KnitMe

What Flower Basket?

You still aren't going to see that poor neglected little Flower Basket. I haven't touched it in weeks. We've had a cold snap, so my dedication to St. Enda hasn't been discouraged yet.

I finished my Latvian Socks.

It's warming up this week so I won't be wearing them, but I'm pretty happy with them and how wonderfully the Sock! colors show up. They're nice and tall, too, well past mid-calf.

I had about 50 yards of yarn left, so I was not in danger but my margin of error was not that great. I have a much better sense now of how far I can push a hank of Lisa's sock yarn. I have found that I need to make my socks shorter than I would guess from measuring my foot - especially with a dutch or half-handkerchief heel like these socks have - otherwise, they stretch out when I'm wearing them until the heel looks like a little pouch sticking out the back of my clogs.

I'm back in my Nancy Bush books looking for my next sock. I'm having trouble deciding, but I should make up my mind in the next day or so because I need knitting for mindless moments such as bath time. I think it's down to "Canal du Midi," "Unst," and "Traveler's Socks" from Knitting on the Road, and the "Girl's Silk Sock" from Knitting Vintage Socks (I think that's what they are called... the sample is knitted in purple Lorna's Laces). I am also having trouble choosing my next yarn as I have about 8 hanks that are all calling my name. It's pretty loud in the sunroom when all the hanks get started up together.

I am assembling parts of St. Enda so I can embark on my shaped saddle shoulders.

I abandoned the front after 2 chart repeats and started making sleeves. As of last night I had completed the second sleeve so I'm going back to the front now. My goal is to do just what Janine did. I believe she knitted the entire thing in the round. I will join everything up at the armholes and knit just the upper part in the round. Here is my planning material.

I am knitting this yarn (Berroco Bluefaced Leicester) at a gauge that suits the yarn, which means that it is just slightly smaller than what the pattern calls for. I have knitted this yarn on size 8s before and was not happy with the result, so I'm using size 7 and getting a much nicer fabric. However, the pattern calls for 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch and I'm getting just a scootch more than 5 stitches, and a little more than 7 rows per inch. It means I will get a sweater that won't be hugely long, which is nice. It means I had to make a decision on the sleeves - stop after the 3 1/3 pattern repeats the design calls for, and take a chance on a slightly short sleeve, or make 4 1/3 and be positive they'll be too long. I opted for the former - I am so sick of sleeves that I have to keep pushing up. We'll see.

I finished a bobbin of my silk on Saturday. I think this is about 4 ounces of singles.

Jan-who-spins-silk-and-doesn't-blog confirmed my suspicions that this would NOT be a good thing to ply from a center-pull ball, so I've started a second bobbin and I have to wait to see what the yarn will be like. And so do you!

Posted by Prudence at April 10, 2006 07:12 AM