Tiny robot calculates that these socks are done

Another pair of socks from the great sock startup of 2010. I finished these in December and I must confess that I picked them out of the dirty sock pile to take these photos, gross! Though I think they look quite nice:



Pattern: Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, color Poppy
Needles: size 0 bamboo

Full Disclosure: I made these socks a couple of years ago. With the very same yarn. I had thought I was quite clever by changing the way the leg part decreased so that there was no weird ankle bulge. But then I discovered that the %&*#ing socks would not stay up and instead puddled around my ankles in an even bigger bulge. Consequently, the socks did not get a lot of wear.

So after the sting of failure wore off, I decided to try again. This time, I made the leg shorter with only a slight decrease in the ankle.

Here are my notes: I cast on 68 stitches (holding 2 needles together for a slightly looser cast on). Followed directions until it was time to work the chart. Started at row 45, without decreasing, and knit 6 plain rows instead of following charted pattern, decreasing as written. Work row 51 as written. Skip to row 58 and work through row 65. Repeat rows 52-65. Followed rest of pattern as written.

Cat fort hat

Here's another finished project from last year, my Snapdragon Tam, proudly modeled by the kitties' g i a n t cat fort (last time it was modeled by a much smaller cat fort):



A better view of the tam:



It's kind of big and drapey, which at first I didn't like. But the extra fabric makes it quite cosy and warm, which is what I enjoy in a winter hat. The brim is a little loose, I would recommend knitting it with a smaller needle than the rest of the hat. I blocked it on a dinner plate as recommended.

Pattern: Snapdragon Tam by Isolda Teague
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, color Grey Tabby
Needles: size 6

The yarn I was using was a little more than 3/4 of a skein of Dream in Color Classy, left over from another project, and I ended up running out of yarn right at the very top of the hat. Fortunately, I have some Dream in Color sock yarn in the same color, so I finished the tam by knitting with that doubled up.

How about some socks?

I finished these socks last year while visiting southeastern North Carolina (Wilmington, to be exact) over Thanksgiving:



Please visit this previous post to learn of my knitting saga regarding them. Once I had all those decisions made, it was easy and quick knitting.

Thank you Cookie A, for yet another brilliant sock pattern

Pattern: Eunice by Cookie A from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton, colorway sprite
Needles: size 1 metal dpns, size 0 for heels
Mods: Other than using a different yarn, I pretty much followed the pattern as written. Oh yeah, I cast on holding 2 needles together to make the cuff a little stretchier.

Panda Cotton may not have been the best choice to use since it's not that stretchy for making cables. On the other hand, the finished product looks great and feels lovely and squishy on my feet. I had only a tiny amount of yarn left when I was done. So if you want to make these socks with Panda Cotton and your feet are larger than US size 5.5, I would recommend getting 3 balls of yarn.

I'm ready for cooler weather. . .

. . . finished my Clapotis . . .



. . . too bad it's really hot here now.

Pattern: Clapotis from Knitty
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock, 2 skeins of colorway S245
Needles: size 3 bamboo staight
Modifications: I used a much thinner yarn and smaller needles. I knit until I ran out of yarn. Finished size is approximately 13" by 52".

I started this project last winter, but decided to set it aside since I knew I wouldn't want to wear it until this autumn. It was fun to knit, although I ended up doing bit of re-knitting since I wasn't sure when to start the decrease section, and I started it too soon at first and then realized I could do another repeat of the straight part before decreasing. The best part is getting to drop all those stitches, whee!

I did a little bit of cutting and splicing with the yarn to make the color stripes in a slightly different order. I don't know why I always have to do that with Noro, but I do.

I think the kitties would say this project was one of their favorites. The needles I used were often attacked:




And even the pattern was delicious:

Double Rainbow, oh my god!!!*

I finished these a while ago, just haven't been in the blogging mood recently. . .

Pattern: Rainbow Socks by Susanne Kitzmann
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight, color Rock Star
Needles: size US 1.5 and 1
Modifications: I knit 4 short row sections for the foot, then knit 3 rounds even. Switched to size 1 needles and knit 1 round, then followed toe instructions.



These socks were a lot of fun to knit and very quick. It's a great pattern for crazy loud variegated sock yarn.

The pattern's directions for doing short rows is different from the way I have usually done them, so I was a little confused at first. But it was cool to try something new.

*sorry, I couldn't resist

A pair of hats

I really liked a stripey hat from Kim Hargreaves' pattern book Breeze, so I made two of them. The shape is pretty simple, what interested me the most were the colors used and the way they interacted. I found some Knitpicks yarn in similar colors that was much cheaper than the Rowan Milk Cotton that pattern calls for. I'm sure the Rowan yarn is great, but the Knitpicks yarn is very soft and drapey so it made a good substitute.

Pattern: Ash
Yarn: Knitpicks Comfy Fingering, in Sea Foam and Honeydew (blue and green)/Hollyberry and Blackberry (red and violet)
Needles: size 1 and 2









(Jimmy took this one for me. The part on the left is actually my reflection in a mirror.)

Here's Pistol reflected in the same mirror:

Finally finished

It took a little longer than I thought to finish these gloves. Second glove syndrome, I guess. Also, using sportweight cotton and metal needles is kind of hard on the hands. I really like the end result though:






Pattern: Women's Lace Gloves by Bernhard Ulmann/Bear Brand/Botany/Bucilla/Fleisher via Free Vintage Knitting
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Millefili Fine
Needles: size 1 metal dpns
Mods: lots since my gauge was 7 sts/inch instead of 9 due to using sportweight rather than fingering weight yarn

Another pair of socks

Done.



Pattern: Vilai by Cookie A from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Tess Super Socks and Baby
Needles: size 1 circs + size 1.5 for ribbed cuffs
Mods: used slightly bigger needles for the cuffs, knit one extra round on the toes before grafting

The yarn seems pretty sturdy so I didn't reinforce the heels and toes. Plus, the part of the heel that I usually wear out is above the short-row heel. The dye came off on my fingers a little as I was knitting, just the grey color, though.

Springtime scarf

The last time we saw this project it was being blocked. . .




And now a day later I shall model it for you in the gleam of the setting sun:




I found this vintage scrimshaw brooch on etsy. I thought it would be a nice way to keep my scarf ends secure.



Pattern: Haruha Scarf by Mari Muinonen (via Ravelry)
Yarn: Windy Valley Pima Cotton, 1 ball
Needles: US 5 metal

Since I only had one ball of this yarn, I knew it wouldn't be that long of a scarf. It's about 6 1/2" wide and 36" long.

Saturday Mochas

I feel like it's been a while since I took a photo like this:


Ta da! A new pair of socks!

Pattern: Oak Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Phoenix Fiberworks Fetish Superwash, colorway Hot Cocoa
Needles: size US 1.5 for top 2", size US 1 for the rest
Modifications: I knit the first 2" of the sock with slighter larger needles so the top of the sock wouldn't be too tight. Reinforced the heels and toes with Lang Jawoll Reinforcement Thread.

I thought it was best to stay simple with such a high contrast colorway. I just let the yarn do its thing. The yarn is on the skinnier side, kind of the same weight as Lorna's Lace Shepherd Sock. It's a good match for the pattern. I once tried knitting the same pattern with Vesper Sock yarn and it came out way too big.




Another mocha, this one is from Sea Breeze Cafe. Mmmm.

The Battle of Cardigan

My Ginny cardigan is finally finished, after a bit of a struggle.

First I had to block the crap out of it to get the "ridge pattern" stitches at the waist and shoulders to lie flat:



Once again I will declare my love for my blocking board.

Then after I had all the pieces sewn together, I realized I should have added short rows at the bust. The cardigan looked okay when I left it unbuttoned, but looked funny and too short in the front when buttoned. I wanted to button it. What to do? Add those f-ing short rows in kind of like an afterthought heel, I decided. Yikes!!! It took me a couple of nerve-wracking tries but I managed to make it work. Maybe if I feel like it I'll write a post about what I did. However, I advise everyone to add short rows as you are knitting the front like a sensible person would do.

Despite my trials and tribulations, I love this sweater and can't wait to wear it next fall!



Pattern: Ginny by Kim Hargreaves from Thrown Together
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in Paisley
Needles: size 4 and size 1.5 Knitpicks metal
Modifications: Knit size 34 above waist and sleeves and 36 waist and hips. Made sleeves about 1" shorter. Added short rows at the bust.

I have to agree with other people who have made this, the torso is kind of short. Fortunately, so I am. If you are not leprechaun or fairy-sized, I recommend lengthening the body.

Here's a detail of the lovely distressed horn buttons I found at MJ Trim:

Let's Cloche

I have a weakness for wacky Japanese yarns. I couldn't resist buying some Olympus MakeMake from kpixie.com, even though I didn't know what I would do with it. It was my birthday so I figured I could indulge a little. I had to buy the yarn as a pack of 3 balls, which were wrapped in this weird clear plastic bag that feels slightly thicker and more rubbery than a regular plastic bag.

I decided to make a new hat for myself. I went with the Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits:





The pattern was pretty enjoyable to knit and clever as well. I think I like it. . .

So now the question is, what to make with these:



Yes, more Japanese yarn. It's supposed to be sock yarn, but like the Noro Silk Garden Sock, I don't think I want to put this on my feet.