Socken

I knit a sock. Knit from Regia, a good reliable yarn. Knit on transit, mostly. Knit from yarn that was on sale and then sat and sat.

The black portion was so much longer than I had imagined it would be. And it was right at the top of the leg. All anyone would see, as if many might be looking, was black above a boot. How dull.

So I added lazy daisies. Arts and crafts and poorly rendered - they break up all that objectionable black. They were also a delight to embroider. Process

The photo was an accident. I pointed the camera at my legs and captured the legs of another. Aren't they beautifully framed in the curve of my socks?

Scrappy

It started with my frustration at being no longer able to take decent photos. Then I realized I just wasn't knitting as much anymore. My yarn is in storage and there is no comfy chair here. 

My time and energy have been spent elsewhere these past months. The Fight for $15 and Fairness is urgent and I spend a lot of time attending rallies and doing data entry. I even wrote and gave a speech at Queen's Park in July! You can't knit while doing that.

However, the air is colder now and I got a new job that's farther away. My 45 minute subway rides there and back translate into much knitting and podcast time. It's been nice to get back to.

Scrappy socks. Scrappy cat.

Business Casual

Pattern:  Business Casual by Tanis
Yarn by Orange Octopus 

After losing it once, finding it again, skipping a pattern repeat, ripping out the toe and restarting - they are finally done! I sent this snap to The Daughter right after weaving in the ends. They are becoming her socks because, despite my efforts, they are a tad too big for me.

Still, they're pretty cute, right?

At Least I Have A Photo

Remember this lovely sock.?
Well it is no more. That is, to specify, it is no more in my possession. Yesterday it did an unobserved leap out my bag and no amount of looking could locate it. 
I am so mad I could just spit.

So Many Socks

It seems that all my recent FO's have been socks.Yes, I am using stash and experimenting with new techniques. Yes, of course i love socks! However, there may be too much of a good thing - especially as it's summer and wool socks are not needed. After the current pair, my Business Casual in Orange Octopus, I shall make something other than footwear. 

So many patterns. So little time.

I worried at first that the criss-cross cable pattern would not be highlighted sufficiently with this variegated yarn. Now I think it's just fine. The effect is subtle, but definitely there.

I had fun shooting the Scrappy Socks about town. The bright colour photographed so well!
Here they are at the garden centre the day I was shopping for herbs.

The photo shoot that ended up on my Ravelry page was impromptu. I passed a gorgeous brick nook while out on my bike on a sunny day. I kicked off my sneakers, set the 10 second delay, and got several good shots of my own feet.

Shades of Purple

I finished the spiral rib socks and delivered them to The Daughter yesterday. They came out very well with a great fit and nice bouncy ribbing. I'm glad the project is over though. Despite the excellence of the Trekking yarn, there's something about the shade that I don't love. Violet toned purples have never been my favourite and, as you know, if you don't love your colour, the knitting can be a bit of a slog. 
I much prefer blue and plum tones. So I dug out my Wellington Fibre in the colourway Midnight and have cast on another Wild Plum Shawlette - for myself this time - that will actually be plum.

A Gift Completed

Pattern: Firefly by Jennifer Hagan
The Knitter's Book of Socks

Here is the latest pair of socks blocking on water bottles. I don't usually block socks but these being the Christmas gift to the person who pays The Daughter's salary, it seemed appropriate. It really is a pretty green, isn't it?

Oh, For A Well Lit Monkey

Another challenge of the new home is "Where in the heck do I take my knit FO photos?". There are large windows on only one side so we get either full morning sun or no light at all. I can't get the depth and softness I used to easily achieve with the diffuse side light of the windows in my last place. I'm having to take over exposed morning shots and soften them with photo software (as with the sock shots below). The effect is not ideal. I guess I may need to find somewhere outdoors to shoot.

Other than that, the knitting goes very well. I finished my Olympic gloves and have swatched and cast on for a pullover. It's been far too long since I knit a garment.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Yarn:  Manos del Uruguay Alegria

Easter Egg Colours In The Sun

A sneak peak. Notice how one sock is so much more colour saturated than the other?
The result of an unevenly dyed skein.

I made a ridiculous mistake joining the round after the heel turn. This was followed by another, sillier, mistake. So I had to rip back and start the section again. What this means of course is that the sock is not done as I planned it would be.

The bright side of this, and I mean bright is that I got to sit in the brilliant sunshine of this Easter Sunday morning working away on the colourful sparkly loveliness that is this yarn. Just delightful.

Another Three by One. Done, Done, Done.

Such a simple and satisfying sock. Good old three by one rib does the trick again. Now on to that holiday deadline crunch.

Picture Place

My current window

It's funny what you think of in times of stress isn't it?
Yesterday, while editing my most recent sock photos, it struck me that this is possibly the last pair of socks to be photographed by this window. You see, I am moving in 2 months. My fella and I are combining households. This of course is a joyous life event. Still, I am finding it hard to say goodbye to certain unexpected things about the apartment that has been my home for so long. When the fact dawned, that for seven years, all my Rav sock photos have been taken in the perfect light of this window, I actually got a little misty. Silly me.

My new window in the sky.

Post Every Day?

Apparently it is NaBloPoMo, (National Blog Post Month) an event that started many years ago to coincide with National Write a Novel in November. Essentially, the idea is to post to your blog every single day in November. I participated in NaKniSweMo a few years ago and knit a sweater in a month but post to the blog every single day? I don't think I have it in me. However, I have been thinking I'd like to blog much more as a path to increasing my writing skills and my creativity flow. I think I shall declare November my Post As Much As You Can month. 

So, November 1:
I finished the knee socks. They look as cute as can be and were fun to knit. Unfortunately, the silly things don't stay up at all. They started drooping as soon I walked from the front door to the back yard to take my photos. How very frustrating. They are now languishing on my bedroom chair while I come up with ideas on fixing the problem.

Sock of Unknown Origin

I've been happily knitting away on yet another pair of 3 x 1 ribbed socks. In my opinion, this is the best way to handle handpaints and variegates with dramatic colour changes. The problem I am having with this particular sock is that I've no idea what I'm knitting with.

This yarn has been in my stash since 2012 when I won it at one of the last Knitty Yarn Roundtables. For those of you not lucky enough to attend one of these famous yarn tastings, let me explain that at the end of each evening, Amy Singer would do random draws and when your number was called you got to choose from a large selection of prizes. The choices were knitting books and products companies had given to Amy in hopes of a review, as well as skeins from the evening's samplings. 

On the night in question, mine was one of the last numbers drawn and only all the chopped up skeins were left. I had enjoyed knitting with this sock yarn so chose the pieces of the skein. I spit-joined them back together on the streetcar ride home. Knitty had kept the ball band to reference for the magazine column but I wrote down the info. Naturally, I lost the paper. I've gone back through the Knitty archives but can't find anything that looks like this yarn. Perhaps it never made it to the column? It was definitely a smaller brand that I had never heard of before. I seem to remember that there is some silk in here. It certainly feels like the strength of blended wool and silk. Unfortunately that's all I have to go on. 

Oh well, I guess my Ravelry entry will be incomplete.

Sock Went On A Walk

Being a cool and lovely evening, I took myself out for a brisk walk. My current sock project came along.
It's Ann Budd's Diagonal Ribbed Sock knitted in a discounted yarn from Romni's sale basement.  It's been a delightful and quick portable project. This is especially welcome after the length and difficulty of my last sock project. The diagonal ribbing of the title is making a nice clingy fabric that promises to be a pleasant wear.
When I got home from my stroll, I plunked myself down on the porch to finish Sock #2. I got within a few rows of being done when mosquitoes and the cool night drove me in. I'll finish in the morning. Pictures soon I hope.

Spring Socks

Well they were supposed to be done last August. They stalled and languished and stalled again. They've seen other projects come and go. Now, at a pace of three or four occasional rows at a time, they are finally complete.

I know I complained about the fussiness of the the twisted stitches but the result is very satisfying. The fabric has great elasticity and clings so nicely. Yes, the effect is pretty too. I particularly like the partridge stitch heel with the garter bands. It shows up really well in this yarn. 

These short socks look really cute with white sneakers and a summer skirt. They are a lovely addition to my wardrobe. Am I likely to knit this pattern again? No. But I am glad I did it once. 

Yarn: Online Supersocke 100 Vintage Color
Pattern: Ripple Weave by Charlene Schurch

Done & Done!

Is it possible for a person and a yarn to simply not get along? Every time I knit with Noro, the process is difficult, almost painful. This simple pair of plain socks on 64 stitches, had so many mishaps and false starts that I thought they'd never be finished! Now at last, The Daughter has her thick, warm, neutral socks just in time for spring. Timing is everything, right?

One fun thing happened. While digging out a bag in which to transport the new socks, I came across a forgotten pair awaiting darning. They're the last remaining damaged knitwear from the 2013 bug infestation. They had somehow been forgotten. I quickly darned the holes and voila! There are now two sock pairs to deliver. 

In the meantime, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for Noro and I to consciously uncouple.

Summerworks Sock 2014 Edition

This year's Summerworks sock is going much slower than the 2013 Edition. I am working a busier venue so have far less down time. Also, I've chosen a complicated pattern. It is the delicious Ripple Weave Sock from the Fall 2006 Vogue. It's a 20 row repeat and every knit stitch is twisted. The ripple effect is stunning but each row takes time.
My shifts have been mostly closing ones which means there is a 20-30 minute stretch every night when all the paper work is done but I need to sit quietly guarding the lobby waiting for the last show to get out. That's when I knit a row or two.
Check this! There is a show this year about YARN!

A Sock In The Evening

How I love that the evenings have finally become fair. I sit on the porch, knit a brightly coloured sock and watch the world meander by. It washes away the work day.

Summerworks Socks

A few times each day when working a theatre festival, there are sweet 15 minute intervals when you've finished everything you needed to do for the last show and it isn't quite time to start preparing for the next one. What to do? Knit on a sock, of course! (Actually, most people smoke).

The second half of the second sock here was knit during the few quiet moments of Summerworks. Hence the name. They are knit in a basic three-by-one rib spiraled by moving over one stitch every four rows. I think this is an effective way to present this hand-dyed Schoppel Cat Print. it breaks up the colour just enough. I also love the way each of my two skeins was lighter on one end so the colour darkens from the pink to a heavier blue and grey concentration as I knit down the leg and along the foot. What a cool effect.

Latest Sock Adventure

Eventually, you get to the point as a knitter when you mostly know what you like and definitely know what you don't like. Life is just too short to knit awkward patterns, ugly colours or displeasing yarn. 
On a recent trip to Mary Maxim I purchased two skeins of their Gemstones brand in the Sapphire colour. On the skein it appealed to me so much, looking like random undulations of all my favourite jewel tones. However, as I unwound it to cast on, I began to suspect that it was stripes, not random at all. A quick click on Ravelry to view project photos proved me right. This has long colour repeats that make thick, solid sections and there is a one particularly bright colour - a turquoise that was hidden inside the skein - that pops vividly, not blending at all with the other darker tones of purples, burgundies and teals.
What to do? The yarn is otherwise very nice so I hate to waste it but I just knew knitting it as it was would make me cranky. My solution was to go through both skeins,cutting out that turquoise and spit joining the pieces back together. Now I am knitting off both balls at once, starting each at a different colour point and switching between them every two or three rows. It's producing the random look I wanted. A lot of work and trouble? Perhaps. However the result is totally worth the effort.