A Current Project!

Now that we're all caught up with previously finished projects, I'm ready to show you current projects in progress!  

This is the Sipila pullover and it's actually my second attempt to make this design.  I tried to knit this several years ago, but I wasn't happy with it, so I frogged what I had, and decided to try again later.  The pattern is written to be knit in fingering weight singles yarn (which I generally love by the way), and my first attempt was using Tosh Merino Light from Madelinetosh (a fingering weight singles yarn, in case you're not familiar with it).  I was getting gauge, but as I was completing the colorwork yoke, I just really wasn't happy with the way it looked.  The stitches felt too big for the yarn, they seemed to be slipping around a lot (which sounds weird, but I don't know how else to explain it), and I just didn't like the overall look of the fabric.  I put the project in time out so I could think about it and when I came back I actually steam blocked it just to see what, if anything, that changed, and then I made some decisions.  Despite getting gauge, it just wasn't feeling right to me.  I decided that either I would need to start over and use smaller needles (and refigure the sizing for my new, tighter gauge), or I would need to start over and use sportweight yarn at the original pattern gauge.  Either way, I was going to have to frog and restart the whole thing.  So I frogged it, and set it aside for a few years.  

In the meantime, my brain kept thinking about it, and I definitely still wanted to knit it.  I went through my notes from the previous attempt and decided I'd use sportweight yarn (and avoid the maths).  This time around I'm using Malabrigo Arroyo in Hollyhock and White.  I'm much happier with the look of the knitted fabric, and as you can see, I've knit the colorwork yoke, separated the sleeve stitches from the body stitches and I'm currently knitting the length of the body.  It's to the autopilot phase of the body, so I can pick it up and put it down without a bunch of figuring out where I am right now, and I've definitely taking my time knitting this!  It's good for TV knitting and knitting while brain dead at this point.  That will all change once I get the body finished and start the sleeves, because then we're back to colorwork!  The polka dotted sleeves are one of the reasons I fell in love with this design and I'm looking forward to knitting those, but there's no hurry - it's going to be months before I can even think about wearing something like this!

Catching Up

It's been a minute since I've been here!  Overall things are fine, there's just been a LOT happening.  I won't bore you with all the details, but I hope to be back for regular blogging.  I have been knitting this whole time, and I have a couple of finished objects!

I finished my Astrid Socks, knit in Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Charcoal and Dream in Color Smooshy in My Fair Lady.  I only did the stranded colorwork on the legs of the sock and just knit the foot in solid Charcoal.  Since My Fair Lady is a multicolored yarn it kind of fades in and out of the Charcoal, but I like the effect.

I also knit a pair of Footie Socks and added a bit of colorwork on the foot.  I used one of the patterns from the Basic Doodle Socks and I used the same yarns from the Astrid Socks.  This is a sock pattern I've been knitting for years (according to Ravelry, I knit the first pair in 2014) and I really like it.

Finally, since it seemed like a good idea, I started the Go Go Dynamo Shawl - Stephen West's MKAL shawl for this fall.  I'm using Malabrigo Mechita in Natural (Main Color) and Aniversario (Contrast Color).  I bought two skeins of each color in 2018, planning to make a striped sweater.  I never made the sweater, and when I saw them in my stash I knew they'd be perfect for this project.  I'm hoping to finish the first clue today and I'm ready to move straight into the second clue.  (The third clue comes out Thursday, so I'm running a little behind, but there's not really a time limit.  I'll get there when I get there.)  I probably won't show any actual photos of the shawl until November.  That way I don't have to juggle spoiler alerts and worry about ruining the surprise for someone else, but you can at least see my yarns!

As I said, I hope to get back into the habit of regular blogging.  We'll see what my life has to say about that, but hopefully I'll be here a little bit more!  Hope you're all doing well.  It's supposed to cool off here tomorrow and we'll get a real taste of fall!  (For those of you wondering what fall looks like in north Texas, it's supposed to be in the high 60's tomorrow.)

We're Still Knitting Socks Around Here

I've finished my first Astrid sock, and I've started on the second one.  I'm about two rounds into the colorwork at this point, so you can just barely see some floats where the knitting is rolling a bit.  These are not complicated socks, and by working the foot entirely in Charcoal it does go pretty quickly.  Unfortunately, this is one of those times where life is really crazy and I'm just not doing a lot of knitting right now.  I'm hoping to get these finished by the end of the month because then I can submit them to ESK for the third quarter Craft-A-Long (colorwork socks), but honestly, if I don't get them done it's not the end of the world.

Hope you have a great weekend.  I'm hoping I have time for a nap!

New Socks!

I went ahead and cast on for a new pair of socks after I finished my Mischief Socks, but these have less colorwork.  This is the Astrid Sock, and I'm using Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Charcoal and Dream in Color Smooshy in My Fair Lady.  I plan to skip the colorwork on the foot and just work it in the solid Charcoal.  Theoretically, these should go faster, but the rest of the month is going to be CRAZY around here, plus I'm still working on my Sous Sous pullover, so who knows how long they'll actually take.

Now With 50% More Sock!

I'm working away on my second Mischief Sock, and as you can see, I'm past the halfway point and working on the foot.  I actually just finished the gusset decreases last night so it's straight to the toe now.  This is such a fun sock pattern, and in addition to mixing the two designs within a pair, you could also just use your favorite design for both socks in a matching pair.  Options are always nice!

As much as I'm enjoying the socks, I find myself wanting to finish my Sous Sous sweater and start other sweaters.  I'm going to get the socks finished first (they're technically for the ESK Third Quarter Craft A Long), but then I think there will be sweaters happening around here!

Christmas Candy Mischief Socks

I've finished my first sock, the zig zag one, and now I've started the checked one!  These are the Mischief Socks using additional contrasting colors for the cuff, toe, and heel.  I've knit these socks before, but I feel like I've finally perfected the fit thanks to some project page comments left by other knitters who knit the gnome socks I made at the first of this year.  I thought I'd make sure to share this here, in case anyone else is struggling to find the sweet spot for fitting stranded socks.

For the majority of single color sock patterns* using fingering weight yarn, I use around 64 stitches per round and US 1's (2.25mm).  If I'm using a fine fingering weight yarn (Hedgehog Fibres Sock, the old Lorna's Laces Sock, Cascade Heritage Sock) I prefer to use about 72 stitches per round and US 0'S (2.00mm).  I find these combinations work well for my feet, which are on the narrow side of normal and have high arches.  Tweaking the stitches per round either plus or minus by two or three stitches doesn't cause any fit issues for me.

*Heavily cabled and certain lace designs where the increases and decreases are widely spaced are the exceptions to this rule as they have less elasticity in the fabric.

Then I started knitting stranded colorwork socks.  I actually used socks to figure out how to knit stranded colorwork because if there are tension issues (and there always are when you're learning), they don't really matter if they're stuffed in a shoe and no one can see them.  Stranded colorwork introduces two issues you don't normally have in a single color sock.  First, they're less elastic than stockinette stitch is in a single color.  That goes to the floats.  They need to be long enough not to pull the sock in, but if you make them too long your stitches look sloppy and the sock won't wear well.  Secondly, (and again because of the floats on the wrong side) the interior diameter of a stranded colorwork sock is smaller than the outer diameter.  The floats make the fabric thicker, thus the inside of the sock isn't as big as it looks from the outside.

So, knowing and understanding these things - my own feet, my generic sock recipe, and how stranded colorwork changes the fabric - I can adjust the fit.  Here's what I do:

• Use the 72 stitch (or the closest the pattern has to this) size
• Work the top ribbing in US 0's (2.00mm)
• Switch to US 1's (2.25mm) for the leg colorwork and usually heel flap/heel turn (this gives me extra height for my high instep)
  
• Switch back to US 0's for the gusset and foot colorwork, as well as the toe

This system gives me a looser lower leg with a fitted heel and foot.  It does mean I'm working with several different gauges, but by shifting needle size around I'm able to get a sock that fits my feet properly.

If the sock only has colorwork on the leg, after working the colorwork section I switch back to the US 0's (2.00mm) for the lower leg and keep using them for the rest of the sock.  If it still feels a bit big, I can always decrease a few extra stitches in the gusset decreases so the foot doesn't have as many stitches as the leg.  (See my Christmas Dudes socks for an example of these things.) Does this change the gauge between the colorwork and the rest of the sock?  Yes it does.  The colorwork section is slightly larger, but it's also smaller on the inside, so the fit is right.

Obviously, different shaped feet are going to have different fitting needs, but most of us don't start knitting colorwork socks for our first pair of socks.  Hopefully, after knitting a few pairs of regular socks, you'll have some idea of what does and doesn't work for your feet and can use these techniques to get a good fit in colorwork socks!

I hope this helps someone get their socks to fit better!  Have a great weekend!

Socks!

Eat Sleep Knit's Third Quarter Craft-A-Long is colorwork socks!  I love colorwork socks - they're fun to knit and they use up the little partial balls of sock yarn you have left after single color socks!  This is the first of a Mischief Socks pair.  I've knit this pattern before, but only using two colors (see below).  This time I decided to use three colors, but as I was partway down the leg I found the turquoise blue and realized it would be perfect for heels, so four colors it is!

Someone had to get into the photo this morning, so you get a silver beak as bonus today!

Finished Gnome Socks

I finished my Hidden Gnome Socks!  This was such a pretty pattern and I'm really happy with my finished socks.  The pattern is Zwergenaufstand and I knit them in Malabrigo Ultimate Sock in Magenta and Natural.  

I mostly followed the pattern - all stitch counts are straight from the pattern, but I did need to make a few changes to fit my feet.  I started with US 0's (2.0mm) for the top ribbing and then switched to US 1's (2.25mm) for the stranded colorwork on the leg.  Then I switched back to the US 0's for the rest of the sock.  The pattern suggests going back to the larger needles for the colorwork on the foot, but since I have narrow feet, I got a better fit by staying with the smaller needles.  This did change the gauge of the colorwork a little, but unless you know to look for it, it's not really obvious.  I also did my usual toe instead of the one used in the pattern.  Again, it fits my foot.

This is the same designer who did the Winter Dudes socks I did at the first of the year and while these will be the last project for ESK's Gnome Craft-A-Long this quarter, I might be doing some more of her designs later this year.  Third quarter is Colorwork Socks! 

March Socks!

I've finished my first Zwergenaufstand sock and I'm halfway down the leg of the second one!  I need to get these finished by the end of the month in order to get credit for the Craft-A-Long.  As I explained on a previous post, for the most part I'm knitting these exactly as the pattern is written.  I worked the cuff ribbing on Size US 0's (2.0 mm), then I switched to Size US 1's (2.25 mm) for the leg.  I went back to the smaller needles when I started the heel flap and used those all the way through finishing the toe.  I didn't change any of the stitch counts from the pattern, I just used the smaller needles on the stranded section of the foot because I have narrow feet, and by trying on the sock-in-progress, I could tell that if I worked the foot color work in the larger needles, I wouldn't have a snug fit on my sock.  

The only big change I made to the sock was using the toe decreases I've used on 99% of my socks instead of the pattern's toe.  I don't know the name of "my" toe, but you work decrease rounds every other round until you've decreased half of the total foot stitches, then you work the decrease round every round until your stitch count is one quarter of the total foot stitches, then you Kitchener stitch the toe closed.  Occasionally, I have to juggle the numbers a bit if the total number of stitches doesn't divide out neatly, but that's easy enough to do, and knitted fabric is very forgiving. 

A Hidden Gnome!

I'm still working on my first sock of the new pair (why does stranded knitting take so much longer than single color knitting?), but I'm past the heel turn and the gusset now.  You can see the little gnome above, between the gusset decreases.  He's technically knit into the gusset of this sock, and he sits right on the underside of the heel.  You can barely see him in the photo below

When I started the stranded section for the foot, I decided to use a smaller needle than what I used for the stranded section of the leg.  I tried on the sock, and the leg portion is looser than I like the feet of my socks to be.  For anyone who's interested, I used US 0'S (2.0mm) for the top ribbing, heel flap, heel turn, and foot colorwork.  I used US 1's (2.25mm) for the leg colorwork.  This tightened up my gauge on the foot section so it will fit more snugly.  This also means I will have to knit more rounds in the foot to get the length right.

Socks!

I've finished my first Winter Dudes sock.  I'm through the colorwork and about to start the heel shaping for the second sock.  You can see the trees on the first sock.  There's an additional chart with this pattern without the trees.  It has more gnomes (wearing backpacks!) instead.  I went with the trees because I am making Christmas socks, but the all-gnomes design is also cute.

Now that I'm through the colorwork, the rest of the sock should go pretty quickly.  This pattern has a heel I've never worked before.  It's a short row heel, but there are little gussets on the side which should give me a better fit for my high arches than just a regular short row heel does.  I'm looking forward to testing these!

Finished Things!

Today is a day of finished things!  I've been doing a little bit of sewing in short breaks while Obi is having his morning nap, and I finished another Brumby skirt.  This one is made in Art Gallery's quilting fabric.  I don't normally like quilting fabric for sewing garments because most patterns call for fabrics with more drape than the average quilting fabric.  (There are patterns designed to use quilting fabrics, so it obviously works great in those.)  Art Gallery quilting fabric is very soft, has some drape and is a very nice fabric to sew.  It also still has some body, so it can't replace rayon challis, but for patterns that call for chambray or linen, it might be an option.

This is the pattern with the impressive pockets, but they kind of get lost in the flowers on this skirt.  (They still function just fine, they're just hard to see.)  I'm tempted to make a tiered maxi length version of this skirt, with the pockets.  The structured (non-elastic) waistband would easily support the extra length.  That's a pattern hack for another day though.

In addition to the skirt, I also finished my Sagittarii pullover!  This is knit in Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Charcoal and Lady Dye Yarns Sock in Benedict.  I prewashed both yarns to make sure there would be no bleeding.  I'm really happy with the way this came out.  The yoke pattern reminds me of vintage Christmas ornaments, but I purposely made it in non-traditional Christmas colors so I could keep wearing it through winter.  If you live in a place that has more cold weather around Christmas than we do, it would be lovely in more Christmas-y colors.   (We really don't get super cold around here until January and February.)

I didn't have to re-re-do the neckline a third time since it blocked out nicely.  I just steam blocked the sweater and everything settled right into place.  I know superwash yarn isn't the traditional choice for stranded colorwork, but if the gauge is tight enough it works just fine.  I have another stranded yoke colorwork pullover planned and the yarn is in my stash, so you will be seeing more of this kind of thing!

Almost There

I'm now three rounds away from being finished with the colorwork on the yoke of this sweater!  I know it's been all colorwork all the time around here, but I'm really trying to get this part finished today because things are going to get very busy later this week.  Once I get to the solid charcoal lower body I should be able to pick up and put down my knitting easily.  The colorwork takes actual concentration and focus.

The socks have been waiting patiently while I try to work on this more complicated knitting, but I should be able to get them back into the knitting rotation soon!

Slowly, But Surely

I'm plugging away at my Sagittarii pullover.  I'm more than halfway through the yoke by rounds, but I'm still increasing.  Each round takes some time, but I'm really enjoying watching the pattern emerge!  I can watch TV while I knit this, but I have to be careful.  I think my tension on the floats is doing ok, it looks neither too tight or too loose at this point. Fingers crossed!

Not A Sock

I have actually started a stranded colorwork pullover instead of yet another sock!  I feel like it's been all about socks around here lately so this is a nice change.  On the other hand, I did use socks to work on my stranded knitting skills, so they have been important in getting here.

This is the Sagittarii pullover knit in Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Charcoal and Lady Dye Yarns Sock Yarn in Benedict.  The colorwork design in this pattern reminds me of vintage Christmas ornaments, but since my color choice doesn't scream "CHRISTMAS" I figure I can wear it longer in the cold season.  Living in Texas, the cold season is short anyway and I don't want to limit my wearing window with a color scheme.  Particularly for this first colorwork yoke sweater.  There might be more in my future though!

Have a great weekend!  I'll be counting my stitches carefully.

I'm Baaaaack!

So I have no idea if there's anyone still here, but I'm going to restart the blogging.  I kind of dropped off the face of the earth this past fall.  Things got a little crazy and I just didn't have the emotional bandwidth to do the blogging, then it was Thanksgiving, things got crazier, I got Covid, I gave it to Mickael, and Caleb came home from school for his Christmas Break.  (He didn't get the Covid, but I think he actually had it in early November.  He was sick, and we thought it was the flu which was definitely going around College Station at the time, but his symptoms were the same ones Mickael and I had.)  The only reason I found out it was Covid was because I got an ear infection to go with it and I went to the doctor for that.  But, we're all better now, so onwards to fun stuff!

I've kind of got a lot to show you here, because while I wasn't blogging, I was still knitting.  I thought I'd show you what I finished while I was away tonight and then next week I'll show you what's on the needles as we go into the new year!  As I have done the last couple of years, I kept a log of everything I made during the year.

• 1 crocheted blanket (the Aggie Stripes)
• 2 crocheted animals (the Tiger and the Stunt Noodle)
• 1 knit poncho/cowl
• 1 knit cardigan
• 2 knit hats
• 3 knit pullovers
• 4 knit shawls
• 7 pairs of knit socks

Most of these you've seen, but there are few that got finished up after the blog went silent, so here they are!

I finished the Footie socks knit with the Decathalon stitch pattern.  These are knit in Spun Right Round Classic Sock in Raining Cats and Dogs.  Essentially I just plugged the stitch pattern into my basic vanilla sock pattern, starting with a bit of ribbing and going straight into the heel flap.  Voila, footie socks!

The next project off the needles was my V Neck Boxy in Queensland Kathmandu Fingering in Smoky Gray.  I lengthened the sleeves to full length, but otherwise it was knit as the pattern was written.  I've played with the idea of adding some embroidery to the neckline, but I haven't actually decided what to embroider yet and I've worn the pullover a couple of times.  I have some cream colored yarn for the embroidery if I ever make a decision.

Then I decided to knit another pair of stranded colorwork socks, so I knit the Mischief Socks with Dream in Color Smooshy in My Fair Lady and Madelinetosh Twist Light in Antique Lace.  These were so fun!  I really loved knitting them and doing two different pairs of socks for a single pair was great!  I wasn't sure they would fit my high insteps as the pattern was written, so I made some tweaks, which made for a funny place on each sole.  (The way the pattern is written, the designs go all the way around from the top of the foot to the sole, unbroken.  Mine don't.)  Since the "design feature" is on the sole of the sock, they aren't exactly keeping me up at night.  I'm really happy with my tension on the zig zag sock, but the checkerboard one is a little loose.  I will definitely be knitting more of this pattern!!

Finally, I knit the Vanguard Cardigan.  This was knit in Hazel Knits Cadence Worsted in the Giddy Up colorway.  This is the second time I've knit a sweater from this designer (the other is the Ambiente pullover, that I've knit three times - so far), and once again I'm so impressed at the little details that she includes that you don't necessarily see, but make a nicer finished sweater.  This was not an autopilot project, even though the cables themselves were pretty quick to memorize.  I definitely had to pay attention, but it was all worth it.  I made the finished sweater a little shorter than the pattern called for, but mine still hits at my top hip.  I also used my awesome dragon buttons.  I'm pretty sure I picked these up at G Street Fabrics in Washington, DC when we lived in northern Virginia. Just FYI, the yarn color is closer to the photo above of the full the sweater.  Giddy Up is a lovely, rich maroon color.

So now you're all caught up with what I finished.  I'll pop in next week and show you what's on the needles as we start the New Year!  I hope you're all having a great holiday season and I'll catch you next year!

A New Pair of Socks

I have been drooling over some colorwork yoke sweaters lately, but it's been years since I did stranded colorwork.  Clearly, I need some practice before I dive in to a sweater.  Fortunately, I ran across the Imber Socks pattern last fall and I decided to try a pair this year.  There are three slightly different designs in the single pattern and I'm working the Imber Stripes version (houndstooth colorwork on the leg and stripes on the foot).  This is actually the second time on the colorwork because I frogged back to the ribbing and restarted after the first time.  It's going much better now, but I'm still very slow.

The last time I worked stranded colorwork, I held both colors in my left hand (I'm a Continental knitter).  It worked well, but I felt like I was constantly re-tensioning the yarns in my hand as I would use one color more than the other.  I decided to try knitting with one color in each hand this time.  This meant I had to figure out how to knit English style.  Thank you, You Tube!  I still don't know how to purl English style, but I'm not sure I need to know this, at least right now.

The yarns I'm using are Cascade Heritage Sock in Snow and Riveria Heather (the houndstooth portion), and I'm using a bit of Dream in Color Smooshy in Milky Spite for my cuffs and possilbly a few stripes in the foot.

I'm trying to work on it a little every day so I can teach my right hand to carry the yarn.  I'm also trying to keep my tension balanced, so when I finish these socks I can get them on.  So far, this is not a TV kind of knit!

Rounds of Blue

 

I've been knitting away on the body of my Sipila!  I've put the sleeve stitches on holders and I'm just working on the body now.  I've also added a second skein of the blue (it's Flycatcher Blue in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in case you're curious) so I can alternate skeins.  The knitting is easy but the fact that this is an oversized pullover means it takes a while before I see progress.  I think this is what Netflix was invented for.

The Road So Far

 

Here's where I'm at this morning on the Sipila pullover.  As I mentioned yesterday, this is all I'm going to be working on this week, so you'll be seeing it again.  I'm enjoying knitting it, it just doesn't progress very quickly.  That means blog photos with very little visible progress.

Maybe I can get Max to cooperate for some photos...

Stranded

 

The ESK Fourth Quarter KAL - Charted Waters (make something charted) began October 1.  I just cast on this past weekend.  I'm making Sipila in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Flycatcher Blue and Natural.  I'm into the stranded portion of the yoke now, but I haven't gotten very far.  It kind of reminds me of Charlie Brown's shirt at this point - in completely the wrong colors. 

I've been wanting to make a colorwork yoke pullover for a while now, so when I realized this pattern would also work for the KAL, I decided to go ahead and do it.  This has an oversized shape which looks cute with skinny jeans and is comfortable to wear.  There are some projects on Ravelry that were knit to be more fitted, but I'll be making mine oversized as the pattern is written.  I'm doing the long sleeved version.

Also, can I just say that I absolutely adore the polka dots on the sleeves!  The yoke pattern is pretty and I like it too, but the polka dotted sleeves are what really reeled me in with this pattern!