Needle to Needle: July 2006

Sox jump off the needles - July 2006

Skylar's Short Summer Sox (the SSSS) are finished. I made a mistake on them that I could not go back and fix - I made the heel flap too short. I made it 2" and it should have been 2-1/2 to 3 inches. It tends to pull down on the back of the cuff when he wears them. *sigh* I will remember next time.

Finished Projects July 2006

Sock Monkey Hat!! Pattern: Knitty. Designer: Sheryl Lange.

Shoulder Cozy. Pattern: Wrap Style. Yarn: Debbie Bliss Superchunky Cashmerino Model: My daughter.

July is ant wars

This picture makes me feel like I am going to slide off the table. WIP: Skylar's shorty summer sox using Gedifra Sportivo on AddiTurbo 2.5 mm, each sock on its own 32" circular needle. I have found that doing socks magic-loop style makes it easier to transport my sock-in-progress; I do not have to worry about losing a needle or dropping stitches and the yarn does not get tangled.

June projects

I am making a sampler afghan using cable patterns. My first block is a simple rope cable. I used Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed - my hands love it. I know the rule is to knit cable designs with light colored yarn, but I love tweed and so I risked the wrath of the yarn police. In real life the rope cables really do show up with this yarn (unlike this picture).

Work In Progress
My other project is a shoulder cozy from Wrap Style. The picture does not show the color - it is actually a dark green. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky. I love the feel but the yarn's tendency to pill even before it is off the needles is annoying.

Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. Woohoo! My first time attending a fiber arts gathering. I was blessed with a perfect day. The workshops I attended taught by Joan Schrouder and J.C. Briar were great. Now I can knit backwards and read charts.... but I still can't talk or chew gum at the same time; that is probably another workshop.

May 2006 .... and more projects

May was the month in which I launched a local knitting group called the "Praise-n-Purl Knitters". We meet at the local library on the first Tuesday of the month. It is meant to be an oasis during the lunch hour - a time of refreshment. I can't think of too many things more enjoyable than knitting with friends.

A friend asked if I would knit him a hat. His specifications were that he liked blue and gray and he wanted a pattern of water on it. This is a picture of what I came up with. I call this hat Noah (aka Levi's hat):

My son picked out the sock yarn that he wanted for his hand knitted socks. He is a teenager who wears shoe size 12 to 13 in mens. I had to reinvent the toe about 3 times to get it right. I was torn between doing a very gradual decrease or knitting straight out to the toe and then decreasing rapidly at the very end. I chose the gradual decrease. These are Skylar's Sox:

Opal Superwash Sock Yarn with reinforcing thread in the heels and toes; 2 socks on 2 circs, top down.

May 2006 Projects

I completed my knitting bag ensemble with a needle cozy and a notions bag. I used Cat Bordhi's needle cozies as my inspiration. Using Lamb's Pride I cast the needle cozy onto straight needles length wise and added in a few rows of Flora for splashes of color. I seemed it up, felted it, and then while still wet I stuck it on a long wooden spoon handle and gave a few good twists. This caused the little drops of color to spiral up the cozy.

I could not decide exactly how I wanted to build the notions bag but speed and simplicity won out. I just made it up as I went. It is simply a very long rectangle with decreases on one end to make a flap and then I made an I-cord loop for the buttonhole. I still have not found that perfect ball-type button. I went to the store to look through the little-girl ponytail holders thinking I could cannibalize one that had balls on it but I could not find even one. Maybe I will have to make one. Inside the notions bag I have colored plastic grid stuff that I wove elastic cord through so that all my notions would not end up in the bottom of the bag. Because of the way the elastic is woven I can use both sides of the grid.

April 2006 Felted knitting bag

The French Market Bag seen on Knitty.com and designed by Polly Outhwaite was my inspiration. I wanted a bag crossed with a basket; rather shallow and open and yet easy to carry. The bottom grey yarn was Lion Brand wool and I double stranded it for a super dense bottom that needles would not poke through. The periwinkle blue yarn is Lamb's Pride. To add accent to the blue I added a few rows of Flora Trendsetter which gave nice little drops of color once the bag was felted. I added grey yarn with the blue at the tops of the handles which gives substance to the grip and it will camouflage discoloration from constant handling there. I added structure to the bag by using the same color of yarn and created a bead/seam around the bottom and up the sides at the corners. To add a little interest to the gray on the sides I took a strand of the periwinkle blue yarn and needle felted swirls on each end.

This was my first felting project and I learned some really great lessons:
Lesson 1: Some yarns felt much much more vertically than horizontally. (notice my bag is a rectangle while the bag on Knitty.com is a square)
Lesson 2: Use larger needles so that the knitting is loose and rather open. This helps the felting process by allowing the fibers to move easier and felt together.
Lesson 3: Have fun. If it does not come out like intended enjoy it anyway - appreciate its uniqueness. serendipity.

March 2006, The beginning of sox... the mother of all sox

I like knitting in the round and I enjoy working with dpns. I have always loved to watch someone knit socks. It seemed like it might be too complicated to learn but I wanted to try and so I jumped in with both feet.

I took a basic sock class from Cheryl at Middleford Yarn & Stitchery. At the same time I bought the book "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch. I am ready to sock it to me, sock it to my kids, and sock it to anyone else I can hold down long enough to measure their feet.

Opal Superwash sock yarn, color = lollipop