Knitting

I hate Blogger! It's free, so do I have the right to complain that it just ate my carefully written post that included all sorts of good info and links? D**m blogger.

On to interesting things:

We were sitting, knitting and chatting away at our LYS last Thursday night when Angela came in. She was all excited about a pattern she was going to knit - the Saroyan scarf. She said that her mother had knitted it, it was a fast knit and it looks much better in person than in any photos she had seen. I had that pattern in my queue already, so it didn't take much of a push for me to decide to knit it. Several others in the group decided to knit that pattern too, so we have an informal KAL going.   Below you see the beginnings of my scarf, though I just finished ripping it out. I started again with a smaller needle. I thought the version below was a little too open. I am not sure if I will keep it or gift it, but it will feel great against the neck. The yarn is Mirasol Nuna and it glows.


This heartbreaking scene is one of my Thelonius socks. Both have holes in the toes. This is my absolute favorite pair of socks, and I really am upset. I will find the yarn and try to mend them, but plan to knit another pair once this self imposed year of "knitting man socks" is over. I'll choose yarn with nylon in it - the yarn below is just merino and obviously not strong enough for the use of my socks.









What you see here is the first of Sharon's socks. I am knitting the Calendula socks with Marks and Katten Fame Trend. I am concerned about the durability of this yarn, too, and it does not frog well. I love the pattern, though, and plan to make a pair for myself next year. I added ribbing to Sharon's socks to make them fit easier, leaving a 10 stitch stockinette panel on each side of the cable with the ribbing going the rest of the way around and I'll do that for mine, also.




Last year, before Christmas, I started knitting the Keelin Cap for my mother. When she visited for the holiday she tried it on and it was, as I suspected, way too big. I ripped back and was going to eliminate a pattern repeat to make it smaller. I emailed the designer to verify that I had gotten the stitch count correct, but she advised me not to do that - it would make things look out of proportion.



I decided to try using smaller needles and went down 2 sizes. I think it's working. This second photo is closer to the real color, and Mom likes it a lot, so I am glad that the needle sizing is doing the trick. The pattern is easy to follow and a fun knit. I have 3 of 4 pattern repeats (before decreasing begins) completed, so I think I can have the hat completed by the weekend.




This is my gauge swatch for my new sweater. I really like the Leaf and Picot cardigan on the cover of Interweave Knits. I resisted buying new yarn for the Saroyan scarf by choosing this yarn for the sweater.
This is Silky Wool, and I bought 8 skeins in a denim-y blue color. I swatched in the leftover yarn (teal) from my Slinky Ribs sweater (no, it does not yet have buttons on it. I had them in hand at the store but got side tracked). I like the swatch on the right more. That was knit on size 5 needles, the one on the left on size 6. I will swatch with 4s just to be sure, but I think I'll go with the 5s.
These are washed swatches.














My hand spun wrap is finished! I had these bits and pieces, didn't want to waste them, didn't quite know what to do with them. I don't care for the patchwork look. I settled on a stitch pattern that, I think, allows each different yarn, the color, the weight, the texture,  to shine.
The pattern is a variation of feather and fan with a cable thrown in every 8 rows. I love cables. ; )











This is the blocked photo. I just stretched it out on the deck - no pins or wires - and let the sun dry it. I am going to enjoy snuggling into this on those cool summer evenings.