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!

A New Sweater

As soon as I finished the Sous Sous pullover I started another sweater.  This one is top down, from a designer whose patterns I've knit before, with a more traditional shaping - so there's no (mostly unnecessary) second guessing on my part.  This is the Keera pullover from Isabell Kraemer.  I'm knitting it in Blue Sky Fibers Extra in the Lei colorway.   The fiber content of the yarn and the feel of it are identical to Berroco Ultra Alpaca.  I haven't compared them side by side (or even the labels) so I don't know if they're the same weight or not.  I've always loved the feel of Ultra Alpaca in my hands while I'm knitting, so it's nice to have a second option with a different color range.

As you can see, the sweater looks pretty simple from the front.

The back has a little more going on!  It's still a simple knit and the lace isn't difficult once you get a few rounds into it so you can see what it's doing.

As it turns out, this is exactly what I need right now because my non knitting life has just gotten crazy.  I'll blog when I can and when I actually have something to show, but I may not be as regular as I try to be around here.

Finished!

I have finished the Sous Sous Pullover!  It's knit in Madelinetosh Tosh DK in the Fatal Attraction colorway (this is a stunning red!).  I made the Small - it's meant to be oversized, but Fifi is positively swimming in it because she's missing half of her shoulders (no arms).

If you look at the projects on Ravelry and read project notes, there's a lot going on.  I got really freaked out the first time I was knitting this (there was a time deadline) and I quit.  Fortunately, most of the concerns about the pattern aren't actual issues.  The shaping for this sweater is very different from most sweaters, but at least for the small, the directions are overall correct.  (Here is a link to my project page with all of the below notes as well - you will need to be signed into Ravelry to see it.)

That said, I did make a few notes and changes:

• Work the first and last stitches in rib, so the edges match.  The front has this set up for a five stitch edge, which is what I used.  The back has a three stitch edge.  Pick one and stick with it for both pieces so they match.
• Reverse wrap the Yarn Over after the P3tog so it's the same size as it's mate.  Untwist it on the following row.
• Work the twisted stitches in the chart as twisted on both the Right Side and the Wrong Side.
• Work front increases (used for the shaping) as Yarn Overs on Right Side, but twist them on the wrong side to close them up, as either twisted knit or purl in pattern.
• For the back neck - I picked up stitches along the back neck (1 for every 2), then knit the band, attaching it to the back neck, like the edging of a shawl.  Grafted the band to the opposite front when I got there.
• Finally, I sewed the front and back together at the lower sides and then picked up stitches in the round for the sleeves.  I also picked up two fewer stitches than called for to account for the two stitches I would have lost when seaming the sleeves.  Working them in the round seemed easier to my brain than working them flat.

As you can see, there are only minor errata to the actual pattern, that an experienced knitter will correct without a lot of thought.  The pattern itself is correct as far as the big numbers and directions go.  I did knit the front first, marking the beginning of each chart repeat on each side of that row, and when I knit the back I did the same marking of rows.  This helped me count while I was knitting and keep them straight while I was seaming them together.

This was definitely not an auto-pilot sweater, but I'm really happy with the finished garment.  I'm honestly open to knitting it again (I have a dark blue green that I'm thinking about).  I'm glad I stuck with it though and made this!

I've already started another sweater though, and this one is definitely in the auto pilot category!
 

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.

Progress

I have finished the back of Sous Sous, and I've actually got it joined to the front at the shoulders!  (I took this picture before finishing the back neck, but all of those yarns have been woven in now.)  Next up are the sleeves.  The pattern is written to knit them to the body of the sweater, flat, then seam them closed, along with the side seams.  I'm playing with the idea of seaming the sides now and knitting the sleeves in the round.  That would eliminate the sleeve seam and it would feel better to wear.  The sleeves are short little things (the body is wide) and don't need the added structure seaming would give, so I'm pretty sure I can get away with it.  I'm going to think about it a bit, but I'm leaning towards working them in the round.

Either way, I hope to get started on the first sleeve this weekend.  The end of this sweater is in sight!  For my next sweater, I want to work a nice top down thing that doesn't take a lot of thought!

Finished!

I finished my Mischief Socks!  These are such fun socks to knit, and great for practicing your stranded colorwork knitting.  I added some contrast cuffs, toes, and heels just for fun.  The pattern uses two colors only.  For the cuffs and toes I used Cascade Heritage Sock in 5629 Citron.  The main part of the sock has the background color as Cascade Heritage Sock in 5618 Snow and the main color as Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Secrets.  The heel (which was a last minute addition, I had originally planned to use the Citron here) is Lady Dye Yarns Sock Yarn in Benedict.

I love my finished socks, and while this is the second time I've knit Mischief Socks, it probably won't be the last!

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!