May knits

After finishing my Northhampton Beat Socks designed by my friend the Knittinggolfer, I had the pleasure of test-knitting her latest shawlette pattern from yarn in my stash.  It's even pre-Ravelry yarn stash to boot!

Pattern: Marrowstone Shawl by Marcy Vandale
yarn: Yarn Pirate superwash sock yarn in Rain
needles: size 6 KP Harmony circs

 My STR sock knitting binge is not over, but I am done with my March Rockin' Sock Club pair.

Pattern: Intrepid Traveler by Gail Marracci who is also one of RSC's main test knitters.
yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in Kool Aid Acid Test
needles: size 2.50 & 2.75 mm KP dpns & circs.
mod: Switched to the 2.50 mm needles for the heel flap and sole

I kept notes on when I switched from dpns to circs when I took the first sock on vacation, so I can repeat what I did on the second.  I got the pooling to match between socks, but my guess on the start of the colorway on the second sock looks like half a skein off. I've been affectionately called anal for trying to get the colorway to match on both socks, but I just consider it fun.
 

pattern: Twisted Rib Neckwarmer
yarn: The Plucky Knitter Merino Cashmere Nylon (MCN) blend Aran weight in Teddy Bear
needle: size 9 KP Harmony circs
CO 200 sts like many other Plucky knitters & knit 'til the cowl was about 9" in "height" when worn.

So out of my WIP pile shared a couple posts ago, that leaves me with my Blue Whale kerchief and my Cosima WIP's to finish off.  The Blue Whale will be next to be finished, but I'm having lots of second-guessing and regrets on buying the pattern & the yarn for Cosima.  The project manager in me will probably push me to finish though...at some point.

STR Binge

After a long dry spell, I'm finally back to my usual Socks That Rock knitting.

Pattern: Northampton Beat Socks by a dear friend Knittinggolfer
yarn: STR lightweight in Seastone
needle: size US 1.5 KP nickel-plated dpns & size US 1 Signature Stiletto dpns
only mod: longer heel flap for my higher instep

Pattern: Sweet Home by the sweet Irishgirlieknits
yarn: STR lightweight in I Love What You're Wearing
needles: US 1.5 KP nickel-plated circs - I went on vacation with this project

March RSC kit
pattern: Intrepid Traveler by Gail Marracci
yarn: STR lightweight in Kool Aid Acid Test
needles: US size 2 & 1.5 KP dpns & circs

I started off the sock on dpn’s for the cuff & first 5 repeats of the leg. But in anticipation of traveling by plane for a visit to see  my family in HI, I switched to circs (KP Harmony). The switch was to reduce my klutzy likelihood of dropping a needle & losing it somewhere during my trip. The needle material switch was to keep gauge since while I am normally tighter on circs, I am looser on wood wrt metal.

As I was putting my circulars away until I needed them for the 2nd sock, I measured what I thought was my second 2.75 mm KP Harmony circ & found it to be a 2.50 mm circ. I checked all my other Harmony circs just in case I mis-filed it & didn’t find one. I wonder if KP’s manufacturer mis-labeled the circ or their tolerance was way off. If so that explains why I got the pooling in the leg when I switched from dpns to circs - inadvertently knitting the rest of the leg half on 2.50 mm & half on 2.75 mm.

I also finished Monkey1's blankie in Crystal Palace Mochi Plus.  I was short on the main color, but when we went to Purlescence to buy 2 more skeins, Monkey 1 opted for a contrasting solid border color instead of the matching pastel.  We're both happy with how it came it, so much so Monkey1 won't let me have it back to wash & block it yet. 

Pattern: Parquet Squares blanket
yarn: Crystal Palace Mochi Plus in Baby Face (main color) & Purple Rain (border)
needle: size 9 KP Harmony circs

Pattern: Jayne Cobb Hat - There are so many free ones I had to double-check which one I used
yarn: Cascade 128 Superwash in 3shades centered around the red
size: medium - I'm not sure if it's large enough so I may knit a second

This is a gift in reds instead of the original oranges, but I'm contemplating making a second with the colors in a different order and in the large size 'cause I'm unsure of this one.

And I'll leave off with a view on the Kaneohe side of the Ko'olau Range on Oahu from my trip.  It's a little less common to have a clear view as most of the time the rain clouds obscure the tops of the mountain range.  This is not your typical tourist view as it's mostly locals who see this when they visit their loved ones at one of the memorial parks in Kaneohe. 

Ten on Tuesday

Nartian-style:


One, Two, & Three:
One more newborn sun hat & 2 pairs of coordinating baby booties for a couple California summer babies, all in need of a wash & block. (The almond sun hat's a previous FO, so I'm not counting it.) -
Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Almond & Stone - yeah, it's summer, but I am so over this yarn at the moment
size 5 & 7 KP circs
A Sun Hat & Waves of Baby Booties (seamless!)


Four:
A finished pair of Lindsays from Cookie A's Sock Innovation -
size 2.50 mm KP Harmony dpns - I broke one of them doing a k3tog
Hand Jive Nature's Palette in Medium Indigo


Five:
Cascadia Sock One (pardon the un-woven end)-
STR lightweight in Happy Go Lucky
Rockin' Sock Club Jan 2010 kit
size 2.25 mm KP circs
Finally trying Jenny's surprisingly stretchy bind-off. Like!


Six:
My informal foray into Tour de Fleece w/my avfkw Polwarth on my Kundert spindle. Doing a 2-ply & it's coming out sport/DK-ish, but it needs to be washed & thwacked.


Seven:
Sunshine Yarns merino tencel roving in Stained Glass - pretty!


Eight:
Golding Cherry Tsunami spindle - Love!


Nine:
Navajo-ply on the fly using my new Golding & the merino-tencel - Going slowly since this is my first foray into a wool blend, though not my first wool blend roving purchase.


Ten:
3G Woodworks custom-requested Curly Koa spindle -
It has a larger shaft than I expected. I'm guessing the shaft & whorl shape makes it more center-weighted as opposed to the more rim-weighted Kundert & Golding. So while this spins very fast, it doesn't spin long. This will take a lot of getting used to. I think I'll have to go back to park & draft 'til I figure out a way to adjust my method so I'm happy with this. It's definitely a lesson for me to do a little more research (found a Ravelry comment after about the larger diameter shaft) and not be lured by my desire for a spindle made of koa.

Vancouver test knit

All done & Sam's got her pattern up on Ravelry.


Because BMFA's BFL Sport is out of stock while they wait for the mill to deliver more, I had to substitute my yarn. I was trying to knit from my stash which didn't quite work, so I ended up buying more yarn from a lys. Due to test knit time constraints, I didn't want to order online & be late in finishing.


Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh DK (formerly worsted) in
Nikko Blue (main color) - 2.2 skeins
Chamomile (contrast color one) - 1.6 skeins
Magenta (contrast color two) - 1.6 skeins
needle size - 9 & 10.5 KP Harmony circs to get gauge


Monkey2 loves the Nikko Blue so much that she's got dibs on her new "blankie." :D


I also finished another test knit, but its not shareable 'til I get the go ahead from the designer. So in the meantime, I have made progress on my Cascadia sock from the Jan 2010 Rockin' Sock Club kit. I'm doing the medium size on size 1 (2.25 mm) KP circs & it seems to fit well so far,


Love the color and going toe up keeps me on my toes (sorry, couldn't resist!) with my knitting.

Slip Jigs & Slippery Slopes

Finished in time for Irishgirlieknits return from Sock Camp:


RSC March 2010 kit
Slip Jig by Irishgirlieknits
BMFA STR medwgt in Wild Irishgirlie
size 2.50 mm KP circs
med pattern size
no mods


We've got a nice respite from the spring rains, but by the time I remember to take pics, it's too shady in our back yard. Pics at work are a little better, but flourescent lighting can be icky.


Have I mentioned I have slid down the slippery slope that is spinning? Obviously I'm no where near good, but at least I enjoy the practicing. Now if only I can take a pic of this fiber in the right light. It's Superwash BFL in No. 9 from A Verb for Keeping Warm. I have no idea about my yardage from the 4 oz I spindle spun. I also Navajo-plyed it, but from singles I had already wound on toilet paper rolls, so it was super tricky to keep the tension right. I can totally see how loose I was in a few spots. I do love Navajo-plying, so I'll do it the way I learned in class on my next dyed fiber (but not one that is more semi-solid).

Next step is to figure our my wraps-per-inch and swatch it to see what I can knit it into. One of my other goals too is to see if I can load my spindle with more fiber instead of having a bunch of little skeins when I'm done spindle-spinning.

And one time at Sock Camp...

Hah. Not really. While my Rockin' Sock Club friends are having a kickin' time up at this year's Sock Camp, I'm back at home in a quieter mode working on one of the March RSC patterns.


Slip Jig by our darling Irishgirlie, Carrie
pattern size medium
STR medium weight in Wild Irishgirlie
size 2.50 mm KP circs (just 'cause I know Carrie enjoys circs rather than dpns)

One down, one to go after a brief detour in another size.


Apparently I had a Cinderella stepsister moment and cast on for the small instead of my usual medium. I should know better than to not believe the designer and tech editor. Even my DH noticed when I tried on the small cuff (on top in the pic above) that it would be too snug. Despite the purl stitches in the cable rows, it doesn't lend itself to being very stretchy.


And since hats are quick, I finally got around to knitting Monkey1 a beanie hat version of the Scroll Lace pattern (there's a chart here) that was used for my Malabrigo Twist cowl. I used the recipe directions for this Pomatomus hat to do my decreases for this hat as well. I think I figured it out correctly.


yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Some Summer Sky
needles: size 7 & 9 KP Harmony circs (I'm hecka tight when I knit Dream in Color yarns)
CO 100 sts


And in the spirit of Sock Camp class-taking, I took WonderMike's Navajo ply on a drop spindle class at A Verb this weekend. My over-the-fold technique still blows, but the Navajo-ply method is so awesome! I'm looking forward to practicing this technique more on my little stash of dyed fibers.

Raven Swirl

RSC November 2009
Raven Swirl by Cookie A - medium
Socks that Rock lightweight in Blackbird
size 2.25 mm KP nickel-plated dpns


unintentional mod:
1 extra repeat of the cuff because I wasn't paying attention and kept knitting on before realizing I should be doing the traveling panel portion of the leg.

And that's all I've got 'cause we've got a new member of the family:


Lots of re-arranging to puppy-proof the house for Monkey1's little Andrew. He's already snagged a stitch of my Beached LSS Shawl that Jazz, but luckily we caught him in time and no damage was done to either cute puppy or shawl. Whew.

Drive By Post

We've got 2 milestone birthdays, so this'll be quick (links to be added later). But as usual, I'm showing latest Rockin' Sock Club kit after a couple STR projects.


November 2009 RSC kit
yarn: BMFA STR lightweight in Blackbird
pattern: Raven Swirl by Cookie A
needles: 2.25 mm KP nickel-plated dpns
left sock


Unintential mod:
Extra repeat of the cuff. I actually had done way more repeats, but did not rip back all the way. Working on the right sock now.


yarn: BMFA STR lightweight Rare Gem mill end from the Once in a Blue Moon sale
pattern: Traveling Woman
needles: size 6 & 8
mod: 3 reps of Chart A
13 g leftover

Inspired to cast on after Stitches West by Cockeyed the Sockateer.


Love the March 2010 RSC kit.


I'll probably do Irishgirlie's pattern w/this shipment of yarn and do Janel's with some other spring colored STR in my stash.

Knetted

I finally finished this pair that I started during the BMFA Blue Moon cast-on. It's still raining so no pics of my sock pair right next to the river rocks in our backyard.


Sept RSC kit -
BMFA STR mediumweight in River Rocked
pattern: Knetted by Cat Bordhi
pattern size: medium-ish
needles: 2 x 2.50 mm KP nickel-plated circs (doing them Cat-style)

Mods:
- 1 extra diamond pattern on the leg. Had 55 g of yarn leftover so the potential was there to make the leg even longer if I wished
- Decreased to 54 sts for the leg. I think I finally close to my magic numbers to keep the medwgt STR from pooling. I've always pooled/flashed w/this weight & only rarely stripe.


I've got 2 RSC 2009 knits to knit up before RSC 2010 starts. I wound up my Nov RSC yarn & started on Cookie A's pattern. I still need to knit up the Jan RSC yarn, but I've hit a wall wrt having beads on it, even if I go with the fingerless gloves or mitts I'm thinking of going with instead of the socks.

I'm debating with myself if this should be the first year (out of 3 so far) that I won't do all the patterns. As much as I love My Blue Heaven, the Jan RSC yarn, my motivation to knit it up is nowhere to be found. So not like me to do that. Maybe if I complete the second half of a UFO'd mystery stole w/bead, I'll find the motivation. It is UFO Smackdown time anyway. We shall see.

The good, the bad, the ugly

The good: from the Once in a Blue Moon Rare Gems sale at BMFA -


All lightweight, one in each category (Earth, Fire, Air, and Water), not necessarily in that order since I think Tina & her dyers based the categories on what dyes and overdyes were used, not necessarily what the end result was. I love them all, but if I had to pick favorites, they are the 2 intensely deep ones on the left.

Also good: The first Knetted sock I cast on for the Blue Moon Cast On -


Sept RSC kit
medium weight STR in River Rocked
pattern size: medium-ish
size 2.50 mm KP circs
mod: foot decreased to 54 sts, 1 extra diamond repeat on the leg, but I bet if I weigh this sock & the remaining skein, I could've gotten on more diamond repeat on the leg.

The good & the bad:


pattern: Jasmine fingerless mitts by Adrienne Fong
yarn: Crystal Palace Mini Mochi in Neptune Rainbow
needle size: 2.50 mm KP Harmony circ
mod: extra lace repeat since Monkey1 wanted it longer

When we got back from vacation, I realized that the light turquoise was very sparse to almost non-existent in the second skein. The second half of the first skein & most of the second skein had a royal blue instead of the turquoise, so I punted the idea of getting both mitts to match color progression at all.

I do like the pattern & the colorway though, so that's good. The bad however was the yarn. It's splitty, the single ply is underspun in spots & I had to spit-splice it together many times, and it behaves like sticky mohair when attempting to frog or tink back a bit (looks mohair-ish too w/its halo). Maybe if I knit my Noro sock or sample Malabrigo sock, I would feel differently. Or even if I got a second generation of the mini-mochi instead of the first? Who knows, but it'll be awhile before I knit up the second skein.

It's just bad:


It used to be a completed Brioche Hat for DH. Then he asked me to extend it - several months after it sat in a dresser drawer in our cabin upon completion.

The bad part's not that I started slowly frogging it from the top even though I don't remember much on how a brioche stitch in progress looks like after several months. It's the stitch that snagged on something in the drawer he kept it in. It's to the right of the orange stitch marker, an inch from the cast on row that is currently causing me much angst. So, to fix that somehow (duplicate stitch for 2 inches on each side of it?) or to frog entirely & start over? That is my dilemma.

The ugly, though I could call it a swatch since I intend to frog & start over, but probably in a different pattern, maybe something stripey instead:


pattern: Beginner's Fair Isle Headband
size 7 KP circs
yarn: Nashua Handknits Grand Opera in Teal & Silver

Sometimes I should say no to Monkey1's requests when I feel it probably won't work. It was a bad combination of needle size, gauge, yarn and pattern. I didn't bring my entire needle set when we were vacationing, I had limits but tried it anyway. I did like the initial pattern & yarn combo on size 5 dpns, but that made the headband infant-sized and too stiff to work as a headband. I probably should've started a stripey scarf instead, which is what was intended for the leftover yarn. Knitting on size 7 circs Magic Loop style made the colorwork look really crappy and made keeping the floats even at the transition halves w/this yarn difficult.

Hopefully next time I tell Monkey1 it won't work, she (and I) will believe it and I won't need to "swatch" to prove my point. But then, that's par for the course in the parent/child experience.

In Season

I like having short-cuffed socks for the summer. The San Francisco fog makes for toe-chilling mornings, but the afternoon sun requires shorter cuffs.


Rockin' Sock Club July kit
pattern: In Season by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
pattern size: small, modified to 60 sts on the foot instead of 58.
yarn: STR lightweight in Garden Daze
needles: size 2.50 mm KP circs


Per Marcy's suggestion, I used MomofTwins' modification of slipping the primary cable on the In Season pattern in the cuff.


And remember these from last summer's alternate RSC pattern, the Sweet Tart socks? Now all felted & shrunk. Waah!


Monkey1 had lost them somewhere but couldn't remember where exactly. All she knew was that she didn't lose them at school. Well, our neighbor found them in her home and as is our habit in finding errant kids clothes, she washed and dried them in her machines before sending it back. The one time when having a good neighbor has its drawbacks.

Of course the replacement pair just has to be the exact same colorway and I don't have enough leftover yarn to make Monkey1 a new pair. Thankfully Hot Flash is still up on the BMFA website so I'll be ordering a new skein. Sigh.