knitting – Page 22 – Daily Fiber

Cast-on Monday, Stash-Buster Style

Posted on August 16, 2021August 17, 2021 by Laura Kate

For some time now, I have been noticing that partially used-up sock yarn skeins have begun to accumulate in my stash. With sock yarns most commonly sold at 100 grams (about 437 yards) it’s obvious to me that my feet and the feet of those that I knit for are below average. I can use up only about 75% of a skein in my favorite sock patterns. Thus I have left-overs. Many left-overs.

It’s time to deal with the clutter. I’m searching for patterns that are written for small amounts of multiple skeins in fingering weight. Today’s project fits that bill to a T.

This sweet little cowl requires 3 light and 3 dark in fingering weight yarn – about 100 yards of each color. After pulling all of my leftovers out of the yarn closet, I managed to come up with six that could work.

The bowl contains a combination of Ewetopia Wisco, Cascade Heritage and KnitPicks Hawthorn. The colors don’t quite line up with those chosen by the designer. But I’m ready to give it a go WITHOUT MAKING A SWATCH FIRST. I know- this behavior is aberrant for me. It must be the summer heat getting to my brain.

You see my cast-on. I am three rows into the ten row repeat. I figure that I will know pretty quickly whether I’m going to like this or not. But then again, it probably doesn’t matter if I like it. I will likely give the cowl as a holiday gift to a loved one who lives in a colder climate.

Full steam ahead!

If you like the pattern, it can be found here on designer Lauren Savidge’s blog:

Pattern: Show Me Your Spots Cowl

FOLLOW UP: As I worked through this pattern, I realized that it had an error. The picture and the dimensions seem to indicate that the 10 row polka-dot pattern was knit twice in each color combination. The pattern did not say to repeat the pattern before switching colors. Now I used the pattern as it appeared in her blog, so maybe the pattern you can purchase has been corrected.

knitting

Summer’s Yarn Bounty

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Laura Kate

I finally got around to taking photos of the yarn purchased during this year’s KnitPicks summer yarn sale. It includes yarns I have used in the past and a few new ones. With an eye toward knitting socks as holiday gifts, I have focused on fingering weight yarns.

This is a new offering from KnitPicks. Static is a fingering weight blend of superwash wool and nylon – the same fiber content as their Stroll line. I guess what makes this yarn different is the self-striping color sequence. This colorway is called Paradise. I thought the bright colors would be nice for children’s socks.

Gloss is a luxury blend of 70% merino wool and 30% silk. I have used it in the worsted weight to make vests and shawls. The fingering weight has all the attributes of its larger sister – softness and a light sheen. I bought it to find out if silk helps the socks wear longer in the heel and ball of foot areas. I also plan to use it as the solid color contrast in 2-color shawls. Colorways shown are clarity, blackberry and navy.

Hawthorne has become a new favorite for me in the fingering weight group. I like its plumpness and high twist. It is made from superwash highland wool, which pills less than merino wool does. The kettle-dyed line (Poseiden is shown here) give nice color variation to items knitted in basic stitches. I also purchased two painted yarns: Burlingame is the top one, Vancouver shown in the bottom of the photo.

This month I will be teaching a short course on knitting shawls. I plan to use these yarns to demonstrate how they can bring pizzazz to a simple garter ridge pattern.

Beyond that, I have no clue of what these yarns want to become. But I will enjoy discovering it.

knitting

Finished Object Friday: Knitting – Reblogged

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Laura Kate

While visiting my daughter’s family last month, I had a chance to get the recipient’s reaction to her new vest. You can judge for yourself, but it looks to me like she is really pleased.

“Why, thank you Grammy!” “You are welcome, my love.”

Here is the post, originally published on Juny 12th.

Yes indeedy, today is Saturday But I assure you that I was able to finish this project yesterday, qualifying it as a Friday finish.:

I first wrote about this project in early May, having purchased the yarn while visiting Madison WI in mid spring. This Polkastripe vest is intended for my granddaughter.

The basketweave slip stitch pattern and general design I am using comes from Norwegian designer Anna Schei.

Ravelry: Polkastripe pattern by Trekkentar Deg

This pattern downloaded in pdf format. Consequently I was unable to use a translator to turn the instructions into English. No matter – what was important to me was the color chart. For the construction of the vest itself, I relied heavily on another baby vest pattern, also downloaded for free from Ravelry.

Ravelry: Milly Tank Top pattern by MillaMia Sweden

I recently learned that Lu likes wearing vests, and is practicing her buttoning skills. So I made sure that her summer vest included a front opening and button closure.

The pocket design is my own. You can read about it here.

Who Needs Pockets? – Daily Fiber (wordpress.com)

Now I can jump into some real summertime knitting: socks! Check back in on Monday for the next cast on.

knitting

Cast-on Monday: Sock Time

Posted on July 19, 2021July 16, 2021 by Laura Kate

With the heat of the summer beginning to settle in, it’s time to start projects that are A: not heavy in your lap. B. suitable for year-end giving and C. car trip worthy. Socks fit that description beautifully.

Today I am starting a sock pattern that has been in my library for some time. Hermione’s Everyday Socks, available on Ravelry, are simple to knit, but have a lovely texture created by working purl stitch sprinkled evenly throughout.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hermiones-everyday-socks

I have chosen to use a monochromatic colorway from Ewetopia that drifts from light to dark and back again. I’m hoping that the color doesn’t vary so much that it overwhelm the subtle stitch pattern. This yarn is called Wisco Sock, and is milled and dyed in Wisconsin.

Here is a link to the yarn producer: About — Ewetopia (ewetopiafibershop.com)

The colorway is Superior, as in, the Lake. I’m very drawn to it – not a green but not a blue, rather a cool-ish grey such as how the lake surface may appear on a cloudy day. While I started these socks as a potential gift, it could be that I will selfishly keep them for myself.

knitting

F.O. Friday: Socks!

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Laura Kate

This project was begun about 2-3 weeks ago. In my initial post I brought up two main points:

An unconventional sock yarn.

This Berroco yarn is a dk weight, not a sock weight. It contains 52% acrylic, 40% wool and 8% nylon. The knitted fabric is soft, stretchy and strong, all of which are highly desirable in a good pair of knitted socks.

The other point is the method of sequential knitting:

I used two skeins, two sets of sock needles and worked the socks in sequence: leg, heel flap, gusset, foot and toe. Frankly, I loved this work method. It provided for variety in the knitting and resulted in finishing both socks at the same time without the use of a long cable needle. Given my fairly extensive collection of doublepoints, I would choose to use this method again.