KnitMe

The dog's breakfast

One of my weird Veil of Leaves socks is finished. It really is a sight.

The yarn is fairly soft and makes an elastic fabric. The colors - well, let's just say that they are unusual.

This pattern is the 'Cedar' sock architecture, it spreads the increases for the arch all around the foot instead of concentrating them in one or two places. There are only two actual increase rows, and they each increase 7 stitches evenly spaced around. Then, you increase another handful of stitches all at once in the gusset areas right before you turn the heel. I think that makes for a sock that is too baggy around the back of the ankle. I think this architecture would feel better to me if the increases were in two lines down the side of the foot from the anklebone.

The cobblestone cuff is a nice elastic top but boy it takes forever to knit it! You cast on a total of 144 stitches (for my sock gauge) using the magic caston, 72 on each needle, and knit in rounds as if this was a huge fat toe until you've done 3 or 4 rounds, then instead of turning that wedge into a circle and increasing for your toe, you knit the two rows of stitches together to close up this little tube, then join it into the round and you have a 72 stitch cuff. It is hard to describe but very elegant, although time-consuming.

You absolutely HAVE to do it on two circular needles, too. If you try to do it on 2 DPNs you will make yourself NUTS and waste an hour before you go back and start over on circulars. The 72 stitches are so long that you need a curve, and you can get that if one side of your tube is on the cable of a circular needle.

I am keeping on with Garnet, I have part of the front knit with the leaf panel up the center.

With the smaller gauge, the leaves don't stand out as much, but the fabric is nice.

Since I don't have much knitting, here's a cat.

Summer's here

These socks look very summery, too bad I can't wear them till fall!

The colorway is from Sweet Sheep and it's called 'Surf's Up' - it reminds me of the neon colors of snoballs. The photo just doesn't capture the intensity of these colors.

This was based on the 'Master Riverbed' pattern from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways book. In this photo you can see the increases on the sole.

I could have made them taller, but I didn't feel like increasing any more to fit, so I just threw on a linen-stitch cuff and quit.

The next sock architecture I decided to try was 'Cedar,' because I wanted to make another top-down sock with that snug arch fit. After some dithering I decided on the 'Veil of Leaves' pattern, and because I just HAD to, I wound up my dyeing fiasco yarn. It looks like the dog's breakfast but I just can't stop, I'm morbidly fascinated.

I'm at the arch expansion now, we'll see whether I can stand this much longer.

I am working on 'Garnet' from an Elsebeth Lavold collection, in Noro Lily, and I've finished the back.

I'm knitting this at a much tighter gauge than the label calls for, because I've used this yarn before and I know it tends to sag, so I'm making two sizes larger than I ordinarily would. It is a little hard on my hands but I think it will look nice.

I started the other weekend spinning up some Colonial top I've had in stash for several years. It is a pretty dark blue with green and red through it, but it is just not spinning nicely. Maybe it's sat around too long, but it is not drafting evenly and I'm afraid I won't like the yarn. We'll get a bobbin done sometime soon and see what it's like. It has just been too hot and sticky to spin much.

Unfortunately, none of these projects is inspiring me and making me thrilled to sit and knit. But I want them all to be done so I can use them....

All Dressed Up

This spring I knitted several scarves from my handspun Silkworker tussah tops. I knitted them as 'allovers' using traditional Shetland lace motifs. Next week our local fiber guild is having a show. I decided to enter three of my scarves. It's the first time I've ever gone to a show, so I'm pretty excited. Here are my 'babies' blocking on the bed.

Gibson Girl scarf in Rose Lace:

Gibson Girl top is a soft mix of sweet petal pinks, apricots and rose. I spun and plied it fine and somewhat loose, to allow the colors to blend gently into one another.

Rose Lace is a delicate pattern of rosebud nosegays set into a flowing trellis.

Subtle colorplay, intricate lace. A nice match.

Gumball Machine scarf in New Shell lace:

Gumball Machine top is a perky parade of long runs of bright candy colors. I spun and plied it firmly into a fine, crisp yarn that preserved the sparlking color every step of the way.

New Shell is a simple one-row lace pattern of solid chevron ribs separated by open ladders. Its talent for showcasing stripes has made it a classic for scarves since the days of the old Shetland knitters.

The rich vibrant color of the scarf is not due to matching up the colors between the plies. Rather it comes from color clarity within each ply. At any one spot the colors in each ply are pure, even though the color combinations are constantly changing.

Darling Clementine scarf in Crest 'o the Wave lace:

Darling Clementine top is a mix of cool rose, berry blues and sweetpea pinks, highlighted with yellow. I spun it thck-and-thin, in order to give it texture and an earthy feel to match its garden colors.

Crest 'o the Wave lace, like its famous cousins Old Shale and Feather and Fan, is an undulating pattern that brings out the charming colorplay in handpainted fiber.

Darling Clementine and Crest 'o the Wave come together in a scarf that is graceful, spontaneous, and fresh.

Three new scarves ready to go out on the town. All dressed up, they look pretty good. I couldn't be happier.