Bozeman Chullo

Yes, I did actually wear the Chullo

After finishing up my first pair of socks of 2013 I immediately cast on a new project...a hat.  I don't usually wear hats on a daily basis.  If the temperatures drop below 40 degrees I'll pull my Cassidy hat out as we head out for our morning walk.  It mostly covers my ears and it is not a beanie...dislike those types.  I also wear a Tilley to shade my face and neck when we hike, but I'm not usually a hat gal.  I know this, but for some reason I fell head over heels for this particular pattern.  May be the subject matter around the hat or the possibility of sub-zero temperatures while dog walking in Bozeman, MT after dark, but I could not get this hat out of my mind. 
I did not have anything appropriate in the stash...why does that always seem to happen?  The colors I chose match my purple ski coat.  The two skeins I ended up are somewhat an unusual color choice for me, but I wanted them to match the ski coat so the choices definitely were limited.  I loved the softness of the Madelinetosh...first time using this one.  Wonderfully soft against the skin...maybe I'll actually enjoying wearing it.


Details:
Pattern:  Cross-Country Chullo by Anne Featonby;

Yarn:  Tosh Merino Light by Madelinetosh; 100% superwash merino wool; fingering weight;  2 skeins of  420 yards/100 grams each;  colors- byzantine and sugarplum.  I still have 2 3/8 oz (66 grams) of sugarplum and 2 oz (58 grams) of byzantine.

Gauge:  32 stitches by 34 rows over 4 inches of stockinette stitch.  I was spot on row gauge for this one...for once.

Needles: 2 US 1.5 24" circular needles; 1 US 3 24" circular for I-cord.

Modifications:  Rather than using double point needles I chose to use 2 sets of circulars.  Way to many stitches to risk loosing them in the manipulation colorwork requires.  I followed the pattern until I reached chart E.  Since I was using circular needles I could try the hat on as I went to check the fit and make adjustments.  I started to get worried when it looked as if the hat was turning out way smaller than my big head.  My gauge was perfect so since the pattern did not list any measurements other than circumference I decided I'd add one pattern repeat...just in case.  I decreased back down once I started chart F and continued.  The fit was much better with the additional stitches so my anxiety lessened a good deal.

The only other change I made was the positioning of the ear flaps.  The designer had the ear flaps placed evenly...45 stitches per needle.  After looking over a few of the finished hats on Ravelry a good number talked about changing the placement of the flaps to further back.  It looked much nicer and covered the ears at a better angle.  I held 55 stitches for the front, started the first ear flap over the next 45 stitches, then held the next 35 stitches for the back and used the remaining 45 stitches for the second ear flap.  It looks more natural to me.  

I added tassels to the top and to the ends of the I-cord ties.  A quick shot of stream smoothed out the hat's stitches.  There are a couple of spots that I carried the yarn and snugged it up a bit tighter than I should have, but it isn't driving me batty enough to fix it.  I'm now ready for the winter escape to Bozeman...y'all better hope we get snow (and cold) or my hat won't make it out of my pocket.

Garden Pond

A few weeks back I started a small lace project.  I needed something that was easily done while sitting in a hospital waiting room.  In the queue for over a year was Garden Pond which as it turned out was the perfect project.  It was discovered at last year's Olde Liberty Fiber Faire in Wolle's booth.  I usually don't buy the particular  yarn called for in patterns.  Most of the time I'll find a pattern and look through the stash to see what yarns I have that will work with that particular pattern.  Sometimes the approach works out...sometime it does not.  In this case I bought the yarn and followed up with the pattern as soon as I saw the finished project in Wolle's booth.  I thought the sample color variegations were pretty cool.  I chose a different colorway , but this one worked just as well.  My husband even made positive comments on the finished wrap as it was blocking.  A winner!

The yarn is 100% cotton thread.  Not a fan of cotton yarns, but this one has a very interesting construction. It is made up of 6 strings which are not plied into what I'd call 'yarn' per see.  You knit along with all 6 strings dyed in the same shade of color.  At some point a small knot shows up where the color of one string changes...very little difference in shade is first noticed.  This shifting continues with each of the remaining strings until you've totally changed over to another color. Depending upon the size of the ball this will go through the process two times or more.  In my case it started out with six strings of a rich brown, adds a lighter taupe color until there are six strings of taupe, then switches to a sky blue until there are six strings of blue.  The effect is a gradual shift from brown to blue.  It makes me think of a garden in the spring...dirt to sky or maybe dirt to water would be a better description.  Whichever way you want to look at it the yarn was a perfect choice for a pattern called Garden Pond.

As a side note I did not cut the knot out of my knitting.  I was afraid things would fall apart as time goes on so I left the knot on the reverse side...pretty hard to spot once you're done.

The pattern was a just a small taste of lace...mostly stockinette with a band of lace to break up the boredom.  It was easily memorized and moved along pretty quickly.  The wrap is on the smallish size, but it used every last bit of this yarn.  In fact I ran a wee bit shy on the bind off and had to resort to a small substitution in order to finish.

Details
Pattern:  Garden Pond by Patricia Martin; 

Yarn:  Wolle's Yarn Creations Color Changing;100% cotton; Fingering; 100gram/480 yards; Colorway Blue Honey #4.

Needles:  Addi Lace; US 5; 48" circular

Gauge:  26 stitches x 26 rows

Size:  After blocking 42" x 19"...across the top at the longest point mine is a good bit larger than the pattern's schematic.

Modifications:  I decreased a few rows of stockinette in order to add another repeat of lace at the end.  The pattern called for just three repeats of the fern lace border and I wanted to do a bit more.  Although I did end up running out of yarn as I bound off...oops.  I ran out 18 inches from finishing the bind off.  What to do?  I ended up stash diving and substituted Rowan Calmer in a shade of blue that is so close that so far no one has noticed.  The gauge and ply are slightly off, but not enough for most people to notice...a knitter will notice a couple more errors.  Glaring ones. 

Yet one more 'mistake'...jeez

Can you spot the Rowan switch?

It is Montana Born...Twice

Time flies when your not looking...especially so when you are not updating the knitting blog in a timely fashion.  I do have a few posts that only need pictures taken of the finished item so they can be updated.  My latest and new favorite cardigan is Burrard.  I'm so happy with how this one turned out and was slightly disappointed thinking that I would have to wait until next Fall to wear it.  Happily our return to the East Coast coincided with a colder and wetter Spring than normal so it did get some wear.  I adore this cardigan and it will soon be making a return trip West. 

The cardigan was knit while we were spending part of our Winter in the area where the yarn originated.  How cool is that!  The yarn was made from Montana grown Cormo sheep.  It made its return journey with us back to Montana...actually it went last summer too, but never made it out of the car.  Sad, but true.  I cast on the first sleeve as we drove from east to west.  I decided to be radical and not knit a 'bonified' gauge swatch instead I used my sleeve as the swatch.  It worked so well that I may need to be radical all the time.  At least I didn't feel like I was 'wasting time' on the swatching. 

The yarn has been in the stash for quite sometime...waiting for that 'perfect pattern'.  I used the same yarn for my Cassidy in a grayish color and loved it so much that I immediately bought the remaining skeins in cream.  After wandering around Ravelry for a few days I discovered Burrard.  Only a few had been knit, but the cabled back was spectacular.  I'm such a sucker for anything cabled.  Since the Elsa Wool was just sitting there and we were heading to Montana it seemed to be a perfect combination. 

I usually don't get an awful lot of knitting done when we travel.  I end up taking far more than I can do...afraid I'll run out of something do.  It has happened every time we head out on our little adventures.  This time it was different...not camping and not driving all over creation.  We stayed put in one location and I actually knit every night.  Of course I still took more than I could knit, but only 2 other projects.  You know...just in case.

Details
Project:  Burrard by Glenna C. at Twist Collective Winter 2012;


Yarn:  Elsa Wool;  100% Montana grown Cormo wool; woolen spun; worsted; 237 yards per 4 ounces; in natural (aka white).  I had a total of 7 skeins, but used only 4...well 92 grams of ball 4.  The other great thing is each skein weighed slightly more than the 4 ounces listed so I have enough for a matching hat.

Gauge:  20 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches of stockinette stitch

Needles:  6 US Addi Clicks

Modifications:  To be honest I only changed the shoulder shaping.  I decided to rewrite it for 3 needle bind off...it just looks so much nicer in the finishing. I also added one extra button hole to the collar since I always seem to miss it.  The one thing I thought about changing was the collar.  The pictures looked really odd...way too small.  Once I started to knit it I liked the shape that was developing so I kept the original collar.  It stands up nicely and looks much better than when it is rolled down.  I like the overall look when the collar is up so I'm thinking this will be how I wear it in the future.

I chose buttons that contrasted rather than matched this particular cardigan.  I'm always undecided about which way to go...contrast or matchy.  Most of the time I end up with more of a match between the yarn and the button.  I decided that Burrard looked the nicest with the contrasting buttons.  They can always be changed, right?

Procastination?

Lately my knitting has 'suffered' a bit from a lack of interest or maybe a better explanation is a love/hate for the project I had been working on since...March!  Good grief!  When I looked up when I cast on I realized it was way back at the end of March.  I started it right before we left Bozeman.  It was going to be my car knitting for our drive back East.  Not long (2 hours) into our 3 day drive I knew I was going to hate the knitting of this particular pattern.  Although I love the overall effect of elongated stitches I don't enjoy the manipulation of the needles and yarn necessary to achieve the effect.  Especially using size 1 needles...it took me 3 months to get one sock completed and I have I yet to cast on for the second sock. 

This is the first time in my years of knitting that I have failed to start the second sock as soon as I finished the first one...a sign perhaps?

Out of Order...Baby Knitting

My Blog's knitting order is all messed up.  Usually I post in the order that I cast on and finish items.  Right at this moment I'm 3 or possibly 4 posts behind because I have not taken the proper pictures to go along with my posts.  Why?  The usual reasons...don't think about it when the light is good or I think about it and it decides to rain or is cloudy for DAYS.  As luck would have it I do have pictures of two of my latest finished items. I had to mail them off to the recipient so the need for finished pictures outweighed the weather.  My Fall Acer cardigan will have to wait on sunshine as will my churro and Montana cardigan...for shame. 

Anyway I started a baby project well after the baby arrived (5 months? Jeez).  In my defense I wasn't aware of the impending birth until a couple weeks before the arrival.  With Christmas and Dad's knee surgery all converging together baby knitting wasn't on the top of my list.  Then Bozeman got in the way and I knit myself a sweater while in Montana...the yarn came from Montana grown sheep after all.  Once that was done and we were back in Virginia I broke out the baby book to find a pattern.  I decided on the Cabled Tunic and added a pair of Leaf Laced Booties to go along with a bright set of leggings.  Let's hope for a good fit since I have no idea how big she's grown.

The nice thing about baby knitting is the quickness of the knitting...once you start the knitting.  These items would have been done in well under a week, but my knitting time has been interrupted by tired hands.  I have had to cut back on the knitting time to keep my thumb from doing it for me.  Anyway the Tunic was fun to knit and turned out so darn cute.  A bit fiddly when it came time to seaming the ruffles, but I did not want to knit this in the round. 

As for the booties all I can say is I wish the patterned leaf popped more on the toe.  It was lost a bit due to the softness of the yarn.  I wonder if I had dropped down a needle size things might have looked better.  These were soft and the strap through the top loop was simple once you started knitting.  I did misread the pattern (skipping past a whole paragraph) while knitting the left bootie, but easily turned it into the right side bootie so no time or effort was lost.  Overall I'm pleased this little package is done and on its way before the youngster starts school.



Details:
Pattern #1:  Cabled Tunic by Lee Gant from 60 Quick Baby Knits 

Yarns:  Sweet Delight Baby by Baby Bee; Sport / 5 ply; 60% Acrylic, 40% Nylon ; 377 yards / 115 grams in Grape Jelly (230 yards) and Berry (256 yards).

Needles:  US 4 and US 6, Addi Clicks

Gauge: 23 stitches by 29 rows over 4 inches of stockinette

Size:  12 month

Modifications:  As always I rewrote the shoulders for three needle bind off. 

I also should say something about the yarn.  The yarn snob in me really didn't want to use this yarn, but it was available and I wanted something washable since it is so much easier on the parents.  It didn't split and seems soft to the touch,  The cables looked nice.  I hope that over time the shape holds up well.  It isn't a cotton blend so maybe it will be fine and won't grow with the child.  I used 2 different colors...grape jelly for the body so the cables would pop and berry for the neck and arm trim, as well as the ruffles.

Details:
Pattern #2:  Leaf Laced Booties by Jacqueline van Dillen from 60 Quick Baby Knits
Yarns:   Sweet Delight Baby by Baby Bee; Sport / 5 ply; 60% Acrylic, 40% Nylon ; 377 yards / 115 grams in Grape Jelly.  I used only 71yards for these.

Needles:  US 4,  Addi Clicks and DPN's

Gauge:  22 stitches by 44 rows over 4 inches of stockinette

Size:  9 month

Modifications:  None

Hopefully the rest of my knitting will get posted soon...if the sun comes out so I can get decent pictures.  At the moment it seems unlikely to happen this week.  Since I only have a single pair of socks on the needles I need to choose my next project.  Thinking about lace...
 

 

As you can see Blogger is not playing well with my pictures...no idea what's up with these, but my Ravelry pictures for the Cabled Tunic and Booties are fine

First Knit of 2013

My first completion of the new year is...a pair of socks.  Of course it would have to be a pair of socks.  Not much else can be accomplished quite as quick, although these were actually started in 2012.  I had hoped to add one last pair to the great Sock Club adventure, but was not able to get them done before midnight.  These also may be my last pair for a while since I'm a bit burned out on socks.  Although I'm sure I'll have a set on the needles for our upcoming adventure...stay tuned for that story.

These were knit for someone other than myself so it was somewhat more difficult to make changes to the pattern.  I know what I like in my socks not so sure about others.  These are the first socks knit for this person so I hope she will like them.  Knitting socks for others is not something I usually do since most people don't understand the effort and beauty of a hand knit...sock or really anything handmade.  I do love to knit for those that appreciate something special.  I think that these will be appreciated by the new wearer...hope she likes them. 

The yarn is another one from Three Irish Girls that was a special reduced price...whoohooo.  My first time using this particular yarn.  It was not as soft as some others, but once it was dunked in some water and blocked they softened quite a bit. 

Details:

Pattern:  Tadpoles by Jenna Swanson;

Yarn:  Beckon Stretch Merino by Three Irish Girls; 100% superwash Merino;  3.5 Oz/ 370 yards.

Gauge:  28 stitches per 4 inches

Modifications:  The original pattern was written as a cuff down sock, but I redid these as a toe up version.  Although I did not reverse the pattern rows to reflect the change to toe up...still looks cool.

One thing I did try that was different form the original design...adding the patterning on the back of the leg.  The original had the pattern only on the front of the leg and I figured I would go ahead and do the patterning all around the leg.  It seemed weird to me that this was not done, but no mention as to why.  I discovered why once I finished knitting the first sock...tight getting it up & over the heel.  At first I thought it was due to my bigger foot, but the new recipient had the same trouble.  I frogged back to the heel and knit as designed...pattern only on the front and plain on the back.  Hopefully this will fit her foot as a well.

How about that a matched set!

I used the usual Turkish cast on, Fleegle heel and bound off using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.  I've become somewhat predictable it appears.

At some point I need to post a picture of my socks from 2012.  It is quite a collection. 

My Opals

My last month of 2012's Self Imposed Sock Club is done.  Yeah!  I ended with the oldest yarn in the stash...seemed appropriate.  The yarn was given to me by Anonymous who wrote one of the first knitting blogs that I stumbled upon.  She or he (no idea) had made one of those pledges that all knitters make from time to time...'will not buy more yarn until I knit what I have'.  Everyone has made that claim at some point, right?  At the time that Anonymous made hers/his they broke it by buying 13 skeins.  As 'punishment' she (or he) decided that in order to appease the Knitting Gods an equal number of skeins had to leave the stash.  I was the lucky recipient of one of those skeins.  Since this is the last month of my sock club I knew which yarn should close out the year. 

As for the pattern I decided that I would just knit a generic toe up sock...mainly due to the striping of this yarn.  I didn't want to find a pattern and thought I'd let the yarn do the work.  This yarn had a self stripping pattern and I really wanted the socks to match.  So easy to say, but it turned out not so easy to pull off.  This yarn had the longest pattern sections I have ever seen.  I used my usual method of setting up the balls....wound it into one ball, weighed it, and started to rewind it into ball two.  Trouble soon began when I pulled out the yarn to measure the pattern length.  Goodness gracious did I create one mess of yarn...it went on and on.  Every time I thought I had the pattern it would turn out that it wasn't quite the same.  After pulling out what looked like half the darn ball I finally found the repeat.  I ended up knitting almost an entire sock with the one repeat...that's never happened before. 

I did end up with a pair of perfectly matched stripey socks...in a strange mix of purple, blue/white, blue and beige.  You should see the mess I made of what was leftover...

Details:
Pattern: Generic toe up socks

Yarn:  Opal Ambiente by Zwerger Garn;  Fingering / 4 ply; 75% Wool, 25% Nylon;  465 yards / 100 grams.  I had a mess once these were done and did not weigh the unraveled ball.  Maybe once I get back to my desk I'll untangle it.

Needles: 2 US 1.5, 24" circular needles

Gauge:  32 stitches over 4 inches of stockinette

Modifications:  I sort of used Wendy Johnson's generic toe up formula for knitting socks.  I changed the cast on, heel, and bind off so it was mainly used as a reminder of pieces and parts I needed to complete the sock.  I used a Turkish cast on and increased until I hit my magic number of 32 stitches per needle.  Once I hit the heel I did my favorite...the Fleegle Heel.  When it was time to bind off I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind off.

Overall these ended up being a pretty neat way to end the year.  Love the fact that these match...kind of magically considering what the mess looks like on my desk.

Winter Promenade

An actual knitted Christmas item that only took a few hours to knit.  It is the perfect hand knit gift...Promenade Scarf.  I'm still wondering why the designer chose to call it a scarf.  My dad said 'it is the shortest scarf ever seen'.  Anyway it only took an evening to get this one completed...got to love that at this time of year.

I used one of my skeins from last year's Three Irish Girls Stash Menagerie Club.  Since I only had one skein of bulky weight my pattern options were somewhat limited.  A cowl or fingerless mitts were about my only choices.  I decided that a cowl would be the most useful and appreciated of the two.

The pattern was so simple yet fun and interesting to knit.  I adore cables on hand knits so this simple 7 stitch cable was perfect.  Easy to remember and worked well with the semi-solid shade of the yarn.  The cables popped even in the bulky weight which I was somewhat worried about as I completed the first repeat. Given that I only had the one skein I was able to complete the full 7 repeats and add one knitted row before the bind off.  There was still with enough yarn to sew on the buttons and have a bit left to send along just in case a repair was necessary in the future. 

Details:

Pattern:  Promenade Scarf by Mimi Hill;

Yarn:  Springvale Bulky by Three Irish Girls; 100% superwash merino wool; 4 oz./98 yards;  colorway: Katherine Hepburn;  I used all but 6 grams to complete the cowl...oops scarf. 

Needles:  US 9; Addi Clicks; 24" cable

Gauge:  17 stitches per 4 inches of cable pattern

Modifications:  I knit this as written until I finished row 4 of the pattern.  I added one more knitted row before binding off in pattern.  After blocking the finished cowl/scarf was 6" by 26" which fit nicely around my neck. 

Of Course its a Sweater

A few weeks ago I finished yet another item I never thought I'd knit.  Yes, I call it a sweater although not a 'traditional' one.   No seams or blocking were needed and I was able to use a bit of left over sock yarn.  Even after knitting socks and this little sweater I still have some left from this never ending ball of yarn.  What's with that?

Remember back when I knit the chickens some sweaters so they could better enjoy the Bozeman winter?  Well it was reported that their guinea pig...Scrappy was somewhat put off that he didn't get one.   I hit Ravelry's pattern search and found a few patterns.  After laughing that others had actually knit piggie sweaters I cast on.

Scrappy meets Sasha Fierce

The pattern did have a few errors, but I just changed the increases so the ribbed pattern would work out.  I mean it's for small critter...whose going to really care that the ribbing doesn't end correctly?  Me, who else.  Unfortunately I'm a crazy knitter and noticed it wasn't going to work as written.  I did a few less increases than the pattern called for and the problem was solved.

Sasha Fierce's new sweater

It turned out to be a cute little item.  Looks absolutely adorable on the stuffed monkey I found in the closet.  The little pattern would work for an entire menagerie of critters.  In fact it has been reported that Scrappy the guinea pig did not appreciate the attire quite so much.

It now belongs to Sasha Fierce...the most adorable kitten in Bozeman, MT

Details

Front

Pattern:  Nicholas' Guinea Pig Sweater by Jen Bianchi;

Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura by Zitron; Fingering / 4 ply; 75% Wool, 25% Bamboo; 459 yards / 100 gram.  I used about 150 yards or so...cannot find the scrap of paper with the actual amount.

Needles:  2 US 1.5 circulars; 24 inches long

Back

Gauge:  Not important...it's for a piggie and it is all ribbing so the fit is very forgiving.

Mods:  I cast on the proper amount of stitches as called for in the pattern, but used 2 circular needles.  I did the back with one set and then set up the front using the second set.  The increases for the front was slightly different in order to maintain the ribbing pattern of p2, k6 when I rejoined in the round.  Once I had the length I wanted I decreased my stitches back down to the original number.  I ended with a p2k2 ribbed edge for 4 rows and cast off in pattern. 

ribbed edge

Sasha Fierce

At Least They Were Done in October

I cheated on this month's socks in a big way.  I think these were started maybe a year** ago?  Could be...I deleted them from my Ravelry page for some reason so I don't have a clue as to the cast on date.  Anyway I found them buried in one of my knitting bags and decided to cheat on the October sock.  Not much else to really say about it other than I'm finished with one more unfinished project.

One thing the sock did confirm...I actually prefer using 2 circulars to knit my socks.  I may go as far as saying I would rather knit them toe up than cuff down.   I never thought I'd change my mind, but I think I'm faster knitting them toe up.  Maybe I should do a timed experiment when I have nothing else going on. 

Details

Pattern:  His & Her Socks by Ann Budd in Knitted Gifts;

Yarn:  Gems Sport Weight by Louet; Sport / 5 ply; 100% Merino; 225 yards / 100 gram.  I used 1 1/4 skeins and ended up with 74 grams left over.

Needles: US 2; 4 metal DPN's

Gauge:  about 17 stitches over 2 inches

Modifications:  No mods made to the original pattern.

I still have one more unfinished pair of socks in the bag.  It's one I started last December on a car trip.  I finished one sock, cast on for the second sock, then threw it in the knitting bag once home.  This may be the month* I catch up from not getting it done.  It's a simple pattern that I have written out and worked using a 'plain sock' recipe.  It is supposed to break up a variegated sock yarn.

I usually finish my socks one after another so it's pretty unusual for me to have second sock syndrome...especially 2 sets.  It will be corrected this month* and I'll be caught up with both unfinished projects and my Sock Club knitting.  It's a win win!


*I evidently couldn't maintain my mojo on the swirly sock so it will my November sock.  Promise...

**I found them on my Ravelry page...how about a cast on date of Feb 8th, 2010.  Wow

Something Completely Different

In August while we were in Bozeman, MT we had dinner with the daughter of our good friends CH & TH.  Ms. S had a request...she went on to explain that the house that she was renting with three other MSU (Montana State University) students had a chicken coop in the backyard.  OK that's terrific...'free eggs' and all, then she dropped the bombshell...chicken sweaters.

Yep,  the Bozeman winters are pretty darn cold and she wanted to make sure that the chickens would be warm so she asked if I would knit some sweaters.  She had Googled a few pictures too.  I figured what the heck.  When we got back East I found a few patterns on Ravelry.  I dove onto my stash of leftover blanket yarn and pulled out some MSU colors- blue and gold and some variegated yarn in reds and blues.

I decided that the pattern was perfect for knitting in the car while heading to a VT football game.  After about 2 hours it was done except for the error glaring back at me.  Yes it was for a chicken, but it should at least be knit properly.  It seems I 'forgot' the edge should have been knit in garter rather than stockinette so it curled back on itself horridly.  I frogged it and re-knit on our way back from football.

I ended up knitting 3 sweater.  On one I used Velcro as its closure, but the other two have buttons.  I like the buttons although I'm wondering if the chickens will like them too.  Three have been knit (although there are 6 chickens) and I'm waiting until I hear back as to fit...and hopefully a video of the girls putting them on the chickens.

Details:
Pattern:  Rescued Battery Hen by Jacqui Bennett;


Yarn:  Plymouth Galway and Patons Classic Wool; about 100 yards or so for each sweater


Needle:  Lantern Moon Ebony US 7, straights;  I never get to use my straights anymore.

Gauge:  forgot to measure- oops


Modification:  Added a contrasting double crochet edge around the necks- even a chicken should look stylish!

September Lendrum Socks

Well how about that...a pair of socks completed before the end of the month.  Proves once again that if knitting occurs then one can produce a finished item.  This pattern has been in the queue for sometime.  I first found it on the Yarn Harlot's blog a few years back, but since I did not knit socks "toe up" at the time I filed it away.   Thrilled that I remembered these when I was searching for a September sock pattern.  The Harlot was right when she said that this pattern always seems to knit up fast.  I finished the pair 5 days early.  It has been somewhat surprising given the fact that by evening my hands have been achy from sanding and refinishing kitchen cabinets.  That's a whole other story...maybe I should document that project.
 
As a reward I cast on for a cardigan...Acer.  I figured I could knit a bit on the cardi rather than cast on more socks because to be honest I wanted to knit with bigger needles...achy hands and wrists like bigger needles!   The yarn traveled across the country with the knitting bag it deserves to be out in the fresh air.  It's Springvale DK from Three Irish Sisters in a lovely neutral shade of grayish brown called driftwood.  It's knitting up rather nicely.

Enough about that this is supposed to be about my September socks.  The Leyburns knit up pretty darn quick just like the Yarn Harlot said.  A very interesting pattern that would be perfect for most any yarn.  I used a solid color, but I think that it would work extremely well with a variegated yarn.  The yarn manipulation definitely would break up any pooling and the patterning would still be visible.  I certainly can see knitting this one again with a wildly patterned yarn.  The pattern looks complicated, but it was very easy to remember and execute. 

Details:

Pattern:  Leyburn by Mintyfresh;

Yarn:  2 skeins of Shibui Socks; Fingering / 4 ply; 100% Merino; 191 yards / 50 gram.  I used most of both skeins with 10 grams leftover from each one.

Needles:  2 US 1.5 24" circulars

Gauge:  7 stitches per inch

Modifications:  I used a Turkish cast on for the toes...casting on 20 stitches and increasing upwards according to the pattern although I stopped increasing at 68 stitches because it fits my narrow foot much better..

Rather than a traditional short row heel I did my favorite- Fleegle heel.  Reading through a few pattern notes on Ravelry I noticed that others had complained that the sock was difficult to get over the heel.  I decided to go ahead and add a few extra stitches in the heel area as called for in the pattern.   I had no problem getting socks on and off.   I don't know if it was the Fleegle heel or the few extra stitches, but the heel fits nicely.  No sagging or slouchiness in the ankles.

I finished off the sock using my favorite Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.  Not sure if the modifications made any difference or not, but these socks do fit very nicely.

August in September

Loco Monkey Socks

As everyone knows I decided to decrease my sock yarn stash by setting up a Self Imposed Sock Club for 2012.  It really has been a good way to force me to knit from my rather large sock yarn stash rather than continually adding yarns to it...for the most part anyway.   Unfortunately my summer travels interrupted the process...significantly some would say.  After not missing a single deadline I missed both July and August while we were wandering throughout the West.  I did manage to get my August socks done a mere 5 days late...or maybe they were July's socks.  Who really knows (or cares) at this point.   I actually had  Magic Mirror on the needles for July, but kept having trouble with the pattern so it was abandoned and I started these.

The pattern name is certainly appropriate for our busy summer...some would have called it Loco (crazy).  Someone did call me loco for taking up 'so much room' with my knitting bag...it never left the car.  What?  Sad, but true...never touched my knitting bag except to shove it aside looking for camping gear.  My small project bag did make it out on a few occasions when I had time to sit and knit...usually when the other half was recovering from a strenuous hike and wanted a nap.

I need to somehow catch up and knit 2 pairs in a month's time...one can dream.


For the August sock I used a couple of skeins of yarn that I had from way back...Brown Sheep's Wildfoote.   According to my Ravelry page it was put in my online stash September 2007 so to celebrate 5 years of marinating in the stash it has been turned into a pair of socks.   The pattern is one I have knit before, but the end result always turned out slightly bigger than desired.  This pair fits nicely.  I don't know if it's the technique versus I am a better knitter.  Either way I like these much better than my original pair of Monkey's.

Details
Pattern:  Los Monos Locos/The Crazy Monkeys by Jennifer O'Sullivan (and Cookie A)

Yarn:  Brown Sheep's Wildfoote in the colorway Mums; 75% Washable Wool, 25% Nylon; 215 yards per 50 gram skein; 2 skeins used, but I had 14 grams and 15 grams leftover from the skeins.

Needles:  2 US 1.5 mm 24" circulars

Gauge:  36 stitches and 44 rows over 4 inches of stockinette

Modifications:   I once again knit a fleegle heel and bound off using the Jeny's surprisingly stretchy bind off.  Both techniques are my current favorites for heels and sock bind offs.  These monkey socks do not have any purl stitches and were knit toe up.  It was really a nice way to knit Cookie A's pattern.  I could monitor the amount of yarn used and check the fit as I went.  Maybe that is what helped the socks fit so much better than my original Monkeys.

Still not sure which pattern to do for September...hopefully I'll settle on it tonight and cast on.  Better get cracking!