Mixed Feelings

I've been on another startitus kick and combined it with some sort of sock kick. I did manage to reign it in at a piffling two projects (but I may have patterns printed and yarn gathered for at least three more pairs of socks...). This is one of those new projects, started last week when I spotted a £2.60 sock yarn in my local market and thought that 'it would be rude not to at least try it':

The pattern is Maeva from the Winter Knitty and it looks lovely, but the pattern is slowly rolling into the 'not-one-of-my-favourites' pile. Here's why:

• All the charts are quite low resolution meaning you either have fairly small charts or you have charts whose row numbers are near-impossible to read.
  This one is no biggy, I can either root out a super skinny highlighter or just do a bit of actual counting to sort out ambiguous row numbers.
• The gauge is a little looser than might be average: 34 stitches and 50 rows in four inches on 2mm needles (stockingette) - I get around 44 stitches and 55 rows. in four inches on 2mm needles.
  Not really an issue - I should have looked before I started and I didn't. Everyone's gauge is different and just because I often get the pattern gauge with the pattern needles doesn't mean that when I don't the pattern is wrong.
• The gauge is a bit weird - it looks kinda tricky to get both the stitch count and the row count on the same pair of needles. On my 2.25mm needles I'm just slightly over on the stitch count at 35 stitches in four inches, but I'm under on the row count at 48 stitches.
  It sort of seems like my gauge is close, but I'm having all sorts of trouble with the foot length, my sock is trying ever so hard to be much, much longer than I'd like it to be (try 4" longer). I'm putting this down to 3 things:
  1. Because I'm over on the stitch count I had to knit the 64 stitch (L/XL) sock. This is the normal number of stitches for me on this needle size so it's not that surprising, but it does mean all the charts are also just a touch longer. (I could have accommodated for this by using the small charts with a bigger border around the cable section but it didn't occur to me until far too late).
  2. Because I'm under on the row count the whole sock is longer anyway - each row takes up slightly more space than it should.
  3. A slightly odd foot length measurement (see below).
• The foot length for my size seems wrong - I'm a US size 6 which the pattern calls 9.25" foot length but I have an 8.25" foot. Am I weird?
  This does bother me somewhat. I've fiddled around with the tape measure and I can't get a bigger measurement than 8.25", but the sizing is for a US 6-7, maybe there really is an inch between the sizes? It does mean that right from the off I was worrying about the chart lengths.
• Why chart an ordinary toe? Knitting the odd rows and doing "k1 m1r knit to end of row m1l k1 on even rows" is perfectly comprehendible in words and would save me printing the first of five charts. Given that knitty is set to show each chart in a new webpage, the use of a chart here is essentially wasting a sheet of paper for nearly everyone who knits this pattern.
  This makes nearly no impact on the knitting but is still strangely quite irritating.
• Likewise, the heel flap chart seems pretty redundant, I'd much rather these were included in the pattern as instructions. If you want to waste paper with charts like these then at least make them optional. As it is, I'll probably write out the instructions when I get to this bit.
  As above.
• I'll reserve judgement on Chart 5.
  Because I've clearly grumbled enough already, I'll stop now.

So many grumps, but they are still very pretty socks. I do hope they work out in the end.

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.

FO: Oak Leaf Camo Cache (or 'In Which Saffy Combines Two of Her Favourite Things')

I sat down last night and finally got around to starting one of those knits I've been meaning to start for a while - even better, I finished it too :)

My plan was to pick a leaf pattern and knit it up in some bits of green Zauberball leftover from my Honeymoon Socks. I flicked through my 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet and settled on an Oak Leaf. The pattern calls for DK weight yarn so I held the Zauberball double and set off on my way:

Once I'd completed the basic pattern I turned over and picked up 11 stitches on each side of the centre down the length of the leaf and knit a few rows on each before grafting them together to create a little pocket for a cache container (spot the little green lid poking out of the top).

Finally, I grabbed a press stud and some green sewing thread so that the i-cord (somewhat longer than the 1" called for in the original) can be folded over to create a hanging loop.

The end result - a cute little camouflage container to hide around Lancaster somewhere. Very cool.

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Pattern: Oak Leaf by Lesley Stanfield.

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball from Natural Stitches, Pittsburgh.

Mods: Used fingering weight yarn held double (3.25mm needles) instead of DK weight. Did the colour changes as and when I ran out of yarn in a given piece of green. Increased the i-cord length to about 8cm. Once finished, I knitted on a pocket and fastened the icord to the pocket using a press stud.

Project: online at Ravelry.

FO: Gwen

A first finished object for 2011, this is Gwen, a cardigan in super-bulky yarn. I cast this on during the evening of New Year's Day and was done with the knitting by the third. I then spent the next few evenings learning how to do mattress stitch, shoulder seams and set in sleeves (not necessarily in that order). Putting it together was surprisingly enjoyable, and here it is:

Pattern: Gwen by Kim Hargreaves.

Yarn: Rowan Big Wool in colour 28. Two dark red plies with one bright red.

Mods: Changed the collar to seed stitch rather than reverse stockinette. Fastened the front at bust instead of waist, and with a hook and eye instead of crochet ties. This may not be the final fastening method but probably is where I'd like it to fasten.

Project: Online at Ravelry.

2010: A Year of Stitching

2010 was the first year where I would definitely have called myself a knitter right from the off. Having moved on from that first scarf in 2008, I spent 2009 progressing through a variety of projects with varying degrees of success until, somewhere on the Natural Stitches sofa, it finally clicked.

So in 2010 I've been pushing my knitting boundaries, and I've produced 19 projects - one of which never made it into any records anywhere (it was a Sunshine and Lollipops hat). Here are the 18 remaining 2010 projects - beginning with the most recently completed (top-left) and moving through to the more elderly...

Top Row: Hello October Colourwork Socks, Aphrodite Socks, Haruni, A Wee Bag, Christine's Cable Mitts, Verity

Middle Row: Summer Scarf, Socks for September, Helix, Damson, Colonnade, Honeymoon Socks

Bottom Row: Arm(enia) Bands x6, iTouch Sock, Mosey, Nanny Mittens, Happy Socks, It Snows Scarf #2

Of these two projects Damson and the Arm(enia) Bands x6 never made it onto the blog. This is a particularly great sadness for Damson which is lovely.

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Still... some time last year I made a list of 100 things I wanted to achieve GirlGuiding UK's centenary year (September 2009 to October 2010). I never posted that list but many items on it were knitting related. Of those, in 2010 I achieved:

• Socks - toe up (Honeymoon Socks, Socks for September and Hello October!)
• Socks - afterthought heel (Hello October!)
• Another colourwork project (Hello October!)
• A lace shawl (Damson, Colonnade and the lovely Haruni)
• A toy (Helix)
• A design (Christine's Cable Mitts)

I also managed to conquer a mini Clapotis in the second It Snows scarf - perhaps I'll have another go at the one I had planned originally now I don't unintentionally twist stitches every now and again.

So, what will 2011 hold? I finished my first project yesterday (and am wearing it today) and cast on for another - more about those soon, I'm also having a bit of a think about what I might like to achieve this year, as inspired by Affiknitty's basket list :) I think my primary goal will be to... (drumroll please)...

Knit up some of the beautiful things in my stash.

That's it. Short and sweet. I have so many stunning bits and bobs in my stash, it's time to fall in love with them all over again and to turn them into projects that show off their specialness. I look forward to giving it my best shot!

FO: Hello October (Colourwork Socks)

My final finished object for 2010:


A pair of real, actual fitting colourwork socks. I thought this might be inachievable, but they're complete and they go over my heel, all is well! 

Pattern: Hot Waves by Lynn DT Hershberger. This is my second pattern from The Joy of Sox which I like very much (the first was Make-Up Socks) - so many beautiful patterns.

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in colours Pond Blue, Carol Green and Blackberry. Bought online at Modern Knitting.

Mods: None.

Project: Online at Ravelry.

FO: Aphrodite

Another Christmas break FO:

The lovely Aphrodite socks! I think these socks are fabulous, I will either knit these again or another of Jeanie's patterns - perhaps both. Once again I've been let down slightly by my photography skills and/or the poor winter light, but I promise these really are stunning socks. 

The yarn is a lovely colour. I finished these on the 28th of December and for reasons unknown I've not worn them yet, I should fix that.

Pattern: Aphrodite by Jeanie Cartmel.

Yarn: CraftsMeow Trifle in colourway Burgundy Cherry, bought online at CraftsMeow's Etsy shop.

Mods: None intentionally although I inverted the final foot decreases because I didn't spot the change in direction.

Project: Online at Ravelry.