TwistedLoops

I’ve finished both of the Fire on the Mountain Leyburns, and I’m really pleased with the way they turned out.

Since I’m not a fan of a short-row heel, I worked a toe-up heel flap.  I used eye of partridge as the pattern on the flap to emphasize the color variations in the yarn, as well as fit with the alternating slipped stitches used in the pattern.

In the end, there was a little bit of color pooling on the leg.  However, this is such a busy colorway that you have to look closely to notice it.

Pattern: Leyburn Socks
Designer: MintyFresh
Source: pepperknit.com
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight
Quantity: 1 skein (380 yards/155g)
Color: Fire on the Mountain
Needles: US1 (2.25mm)

Started:  January 21, 2009
Completed: February 7, 2009

Pattern modifications:

• I knit a toe-up heel flap following the instructions from Miraim Felton’s blog, mimknits.com
• Knit the leg using 60 stitches
• Increased to 62 stitches in pattern after 5 rows of the leg by adding 1 stitch on both sides of the centered back stitch.
• Knit the leg to 6.25 inches before starting the cuff
• Knit the cuff in 2×2 ribbing over 64 stitches

I haven’t really been knitting much since the start of 2009.  I just haven’t seemed to find the inspiration to work on anything.  So, knowing that this knitting funk could ruin my annual yardage knit average, I decided to join a knitalong, and let someone else tell me what to knit.  I decided to join the Socks that Rawk group on Ravelry in their Leyburn Sock KAL.  The goal is to knit the pattern in as many Socks That Rock colors as possible.  I chose to cast on in Mediumweight Fire on the Mountain.

The sock knits up so quickly.  I’ve finished the first sock, and made it to the heel on the second.  As I looked for my notes on how I knit the first heel, I put the two socks side by side.  Now, I had cast on for the second sock while at Knit Night on Wednesday.  I’d forgotten my pattern, and Border’s doesn’t have free wifi, so I couldn’t look up the pattern.  Still, I was confident that I remembered the number of cast on stitches and the stitch pattern, so I forged ahead.  I didn’t take the time to verify the pattern when I got home.  Instead, I continued working on the sock for two more evenings.

The second sock had a significantly wider and shorter toe than the first sock.  I must have cast on too many stitches to start.  I was correct in the number of stitches needed for the pattern and the pattern stitch.  It was the cast on that tripped me up.  So, last night I ripped out sock number two, and it’s waiting for me to start again.  Hopefully, I’ll be inspired to do so soon!

It’s another project from the backlog.

I picked up a copy of Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One from the library because I was interested in seeing the new ways she handled sock architecture in it.  I wasn’t completely sure I’d like the book, and since the local library has a good knitting book selection, I decided to give it a try.

After looking through the book, I really liked the Spiraling Coriolis socks, but I wasn’t sure about them.  Like many of the socks in her book, they were knit toe-up.  I usually stick to top-down socks, mostly because of my terrible wrap and turn short rows.  In fact, I’ve been known to rework patterns that are written toe-up into top-down so that I don’t have to deal with it.  This book set me straight on short rows.  Following the instructions that Cat provides, I finally understood how to wrap and turn.  The instructions just made sense.  Thank you Cat!

As I mentioned in my previous post on these socks, they did have a few challenges that I had to work through.  What you can’t see in any of the photos is how tight this sock is.  The spiral bands are much tighter than the rest of the sock, and make it a little difficult to get the socks on and off.  But, they also help to keep the socks up, which is something I worried about for my first pair of mostly stockinette socks.  But, overall, I’m really pleased with the way they turned out.

I’ve added this book to my wish list.  I think the ideas it contains are really interesting, and I’d like to explore a few more of them.  And, if nothing else, it contains a great set of instructions for short row wrap and turn.

I really like this last photo because you can easily see how the bands spiral in opposite directions.  Depending on how you wear them, they can spiral towards or away from each other.

Pattern: Spiraling Master Coriolis
Designer: Cat Bordhi
Source: New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight (360 yards/128g)
Color: Chapman Springs
Needles: US0 (2.0mm)

Started:  June 17, 2008
Completed:  July 30, 2008

Pattern modifications:
Since the patterns in this book are so customizable, there was little I needed to change.  However I changed the following things

• Increased the spiral band to 4 stitches all the way around
• started out with Magic cast-on
• Modified the slip stitch heel so that the heel flap is in the Eye of Partridge pattern
• Adjusted the decrease/increase rate on the leg to better fit the shape of my calf

This is the start of catching up on my backlog of finished projects.

Jim is behind this pair of socks, both the pattern and the yarn. One night, while I was searching for something new to knit, Jim told me to ”go get that book I got you”.  He was referring to Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks.  I went and got the book off the shelf and handed it to him.  He then asked me for two numbers.  I gave him two which he added together, flipped open the book to the page, and landed on Evening Stockings for a Young Lady.

Now, I wasn’t really looking to make that pair of socks, so I protested a little bit.  I tried all sorts of logic…”I don’t want to make them knee length”…”I don’t have enough yarn in one color to make them”…”It’s going to be winter soon, and I don’t want lacey socks”… Jim caved, and two numbers later, we landed on the page for Gentleman’s Fancy Sock.  Since I’d already knit that pair, Jim agreed to try one more time.  This time, he had me give him three numbers.  He added the first two together, and subtracted the third from the total.  Again we ended up on the page for the Evening Stockings for a Young Lady.  Even I agreed that perhaps the fates were directing me to knit the socks.

Next, he called for me to knit them in a “girly” yarn.  Now, if you know me, you’ll know that girly is not a word that would describe yarn I would usually buy.  We flipped to my stash page in Ravelry, and Jim picked out my Socks that Rock in Rhodonite, which he bought for me for our anniversary last year.  As you can see below, with its pink and purpleness, it definitely qualifies as girly.

I cast on for the pair that night, and worked on them exclusively for a few weeks.  In the end, I’m not sure why this pair of socks took me so long to knit.  The pattern was easy to memorize.  Each time I worked on them, I felt as if I made significant progress.  I think it may have been one of those cases where I just wasn’t doing much knitting.

The socks seem to have lost a bit of the overall pale pink girly quality that I felt that the yarn had in the skein.  In the finished socks, I actually think that the fuchsia and purple colors dominate the socks.  The color does dominate the pattern, as often happens with handdyed yarn and lace patterns, but I’m pleased with the final outcome.

Pattern: Evening Stockings for a Young Lady
Designer: Nancy Bush
Source: Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight
Quantity: 1 (360 yards/128g)
Color: Rhodonite
Needles: KnitPicks 32″ 2.25mm

Started: September 29, 2008
Completed: October 23, 2008

Pattern modifications:

• Skipped most of the shaped calf section by starting with 66 stitches
• Knit 14 rows 2×1 ribbing, followed by 7 rows of the 3×1 ribbing
• Knit 2 pattern repeats, then decreased 1 stitch at the center back every 4 rows until 60 stitches remained
• Knit 14 total repeats of lace on the leg
• Worked the foot over 57 stitches to ensure a snug fit
• Added 2 more plain rows and 1 more K2Tog row to the end of the toe to lengthen the sock

A few Saturdays ago was the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR. I took a trip down for my first Oregon fiber festival. I did manage to buy a bit of yarn.

First up was a purchase from A Verb for Keeping Warm. I’d first heard about the company in a Stash & Burn podcast. They use natural dyes, and their booth was filled with beautiful colors. I had a hard time choosing a yarn. I finally ended up with the Superwash Merino Fingering in Kerala, and is lovely shades of brown with some red tones.

Apparently, the next yarn I purchased is from a vendor also in the same Stash & Burn episode, but I don’t remember hearing their name (must go back and re-listen). The yarn is from Toots LeBlanc & Co. It’s 1200 yards of fingering weight yarn in a Jacob wool, alpaca and mohair blend. I’m thinking this would make a great “rustic-style” lace shawl.

I did, of course, make a stop at the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth. I took a cruise through and didn’t see anything in the regular stock that I needed. However, this skein on the Rare Gems rack caught my eye. For those who don’t know, the Rare gems are the mistakes or over-dyes when colors aren’t quite to the color specification.

I must admit that I’ve been a bit obsessed with chartreuse green lately, so this skein was particularly hard to resist. Plus, with the added depth of some rust and aqua colors (not colors I’d have imagined it paired with), it had to come home with me.

Finally, I purchased some lovely 100% alpaca laceweight from Crown Mountain Farms. It’s their Alpaca Lace Athena in the Stonehenge colorway. It’s 500 yards per two ounce skein, and I purchased two. I’m currently using it to knit Icarus.

I was also lucky enough to win a prize in Black Sheep Bingo, but I haven’t had a chance to photograph it yet. I’ll be sure and post it later.