Yarn experiment

I had fun this weekend with scarf making. Just plain garter stitch, but manipulating yarns.

First - single ply of rayon in plain old garter: Nice and if you could see it in person you would think it is a lovely and feminine impact. The red, blue and purple are uniform in impact.

I plan to use this scarf under the lapels of my blue suit. It looks fantastic.

And then I looked through the stash to discover left over sock yarn. The sock weight is a Wildfoote that has two shades of blue.




Second - two strands held together. The custom dyed rayon and the sock yarn: total change. The lighter exposure of the photo lets you see how the sock yarn shows up. What is not apparent in the photo is that the whole effect is more masculine. I could not believe it when it came off the needles.

In the photo - lightened to show the sock yarn - the red really pops. But in person, the red is much more subdued and in the background. Strange? Yeah.

Just goes to show that experimentation is a good thing. You might have an idea of how yarns will mix. But the eye has its own view of color.

Matchy, Matchy Socky Stripes

Matchy




Matchy




Matchy


Matchy

Knit Pinwheel Done!

Where did the week go? I was here. I was busy. I was happy. It just seems like the week slipped by with little updating. Lots of progress though.

The pinwheel security blanket is done! You learned about my 'wrong side worries' here. For the most part, all turned out well. Unique, but well. In a few spots, it was necessary to gently yank the underside of the picked up wraps in order to straighten out the mess.

I consider myself experienced with picking up the wrap and knitting it together with the stitch. However, that experience did not include picking up two wraps! A whole new experience for this gal. Look closely and you will see slight holes in the miters. This is unblocked work. When I shake the blankie things look better. When it is smoothed out for a close up holes appear like wrinkles in a morning mirror. We are not amused.

A whole project with nothing but short rows is not for the faint of heart. Beginner Knitters back off. Intermediates - - think twice and then sleep on it.

Mind you there is absolutely nothing bad about short rows. I like short rows. OK. I will confess that I like short rows when used sparingly for specific shaping needs.

Would I ever make this pattern again? No. Does a special wee one deserve a blanket made from this pattern? Yes.

Knit. Type. Knit. Type.

My fingers are actually sore. Absolutely sore from knitting and typing. You will notice that there are no photos. Because I've been too busy to stop and snap a moment of posterity.

1. The Twinkle Toes socks are pushing 50% complete. Since I hate working ribbing, I should declare the first sock finished and just bind off. But nay! I shall keep at the boring work until the ribbing of the sock is appropriate in height. What is appropriate? Well, if there was a photo you would figure out that I am planning on three stripes of the green. Then it will be done and I can bind off. Well, not exactly. I no longer just plain bind off sock ribbing. EZ's sewn bind off works for me. Never fails - stretches - and easy to accomplish. You can find it (and other great manipulations) at the end of this Knitty article here.

2. Night time knitting is an afghan. Nothing fancy. Just worsted on size 10s. Bamboo 10s. Sure does help the fingers and hands recover from the socks on the Addi #1s. And let me tell you that my hands really need the rest this week.

3. Only one sleeve left to set in on the Cabled Cardigan and then it is crochet edging time. While the pattern has a nice edge specified, I'm thinking of not doing it. The crab stitch is a bit sturdier and I really think that this one needs a firmer edge. There is a bit of rolling on the front and the crab stitch should take care of that.

4. The rest of my time this week has been spent in my volunteer work which for some reason resulted in lots of time at the keyboard this week. Orientation for United Way of the Inland Valleys was this week - Community Review Teams begin site visits soon and I am on Team 4. Then there were lots of last minute preparations and reading before the NCL, Inc. Board meeting this weekend. And on top of that, RKG Board, business meeting and Show and Share are bright and early on Saturday morning. AND (can you hear the drum roll) sign ups begin for our May workshop with Lucy Neatby! Yeah! Yeah! and Whippie too!!

Whew. No wonder I am tired and my hands hurt. Knit. Type. Knit. Type

Will It Match?

Will the self-striping match from sock to sock? Good question that many have asked since these fun color sequences changed our options.

I don't ever seem to have a problem getting matches - or at least matches that are good enough for me. I certainly don't frown on a bit of variance, but expect there to be enough 'sameness' so that any observer will think the socks (sleeves, fronts, etc.) actually are part of a pair.

For these socks, I used my all in one printer/fax/copy/scan miracle machine to make a color copy of the exact point in color sequencing where I began the cast on. This is a never fail resource for me.

Don't have at home color copy availability? No worries. Just snap a digital photo of the point at which you begin the cast on. That is the same reference and will remind you of exactly where to start. I can usually tell right after casting on if the color sequencing is going to come out to match the first one.

Of course, casting on both socks at the same time would solve a lot of matchy matchy issues. Since I don't suffer from second sock syndrome, I stick with old school one at a time for foot wear - even though I always work both sleeves/fronts at the same time.

Isn't it weird how we each have these little oddities of how we work the string?