WIP Wednesday: Charade Socks

It's been a while since I started anything new and likewise since I knitted any socks.

Two birds, one stone... this week's work-in-progress Wednesday.

Socks for Mr Me in a cotton sock yarn (and some knitting elastic in the cuffs also).

Soon we'll all be able to say "bless his little cotton socks".

WIP Wednesday: Glittens

I have a large but unknown number of projects on the go. This is just one:

This is a 'glitten'. Not quite a glove (not enough fingers), not quite a mitten (too many fingers) it is a curious concept.

I wore through some gloves in January. As the hole grew I swore I'd start these. I bought the pattern. I bought the yarn. And then finally I gave up and bought new gloves.

THEN I finally started these.

The first was super quick really. DK yarn and an interesting pattern meant the first quickly moved from cuff to 'fingers' on waste yarn to done!

I still haven't started the second one.

I really should.

Quiet

It's been really quiet on the blog of late. More than once I've thought about coming back and posting something but life has been getting in my way and my enthusiasm for knitting was struggling to find a moment to peek out from under my workload. Since my workload is unlikely to alter much for a while I figured I'd just have to "put on my big girl pants" and get on with it.

Right now I have a number of knitting projects on the go:

1) Another Calorimetry that I started and finished earlier last weekend when I was mooching around feeling ill (just a cold, I'll survive). Sadly, I didn't judge the size quite right and I think I need to reknit the whole thing with a few extra stitches (and a smidge more yarn than I probably have available).

2) A cute little "Movie Star Scarf" which I also started this week whilst snuffling on the sofa. This is being knit from some handspun and that in itself makes it quite an exciting project. There's definately some scope for improvement in the future but I'm very pleased with the way this yarn has come out.

3) The first of a pair of Cadence Socks in a gorgeous Old Maiden Aunt sparkle sock yarn.

I've also got a selection of swatches and things that are still begging to be sweaters but I'm not sure I can handle the commitment right now.

WIP Wednesday: River Socks

For a while I was committed to, and focussed on, finishing projects... and then I started these:

A simple top-down sock in DK weight yarn. I've had the yarn and pattern in a project bag for about two years now, it deserved to finally get made. It's a DK weight sock, my first. I'm not totally sure there's a call for too many chunky pairs of socks, but I won't know until I've tried it. The pattern is simple and very effective.

Pattern: Kalajoki by Tiina Seppälä
Yarn: Stylecraft Luxury Merino DK in colourway Cornflower

For other Wednesday WIPs, try Tami's WIP Wednesday link party.

WIP: Effervesce

Twisted stitches and cables are my all-time favourite features for socks and yet it's been a while since I last knit a pair that met that description. I've been working hard to dig out patterns for the many variegated yarns I'd acquired and so had deliberately neglected all beautiful cabled patterns. Until now...

These are my Effervesce socks in a Flamboyance Yarns sock club yarn - Pharos sock in colourway "Sea Dreams".
I really like the way they're coming out. The yarn has just a touch of green amongst all that blue adding a bit of interest without masking the stitch pattern. The cable pattern has plenty going on but is predictable enough that I don't have to stare intently at the chart whilst juggling yarn and needles (which is obviously how I do my knitting).

Project: online at Ravelry.com

Mistakes

I read a thought-provoking post about mistakes today on The Perfect Fit.

As I've been plugging away on this week's WIP Wednesday project, the second of my Allgäu Socks, I've been able to see mistakes in the first that I never knew were there.

Spot it? This is the underside of the sock and the mistake is more visible here than on the pattern section.

There's two of these... do I care? Well, unusually, no - not really.

I can't quite tell why, I normally have a zero-tolerance policy for mistakes in my handknits but these just aren't really bothering me. Perhaps it's just the sheer quantity of work that would be involved in ripping back a sock because you made a mistake on the third pattern repeat, perhaps it actually just doesn't matter.

I can't see a mistake in the second sock yet ;)

Decorating (Part 1)

This week's WIP Wednesday is a little bit different:

Day -1...
Lots of chaos in here, it's all going to have to be rehomed before we can start work.

Day 0...

Good, what's next...?

Day 1: - Let's Go!
Sugar soaping you say? It doesn't look any different to me.

Day 2: - Decisions, Decisions

Nine tester pots, two colour schemes and finally a few decisions made.

Day 3: - Paint inside, cat outside
Time to start really painting.... so which one did we choose? PS - Note the 1st coat of paint on the ceiling too.

Second Sock: His N Hers

This week's WIP Wednesday, second socks:

In orange and yellow, what will be a pair of Allgäu Socks for the lovely Hobnob (His). These are a slow and steady project - not terribly exciting to knit but satisfying in appearance (if you like bright colours). I do like the way the stitch pattern works in the pattern. Top-down on 2.5mm needles, progressing slowly.

Project: online at Ravelry

In a very lovely green, what will be a pair of Ribbed Ribbon Socks for me (Hers)! These are a reasonably quick knit, I finished the first one in a week (small feet has its benefits here). The pattern is charted and my memory's not quite good enough to go chartless, but the chart is simple enough that it only really needs one or two quick glances per row. Again the stitch pattern is really effective and I loving these (and I don't like lace socks as a general rule). Toe-up on 2.25mm needles. Progressing plenty quick enough given that I'm not wearing socks at the moment - our summer may be short and unpredictable, but it's here right now and that's enough for me!

Project: online at Ravelry

Blogged: here

More Green

This week's WIP Wednesday:

Cast on for a new project today. My supply of sock needles was looking a little thin so I ordered two 2.25mm Kollage square circulars as a bit of an experiment. (I ordered from YarnBox if you're wondering).

When the needles showed up last night I felt the need to cast on. Rationality held me back a little, so this morning I dug out one of my untouched Natural Stitches purchases and my copy of Socks a la Carte 2 and promised myself an experiment with a new toe (and perhaps a new heel too).

This is my project, newly cast on using Conjoined Creations Flat Feet.

Initial thoughts suggest that the yarn isn't overly stressful to knit with yet (despite the crimping) and the needles feel gorgeous in my hands. Really lightweight and the cables are so incredibly soft and flexible. Two at a time is how I like my socks when I'm going but right now this feels like a huge faff - I do wonder if the needles are a tad long.

I'm curious to see how this knits up. What kind of gauge will I get with the square needles? What exactly will the yarn do? Only time will tell...

WIP Wednesday: Skew

This week's work-in-progress is a Sock Knitters Anonymous SOCKDOWN challenge sock...

It's the first of the month and accordingly my WIP is a brand new pair of socks cast on this morning. Unexpectedly, it's the second time I've cast on this project in two days - yesterday I had the date wrong! Fortunately, I also noticed that the yarn couldn't really be described as self-striping (stripes nowhere to be seen) which was this month's challenge so I didn't feel too terrible about ripping it back and starting over today instead.

Here's today's version:

I love the yarn - it's Wendy Happy which I've used this before for some bright red pink socks for my husband. I loved the sheen on the socks when they were done and in December when I visited Edinburgh I picked up two more colourways - one for him and one for me. This is the one for me (but he has his eye on it...)

The pattern will be one from a few knitty's ago: Skew.

WIP Wednesday: Citron

This week's work-in-progress is almost a finished object... almost!

You wouldn't necessarily recognise the item from this photo, but it's a shawl - Citron - from Winter 2009's Knitty.

I've been working on this since a plane journey last month - the yarn was wound, pattern printed and a wooden needle all empty and ready, a perfect travel project. The knitting is really quite mindless and it's progressed almost completely without incident (except for that moment last weekend when around 50 stitches leapt of the needle for no good reason). I'm now on the final section, the ruffled edging and coming to the end of my yarn. I think I may have to omit a row (perhaps two) at the end, we'll see.

Looking forward to having this done, I need some sort of recognisable achievement right now. I think I'm going through one of those periods where no matter what I do I'm at least a week behind on life.

WIP Wednesday: Socks

This week's work(s)-in-progress include a new pair of socks, and a slowly-progressing older pair of socks. First the new...

These are my Aphrodite socks which I'm knitting for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous SOCKDOWN Challenge November (I cast them on on November 30th so they will just scrape in if they are finished before the deadline).

I think this pattern (Aphrodite by Jeannie Cartmel) is stunning (and it's free too!). I'm knitting these in Trifle by CraftsMeow, the colour (Burgundy Cherry) is a lovely dark red, let down only slightly by a few odd-looking spots where the dye appears not to have taken very well (perhaps it was tied a bit tightly?).

And now the old...

I'm still plodding along on the second of my 'Hello October' colourwork socks. I'm about one round away from putting the waste yarn in for the heel and starting on the legs. I took these to the KnitCafe on Saturday and everyone was very nice about them. I'm not totally sold on the end result yet, but I'm pleased with the process - the jogless jogs look noticeably smoother as you get higher up the socks.

I think the two projects go well together - one mindless stockingette (but not for long) and one brain-eating chart :)

WIP Wednesday: "Hello October" Colourwork Socks

This week's work-in-progress has been on the needles since October the first, and since then it's moved only occasionally and very, very slowly. Why? Well, it turns out I haven't actually spent any time knitting it...

So here it is - one lonely almost-sock:

So far so good.

Just 7 rows to go until the ribbing, then go back and knit the heel, then start the other one. Lovely.

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(This is the Hot Waves pattern from The Joy of Sox which I'm (hopefully) knitting for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous SOCKDOWN Challenge October - under-appreciated patterns)

WIP Wednesday: Verity

I was beginning to feel like I would never complete any of the projects currently on my needles, and I had so many things I was itching to cast on. So on Saturday I finally gave up and started this week's work-in-progress, a Verity:

(you can view the project on Ravelry, here)

A few days later, and although it may not be obvious from the picture, this hat (just in case you were wondering) is almost there. I'm about half-way round the brim and sometime soon I'll need to pay a visit to the market to pick out a button.

The pattern is lovely although I am unsure whether my finished object/head will quite do it justice, but the yarn is really, really lovely. It's soft and squishy and a pleasure to knit with. I am just slightly concerned it may start to look fuzzy and worn quite quickly though.

Looking forward to a finished object very soon - hopefully it'll motivate me to do some more finishing.

WIP Wednesday: September Socks

This week's work in progress is still my September Socks/Socks for September:

They're actually progressing quite well. They were held up for a while as I've been at a conference and got zero knitting done on my travels but now the heels have been turned and before you know it I'll be halfway up the leg (hopefully). Although the pattern is getting a little more repetitive as I progress, I am still happy knitting away as I'm certain these will be lovely socks.

PS - Yes, I do know September is over. The socks were for *starting* in September, they'll be finished in time for leaf fall if nothing else :)

WIP Wednesday: Helix

This week's work in progress is 'Helix' - hopefully the final item for my Ravelry blog swap package. Pictured is one (almost complete) part out of two. Can you guess what it is yet...?

Done guessing? Click to show pattern information.

Click to hide pattern information.

This is the Garden Snail pattern from Amigurumi Knits. I wanted something small to knit so I could put a handmade item into my package and this seemed like it might do the job. In the picture is my shell, currently having some ends weaved in before I graft the two sides together and stuff it.

The yarn used in this project is mystery fingering weight yarn bought on ebay in two shades of blue plus a tiny bit of DK weight mystery yarn in a pale blue.

And, no, I haven't finished anything off yet - but I'm close, honest! Also, I'm very excited for a knitting project coming very soon...!

WIP Wednesday: Colonnade

This week's work in progress is the lovely Colonnade Shawl. This was a pattern I stumbled upon whilst scouring Ravelry for reasons to buy some really quite squishy Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky.

Having gotten well into Chart B on my Haruni, I figured another new project would be needed for this years Transformers holiday (am I ever home at the moment?) and so I took yarn and needles for two projects - or at least I thought I did. On discovery that I in fact had every interchangeable end except the ones required to start an aligator bag, my choice was made, and I cast on for my Colonnade.

The yarn I'm using is the aforementioned Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky, in a dark green solid and a complementary paint version with greens and purples. Now I've put in a stitch marker before the final two wrong-side stitches this is going quite well (guess who kept cocking up the garter edge).

Time to get a knitting groove on and finish this off (and everything else on the 'nearly finished' pile...

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

This week's work in progress is the lovely Haruni. I first encountered Haruni at Natural Stitches (website | Ravelry link) where David (Ravelry link) was working on his (Ravelry link) in a lovely rich dark blue.

Since I needed a new project for Armenia (rather than carrying lots of partially completed projects), I thought Haruni would be the perfect candidate as there was some nice thinking knitting whose yarn took up little space but would take a while to get through.


The yarn I'm using is an Abstract Cat yarn and I'm hoping there's enough of it but I didn't bring the jewelry scales with me to Armenia so it's really quite an uncertainty. The photo was taken before I left and so shows exactly 0% knitting done, but I've progressed since then and am now somewhere near the start of chart B (the edging). I keep cocking up on the counting though :s

*The Plan* is to have this done by the end of August so I can go back to the many pre-summer travelling projects and have a bit of a finishing blitz.