FO: Some socks

I managed to get a few photos done yesterday.

My new handspun socks, which I adore (although I realized when taking these pictures that one is shorter then the other, so I need to go back and add a bit of length...).

Spinning this yarn was an exersise in trying to spin two skeins that would knit up into two matching socks. Ummm...actually, not so much, despite my best efforts.

That is ok, because I am madly in love with these socks. And it's finally gotten cold enough that I might actually wear them!

But it is hard to take pictures of your own legs that don't look funny.

Stats: toe up socks, size US women's 10/UK 8/EU 41 (otherwise known as porpoise-sized). I did an eye of partridge heel and calf shaping. Finished with about 3 inches of 2x2 ribbing.
Yarn: handspun Insect Wings BFL from Hello Yarn, two skeins of 255 and 254 yds, approximately DK weight. Spun as part of the Tour de Fleece 2010.
Needles: US 2/2.75 mm bamboo douple points.
Start/finish: 14 - 30 November 2011 (finished just in time for the November Sock a Month KAL)
Verdict: bliss

Harpswell Pullover

The Harpswell Pullover pattern is now available.

This comfy pullover is designed with a crew neck, set-in sleeves and an easy-to-memorize-yet-still-interesting stitch pattern that should satisfy even the most unadventurous of male recipients. The body is worked in the round to the underarms, then split for the front and back. Sleeves are knit in the round to the sleeve cap and then worked back and forth before being seamed into the body of the sweater.

This pattern ranges in size from 36-60 inches (finished chest measurement) and requires between 1100-2100 yards of worsted weight yarn. More information can be found on the Ravelry pattern page here.

SKILLS REQUIRED

Knitting, purling, increasing and decreasing (both k2tog and ssk), knitting in the round and knitting back and forth, seaming. This pattern is suitable for an advanced beginner.

Harpswell Pullover

$7.00

Many thanks to my test knitters in the Ravelry Free Pattern Testers group, my fabulous model, he-who-must-model-for-me-because-I-knit-him-sweaters-and-he-can't-break-up-with-me (aka my brother), and the lovely JoAnna for her mad photo skills.

FF: Boo's 'andspun socks

Yarn: handspun Cheviot (some details here), approximately DK weight
Needles: US 5/3.75 mm
Start/finish: 6 Oct - 9 Oct 2011 (hooray for large gauge and small feet!)
Comments: a totally plain vanilla sock, toe up, with gusset and heel flap a la Cat Bordhi, with 1x1 ribbing at the top. I knit the first sock until I had used up 48 gr of the 100 gr I started with - I am less stressed out with handspun yarn and socks if I leave a couple of grams leeway for the second sock, since weight is not always an accurate reflection of yardage (particularly the way I spin).

I continue to be a huge fan of Cheviot. Not only was it fun to spin, and the yarn felt softer then the combed top, but the knitted up socks are soft and cushy and springy and just about perfect.

Boo is very pleased with them. I finished them Sunday morning and she promptly put them on to go for a walk in the Surrey Hills. They are a bit big, so she should be able to wear them for at least this winter. Now it's actually cooling down so that thick, cozy wool socks sound pretty good instead of overwhelming. Hooray for autumn!

A week in sweaters, part II

I am so grateful that my kids are still small enough that I can work up a sweater for them in about a week. From the front,

and the back.

Pattern: my own, using the same stitch pattern as in this sweater, but with YOs instead of M1s
Yarn: random worsted weight yarn bought many years ago in Florence, originally grey but we dyed it with fuschia and ended up with purple.
Needles: US 6/4.0 mm
Start/finish: 29 September - 7 October 2011 (that's when it was wearable, not knitting finished)

The story: so I've got this men's sweater pattern that's being test knitted, and one of the testers noted that it would be easy to make it girly by substituting yarn overs for the make ones in the stitch pattern (that syntax would only make sense to other knitters, wouldn't it?). I was intrigued by the idea, but not enthralled to work up another adult sized garment trying it out. Boo had laid claim to this yarn for a sweater for her, so I whipped this up relatively quickly.

The sweater is knit in one piece to the underarm, then split for fronts and back. Sleeves were knit separately and sewn in, the neckband was picked up and knit, and then the button bands. I've had these buttons for ages and they were just the perfect match.

And Boo was a most agreeable little model, although I can't quite manage to get behind the purple lace sweater over pink with white polka dots. So be it.

A week in sweaters, part I

Last week was a big finishing up things week for me. To whit:

Pattern: Dahlia Cardigan by Heather Zoppetti, Interweave Knits Fall 2011
Yarn: Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool (the old version), 65% wool/35% silk, don't know how many skeins, but I'll weigh it and find out
Needles: US 4/3.5 mm
Start/finish: 13 August - 5 October 2011
Comments/modifications: The moment I saw this cardigan, I knew I had to make it. I loved the flowy style, the back panel, the three quarter length sleeves. I even had yarn in stash. So I cast on just before we left for our trip back to the States in August.

I was a bit worried that I would knit the lace panel and then stall out on the stockinette sections. There was a bit of that going on, but it actually made for excellent TV knitting - I had to pay attention enough to get the borders right, but it was mindless after that.

The modifications: well, surprise, surprise, I didn't use the yarn called for in the pattern. Silky Wool (my favorite yarn ever) is listed as a DK weight, but is kind of a light DK, so it worked perfectly for the sportweight yarn recommended by the pattern. The silk gives it a nice nubbly, slightly crunchy texture that I really like knitting with, and it drapes beautifully once it's blocked.

I also used Judy's Magic Cast On instead of the crochet chain provisional cast on (which I despise)(I despise it because I always screw it up and end up having to unpick it stitch by stitch. Always). My lace panel ended up slightly bigger then called for in the pattern, so I adjusted the amount of knitting needed to get to the armholes accordingly. That being said, if I were to do it all over again, I might make the back slightly wider - the afterthought armholes/sleeves mean there isn't any shaping at the shoulders, and it pulled the tiniest bit when I first wore it. Thankfully, it's stretched out a bit now, so it's fine.

No idea why this photo is so washed out/overly bright

I like it with the fronts open and closed - I think it's going to be a very versatile item. I finished it last week in time for Ally Pally, and was very gratified to have someone ask me about it. Hooray for a new fall sweater! And there will be more to come this week. Bwahahahahaha!

Current 2011 sweater tally: Four. Uh oh...I must be forgetting something...