Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Ready for Christmas 2007?

Not! But my Retro Rib socks in STR Christmas Balls are. Whee!


Pattern: Retro Ribs - Interweave Knits (IK) Winter 2004 (& now the IK Favorite Socks book)
Yarn: Socks that Rock Christmas Balls
Needle size: KP size 1 (2.50 mm) dpn's & circs

Notes/Comments:
The cuff/leg has been modified to be 6" vs the 8" in the pattern. The left foot is looser than the right because I screwed up and didn't reduce down the last 2 stitches for the gusset, so I reduced them in the toe area which is when I discovered my error. I'm going to try to wear them for a day w/the bigger one on the left foot since it's bigger and see if I can live w/it. Otherwise, it will be a PITA to frog back all the way to the gusset.

And now that I've got the size 1 circs free, I can continue on w/the sleeve of my SKB. Nothing more motivating than to free up my needles to knit up sweater sleeves. I so don't want to be stuck in sleeve purgatory from the lack of the right needle size & length.


And here's 1 skein of Noro Kochoran #21 in the Feather & Fan scarf (roughly 54" already), one of my Feb/Mar Project Spectrum projects. I was duly warned that 2 skeins would make for a really long scarf, but I really want to get rid of this yarn. I may try to knit up all of the second skein if the itching doesn't drive me mad so I can gift this away to someone who not only likes angora, but also likes really long scarves. I hope to finish this by the end of the week. Not only do I want to make room for stuff I'll get from Stitches West, but I would like to get things off the needle in preparation for my first STR Club package.

ETA: Doh! Calorimetry! Heh, it took 2 discussions w/my knitter friends at work to realize that I can stop the scarf when I think it's long enough (74"?). I can then knit up a Calorimetry w/maybe 94 or 90 sts w/the remaining Kochoran. My 108 st Silk Garden one's a little loose so hopefully a shorter one will work. Plus, I'll have 2 gifts to give away instead of one. Now I'm content w/the solution.

Four projects on the needles was one too many for me, so I'm glad the socks are done. Hopefully the scarf will be next and then the SKB.

I'm still having fun w/the Polar Sea socks because its my first cable project. I'm using Cookie A's BFF pattern. And gee, now I understand why knitters prefer cabling w/o a cabling needle. It's a PITA to handle 4-5 dpns plus a cabling needle. So much hardware I had no room for my fingers!

2 comments:

Batty said...

Nice scarf and socks!

Actually, I AM ready for Christmas 2007. The blanket I knit didn't get done until January, so now I already have something a FIL/SMIL gift.

Kel said...

Wow! You are going mad with the socks! I love it! Are you so excited to get your Blue Moon Club package? Re: AllHemp: It was starchy to knit with, and I was using metal #3 circs, so I tugged alot. They are small, so it didn't bother me to work with it. After initial wash n'block, they got softer, and with use they are getting much softer. Pre-washing hanks might be a really great idea. On the good side: A skirt made from allhemp will get softer but might not stretch out much.