Sunday, June 10, 2007

Socks and more socks

I found this page of album covers that is really funny. Some of the outfits remind me of the ones in Stitchy McYarnpant' s book, the pictures of whole families wearing matching hideous sweaters from the seventies. With knitting, I've mostly been working on socks. Except for Rusted Root, which I started in the medium size, and it turned out to be too big, so I had to restart in size small. I noticed though, that there aren't any schematics of the pattern, so it was hard to tell what the actual size would be. The medium is 35" to 38", and the small is 32" to 35", so I figured the medium would fit. Oh well. I actually finished this sock, in Fearless Fibers raspberry, but it is a little too tight. I'm not sure if it will stretch a little after blocking, or I'll have to redo the whole thing. It is Conwy from Nancy Bush's On the Road. The yarn was a little splitty, either with this pattern, or the yarn, I couldn't tell. I used size 2.25 mm (1) needles. I also dyed a batch of Kool aid yarn again, using Lemon Lime, Lemonade, and Tropical Punch. I was originally going to have more yellow, but it started looking too rastafarian, so the Tropical Punch covered up most of the yellow, and even most of the green. That color definitely seems the strongest, since it bleeds into everything next to it, and needs the least amount of Kool aid for the most coverage. Now I'm working on Spey Valley, again from Knitting on the Road, and the second Monkey sock. Then I can start on this Kool Aid yarn.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

New Yarns, Alternative Fibers

I got some hemp yarn, Allhemp 6, in Aubergine and Charcoal, in order to make Maze. The yarn is actually a lot denser than I thought it would be. I was thinking it would be lighter and shinier, but it's more dense and ropey than I thought it would be. It's hard to knit with and at first my hands got really sore. It really does feel like knitting with twine, but it seems extremely durable. Some yarns I've used feel like they'll tear apart in my hands or get ruined, just by handling them. I've finished the Maze hat, but haven't washed it yet. I guess hemp is supposed to get a lot softer after washing. I've been wanting to try out some of the nonwool yarns out there. Next up would be Tofutsies sock yarn, which is wool, nylon, and soysilk. I also got this handpainted sock yarn from Etsy, and I'm thinking about making Anastasia with it. It has a short row toe, which I haven't done before, so I'll have to sit down and really concentrate on it.

Friday, June 01, 2007

One Lone Baudelaire



I finished one Baudelaire sock, after making it too big. It is the first sock I ever made, so I'm really happy with it. I used Filatura di Crosa Zarina and size 2.75mm needles. I made the size large at first, but then went down to a size medium. I think I could have even made the small or gone down a needle size, because it feels like it could be tighter. The hardest parts were the beginning figure 8 cast on and the beginning of the cable. The figure 8 cast on felt really awkward and seemed too loose. I had to do it a few times to get it to look right. The beginning of the cable is where you have to increase I think 4 stitches for every stitch. It started to get so tight, I could hardly get my needle into the stitches. I think I could have made the four stitch cable instead of the eight stitch cable, but I don't want to redo the sock over again. If I make this pattern again, I'll know. Overall, I like this pattern a lot, and it was fairly straightforward. Now I just have to make sure I cast on for the second sock immediately.