'd ever want to use a sharply-tipped needle on, in a yummy shade of heathered garnet and black

Needles: #10 (6 mm), two small circulars (because I couldn't put my hand on my dpns fast enough)

Pattern: Johnny Vasquez's Gridiron Hat

Taking a second stab at it

Remember this? My attempt to make Twist Collective's Maire Riding Jacket for NKD - three years ago!

Well, as this was the summer of finishing things off, I eventually worked my way down to this unfinished object. I read a bit on Ravelry about other people's experiences, and reassured that I was not alone in my gauge problems, set off again.

I have finished both sleeves and they fit the recipient.

Having achieved what amounted to a running start, I then took on the body of the piece. The beginning (bottom) was all the fiddly patterned bit and was quite interesting. But now I am working my way up through the waist shaping, and things are getting a tad snoozy. I may need to find a short project, as a sort of palette cleanser between courses.

Meanwhile, I continue to be mildly amused by the attached Icord, which on one side of the fabric I am executing BACKWARDS. On the purl side. I didn't even know this was possible, and on the first few rows it was a complete leap of faith that the thing they were telling me to do would actually result in Icord. See that? Matching Icord on both edges. Magic.

A Summer of Finished Objects

This summer, as I worked to get the house ready to put on the market, I kept coming across UFOs. And finishing them.

So this gift from my SIL:

 became this messy unblocked lace:

which blocked into this lovely rectangular shawl:

 

Yarn: Unique Designs Handspun Wool

Pattern: Cristiana Brenna's 100 grammi

Because the yarn varies in thickness, color, and material, I wanted a pattern that would be very forgiving of uneven stitches. This one did the trick. As a plus, it is completely reversible,  and surprisingly warm for such open lace. Also, it was dead simple to knit up. I have worn it several times now, and am very happy with it.

***

Many years ago, a member of my knitting group gave me this yarn:

which I quickly figured out should be this pattern:

and then forgot all about. And now it is this:

Yarn: unlabeled worsted weight weight mohair, partial skein

Pattern: Knitlist Mohair Scarf Pattern (via the Wayback Machine)

Mods: added two selvage edge stitches; I start each row by "slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front" and end with an extra knit 1. This makes a nice place for my blocking wires. I don't have any idea what to do with this one - the color is just as odd as it looks, and I have plenty of scarves already. Ant thoughts out there?

I know what my people are thinking tonight...

Did she do it?

She said she was going to...

She's been saying that for months! What if we have to get through the winter without any?

Any at all? I don't think that's possible. Or advisable...

But we're not there to help her, and it's a lot of work...

She'd never let us go the whole winter without any at all!

* * *

It's all right, my chickens. We're set for the winter:

First person to comment gets the first jar... Wouldn't it be funny if it was a complete stranger? Do you want a complete stranger scarfing down your jam???

Summer knitting doldrums

Not a quiet summer - they never are. Lots of storms, and consequent yard work. The usual summer turn out of rooms in hopes of clutter reduction. Work, classes, day trips. I've recently figured out how to download library books to my Kindle, so LOTS of reading. A little knitting. I finished a pretty little lace scarf, but I can never find the time to block it. Maybe this weekend, it's supposed to be less humid.

I had hoped to make this yarn, acquired at my last knitting retreat, into the Abundance Shoulder Shawl (the pattern version I have calls for 500 yards).

I knew straight off that I didn't have quite enough yarn, but I thought I'd be able to make it work. Let's just say that it took me entirely too long to realize that a sideways knitted-on edging uses more yardage than one can readily imagine. So out it came, and the yarn was re-purposed into these:

Pattern: Edwardian Boating Socks, by Emma Grundy Haigh (I may have been influenced by the fact that my yarn was the same color as the socks in the picture)

Yarn: Severn Fingering (BFL & silk) in Lilly

Needles: 1.25 mm dpns

Mods: I used Jeny's Stretchy Slipknot Cast On, which hardly counts as a mod any more, since I start all my ribbing cuffs that way. I replaced both suggestions for the heel flap stitch (a linen stitch heel flap? are you mad?) with Eye of Partridge.

That was about it. They were an easy knit, but I have been catching up on missed tv, and learning the hard way that I cannot knit during Game of Thrones. So this happened at one point:

- in the center, 4 repeats down, I totally forgot to pick up a float. And there are both skipped and knit stitches in the rows, so just dropping down and picking it up was not going to happen.

Meanwhile, although there are other socks languishing on the needles (and a poor mitten without a thumb - I hate thumbs), I've begun to play with this:

 

 Fall colors. Winter is coming...