just make up your mind already

The Royal Melbourne Show deadline for submissions is looming ever closer, and despite my firm intention of focusing and getting mine complete I seem to have made very little progress.

The fact that I have changed my idea for the socks entry not once but twice since then has most likely not aided this endeavour.

I read two very good blog posts about Show entries and judging criteria over at needle and spindle recently that made me rethink the Torrent socks as candidates for my entry in the sock category.  The openness of the lacework on this pattern is beautiful in my opinion, but I can see how that might be judged lower due to potential suitability for use as intended?  I will finish them for myself and am already so happy with the colour, yarn and pattern combination, but decided to quickly start an alternative for the Show.

Gladys is a free sock pattern that caught my eye and seemed like a good candidate.  The pattern replicates aran ganseys (practical) and looked easy to knit up during the daily commute (convenient!).  So I grabbed some of my stash of Lang Jawoll 75/25, which is a wonderful, sturdy sock yarn (suitable) and cast on.  

It was all going swimmingly - I was liking the gauge of this yarn on 2.25mm needles very much - until I started the gansey pattern.  Whilst I love the marled effect of the yarn and I'm not perturbed by it diffusing the patternwork a little, I started to worry again that it would be judged down for this?  I persevered for a bit longer but finally decided, no; it wasn't the best choice.   

So back I went to my collection of sock patterns, and I have finally settled on Denmark, from Nancy Bush's beautiful book 'Knitting on the Road'.  It's a lovely Viking-esqe cable pattern, with a single round of nupps just after the completion of the ribbing on the cuff.

  

The pattern calls for sportweight on 3.25mm, but looking at the stitch count I felt confident that I could use fingering weight with 2.5mm and still have them fit my foot well.  I'm using Patonyle, because you can't get more "Australian sock" than Patonyle, and so far I'm very happy.  I think I've finally settled, but now I need to hope I can get them completed by September 9th!

Update on the other items - the shawl edging is nearly at the halfway mark, but the tea cosy remains un-seamed and un-pompom-ed.  I obviously enjoy the stress of last-minute flurries...

Exploration Station

This weekend, I finally finished the Exploration Station shawl from Stephen West.  

This large, beautiful, textured shawl was his mysteryKAL for 2014 and although I didn't take part at the time, as soon as I saw all the finished project photos popping up on Ravelry and Instagram, I knew I had to make one.

I've mentioned before that this shawl was the impetus for The Summer of the Single Skein KAL I hosted over the 2014/2015 Summer (Southern Hemisphere).  I had been looking for a good vehicle for combining a few of my lovely single skeins and what better project than a big shawl?

Incorporating four colours, the pattern suggests 3 be fairly close in value and 1 a high contrast.  I chose Waikiwi in a natural stone colour, Colinette Jitterbug in "Oyster Blush" and a variegated skein of Top Draw Sock from Skein in "Fig".  My contrast was a deep plummy skein of Cascade Heritage that I'd been saving for something special for a long time.

The Waikiwi is a sock yarn from New Zealand that has merino, alpaca, possum and nylon in it's composition.  The combination of fibres gives a beautiful heather, especially in the lighter colours.  This heather perfectly stopped the cream from being too stark against the other colours in the mix.

The Jitterbug was probably the thickest of the four yarns, even though all are considered the same "weight" (fingering).  Because the shawl is worked on larger needles than normally used for this weight yarn, and incorporates a lot of textures, this slight difference wasn't terribly noticeable but I do feel the slight heaviness of the Jitterbug gives a good weight to the overall piece.

Out of the four skeins, the Cascade and the Skein were the closest match for softness and composition, and as luck would have it I think I have enough of both yarns left over to make a pair of two-tone socks.  There isn't much at all left of the Waikiwi, and a small amount only of the Jitterbug - perhaps enough for some contrast toes/heels, I'd say?

Stephen West is known for his love of squishy garter stitch, sweeping lines, and brioche (and goofy photoshoots!).  I really enjoyed the different textures on each section.  I can imagine it would have been pretty cool to work as a mystery KAL, actually.  My favourite was the brioche.  Although I ummed and ahhed about whether my designated yarns were the right combo, I'm glad I stuck to the combination as per pattern.  The effect is more subtle than some other versions, however I think in my shawl it works best.

All edges are finished with i-cord edgings which, again, I feel was a lovely detail finishing off the shawl.  It's the first of the WestKnits patterns I've knit, and it's also the largest shawl I've knit to date, with a wingspan of 1.4m.  I cant' wait to wrap myself up in it all snuggly and warm this winter.

I absolutely loved the construction of this shawl, and the attention to detail in the pattern from the designer.   At each step, there were clear and timely notations to reassure the knitter of the next section, and there were also stitch counts included at the break of each section - something I greatly appreciate in patterns, especially on this scale.  However, as good technically this pattern is, I think it's key strength lies in it's overall aesthetic and how well Stephen West has managed to bring all elements together.  

Mystery KAL's can be a bit of a risk, as the knitter takes a leap of faith with the designer as to the final outcome, and adding in the process of selecting colours without really knowing how they are going to fit together is another requirement of trust!  I think this pattern has hit all the right notes, on all accounts and judging by the fact there are over 2,000 projects on Ravelry alone; I'd say so do a lot of other people.  

I may be late to the WestKnits party, but I can say now I'm well and truly on-board!  Who else has knitted his designs?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the experience. 

Toe-up Socks

Handmaker's Factory workshop - April 18th

The way one knits socks is a topic that often polarises knitters - people tend to be very passionate about their preferred methods!   

Many stick with the method they first learned, often through familiarity and sentimentality, which is perfectly fine.  However there is a lot to be said for utilising specific methods for specific results, rather than one–size-fits-all approach.

Both techniques can be knit using your preferred method - dpn’s, two circulars, or magic looping, and both have a vast array of variations to employ to customise to your preferences. 

Toe-up socks have some specific benefits that often make them very appealing to many sock knitters, if for nothing else but the fact that you can try them on as you go and make adjustments as required to ensure perfect fit.

Om Shanti from Socktopus by Alice Yu

There is also the benefit of “maximising your yardage”, something very close to the canny knitter’s heart.  Sock yarns can be expensive, and many people like to either use every last scrap or use up smaller skeins of yarn.  With toe-up socks, you can simply divide your yarn and knit each sock until you run out, instead of guesstimating how much is left as you approach the toes, as with the cuff-down method.

Climb from Journey, by Jane Richmond

Knitting socks from the toe-up is also a seamless method, requiring no Kitchener or “grafting” of stitches (unless you use an afterthought heel, of course!).  you often find the colour sequencing is kept in order better with this method too, which is especially appealing when working with self-striping or patterned yarns.

 I'm teaching a workshop this Saturday at the Handmaker's Factory in Melbourne, where we will be learning all sorts of lovely techniques and tips for making your socks toe-up, including Turkish cast-on, a short row heel that minimises the "gap", and a super-stretchy cast-off.  We'll also be working with the "Magic Loop" technique, a great one to have up your sleeve for not just socks but all sorts of things...including sleeves!

There are a few spots still available for this Saturday's workshop (April 18 - 10am-4.30pm), so if you're keen to have a go, head over to Handmaker's Factory to book in - we'd love to see you there!