Good sock luck #2...

...and a finished knit.

So after the unfortunate results I got with the ShiBui yarn, I actually bought the yarn called for in the pattern while I was in Toronto. Not only did I buy the brand of yarn called for in the pattern but I also bought the colour called for, too. This is a strange thing for me to do when it comes to socks.

Pattern: Highland Scottische Kilt Hose, from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks
Yarn: Brown Sheep Company's Nature Spun Sport, 3 balls of Ash
Needles: Metal DPNs size 2.75mm
Modifications: none (!)

I managed to knit these using only 3 balls of the yarn instead of the called for 4. I have about 10 meters left over from knitting for a size 8 woman's foot. I only bought 3 balls because it was all the store had in a colour that I liked and I was crossing my fingers that this wouldn't lead to another bad luck sock post. Hurray, it worked out for me this time.

Now all I need is a nice skirt/kilt to go with these.

Bad sock luck #2

This bad sock luck is due largely to my willingness to believe everything will turn out fine despite my doubts.

(please note that the red in this picture is more intense than in real life)

Last month I wanted to knit a pair of Nancy Bush's Highland Scottische Kilt Hose from Folk Socks. A trip to the yarn store yielded no nice plain sock yarn, though I did come home with a couple of skeins of ShiBui Sock yarn in a great red colour. I hadn't tried this yarn before and it was a new addition to the yarn store's stock and I was weak.

In the skein the yarn looked like a semi-solid so I decided that I would knit myself a red pair of the Kilt Hose using the ShiBui. As I knit I discovered that in fact the yarn produces stripes of lighter and darker red. At this point I convinced myself that even though the sock was pretty patterned and the red pretty eye catching some subtle striping would not make my knee socks too loud and distracting.

I kept knitting and decreasing according to the pattern until I realized that what were subtle stripes at the top of the sock were turning into pools of colour at the bottom. I do understand how self-striping yarn works so this shouldn't have come as a surprise but for some reason it did. At this point I was forced to admit that red knee high socks with yarn-over patterns, stripes and pooling were going to be unwearable. It took me nearly knitting a whole skein to realize this, though. Sigh.

So this work has now been ripped out and the yarn confined to stash. Luckily I did find a more appropriate yarn with which to knit my Kilt Hose and tomorrow I will show you the result.

A finished knit

This is a Pecan Pie Beret from knitty. I finished it a week or so ago but hadn't gotten around to snapping pictures of it. I enjoyed knitting it and am really happy with the final result. It is also the first of my Christmas knitting.

Pattern: Pecan Pie Beret
Yarn: The Fibre Company Terra (Cochineal colourway) and Noro Kureyon (221)
Needles: Bamboo DPNs size 3.5mm
Modifications: only yarn substitution

This was the first time I'd used either of these yarns and I enjoyed using both of them. I can see why Kureyon is popular. It was also my first attempt at Brioche stitch and I'm sure I'll be using it again sometime soon. It seemed like as soon as I learned the stitch I was seeing it everywhere on sweaters and boots. I like the way knitting sometimes makes you notice things like that for the first time.



The cat loves this hat and kept sleeping on it while it was blocking. She also decided that she couldn't be left out of a photo shoot with what I'm sure she thinks of as her hat.

Good sock luck #1

If you recall back in August I posted a picture of these Waterfall socks I was making for a secret pal out of a lovely red Trekking sock yarn. I really like how they turned out but then my secret pal disappeared. So I got to keep these and instead I knit another pair of Waterfall socks for my new secret pal.

None of this bothered me too much but it did leave me with a pair of socks that didn't really feel like they were mine. For one thing they were a bit too big; my secret pall had size 9 feet and I have size 8ish. As a sock knitter I knew I could unravel the toe and make the sock fit me, since they were top down socks, but I couldn't really bring myself to do it. I still wore them now and then but they always felt like someone else's socks.

A couple of weeks ago one of my best friends came to visit me from Regina. Veronica and I have been great friends since elementary school, though we don't get to see enough of each other now that we are living in different provinces. While she was out here visiting we made a weekend trip to Toronto to see Sarah, who has been our great friend since grade 8. I packed my Autumn Rose sweater to wear and a few pairs of my knitted socks, including the too large Waterfalls. Much wonderful hanging out, walking around, and eating occurred (as well as a 'quick' trip to the yarn store). It is always a joy to hang out with best friends.

At one point I was knitting away on a sock while we sat around her apartment and I thought to ask Sarah what size her feet are. Low and behold they are size 9. I dug the Waterfall socks out of my bag and sure enough they fit her. It was a lovely confluence of events. The socks that didn't feel like they belonged to me now belonged to Sarah.

So now both my best friends have hand made socks, since I knit Veronica a pair back in August. I now also know what size of socks to knit for my best friends and I can see this information being useful in the coming holiday season.

Bad sock luck #1

Ok, so I'm not off to a really quick start for NaBloPoMo, but I guess pacing oneself is important for these...

In the last few weeks I have had a run of bad luck with socks and a run of good luck to make up for it. Actually I'm not sure if the term 'bad luck' applies to all of my sock woes since chance may not be the biggest factor. In fact today's entries are all the inevitable product of time and wear. I have, for the first time worn a hole in one of my hand made socks:

This is one of my monkey socks and I'm not sure how I managed to wear such a large hole in the heel without noticing. I have been wearing this pair a lot since they are a nice blue that goes doesn't stand out if worn with jeans. I've also been wearing them in my favorite shoes which happen to be slip on shoes with low backs that rub the back of the heel when you walk.

It was a simple matter of time before I wore out a pair of socks but it was still a shock when it happened. It was a greater shock when I noticed that two other pairs of socks also had holes in them:


Oh woe is me. I'm not sure why but the three pairs of socks I knit during my last trip to Montreal decided to wear out at the same time. I'm wondering if the needles I used were cursed.

Anyway, all is not lost. As someone who will repair store bought socks if I like the pattern enough, I'll be sitting down to darn my socks one of these days soon. Luckily all three holes seem pretty stable because the socks are all slightly felted where they wore out. This means I don't have to worry about my sock unraveling while they wait for me to repair them.

Tomorrow: some good sock news.

NaBloPoMo

Recently I have had all kinds of ideas for posts for the blog but I just haven't gotten around to writing them up. In the last couple of weeks I've had a streak of bad luck with socks and also a streak of good luck with socks. I've also spun up some lovely blue/purple/grey yarn.

So I've decided to get my ass in gear and start posting more regularly. Since I've decided to do this now, so close to November, I've signed up for NaBloPoMo. This means that I will be posting every day for the month of November. Since I've got lots of Christmas gifts to knit there should be a variety of things to read about.

The plan, so far, is to not post tomorrow and post my list of sock horror stories on November first, even though scary stories are a perfect fit for Halloween.

Last of the Autumn Rose

I meant to get another picture or two of me wearing my Autumn Rose but that didn't quite happen. I did wear it all weekend but I didn't take any pictures. So here, instead, is a picture of what remains of the yarns I used to knit the Autumn Rose. Of course I have the most Old Gold left over and it is my least favorite colour of the lot. I'm thinking I might knit a tam or two with the leftovers.

Anyway, my main reason for this post was to finally record the details of this sweater...

Pattern: Autumn Rose Pullover, from 'Simply Shetland 4'
Yarn: Jamieson's Simply Shetland Spindrift in the suggested colours
Needles: Addi circular 3.25 mm 32 inches, set of Bamboo DPNs size 3.25mm
Size: smallest
Modifications: I followed the neck shaping instructions but I started the neckline 18 rows later than the pattern suggested. I began my neck shaping at the same time that I attached the sleeves. To compensate, I only picked up 232 stitches for the neckband.