Eleanora Socks
Posted in Eleanora Socks on 24 June 2009

This post is, oh, 6 weeks overdue. Oops. But better late than never, right?

Believe it or not, I really did finish my Eleanora Socks. I just haven’t had a chance to take pictures. (Oh, life.) Until now!

Pattern:
Eleanora Socks by Miriam L. Felton

Yarn:
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Star Sapphire

Needles:
US0 / 2.00mm Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs

 
I chose not to use smaller needles for the facing at the top. I do own US00s, but I was afraid that they would make the socks too tight at the top. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have worried; I think the facing could stand to be more snug.

As always, I knit fewer leg repeats than called for.

The facing was kind of a pain, but that was pretty much the only hiccup. I flew through the socks once I got past that part. I found the pattern pretty intuitive. Very enjoyable, too!

Also, I like how the patterning goes all the way through the toe.

Finally, I’d never worked with Socks that Rock before, believe it or not! Now I wonder what took me so long! I really dig this yarn. It’s a bit tightly spun, which I like in sock yarns. It’s also soft and just springy enough for my tastes - very lovely to work with! I may even love it more than I love Koigu. Though I’m postponing final judgement until I see how these socks hold up over time.

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June 2009 goals
Posted in General on 05 June 2009

Guess who fails at knit blogging? That’s right - me! So I have no proof of any of May’s completed goals. You’ll just have to take my word on these:

1. Finish Rudyard - Not done
2. Finish Shetland Shorty - Not done
3. Finish Eleanora Socks - Done! (Pictures to come!)
4. Start a new pair of socks - Done!
5. Swatch for a sweater - Not done
6. Do something with Mountain Peaks. Anything. - Not done

I’m giving up on Rudyard because my niece grows way faster than I can knit. At this rate, I’m just going knit something sized for a two-year-old, and hope she can still wear it by this Christmas. (No, I am not exaggerating. She’s only 3 months old, but she was wearing 9-mo old clothing as of two weeks ago!)

Or maybe I’ll just knit her toys…

Any recommendations for toddler knits?

While you’re thinking of those, let’s move on to this month’s goals:

1. Finish Shetland Shorty
2. Finish Baudelaire
3. Swatch for a sweater
4. Do something with Mountain Peaks!

I only have the armhole edging for Shetland Shorty left, so this is totally doable as long as I bring it to knit night sometime this month.

And as for Mountain Peaks? It’s gone on long enough. Granted, part of the problem is that it’s my “home” project, and I haven’t been knitting much at home because it’s Stanley Cup playoff season. And lace doesn’t make for good hockey knitting.

But even so, it’s still ridiculous. So if I don’t work on Mountain Peaks at all by the end of the month, I’m frogging that sucker.

Wish me luck!

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May 2009 goals
Posted in General on 01 May 2009

Well, I had a 33% success rate with last month’s goals. Not so great, but I did come close to a couple of others.

1. Finish Mock Wave Cable Socks - Done!
2. Finish Shetland Shorty - Not done.
3. Start and finish Rudyard - Not done.
4. Start Eleanora socks - Done!
5. Start a sweater - Not done.
6. Work on Mountain Peaks - Not done.

On the “so close, and yet so far!” front:

I haven’t actually touched the Shetland Shorty in a couple of weeks, but I only have the neckline and armhole edging left.

With regards to Rudyard, I visited my sister and niece again earlier in the month and decided that it wouldn’t fit. Again. Because it turns out that not only do babies grow fast, but also, my niece is in the 90-something percentile as far as length as goes. Amazing, considering the rest of the family’s lack of height! Luckily, the width is still fine, so I just have to lengthen the pieces.

So, new goals:

1. Finish Rudyard
2. Finish Shetland Shorty
3. Finish Eleanora Socks
4. Start a new pair of socks
5. Swatch for a sweater
6. Do something with Mountain Peaks. Anything.

As far as that last goal goes, I’m seriously this close to frogging Mountain Peaks. I’m just so sick of the edging! But we’ll see how that goes.

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Mock Wave Cable Socks
Posted in Mock Wave Cable Socks on 23 April 2009

I kind of hate purlwise M1s, and this project contained way too many of them for my tastes. Needless to say, I’m glad these socks are done!

Pattern:
Mock Wave Cable Socks by Ann Budd, published in Favorite Socks

Yarn:
Louet Gems Pearl in Baby Goldilocks

Needles:
US0 / 2.00mm Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs

 
I literally ran out of yarn - one sock is actually two rows shorter in the toe than the other because of this. That’s never happened to me before. After all, I’m quite short, so my socks are a few inches shorter in the leg than most patterns call for. And this usually leaves me with at least some yarn, so that I can darn the sock down the line if needed.

However, this particular sock pattern is 80 stitches around. Yes, 80. That kind of makes a difference over rows and rows of tiny stitches. There was no reducing the number of stitches, either, because this is the thinnest fingering-weight yarn I’ve worked with to date. (In heavier fingering-weight yarns, I’d usually use 64-72 stitches, and 72’s kind of on the large side.)

Oh well. I’m not sure if the current Louet Gems fingering weight is any heavier than this older skein of the Gems Pearl. If it’s the exact same weight, I probably won’t use it again for socks. (Well, beyond the last two skeins remaining in my stash.) It’s nice yarn, but it’s so fine, it takes too long to knit.

As for the socks themselves, I like the finished product, but the process was a pain. I am never knitting this pattern again. Mostly because of the purlwise M1s.

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Decisions, decisions
Posted in Tubey v2 on 18 April 2009

I know I promised a Mountain Peaks post, but I haven’t had the heart to touch it in the past couple of weeks, even to take photos. I’ll post about it soon, but in the meantime, I have an update on another project.

Awhile ago, my newer Tubey looked like this.

Yes, this is the same photo I posted last year. I did keep working on it for some time after that photo was taken, but I never posted another picture because honestly? It looked pretty much the same, just a bit longer.

But, as I may have mentioned before, I later realized that it wasn’t going to fit the way I wanted it to. I went into denial for quite awhile and kept it on the needles anyway.

Last month, I finally sucked it up and frogged the whole thing.

I already have a new project in mind for this yarn, but I probably won’t start it for awhile. So all of this yarn is just going to sit pretty for awhile.

As a side note, turning frogged yarn into skeins is so much easier with a swift!

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