Sunday Knitting

Just some socks.

I haven't been knitting much lately, as evidenced by these socks I began eleven months ago. Partly that's because of the dog, who enjoys grabbing at my projects as I'm knitting and will only settle for, at the very least, closely inspecting it. It's hard to work under those circumstances. The other extenuating factor is that in the last few months I've had a lot of wrist pain and gave up on both knitting and yoga. But I've started knitting again because I want to take advantage of the fact that the dog is away at boarding while we have renovations being done on our house. It's going ok and I don't think it's bothering my wrists. I think yoga was the real culprit. (Those instructors really love having you remain in some variation of downward-facing dog for half the class, and I don't know why. Plenty of other poses to choose from.)

Anyhow, I have a new pair of socks. The days have been very gray so I wasn't able to get a very well lit photo. But they feel quite nice, which is what's important. I used some Regia yarn I had hanging around and the Garter Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks.

Now I'm hoping to focus on my East Neuk Hoodie which has also been in progress for many months.

Sunday Knitting

Before we get to the knitting, you may have noticed that my blog was down for two days during the week. Super annoying. This has now been fixed permanently and it should be smooth sailing from here on in. Yay!

Also this week, I finished a pair of socks.

I began them, I think, during the 14th month of winter when I was desperately craving something green and alive-looking. While reorganizing my yarn stash I had come across a couple of skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock that I totally forgot I had. That's the kind of surprise I like.

The pattern is from Sensational Knitted Socks, and is called Traveling Rib Eyelet. I never gave it a second look before, but this time I was looking particularly for something a bit open and lacy but not too complicated. I decided to just try it out for a pattern repeat and see what I thought, and I ended up liking it more than I expected to. Eventually I was able to go at a pretty steady pace without having to look at the pattern much, which is nice while knitting on the bus.

Until now, I haven't even touched the colorwork sections of Sensational Knitted Socks, though I've looked through the patterns many times. I've had problems in the past finding solid color sock yarns, especially in enough colors that there's two I like that go together well. But recently I decided to spring for some blocking mats from KnitPicks and added a few skeins of sock yarn to my order especially for colorwork socks. I'm looking forward to finally trying those patterns!

Sunday Knitting

And so completes my knitting/darning goal to be reached by fall. The socks that needed repair have all been darned, and now all the yarn I bought in the spring has become socks. I was holding out on wearing socks until these were done, but after the events of Friday night (a cold and rainy evening from which my ballet flats may never recover) I caved yesterday and wore some damn socks. And the world didn't end, and I still finished my final sock just hours later. They're nice. I like them.

This is the Ribbed Lace Socks pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, the only sock book I apparently ever need. The yarn is my new favorite, Cascade Heritage, in a color reminiscent of the ocean as viewed from a lobster boat in Maine when it is cold and choppy and somewhat miserable out. I have no idea where that childhood memory just came from. But that's the definitely the color.

I have practically no projects now. Oh sure, there's that "Mottled Rib Sweater" that keeps mocking me from the sidebar, but the reality of that is that it's in a bag tucked away in a hutch upstairs because I don't know if I'm knitting the right size and I've apparently forgotten how to figure out for sure. The first Jack-in-the-Box mitten is almost done but to be honest, it's off-white and that's boring so I've lost interest for the moment.

During a bright spot today I cast on for a purple shawl and knit around 14 rows before I realized that I only had 2 balls of yarn and the pattern requires at least 3. I can't for the life of me figure out why I'd buy 850 yards of yarn for a shawl that clearly requires 1250 yards so I convinced myself there must be another ball around and just went through my entire stash. There is no third ball. What I am going to do with 850 yds of purple lace weight yarn? Also, why I don't I have 400 yards of worsted weight yarn in my stash for the cowl pattern I just saw in Interweave Knits and am dying to cast on for? All my leftover yarn appears to be sock yarn, but I'm certain I've knit projects with other kinds of yarn and didn't use every last inch of it.

Well, believe you me I will figure out something I can make with yarn that is in my house and I will cast on for something I can show you next week.

Sunday Knitting

Here's how I've spent my bus commute for the past month or so:

This is the first of 3 skeins of practical-colored sock yarn I purchased at Windsor Button recently after finishing my decidedly-impractical bright orange socks (which, incidentally, I *have* been wearing.)

These socks are the Twin Rib pattern from my go-to sock book, Sensational Knitted Socks. Here's a close-up of the rib pattern.

The problem with practical-colored socks is that they are hard to photograph. The next pair, which I've already begun, will be just as problematic.

I used size 0 needles, but forgot to double-strand the heels for extra reinforcement. At least the yarn has a good amount of nylon content for extra strength (it's my new favorite - Cascade Heritage). I need to write myself a note to remind me to double-strand the heels on the sock I've just begun. This needs to become a habit!

My bus knitting is part of my plan to catch up on socks over the summer so I'll be fully stocked come fall. I failed at this last year, but then I was walking to work and then when I got a new job, driving. Now I can just knit away on a simple pattern while listening to audiobooks or podcasts. It's working very well so far! I'm afraid I won't have any very complicated socks to show off anytime soon though, as reading charts is too difficult on a bus (not to mention nausea-inducing.) The other part of my summer sock plan is catching up on darning - I mended 3 pairs of socks last night, and now just have 3 more pairs to go!

Madelinetosh Sock

Ages ago I promised you pics of my two socks in progress. One stalled after being ripped and re-started a number of times to deal with pooling issues, but finally I set that one aside to concentrate on the one that was going more smoothly.


But I never got around to posting that early progress shot, and now look where I am.


I'm very much enjoying my sock. It's Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in a shade called Pheasant, which is like a forest if a forest could be contained in a sock. (The color is pretty washed out in the second photo, but you can at least see the progress I've made.)

At first I tried to find a pattern from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn, in which there are many patterns designed explicitly for yarns that tend to pool. Although there are many beautiful patterns in that book, none of them were exactly what I wanted for this particular yarn. In the end, I turned to my old standby, Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch, and chose the slip-stitch rib pattern, one that I have long admired and was happy to finally knit.