kimberly August 30th, 2010
Of the knitting variety, that is.
I think I’ve lost track of all the projects I have on the go, and someday I will even get around to completing most of them, but I tend to think there’s always room on the needles for just one more.
This time it’s a test knit for KT: a garter stitch shawlette with lovely shaping and a bobbled bind-off that has me slightly intimidated (thankfully, I still have about 18 rows to knit during which I can psyche myself up for the aforementioned bobbles). I have a feeling it’s one of those knitting exercises that will need to take place when I have utter peace and quiet. Unfortunately, peace and quiet are highly prized commodities around here so I may have to settle for a dull roar. Either way, I have a week to finish off this project and I should have it bound off and blocked with time to spare.
Test knits are very appealing to me these days: they force me outside my comfort zone and encourage me to dig into my stash instead of letting yarn sit waiting for the “perfect” project. And, to be fair, I enjoy looking for errors in other people’s work and actually get a little thrill when I find typos/inconsistencies/poorly worded instructions. It’s the little things that make my day. Ah…
And now, back to the knitting. I’m on a deadline before yarn for my next sample knitting project arrives.
Tags: eydi fichu, test knitting
kimberly August 11th, 2010
Let me distract you from my lack of sewing projects with knitting photos!
First up, I finished my Tulip Socks that I started last week.
These socks practically knit themselves they went so quickly and I love the quirky little scallops along the cuffs. Rather than sub in my standard sock toe, I followed the pattern’s star toe which, while hardly anatomically correct, flows well with the instep stitch pattern. Unfortunately, it doesn’t fit very well and I’m probably going to have to rip these back and reknit them if I want to wear them. On the other hand, if my mom would like them, they’d probably fit her fine and she’s welcome to them!
And I’m still making slow but steady progress on the Moderne Baby Blanket.
Hmmm… now that I think about it, the baby is due in just four weeks, so I’d better pick up the pace on this one (or at least stop getting distracted).
As for my sewing projects, I have a bunch of things I’d like to work on (bags, dresses, quilts) but I need some quiet, focused time that is free of distractions (i.e. Leah) to get started. Maybe after the blanket is knit…
Tags: csk, indie socks, moderne baby blanket, tulip socks
kimberly August 4th, 2010
While I don’t have easy access to a CSA, I love the idea of just about any sort of community-supported endeavour. So when I heard about Chrissy Gardiner’s Indie Socks Community Supported Knitting, it took me only half a second to consider before I clicked to join. The concept is similar to a traditional CSA in that you invest upfront and reap the harvest, so to speak, later on: this time in the form of sock patterns. I’m excited to support an incredible sock designer and am planning on pairing up each month’s offering with sock yarn that has been sitting in my stash waiting for the perfect pattern.
This month’s pattern is Tulip Socks, which I am knitting with Dream in Color Smooshy (in Nightwatch). The bobbles that form the scalloped cuff just about made me pull my hair out but I persevered and finally conquered the five-stitches-into-one decreases.
I’m finding the execution of the S2KPs to be rather fiddly but that’s mostly due to my incredibly tight knitting. After four repeats I now have the leg pattern mostly memorized and I expect the rest of the legs to knit up reasonably quickly. In theory, I’ll have the socks off the needles by the end of the month so I’ll be ready to work on September’s pattern when it becomes available… but this will depend on my ability to refrain from casting on too many more projects. Time will tell how faithful I’ll be to the ones already in progress!
Tags: chrissy gardiner, community supported knitting, csk, indie socks, tulip socks
kimberly July 27th, 2010
Despite my best efforts, life continues to be more than a little insane and so I am taking great pleasure in the simplicity that is garter stitch.
There’s something very appealing about the mindlessness (save for counting rows) of knitting the Moderne Baby Blanket (for my best friend’s due-in-less-than-two-months baby) when everything else is feeling so crazy. Nothing like knitting to stay sane.
Tags: moderne baby blanket
kimberly July 7th, 2010
It’s currently too hot to work on most of my in-progress knitting projects (a sweater knit in bulky wool, a baby blanket) so when the chance came to test-knit a sock pattern, I jumped at the chance to focus my energy on something that wasn’t going to make me any warmer.
Many knitters will recognize the sock as Hedera, originally published in Knitty. (Many friends will recognize my pasty white leg — it practically glows!)
Cookie A’s second book is due out this fall, and Hedera is included — this time with more sizes! I got to knit the size medium (I used Dream in Color Smooshy in Butter Peeps) and since this was my first time knitting a cuff-down sock in ages, it took a little more concentration than I had expected. Heel flap? Picking up gusset stitches? Grafting the toe closed? All things I never have to deal with when knitting toe-up. No matter. I just had to pay a little closer attention.
The sock turned out really well (it fits beautifully) and I can’t wait to get my hands on the book when it becomes available. Hurry up, autumn!
Tags: cookie a, hedera, test knitting
