Work-in-Progress Wednesday

It's a virtual rainbow of baby booties. Call it obsession if you want. I'm calling it "stash-busting" ... once I finish the last two pairs in periwinkle blue that'll be every inch of baby weight superwash wool in my stash knitted up! And then I'll be foraging through my sock yarn scraps to knit the sock legs that finish these booties.

You see the end of the month is fast approaching, and I'm part of a Ravelry group called "Surmount the Stash". At the beginning of February I'll be updating my progress on working through my stash and I'd dearly love to report that I'd worked through the ALL baby yarn. That's a little unrealistic though; once I finish these baby booties I'll still have about 125 grams of acrylic baby yarn left. That should be enough to make a couple of newborn hats for the local hospital. Let's see if I have the willpower to apply myself and work through it all!

Here in Toronto we're enjoying spring for a day with temperatures in the double-digits. The snow - what little there was - has all melted and today at lunch I was walking around outside in shirt sleeves! Hopefully you're enjoying your Wednesday just as much. Have a look at the links at Tami's Amis to see what everyone else is furiously working on!

at the halfway point

I'm sure I've mentioned how much I dislike scarves and blankets for the fact that they seem unending. But today I'm celebrating a milestone on this Lace Ribbon Scarf. I've come to the end of the first skein which makes me officially at the halfway point. My plan is to knit the second skein and then call it done. It's 38" long now - unblocked - so it looks like the length will be pretty much perfect.

Maybe my boredom with this project is what's been pushing me to knit instant gratification booties in my home knitting time? Could be. And it could be the stash-busting aspect of it too. There's still another pair on the needles now, this time in fire engine red.

Finished Object Friday

It's late in the day, but better late than never! I've just finished up another pair of booties ...

Pattern: Baby Moc-A-Soc, knit at size 6-12 months

Yarn: The periwinkle blue is leftover superwash baby wool and the ivory is left over sock wool - SRK On Your Toes, I think - both from my stash.

Needles: size 1 (2.25 mm)

Modifications: None :)

It's Finished Object Friday and it's snowing to beat the band. The roads are dreadful and the police have just closed the main highway home in both directions for a multi-vehicle crash, so it's going to be a long night and a slow, white-knuckle drive. As usual I'm linking up with the group at Tami's Amis. Have a look to see what everyone else finished - there are always a few surprises!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

The Lace Ribbon Scarf is my at-work project. In my job there are often extended periods of time where I'm awaiting the upload, download, transfer or copy of files. Rather than stare at the computer screen impatiently and stress out about how long it's taking, I knit. This scarf has proven to be an ideal at-work project because it's easy to pick up and put down; the knitted pattern is so easy to read that I can tell where I left off at a glance. The project is a special request from the office manager, so there's been lots of interest from my coworkers in how it's progressing. I'm using Handmaiden Sea Silk and I have two skeins, so when I come to the end of the yarn, we'll call this scarf finished. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the first skein and the scarf measures about 24" unblocked so far.

In the evenings I've been making these Baby Moc-A-Socs. The pattern is just adorable so I'm really enjoying them. Each pair of boots take about 16-18 grams of sock yarn, and the cuffs take even less in a contrasting colour, so it's been a nice little project to use up some of sock yarn scraps. You wouldn't normally use wool for booties, however I intend to donate them to the Warm Hands Network for distribution in the prenatal clinics and new Mom groups in the Northern reserves and they actually prefer superwash wool for warmth and insulation value when damp. The next shipment leaves at the end of the month for Moosonee - we'll just have to see how many I can complete in time for that.

And finally, it occurred to me yesterday that there might be just enough Shelridge Farms DK leftover from a pullover I made last year to put towards Summer Flies. That would be an awesome birthday present for my sister - a June baby - so I want to look into that further. But before I cast on anything new, I'd better get moving on all my WIPs!

It's Wednesday so I'm linking up with the gang at Tami's Amis. Go on and check out the links!

Booties

On Saturday at the knitting club at the Public Library the ladies were talking about booties. I guess they're having a bit of a KAL. The pattern they're using is a very traditional one - something like this - but I've always thought this Moc-A-Soc pattern looked just darling. And now I have a reason to knit it.

It's knit flat and seamed, which took me aback when I first looked at it, but after knitting a few I think I'll continue that way rather than adjusting to knit in the round. After all, it's a pretty small seam to sew up and it does mean there are no jogs in the garter pattern. And it's surprisingly not too fiddly - I'm not even fed up with it yet and I'm already on number 3.

I'm using sock yarn leftovers from my stash with a plan to donate them to the Warm Hands Network. They provide items to a number of prenatal clinics and new Mom groups in the northern reserves, so these will definitely be put to good use. Because of the cold temperatures - it's -35°C in Moose Factory today - they specifically request superwash wool. Knitting the boot part of the pattern with fingering weight rather than sport weight results in a finished product that's on the small side. Essentially, when I knit the pattern as written for the 6-12 month size I end up with a 0-6 months size bootie, measuring 4" on the length of the sole. I might play around a bit with the numbers to see if I can make some a little bigger, but for now I'm just having way too much fun knitting these as written.

Year of Projects 2: French Sock

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Knitting Vintage Socks: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern (1887) • Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch (1889) • Gentleman's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (1895) • Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe (1896) • Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern (1897) • Heelless Sleeping Socks (1897) • Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting (1898) • Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear (1900) • Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (1900) • Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years (1900) • Gentleman's Fancy Sock (1901) • Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel (1901) • Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern (1904) • Baby's Bootikin (1905)  •  Little Child's Sock (1907)  •  Ladies Useful Stockings (1913)  •  Ladies Silk Stockings with Clocks (1914)

My first sock from the pattern Child's French Sock is done. All that worrying about size and it fits me fine. In fact, it couldn't be any better - well, after adding a bunch of stitches, changing to smaller needles and lengthening the heel flap, that is. I read somewhere that a heel flap should be roughly square, but for my pointy heels I need a heel flap about 20% taller than it is wide.

In the acknowledgements for this book Knitting Vintage Socks, designer Nancy Bush thanks a group of skilled knitters who knit "sock mates" for her. Imagine, someone else knitting your second sock?!! How awesome would that be? Oh well, there's nobody to do that for me ... particularly as I'm lousy about writing down my mods and haven't met anyone yet with matching tension. Nothing else to do but cast on a second sock. Let's see if I can't finish up this sock before next week's post. My lingering case of start-itis is trying to goad me into casting on some scrap yarn stripey socks to finish out the month.

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

Last night I turned the heel of my first Child's French Sock. I'd been a bit nervous about that - having increased the primary stitch count I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to fudge the numbers at the heel turn. Like so many things I worry about it, as it turned out it was easier than I thought and worked out just fine.

I'm battling a terrible case of start-itis though. I did give in and cast on a Lace Ribbon Scarf, but I am counting on every ounce of my willpower to avoid casting on another pair of socks until these are done. There are No Purl Monkeys calling me - especially after Dee's blog yesterday and especially as the perfect yarn arrived in the mail yesterday. And there is the pattern Ensnared that I was gifted from Wandering Cat Yarns, along with another gorgeous yarn, Alley Cat BFL in a gorgeous pine green called "Anne Boleyn". It almost feels like I need to be curled up on the sofa watching The Tudors DVDS while knitting that!  <<< The PERFECT weekend !!!

The yarn is a prize from a 2012 KAL over at the Wandering Cat Yarns group in Ravelry. There are plans to run more KALs with similar prizes this year, so run over and join the group! Aren't these skeins gorgeous?! And it's so nice that Rhonda and Valerie remembered my favourite bases - BFL and MCN - and sent me one of each. I know, I'm spoiled :) Thanks ladies!

It's Work-in-Progress Wednesday over at Tami's Amis so take a few minutes to have a look at what everyone else is up to ... if you dare. It's a bit dangerous if you've got start-itis though. There's almost certain to be more temptation waiting ....

a decision made

I've been waffling for months about this yarn...

Originally my thought was to make a Clapotis but after two Clapotis late last year I was bored with the pattern. Besides "dropping" stitches in silk is quite a challenge - the silk fibers are so sticky that the stitches wouldn't drop without a lot of help.

Next I considered a beaded stole like Pampas but after purchasing the pattern and reading it through I bailed ... yikes, way too much beading and way too fussy. And then there was the small matter of being short a couple hundred yards of yarn and 5000 beads, so nope.

Over the last several days I think I've looked at every shawl and scarf in the Ravelry database with a view to deciding what to make of this yarn. And now I've decided ... Lace Ribbon Scarf.

There are a whole bunch of things I like about it. The patterning is simple and geometric. The shape is rectangular. It's a simple enough to memorize quickly, in fact I can even put it down and pick it up for knitting at work and on transit. The distribution of eyelets makes it a cinch to figure out what pattern row you're on without keeping track or counting. The even rows are rest rows which give me a chance to count to make sure I haven't missed any yarn overs. It strikes me as just the right balance of solidity and lacy-ness. And the repeat is just 9 stitches so it was easy peasy to add a few more repeats to make it wider.

Just one thing I don't like: "Work in pattern until work measures 80 inches ..." Oh yeah, scarves, stoles and shawls do seem interminable, don't they?

Year of Projects 2: Child's French Sock

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Knitting Vintage Socks: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern (1887) • Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch (1889) • Gentleman's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (1895) • Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe (1896) • Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern (1897) • Heelless Sleeping Socks (1897) • Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting (1898) • Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear (1900) • Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (1900) • Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years (1900) • Gentleman's Fancy Sock (1901) • Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel (1901) • Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern (1904) • Baby's Bootikin (1905)  •  Little Child's Sock (1907)  •  Ladies Useful Stockings (1913)  •  Ladies Silk Stockings with Clocks (1914)

Last week I finished my second Ringwood sock in time for a Finished Object Friday post. I'm so pleased with them, and they're mine, all mine. The pattern works well with the very busy variegated yarn and the cobalt blue bits are awesome. It's a very simple and effective pattern that I would consider knitting again.

Friday I cast on for a Child's French Sock pattern. Like many of the patterns in this book, the original vintage 1898 pattern was written at a toddler's size using much smaller needles and thinner yarn than typically used nowadays. Designer Nancy Bush has updated the pattern to work at an adult size with modern sock yarn on size 1 (2.5 mm) needles. I've adjusted the pattern a little more by adding six stitches to knit with size 0 (2.0 mm) needles. At my new size the sock is a bit snug on me but should be perfect for the intended recipient who has much smaller feet. If I knit them again, I'd better add another six stitches if I want to fit someone with larger feet like mine.

The construction of the sock is quite interesting in so far as there are three repeats of the chart around the leg - one repeat of the shell pattern will centre on the front of the leg and travel down the foot, the other two will terminate towards the back of the leg at the heel. Looking at other Raveler's projects there are instances where the knitter has continued the shell patterns down the heel, but I don't think I will. It looks nice but the shell pattern is bumpy and lumpy - not what I'd want against the heel of my shoe.

It's pouring rain here today - if it weren't for the record setting high temperatures around these parts it'd be a snowstorm - so it's a good day to hang around the house, do chores and knit. I'm not complaining ;)

FO: Ringwood Socks

Pattern: Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.

Yarn: Sydney Sock with Nylon in a colourway called "Hey Paula"

Needles: size 1 (2.25 mm)

Modifications: I shortened the leg by a handful of rows as I was concerned that I'd run out of yarn after lengthening the heel flap, increasing the gusset size and knitting for my size 11 feet. That was a good decision, considering I finished the second sock with just 2 grams of yarn leftover. It was really, really close. 

Comments: The patterning in the sock is not as obvious in this variegated colourway as it might have been in a solid or semi-solid yarn, but I think the pattern's a good choice for the yarn. It's a really simple pattern of knits and purls that knits up very quickly. The leg pattern continues down the heel flap for a neatly subtle heel.The ribbed cuff is really long (40 rounds) but that might be a handy thing to keep the socks up as they're almost knee socks.

The cuff starts out at 76 sts but a series of decrease rounds down the leg bring the foot down to 64 sts so the fit is perfect. The pooling in the feet almost lines up from the left sock to the right to create big puddles of navy. Usually I'm annoyed by pooling, but I kind of like it here. The cobalt blues really pop against the kelly greens, and it's all my favourite colours so I suspect these are destined to become one of my favourite pairs of socks.

It's Finished Object Friday and I'm linking up with the group at Tami's Amis. Why not have a look to see what everyone else finished? Maybe you'll get some inspiration for your next project!

FO: Fitted Fingerless Gloves

Pattern: Fitted Fingerless Gloves, size large

Yarn: Studio June Yarn Super Cash Sock in a deep charcoal colourway

Needles: size 1 (2.25 mm)

Modifications: The pattern designer goes to some lengths to finish each finger positioned so that the next can be started without breaking the yarn however I couldn't be bothered with this. Also I added a few rounds to make each finger a bit longer.

Comments: The pattern is filled with clever little tricks to make very well-fitted gloves without any holes or gaps. I really like the way the increases are done for the thumb gussets and the way she closes the rounds snugly at the base of each finger.

The pattern includes instructions for five sizes of gloves and is photographed and thoroughly explained at every step. At first glance, the pattern seemed a bit expensive but after working through the pattern page by page I've found it to be a good value. Especially as I plan to make more colours and sizes.

I asked Gavin to model the gloves with the idea that he could pose holding a snow shovel against a snowy background. Instead he insisted that the photo should include a surfboard. Guess who got his way? Although he is right that the fins and fin boxes make for an interesting picture.

With 10% cashmere content the yarn is really soft and the gloves are just a dream to wear. I put them on for a minute or two inside the house; as soon as I took them off I noticed how cold my hands suddenly felt, so they're definitely warm. I think he'll put them to good use when he's working outside in the garage, or driving on cold days, or even walking back from work while playing with his iPhone.

Year of Projects: Ringwood Socks 03

Folk Knitting in Estonia: Aino's Gloves • Anu's Christmas Gloves • Anu's Mittens • Anu's Stockings • Avo's Mittens • Ellen's Stockings • Helgi's Mittens • Hilja's Mittens • Ilmar's Socks • Juta's Stockings • Kalev's Mittens • Kristi's Mittens • Laila's Socks • Landra's Gloves • Liidia's Gloves • Liivi's Stockings • Maarja's Socks • Maimu's Mittens • Marko's Mittens • Meida's Mittens • Merike's Gloves • Rita's Stockings • Sander's Mittens • Tiit's Socks • Ulla's Gloves • Virve's Stockings

Knitting Vintage Socks: Gentleman's Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern (1887) • Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch (1889) • Gentleman's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (1895) • Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe (1896) • Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern (1897) • Heelless Sleeping Socks (1897) • Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting (1898) • Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern (1899) • Gentleman's Sock for Evening Wear (1900) • Evening Stockings for a Young Lady (1900) • Fancy Silk Sock for a Child of 5 or 6 Years (1900) • Gentleman's Fancy Sock (1901) • Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock with Dutch Heel (1901) • Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern (1904) • Baby's Bootikin (1905)  •  Little Child's Sock (1907)  •  Ladies Useful Stockings (1913)  •  Ladies Silk Stockings with Clocks (1914)

This afternoon I finally had a chance to cast on my second Ringwood sock. As you can see I'm just a handful of rounds into the ribbed cuff. It's been a busy week and the next few weeks look like they'll be just as busy. Honestly, sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day, are there? Still I'll have some transit time back and forth to work for knitting, so I hope to finish these by the end of the week. Now that I have the first one on my foot, I'm hankering for the second. So comfy!

Last week Sandy commented about the pattern names ... "Child Socks ... ". In fact only a few of the sock patterns in the book are child sized. Designer Nancy Bush has taken vintage sock patterns from the turn of the century and adapted them to mostly adult sizes using modern yarn weights and needles. Many of the original patterns called for needle sizes 000 or 0000 (1.5 mm or 1.25mm) however few modern knitters are prepared to knit with needles that small. The naming comes from the original pattern upon which her modern pattern is based. In brackets in my pattern list at the top is the year that each pattern was published in Weldon Practical Knitting leaflets.

This Ringwood sock pattern was originally published in Weldon's Volume 14, 42nd Series in 1899. The pattern is named for the English town Ringwood in Hampshire which was known for the manufacture of stockings and then gloves until the knitwear companies were put out of business by cheaper imports in the 1950s. A pattern for Ringwood Gloves was published in Weldon's Practical Needlework in 1905. It'd be interesting to see the pattern in its original form. Nancy Bush reports that pattern writing then was "chatty and conversational". Few if any specifics were given about yarn weight, yardage or gauge. Standard abbreviations had not yet been created so instructions were entirely spelled out. A lot different than what we've come to expect today!

about beads

There are two skeins of Handmaiden Sea Silk in my stash that I purchased with the intention to knit a Clapotis for a coworker. But after knitting two Clapotis last year I thought it was time to look at a different shawl pattern. And that's when I saw this Pampas pattern. It's designed for the yarn I have and it's gorgeous. Perfect, right? Okay, it's beaded and I've never done that, but how hard can that be?

Yeah... about that... Once I purchased the pattern and read the material list I discovered that the shawl involves a lot of cabling left and right, and uses 5000 size 8 seed beads, each bead individually incorporated with a size 12 (0.6mm) crochet hook.

1. Where can I find that hook? 
2. How time-consuming is the beading? 
3. How irksome will it be to hook splitty silk yarn through a tiny bead hole?
4. Can I use the size 6 seed beads I already have or must I buy the size 8 beads?
5. How much weight will that many beads add to the shawl?
6. Is it worth the extra money for sparkling metallic gold-lined crystal beads?
7. Can I simultaneously juggle a cable needle, knitting needles, a crochet hook and some impossibly tiny beads while working with slippery, splitty silk yarn?
8. What's the likelihood of me abandoning this project in frustration?

Time to swatch with some leftover yarn from the last Clapotis that I knit. Swatching isn't something I do often, but in this case it was a very good idea ...

1. I tried four shops  - 2 yarn stores, 1 big-box craft store and a dollar store - but struck out on the hook. Jane lent me a size 11 in case that would be small enough for my swatch. (It was.) 
2. Incorporating beads was easy using the method described here as "Hooking Beads as You Go", but still time-consuming ... particularly as I seem prone to dropping beads.
3. The yarn is splitty but the holes in the beads are pretty big. This wasn't a problem.
4. You can see from my swatch that size 8 beads (on the left) are much smaller than size 6 beads (on the right). Substituting is really NOT feasible. The 8s are subtle; the 6s are like boulders.
5. Using the gram weight charts found here, 5000 size 8 seed beads would add about 5 oz to the shawl; 5000 size 6 seed beads would add about 15 oz!
6. Sparkling metallic beads are definitely worth the extra dough based on my swatch. My size 8 beads vanish into the knitting; if they were metallic they'd catch the light.
7. Can I juggle cabling, knitting and beading with this pattern and this yarn? Not very well.
8. Am I likely to give up in frustration? Yes. In fact I was too frustrated to even finish a single pattern repeat in the swatch so there's my answer.

Maybe one day in my retirement I'll give this pattern a go, but for now, I think I'll just pick another (simpler) pattern. Gail (aka Nightsongs) looks pretty!

starting Gavin's gloves

New Year's Eve was a quiet day for us. We spent the day cleaning the house from top to bottom in anticipation of our open house planned for the following day. We stayed up late to Skype with my brother and to drink a few more rum and cokes than was sensible, but we were still in bed before midnight. I just can't manage late nights!

New Year's Day was a blur. Every minute between waking and showering, to when the first guests arrived, was dedicated to cleaning and chopping fruit and veg for trays of finger food. The house was full from noon until well into the evening - it was fun but we were completely exhausted by the end. We stayed up just long enough to clean, pack up the leftovers and move the furniture and knick-knacks back to their usual spots.

Somewhere in the midst of the hustle and bustle I did get started on Gavin's Fingerless Gloves. The pattern he chose is this one - Fitted Fingerless Gloves  - because in typical guy fashion he wanted the simplest,  plainest, boring-est pattern ever. And, of course, any colour as long as it was solid dark grey. "Thin gloves from sock yarn on your little carbon fiber needles" I was instructed.

The pattern is really well-written and has some really clever tricks. The way the increases for the thumb gussets are worked is brilliant - no holes. And the way the round is closed at the base of each finger is also brilliant - only the tiniest of gaps. These might be the first gloves ever that I don't have to duplicate stitch here and there to close up holes around fingers and thumbs. And the fit is perfect! The pattern includes a number of sizes, so it's well worth the price of admission.

Now I had better get moving on that second glove. We've had light flurries the last couple of days, so the sooner I finish, the sooner he can start wearing them!