Lawrence Socks

Pattern: Rib & Cable Socks by Nancy Bush
Interweave Knits - Fall 2005

Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot
color: Blue Green
60% superwash wool / 25% mohair /15% nylon
350 yds/100 gr. ; less than 1 skein

Needles: size 1 Inox dpns

My daughter took the time to visit The Yarn Barn on a trip out to Lawrence, KS this past summer and brought me back a skein of this yarn in the richest, deepest blue imaginable. The yarn is a treat.

I never did quite figure out Nancy's directions for the heel turn which included some yarnovers so I ended up substituting the heel turn from her Madder Ribbed Socks and that worked out fine.

These had a new-to-me toe construction as well that used p2togs and p3togs for the decreases with no grafting involved. The fit is fine, but seems like the purled decreases on the stockinette background are distractingly noticeable.

The rib and cable pattern for the body of the sock is so pleasing that I feel sure I'll knit this pattern again sometime and just plug in a different toe. But the first time through I like to work as closely as possible to Nancy's instructions. She's a sock master after all!

State of the Union

Mary asked if I was still nupping along. The answer is Yes; mostly.

Here is the current state of my Lily of the Valley scarf. I am almost finished with five out of ten repeats, so almost halfway finished. Humm......looks a little short, doesn't it?

It isn't shown as a long scarf in the book and the pattern gives it as 44"long which is on the short side for a scarf. I don't need one that winds around and around my neck anyway.

I'm still not in LOVE with this project and I can't quite put my finger on the reason. I know that I'm not overly pleased with how my nupps* are looking but I am keeping my fingers crossed that a good soak and block will make a world of difference.

In the meantime, I've bought some sock yarn for a portable, people-friendly project. More about that later.

Sometimes I find when I get a bit bogged down in one project, that starting a new one is all it takes to motivate me to hurry and finish the first one. Is it the same for you?

We'll see if that works this time.

[*wanna see Nancy Bush demonstrate how to knit nupps? ]

Autumn Fires

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
"A Child's Garden of Verses" published 1885

Today is his birthday. No burning of leaves here on the cul-de-sac although their number could certainly create a smoke trail. Still it is nice to sing a song of seasons and remember the much-loved poetry of childhood.

Turkey day!

No, not Thanksgiving yet although it won't be long. I'm talking about the country Turkey.

I was delighted to see that Susette at Knitting Letters: A to Z blog has a new post up and it is a lengthy and very interesting look at Turkish textiles.

She has a lovely picture of oya - the intricate needlelace edgings.

I first learned and read about oya in "Piecework" magazine (of course!). It appears that both the Jul/Aug 1996 and the Jan/Feb 2006 issues are sold out, but both contained fascinating articles on this beautiful lace. The above linen square with oya flowers arrived here thanks to Mary. I enjoy it so much and never fail to marvel at the beauty of this delicate handwork.

If you're signed up with Ravelry , there is an Oya Makers group here with only a few examples but with some more information in the discussion threads. Flickr account pictures related to the Knitted Letters article are here and more great pictures/examples here.

Isn't it a lovely technique?

Feather & Fan

The Victorian Feather & Fan scarf got finished sometime back (10/17 according to my notes), and was recently mailed off with birthday wishes. I am only now getting around to finally posting a picture.


To recap, I used the easy and free pattern posted here and two 25-gram balls of Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere bought long, long ago.

The softness of the yarn, the lovely Victorian Violet color, and the soothing repetition of this classic old lace pattern made this a wonderfully pleasing project.

Knitted end-to-end, the Old Shale pattern results in two ends that scallop differently. I wasn't bothered by that for this project, but some other time I may try knitting two halves and grafting them at the center back.

According to Martha Waterman in "Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls", the Old Shale pattern is the most common used in Shetland hap shawls and shale patterns are named for the way the waves look as they wash upon a shale shoreline

New leaf arrived

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.

Chinese proverb

The Evergreen Bag is finished except for one lone i-cord drawstring. As I was working on the first drawstring, I learned a new grandson had arrived to a coworker. A new leaf on his family tree. Well new baby means quick cap, right?

I looked around the internet and found the Greenleaf Hat and thought it would fine with the Berroco Vintage and I had plenty left from the bag. From this photo angle the leaf looks a bit too big, but doesn't seem quite so much in real life.

I used a bit of the green at the start of the roll brim before switching to the blue and the switched back to the green, of course, for the leaf.

All in all, a quick and satisfying knit and I'll definitely keep this one in mind for future baby gifts.

Inexplicable

I'm having a hard time explaining my current knitting even to myself.

What you see here, first, is the start of the Evergreen Bag from the book Handknit Holidays which I found in a bookstore while on vacation for the low price of only $10.98. Since it is a nice hardbound book with several projects I like, I was quite happy to find it.

Tuesday, in the pouring rain, I went to my LYS to try to find some suitable yarn. Naturally the specified yarn was not to be had. The few yarns that I found that I really liked, weren't available in two colors that I liked together. I wound up trying out one of the new Berroco yarns - Vintage - a blend of 40% wool, 50% acrylic, and 10% nylon. I picked Tidepool and Wasabi. I'm not sure I like this combo, but it was all I seemed able to come up with at the time. The lighting in my LYS is abysmal on the brightest of days and Tuesday was certainly not one of those!

Wasabi. One of those words I never heard until the last couple of years.

What I'm having trouble understanding about my own knitting is why I've turned to this project when I already had this one going.

That is the Lily of the Valley Scarf in 100% cashmere.

See! Doesn't even make good sense.

Since writing this post, I've worked a few more rounds on the bag, getting that wavy line in below the buttonholes for the drawstrings, and I'm even more ambivalent about it. None of my knitting seems to be pleasing at this time.

It may be time to call in Evelyn A. Clark!

Lace In Translation

The Design Center at The University of Philadelphia has an exhibition "Lace In Translation" which is running through April 3, 2010.

[which, by the way, does 2010 sound like science fiction to anybody else??]

Contemporary artists were invited in to view, examine, and take inspiration from the Design Center's large Quaker Lace Company collection.

There is a 12-minute video (Blogger didn't let me embed) that is so interesting. Would love to get up there and see this in person.

The image gallery and background information is also fascinating. Visitors are invited to share their pieces as well and there are several intriging pieces already posted.

ETA: It would be hard for me to pick a favorite among the pieces made and displayed, however I was particularly taken with the oil tank. See more of Cal Lane's work here - and don't miss the dirt!

Parade of hats

Cooler weather. Fall is finally here even though the afternoons are still warm. I love to see the fall colors in the leaves. A pity that with all the many trees in our yard, none are maples.

I've been enjoying reading about and seeing all the pictures taken at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.

If you are thinking of making a hat, or even if you're not, you might enjoy a parade of 85 hats spotted at Rhinebeck. I just clicked 'slideshow' and sat back and enjoyed.

Know what tastes great with a slideshow? How about this fall mix - equal parts candy corn and cocktail peanuts. Salty and sweet. Tastes a lot like a Payday.

And you thought I only ate M&Ms!

Monster Mash

I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash

Frankenstein's Monster Cloth was FUN to work. As soon as I stumbled upon the free pattern I had to get my hands on some acid green yarn (Hot Green Sugar 'n Cream) and try it out.

The narrowboat fantasy

I HATE camping. That seems a rather extreme statement considering I last camped about 1986. Even now I can still recall the various times, none of them fondly and none with even a faint wish to ever repeat.

So why am I bringing that up here, now in a handwork blog? Well because I recently saw a lovely post showing canal boats in England. How bright and colorful! Actually her entire blog is bright and colorful and never fails to cheer me when I pop in to see what she's making.

I first discovered narrowboats in a very lighthearted chick-lit book, Life Skills by Katie Fforde, and ever since then thought it would be FUN to slowly float around and see a bit of England. Actually it would probably be much like camping, but don't spoil my fantasy, okay?

There's a little more information here and here if you, too, would like to daydream a bit.

And since what's a post without a picture, here you can see the beginnings of a shawl. 5 little rows on a provisional cast on.....taken not long before I frogged the whole thing, rewound the yarn and put it away. Love the color, love the yarn, did NOT like working the pattern. Since it was to be a very large shawl, it seemed torturous to consider continuing, the kind of torture that brings to mind camping for instance!

Whooo needs a new dishcloth?

I don't know how it is with you, but when I seem to be slogging along on a project and am in need of a quick knit, I usually turn to dishcloths.

They never take too long, the yarn costs only a bit and comes in such bright, cheerful colors. To top it off, the internet is full of free patterns so there is something new to try every time you get the urge.

This one was just a HOOT to knit. : )

Gone Platinum

I decided I really needed a finer needle, a size 28, to facilitate stitching the mosaic stitch in that floral band. Naturally I had no 28s, so last Saturday while I was out, I picked up a package. Two tiny platinum needles, very fine, $4.77. Amazing. But worth it. It has made all the difference in the world.

[kind of puts the cost of addi Turbos in perspective]

I knew I wanted John James needles when I left the house. John James needles have been manufactured in England since the 1800s and were even mentioned by Charles Dickens

"We have been to Redditch, that remarkable little...town, to see needles made...
because our English needles of to-day are spreading all over the known world,
wherever exchange of commodities is going on. We are allowed to go over the Victoria Works,
the manufactory of Mr John James. That so many (needles) should go forth
into the world from one house is wonderful enough...
but the making ready for sale exhibits a miracle of dexterity."

Also a miracle of dexterity....here's a link to a picture of the Loara Standish sampler, 1653, the earliest known American-made sampler which also happens to be a band sampler. Loara Standish was the daughter of Miles Standish.

Shrinking Violet

Are the blue socks done yet? Why, no. Why do you ask?

It isn't that I've lost interest in them either, its just that I got the urge to knit something else and that I had an idea for this yarn that I've had for some time.

According the receipt, I bought this in May 2005. I cannot even recall the project I had in mind. Doesn't matter because I only realized when it arrived that the put-up was 25 gr. balls and, whatever the project was, I had half enough. I've not seen this color listed since. Victorian Violet. Love that name. Don't you?

When I recently decided that it might do for a narrow scarf - and for a November birthday for someone - I first tried a shifting rib pattern based on a larger design in The Book of Yarn. A simple enough pattern it would seem, but I couldn't seem to keep it straight - or wandering really as the case may be - and I flubbed the seed stitch, too.

So I found a Feather and Fan (sometimes called Old Shale) pattern online, started at the other end of the ball, and am eating my way through the botched first attempt. This one has no edge stitches but there is no curling. If you'd like an edge; add 4 stitches making the cast on 42 and knit the first three on each end on all rows. [note: this will require thinking and, frankly, I just wasn't up to it.]

1492

Turns out that this year the office closed for Columbus Day so I had an unexpected day off this week. Since it was another really rainy day, it was perfect to be home and knit and I did.

I had finished up the first of the Rib and Cable Socks over the weekend and this morning I got the second one cast on and under way.

Thanks to the still-overcast skies, the photo is a bit dark. I think the flash came on even though I took this outside in natural light.