Ends and Beginnings

Last May, I started a pair of Endpaper Mitts. I don't remember when I finished knitting them, but they've been sitting in the ends-to-be-woven-in pile for too long! Now the ends are secure and tidy, and the mitts are blocked and ready to wear.



Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Teal (20) and Sandstone (50), less than one skein of each
Needles: US 0 (2mm)



For me, colorwork takes a lot more effort than most knitting, but I'm glad I persisted! I really liked how these turned out, even though the pattern is slightly obscured by the tweedy nature of the yarn.

I still had a decent amount of yarn left when I finished, so I made myself a hat (which happens to be my first FO of this year).



Pattern: Wesley by Kate Gagnon
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Teal (20) and Sandstone (50); Rowan Felted Tweed in Watery (152). These were leftovers from other projects; I would guess I used less than 1/4 to 1/3 skein of each for this hat.
Needles: 2.5mm (brim) and 3mm (body)

This pattern is a great way to knit up leftovers. Because the yarns I used are thinner than what the pattern calls for, I used the stitch counts for the "lots of slouch" size to get a hat closer to the "little slouch" size.

I really like the slipped stitches in this pattern; they give the fabric a nice texture, without being difficult to knit.



It's very satisfying to use up old yarns, and I definitely have plans for more stashbusting this year! In particular, I'd like to knit up my sock yarn, especially after reading about the Personal Sock Club on Ravelry. The idea is that you create packages of sock yarn with a pattern, and then surprise yourself with a new one each month (or whenever). I've set aside yarn for five pairs of socks, and will possibly add a sixth one (I might frog a pair that is a bit wide). But before I can start those, I have to finish the pair that is on the needles. I'm now up to the cuffs, so they should be done soon!

From Sockapalooza to Socktober

Remember these?



I started this pair of socks for Sockapalooza 4 (eventually switching to another color and pattern), picked them back up this year for Sheptember, and finally finished them a couple of days ago for Socktoberfest. It feels good to get these off the needles!



Pattern: Roza's Socks by Grumperina, from Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Baltic Sea. (I've adjusted the pictures in this post to get a reasonable representation of the color, but this is the most accurate one I got.)
Needles: US 1 1/2 (2.5 mm) Addi Natura for the leg, US 0 (2.0 mm) Addi Turbo for the heel flap and foot.



Unfortunately, the leg ended up a bit wide, so the socks are falling down on me. I normally handwash my socks and lay them flat to dry, but I might send these through the dryer to try to shrink them up. While these aren't the best fitting socks I've made, I'm glad that this yarn and pattern combination didn't create any horrible pooling.



I'm planning to cast on for another pair of socks soon, after I get some other projects finished (I'm in a rare phase of finish-it-up-itis). More Lorna's Laces, this time in Edgewater.



I've never completed a pair of toe-up socks, and I think it's time for me to do so! I usually like to knit socks with some sort of stitch pattern, but this time I'll be going with plain vanilla stockinette stitch. I'm aiming for a taller-than-usual pair of socks, so I may throw in some calf shaping if necessary.

Have a happy Halloween!

Up, Down, Spin Around

I'm enjoying watching the play of variegated yarns and up-and-down stitch patterns in my current works-in-progress.


Chevron Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts in Schaefer Anne


Jaywalker (Ravelry link) by Grumperina in Malabrigo Sock

I've also been thinking a lot about spinning lately, and went to Color: A Fiber Festival on Saturday. The location was beautiful...



... and so was the fiber!

I came home with four ounces of Naturally Dyed Merino from Tactile Fiber Arts.



I also bought some Polwarth from A Verb for Keeping Warm (dark grey, 4 oz).



I've spun up a little of the polwarth and made a small swatch.



It's wonderfully soft, and I'm looking forward to spinning up the rest.

Possibilities

The Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Baltic Sea that I showed you the other day has been through a lot. I wound up one skein, and then I started the Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark, one of my favorite designers. I was really enjoying the pattern, but the pooling, not so much. So I set that aside, wound up the other skein. and cast on for Roza's Socks by Grumperina. Looking at some of the suggestions given to Alli, who was also having pooling problems, I decided to try knitting from both ends of the ball. Didn't like it. It was tangly, and I was getting grumpy, even though the colors were working better. So I tried knitting with only one of the ends for several rounds and I liked the result well enough--it seems that the different stitch count and pattern made enough of a difference. Since I wanted to knit both socks at the same time, I frogged the mismatched WIPs, unkinked the yarn, and cast on again the next day.



Roza's Socks are a lot of fun--I'll definitely have to incorporate more brioche in future knitting projects. This is the first time I've done two socks at once, and besides some very minor tangling, I'm enjoying it very much. It's nice to not have to bother counting rounds, or worry about my gauge changing like it often does on the second sock.

I know I said the Baltic Sea was for my sock pal's socks, but now I'm not so sure. I really liked the colors in the skein, and I still do when it's knitted up, but they aren't quite what I expected. I was hoping it would be more green, but overall it's rather grayish-brown. Since I'm not quite convinced that these are the "right" socks for my pal, I went and got more yarn last Wednesday, this time from Article Pract, rather than the usual Stash.


Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (what else?) in Denim.

I think my pal will probably like this color better, and I won't have to worry about pooling. Now I have to pick a pattern. Right now I'm looking at patterns in Favorite Socks, most likely either the Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark or the Merino Lace Socks by Anne Woodbury (more blue lace!). What do you think? I'm open to other suggestions too, but the sooner, the better, since I'd like to cast on in the next few days. Once I have a bit knit up, I'll decide which pair is better suited to my pal, and which pair I'll keep for myself (not like I need more socks!).

And while we're on the topic of socks, here's a pair I recently finished.



Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. I pretty much followed the pattern as written, except I only did five repeats on the leg, fewer rows on the heel flap, and did a slightly different toe (decrease as written to 32 stitches, work decrease round only until 16 stitches are left, graft).

Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Copperbeach (Colorway 67), one skein. I really enjoyed working with this yarn--its tightly spun but very soft. However, I would love to see it come with more yardage. The second sock is slightly smaller and pooled differently--I must have knit it at a tighter gauge since I was worried about running out of yarn. I probably didn't need to worry though, because I did have some left over. But if you have longer feet than I do (US shoe size 6), you may want to make a shorter cuff / leg or buy a second skein.

Needles: Addi Turbo US 0 (2 mm), 40 inch circular (magic loop method). I had originally started these on Addi Natura US 1 (2.5 mm) needles, but decided that the socks would have been looser than I like for my narrow feet, and so I went to Stash and got the Addi Turbos. When I bought them I made sure to look at the tips and pick the most pointy looking ones, since Grumperina always calls them Blunti Stumpos. I can see why she does; some of them were unbelievably blunt, and looked like they had barely been sharpened (or whatever it is that they do to make needles pointy). But the pair I bought was fine, and I liked them surprisingly well considering that I usually prefer bamboo needles.

A few more pictures for you!