Okay, I keep meaning to put this somewhere safe.. and I guess I'd better publish it if I ever want to reference it in the future.
When I work this, I usually link to this pattern in Ravelry's database. But that's not the pattern I started using. I originally received a print-out of some other pattern from my mother, and then I tinkered with it because it knit back an illogical (to me) number of stitches. And, I found I could skip the wrap-and-turn by slipping the first stitch on the way back.
My variation (on each new row, turn your work, even if you haven't knit all the way to the end of the row):
Cast on 15 stitches
Slip first stitch and knit 14 stitches back
Knit 3 sts, YO, k11 sts (leaves 1 stitch on right needle)
Slip first stitch and knit 14 stitches back
K3 sts, YO, k11 sts (leaves 2 stitches on right needle)
Slip first stitch and knit 14 stitches back
K3 sts, YO, k11 sts (leaves 3 stitches on right needle)
Slip first stitch and knit 14 stitches back
Cast off 3 sts, k10 sts (leaves 4 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 10 sts back
K3 sts, YO, k7 sts (leaves 5 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 10 sts back
K3 sts, YO, k7 sts (leaves 6 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 10 sts back
K3 sts, YO, k7 sts (leaves 7 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 10 sts back
Cast off 3 sts, k6 sts (leaves 8 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 6 sts back
K3 sts, YO, k3 sts (leaves 9 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 6 sts back
K3 sts, YO, k3 sts (leaves 10 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 6 sts back
K3 sts, YO, k3 sts (leaves 11 sts)
Slip first stitch and knit 6 sts back
Cast off 3 sts, k14 sts (leaves 0 sts on right needle)
* Slip first stitch and knit 14 sts back
Make pattern 6 total times and bind off on last row. Sew cast on and bind off together.
* On the final row I don't knit back here. Instead I pick up stitches from the cast-on (which I usually do using backwards-loop because that leaves me a nice and non-bulky edge to pick up), and do and equivalent of a 3-needle bind-off to join the first and last rows.
Showing posts with label Knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knitting. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Taking my word for it
But this time, I think it's pretty obvious. This was a great gift.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Devonian
I have to admit.. I've been hiding this one from you.
This pattern is Devonian, and it is part of an amazing new collection called The Sock Report.
Devonian is a pair of toe-up socks that were inspired by my mother, and I have to say that they are pretty special to me because of that.
I wanted to create something to match a shawl I knit for Mom earlier in the year. And it came to me that the increases that create a lovely triangular shawl could also be used to create the gusset increases in a sock.
As you work your way from the toe of this sock, the lace starts as the gusset, and after you turn the heel it goes on to consume the entire leg. I particularly love the detail up the back of the leg where stockinette comes to a dainty point before flowing into the lace above.
While the pictures above are of Devonian knit in Malabrigo Sock, I was able to work with String Theory's Caper yarn for The Sock Report. I can't recommend this yarn highly enough. String Theory dyes a beautiful yarn and I love working with it. It is a Merino/cashmere/nylon blend and wears very well (and is as delicious on your feet when you are done as it is in your hands while you knit it). Oh, yes.. I do like MCN sock yarn!
I love all the patterns in The Sock Report, and I hope you'll have time to stop by and check it out!
This pattern is Devonian, and it is part of an amazing new collection called The Sock Report.
Devonian is a pair of toe-up socks that were inspired by my mother, and I have to say that they are pretty special to me because of that.
I wanted to create something to match a shawl I knit for Mom earlier in the year. And it came to me that the increases that create a lovely triangular shawl could also be used to create the gusset increases in a sock.
I love all the patterns in The Sock Report, and I hope you'll have time to stop by and check it out!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Way Behind
Well, school has certainly thrown a wrench in my schedule. I'm happy to say that I earned an "A+" in Statistics this last term.
With more work, something has got to slide. Since I'm still knitting, spinning, weaving and taking care of the rest of my life it's pretty obvious that blogging went on the back burner (and is going to stay there, unfortunately).
But I don't want to leave you all completely in the dark! Here's a quick run-down of some of what I have finished for February (and March will follow in its own post).
What we have here is a spindle project I finally completed. It is Spunky Eclectic Merino spun up into a 3-ply yarn. I've been working on the single off-and-on for several months. I wound it all onto a bobbin and divided it by weight in order to make 3-ply yarn. It's very fast using an electric bobbin winder. The yarn came out lovely and squishy, plump and round from the 3-ply. I do love a 3-ply yarn.
I also finished this 2-ply yarn. It is the last shipment from the first year of the Pro-Verbial shawl club from A Verb for Keeping Warm. One ply is superfine alpaca and the other is 50/50 cashmere/silk. They are both luscious blends. I really want to be madly deeply in love with AVFKW fiber, but I find that the natural dying process is simply not very kind to unspun fiber. It is rarely in the shape that I expect from ultra-premium fibers. I enjoyed the club and the patterns, but I did not re-up this year for more.
Since I have a lovely friend with a new baby, baby knitting ensued. This is the ubiquitous Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman's book, The Opinionated Knitter. I used a fibonacci sequence for the stripes, which always comes out looking fantastic. The yarn is a very nice cotton yarn I picked up as mill-ends. I bought a pound, so there was a significant amount left over and I thought.. why not a blanket?!
But I sure as heck wasn't going to knit a blanket! I dislike knitting scarves, and a blanket is a scarf x100. It was a great opportunity to play on the loom. I consulted local experts, did a lot of math, and came up with a great plaid blanket that I had difficulty giving away!
We also had a February birthday. We wanted to do a cooking party, so I put together these child-sized aprons out of towels from Target and some grosgrain ribbon. They're adorable and easy!
There is lots more for March, but I don't have photos of everything yet. I'll have to get them taken, soon... especially since there are April projects to share, too!
With more work, something has got to slide. Since I'm still knitting, spinning, weaving and taking care of the rest of my life it's pretty obvious that blogging went on the back burner (and is going to stay there, unfortunately).
But I don't want to leave you all completely in the dark! Here's a quick run-down of some of what I have finished for February (and March will follow in its own post).
What we have here is a spindle project I finally completed. It is Spunky Eclectic Merino spun up into a 3-ply yarn. I've been working on the single off-and-on for several months. I wound it all onto a bobbin and divided it by weight in order to make 3-ply yarn. It's very fast using an electric bobbin winder. The yarn came out lovely and squishy, plump and round from the 3-ply. I do love a 3-ply yarn.I also finished this 2-ply yarn. It is the last shipment from the first year of the Pro-Verbial shawl club from A Verb for Keeping Warm. One ply is superfine alpaca and the other is 50/50 cashmere/silk. They are both luscious blends. I really want to be madly deeply in love with AVFKW fiber, but I find that the natural dying process is simply not very kind to unspun fiber. It is rarely in the shape that I expect from ultra-premium fibers. I enjoyed the club and the patterns, but I did not re-up this year for more.Since I have a lovely friend with a new baby, baby knitting ensued. This is the ubiquitous Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman's book, The Opinionated Knitter. I used a fibonacci sequence for the stripes, which always comes out looking fantastic. The yarn is a very nice cotton yarn I picked up as mill-ends. I bought a pound, so there was a significant amount left over and I thought.. why not a blanket?!But I sure as heck wasn't going to knit a blanket! I dislike knitting scarves, and a blanket is a scarf x100. It was a great opportunity to play on the loom. I consulted local experts, did a lot of math, and came up with a great plaid blanket that I had difficulty giving away!We also had a February birthday. We wanted to do a cooking party, so I put together these child-sized aprons out of towels from Target and some grosgrain ribbon. They're adorable and easy!There is lots more for March, but I don't have photos of everything yet. I'll have to get them taken, soon... especially since there are April projects to share, too!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Inglenook
I love socks. After my first few inevitable scarf and hat projects, socks were the next thing on my "must learn to knit" list. And a 2009 sock club was an extra-special treat from my husband.
After working my way through that club, I moved on to Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I love this book. After walking through the very basic steps of sock construction through others' patterns, this book lets you leap off into the deep end of your own ideas.
And in comes Inglenook. Cat teaches us that our gusset increases can go just about anywhere they want to go, and I know that lace is made up of paired increases and decreases. So what happens if you leave out the decreases?
What you get is a pattern that grows on its own in a very natural manner. And you get a sock that grows without an obvious gusset.
Inglenook grew from one of my favorite lace patterns. Each motif reminds me of the licking tongue of a flame. These flamelets grow down your leg from a spiky picot edge and then turn under the heel in a cushy slip-stitch reinforced sole. The socks are wonderfully comfortable in open-back clogs.
Toes were something else that came to mind when knitting from other patterns. Knitting is wonderful in that it stretches and conforms. If you give it a shape reasonably close to what you want it to be, it will accommodate small differences. But you can also shape it to be exactly as you want.
Traditional toes decrease equally on the left and right side. But if you look at your foot, the big toe extends straight out from the body of the foot. I really like this sock's shaped toe to fit the line of the foot more naturally, and it's not that much of a stretch from a normal wedge-shaped toe.
And then, we have yarn...
Image copyright Jamie Dixon and
Twist Collective, used with permission.While I tried these out first with yarn I had in my own stash, I had the opportunity to knit with some really lovely yarn, KnitGlobal Pollika sock yarn. This 4-ply yarn is fantastic for socks. It is a wool/nylon blend with a really firm twist. The four plies make the stitches just pop (and I'd imagine it would knit into some really amazing cables and twisted-stitch patterns) and it has a lovely, deep color. It knits up into a smooth fabric that I couldn't wait to put on my own feet (and did quite a few times before giving these babies their final careful wash and block to send them off). It's a real treat to have been able to knit with it.
All in all, Inglenook takes a whole bunch of individual design elements I really like and combines them into a cohesive whole. And in them my toes are just as toasty and warm as they would be if tucked up close to the flames dancing in my fireplace.
The pattern for Inglenook is available from the Twist Collective in the Winter 2011 issue.
After working my way through that club, I moved on to Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I love this book. After walking through the very basic steps of sock construction through others' patterns, this book lets you leap off into the deep end of your own ideas.
And in comes Inglenook. Cat teaches us that our gusset increases can go just about anywhere they want to go, and I know that lace is made up of paired increases and decreases. So what happens if you leave out the decreases?
What you get is a pattern that grows on its own in a very natural manner. And you get a sock that grows without an obvious gusset.
Inglenook grew from one of my favorite lace patterns. Each motif reminds me of the licking tongue of a flame. These flamelets grow down your leg from a spiky picot edge and then turn under the heel in a cushy slip-stitch reinforced sole. The socks are wonderfully comfortable in open-back clogs.
Toes were something else that came to mind when knitting from other patterns. Knitting is wonderful in that it stretches and conforms. If you give it a shape reasonably close to what you want it to be, it will accommodate small differences. But you can also shape it to be exactly as you want.
Traditional toes decrease equally on the left and right side. But if you look at your foot, the big toe extends straight out from the body of the foot. I really like this sock's shaped toe to fit the line of the foot more naturally, and it's not that much of a stretch from a normal wedge-shaped toe.
And then, we have yarn...
Image copyright Jamie Dixon and
Twist Collective, used with permission.
All in all, Inglenook takes a whole bunch of individual design elements I really like and combines them into a cohesive whole. And in them my toes are just as toasty and warm as they would be if tucked up close to the flames dancing in my fireplace.
The pattern for Inglenook is available from the Twist Collective in the Winter 2011 issue.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Stashdown 2011
The goal: To spin 4oz of fiber, knit 4oz of handspun and work 4oz of millspun each month
Did I do it? Yes! On average I met each of my goals. Some months I did more, some less, but I worked through a lot of materials this year!
However, I didn't meet the spirit of the goal.. which was to use stash. Many of my projects required new fiber or new yarn to complete. Sometimes I bought new yarn/fiber just because I wanted to (and really, who doesn't?). So if this goal was "Production 2011" then I certainly produced. Did I reduce my stash? Not so much.
Next year, I want to work from my stash. In fact, I'd like to work entirely from my stash for both spinning and knitting materials. (I am leaving an exception for weaving, because I don't have much yarn suitable and may need to purchase particular yarn for projects I have in mind. Still, I'd like to keep weaving-purchasing limited to planned-projects only. No "just because it's on sale" buying!) I will not be making any pledges as to how much I get done each month, but I hope you'll join me for a "work from what you've got" year!
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October/November:
December:
Did I do it? Yes! On average I met each of my goals. Some months I did more, some less, but I worked through a lot of materials this year!
However, I didn't meet the spirit of the goal.. which was to use stash. Many of my projects required new fiber or new yarn to complete. Sometimes I bought new yarn/fiber just because I wanted to (and really, who doesn't?). So if this goal was "Production 2011" then I certainly produced. Did I reduce my stash? Not so much.
Next year, I want to work from my stash. In fact, I'd like to work entirely from my stash for both spinning and knitting materials. (I am leaving an exception for weaving, because I don't have much yarn suitable and may need to purchase particular yarn for projects I have in mind. Still, I'd like to keep weaving-purchasing limited to planned-projects only. No "just because it's on sale" buying!) I will not be making any pledges as to how much I get done each month, but I hope you'll join me for a "work from what you've got" year!
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October/November:
December:
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