Mock Wave Cable Socks

Posted on 23 April 2009 by Kris

I kind of hate purlwise M1s, and this project contained way too many of them for my tastes. Needless to say, I’m glad these socks are done!

Pattern:
Mock Wave Cable Socks by Ann Budd, published in Favorite Socks

Yarn:
Louet Gems Pearl in Baby Goldilocks

Needles:
US0 / 2.00mm Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs

 
I literally ran out of yarn – one sock is actually two rows shorter in the toe than the other because of this. That’s never happened to me before. After all, I’m quite short, so my socks are a few inches shorter in the leg than most patterns call for. And this usually leaves me with at least some yarn, so that I can darn the sock down the line if needed.

However, this particular sock pattern is 80 stitches around. Yes, 80. That kind of makes a difference over rows and rows of tiny stitches. There was no reducing the number of stitches, either, because this is the thinnest fingering-weight yarn I’ve worked with to date. (In heavier fingering-weight yarns, I’d usually use 64-72 stitches, and 72’s kind of on the large side.)

Oh well. I’m not sure if the current Louet Gems fingering weight is any heavier than this older skein of the Gems Pearl. If it’s the exact same weight, I probably won’t use it again for socks. (Well, beyond the last two skeins remaining in my stash.) It’s nice yarn, but it’s so fine, it takes too long to knit.

As for the socks themselves, I like the finished product, but the process was a pain. I am never knitting this pattern again. Mostly because of the purlwise M1s.

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Decisions, decisions

Posted on 18 April 2009 by Kris

I know I promised a Mountain Peaks post, but I haven’t had the heart to touch it in the past couple of weeks, even to take photos. I’ll post about it soon, but in the meantime, I have an update on another project.

Awhile ago, my newer Tubey looked like this.

Yes, this is the same photo I posted last year. I did keep working on it for some time after that photo was taken, but I never posted another picture because honestly? It looked pretty much the same, just a bit longer.

But, as I may have mentioned before, I later realized that it wasn’t going to fit the way I wanted it to. I went into denial for quite awhile and kept it on the needles anyway.

Last month, I finally sucked it up and frogged the whole thing.

I already have a new project in mind for this yarn, but I probably won’t start it for awhile. So all of this yarn is just going to sit pretty for awhile.

As a side note, turning frogged yarn into skeins is so much easier with a swift!

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April 2009 goals

Posted on 01 April 2009 by Kris

Wow, I failed. Again.

  1. Work on Mountain Peaks – Done
  2. Finish Mom’s convertible mittens – Not done
  3. Start and finish at least one Eleanora sock – Not done
  4. Start a sweater – Not done

Although I technically achieved my first goal, I actually made negative progress. (More on that in a future post. No, seriously. I have a draft of that post saved.)

I’m going to postpone goal #2 until later in the year, since now it’s too warm for Mom to use them. As for the other two, I’m keeping them for this month.

This month’s goals:

  1. Finish Mock Wave Cable Socks
  2. Finish Shetland Shorty
  3. Start and finish Rudyard
  4. Start Eleanora socks
  5. Start a sweater
  6. Work on Mountain Peaks

So, what about the other two FO posts I promised last month?

I ended up frogging Kipling because it doesn’t fit my niece. I’m going to make her Rudyard instead, because a) it’s bigger and b) the construction will annoy me less.

As for the Mock Wave Cable Socks, I made a gigantic error in the leg, and I didn’t notice until I was already halfway through the gusset. (No, I don’t know how I managed this.) And then my perfectionist streak kicked in, so instead of shrugging the error off, I ripped back to fix it.

Ugh. I really want to make positive progress this month!

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Demeter Camisole

Posted on 10 March 2009 by Kris

I decided to knit a camisole for Stitches West, and I finished just in the nick of time! How close was I cutting it? Well, it was blocking in the backseat on the drive up!

I wore it around on the Friday, although it wasn’t very noticeable, as I wore either a jacket or a shawl over it most of time. Actually, I inadvertently served as a walking MimKnits and Sensual Knits ad for part of the day, since I wore my Cleopatra Wrap.

Anyway, back to the camisole. It’s comfy, and cute, and I love it despite its little quirks!

(Wow, my wall looks really bright here. That’s not too true to color. But at least the camisole is! Okay, not quite, but it’s fairly close.)

Pattern:
Demeter Camisole by Miriam L. Felton (published in Sensual Knits)

Yarn:
Brooks Farm Acero, unspecified color

Needles:
US2 / 2.75mm Knitpicks nickel-plated circulars

 
My row gauge was spot on, but my stitch gauge was different – I really liked the fabric at 28 stitches/4 inches! However, the pattern calls for 23 stitches over 4 inches. So I used the stitch counts for the large size and the row counts for extra-small (due to my height, or lack thereof).

Due to how the pattern’s written, this worked really well for the most part. But, I forgot to account for my gauge difference when I knit on the edging. So the edging’s too long for the bottom circumference, giving me more of a ruffled effect. I actually like it, but it’s not what the pattern called for.

Speaking of the edging, it also curls a bit. A couple of other knitters on Ravelry seem to have this problem as well. I’m not sure how that could have been avoided – any ideas?

Also, there’s an error within the large size. (Although it may just be in my edition of the book, because as far as I’ve seen, no one else has encountered it.) The error is either the number of stitches to bind off for the armholes, or where to split the neckline in front – I’m not entirely sure which.

If you bind off 32 stitches for each armhole, and do the appropriate decreases, you end up with 84 stitches in the front. However, the pattern then tells you to divide for the neckline after slipping two and knitting 47. This would be appropriate if you bind off 18 stitches for each armhole (which the three smaller sizes call for). But if you’ve bound off 32, 49 stitches total would take you off center.

Given my build and my gauge, I definitely did not want to bind off only 18 stitches for each armhole. So for the neckline split, I slipped two, then knit 40.

Finally, I probably could have made the straps a tiny bit shorter, but I can definitely live with them as they are.

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Stitches West 2009

Posted on 04 March 2009 by Kris

I attended Stitches West for my second time last week. Fun times! And, I stuck to my budget!

Okay, actually, I’d set two spending limits for the market. The lower was the ideal one, the higher was the absolute one. I just barely exceeded my ideal market limit, and I’m significantly under my food and gas spending limits. So, I’m counting my overall spending level as a win!

If you just want to see the purchases, scroll down to the bottom of this post. If not, here’s a recap:

I drove up with Jessimuhka on Thursday, and we arrived just in time for the market preview. I was actually really good that night and stuck only to items that were on my “must have” list.

After the market, we had dinner at the Hilton with the ladies from the Anzula booth. And had the second-worst service I’d ever experienced, sadly to say. On the plus side, at least food and company were both good.

Friday was both the first and last full day at Stitches for me. That morning, Jess and I hit the market again to pick up a few more items. After lunch, we took the Morphing Cables class with Fiona Ellis, which was pretty great. Finally, there was an evening of socializing and knitting. And showing off our purchases, of course!

Speaking of purchases, here’s what I got this year.

Clockwise from top left, the yarns I bought are:

This is less yarn than last year, which is good because I’m trying to keep my stash to one set of storage drawers.

I did buy a few other items, though:

I bought the Gossamer Webs Design Collection because I really want to make the Medallion Lace Shawl sometime. I also got a shawl pin from Skaska Designs and sock blockers from Purrfectly Catchy Designs.

Finally, it’s not pictured here, but I bought a swift from Oregon Woodworker.

I’m really happy with all of my purchases!

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