Sunday, September 17, 2017

Year of Projects 7: Week 12


Not much to show for this week. Construction around here cleared the bedroom with the closet wherein Gschnitztal awaited, so I was able to get to it and take a photo. It's lovely yarn - so soft and smooshy that it must almost certainly contain cashmere. What a gorgeous colour way too, mostly purple with subtle flashes of lighter and darker purple, and bit of blue. But it is dark. Darker even than the photo. And the pattern is exactly my cup of tea - fiddly twisted stitches and somewhat chart-y... and a nice change from the colourwork socks I just finished.

Unfortunately I had to set this WIP aside for two reasons:

i) The evening light in the new place is terrible! I find it impossibly frustrating to attempt to knit anything dark or fiddly. So right now good light hours are being allocated to my Crosshaven socks. Once they're done, Gschnitztal socks will move to the front burner.

ii) Both Gschnitztal and Crosshaven feature left and right crossed stitches, but the way the patterns are written, the stitches are worked differently. I find it too confusing to switch back and forth between the patterns, so I've decided to complete my Crosshaven socks before getting back into my Gschnitztal socks.

What is clear to me is that I'd better cast on ANOTHER pair of socks - this time in a vanilla pattern with light coloured yarn that I can knit effortlessly in poor evening light while watching TV. So my task this aft is to sort through my yarn and patterns to make some decisions about that. Well. later this aft when I get back from a swim in the lake. The weather this weekend has been too gorgeous to spend inside!
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Sunday, September 10, 2017

Year of Projects 7: Week 11

Well, that was a long break! We've been a construction zone here at the new place, with work proceeding full speed ahead towards complete winterization and insulation. Turns out I quite enjoy hand digging trenches. Ripping out old soggy and mouse-infested fibreglass batts? Not so much! Anyhow, the infill walls between the concrete piers are finished on the south side and well underway on the north side. With any luck the spray foam guys will do their thing within a few weeks. WINTER IS COMING!

I have managed a bit of knitting here and there too. My Grey is the New Black Socks are done. Gavin really likes them, which is great. I've done this pattern before but this time I was more careful about twisting my stitches at all the M1s, so there are no holes. I'm a real fan of this pattern: it's nicely vanilla, with an interesting heel and perfect for self-patterning yarn. 

Also done are my Almost There and Back Again Socks. I call them "Almost" because I made my own chart for the colourwork with more gradual transitions from one colour to the other. Again, this is a nicely vanilla sock. After knitting sock one, I weighed my yarn and it was clear that I wouldn't have enough if I knit an identical twin, so I reversed the colours. I like 'em this way but Gavin is horrified. "You'll have to knit two more" he said, but never mind. The colourwork on the leg makes them a bit of a tug over the heel, but not too bad. In retrospect it would have been a good idea to go up a needle size more on that section.

Not shown are my Gschnitztal Socks. I picked out a subtle tonal royal purple MCN yarn from stash with no ball band for these socks. Originally I cast on with carbon fibre needles but found there wasn't enough contrast between the dark needles and dark yarn, so now I've switched to shiny metal needles. One round has been worked since the needle switch, and it's definitely easier. If I could find some pointier light coloured shiny sock needles, that would be even better. Hopefully I can show you some progress on these next week.

And finally I have the first three repeats done on the leg of my Crosshaven Socks. I cast these on Thursday while waiting outside my nephew's school for the final bell and haven't been able to put them down. The yarn was an impulse buy - Mineville Wool Project #2909 Sock in a bright tonal orange. Very autumnal, don't you think? It's a heavy fingering, so not really my first choice for socks, but I couldn't resist the colours. Besides, it's a new yarn to me, and it's Canadian, so why not try it?

The Crosshaven pattern is one of several socks from designer Rich Ensor in my favourites. This one has a striking travelling stitch pattern and it looked to me like it might have a bit more ease around the heel than some of his other patterns. It's easier than it looks - although there is a lot of purling - and I'm quite enjoying it. 

For these socks I'm using Addi Flipstix needles for the first time. They are ultra lightweight which I like, but they do seem to bend and distort very easily, which I do not like. One end of each needle is pointier than the other - the idea is that you can choose which end to use - but I find myself always opting for the sharper tip. Time will tell whether the blunter tips will ever find use. They are a slightly matte finish so they're a bit grippier than shiny metal needles but not as grippy as wood or carbon fibre needles. So far I like them fine but I'm not sure they're worth the price.

Through the upcoming week I expect I'll be knitting the Crosshaven socks. And then get back to finish up the other two WIPs before I cast on anything else! But if the weather cooperates my attention will be on construction projects and not knitting. Have a great week, and stay safe if you're in Irma's path!!



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Sunday, July 16, 2017

Year of Projects 7: Week 3

That's the first pair complete for this Year of Projects! Petty Harbour is a very nice, simple vanilla-ish sock pattern - exactly what I wanted for this Khaki green Bamboo yarn. My sister-in-law sent out a call for more hand knit socks for my brother a few weeks ago. Coincidentally I was trying to decide what to do with this yarn as it hasn't the necessary wool content for charity knitting. Perfect timing!

The pattern is super simple - just a four stitch and four row repeat - no charts necessary and very little attention required particularly if you can read your knitting to see where you are.

I knit the socks toe up. Like me, my brother has big feet so I wanted to make the legs as long as possible from the available yarn. Each finished sock weighs 49 grams, so there was very little yarn leftover! I've become a fan of the FLK heel, so that's what I did here. It gives a very neat result and is well worth the $1 price for the pattern and tutorials.

The yarn is SRK On Your Toes bamboo. I've knit it before and liked it. It makes quite a comfy, breathable pair of socks, but it's missing the spring-y stretchiness of merino. Hopefully there's enough ribbing through the pattern and in the cuff to keep these socks up!

Once this pair was done I decided to cast on my Vanilla is the New Black socks. I'm headed to a Weaving Conference in PA next week, so I wanted some mindless travel knitting. This really is a vanilla sock but it's got an interesting heel - a Strong Heel. The heel is knitted in the round with increases on either side of the centre back of the leg. You never need to pick up stitches and you won't have any holes or gaps. It's quite neat looking and very easy to work.

The yarn is a cheap-ish self-patterning printed yarn from Germany... H&W Comfort-Wolle Sockenwolle. It's shades of grey and black with quite subtle patterning. I quite like it for a simple masculine sock. The texture of the yarn feels a lot like Kroy sock yarn, so hopefully it's just as durable.

The cuff and leg of the sock was knit from yarn that was frogged twice before - once because I didn't like the pattern I'd started, and a second time because it was knitting up too small so I had to restart with more stitches. The yarn held up surprisingly well to that much frogging and wasn't overly splitty considering.

So, all in all, it's been a couple of good weeks on the knitting front. My Somewhere Socks have seen no action but they're a bit chart-y with lots of colour changes which isn't the best for travel and mindless knitting. I am struggling to find good light for knitting in the evenings in my new digs, so that's slowing me down a bit as that's about the best time to knit.

It's unlikely that I'll manage a post next weekend as I'm away at a weaving conference. My friend is a weaver so she suggested this trip. We're taking a 4 day course in Saori Weaving which should be way outside both our comfort zones so that'll keep it interesting. Hopefully the weather cooperates too so that the driving is fun. We're planning a stop at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, and then a layover in Corning, with an outing to the Corning Glass Factory. If time permits, we may also stop in Hershey for a chocolate factory tour. Will it make me crave chocolate? Or will I be overwhelmed by chocolate sights and smells?
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Sunday, July 2, 2017

Year of Projects 7: Week 1


This is it! The beginning of Year 7! That means it's time for a new list....

This year is a very different year for me. We've moved from the city to a small rural community. I resigned from my full-time job and am negotiating to work part-time remotely (from home). As a result, I'm not really sure what my days will be like and how much knitting I'll be doing. One thing's for sure - there won't be much travel knitting because I won't have a commute any more. Working remotely there may be times while I'm waiting for files to upload or download, so there's potential knitting time there. I guess we'll see.

I'm left really unsure about how to construct my list for the upcoming year of projects. I definitely want to finish the socks that are currently on the needles. And there are a handful of patterns for which I specifically purchased yarn so I want to do those. I work better to a specific list rather than loosely defined goals, so a list it is. As well, given that we've downsized our living arrangements, I definitely want to knit down the stash this year. So maybe it's time to start working through all the patterns I've faved on Ravelry!

Will I knit 20 pairs in the coming year? I guess we'll see. I tried to mix up the pattern choices to include some quite vanilla choices for mindless TV knitting, some fancy chart-y patterns because they're fun, and some choices that would suit colour scraps and/or variegation to use up what's in the stash.

In the meantime, job one is to tidy up the two pairs of socks that are in progress. Ideally I'd like to finish the Petty Harbour socks by end of day Tuesday, in time to hand them over to my brother when I see him Wednesday morning. Because being frugal with shipping costs is another goal for this year!
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Sunday, June 25, 2017

Year of Projects 6: Week 52



So yesterday was moving day, leaving me surrounded by totes and furniture in the wrong rooms. It's taken most of the day to get the two bedrooms and the living room sorted out (mostly). And finally there's a clear path to my computer so I can write a post!

Still it's nice to have all our stuff here. And it's nice to finally have a proper living room. Over the next few weeks we'll have to cull our excess stuff - we have waaaaay too much stuff - and find homes for this and that.

With all that's been going on I haven't had much time to knit. My first Petty Harbour sock is just past the heel. So clearly these won't be done in time to enter the June KAL on the SolidSock Group on Ravelry!

We did see the birthday boy last week, but, wouldn't you know it, I forgot to bring along the Syncopation socks that I just finished for him. He sounds excited to have the socks. Years ago I knit a pair of socks for his wife, and he told me he keeps stealing them from her sock drawer as they're the only things that keep his feet warm without sweating. I think that makes him knit-worthy, so I think I'll plan a pair for him and a pair for his wife for Christmas. It was certainly nice to hear that my hand knit socks are appreciated.

Speaking of plans, I need to spend the upcoming week putting in some hard though about how to construct my list for the seventh Year of Projects. It's hard to know how to plan, as I don't really know what the upcoming year is going to look like for me. On the other hand, the more concrete and specific the list, the more rigorously I follow it. Hmmmmmm.

Gavin is pacing behind me - we've been invited out for dinner - so I'd better stop here. I hope everyone is having a great week!
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Sunday, June 18, 2017

Year of Projects 6: Week 51


The moving truck has been booked for next Saturday. At this point almost everything has been moved to Lake Erie; we're just living without our large furniture! It sure will be nice to have a rug in the living room, along with a couch, ottomans and recliners. At the moment we're living on patio furniture with a bare floor! Takes me back to my student days :)



Both "Syncopation Socks" are done. It's a lovely, super simple free pattern which I highly recommend. It's easy to read your knitting to keep track of where you are, so you really don't need to reference the pattern much at all. And the resulting knitted fabric has an interesting sinuous look to it which makes it very attractive. Because the pattern is sort of ribbed, the finished sock is stretchy and fits well. Nice! I hope the birthday boy likes them!

Immediately after finishing them I cast on another vanilla-ish sock - Petty Harbour Socks - for my brother who is apparently in desperate need of more handknit socks. The yarn is a non-wool bamboo blend sock yarn - SRK On Your Toes Bamboo - that was given to me some time ago. The Warm Hands Network prefers socks with 75% wool content, so this yarn was no good for them. I think my brother will like it though. It's a very inoffensive khaki colour. And if I happen to finish these socks in June, they would qualify for the June "Green" KAL in the SolidSocks group on Ravelry. That might be overly optimistic though!

Thanks one and all for your kind comments about my Etsy shop. Response to the Canada Day bags has continued to be strong, so now I'd better plan so more designs to feature once Canada Day is past. I have a few fun ideas :)

Now that we're downsizing into a smaller home I thought I'd better start a yarn diet and knit through much of the stash that I've moved to Lake Erie. Of course, that was before I dropped in at Creative Yarns in Scarborough. They are moving - the bakery next door wants to expand into their space - so much of the yarn was on sale. I picked up several 50gr skeins of Shelridge Farms 80/20 merino/nylon in solid colours. There are several colourwork sock patterns in my queue, and maybe I'll get to some of them in the next year of projects!

Just two weeks left in Year 6 of A Year of Projects. If you're interested in joining the group, then please check us out on Ravelry. The idea is that you make a tentative plan for your knitting for the upcoming year, and then work through that list and blog your progress on Sundays. Your list can be detailed (or not) and there are no knitting police. My tentative plan last year was to knit a pair of socks for charity every month and check out more intricate sock patterns from a variety of designers. I'd pretty much give myself a C- or a D on my performance last year. I did better when my lists were more structured - like knit every pattern in a pattern book. So that's food for thought for next year's list.



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Sunday, June 4, 2017

Year of Projects 6: Week 48

What a bad blogger I've been! It's been a struggle through the last several weeks of moving back and forth. Seems like most Sundays were finding me somewhere without access to a computer and/or internet. I tried blogging from my tablet but couldn't get the pictures to upload. *sigh*

All that being said, I think the worst is behind me. These days we're in Selkirk at Lake Erie pretty much full time with all our gear. We still need to move a couple of totes of small stuff and then the large stuff by moving van from Toronto before the house sale closing at the end of June.

Still, there has been knitting. I did cast on Somewhere Socks in a variety of neutral coloured sock yarn scraps. So far I'm loving them! The colourwork pattern is achieved with slipped stitches rather than stranding which really snugs up the pattern so be warned - cast on a larger size than you think! And all those colour changes will leave me with a ton of ends to weave in but I think this sock is so fun that it's worth it! Knitting this pattern is completely satisfying my urge for colourwork. And don't you find colourwork addictive? I'll be thinking of putting my knitting down and then I think, wait, let's see how the next colour looks.... and then the next, and the next.

Those socks were interrupted by a special request from Gavin's best friend who asked for a pair of hand knit socks in my choice of a masculine pattern in "KLM blue". I was lucky to find this light blue yarn on sale at Studio June's Etsy shop and decided on "Syncopation Socks" - a pattern that's been in my faves for quite a while. It's a free pattern and super simple that knits up to quite an attractive effect. I highly recommend it. I need to get a move on with sock two, as these will already be late for the actual birthday. Not that the birthday boy would know as he's been travelling out of the country for the last few weeks and we won't likely see him for another ten days at least.

Speaking of Etsy, I opened my very own Etsy shop quite some time ago but never really had much time to devote to it until now. I've started adding project bags, particularly bags in celebration of Canada's upcoming 150th birthday. As well I started running an ad on Ravelry in some of the Canadian knitting groups. The response has been overwhelming! I'm thrilled to see things start to take off and hope to devote a lot more time to it. At the moment I only ship to Canada, however, if you really want something let me know through an Etsy conversation and I'll ship it anywhere in the world. And if you want something specially designed for you or you group I can do that too. /end shameless self promotion

So that's it for me this week. In the coming days my focus will be on completing the Syncopation Socks in time for our next meeting with the birthday boy. Gavin is surfing world class waves in Costa Rica next week, so I'll have lots of quiet time to knit!
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