Fiery Rhubarbs

Wollmeise is da b0mb! The knitted fabric just feels divine.

usual details:
Wollmeise Rhabarber sockenwolle (med-dark intensity)
Judy's magic cast on for the toes
72 st count
extra cable repeat in the foot
size 2.25 & 2.50 mm (US 1 & "1.5") Knitpick circulars

The only problem I had this time around is that I seemed to get some laddering when I picked up the gusset stitches (both on the p2tog k2tbl sides) and I don't know why. I didn't have this issue with my STR medium weight pair. I'm assuming they'll even out as time goes on.

Only socks

Lenores are done! I was pestering tapmouse to finish her second Lenore yesterday 'cause we were at the same point and she's got smaller feet than me. I used the logic that we can take a pic of our Lenore pairs together, but I don't think that was a strong enough incentive. LOL!

Same as first Lenore sock 'cept I cast on with size 2 (2.75 mm) needles 'cause the cast on edge of my first sock was a wee bit snugger than I want.


I love holiday weekends 'cause that meant I had time to finish my first Wollmeise sock, but second time around with the Firestarter pattern. I love the feel of the Rharbarber sock yarn. Love it. But the gusset took forever to me. In my rush to get the sock done, I kept screwing up my purl increases by either purling on the wrong side or on the wrong row so I'd tink around those stitches to correct them. Ugh.


I'm using my size 1 (2.25 mm) KP circs so I need to finish the second sock before I start my Merlot Vine Lace socks (my current Yarn4Socks club package). I'm using the 72 st count due to the difference in gauge from the pattern. I added 1 cable repeat to the leg. I also went back to my EZ sewn bind off 'cause I didn't like the thicker feel of the doubled yarn bind off on my STR Marbles Firestarter.


I know it's not YPF yet, but T-day is coming and I may not have much knitting time or blog time 'til after. Our Woolgirl sock club package came in this week and it's so, so fun. Unfortunately like the first Woolgirl package, I can't cast on 'til I get through some other sock projects first. I'm planning to knit a pair for my makeup board Secret Santa and a pair of micro monkey socks for Monkey1 using Gilraen's written instructions. I've even charted it out for ease. Now I just need to pull out some yarn:

edited to correct chart legend

All over the place

There's something about our funky weather that's making me feel out of sorts and just unfocused.


I finished the first Giotto with the Flow sock, but I cheated and made them short/long enough for Monkey1. For some reason, I was so over this sock this weekend, but Monkey1 was loving it, so now they're for her. I also realized that I better get going with the kids' knits since Monkey1's feet are now 8" long. Her socks are soon going to take longer to make than mine since I foresee her feet being longer than mine before she even hit her 'tweens. Well, maybe I'm exagerating, but still. No wonder she's been bugging me for new shoes. And here I thought it was just the whole Imelda Marcos shoe gene that skipped me and went to her. (Although the whole joking about the Marcos gene may bite me in the @ss one day and I'll find out we're actually related to them, even if it would be several times removed.)

Slightly amused that in knitter's math, I am halfway done with Monkey1's Cabo Hoodie when all I have are the sleeves & hood to do. It's been hard to get motivated to finish this sweater ASAP when the weather climbs back into the 80's. Also, Monkey1's soccer practice is down to 1x/wk so I mostly have that golden hour (2, if I'm lucky) after the kids fall asleep before I poop out to work on my knitting every night.

But what do I do instead? I swatch for a sweater I loved when I saw it at Purlescence Yarns 1 year birthday party. Leave it to me to buy a pricey pattern ($11! I totally didn't pay attention to this 'til after they rang me up.) and yarn not on sale during their event. My excuse is that in the long run, it did end up cheaper than buying a sweater's worth of Dream in Color Classy I was initially gunning for.

I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew with this lace sweater pattern. I also realize I'm in a rut 'cause I bought yet another empire waist sweater pattern. Well, I have liked and bought other non-empire waisted patterns, but the only one that's come to fruition was the Ribby Pulli. In any case, this'll be a long term project for me 'cause the potential to muck this one up is high.

Of course, now that I only have one sock-in-progress, I immediately cast on for my Wollmeise Rhabarber Firestarters. This in spite of 1 more Yarn4Sock kit (knitspot's Merlot Vine socks) and Woolgirl sock club kit (Waterfall) I still have to get through. Not to mention our October Rockin' Sock Club kit that'll be arriving soon and my Fratello kit I'm dying to start.

Although sock clubs are fun, I realize I put a lot of pressure on myself to get them done. So despite enjoying my sock clubs, I'll probably limit myself just to STR next year when the others expire.

To bind off or not to bind off

So much for the earlier mental gymnastics and knitting voodoo to get the foot to not do that wide striping thing 'cause it totally didn't matter for the leg.

I even went down a needle size (2.75 mm) once the ribbing started on the front side when I noticed that the wide striping was going to happen on the first 5 rounds of the leg. It didn't matter.


I should've known and/or paid more attention to Yarnissima's picture here of her Firebird Firestarters. She's got that fat striping going on the leg on hers.


So now I'm at the point where I can bind off but I'm still deciding on what to do. I can:

1) let the handpainted patterning be and bind off,

2) frog the whole bugger with the intention of knitting a pair of plain stockinette stitch socks out of this yarn and cast on a new Firestarter with another yarn,

3) or frog to the start of the leg and change the ribbing to St st. The only issue there would be the transition from the ribbed heel to St st would be rather loose and "poofy."

So for now it'll sit as an UFO for awhile. I think I'll come back to it after I finish my 2 other socks-in-progress.

Take 2!

(Almost the same content as my post on the Firestarter KAL)

I frogged my first attempt on size 2.75 mm needles using the original 60 st count and casted the STR medium weight back on size 3.00 mm needles using a 54 st count. No fat pooling. I can see my twisted stitches so much better. (And it's really, really looking like the Marbles colorway now.)

After googling what other knitters cast on (& on what needle size if they mentioned it) and the resultant color patterning they got as well as looking back at my STR Sock Candy Broadripples, I realized that a 54 st count might be my magic STR medium weight number (64 being my STR lightweight magic number). The fact that it was also a 6 st variation of the original 60 st count also had the potential to work in my favor. The only question was if a size "2.5" (3.00 mm) or 3 (3.25 mm) would be better.

Once I got used to the chart notation, I could cruise through the travelling stitches. The experience of knitting Cookie A's Twisted Flower pattern made this sock pattern's one chart seem comparatively easy.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I didn't just jinx myself just now. Don't want to get too cocky and have this pattern bite me in the @ss. I still need to get through the gusset section. I hope that it works out, especially since I don't have the same row gauge.

And assuming I get through this pattern unscathed, I'm going to do a second pair in my Wollmeise Rhabarber.