SSSS exchange and such things

SSSS exchange... no, I'm not trying to imitate the sound a snake makes. It stands for second sock syndrome sock exchange. I may have written about it before. The concept is simple. When you're knitting socks, the first sock goes easily; it's fun; the pattern is new to you perhaps. The second sock isn't so much fun. You've already done the pattern once and you'd rather try something different. So that first sock languishes in your knitting basket, just waiting for it's mate to show up.

That's where the exchange comes in. You knit the first sock. Then you take it, it's future mate (the yarn meant for the second sock), the pattern and any changes you've made and you send it all to your sock exchange partner. She gets to do the second one. In return, you get the sock she finished for you and it's future mate and you make the mate. That way, you're only knitting one sock of each pair... no second sock syndrome.

So, that's what I've been working on for the last few days, on and off. And, obviously, I can't show you a picture yet, but I will post one after Yahaira gets her sock. Suffice it to say that the pattern is one I've done before, but have wanted to to again, with a tweak or two. Not to worry, Yahaira, I'll make sure you know about the tweaks.

I've also been playing with a pattern from the Six Socks Knitalong Yahoo group. That's a group set up to knit six pairs of socks per year, one every other month. I haven't been keeping up with it, but did check out the last pattern. It's called Mosaic socks. At first, I wasn't too impressed with it, but after seeing the mosaic technique in the Barbara Walker treasuries, I was intrigued. I'm doing this one in a brown Regia 4 ply and the contrast yarn is one of the Online River Collection sock yarns. The pattern calls for two sizes of needles, US 1 and 3. In metric that's 2.25 mm and 3.25 mm. I thought at first that might be an error, but used the sizes called for. It's not a misktake. I think if I had stayed with the smaller needles, I would not be able to get the sock over my foot.

The mosaic technique used in the sock (and the BW books) has you knit each pattern row twice, exactly the same, with only one colour yarn at a time, slipping some stitches, knitting others. The advantage to this technique is that you're not having to work with two colours of yarn, trying to keep them from tangling. I'm really enjoying the process so far. I'll post another picture when the socks are done (or when one sock is done..... who knows... this may become a round of the dreaded second sock syndrome).

On the sweater front, I have one sleeve done, the second sleeve to the armhole and the back has about 5" done. I would have finished the second sleeve already, but I didn't want to work on it at the store because the sleeve cap has a lot of shaping and I wanted to be able to keep track of it. When you're having to help customers, it's a little more difficult to concentrate on shaping. I apologize for the quality of the picture in one of my previous posts. It's a little on the dark side. The sweater is a nice chocolate brown with multi-coloured flecks. As much as I want to stay away from dull colours, brown does suit me.

(btw, Sandra, if you need more of the Donegal Tweed, call and I'll put some aside for you. It IS a nice yarn.)

Off the Needles

Finally, this scarf is off the needles. Now, I can mail it. The pattern is the wavy scarf from Scarf Style (Debbie Bliss pattern). The book has it as a children's scarf, but I used a heavier yarn and bigger needles. I love the way it turned out. My sister should be very happy with it.

On the cardigan front, I've finished one sleeve and have started the second. I'm pondering what to do with the front of the cardi. At first, I thought I'd put reverse stocking stitch diamonds along the button edge and the lower edge; I've since decided that wouldn't show up very well on this yarn. Now, I'm debating whether to put a lace panel along the button edge or a cable panel. I'm leaning towards the cable panel. I think a lace panel would be lost on this yarn, whereas a cable won't. Some of the Sirdar patterns that call for this yarn feature cables and they look very nice. Now, to decide on the cable.

Pictures and a New Project

I've finally gotten around to taking a few pictures of finished projects. The first is a pair of socks for my brother-in-law. He chose the colour of yarn. Now to get my sister's scarf off the needles (not a lot more to knit on that one... should be done this weekend, I hope).

The second picture is of my multi-directional scarf. I signed up for the MD tutorials and am having fun doing them. This scarf was an easy knit and looks neat. I made it from three balls of Noro Silk Garden on 5.5mm needles. The scarf is drapey and cozy and I've worn it a couple of times already.

And then, there's this...

This is the new project part. I'm making a cardigan for myself. Without an official pattern... sort of. I have Ann Budd's "Handy Book of Sweater Patterns" to use as a guideline. I've drawn out a design (which I'll post if you'd like to see it) and I've started the sleeve. I decided to start with the sleeves so that I can see where it comes to under the arm. From that, I can decide how long I want to make the body of the sweater. Does that make sense?

The yarn I'm using is Sirdar's Donegal Tweed DK (45% wool, 25% acrylic, 30% polyester), a yarn I've been eyeing since Art of Yarn first opened. Apparently, it's being discontinued so I figured the time was right to get what I needed while we still have it. I love how it's knitting up.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Casting on... again

Ok, I'm getting a little frustrated with the Faraoese shawl now. After having cast on for Cheryl Oberle's Litla Dimun shawl a couple of times, then frogging it for good (see the comment about little old Italian grandmothers in my last post), I've cast on for the Faraoese shawl out of "A Gathering of Lace". I've also frogged it.

One of the diamonds along the bottom edge wasn't diamond shaped. I didn't notice it until 3 rows (of 400+ stitches per row) later. I tried to correct the error, but it didn't work. I frogged it. I have not yet re-casted on. I will, though. I will not let this pattern get the best of me. Or, I'll do Evelyn A. Clark's Pacific Northwest shawl. Decisions, decisions. Perhaps it's just that the yarn I chose for the faroese shawl doesn't want to be a faroese shawl. That's happened before.

Now, what to do with the rest of my day? John's away for a couple of days and I have the day off.

I'll give it one more try. Just one more. If it still doesn't work, I'm doing the Pacific Northwest shaw. After all, I have the pattern, I have the yarn, I have the needles... what more do I need?

Generosity

I've been told a few times that I'm generous for sharing my patterns. I'm not sure that generosity has much to do with it, really. Certainly, I could be miserly and just tell you that you have to purchase my patterns. In all honesty, I'm too lazy to get everything set up to do that. It's easier to share.

And apart from that, I like the thought that somewhere out there, other knitters are knitting items that I designed. That gives me much satisfaction. It's difficult to explain. As well, I think if there was a little more of that kind of sharing, the sharing of knowledge, the world would be a better place.

Just for simplicity's sake, I've posted a pdf file of the Zig Zag Trellis scarf pattern in the sidebar. Yes, that's what it's decided it wanted to be called. It fits. Now, let's see what else I can come up with.

I think, actually, I want to start another shawl, a Faraoese shawl this time. I really want to see how they fit and feel. I'll be doing the one out of "A Gathering of Lace", I'm thinking. I had started one from Cheryl Oberle's book, "Folk Shawls", but John didn't like it at all. He said it reminded him of something an old Italian grandmother might wear and he didn't want me looking like an old Italian grandmother. I'm not Italian; I'll never be an old Italian grandmother. He was right, though, in that it was really quite a plain shawl. That was one reason I chose it; mindless knitting in front of the television while watching baseball, hockey, football or golf... the seemingly endless stream of testosterone driven entertainment that makes it's way across the television screens in this house. Hmm.. did that sound like the beginnings of a rant?

I'll keep you posted on the shawl progress.

Meet the Zig Zag Trellis

Here are a couple of pictures of the Zig Zag Trellis scarf, as promised. I have a few minutes before I have to head out the door, so I decided I'd get these up so you can see how it's supposed to look.

A close up of the stitch. You can see that using a worsted weight yarn, it looks almost like a rib.

New Scarf Pattern

I had planned on taking and posting pictures of the new scarf I'm working on, but one of the girls at work came down with the flu and I have to work today. The pictures will have to wait, but I decided to write up the pattern anyway.

I'm not sure what to call this scarf yet... Wavy Lacy Rib... Zig Zag Lacy Scarf... I don't know. If you knit this up and come up with a better name, let me know. In the meantime, it's a somewhat lacy, somewhat ribbed scarf that ends up zigging and zagging. I'm knitting it a worsted weight cashmere (which is amazing!! to knit with... a real indulgence!) that I picked up on our trip to Vancouver, but you can knit it up in any worsted weight yarn on 5.5 mm needles (I think that's about 9.5 US). I'm thinking it will use up about 200-300 metres, depending on the length desired. Ok, here's the knitting part.

Cast on 24 stitches. Knit 2 rows. Begin pattern:

Section 1:
Row 1: k1, *yf, k2 tog; rep to last st, k1
Row 2: purl

Repeat these 2 rows 9 times more (10 pattern repeats completed)

Section 2:
Row 21: k1, *ssk, yo; rep to last st, k1
Repeat these 2 rows 9 times more (10 pattern repeats completed)

Continue working these two sections until scarf is desired length. Knit 2 rows. Cast off loosely.

Note: On row 1, I've use yf (yarn forward). Simply bring your yarn to the front, as if to purl; then knit the next 2 stitches together. When you purl the next row, you'll find the stitches easier to "catch" if you do the yf this way, rather than a yo. You can, however, do what you find easiest. I love that about knitting; it's not an exact science.

As I said, I'll try to post pictures as soon as possible.

P.S. Renita pointed out to me that there might be a mistake in the Dewdrop Scarf pattern. She was right. I've corrected the errors and have reposted the pdf file. It is now correct. If you downloaded it before today, please re-download the corrected version. My apologies to anyone who may have become frustrated with the pattern.

Oops, I forgot...

... to let you know how much yarn the scarf will need. Thank you, Ms Mar, for pointing that out to me. I'm still working on mine because I'd like it to be on the longer side (yanno.. so I can wrap it around my neck a couple times for that one REALLY cold day we get). I've just finished the second ball of the Alpaca Cashmere. That makes it 200 metres of yarn and the scarf is just shy of 4 feet.

It's not a bad length, just long enough to wrap around the neck once, if necessary, and tuck into the neck of a jacket. Does that help?

And Sandra? You can also click right here for my Picture Trails albums.

Another post for today

I really don't think I should be posting twice in the same day, but it's turning out to be a rather productive day. At least, I think it is.

For your enjoyment, I've added the Dewdrop scarf pattern to my sidebar. The scarf itself isn't quite finished yet, but I've increased it's total length by about 12 inches today. It's working up quite quickly. And, as you can tell, I've got the pattern typed up. Enjoy!

The remainder of today will be spent in Thanksgiving day celebration. In other words, cooking, relaxing, drinking wine, eating and more relaxing. We might even go for a walk; the weather's gorgeous. It's one of those beautiful, sunny autumn days with a lovely crispness to the air. We've got to enjoy it while we can.

A quick aside... pictures posted

For anyone interested, I've added an album to my Picture Trails web albums with pictures of Oceanna. Please feel free to check it out. There's a button near the bottom of the right sidebar that will take you directly to my PT albums.

Addendum: I've added the Dewdrop Scarf pattern to my sidebar, in pdf format. Enjoy!!

Work in Progress

So, I bought yarn in Vancouver, made the skeins into center pull balls, cast on for a scarf and decided the pattern was all wrong for the yarn, frogged it, bought more yarn and cast on for the scarf and it's working just great!

I'll post pictures of the 'other' yarn another day (not much time today, unfortunately). In the meantime, here's the scarf in progress. I'm calling it the Dewdrop scarf, as the pattern stitch is the dewdrop stitch from the first Barbara Walker treasury (have I mentioned that I LOVE her books; I have 3 of them now).

The yarn I'm using is a combination of the Luxury Collection's Alpaca Cashmere and a strand of Crystal Palace's Kid Merino held together. It's very light, very soft and very cozy. And, did you notice the needles? I spoiled myself and bought a pair of Lantern Moon knitting needles. Talk about indulgence! They are a real pleasure to knit with... and they're beautiful, too. Who knew knitting needles could be a thing of beauty?

By the way, I will post the pattern for the scarf once I have it done. I've already decided it can be worked in just about any solid coloured yarn that's not too dark. It's a simple 8 row pattern that's easy to memorize and fairly easy to 'read'. I think any advanced beginner could work this pattern without difficulty.

Till the next post, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Home again, home again

We arrived home late last night after a week at the coast. It's been an interesting week, to say the least.

We decided, last Tuesday, to go ahead and drive out to the coast even though we hadn't heard for sure that anything was happening with baby's arrival. The last thing John did before we left was to have a shower and while he was having that shower (just after 10 a.m.), my mother called. Alaina had just given birth to my fourth grandchild, Oceanna Marie. She was born at 10:07 a.m. on September 28 and weighed in at 6 lbs 4 oz. Needless to say, we got on the road pretty quick and made it to Abbotsford in about three and a half hours.

When we arrived, we got the whole story. Apparently, Alaina woke up at about 6:30 a.m. in the beginning stages of labour. At about 9 a.m., she decided to wake her sister. She told Kristen they needed to go SOON. Trinity had to be woken up, fed and brought to the sitter. The girls called the doctor's office and were told to come to the office first, but by the time they got to the clinic, which is right next to the hospital, they decided it was getting too close for comfort and went to the hospital instead. By this time, it was 10:00. They got Alaina up to maternity, got her prepared and checked her. The nurse was surprised to find that the baby was already crowning and they got her into the delivery room as quickly as possible. As soon as they got her onto the bed, her water broke and by 10:07, Oceanna was born. Her doctor walked into the room just as Oceanna was delivered.

She's a beautiful little girl, but then, I could be somewhat biased. John, I do believe, is quite taken with her already and the fact that they share a birthday makes her even more special.

Trinity, when this picture was taken, wasn't quite sure who this little person was, but was telling us all where baby's eyes were. She couldn't stop saying "baby" and "eyes" and touching baby's eyes. Before long, she'll be used to this little invader, I'm sure. She's already being a helper to the girls, helping to pat Oceanna's back when she needs burping and fetching and carrying things like diapers and tubes of Vaseline.

Aren't grandbabies fun?

On the road

That baby girl still hasn't put in an appearance; looks like she's being as stubborn as her mother was. We have decided to take that trip to the coast today. It's John's birthday and we figured it would be nice to spend at least part of this day with his father, who lives in Vancouver. So...... road trip!

I'm on the schedule at the store for next Thursday, which gives us a week. I will post again at that time... with pictures.

Enjoy your week!

psst... I took those owl pictures. The ones John took were a little blurry. ;)

Life on the Lake

When I first started this blog, it was to be mainly about my knitting, but also about life on the lake. There are times when it almost feels that one day flows into the next and there really isn't much new happening on the lake. Throughout the summer, we were inundated with tourists, lots of motorboats, houseboats, sailboats, water skiers and jet skis on the lake. Now it's autumn.

The majority of the tourists are gone and the locals are back on the lake. There's an occasional jet ski out when the weather's gorgeous (as it has been for the last few days); a few houseboats go out on the weekends; the last chance boaters take advantage of the perfect weather. There are other changes.

All summer, there was a wealth of birds to watch. There were ducks raising their young, sheperding them along the waterfront. We saw mergansers with their flotilla of juveniles. There were loons and grebes diving for fish and calling over the water. There were kingfishers chattering. Osprey fished all along the shore. A family of beavers feasted on weeds between our dock and the neighbour's. Watching the fish in the water calmed and soothed. There was so much to see, to watch.

Autumn is bringing different creatures. Over the last two days, we've seen a pair of herons land on the dock. They've visited both in the morning and the evening. As well, this creature has been putting in an appearance over the last couple of days.

The first time we saw him, I recognized him for what he was. He was sitting on the corner of a retaining wall and everyone else was convinced he was a cat. One very big, fluffy cat. I knew by the way he turned his head that he was no cat. When John got the binoculars out, he realized I was right. Then, he flew into the tree. That was Saturday. The owl came back last night and John got the camera.

I love owls. I love life on the lake.

Side note

When we're in Abbotsford, I have every intention of checking out Woolaroo (that's the name of the store, Sandra). Last time we were there, we went to the store but it was closed. They're closed on Mondays. Why, I don't know, but they are. The one thing I could see by looking in through the door is that she also carries needlework supplies, not just yarn like Art of Yarn does.

If we have a chance, I'd also like to visit one or two stores in Vancouver. I'll have to ask Sally which ones I should visit and where exactly they are.

Still no news on the baby front. Since the couple of contractions earlier this week, there's been no more action. She's convinced the baby will be born on Wednesday, John's birthday. That would be nice.

Oh, Michelle? The little apple crates you asked about were made by the husband of the co-worker who gave it to me. Cathy used to make those little hats and sold them in the little crates. Anything she needs made in the way of woodwork, he makes for her. If you're looking for something like that, check with Micael's or any larger craft store. They may have something similar in their wood section.

Ok, back to knitting. I'm trying to get a pair of socks done for my brother-in-law. If I can't get them done, at least I'll be close to having them done. For the first time, I'm working on both socks, alternating between the two. I know, if I did two socks on two circs, I wouldn't have to alternate, but I don't like working with an octopus and that's what it feels like to me, having those needle ends flopping around all over the place. I like my dpns!

Baby Hat pattern

Just for Sandra, who asked sooooooo nicely, here you go!

Materials: 1 ball DK weight yarn (I used Paton's Look At Me, which is now discontinued, unfortunately), 1 set of 4mm dpn (I used a set of 5 for ease in decreasing), darning needle.


Cast on 64 stitches and divide evenly on 4 needles (16 each). Join, being careful not to twist your stitches. Knit every round for about 4 inches.

Decrease:

Rnd 1: *k6, k2tog* to end of rnd

Rnd 2 and every alternate rnd: Knit
Rnd 3: *k5, k2tog* to end
Rnd 5: *k4, k2tog* to end
Rnd 7: *k3, k2tog* to end
Rnd 9: *k2, k2tog* to end
Rnd 11: *k1, k2tog* to end
Rnd 13: *k2tog* to end (8 sts)
Rnd 14: *k2tog* to end (4 sts)

Place these 4 stitches on one needle and work an I-cord for about 2" (long enough to tie a knot). Cast off. Weave the ends in and tie the I-cord in a knot.

The apple cap is a variation of the above pattern instead of a rolled brim, I did about 8 rows of ribbing. I changed colour for the I-cord at the top and added a leaf. Just think of the possibilities! I was even considering one with a fun fur trim, but that might not be the best idea for a newborn.

Another Baby FO

An apple from the Okanagan... it doesn't get any more B.C. than that.

One of the girls at work saw me knitting this little apple cap and offered me an "apple crate" to package it in. I love it! Can't wait to see it on the baby. Apparently, she used to knit these caps up and used the crates to display the hats. She even had crate labels made up. Just like the old fashioned, real apple crates.

I think today is my chance to go shopping for the baby. For the last few babies I've given gifts to (including Trinity), I've bought Robeez, beautiful little leather/suede slippers that babies can't kick off. I want to get a pair for this baby, too. They're a great product and the fact that they're Canadian made is even better. I've also promised my daughter that I'd help stock her up on diapers. I can do that today or I can wait till we're in Abbotsford. I haven't decided that yet. I suppose the less we need to drag out to the coast, the better. They DO have shops in Abbotsford, too.

Two FO's

I finished the baby set! It was done by Tuesday evening. I decided to go ahead and see how far I would get with the yarn I had left, thinking I'd have to purchase another ball just for the button band. I have about 2 meters of yarn left over. For me, that's cutting it close. Very close.

I'm pleased with how it turned out. Then, yesterday, I dug out some old Paton's Look At Me from my stash and made this...

I love it! It's a very simple little hat to make up and if you ask nicely, I'll even type up the pattern for you.

Incidentally, the baby sweater set is from Sirdar's Early Arrivals 2. That book, and the first Early Arrivals book, are my two favourite baby books. There are some gorgeous patterns in these books and they include preemie sizes down to about a 5 lb baby. Definitely one of my recommendations!

The toe-up socks are on the backburner for the moment. We're anticipating a call from my daughter at any time and I've been preparing for our iminent trip to the coast. Today is her due date and everyone at my job is ready to jump in when I get the call (covering my hours). My daughter did have a few minor contractions on Tuesday, but things got quiet again that evening. I think her body's just practicing for the real thing. When we do leave, there will be socks and sock yarn in my knitting bag and it's definitely coming with us!

By the way, Stricken Madchen, on the subject of toe-up socks... what's your favourite heel? I've got the toe part figured out, but I"m not sure about the heel yet.

A Week of Experiments

That's what it has turned into, at any rate. As you've been reading, I've been working through the multidirectional tutorials. This morning, I tried casting on for a toe up sock. (Thanks, Leslie) I'm giving it a good go; here's what I have so far. I'm not sure I'll make this my sock of choice, generally speaking, but it's nice to know there's an alternative.

The yarn I'm using for this one is Lanett, 100% pure superwash wool on 2.5mm needles. I started with 12 stitches (I think I'd start out with more stitches next time; the toe's kind of pointy, don't you think?) and worked the increases to 60 stitches for the foot. I usually make a 64 stitch sock for myself, but that's on 2.25 mm needles. On the 2.5 mm needles, I decided to go 4 stitches less. Right now (since the picture was taken), I have about an inch knitted on the foot.

I'm alternating the sock with the baby's outfit today. I'm up to the decreases for the little hat, so it will be finished today. The jacket however... I'm pretty sure I won't have enough yarn to do the band around the sweater, so it will have to wait until tomorrow, when I go back to work. I can, and probably will, finish the sewing and pick up the required stitches. That way, it's just a matter of working the band.

It's a gorgeous day in the Okanagan today, sunny and warm (in the sunshine, at least). With all that sunshine streaming into the house this morning, the cobwebs became very apparent so John and I decided to tackle cleaning the shelf above the kitchen cabinets. We put all sorts of vases, teapots and antique kitchen tools up there when we moved in and left it. Today we got everything down, washed it all, dusted and washed the shelf and the walls... in other words, spring cleaning in the fall. Odd jobs like that tend to get John motivated and, since the inside was clean, the windows needed cleaning from the outside, too. So he's been doing that. He had an audience.

That's Tyson (the boxer... ok, he's not our dog, but I think it's a great name!), one of the neighbour's dogs. He was fascinated by the hose and just had to get a closer look.

Where does time go?

I do apologize for not posting for a little while. Time has simply been slipping by much too quickly. The knitting is still happening, but the store is getting busier (thankfully) and by the time I get home from work, I don't feel like doing a lot of knitting.

I am almost finished the sweater set for my new granddaughter. I just have to sew the second sleeve in and do the border. The hat is about 1/3 done. I really wanted to finish the sweater this weekend (only had Sunday off), but I had foolishly decided to leave my knitting bag at the store as I work again today. I say foolishly because my little kit of needles, cutters and such is all in my knitting bag, where, technically, it belongs. So I worked on the hat instead.

Speaking of the new granddaughter (no, she hasn't arrived just yet), she's due this coming Friday. I've told my older daughter to call me as soon as her sister goes into labour (they share accomodations). Then John and I will drive out there. I'll need time to get my hours covered at the store. One problem has resolved itself. John was laid off from the restaurant last week, so he's now free to come with me to the coast. That means we're taking the car, no matter the cost of fuel.

Do you ever get overwhelmed by inspiring projects you'd like to do? I'm at that stage right now. There are soooooo many things I'd like to make. And too many projects to finish. Big Sigh! I've been working on the Multidirectional Knitting tutorials. They're fun to do. The final project in Tutorial 14 is a nice little vest. Quite pretty. I'm hoping that by the time I've worked through all 14 tutorials, I'll be able to use some of Iris' techniques in projects of my own design. At the moment, I'm working on the MD scarf and it's looking pretty good.. and getting plenty of comments at the store. People are intrigued by the zigzagging of the knitting and when they hear there is no picking up of stitches like there is in entrelac, they're even more intrigued. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow or Wednesday.

Take the knitting bag home, take the knitting bag home.. don't forget the knitting bag... ;)

A Break from Sock Knitting

I decided to take a break from knitting socks today. Someone in one of the Yahoo groups I belong to wrote about another Yahoo group, Multidirectional Knitting. I decided to check it out and joined it. I think I like it! Iris Schrier has a number of tutorials in MD knitting; I've downloaded the first nine, printed up the first three and have already worked through the first two.

This could be addictive.

For your perusal...

Some of the work isn't perfect, but it's the first time trying this, really. It's not like entrelac; you're not picking up stitches on one side in order to change direction. So far, at least, when you've done one direction, you end up with the same number of stitches you started with.

I'm looking forward to trying more of this. In the meantime, I've cast on for another chevron scarf. This one will be a gift for my sister. I don't think she reads my blog and even if she does, I have four sisters. The one it's meant for will not be named. :)

Experiment Completed

I finished the Opal cotton sock. And frogged it. I tried the sock on, walked around the house with it on for a little bit and decided I didn't like the German Band/Strap heel. All that's left of the sock now are the pictures and a ball of yarn.

I think if the heel strap was a little wider, it might be a little more comfortable. I also found that the heel flap (20 rows before working the heel "strap") was a little too short for me. I wonder if one couldn't do a combination of heels. Widen the heel "strap", make the heel flap longer and then, instead of just picking up enough stitches to bring the count back up to the original stitch count, pick up as many as needed and do a smaller gusset on each side. Did that make sense???

Here you can see what I mean about the heel "strap". See how it's just a small strip? I could feel that as I walked. That's the reason I frogged it. I guess I'll stick with the standard heel that I usually use.

Incidentally, the string you see at the toe of the sock is just a piece of waste yarn used to hold the toe together while I tried it on. I didn't graft the toe as it was just an experiment. Had I been happy with the heel, I would have broken the yarn and grafted the toe closed.

I wonder what else I could do with the heel flap... hmmmmmmm.

An experiment in sock-making

Today, I wanted a project that required absolutely no thinking, so I dug out a ball of the Opal sock yarn I purchased a few weeks ago and cast on for an experimental sock. The leg of the sock requires absolutely no thought - 64 stitches, 1 inch of 1x1 rib, then stocking stitch till I reach the heel. No thinking involved. It's an experimental sock in two ways. Firstly, I've never worked with this yarn before. It's Opal Clown, 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool and 15% nylon. It does feel different from the standard 75/25 wool/nylon blends, a little "harsher" on the fingers. But it IS knitting up nicely. Secondly, it's an experimental sock in that I'm going to (finally) try the German band heel on this sock. I've been very traditional in my sock making so far in that I've been using the traditional round heel for the most part. I did try a short row heel before, but just don't like the way they fit my feet.

This is what I've got so far. I do love the colours in this yarn and how it's knitting up.

The pattern, incidentally, is based on one found here (thanks Socknitters, for the help in finding it). I'll let you know how the experiment turns out.

What to do when you've got time off

I have been knitting like a fiend this past week. I've been off since Saturday and go back to work tomorrow. In that time, I've finished Jeane's socks and gotten them into the mail. I've almost finished a baby sweater for my soon-to-arrive granddaugter. I've knitted two samples for the store.

The Noro Silver Thaw finally told me what it wanted to be. Thanks Penny for the inspiration! I started this scarf yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon and finished it this morning. In other words, it was a quick knit. The original pattern is from the Scarf Style book. It's originally done in a DK weight yarn, but the Silver Thaw is a worsted weight, so I worked it on 6 mm needles. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the total length of the scarf is between 4-5 feet, short compared to a lot of the scarves out there, but perfect for wearing under the collar of a jacket or coat. Personally, I don't like my scarves really long. They tend to get in my way.

The other completed object is a facecloth, made from Crystal Palace's Cotton Chenille. The pattern is from Interweave Knits, Winter 2003, as well as from the book, Weekend Knits. It took me one afternoon to knit up. I could see doing the pattern in just about any cotton yarn. It was a fun knit, but the chenille is NOT the easiest yarn to work with on 4 mm needles. Will I make more of these? Probably. I could see giving them as gifts with a nice bar of fancy soap or even some hand made soap (no, I don't make soap, but there are plenty of women who do).

I'll post a picture of the baby sweater once I have the second sleeve knitted and the sweater put together. Then all that's left to knit for this outfit is the hat, and that's a quick knit, too. Then, on to a few more UFO's. *grin*

One more FO

It feels like it's been a long time since I had a finished object. I said, feels like. I finished Jeane's socks yesterday and I love them. John loves them. He calls them the Raspberry socks. They'll be going into the mail and heading to Utah just as soon as the post office opens again on Tuesday morning (unless the card shop is open today and I can get a priority post envelope). I love the thought that there will be a little piece of me in Utah and that I have a little piece of Jeane here in Canada. Silly, I know, but I love stuff like that.

The stitch pattern isn't very clear on this picture, unfortunately. It's from one of the Barbara Walker treasuries. Best resource I've ever purchased!

Now, as my roommate reiterated, I need to concentrate on knitting for the baby. I've already started a 0-6 month size baby sweater from Sirdar's Early Arrivals 2. As of last night, when it got too dark to comfortably knit without a light over my shoulder, I had 4" already done. The body of this little sweater is all knit in one piece, so there's a little less seaming at the end... always a good thing. That's the part I dislike the most. I'll post a picture of it later, but right now there's not a lot to see, really, just a band of variegated pink eyelets and a 3.5" band of white stocking stitch. I love the yarn I'm working with; it's Laine du Nord's Baby Cover and Baby Cover Stampata, pure washable wool, very nice to work with.

Said baby is due on September 23, just a couple of weeks away now. We've been discussing my going there after the birth. That's a given. What's uncertain is how I'll get there. If the gas prices keep doing what they're doing (it was $1.18/litre this weekend, with rumours of $1.25/litre), it will cost way too much to take the car. I'm going to have to check into bus ticket prices. The only problem with that is that ticket prices are cheaper when you book in advance, but babies rarely tell you in advance when they're going to put in their appearance, so I'd be purchasing the ticket at the last moment. Once I'm there, I'd be staying with my parents and I'd be free to use their car. According to my mom, there is NO room at my daughters' apartment and with a new baby, I'm sure I wouldn't be getting a lot of sleep anyway.

Autumn is definitely in the air here... it's a perfect day for knitting. Enjoy your long weekend, everyone!

P.S. While I think about it, I didn't post a picture of the Tentaçao hat. Here's a picture of it.

New pattern uploaded

Just a quick note today to let you know I've uploaded a pattern for a toque (Tentaçao Toque). For those of you who are non-Canadians and have no idea what a toque is (it's pronounced "twok... two with a k at the end), I guess it's what you'd call a stocking cap, a knitted hat... you know.

It's done in a Portuguese yarn called Rosarios 4 Tentaçao, 2 colours. You can substitute any bulky weight thick/thin yarn. I used 7 mm needles for the hat, which is a size smaller than the yarn called for. I've written the pattern for two needles (didn't have a 7 mm circ), but it can certainly be done on a circular needle or double-pointed needles just as easily. As written, the pattern fits an average woman and I've included numbers for the large size as well. I've also made a wrist warmer with the remaining yarn and will have that pattern available some time within the next few days... after I've made the second one and taken pictures.

Enjoy!

Just another day

After a couple of grayish, rainy, cooler days, the sunshine is back. The temperatures aren't reaching the highs they've reached for the last few weeks, so we definitely know that autumn isn't far away. John keeps telling me about the rest of the year on the lake, how things change from season to season. As much as I've enjoyed the summer, I'm looking forward to seeing those changes, watching the lake and it's inhabitants throughout the coming weeks and months.

We had a bit of a forest fire scare here last week. Thankfully, the cooler weather and the rain helped get that fire contained very quickly and it is no longer a threat.

On the knitting front, I'm making good progress with Jeane's socks. One's done and the other is progressing nicely. I was hoping to spend more time knitting yesterday, but when both of us have a day off together, husbands come first, n'est ce pas? Today, he's working, so I have the time to spend with my needles and am looking forward to getting a lot done!

One thing I did do yesterday was to go through the yarn stash in my bedroom. It was getting a little untidy and unruly. John created a little "cat corner" in the bedroom for me (typical Leo.. I like my little cat corners, where I can sit, knit, read or whatever... there aren't enough of those little corners in this house) and when he came to check where I was and what I was doing, I had baskets, yarn and pink bags (the store I work in uses these great pink bags.. they make great project bags, but you can't hide yarn purchases from your husband) spread all around me. Now, I know just how many projects I have on the go (don't ask) and what needs to be worked on next before I start something else. Check it out.

(And, just so you don't get the wrong idea, this is NOT the entirety of my stash; this is the part of the stash that is in my bedroom. There are another couple of boxes and a suitcase of yarn being stored in the garage... I know, not the ideal place for it, but the garage is enclosed and is directly below our bedroom, used mainly for storage, not for vehicles.)

My "cat corner". I love to sit there with a cup of coffee, a magazine or my knitting. With the skylight above, I have plenty of light. This is not the brightest of houses.

Speaking of Jeane's socks, my socks from her arrived here on Monday afternoon. They're beautiful! Here's a picture to show you just how nice they are. They are the Baltic socks from the German sock knitting Yahoo group, Mustersocken (I think I got that right). An interesting little aside... Jeane sent the ball band from the yarn; it's a Canadian yarn... I'm Canadian. Just thought that was kind of interesting.

Once again, thank you, Jeane! You'll have your socks soon.

I forgot to mention....

...where I got this lovely stash enhancement. I ordered it online through Redbird Knits.

I'm off now to work on Jeane's socks. I'm being the typical crafting perfectionist that I usually am. I have the first sock finished, but I'm not totally happy with the toe. I started the second sock, had about 6 rows of ribbing done, opened a box of yarn to show a customer the new Trekking XXL we got in and found a colour I hadn't seen yet. The upshot is, I've started the second sock in the Trekking, so now I'll have to make a third sock in that yarn as well. Oh well, I have myself a sample sock for the new pattern now.

Needless to say, I'm enjoying the Trekking. It's kind of a subtle pink/purple combo that knits up into stripes. As I said, they're subtle, though. The first thing I thought of once I got going with this colour was "Strawberry Fields Forever". It's knitting up nice and soft. I think I could move down a needle size if I really wanted to, but I'm staying with 2.25 mm for the time being. I've finished two pattern repeats and the pattern doesn't get lost in the colour variations, which is a good thing. I'll post a picture when I have the socks done.

Stash Enhancement

I spoiled myself... this is my birthday present to me. It arrived in the mail yesterday. I think I will keep this where I can fondle it at will. Such decadent stuff!

Handmaiden yarns, Angel Hair (70% kid mohair, 30% nylon, 800 m/100 gm), Autumn


Cherry Tree Hill sock weight yarn, Spring Frost and Java


Lorna's Laces, Watercolor and Tuscany


Handmaiden yarns, Silk Floss, Moss Garden, 100% silk

Yum, yum, yum!

Pictures, pictures

This is Noro's Silver Thaw. She is beautiful, no? Now, what do I do with it? She has me intrigued. I've been going through stitch patterns off and on for the last two days and nothing feels right. Perhaps I should just make a toque (stocking cap for you non-Canadians) or mittens. Wouldn't those be decadent??

I noticed this morning that Jeane, my sock exchange partner, has posted a picture of my new socks in the Townsendsocksknitalong photo album. Now, I really can't wait to get those socks on my feet. They're gorgeous! And, to boot, they're in one of my favourite colours! I don't know if Jeane reads my blog or not, but for those of you who do, I've changed my mind since yesterday. Here's a teaser...

One down, one to go

I'm aching to show you a picture of the sock for my sock exchange partner. I'm really happy with how the design turned out. However, I won't show you until Jeane's seen her socks first. She emailed me this morning to tell me that my socks from her are in the mail already. It's exciting knowing that there's something coming in the mail that isn't a bill. I'm really looking forward to getting these socks; it will be the first pair of handknit socks that someone else made just for me. I love that!

On another note, we've been getting shipments of yarn in at the store. Six large boxes arrived yesterday after the four large boxes we got last week. And some of the yarn is spectacular. One skein of Noro Silver Thaw found it's way into my knitting bag. It hasn't told me what it wants to become yet, though. I've tried casting on for two different projects (yes, I know... another project!) but it made it very clear that it didn't want to be either. Silver Thaw is a combination of merino wool, angora and silk worsted weight yarn if I remember correctly (I don't have the tag in front of me) and it's beautifully soft. The colours, being a Noro yarn, are exquisite. At first, I thought it would make a very nice shrug. I even found a pattern in Knitter's Review (I think that was the name of the magazine..... brain's not functioning too well today) Summer 05 that was in the right gauge. I worked one repeat of the pattern, looked at it and ripped it out. It just didn't work with this yarn. Then, this morning, I cast on for a scarf of my own design. It didn't feel right, either. So now, I'll just have to wait until something screams "Do ME in the Silver Thaw" and keep working on the projects already on the needles.

There was also some lace weight merino from Skacel in one of the boxes. I can't wait to get my fingers into that one. I must admit that almost every box I opened had something that made me drool just a little more. All except the furry yarns, that is. Can't stand those. ;)

I do have an FO to report, too. John's work socks are finally done. For a plain and simple pair of socks, they took long enough to finish. But he has them now and will be wearing them to work with pride on Thursday. Yay!

Sunday morning

(taken this very morning... within the past half hour)

It's another beautiful morning in paradise. The lake is like glass, the sun is shining. And I'm at my computer. There's something wrong with this picture.

I haven't gotten nearly as much knitting done this week as I thought I would. The sock exchange socks have been taking up my time and thoughts. I've finally settled on a pattern and have the heel turned on the first sock. I would have picked up the gusset stitches, but it was getting just a little too dark last night to do a good job. I'll be doing that today. I'll post a picture at some point, but I don't want my sock exchange pal to see them before they're completely done.

I stopped by the other yarn store in town yesterday, just to see if there was anything I simply HAD to have. I also wanted to pick up a couple of 2.25 mm circular needles for the exchange socks. I thought they might be easier to work on two circs because they're a very lacy sock (that's all I'll say for now). However, after giving it a good try, I've decided I really don't like working on two circs. Perhaps it's because I've been using double-pointed needles from the start of my sock making days, but... I'll pass on the two circs. I'll use them for something, I'm sure.

In addition to the circulars, I also picked up a 1 mm crochet hook to aid in beaded knitting. And then there was this....

I love the colours. They knew me by name; they kept calling out to me, wanting to come home with me. How could I say no? It's Marks & Kattens Clown sock yarn, 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool, 15% nylon, colour #1786. They will live in my stash for a little while, but eventually I'll show you what they become when they come off the needles. If any of you have worked with this yarn before, could you let me know what you think of it?

Alright, I'm gone. I'm going to go enjoy this gorgeous day while we have it. I hate to say it, but autumn is just around the corner. We're beginning to feel it in the morning air.

Ouch

The knitting's been a little slow over the last couple of days. With my birthday celebration behind me, I do have time to knit, but my wrist has been acting up so I've had to take it easy on the knitting and rest it. Yesterday would have been a perfect knitting day (it was cloudy, chilly and rainy) but there was housework to catch up on, darn it all anyway.

Oh well. I have some design ideas in mind for my sock exchange partner and will be working on that today.

Sock Exchange

I've joined a sock exchange through Jeanie's Townsendsocksknitalong. I've never really joined an exchange before. Well, I did once, but that was for an envelope exchange (rubber stamping related) and I was a little disappointed. I don't think I will be this time. It's socks, after all. You can never have too many socks. I'll be putting my best thinking cap on today to come up with a totally original design for my exchange partner.

Fun, fun, fun.

Speaking of socks, I did finish the first On Butterfly Wings sock and have the pattern written up. I still need to take a picture and put it all together. Then the fun starts. I've been looking into pricing the patterns I write and it really all comes down to the price of printing. Obviously, the more I have printed the cheaper it will be. Right now, I have quotes for about $1.66 per side (with colour) down to $1.38 per side (with colour). If I keep it down to one picture, colour only one one side, that would bring the price down some. In addition, the quotes I have so far are based on 10 copies of two patterns. As I said earlier, more copies, lower price. I'll keep looking at my options. In the meantime, if you think my patterns are worthwhile, tell your LYS to contact me. My email address is stringsnthings at shaw dot ca. (shameless self-promotion, that was)

So, yesterday was my birthday. It should have been a fun day, right? Well, I've postponed the fun till Tuesday. John had to work and it was a longer than usual day, so I got to spend the day with myself. Normally, I'm not bad company but it was hot, I was a little disappointed and, I have to admit, wasn't the best of company. Eventually, I walked to the restaurant John works at (it's just down the road, a 10 minute walk, perhaps), ordered a beer and some spring rolls and waited for him. Unbeknownst to me, he was already off and sitting on the patio with a co-worker. Thankfully, I'd left a note in the car letting him know I was inside, where it was air conditioned. He drove his co-worker home and came back to pick me up. When we got home, he needed a nap. *sigh* I even had my dinner alone. It WAS good food, though... linguine al pesto, made with my own fresh basil. Yumm... one of my faves.

Tuesday, however, we're going out for a lovely dinner to a French restaurant. He took me there for my birthday last year and it was fantastic. If you come to Kelowna and you want an awesome meal, check out Bouchons. Not inexpensive, but definitely worth every penny.

Happy Birthday to me

What does your Birtdate mean?

Your Birthdate: August 14

With a birthday on the 14th of the month (5 energy) you are inclined to work well with people and enjoy them. You are talented and versatile, very good at presenting ideas, and you are also very good at organization and systematizing. You may have a tendency to get itchy feet at times and need change and travel. You tend to be very progressive, imaginative and adaptable. Your mind is quick, clever and analytical. A restlessness in your nature may make you a bit impatient and easily bored with routine, and rebel against it. You have a tendency to shirk responsibility.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at my newest sock, On Butterfly Wings.

On a slightly different note, it seems that "Strings 'n Things" is about to become a pattern company. My employer feels that my patterns are definitely saleable and I should consider setting up my own little company to make and sell patterns.

What do you think?

An oops and SSS averted

First of all, there are a couple of small mistakes in the Creeping Vines pattern and one small one in the Lacy Rib Baby Socks.

In the Creeping Vines socks, Rows 3 and 13 of the written pattern (only the written pattern; the chart is correct), the last ssk in each of those rows should be k2tog.

In the Lacy Rib Baby socks, the heel flap should have one more row, so you end up with the purl side facing for the heel turning.

I've changed the downloadable patterns in the sidebar, so they are now correct.

Then, that dreaded second sock syndrome did not show it's face this week. I have my completed pair of Creeping Vines socks. Here's the proof....

I'm very pleased with the way they turned out. And, there's a new pair on the needles; I've just gotten past the heel on a new pattern called On Butterfly Wings. I'll post pictures soon.

Note to Karen re Wooden circs

Hi Karen,

I'm thinking that to sharpen the points on anything bigger than 8mm, you could use a knife to sharpen it to a rough point, then sand, sand, sand. Either that, or perhaps your local woodworking shop might be able to help with that... or, do you know any local handyman?? I tried using the knife and carving/sharpening it that way (I remember watching my dad sharpen his carpenter's pencils that way), then sanding it and it did work. The points aren't the straightest, but it did work.

Hope that helps.

Ev

P.S. for those of you who have no idea what that was all about, click here.

Lacy Rib Socks

The pattern's been tried; a few changes made. One sock is knitted. I love it! From all appearances, it should fit a baby of about 3-6 months (I have a diagram somewhere of the approximate size of babies' feet; this fits into the 3-6 month diagram).

Care to see??

Close up of the lacy rib patterning

I'm going to work on the second sock today and then may even try to do it smaller yet. The lacy pattern is a simple 6 stitch, 4 row repeat that is easy to memorize and easy to read. I'll have the pattern posted sometime this weekend, most likely.

(Note: the pattern is now in the sidebar... Lacy Rib Baby Socks... in pdf format)

And, just so you know that the dreaded second sock syndrome has NOT gotten hold of me this time, I have two more pattern repeats to do on the foot of the second Creeping Vines sock. I'll post a picture of the completed pair when it's done.

Speaking of the CV socks, someone told me I did them in the wrong colour (which I chose because of the sock name.. creeping vine?? green? Makes sense, no?). If any of you do the socks, send me a picture. I'd love to see how yours turn out. I'd love to see how the pattern looks in different colours. You can send pictures to me at misschief at shaw dot com.

A teaser

My daughter informed my a couple of nights ago that the baby she's carrying is a little girl. To that end, I've decided to re-design the baby sock pattern that I have in the right sidebar. I want something a little more "girly". I have a pattern charted out and somewhat written out. Now, I just need to knit it, make adjustments to the pattern and then I'll post it.

Watch for the pattern, for the moment called "Lacy Rib Baby Socks", within the next week.

Creeping Vines

Wow! The response to my socks has been overwhelming and encouraging. I'm looking forward to seeing what you, out there, do with that pattern.

Thanks to some very generous friends in Townsendsocksknitalong (one of my favourite Yahoo groups... join if you want to meet some very friendly and encouraging knitters), I now have the sock pattern in pdf format as well as in Word format. Normally, I can make pdf files, but for some reason I can only make them through PageMaker. That wouldn't be a problem, usually, as I can cut and paste text from Word to PageMaker. This time, however, there are embedded objects in the file and they don't transfer very well to PageMaker. When I presented this problem to the group, several ladies generously offered to help, and sent me the pattern in pdf format. Thank you, ladies! You are all gems. The pattern has been posted in Jeanie Townsend's group and I've posted it here as well.

Already, there are other ideas swimming around in my brain and it's very hard to pick up the needles for the second Creeping Vines sock. I'm going to do it, though. Yesterday was a very muggy, warm day here in Kelowna and knitting was very hard to do. I got to the third pattern round and for some reason, it just would not work out. My fault, not the pattern's, that I do know. So I frogged it, put it away for the night and plan to take it to work with me this afternoon.

Introducing the "Creeping Vines" Socks

Here's the first sock of the pair. It came off the needles just an hour ago and I think I like it!

All I need to do now is finish writing up the pattern and then knit the second sock. Not necessarily in that order. The pattern is a 22 stitch repeat, so the socks are done on 66 stitches. The heel is worked on 34 stitches and when I did the gusset shaping, I brought the stitch count down to 64 stitches in total for the foot. It's worked in Regia Silk, in a dark green. I love the yarn; I've done a few pairs of socks in it already (it washes very well) and am also using the Regia Silk for the Heavenly Cami.

Once I have the pattern ready, I think I'll post it here. I was debating whether or not to sell it through the store, but seeing as I've gotten some lovely patterns through some of the Yahoo groups I'm in, I've decided to post this pattern here on my blog for anyone who'd like to try it. I should have it up within the next couple of days.

Note: The pattern is now in the sidebar. If you do use this pattern, let me know what you think. If you find any errors or omissions, again, please let me know and I'll make the necessary corrections. If you do make these socks, I'd love to see them!