Which-Crafts?

Sockapalooza Spring Blossom Sock

Started: July 13th, 2007,
Finished: August 8th, 2007
Pattern: My Own Eclectic combo - Magic Cast-On, Misocrafty/Wendy Short Row Heel, My own Slipstitch leg, 1×1 ribbing, 2 row cast-off
Yarn: Koigu 2 colors a green a brown blend, and a pink and green blend

Needles: Sizes 0,1 and 2 to handle leg increases Addi Turbo, and KnitPicks circs
Dimensions: To fit a 10.5″ foot with a 10″ width and a wide ankle

Outside of the size these were easy to knit, although there was quite a bit of trial and error as I got the leg pattern and color swapping worked out. I am not sure I would use the cast-off again, one time it might have been a bit tighter than I wanted, the other a bit looser. As always the koigu is a dream to knit with and very tolerant of my need to keep fixing things.

Felted Knit bag and purse, started January 17th, 2007, finished March 26th, 2007
Pattern: Designed By Me - more below the cut
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: 15s for bag, 13s for straps
Dimensions: really big
Pattern Notes: I used short rows on the front pouch which worked really well for creating a nice shape
Would I knit it again?: probably not - at least not until it wears out

I designed the pattern myself, I really wanted a knitting bag and purse all rolled together.

When felting, I tend to wing it a bit, and just get a good idea in my head of where I want to go, and then knit what looks and feels right. Most of the time it ends up pretty okay and felting/fulling is pretty forgiving. For this project I knew I would be knitting it over a long period of time, so I wanted something down on paper to remind me what I had in mind when I started. I decided to do double stranded knitting on really large needles (which isn’t how I usually do felted project) so I did swatch as a guide for the felting shrinkage rate.

I made a diagram (image below the cut) for what I wanted and then sort of did a lot of weird math to end up with my stitch amounts. I must have done the math fairly well (which is something noteable ) the size turned out almost exactly what I had planned. I did over do it on the front pouch (the purse part) but that is because I psyched myself out worrying that it was too small and added increases that I hadn’t originally planned for. After it was felted and I saw how big the pocket was I borrowed a magnetic clasp from B. to put in to keep the pouch closed.

The Lid/flap thing looks a bit strange in the image, but when the bag is full it works beautifully. It needed to be narrow to go between the straps, but I wanted it wider to cover the purse part. Its a bit long and floppy if the bag is really empty - I am thinking of adding something with some weight to the end to make it a little less floppy, and maybe doing a little needle felting or yarn embroidery to give it some visual interest.

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Striped Koigu Socks: started October 7th, 2006, finished March 5th, 2007
Pattern: Merike Saarniit’s Universal Sock Construction
Yarn: Koigu 2 colors, KPM Blue and KPPM Blue/Lime green/Turquoise
Needles: 0s Crystal palace DPNs and KnitPicks Classic Circulars
Dimensions: 7″wide (I like a tight sock) 9″ and a bit long, 3″ calf height
Pattern Notes: Hate the inital cast on and start for this pattern, but the rest is easy peasy, and really easy to modify and make personal
Would I knit it again?: This exact sock, probably not, but a similar sock - probably.

A few months ago I talked about my proposed Sock Progression plan to teach myself how to produce a specific pair of socks for my mom for her birthday. Well her birthday has come and WAY gone, and I am crusing along on my plan (many of the objectives were accomplished in a single pair of socks).

to Knit a pair of matching socks - Check
to knit a pair of matching socks that fit - Check (they even fit both her and me)
to knit both top down and toe up - Check (although the top down ones were too big and were given to S. as a prezzie)
to knit a matching pair with more than one color - Check
to knit a matching pair with more than one color on the same row
to knit a matching pair with a series of different two-color patterns in the same sock

I have definitly decided that except for starting the toe, I like knitting them toe-up, especially for the fit factor. I am currently experimenting with a few different toe-up starts, right now I am leaning towards a fusion of Queen Kahuna cast on, and Merike’s increases.

I have already cast on my next pair, which don’t get me much of anywhere on the sock progression plan, except for knitting with the yarn I think I will knit mom’s socks in. I definlty like doing as much as i can with both socks on a single circular needle. I haven’t tried starting the toes or turning the heels that way. I suspect I’ll move to DPNs for that part.

1. Handspun Scarf, in the “oooh soft” post I showed pictures of the yarn I spun from fiber I got from Grafton Fibers. I knit up a scarf that I love, from my favorite simple scarf pattern. The pattern makes a nice reversible cushy scarf. It also works well with the irregular color and texture of the handspun yarn. The scarf itself is about 5.5 feet long and about 6″ wide. The picture is a bit sucky cause I took it with my phone.

2. In “into the dye pot with you!” I dyed a bunch of fiber, some of which was some a light turquoise/blue BFL, later I found some BLF that had escaped dyeing. During the holidays I took another stab at it and while I didn’t match, I did come up with a good complimentary color. At the time I didn’t post pictures, I snagged the camera at work for these. The lighter color in the back of this picture is the old dye batch, the darked one in front is the new dye batch.  There are a lot more pictures of it over here if you are interested.