socking it to London

So my lovely brother and his wife have birthdays on consecutive days and are currently living in London so these socks were completed some time ago. They did however arrive safely and were unwrapped over the weekend.

For my SIL I revisited one of my favourite patterns which I've also made for my mum, see here. This however is the alternative version with the lace pattern continuing all the way down the foot (straight laced). The cables are mirror images of each other which adds a little interest.

The pattern: Haleakala by Cookie A

Yarn: Caper Sock by String Theory

Colour way: Charcoal

And can I say this yarn is really fabulous. As well as a sensible nylon component for durability it also has 10% cashmere for sheer delightfulness.

For my brother, I knitted my new favourite sock pattern for blokes. I think I might be knitting this one again. It's a kind of faux argyle sock pattern using travelling cable stitches which really 'pop'.

I also think the eye of partridge heel looks really good with a variegated yarn.

The pattern: Business Casual by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn: Caper Sock by String Theory

Colourway: Peacock

And can I just say that I was a little disappointed that the colours weren't a bit more lurid - I think my brother can really pull off a cheeky business sock :-)

a do-over for another reason

I was recently knitting for another dear friend whose birthday it was recently. She however had indicated that she'd be more interested in a shawl/scarf type ensemble rather than socks. No problem.

I have really been wanting to knit some of Martina Behm's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy one skein shawls. I love both Magrathea and Lintilla. You can view both here. 

I used this supposedly 4ply 200g yarn that I'd bought at a certain guild day yarn type thing. I personally do not think it's 4 ply, it certainly wasn't 200g and the yardage wasn't great. Anyway I got 75% through Magrathea and had used too much of my yarn. Most 4 ply skeins are between 100 and 150g so I thought with my 200g I would have plenty. Because the yarn wasn't properly labelled I had no idea what the yardage was so was just going by weight. Bad idea. Anyway for the weight of the yarn I would have had to keep going beyond the minimum repeats and I wasn't even going to get that far. So 6 days before her birthday I completely frogged the project.

Fortunately one of my richmond knitter compatriots inadvertently came to the rescue. I had admired this scarf IRL recently and saw from her project page that she'd made it using a dk yarn (much as I suspect this yarn is).

So early that Friday morning after frogging my previous attempt I downloaded the pattern Scroll Lace Scarf by Ysolda Teague. You can check out her amazing stuff at ysolda.com. After looking at the issues regarding the stockinette sections rolling too much I brazenly adopted all my compatriot's modifications and did the crescent in garter stitch - and thus echoing the magrathea as well...

It was fascinating coming up with something that visually had quite a few similarities but with such different construction. With the scroll lace scarf you knit all the lace to begin with, pick up stitches along the edge and then using short rows you create the crescent shape. As you can see above with the magrathea you knit the lace concurrently with the garter stitch section and then recreate the other lace side along the final edge when the scarf is deep enough.

Anyway I was thrilled with the final result and loved how the lace came out.

It did need a bit of blocking. And this was my first real inexpert attempt. (I have since acquired some blocking wires so expect it might get easier). Anyway, I used a cheap yoga mat overlaid with gingham which was had one inch squares - made measurements easier. And then used whatever pins I could get hold of. It worked out all right.

And amazingly I managed to get it in the post and it arrived on the day. Win.

delightful do-over

Here's a trap for young players. When reading a sock pattern for sizes you need to distinguish whether the measurements are for your foot or the finished sock. Because of the delightful stretchiness of wool on most socks the finished product is about an inch smaller than your foot - unless you like your socks slouchy.

Anyway, earlier this year it was one of my very good friend's birthdays and I thought I'd make her some socks too - even though she's not a relation. I loved the look of clandestine by Cookie A. It's available here. They came out great. See here for more info.

But they were too big. Aaaarrrggghhh. The socks were 8 inches not for a foot of circumference 8 inches, so for my friend's petite foot they were no good. On a side note they fit me perfectly and I'm not that disappointed to have them back.

Because the lace repeat is so large I didn't think I could size them down. So I went looking for another pattern. I settled on Blackrose Socks by Suzi Anvin available here. Part of the appeal of these socks was that the pattern came with multiple sizes including a sufficiently small small.

So here are the do-over socks which thankfully do fit this time :-)

I love that once again there's a left and a right sock. I love the lace pattern - it wasn't too hard to memorise. I wouldn't mind making these again with a darker yarn to really show off the lace pattern.

I also love the clever construction on the gusset - how the decreases are worked into the edge of the pattern.

And a big shout out to String Theory and their Caper sock yarn: so delightful to knit with. It has nylon for durability and cashmere for squishyness. Fantastic. You can try for yourself - go here.

Love it.

it's not a sock!

I went stash diving in search of something that would make a good slouchy hat and brighten up a Melbourne winter. And here it is...

The pattern I chose was norie by the shetland trader. I didn't go for quite as much slouch as the pattern, but next time I think I'd go for it. I haven't washed and blocked it yet, but the lace is still quite cute.

Here's our attempt at a cheesy knitting book pose :-)

Anyway, with a bit of road-trip knitting and another half hour when we got home. Holiday knitting goal #3 is finito!

Now to get back to the Great Sock Gift Project...

clandestine socks for a dear friend

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with how these socks have come out. Better late than never, my friend's birthday was at the beginning of February, but it's been a busy knitting month.

Sarah H this one's for you - socks with heels :-)

They are certainly the most complex socks I've knitted so far. The main features are an intricate lace pattern (14 row repeat - tricky enough to stay interesting but also repetitive enough to become familiar. NB different chart for leg and foot obviously) and twisted stitches which I think give amazing definition - particularly noticeable on the cuff and the scallop shapes. The pattern for this size is available free here or for the whole kit and caboodle you can buy and download here. The design is by Cookie A a truly innovative sock designer and great fun to knit.

These are also left and right socks - the feet are mirror images of each other.

My mods: a shallower rounder toe than a standard wedge. Mainly because otherwise I would have had to have 3 inches of stockinette for the toe because of the large repeat. I've ravelled it here. 

Special thanks to Rene whose sock photographing skills are truly exceptional.

cute blueberry socks

The first family birthday of the year arrived. We enjoyed a beautiful meal as mentioned below. And I managed to get the socks knitted in the nick of time.
These are a cute pair of lacy cabled socks. I've ravelled these socks here.

heel view

Once again the pattern goes down the heel flap which I really think is nice. The other cool thing about this pattern is that you do the cabling without having to use a cable needle (and you can do an odd number of stitches cable). It also gives it a lacy look, as the cabling method is a bit holey. Cute.

Now to get started on the next pair. Not long til the next birthday.

monkeying around

Here's my latest project completed and given away. I'm pretty happy with how they've worked out. The pattern is called Monkey Socks and they're by a well known sock pattern designer known as Cookie A. It's a free pattern available here. And I've ravelled my attempt here. It must be one of the most popular ravelry projects of all time, there are currently 14981 projects using this pattern posted on ravelry.

Anyway, I made this pair for a sister-in-law and they fit which is the main thing. This shibui sock wool was lovely to knit with and I love the shade (called Dragonfly). The only thing I don't love is the 'pooling'. It's the way that the colour variation has pooled into these wide stripes. It should be more like the colour variation around the heel.
It has a twisted stitches ribbed cuff which suits the lace really well. It also has a wedge toe and heel-flap. A technique I hope to keep using is to Ktbl into the stitches picked up along the flap sides when starting the gusset.

This is also my first attempt at a lace pattern of any kind. It really wasn't very hard at all. A good entry level project to the world of lace knitting. Now I hoping to attempt an Estonian Lace Shawl but that's another level all together. The most amazing book is the Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush, I'd love to try one of these. But that will have to be after the big sock gift project of 2011 - 12 is over... Anyway so far so good :-)