Relatively mindless

Posted on 20 February 2008 by Kris

I really should work on my other socks, but I just haven’t been in the mood for colorwork lately. So I’ve been working on this instead:

Retro Ribs! The pattern kind of gets lost in the coloring, but I’m actually okay with that – it’s not like I’m knitting lace or cables, after all. There’s just enough of a pattern to keep me interested. At the same time, though, it’s just simple enough for TV knitting.

I haven’t started the second sock yet. I just wound the yarn for it last night, though, so I’ll be starting soon. And I’ll probably take it with me to Stitches, as plane/airport knitting.

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Hatter

Posted on 13 February 2008 by Kris

A couple of years ago, I bought some Manos del Uruguay wool at an LYS closing sale. At the time, I was thinking of making a minisweater, but I’d since changed my mind.

I couldn’t figure out what do for awhile, but then I decided I wanted a hat. So I whipped this up at the end of last month:

Pattern:
None – I winged it, using mistake rib as the stitch pattern.

Yarn:
Manos del Uruguay worsted wool in color 04

Needles:
US4 / 3.5mm Plymouth bamboo DPNs

 
This was a fast knit. I really like it for the most part! I’m sure this’ll pill like mad over time, and it’s a little too big, but I can live with both things. The important part is that it’s nice and cushy and warm. Not that I need “warm” right now, but it’ll come in handy at some point, right?

I think I’m going to make a matching scarf with the remaining yarn. Not sure yet, though… we’ll see.

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Darn it!

Posted on 09 February 2008 by Kris

I’m sad because one of my River Rapids socks has a hole in it.

This is definitely due to wear and not due to moths, which I’m sure of for two reasons.

First off, these socks just aren’t dense enough. I really should have used US0s (which is now my default for socks) or maybe even US00s. But I knit these before I knew much better. So these aren’t as hard-wearing as most of my other socks, and I’ve always had pilling issues and like with these anyway, especially on the soles.

The second reason is that I check for moths regularly, as a preventative measure – and so far, I’ve found no sign of them. I also “quarantine” new yarn acquisitions for awhile.

So yeah, I blame wear.

I’m planning on darning this, but the rest of the sole is still going to wear out sooner rather than later, I’m afraid. Which makes me sad because I quite like these socks, despite the too-loose gauge.

Oh well. On the plus side, this is after two years of moderate use. So, not too shabby. In fact, I think these have lasted longer than they should have! So I can’t complain too much, I guess.

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February 2008 goals

Posted on 04 February 2008 by Kris

Last month’s goals:

  1. Finish chart 3 of the Mountain Peaks Shawl – Not done, I’m just a couple of rows short
  2. Work on Tubey v2 – Done!
  3. Work on Fairways – Not done, got distracted by another pair of socks instead

I actually have been knitting, though. It’s just that lighting hasn’t been very good lately – too grey and overcast for most of January.

This month’s goals:

  1. Work on the edging for Mountain Peaks Shawl
  2. Work on Tubey v2
  3. Work on socks (Fairways, Retro Ribs, or both)

Still not much, but it’s something, right?

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Another chart down

Posted on 11 January 2008 by Kris

Progress continues on Mountain Peaks:

I took this picture just before I started chart 3.

I’m really pleased with how it’s turning out so far! Though I’m not entirely sure about how the sizing will work out – as I’ve mentioned before, I’m using finer yarn and smaller needles. It’ll probably be okay, but I won’t know for sure until I’ve finished chart 3.

In retrospect, I probably should’ve just double-stranded the yarn to get a larger shawl. Or I could’ve purchased the lightweight version of the pattern. But, oh well. I’m on the small side, so the shawl really doesn’t need to be very big. (And, I like smallish shawls anyway.)

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