Brigit Socks in Jitterbug & WIP

I finished up my Brigit Socks in Jitterbug last night.

Brigit Socks in Jitterbug

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Cast On:
February 12, 2009

Finished:
March 3, 2009

Pattern:
Brigit by Monkey Toes (Ravelry only pattern)
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brigit

Made for:
Me - 9" circumference, 9 1/4" long

Needles:
US 0 / 2.0 mm & US 1 / 2.25 mm Knitpick Options & Harmony
2 socks on 2 circs

Yarn:
Colinette Jitterbug in Vatican Pie - 160
1 skeins = 320.0 yards (292.6m)
Purchased at:
Tucson Yarn Company in Tucson, Arizona


I knit these toe up as I wasn't sure how much length I would get out of the Jitterbug. I have heard it is kinda short on yardage. So I figure it is safer to do it this way.

I like the pattern. It worked out pretty well doing it toe up. I used the heel from the Wendy Johnson Toe-Up Feather and Fan socks. I found I like her double wrap. It closes up the holes that I can sometimes get with toe-up socks. So that is good.

I am pretty happy with these. Nice solid socks. Not earth shattering, but they will be good to wear.


Chevron Lace Scarf in Tempted Handspun

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Pattern:
Spot-Dyed Chevron Lace Scarf Pattern by JP
http://the-doily-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/spot-dyed-chevron-lace-scarf-with.html

Needles:
US 9 / 5.5 mm Knitpicks Options


Yarn:
Handspun by Me
145.0 yards
Fiber is Tempted Hand Painted 80% superwash merino/20% Cashmere Fiber in Roxanne - Red & Black
Purchased at
The Loopy Ewe in St. Louis, Missouri

Wanted a pattern that should be easy yet feature the yarn I had spun quite nicely. I found this pattern. It is an ideal fit.

The pattern allows for great customization. Yet it is only 2 rows, so it is super simple & quick. Definitely is showing off the striping of colors wonderfully.

Alpaca Drops Cabled Socks Finished!

I am a very happy gal. I finished the Alpaca Drops cabled socks last night!

Cast On:

Sunday Oct. 7th.

Finished:

Tuesday Oct. 30th.

Pattern:

100-19 Socks with cable pattern in Alpaca

http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=100&d_id=19&lang=en

Yarn:

Catalina Yarns Baby Silk in Claret

70% baby alpaca/30% silk

http://www.catalinayarns.com/pages/babysilk/babysilk.html

Needles:

2 circs - 5 size for the leg & a size 4 for the heel & foot

Used my Knitpicks and the Boyds. Like having the two different ones as I can tell them apart.

If you want to see the pictures larger, click on them. I have very large images on Flickr. But I didn't want the page to take eons to load.

Front View:

Side View:

Flat View:

I have posted the rest of the pics as links. I really don't want to overload anyone's connection. Paul took a lot of pics for me.

You can also click on the Flickr set and browse them that way.

Side Close Up

Flat View 2

Flat Single Sock

Front View 2

Back of Calf

Back of Calf 2

Top of Foot

Flat Single

I did these socks as part of the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous Oct. sock knit along. (The ravelry links only work if you are on ravelry. But they will be opening to the public someday.) Happy to report I finished on time.

The cool thing is that the KAL has 2 months to complete the monthly challenge. So I could have taken until the end of November. I don't think I would have taken on this pattern if I had to get them done by today. So I took on something more complex as I knew I had the time to finish it.

It took nearly an hour to transcribe the chart & lay it out in Excel. However, I think it was well worth the time.

I was a bit intimidated by the complexity. However, it wasn't too bad. I just had to stay focused. So they weren't really mindless knitting.

The pattern is really beautiful. I love the color and they should be pretty warm.

I think there are a couple flaws in the pattern. In the M.3 chart,it says 16 rows. In fact it is 18, just like the M.1 pattern right beside it. It also appears that in the 11th row from the top of M.2, one of the knit stitches is in the wrong spot.

I should post the chart & the written out directions I made for this soon. It could be helpful to others. Though I should modify the pattern a bit with the notes I made. I tweaked it for two socks on two circs.

I picked up the yarn at Adirondack Yarns in Lake Placid, NY. I got it while I was up there. Tee had mentioned that there was a book store in Saranac Lake that had some alpaca yarn. The guy at the store said alpaca shouldn't set off allergies. So I stopped by when I was up there. I did a test swatch and it didn't bother me after having it on for 3-4 hours. So I was thrilled to find I am not allergic to alpaca.

I confess, I think the yarn was a bit too fluffy for the pattern. It would probably have shown much better with a different yarn. However, I really do love the yarn, the color and the way they came out. So I am happy with the socks.

I don't know if these socks will wear well at all. It may not be plied tightly enough. Also, they may not have enough memory to stay put. But I don't care. I like the way they came out. I will just have to be sad if they wear out.

I really want to find some good alpaca sock yarn! These feel wonderful.

Drops Socks with Cables in Alpaca

I cast a new pair of socks on last Sunday, the 7th.

Pattern:

Drops Socks with Cable pattern in Alpaca

Yarn:

Catalina Baby Silk in Claret

4-ply Worsted

70% baby alpaca/30% silk

2 skeins with 100 grams (3.5 oz)/218 yards each

Needles:

Knitpicks size 5 & Boyd size 5

Doing it two socks on two circs method

Front:

Back:

I am hoping to complete these for Raverly Sock Knitters Anonymous Oct. sock knit along. Hope to finish in time. Though the good news is that the deadline for the knit along is Nov. 30th. Just has to be cast on during October.

The pattern is definitely interesting. It is originally in Danish or another Scandinavian language. It took me nearly an hour to transcribe the chart & lay it out in Excel. I think it will be worth the time.

I was a bit intimidated but the complexity, but once I got used to it, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Though the cabling in the pattern on the front is a bit odd. I have never done single stitch cables with it moving between knit and purl. So that has been interesting.

The pattern is really beautiful. I really hope mine will come out well.

I think there are a couple flaws in the pattern. In the M.3 chart, it says 16 rows. In fact it is 18, just like the M.1 pattern right beside it. It also appears that in the 11th row from the top of M.2, one of the knit stitches is in the wrong spot. It should be one over from there.

I should post the chart & the written out directions I made soon. It might be helpful to others. Though I am guessing that if a knitter doesn't bother writing out charts, they would probably be fine with the pattern as it is. I just don't work that way. I like it written out.

I have about 21 1/2 cm out of 25 done for the leg. They are close to knee high. Something I hadn't done before, so it is interesting as well doing calf shaping. Though it doesn't require as much as I feared. So that is nice.

I am going to change to a size 4 needles for the heel flap & the bottom of the foot. I do worry that these won't wear very well. I am hoping the silk will help the wear, but I am not certain if it will. But hey, they are attractive and I like that they should be warmer.

Best get some things done for work. I hope to post more later today.