FO: Blueberry Brambler

Pattern: Brambler by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Handspun wool, dyed at Halcyon Yarns, ~4 oz, 240 yds, 12-14 wpi, singles spun on a Golding 1.4 oz handspindle, plied on wheel at 10:1.
Started/Finished: June 21/July 16, but not blocked until 8/21 (!)
Commments: Anne wrote in her blog about how addictive this pattern was, and she wasn't kidding! I raced through most of this in just a few days, ran out of yarn while in New England, and had to wait to get home to spin up the 0.3 ounces I had left. It made just enough yarn for 38 repeats of the pattern instead of the recommended 36.

The only thing I would change, in retrospect, is the cast on/cast off. I cast on with the backwards loop method, hoping for a loose edge, and bound off with my usual lace/sock cuff bindoff. To say they don't match would be an understatement. So the next time I make this scarf (and there will definitely be a next time), I'll put a bit more thought into matching the two edges.

Kudos to Anne for a beautiful and extremely well written (as always)  pattern!

More shots:

Boo likes it too...

The haul

While my unspoken pledge to not buy yarn has been going pretty well at home, something happens when I go on vacation that blows my inhibitions out of the water. I guess it's something along the lines of "well, I'm on vacation, so it doesn't count!" Just like cookies that you eat standing up have no calories.

This tendancy coupled with the fact that my parents live around the corner (I'm not kidding) from Windsor Button means that trips home are rough on the plastic. And since my in laws are up the hill (again with the not kidding) and a 20 min drive from Grafton Fibers and Green Mountain Spinnery respectively, going up there gives the bank account no respite. But I do come away with some cool stuff.

I've already knit up one of my purchases into the Spiraling Coriolis socks, so I'll skip the Fixation and Cat Bordhi opus description. But Boston also yielded

Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in "Blueberry Hill" which I couldn't resist, because one of Devil's favorite books is "Blueberries for Sal"

and a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk in "Mineral" for Tuscany. Or some other wrappy type thing. We're off to a wedding in Colorado* in a couple of weeks, and if I put down everything else and cast on tonight, I might get this finished by then. Or I might not.

That was the total damage in Beantown. But then I went to the Spinnery and, after a tour of the mill in action, felt obliged to drop a large hunk of cash on two hanks of sock yarn.

GMS Sock Art Forest and Meadow. Forest (the purple skein) is 70% wool/30% tencel and absolutely the softest yarn I've felt in a long time. Meadow (the blue-green skein) is 50% wool/50% mohair and should make some really well wearing socks. I've got plans for the Forest for a watery type sock for Project Spectrum - Water which starts next month, but that lovely purple is going to marinate for a while. Becuase there is a lot to be said for high potential energy in the stash.

* Hmmm...maybe an opportunity for further stash enhancement? Bad Porpoise, bad!

FO: Spiraling Coriolis

Finished on the bus this morning, and immediately put on (without weaving in the ends) because the bus driver plays a butcher in another life, and was driving around in a diesel-powered meat locker. It was approximately 6 degrees in there. I definitely needed socks.

From the outside, these babies are pretty non-descript - slightly stripey, but not terribly interesting to look at.

But if you look at what's under the pants...

Spirals!

More spiraling!

Even more spiraling!

Pattern: Master Spiraling Coriolis (Rav link) by Cat Bordhi, from New Pathways for Sock Knitters, Book 1
Yarn: Cascade Fixation, color #9816, 98% cotton/2% elastic, 2 balls (100 yds/50 g)
Needles: Susan Bates US 1/2.25 mm
Gauge: 7 sts/13 rows per inch
Comments: This pattern was my first from this absolutely fantastic book. If you are a sock knitter, and haven't looked at this book yet, run - do not walk! - to your nearest library or bookstore and check it out. It has 8 different ways of creating a sock; actually, it's more like 8 different ways to create tubes with a bulge in the middle for your heel/arch - the heels and toes are pretty standard. But Cat has discovered that you can put the gusset increases in a whole bunch of different places, allowing for infinite variety in sock design. It's phenomenal!

This pattern struck me, in part because it was touted as a good use for handpainted yarn (of which I have some in my stash that has been through three or four different sock starts, and failed miserably at all of them), and because spirals are pretty cool. Plus it's named after a physics concept. A concept that accounts for this:

Again with the spirals.

I picked up the yarn when I bought the book, since I'd never tried it but had heard a lot about it. Plus cotton is just that much more pleasant to work with in the Houston summer, not to mention more wearable! Having now used it for a whole pair of socks, I have to say that I liked it. It took a little while to figure out the correct tension to use, since the stuff can stretch like crazy, but it knits up into a nice fabric. It seems slightly heavier to me then other sock yarns I've used, but the "200 yds" in the two balls made a pair of women's size 10 socks with 5.5 inch cuffs, which for me is pretty long, so the "yardage" is good.

Given the green/brown and grey/cream color scheme, I'm also counting these against Project Spectrum Earth and Air. August 1 is the start of Water, which I think is going to be a big element for me - I love blues and purples and greys, so I've got a bunch of projects lined up for the next round.

And I guess this makes 8 pairs of socks this year, hunh? Maybe I can make it to 15+...But I've got my July pair done for the knitalong. And yarn in my bag to cast on another project from this book on the way home.

No, I don't have a problem. Why do you ask?

FO: Thar she blows!

Pattern: Fluke by Laurie Lee
Yarn: Trekking XXL, colorway 115, maybe 2/3 of a ball
Needles: US 1.5/2.5 mm
Comments/mods: my first lace sock, and my first top-down pair in quite a while! This pattern was quick and easy, and the lace gave it just enough focus to keep from lagging. It was great fun to knit, Don't think I did any mods at all actually. I like the tweedy yarn with the lace - gives it some interest but doesn't obscure the pattern with a lot of color variation.

In retrospect, I think I screwed up the heel flaps, because they are pretty darn short. The toes too. Next time (?) I'll make sure I make both a bit bigger. This pattern didn't use much of the yarn (more for the blanket!) - hooray for lace! I thoroughly enjoyed these, and I think there will be more lace socks in my future.

Yesterday, after a very good swim (finally!), I discovered that tomorrow is, once again, Silly Sock Day at the girl's daycare. And this time, as opposed to maintaining some semblance of a grip on my sanity as I did last year, I decided to knit Devil some quick anklets for Silly Sock Day. It's a tossup as to whether she'll actually wear them or not, but at least she'll have the option. Plus they kept my hands busy during Jon and Stephen.

No wonder no one want to sit next to me on the bus - those DPNs look lethal!

Flashbacks

I've been thinking back to eigth grade over the last few days, when I was young and nerdy, and my best friend was a basketball-obsessed Japanese girl. I can still remember the starting line up for the Celtics in those days*, and I remember watching them play the Lakers in the Finals. It was the first time I'd ever really watched basketball, given that my mom was not in to televised sports, and my dad leaned towards that Brahmin standard, tennis, rather then this new-fangled basketball thing.

But it was amazing, the whole rivalry. And tonight it starts up again. For the first time in 21 years. It won't be the same as those 80s matchups (no Magic, no Larry), but it's a nice example of history repeating.

For those of you playing along at home, here's another flashback, thankfully not 21 years old.

Pattern: Basalt Tank from Knitting Nature, Norah Gaughan
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Top, color 005, 5 skeins (960 yds)
Needles: US 6/4.0 mm
Mods/comments: I had some "issues" with the first version of this, and the size medium I knit bore a striking resemblance to a circus tent. So this is a size small (hahaha!), with modifications to the side hexagons and waist shaping as pioneered by Kelly.

Waist shaping detail

Those of you familiar with the pattern may notice something odd about the first picture - it does not look like the pictures of the finished garment in the book. This angle may help:

Ironman told me to "Do something interesting...like flex!"

When I put this thing on with the correct side facing front, it was obscene. As in, its a good thing I'm not better endowed up front because I would have been flashing the world like a German beer wench. Plus it gaped in the back, and there was no hiding that.

So I put it in the washing machine to try and shrink it a bit. No dice. Then I had a brain flash (I think the little grey cells are coming back already) and turned it around. Ta da! Problem solved. The only thing I don't like is that the seam for the bottom edging is now right in the front. Only time will tell if that bugs me enough to rip it out and redo it. For now, the Basalt tank is off the needles and wearable. Thank goodness!

* Larry Bird, DJ (Dennis Johnson), Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Danny Ainge