FO: Bright red socks for May

Pattern: Lanterne Rouge, by yours truly, part of a set of four Tour de France inspired anklets I designed a couple of years ago
Yarn: Cascade Fixation in really, really, really bright red, 1.8 skeins, approximately 180 yds total in the socks.
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm for the foot and heel, US 1.5/2.5 mm for the leg
Start/finish: 1 May - 28 May 2011
Comments/mods: As this is my own pattern, I certainly can't own up to it being anything less then stellar. However, I did modify a few things (and found a few boo boos in the pattern that I'll fix once RAB is over and done with). First off, I knit the medium size for stitch counts, but used the length measurement for the large size. I did this because I was worried that the lace pattern stretchiness might make the size large too loose around the foot.

I knit the pattern as written for the first sock, tried it on, and realized I needed some adjustments for the leg - it was impossible to get on! So I increased 4 stitches after finishing the heel flap (instead of decreasing) and switched to slightly larger needles. That did the trick.

Finally instead of making these short, ankle-length socks, I kept going until I was almost out of yarn. I really like how socks made from Fixation fit and feel, but I hate hate hate knitting with it. It hurts my hands like nothing else. Sadly, there are now several partial balls of Fixation in my stash (as well as a couple of whole ones!) that I may just have to get rid of.

So, I am absolutely thrilled that after five months of 2011, I have five finished pairs of socks to show for it. I'm a bit worried that June is going to throw a spanner into the works however, what with this silly 953 mile bike ride I seem to be doing. But I think I've come up with a possible solution: Aran weight socks.

To be fair, using aran weight yarn seems like a huge cop-out, on many different levels. But here's my rationale: for at least 10 days next month (and probably more like 12 or 13), I will be too tired from riding my (lovely new, see in first picture) bike up and down the myriad hills that make up this damned island, or too busy lying on a beach in Cornwall trying to recuperate (please don't let it rain!) to knit a single stitch. And I'm also going to design these socks myself instead of digging in to the pile of SISC bags waiting upstairs (deadline is early July). So that seems fair, doesn't it?

Maybe?

Bueller?

May is for Red

May 1st was the beginning of the fifth round of Project Spectrum, the brainchild of Lolly. Originally started as an exploration of color, before moving on to inspiration from the cardinal elements and the four directions, she's gone back to the color wheel. May's color is red, followed by green, blue, pink, yellow, cyan/aqua and black/white/grey. My goal for Project Spectrum is to end up with either a spinning or a knitting project for each month/color, and to do some photography. The photography might end up here or on the other blog, so check there if you haven't seen any project spectrum stuff.

I've also come to the conclusion that if I don't designate one night a week for spinning, my wheel will rust away and I'll go insane. Last week was spinning night, and I happily went off, on time for once because my MIL was in town, with two bags of Hello Yarn fiber to play with. I was beyond excited.

And then I got there and realized I'd forgotten kind of a critical piece of the spinning wheel – the mother of all. So I prepped all that lovely fiber, and then ate crisps and drank wine for the next hour and a half. The next night I sat down at the now complete wheel and got to work on some Wensleydale laceweight singles.

Fiber: Hello Yarn Fiber Club August 2010, Wensleydale, colorway “Heirloom”. I got 510 yds out of about 4 oz.
Spun at 7.5:1, short forward draw – no plying.
Finished with three rounds of hot water, cold water with agitation.

I spun this fiber in a color progression. First I separated out all the colors: chartreuse, orange, red/purple, pinky brown and brown/black. My idea is to knit a shawl with this yarn, with stripes of approximately the same size, so I started with the color I had the least of (chartreuse), and then went in order by weight to end with the brown/black. I'm thinking either Citron or the Holden Shawlette would work well, but I'm open to suggestions...

So for now, a la Yarn Harlot, Tuesdays are for spinning. We'll see what else comes off my wheel over the next few weeks, and also what else pops up in the red corner of the color spectrum.

FF: No spinning, double FOs for Project Spectrum

It's rapidly moving in to that sad time of year when the spinning wheel starts to get a little dusty. I haven't quite managed to fold it up and put it away in the Stash n' Gear Room yet, but the brake band and the drive band are both off, and it's looking a bit neglected. Which is unfortunate, because I received 12 oz of Hello Yarn goodies in two different colorways this week, and I'm itching to spin them up. However, it is That Season, and so the spinning is taking a back seat.

In order to try and make it up to you, I present instead, not one but two FOs in my favorite color. One is a start on the gift list, the other is for me. So here goes...

The giftee:

Pattern: Jack in the Box Mittens by Robin Melanson, from Knitting New Mittens and Gloves
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted (100% wool, 245 yds/100g), left over from a sweater knit for my MIL long ago, color Touche Teal (icky name), and I used less then one skein.
Needles: US 6/4.0 mm for cuff, and US 7/4.5 mm for rest
Gauge: 5.5 stitches/8 rows per inch.
Start/finish: 4 Oct-8 Oct 2009. Really they were finished today when I sewed on the buttons. But so quick!
Comments/mods: I made the "mens" size, and the finished measurements are 10.5 inches long (from edge of cuff) and 8 inches around. They are roomy on my hands and about an inch too long for me. Which is ok, they aren't for me. The pattern was well written, quick to knit and fun. All good there.

Some details:

This cuff was fun...

I love the Staghorn Cable down the back of the hand - it's such a great texture

I can't believe it's taken me so long to jump on the mitten bandwagon. They are great projects! And, given that you can knit them in something other then fingering weight, they're a lot faster then socks...

FO #2 (for, ehem, me):

Pattern: Indigo Playmate by Wendy Bernard, from Custom Knits
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair (70% wool/30% mohair, 140 yds/2 oz), colorway Glacier Lake. I had 11 skeins of this originally, but I ended up with about 9 skeins worth (weight-wise) in this sweater.
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
Gauge: 4.5 stitches/6.5 rows per inch after blocking.
Start/finish: 3 Sept-8 Oct 2009 (knitting was actually finished about a week earlier, but I have a blocking block).
Comments/mods: I repurposed this yarn from a Moriah's Wildflower Cardigan that I knit PR (pre-Ravelry), and then didn't wear much in Texas. I subsequently discovered that someone had chewed a wee hole in the bottom of it, and decided to rip it out and reuse the yarn in something else.

The yoke and body knit up really quickly. I found that I liked the way this yarn knit up on 4.5 mm needles much better then the US 9/5.5 mm needles I had used for the cardigan; the fabric is thick and cushy and snuggly, but still fluid, while the previous incarnation felt a bit too loosely knit.

I did modify a few things. The collar was supposed to be three inches wide at the bottom edge (so not including the short rows for the shawl collar), but I was wary of yardage, and only knit it two inches wide. Still works fine, but the shawl collar isn't quite as dramatic. I think I like it better this way - this is my first shawl collar, and I was a bit dubious about the full sweep shown in the book. But I like how it looks on (pardon the crappy modeled shot but my photographer is busy eating gelato and looking at rocks in Pisa, so this was the best I could do) (PS - Honey? I'm gonna be so glad when you get home. Be warned that I'm dumping the kids on you and vanishing out the door ASAP).

The other modification I made was to knit the belt and then decide I like it better without. I'm a bit...thick around the middle, and as knit, the belt made this ride up a bit too much and get too short. So I've decided to leave it open. If it needs to be closed, there's always a trusty shawl pin around that would work.

I do love this yarn though. It's got great depth of color, and just feels so nice and soft. I guess it wouldn't be that great if you have an issue with mohair, but I love it. I wish it weren't quite so pricey, but there you have it. Gorgeous stuff.

Fiber Friday: Peat

Just before we packed up in April, I got this lovely pile of superwash merino in the mail:

Superwash merino, "Peat" colorway, Hello Yarn Fiber Club March 2009 offering

This made me regret not getting the double dose option, because I really really wanted to do socks with this for Ironman. And I wanted to do cabled socks of some kind. Which means a 3-ply yarn. Could I get enough out of 4 oz for socks?

This is about 200 yds, but it's also ~12 wpi, so sportweight rather then fingering. I'm hoping I can make it, at least with some shorter socks. I may sub in some other yarn for the heels and toes as well to maximize the handspun and keep something with nylon in it on the soles for wear.

I split the whole length of top into three equal sections (by length, not weight) and spun one single from the unstripped width, one single from a length split in half, and the final single from quarter sections of the last length of top. I like this type of fractal spinning to get subtle stripes, as in the Toxic kneehighs. I have absolutely no hope that they will match in the striping, but so be it.

Final yarn stats: 200 yds, 4.0 oz/113 gr, 3 ply. Singles spun and plied at 12:1, with short forward draw, smoothing the single as the twist entered (worsted). Finished with a sock soak in warm water, then drained, spun around my head on the back porch, and thwacked against the wall of the house. My neighbors think I'm very odd.

So now I need to find a nice manly cable sock pattern, that I can adapt for sportweight yarn. Any suggestions?

FO: Diamond Waffle Socks

I don't think I've actually mentioned this project until now. Chalk it up to the craziness of September and the lack of internet service at my home for going on 2.5 weeks now (do you hear me Com#^&%? Fix it!).

Pattern: Diamond Waffle Socks by Danny Ouelette
Yarn: StR lightweight, "In the Navy", originally purchased for my mystery design project back in February, which is now being test knit and hopefully will be ready by the end of the month.
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony DPNs, US 1/2.25 mm
Start/finish: 8/29-9/30. I got distracted by other things along the way there...but they made it in under the wire for the Sock a Month knitalong.
Comments/modifications: This is a nice manly sock pattern. The only things I changed were the cast-on (I used Judy's Magic CO), and I made the leg short because I was worried I would run out of yarn. Of course, I had plenty, but now the leftovers can be a square or two on the SYB.

Boy that's blurry. Sorry!

This is the second Eye of Partridge heel I've done, but the first that I actually really like the look of. The variegation in the yarn sets off the texture beautifully. And it's nice and cushy too. I also really like the band of garter stitch along the edge of the heel flap. It's a nice touch.

OK, one more Christmas present down. I'm hoping the recipient of said sock likes them!