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Red T Shirt Day stay cool.
It seems lately I have really been enjoying the camaraderie of knitting along on the same project with others. I did a KAL for Erato ( a beautiful shawl by Romi Hill) and participated in a sock KAL with the Sock Knitters’ Anonymous group too last month.
There is a great bunch of ladies who chat openly and often about the furry objects of their affection (mainly Angora Breed Rabbits) over on Ravelry, and they decided that it was high time for another KAL – working on a sock together to challenge some of the newer to sock knitting members and doing a TAAT (Two at a time) Toe up sock together.
The pattern: Waterfall Socks by Wendy Johnson
I’m no stranger to TAAT… Toe up… or Wendy Johnson Patterns… so I decided I’d join in and play along too. They promised me that I wouldn’t be left behind in a cloud of dust if life gets too busy :)
I decided to do these in some nice Caribbean ocean blue – Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Blue Yonder. The ball is wound… now I just need to clean off a pair of needles and get started :)
I’ve been participating off and on in a couple of sock knitting groups on Ravelry for a few years, but recently have dusted off my competitive spirit and I’m trying to jump back in with both feet :)
For the Month of April… I’m planning a double dip for prizes by doing the SolidSocks Mystery sock, which also counts towards the Sock Knitter’s Anonymous April knit because the pattern is named after a literary character (a perequisite for that group’s April Sock)
The pattern is: Cheery Littlebottom by Allison Isaac
The name Cheery Littlebottom comes from the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchet… which I haven’t read yet, but have been thinking about trying. So – this may be the inspiration I needed to kick things into high gear!
Clue number one is up… and it looks like there will be cables in them :) toes up, and cables! My plan is to use the skein of “Cocoa Kiss” Dream in Color Starry that has been waiting patiently in the stash. I wound the skein into a ball this morning while Romy napped, and hopefully will cast on tonight or tomorrow. With these mystery Knit alongs there is a clue released each week, so I hope that I can keep up and do the required portion each week and finish when the rest of the KAL group does. It’s kind of weird choosing yarn while not knowing what the socks will be like, but I hope I chose ok :)
The socks can be cast on any time after April 1… and must be completed before the last day of April :) Wish me Luck!
The Yarn – Dream in Color Starry – in Cocoa Kiss
Now I just wish I was lying in a hammock in a lovely warm tropical breeze under an actual Banyan Tree... instead of being zonked with a lovely sniffly sneezy cold :(
Either way though, the socks are lovely!
I really enjoyed everything about this pair... from the twisted rib, to the leaves (which always seem to fly off the needles for me), to the little cables (I don?t know why I never thought of making 3 stitch cables and just moving the outside stitch? duh!) and the streamlined and simple foot. I also enjoyed the heel flap, which isn?t rocket science, but looks so different compared to the standard slip stitch heel
All in all ? a great knit... and a free pattern! Go check it out over at the loopy ewe :) they have fantastic yarns too by the way, and excellent customer service!
Ever since learning about the fine wonderful lace of Estonia, Orenburg, and Shetland... I have been dreaming of spinning a truly cobwebby and fine yarn to knit something as authentic as possible. These yarns are so fine, froghair fine, intimidatingly fine...
My latest yarn is actually not that far off of being fine enough to try ? ack!
To give you an idea... here is my 2 ply yarn compared with a skein of Knit Picks Lace yarn ?>
Their skein is 440 yards per 50 grams. (that?s approximately 4000 yards per pound)
Mine was 185 yards in 9 grams. No that isn?t a typo. 9 grams. (That?s about 9300 yards per pound!)
I bet if my yarn was 100 % wool instead of having a silk component, the yards per pound ratio would have been lighter still...
To give you an idea... true gossamer threads used in Orenburg lace knitting are somewhere around 10000 ? 15000 yards per pound. Cobweb is considered to be anything finer than 6000 yards per pound, or 40 wraps per inch. My thread was around 50 wraps per inch.
:) Maybe I can accomplish something like the old master lace knitters some day? I guess I?ll keep on practicing! Knitting with thread you can hardly see is quite a challenge also. I find going back to sock yarn after knitting with this feels like knitting with rope...
A nice balanced 2 ply... super shiny... and with just a little halo! As it is knitting up... the halo is gently rising to a nice soft fuzz...
Full Skein Glamour Shot: 9 grams = 185 yards. Yes, it fits in the palm of your hand, literally!
As a post holiday treat (using some of the money I earned on holiday custom knits) I ordered myself some batts from a company I?ve been dying to try ? The Cupcake Fiber Company. Their products are tailored to lace spinners? with smooth blended colors, fibers like silks bamboo and merino, 6 ounce put ups, and measured weight batts? basically I just have to grab a batt and start spinning :) And don?t you just love the packaging? So simple and elegant? and neat for storage too!
?Water? Colorway? Merino Silk
Maybe after I finish a few things, I can take this and start out on a new spinning project. I?d like to aim for a soft and airy medium weight lace yarn? and maybe pair it up with some beads of some sort. with the 6 ounces I should be able to get excellent yardage and hopefully make something larger.
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