Tag Archives: Knit

Hacho Leyburns

Posted on February 14, 2009 | 15 comments

Attention! We interrupt this parade of projects from Crafty Mom Weekend to bring you this special announcement. The Mirasol Hacho Leyburn socks are done!

In a comment to my previous Leyburn post, Krista suggested that I embrace the pooling, and try to make the second one pool the same way as the first. Unfortunately, I didn’t note where I had started in the color sequence on the first one. If you look at the ribbing at the top, you can see that didn’t start with the same color.

But somehow, I have a band of red at the top of both insteps. Like the strap of a Mary Jane shoe! Let’s pretend I planned this, okay? Too funny.

I really enjoyed working with this yarn. Thanks again to Elizabeth!

15 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, leyburn sock, marisol hacho

Athena, for me this time. Really.

Posted on February 12, 2009 | 3 comments

My third project at Crafty Mom Weekend was another Athena neckwarmer. This is the fourth; the first three were gifted and sampled away. How do I know that this one is going to be mine, for sure?

I made a mistake on the edge of the first rectangle of a tier, and didn’t realize it until I was all the way around. (We were watching a movie…) There were a couple loose hang-y strands staring at me. I couldn’t face ripping the entire tier back, so I fudged it. I picked up the stitches for the next rectangle one stitch inside the edge, instead of on the edge. It hardly shows from the front; you’d have to know where to look. I’d hate to give a defective(!) knit as a gift, so this one *must* be mine, right? I’ll be happy to finally have my own!

It’s not done yet; I had one more project that was begging to be worked on. More in the next post…

3 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Athena, cowl, entrelac, Knit, neckwarmer

Leyburns, encore

Posted on February 11, 2009 | 23 comments

The next thing I did at Crafty Mom weekend: I gave away my Socks that Rock Eggplanted Leyburns. They were just a bit too big for me, but they were perfect for Carole! And after she gave me the fabulously fun needle felting supplies, how could I not give her something wonderful?

But how could I go through life without my own Leyburns?

I can’t. I’m using the Marisol Hacho that I won in Elizabeth’s blogoversary contest. The colorway is Peacock. I wasn’t sure I’d like this colorway in a “normal” pattern because of the red and green together, but I was pretty sure I’d like it with the Leyburn’s slip stitch pattern. And I do.

Like the Eggplanted Leyburns, these are knit from the cuff down. These are on 48 stitches; the last ones were on 54. This is a much snugger fit. Perfect! I used the same twisted edge as the last ones, except I knit 6 rows of garter instead of 4 before twisting. I like the oomphier rolled edge.

The only thing I didn’t love is how the red pooled at the top of the ankle while I was decreasing my gusset stitches. (The bottom of the gusset pooled blue and green, which looks great.) I know this is a function of my round heel (flap and gusset), but I like the fit of this heel better than the short row heel I used last time. I’ll live with it; it’s a sock! One down, one to go.

Oh, I made my first Leyburns with Lantern Moon Sox Stix, ebony size 2, 5 inches long. These were nice to work with, but just a bit too short for the way I hold my needles. I rest the far end of the needle against the pinky side of my hand, and these were poking me there. As a research project, I bought some 6 inch long Sox Stix, and I like them much better! I’m pleased that there’s a choice offered. I don’t mind knitting on my old 7 inch birch needles, but this keeps me from having to slide stitches as far to the working end of the needle. And I love working with ebony. The 6 inch needles will be my go-to needles for socks, since most of my socks are on dk or sport weight.

Would you like to try the 5 inch Sox Stix? Leave a comment on this post, and I’ll have a drawing for them on Monday, February 16. Good luck!

23 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, leyburn sock, socks

Crafty Mom Weekend 6.0

Posted on February 10, 2009 | 8 comments

The 6th annual Crafty Mom Weekend on the Oregon Coast is now history. Twelve moms, big beach house, lots of fiber and paper crafting, food, and chocolate. Perfect!

We had 2 great sunsets, Friday, and Sunday.

And a gorgeous Saturday in-between.

And on Monday morning, it snowed!

That was magical. I’d never been at the beach for snow before. It made driving home a bit more exciting, but it was so beautiful.

I started three new projects, and worked on an ancient one. And had more that I didn’t get to! I don’t have a single finished object to show you, though. My first project was to knit up some bulky black wool to make a small bag as a background for needle felting. The bag isn’t sewn up, but here’s the needle felting.

This was really easy and fun! Carole gave me needle felting supplies for Christmas, and this was the first time I tried it. It was pretty quick, and I like the way it looks.

More on the other projects later in the week. I’m playing catch up with real life!

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, travel

Tagged beach snow, Knit, needle felting

Wash day…

Posted on February 6, 2009 | 17 comments

is inventory day.

These are all my wool socks. For a true sockaholic, it’s not many. But for me, it’s a lot! Four out of the five pairs were knit within the last year. I don’t love knitting socks, but sport or dk weight yarn makes it palatable.

I just remembered, I have 2 pairs of cotton socks from way back, too. And two pairs of dk weight socks planned for knitting this weekend. (It’s Crafty Mom Weekend at the beach.) I guess I should stop saying that I’m not a sock knitter. I’m just not a skinny yarn, toothpick needles sock knitter!

17 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, socks

moment of truth

Posted on February 5, 2009 | 14 comments

I finished the single entrelac sock with the Sheep Shop Yarn Company’s Sheep Feet DK. (Shop model)

It’s a riot of color! The sun came out today, so I had to shoot outside to make the most of it.

This is fun yarn to knit with, very springy and smooth. What I really wanted to know: Could I get two socks out of one skein? At 100 grams/218 yards, it looked iffy. And the answer is…

No. At least, not two socks in this size, this pattern. My scale tells me that there were really only 92 grams in this hank of yarn, not sure where the other 8 went. The sock weighs 53 grams. The leftover yarn weighs 39. Even if there were the reported 100 grams, the sock still takes more than half. ‘Tis a pity, because it’s so lovely. Good thing I only needed one. I’m guessing I could get a pair of plain stockinette anklets out of one ball.

Check out the way the colors pooled/flashed on the foot. This is the sole.

And this is the instep.

I like the way the color zigzags; it echoes the zigzag of the entrelac. I don’t know if it would do it again, and I guess I won’t find out, but it’s sweet!

14 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged entrelac, Knit, socks

Sock rescue mission

Posted on February 2, 2009 | 13 comments

One of my original entrelac socks has been working as a shop model over at Twisted since last summer. This week I realized that I’d really like to be *wearing* that sock. I brought it home yesterday, and it has been reunited with its mate.

It’s a little stretched out from being on the foot mannequin, but a trip through the wash should even things out.

I still do want a model in the shop, so I’m making one with Sheep Feet from Sheep Shop Yarn Company. It’s a dk weight yarn, very similar in weight and feel to the Yarntini that I used before. And the colors are glorious! This colorway is called spring. I love how vibrant it is.

I’m a little worried about the put up, though. It’s 100 grams, 218 yards (199 meters). I’m only making one sock, but I’m not sure if there’s enough yarn for two, because entrelac takes a bit more yarn. I’ll weigh the sock and leftover yarn when I’m done. I’m so pleased to have a new digital kitchen (yarn) scale for that. Thanks, Sis!

13 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, socks

Second Sock Syndrome, conquered

Posted on January 31, 2009 | 20 comments

I finished my Leyburns a couple nights ago.

Yes, Leyburns, as in plural. Finally! I slogged through the second one. The first one was fun because I wanted to see if it would turn out the way I wanted, but the second one was just work trying to duplicate what I did on the first one. I’m glad I blogged it a few posts back, because I forgot how I did the toe and had to look it up!

It’s hard to get a good picture of a sock on your own foot. I like how you can really see the twisted cast on in this picture.

Details:

Leyburn Sock by Pepperknit for the Ravelry Knitalong

Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Eggplanted colorway
Size 2 needles
Mods: top down instead of toe up, twisted cast on edge, no wrap short row heel, 54 stitches throughout.

They’re a little bit loose, but they feel good. I think if I had gone down 6 more stitches, they would have been tight, so there’s a compromise there. But they’re cute! And done. I learned the short row heel on these. I like the fit of a standard round heel, better, so my next sock will go back to those.

Onward!

20 Comments

Posted in Knit, ravelry

Tagged Knit, leyburn kal

Sudden stash

Posted on January 28, 2009 | 16 comments

I received a package yesterday. It was full of gorgeous things.

I won a prize on riizu’s blog back in December. One transit strike, an international border, and assorted bits of life later, the package is here!

Let’s start with the non-fiber fun. First up, Rooibos tea! I know what I’m having tomorrow morning at work.

There was this really cute button in the bottom of the bag.

Oh, you’ve gotten a peek at the yarn! It’s Mirasol Hacho. I have a little of this in blues from a trip to the coast last spring, so I knew it was yummy stuff.

Here’s a better look.

One more look, up close and personal.

The Hacho was the only thing I was expecting, so this was all quite a bonanza. But the crowning glory is this.

I’ve never seen it before. It’s Marisol Tupa, 50% merino and 50% silk. This is a glorious shade of red, with that subtle sheen that only comes with silk. It’s beautiful, and there are two skeins. I’ll have to find something worthy to make with it.

Thank you so much, Elizabeth!

16 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Tagged Knit, yarn

Leyburn snow

Posted on January 27, 2009 | 12 comments

I woke up to snow this morning. No, that’s not quite right. I woke up to a 6:30 a.m. robo-call from the school district, saying that buses would be on snow routes, but school was open. No snow.

I went back to sleep, and woke up to snow.

Snow is just another photo op for a blogger, right?

I was cruising down the foot of the second Leyburn last night, 2 repeats in (16 rounds), when suddenly I realized that the pattern didn’t match the first sock at the edges of the instep. After comparing with the first sock, trying to figure out what I did the first time, I finally just looked at the directions. Duh! A bit of ripping, and all is back on track now.

In other news, I’m mentioned in Lime & Violet this morning. There’s a picture of the twisted cast on from my Leyburn, and a link. Thanks for the shout-out, Sam!

Here’s a snowy cuff.