Pan’s Shawl - Making Progress!

One of the projects that I can easily work on while going through the cataract surgery process is my Pan’s Shawl.  I am getting to the point where I need to start thinking about the color to use for the knit-on edging.  I have a choice of three colors that were dyed up as part of this Pandemic 2020 set.  There was also a blue skein, but that one has already been used as part of my Joy to The World - Cindy Shawl.

Right now I am leaning towards the yellow skein, which is conveniently already caked up, as that will provide a nice color pop, even though the yellow is not a dominant color in the multi-colored skein that I used for the body.  I love these boomerang shawls.  They are a great way to use up single skeins, or remnants of mini-skeins, they are easy to wear, and you can always tie the ends behind your back and turn them into a shrug if you’re washing dishes or cooking and don’t want your shawl getting in the way.  You can also just wrap them around your neck like a scarf.  So versatile!

Pattern:  Improvised Boomerang Shawl

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

A Temporary Disruption in Activities

Back in the fall of 2024, as I was heading in to the terminal leave phase of my upcoming retirement, I had my yearly visit to my eye doctor, at which we discussed the progress of my cataracts.  I had started to notice some annoying visual effects in my left eye, especially when using computer monitors.  These were due, my eye doctor informed me, to the way the cataract in my left eye was refracting the light coming in to my eye.  We updated my prescription, and I began my terminal leave.  One of the regular activities that I restarted was practicing piano, but the first time I played after getting my new glasses I had trouble focusing the notes on the music page.  I have glasses just for playing piano, which have not been updated for a few years, and when I alternated which eye I looked through I realized that the left eye, and the annoying visual effects, was the culprit, so I put a cardboard patch over that lens and proceeded with my practice.  I then spent the next few days training my brain to ignore the visual input from my left eye, which has been my dominant eye all my life.  The reprogramming was successful, but it did take a good deal of brain processing power to maintain, leaving me fatigued by early evening.

Over the course of the next year I began to notice that I needed more light when I was knitting.  I started using my Lumos neck light more and more often in order to see my stitches, and I was still dealing with mental fatigue and eye strain, which at times resulted in headaches.  When I went back for my annual visit to the eye doctor last fall, we again discussed my cataracts, and she asked if I had noticed needing more light.  Ha!  It turns out that in addition to the yellowing of my lens, I also was getting fogging of my lens and, even though my vision could still be corrected, we decided that with the degradation in the quality of life I should go ahead and get cataract surgery.  We started with the left eye, as that was the worst, and she suggested that the right eye could wait, even another year.  So at the end of October I went to an ophthalmologist and was evaluated for cataract surgery.  Given that all my life my left eye has been far-sighted and my right eye has been near-sighted, we decided that mono-vision would work well for me.  This past Thursday I had the cataract surgery on my left eye, with an upgraded lens that also fixed my astigmatism.  I love my new left eye, the visual acuity is amazing.  So when I went in for the follow-up appointment on Friday we scheduled the right eye for December 18th.  So, I’m getting new eyes for Christmas.

I have not worn my glasses since the surgery, as my right eye is adequate, although not perfect, for seeing near field.  I also have an astigmatism in my right eye, which is worse than the one that was in my left, but it is mostly noticeable when looking at a distance.  The best part about the getting my left eye fixed is the increase in my mental energy and the fact that I no longer get fatigued in early evening (falling asleep while watching television at 0830 in the evening kind of sucks).  However, given the current limitations of my right eye, some knitting projects are easier to work on than others - small needles and dark yarn are a little bit of a challenge, so I will be focusing on different projects until I get my right eye fixed.  By early next year everything should be all healed up and I can go back to my eye doctor and see what I might need in the way of glasses.  In the meantime I have multiple eyedrops to put in my eye multiple times a day, for which I created a tracking spreadsheet, and in two weeks I will have two eyes to deal with, but I’ve already made up the spreadsheet for my right eye (easy enough to do, I just had to change the dates).  My physical activity is also a bit curtailed until everything is healed up - I don’t want to screw up the surgery and have to go back and get it redone.  I am super-excited about getting new eyes, and not having to wear glasses all the time is a novel experience, after 50 years, that I’m still getting used to.  The process is pretty disruptive, what with all the appointments and the eye drops and the physical activity limitations, but this way I will get it all done and dusted, and after seeing what a new lens has done for my distance vision, I am looking forward to seeing what it will do for my near vision.

Floret Socks - One Sock Done and Second Sock Cast On!

After finishing up my Acorn Sweater I quickly finished up the first sock Sunday evening.  I immediately cast on the second sock and am about half-way done with the leg.  The fit of the first sock is perfect and I am very pleased with it.

Pattern:  Floret by Makenzie Alvarez

Yarn:  Experssion Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Acorn Sweater - Finished!

I finished this sweater up this past Saturday.  It actually dried quickly for a DK weight sweater, but since it has dried I have been pondering the mysteries of gauge.  The sweater actually fits me perfectly, but I really think I just got lucky this time.  When I knit my gauge swatch I thought I was good to go.

When I tried on the sweater I realized that the ease was not as large as I was expecting based on the pattern size.   It meant that the sweater actually fit me better, and with the merino/silk blend, it feels wonderful to wear.  So I decided to check the gauge of the finished sweater to see how it changed, as well as going back and re-checking the swatch.  While it was lying around the swatch actually tightened up a bit, to about 21.5 stitches and 30 rows in a four inch square.  On the sweater itself, the body gauge ended up at 22 stitches and 26 rows, while the sleeve gauge ended up at 22.5 stitches and 27 rows.  I wasn’t surprised that the sleeve gauge tightened up, as I do tend to knit tighter on the smaller circular needles (in this case 16” circulars).  The pattern gauge is 20 stitches and 28 rows in a four inch square.  I knit the sweater on US 6 (4.0 mm) needles, and I like the fabric, it is not dense, nor is it loose, and it still has nice drape - the silk helps with that, but so does the superwash merino, as superwashing wool pretty much denatures it and removes any woolly-ness.  Most of my experience to date has been with superwash wool, as it wasn’t until I started spinning that I really started getting in to the wonder that is non-superwash wool, so this discussion is based upon my experience with superwash wool

Now, I don’t really trust pattern gauges that much anymore.  I typically will knit a swatch to get a fabric that I like, but I don’t obsess about completely matching gauge.  I can do the math to make the adjustments.  Over the years I have decided that there is an optimal gauge for any yarn when knit in stockinette that gives a nice fabric, not too dense, not too loose, with a stitch to row ratio somewhere around 0.75.  How did I get to that number?  It is simply based on the fact that when picking up stitches along the edge of knitting the typical rule of thumb is three stitches for every four rows.  I will often check this ratio when looking at a pattern, and if the gauge stated for stockinette varies too far from this ratio I may not trust the stated gauge (especially if it is lower).  So let’s look at the ratios of the pattern gauge as compared to the gauge that I ended up with.  The stitch to row ratio of the pattern gauge is 20/28 = 0.714.  For the body, my stitch to row ratio is 22/26 = 0.846 and for the sleeves it is 22.5/27 = 0.833.  So both are on the higher end, but the fabric is nice and definitely not too dense.  Now it should be noted that if I had to pick stitches up along the edge of knitting with this gauge, I would pick up 4 stitches for every 5 rows, as this would give me a ratio of 0.8.  Based upon the resulting gauge of the finished project I doubt that I could have matched the pattern gauge even if I had tried, at least not with this yarn.

The needle size that I will pick for any given yarn is based on matching the diameter of the needle to the width of two strands of the yarn laid side by side.  I base this on the structure of knitted fabric and the way the loops of the stitches lay.  Picking a needle size based upon the size of the yarn strand ensures that the stitches will nestle nicely and will not be loose.  If there is extra yarn in the loop the knitting will lack structure and will become easily misshapen.  Loose knitting also makes measuring a gauge swatch problematic, as you can stretch it vertically or horizontal to match a gauge, but once you turn that into a garment, gravity is going to take control with potentially disastrous results.  This is why I also take issue with anyone who states that matching stitch gauge is more important than matching row gauge.  Both are important, because they are intimately connected as it is all a continuous strand of yarn, so you cannot separate them in your consideration of your knitted fabric and the resulting gauge.  Another interesting benefit that I have found with my method of picking a needle size is that I don’t have the problem of rowing out when knitting flat.

There are many factors that go into knitted fabric and the resulting gauge, and not all of them can be taken into account by a gauge swatch because size does matter, and I don’t think that you can really make a gauge swatch large enough to fully explore all of the factors.  I have had gauge swatches that were truthful, and some that were not.  In a pattern that is knit vertically, row gauge can be problematic because of gravity.  I also think that superwash merino, especially when blended with silk, is going to stretch vertically.  Superwash wool lacks the spring that non-superwash wool has, and the stitches will slide past each other instead of clinging to their neighbors, so the row gauge should be expected to change, which will also change the stitch gauge because they are connected.  How the yarn is spun will also affect the resulting gauge of the finished project, a more tightly spun and plied yarn is not going to stretch as much as a more loosely spun and plied yarn.  The sweaters that I have knit out of sock yarn definitely do not stretch as much, and their gauge swatches were truthful.  So, definitely a learning experience here, and I’m very glad that it all worked out and that the sweaters fits me.

Pattern:  Adult Acorn Sweater by Kalley Reedy

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine DK Silky Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm, for the ribbing)

Acorn Sweater - Sleeves Done!

I decided to take a break from working on the body and get the sleeves done.  Due to the fact that I had to extend the yoke 1.5 inches past what the pattern called for I was little bit concerned about yarn usage, so wanted to get the sleeves done so I would know how much I had left to finish the body.  I did make a few modifications to the sleeve cuffs, mostly because I didn’t really read the instructions carefully.  The pattern has you work the texture round, and then work 2 rounds before decreasing.  I did the decrease right after the texture round, and I like the look so I left it when I discovered my change.  I also worked 7 rounds of the ribbing instead of 6, as the pattern called for.  The neck band has 7 rounds, so I thought I would just make all the ribbing 7 rounds.

Pattern:  Adult Acorn Sweater by Kalley Reedy

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine DK Silky Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm) & US 4 (3.5 mm, for the ribbing)

Floret Socks - Heel Turned and Gusset Done!

I do always enjoy turning the heel on my socks.  It still seems like magic.  At this point the heel is turned, the gusset stitches picked up and all the gusset decreases done, so now I just knit the foot, with patterning on the top and stockinette on the bottom until it is long enough to start the toe decreases.

Pattern:  Floret by Makenzie Alvarez

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Acorn Sweater - Yoke Done!

I do enjoy knitting stockinette in the round.  It is just so mindless and endless, you just keep knitting, and watching things grow.  It is great for reading, and I do love reading.  It is also great for watching TV that you have to actually watch.  So far I am liking the pattern, and the yarn is wonderful to work with.  I did extend the yoke before setting aside the sleeve stitches and casting on the underarm stitches past where the pattern instructions stated for my size, knowing that I need a deeper yoke to accommodate my broader shoulders.

This photo was taken after I had finished up skein two of the four skeins that I have.  I did some quick math on yarn usage, and I should be fine.

Pattern:  Adult Acorn Sweater by Kalley Reedy

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine DK Silky Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm, for the ribbing)

Floret Socks - One Leg Done!

Even with all the other knitting going on, I have not been completely neglecting my Floret Socks.  These are mostly podcast knitting, when I don’t need to be paying close attention to something on TV.  The dark yarn can be a bit of a challenge at times, but that is what good lighting is for.  Overall I am very happy with how these socks are turning out.  Here is a picture of the patterning.

That repeating motif will continue all the way down the foot to the toe.

Pattern:  Floret by Makenzie Alvarez

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

 

Acorn Sweater - Cast On!

Sometime in the past year, I saw this yarn on the Daily Dream email from Sundara Yarn, and just fell in love with the color, so I bought 4 skeins.  I thought it would make a beautiful cabled vest, and even had a pattern picked out (Caol Ila by Thea Colman).  I set the yarn aside until I finished up some other projects, but back on November 9 I caked up one of the skeins and knitted a swatch.  It was a dream to knit with.  The yarn is Extra Fine DK Silky Merino, and is 75% superwash extra fine merino and 25% mulberry silk.  When I pulled the swatch off the blocking square I knew that I wanted to make something simple, in stockinette, to let the glorious subtle colors of this yarn take center stage.

So, back to Ravelry I went, gauge swatch in hand to find a sweater pattern that would work.  I found several potential patterns, but in the end I settled on the Adult Acorn Sweater by Kalley Reedy.  It is a yoked pullover, with a little bit of decorative stitching after the yoke increases.  I have never knit any of her designs before, but the pattern is very well written.  I also wanted something mindless for reading and TV knitting, and this checks that box.  So, after finishing up my Tahari Tank, I cast on.  It has worked up quickly so far.

The neck hole does look small, but I have tried it on, and it fits.  It is a crew neck, with short row shaping for the back of the neck.  I used the tutorial she recommends in the pattern for the wrap and turns, and then had to find one for that last wrap when you start working in the round again.  The link in the pattern takes you to a video on the Knitting with Suzanne Bryan channel, and I found one for working that last wrapped stitch on Andrea Mowry’s channel.

Pattern:  Adult Acorn Sweater by Kalley Reedy

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine DK Silky Merino 

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm - for the ribbing)

Tahari Tank - Finished!…and Frogged

I finished up my Tahari Tank, using my handspun Rambouillet, this past Saturday, and blocked it.  It was dry yesterday, so I tried it on.  There are many things that I love about this project, but there are some things that I just can’t abide.  I love the fabric.  The knitting looks great, and I am super pleased with my handspun yarn, and my dye job.  But the armholes are too big, and they gape, and also come down a little too far for my comfort.  Not really indecent, but just outside of my comfort zone.  Of course, being a breast cancer survivor, and only having one boob, does affect how things fit.  I could wear a knitted knocker to be symmetrical, but then I would have to wear a bra, which I don’t, because I don’t need to (because my remaining one is small).

It doesn’t look too bad on my dress maker dummy, but on me, not so great.  And then there is the whole retro bathing suit vibe.  I do like the stripe of lilac, but it hits right across the middle of my buttocks.  The top itself comes down to just past.  And while I did work increases to try to keep the ease going over the hips, I was only partially successful there, so there isn’t as much ease over my hips, tummy and buttocks as I might otherwise like.  I also didn’t realize how far this yarn would go, and realized that I could make a pullover, which I think I would get more wear out of.  So, in the end I decided to treat this as a giant gauge swatch.  I measured my gauge and went hunting for another pattern, which I found, and it was already in my library, which makes it even better.  It is a simple V-neck pullover, that is very customizable, so I can use up as much yarn as possible.  I’m not sure if the lilac will make another appearance - maybe as ribbing?  We’ll see.  Anyway, I spent most of yesterday picking out the tubular bind-off, which took me quite a while, although I did get pretty good at it.  And now the yarn is re-skeined, and had a bath, and is currently drying on my yarn drying rack in the bathtub of the spare bathroom, which is also where I do my dyeing.

The yarn held up beautifully to being frogged, which also makes me proud of my spinning.  The moral of this story?  Don’t be afraid to frog.  That is one of the best things about knitting, you can get a do-over, provided that the yarn takes frogging well (there are some that don’t).  I like the pattern, and will probably make it again, in some other yarn, and as a proper tank top.   It was very well written, and I mostly liked the fit, except for those armholes, which to be honest, I had some doubts about when I was working them.  Another moral - listen to your instincts.  Would I have kept it if the armholes were better?  Probably not.  I did think about just taking the top in under the armholes, but there were those other fitting issues that I couldn’t really fix that easily.  But all in all, a great experience.  I learned lots and I really enjoyed the knitting itself, even if the top didn’t come out quite as I had envisioned it.

Pattern:  Tahari Tank by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn:  Rambouillet, handspun by me

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm)

Floret Socks - Cast On!

So yesterday I cast on the Floret Socks by Makenzie Alvarez.  This is the first pattern of this designer that I have knitted, but she has some really beautiful patterns in her Ravelry store.  I am through the ribbed cuff and a few rounds in to the chart.  The pattern is well written.  This skein is one of the Spring’s Promise trio.  The yarn might be a little dark for the patterning, but I’m good with it, even if it is a bit challenging to the old eyeballs.

Pattern:  Floret by Makenzie Alvarez

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Moderne Socks - Finished!

I finished up my Moderne Socks yesterday morning while watching the rest of the Fleece & Harmony wool cast, and the latest John Arbon Textiles vlog, and then random classical guitar and lute videos.  This is it for the Janel Laidman sock patterns.  I do have one more skein of club yarn, but I think I will use it for  a Cookie A sock pattern instead.  I looked at the Janel Laidman pattern that it was intended for and it just didn’t excite me at all.  This skein of Expression Fiber Arts came as part of a trio called Spring’s Promise and when I was putting the remnants of this skein back in the box I pulled out the other two skeins and decided that they really need to become socks, so I caked them up and went pattern searching and found patterns, that were already in my library, for both.  So even though Socktober is over, I will continue with the sock knitting.

Pattern:  Moderne by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Moderne Sock - Second Sock - Heel Turned!

And here is proof that I have not forgotten the second Moderne Sock.  I did actually cast on pretty much as soon as I had finished the first sock, and I’ve completed the leg and turned the heel and am working the foot.  I have just started the gusset decreases, which are all on the top of the foot.  Now that I have the Tahari Tank through all the interesting parts I can turn my attention back to this project and get it finished up so I can start the last Janel Laidman sock club sock in my stash.

Pattern:  Moderne by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Tahari Tank - Armhole and Neck Ribbing Done!

I have not forgotten about the second Moderne Sock, but I did get just a bit distracted by this project, which I cast on back on October 28.  The first breed of sheep that I spun in my Breedschool was Rambouillet, and it was a delightful spin, resulting in three pretty consistent skeins of sport weight yarn and one smaller skein approaching fingering weight.

Last month I dyed the three larger skeins up, first in Lilac, and then because I really didn’t like the pale color, I overdyed them in Eggplant.  I had been searching for the perfect pattern and when I finally found it I immediately cast on.  So far the knitting has gone extremely well, I was able to get gauge using a larger needle than that called for in the pattern, but my yarn is also a bit heavier than that called for in the pattern (which calls for a fingering weight).  The fabric is wonderful, and the fit is pretty darn good.  The pattern instructions are extremely well written and easy to follow, and I was just having so much fun knitting that I didn’t want to do anything else.  Now I have this to the point where I’m just knitting in endless rounds (until I decide it is long enough and start the ribbing), so it is perfect mindless TV and reading knitting.

The ribbing is 1x1, and is bound off using the Tubular bind off.

Pattern:  Tahari Tank by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn:  Rambouillet handspun and dyed by me

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm - for the ribbing)

Moderne Socks - One Sock Done!

I finished up the first sock last night, but it was not without some challenges.  There is a chart for the toe, and you have to pick the right spot to start it.  I had seen comments on project pages about the fit of the toe so I was a bit concerned about starting that last chart in the “right” spot.  My first attempt started the chart too early, and I ended up with too much toe left at the end of the chart.  No problem, I thought, I can just work a few more rows and decreases and it will be fine.  Well, it wasn’t fine, for a couple of reasons.

Yeah, no toe should look like that.  And it doesn’t work any better on a foot.

At this point it was time to exercise, so I put it back in the project bag and went downstairs for my daily workout.  While exercising I pondered my next move and decided to just rip back and try again, which I did, at which point I noticed another mistake that I had made way back when I started working the gusset.

See that column of purl 1, knit 2, purl 1 near the bottom of the foot?  Yeah, it shouldn’t be there.  That should just be knit.  Don’t ask, I don’t understand how I messed it up, but I did.  So, I dropped down those columns of purl stitches (they are on both sides of the foot) and picked them back up as knit stitches.  Pretty easy, really.  And then I got back to that toe.  I worked a few more rounds before starting the final chart and everything was going great until I decided to check my stitch counts and discovered that I had one less stitch on the top of the foot than I was supposed to have.  I checked my knitting and discovered that I had done an extra decrease way earlier in the chart.  I thought about it for a few minutes and decided I was not going to go back and fix that one as I had already ripped back once.  I just did an extra decrease on the same side on the bottom of the foot and called it good.  I’ll repeat the mistake on the other sock, but do it on other side so that whichever way I put them on both mistakes will either be on the inside or the outside of my foot.  Now I will go cast on sock two.

Pattern:  Moderne by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Sylvan Socks - Finished!

My Sylvan Socks have also come off the sock blockers.  I love how they came out, and am so glad that I was able to use the original club yarn, the subtle color variations are really beautiful.  The fit is also excellent.

Pattern:  Sylvan Socks by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Abstract Fiber Mighty Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Moderne Socks - One Leg Done!

I have been making good progress on my Moderne Sock, completing the leg of the first sock yesterday afternoon.  I like the patterning, Janel could design really cool socks, and I’m glad that I did the twisted knit stitches in chart one instead of regular knit stitches.  I do think it looks better.  There was an error in this pattern as well when it came to shifting the stitches prior to working the heel flap to center the design so that it continues onto the top of the foot correctly.  Fortunately another knitter had already noted the issue, and it wasn’t hard to figure it out just from looking at the charts.  I am also really enjoying the yarn.  This is the first time I have actually knit with Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock, although I have used some of their other yarns.  I love the colors, especially that yellow spiral going around the leg.

Pattern:  Moderne by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Pan’s Shawl: Cast On!

Last week I decided that I needed a mindless knit to work on while watching football games so I cast on one of my one-skein garter stitch boomerang shawls using this wild skein of yarn.  I’ve had this skein caked up for a while now, with the intention of using it in one of my one-skein garter stitch boomerang shawls.  It was purchased back in 2020 during the Coved pandemic craziness by Laura of the Unique Sheep.  She made a set of colors, this multicolor one, plus solid colors that go with it.  The colorway name is, imaginatively enough, Pandemic 2020.  In picking the name for the project I went back to the origin of the word, the god Pan.  There is a dark red solid skein in the set that I will probably use as the border.

Pattern:  Improvised (garter stitch boomerang)

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Moderne Socks - Cast On!

I finished up the Sylvan Socks yesterday afternoon, so last night I cast on the last of the Art & Sole Sock Club sock patterns - Moderne.  The original club yarn was destroyed by carpet beetles, and all that I have left is the yarn label.

The yarn is discontinued, and I had no luck in finding a replacement, so I went to the Yarn Substitution website and found a substitution.  The very first yarn listed as a possible substitute, with a 99% match, was Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock.  Now I have a fair bit of Expression Fiber Arts yarn in my stash, including several skeins of Resilient Sock.  So I did a quick search on my Stash page and came up with the skein above.  It is even orange (the original color was Slice of Orange).  I do not know the color name for this skein as it came as part of a trio called Spring’s Promise, and the original bag it came in is gone.  I am making a modification to the pattern - the first chart is a lot of purls and knits that are forming a sort of broken rib, which then flows into Chart 2 which has twisted rib (knit through the back loop, purl) and it just seemed odd to me that I was not knitting those stitches in Chart 1 through the back loop, so I decided to make that change.

Pattern:  Moderne by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Resilient Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

 

Sylvan Socks - Sock One Done, Sock Two Cast On…and More!

These socks have been a very quick knit.  I finished up the first sock Saturday afternoon.  I have taken to working the Kitchener stitch on the toes while I am wearing the sock, that way I can pull the yarn snug and not worry about things being too tight.  It really does make that part easier, in some respects, although you do have to be flexible enough to get your knee to your chest (not something I have a problem with).  After finishing it up and weaving in all the ends I immediately cast on the second sock.  By early Sunday afternoon I had finished up the leg.

I worked the heel flap, turned the heel and started on Chart 3 Sunday evening, and finished up Chart 3 this morning.

I’ll finish up this sock in pretty short order and then I think I will do another sock (it is Socktober, after all).  I have one more sock pattern in this club to make, and even though the original yarn was destroyed by carpet beetles I did find an excellent substitute in my stash and it is all caked up and ready to go.

Pattern:  Sylvan Socks by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Abstract Fiber Mighty Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Garnet Cassie - Finished!

My Garnet Cassie came off the blocking mats yesterday afternoon.  I do love this pattern, this color, and this yarn.  It really is wonderful when all the factors come together so beautifully.  I did forget to switch to the US 6 needle when I got to the bottom ribbing, but I didn’t realize it until I had already worked several rounds and I wasn’t going to tink back, or change partway through, and I really don’t think it matters.

I wore my Foxglove Cassie this past Friday for a Fruity Knitting Knit and Chat.   The hosts didn’t show up (they are in the middle of retreats they are also hosting), but the Shetland patrons that did show up had a nice visit that went for 2 hours!  It was actually more fun just because it was more relaxed.  It is a warm top, even worn on its own, and very comfy.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm neck & armhole edging), US 7 (4.5 mm, body and bottom ribbing)

Sylvan Socks - Cast On!…And More!

I finished my Garnet Cassie on October 16 - it is now blocking - so I decided to knit the next Janel Laidman sock pattern in my unofficial queue - the Sylvan Socks.  I had the yarn already caked up and in my sock project bag, along with needles of the correct size, so it was all ready to go.  Full disclosure, I actually cast on back on October 8 because I had finished the bodice of the Garnet Cassie and wanted to take photos before moving on to the body, but it was too late for photos, but not too late for more knitting.  The yarn is the original club yarn - Abstract Fibers Might Sock - and is 50% superwash merino and 50% tencel, which is probably what saved it from the predation of the carpet beetles that destroyed much of the other club yarns.  I have only found two thin spots that I had to break and rejoin so far (keeping fingers crossed that my luck continues to hold).  I will confess that I had my doubts about the yarn, but it has grown on me.  I do like the shine, and the very subtle coloring.  The above photo was actually taken on the morning of October 10, and that was all that I did on this project until I had cast off my Garnet Cassie.

After finishing one repeat of Chart 1, I took a quick picture this past Thursday (October 16), my Garnet Cassie having been finished and laid out for blocking.

I finished up the leg that evening.

Friday morning found me working the heel flap and turning the heel while catching up on my Long Thread Media podcasts, although I redid the pick up of the stitches along the heel flap later that afternoon.

By Friday evening I had finished up Chart 3 (Chart 2 being the rib pattern for the heel flap).  Chart 3 presented the first issue.  As you can see the gusset decreases are actually on the top of the foot, and are part of Chart 3, which has you decrease at the beginning and end of every other row, but the first row requires 35 stitches, and you only have 33.  I just omitted the decreases on that first row, and everything worked out fine after that.  At some point I shifted stitches from the bottom of the foot needle to the top of the foot needle so that all of my bottom of the foot stitches were knit stitches, and the ribbed portion was on the top of the foot needle.  For the last 6 rows of Chart 3, you start working lifted increases on the sole of the foot, as the decreases on the top of the foot are taking you below the starting stitch count for the sock.  The pattern does not indicate which lifted increase (left or right) to use before and after the 3 stitches that you do them on either side of, and for those three increases I did them on the first and last of the 3 stitches.  When I got to Chart 4 I changed that to the stitches before and after the 3 stitches, which looks better, but I did not go back and fix those first increases.  I will do them consistently on sock two.

Chart 4 presented the next challenge because there were several errors.  For Chart 4 you continue decreasing 2 stitches on the top of the foot, and increasing 2 stitches on the bottom of the foot, and yet Chart 4 has a constant stitch count, and the stitch count is 33 stitches.  The only way to do that is if you keep slipping stitches from the bottom of the sock to the top of the sock, and who wants to do that every other row?  The pattern does not include any instructions to that effect, either, although you can infer that something is going on by the fact that when you get done with Chart 4 the instructions tell you to slip 1 stitch from the top of the sock to the sole so that you have 32 stitches on each needle.  In any case, I did not do any slipping of stitches until I had finished Chart 4, which I finished up this morning.  In knitCompanion I un-highlighted the extra knit stitches in Chart 4 so that I had a consistent 7 knit stitches before and after the patterning.  I also kept the central double decrease in knit (there are two rows where it looks to be purled), so that entire line of stitches is knit stitches.  The purl columns from the heel flap are gradually consumed in Chart 4 until only 2 purl columns remain.

And here is the sock after Chart 4 is completed.  I have to say, the fit is really good.

And here is a look at the patterning on the top of the foot.  All I need to do now are the rounds until I get to the toe decreases.

Pattern:  Sylvan Socks by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Abstract Fibers Might Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Garnet Cassie - Neck and Armhole Edging Done!

This weekend I reached the end of my second skein, so I grabbed another skein and worked the neck ribbing and the I-cord edging for the armholes.  That way, when I’m done with the body, I’m done.

At this point I have worked 24 of the 67 rows I need to work on the body before I work the bottom ribbing.  I’m already planning my next garment project, which will be made out of some of my handspun yarn.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm - ribbing and armhole edging), US 7 (4.5 mm - body)

Garnet Cassie - Bodice Done!

Last night I finished up the two charts that complete the bodice and get you to the underarm join.

As with my Foxglove Cassie, I extended the straight section before the increases to give me more armhole depth.  The knitting is easy, the yarn is wonderful, and the color is great.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4,0 mm) & US 7 (4.5 mm)