wip wednesday fail

So I was triumphantly having a completed wayward sock photographed today:

When I downloaded the photos this became evident:

I had knitted four rows with just regular knit stitches rather than twisted knit stitches. And although it's not that big a deal, they are glaringly evident to me. So I ripped out 58 rows and am pretty much where I was last week. I guess it's not expected when you're switching between patterns with twisted stitches and without.

At least my birthday knitting is going along relatively smoothly :-)

wip wednesday is back

Well, I was waiting for some artisan sock yarn from the amazing hazelknits as part of my great sock gift project. BTW totally not their issue, but mine in not ordering it soon enough. They get their yarn out so fast, less than a week from ordering from the US and it was at my door. But it meant that I could work on some socks for me while I was waiting. April and June are busy times in our families for birthdays....

Anyway, I got started on my Cookie A sock club socks. The pattern is called Wayward and is for the exclusive use of members until February 2013 after which you can buy it from ravelry.com

I put the socks on to circulars for photographing and to check the fit. They are so beautiful and more complex than anything I've ever knitted. Each row is different because of the way the cables travel across the sock. So you have to sit and concentrate but the result is worth it.

The wool is so soft and squooshy. Lovely to knit with. And still gives decent stitch definition because of the twisted stitches I think.

The other exciting thing is that I've learned to cable without using a cable needle. It makes the knitting a bit quicker which is nice with such a complex pattern. Watch this video to learn how. Pretty easy and not too scary after all. 

These however, are the socks I can take out with me and I don't need to keep referring to the pattern. I don't knit with variegated yarn much. This is the same pattern that I used for Deb's socks. This photo doesn't really capture the colour mainly raspberry, green and a little purple. 

Although these socks were started on the 7th of October I'm pleased that they're still chugging along. I find to counter act the so called 'second sock syndrome' you just need to cast on the 2nd sock immediately when you've finished the first one. At least then you've done the fiddly bit and it's not too daunting to pick them up down the track.

Good fun. Nice to feel like you're achieving something, as a stay at home mum so much other stuff is repetitive and is never done. This is different.

a gift that keeps on giving

WARNING SPOILER!!!

I'm so excited. For Christmas I was given an annual membership to the Cookie A Sock Club 2012. Cookie A is a really innovative sock designer. And she runs this club where every 2 months she sends out a skein of sock yarn, 2 new sock patterns for exclusive use of the sock club (for 12 months) and 2 cookie recipes. Everyone gets together on ravelry and posts as they receive their wool, comment on the patterns, and update how their sock knitting is going. Socks, cookies (I'm sure I can de-fructose the recipes) and community. It could only be beaten by a real knitting group but anyway...

The exciting thing for me is that I'm going to use the club to knit for myself. All the luscious yarn is just for me!!! This is a project that will go alongside the great sock knitting gift project of 2011-12.

Anyway I'm going to use the beautiful yarn to knit the wayward socks. And so far I've managed to work out the right gauge. Slow and steady... I've got 2 months to finish these beauties.

Isn't this yarn beautiful!?!?! It's a blend of merino, cashmere and silk. So smushy to knit with. Maybe I won't be able to go back.... It's by Alisha Goes Around. So great.

Maybe I'll be able to go back to WIP wednesdays, since these ones won't need to be kept secret :-)

wednesday knitting update

Wednesday again, well here goes. Here's a run down of my w.i.p.s. The good news is that I've finished one raspberry sock. And cast on the toe of the next one, which is the most fiddly bit. Evidence here:

Must give a shout out to my symfonie wood KnitPro dpns. Loving them. I picked mine up at Sunspun, Canterbury, one of my favourite knitting shops. I'd love to try these but no way I could justify them. Anyone out there tried the signature needles???

The next piece of progress is on some socks for my lovely husband. This is obviously a not-so-secret project. He, himself, is not at all boring but he does have boring taste in socks. They are a super plain ribbed sock. Pattern is a free ravelry download found here. To my shame these were started on the 1st of October and sock 1 was finished on the 8th of October... yet poor sock 2 has languished. I have now finished the leg and turned the heel, and I feel we may have turned a corner...

Sock 1

here we go again

Well I don't have much to report for wip wedneseday. I finished another pair in the Great Sock Gift Project 2011-12, which I hope to be able to reveal soon.

So I went back to my cute raspberry ribbed socks. After having finished another sock with the same wool I'm convinced I was using needles too big to suit the wool. So I frogged the whole lot. Better to start again now and have socks that will wear better. I'm also making a bigger size to account for the smaller needles, plus the previous sock was looking a little on the tight side.

Not sure if it's possible to see much of a difference but here goes:

old sock

new sock

I think the pooling works better with the larger number of stitches in the round too... We'll see.

The good news is that in the last 6 days I've managed to get back to where I was and now only have about 3 inches of the leg to go. Better get knitting.

gorgeous gansey girl socks

Here we go another wednesday wip... I fear these socks are going to be a wip for quite some time... but they'll be worth it in the end. These are gansey girl socks and they are totally gorgeous. They're by Debbie O'Neill and available as a free ravelry download here.

The cuff is a beautiful. A little obscured by the slight fuzz of the wool.

Here you can see the contortions that I undergo for the perfect obscure angle shot. With an urgent baby's fist tugging at my trousers...

Crazy chart action.

Now the reason that these socks are going to take so long is
1) the small ply of the wool (3ply)
2) the resulting thinness of the needles (2.25mm to get gauge)
3) the complexity of the pattern. I've stuck the three charts together above. And the tricky thing will be that the charts won't line up the same way once you start doing repeats. Oh well, no chance of getting bored :)

Can't wait to really get stuck in to these.

w.i.p. wednesday

This is a crafting phenomenon which refers to 'work in progress' wednesday... where I can give you a sneak peak at how some of my knitting projects are progressing. Some will have to be more obscure than others...

First, here are some socks I'm working on for myself at the moment:

They’re called ‘on-your-toes socks’ by Ann Budd. It's a free pattern available here. They’re a pretty simple rib pattern that won’t get lost in the beautiful colour scheme of the yarn. They’re also an opportunity to try out some new techniques like starting your socks at the toe (most sock patterns start at the cuff) and also a short-row heel (rather than a heel flap). 

Here's the cool toe.                          And the short row heel.

They're on hold at the moment while I work on some more pressing projects, but I've almost finished the first sock. :)