September 25, 2006
Year of the sock
This really has been the year of the sock. I think that I've made 6 pairs this year (including Emmy's neon rainbow socks and these):
This was Knitpicks sock yarn in a discontinued color called 'Hydrangea'. It didn't knit up quite like I expected, but I like it. This yarn is a tad heavier than some sock yarns, so these are very cushy.
I like how the pooling at the instep sort of mirror imaged itself - not the shape so much, but the pool of pink is on the outside of both insteps.
Of course I started more socks right away. The is the beginning of the Cable and Rib sock by Nancy Bush from the Fall 2005 Interweave Knits.
Mmm I love Mountain Colors Bearfoot. I couldn't wait any longer to knit with it. The advantage of it is that it works up fast - the gauge is just a tad larger than standard sock yarn. This time I will take better care of it - the socks I finished last December in this yarn look a tad messy now because I just washed and dryed them like all my other superwash socks, which I think was a mistake. I loved that color and it's discontinued - if anybody has a hank of Bearfoot in 'garnet' lying around I would be happy to take it off your hands and put it on my feet.
I started spinning a little bit of tussah silk in a lilacs colorway, which Sam brought me in May as a hostess present. It's only 2 ounces so I am trying to spin it very very fine. This is 2 hours' worth of spinning:
Then the dilemma will be: how do I ply it? I don't think I'm getting it fine enough to navajo ply, so I will have to contend with the problem of plying silk from a center pull ball, which is rather a recipe for throwing the whole thing in the trash. At the rate I'm spinning this, I won't have to worry about that problem till maybe around Halloween.
Posted by Prudence at September 25, 2006 08:38 AMStep away from the centre pull ball. You know it's going to end up in a horrible mess but you hope that this time, this one time, it may go differently. It ends up in a horrible mess and all your hard work goes down the pan. Why not ply it with something else, maybe in charcoal grey. It would make your silk go further, preserve the colour changes and avoid the rat's nest of tangled single.
I shall now step back into the shadows and cry over my mess of tangled suri alpaca, fortunately it was only a small amount but it goes to show that I never do learn to stay away from the ball winder.
Posted by: Caroline M on September 25, 2006 10:21 AMThe silk looks quite delicious! How about getting a nice solid colour tussah to ply the lilacs with?
Good for you having all those nice hand knit socks in time for winter. They are a comfort in the cold.
Posted by: Melanie on September 25, 2006 11:53 AMHow about spinning up 1 oz each on 2 separate bobbins and then plying (if you want to ply it together).
Posted by: Angela on September 26, 2006 11:26 AMI would agree with the idea of plying with another yarn. Yes, the correct shade of grey is an excellent choice. Of course, a complimentary colour with one of the lilacs would be a very good choice too.
You could also try the Andean method of plying. It's much like a centre-pull ball, without all the inherent problems that can happen with that! Plying on itself is not always the best way to go with a multi-hued roving like this; you will lose the lovely shading you have now.
Posted by: Tallguy on September 27, 2006 04:13 AMLove the socks! Thanks for visiting and commenting on my silk "T."
Posted by: lv2knit on September 27, 2006 08:31 AMThe lilac silk looks lovely. I like Angela's idea for plying it. And with all those newly finished socks, your feet should be nice and toasty warm this winter.
Posted by: Vicki on September 27, 2006 09:32 AM