Last night we were lame, and in spite of numerous invitations we stayed in and watched “Angel.” Marc rebuilt the swift for the lego yarnwinder, and I finished my rib and cable socks!
Pattern: Rib and Cable socks by Nancy Bush (Interweave Knits Fall 2005)
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Redtail Hawk
Needles: US1 Clover Bamboo DPNs
Notes: I have somewhat mixed emotions about these socks. I think they look really nice now that they’re finished, but they were kind of a pain. I learned how to cable without a cable needle for these, because there’s no way I would have finished otherwise. I found it a little bit terrifying to have stitches dangling, but I survived. There’s a good tutorial here. I did one fewer cable repeat on the leg than called for because I don’t like long socks and was worried about my yarn amount. This was my first time with the short row heel, and while it turned out ok I think heel flaps fit me better. I actively disliked the toes here – I think they start way too soon and decrease too slowly, resulting in a more pointy sock – ok since I have pointy toes, but still. I also would rather kitchener than pull the yarn through. The only real issue I had on these socks was with the last toe, where I apparently didn’t pull tightly enough before weaving the ends in. It may be a little rigged now, but I think it will hold. My favorite thing is the doubled cast on (use a long-tail cast on with yarn doubled.) It results in a really stretchy top edge, which makes me happy. I plan to use it regularly now.
I love the Bearfoot yarn and now have 3 more skeins to knit from in the future. I like that it’s a bit thicker, and knitting on size 1s produces a dense fabric that feels like it will wear well. Only downside? It’s a bit splitty. I didn’t like doing the cables because it seemed impossible not to split the yarn. It also ran like mad in the wash. I washed and rinsed 4 times before giving up – it was still bleeding yellow tinted dye. It remains to be seen whether my feet will turn yellow, but I sort of doubt it since it didn’t come off at all while knitting.
I think my next socks will be with the Austermann Step in some sort of chevron pattern – perhaps the welt fantastic from Sensational knitted socks.
The Jess sweater is coming along – I worked on it a little after Marc went to bed, and I’m almost done with the back. The more I work on it the more I love how the basketweave is working up.
Our big New Years plans… aren’t. Well, there are parties, but they mostly involve eating lasagna and playing board games. OK with me – I’m not much of a New Years person (or a party person, truth be told.)
Happy 2007 to all!
Isn’t it pretty? I love the pinks.
This pattern is remarkable easy to follow, and I think it’s going to go really fast. The above is maybe 2 and half hours of knitting – not bad! Here’s a closeup of the basketweave pattern.
The yarn is really a gorgeous color of teal. I was expecting the DB merino to be at least a bit scratchy (I have heard that it was), but it’s as soft as can be. Elann is getting this on clearance in January, and you’d better believe I’ll be lined up for that sale!
I’m thinking, though, that I’d rather stick to cardigans for now. Truth be told, I hardly ever wear pullovers, but I wear cardis every day. It may stay on the “to do” list though.
Green apples - Stitchywitch Creates 