A Catch Up FO: Pink Braid Socks

I have been so busy the past few weeks that I completely forgot to post a project I finished it earlier this summer.

These are the Braided Gem Socks from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn in Dream in Color Smooshy Petal Showers.  I really like Dream in Color Smooshy because well its so smooshy.  Also the first pair of socks I made with it have held up very well.  They are a year or two old, are worn constantly when its cooler out, but show very few signs of wear.  So I have faith that these socks will also last me a nice long time.

This was my first pattern from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn, and I really liked both the book and the pattern.  The books has a bunch of really great patterns and good advice for matching handpainted yarn and patterns.  The pattern itself was easy, fun, didn't have any mistakes I noticed, and compliments the yarn very nicely.  It was interesting but simple knitting.

What in particular is so special about these socks?  Well they are pair number nine, but more importantly they were made completely with gifts.  The yarn was a birthday gift from my sister, the book and the needles were gifts from my brother.  Thanks guys!  My family are total enablers when it comes to my knitting, and I love it.

Wordless Wednesday

This week's edition: Things I can do now that the bar exam is over...

Spin

(Corriedale Cross in Play Room from Fiber Story on my Spindlewood mini)

Crochet

(Potholder in Lily Sugar'n Cream)

Read for Fun

(What can I say, I love Jane Austen)

Eye Candy Friday- Swatch It Edition

I'm not really a big fan of swatching.  I usually avoid it as much as I can. I don't swatch for socks or most small projects.  But for sweaters I feel it is a necessity.  Its especially important here since I'm planning to cast on for a sweater without a pattern.

I actually kind of enjoyed making this swatch.  I learned that I should go down a needles size from what I was planning.  I want this to be a pretty warm fabric, suitable for say walking a dog in chilly Autumn weather.  I think the slightly denser fabric from the size 7s is better for my purposes here.

I also tired out a few different rib variations in an effort to duplicate a ribbing I like from a store bought sweater.  I had fun playing but I just don't think this yarn has enough stitch definition to make anyone appreciate the differences between brioche rib, fisherman's rib, and a few variations I made up at the tipy top.  They all look pretty much the same in this yarn, and not really any better than plain old rib.  I was intrigued by the slipped rib near the bottom so I cast on another swatch to continue to play with it.

I wanted a more pronounced rib so I experimented with it some more. On the right is the 'right side' and on the left my 'wrong side.'  I like the left one better since it looks neater than the right side and the other ribs I tried.  It also creates a thick squishy fabric. As I was working I realized that this is basically just a plain old slip stitch rib.  How wonderfully simple is that?  I don't know why I didn't think of it when I was working on the first swatch.  Its not exactly the same as what I originally had in mind, but I like the look of it in this yarn and its close enough.  I'd really like to make this in a variegated yarn now as those always look so nice in slip stitch patterns.  But we're moving to a new apartment in a few weeks so I really, really should not buy any more yarn since that just means more stuff to move.  I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm suppose to be using up stash with this project not acquiring more yarn.

Almost there!

This picture captures what I've been up to recently pretty well: bar review, reknitting the somewhat cowl, and dreaming up a new project for that brown yarn.  Come Thursday I'll be done with the bar and can toss those green books in the trash (or return them to get my deposit back and use it for wool).  Actually I'm ready to toss them now as I don't think I could possibly learn any more law at this point.  The bar exam starts tomorrow and the only appropriate thing to do at this point is get a nice dinner with my beau, head to bed early, and hope for easy questions.

Good luck to my fellow bar examinees out there!

Wordless Wednesday

Ribbit!

I remember reading through Stitch n' Bitch way back in college when I first got a copy.  Somewhere in there Debbie Stoller explained the origin of term 'frogging' for ripping back.  My mind must be going because I can't remember if she said its because somehow the noise of ripping back a project resembles the noise frogs make or that 'rip it' and 'ribbit' sound similar.  It must be the latter.  I've heard plenty of frogs and they do not sound at all like the sad little noise of ripping out knitting.  Frogs are actually quite loud, especially when its summer and you're trying to sleep in a house that's next to a marsh.

Regardless of the origin of the term, I am currently faced with having to do some frogging myself.  Below is my Somewhat Cowl, which has been keeping me company while I listen to bar review lectures.

While I working on it, I started to think it was coming out a touch too big, and that perhaps my gauge had changed when I switched to knitting in the round.  Turns out I was right.  I decided to wash the incomplete body to check on everything and my gauge is looser on the lower half of the sweater.  I tired on the sweater and, as I expected, in the back there's a loose flab of fabric.  Sometimes, its hard being right.  

Of course, this issue was possibly made worse by my inability to count.  I added a couple stitches because I thought I needed to have the right number for the ribbing.  Turns out I was wrong about that the number.  I fudged the ribbing a bit since I was feeling lazy.

Now I could ignore the extra fold of fabric.  Its not so bad as to be unwearable. Actually most people probably wouldn't even notice it.  But I still have a few more weeks of bar lectures and if you're going to knit a sweater you might as well do it right.  So my poor little somewhat cowl shall be partially frogged.  

But at least I have pretty socks that are going well to knit on the beach this weekend.

Spindling away

I've been continuing on my journey into spinning and I've managed to finish two yarn within the past few weeks.

First up is the fawn coopworth wool I bought at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival, which became this pretty little yarn.

Between these two skeins I have about 95 yards.  The weight overall is probably worested, but it gets kind of bulky in some spots and dk-ish in others.  It's pretty and rustic and I'm quite pleased.  It's also the first yarn I made with my Kundert Spindle.  Having a better spindle made a huge difference for me, and is at least part of the reason why this yarn came out nicer than the black Shetland.

My current plan is to knit this up as a hat, probably Buttonhead from Knitty.  I have some faux leather buttons that I think will work well with the rustic nature of my yarn, and of course look really cute.

I also made my first foray into colorful rovings with another Sheep and Wool Festival purchase,

I like the barber pole look of many hand spun yarns, and wanted to achieve a similar look with this yarn.  I though this would look nice since the roving had such bright cheerful colors.  To do this I split the roving in half lengthwise and started spinning each half from opposite ends, with my Kundert again.  While the same color did meet at certain point I did get my barber pole at others.

From this yarn it also became apparent to me that setting the twist really can make a huge difference.  I got Maggie Casey's book Start Spinning for my birthday and followed her directions for setting the twist with this yarn.  I don't have a before picture, but I think the yarn looks so much nicer now.  Here's a closer view:

Overall, I'm happy and I really like it.  My spinning is more even in the these yarn and I was able to spin thinner.  I ended up with about 85 yards of yarn that is probably DK to Worested in thickness, but have no idea what I'll use it for.