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?

Socks, socks and more socks

One of my goals for the year was to knit more socks. To assist in that endeavor, I joined the Sock A Month knitalong. To date (6.5 months in to 2008), I have knit 8 pairs. Half of those pairs have been for me, two pairs are for Devil and one pair is a pattern I'm hoping to make available soon, and will go to a good friend. One last pair would have been for me, but they ended up too small.

It would be nice to have some more socks for gifts by the end of the year, but over my vacation I found myself casting on for yet another pair of socks for me. My trip to Windsor Button resulted in the purchase of a new sock book,

and some new-to-me yarn to try out a pair. Actually, I got yarn for two pairs of socks, but I've only got one photographed so far. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the cute little Fixation balls before I started. All I have to offer is this

blurry photo of the sock in progress. I'm onto the leg of the second sock now, and hope to have it finished by the end of the week. And with these colors, they'll count for Project Spectrum Earth and Air (even though they're late for Earth). A two-fer!

Here's hoping that tonight I can take some more yarn pictures and maybe even finish off the Brambler that was stalled for lack of handspun. What do you say girls? Gonna give Mama a chance to get something done? Sounds like a plan...

Packing list

We head off for Boston at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow morning, just the girls and me (pray for us! Or for me at least - they'll be fine). Since I haven't even begun to pack yet, I spent some time on the bus this morning making lists of what we need to bring. Here's the first few items I wrote down:

GP (Rav link)

Noro sock yarn for Koi

Brambler

I got tired of spindling at about 10 pm last night and decided to start plying. 80 min and two episodes of Buffy later, I have ~200 yds of gorgeous fingering weight two ply. The pattern calls for ~200 yds fingering weight yarn. I'm golden, and I still have some roving left if needed.

Project Spectrum Air project

Boarding passes/FF#s

Do you think there's something wrong with my priorities?

Victory!

A good combo: the fastest pair of socks ever evah,

and one of the biggest blowouts in Finals history.

Sock details: leftover yarn from a Christmas present some years back, size 1 needles, cast on 8 stitches, worked 4 rows in stockinette, then picked up 8 stitches along each long edge and 2 stitches along short edges. Increased up to 48 stitches, worked even for 4.5 inches, did a short row heel, knit a few more rows, and added a picot bind off. Short, sweet, to the point. Gotta like it.

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!