Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Pink...ish?


Something new on my 36 inch circulars.  I know it's a little on the pink side....well, a lot on the pink side.  Honestly, in good light, it's more of a "brick" color.  In fact, that's the name of the color on the label:  "Brick".  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Yesterday, I cast on a new little shawlette.  Saving the details for later, I can only say this...I'm loving the pattern.  That's all it is, really, an all-over pattern, with a teeny bit of an edge, both literally, and figuratively.



The yarn is soft, but it isn't as tightly twisted as I am used to.  This is both good and bad.  The good thing is, the yarn is very fluffy, filling in the knitting, while showing off the pattern.  The bad thing is, it separates a bit while I'm knitting.  Not enough untwisting to drive me crazy, yet!

Stay tuned!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Market Bag - Complete!


I've finished my new market bag, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.  It's very stretchy, and very sturdy, which is a good thing for something that will be slung over the shoulder when I do a bit of marketing.



You can see how much it stretches, and I didn't really pack the bag, as I could have.  The pattern can be found here on Ravelry.  It was an easy pattern, and the only warning I'd advise is, pay attention to the length of the handles you choose to make.  They are very stretchy, so adjust for that. 



The top portion of the bag is done in garter stitch, and so are the handles.  It goes quickly, and I'm assuming it can also be made deeper than the pattern suggests, by adding a few more rows of the 'netting' portion.

The materials list is as follows:  Tahki 100% cotton, 3 hanks
size 5 and 6 US circular needles, plus size 5 dpns for the bottom portion

I made a gauge swatch (I know, weird) to arrive at the needle size I mention.  The author's recommendation was somewhat different.

Now I can tick another finished knitted object off my list.  Yippee!!
                                             

Friday, June 24, 2011

Turning the Heel, my way


When I first started knitting socks, I became anxious about the heel.  Most patterns are similar, but not exactly the same.  This required reading and re-reading the pattern, trying to make sense of something I thought quite complicated.  I'm self taught, after all.  That's to say, I had no one by my side, leading me in the right direction.  Thanks to YouTube videos and the various blogs I frequented, socks became one of my favorite things to knit.  My first few pairs were less than wearable, to say the least.

I created a formula for turning the heel, and it has worked out well for nearly every pattern....of course, after the heel, I return to the pattern I'm using to complete the sock.



This formula assumes you have 32 stitches on one of your double point needles.  The other 2 double points should have 16 stitches each.  This can be altered by moving stitches from one needle to another, for the purpose of the heel, and adjusted back again to complete the pattern.

Begin by creating a heel flap:  WS: slip 1, purl across remaining 31 stitches, turn, slip 1, k 1, slip 1, k 1...continue across RS, turn.
Repeat back and forth, purling WS, and slip/knit RS until the desired length. 

The length of the heel flap should be 1 1/2 inches if your heel is small or narrow, 1 3/4 inches, if your heel is average and your instep isn't too high, 2 inches if you have a large or wide heel and/or your instep is higher than average.  The longer the heel flap is, the more room you'll have between the bottom of your foot and the top of your instep....it may take a few socks to find your perfect "heel flap length", but remember, most sock patterns tell you to make the heel flap a certain number of rows, or a certain length, and this will make all the difference in your sock size.....so, my advice is to know what works for you.



The next adjustment can be made for the width of the heel (chubby heels?) or (narrow heels?).  After the heel flap is complete, you should be on the RS of your work, slip 1, knit across to the mid-point of the heel flap (16 stitches, right?) knit 2 more stitches * (for narrow), then proceed as follows:
   RS  ssk, k1, turn
   WS slip 1, purl to mid-point, then purl 2 more stitches,** p2 together, p 1, turn
   RS  slip 1, knit to 1 stitch before the gap (you'll see a space between stitches), ssk, k 1, turn
   WS slip 1, purl to 1 stitch before the gap, purl 2 together, p 1, turn

Continue in this manner, until all the stitches have been worked on the heel flap, and you're ready to pick up stitches along the side of the flap.

*  If you are knitting socks with a larger heel, this can be changed to 3 stitches.  Just remember, you must change the WS to correspond, by purling 3 stitches, prior to **

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Lemonade Cake


It was lemony, it was tart, and it was yummy.



Monday, June 13, 2011

"The Moving Finger"


The second in my Agatha Christie sock collection...The Moving Finger.  Appropriate, don't you think?  Needles and fingers clicking away on a new pair of delectable socks is the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

The Moving Finger is a Miss Marple mystery, and a very good one, worth the read.



I've only just begun, but the fiber is fabulous and the design will be in a spiral design....stay tuned!



Monday, June 6, 2011

Pullover progress


Progress is slow on the bottom-up pullover.....but, the good news is, the yarn is a joy to work.  Not only, is it soft and squishy, but the color is deep and luminous.  It reminds me of those little jewels inside the pomegranate....so juicy and delicious.