Odd Heel Flap Pattern and Some New Yarn

http://Yesterday I said I'd share some new yarn I've gotten in the past week or so, and I will, but first I thought I'd share what I have been doing on my Flaming Desire socks. Here is a phone photo of the first completed leg, on my arm in a Starbucks where I was waiting for someone who never appeared.

Flaming Desire, by Anne Hanson at Knitspot.

I sure think the pattern is pretty. And I do think it looks like flames. I have discovered that my usually stretchy-enough cast-on is a bit tight. To remedy that, I am considering un-doing the cast-on and putting stitches back on the needles, then doing a more stretchy bind-off. I might do the crenelated one that puts the fun large picots on, like smoke rising from the flames. I would welcome any other suggestions for a fun top to the sock. No one ever sees the tops of my socks anyway, so goofy seems like it would be OK.

When I got to the heel flap, Anne Hanson had recommended doing a version where the slipped stitches are on the wrong side of the heel. I felt creative, so decided to slip the stitches with the yarn in the back, which puts a horizontal bar across the right side. I was hoping it would make an interesting texture. Here's a slightly blurred image of what it looks like:

Tweedy Heel Flap

I find it a nice, tweedy effect and oddly different. I am sure a sock knitter who looks at them will say, "Hey, what's going on with your heel?" I am not thinking any of them would say, "Ooh, I will try this on my next sock," since it isn't that attractive, in my humble opinion. I don't know if I'd do it on a lot of other pairs of socks, but at least it's a change from the more usual heel flap choices (I do like flapped heels--slip stitch heels I can just never get to look the same on each side and that bugs me).

And Now for the New Yarn

I got what I think is the last shipment from the Intention Yarns club I was in. Two shipments were combined into one, and as usual, the instructions for what to do with them have not arrived in my email, so I have no clue what I am supposed to do with the roving they sent or the 200 yards of worsted weight yarn. I didn't take a picture of the roving, which I believe you are supposed to make felted prayer beads out of, but it is lovely, and I think I will try to use my drop spindle to make some yarn from it, with the help of Deana or Dawn or Suzanne. Or anyone willing to help for that matter.

Here's the worsted weight yarn. It is called "Friendship," and is 50% alpaca, 30% merino and 20% silk. It feels heavenly, as you would predict, and really is a lovely, ethereal semi solid silver. I am thinking it wants to be fingerless mitts or a cabled hat. I saw a hat that my friend Ray designed that might be good in a lovely soft yarn (the Double Entendre hat on this page). But, I really need a hat with ear coverings...realizing most of them are not pretty--maybe a nice color would mitigate that.

I also got two new sock yarn colors from Knitivity. I ordered them so fast that I got the prototypes--go me. It's nice to be able to order new yarn again, though I am knitting so slowly these days that I have to slow down the acquisition! The first yarn I got is called "Equinox" and was based on a photo of a sunset. I also think it looks a bit like flames.

The second color is something I'm surprised he hadn't done before, being a Texas dyer, "Bluebonnets." I do already have a sock yarn in a bluebonnet colorway, but this one has more shadings of blue and green, and less white, so it looks more like actual bluebonnets (which, by the way, are incredibly beautiful this year in central Texas after the wet winter).

Both of these are in Ray's sturdy superwash wool/nylon yarn base that I think will make perfect basic socks to WEAR and not dwell on a fancy pattern with. Sigh, that reminds me I need to finish the other pair of socks I am working on, for my sister. They are in Knitivity yarn in a simple pattern. I think I'll finish the orange ones and crank those others out, too. What a good knitting citizen I am.

[Additional note: I did not know this at the time I was writing this blog post, but if you head off and buy something at Knitivity, and mention my name, I will get a discount on a future purchase. Of course, if you heard about them from someone else, mention them, and they will get a discount! Discounts are good.]

I'm off to block Litla Dimun, so perhaps the next post will have a real FO photo of that project.

Do You Hate Short Rows?

If so, stop reading this lame ole blog and click quickly over to Fleegle's Blog and check out her brilliant inspiration. It's a new way of doing short rows. It looks good and is easy to remember. That Fleegle woman is a genius, I tell you!

My next pair of socks will definitely have a short-row heel so I can try it out!

An Inspiration

Store-Bought Vest with Woven Stripes
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Today I found in the back of my closet this old vest that my step-mother gave me a long time ago. I think it's from the early 90s or 80s, because it is quite square. I was looking at it while thinking about some technical writing task at work, and I realized how they'd made those stripes.

The garment is knit in reverse stockinette. The yarn is a cotton that has been dyed indigo. The stripes appear to be the same yarn in two natural shades. What they did (see close-up) was weave the light yarn through the every other purl bump for a few rows, staggering the weaving so that it makes quite a nice basketweave effect. And at the bottom of the sweater, they did little decorative squares.

The third picture I am posting shows the back of the work, which is also nice looking. It might be used in a garment, too. I wouldn't tie knots in MINE if I did it.

I got lots of ideas for using this weaving in garments. It sure livens up reverse stockinette! I might try it on a mitten, since the extra yarn would add warmth, and it is so tightly woven it wouldn't catch on your nails or anything. Or, of course, a vest would be great. Perhaps in one of those organic yarns in a natural dark brown with a natural off-white stripe. Hmm. I have some yarns like that.

I'll put this idea on the back burner and let it simmer (wow, what a boring cooking metaphor, sorry). If you have any ideas for other ways to use this technique or have seen projects using it, feel free to post!

An Interesting Twist

I read about a new online magazine today, while perusing other people's extra-popular blogs (a thing this one will never be, due to my lack of popular book or pattern). This is the Twist Collective site, which is very pretty, and only mildly frustrating in that you can't read through the pattern instructions unless you pay $6-7 for them. Because I think designers deserve fair compensation for their work, I will not begrudge them their bucks, and I hope to buy a couple of these. I just, sigh, like to read patterns.

Among the lovely sweaters (so many cables!), shawls (drool), and socks (yum) are some good articles, and I enjoyed reading most of them quite a bit. However, I want to MARRY (sorry, Lee) the Houdini Sock article by Cat Bordhi, which details making a sock with the heel just being a second toe, then picking up at a strategic point and build up legs. So slick. It's hard to explain in my words, but makes total sense when you look at the pictures, which you do NOT have to pay for. YAY! This technique is just cooler than cool, and I can't wait to give it a whirl. Maybe with one of my lovely new yarns. I just love a new idea! It's another one of those ones that were sorta in the back of my mind but I never worked out. I am glad Cat's around to actually figure out this stuff.

Physiological Fact, Jack

I am trying to finish the Shedir hat for the woman I know who has started chemo this week. I worked on it a lot last night--and discovered that one row is VERY easy for me to get "off" on--had to rip back a whole row in which only one stitch in 9 is NOT twisted. Doing that row twice caused my right wrist to begin to twinge and give that carpel tunnel-y feeling. Uh-oh. Good thing I now only have to do that particular row one more time.

As you can see from the photo, this is a very twist-intensive pattern. And it is very pretty! But I believe I have re-discovered a physiological and psychological fact about me: I don't like twisted or single traveling stitches in large doses. My hand gets all tingly, like when I crochet too fast for too long, and my mind gets tired of remembering which stitch to put the needle in first to successfully make the twist go the right way. I'd hoped this would be less of an issue when I totally stopped using cable needles, but it's still an issue. Plus, on that complicated row I keep forgetting to look down and see when I hit the edge of the motif.

"Gosh, Suna, they invented the stitch marker to help with that"
"But putting stitch markers between repeats makes me feel like a Baby Knitter."
"Oh, so you think you are too good for stitch markers?"
Gulp. Oops.
"Well, I am almost done with the main part of the hat now, so the point is moot."

I should have learned this when I tried the Circle of Friends Socks and gave up halfway down the first leg. It's not that I can't do it; I just don't enjoy it much. I like yarning over, knitting two together and slip-slip-knitting, like in lace. That doesn't hurt any part of me.

I admit it. I also don't like doing intarsia. I didn't like seed stitch until I started knitting the Continental Way.

What techniques or patterns do YOU like and dislike?