Appunto Socks

I spent the past month finishing up orphaned socks.  This was the last pair:

Appunto

Another Yarnissima test knit.  I made these for my dear MIL.

Here are the details:
Pattern:  "Appunto", designed for Three Irish Girls by Yarnissima
Size: medium
Yarn:  Araucania Ranco Solid, color: 115

Needles: US 3/3.25 mm

Comments:  Great sock!  The only mod I made was to mirror the cables on the second sock.

Fire socks

Girl on Fire Socks

I finished these socks as I finished reading The Hunger Games Trilogy so it seemed only appropriate to name them "Girl on Fire" socks.  This was a fun test knit for Yarnissima.


Here are the details:
Pattern:  "Gush", a Ravelry mystery knit designed by Yarnissima; click here for Ravelry link
Size: medium
Yarn: Regia Canadian, colorway: orange/red
Needles: US 2/3.0 mm
Comments:  The pattern looks like flames coming up the sock--much easier to see in person or with solid color yarn!

Zum Dirndls Complete!

Well, it was a long time in the making, but love the final product! I do enjoy knitting socks, but I am not sure I will take on a pair of knee highs again. I started these way back in May 2008, put them to sleep for a while, and decided they must be finished--too pretty not to. My camera could not capture the cabling detail well enough so I did the best I could. Here is a picture of the side/back and a close-up:

These socks are a Christmas present--I can cross another one off the list!

Here are the details:
Pattern: Zum Dirndl by Yarnissima
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, colorway: olive; 1.25 skeins (plenty left in the second skein for another pair of shorter socks)
Gauge: 7.5 st/inch, unblocked
Needles: US 2½ / 3.0 mm
Details: toe up, knee high, Bavarian style, short row toe. Modified the top: twisted rib instead of drawstring.

Socks finally revealed: Saviano Passione

I haven't been able to share these until the pattern was released. These socks, which are a current favorite on my feet this winter, were a test knit for Yarnissima (aren't I lucky!). They were finished back in April. Have a look:

The yarn was to die for. It is "Angel" by The Natural Dye Studio. Baby alpaca, cashmere and silk. For socks. I love wearing these! And to top it all off, the pattern is available for free from Knitty (click title link below).

Here are the details:
Pattern: "Saviano" by Yarnissima from Knitty Winter 2009; 2 circ needle, toe up
Yarn: "Angel" by The Natural Dye Studio, color: Bluebell, 1 skein with about 40g (or 40%) left over (enough for a pair of baby booties!)
Gauge: 6.5st/inch
Needles: US#3/3.25mm

Comments: Wow...

Zur Lederhos'n finished!

Wow, I am a bit behind on posting. I have a lot to share over the next week or so. I'll start with my completed Zur Lederhos'ns. I love these socks! Here they are, modeled on my lovely daughter Grace:

And of course, the details:
Pattern: "Zur Lederhos'n" by Yarnissima ; 2 circ needle, toe up
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in "Ruby", 1 skein with about 35g (or 30%) left over
Gauge: 8 st/inch
Needles: US#2.5/3.0mm

Comments: Fun! And I love the cabling up the back of the leg. I should have made these a bit longer, and I had plenty of yarn left over to do it.

Zur Lederhos'n, Take 2

Remember these? Probably not since I started them last year. They were a test knit for Yarnissima and got put on hold as she tweaked the pattern. Well, the pattern was totally re written, so I ripped it out and started again and I just finished the first sock:

I love the pattern, of course. It is challenging and I did need to rip back a couple of inches, 2 separate times, but sock 2 should be easier. I have already cast it on!

SKP sock 4- Ziggy

Another fun pattern. And I love the color of the yarn. These are my socks for September, also knit for SKP sock 4.

Here are the details:
Pattern: "Ziggy" by Meg Meredith published in Knitty Summer 2008; 2 needle, toe up, wrap and turn heel/gusset
Yarn: ShibuiKnits Sock, 100% superwash merino
Color: 220 Peony and 4103 Roppongi; 1 skein each
Gauge (after blocking):
Needles: US#2.5/3.0mm

Comments: For me, stranded-knit socks are not easy to get the fit right (see Birdfoot bag). My gauge was right on, but I still found the wrap and turn heel/gusset too tight. So for the second sock I increased the number of stitches I worked the heel over to 39 (from 33). This gave a more comfortable fit. If I were to make these again, with the same yarn and needles, I would add 6 stitches (1 pattern repeat).

For my October socks, I will be working with a Harry Potter-inspired theme as part of the Hogwart's Sock Swap 4 (HSS4). I will be using my own pattern and plan on making something similar to my HSS3 socks, but this time I will be knitting for a 4th year Gryffindor, so the colors will be scarlet and gold. I have a tweed yarn that I will be Kool Aid-Dyeing and I hope the colors come out right (Pineapple for the gold and Black Cherry for the maroon). We'll know after this weekend!

Zum Dirndl WIP

It is hard for me to sit and blog when it's summer and the kids are running around and the garden needs tending. I also have a lot less time to knit, but I make some time. Here's my progress on my Zum Dirndls:

The view from the side:

And a closer look at the front cable:

And last, the heel and back cable, the best photo I could get without a model (my models are sleeping right now...)

I LOVE the pattern. My knitting has gone much quicker now that I switched over to AddiLace needles (there are a lot of twisted knits and cables in this one). If I could find an hour a day to knit, these would be done in no time...

But be warned dear family, I will make time for knitting and ignore my other responsibilities to fulfill my Ravelympic commitments. What's that you ask? More tomorrow...

A new project: Zum Dirndl test knit

So I started a new project this past weekend. I am helping test-knit a pattern for Yarnissima, one of my favorite sock designers. The sock is "knee high, Bavarian-style, toe-up, with lots & lots of twisted stitches, combined with an easy, pretty lace". It is designed to be knit with Wollmeise yarn by Claudia, to cheer her up as she goes in for knee surgery. I, of course, will be knitting it with Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 (colorway: olive), since I have that on hand...

So far, so good. This was my first short-row toe--normally I would use Judy's Magic loop cast on for toe-up, but I wanted to follow the pattern as written since we are testing it. I liked the short row toe and will be interested to see how it feels on.

Hogwart Socks

They're finished. The design and charts needed to be modified more than once but the end result was okay. The pattern still needs a little tweeking, so I'll work on that.

Here are my "shadow knit" Hogwart socks, in Ravenclaw colors.

And when you tilt them:

The Hogwart's "H" is on the sock on the left and the Ravenclaw "R" is encased in a shield on the right sock.

Here are the details:
Pattern: Hogwart House Socks; my own design, not yet published; 2 needle; toe up pattern with short row heel; 8 inch cuff
Yarn: elann.com Sock It to Me 4 Ply; 1 ball 46460 Steel Blue, 1 ball 41759 Platinum
Color: 46460 Steel Blue, 41759 Platinum
Gauge: 8 st/inch
Needles: US#2.5/3.0mm

My comments:
This was not only my first design in shadow knitting, but also my first time shadow knitting anything. It was fun and I learned some design tips as I went along. Once I get the right colors, I look forward to designing a pair of socks for each of the houses.

Jacobean socks

Well, I'm tired, but I finished my SKP2008 socks 2 days ago. Then I decided not to knit yesterday, but I'm jumping back in today.

So here are the details:
Pattern: Jacobean by Julie Persinger for SKP2008 sock1; toe-up pattern with short row heel; magic loop or 2 circular needles
Yarn: "Jitterbug" from Colinette; 1 ball (Recommended yarn=fingering wt)
Color: Velvet Damson #118
Required Gauge: 8 st/inch; My gauge: 7 st/inch, but I was making these for a Men's size US10 and the pattern was written for Women's size US7-9, so I did not adjust the pattern.
Recommended Needles: US 1.5 /2.5 mm (I used 2 circ US4/3.5mm)
Comments: Fun pattern to knit. I hope the short row heel holds up (I usually only use short row heels for baby socks and Christmas stockings).

You really can't see the diamond design in these pictures, but the design looks nice in person.

And here is a close up of the short row heel:

Back to knitting today. I hope to finish up my Firestarter socks.

How fast do you knit?

How much knitting can I get done while riding from Rochester, NY to Portland, Maine?

I can cast on a toe-up sock and work the toe, foot and gusset. This will help me guesstimate how long it will take to knit a pair of socks using an intermediate -difficult pattern. Let me explain.

I am not a speed knitter by any means, but I am not slow either. I knit because I enjoy it and it relaxes me. But last week when I was catching up on my blog reading, Purl Diva had to show me this: the SKP: Sock Knitters Pentathlon (click button below for Yahoo group).

The basic idea is to "challenge yourself by knitting in ways you don't normally knit and in the process become a better, stronger knitter". We will knit 5 different pairs of socks over the next 9 months. The patterns will be released at predetermined times, each about 2 months apart and will be intermediate -challenging in difficulty rating. As you finish a pair, you are given a number (first person done = 1, second = 2, etc). At the end of the year, the person with the lowest score wins the Pentathlon and some fun prizes. So far there are over 500 participants from 30 countries. Do I expect to "win a medal"? Of course not, but it will be fun "racing"!

Here is my yarn for SKP Sock 1 (needed to be solid/semi solid). It is "Jitterbug" from Colinette (color: Velvet Damson 118) which I have not knit with before, so I will be checking my gauge this week.

PS...I think it will take me a minimum of 1 week to knit a pair of socks and not neglect the rest of my life.

One down, one to go

Firestarter progress report:

It may not be a pretty picture right now, but trust me, it looks great on. I am saving the full blocked image for the completed project. I love this pattern! I just wish I was knitting these for me...

August Socks--Bamboozle

Okay, so I have finished my socks for August. To be fair though, I started these last fall. It's my first pair of "Toe-Up" socks with a flap heel and I really enjoyed them (even if it took me almost a year). Toe -up is perfect if you want to use all of your yarn up--just knit the cuff until you run out of yarn! I'm going to try a toe-up pair with a fancier cuff, but don't expect those until at least October.

So here are the details:
Pattern: "Bamboozle" by Red Bird Knits/Robyn Gallimore
Yarn: Regia Bamboo Color (45% bamboo 40% wool 15% nylon; machine washable)
Color: 1067
Gauge: 9 st/inch
Needles: US#1/2.5mm

I really liked the bamboo yarn. I will probably try to make a pair of anklets out of this yarn for next summer, after I see how these hold up.