I am a steek-virgin no more. I was surprised that cutting my knitting didn’t make me nervous, but the sewing did! Since my sweater is slippery superwash wool, I followed the directions I found at Getting Stitched on the Farm and sewed the front of the sweater securely before steeking. I also cut up one of my original swatches, which helped my nerves immensely – it was good practice. If you’re looking for more steek tutorials, there is another nice one on Excercise Before Knitting, and then the thorough Steeking Chronicles at See Eunny Knit.

Here’s the neckline of the sweater. If you want to see the stitching close up, just click on that little thumbnail picture.

Since steeking, I’ve knit the first arm of the sweater. Even shortening it to the smallest size available made it a bit too long, so I’m going to rip out the cap shaping and about an inch of the sleeve and then reknit the shaping. I’m hoping that will bring it into ‘close enough’ territory. I tried the thing on as I was knitting it, but I forgot to take into account that the arm of the sweater isn’t attaching to my side, but rather to the sweater, which is a bit closer to my elbow than my actual side. Ah, well, live and learn.

I figure after reknitting it will come out an inch too short somehow, but I can block that out.

This is a different sort of post for me. Usually, I don’t post about things until they’re over and done. But, I’ve been procrastinating about this project long enough – I’m going to give myself a little motivation by outing my lazy self to you all. My pretty green rogue has been in sweater purgatory for… well, a long while. I’m kind of afraid to see how long it’s been. It’s been waiting for… a steek.

Today, I had a nice long block of time available while I waited for the boys. So, I sat at the edges of a mass of middle-school-aged kids and Lego robots, and started hemming the sweater. Here’s a before picture for you – I hope to have an after in a day or two.

I’m planning to machine sew the edges before I cut – this is slippery superwash wool, knit loosely. The yellow cotton you see in the picture is going to be my ‘this is the middle stitch’ guide for when I’m machine sewing (and cutting, for that matter!)

If any of you have advice or encouragement, please sing out in the comments. I need all the help I can get! Better yet, do any of you have projects sitting in steek purgatory? If so, consider digging them out and steek along with me.

Here are the last of the Olivers. Or, rather, I should say the last of the Olivers for a while. This is a nice, simple, attractive pattern, so I’m sure I’ll see it again. These are for J, who picked the glittery, loud yarn from my sister’s stash all by himself (hi, sis!). He adores them, but doesn’t really want to wear them because all that glitter also makes them a bit scratchy. Please note that he’s really sensitive – your mileage may vary.

I got quite a lot of practice in left leaning decreases over these three pair of socks, including a sort I’d never tried before – the ‘slip yank twist knit, or SYTK’ method from TECHknitting. I’ve decided that my personal favorite in stockinette stitch where you’re decreasing every two or three rows is a good old ssk with a twisted knit in the non-decrease row. It’s amazing how well that twisted knit stitch helps to even out the decrease line.

My folded and much marked-up Oliver pattern is currently missing, so I’ll just promise to post my new numbers for the socks when I come across it. You can find my size mods for the first pair of boy Olivers here (same size; yay twins.) I do recall that I made this pair a bit wider, and they could still stand a smidge more room in the width department. John’s man-sized Olivers are here.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Details:

Started:	17 Dec 2009
Finished:	25 Jan 2010
Pattern:	Oliver by Marlowe Crawford. Link to pattern on Ravelry here. It was $7 US when I bought it.
Yarn:	Berocco Sox Metallic.
Needles:	US 1 / 2.25 mm
Notes:	Modifications to make it boy-sized: My kid’s foot is about 7” around and 8 1/8” long – child’s size US 3.5 / EU 35.5. 52 sts. 5” cuff. I’ll add the other details if/when I recover my notes. My Ravelry project page is here.

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you’re getting stuff done, a little here and a little there, but you don’t have much to show for it? It’s one of those weeks, craft-wise and life-wise!

Here’s a little tour of what’s been going on. Here’s my first mitten.
It doesn’t look quite like this anymore, as I ripped out the tip and reknit it. I originally finished a row too soon, and the point wasn’t quite right. I convinced myself that it didn’t matter, as no one but me or another knitter would notice. I managed to live with it for an entire week, mostly due to the fact that I knew if I picked out the top I’d have to add new yarn to reknit it. Yesterday, I decided I’d rather be happy with the mittens, so I’ve ripped and reknit. (Ahhhh; much better)

This weekend, John finished my new spinning wheel. We named her Emma. My first lesson is in a week; who knows if I can keep from playing with her before then! Here’s a photo from halfway through her first coat of oil – you can see what a difference it makes.

The latest pair of Ollies is over half done. I’ll be sure to show you when they’re done. Assuming that all of this progress actually *gets* me anywhere!

The Oliver sock pattern was such a hit with my husband that the boys caught his enthusiasm. Last Thanksgiving week, I found myself stranded in Ohio with no access to a local yarn shop (it was closed.) Facing a nine-hour drive back to North Carolina sans knitting, I called my sister the day before Thanksgiving, and she agreed to bring over a ball of sock yarn on Thanksgiving so I could work on some plain-Jane socks on the way back home.

I should have anticipated what happened next. After the wonderful chaos that was Thanksgiving, I sat down and was offered not a skein of yarn but a traveling yarn shop to choose from. Both of my boys chose sock yarn from Aunt Karen’s magic bag of yarn and I cast on for these Ollies during the trip. Thanks, Karen!

The yarn has a short repeat, so it was relatively easy to try and match the stripes. The matching came out better than I anticipated – right down to having the heel turn in all blue on each sock! The socks weigh 50g, but I did dip into the second skein of yarn, so buy two if you’re going to do 9 year old kid-socks in this yarn! The first skein made it through one sock and the cuff of the second. There was a little left over, but I thought it was a good place to match stripes for the rest of the second sock.

I am currently working on my third pair of Ollies, which is rather unheard of. I’m not sure I’ve ever knit three of one thing in a row before, let alone six of them. Details are below, as usual. I’ve included changes for whittling down the Oliver to a child’s size.

I wish you and yours a very happy 2010.

Details:

Started:	27 Nov 2009
Finished:	16 Dec 2009
Pattern:	Oliver by Marlowe Crawford. Link to pattern on Ravelry here. It was $7 US when I bought it.
Yarn:	Patons Kroy Socks Jacquards in colorway 56603. It took about a skein and a half to make a child’s size US 3.5 / EU 35.5.
Needles:	US 1 / 2.25 mm
Notes:	Modifications to make it boy-sized: My kid’s foot is about 7” around and 8 1/8” long. 48 sts (will do 52 next time). 5” cuff. Heel worked on 24 sts for 24 rows. Heel turn row 1: s1, p12, p2tog, p1 Heel turn row 2: s1, k3, ssk, k1 Gusset / foot modifications: Work as written through round 13. Round 14: knit. Round 15: Repeat rnd 9. Rnds 16-58: Repeat rnds 13-15. Work the rest as written (would change a bit about where the slant starts next time, to have it closer to the middle) until 1 1/4” from finished length. Work toe: dec every other row until 24 sts left, then every row until 12 sts left. Kitchener. My Ravelry project page is here.

Happy holidays, everyone!

My husband has found his sock pattern. And by ‘his’, I mean ‘the-one-I-shall-knit-for-him-again-and-again’. This clever pattern isn’t difficult at all, though it helps to keep track of what row you’re on. The sock has increases on the bottom and decreases on the top that result in both sides of the sock wrapping around the foot at an angle. This sock really hugs the foot, and John loves it. Here are a few photos and the details for those of you looking to make foot-huggers.

The lovely yarn comes from a hand-dyer out in Colorado. You can find Kimberly’s shop right here: http://www.catmtn.com/tyg-online/.

May your fingers be swift and clever, and your holidays relaxed and bright.

Details:

Started:	2 Oct 2009
Finished:	18 Nov 2009
Pattern:	Oliver by Marlowe Crawford. Link to pattern on Ravelry here. It was $7 US when I bought it.
Yarn:	Superwash merino fingering weight yarn in ‘latte’ from the Yarn Gallery. I got a size 10.5 US men’s pair of socks from one skein with plenty left over.
Needles:	US 1 / 2.25 mm
Notes:	I accidentally decreased until the foot was 70 sts instead of 72. Oops. They fit, but the next pair will have 72 sts on the foot. These were made with 8″ cuffs. My Ravelry project page is here.

I’ve wanted to make this hat for a very long time! I originally cast on last winter with borrowed needles, and then had a terrible time with it. Long story short, I frogged the half of the hat I had managed to complete (certainly *not* while cursing and fussing at it, I assure you) and gleefully stuffed the yarn back into the stash for later.

The needles I had been working with were *just* big enough to go round the hat, which made knitting ever so difficult. There was much smooshing, pulling, and frightful language. I went ahead and bought myself some new tips to go with my KnitPicks Options set, and cast on again last month. Oh, this hat just flew by; I had an extra long cable and just pulled the extra cable out between two stitches as I went around the hat. Lovely! My only issue when working with this hat is that I start thinking that knitting through the back loop is normal… and that’s fine, unless I’m also working on something else. So, I didn’t; problem solved!

I’m looking forward to cooler weather so I can run about in my hat. One of my boys keeps stealing it from me; perhaps I have another Koolhaas in my future. Hey, at least I have the needles. How about you – any new favorite knitwear or quilts to keep warm this winter?

Details:

Started:	12 Sep 2009
Finished:	26 Sep 2009
Pattern:	Koolhaas by Jared Flood over at Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn:	Valley Yarns Northampton – Dark Green Heather. It took less than a skein.
Needles:	KnitPicks Options in US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm).
Notes:	Ravelry Link for the project.

These socks have been done for a while now, but under wraps until I could deliver them to my sis. They are a basic 2×2 rib sock pattern, worked toe up with an eye of partridge pattern on the heel.

I worked toe up so that I could make ridiculously long cuffs without fear of running out of yarn – K. likes to roll her cuffs down.

2×2 patterns are nice and stretchy, so it’s almost guaranteed to fit your recipient. I was nervous with this pair, because they almost fit me, and my sis is a size and a half up from where I am. However, the fit was great! Simple ribbing is great car or conversation knitting. I was also not about to do complex lace or cables with this beautiful, busy yarn. Why put in the work if no one can SEE it? That said, I moved right on to some cables on my next project so as to wake up a little.

I had to throw one more photo in – this is a detail shot of the eye of partridge heel. I love this heel pattern with handpainted yarn!

Details:

Started:	21 Aug 2008
Finished:	2 Aug 2009
Pattern:	Toe-up, 2×2, eye of partridge heel, gusset increases done as in Hubby House socks. See notes section for numbers and measurements.
Yarn:	Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino (yum) in Tropical Storm
Needles:	US 1 / 2.25mm
Notes:	I have detailed measurements jotted down on a piece of paper somewhere; I’ll add them when I find it!

Although flashy socks are fun, they don’t quite go with the office chinos and polo shirt. Enter the plain rib, or ‘boring enough for work’ socks. These socks have a bit of wear already, because John absconded with them as soon as they were off the needles.

I’m finding that I don’t hate making ribbed socks as much as I thought I would. They are great car knitting, because I don’t have to think about them. Endless rows of garter stitch, though, still drives me around the bend. What’s up with that?

Details:

Started:	12 Mar 2009
Finished:	4 May 2009
Pattern:	Improvised. 2×2 rib at top; 3×1 rib for the rest of the sock. Slipped stitch heel. Worked top-down with a heel flap. I’ll add specific notes when the slip of paper I wrote all the stitch counts and measurements on surfaces.
Yarn:	ShibuiKnits Sock, in ’sand’.
Needles:	US 1.5 (2.5 mm) knitpicks metal dpns.
Notes:	Ravelry link to project.

Hi all,

I received a question about the house socks pattern last night. In working a swatch to answer it, I realized that the numbers in the heel turn section of the pattern are slightly off. The new version is available here: download now

If you just want to change the heel numbers, I’ve added them at the bottom of this post.

In other news, I’ve wrecked the timing on my sewing machine by sewing that honkin’ thick jeans charity quilt. The last time I did this to my old trusty machine it cost me around $150 to fix. I’m contemplating trying to fix it myself; wish me luck!

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Heel
For now, ignore your instep stitches and work only with your gusset / sole stitches.
Join your contrasting color yarn, and knit across your gusset, sole, and other gusset (48 sts).
When you reach the end of the second gusset, turn and work as follows:
WS – p36, wrap & turn
RS – k24, wrap & turn
WS – p23, wrap & turn
Continue in this manner until you have 12 stitches still unwrapped in the middle.
Sanity check: 12 in the middle, 7 wrapped on each side, then 11 unwrapped on each end.

WS – p12, then p6 picking up wraps and knitting them together with the stitch as you go.
Purl the next stitch, wrap, and unwrapped stitch together (p3tog), turn.

RS – sl1, k18, k next 6 stitches picking up wraps and knitting them together with the stitch as you go. Knit the next stitch, wrap, and unwrapped stitch together (k3tog), turn.

WS – sl1, p24, p2tog, turn.
RS – sl1, k24, k2tog, turn.

Continue in this manner until all gusset stitches are worked. You should have 26 heel stitches. Cut contrasting yarn.