Red Lace is lovely

Red Lace and Cable Top in Progress
Originally uploaded by sunasak

This weekend was a good one for knitting. Not only did I get a bit of work done on my next pair of socks, the Undercover Escalator socks, but I got a lot done on the Red Lace and Cable top, too.

Here's where I was at some point on Saturday on the Red Lace and Cable. What you need to know is that all is not as it appears. You are not looking at a front. You are looking at the top of both the front and back. The bottom of what you see is one sleeve, and the middle is the center of the top. What looks like a plunging neckline is really a boat neck. I am now heading across the second shoulder toward the second sleeve. When that's done I will sew up the arms and cast on in a circle for the peplum bottom of the top. Whee! I was happy to finish the neck yesterday and get almost half through the second shoulder. Since soon I will be binding off then decreasing for the second sleeve, I feel like I am almost home free on the top of the sweater! I also think I will have enough yarn, since I have four more skeins left and have only used three up to now, with some of skein 4 still left from the divided section. It might finish the top part. In any case, I'm still enjoying this one. Other than occasional snags, the cotton yarn and metal needles are a great pair.

I did want to also share this nice photo of Frog Explosion. I am not sure if I mentioned before that I did the gusset a little differently on these, just for fun. I used M1 increases, but kept them in the same position relative to the main sole stitches, so the increase was one stitch further in from the edge on every other row. It made a nice flat spot with increases coming up from it. If you look at the picture up close, it will make more sense. I don't know if I will do it again, but it was fun to get a different look without doing anything too fancy or hard to remember! Anyway, I am wearing the socks now, and they look very nice and feel fine.

About my next pair. I have named them the Undercover Escalator socks. Why? Well there are lines of YOs marching up the front that look like escalators to nowhere, to me. And the Opal with Bamboo yarn I bought gave me quite a surprise. When I started knitting it I realized it was some sort of camouflage pattern. Now, I am not fighting in any war nor do I want to blend in when I am in the woods/a field/the desert (I'd rather be easily spotted and identifiable as NOT food on the hoof, thanks). So, I have no real need for camouflage socks. So, I am pretending the escalators want to blend in with their surroundings, or something like that--thus, undercover escalators. My mind goes strange places, sometimes.

So, let's talk about Opal with Bamboo yarn. I have to say it is soft, soft, soft. Compared to merino it feels like old flannel or something. I know it will feel wonderful on the foot! The yarn does want to split, and the subtle colors make it hard to spot when that has happened, which can be frustrating when you spot a little piece sticking out three rows down in the lace part. Not that it has happened…heh heh. By this evening I should have enough of the first sock knitted to give you an idea, so I'll take a photo.

While I am typing, I should share that I figured out how to painlessly do toe-up socks as bus socks. I printed the part of the heel that I can't memorize as well as Wendy Johnson's excellent sock bind-off in a size that fits on a 3x5 card, taped the info on, and put it in the pocket of my Lexie Barnes work bag. That makes it small enough to take out and look at, even on the bus, and sturdy enough that it won't fall apart any time soon. I'm glad I thought of this, because I just can't memorize how to do a toe-up flapped heel, and I really like those better than short-row heels on my personal feet.

Happy new work week. So far so good here.