Inspiration

Here a few things from the Anthropologie website I found interesting. They would be so easy to duplicate, and in this case for a lot less money. Anyone else wonder whether the now extinct J. Peterman catalog writers are currently employed by A.? I get a kick out of their product descriptions.

Got PDF?

Yes I do, yes I do!!! See the sidebar, under Patterns? if you click you will get to a site where you can download the charts for my socks as pdf's. Thanks again to Winnie who spoon-fed me how to get this set up. Now it seems all so easy. I often have a hard time just finding the right resources. Thank heavens for tech savvy knitbloggers! Let me know if you have any problems with the patterns by comment or email (see right)
A lot of de-stashing has happened. I sold a bag of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed dk on ebay, which was supposed to become the Tyrolean Cardi from Vintage Style. Let me tell you, YT is the yuckiest yarn I've ever knit with. It is dry, stringy and knits up into the ugliest fabric. The color, 'cheer' would have been pretty had it not been for the tweedy bits of intense purple. I love mauves and dusty lilacs and plums, but this purple was neon-tie-dye-eyeball hurting bad. And they dropped the Rowanspun line for this?? There you go, I've never ragged on anything this bad. But, I had a skein of YT in dark brown sitting around and a skein of Crystal Palace Merino Frappe in a pretty plum, which I bought to make the SNB Spiderweb capelet. Suffice to say that I did not enjoy knitting the capelet and knew I'd never wear it. But the two yarns combined were perfect for making a pair of Eowyn handwarmers from Rowan 38:


Knit on US 7 needles in the round instead of flat as the pattern says. I knit six repeats of the lace for a perfect width. My hands are covered, yet have enough room to move comfortably. Project two is a scarf which needs to go into a dyebath before considered finished, and I have started a sweater (yes, I have overcome my Aimee post partum) with this:

Rowan Cork in Chilly. Lately I'm in love with purl. Not actually purling, no, just knitting and then turning it over to drool over those wonderful little purls. I'm making a sweater of my own design, though ideas are borrowed from this:

Beth from Rowan's Ribbon Twist collection. Because I live in a drafty old house, I often wear my comfy fleece camping jacket around the house. But I want something a little cuter, a slouchy yet shaped sweater with a tunic-style neck opening, arms and body knit in the round, for minimal irritation in regards to seaming and comfort. The cork is squishy and lovely to knit up. I hope this turns out the way I picture it!

Meet Bubby

Hi there, my name is Bubby.

My mom had a bit of Rowanspun Chunky left and after two days of knitting, I was born. She used #7 needles, and some brown yarn to give me eyes and a really big nose. I've been bugging her to make me some clothes as this place is a bit drafty. She keeps mumbling about having some sock yarn scraps. I hope I get a sweater soon!

Mom says, go to Knitty and make yourself a Bubby too.

All about Socks

Linking to a pdf. Maybe it just can't be done with Blogger?!

Believe me, for a week now I've tried to figure out how to put this picture up nice and big, but it's no use. Tried many other things. Now my eyes hurt from squinting at the screen. If you're afraid your eyes will hurt trying to decipher this chart, then please click on it; it'll lead you to a bigger one on my flickr account. Or I can email it to you. The talented Winnie of Knitting Escapism made this chart and kindly emailed it to me so I could post it. You should check out her latest post, she just finished the Springgrass knee-highs and they are fabulous. Initially mine were supposed to be knee-highs as well, but I wasn't happy with the way I worked the increases. Looking at Winnie's, she made the increases just like I did and they look fine. So, some time in the future, there will be a knee-high pair for me too. Not soon though, I'm a little socked out at the moment. This pair was finished just a few days ago, using my very own simple pattern.

It's just a yo,k2tog spaced every eight stitches, and every fourth round it moves one over, creating this simple but lovely spiral pattern. I call them my Mata Hari socks, don't ask why. Maybe it's the delicious red, and the yo's are like little bullet holes. Yes, I have an overactive imagination. My camera savvy BF also figured out a way to photograph the red in its true color (the above photo isn't) I didn't realize you could change film speed on our little digital camera, but you can, he changed the speed to 400, resulting in very true red pictures.

The color is right on, on both my iBook and the work PC.

They are knit top-down as I wanted to get better at picking up stitches without holes. These are my best top-down pair so far. But I think I prefer toe-up with short-rows for wearing comfort.

Koigu, and I just lost the band with all the info. They softened up nicely after a bath.

Knitty!!!

The new Knitty is up, and I had a good chuckle when I checked out the Falling Leaves socks by Jessica Landers. She took the same pattern from Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge for her socks as I did for my Springgrass Socks, except she didn't mirror it. There are some very nice sweaters and cardis in this issue, but my favorite is Bubby, a little bear with the cutest expression. Now I know what to do with all those half skeins in my stash.

New Ideas

It didn't look like there was a whole lot of Lurex left on the ball, honestly. But I seriously underestimated the remaining yardage. I made another ornament last night and there is still a lot left. While it may not be enough for a calendar, I might follow Angela's great idea of using them for Christmas cards. Thanks Angela!
Lately I've been noticing some beautiful knits in fashion mags. Here are a few that I had to rip. This jacket is by TSE if I remember correctly:

Those cables are very pretty.It would look wonderful in that Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk dark turquoise shade. But I hear this yarn starts to pill as soon as you start knitting with it.
This Kimono sweater is by Akris:

I'm sorry it's hard to make out, but I picture this with very high moss stitch cuffs and hem, and a dainty lace pattern in between, in Elsebeth Lavold's Silk Wool, which makes a very drapey fabric. That skirt wouldn't be too hard to recreate either and a great opportunity to try some applique.
It's good to get excited again about knits that aren't socks.

Ornament

Made from Rowan Lurex Shimmer in Antique White Gold, about 3.5" high. US#2 needles.
I've been in a stash reducing frenzy. The Lurex Shimmer, bought months ago, was supposed to become a handbag in combination with some sisal strung along. The swatch looked great, however, the sisal shedded so terribly over everything, it would not be practical for a bag. Then I had the idea to use it for a shrug, again in combination with another yarn, delicious Any Blatt Mohair. But this lurex is just too scratchy, it doesn't really work for clothing in my opinion. Since it's been all about socks lately here at Craftoholic and I love ornaments it seemed like a winning combo. I think a Marie Claire Maison X-mas issue from a few years back featured a silver knitted sock. Maybe I could make 23 more for an Advent calendar, how cute would that be? But one ball makes two socks, I need eleven more balls...oh, there would be no money left to buy the surprises to go into the socks...:(

Patterns for the Springgrass & Orchid Socks

I'm sorry guys, I've been meaning to post this but due to everything that's been happening I have not been able to concentrate much. Here you go:
I won't include a tutorial on how to knit an actual sock, most of you already know how to, for those who don't, or are interested in some new techniques, here are some excellent links with pictures that can explain it much better than I could:
Socks 101, a top-down tutorial featured on www.Knitty.com
Also on Knitty, how to knit socks toe-up (I have used this tutorial to learn short-row toes and heels
And thanks to Jo, for posting a link to this great phototutorial on how to pick up stitches from the gusset without holes.
If you've ever wondered about how to do a yarn-over short-row toe-up sock, look at Purly's great photo story. Next pair I'll be trying that one for sure!
My socks are knit with 60 stitches total over four needles, so there are 15 sts on each needle. After completing the toe, I knit 4-6 rounds stockinette because I like my toes covered. Uneven rows are given, for even rows, knit sts as they appear, i.e knit the knit sts and the yo's, purl the purl sts. Pattern covers needle 1 and 2, do same for needle 3 and 4.

Springgrass Socks:

R 1: k1, p2, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, k3,skp, k2tog, k3, yo, k5, yo, skp, p2, k1
R 3: k1, p2, k2tog, k5, yo, k1, yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, yo, k5, skp, p2, k1
R 5: k1, p2, k2tog, k4, yo, k3, yo, k1, skp, k2tog, k1, yo, k3, yo, k4, skp, p2, k1
R 7: k1, p2, k2tog, k3, yo, k5, yo, skp, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, k3, skp, p2, k1
R 9: k1, p2, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, yo, k5, skp, k2tog, k5, yo, k1, yo, k2, skp, p2, k1
R11:K1, p2, k2tog, k1, yo, k3, yo, k4, skp, k2tog, k4, yo, k3, yo, k1, skp, p2, k1
Repeat rows 1 through 12 as many times as you need to achieve the wanted sock length.

Orchid Socks:

This pattern requires the shifting of sts in some rows, so don't be alarmed when you have to move them. You will only shift between needles 1&2, and 3&4.
R 1: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, skp, k1, k2tog, k1, yo, p1, skp, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
R 3: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, skp, k1, k2tog, k1, p1, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k3, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
R 5: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, yo, skp, k1, k2tog, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
R 7: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k2, yo, k3, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1, yo, k1, skp, k1, k2tog, k1, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
R 9: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k2, yo, k5, yo, skp, k1, skp, k1, k2tog, k1, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
Repeat rows 1 through 10.
If you encounter any problems please leave a comment and I'll try my best to help.
k2tog= knit two sts together
sl1,k2tog, psso= slip one st, knit two sts together, then pass slipped st over the the one just made
skp= slip one st, knit one st, pass slipped st over
yo= yarn over
Oh and what's the deal with the Koigu? My beautiful, sinful, blood red Koigu feels like package string compared to the Handjiveknits Nature's Palette. I washed a swatch and it hasn't gotten softer. Could it be the needle size, I'm using US#2's? What size needles are you guys using? Has anyone had a bad experience? I've read nothing but praise so far about Koigu.