Stripe Socks - pair 7

We have been dealing with a power outage the last few days.  We said we needed rain and I guess we have gotten it. Every day!  They say we are supposed to have power returned by 11 pm Wed. (tomorrow night).So, here I sit in the library parking lot AGAIN (see below) with my laptop- so that I can show you my new socks.  These are the seventh in the "Two Make a Pair" project.

These socks are knit with Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Multiringel 45% cotton, 42% wool, 13% polyamid.

The pattern is my own design.  Since there is so much cotton in the yarn I wanted a design with ribbing to help them have some elasticity and stay up.  I added a little lace work to the ribbing. I like the way the stripes match all the way to the toe. Thanks A.!

Lynn's Stripe Socks
size 1 double pointed needles and fingering weight yarn
Cast on 64 stitches.
10 rows of K2, P2.
Rnd 1: K2, P2, SSK, YO, P2; continue around
Rnd 2-4: K2, P2
Rnd 5: K2, P2, YO, K2tog, P2
Rnd 6-8: K2, P2Repeat this sequence 5 more times.
Knit one stitch from needle one onto the last needle to center the pattern on the instep.
Heel Flap:
Row 1: (S1, K1) across.
Row 2: S1, P across.
continue for 30 more rows (16 large chain stitches at the side of the flap)Turn Heel:
Row 1: Knit across 18 stitches SSK, K1, turn work.
Row 2: S1(pwise), P5, P2tog, P1, turn.
Row 3: S1(pwise), P to 1 stitch before the gap, SSK (close the gap), K1, turn.
Row 4: S1(pwise), P to 1 stitch before the gap, P2tog (close the gap), P1, turn.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all stitches are worked. End with a WS row. (18 stitches)
Heel Gusset:
Knit across all heel stitches and pick up and knit 18 stitches along the side of the heel flap (needle 1). Knit in pattern across instep (needle 2). Pick up and knit 18 stitches on other side of heel flap (needle 3).
Knit 9 stitches from needle 1 onto needle 3. (start of rnd)
Rnd 1: Knit to last 3 sts on needle 1, K2tog, K1, knit across instep on needle 2, at beg of needle 3, K1, SSK, knit to end.
Rnd 2: KnitRepeat rnds 1 and 2 until 64 stitches remain (16 each on needles 1 and 3).
Foot:
Work even in pattern until 15 total pattern repeats are worked (or until desired length before the toe).
Toe:
Rnd 1: On needle 1, knit to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1; on needle 2 K1, SSK, work to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1; on needle 3, K1, SSK, knit to end.
Rnd 2: Knit
Repeat rnds 1 and 2 until 32 stitches remain.
Repeat rnd 1 until 8 stitches remain.
Close with grafting stitch.
I lost this whole pattern when I tried to post from the library this morning. I'll try again and hopefully it will work. If it disappears into cyberspace I will not type this again. It is rather tedious. If you can read this - consider yourself lucky!

I may be breaking out the treadle sewing machine this afternoon. I have a pile of projects to be sewn. I had just cut out 3 pair of summer pajamas for P when the power went out. Actually, I had set the pajamas beside the sewing machine and was going to work on them while some banana bread was in the oven. I'll have to let you know how four day old bread batter bakes up.

Wild Cherry Socks

Here are the finished Wild Cherry Socks.

These were a little different to knit as they have the pattern going down the heel.

They also have a round toe decrease.

I am so glad they are both safely in A's care now.

The pattern is Jane's Hedgerow Socks. The yarn is Wild Cherry by Cherry Tree Hill Yarns. The yarn is very soft and great to knit with as long as you don't get it caught in your car door.

I am now trying to finish P's quilt in time for her birthday. I almost finished it while she was away. I have three sides of the binding left to sew but can only work on it while she is sleeping. The problem is that I have too many projects saved up for her sleeping time.

Unraveling the Mystery

Things were going great. Really.

I had been working on A's sock for our next pair in the "Two Make a Pair" project. The yarn she chose was Wild Cherry by Cherry Tree Hill. I was enjoying knitting with this wonderful fingering weight merino yarn and my brand new 5 inch bamboo double point needles that I am SURE will make sock knitting go even faster. Yesterday, after turning the heel and starting the gusset, I realized that I had forgotten to add the wooly nylon when knitting the heel. I sat and pulled it out and then reknit the heel flap. When it was time to pick up M from track practice I put the whole project in my bag and headed to the van. I pulled up to the front of the school and did not see M waiting, so, I thought I would continue knitting on the sock. I reached into the bag but the sock was not there. I saw that the yarn end was going behind me in the seat. Funny, it didn't feel like I was sitting on the sock. I followed the yarn behind me and - out the car door. 

How embarrassing! I must have driven all the way to town with a half knit sock hanging out my door. I opened the door so that I could quickly pull the sock in and start knitting before anyone I know noticed my error. Well, I opened the door, got out, and followed the yarn halfway across the parking lot to find that it just ended. No sock.

My first thought was of A; this was her sock and her gorgeous yarn. I did not have enough left in the bag to knit her another whole sock. My second thought was my new needles. They must be tiny splinters in a mess of dirty cherry color yarn that at one time looked like part of a sock. I jumped back in the car to retrace my path. M would just have to wait. Maybe I could save the sock before it was run over. Maybe the sock wasn't in too bad of shape. I drove slowly looking for a pinkish red blob on the road. I saw a dead squirrel but not the missing sock.

I drove all the way home. No sock. I wondered if someone had picked it up. Maybe even someone I knew.  Maybe they would return it to me. I could handle the embarrassment if I had the sock back!

I walked up to house and there it was in a puddle on the porch. 

The extra yarn that I had pulled out earlier had gotten closed in the door. Still, I had driven all the way to town with a long tail of yarn flapping behind me. What a sight. I went back to get M but he was waiting so I didn't even get to knit!

Uptown Boot Socks

I have had these socks on my knitting list since the pattern appeared in the Winter 2003 issue of Interweave Knits. The pattern, Uptown Boot Socks by Jennifer L. Appleby, is also included in Favorite Socks from Interweave Press.

A. and I knit this pair from Garnstudio's Baby-ull 100% Merino. The mustard color is delicious. We used size 2 needles and 64 stitches.

It is good that I enjoy knitting with the baby ull as I have a pillowcase full of it in my deep freezer. We won't mention that the ENTIRE freezer is full of wool or that I actually purchased the freezer when the yarn shop where I used to teach went out of business and B. suggested that I buy a 10 year supply of yarn while it was on sale! Since the freezer is to keep the yarn moth free I only store the animal fiber yarns there. The cotton and other yarns are stored in other areas of the house, like in old suitcases that are not in use...It does make it interesting when looking for a particular yarn and can't remember where I stored it.  More often, I'll be looking for something else and I'll come across a stash of yarn I had forgotten about.

I know I am not alone. I bet you have yarn, fabric, beads, or some crafty supplies stored in strange places too. What creative storage ideas have you come up with?

Just keep spinning, spinning, spinning

Yesterday and today, I have been spinning the big ball of fiber into yarn.  I will make the yarn 2 ply and hope to use it for a pair of socks.

Knit Pick

M. is in a music group with some friends; they have a cello, two violins, and he plays djembe. They perform at some local events like Pioneer Day at the Waterloo Farm Museum and the eleven week summer festival, Sounds and Sights on Thursday Nights. Monday, I took him to the Common Grill where they were having auditions for this summer's festival. The restaurant is closed on Mondays so it made a great place for the auditions. Since auditions were first come, first served, I knew I would be waiting a while. I took my knitting bag and the yarn to start my next "Two Make a Pair" sock. It was going well, I knit and listened to the different groups who were auditioning. Then, I got to a cable row. I realized after digging to the bottom of my bag that I did not bring a cable needle. Not wanting to waste valuable knitting time, I searched around to see if there were toothpicks or something I could use and had to make do with this:

The Pattern:Aran Braided Socks by Susan Lawrence for Knit Picks. (Fourth pair in the Two Make a Pair Project)

Knit Picks Bare Essential Tweed 65% superwash wool 25% Nylon, 10% Donegal

Fancy Silk Sock in Cotton

We are glad to be finished with this pair of socks!

The pattern is "Fancy Silk Sock for a child of 5 or 6 years" in Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. We knit the pattern as written in the book except that we put two rows of purl as shown in the original Weldon's drawing instead of two rows of knit between the two lace patterns at the top.

I don't know what the yarn was as I lost the label before starting the socks. I do know that it is a cotton yarn that neither A nor I liked knitting. It must be because the cotton yarn did not "give" and was tiring on our hands. Don't look too close. There are mistakes on both socks that neither one of us wanted to take out and reknit. If it weren't for this "Two Make a Pair" project I know I would never have a match to my sock! I like the stretch that wool has as you knit.

We are already working on the next pair - using a nice superwash wool from KnitPicks.

Why Didn't I think of That?!

Although I have been knitting for years and gotten pretty efficient at it, I still love it when I learn a new trick that makes the process easier.  My favorite trick has really changed my knitting process. I used to always carry paper and pencil and make little marks or tallies on my pattern to keep track of where I was. My friend A. shared this little tip with me:
When knitting a pattern with multiple rows, write the directions for each row on an index card (I use 1/2 index cards as they are more compact). Punch a hole in the corner of the cards and hold them together with a key ring. When you finish knitting a row, flip that card to the back. Now, when you pick up your knitting you will know what row you are on! It seems so simple!

Why didn't I think of that? This tip is especially good for sock projects where the rest of the pattern is a formula that is pretty easy to remember after you have knit a few pair.

I was knitting socks with A. the other day; she was knitting the foot of the sock and had the leg part folded up. I knew there had to be a reason for this, so I asked. Well, it turns out that it is easier to knit the sock when the leg is folded up. The yarn doesn't get caught and it can turn around easier if it is not down in your lap.  Go ahead, try it!  So simple, yet it really speeds things along.

Really, why didn't I think of that!?

Pink Panther

Here they are, the second pair of socks in the "two make a pair" project.

A. chose Gems 100% merino Pink Panther by Louet to knit the pattern "Girly Girl" Socks by Robin Fauquette in Socks.  We knit them by the pattern except used the knit one, slip one heel variation for longer wear.

They knit up quickly despite the fact that I had to knit the foot on mine twice. Thinking that I would make good use of my time, I took my knitting project to teacher conferences. Alas, I miscounted the decrease and didn't realize this until I was almost finished with the toe. At least I got good reports from the teachers.

The First Pair

Happy spring!

We are getting a bit of sun on the first day of spring. It is a great day to photograph my new socks.

This is the first pair of socks in the "Two Make a Pair" project I am doing with a friend. I knit one, A knit the other, and they both fit!  The pattern is Cabled Sweat Socks by Claire Ottman in Socks by Rita Buchanan and Deborah Robson. The yarn is Bearfoot Lupine by Mountain Colors.  We are calling our sock project a success so far and will continue with more socks. The second pair will be the Girly Girl Socks by Robin Fouquette in the same book.

On the first day of spring, our grass is still brown but at least the chickens are venturing out of the barn. They have been scratching around in the flower gardens.

We took a walk around the yard and still, the only signs of growth are our snow drops.

What did the first day of spring bring to you?

Spinning Fluffy Yarn

My new technique for spinning seems to be working well. I am using the larger gear on the spinning wheel which puts in less twist for the same speed of pedaling. I am learning about the different fibers and what works best for each. I have this

roving that I want to spin next. This roving is unbelievably light and fluffy for its size. It is in the same colors (mostly) as the tam.

Bootees and Heart Socks

Baby bootees are fun to make for new baby gifts. They use up little bits of super-soft yarn. These are made from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (oh, if only I could afford an afghan out of that stuff...) from a pattern in 50 baby bootees to knit by Zoe Mellor.

While looking through the book, I saw a great pattern for fair isle socks. The pattern used fine yarn and made socks for a 3-6 month old. P and I liked the design very much. I decided to knit them from my recent homespun yarn.

I didn't want to knit the same sock again (there's that second sock syndrome showing up again), so I knit the second one as a negative of the first.

Since my homespun was thicker, the socks turned out bigger. They are a bit large for P now but after the photo shoot yesterday morning she did not want to take them off and wore them all day! They will be great snow socks for next winter!

March of the Tools - Knitting Sticks

I will be sharing some of my favorite tools for all sorts of things throughout the month of March. I have been trying to declutter my life and my home so these tools will be things that I use very frequently or that I feel are the must have tool for a particular task or something that just makes me happy when I use it.

My favorite tool for knitting is my collection of double pointed needles, or "knitting sticks" as P calls them. These range from size 0000 to size 13. Double pointed needles are a must for knitting some of my favorite projects like socks, mittens, and hats. The shorter bamboo ones really make the knitting go faster. I also use the double points for knitting sweater sleeves on many sweaters. I like that double points were the way very early knitters knit larger garments in the round. Before there were circular needles they just used more double points to go around the sweater. This technique is pictured in some very old pieces of art.

These little stork scissors, a gift from a very dear friend,  are also a favorite tool. I love using this elegant tool to snip my yarns or embroidery threads. I had seen scissors like these when I was small and I fell in love with the clever shape. It was like a secret childhood dream come true when I was given these scissors. Yes, sometimes it is the little things that mean a lot.

Here and here are some other tools I adore using but have already mentioned.

Epiphany

This morning I took my new knitting book,  Favorite Socks 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave Press, to the coffee shop to meet the aunties

.A and I were flipping through the book and drooling over every page. We both wanted to make them all. We came up with a plan- together we will knit through the book. The root of the plan is that we will each knit only ONE sock from each pattern. The best part of the plan is that we have cured second sock syndrome!

Here is how it will work. We will take turns with each pattern. The first person will choose the yarn and keep both socks. The next will do the same. That way we will get to try all of the patterns and will still get a pair of socks for each two socks we knit! We will call this project “Two Make a Pair.”

We believe this is a clever project for us as A will be moving about 5 hours away in the near future. This will be a neat way for us to keep in touch and have fun mail.

Popcorn Sweater Set

This morning we woke to new snow on our old snow. This was the view north to the road from the top of  our stairwell.

This was the view from our bedroom window. The small trees to the left of the chicken barn are plum and apricot trees. The chickens like to roost in the plum tree closest to the barn.

I almost finished knitting the popcorn hat for P last night but I ran out of yarn that had been wound into a ball.  I knew she would want to help wind the last hank of yarn so I waited until this morning. We got out the swift and ball winder and went right to work. A little fast knitting and out to the porch for photos. OK, I admit this was probably not the best day for an outdoor photo shoot of a 2 year old in a sweater.

The snow was still blowing.

P declared herself cold and we came back inside.

Starting Things

I seem to be good at starting projects. I thought I would show you an update on the Miss Terwilliger sweater. This is the back.

After starting this sweater I started the popcorn set for P as seen yesterday.

These are just my most recent started projects. I don't want to think about all of the other projects I have not finished. Maybe I need to make a contract with myself. "I will not start another needlework project until I finish one of these sweaters." I thought about higher goals- like finishing all the projects I have started. But I would have to find them all first. I will keep working on them.

As I knit on these, I am thinking of that red and aqua yarn and what I want to do with that...

Growing Up

I know it happens. I just don't think about it every day. I notice the changes in jumps. Last night, for example, we saw an eclipse of the moon. It was not a "moom." Today we baked cookies not "tookies." These changes are bitter sweet. I am glad P is growing and learning but it is sad, in a way, to see the baby ways disappear. At least we can still eat "compatoes" and play with Mr. Compato Head!

It also seems she is getting to be all arms and legs.  That big, red sweater her auntie A made her when she was born is now rather small - and she used to wear it with the sleeves rolled up.

P and I are working together to make a new and BIGGER sweater.  P helped wind the yarn on the ball winder.  She learned how to keep winding in the same direction for the whole ball.

My sisters and I used to wear sweater and hat sets from this pattern when we were small.  My mother made many of these popcorn sweater sets for us and for gifts.  When my aunt sent me a copy of the pattern, I knew I would be making one for P.   I do wish my mother could see P in her little popcorn sweater set when it is finished.

Fleece Fair

A few weeks ago P watched a friend as she was spinning. She was mesmerized by the process. I haven't spun in a long time and our wheel has been put away in the closet.

Saturday, I went to the Spinners' Flock winter Fleece Fair. I really wasn't planning on purchasing anything.   Do I ever PLAN to buy roving (or yarn, or fabric)? The tables were loaded with lots of beautiful fiber.   You know how it is when you have yarn, roving, and supplies stuck everywhere in your house. You tell yourself that you should use what you have first.  But, then you look across the room and see that some of the balls of roving are jumping up and down on the table. They are even waving at you. "Come over here," they say. "Take us home." That is how it was with these balls of roving.

You might remember I currently have a "thing" for red and aqua as seen  here and here.

We had to start spinning right away when I got home! Just as I thought, P wanted to watch. She had to be close - very close. She learned a little about spinning and a lot about what happens if you watch from TOO close.

She learned that your hair can get sucked into the spinning wheel. Perhaps her mother knew what she was talking about when she warned about getting too close.

I haven't decided what I want to do with it yet. Just that I want to do some color work with them together. I know I should have a plan before I start to spin but I don't always  work that way. I am thinking socks, or mittens...

I could not get the colors to come out true in the photos. I tried LOTS of pictures in different light. The red is almost right in this one but the turquoise is a bit blue.

New Socks

I am still cleaning house. Really.

I found the leftover ball of yarn from these socks. I thought there might be enough there to make P a pair of socks. That would be cleaning up wouldn't it? I made one sock. It was a perfect fit. Then, on to the other. I knit it through the heel and gusset and GASP I was at the end of the ball. I had to undo the toe of the first sock and knit from that sock to the second until they were the same length.

I found a tiny ball of lavender yarn and used that to knit the toes. I used it ALL. So, let's count. That project cleaned up TWO balls of yarn AND P got new warm socks!

I call that success.

Hearts

Years ago I found this great little baby blanket at a thrift shop. It is made from two feed sacks. I love the feel of it and the soft pink color. I had it stored away with other fun finds until P was born. This blankie is one of her favorites.

The back shows where it was tied in a heart shape and also has initials. It makes me wonder about who originally owned this blanket and how it ended up in a pile of discarded items in a thrift shop. I am pleased to give it a second life.

I will also share this little cotton washcloth I made for Valentine's day.

The pattern is here.