I am remiss in not sharing photographs of the completed cashmere socks that I knit for hubby. They have been off the needles for about a week. I was hoping to take a photo of them on his feet, but alas, he hasn’t worn them yet.
They are slightly loose on my feet, but look okay in the photograph.
The cuff is a 3 by 1 rib which is carried on over the foot. I used Elizabeth Zimmerman’s method for heel flap and gusset.
The yarn is from Knit Picks. I enjoyed knitting it so much that I plan to buy more in other colors. Just think how nice a cashmere-blend cowl or scarf will feel around your neck on a cold, blustery day.
The weather has been so nice that I have started knitting outside. Yesterday during our weekly knitting session, my friend Kathy helped me fit and measure the top-down cardigan that I cast on last week. The body is already half-way done! Obviously, I am enjoying the process and have spent time working on it daily.
On this back view, you can see the yoke detail. The cables are finished, armhole openings are threaded onto waste yarn and I am speeding toward the hem What’s not visible is the small lace motif that I am inserting. It’s a six-row “snow” pattern. I am staggering the snowflakes about 15 stitches and 14 rows apart. This is my way of staying interested in a project that has long stretches of stockinette stitch.
The only point of suspense is the same age-old question. Will I have enough yarn? These Plymouth Encore balls are pretty hefty. I’m feeling fairly confident that the answer will be in the affirmative. Time will tell.
Good morning. The sticklers among you will point out that today is Tuesday. But yesterday I didn’t have time to write this post, due to a shopping trip to Tulsa.
My original idea was to make up my own design. It was to be a loose wrap-like cardigan, knitted from the top down, incorporating both cables and lace. I had a few false starts that didn’t please me. So I searched Ravelry for something similar and came up with this delightful pattern by Michelle Porter.
It has all the features I require and I can begin knitting immediately.
The lace pattern has no name, and it isn’t charted. But I am finding the row by row instructions pretty easily to follow.
The color number is 686. While it looks brown, in sunlight it is a heather merlot.
Increases are made by yarn-overs. I love the round motif that progresses into a twining cable. The original pattern has only two pattern repeats. I am considering modifying the back to take the cables all the way down to the waist.
This story may sound like whining, but it’s not my intent. It’s more like a true confession. You see a beautiful sock in this picture. The dirty truth is that it took me three tries to get this one sock knitted.
The yarn is a cashmere blend by KnitPicks which I acquired to make my husband a pair of luxury socks. Incredibly soft and delightful to work. I started knitting with great enthusiasm and high hopes.
Instead of using the tried and true Woodman’s sock pattern by EZ, I wanted to get “a little fancy”. So I chose an interesting – and free – pattern off the internet. It featured a sort of herringbone stitch on the cuff and instep which rolled beautifully around the foot.
Almost immediately I ran into trouble. The pattern was described as suitable for both women and men and was offered in four sizes. I started knitting the medium size but quickly discovered it was going to be too small. So I frogged it back. After measuring around the widest part of hubby’s foot, I cast on the largest size and tried again. It took me forever to knit to the end of the gusset.
The resulting sock was enormous. When tried on hubby’s foot, it draped itself loosely around his instep. Clearly I needed to start over – again. It was painful to frog it, especially as I had already spent a few weeks on the project. But I did. Afterward I trashed the fancy pattern.
Okay. Let’s start right. I went up a needle size and got gauge for a generic medium size men’s sock. Then I modified the Woodman’s sock pattern to suit a fingering weight yarn. Within a few days I was ready to try this on hubby again.
Perfect fit.
Elizabeth Zimmerman Woodman’s sock is written for worsted weight yarn. It was originally published in 1963 as a newsletter. Now you can find it in The Opinionated Knitter, published by Schoolhouse Press.
Another view of travel knitting, this time on the way home. While on vacation I was too busy to finish this sock. However I do have a few things fibery and artsy to share.
When visiting one of my favorite yarn/book stores, I snagged this pretty ball of Berroco Sox yarn and 1000 yards of Plymonth Encore in a heathery mahogany color.
My grandson agreed to accept a pair of socks from me, and approved of this yarn. I plan to use the Plymouth yarn to knit myself a loose cardigan for lounging around the house on cool winter nights.
I got the sketch book out during the vacation just once. Here is a view of Shell Lake.
It was so fun introducing my 2-year-old granddaughter to water color paint. First I made an assortment of paint puddles, taped down a piece of drawing paper and handed her a cotton swab. Following my example, she dabbled with lines and dots.
She also grabbed a small sponge, stroked it over the red paint then applied it to the paper. When she ran out of space on the paper, she wiped the sponge vigorously over her belly.
FYI: Red watercolor paint on a baby’s body looks very much like a bruise. Gramps had a moment of concern upon viewing her body art, which he quickly overcame after I wiped her clean.
Today marks the last day of WorldWatercolorMonth. Despite being gone for twelve days this month, I was able to complete fifteen of the 31 challenges. Here is my final one. The prompt is Pose. I chose this little cedar waxwing, who was posing for the camera by cocking his head to one side.
It’s nice to be back in my studio. I look forward to digging in to my stash of UFOs and dreaming up some interesting new projects.
Daily Fiber 