The Pattern That Wasn't Meant To Be

Precocious Baby Blanket No More!

I found out yesterday evening that a good family friend is expecting a bouncing baby girl! I had just cast on 180 stitches for a totally different pattern (a simple basketweave) with the mounds of pink acrylic, so I decided this pink yarn will become a blanket for the baby girl who should be here in about 4-5 months.

I attempted the Precious (Precocious) Baby Blanket one last time with size US 9 needles and still wasn’t happy with the fabric. Here’s a photo of what it looked like when I was using the way-too-small size US 2 needles.

So I ripped it out one last time when the fabric continued to wave and bump. It was much softer on the bigger needles, but there’s just something about that decrease 2 stitch (dec2: slip two st knitwise, k1, pass 2 sl sts over k1) in the pattern that forces the fabric into any position except flat. Perhaps a lighter-weight yarn on these needles would give the yarn room to move around and settle in. I may just move on and accept that this pattern is just not gonna happen for me. The funny part is that it’s the most shared/re-pinned pattern on my Pinterest boards. I pinned it over six months ago and it’s gotten a ton of hits and repins. I wonder if anyone has successfully knit it?

Like I said earlier, I cast on 180 stitches for a simple basketweave stitch blanket with seed stitch borders. I’ve always liked basketweave, and I remember wondering how knitters made that happen back in my pre-knitting days. So, I’m sticking with this for now. The fabric I’m creating with the medium-weight acrylic and my size US 9’s is already soft. Once this yarn goes through a wash cycle, it will be soft as can be like the other blankets I’ve made with this yarn. My ultimate goal is a gift the parents can readily use without fear of damaging it; this is their fourth child, so they don’t have time to care for a natural fiber blanket. I’d like to get some soft wool blend yarn to make a set of booties and a little hat, too. But we have to get through the blanket first. Here’s a photo of the blanket a few rows beyond the first pattern repeat. It’s a simple k6, p6 for six rows with seed stitch borders. Knit the knits and purl the purls for 6 rows, then alternate. Pretty mindless as long as I pay attention to the first rows to set the right stitches in the right places.

  

Fibonacci Sock #1 Complete

I finished Alex’s first sock (the Fibonacci Sock) yesterday afternoon before I started playing with the pink yarn. He insisted on wearing it all afternoon, evening, and even in bed last night. It hasn’t been washed yet, but he’s declared it his most comfortable sock ever. =)  Once I get another pattern repeat finished on the Baby Basketweave Blanket, I’ll cast on his second Fibonacci Sock. I’ll try to remember to take a photo of the sock on his foot to better show the Fibonacci sequence rib stitches.

Project Tracking

I have the hardest time remembering fibers, needle sizes, gauges, measurements, etc with my past projects. I’ve heard stories about people who keep a notebook handy to track all that information for each project and thought it was worth a shot. I picked up a hardcover, spiral-bound, lined notebook a couple weeks ago and just started tracking the detailed information on Alex’s Fibonacci Socks. I started it in ink and have already made calculation errors (remember the 7-inch sock foot that should have been 8 inches?). I’m resisting the urge to grab my correction tape and trying to just go with it. So far, so good. It should help me keep track of methods, techniques, patterns, and yarns I like and loathe. Or so I hope. We’ll see how this goes. At least the technical information for the Baby Basketweave Blanket was short and simple to jot down. I need to get the tree stitch from my Cameo Tree socks in the book, because I’m going to use that same pattern on a pair of socks for my mom in June. I know I’ll forget it by then, so I’ll have to remember to bring my book with me. Fingers crossed.

Intarsia Sock Update 

Mom sent me a message to add information about the socks she gave me as a gift a couple years ago (photo is in the previous post). The knitter’s name is KarenInTheWoods and she can be found on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/KarenInTheWoods  She uses a vintage, hand-crank sock-knitting machine and does beautiful work. She makes much more than just socks, so click through to see some of her creations. (A Google search will lead you to her blog, should you so desire.)

Weekend Knitting, or the Lack There-of 

The hubby wants to replace part of the roof on his workshop this weekend, so I may lose some knitting time to be his helper. Luckily, a weather front is heading our way for early next week, so I can use the wet weather as a good excuse to stay in the house with my pointy sticks. (When it’s nice out, I lose most excuses for not doing laundry. Boo, laundry.) We’re also going to buy a new window air conditioning unit to replace one that’s several years overdue for replacement – our house was built in the 1940s and was a winter cottage, therefore central heat/air isn’t an option for us. This is much better timing than waiting until the old unit totally stops working on a very hot Gulf Coast day. We can take care of it now and be ready for the humid summer ahead. In addition to the work on the house/property, we’re going to window shop at a local RV outlet. We’re close to being in the market for a camper and are limited by the towing capacity of my Jeep Wrangler. The low tow capacity limits our search quite a bit. I think we’re going to come full circle soon back to the nifty little R-Pod ultra light-weight models. This weekend, though, we’re going to look at some pop-up campers (he calls them ‘tent trailers’). Here’s the R-Pod site: http://www.forestriverinc.com/rpod/  So, all of that was to say the posts and knitting will probably slow down for the weekend, as usual.

Happy Friday!

Fibonacci, Socks, and Roots

Fibonacci Socks

I turned the heel on Alex’s first sock two nights ago. I may have enough yarn left to make him a set of ankle-length socks, too.

Yesterday morning, I was wondering how I wanted to work the leg. I remembered the Fibonacci sequence my mom told me about – her college degree is in math, so it makes perfect sense that she’d be the one to introduce me to this particular design ‘tool’. Apparently, this sequence provides its own aesthetic quality. If you don’t already know what the Fibonacci sequence is, here’s a short description from a non-math major: starting at 0 then 1, the two numbers are added together to get the next number in the sequence. So, 0 + 1 = 1. The series is now 0, 1, 1.  Add the last two numbers together and include it in the sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2. Continue. I extrapolated a ‘pattern’ to incorporate four consecutive numbers of the sequence, so it would fit into the number of stitches I’m using on Alex’s socks (14 on each needle or 56 total). Those four numbers are 1, 1, 2, and 3. I had to skip the first number of the sequence, as it is 0. Or, I guess I could say I’m technically using the first five numbers, but that’s splitting hairs. When I’m knitting socks, I prefer the last stitches on each needle be knit stitches, else the next dpn gets in the way when I attempt to purl; it slows me down and irritates me. To make that work, and to end up with more knits than purls in the sequence, the seven-stitch repeat is this: p1, k1, p2, k3. And around and around I went. I attempted to photograph the sequence in the leg, but I think I may have better luck capturing it once it’s on Alex’s foot. I may have to try again sometime without the camera flash. Until then, this is all I can show. It’s much more apparent in person.

As I started the leg, I worried that the sock circumference was too large for Alex’s foot (he’s 10 yrs old). I glanced at the measurements I took of his foot and double-checked the circumference with my handy-dandy measuring tape. My notes said 7” circ., and the sock had a 7” circumference. Ok, that satiated my worry a little. Something about the size was still nagging me, though, so I did a quick fitting with his foot before he headed to school. The sock was a tad snug, but went on his foot just fine. Ignoring that nagging feeling, I continued work on the leg in the Fibonacci pattern.

And then it hit me: I re-measured the sock and took a closer look at my notes of Alex’s measurements. While the circumference was 7”, the foot length was 8” on the notepad. Ugh. I turned the heel so the foot would be 7” long, for some reason. No wonder the fit was snug. I spent a few minutes pondering my next move. I could just continue, since I was nearly at the bind-off point, then move on to the next sock. That would leave me with a pair of socks to hand him that are snug right now in the Spring months. Would he even be able to pull them on all the way in late Fall? Probably not. So, I went with the second option: rip out the entire leg back to right before the heel turn to add the much-needed length to the foot. Once I finished turning the heel a second time and got going, I was determined to not stop for the day until I had used all the ripped yarn. And that’s what I did.

At least I’m thrilled with Alex’s reaction during the fittings: he’s excited because his hand-knit socks feel so good on his feet. With a few washings, this yarn will soften up even more and he’ll be very happy next fall. He’s determined to wear them as soon as I’m finished, but the temps here on the Gulf Coast are already in the low 80s daily – he’s going to learn the hard way just how well wool can insulate and hold in heat. He won’t take my word for it, so I’ll let him figure it out on his own.

As I imagined, the second fitting with the sock at the proper length went much better. Now he’s impatient and asking me if the first sock is finished every time he sees it. After supper last night: “Is my sock finished?” Before bed last night: “Is my sock finished?” First thing this morning after the alarm clocks were silenced: “Is my sock finished yet?” No, Buddy, not quite yet. But soon! I'll bind off once the leg meets the toe when the sock is folded

Anna’s Oppo-Socks

I completed the finish-work on Anna’s Oppo-Socks. She loves them, but they’re too warm right now. They’re a tad large, so they’ll still fit when it cools down again in November.

Hand-Knit Sock Collection

As I continue knitting socks for practice and function, my collection is growing. I pulled a pair of hand-knit socks out of my drawer to take a closer look at the work. The socks were a gift from my mom that she bought at her guild’s annual sale and were the only hand-knit pair I owned up until about a month ago. She’s a weaver by hobby-trade, but appreciates hand-made fiber arts of all kinds. Upon closer inspection of the socks she gave me, I believe there is quite a bit of intarsia work throughout the sock: in the toe-shaping, throughout the heel section, and near the top of the leg. I think it’s intarsia, at least, but it could be a different technique. I’ve only ventured as far as stripes and full-on color changes in my work. The most I’ve ever ‘carried’ other yarn colors in my work was on a scarf. Nothing too exciting, but I’ll dip my toe in that pool some day.

Here’s a photo of most of my work thusfar. One pair missing is Anna’s Little Arrowhead Lace socks (my 2^nd pair). Also missing is Alex’s Fibonacci Socks, because there’s only a portion of one sock and it’s still on the needles, of course. The intarsia pair from Mom is the pair on the far right. The others in the photo are in order from first to most recent. The first pair was made using the Leisure Arts book and has the heel flap method that I don’t like as much as the short-row heel turn, along with the pointy toe. It’s the plain old starter sock from the I Can’t Believe I’m Knitting Socks book. Yawn. Second pair is my wool-blend Cameo Tree socks. Third pair is, of course, Anna’s Oppo-Socks. The collection is growing!

Our Roots Are Strong

I mentioned a few posts ago that I picked up a painting at the last craft show for a very good friend of mine. She and I were able to get together earlier this week, so I can now share a photo of the painting I gave her. I’m so glad I took a picture of it, because I will always think of her when I see it and any other depiction of a tree with strong roots. The thought of strong roots is a significant one to her, which is why this painting was right up her alley. Add to that the beautiful blues and greens along with the pair of swings hanging from the lowest branch, and you get an idea of why this was the perfect gift to her from me. Those swings seem to be hanging there waiting for us to come occupy them for a few hours while we enjoy each other’s company. Hand-painted by a local artist (Jeffrey Watt, I believe). She loved it as much as I hoped she would!

Knitting Socks and Designing Sweaters

Long time, no posts: We spent the weekend camping with the Cub Scouts and managed to survive. This was our penultimate campout with my son’s pack. One more to go before he crosses over into Boy Scouts! It was cold and rainy the first night, so we opted to sleep in our own warm beds and delay our arrival until Saturday morning. Since this was the 10^th camping trip in my son’s Cub Scouting career, and we’ve suffered through abysmal temperatures, torrential down-pours and sporadic thunderstorms in the past, we’ve already earned our Hard-Core Campers badge. No need to repeat the suffering. Saturday night was cold with no rain. The kids and I managed to stay warm, but the husband was miserable in the 40-degree temps. All-in-all, we had a good time and enjoyed the great outdoors. We have another camping trip on the calendar coming up Mother’s Day weekend. That will be another fun weekend. This time it’s family and friends only, so I can spend the time worrying about only my kids and not all everyone else’s. That’s always nice.

I spent last week doing a little bookkeeping for the business, taking the puppy to an unplanned vet visit, un-bricking my Droid phone, packing for the camping trip, and doing some housekeeping. Alas, not much time was left for knitting or writing about knitting. I did manage to work one sock up to the top and transferred the stitches to waste yarn. The mate is now in the process of being bound off. I’m using Elizabeth Zimmerman’s sewn bind off method to see if it lives up to the hype. I expect it will. Anna’s excited to get a pair of socks she helped design – she made the color selection and provided her foot several times for fittings along the way. Once I finish the bind-off on one sock, I can finish knitting the top cuff on the other. Then to weave in the numerous ends. I knew there would be several with the color changes, but I didn’t anticipate multiple knots in the yarn in each skein. This will probably be the last time I use Martha Stewart yarn. I bought it because it was one of the few skeins available with natural fiber content. I know now I don’t like it very much and will never buy it again.

The photo below shows the two socks in their current state. The top sock, mostly green, is the one I’m binding off. I turned the sock inside out before starting the bind-off based on a tip I found online. I don’t know really how much this technique will help, but it’s what I’m doing. Because it’s inside out, all the yarn tails are exposed. The bottom sock, mostly purple, is the one still waiting for the top ribbing and a bind-off. Anna & I are thinking of calling these her “Oppo-Socks” instead of Anna’s Spring Socks.

On-Deck Projects

My son has noticed the growing sock count for his sister. He keeps score on things like this. She’s about to receive hand-knitted pair number two, while he has none. I reminded him this weekend at the campsite that the London Beanie he was wearing was the very first one I knitted. That satiated him until we got home and he saw how close I am to the finish line on the Oppo-Socks. Truth be told: he’s better off waiting for my fifth pair or so, after I’ve tested various methods and techniques. If he received the very first pair, he wouldn’t be as happy with the result as he will be receiving pair number five. Pair number one are mine, made of 100% acrylic, are top-down with the goofy elf point at the toe, and aren’t nearly as aesthetically pleasing as pair number five will surely be. My only challenge on socks for boys/men is finding a pattern for the leg that isn’t considered too ‘girly’ for him. Anyway, Alex will get a pair of socks next. I’m going to use two skeins of Patons Kroy in a blue colorway, so they’ll itch a little, but he’ll have hand-knitted socks and will, therefore, have to shut up about it.

After Alex’s socks, I want to work with the Deborah Norville Serenity yarn I have. The colors are too feminine for either Alex or the hubby, so these will become my third pair (the first was the awful pair of acrylic with the horrible toes, the second was the Cameo Tree pair with the Magic Loop toe and the short heels in the Patons Kroy yarn; I’m still on the fence about the Patons yarn – it’s a little on the itchy side and may prove unsuitable for gift socks outside the immediate family). If the Serenity sock yarn passes muster on me, I can order more of this yarn online to make my sisters-in-law’s socks (Patty & Barb).

My Ugly Sweater and Future Sweater Endeavors

I haven’t yet knit a sweater for anyone else. I made one about six months ago using some very cheap 100% acrylic. The goal wasn’t an award-winning sweater. I wanted to see if I could do it and happened to have tons of this acrylic yarn in my stash. It was originally part of a crochet afghan kit given as a gift from my husband several years ago (I actually asked for it, so the blame is solidly on me). It’s been so long now, that I don’t remember which pattern I’m supposed to use in the pattern booklet that came with the giant bag of yarn. The biggest problem, I think, was that I never liked the color. It’s a dusty rose shade of pink. Dusty rose has its uses and places, but I’m not a big fan of it. I don’t know if it’s the color I asked for based on a bad online photo or if they sent the wrong color, or if maybe wires were crossed in the ordering process and the wrong color was ordered in the first place. I know I would not have asked specifically for the color. Knowing my husband and me, I said something like “Pick a color as long as it’s not the dusty rose.” He probably only retained the ‘dusty rose’ portion of the sentence and ran with it. It’s way too late to do anything about it now, so the yarn has lived in a giant zip-closure plastic bag in my bedroom since it arrived in the mail. It worked perfectly for my first sweater project, though, because it worked up quickly and allowed me to easily see my stitches and count rows (it’s worsted-weight). The sweater is a raglan sleeve bottom-up pattern. All four pattern pieces worked up nicely and the seaming was a breeze (so easy, in fact, that I was sure I messed it up). It is a rolled-hem design: the entire sweater, including the sleeve cuffs, neck, and bottom hem were knitted in stockinette and were intended to roll to expose the ‘wrong side’ purl bumps to serve as the edgings. There is zero shaping in the design. It’s basically a box of a sweater I intended to wear over a collared button-up blouse of some sort – most likely denim. I constantly checked the length of the sweater body as I was knitting, but still managed to foul up the process. The sweater is several inches too short. Unrolled, it’s the perfect length, but when it rolled itself the bottom stopped right at my waist line. I used a tip I found in Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘N Bitch A Knitter’s Handbook to elongate the sweater. Basically, the tip is to pick up stitches from the cast-on edge and knit down until I reached the desired length. Either this is a bad method or just my poor application of it, because the Ugly Sweater now has a ridge all the way around where the cast-on edge is. The idea is solid, but it looks stupid on this sweater. The length wasn’t improved much, because I basically gave up once I realized there was no quick fix for it. I put days upon days of knitting into the stupid thing and it was basically unwearable because of the bad length and silly-looking ridge. There was no way I was going to rip back to the sleeve shaping on the front and back: I’d already sewn in the sleeves! In the end, I handed the finished sweater to my daughter and told her she never had to wear it outside the house…

My next sweater has been rolling around in my head since I finished the first one. The method that intrigues me most is the Norwegian method of knitting a tube, cutting steeks, picking up stitches for the sleeves, and knitting all the sweater pieces in the round. My ideas for the sweater are far from complete, so there they stay in my mind. Some day, though. Some day.

Another sweater in the ‘nearer’ future will be a replication of a cardigan for my dad. His mother (I called her Grandmother) knitted him a cardigan-style sweater decades ago, and it’s his favorite sweater. His body is bigger now than it was decades ago, so Grandmother’s cardigan no longer fits. I inherited Grandmother’s love of knitting, and I’m going to attempt to replicate her cardigan for Dad. The color has to be absolutely perfect and I need accurate measurements. During my annual trip to visit my parents this summer, I’m taking my fiber-loving mother with me to find the perfect shade of blue (in my family this particular shade of blue has garnered the moniker ‘Davis Blue’, as the family name is Davis). Mom will also help me measure Dad, so what I end up with actually fits him and does so comfortably. I also need lots and lots and lots of measurements - because I won’t be able to mail a half-worked sleeve and ask, “Will this be big enough in circumference at the elbow?” I’ve never worked with button bands or button holes, either. It will prove to be both a challenge and a milestone in my knitting venture.

Before I get too involved in the future sweaters, I have some socks to focus on. There’s also that stupid Precocious baby blanket that irritated me. I’ll probably cast onto the proper sized needles for the yarn and start it again. I really do like the pattern, so I don’t want to abandon it completely. Some day, I hope to post a photo of the 3-D spaceship shape it took on, so you can see why I nearly gave up.

Until then, Oppo-Socks, here I come!

Blankets Behaving Badly

Helping Victims in Boston

Anytime something tragic makes national news, I feel the urge to do something, anything to help. Yesterday, the bombing at the Boston Marathon took place. I want to do something to help. I’m not rolling in money, so a monetary donation is out (and I rarely feel secure that the money I give is put to the best use). I’d like to find a way to donate some knitting. The trouble I run into there is knitting and marathon-running don’t usually go together. Hat & scarf sets for runners training in cool climates? Knit something spectacular to auction off and donate the proceeds? I’ll come up with something. Maybe even a security blanket or two for the kids who were injured and are spending a beautiful spring in a hospital. I’ll mull this over and will come up with something I deem worthwhile and useful. In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers will have to suffice.

Precocious Baby Blanket

I’ve changed the name of the baby blanket from Precious to Precocious. I completed two pattern repeats and hated the way the fabric looked. It was turning itself into a three-dimensional space ship with clumps of stitches sticking up away from the surface. It’s nothing I’d ever put my own baby on, so I don’t imagine anyone else would either. My son said it might make a cool scarf if it was in a different color (it’s pink). Remember, though, that I’m not using the yarn or needles called for in the pattern; Red Heart is still clear of all blame in this fiasco. So, out of frustration, I took it off the needles, put the knitting in the bag with the other skeins of matching yarn and put it in time out until it decides it can behave. In order to behave, it must be frogged and knitted with a completely different pattern. I’m tired of messing with it, since I’ve frogged it once already. When it gets its act together, I’ll pull it back out, rewind the yarn and start again with a different pattern. It’s medium-weight acrylic yarn. Washes and wears beautifully and is perfect for babies – such easy care makes it a convenient go-to blanket. I’m thinking something open-work with lots of yarn overs to improve the drape and aid in the softness of the yarn. I’ll come back to it eventually. Until then, it can just sit in the bag and think about what its done.

Anna’s Spring Socks

I cast on a green toe for my daughter’s Spring Socks. They will be Eucalyptus green and lilac, so they garnered the name Spring Socks. I spent 10 years in the US Air Force, so I have a tendency to turn phrases into acronyms; be forewarned if you do the same with Anna’s Spring Socks. Anyway, the alternating colors for the sock sections will make them a unique pair just for her. I just finished the toe shaping this morning and am ready to join the lilac for the foot section. I still have to decide if I want to find a different leg pattern or use the Cameo Tree pattern I like so much. I thought about just using 2x2 ribbing (or 4x2), but I’m afraid the socks will stall on the needles due to boredom. I’ll save the plain ribbing for self-striping yarn. I’m interested to see what the Cameo Tree pattern will look like in this monochromatic yarn. I’ll look around to see if I can find any other busy stitch pattern that suits plain colors. I have some time before I must commit, as these are toe-up socks. I’m thinking about knitting the two socks at the same time. That is, I finished the toe shaping in green, so I can either join the lilac and continue the foot, or I can cast on the toe shaping in lilac and knit the second sock right along with the first sock. (I’ll just transfer the live stitches to waste yarn when I switch from one sock to the other with the needles.) The color joins will occur all at the same spots, so I can complete a section and cut a 2-ft tail, then use the just-cut color on the other sock. I’m sure the socks will seem to go by faster that way, even though it will actually still take the same amount of time.

Cameo Tree Socks

I promised a photo of the Cameo Tree Socks, but I lied. No photo yet, as I still haven’t washed them. I took a day off from laundry yesterday, so I’m hoping to get them through the wash & dry cycles today. I don’t do laundry on the weekends, so they’re in the basket waiting for me; I just need to muster up the motivation to get it going. Full disclosure: I’m still in my pajamas after sleeping in today. I was able to get dinner in the slow cooker while still in my pjs, but my laundry room is in a stand-alone building in my back yard. I need to put on proper clothes to make the journey. Maybe after another cup of coffee… And after I cast on the lilac toe…