Cookie Time!

It feels like I'm a guest blogger at this point, but really I'm not! Since Ludistitcher is hitting a bit of a knitting slump, I'm pitching in and actually putting up a post! I'll be trying to post more often. The photography and writing won't be as good, but I've got lots of finished objects to show off!

Anywho, let's talk cookies. Cookie A, that is. I joined the Cookie A sock club this year, and also joined a knitalong for her knit.sock.love book. The knitalong for the book started on January 1st, but in December they had a "any Cookie A pattern" knitalong. I looked in my Ravelry queue, and saw my November 2009 Rockin' Sock Club kit. The pattern is Raven Swirl by Cookie A, and the yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Lightweight in Blackbird. I finished them up in January, and here they are. They were really fun to knit and fit perfectly! It made me feel silly for letting the kit sit for so long.

Raven Swirls

Pattern:  Raven Swirl by Cookie A

Yarn:  BMFA Lightweight in Blackbird

Needles:  2.5 mm Signature DPNs

Minor Knitting

I haven't been knitting much lately.   I just sort of lost the will.  I tried to make myself go back to a few lingering projects and finish them up, but it quickly became apparent that I just avoided knitting altogether in that case.  I've also knit a lot of adult socks, so I became a bit burned out on those, too.  But I obviously still had a lot of yarn waiting to be used.

So I was looking for a small, quick project to try to get some knitting going.  I picked up a One-Skein Wonders book (Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks!) for less than half price late last year, so I started there and ended up with these:

A cute little baby hat and matching socks.

Supposedly sized for a newborn, but they all seem quite stretchy such that they might fit a baby a bit larger, too.

Pattern: Shibui Baby hat and Socks by Helen Bingham
Yarn:  Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight - Bait-A
Needles: US 3 - 3.25 mm for the hat, US 1 - 2.25 mm for the socks
Completed: February 26, 2011
Mods: None intentional, although I think I added one extra row to the heel that certainly wasn't necessary.

Oddly enough, there's nothing about the knitting process that's really bothering me at the moment, I just have a hard time getting started and I don't pick it up as often.  That really hasn't happened to me much since I started knitting, so I'm not sure how long knitting malaise typically lasts.   Maybe there are other small, quick projects in my future.

Part of a Tin Man Sock

I haven't been much of a knitter lately.  I think I went nearly a week without knitting a stitch.  But, when I did have some knitting ambition and some new kits at the beginning of the month, I got started on the first of the Tin Man socks:

And the lack of knitting ambition certainly isn't because I don't like these, because I think they're awesome!  There's delicious Cashmere in the yarn, so while they have something of a Steampunk vibe to them they're going to be wonderfully cushy.

The muted colors of rusty tin also blend beautifully with no real striping or pooling in sight.

So I wanted to show the progress here because I love how it's knitting up, but there likely still won't be much knitting progress on these for a bit yet.  What little knitting time I've made recently has been devoted to adding the lining to my Fiddlehead mittens.  Mitten weather will be coming to an end before long and I really want to get to wear them at least once this season, if possible.  I did start the lining of the second mitten last night, so there's still a chance!

Christmas and Lollipops Complete

I actually did finish the Christmas River socks for Hubs, almost two weeks before Christmas:

But they are probably the longest pair I've made for him yet, and since I used Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight, that means I ran out of yarn before the second toe.  And it was a Rare Gems Mill End skein, which means it's not a standard colorway.  Fortunately, I had another Rare Gems Mill End skein that was surprisingly similar -- at least in that it had a lot of brownish red -- so while the toe doesn't totally match it definitely doesn't stand out as badly as you might expect from a totally different skein.

Pattern: Kalajoki by Tiina Seppälä
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight - Rare Gems Mill End
Needles: US 1 - 2.25 mm
Completed: December 12, 2010
Mods: Cast on 66 stitches to accommodate the lighter weight yarn

Christmas Socks for Him

My knitting feels a bit out of sorts lately.  I think I feel like I should be casting on for Christmas gifts or something, but I don't really have a list of gifts to make.  So when Hubs (aka my Mr. Wonderful) pointed out that my Lollipop socks looked a bit like Christmas socks, it made me want to make him some Christmas socks too.

So I decided to grab some Socks That Rock Rare Gems Mill Ends with some green and red and join the  Kalajoki socks knit along in the Socks that Rawk!! group on Ravelry.

The yarn didn't really knit up how I expected (based on what it looked like in the skein) and they're turning out more gingerbread than red and green, but Hubs is pretty used to crazy pooling socks by now (e.g. Mr. Wonderful and Blue Jean Gems) and doesn't mind.  Fortunately, this pattern seems to stand up to the pooling well enough.

Now the Christmas Lollipop socks and these Christmas River Socks are definitely Christmas socks in spirit, but I/we have already accepted that I might not be able to finish both pairs in time to wear them for Christmas Day 2010.  Both have much longer legs than I usually work for socks, so if I do succumb to knitting Christmas gifts there's a good chance I won't have time for these.  But I finished the toe of his right sock last night and my first sock is ready for the toe decreases, so we'll both have one sock for sure.  Maybe the single socks will get hung up as stockings this year and they'll get their mates for next year.  They would definitely make for some bright and uniquely mismatched stockings!

Lollipop Socks in Progress

My Scarecrow socks took cuts in line and jumped on the needles first, even though the Lollipop Guild kit arrived first.  But the scarecrow yarn was such a perfect combination of Fall colors that it begged to be knitted right away.  The Lollipop Guild yarn was delightfully bright in the skein, but I was a little worried by the splotchy socks in the photos for the accompanying pattern so it was easy to put them aside for a bit.

I was afraid that the Lollipop socks might not find their way onto the needles for several months or more, but here they are.

Of course, this is the time of year where things get hectic and I have a hard time keeping up with photos, so I'm actually a lot farther along with these now.  And they're really long!  Either I've been consistently misreading some part of the pattern or these would be nearly knee socks.  They don't look like knee socks in the pattern photo and it doesn't seem like a large skein, so there must be some fault on my part. 

The leg was pretty long for me after just one repeat of the 77 pattern rows, but the pattern suggested repeating rows 30-77 again before the heel.  Needless to say, I didn't repeat.  And since it's only 370 yards of fingering weight yarn I'm a little concerned that I might run low on yarn as it is.  So when I reached the start of toe decreases on the first sock last night I set it aside.  I'd like to at least weigh the existing sock and remaining yarn to try to make sure I don't need to switch in some contrasting toes.

In the meantime, my Mr. Wonderful pointed out that these look sort of like a lit Christmas tree -- they have a lot of green with dots of all the usual colors from the strings of lights -- so these have become my Christmas Lollipop socks.  They've been knitting up faster than I would have thought, so if I don't get pulled into too many last-minute gift knits they should even be done in time.  We'll see.

Finished Scarecrow Socks

I didn't quite make the October goal, but I did finish my Scarecrow socks on November 1st so it was close.

Pattern: 'If I Only Had a Brain' Socks by KellyK
Yarn: The Alpaca Yarn Co. Paca-Peds HT - Scarecrow: If I Only Had a Brain
Needles: US 1½ - 2.5 mm
Completed: November 1, 2010

I really fell in love with the colors in these.  They're just so perfect for Fall and they spiraled so nicely.  Even the pooling on the feet after the gussets charmed me.

I did stop working on the first sock before the toe just to make sure I'd have enough contrasting yarn for both socks, and while I didn't have a lot left over I did have plenty for the pair.  And the few modifications I made (detailed on my Ravelry project page) were just to snug up the foot.

Now they're washed and ready to wear.  They're destined to be worn for Thanksgiving this year, although they might jump on my feet a few times before then, too.  I don't think I really want to wait 2 weeks to wear them.

They Sprouted Heels

Although they were finished already in September, I realized that I forgot to post an updated photo of the almost-socks that became socks.  They started something like this:

and sprouted heels to become these:

Pattern: Let it Be by Cristi H. Brockway
Yarn: Creatively Dyed Yarn Steele - Ixia
Needles: US 1 - 2.25 mm
Completed: September 26, 2010

But, through some mis-measurement on my part or by doing the math for the heel incorrectly, they're a bit short for me.  I suspect the nubbin of the afterthought heel should be more at the back of my heel instead of beneath it.

 

All of which is fine, though, since I have a lot of cheerful, hand-knit socks for myself and they should fit my Mom's feet perfectly.  They were fun and soothing to knit and I enjoyed trying out the different construction.

I also take it as a sign that this was just a skein of yarn that really wanted to make other people happy and wanted to be knit for others.  So it's a good thing it was also a skein that had a lot of yardage to give.

Muddying the Soaking Water

I finished the socks from my Black Cat kit early in October, but didn't actually wear them until this weekend.  The yarn left dark dye stains on my hands when I knit them, so I knew I wanted to give them a good soak before they spent hours turning my feet black.  I took some photos of the soaking progress to compare the pre-soak water with whatever dye might wash out:

Soak water with Kookaburra wash and vinegar added

Spook socks soaking

Water after the socks were removed from their bath

True to the warning that came with the kit, there was a fair amount of dye that washed out. 

The socks themselves are a bit lighter now, too, although I didn't get a photo.  I wore them with black shoes and they definitely looked a bit more brown than black in comparison, although still dark.  But I wore them all evening, and while there might have been a few faint traces left behind my feet looked pretty normal when I took the socks off hours later.

All in all my Spook socks fit well and are soft and comfortable and now that they're safe to wear I'm glad to have them in the hand-knit sock rotation.  Although given their company, maybe it should be referred to as the hand-knit socks arsenal now!  I have a lot of socks and a lot more sock yarn waiting to be knit.  Things could get interesting.

Scarecrow Socks In Progress

My socks from the Scarecrow kit aren't flying off the needles, but the first one is coming along.

I love how the perfect Fall colors spiral around the leg.

Of course, working the heel stopped the spiraling for a bit and introduced some pooling even though I used the contrasting color for the heel flap and turn and switched back to the main color for the gussets.  Obviously that means I'm farther along on sock #1 than the photos suggest.  I'm actually nearing the toe, and since there's just a little over a week left in October it also means I need to get moving if I want to finish these off for Socktoberfest! Where on Earth did the month of October go!?!

Finished Black Cat Socks

I did keep up a pretty speedy pace and finished the second sock from the Black Cat Halloween kit over the weekend, meaning that I had a finished pair in a little under a week!  That's faster than my usual sock progress, although these did have my undivided attention.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

So here they are, not yet washed in any way:

I'm going to try to remember to get before and after photos when I do give them a soak, just to see how much dye bleeds out into the water, although I obviously rubbed some off on my fingers already while knitting them.  In some photos you might even notice some of the deep wine hue running through that isn't really visible without enough light.

It's not a complicated lace pattern, it's very symmetric, but I do like the hidden fish shapes in them.  I don't like doing yarn overs at the beginning of a needle, but I got in a groove and it didn't slow me down too much or bother me enough to shift stitches around to avoid them, so no real complaints.

Since I haven't soaked them I haven't worn them yet (I don't really want to look like I've been walking barefoot through soot all day if they are going to bleed more), but I'm looking forward to it.  They're dark and squishy and lacy -- all things that should make them work well with all sorts of outfits when I'm forced to abandon my sandals for the year.  I'm not quite there yet.

WiP: Black Cat (Spoilers)

I still fall victim to the occasional Woolgirl kit that isn't a part of a club series.  This time I couldn't resist the Black Cat Halloween kit and it, too, arrived last week... and then jumped right on the needles!

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The kit contents:

The black cat with the polka dot background is a pack of decorated tissues and the cute pumpkin and ghost fabric above it is a small tissue pack holder.  The smiling cat pyramid at the upper left is an old-fashioned style treat box (although mine was squashed pretty flat during shipping).  There's also the black cat notepad in the lower right, a cat charm/ornament, black cat gummies, and candy corn kisses.  I love the included project bag, which is nice and large with a drawstring closure.

I'm excited to try more new yarn that I haven't heard of before: Pico Accuardi Dyeworks Acid and Weed Sock!

But the kit also included a warning that the yarn would bleed some due to the dye process.  We'll see if that means it will also fade significantly in the first few washings or not.  At the moment, it's very dark, nearly black, but I can see hints of deep wine colors, too, with enough direct light.  And of course another adorable WeeOnes stitch marker that will be carefully added to my collection.


There's also a sock pattern included:

Poppies: The End

I finally finished my Poppy Fields Socks just before the Lollipop Guild kit arrived last week.

I don't have any desire to disparage the pattern or the designer, so I'll point out that the things that bothered me about the pattern might not bother other people.  But I also know from previous comments that people are curious why these were not my favorites, so this is a rundown of some things that made it a pattern that didn't work well for me:

1. I don't want to harp on this (and I know I've mentioned it before), but I don't like it when patterns give size(s) based on foot length/shoe size with no measured circumference.  I know that even a measured circumference is somewhat subjective (stretched, etc.), but it gives me a much better idea than foot length.
   
   
2. Because of the size issue and the needle size recommendation for the pattern I had a hard time sizing these.  Using the recommended US 0 needles with sport weight yarn seemed off to me, but I thought maybe it was for a particularly tight gauge, so I balanced it out by starting with the large size.  After knitting the toe and starting the foot I found that I had more stitches to the inch than the recommended gauge and the sock was going to be loose on me.  When I ripped it out and started over with US 1½ (2.5 mm) my gauge matched and the sock fit snugly on my foot... until the heel.  The finished short row heel was like a little cap for the bottom of my heel and there was no way that I was ever going to get my foot into the finished sock.  Since I had gauge and it seemed to fit well enough otherwise I didn't have any confidence that ripping it all out and starting over with the large size again was going to give me anything but a loose sock with a better heel, so I manufactured my own heel based on Yarnissima's brainless sock pattern.  Then I could finally get the sock on my heel, too.
   
   

WiP Determination

Although I mostly like the finished appearance, my Poppy Field socks have not been a project I enjoyed knitting.  I've struggled with them and even considered abandoning the pattern after the first sock.  Even though I started them in early August, I've put them in time out several times and they've been lingering on the needles.  But, late last week I finally finished sock 1:

The poppy itself was fun to work

And since the next kit in the series is due to arrive any day now, I pushed myself to immediately cast on sock 2.  Admittedly, sock 2 has gone much faster since I didn't have to experiment with size and gauge and different heel styles.  I still made mistakes that required tinking and ripping (for some reason that happens a lot more with this pattern than most for me), but parts of it actually moved along rather quickly.

Poppy Fields - Sock 1, finished

I don't yet have any photos of sock 2, but it's on the needles and halfway up the leg now.  Barring a catastrophe it should be off the needles yet this week, maybe even before the Lollipop Guild comes knocking at my door.

I'm pretty good at letting go, so although the pattern might get buried in a dark, dusty corner somewhere, the socks themselves aren't facing pent-up ill will.  I'm looking forward to wearing them and showing them some love instead of flinging them aside in frustration.  I love the Miss Babs yarn and it clearly deserves much better!

Simple Soothing Socks for WiP Wednesday

I have a lot of projects lingering on the needles for various reasons, which isn't really a common occurrence for me.  But since I often want knitting to be relaxing, I started a simpler, more mindless project to work on in between dedicated efforts to deal with the trickier things.  So for the first time in a very long time, I'm working on simple stockinette socks - with a twist.

Peek-a-boo, it's a picot hem cuff!

I was intrigued by the round toe, afterthought heel, and double knit picot hem of Turtlegirl's Let it Be socks.  It seemed like a great pattern to showcase variegated yarn that had a lot to say on its own and I had yarn that wanted to do just that.

Struggling with Poppies

It's not certain that the Poppy Fields socks will be completed before the next Woolgirl Oz Club kit arrives.  These socks have been a struggle for me, which means I'm not always in the mood to pick them up when I have knitting time.  It also means I can't take them with me to knit when I'm traveling -- they require spreading out several pattern pages at a time, concentrating on what will go where, and in several cases so far, ripping out a good chunk and reworking something.

Size US0 needles and sport weight yarn gave me a much smaller gauge than the pattern recommended, so I had to frog the toe and start over with US 1½ - 2.5 mm.  Once my gauge was corrected I had to guess at the size based on foot length/shoe size with no given circumference, which is not my favorite (since the length of my foot doesn’t really affect how wide I want my socks).  I opted for the smaller size for a snug fit.

Poppy stems before the heel

The snug fit is good, but as you can see it makes for an interesting ridge where the stockinette toe shifts to the purl background for the pattern.

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!

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!

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.