FO: Broken Seed Stitch Summer Socks

Last week, I completed my cotton, summer socks just in time for the start of Camp Loopy Project 1.  I finished the socks on May 31, and knitting for Camp Loopy officially began June 1.

The design is the Broken Seed Stitch Sock pattern.  I knit mine in Crystal Palace Panda Cotton, one of my very favorite sock yarns.  I knew it would be great for summer socks.

I knit these with size two, double pointed needles:

A while back, I ordered a whole set of double point and circular Kollage Square knitting needles, along with a lovely, silk needle roll to store them in.  Square needles are supposed to be more ergonomic for knitters with tendon or joint issues, and as you know, my tendons in my left forearm began to cause me some trouble last summer.

I do love the Kollage needles, and the line provides many options for point sharpness, and circular needle cords.  I have all kinds.  The sock needles have really nice, pointy ends, which helps with splity yarn (this yarn is splity but the work is SO worth it because the socks feel so wonderful).

Now I’m on to my Camp Loopy project, which has been very slow going in a lace weight yarn.  Details are coming soon.

~Happy Knitting!

Next Up: Summer Socks!

I started a new project this week.  I found this adorable idea of using broken seed stitch strategically with a solid color yarn and a variegated yarn to make the cutest socks.  The resulting effect is adorable. 

See the instructions on Ravelry by clicking HERE.  It’s free!

I was wanting to make some new, summer socks since I wore one of my hand knit, cotton pairs to work last Friday, and it made me wish I had more.  I chose two balls from my stash of Crystal Palace Panda Cotton.  You would never expect it, but this yarn makes the BEST socks.

The solid color I chose is Ivory, and the variegated colorway is called Blueberry Pancakes.

I have already completed one sock, and it is still blocking on the sock form.  Sock number two is in the works since I need to have it done by the time Camp Loopy project one begins!

~Happy knitting!

Finishing Techniques for the Linen Stitch Scarf

We knitters have our own, personal “F-word”. 

Come on now… it’s not what you think!  I’m referring to finishing.

Finishing, as a knitting term, refers to the final treatments we employ to make completed projects look neat and professional.  This includes seaming, fringing, steaming, soaking and/or blocking, among other things.

I always chuckle a bit when people comment on how it seems impossible that my stitches are always so even.  Secretly, I know they didn’t come off of the needles that way.  It’s finishing techniques that give knitted items the polish that can make them stand out.

As much as I love the effects of finishing techniques on my projects, I’m not always in the mood for them.  This was the case for me, in the last week and a half or so, with regard to finishing my Linen Stitch Scarf.

Finishing a completed object is not always as fun as the actual knitting of it.

My dreamy, knitting spot on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks back.

The finishing process for the linen stitch scarf was rather interesting.  The suggested technique was steam blocking using an iron and a wet, cotton cloth.

The best part of this picture is that the person captured on the TV looks like she is getting ready to block her knitting too!

I think we can all agree that the above photo already looks significantly less enjoyable than the one prior to it.  I rest my case!

In any case, prior to finishing, the scarf looks nice, but it is still somewhat rumply.  For finishing my scarf, I used my ironing board, iron set to temperature for wool, and a clean, cotton dish towel that I soaked with water and wrung out well.

Since the fringe gets tied on after each row is knit, it ends up sort of all over the place.  I covered the fringe with my damp towel and ironed over it to make it straight.  Then I trimmed it up to a reasonable, uniform length to make it neat and tidy.  Knots should also be adjusted at this time.

Next, as described previously, I covered a short section of the scarf with the damp towel and ironed over the top to smooth out the appearance of the stitches.  This works well for this pattern since linen stitch is very flat by nature. 

I repeated this in sections along the entire scarf, and then repeated the fringe treatment on the other side.

This gave my scarf the nice even look that I was hoping for.  I never really got my knots looking satisfactory, but I was unwilling to re-tie them all, which I think could have corrected the issue.

There you have it:  the “F-word”.  A necessary evil.

~Happy knitting!

FO: Linen Stitch Scarf

I finally got around to pressing and photographing my linen stitch scarf. (More on that in my next post!)   Here is the final product. 

As mentioned previously, my color choices turned into a real ordeal.  Even though the colors didn’t create the scarf I had envisioned, I still really like the scarf I completed.  I think it will be very wearable.

I mostly followed the pattern from Churchmouse designs, which called for a cast-on of 450 stitches, since the scarf is knitted long ways.  I used the yarn called for which is Koigu fingering weight wool, and the needle size suggested.  I ended up with a scarf with a length of over 8 FEET, not including fringe!  Yeep!  Roughly 98 inches.  That’s a long scarf — especially for 5 foot, 5 inch me.

Luckily for me, it is light-weight, and looks cute when worn long, or doubled around my neck. 

 

Special thanks to Frenchie for modeling in such out-of-season garments for this post!

~Happy knitting! 

Camp Loopy 2013

It’s camping time again…

Last year, I participated in Camp Loopy 2012, which was a fun, summer knit-along sponsored by The Loopy Ewe, one of my favorite yarn shops.  The camp is virtual, meaning no insect repellent required.  This also means that thousands of knitters all over the country and internationally can participate Online. 

Last year, it was a ton of work, but I ended up knitting some things I would likely have never tried otherwise (and some of them turned out great).  I also earned many fun knitting gifties, and a special hank of Camp edition Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere yarn for completing all three camp challenges.

This year, I had decided that I would not participate since I tend to be stretched so thin in general.  I had firmly decided.  In fact, I was relieved not to be doing THAT again this year….yeah.

Then the posts went up on Sheri’s blog about Camp Loopy 2013, and I found myself laying in bed at night, thinking about which project I could TOTALLY knit up for Challenge #1.   Every night… challenge #1 … and then I could get the cute T-shirt with the 2013 logo on it.

I’m sure you see where this is going.

SOOOOO, for Camp Loopy 2013, Project #1, I will be knitting the Rain On The Prairie Scarf pattern.  I have knit this before, and loved the pattern, and I have been wanting to make a second.  My last scarf was knit in fingering weight, so I thought I’d do this one in lace weight.  Fun!  I actually haven’t knit anything in lace weight yarn yet.

The rules for Challenge/Project #1 are that you must knit something up from a single skein of either fingering or lace weight yarn, and the total amount used must be no less than 375 yards (and holding it double doesn’t count!).  It must be a yarn brand/type that you have not knitted with before. 

The challenge begins on June 1st and must be completed by June 30.  Projects must be photographed and posted by July 1st. 

I think I’m up to it!!!  Just ordered my yarn and my T-shirt.  What’s one more thing on the ‘ol to-do list….right?

~Happy knitting!

The Scarf that Demanded a Holiday

I worked tirelessly over the last weekend on my linen stitch scarf.  Even though I am so excited to be knitting this scarf (I have wanted to make one for some time now), I have been harboring a secret.  I hated the way my three color choices were turning out.  The three choices were lovely in and of themselves, but knit together, they just weren’t doing what I had pictured for my scarf.

The rust color along with the greens in the variegated yarn were looking sort of ‘seventies shag rug’ to me.  As I added the powder pink, it looked white against the other bolder colors, making the entire thing reminiscent of the Christmas holiday.  Sigh.  The last thing I wanted was a Christmas scarf.

I went on knitting, in total disappointment that I hadn’t chosen better colors, when it occurred to me that I could check my stash.  Adding just one more unrelated color to the mix could totally remove the holiday feel from the scarf.

After looking though my stash, I found some dark, navy blue yarn with a similar sheen and twist to the Koigu.  It was Claudia hand painted sock yarn in the colorway Yo! Sailor Boy.  I had purchased it ages ago with plans to make some socks.  I thought the blue would work well with the rusts, wines, pinks and greens in the scarf.

I worked it in, sort of at random, experimenting with how it would look next to each of the other three colorways.

Initially, I thought it was fantastic, and I was again elated to be knitting away on my linen stitch scarf.  When I took it out into the natural daylight for some photos, I noticed something for the first time:

Step back and take a look at it.  Notice anything?  Take another step back and look again…

Is it just me, or is this thing now looking somewhat, well, er….patriotic?!

The former Christmas scarf is now looking like an Independence Day scarf….also NOT my intention.  It’s not that I’m not a proud American.  I really am!  I also rather enjoy Christmas, but I wasn’t really looking to design a scarf around the fact.

In spite of my issues with color, I actually finished the scarf yesterday night, but it still needs blocking.  I resisted the urge to add yet another color, but tried to arrange the colors in a way that were less reminiscent of stars and stripes.

Photos of the completed project are coming soon!

~Happy knitting!

FO: Red Maple Socks

While I’m still working on my new linen stitch obsession (details to follow), I’ve been picking up some of my previously snoozing projects to get them done and out of the way.

You may recall that last August, I posted about some new yarn I had purchased, and the first sock of a pair that I had knit with it.  You can see the post by clicking HERE.

I was delighted with how the sock had turned out in the merino and bamboo yarn blend (from Blue Ridge Fibers) that I had fallen hard for at the yarn shop.  The pattern was Cookie A’s design called Monkey, which just happens to look fantastic in slightly shiny yarn.

I finally completed sock number two in the beginning of this past week, and just had time to remove it from the blocker this morning for a photo shoot.  I’m really happy with how this pair turned out.  There could be some county fairs in its future…

~Happy knitting!