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!

Lovin’ Linen Stitch

I have mentioned several times in the past that knitting a linen stitch scarf is on my knitting to-do list.  At a recent trip to Sheep’s Clothing yarn shop in Valparaiso, IN, I decided it was time!

One of my current works in progress is the Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf pattern by Churchmouse Classics. 

You start by choosing three different colors of Koigu KPPM yarn.  It doesn’t matter if they are variegated or not.

Then, you knit the scarf, alternating the yarn colors as you go, and cutting your yarn at the end of each row to create the fringe.

Notice that this scarf is knit long-ways.  You start by casting on 450 stitches in fingering weight yarn, which sounds intimidating, but was not nearly as tough as I thought it might be. 

I love the way that linen stitch looks woven, like it was done on a loom.  The resulting fabric is thin, yet dense, which makes it flexible, comfortable and gives it nice movement. 

I’m obsessed with this pattern now, and I keep dreaming up new color combinations to try.  It’s difficult to predict the look of the resulting scarf in this pattern until you knit it.  In many ways, choosing colors that don’t appear to compliment each other creates some of the greatest looking scarves. 

Since linen stitch requires that you do a lot of slipping stitches, it is slow going.  The photos shown here represent about three days of work.  In the end, it will be totally worth it.

~Happy knitting!

Cotton!

It’s no secret that I really like cotton.  I love knitting with it.  It’s my favorite fiber for socks and for sweaters.  Recently, I’ve been noticing that I have a lot (A LOT) of cotton around, much of which I had intended for projects like tote bags and dish towels.

Around the beginning of my spring break week off, I started working on more dish towels.  I was hoping to plow through many, since I sure could use them in my kitchen, but as usual, I eventually got sidelined by other projects that began calling my name.

Here’s what I managed to make:

I am quite happy with them.  The blue one is Sugar n Cream cotton in a striping colorway, and the green/brown one is knit from one of my favorite yarns:  Lion Brand Recycled Cotton.  I hit the jackpot a while back and found a bunch on sale, and it’s been stored up for some time now.  I thought it might make some nice dish cloths, and it does!

As I have done before, I knit a loop on the blue towel in the waffle pattern so that I can hang it on my pantry door, where I often need a towel to be.

 It’s so handy!  I hope to make a bunch more like this for use in the kitchen.  I already have the yarn.  Now I just need the time…

~Happy knitting!

FO: Color Wrap Mittens & Hat

At the same time that I purchased the alpaca blend yarn for Dawn’s hat, I also brought home some of this:

It’s called Sensations color wrap yarn.  It is an odd, bulky weight yarn made by twisting strips of nylon (think, strips of pantyhose) and then wrapping them with fluffy wool.  I’m not usually big on novelty yarns, but for some reason (it was on sale), I decided I must try some.

Since I have really been in need of some good, utilitarian, every day mittens for winter, I decided that I would knit some.  I imagine that nylon and wool will be very warm. 

I just used my Ann Budd’s Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns to whip up some basic mittens.  This is probably the most useful book I have in my knitting library.  It was recommended to me by another knitter, and I’m so glad that she did because I would never have thought to buy it otherwise.  It’s a scary looking spiral bound thing with numerical charts that basically allow you to knit anything from anything!  How great is that!?  (Once you start using it, you realize it is way less scary than it looks.)

Being intrigued by this yarn, I also wanted to see what it would look like as my favorite hat pattern.  I was thinking it would be too noisy to work well with cables, but it actually turned out rather cute.

Are you tired of seeing this cabled hat pattern?  I’m not tired of knitting it!  I have loved it since the first time I knitted it (remember?), and I still think it is the most perfect hat pattern ever.

~Happy knitting!

FO: Dawn’s Hat

Last Friday, after the longest staff meeting in the history of all staff meetings, I decided to hit the local, large chain, craft store in order to cheer myself up.  Heaven knows I don’t need any more yarn, but I visited the yarn anyway.

I found 4 hanks of yarn that I wanted to buy, and I wanted to let myself buy them because I felt that I deserved a treat after managing not to stick my pen in my eye during the previously mentioned staff meeting.  I just had to find a way to justify the purchase, in light of the fact that my house is shamefully filled with every type of yarn imaginable. 

My solution was this:

It’s a hat that I knit for my friend Dawn.  She and I had planned to meet up again at work the next day (the first day of our week off) to do some catching up on loose ends, and to tidy up our work spaces.  I was really relieved that she agreed to come in since I was not looking forward to the tasks themselves and her company always makes things fun.

Surely she could use a hat!  A bulky weight, Bernat, alpaca blend hat in the colorway Indigo, knit in the round with cables!  Right?!  It was the perfect excuse to buy the yarn, and a great way to kick off my spring break knitting projects (and to show appreciation to my friend). 

I was not lucky enough to get a photo of Dawn wearing it, but you can trust me that she looks super-cute in it.  Dawn is not a big hat fan, but I’m told her hubby gave it a big thumbs up, which I’m sure will increase the odds that she may sport it when the weather gets cold again.

~Happy knitting!

FO: Double Fun Ruffle Scarf

A few weeks ago – around mid-April – I finished my Double Fun Scarf.

This pattern was written by Wendy Johnson (of WendyKnits.net) for use with Kauni wool.  The Shetland wool is stiff enough that it holds the shape of the ruffles really well, giving the scarf a fun effect.  The color transitions in the yarn also work well with this pattern. 

The pattern called for 600 yards of yarn, which is labeled on the yarn band at 150 grams.  When I knitted my scarf, I was disappointed by the resulting length, which is a bit short.  I wish I had purchased more yarn.

My other disappointment with this yarn was that the very end of the skein was not continuous with the rest of it.  The remaining yarn was just added in via a knot, which interrupted the gradual color transition that is a main part of the scarf.  Essentially, I ended up with a short scarf with a funny color block on one end.

In spite of that, it is still a cute and wearable scarf.  I also really love the pattern and plan to make another in the near future.  It is great for mindless knitting, when you are brain-dead at the end of a long day, or travel knitting when you are distracted or can’t focus on one thing at a time.

And it’s ruffley!

~Happy knitting!

Long Time, No Blog…

After a bit of a hiatus, I’m back Online.  I’m still among the living (and the knitting)!  Now that some of my life-chaos has calmed, I thought I’d get posting again.

I’ve had a lovely week off since my college workplace is on spring break.  We have had spectacular weather, and I have had a chance to de-stress.  I recently went antiquing with my sister and even picked up some knitting-related antiques that I will try to post about some time soon.  I have a vintage button collection going, which – like yarn stashing, is a dangerous (but fun!) hobby.  More to follow on that.

Tonight, I wanted to make good on my promise from 12 weeks ago, and show you my progress on Sharon’s Snowflower sock.  I got some really great photos. 

The heel is created by an interesting technique called a double-stitch short row.  In knitting this pattern, I learned that I prefer a traditional short row heel, but it was neat to learn an alternate method for turning a heel. 

Here’s the heel:

I confess that I haven’t knit the other sock yet, but I will.  This pattern is a challenge for me, so now it’s personal!  Here’s some more of the pretty detail and the strange cabling:

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on some other things.  Life got a little complicated in the last bit of time, so I picked up some simpler knitting projects to keep my tired brain de-stressed.  Posts about those projects are coming soon!

~Happy knitting!