Summer Knitting

Being a newcomer to knitting, I was unaware that summer knitting is viewed by many as an odd thing to do.  Who knew?  Numerous times in the past month or so I've heard the phrase "Shouldn't you wait until its colder to do that?" or "Knitting is for the winter" or "Why are you doing that now?". I'm not sure where people think knit items come from when it get colder, but apparently they magically get knit on the first day of winter for immediate use...

I have noticed that I'm less inclined to knit heavy items (sorry, not sorry Brighton Cowl...we'll have a reunion in October, I promise) and am leaning more towards socks and lightweight pieces.

I'm currently working on a sock test knit.  It's an ankle sock with a really clever pattern on the top which using decreases followed by increases every few rows to create ridges on the top of the sock. This is my first non-vanilla sock pattern and I love it so far.  Here's a sneak peek (from when I was knitting in the Halifax Public Gardens yesterday).

You can see the texture lines to the right of my stitch marker.  

The yarn is Red Heart Heart & Sole in Green Envy.  Its especially fitting for summer knitting with its bright greens, oranges and yellows.  I'll link to the pattern once it goes live You can find the pattern here for purchase :)

Here's to summer knitting!  Cheers!

Adventures in Sock Making - The Well-Heeled Edition

So far in my knitting adventure I have only knit socks cuff down.  Some day I may try toe-up, but for now, I'm happy as a cuff down knitter.  I have been testing out different heels though.  So far I have tried a standard heel flap and gusset using Susan B. Anderson's tutorial, an afterthought heel (with modifications), and am almost finished a pair with a strong heel.  

My very first socks were large, worsted weight and knit based on this awesome tutorial from Staci Perry (she has, by far, some of THE best tutorial videos).  This was my first introduction to the heel flap and gusset.

For my next two pairs, I went to smaller needles and sock weight yarn but stuck with the heel flap and gusset using Susan B. Anderson's tutorial for stitch counts.

Wanting to change it up a bit, I then tried an afterthought heel.  I researched it a bit and found this fantastic post which provided excellent guidance and instructions on adding lifelines to make adding the heel easier.  The heel didn't look as nice as the standard heel flap and gusset so I'm not completely sold on this one just yet.

I also misjudged the sizing and these socks were quite large...they fit my husbands size 10 rather than my size 8.  If I use this heel in the future I'll have to adjust my "sock before adding the heel" length.

My current in-progress sock has an intriguing "strong" heel.  This heel doesn't require picking up stitches and reminds me a lot of the thumb gusset in mittens.  The heel is increased forming a gusset, then you turn the heel and rejoin, continuing on in the round.  It is the most convenient of heels so far.

As I enjoy knitting mittens, the paired increases were familiar too.  The only thing I don't like is the tiny hole when you begin working in the round after the heel turn.  It's small, but annoying (you can see it in the picture below in the skinny brown coloured row that comes across the heel).  I did try picking up the stitch between but its not ideal.  I'll have to work on that.

I might take a small sock making break when this pair is finished but I think the strong heel may be my go to from now on.  I may experiment with adding slipped stitches in the heel gusset (similar to a heel flap) to strengthen it...I'll keep you posted :)

WIP Anxiety

I am discovering that multi-tasking knitting projects is not my thing.

Up until about a month or so ago, I sailed along completing one project before starting another. Then, halfway through a sock project, I started a second so I could "mix -it-up".  Then I started a MKAL, and another, and suddenly I had 5 projects underway.  There were 2 pairs of socks, a pair of fingerless mittens, a softie, and a cowl.  I was stressing over neglecting one while working on another, and trying to budget time for them and...so much for my relaxing hobby.

So, I prioritized.  One pair of socks and the fingerless mittens were MKALs and I really wasn't enjoying them so I frogged both.  The designs were more complicated and labour intensive than I wanted and I knew I would probably never wear either.  I was also HATING the yarn I used for the socks....TANGENT TIME!!

Loops and Threads Pizzazz (Rav link) is not a pleasant yarn to work with.  I tried...I really did.  

The yarn is very scratchy and the metallic thread is really rough.  I have other metallic yarns which are similar sock weight make with wool and nylon (such as Red Heart Stardust) which are not scratchy at all.  Even the pure acrylics with metallic are softer and nicer to work with (i.e. Red Heart Holiday).  

I attempted the MKAL for Bovary:

I then tried the Baktus scarf (it was horrible, I didn't even take a picture).  I've since re-started this pattern for the third time (this time I'm using Paton's Blue Ragg) so you'll see that on here in the future I'm sure.

This yarn was not for me and will probably stay at the bottom of my stash until I give it away.

Ok, back to the projects.  I was now down to a pair of socks,  a cowl, and a softie.  I finished the MKAL Softie, Cecile. She turned out lovely.  I was quite proud of my first knit toy.

I still have the socks (just half a foot and the toe to go!), the cowl (which I haven't touched in 2 weeks), and restarted the Karius verision of Baktus (Karius is stockinette, Baktus is garter).  I also have some recycled yarn drying from a recent Value Village haul to start a test knit for an infinity scarf.

The plan: I will have the socks done before the end of the month...or die trying.  Then its the infinity scarf, then the Baktus, and then the other cowl.  Hopefully.  Wish me luck.