September 2007

Secret Project Revealed!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

My semi-secret project is finally done! Let me present: My So Called Mitts. These were inspired by the great stitch pattern in My So Called Scarf by sheep in the city. I don't know the history of the name but I always thought it had something to do with the TV series. :D At least it looks like something Angela would wear. :)

I checked with the sheep herself and she gave me the go-ahead to write up the pattern. Expect the free pattern (!) to appear here soon(ish) when I get off my lazy bum to actually type it up. :P But for now, my project notes:

Pattern: by me! inspired by the great stitch pattern in My So Called Scarf. Free pattern coming soon!
Yarn: 80g of Novita 7 Veljestä Colori (75% wool / 25% polyamide), colorway #899 (multicolor/deep fall colors). This colorway is from the early 2000's so, yeah, discontinued. :/
Needles: 4.0mm and 4.5mm 80cm aluminum circular needles

Bottom Line

• $$$: The yarn was old leftovers from a couple of projects. This color is no longer available but the same yarn goes for about 3-5 € / 100 g.
• Pattern: I'm a bit biased to comment on the pattern. ;) I really like the stitch pattern and think that it looks best with variegated yarn with short color repeats. But I didn't realize just how dense and non-stretchy the fabric would be, so the mitts are very snug.
• Techniques: The pattern itself is really simple. The only bit where it gets a little complicated is the starts and ends of row #1 in the stitch pattern. The stitch pattern is offset on every other row so that no matter what number of stitches you cast on, it's never even. It doesn't matter when you're working the stitch pattern back and forth (like in the scarf) but in circular knitting, you have to cheat a bit at the ends.
• Yarn: Novita 7 Veljestä is a sturdy, worsted weight work horse. At first, I was bummed that I didn't have enough yarn for a scarf, but it wouldn't have made a good scarf anyway -- it's fairly scratchy. But I really liked the colors and think that they work best in small accessories. In larger garments, the yarn would be is too busy and distracting.
• Instant Gratification: It's a quick knit! I think I spent more time swatching and figuring out how to do the stitch pattern in the round than what I spent knitting the mitts.
• Will I Wear Them? Yes! Great for fall when the morning's are nippy but you don't want to wear mittens yet.
• Final score: 4/5.

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SOS 2007 Wrap Up

Thursday, September 20, 2007

My prize for the SOS 2007 link contest arrived yesterday and the stitch markers are even prettier in person. :)

Perfect timing since the along ends on Friday. It was loads fun but my sock knitting is far from over. :) I even have the next project lined up. Thanks to Jessica for hosting the knit-along and to my assigned blog reader Vera who didn't forget to report on my progress even if I did. :)

So how did I fare? Did I reach the goals I set for myself?

• Finish at least a pair -- hopefully two pairs -- per each of the three months of the -along. CHECK. I finished six pairs, barely.
• Try different yarns and fibers. CHECK, sort of. I used a wool/bamboo blend, a wool/cotton blend, and 100% merino. I have a wool/silk blend and handpainted stuff stashed that I didn't get to, but I still haven't tried or even bought soy fiber. :/
• Knit some of the really popular and famous sock patterns I haven't tried yet. CHECK. Monkey, Pomatomus, and Jaywalkers are finished, but I have plenty of stuff still in the queue.
• Knit some intricate cabled socks. NOPE. The Blueberry Lattice socks were cabled but nothing really complicated. I have Clessidra queued but what I'd really like to get to -- some day -- is Eunny's Bayerische Socks.
• Enter the design contest. NOPE. But I did enter the Weekly Link Contest -- and won!
• Knit for someone else other than myself. NOPE. :( Still a bad gift knitter... but I did buy some yarn this week, intended for Christmas projects. Am I too early thinking about holiday knitting already? Or too late?

Nothing new on the needles (I'm still working on the secret something) but here's some more socky pics.

I don't usually block socks but the Jaywalkers looked a bit frumpy.

And here are some pics of Blueberry Lattice Socks and Flame Wave Socks, taken earlier this summer when I had someone else operate the camera while I posed. :)

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SOS 2007: Last Pair

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

With just 3 days to spare, I managed to finish my last pair for Summer of Socks 2007: the Radioactive Jaywalkers!

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina from September 2005 MagKnits
Yarn: 2 x 50g of Novita Wool (100% merino), dyed with food coloring
Needles: 3.0mm 80cm aluminum circular needle
Mods: Knitted toe-up using sport/DK weight yarn in * k-f/b, k6, dd, k6, k-f/b * pattern (34 sts in instep, 28 sts in sole). Revisited Widdershins heel with the following numbers: B28, C44, D12, E20, F8. (They'll make sense when you read the instructions. :) Increase to 34 sts on the heel/back needle, cuff in modded stitch pattern.
Other: Sixth and final pair for Summer of Socks 2007, Sockdown: Ravelry September 2007 challenge (Grumperina or toe-up)

Bottom Line

• $$$: Yarn: 2 x 2.90 € = 5.80 €. Food coloring about 3 € per bottle; I used three colors but nowhere near entire bottles.
• Pattern: It's a fun pattern and I can see why it's so popular. However, I don't like how the k f/b stitches look -- knitting the back loop produces a purl bump and I'd prefer a smoother and more invisible increase.
• Techniques: The pattern is also very simple and the only semi-special stitches are k f/b and double decrease, dd (which are super easy).
• Yarn: This is the best and softest Novita yarn I've used. I've never used it for socks before so we'll see how the 100% merino holds up. I was also quite pleased with my dye job and the self-striping effect was a great match with the Jaywalker zigzags. :)
• Instant Gratification: In total, it took me 18 days to knit the socks but they were on hold for while there. In truth, the pattern is super fast to knit but, again, I got sidetracked with other projects.
• Will I Wear Them? The socks are a tiny bit too large and the cuffs are slightly flared and droopy. (I didn't bind off tightly enough.) Will probably wear these as house socks.
• Final score: 4/5. I'd like to tweak the stitch pattern and re-knit in fingering weight yarn.

Technically, there'd still be time to knit more socks. But I'm no Wendy (18 pairs, dude!) so this will be my last pair for this knit-along. However, my sock knitting is far from over. :) I'll post a little self-evaluation of my results a little later on in the week.

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I Won? I Won!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

You know those people who have amazing luck and seem to win in every raffle and sweepstakes they enter? Me? So not one of them. I never win anything. So imagine my surprise when I got an email from Jessica today saying she picked the link I submitted as the winner of this week's Summer of Socks 2007 Weekly Link Contest!

I got to reveal the truth, though: it took a few tries. I can't exactly say "third time's the charm" because it was more like fifth or sixth time. :D The winning link? Super Easy DIY Sock Blockers. What's the swag? A set of beautiful "Needle At A Glance" stitch markers donated by Cynthia's Skeins.

Thanks again to Jessica, Cynthia, and Maryann whose great tutorial it was I submitted. :)

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Sockdown September: Ubiquitous Jaywalkers

Monday, September 03, 2007

At the start of Summer of Socks 2007, one of the goals I set for myself was to knit some of the super famous and popular sock patterns that were published while I was away from knitting for a couple of years. I've done Monkey, I've done Pomatomus -- now it's time for Jaywalkers.

The yarn was dyed by ME (!) using regular food coloring. I can't for the life of me get the photos to represent the colors the way they are in person. They're sort of bright. Like see-from-space-bright. You know that color in The Simpsons they use for the nuclear rods? Yeah, that bright. I'm surprised the socks don't glow in the dark. :D

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina from September 2005 MagKnits
Yarn: 2 x 50g of Novita Wool (100% merino), dyed with food coloring
Needles: 3.0mm 80cm aluminum circular needle
Mods: Going toe-up (again), using sport/DK weight yarn in k-f/b, k6, dd, k6, k-f/b pattern (34 sts in instep, 28 sts in sole)
Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #6 (if I manage to finish before the deadline...), Sockdown: Ravelry September 2007 challenge (Grumperina or toe-up) pair #1

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