OK! Here are the finished Garden Path socks, at last. It looks like one is shorter than the other, but it's just my lack of skill in pulling them up to the same length. They definitely have the same number of rows! This photo fairly accurately depicts the color of the yarn, which is one of those hard-to-photography dark colors. I love the way the semi-solid shades from pinkish to blackish. I wish I could get more of this yarn in some of the other colors, which are very jewel-like, but I don't know if Jody will be doing any more. Darn. It's great stuff and it should be made available to more lucky knitters!
I spent the weekend on a trip out of town, and so I got to knit a lot on the drive and while chatting with the future FIL (who was on a "tell the visitors what is in the Bible" kick, so I knit a LOT). I was working on my version of the Posey socks. Once I gave up on using two colors, it was going great. I made lots and lots of little squares and got used to knitting through the back loops eventually. As the designer told me (which was really nice of her!) that makes the stitches firmer. They are quite firm, especially with my twisty Cherry Tree Hill yarn.
I'll have a photo of the work in progress soon, even though I made a silly mistake, so I am making the whole thing in a mirror image. I turned the first square the wrong way, so off I went going right instead of left, which is clearly indicated on the chart. But I didn't pay attention. Oh well, the sock basic shape will still be there and I will still be able to sew it up, put the bottom on and add the toe. Maybe I will make the second sock "correctly" and I will have a left sock and a right sock. Look at me, being patient with my errors.
More tomorrow!
Showing posts with label garden path. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden path. Show all posts
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Random Ideas
My brain has been thinking about knitting a lot. (How about the rest of me? What's it thinking about? How weird am I?)Back on track...I finally finished the Garden Path Socks. WOOT. Photo to come. They ended up slightly tight, which I find funny, since they were huge on the size 0 needles, so I switched to 00s. They are very pretty, in a subdued (meaning it won't come across in photos) way. Certainly the semi-solid yarn was a good choice for the complicated pattern.
Speaking of semi-solid yarn and complicated patterns, I just ordered some of each from here:
http://www.fritzl.etsy.comOn a whim I checked out an ad on the Sock Yarn Sales email list (such an enabling thing!) and really liked this woman's colorways. She has quite a few that have more color than a semi-solid, but not so much that you couldn't knit a lace pattern with it. And even her stripey yarns are subtle blends of similar colors. She is very good with green in all its shadings, and both yarns I got had green in them. One sages and one what could be called "pistachio." Since they are all one-of-a-kind, of course what I got is probably long gone, though there were two of the sage-y colorway. She also had a pattern for socks that was a textured lace, with two variants in one sock. I am a sucker for those, so I got it. Now, of course, it isn't on the site (odd, it was just a PDF--she should have told the etsy software there were ten of them or something). I promise to post photos when I can. You should all salute me for having the restraint to not buy the "pansy" colorway, knowing I have more than one yarn with those colors in them. Wow, restraint!
So, why is there a Wheel of Fortune on this post, you wonder? It's because I had a random idea. I have a really hard time determining what yarn to use for the next "bus sock" (i.e., easy sock to work on in public). I have so much stash. This time I cheated sorta and am using the most recent yarn I bought, but that feels unfair to the many lovelies in waiting. I wished I could just swirl them around and choose one blindfolded. Then I thought of the Wheel of Fortune (it's a roulette wheel, see the ball going around and around?). And I remembered my very old friend, the random number generator (it's how I used to choose the Employee of the Month when I worked for a mathematics software company, though no one believed me when my boss and then my boyfriend were the first two "winners). I think I will assign each ball o' yarn a number, then when I need to choose, randomly generate a number between 1 and x (x=number o' balls o' yarn). I will knit with that, even if it is brown (I do think I have knit enough brown socks now)!
At first I envisioned myself making little pieces of paper with numbers on them and sticking those in each ball or skein. That sounded tedious. But wait! There's Ravelry! And all my yarn is conveniently categorized in my stash! I can just write a number in the comments about each stashed sock yarn. And if I use a number, it can be used for the next yarn I buy (thereby not making the stash seem even bigger than it is, ha ha). I don't think I will index the acrylic sock yarn that got donated to me, but I'll do all the rest. The only time I envision not using a yarn I choose would be if one is slated for a particular "fancy" sock project in the near future.
Doesn't this sound like a fun plan? It's like gambling, only with yarn, so I am not afraid of it. After all, I love ALL my sock yarn!
OK, I am off to label items in the stash.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Happy Knitting
Now that my stress levels have plummeted, I am enjoying leisurely knitting on my projects. Here is the first Garden Path Sock, which I finished at Chicks with Sticks on Wednesday. It's a side view, since I already showed the front a few days ago. I love how the yarn looks in the solid parts, so I am glad I chose a pattern with some plain sections. Of course my lily white skin looks cool in the lace part, too.
I have this less-than-stellar picture of the Jojoland Melody sock I am also working on. None of the ones I took came out too well, but you can get the idea. There is a diagonal line of YOs (which will go all the way around the sock) and a section of cables that starts in the center above the line. When the line comes back around, the cables will end. We will have to see how that works out. I did complete the short-row heel (ooh, risky, a short-row heel!) last night and am moving up the top. The YOs timed themselves perfectly and didn't want to go to the back until right where the heel ended. The yarn is, of course, beautiful. The slow color changes are so much fun. I will get a photo with more "sock" to it soon. I'll work on socks the rest of today then I hope to switch to the orange sweater for the weekend. I keep promising that.
I hope to work on socks on my commute, but a snag has developed. I have discovered that the bus ALSO has wi-fi! So, I might be tempted to read blogs or write in them during that time as well. Oh, the decisions.
I have this less-than-stellar picture of the Jojoland Melody sock I am also working on. None of the ones I took came out too well, but you can get the idea. There is a diagonal line of YOs (which will go all the way around the sock) and a section of cables that starts in the center above the line. When the line comes back around, the cables will end. We will have to see how that works out. I did complete the short-row heel (ooh, risky, a short-row heel!) last night and am moving up the top. The YOs timed themselves perfectly and didn't want to go to the back until right where the heel ended. The yarn is, of course, beautiful. The slow color changes are so much fun. I will get a photo with more "sock" to it soon. I'll work on socks the rest of today then I hope to switch to the orange sweater for the weekend. I keep promising that.
I hope to work on socks on my commute, but a snag has developed. I have discovered that the bus ALSO has wi-fi! So, I might be tempted to read blogs or write in them during that time as well. Oh, the decisions.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Pretty Purple Socks and Progress
I finished these pretty socks nearly all the way last Thursday, but then forgot to finish the toes. So they didn't really get done until Saturday, when I remembered they'd need to be finished to give them away. I am glad they are a size too small for me, because that made them easier to part with. I just love Trekking XXL colorways! I did have quite a bit left over. Maybe I can do something in the mitered square family with the leftovers, some day. I know the recipient will appreciate these socks very much, and I am glad I got to do something to brighten her day, as she's in her late teens and going through a rough time.
On to my own stuff. I decided that my Garden Path socks in Jody's nummy yarn had been sitting there, waiting for me to decide which needles to make them on long enough. So, I frogged the version that was halfway up the foot on size 0s, and kept a-goin' on the size 00 model. I am glad I did, because as you can see, these fit fine. The others were noticeably loose. A quarter inch makes a lot of difference in a sock! The yarn is that firmly twisted sock yarn that I like so much, but it does have less give than some. I'm enjoying the pattern as well as the colorway, which has rare blips of pink in it, but is mostly brownish black semi-solid.
Due to my nearly 50 years on this planet, I seem unable to memorize the pattern, so I started a simpler sock to knit when I don't want to be holding on to a piece of paper. I picked one of my treasured JoJoland Melody colorways (Y14) and am making some kind of wandering YO line running through it, just for fun. The color changes are very slow in this yarn, which is quite the treat. I'll post a photo when I have a little more done.
I'll go back to the orange sweater as soon as Garden Path sock #1 is done. I do want to get that project completed. The next one is calling my name, as always.
On to my own stuff. I decided that my Garden Path socks in Jody's nummy yarn had been sitting there, waiting for me to decide which needles to make them on long enough. So, I frogged the version that was halfway up the foot on size 0s, and kept a-goin' on the size 00 model. I am glad I did, because as you can see, these fit fine. The others were noticeably loose. A quarter inch makes a lot of difference in a sock! The yarn is that firmly twisted sock yarn that I like so much, but it does have less give than some. I'm enjoying the pattern as well as the colorway, which has rare blips of pink in it, but is mostly brownish black semi-solid.Due to my nearly 50 years on this planet, I seem unable to memorize the pattern, so I started a simpler sock to knit when I don't want to be holding on to a piece of paper. I picked one of my treasured JoJoland Melody colorways (Y14) and am making some kind of wandering YO line running through it, just for fun. The color changes are very slow in this yarn, which is quite the treat. I'll post a photo when I have a little more done.
I'll go back to the orange sweater as soon as Garden Path sock #1 is done. I do want to get that project completed. The next one is calling my name, as always.
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