Oh well...

Today was the day for Knitter's Frolic. I wasn't able to go after all. I had been so excited about it for weeks, so it was a bit of a downer. Oh well, maybe next year. I hope everyone had a great time!

I did finish some socks today:



Trekking XXL #107, 64 sts on 2.25mm dpn.
New socks always make me feel happier!

Pooling

Some people don't mind pooling. Some actually like it. As for me, it makes me want to tear my hair out.

My daughter's sweater was knitting up quite nicely (see last post), then all of a sudden it started pooling. I tried cutting out portions of yarn and starting rows at new places along the yarn, but that didn't work. It made me so upset I ripped out the whole thing and decided to knit her a jumper instead. I've since ripped out the jumper about 6 times because of this:



Pooling! I've tried different stitch counts, different needle sizes...didn't work. I didn't want to knit from two balls because it's so chunky, but that's what I'll try next. If that doesn't work, then I'm off to Gap Kids to buy her something. I hate pooling.

Nothing very interesting to post this week. After all the lace I've been knitting, I cast on a quick and mindless sweater for my daughter:



Chunky cotton on 6mm. Don't have any pattern in mind; kind of making it up as I go.

I finished the sea silk scarf for the exchange...I think. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet. It's going to be about 50" long after blocking, and took up the entire ball. My recipient said on her questionairre that she wanted a long scarf, and 50" isn't long. I've called the shops around my home, and looked online, but can't seem to locate anymore sea silk in the ocean colour. I'm going to Knitter's Frolic next Saturday. If I can find a skein there, I'll make the scarf longer. If not, then that's it, it's done.

Much Nicer

I turned the heel on my Trekking socks, using the short row heel from Pricilla's Dream Socks. Soooo much nicer than the afterthought heel:



I tried them on, and they fit fine around the gusset (the afterthought heel sock was really stretched and tight). Definitely will be using this from now on for stripy socks, and ones with contrasting heel/toes.

And thank you for all the nice comments about my shawl! You guys are so sweet!

Swallowtail Shawl

After blocking, the shawl measured 42" wide and 22" tall. It's nice and small, so none of the sections got boring. The nupps weren't that hard, though I can't imagine doing them with a blunt needle. My husband kept complimenting it all evening, and if you know my husband and how he feels about my knitting, that's a really big deal!

Almost Done!

Usually I'm such a terrible procrastinator, that I'm up 'til 4am the night before finishing gifts. That's why I'm so proud of myself for finishing my Mother's Day gift early! This is my first completed lace project, and I loved it! The Swallowtail Shawl took less than a week. I used 3 balls + a little from a 4th (2/3 of the BO row) of Elann Baby Silk, and 3.5mm Inox circulars.

I tried the string method of blocking. It was quite tough since I had a 4 yr old pulling one corner, and a 6 yr old pulling the other. I think it's going to turn out okay, though:



I think I will try to find a set of blocking wires before I complete the Sea Silk scarf.

It's such a rush completing a project! Let's just pray that Mom likes it!

Sockapalooza 4

I love to knit socks.

I would love to recieve knit socks.

I love this adorable button:

Nupps!

I haven't been able to put this shawl down! I was up 'til the wee hours last night. I'm now at the infamous nupps section. In case you don't know what a nupp is, it's k1,yo, k1, yo, k1 on one side, and p5tog on the other. I've heard how difficult the p5tog can be so I'm using pointy Inox needles. Anyways, the first row of nupps, I did the ks and yos normal, and the p5tog was very tight. I found it much easier to use a crochet hook, which wasn't much slower since it already was fiddly in the first place. The nupp came out tight and tiny. The second row of nupps, I did the ks and yos super-loosely. The p5tog was much easier (didn't need a crochet hook), but the nupp was not as nice looking. Even though it takes more work, I think I'm going to go with the crochet hook.

My Dilemma

After this past Christmas, I had promised myself that I wouldn't knit any more for family. I was quite hurt with all the unappreciative responses I got from my gifts.

So here is my dilemma: Mother's Day is quickly approaching. If I see my mom on Mother's Day without a gift, she wouldn't say anything, but I know she will be upset. If I purchase a gift for my mom, she will instantly be upset with me, telling me that I've wasted my money and that she has no need for anything. If I knit her a gift, she will also get upset, telling me I've wasted my time (and money on yarn), and might even give a ho-hum response to the gift to show her disapproval. Seriously, I can't win.

So faced with the three choices of 1. give nothing and she'll get mad, 2. buy something and she'll get mad, or 3. knit something and she'll get mad, I'm going with number 3.

With $12 worth of Elann Baby Silk, I think it's the best choice.



Swallowtail shawl started:



When my daughter gets a bit older, I'm going to devote all my time and energy into teaching her to knit, and I will love and cherish whatever she knits for me!

Embossed Leaves

Embossed Leaves socks done!



This was a really quick knit! The little leaves were so addictive! The yarn is Sisu, 2 balls with quite a bit left over, and 2.5 mm needles. I'm going to try REALLY hard not to cast on a new pair of socks, because I'd like to get the Sea Silk scarf completed. Right now I have only 3 projects going: Trekking socks, a Kiri shawl (haven't touched it in a long time), and the Sea Silk scarf. I really dislike having multiple projects. I wonder what that says about me?

Other Side

The picture I posted yesterday for the Sea Silk scarf is the wrong side. Though I think both sides look great, here is the right side:

Spring, Where Are You?

Boy, it sure is cold! The kids and I took a field trip to a maple syrup festival at a nearby conservation park. I don't know what I was thinking, taking them out in that weather. It was so cold and windy that your skin hurt. Here is my poor Grace, trying to put on a happy face:

I've started my Sea Silk scarf for the scarf exchange:

I settled on a flame pattern from the Barbara Walker 2nd Treasury (that book is so awesome!). This yarn is so soft and shiny, and the colours are very rich and complex.

I definitely want to make something for myself out of this. It would have to be something for special use only, though, because this yarn just seems so fragile. Maybe I'm just not used to silk. I found the same probem in my yarn that I read about in Knitter's Review. The yarn had little, white pills throughout, that were very noticable against the dark blue. It gave the scarf an old and used look, and some were a little difficult to remove. There are so many that for now I'm just leaving them, and I'll deal with it when I'm done. Oh well, I'm sure the end result will be worth the extra work.

New Sock Pattern

My new sock pattern is for Debbie's beautiful granddaughter, Luna Rayne. Debbie commented that there weren't many pretty patterns for little girls. Since Grace had been asking for socks, and Grace and Rayne had the same sized feet, I had to come up with something! The sock is for age 3-4, but if you want to make a bigger sock, you can cast on 6 more sts, and have p2, k2, p2 in between the lace panels. Make sure you line up the k2,p2 cuff, and you will need to make the heel bigger. That should fit about age 7-8 (just a guess). Since I finished the sock yesterday, Grace has refused to take them off! Anyways, hope you like them!

Rayne's Sock

This pattern is also posted on my patterns blog here:

http://miknitspatterns.blogspot.com/search/label/Rayne%27s%20Sock

Rayne's Sock

By Michelle To
miknits@gmail.com
http://www.miknits.blogspot.com

Rayne’s Sock is a sweet and lacy sock for a little girl. It will fit approximately age 3-4, with a foot circumference of 6.5”. The lace pattern is a simple twin-leaf lace from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting. The sock can be made a little larger or smaller by changing the needle size.

Materials:

Set of 5 – 2.5mm DPN or size to obtain gauge.
Sock yarn – Sisu 80% wool/20% nylon, 50g/160m, 1 ball
Darning needle

Gauge: 8 stitches = 1 inch in stockinette stitch

Notes:

Twin Leaf Chart

Chart Key:

Pattern:

Cuff:

CO 50 sts. Place 13 sts on Needle 1, 12 sts on Needle 2, 13 sts on Needle 3 and 12 sts on Needle 4. Join in round.

Row 1: ( P1, [p1, k2, p1] x 6 ) x 2
Repeat this row 10 times.

Leg:

Work twin leaf chart twice for each row.
Work until four pattern repeats have been made, ending with row 8.

Heel Flap:

Place last st of Needle 3 onto Needle 2.
Place all sts of Needle 4 onto Needle 3.
Work now looks like: Needle 1 – 13 sts, Needle 2 – 13 sts, Needle 3 – 24 sts.
Heel flap will be worked back and forth on the 24 sts of Needle 3.

Row 1(ws): Sl 1, p to end
Row 2(rs): [Sl 1, k1] to end
Work these two rows until 20 rows have been made.

Turn Heel:

Row 1(ws): Sl 1, p14, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 2 (rs): Sl 1, k7, ssk, k1, turn
Row 3: Sl 1, p8, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 4: Sl 1, k9, ssk, k1, turn
Row 5: Sl 1, p10, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 6: Sl 1, k11, ssk, k1, turn
Row 7: Sl 1, p12, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 8: Sl 1, k13, ssk, k1, turn
16 sts made.

Gusset:

Place last 8 sts made on new needle. You will now be back to 4 needles.
Pick up 10 sts along side of heel flap, and 1 st between flap and Needle 2. Work Needle 2 and 3 in pattern. With Needle 4, pick up 1 st between Needle 3 and heel flap, and pick up 10 sts along side of flap, k 8.
Work will now look like: Needle 1 – 19 sts, Needle 2 – 13 sts, Needle 3 – 13 sts, Needle 4 – 19 sts.

Row 1: K to last 2 sts of Needle 1, k2tog; work Needle 2 and 3 in pattern; ssk, k to end of Needle 4.
Row 2: Knit Needle 1 and 4. Work Needle 2 and 3 in pattern.
Work these two rows until you have 12 sts on both Needle 1 and 4.

Foot :

Continue working foot, with Needle 1 and 4 in stockinette stitch, and Needle 2 and 3 in pattern, until foot length is 1.25 inches less than desired length. End with a row 8 in pattern. Sample sock was knitted with six pattern repeats on gusset and foot, making foot length 6.5 inches including toe.

Toe:

Row 1: K Needle 1; k1, ssk, k to end of Needle 2; k to last 3 sts of Needle 3, k2tog, k1; k Needle 4.
Row 2: K all sts.
Row 3: K to last 3 sts of Needle 1, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to end of Needle 2; k to last 3 sts of Needle 3, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to end of Needle 4.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until 6 sts remain on each needle.

Knit Needle 1 and place sts onto Needle 4.
Break yarn and graft toe.

Brittany and Trekking

Usually, I'm that type of anal person who only likes to knit one pair of socks at a time. But I was so eager to start this sock for three reasons:



1. It's lovely trekking; my first time using it! I love how the colours just blend together. I'm calling these my watermelon socks! I really like how soft they are, and that they also have a bit of nylon in it.

2. I was curious how these little Brittany needles would work out. They're only about 4 inches long. They're a little sticky, obviously because they're wood. I'll probably never use them for lacey socks, but they were so light and handling was definitely easier. It's such a good idea to have them at this length. One of the best things about Brittany is that there is a lifetime guarantee for breakage! I wish they made metal ones like this!

3. I can't wait to try out Pricilla's Dream Socks from Favourite Socks. What caught my attention about this pattern it that it is top down, but with a short row heel. I didn't like the last afterthought heel I made, so I'm hoping this one will be nicer.

Knitting socks is so satisfying!

More Holiday

Okay, I know I'm going overboard...
I took some pics of my tv:

I think the sweater closes with four buttons down the front, with the button holes placed within the cable panel. I will be keeping my eye out for yarn.