Sockapalooza Yarn

Okay, I got some yarn today, and I think its the yarn for my pal. It's the Crystal Palace Yarns "Panda Wool" in the red cinnamon colorway. It's 46% Bamboo, 43% wool and 11% nylon. I've been intrigued with this yarn since I first saw it (of course I don't know where). I got it from my local yarn store.

For some reason, I've been drawn toward reds and oranges for this person. Don't know why. Based on some feedback I've gotten from her, it may not be her first choice, but I really like this stuff. I think I may just have to start knitting and see. Of course I don't have a pattern fully set yet. I'm thinking something kind of lacy....

If you have a minute I'd love some input.


Tangentally, or in the "Am I Crazy?" category, I found out today that my county fair's knitting section's theme this year is socks. I'm thinking about submitting a pair.

Cutaway progress

Cutaway is moving along nicely. I really like this yarn and pattern. I did have some trouble withe the cable cast on for the right front, but the left front went very smoothly. I think it will work out when I add the ribbing, and am totally prepared to rip and retry if it doesn't work. I'm continuing to worry about my size choice, but will keep going as I tend to over estimate and I did measure. One thing that continues to amaze me is my gauge. It's perfect! At this point I have started the left front, but have pictures of the back here:


And close ups of the armhole shaping. I had to work a bit to figure out the decreases, so they would mirror appropriately:


This one's a little fuzzy (after three shots)

Man, I've been knitting a long time

I realized this weekend I've been knitting for 20 years now, with a 3 year break for graduate school. In that time I counted 16 adult sweaters knit, at least 7 kids, and a full layette set. I have no clue how many booties and hats I've knit. So, this blog should be good for me to start tracking stuff. When we're back in the house, my goal will be to back track through my storage bins and try to log past projects.

Obviously I am more of a sweater knitter than other items. I've always enjoyed sweaters because I enjoy the process & the product (I've always been a sweater girl). I'm relatively new to the world of socks, but am having fun with them too. Unfortunately, I find them like sleeves, I really have to push myself to finish the second. However, since there is a name for that "second sock syndrome," I know I'm not alone.

Current work in progress: I'm really moving along on the back of cutaway. I love the yarn and the pattern. I usually shy away from stockinette, but this is really enjoyable to knit. I'll try to get a progress shot. I've finished the sleeve shaping and am working my way up to the top.

I also have a second sock on the needles, but don't seem to have a photo. It's a fun yarn that I got two big skeins of. E picked out the color for us to have matching socks. Goofy, yes, but it doesn't hurt anyone.

A new project and a completed project

I finished C's socks. Of course I don't have the yarn information with me, so I'll have to update this. But here they are for now:



I'm happy with them. The yarn was a little splitty, so they weren't a particularly fast knit, but he likes the color and they fit, so that's good. These are the first socks I knit for him. I think there will be more.

I would have liked to have made the stripes line up better, but there's always next time.

I started my "Cutaway" from ChicKnits this week. I checked my gauge and found I actually had to go up a needle size -- this is a new thing for me, I usually go down a needle size, so it was quite the scramble through my needle box looking for the right sizes. With my inventory, it's usually not a problem. The yarn is Berocco Ultra Alpaca in the Marsh Mix. So far it's a really nice yarn to knit with. I'm new to the fitted sweater concept, so it seems really small so far, but I'm going to trust Bonne's sizing and not my own judgement, considering my judgement gives me sweaters that could carry me through the full term of a pregnancy. I've knit about 36 rows so far, but here are some pictures of the swatch and yarn:

Matching!

The calorimetry are finished. I'm still not sure about the gauge (you can see my gauge trauma here). I checked three times, and finally went with the size 9 needle, resulting in an enormous piece. I did E's with 88 stitches cast on (size 9 needles), doing short rows until there were 26 stitches on each side. I then ripped mine out and reknit it on size 8 needles. It's still pretty big. I'm thinking fewer stitches may be the way to go, but we are pretty happy with the finished products:


I need to dig through my bag to find the yarn information.

Warm feet, warm ears

I finished the socks for the little one. She really likes the feather and fan pattern on the leg which I got from Wendy's toe up pattern.


These were made from some leftover Fortissima Colori (75% Superwash wool & 25% Polyamid)Color #2402. I'd made her a pair two years ago, but they'd gotten "too tight, mama!"

So I made these with a 52 stitch foot on 2.25mm needles, increasing 2 stitches and switching to three needles, so that I could work the 18 stitch feather and fan repeat.

I'm also working on the Calorimetry. I checked my gauge three times, finally settling on a size 9 needle, which still seemed a little small for the gauge. However, it got big. Here's what I've got so far.


I think I'm going to sew it together and skip the button detail. The plan was to make one for me and one for E out of matching yarn (I stole that idea from Scoutj). I'm making hers with a 90 88 stitch cast on. We'll see how it goes. I have now cast on three times because I can't estimate yarn needed, can't count, and can't divide by 4. Oh well.

Great Weekend

So I finally had a really good weekend. Unfortunately it did not really include knitting. E & I got to spend some fun time together rather than just driving and arguing. We made her valentines for class and yesterday we skied. I wish I had pictures. It was a lot of fun to have a mommy/daughter ski day. It did take a couple of runs to convince her that we could chat on the lift, and just ski on the hills. And we got hot chocolate at the top of the mountain!