stash, knit, repeat

Since neither of these projects took a full week to complete, it feels a little strange to do two separate FO posts. Thus!

Pattern: “Beret and Socks” from Debbie Bliss’ Baby Cashmerino 3 booklet

Yarn: Baby Cashmerino, in the recommended colors.

Time Elapsed: Something like 5 days? Ridiculously little.

Notes/Modifications: I wrote about the completely bizarre construction of these socks here, so I won’t repeat the whole saga for you. The conclusion is that unless you’re deathly afraid of dpns, I’d strongly recommend just knitting these socks in the usual way. Either way, the end product is likely to be darling.

I think I would recommend knitting the beret flat as written, just because the whole darn thing is garter stitch, which I find easier flat, and if you knit it flat you get to choose which side to make the RS. I preferred the subtler stripes of the “WS” of the work, but others may like their color changes more bold. Any way you do it, this is a super-quick, super-cute gift set. Four thumbs up!

*****

Of course, the entire time I was knitting the baby socks, Jacob asked if they were for him. It’s not like the kid has been shy about his love for hand-knit socks–he always gets a day or two with any pair I knit myself. What kind of a bad mother am I, not to have realized he wanted his own?

Pattern: Generic sock construction over 48 stitches.

Yarn: Leftover Lorna’s Laces from some socks I knit one of my mother-in-laws. I think the color was called Ravens-something-or-other?

Time Elapsed: Far too little for this to be my first pair for him

Notes/Modifications: Not much to say, here, since I wasn’t exactly following a pattern. I did 1×1 rib at the top, then 3×1 rib for most of the body of the sock.

I knit the heel until it looked right, and decreased the toe until it looked right, too. They’re a smidge long for him, maybe 1/8″, but since his feet are growing at such a crazy pace I decided to just leave it instead of ripping out and re-doing the toe shorter. Not that I’d be able to get them off his feet anyway–he’s worn them non-stop since I finished them. He even demanded that he wear them again today, to show his pre-school teacher. “With sandals, Mommy, so Miss Auburn can see them.”

You’d think, with all of that wearing, I’d have some good FO shots. Sadly, a toddler in motion remains in motion, so most of them are a variation on this:

(At least his feet are warm?)

Concluding the short parade of sweet little girl knits, I finished the baby beret/socks set for my colorist’s new little girl recently. I’ll do a separate FO post to keep my notes in one place, but I had to tell you about the way these little socks are constructed. Strangest. Things. Ever.

When finished, they look like normal socks. But they’re knit flat. (Recommendation to anyone doing these in the future? Just do them in the round. But my visualization skills are poor enough that I couldn’t get that from the pattern.)

After knitting down to where one would usually begin the heel flap, you begin half of the heel flap, and then turn half of the heel.

Knit back, and do the other half of the heel.

Pick up the gusset stitches as you usually would, except, you know, not in the round.

Knit flat, decreasing those gusset stitches, until you get to the toe decreases.

Weave the yarn through the remaining stitches and then seam up the back.

Now, these are for a 3-month old, so the seam inside isn’t as huge a deal, I guess, but I had to wonder while I was going through this little puzzle: Why on earth wouldn’t one just knit the sock in the round? It’s not like size 3 dpns are that unweidly. It’s a mystery, like picking up the picot cast-off stitches on the matinee coat. Next time, though, I’d just knit the socks in the usual way and save the seaming.

Of course, the whole 2 days I was knitting these socks Jacob was constantly asking if they were for him. I realized that while I’ve done sweaters and that one scarf for him and some booties when he was totally wee, I’ve never knit the kid a pair of socks. How terrible is that?!

Well, needless to say we went right up to the sock yarn leftovers bag and he picked something out that he really liked. Hence, April’s installment in the year of socks will be a much-overdue pair for a very impatient 2-year-old.

Though the blog posting is very late, my March installment of the year of socks was done pretty much on time.

Pattern: Anastasia socks, from the incomparable MintyFresh

Yarn: Sunshine Soft Sock Yarn, in colorway “Emerald Isle”

Time Elapsed: A couple of weeks, including a major rip-out. Pregnancy brain strikes–these are actually very quick.

Notes/Modifications: Given the colorway of these socks, and the fact that I started them at an Irish pub, I have been calling them my St. Patrick’s Day socks. It’s fitting, don’t you think?

About the only major modification I made to the pattern was to use Wendy’s fantastic toe-up gusset pattern for the heel.

I suspect I could have gotten away with doing even more increases, but these are SO comfortable, and my ankles are so swollen already, I can’t be too sure. Wendy’s pattern is saving toe-up socks for me–only with the comparison did I realize how poorly short-row heels fit my foot.

I also added a few stitches to the pattern, going to 66 from 60 since I have a wide foot. This was trivial to do–I just added a stitch or two between the spiraled eyelets. And that’s it for modifications. The pattern is just fantastic–I love the way the eyelets add interest without interfering with the yarn’s variegation. I’m likely to use it again.

The yarn is also gorgeous and soft, and beautifully dyed. Dani is really a wonder woman, because I’m about the hardest possible person to please in terms of variegation. But this yarn was perfect: evenly blended color that was so resistant to pooling I could even get through the gussets without splotches. The only thing I’d do differently next time is knit the yarn on size 0 needles instead of size 1, but your mileage may vary since I like a really firm fabric for my socks. (I find that the firmer the fabric, the longer the sock life.)

There were some predictable troubles with carrying out our photo shoot:

Jacob likes to play around with all of my socks, but these seem to be a particular favorite. Probably because they’re softer than clouds made of concentrated kitten fluff? (Seriously, I can’t think of any sock yarn I’ve used that feels more wonderful against my feet. I’ll let you know how it wears, as time goes on.)

There were also a bevy of unpredicted troubles with the photo shoot. Well, one problem, really, manifested in several different ways.

I wonder how long it will be before I need to enlist assistance?

Usually I like to finish one thing before starting another. Not true at the moment, apparently. Exhibit A:

Anastasia socks in Sunshine Yarns, “Emerald Isle”, cast on for St. Patty’s Day. These will be my March socks. They are wicked fun to knit, and toe-up gussets are the coolest things EVER, and I can’t wait to wear them.

Exhibit B:

A nearly-finished Matinee Coat (Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino booklet), for our babysitter’s new baby. This one just needs seaming, ribbon, and a picot hem. Probably a few hours of work, tops. And so cute! But, Exhibit C:

Instead of finishing either one of these worthy projects, neither of which will take much time at all, I cast on for a baby vest that I have no hope of finishing by the time I see the recipient tomorrow. Why? Who knows! It’s cute, though.

(Cable Tank Top from the Baby Cashmerino 3 booklet, smallest size.)

At least finishing all 3 of these up by the end of March is highly likely?

It’s not the right season, necessarily… but Jacob is more than pleased with the latest sock addition, anyway.

(I think he likes socks that match his hair the best of all.)

Pattern: Conwy from Nancy Bush’s “Knitting on the Road”

Yarn: Sundara sock yarn, color “Bronzed Sienna”

Time Elapsed: A couple of weeks, ish?

Modifications/Notes: I made two major modifications. First, I shortened the leg of the sock considerably (2.5 inches, I think, in all) to support slightly lower yardage and my own sock preferences. These are about 6.5 inches long from the cuff to the top of the heel flap.

I also omitted 6 stitches of decrease, resulting in a 66-stitch sock instead of a 60-stitch sock. (You start with 72 and then decrease down.) I also also didn’t like the look of the charted decreases–they seemed like they’d produce a big ol’ stockinette portion on the back of my sock. Not the look I was going for. So I fiddled some and did the decreases thusly:

You can pretty much figure out what I did from the picture, but it might help to know that I started on round 1, decreased two stitches per decrease round, and did 7 rows in between decrease rows. I don’t really remember where I started the decreases, except that it was way after Bush called for them.

It was a star toe, I think, a new one for me. It doesn’t have a kitchener at the front–you just decrease down to 8 stitches and then pull the yarn through. I don’t mind kitchener, but it was fun to try a different toe for a change.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t gush about this yarn for a little while. The Sundara colors are incredibly fabulous, saturated, and rich, without question. But on top of that, the yarn is soft as can be, seems very sturdy, and provides fantastic stitch definition. There really isn’t much more one could want in a sock yarn.

Plus, the color makes you want to bake pumpkin muffins. And that’s never a bad thing.

Thank you all so, so very much for your well-wishes and shared stories. They really warmed my heart.

I did something totally crazy yesterday: I ripped out the Torgeir sweater I was having so much trouble with. The Silky Wool is now back in the closet, and I feel so much better for it. My wips are cleared out (only the Cleopatra Wrap remains as a long-term project), my knitting feels new again.

And I finished the Conwy socks, too, but a FO post will have to wait for blocking and daylight to happen.

So my February installment of the Year of Socks is a little late, but only by a few days. I think this month is going to be all about small projects–another pair of socks, certainly. Some progress on Cleopatra but I don’t expect to finish it this month. Mostly because it seems like every woman I know is having babies, these days. There’s only one logical reaction, I think…

…run to my lys and buy a ton of machine-washable baby wool.

Because I need these corny little games and the little timelines they give, I’m declaring this year a Year. Of. SOCKS! And here’s January’s installment.

The Pomatomus, they are finished.

Pattern: Cookie A.’s Pomatomus, from the Winter 2005 Knitty

Yarn: Madelinetosh sock yarn, color vermillion

Time Elapsed: I dragged my feet (har) on these for a whole month!

Modifications / Notes: My only modification was to make the toe on these socks more blunt, grafting at 20 stitches remaining instead of 12. I knit the first sock as written, and it just seemed too pronounced. Other than that, I knit them exactly as written and it was a wonderful pattern. Clever, predictable, and the results are just lovely.

Be warned, though–they’re slow going! The bulk of the sock is essentially a 1×1 twisted rib, so unless you’re a super-fast ribber these will drag a bit.

The real story on these is the yarn. Rarely have I had the pleasure of working with a yarn so fantastic. The color saturation, combined with the softness, combined with the subtle variations… just stunning. I’ve two more colorways of this sock yarn now, and I just can’t wait to work with them.

So there you have it, my January socks. Or, I should say, my friend Stacy’s January socks, because when I finished them they were just too perfect for her to keep to myself. I think this may be her first hand-knit pair of socks, and it makes me so happy to bring her into the “club”. :)

*****

In other, belated news, it turns out that I make some of your days. I was and am really, truly touched to be thought of in such a way, especially by some of my own favorite reads.

I found this an unexpectedly hard meme to pass on. The sappy-but-real response is that all of you make my day–comments in my inbox that make me smile, knowing that there are others out there who share my particular little brand of crazy, following you all along on your own fiber adventures. But of course, it’d be silly to share my entire blog roll with you–it’s huge, it morphs as time goes on, it’s likely redundant with many of your own.

I eventually decided to come up with ten blogs of knitters that I’ve been blessed to meet in real life. One, I’ve known for decades (gasp). Some I only met at Rhinebeck this year. If you’re listed here, and you’re of a mind, grab the image and share the love yourself! If you’re not listed here, don’t fret. Trust me. You all make my day. You really do.

1. I have to start this list with Marlena. She’s been a friend since before I can remember, and has encouraged me with every step of the knitting journey I’ve made as an adult. She taught me how to stash, people.
2. Keeping with that theme, Ellen makes it dangerously easy to keep on stashing. Plus, she’s wicked awesome.
3. Ms. Bestitched is a whole bunch of witty fabulousness all wrapped up with way more talent than any one person should lay claim to. She bakes, she knits, she sews, and she has an amazingly cute kiddo.
4. Anna is one of those knitters. The ones that churn out perfect project after perfect project, dizzying amounts of lace and sweaters (and now socks! muahaha) that all represent the very best marriage of yarn, pattern, and fit. And you can’t even be envious, because she’s just the nicest person around.
5. Cheryl is a fantastic knitter, to be sure. And very fun, and generous with the excellent photographs. But the thing about Cheryl that continuously amazes me is that she makes yarn so beautiful that I can’t help but stare, slack-jawed and drooling, at my screen.
6. At Rhinebeck this year, I had the distinct pleasure of sharing a pretty phenomenal meal with Ms. Octopus Knits. She’s funny, she has great taste in knits, and she’s an excellent dessert enabler.
7. The Wry Punster? Just as cool in real life, let me assure you. Plus, who else do you know that would knit a fair isle dress (and look so darn good doing it)?
8. Finally, I will take to my grave the five minutes at Rhinebeck when Marlena, Cara, Vicki, Ann and me were all told in the sweetest possible way by a complete stranger that others find knitting beautiful, too.

   (Edited to add: I noticed while going through my blogs this afternoon that I’d missed a couple more people who were kind enough to say I’d made their day. My fingers are linking-tired, but thanks SO much, all of you.)

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