KnitMe

Bordhification

After posting two weeks ago about my blue Johanna knee socks, I tried on the foot I'd completed, and just couldn't deny that it was coming out too big. That is the last thing you need for knee socks. So I frogged it, and restarted with two changes. First, I switched to size 0 needles. Then, I decided to "Bordhi-fy" the foot so that it was sure to fit. I had a little spreadsheet I'd gotten from someone on Ravelry, that you can use to figure out your master numbers for any gauge once you have found a set that work for you in one gauge, so I entered whatever stitch gauge I knew would come out to a 60 stitch sock, measured my row gauge on the plain part of the toe I had just completed, and Voila, the numbers to Bordhi-fy the foot of the sock.

You can see on the sole of the sock the increase lines that show it's being worked in the Riverbed architecture. Once I arrived at the end of the heel flap and went back into round knitting, it was just the Johanna pattern again. I have a much snugger fit in the foot now, and a narrower ankle. I can still switch to size 1 needles later as I go up the leg. I would rather start out with a sock that is a little too snug, than one that is already too baggy.

I also finished the back of Titania. This is going to be a very pretty sweater.

I like the yarn too - it is very lightweight. I used just over two balls of Longmeadow for the entire back. I am knitting the 36 inch size, and getting a piece that is about 32 inches wide at the underarms unblocked, so I think it will turn out about as I intended. The pattern has you do the front first, but after completing the midriff segment I decided to make the back first because that midriff pattern, with lace on both right and wrong side rows, took some getting used to, to be sure I slanted the purl decreases the right direction and lined up the lace correctly. I should get a slightly better looking piece on my second try!

We had an interesting spinning group meeting Friday night. Someone showed up with about 20 pounds of raw alpaca fleece, which had been sent to her by a friend who raises alpacas for fun and has no use for the fiber. We all rummaged in the bags and took home lumps of the fleece, which seemed very silky and reasonably clean. I may have ended up with a pound or two, it was hard to tell. I took some white and some grey.

Knowing absolutely nothing about preparing and spinning alpaca, I checked on the Fiber Prep group on Ravelry, and found that while some people don't wash alpaca, it is a good idea to do so because alpacas have a habit of enjoying a good roll in the dust on a regular basis... So I popped both into the washing machine as if they were sheep fleece. Boy did I get muddy water out of that! They are drying now and looking even better, although there is still a lot of vegetable matter (in this case, sticks and twigs) to comb out. I guess I will try combing the stuff and see what happens when I try to spin it.

Posted by Prudence at June 29, 2009 08:06 AM