Tag Archives: socks

2:49 pm - February 18, 2013 - AngelaH

New sock day!

One of the reasons being a knitter is so awesome is because it offers the opportunity for fairly frequent joy. Oh yes, there’s usually an equal measure of frustration, but it’s those little joys that stand out. Today, that joy is putting on the brand new socks I finished yesterday. (Also, that joy is getting to cast on for another pair, which I obviously did, but that’s for another post.)

These are pretty simple socks, and I will knit them again because they’re just a little bit more interesting to knit than plain stockinette without really requiring much more focus. I knit these in the car, on the subway, and during many episodes of The Wire. Basically, they were just what I wanted them to be, and even though I was starting to dream of other socks by the end there, this pretty flickering green kept my attention from wandering too much. And, speaking of the colour, this is a great one for winter knitting. It has been pretty wintry in Toronto in the past few weeks, and getting to look at this bright colour on a regular basis was very nice indeed.

Details
Pattern: Hermione’s Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder (it’s a free one)
Yarn: Tosh Sock in Jade
Needles: 2.25mm
Modifications: Very few (and detailed here). I opted to do my normal slip-stitch heel instead of the garter-stitch edged one in the pattern. I also opted to do twisted ribbing at the top, which looks nice and is very elastic, but also annoyingly time consuming (I swear the ribbing took me almost as long as the entire leg.)

Now, I know the responsible thing to do would be to go finish the second sock from this pair, and I really was going to do that, but then this other yarn caught my eye and before I knew what was happening I was finished the ribbing and into the leg on new socks. I couldn’t help it. I mean, look at this yarn! Sigh.

Zitron Unisono sport weight in colourway 1220. This yarn is so springy and soft it is not to be believed. Also, it has aloe and jojoba in it. And it’s going to stripe. How was I supposed to resist that?

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Madeline Tosh, socks, unisono

10:49 am - February 12, 2013 - AngelaH

Lots of snow means lots of knitting

I grew up in rural Nova Scotia, which meant that every winter we’d get close to a dozen snow days (one year, we had so many school was almost extended into the summer to make up for it). Snow days were, of course, the best, and usually an excuse to sleep late and be lazy all day (except when we were little and then they were an excuse for a lot of playing). Living in Toronto, we don’t tend to get much snow, and working at a newspaper, my workplace is never closed because of weather.

Last week, though, Toronto got hit. That same big storm that barrelled through the the East Coast hit us first, and although we didn’t get quite as much snow, we got a lot (over a foot!). It mostly came on Friday and, yes, I had to work, but waking up on Saturday to a city that was still digging out meant that everything was quite and beautiful and wintry. If that combination doesn’t fill you with the desire to knit, well, I don’t know what does.

After long grey days, snow really brightens everything up.

L was busy marking assignments, so while we did go walking around in the snow and admiring how much prettier the city is in the snow – it was one of those perfect winter weekends, with a bright blue sky and no wind and snow everywhere – I spent the majority of the weekend happily knitting and listening to Tina Fey read Bossypants.

I was was a little all over the place knitting-wise, but here’s what I occupied my needles most:

I wish I'd taken a photo on Saturday morning, because I just about doubled the size of my Woodstove cardigan.

I wish I’d taken a photo on Saturday morning, because I just about doubled the size of my Woodstove Season cardigan.

I can sometimes be a reactionary knitter, thus, a new hat. This is Scrollwork by Irini Dmitrieva and I’m knitting it out of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Plume.

And, last but not least, I’m making good progress on my Everyday Socks. They’re good TV knitting, and with the cold, I’m extra motivated to get another pair of socks finished.

A little all over the place maybe, but I like variety; it keeps me interested and helps ensure my hands don’t get tired or sore. Those cables are addictive, though, and if it’s still cold out when I finish that hat I will probably cast on right away for the matching cowl!

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: Brooklyn Tweed, cables, hat, Madeline Tosh, snow, socks, Toronto, woodstove cardigan

1:02 pm - January 30, 2013 - AngelaH

Not quite a pair

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but it would seem that the last pair of socks I knit doesn’t match. At all.

I am not chalking this up to second sock syndrome, though, because there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. Let’s start with the sock on the left. I started these, according to Ravelry, on Oct. 30. It was background knitting in November and themn, after finishing the first one, shit got real with my Christmas knitting and the socks were put aside. (A noble sacrifice, really, and nothing to do with how much I wished they were Jaywalkers like my other ones or how tedious I find ribbing.)

A basic 3x1 ribbed sock in Fleece Artist BFL sock, colourway Seafoam.

A basic 3×1 ribbed sock in Fleece Artist BFL sock, colourway Seafoam.

After my Christmas knitting was done, I was determined to knit myself Christmas socks, and since this pair was half-finished it would have been cheating to pick them back up. So, I packed the yarn for my Biscotti socks and left these in Toronto when I went home for Christmas. I didn’t want the distraction of the easy gratification of just finishing one sock and calling it a pair, and I truly didn’t think the Biscotti socks would only take a week.

Hermione’s Everyday Socks, knit in Tosh Sock colourway Jade. It turns out this particular combination is impossible to properly photograph on a cloudy day (the colour is more accurate on Ravelry).

But, they did. And that quick knit combined with potential travel delays forced me to ball up a skein of Tosh Sock I bought at a Boxing Day sale. Nevermind that I didn’t actually need to cast on for new socks in this yarn until after I got home, where the Seafoam socks were waiting. That’s irrelevant. In my mind, I’d already planned new socks in this yarn and so, to scratch that itch, I cast on. They were background knitting in January and now, here I am almost in February, with an entirely mismatched pair.

To solve this problem, I’ve decided to keep trucking away on the green socks and get them finished, and then finish the Seafoam ones, which are in a very spring-ish colourway and thus won’t hurt for the wait. In the meantime, though, I’m half considering wearing them as a pair (even though they would look ridiculous and feel very different on my feet) just because I could really have used another pair of socks right about now.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Fleece Artist, Madeline Tosh, socks

11:38 am - January 4, 2013 - AngelaH

Looking ahead to 2013

It never really feels like a new year has begun until I have a new day planner. It probably sounds really quaint that I still use paper, but I have tried iCal and Google Calendar and the calendar on my phone and, frankly, I hate them all. I like writing things down and being able to map things out and add Post-It lists, and I really like having them as a record of my year. I don’t keep a diary anymore, so instead I use my day planner to keep track of things and while most of it is boring work stuff, it’s also a record of plans with friends, holidays, and all the fun stuff in my life.

Anyway, now that the organizational side of my brain has the whole year laid out in paper-form, I thought maybe my creative side should try to do a little goal-setting too. I’m not big on resolutions (it seems the point is more to make them than to work toward them), but I like goals (they’re more active and less lofty, it seems to me), so here are a few of mine, in no particular order:

1. Complete a sweater. I came so close with Buckwheat, but the endless stockinette killed me. This year, I want to get past that. I wear a lot of sweaters (pullovers and cardigans) in the winter, fall, and spring, so besides being a milestone in knitting, they’re a super practical addition to my wardrobe.

2. Learn to knit toe-up socks. I knit a lot of socks and generally don’t feel limited by my top-down style. Still, I learned a bunch of skills last year, and I don’t want to stagnate (as if that’s even possible with knitting.)

3. Consider the stash first. Deciding to go on a yarn diet would be pointless, because as soon as I said it I’d itch to buy something. Instead, when starting something new or eyeing a new pattern, I will look to my stash first. I have a lot of awesome yarn there, and it’s easy to forget that when the lure of a new project is dangling in front of me; however, I am running out of space, and want to use the yarn I bought, so it gets first priority. If, though, I don’t have what I need, or there’s a good reason to buy more yarn (I’m on a trip, it’s crazy on sale, whatever) I give myself permission to do so.

4. Be a more creative cook. Our New Year’s Eve dinner party went really well, and I want to have more of them (although maybe with fewer people – cooking for 11 is a lot of work). I don’t cook as much as I used to, and when I do I often make the same things. This year I want to try and branch out, both in terms of what I cook and who I cook for.

5. Publish a couple of patterns. I have a few designs kicking around that I’ve been too lazy to publish, and that’s dumb. This isn’t so much a pride thing as it is about creativity and being part of the larger community, and I want to dive in there.

Alright, that out of the way, here’s what’s on my needles to start 2012:

First up, my Woodstove Season cardigan. This may well be what accomplishes Goal 1, and I really hope it is because I love the design and the wool, and I really want to wear it.

The chevrons are just starting to be visible. (I’m knitting this in SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted in Cyprus)

I picked up some Tosh Sock at Gaspereau Valley Fibres when I was at home over the holidays (I did a bit of yarn shopping, actually, but we can talk about that later) and after I finished my Cranberry Biscotti Socks, I cast on for new ones. I hemmed and hawed about the pattern, but after casting on for three different ones, I settled on Hermione’s Everyday Socks since they were simple and pretty. I like them a lot.

Tosh Sock in Jade.

Lastly, this clearly isn’t quite on my needles yet, but this yarn will become the Moose Gloves you see in the photo (no one on Ravelry has made this pattern, so there’s no link).

This is more yarn purchased at Gaspereau – this time New England Shetland in Red and Charcoal. The gloves will be grey with red moose and patterning. (The red is only slightly less vibrant in person.)

L has wanted these gloves since before he bought me Norwegian Mittens and Gloves (they are why he bought it) and his birthday is coming up, so I’m going to buckle down and knit them up. The pattern calls for sport-weight, but since they all run a little small, I’m going to hold this fingering weight Shetland double. In my head, this is a perfect solution – what do you think?

So, that’s three projects on the go, plus five goals – not a bad start to the year. How’s your 2013 outlook?

Category: Knitting Tags: goals, Madeline Tosh, moose gloves, Shetland, socks, sweater, SweetGeorgia

1:22 pm - January 1, 2013 - AngelaH

The year in knitting

I’m just popping in quickly because L and I are hosting a New Year’s dinner party tonight and I’ve been instructed to take a break. So far our main course is chilling in the fridge, the soup is half-finished (the other half all has to happen mere moments before serving) and the cake is in the oven. I am no feeling so confident that I’m blogging instead of getting dressed (I have showered, though).

Anyway, it’s Dec. 31 and that means it’s time for some sort of end-of-year list. I’m not going to rehash everything, but here’s how 2012 played out for me knitting-wise:

My Colour Affection is probably my most commented-on knit. I am seriously contemplating knitting another one (maybe in laceweight) because it gets so much mileage.

Hats: 5 (two were for babies)
Pairs of socks: 9 (that is way more socks than I realized)
Pairs of Mittens: 7 (three were fingerless)
Shawls/scarves: 4
Baby Sweaters: 2
Tea cozies: 2

That makes 27 finished projects, assuming I’m not forgetting something – I wasn’t so good at Ravelry this time last year. In fact, this time last year I was just finishing my second pair of socks and had never attempted a cable or lace or fair isle, which makes 2012 a pretty huge learning year for me. This was the year that I went from muddling through little projects on my own to throwing myself at new things with confident abandon. I taught myself cables, lace, and fair isle, then started actually teaching knitting, and amassed a rather unwieldy stash. I am also a much quicker knitter now, which isn’t something I realized was happening, but considering I went from needing a month to knit a pair of socks to knitting my Cranberry Biscotti socks in a week, I’d say I picked up speed.

These were my first cables, and considering I designed the socks myself, I'd say they worked out pretty well. They are probably my most-worn pair, and I love everything about them.

These took me a month to knit and were my first cables. Considering I designed the socks myself, I’d say they worked out pretty well. They are probably my most-worn pair, and I love everything about them.

(So, people started arriving and I had to go get dressed and whatnot and didn’t manage to finish on time. Rather than rewriting the top, I’m just going to keep going… Happy New Year!)

I didn’t manage to finish everything I started last year, but I’m not doing too badly. The Seafoam socks are half finished, and I’ll wrap those up pretty soon. My Lonely Tree Shawl is also pretty close to finished, and I still like both the pattern and the yarn, and am starting to feel a lace itch coming on, so I suspect that won’t take long to finish either. I ripped out my Woodstove Cardigan (as you know) and then got distracted by Christmas and didn’t get back to it until Saturday. It’s moving along now, though, and I’m guessing it’ll be finished sometime in February (there are a few knits due to various people in the meantime that will take priority). My albatross, though, is Buckwheat. It only needs a sleeve and a half, but it’s been languishing because all the plain stockinette made me want to poke my eyes out. I do want it finished, though, so I’m going to buckle down in the next few months and get it done.

My last finished project of 2012 was my Cranberry Biscotti Socks, and since they didn’t get a post of their own, I’m going to add those details here. I read through some other pattern notes before starting and people mentioned that the stitch pattern wasn’t very stretchy, so I decided to go with a 2.5 mm needle and not change the stitch count. Honestly, I could easily have both decreased the stitch count and gone down a needle size, but oh well, they fit and they’re comfortable and warm, so I’m not really complaining.

Matchy matchy, and I like it that way.

Details
Pattern: Cranberry Biscotti by Elizabeth Sullivan
Yarn: Koigu KPM in #1180 (red), #2403 (grey), and #1305 (brown)
Needle: 2.5 mm dpns
Modifications: No major ones. I misread the pattern at the top of my first sock (only one wide band of grey) and then repeated that on the second sock so they would match. I also changed my last pattern repeat slightly so I wouldn’t end up with the last four inches of the sock all in red, and then repeated that on the second sock so they match. In a way, this pattern is kind of like knitting with a self-patterning yarn, except you do all the work. It was a great knit though, and because it takes relatively small amount of each colour (the secondary colours used about 30 grams each and the main colour used only about 70 grams) it’s a good pattern for using fingering weight yarn that might be leftover after a shawl or something. It would have been perfect, for example, for my Colour Affection leftovers.

I kind of wish I’d gone with white instead of grey (I waffled on it in the shop), but maybe the grey makes them less Christmasy? Also, I think it’s weird how the slipped stitch texture makes them look like chenille instead of wool. Weird, right?

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Koigu, socks, year in knitting

3:30 pm - December 30, 2012 - AngelaH

What I knit this Christmas

You’ve heard about it all of it, but a parade of finished and gifted knits is excellent closure. Plus, I didn’t really publish any proper shots of the finished pieces in case there were spies, so now you can see everything in its glory.

First up, the Daphne socks (a Cookie A. pattern) I knit for Jenny using Indigodragonfly Merino Silk 4-ply sock in Don’t You Have an Elsewhere to Be?. They were the first gift I finished and, weirdly, the first to be opened. They fit her very well and she says she can’t wait to go to a party where she can show them off.

I am going to have to knit myself a pair of these very soon I think.

Actually, technically speaking, L’s hat was the first gift to be opened, but that’s because we don’t spend Christmas day together, and instead exchange gifts on our anniversary the week before. I knit him a hat for his birthday in January (I was about to say last year, but that’s not quite true), and it has been well worn to the point of extreme fuzzy-ness. Thus, a new hat was in order. He requested dark grey, I obliged with Misti Alpaca Tonos Worsted, a gorgeous hand painted alpaca/wool blend in Marcasite. (The pattern is Horatio by Kristin Hanley Cardozo and I will almost certainly knit it again – it’s an excellent man hat.)

L has proclaimed this hat “very warm.”

My dad’s hat was something I half-planned for a while and then executed at the last minute. Initially, my plan was to design a fair isle hat in subtle greys, but I didn’t do it and then ran out of time, so things changed. I picked up some SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted in Slate from the shop and, after a quick browse on Ravelry, settled on the Men’s Mock Aran Men’s Hat by Heather Tucker. It was basic enough to be an everyday hat for my dad, but interesting enough that I didn’t resent it during the knitting.

Next time I knit this, I’m charting it.

After starting a pair of mittens for Connie and then deciding that both pattern and yarn were wrong, I switched to these Lily Mittens by Annemor Sundbo. I ended up using some Louet Gems from my stash (in Willow and Navy) and, honestly, I couldn’t be happier. The Louet was really nice to work with and the finished mittens fit perfectly.

The back of the thumbs are surprise stripes! (The thumbs are also made up because I forgot the chart at home.)

Finally, the tea cozy. What a friggin’ saga. I finished it in good time and then sewed in all the ends and then went to the workroom and sewed a lining before I left. I did think it looked a little big, but my mum’s tea pot is enormous, so I didn’t think much of it. I tried it on the tea pot when I got to my parents’ and wouldn’t you know, it was enormous. Luckily, I had not yet sewn in the lining, so I threw the tea cozy in the washing machine for a little felting action and, when it got about as small as I could make it without risking over-felting, I cut and re-sewed the lining and then sewed it in. Phew. It’s still a little big, but my mum is thrilled anyway because it’s the first tea cozy that’s ever actually covered the entire tea pot.

I don’t know why the colours came out like this in the photo. They’re much more accurate here.

(I think where I went wrong was that, when I took my original measurements, I added in some positive ease when I wrote down the number. When I went to knit the thing, though, I forgot that and added more ease. That’ll teach me to keep better notes.)

I don’t really have pictures of the mittens I gave my grandmother (besides those you’ve already seen) or the foot tubes, because I didn’t have my camera on me when they opened them. The mittens were a perfect fit, and I’ve heard nothing at all about the bed socks, so that’s anyone’s guess. The main thing, though, was that I managed to finish everything on time without going crazy (or becoming a shut-in) in the meantime.

How did your holiday knitting go?

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Christmas, gift knitting, hats, mittens, socks, tea cozy

11:57 am - December 28, 2012 - AngelaH

All over but the Kahlua

Yesterday, I flew back to Toronto from Nova Scotia. As you may have heard, the East Coast (as well as Ontario, Quebec, and the American Midwest) got rather a lot of snow yesterday, so my flight was delayed. Since my mum drove me to the airport in a snowstorm, a delayed flight was a welcome excuse not to rush, and we got there in time to have dinner in the airport pub before hugging goodbye at security. My flight didn’t board for another hour and a bit, but I was knitting and it wasn’t cancelled, so I wasn’t upset.

In journalism, three instances or examples of something in a reasonable period of time is considered a trend, and if that’s the benchmark I think it’s fair to say that delays during holiday travel have become an annual tradition for me. Not a tradition of my own making (I’m not missing flights or anything), but nonetheless, I’m getting good at waiting patiently in airports, not freaking out about bad weather, and mentally preparing for cancellations.

So, delayed flight? No problem. I had a snack in my carry on; I had a sock to finish and another ball of yarn wound and ready in case I needed it; I had two books – in short, I was not worried. The flight boarded and when the woman I was sitting next to asked me to put away my knitting for take off, I said “no problem” and leafed through the in-flight magazine until she said she was okay with me knitting again (I was quietly annoyed, but it was a bumpy flight and she seemed nervous about everything, so whatever, it’s the holidays). I knit through the turbulence all the way to Ottawa (an hour and 45 minutes or so). My nervous neighbour disembarked. I knit while we sat on the ground. I knit through the announcement that the flight was going to be diverted to Hamilton.

Let’s pause here so I can point out that, when the plane lands at the Toronto Island airport, I’m 20 minutes from home, but when it lands in Hamilton, I’m nearly two hours from home. I knit through that and despite being annoyed, decided that it was better than having to spend the night in Ottawa. The airline said they’d have a free shuttle to bring us to Toronto, so I was still going to get home. In bad weather, this is what you have to cling to.

I finished knitting my sock on that flight and then proceeded to sew in the ends. All fifty million little ends (well, there were 12, but that felt like a lot). The light was bad, but by the time we landed, I was almost done. I picked up my luggage (both bags made it!) and got on the warm and waiting shuttle. I finished sewing in my ends, had a nap, arrived in Toronto, grabbed the second cab that pulled up, and was home by 2 a.m. Yes, that’s later than I was expecting to be there, but honestly, only by about two hours, so I considered myself lucky. L and Ganymede aren’t home yet, so our apartment was dark, but it was warm, and there was lots of fun mail, so it wasn’t a terrible homecoming.

It was when I opened my bag to get out my pajamas and whatnot that I got the sense something might be wrong. There was this smell. It was sweet, and unmistakably sticky, and rather coffee-ish. I am, generally, a very slow unpacker. It drives L crazy, but I can’t help it; I hate unpacking. Nonetheless, I went in to investigate. Kahlua. The smell was Kahlua, and it was everywhere. I had packed a bottle in my bag (a gift from my sister) and I guess the pressure must have been too much because the lid of the bottle just sheared right off. When I pulled out the bottle to assess the damage, it was dangerously light, and that’s when I realized how bad it was: not a drop, not a small spill, but an entire bottle of dark brown, sticky liqueur had emptied into my bag. The truly miraculous thing is that it managed to get on every single white object in there while leaving almost all the dark (majority) of my clothes entirely untouched.

Gingerly, I began pulling alcohol soaked shirts and dresses out of my pack. It was like some sort of twisted Rorschach Test – can you really handle holiday travel? what do you see in this impending stain? – and as it became clear that all my favourite clothes were soaked, I held it together. It’s just clothing, I told myself, totally replaceable. Then, oh god, then I pulled out a skein of beautiful hand-dyed yarn that my mum had given me for Chrismtas and discovered it soaked through and I just about lost it. That’s right: delays, diversions, alcohol soaked clothes – all nothing; but three skeins of damaged yarn? Tears. Only two or three, though, because who has time to cry when your wardrobe is on the verge or irreparable stains and your yarn is damaged? (I have no photos of any of this because, although it is excellent blog fodder, it didn’t occur to me to take photos until after everything was in the water. Use your imagination, I doubt you’re picturing something worse than the reality.)

Thank goodness I’m a knitter. We are, without a doubt, the best equipped to do major hand washing, and I sprang into action. SOAK is a lifesaver. Alongside Spray and Wash, I think I may have saved everything. Seriously. Everything was still so wet that nothing had a chance to set, so after dousing it all with stain remover, I plunged it into a bucket of warm water filled with SOAK and left it there overnight. This morning the water was the colour of dark toffee, but my clothes came out stain free. The yarn I rinsed (carefully) in very hot water and hung to dry, it looks okay I think.

I may never be able to drink (or smell) Kahlua again, and I still have to do a proper clean of my bag, and I’m pretty sleep deprived, but I’m home. And, as a gift to L, I’m unpacked uncharacteristically early. I can only hope that if you have holiday travelling ahead of you that it goes more smoothly!

Oh, the socks? Here’s a shot of them finished (but unblocked – I’ve been a little busy). I’ll do a proper post about them later.

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: Christmas, nightmare, Nova Scotia, socks, travel

10:50 am - December 7, 2012 - AngelaH

Dancing Grannies

Standard Holiday Warning: If you are a member of my family, I love you, but if you read any further do so knowing that you will ruin Christmas.

Last night, I finished the first of the foot tubes. I’m two days ahead of schedule on those, and it feels awesome. So much of my anxiety about my Christmas knitting was wrapped up in knitting these giant bed socks, but it turned out all I needed was a plan (two inches per day) and they became totally manageable.

Of course, because it’s the holidays and everything going right is boring, I’m starting to worry about my sister’s mittens. I picked out the pattern ages ago and cast on this week. They’re from the same book as Carmen’s mitts, so I had a general ideal of what to worry about going in. I recharted the pattern before starting (see, I’m learning), adding four stitches around and 12 rows to the length of the hand (I also lengthened the cuff). The problem, though, is that I think I’m using the wrong yarn. I’m actually pretty much convinced that I’m using the wrong yarn, but it’s so nice that I don’t want to admit it to myself.

For Carmen’s mittens I used Cascade 220 sport, which is 100% superwash merino and was quite nice to work with. For my sister, though, I chose The Fibre Company Road to China Light. It’s also a sport weight (although it looks quite like fingering), and it’s a blend of alpaca, silk, camel, and cashmere. Can you say soft? I mean, this yarn is so, so soft. So. Soft. It is beautiful to work with and, I think, would prove quite warm and yummy to wear. It is finer than the Cascade, though, so I went up a needle size to balance out the gauge. This thing is, I don’t think it’s enough. I’m worried this yarn isn’t as stretchy as the wool (it isn’t – duh, Angela, silk content) and so while my sister’s hands are a little smaller than mine, I rather suspect she’ll have equal trouble pushing them into this mitt. At least part of this is due to the very long floats required by the Dancing Grannies pattern. I’m keeping my floats extra-loose, but with less-than-stretchy yarn, there’s only so much you can do.

About a third of the way through the hand.

So this is where I have to make the tough choice: Push ahead and risk ending up with a finished mitten that’s definitely too small, and realize there isn’t enough time to replace it; push ahead and witness a knitting miracle in which the finished mitten is the perfect size and totally beloved by my sister; or suck it up – rip it out and start over with a different yarn (I have some Louet Gems sport weight in acceptable colours in my stash). What would you do? I’m leaning toward ripping, but first I’m going to try blocking what I have. It’ll still be on the needles, but maybe the yarn will grow enough to give me hope (yes, that’s right, I didn’t swatch. Ugh.) I have to decide this weekend, though. If I restart on Monday (or, better yet, Sunday night) I’ll still make it, but any later than that and it’ll be very tight.

At least the foot tubes are working out?

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Christmas, gift knits, mittens, socks

11:38 am - December 3, 2012 - AngelaH

The never ending tea cozy

Standard Holiday Warning: If you are a member of my family, I love you, but if you read any further do so knowing that you will ruin Christmas.

Yesterday, I finished the tea cozy. Or, I at least bound-off, but in this case that isn’t really finishing. First of all, I don’t like how it looks, so I’m going to have to rip it out anyway, which is annoying, but should be worth it in the end. Secondly, this thing is going to be lined, which will give it both structure and warmth, and that still needs to be done. Honestly, this tea cozy is never ending. (As before, photos at the bottom.)

I have a plan, though. When I bound off the first time, I used a three-needle bind-off and, honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking. I hate the ridge; I knew I would hate the ridge; I did it anyway. Stupid. So, I’m going to rip it out. I’m also going to take about a half-inch off the top (if you’re ripping, why not go big, right?) and try something else. I think this might be a little crazy, but I’m going to try shaping the top of this tea cozy the same way Elizabeth Zimmerman shaped the bottom of her moccasin socks. I know.

The thing is, I don’t want a rounded, almost-pointy top. I want to decrease to a point, and then have a sort of smooth flat-ish top (it sounds better in my head). The only trouble with that is how to shape it. I don’t want a rectangle – which I have now – so I’m casting about for ways to make it rounder – any ideas? I came up with the moccasin sock idea because (and I’m little embarrassed, so don’t judge) I was looking for a post-Christmas knitting project. I need a carrot to finish in time (or even early) and I like knitting socks for myself over the holidays, so I was planning. It’s just a little motivational push, and I think that’s mostly okay since it isn’t like I’m casting on or anything*.

Okay, that sad little admission out there and I’m going back to the tea cozy. And also the foot tubes, which are zipping along – I figured I needed to knit two inches a day to be done on time, and so far that has been entirely manageable. If I can get this tea cozy under control I might even cast on mittens today.

*I’m not casting on, but I am thinking about it a lot. I’m thinking I’ll either knit Monkeys in a red skein of indigodragonfly I have in my stash, or a pair of these in a green skein of SweetGeorgia’s Tough Love Sock (kind of similar, I know). What do you think?

Category: Knitting Tags: Christmas, gift knits, mittens, plea for help, socks, tea cozy

11:39 am - November 16, 2012 - AngelaH

Tentatively on schedule

I say that despite not getting by sister’s Christmas socks finished on the weekend (I didn’t even knit on them over the weekend, if we’re being honest). Nonetheless, it’s mid-November and the most time-consuming item (at least, what I think will be most time-consuming) is finished. Oh sure, I still have fair isle mittens, hats and a not-yet-designed tea cozy, but I’m not worried. In my head, that all seems doable and straightforward. I’m going to miss working on these socks, though.

I’ll have real photos after Christmas. Promise.

I’m placing an embargo on shots of the finished items until after they’re gifted, so while I’ll post some photos as the knitting progresses, the finished shots will be a little vague. Even though you can’t see them properly, know that I am totally happy with these socks. I’ll post details below, but I just want to give a shout-out to indigodragonfly, whose Merino Silk 4-ply sock was the perfect substitute for the A Verb for Keeping Warm Metamorphosis yarn the pattern called for. The indigodragonfly has a higher silk content and is slightly lighter weight, but it was perfect for Cookie A.’s pattern.

Colourway: Don’t You Have an Elsewhere to Be? (Cordelia)

Also, second sock syndrome? Not over here. I’m not sure why, since these socks are basically a repeat of the same 12-row chart from top to bottom, but honestly, I think I just enjoyed the yarn so much that watching the same shapes come out of it never got boring. I can’t decide if that’s sad or not, but maybe I don’t care? I can tell you that I seriously want a pair of these socks in this yarn for myself, but that will have to wait until after the New Year (and after L’s birthday).

Are you embarking on Christmas knitting this year? How’s it going? I feel like it’s early enough to be optimistic and still be enjoying the whole process, so for heaven’s sakes let’s engage in a little of that before the manic must-finish stress rolls in. (There’s no way that’s just me.)

Details
Pattern: Daphne by Cookie A.
Yarn: Merino Silk 4-ply sock by indigodragonfly in Don’t You Have an Elsewhere to Be? (Cordelia)
Needles: 2.75 mm bamboo dpns
Modifications: Not many to be honest. I made the largest size (we are a family of big feet), but instead of using te sport weight wool called for, I used a fingering weight. I don’t think it really made much of a difference. Other than that, I used Cat Bordhi’s hungry stitch ssk method for both the gusset decreases and the toe shaping. The biggest change, I guess, was that to get the right length in the foot before starting the toe, I ended after row 6 in my final chart repeat (that’s the half-way point). It worked out fine and I don’t think it looks weird. Each repeat for me was 1 inch, so it was easy to calculate. I also have yarn left over (enough to do surprise toes on a future pair of socks, or work in as stripes somewhere), so considering I made the largest size for size-10 feet, that’s pretty awesome yardage. It’s ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Christmas, Cookie A., gift knits, Indigodragonfly, socks