twistedloops

Last March, I posted the fiber I got from Briar Rose Fibers for the Ply by Night Ravelry spin-along.  It was a mix of interesting colors, and I really had no idea how it would look spun into yarn.  The colors were misted throughout the top, not done in sections like most fiber I had worked with.  I decided to jump right in and see what would happen.  For me, the spin-along was all about the learning process, and I wasn’t concerned with what my finished yarn might look like.

By May, I had spun the four ounces into a single. After spinning, I was measured the length of the single and discovered that I had approximately 300 yards. I was worried that I wouldn’t have a good use for 150 yards of a bulky yarn.  I was also concerned that plying it would muddy the subtle color changes in the yarn, and I really wanted to preserve them.  So, I decided to leave it as a single, and try to find a pattern that would suit it.

Since I really liked the yarn I had spun, I wanted a project that would show the beauty of the yarn and not cause too much wear on the delicate single.  I settled on the idea of a small shawl.  That time last year predates the explosion of small shawl patterns that are now all over Ravelry, so it was a bit of work to find one that I thought would work.  I settled on the Little Arrowhead Shawl.  It had a simple pattern with basic edging, and could easily be adapted to the amount of yarn that I had.

This shawl sat unblocked in my closet until recently.  I blocked it and my Citron shawl at the same time.  This shawl was the first item I ever knit out of my handspun.  It is the project that really convinced me that continuing with spinning would allow me to create yarns that I would like to knit with.  Up until then, I enjoyed spinning, but wasn’t really sure where it fit into my overall crafting agenda.

I’m really pleased with the way the shawl highlights the color changes in the yarn.  I do think the two were a good match.  I wish that I had used a slightly larger needle to make it a bit more open and also a little larger, but it’s a nice, warm, small shawl. 

The pattern is available free online as one of the staff projects from the Interweave Knits, Summer 2006 issue.  It’s also in the Interweave Knits, Accessories 2009 issue.

Pattern: Little Arrowhead Shawl
Designer: Pam Allen
Source: Interweave Knits
Yarn: handspun
Fiber:  Briar Rose Fibers Blue Faced Leicester
Yardage: 310 yards
Needles: US7 (4.5mm)
Finished size:  22 inches tall x 48 inches wide

Started: May 3, 2009
Completed: May 10, 2009

April was underappreciated pattern month for the Ravelry Sock Knitter’s Anonymous (SKA) group knitalong.  To qualify as underappreciated, there had to be no more than 15 projects on Ravelry.  Before the month started, I did some research, and found that the Dresser Scarf Socks pattern in my queue qualified for the challenge.

Luckily for me, the knitalong began at midnight eastern time on April 1.  Since I’m here on the west coast, I logged into Ravelry, created my project, and cast on my socks.

The socks are an interesting constuction.  The length of the legs are knit flat and then grafted to form the back seam of the sock.  Then, stitches are picked up around the edges and the rest of the sock is knit in the round.  This construction has one flaw.  The sock has a tendency to want to bunch and sag down over the seam that is crated from picking up the stitches.  It doesn’t seem to matter what I try, it just does.

Overall, I like them and am glad I made them.

Pattern: Dresser Scarf Socks
Designer: Priscilla Gibson-Roberts
Source: Interweave Knits, Spring 2003
Yarn: Elann Esprit (100 yards/ 50g)
Quantity: 2 (200 yards/100g)
Color: Charcoal
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Started: April 1, 2009
Completed: April 12, 2009

Pattern modifications:

• I knit additional rows in the round before starting the heel.
• Replaced short row heel with the German Heel (37 stitches) from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks.
• Replaced short row toe with the French Toe (54 stitches) from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks, reduced to 9 stitches.

Yarn oveview:

• I’ve knit with Cascade Fixation before, and this yarn is very similar (identical?).  Some people can’t stand the yarn, but I don’t mind it.  I like having a cotton sock to be able to wear in the warmer weather.
• This is the second elann.com house yarn that I’ve purchased in a shade of gray that appears with very strong blue overtones.  I’m not sure that I would call this color charcoal.

I finished the William Street Socks a week or two ago, but I haven’t gotten around to posting about it.  I’ve worn them once, and they’ve been through a washing.

I knit this pair as part of the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous’ February Sockdown challenge.  The challenge for February was to try a new heel.  Since I’m strictly a top-down, heel-flap sock knitter, I tried this pair of toe-up, short-row heel socks.  I think that I’ll stick to top-down heel flaps.  While I like this pair of socks overall, I’m still not sold on the short-row heel.

Pattern: William Street Socks
Designer: Lisa Shroyer
Source: Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
(also available free online from IK)
Yarn: Schachenmayr Regia Tweed 6-Fadig (136 yards/50g)
Quantity: 2 skeins (272 yards/100g)
Color: Gray
Needles: Addi Turbo 3.25mm

Started: February 1, 2008
Completed: March 12, 2008

Pattern modifications:

• I changed the ribbing section of the pattern.  When I knit the ribbing per the pattern, the sock ended up much too loose.  To remedy this, I decreased the last round before the ribbing.  Starting with the cabled section of the sock, I K1, (K3, K2Tog) — this knit together the first and last stitch of each 5 stitch section of cable.  On the back of the sock, I did two decreases, one on each side of the center of the back.  On finishing the round, I slipped the last stitch of the back of the sock to the front needle, and did a P2Tog with the K1 from the cabled section.   This gave me 56-stitches on the needle.  I did P2, K2 ribbing around until I ran out of yarn.
• I used the magic cast-on for toe-up socks from Knitty instead of the specified cast on.
• I only used 2 balls of yarn.  While I wish the socks were a tiny bit longer, the length is acceptable.

Yarn oveview:

I do not knit socks with sport weight yarn very often, so it was interesting when the socks seemed to be progressing very slowly.  As for the yarn, I was surprised by the tweedy-quality of the yarn.  The little tweed bits seemed to be loosely added to the yarn, some even fell out of the yarn as I was knitting the sock.  Most all of the bits that can be seen in the Feb. 8th post on this pair of socks are gone now that they’ve been washed.  Overall, the sock has developed a slight halo of fuzziness from being washed, but otherwise is ok.

I did find another yarn in the stash that is appropriate for knitting the Little Child’s Sock.  It’s some Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Golden (a yellow-orange) that I picked up during a destashing this past summer.  As you can see in the photo, it does appear to have been knit and unraveled before the destashing.  My concern now is that there are dark spots in the yarn as I knit with it.  I can’t tell if this is just a side-effect of the dye process or if the yarn is dirty.  I’m really hoping that it’s just dye.  The whole experience with this destashed yarn is a little less than pleasant.

Since the yardage on the Supersock Yarn is significantly shorter than the pattern calls for, I’m eliminating some of the pattern rounds.  I’ve got about eight rounds left on the second sock and then they’ll be done.  Somehow, even with that few rounds left (and they’re toe rounds – so short!), I just can bring myself to finish them.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

Instead, on the first of February, I cast on for the William Street Socks [Ravelry Link] from Interweave Knits.  I decided that I needed a quick project, and since the socks are knit in a DK weight yarn, this should fit the bill.  I had the yarn called for by this pattern, but only two balls.  The pattern calls for three, but states if you make a smaller shoe size (I will) and do not do the larger ankle increases/size, that it should be ok with just the two.  Since it is a toe up sock pattern, I’ll just knit until I run out of yarn.  The project is going well so far.  While I’ve switched most of my cable knitting projects to cabling without a cable needle, I may dig one back out for this project.  The 10-stitch cable crossings are a bit awkward, and take a little longer than I’d expect.  I’m hoping they’ll be faster with the cable needle.

In other project news, I’ve put the yarn for the Orenburg lace shawl back into the stash.  I just didn’t have the patience for it right now.

I’m hoping to have some project photos soon.  My photo-shooting area has been a disaster because we painted the living and dining rooms.  We’ve been moving furniture, books, and other items all over the house.  It’s amazing how much stuff can be stored in one room, especially when said room has floor to ceiling bookshelves.

I finished the Embossed Leaves socks.  I’d wanted to knit this pattern since it was first published in Interweave Knits in the Winter 2005 issue.  Somehow, I’d never gotten around to it.  But, after seeing Jennifer and Michelle (her blog photo does not reflect the true beauty of that yarn/pattern combo) working on theirs at KTog, I decided that it was finally time for my own pair.

This pattern was pretty easy to learn, and I didn’t need to refer to the chart much once I got past the first pattern repeat.  The key was to know that the yarn-overs alternated on either side of a single stitch, and the decrease moved across the pattern repeat, but always left three stitches unknit.  Once I realized that, it all just clicked.  Not the fastest pattern, but not too much work either.  These are definitely a nice addition to the sock drawer.

Pattern: Embossed Leaves
Designer: Mona Schmidt
Source: Interweave Knits, Winter 2005 (also in Favorite Socks)
Yarn: KnitPicks Risata (196 yards / 50g)
Quantity: 2 skeins (392 yards)
Color: Cocoa
Needles: KnitPicks US0 (2.0 mm)

Started: December 27, 2007
Completed: January 7, 2008

Pattern modifications:

• I only knit the ribbing to 1.5 inches.
• I added an additional pattern repeat (4.5 chart repeats instead of 3.5) on the leg to make leaf patterning on the leg longer.
• I eliminated rows 10 and 12 in the sock to shorten the sock length.
• I changed the plain stockinette heel to a slipped stitch heel pattern (eye of partridge), but I kept the garter stitch borders on the heel flap.

Yarn overview

This was my first time working with the KnitPicks Risata.  I’d asked for and received this yarn as a gift for my birthday.  The yarn line was new in 2007, I was interested it in what it had to offer.  While I love my hand knit wool socks, they sometimes a bit too warm when the weather is warmer.  So, I’ve been interested in trying yarns with a higher cotton percentage in them.  Previously, I’d only used Cascade Fixation.  While it is a fine yarn, due to the unusual elastic nature, it isn’t suited as a replacement yarn for all patterns, and I don’t love it.  The Risata, however, can be a replacement for any fingering weight yarn, and has a fiber content of 42% Cotton, 39% Superwash Merino Wool, 13% Polyamide, and 6% Elite Elastic (this elastic does not give it the same elastic propery of Fixation).

I really enjoyed the Risata.  I only had one issue with it, and that was after I had managed to tangle a bunch of loose yarn after ripping back to fix an error.  Other than that, it knit up quite nicely; I didn’t find it splitty or anything of that unpleasant source.  The socks have been washed twice now, through the washing machine and dryer, and the yarn is great.  No pilling, no fuzzing – it still looks new.  This is definitely a yarn I would buy and knit with again (and that wasn’t my experience with the other KnitPicks sock yarn I’ve used – Parade, which has been discontinued).