Possessed to Knit

Fair Isle Socks Completed

I've completed my Fair Isle socks.  The pattern called for 60 sts and size 2.75 mm needles.  I used 72 sts and size 2.25 mm Lantern Moon Sox Stix for the body of the socks and 2.00 mm Addi bamboo dpns for the heels and toes.  The color work went pretty well, I used my knitting thimble and eliminated the jog.  I have to adjust the stitches a bit after changing the beginning of the round with each round, but it is worth the extra effort to have a continuous Fair Isle pattern.  I thought the ribbing was only 12 rounds (instead of 16 rounds), but it turns out that the Sock Wars III sock has 12 rounds of ribbing.  I guess this is what can happen when I knit more than 1 pair of socks at a time.  I have over 2 ounces of the On Your Toes Fuscia Print left and plan to knit a pair of toe up socks.   This yarn has aloe vera in it and will make a nice pair of ankle socks.  I am wearing my cotton blend socks these days as it is very hot here and it will be months before I wear these extra warm socks.

Latvian Mittens

I have a few mitten books that I have collected over the years and I find them very inspiring.  The Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting features a mitten project from Latvian Mittens (written by Lizbeth Upitis and published by Meg Swansen).  I selected these Knit Picks Palette colors for this mitten project (in the lower left corner), which was also a recent knit-a-long on the Schoolhouse Press website.  I like most of the colors, but I'm not sure about the green.  It is just in the cuff, though, and I look forward to seeing how these colors work together.  There is a corrected chart for the Vogue Knitting version of the pattern here.  The Vogue Knitting article shows Meg's two-color cast-on and how she creates the fringe along the cuff edge.  I will likely not start on this project till the fall, so in the meantime, I will continue to enjoy reading my mitten books.

Fair Isle Socks Progress

My Fair Isle sock is coming along nicely.  I noticed that the leg is a bit wider than the foot.  I'm hoping a good blocking will even it out, though both yarns are superwash.  My gauge is about 9 sts and 9.5 round per inch on my 2.25 mm Lantern Moon Sox Stix.  I purchased this WIP sock needle tube and found it to be a little disappointing.  It slides a bit and I find I end up crushing my sock when it closes too much.  They come in a set of 2 for $9, a bit pricey for two cardboard tubes.  This sock could be too thick for the tube as it takes me a little while to put it all together.  It does protect the needles and keep them from getting broken in my tote bag.  I bring my Color Bucket into the grocery store with me.  On more than one occasion, I was concerned that my inadvertently placed groceries might have broken a needle.  I guess I should be using this tube for my current travel project as I would not be taking this more complicated project with me to knit while I stand in line. 

Fair Isle Socks Update

I changed the background yarn on my Fair Isle socks.  I had hoped the bright green in the On Your Toes Fuscia Print yarn would stand out more against the Sage Heather yarn, but it did not.  I had this black sock yarn in my stash for another pair of socks and like the results much better.  I also went with my 2.25 mm Lantern Moon Sox Stix as the sock on the 2.5 mm Brittany Birch dpns was too big.  I have some sock patterns with cables in them that might look nice in the Sage Heather yarn.  I like this yarn a lot, it is very soft and will make a nice pair of socks.

On Your Toes Fair Isle Socks

I was surfing the net last week for an online store that had Louet Gems Opal in Navy and reasonable shipping charges.  I came across Handknitting.com and enjoyed looking through their website.  Not only did they have the Gems Opal in the 100 g skein, they also had this On Your Toes yarn that I was recently admiring in a catalog.  So in addition to the Gems Opal, I got the Kertzer pattern book, and Fuscia Print and Sage Heather On Your Toes sock yarns.  The yarn is very soft and has Aloe Vera added to it.  I ordered it Wednesday evening and received it on Friday, and I had to cast on and see how the yarns looked together.  The pattern calls for 2.75 mm needles and 60 sts.  I decided on 2.5 mm Brittany Birch dpns and 72 sts.  I casted on over two 2.0 mm Celtic Swan dpns and then worked 14 rounds of k2, p2 rib on my Knit Picks 2.25 mm 32" circular needles.  I prefer to use dpns when I knit Fair Isle socks.  I tend to distort the pattern more when I use the Magic Loop.  I am also using my knitting thimble to carry both yarns with my left index finger.  I have been working the jogless join and you can see how the beginning of the round has moved from the tail to the end of the first dpn.  It is a little extra work, but it is well worth it to get rid of that jog. 

I hope everyone is having a Happy Easter today.  Kate has knitted the cutest baby booties I have ever seen and they are even perfect for celebrating Easter.