Possessed to Knit

New Year's Eve

Here are my current works in progress.  On the left is the Dahlia hat by Alice Starmore for my patient mother.  On the right are my Ice, Ice Baby socks clevery designed by Patrick and beautifully dyed by Sheila of Wullenstudio yarns.  The icicle pattern is so much fun to knit and Patrick has hidden gentle increases giving the sock a wonderful fit.  My North Pole socks turned out to be not very soft.  Perhaps knitting sock yarn with a metallic thread on size 0 needles was not such a good idea.  These Ice, Ice Baby socks are incredibly soft and I look forward to wearing them in the New Year.

In 2009, I have completed 15 pairs of socks, three scarves (1 handspun),  six hats (1 handspun), two dog sweaters, one baby sweater, two child-sized top-down raglan sweaters, one Aguona Laptop Bag, one Hanami shawl, and one Carmen Banana doll and her red dress. 

Happy New Year!  Thank you for reading my blog.

North Pole Socks Completed

Here are my completed North Pole socks in the Merry, Merry colorway.  I had waited all year for Patrick's Winter Sock club design.  I started knitting Ice, Ice Baby while I was knitting the second Merry, Merry sock.  Ice, Ice Baby is so much softer than Merry, Merry that I worried about a severe case of second sock syndrome where I wouldn't finish these socks till after the holidays. 

As it turned out, I inadvertently left my instructions for Ice, Ice Baby at home as I approached the heel turn.  I was then forced to knit Merry, Merry on my lunch break.  That inspired me to complete Merry, Merry and now I can focus on Ice, Ice Baby.  With a 44 row repeat in Merry, Merry, I just barely had enough yarn to complete them.  Each sock  starts and ends with green so I had to cut out a 40 row chunk of yarn before I started the second sock.  I had about a yard of yarn remaining after I knitted the second toe.  Something to keep in mind for future socks of 76 sts on size 0 (2.00 mm) Addi Lace 40" circular needles.

Wullenstudio Winter Sock Club

Here is my first sock of Wullenstudio's Winter Sock Club kit.  Patrick designed the pattern and Sheila dyed the yarn, both are called Ice, Ice Baby.  The yarn is soft and wonderful to knit with, a delicate mix of blues and grays.  Patrick's toe-up design starts with knitting a small strip and then picking up the stitches, creating a gently shaped toe that fits very nicely.  His gusset and turned heel are unlike any I have ever knitted and no heel flap!  I am not a fan of flap heels.  He also adds the "eye of partridge" stitch after the turning of the heel.  This gives a durable texture and looks much prettier than the usual slip 1, knit 1 heel.  The icicle design is clever and fun to knit.  I set up my 40" Addi Lace 2.25 mm circular needle so that I begin with a knit stitch and end with a purl stitch, to minimize the ladders between the needles.  Thank you to Patrick & Sheila for a delightful winter sock kit.    

North Pole Socks

Here is my first North Pole sock in the Merry, Merry colorway.  I am using size 0 Addi Lace 40" circular needles and 76 sts with a gauge of 9.5 sts and 13 rows to the inch.  The yarn is fun to knit with, but the metallic thread makes it a little bit coarse so this is not the softest sock.  I used the short-row heel described in Chrissy Gardiner's Toe-Up! sock book.  It does result in tiny holes, however, the left and right side of the heel are more similar than with the "yarnover" short-row heel that I usually use.  The color pattern repeat is about 44 rows long.  I like to start the heel right after a color change and I knitted the leg a little longer to accomplish this.  Lucy Neatby recommends knitting the heel with the yarn from the other end of the ball to keep the yarn pattern repeats intact through the leg and foot of the sock.  I'm reluctant to weave in extra ends, yet it might have worked nicely with this particular sock yarn.

Lilac Lacy Rib Socks Completed

I recently completed these lacy rib socks with about 2 ounces of Cascade Heritage sock yarn in the Lilac colorway.  I cast on 56 sts in k1, p1 rib on size 2.5 mm Addi Lace 32" Circular needles.  I worked the k1, p1 rib fo 18 rounds, decreasing one stitch in the last round for a total of 55 sts.

I knitted the lacy rib pattern for 16 rounds where I then worked the 27 sole sts in stockinette while keeping the 28 instep sts in the lacy rib pattern for the next 12 rounds.  I moved the purl sts to be the last stitch on each needle as the distance between a purl st and a knit stitch is very short which then minimizes the ladders between the needles.

I worked a short row heel over 27 sts down to 9 sts size 2.00 mm Signature Needle Arts dpns.  It was a bit of a challenge to join the heel back to the sock in a purl st by purling 3 together through the back loops for the one side of the sock.  There is a little hole near this point, but it looks good enough.  I continued with the lacy rib pattern on the instep and stockinette on the sole for 68 rounds.  On the second to the last round, I increased one st at the end of the round bringing the stitch count to 56 sts.  The gauge on 2.5 mm circular needles is about 8.5 sts and 11.5 rows per inch.

For the toe, I worked one round of stockinette with the size 2.00 mm Signature Needle Arts dpns and then started the toe decreases every other round until there were 7 sts on each dpn.  I worked the decreases every round to 5 sts on each dpn.  I moved each edge stitch over the next stitch to smooth out the top of the toe and grafted the final 16 sts together.

Steeler Socks

I completed these Steeler Socks for Candy, fellow Pittsburgher and co-owner of Grounded Coffee, our favorite coffee shop.  Miss Babs dyes her 2-ply sock yarn in this black and gold colorway, perfect for Steeler fans.  Danielle (another Steeler fan) featured this yarn on her Fibre Space blog and I was fortunate to get a skein before she ran out.  I wanted to be sure to knit these for Candy during the football season and the Steelers have been winning ever since I started knitting them.  I used my almost 2.25 mm Purpleheart dpns (from Grafton Fibers) and 72 sts for Candy's socks.  I realize I might get a few Steeler sock requests from other Steeler fans, however, I have a lot of holiday knitting already on my agenda.

Handgefaerbte Socks Completed

I have completed my Handgefaerbte Socks in the Einzelkind 7 colorway. I started each of them at a different place on the yarn and they turned out differently as a result.  It was fun yarn to knit with, however, I noticed some spliced bits in the yarn and just kept knitting.  It would have been too much work to cut the yarn at each of those spots and then rejoin the yarn.  When I have to start a new yarn, I like to match the color sequence as closely as possible, center the break on the sole of the foot, and knit with both strands for about 10 sts.  I used 2.25 mm Addi Turbo Lace needles with a gauge of 9 sts and 12 rows to the inch over 72 sts.  I worked 64 rounds of k2, p2 rib followed by 20 rounds of stockinette stitch with a short-row heel down to 12 sts, then 72 rounds of stockinette, and finally the usual toe.  They are certainly an interesting pair of socks.  I will be sure to wear them to my next spinning class.

Handgefaerbte Socks

I have started a new pair of hand-dyed socks.  This yarn Handgefaerbte Sockenwolle (75% merino/25% nylon) dyed by Tausendschoen in the Einzelkind 7 colorway.  I discovered it for sale in another Raveler's stash as it has all the colors I love.  I'm a bit surprised by the pooling of colors and considered starting over at a different place in the yarn after I had knitted about 15 rounds.  I decided against it and just thought I would go with it.  Starting over would not necessarily guarantee less pooling.  I was hoping for the stripey effect that I got on the heel, but no such luck.  It is fun to knit with this yarn and then to see where the colors land.  I'm using my size 2.25 mm Addi Lace 32" circular needles and 72 sts. 

Thank you to Wendy for explaining to Al about her need for so many sock needles as he is closer to understanding why I have so many sock needles, and I may be getting a tower similar to hers for Christmas.

Berroco Sox Completed

I have completed my Berroco Sox in the Heriot Watt colorway with lovely shades of blue and green.  I used 72 sts and size 2.25 mm Addi Lace circular needles giving me a gauge of 9.3 sts and 12 rows to the inch.  This yarn has a very long repeat of about 55 rounds.  I like yarns, such as this one, with quick color changes.  I get bored when the colors are very blocky and don't change for an inch or so.  This yarn is 75% merino & 25% nylon which will make for warm and durable winter socks.  I'm still wearing my summer socks and look forward to wearing these socks once our weather turns colder.

 

Fiesta Feet Completed

These socks represent an extreme case of second sock syndrome.  Fiesta Feet (by Lucy Neatby) are a fun pair of socks to knit.  The first one I made turned out to be too small.  I think I tightened up my knitting as I worked the color pattern.  Lucy suggests knitting with the sock turned inside out to keep the foot of the sock from shrinking.  I didn't like knitting this way as I prefer to see the color patterning as I knit.  I didn't want to rip out the first sock and I didn't want to start a second one, so this project sat for a few years.  I then realized I could complete them and give them away.

I used two Koigu yarns and size 0 dpns.  The socks are not exactly the same as I did have trouble remembering what I did for the first sock and then had to adjust accordingly.  This is my last UFO (well, I do have a few inches of a knitted tea cup that didn't work out and will just let that one go) buried in my closet.  I am very glad to have these socks completed and I have given them to my friend Denise.