FO: Garter Rib Socks

Pattern: Garter rib from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Knit Picks' Felici in the Pebble colorway
Needles: Knit Picks' DPNs size 1 (2.25mm)
Started: October 3
Finished: November 2
Modifications: Maia's toe-up gusseted heel, eye of partridge stitch carried through the heel turn and up the back of the heel.
What I learned: 1) Love the look of EOP instead of a slipped stitch heel. 2) I don't work well on deadline. These were initially my October entry for the SAMKAL4 and, well, you can see when they got finished.

When I first started these, the garter rib pattern was great; interesting enough to not be boring, but simple enough that I could work on the socks anywhere. After I finished the first sock though, SSS hit hard. I could barely stand to switch from knit to purl every other row. I see some straight up stockinette stitch socks in my future.

The same thing happened with the yarn, on the first sock, I loved it, the feel of the yarn and the colorway; I kept anticipating each color change. However, with the second sock, the yarn (and needles) just seemed too fine/small. At times it felt like I was working with sewing floss instead of wool yarn. Don't take that as a knock on the yarn though, I suspect it may have to do with the colder weather and lack of humidity (or something like that).

The socks fit well enough, but I think I made the feet a little too long. I started the heel flap sooner, and thus made it longer, than on the twisted tweed socks and it messed things up. The foot being longer made the leg shorter, they're just barely long enough for me. I'm still experimenting to find the perfect equation to fit my feet, but with all the variables, I'm afraid it may take a while. Unfortunately, I don't have it in me to knit the same pattern over and over again until I get it right.

P.S. Check out the blog contest over at Fine Martial Fiber. Can you guess the smiles?

It's been too long

First a clerical issue... The response I posted below was not my own, but someone who had commented on Debbie's blog post. I simply agreed with what he had to say. Thanks for all the comments, it's good to know there are people out there with their head on straight. :) Enough of that, it's been up too long. Back to knitting.

I've picked up progress on the Garter-Rib Socks. It kind of puts me back on deadline to get these done by the end of November, which was the reason I gave up on the SAMKAL4, but I think now that I'm past the heel, I can just finish them up and be done. I won't be able to wear them to Thanksgiving, but I definitely plan on wearing them for Christmas (it's one day before Thanksgiving, I suppose it's alright to mention the C-word).

I've also started adding the black lines to my Rock 'n' Roll Argyle Socks using duplicate stitch. Holy crap these are a lot of work. All the intarsia was bad enough, but I left most of the ends unwoven because I couldn't tolerate weaving them in when I was done. When I started the duplicate stitch, I was catching a lot of the ends with my needle, so I had to stop and weave all the ends in before I could continue. I'm almost done with one sock, but I'm afraid SSS is going to creep in again before I can start the other. Who knew you could get SSS twice on one pair of socks?!

The Baby Shedir is finished, it just needs to be blocked and photographed. Speaking of, there's practically no good photography light anymore. I really hate winter. I know as a knitter I should love it because I get to more easily wear hand knits, but I'm not at a stage where I can whip out a sweater in 2-3 weeks and I don't have one already done, so it doesn't really do much for me.

If you've scrolled down past my most recent entry in the past week or so, you've probably noticed some lovely progress bars. I was lucky enough to get in as a Ravelry tester for this particular feature. It pulls the progress on your project straight from Ravlery, so you don't have to update it in more than one place. Pretty neat. So far, I've learned two things: 1. I have a lot of projects that are in the home stretch and I really should finish them up. 2. I need to start some new projects! I'm just not sure what yet.

After finishing the Baby Shedir and Aww Knucks! I realized that other than one ball of Wool of the Andes, all I have is sock yarn. I do plan on knitting at least one more pair of socks for December, but otherwise, I'm not really into knitting socks right now. I really want to use some heavier weight yarn. But I'm on a self-imposed yarn diet until after Christmas. I did think about making the WOTA into a hat, but I'm not sure one skein is enough. I'll have to find a simple top down pattern.

I have been yarn shopping though. I want to make a brown cabled sweater with some worsted weight wool yarn, but I'm realizing that I know next to nothing about yarn other than KnitPicks. They were the first yarn supplier I bought yarn from since the price is right and I've been scared to take a chance on more expensive yarn. I really like the look of tweed yarns, so I've been browsing WEBS for good deals.

Too Much

I think I'm going to give up the SAMKAL4. I might finish my October Garter-rib socks (I'd hate to get close but not make it), but I just don't see myself getting a pair done for November and December, what with the holidays and such. It takes me the whole month to finish a pair (I honestly don't know how people finish a pair of socks in two weeks that aren't DK weight) and I don't like being under the pressure to finish before the end of the month. I find myself glancing at the calendar constantly thinking, ok if I finish the first sock today, I'll have an extra day to work on the second one, etc. Speaking of the garter-rib socks, I am done with the first sock and started the toe on the second.

Also wanted to point out the ad on the right there for Vickie Howell's new podcast. She's giving away free yarn ... catch your breath ... that's right free yarn to anyone who posts the ad on their blog. I'm really excited about her third episode, she interviews Will Forte from SNL. I loved him in Beerfest and it's so cool that he knits. Way to represent the guys Will! Anyways, it's a grass-roots effort to promote the podcast, so do what you feel like to spread the word. Check out her blog for more info.

P.S. - I got some awesome yarn in the mail yesterday, just need to photograph it and I can tell you all about it. It's so cool!

Kauni Lust

I decided to do some research on this whole Kauni business. I know the Yarn Harlot made one, but after reading this post by Sally Rainey, and seeing the original sweater, I realized there were options and was truly inspired. I like going away from the lines and blocks of the original Kauni pattern because it opens up the sweater and you can really see the color changes happening in one connected flow. So far though, I've only seen the sweaters knit in the rainbow colorway which, let's face it, would not look good on me. It wasn't until I saw the different colorways available here that I decided - this is something I can do. (Is it really that cheap? What's 7.50 Euros, like $10? How many skeins does it take to make one sweater? I hear tell they're huge skeins...) I like the EB and EV the best, but I'm still searching for examples knit up since it's a little hard to tell just from the skeins.

Then this morning, I had an epiphany. Again, Sally hit me when she blogged about the pattern she's using and mentioned charting the pattern yourself from a photo since it's really hard to find. I had thought about using an M.C. Escher tessellation, but thought that might be too busy (and nerdy) for a sweater, although I'll keep it in mind for a scarf. The thing that really got my juices going was the thought of using an ambigram; I'm familiar with them from Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. Now I just need to do enough research to find the perfect design. This may prove to be too busy (nerdy) for a sweater as well, but I suppose that depends on the design. Ooh maybe I'll have one designed.....

In other news
The garter rib socks continue apace. I've turned the heel, worked the gusset and started the leg. I did realize something though...when I start a pair of socks, the foot always goes really quickly and the knitting is stress free. Stitches don't ladder (too badly) and it's really easy going from one DPN to the next. However, after I pick up the gusset stitches, the sock really puts up a fight.

I never could figure out why until I realized that it's probably the extra weight combined with the odd shaping of a heel sticking out instead of just a tube of knitting. Even once I'm back to knitting a tube up the leg, it's not as easy/enjoyable as knitting just the foot. Maybe I'll start the second sock after I've knitted the gusset on the first, that way I can alternate between fun, easy knitting and a weighed down struggle. Another thing I noticed: my DPNs are bent. :-(

Another future project
I was watching Accepted for the 500th time last night and decided that I need to make socks that match the argyle sweater Jonah Hill (Sherman Schrader: "Ask me about my wiener!") is wearing in the courtroom scene at the end of the movie. Unfortunately I can't find a freaking screenshot, so you'll just have to watch the movie. Alright, if you simply must know, they would be black socks with a bright orange and blue argyle. Totally crazy. Sounds like another Knit Picks order to me. But not for awhile, I'm knitting strictly from stash until after that December holiday that shall not be named.

New projects and Ravelry

Started these Wednesday night and I love them. The yarn, Knit Picks Felici in Pebble, is nice and soft and the color changes make the knitting very interesting. The pattern is Garter Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks, and it's also interesting yet simple enough for TV knitting. These will be my October socks for the SAMKAL4.

I'm also nearing completion of the Skull Bag.



This is for my wife. She requested it a few months ago, so I figured I would throw it in as a mix-up to all the sock knitting I've been doing lately. The design is my own, I created a chart based on a graphic I found online. It's worked with Knit Picks' Palette. This will get felted and then I'll need to install a zipper to finish it.

Finally, I got my invite to Ravelry on Monday, so that's why I've been absent from here. I'm JGM over there since knitswithballs was already taken. I'm a little irritated since it looks like he's been in for a month, but not added anything. Oh well, I'm over it.