Posted in: "designs"
OK, I've got a critical question for you all:
Do you see a difference between these two socks?
Let's call the one on the left A and the one on the right, B. Which do you like better?
Here's another view.
A.
B.
If you don't see any difference, let me know, as that will save me some serious reknitting time. These are the Maillot Jaune TdF socks that I'm trying to finish/write up in the next few days, so comment early and often!
Oh wow. A full sweater from cast-on to finished item in 2 weeks? Sign me up for more of these...OK, so I can't wear it, but hopefully the intended recipient will.
Pattern: standard top down raglan a la Barbara Walker, with YO increases on either side of the raglan seam
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Victorian Pink, 2 skeins
Needles: US 6/4.0 mm
Buttons: from Joann's
Start/finish: June 3 - June 16th for the knitting, finished blocking and sewing on buttons June 18th.
Gauge: 6 sts/inch
Comments: I used the basic recipe in Knitting from the Top for a raglan cardigan. I increased every fourth row along the neck edge for the V neck until 3 stitches short of the final number I needed, when I switched to every 3rd row. It was then straight knitting until the ribbing.
For the ribbing I used Pattern #79 (Lace Rib) from Vogue Knitting Stichionary 1 (homemade chart here if you're interested. As previously mentioned, Dev picked the buttons that fit just perfectly in the YO holes of the ribbing, so for the neck band I just picked up stitches all the way around the neck, worked 6 rows of the pattern and bound off. I kept the band on the left front in solid k2, p1 ribbing to make sewing the buttons on easier.
A quick soak in cool water, a spin out in the washing machine and voila! Pink perfection. Except for those damn wonky stitches that are still there. I console myself with the knowledge that Dev will never notice.
Maybe. ;-)
It's been a while, no? We have made it out of Houston (just ahead of a Flood of Biblical Proportions) and are comfortably ensconced in Vermont at the moment. I've taken advantage of the Grandmothers to get some knitting done. But in order to have at least a few posts over the next few days, I will not talk about all of it here.
First up: ta da! The first of the TdF socks is done in it's first incarnation (the cuff is going to be adjusted when I get to London and the rest of my yarn for this project).
Pattern: my own, to be available in late June.
Yarn: Cascade Fixation (98% cotton/2% elastic), 100 yds/50 gr. For a women's size 10 I used about a ball and a half.
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Gauge: 7.5 stitches/12 rows per inch.
These anklets are knit from the toe up, with an easy lace pattern reminiscent of the switchbacks on Alpe d'Huez, one of the most famous and storied climbs in the Tour de France. Easy, peasy and quite comfy for the hot days of summer, whether or not you're riding your bike!
It's another Friday, one week closer to our departure (exactly three weeks from today - someone please shoot me now). I know I'm getting stressed out because I'm tired all the time (sleeping only 6 hrs a night because of the fucking inventory we are doing of Everything.In.Our.House might have something to do with that too), and not really hungry ever - I'm subsisting on large amounts of The Nectar of the Gods/The Evil Bean Water* and whatever seems palatable at the moment, which is not much. I've decided that I am going to put a moratorium on knitting projects for the moment - my plan now is to take with me on the plane the projects that have been lingering for a while (aka the Sock Yarn blanket and a certain shawl that has been sitting on the shelf being ignored for the last five months or so) and commit to finishing those up. I'll send the yarn by shipping container with massive amounts of lavender, and hope that it all makes it there safely.
The wheel, however, will be going air freight. I have (some of) my priorities straight after all.
Another sign that I'm getting stressed out is that my brain is popping out design concepts galore. As of right now, in addition to the Tour de France projects I'm still hacking away on, I've got ideas for four sweaters, another pair of socks, and some mitts. The mitts have been knit in one incarnation, and I'm planning on a proposal to work up for a spin/knit combo pattern for an online magazine. The socks are pretty straightforward, but need to be written up and (gasp!) actually knitted. I've got yarn for three of the sweaters, but have no idea when I'll actually get around to them. I think it's my brain's way of aiding me in my denial of what I really need to be doing, i.e. writing a paper and getting my crap organized.
The good news is that I have three of the four TdF patterns charted and written, and one test knitter has her materials (and 82 row chart!) in hand. I'm working on the first of the two that I'm test knitting, and am rapidly proceeding up the foot. I've got two cuff treatments in mind, and I don't know if I'm going to just pick one or do both. And if I do both, I don't know which order to do them in. So it's likely that the top of this sock will have lots of ripping involved.
Can anyone identify the jersey (color has been adjusted because that's too easy)? And the specific inspiration for the instep pattern? I'll give you a prize if you can...
* My feelings and Ironman's feelings about coffee respectively.
Last spring I was swimming one day, getting all woozy from the sun shining through the water and refracting along the bottom of the pool, when I had the inspiration to try to recreate that shimmer in a pair of socks*.
What? That doesn't make perfect sense to you? Come on!
In any event, I dashed home and perused multiple websites, looking for the perfect semi-solid colorway. After much searching, I found it, along with a couple of others. I ordered (too much) yarn, stalked the post-person (sometimes male, sometimes female, so I'm trying to be inclusive here), swatched, knit deliriously, swooned over the yarny beauty, started writing a pattern, swore, pulled out my hair, threw my calculator out the window**, wrote some more, took some photos, put everything together, submitted, got rejected, got a test knitter, revised pattern (changing the entire heel construction), resubmitted, got rejected again, and decided to offer the damn thing for sale myself. So here it is.
La Nadadora
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight
"Blue Moonstone" and "In the Navy"
The pattern is toe-up and includes charts for the tile pattern on the body of the sock and on the heel. Sizes include women's S, M and L (~7, 8 or 9 inches around). Size L (pictured) used less then one skein of Socks that Rock lightweight in the main color, and about 80 yds of the contrasting color.
Enjoy! And let me know if you have any problems (see contact info in sidebar).