Whirlpool Socks

These socks are for another Knit-Along, but they're also a gift for someone. That makes it a little more disappointing that I had trouble sizing these the way I wanted.

They fit my feet, which isn't exactly what I wanted since they're intended for someone with shorter feet than me.  They are a tad short for me, but not quite as short as I intended.  And while I fixed the initial gauge problem, they're not quite as snug as I planned either.  They're not baggy, but my Edwardian Boating Socks stretch quite a bit with wear so I'm hoping these don't become too baggy when worn.

Pattern: Charybdis by Fiona Lucas
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight - Rare Gems Mill End
Needles: US 1 - 2.25 mm
Completed: July 27, 2010

Having said all that, I am still really pleased with how they came out.  The colors seem very fitting for a mythical whirlpool and they blended nicely without any crazy pooling (Ha! Maybe pooling would have been even more appropriate for a whirlpool!).  I just may need to replace them with something more the right size if they don't work out as a gift.  But given the amount of sock yarn I have at the moment, that's not exactly a problem anyway!

Blocking Party

I finally worked up the ambition to tackle some blocking to combat my problems with finishing projects and now I have a lovely scarf to show for it.

Heart to Heart Beaded Scarf

Pattern:  Heart to Heart Beaded Scarf by Sivia Harding
Yarn: Mama Llama Cashmere 2ply - The Blues
Needles: US 3 - 3.25 mm
Completed:  May 8, 2010

Yes, it took me almost 3 months to get around to blocking it.  But to be fair, this was my first lace project and the thought of pinning out all of those little points individually made it seem a little overwhelming.  Since it's just a simple curved scarf and I wasn't too picky about making sure the points were all perfect, though, it didn't take as much time as I would have thought.

And I avoided soaking this one. It didn't seem right to subject the delicate cashmere and beads to a pool of water, so I just misted it with a spray bottle to wet it for pinning.  All in all, I'm really pleased with how my first beaded lace project turned out and it's deliciously delicate and soft.  I have no idea how or when I'll wear it, but it's beautiful.

The blocking party included other guests, too - a certain Bittersweet Cowl and pieces for the Brea bag - but the blocking isn't quite the last step for them.  Still, I'm getting some projects that have been nearly finished for a long time closer to crossing the finish line.

Yarn Prize

I finished my Devon socks for the Sock Innovation Knit-Along in May and actually won one of the prizes for the month!  (Any socks entered as finished for the month are included in a drawing by random number generator to determine who wins a prize.)

I was out of town when they announced that I won, but soon found out that I would receive yarn from LittleFreak Yarns.  I was anticipating a lovely skein of a new yarn I hadn't tried before, so I was truly surprised when this arrived last week:

4 skeins!

Not one but four lovely new yarns to try!

LittleSocks by LittleFreak Yarns -a Fingering / 4 ply of 75% Wool, 25% Nylon (my skein was labeled as 440 yards)

Cody

One step forward, two toes back

Lately I've been itching for fairly simple knits; things I can work on without constantly referring to a chart or a list of directions.  I also realized that I've made a lot of socks for myself already (pairs numbering in the double digits in less than 2 years of knitting seems like a lot to me) and that I still have a lot of sock yarn left to go.

So, since the Yellow Brick Road socks proved to be an easy pattern to memorize and travel with, I jumped on the 3rd quarter Socks That Rock Knit Along and cast on for a new pair of swirly socks (for someone else!).

toes with corrected gauge

And they ended up oddly complicated from the start.  Somehow, even though I used the same weight of yarn, the same needle size, and the same number of stitches as my socks from the Edwardian Boating Socks, the toes for these seemed way too baggy and my gauge was 7 stitches instead of the recommended 8 for the pattern.  I know that was February and this is now, but I still didn't expect such a difference.  I let it go for a bit, but finally ripped both back and started over on US1 needles to get back to the progress shown above.

Now Xandermommy likes to point out that I'm a tight knitter, but it looks like she might be wrong.  8 stitches to an inch isn't a strikingly tight gauge for socks and I'm surprised I would need to knit Socks That Rock yarn on US1 needles to get it.  I'm certainly not a loose knitter, but at this point she might have to agree that I'm just average!

Problems Finishing

I seem to be stuck in a rut of not quite finishing things.  I think it might be an indication that I don't really like blocking (and that I need to learn how to shop for buttons).

Similar to the aforementioned cashmere scarf, I have an all but finished cowl that's been in sight of the finish line for months just because it needs to be blocked (and I need to buy buttons for it).

Bittersweet Cowl in 100% Baby Camel

Then there's my Cranberry Tweed sweater. To be fair, the steady progress on said sweater was immediately halted when I couldn't finish it in time for my Alaskan cruise, but now it's been stuck in a time-out for months because I'm to the point where I can't finish certain pieces until I get the right buttons for it and block the latest pieces and seam things to determine collar size, etc.  It's sad to see it so close and yet I keep avoiding working on it because it seems so daunting to pick it up again.

Then last week I finally started my Brea Bag -- a project that I've had in mind for ages and one of the first patterns that I added to my Ravelry favorites list. 

Walking the Yellow Brick Road

They're squishy and soft and hug my feet and now they're both off the needles and finished in plenty of time for the next kit's arrival!

Pattern: Yellow Brick Road by Jane Robbins
Yarn: Yarn Daze Yucatan - Yellow Brick Road
Needles: US 1 - 2.25 mm
Completed:  July 4, 2010

Despite being listed as a DK weight yarn, it behaved more like a fingering weight and worked beautifully with the size 1 needles into a cushy fabric.  And once again I didn't quite follow the pattern recommendations and I went with a smaller needle. 

Heels and Toes

Now for some socks that accomplished a couple different goals:

1. Knit with yarn from Stitches Midwest 2009 before returning for 2010
2. Knit socks with contrasting heels and toes

 

Pattern: Froot Loop by Kristi Geraci
Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy Superwash Sock & Baby Yarn - 2 ply - Wisteria
   Miss Babs Yummy Toes - Bruin
Needles: US 1½ - 2.5 mm Signature Stilettos
Completed:  June 13, 2010

Since these were mostly finished some time ago and were simply put on hold for other things, I won't rehash the details.  But I will add that I had a disappointing amount of "ladders" for the stitches between the DPNs (and they stubbornly followed me into a current project).  I know that it has to do with my tension and that made it a bit more aggravating when none of my attempts to adjust it would remedy the problem while knitting.  Apparently, though, this is where I'm not a perfectionist. -- I just let it go and figured it would eventually even out with washing and/or wear -or- I'll just go back with a needle later and pick the offending stitches to one side or another to make them more even.

In hindsight, the gauge for these socks is probably a bit too loose, too (whether that contributed to the "ladders" or not), but I'm still very happy with them.  It is the summery time of year where I can't bear the thought of wearing socks, though, so they're going to have to patiently wait their turn to jump into the rotation when the weather is cold enough again.