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...

WIP's everywhere

I've got a bevvy of half finished projects surrounding me at the moment, most with deadlines closing in and of course I'm sitting here browsing Ravelry.

Royal Melbourne Show entries are due early September and all three of my proposed entries are all well under way but all at that point of the project where I need to knuckle down if I'm to get them completed in time.

I'm onto the border of the Hansel hap, which should be a good thing but unfortunately it's now of a size that makes it difficult to knit on the train.  The border is knit on sideways which means short rows and lots of turning of the project.  I get myself tangled up on the couch, let alone on a peak hour train.  So it's confined to evening knitting time currently and there hasn't been much time for that sadly. 

The tea cosy just needs to be seamed and have a pompom made and attached.  It's probably the least of my worries but I am concerned about the pompom.  My yarn is limited and I don't have any room for error if it doesn't go right so I think I'm procrastinating.

Finally, the socks have reached the dangerous "second-sock-syndrome" zone.  I finished the first on Thursday but ignored my own cardinal rule about immediately casting on the second and now here it is Sunday and if I don't get my act together they won't be ready for tomorrow's train ride.

I am rather liking the pattern though.  It's Torrent, from Tin Can Knits and anyone who knows me can tell you how much I enjoy their patterns.  The yarn is from Fiberific!; it's the Sunflower base but there wasn't a colourway listed on the ball band.  I picked it up last year at Bendigo Sheep and Wool and it's a very lovely match with the pattern, don't you think?

I also cast on another Woolamai, this one in a chartreuse colourway.  You can read more about that over on the Whisky Bay Woollens journal, if you're interested.

I think I really need to get focused!

Nothing new under the sun

Recently I knit a pair of socks for myself, without the aid of any pattern other than my own understanding and acquired knowledge of how a sock is knit.  This is nothing ground-breaking or particularly clever of course. It's just simply a by-product, an accumulation, of the construction of the hundreds of patterns I have knit over the years and held within my mind and hands. Regardless of all that, it does still give one a pleasant sense of achievement, knowing it can be done.

The motivation came as I unexpectedly finished the project I'd brought into work that morning, so at lunchtime I grabbed a skein of Colinette Jitterbug in Vatican Pie (oh, that saturated red!) and some needles and cast on ready for the train commute home.

Granny's Lucky Red Longjohns
Colinette Jitterbug - colourway: Vatican Pie

To alleviate boredom I added a 1x1 garter stitch rib, which pleasantly formed a lovely snug sock that fits my foot beautifully.  It's also rather warm as garter stitch rib has a waffle-y texture similar to that used in thermal underwear amongst other things.  

I took a calculated risk and cast on many less stitches than I would normally for socks - 54 on 2.5mm needles, instead of my usual 64.  This decision was influenced by my experience of Jitterbug as a "hefty" sock yarn and the anticipation of stretch in the ribbed stitch pattern.  Turns out it was a great decision - go me!  

As I finished the first sock and started the second, I thought to myself "these are such great socks, how could it be possible that nobody else has ever written it up before?"  They are simple enough to knit whilst other things are happening like conversations, meetings, TV-watching, and I discovered they are also an excellent choice for gift knitting as the rib pattern is very accommodating when you are working with unknown foot and leg dimensions.  

Knowing that there was an excellent chance there probably was this very pattern out there, I had what I thought was quite a thorough look on Ravelry and was surprised that I couldn't find one that was quite the same. There are many patterns utilising this stitch pattern, socks included, but none in the specific combination of 1x1, gauge and yarn weight that I could see. 

a gift pair, for Mum (photo credit: Mum!)
Colinette Jitterbug - colourway: Caramel

So I got excited to share. I wrote down my notes into a more coherent format, made a couple more pairs, and was just about to upload them as a free pattern....when I started reading my copy of Sock Architecture which was given to me by a friend recently.

And lo and behold; there they were!  Strie socks, by Lara Neel.

Photo credit: Lara Neel

Reading through the patterns they are not exactly the same, but close enough to make me laugh out loud right then and there. 

As the saying goes - there's nothing new under the sun! 

Farmer McGregor’s socks

Isn't that just the perfect name for these socks?  Don't they look like "working" socks? 

(working socks in need of a block, but I'm grabbing the chance to blog while I've got it)

In the absence of pigs to feed and chooks to tend, these socks are destined to be my stomping through puddles in boots socks, the socks of Autumn, and warm-toes-cold-noses, and hiking through mountains soaking in the air. Or something like that.

These beautiful twisted stitches are rugged and sturdy looking, especially when paired with this yarn, this colour.  These were definitely not a "quick" knit, which was fine.  There are a few discussions going on at the moment about "slow" or "mindful" knitting, a concept which is reverberating strongly with me and where I want to be right now.   I think having such a  frenzy of knitting to start the year has sated that instant gratification part of my brain which has meant I've been quite happy to simply plod away at these socks and enjoy the process.

My second knit from Socktopus, and using some WYS Signature 4ply (75%wool – inc 35%BFL – with 25% nylon) that I ordered from the UK last year.

It’s been a while since I’ve been this impressed with a book of knitting patterns, I admit.  The last one was Journey by Shannon Cook and Jane Richmond (I really love that book!).  As mentioned last post, I borrowed Socktopus from our local library but I’ve decided that I like it enough to purchase my own copy to have on hand and work my way through at my own pace.

photo credit: WYS

The West Yorkshire Spinners yarn was one I had been wanting to try, having not knowingly used BFL in socks previously.  I say knowingly, because I feel like until very recently there was a true lack of fibre content displayed on ball bands other than “Merino” which is often used as a broad and non-specific term covering a broad range of fibre.

BFL is known for its strong fibres, making it a good candidate for socks.  In the ball, it felt squishy and soft to the touch but that belied the handle once knitted up at sock gauge.  This is a sturdy yarn.  I haven’t blocked these yet, but I am quiet confident this is going to be a good wearing fabric.

The colours available are a good mix of brights and earthy neutrals in the colour range for this yarn, as well as a complimentary range of prints.  It’s well pricepointed too, even with the exchange rate, although shipping is always the kicker.  I bought small this order, but I would probably consider stocking up next order to maximise the shipping costs.

Looking at the colours and style of these socks, I’d say my thoughts are probably with Autumn wouldn’t you?!  How are you all going as we transition from Summer down here in the Southern Hemisphere?  I have to say I think Autumn is just about my favourite season in Melbourne, so as far as I'm concerned let's bring it on!

textures

To follow on from last week's post, I had been planning to chat about another colourwork project this week, but for one reason and another I haven't been able to get myself together to put the finishing touches on it.  Plus I couldn't seem to get the right light to photograph it in it's best advantage - the colours are quite unusual and hard to capture.  So I conceded that there was something in those facts, and it probably wasn't meant to be this week's post.

On the other hand, I finished another piece early this week and it was catching my thoughts and eye every time I passed it on the back of the desk chair, waiting patiently for it's photographs.  So today we'll go with the flow and digress the conversation from colourwork and move to textures.

Back in the era when novelty yarns were experiencing such popularity they were carried everywhere including supermarkets and $2 shops, and you could almost count on seeing scarves adorning the necks of at least half a dozen people passing by, texture in relation to knitting was almost a dirty word.

Me, I love textures.  I like watching how different textural elements combine; how they throw off light and shade; how they sit next to each other and interplay.  The juxtaposition of soft and hard, geometric and organic, and the dimensions they lend a knitted piece, are all very interesting concepts to me.

Texture can obviously be experienced via several modes such as stitch patterns like lace, cables, and rib variations – and it can also be created using yarns.  The novelty yarns really have a lot to answer for, as far as the bad rap texture has had over the years because when you think about it, everything we knit even if it’s completely plain stocking stitch, has a texture so it's not really something unusual about knitting, or even that remarkable.  From the halos of mohair and alpaca, to slubby tweeds and smooth merino yarns, and then the large range of plant-based fibres with their variance of smooth through to almost jute-like final fabrics, there is an inherent texture.

It's a fine line between interesting and novelty though, so when I was trying to work out what to make with some Habu I've been saving I was particularly conscious of using the textures in the best way possible.  When using different yarn bases to explore texture, I think a monochromatic palette is interesting. Taking colourplay out of the picture usually means other elements step to the forefront, much like using black and white for photography instead of full colour.

I’ve carried the particular yarns I chose for this project for 5 years, and kept them so safely stored from potential harm that they have almost been enshrined in my mind.

They were a decadent purchase at the time, on one of my early trips to Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show in 2010. I purchased these three black yarns from Dairing with the original idea being I would somehow entwine all three varying textures into one ever-so-stylish scarf.  Despite many attempts, I never found the right vehicle for the trio.

Finally, via the impetus of The Summer of the Single Skein, I decided it was time and I sat down with all three to really work out some potential ideas.  After playing around with options it became apparent that to make it work one of the yarns might have to go, and the mohair was the most logical to be benched. 

I’d attempted a Camomile earlier in the year using Isager yarns but hadn’t been happy with the colour choices I’d made and couldn’t settle on an acceptable alternative so I’d shelved the project.

Working with the Habu Paper Moire and Tsumugi as a combination seemed like a good option to allow a revisit the pattern, and to overcome the different meterage I had (paper moire 284m, tsumugi 411m) I logically decided the paper moire would be the yarn that was dropped.  To further show the unique texture of the paper moire, I worked those rows in garter, and the single tsumugi rows in stocking stitch.

There’s a delicate side to those little paper flutters of the paper moire, but the handle of both the yarn and the subsequent fabric is actually rather “crunchy”.  One review on Ravelry compared it to steel wool, which I could relate to.  It wasn't the most of pleasant textures to handle during the knitting, but pairing it with the tsumugi added some substance and tempered it slightly.  Now that the piece is blocked, both yarns have relaxed into each other considerably also.

As the end crept closer, I was really hoping I will still have enough tsumugi to do a modified edging.  Thankfully, I did.  In fact, I even have a modest amount left over, but at this stage no idea on what I could possibly use it for.  Perhaps it will actually end up seeing the mohair in a mix somehow?

As I was knitting, I keep looking at the alternating stripes and there was a niggling fear that I’d just replicated a fun fur shawl.  I kept begging of people; just please don’t tell me it looks like Feathers?!

As with most laceweight knitting; it's amazing what a good block can do for it though.

(seriously though, don't tell me it looks like Feathers!)