correction: delicious knee socks

It has come to my attention that there is a small error in the Short-Row Heel instructions. It should read:

Row 2: Purl 26 [28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38] sts. W&T.
Row 3: Knit 25 [27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37] sts. W&T.
Row 4: Purl 24 [26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36] sts. W&T.

If you’ve knit a short row heel before, you might not even have looked at the numbers – but I’ve corrected the pattern anyway. I’ve also taken this opportunity to add an explicit note about placing the shaping outside the cable panel in the Over the Knee version of the socks.

You can download the new version through Ravelry now! If you have any problems or questions, please email me at cosmicpluto@gmail.com.

fits and starts

Whew, that flu really knocked me out – I didn’t even want to knit for a couple days, so you *know* I was really ill! But after that the crafting kicked right back in – and hard.

I finally blocked the slip-stitch ridged cardigan I posted about before – now it’s just waiting for some buttons. I’m going to be working on the pattern for this one for the next little while, but the yoke shaping might be a bit tricky to write up!

cardigan sans buttons

Although I haven’t had much time with my spinning wheel at all lately, I’m finally getting back into the groove. I’ve got this goal to spin down my stash as much as possible before MDSW (will I see you there?).

254.365 - spinning away

So far I wound off some gorgeous teal yarn that’s been sitting on a bobbin for a long while – this was mixed batts that I got last Rhinebeck.

mmm, teal

Then I spun and plied up all the grey roving behind the teal there – it was a big fluffy cloud of fibre, also from last Rhinebeck.

460 yards

I spun it really fast and furiously to a couple episodes in a row of Six Feet Under (which is awesome, but kinda depressing tv-watching) and came up with 460 yards of 2ply, worstedish weight. It goes really nicely with the teal, so they might end up together in something!

All this desire to work through some stash has also resulted in me picking up a hook!

my new obsession

This is my very first granny square – inspired by Joelle’s Giant Granny Square, I’m working up a giant granny square of my own. This is nearly one ball of Noro Taiyo, a little bigger than a foot square, and I’ve got five balls. This goes so quickly! I love the colour changes. Might back it with some fabric afterwards, but we’ll see.

Happy Easter, Passover…or just Sunday!

FAQ: Simple Yet Effective Shawl

Sorry for the lack of posts lately – I’ve been hit HARD by some kind of nasty flu! Today I’ve got a really sore throat, a slight fever and chills. Oh and the headache from hell. Luckily, I’ve already prewritten more of these FAQs! On to it!

Doesn’t it start from the point? How come you say it starts from the neck?
The shawl does begin from the center back neck and worked down – the increases at the beginning, middle, and end of the RS rows shapes the shawl so that the rows are getting longer and longer. The bind off edge is along the bottom of the shawl, the two long edges that meet at the point.

What will happen if I don’t divide the ball? How do you make the stripes?
If you are using Noro yarn and don’t divide your ball in two, you’ll get wider stripes of colour and more of an ombre effect. I divided my ball by putting the full ball on a kitchen scale and winding off until there was 50g left on the scale. Then I wound the other half in the same direction.

To change colours, join the second ball at the first stripe and work X rows – don’t cut the first ball! Simply leave it at the beginning of the row. When you need to change back to the first ball, leave the second yarn hanging and pull the first ball loosely up the side. Carrying the yarn up this way will not be noticeable.

I’m a retailer, can I purchase your pattern wholesale?
Not quite yet, but I’m working on making my pattern line available for wholesale – stay tuned!