Year of Projects 8 - Week 2

Vanilla Ribbed Socks in Nordlys yarn

A couple of people enquired in comments last week about the 2018 Paper Bag Project mentioned in my list for Year 8, so let me explain: it's a challenge within a Ravelry Group called "Canada Let's Swap!" At the beginning of the year participants created 12 paper bags containing projects - new or unfinished - and each month we select one bag at random to complete. I fell behind so I'm still finishing up my June project and have yet to select a project for July.

My June Paper Bag contained a skein of Nordlys by Viking Yarn in a blue gradient. It's a bit of a difficult yarn to work with - single ply, lots of halo, pills easily, thick and thin in sections, very splitty, sticky, impossible to frog and easily torn - so I opted for a very simple ribbed vanilla sock loosely based on the pattern Vanilla is the New Black.

When I started these socks I planned to make them matching however I've abandoned that now. The first sock took 48 grams of 101 grams available so I really don't have any additional yardage to make that work. Besides there was a knot in the yarn resulting in a hard break in the gradation about an inch from the toe of the first sock. Matched socks are not to be! I'm at the heel of the second sock and hope to finish these by the end of the week.

Although I don't generally like to have multiple WIPs, last week's extreme heat made knitting that Nordlys yarn with sweaty fingers extra unpleasant. As an alternative I cast on Afshari using Dye-Version Stretch Bamboo Sock ... a very smooth shiny yarn that was much nicer to knit as the temperature and humidity soared. This "Tropical Sunrise" colourway is very summery and fun! The patterned section at the top of the leg of the first sock is done and now I'm trying to decide how much plain stockinette I want before starting the heel. Fingers crossed that the stretch in the yarn helps that top section stay up!

By next week I hope to make a start on my July Paper Bag and, if time allows, maybe turn the heel on my first Afshari sock. But if the weather stays as beautiful as it has been for the last couple of days, I might be spending all day outdoors in the lake or in the garden instead of knitting!


2018 Paper Bag Project - July, August, September, October, November and December

      Twisted Flower Socks - using Hikoo CoBaSi yarn in Egyptian Blue
      Feny Socks - using Lang Jawoll Superwash in turquoise and chocolate
      Double Heelix Socks - using leftovers from Feny Socks
      Pattern TBD - using unknown variegated red yarn
      Pattern TBD - using Songbird Fibers Sock in Ruby Throated Hummingbird
      Pattern TBD - using unknown variegated green yarn

Full Skeins from stash

      Somewhere Socks - using Mountain Colour mini set
      Pairfect Socks - using Regia Pairfect
      Mood - using unknown variegated blue yarn
      Kazak - using unknown tonal purple yarn
      Harris Tweed Socks - using Wollemeise self-striping green/gold/red yarn

Large (more than 50 grams) and Small (less than 50 grams) scraps from stash

      Afshari - Dye-Version Stretch Bamboo Sock yarn in Peach
      Salor - in various tan, orange and brown small scraps
      Vanilla Bean Striped Socks - in various colourful small scraps
      Squircle Socks  -  in various colourful scraps plus something neutral from large scraps
      Escape Reality Socks - in various colourful scraps plus something neutral from large scraps
      Bill Huggins - in various scraps
      Mosaic Marbles socks - using Langwoll Magic Dégradé scraps with black (or white)
      Checkbox Socks - using large scraps
      Stash Buster Spiral Socks - using various scraps in green?
      Hearty Stripey Socks - using various scraps

Once Upon A Sock - July 2018

This morning I'm linking up again "Once Upon A Sock" group...

Once Upon A Sock consists of sock knitters who post the first Thursday of every month about sock work in progress. Check out the link party throughout the day today to see the group members who have posted and linked-up. Feel free to join the fun!

I've got two sock projects on the go at the moment, but the one that's getting the most attention is this one.

The yarn is Viking of Norway Nordly's sock yarn. It's not the nicest yarn to knit. It's single ply which makes it fuzzy, sticky, splitty, prone to pilling, easily torn and entirely unfroggable. I've encountered yarn that feels similar - Katia Darling. I knit a pair of socks from that in 2011 with the same problems, but the resulting socks were amongst my favourites. They turned out super comfy and surprisingly hard wearing. They were my first choice from the sock drawer each week and lasted 5-6 years. On that basis, the pain of knitting them might be worth it.

The pattern is Vanilla is the New Black, although I've been terrible about actually following the pattern. I've substituted the stockinette with a K6 P2 K2 P2 rib throughout. And I just noticed that the pattern instructs for increases on either side of the centre of the heel whereas I've done the increases on the outside edges of the heel section. And I'm carrying more stitches than instructed over the instep to keep the ribbing symmetrical and why not, it's ribbing! So yeah, I pretty much didn't follow the pattern at all.

I'm knitting cuff down as that's how the pattern is written, but I think I might invest in the Vanilla Reversed pattern for future use. Knitting toe-up means I can make best use of the yarn to maximize the leg length. With this sock I lucked out though - sock one is 48 grams and I have 51 grams left for sock two so I should make it with very little to spare. Hurray! This isn't a yarn that I want to have leftovers in stash!

Year of Projects 8 - Week 01

Over the last year I've been an inconsistent knitter and an inconsistent blogger so I had some thinking to do before I signed up for another Year of Projects. After some reflection I decided to commit to the group once more and endeavour to be more consistent in my participation.

When I started in Year 1 (2011)  I knit all the patterns in the book Knitting on the Road. I followed up in Year 2 by working through the books Folk Knitting in Estonia and Knitting Vintage Socks. For Year 3 I knit through most of Socktopus and in Year 4 I knit through most of Knit. Sock. Love. For Year 5 I continued with Knit. Sock. Love. plus I worked through the 12 patterns from the Cookie A sock club. In Year 6 I took a bit of a different path - I committed to one pair of vanilla socks from scraps per month and one pair of fancy socks from a different designer per month with mixed results. This past year - year 7 -  I worked from a list of 20 patterns which I wanted to attempt and for which I had yarn in stash. The specificity of the list worked pretty well for me. Despite being an inconsistent knitter and blogger, I completed 15 of 20 patterns from my list.

Which brings me to the upcoming Year 8 and this year's list. My starting point is the intention to knit entirely from stash. So here goes:

2018 Paper Bag Project - July, August, September, October, November and December

Twisted Flower Socks - using Hikoo CoBaSi yarn in Egyptian Blue
Feny Socks - using Lang Jawoll Superwash in turquoise and chocolate
Double Heelix Socks - using leftovers from Feny Socks

Pattern TBD - using unknown variegated red yarn

Pattern TBD - using Songbird Fibers Sock in Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Pattern TBD - using unknown variegated green yarn

Full Skeins from stash

Somewhere Socks - using Mountain Colour mini set 

Pairfect Socks - using Regia Pairfect 

Mood - using unknown variegated blue yarn

Kazak - using unknown tonal purple yarn

Harris Tweed Socks - using Wollemeise self-striping green/gold/red yarn

Large Scraps (more than 50 grams) from stash

Small Scraps (less than 50 grams) from stash

Afshari - Dye-Version Stretch Bamboo Sock yarn in Peach
Salor - in various tan, orange and brown small scraps
Vanilla Bean Striped Socks - in various colourful small scraps
Squircle Socks  -  in various colourful scraps plus something neutral from large scraps
Escape Reality Socks - in various colourful scraps plus something neutral from large scraps
Bill Huggins - in various scraps
Mosaic Marbles socks - using Langwoll Magic Dégradé scraps with black (or white)
Checkbox Socks - using large scraps
Stash Buster Spiral Socks - using various scraps in green?
Hearty Stripey Socks - using various scraps

Even if I manage all those socks, there'll still be leftovers - based on that almost 2800 gram total there's enough for at least two dozen pairs of socks - but if I get even half way through my list it's a good start. A Scrappy Lengthwise Scarf or two are still being considered - they're always popular gifts! The end goal is to knit through most of this before I even consider buying anything else. To that end I have been and will continue to avoid yarn shops and fibre festivals; I'd never be able to control myself! But first things first, I need to finish a pair of socks already on my needles.

Year of Project 7 - Week 52

Not Started:

Twisted Flower Socks - using Hikoo CoBaSi yarn in Egyptian Blue 
Feny Socks - using Lang Jawoll Superwash in turquoise and chocolate 
Double Heelix Socks - using leftovers from Feny Socks
Somewhere Socks - using various shades of blue scraps 
Glass Slippers Socks - using stash yarn TBD 

Completed: Petty Harbour Socks • Vanilla is the New Black Socks • There & Back Again Socks • Crosshaven Socks • Somewhere Socks • Tuxie Love • Brigit Socks • Crenate Socks • Mad Mix Socks • Ringwood Socks • Hearty Man Plaid Socks • Mojo Socks •Yaacov Socks • Leyburn Socks • Gschnitztal Socks • Merripog Socks Rrribb-it! Socks • Alfrick Socks

I've been a bad blogger... 10 weeks since I last posted an update on my Year of Projects and about six weeks since I blogged anything at all. May and June got entirely away from me! Things were so hectic that very little knitting gone done either. In light of that I really had to think about whether it made sense to rejoin the Year of Projects group for Year 8. I've even been considering giving up blogging altogether.

After thinking it through over the last few days I'm hopeful that the crazy busy-ness is behind me and that I might be able to relax and catch up on things a bit over the coming weeks. So I'm going to keep on with both - Year of Projects 8 and my blog - and see how it goes.

My seventh Year of Projects wraps up with this post. Despite sporadic absences I was able to work through the majority of my plans. This past year has seen a variety of socks knit and almost no yarn purchases whatsoever. I'm quite pleased with that. Expect more of the same for next year. It'll be all about knitting from stash! In that vein the unfinished projects will likely be rolled over onto the new list as I have yarn for them.

Here's one last finish for the year: Alfrick Socks by Rachel Cooper knit in Sandes Garn Sisu Solids in Grey Heather and White. In fact, I ran out of yarn several rounds before starting the colourwork band at the toe, so there's also some Kroy in Gentry Grey and Sydney Sock with Nylon in natural. I'm quite impressed at how well matched those colours were. I can't even see where the Kroy starts!

I pretty much knit the pattern as written, except that I started with the largest size - 84 sts on 2.25 mm needles - until the end of the colourwork chart on the leg, then decreased to the smaller size - 72st on 2.25mm needles - for the rest of the sock. I'm really happy with the fit as a result. I don't like it when the cuffs are too tight!

The pattern is really well written and the pattern photos are gorgeous. I've been infatuated with this pattern from the day it was released and I'm super thrilled with my finished socks. The only think I struggled with momentarily was the heel chart which begins with a wrong-side row. I had to rip back once and redo it to get the pattern established correctly.

At this very moment I don't have a single WIP. I guess I'd better figure out what to cast on next!

Once Upon A Sock - May 2018

This morning I'm linking up again "Once Upon A Sock" group...

Once Upon A Sock consists of sock knitters who post the first Thursday of every month about sock work in progress. Check out the link party throughout the day today to see the group members who have posted and linked-up. Feel free to join the fun!

At the moment I've got a few sock projects to update:

My April Paper Bag Project Socks - Rrribb-It! by Ela M. in Lizzie-Anne Yarns "Blue Jeans" Sock Set - are done. They worked out really well. The pattern is very simple, but doesn't ribbing always fit so nicely?! And the speckled character of the yarn adds some interest to sock. The finished socks are very lightweight and softly pastel in colour making them the perfect Spring wardrobe addition. Love them!

My May Paper Bag Project Socks will be Alfrick by Rachel Coopey in Sandnes Garn Sisu. I've opened my mystery bag but that's as far as I've got. Early days yet.

On my needles right now is a test knit for Nikki Ross Patterson, a sock pattern called Sunny Sunday Socks. I'm knitting the large size, toe-up from charts using Louet Gems in Purple from stash. The pattern is a very nice looking lace pattern but a bit hard to see in this vivid dark purple; hopefully once it's done and on my foot I can get a better picture! Right now I'm just trying to decide when to start a mini-gusset before a German Short-Row heel. I'll be knitting it as an ankle sock, so this should finish up pretty quickly.

That's everything I've got going on! Looks like Spring has finally arrived here in Southern Ontario, so if I'm not knitting you'll find me in the garden :)

Year of Projects 7: Week 42

In progress:

Rrribb-it! Socks - 55% complete, using Lizzie-Anne Yarns Sock Set in "Blue Jeans" 

Not yet started:
Alfrick Socks - using Sandnes Garn Sisu in grey and white 
Twisted Flower Socks - using Hikoo CoBaSi yarn in Egyptian Blue 
Feny Socks - using Lang Jawoll Superwash in turquoise and chocolate 
Double Heelix Socks - using leftovers from Feny Socks
Somewhere Socks - using various shades of blue scraps 
Glass Slippers Socks - using stash yarn TBD 

Completed: Petty Harbour Socks • Vanilla is the New Black Socks • There & Back Again Socks • Crosshaven Socks • Somewhere Socks • Tuxie Love • Brigit Socks • Crenate Socks • Mad Mix Socks • Ringwood Socks • Hearty Man Plaid Socks • Mojo Socks •Yaacov Socks • Leyburn Socks • Gschnitztal Socks • Merripog Socks

I was entirely caught off guard by how much I am loving these Rrribb-it! Socks. 

The yarn - Blue Jeans Sock Set by Lizzie-Anne Yarns -  was an impulse buy. It was kind of speckled and quite pastel and very much not my usual thing. Seems like speckled yarn is everywhere these days, and so are patterns with contrasting heels and toes, so I decided to take a ride on the band wagon.  

The yarn base is absolutely wonderful for socks. It's smooth and lightweight with excellent yardage and lots of twist. As well, it's got a lovely lanolin-rich feel to it. 

And look how nicely that heel and toe mini-skein coordinates with the main colour thanks to spots of the lilac-purple scattered throughout! It's really charming. I also like how there's lots going on with the yarn, but not so much as to overwhelm the pattern. 

The pattern is quite simple - just a mash-up of ribbed patterns - but there's just enough going on to keep it interesting. And with all that ribbing a good fit is about guaranteed. In consideration of the generous yardage of the main colour skein, I decided to add an extra pattern motif to lengthen the leg of the sock. After binding off I was relieved to find that I still had 57 grams left of my original 104 gram skein, so there should be enough to work a matching second sock. After a bit of thought, and a bit of time perusing other completed projects from this pattern, I've decided to knit an almost matching sock... I'm just going to shift the order of the ribbed motifs to make it similar. Barring anything unforeseen, I should have the second sock completed by the end of the week.

Our friend's baby was born at the beginning of April and the happy couple were kind enough to send me this lovely picture of Kailea rocking the little cardigan that I knit for her. The cardigan was gifted to her parents at a baby shower in November. The pattern is In Threes, which is a very nice easy knit for a baby gift. 

I had knit the pattern before for another set of expectant parents but at that time I knit a larger size thinking the baby would get more wear out of it. I'm a terrible judge of baby sizes - they all look impossibly small to me, and there are no babies around here to try things on - so that first cardigan was much too large. It ended up at more of a toddler size than a baby size, so she's finally getting some use of it now. To be fair, she's a wee little thing so she'd be swimming in anything age appropriate.

In light of that I decided to knit the newborn size on a smaller set of needles. I checked all the online charts about baby neck circumferences and baby chest circumference and concluded that the neck of the newborn size might be too narrow. So I started at a larger size for a wider neck, then cut back the increases through the yoke to end up at the newborn size by the armpits. Based on the photo, I think that worked out pretty well. Kailea is about a week old in the photo, and I'd guess that there's enough room for her to get several weeks wear. Hopefully the warm weather will have arrived by then, but there's no guarantee if you consider today's wintery hail and ice storm!

Towards the beginning of the week I finished the second of my MKAL socks - the Cable and Lace option. I'm not a fan of a spiral toe, but it's not horrible and it fits okay. The german short row heel with the added gusset increases and decreases is fabulous. The cable and lace patterns across the top of the foot, the instep and the leg are very attractive; I especially like how one pattern transitions into the next. So although I liked this sock more than the other one, I still didn't like it enough to knit a second sock so it's been frogged as well. 

I am not a fan of the garter stitch cuff and picot cast off - it's more decorative than functional. It flares out from the top of the leg making this sock look like a jester's slipper. 

The patterning at the back of the leg starts very abruptly with some very unfortunate misalignments to the heel and foot. 

Bobbles on a sock? Why?!?! I can't even imagine wearing these socks in shoes with those bobbles positioned at top of the heel at the back!

The 7 stitch cables are very lumpy and the sock is very inflexible. The sock pretty much stands up by itself. And all cabling makes the pattern very yarn hungry, so knit as an ankle sock with one leg repeat the sock had already eaten up 50 grams. If you wanted a longer sock - and I always want a longer sock - you'd need an extra skein and a plan about how to fit the increasing width of your calf in pattern.

To me this sock feels more like a decorative slipper than a practical sock. I might try again starting with a turkish cast on and a wedge toe, preserving the central cable motif over the foot instep and leg, but replacing the outer patterns and lacy areas with some combination of seed stitch and ribbing, and working with a thinner yarn and/or a larger needle for a more relaxed fabric. I'd want at least three repeat on the leg, and I'd finish it with a ribbed cuff. Oh, and no bobbles. Maybe I'll put that on next year's project list?

Year of Projects 7: Week 41

In progress:

Rrribb-it! Socks - 0% complete, using Lizzie-Anne Yarns Sock Set in "Blue Jeans" 

Not yet started:
Alfrick Socks - using Sandnes Garn Sisu in grey and white 
Twisted Flower Socks - using Hikoo CoBaSi yarn in Egyptian Blue 
Feny Socks - using Lang Jawoll Superwash in turquoise and chocolate 
Double Heelix Socks - using stash yarn TBD 
Somewhere Socks - using various shades of blue scraps 
Glass Slippers Socks - using stash yarn TBD 

Completed: Petty Harbour Socks • Vanilla is the New Black Socks • There & Back Again Socks • Crosshaven Socks • Somewhere Socks • Tuxie Love • Brigit Socks • Crenate Socks • Mad Mix Socks • Ringwood Socks • Hearty Man Plaid Socks • Mojo Socks •Yaacov Socks • Leyburn Socks • Gschnitztal Socks • Merripog Socks

Not surprisingly my second Merripog Sock is done. Having obstinately decided that I should not and would not cast on anything else until they were done, I knit monogamously on that second sock until it was done. Long ago when I had many fewer sets of sock needles I had no choice but to finish one project before starting another. Maybe I should go through my needle inventory and clean house?

They are lovely socks now that they are finished. There is something very satisfying about a simple, smooth and unfussy pair of socks knit at tight gauge with smooth lightweight fingering yarn. Before starting the ribbing of the cuff I increased from 72 sts to 80 sts to avoid having the ribbing pulled snug where my calves widen. They're straight off the needles in the photos, so I expect the colourwork will flatten a bit after a wash. Fingers crossed!

When I started the socks I wasn't sure that there was enough contrast between the two yarn colours, but I'm happy with them now that they're done. I imagine the patterning on the leg would be helped if I had knit white or cream rather than grey but grey was the yarn I had, so decision made. Is it just me, or is there a dearth of solid or mostly solid sock yarns these days?! 

With those socks off the needles I turned my attention to the MKAL socks. I had remained on the sidelines through clue 4 to await clue 5. But with the release of the final clue on Friday I thought I'd better knit at least some of it to see how it went and then make decisions.

With this knitalong each section is provided as two options - with Option 1 being generally colourwork and Option 2 being generally cables and lace. You can combine the options however you like to make your own unique socks.

For my first sock I knit Option 1 (colourwork) for each of the 5 clues. 

Clue 1 (toe) was a garter stitch toe which was cast on with a provisional cast on (Judy's Magic Cast On), worked as a square of garter stitch, then folded up into a toe with short row shaping. This was my first experience of Judy's Magic Cast On. It's okay, but I found it very fiddly on DPNs. As for the garter stitch toe, I found it very shallow; it doesn't fit my long pointy toes at all. As a final nail in the coffin, I find it quite unattractive.

Clue 2 (foot) was a simple colourwork pattern which could be worked in two or three colours. I always struggle with my colour choices so I picked up a good tip here... photograph your choices in B&W to see if there's enough contrast for the combination to work. My grey yarn choice is too close to the main colour purple, so it doesn't really pop. All that being said, I didn't love the colourwork pattern so I switched to a vanilla foot after finishing one repeat.

In Clue 3 (heel) gusset increases on the foot opposite a zig-zag slipped stitch pattern on the instep, lead to a garter stitch heel worked in german short rows. I didn't like anything about this and again found it all quite unattractive. I find the garter stitch heel looks lumpy and distracting. There are puffy areas through the gusset area, perhaps because of the uneven fabric from the instep opposite. And the idea of adding bulk to my instep with a smocked stitch pattern just bewilders me. Ugh!

Clue 4 (leg) sees the leg knitted in a slipstitch rib pattern. I'm ambivalent on this. I found the slipstitch rib pattern quite interesting and attractive. Some good ideas might be developed from that for a sock pattern to work with wildly variegated yarn. On the other hand, as written it binds and makes it hard to get the sock over the heel. It certainly wouldn't work for a leg much longer than an ankle sock because there's not much stretch. 

Clue 5 (cuff) is a "Fusilli Cuff", which is really more of a knitted on ruffle than a traditional cuff. The border is worked back and forth across 4 sts, and is "turned" every six rows to create a twist or turn in the border. I'm pretty sure I've done a cuff like this before, or something similar. It's involved and uses a ton of yarn - well, you do work 30 sts for every 4 sts cast off! And the result is fussy and ruffly which might be cute on an ankle sock but not really my cup of tea. I think I'd like it better as a blanket or washcloth border.

Taken altogether you have a weird-looking ill-fitting sock, as far as I'm concerned. Presumably the design is intended to incorporate a variety of new and interesting experiences for the knitter rather than producing a practical sock. If you have short toes and like an ankle sock, you could make this work for you I suppose, but pretty much none of this sock worked for me. I guess I'm set in my ways. Sock one has already been frogged.

By next week I'll finish the second "Cables and Lace" option to see what I think of that. I'm not really holding out much hope: there are bobbles on the leg and a picot cuff.