Day: November 15, 2006

crafts · knitting · yarn

First socks!

stitchywitchLeave a comment

My first socks are finished!P

Pattern: Simple ribbed socks from Spun Magazine

Yarn: Brown Sheep Company Wildfoote in Bluegrass

Needles: Clover bamboo DPNs size US1

Can you see where I started the second skein?  I can!  Both skeins were from the same dyelot, but the red was much brighter in the second for some reason.   These socks are far from perfect – there are a few misplaces purls in my stockinette (I got tired and confused about which needle was which) but it’s on the bottom and not really bothersome.  I’m thrilled with my first socks, and I can’t wait to start more!

Speaking of which… I took back the bad Plymouth yarn and got sock yarn to make me feel better

Cascade sassy stripes and Fleece Artist merino in Moss (love this color!)  I think the thing that makes socks so addictive is that it’s easy to justify buying just one skein of something.  And also because you can wear colors on your feet that you would never make into a sweater.  I love this green, but I think it would not be my friend in a larger size.

Thanks for the suggestions for Lady Eleanor!  I’m going to look at the Nashua, which I remember seeing and liking before.  Right now I’m learning towards Noro Cashmere Island, only because I have a GC to webs.  I absolutely would not spend that much on yarn for a project otherwise.  I saw a sample worked up on the web, and it basically looks like all the other Noro yarns, just softer – plus it’s only a dollar more than Silk Garden.   I thought about Kochoran but decided I don’t really love Angora.  I’m deciding between these three colors if I get it (these are clearly not my pics… it was hard to find it online and my LYS doesn’t have it.)

#1 #2 #6

I’m pretty sure this is one of the “controversial” KFI cashmere yarns… but I don’t care.  It isn’t that expensive compared to their other yarns, so even if it has less cashmere I’m ok with that (although they should label them properly of course!)

I’m learning towards #2 or #6.  #6 is more purple and #2 more blue.  I look best in blues, but I do love the greens in #6, and that’s the one I’ve seen worked up.

You know… I really do things other than buy yarn, I swear.  Looking at this blog I feel like I spend a ton on knitting, but it really isn’t that bad.  I budget for it, and knitting takes the place of some things I don’t like doing – for instance, we never go out to the movies, and very rarely out to the bars on weekends.  I am such a cheapskate though… I feel bad spending any money on anything ever, even if I can afford it.  That comes from a childhood of little money I think.  I’m always convinced I’m 10 dollars from my cats and myself living in a cardboard box under a bridge.

Ah, decisions.  I’ll think about it.  My hands are stiff today, probably because I both taught and played a rehearsal yesterday, and then came home and knit.  Rehearsals are harder on me than anything else because I play pretty constantly for a few hours without a break, and sometimes is aggravates my tendonitis.  I’ll give my hands a rest and maybe start on a new sock if I have to knit (I want to make jaywalkers from the striped cascade yarn.)  Sock knitting doesn’t hurt my hands much.  I may have mentioned this before, but I have no trouble with teeny tiny needles, while needles over size 7 make my wrists ache.  So I won’t work on my scarf, which is Silk Garden on size 8s, until I feel a little better.

crafts · knitting · Life · yarn

Yarn Warning!

stitchywitch24 Comments

In my last post I said I was going to swatch the new Plymouth Boku yarn for a possible Lady Eleanor. Well I did, and oh my goodness… I cannot recommend this yarn! It feels ok to knit with – not too scratchy or excessively thick/thin. Only one problem though – it breaks if you so much as look at it wrong. I know people complain about Kureyon breaking, but trust me… I’ve never seen a yarn break this easily. I can literally pull it apart with my fingers with very little pressure, something I can’t do with the Kureyon I tried the same thing for. This yarn is so going back tomorrow. I’ll choose to believe that I got a defective batch, but even so I’m not trying this yarn again. Here is the remnants of my swatch.

That yarn is literally in a hundred pieces… and trust me I didn’t try very hard. I can also see a few knots in the skein, which means it broke during manufacturing… no good! I’m sad because I liked the colors, but I will soldier on.

So… who has another Lady Eleanor sub for me? I’ve already tried Patons SWS (too splitty) and this yarn. I’m leary of Silk Garden because it tends to be rough on my hands. Today I looked at Berrocco Foliage, but I don’t like the way the colors change.

Yarns I’m considering:
Noro Aurora (I like the bling)
Noro Silk Garden (but the feel- ugh!  Might the “lite” version be better?)

Noro Cashmere Island – is this a soft yarn?

Noro Kochoran – too fuzzy/heavy maybe

Classic Elite Desert (Love the lizard color, but I can’t find it locally – any comments on this yarn?)

SWTC Karaoke is my favorite, but none of their colors are warm enough for me.  I’m not looking for brights.

I would really love any suggestions, especially if they can be found at WEBs (I have a GC there!)  I’m totally at a loss for what to use.

So after the Boku debacle tonight I made something else.

What is it you ask? Well, it’s entirely possible that it’s a set of hot pink legwarmers for a statue of a Knight that’s the trophy for a Euchre club.

Yes, that’s it all right. It’s also entirely possible that Marc was last year’s grand champion, so he has to add something to the trophy. It’s also entirely possible that the club meets at one of the local gay bars, hence the tutu and the rainbows (although the rainbow legos are Marc’s). All of his Euchre friends refer to him as “Sir Marc,” so we’re often out to dinner or a show when we hear someone calling “Oh Sir Marc!” from across the room.

My friends think this is weird. I know better. Marc’s quirky, and he has interesting friends – what more could I ask for?

To comfort myself over my yarn sadness tonight I picked up the new Interweave Knits. I don’t like it quite as much as the fall issue, but both the equestrian blazer and the vest are things I could see myself making. I really like the Enid cardigan, but I felt up some Reynold’s Whiskey today and thought it was too rough for me. I like Eunny Jang’s sweater, but the thought of all those colors just terrifies me. And in truth I don’t think I’m a multicolored sweater kind of girl. I don’t buy multicolored sweaters, so I’ve never felt the need to learn fair isle. And I doubt I’ll start now, as I’m pretty happy with my monochromatic wardrobe.