Category: yarn

  • blues

    Second FO of the day – finished socks for the boy. Sorry for the blurry photo. Modelled by me, so they’re a bit too long.

    boy socks
    Pattern: basic sock, 64 stitches, 2×2 ribbing, four-point-dec toe.
    Yarn: knitpicks essential, dusk, 2 skeins
    Needles: Lantern Moon US1 dpn
    Finished: February 9, 2006

    Since I wanted to make socks he’ll actually wear, I did the same toe on these as I did on his last pair. It uses the same rate of decrease as my standard toe, but the decreases are spaced evenly around instead of at the sides.

    So in this case, I used four needles (plus the working one, so all 5) and decreased at the end of each needle, every other round until 50% of the stitches remained, then every round until there were 16 stitches left, and grafted. I know a lot of people hate grafting, but I like it!

    I’ll toss this spinning stuff in here now too – three of my latest skeins. All of them have blue in them, too!

    They’re all 100% merino, 2 ply. The one on the right has been set, but the others haven’t – and there’s a real difference there. My skeins always puff up all nice when I give them a nice hot eucalan bath. I also snap the skeins a few times (like cracking a whip) and whap them again the bannister a couple times as well. Gets more water out and just really improves the skein, I find.

    So, you ready to go (or cheer on)? If you’re part of the Toronto contingent, see you at the pub! Hope the lighting is okay, otherwise I might need a headlamp!

  • a glut

    I’ve got a ton of things for the blog, so I’m hoping to spread them out over the next few days (along with Olympic progress, of course). First (and coming up, second) bit is an FO!

    *click to see the sleeve better*

    Cabled Pulli
    Pattern: my own, see notes
    Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in “Winter Storm” (I think), about..9 skeins?
    Needles: Denise US 7
    Finished: February 7, 2006

    I think this turned out really well. Knit in the round from the bottom up, with the front cable taken from “Rhapsody in Tweed” from Interweave Knits (Fall 2004). I originally made the front and back neck the same, but it was a bit uncomfortable so I ripped back and put in some short rows to raise the back neck. The yarn was nice to work with, a tiny bit scratchy but only if you’re really sensitive. Easy to wear, nicely fitted – I think I’ll get a lot of use out of this one!

    There’s one on-the-fly detail I really like, which is the shoulder:

    Decreasing for the yoke, I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough rounds for a complete diamond on the sleeve, so I just did a little cable after the last full diamond. I like it!

    Flat shot, looking brighter than life (the first shot is pretty accurate, colour-wise):

    So that’s one thing done before heading into Olympic madness. Next up, finished socks!

  • bedbound

    I’ve spent almost all today in bed, and not in a good way – I’m sick, despite all my efforts to remain otherwise. I’m not even particularly runny or cough-y (although my throat is a bit scratchy), but I just feel like crap. Achy, weak, I didn’t even pick up my needles until just a little while ago. Hopefully this won’t last long!

    I’ve got a few projects I want to finish up before the Knitting Olympics kick off – first of all, the second of this pair of socks for the boy…

    Luckily his feet are about the same size as mine, so the second one (hopefully) won’t take too long. I’m ambitious as usual, of course – I also want to finish that blue cabled pullover – I’m pretty much done the body, and a sleeve, with half a sleeve and the yoke left to go.

    I started this Ultramerino sock (for me!) at the store on Friday, but it’s ok if these don’t get done before the Olympics start.

    A bit of spinning content today as well – when I finally did manage to get out of bed for a bit, I finished spinning up the Fleece Artist silk brick that I bought a while back. It isn’t as even as the Fleece Artist wool/silk, but I still love it. It’s two ply, thick and thin hovering around worsted weight, and I haven’t measured the yardage yet – it’s drying now.

    To answer a question from Chris in the comments, I put multiple skeins on the swift, then wound them off one at a time – less up-and-down fiddling with the swift!