Happy New Year! Be safe out there.

More content later, I promise.

Greetings

Merry Christmas everyone!

More Socks 3

I'm calling these Mermaid socks, because the colors remind me of mermaid scales. This is a new sock yarn for me. It is J. Knits superwash sock yarn in the Columbus colorway. It's 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon. Needles are US 2 bamboo. I really like the way these are working up so far. The yarn is very soft and easy to knit.

More Socks 2

Here is the progress on the Trekking XXL socks. One down, one to go.

More Socks 1

These socks are for Sarah. They are Koigu yarn. I forget the colorway though. This the first time I have worked with Koigu. I like the tightness of the twist and how smooth the fabric is. I am using US 2 Clover bamboo needles.

Frustrated

I have been trying to knit something other than socks. However, things have not been going well. I have a pattern I like, but I cannot get the gauge to come out right. I knit a swatch and think I have it, but when I actually start knitting the object, the gauge is too tight. Arg! I have started this thing twice already. I don't know if I like it enough to try again. I think I'll go do laundry and knit on a sock. Socks are good, right?

Christmas Socks

It's been a slow week for me. I have started several knitting projects, but have ripped them all out as they just were not doing what I wanted, or were not fun. I have lots of more ideas though.

One thing I did get done this week was my Christmas socks. I decided I needed red socks for Christmas. Why not?

These are made out of Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn in the Ruby River colorway on a US 2 needle. They are my usual Ann Norling pattern with these modifications. I cast on 72 stitches instead of my usual 64 and did a double decrease four times ten rows apart in the cuff. The pattern is a 4 by 2 rib. The toe is from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road Conwy sock (no Kitchener stitch). I'm happy with the way they turned out, and they fit very nicely.

Finished Ruana

So here is the Santa Fe ruana finished. Top photo is the ruana blocking. Middle photo is front. Bottom photo is detail of back. I wore it yesterday and today. I like it, but I wish it had more to the back. It does get a little drafty back there. And the front is heavier than the back, so it pulls forward quite a bit. It does keep my shoulders nice and warm though.

Shetland Shawl

Above is unblocked Shetland shawl. One big lumpy mess.
Shawl blocking.
Edge of shawl blocking.
Shetland Shawl blocked.
Close up of shawl after blocking.

As you can see, I finally finished the Shetland Shawl. This is from Wrap Style. The yarn is a mohair/acrylic blend. It was knit on US 6 needles. I added 2 more pattern repeat rows than called for in the book.

Am I happy with the result? Mostly. It is still fairly small. Of course, I am a tall person, so it might be great on a smaller person.

Would I make this shawl again? Yes. However, I would use a different yarn that showed off the pattern better, I would use a solid color and I would use a yarn that was all wool so it blocked better. The pattern itself is pretty easy. It's one that you can establish a rhythm with.

Done

I finished Baby Eliot's sweater this weekend. This is for a friend of Sarah's who had a baby boy in October. The yarn is Rowan Cashsoft. It was wonderful to work with. Now I want to make something out of this yarn for me.

I also finished the Shetland shawl over the weekend, but it is a lumpy, bumpy mess right now. It needs to be severely blocked. I will try to get to that today.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Quiz

For all those people who asked about the American accent quiz yesterday, the web site is:
www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have

Have fun!

Quiz

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.
The Midland
The South
The Inland North
The Northeast
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

I was surprised by this, although I shouldn't be. I was born and lived in the Philadelphia area until I was 7. However, I have lived in the south for over 45 years. I thought my yankee accent had been softened. I guess not.

Here are socks I made for my mother. I actually finished them in October, but I just now posted a picture, because I did not want to show them until my mother had gotten them. These are made with Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in the teal colorway. They have four cables that go down the front, and the leg has decreases to make the socks fit better. After I had worried and worried about the color, design and fit, everything was fine, so in the end I am happy with the results and so is my mother.

Progress, Sort of

Above is the shetland shawl as of today. I have worked all the repeats the pattern calls for in the body, but I'm not sure that it is as big as I would like. I know it is hard for you to tell the size from my photo. I'm thinking I will do two more repeats in the pattern on the body of the shawl. I know I have enough yarn. The questions I have for you out there in blog land are these. Will this shawl block out like the pattern calls for if the yarn I'm using is 40% acrylic? I did not realize the synthetic content until just the other day when I reread the label on the ball of yarn. Is there any point in going on if it won't block out correctly?
On a happier note, here is the baby sweater I am making for Eliot. I have finished the body and have started on the sleeves. It is working up really nicely.

I am also making progress on the Trekking socks and the red Mountain Colors socks, but pictures would be boring at this point.

Knitting Hell

Last night I was in knitting hell. I had been working on the shetland shawl most of the afternoon, and after dinner I realized I had made a mistake. At first, I tried to correct the mistake from where I was in the shawl, but that only made it worse. What to do? Tink! And tink some more. For those of you not familiar with knitting slang, 'tinking' is when you undo your knitting one stitch at a time as opposed to just ripping rows out. Have you ever tried to undo mohair yarn? It sticks together like burrs on your socks. Unknitting mohair is just the pits. And how much did I have to unknit? Four rows of approximately 150 stitches each. It was hell, I tell you, HELL! I seriously considered trashing the whole project, but every time I looked at what I had, I really liked the pattern and the yarn together when there were no mistakes. So...I tinked and tinked and tinked. I finally got to the mistake and fixed it. Today I have been able to go forward, and I'm glad I took the time to fix the error.

I also have a correction. In a previous post I told you the shetland shawl was in the Scarf Style book. It is not. It is in the Wrap Style book. I apologize for the incorrect information.

Last Gasp

In a last minute attempt to celebrate Socktober Fest, I cast on these socks in between 'trick or treaters' on Tuesday night. Now those of you who know me well will be saying, " But, but, Sallie, they are RED!" Yes, I know they are red, not blue or purple or teal or turquoise or any of those colors that I usually gravitate to. They don't even have any of my usual color palette in them, but it's OK. I like them. They are for Christmas. I decided I needed red socks for the holiday season. I have been eyeing this skein of Mountain Colors Ruby River yarn for several months now, so I just took the plunge and bought it.

I am trying out a new pair of DPNs also. These are Bryspun Bry-Flex needles, size US2 (2.75mm). My opinion so far, meh. They are OK, but not great. They are very flexible, which does seem a little easier on my hands, however the points are not wonderful. They would not be good for lace work. They are working fine for the simple knit and purl socks I am making, but knitting two stitches together takes some work. In the future, I think I will stick with my Clover bamboo DPNs.

Shetland Shawl closeup

Shetland Shawl closeup
Originally uploaded by Tsali B.

I promise the colors are not this neon.

What's on the needles 2

Shetland Shawl 1
Originally uploaded by Tsali B.

This the shetland shawl from the Scarf Style book. You really can't see the pattern very well yet, because 1) the yarn is mohair, and 2) it will need to be severely blocked. It is pretty though. The picture does not do it justice. The colors are not really that flourescent.

What's on the needles

Baby Jacket
Originally uploaded by Tsali B.

Here is the beginnings of a Baby Albert sweater from Sally Melville's Knit Stitch book. It's for one of Sarah's friends who had a little boy last week. The yarn is Rowan Cashsoft.