Tag Archives: socks

Second sock swap

by

The second sock swap project

Two of the lovely people participating in the #fringeandfriendsknitalong — Instagrammers @lunarknits (in Sydney) and @wendlandcd (in Washington state) — have struck up enough of a friendship that they’ve cooked up a marvelous little co-knitting project for themselves. Both are susceptible to Second Sock Syndrome, so they’ve decided to each knit one sock, then send it and the yarn to the other person to knit the mate and keep. So they each knit two socks, but not the same sock twice. It’s brilliant, and possibly easier to talk a friend into doing with you than a Tag Team Sweater. The next time I have the urge to knit a sock, I may have to look for someone to swap with.

If you’re on Instagram, you can follow their progress under #secondsockswap.

.

New Favorites: House socks redux

by

New Favorites: House socks redux

Is anyone else out there as hungry for Fall as I am? It’s my favorite season (obviously) and I basically haven’t had one in 17 years, so the idea of living through a real true Fall this year is exciting beyond description. Plus it’s 1000 degrees in Nashville right now, and paralyzingly humid. Plus September (sweet September!) is the month we’ll finally have a home again. So I’m like the proverbial horse who can smell the barn — if only I could gallup toward September instead of waiting for it to come to me. Alas, I wait. But while I’m waiting, I’m fantasizing about all sorts of wooly, Fall-y goodness in that new home of mine, starting with house socks. I’m still thinking about the ones from this earlier New Favorites, but have added these to my which-ones-will-I-knit list:

TOP: Cuckoo by Marie Wallin, lovely mix of texture and cables

BOTTOM LEFT: Inglenook by Adrian Bizilia, a good answer to those Toast socks in the previous list

BOTTOM RIGHT:  Supreme Bedsocks by Emily Foden, so simple, so right

Have a lovely weekend, everybody!

.

PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Palmyre

New Favorites: Cable-ish socks

by

New Favorites: Cable-ish socks

I never did knit that cable-hat palate cleanser I was on about last month. But I still have a yearning for cables (I always have a yearning for cables) and am reminded of my goal to knit at least one pair of socks this summer. Ergo, cable socks — or at least cable-ish socks — are my new fixation:

LEFT: The Planorbis Corneus Socks by Hunter Hammersen are actually lace stitches that look a bit like basic cables (free pattern)

RIGHT: The Cross-Rib Socks by Ann Budd are cable stitches that look more like gothic cathedral architecture than traditional cables

.

PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: In my size, please

New Favorites: Kyoko’s colorwork

by

New Favorites: Kyoko Nakayoshi's colorwork

This must be one of those “grass is always greener” things, because suddenly all the solid-colored stuff in my knitting queue is making me crave colorwork. I’m also strangely drawn to fair-isle-style vests these days. My fascination with them was heightened by learning stranded knitting and beginning to pay a little more attention to Fair Isle traditions. But then ever since reading about Amber’s steeked vest (even though it wasn’t meant to be a vest), I’ve been dying to try that. Maybe this spring. Anyway, one of the best ones I’ve seen — in terms of something I could actually imagine wearing as opposed to revering — is Kyoko Nakayoshi’s vest, Suzu. Which also reminded me of these great chevron-patterned accessories of hers I’ve been craving to knit: Silver Maple Comfy Socks and Beanie. I want those socks on my needles as much as I want them on my feet. Which is to say: a lot! (In black and natural, of course.)

.

SHOP NOTE: Pom Pom 8 is here! as are another few copies of 7 and 6 — which I’m told are the last of their kind!

2013: My knitting year in review

by

2013: One knitter's year in review

For as anal-retentive and “organized” as I am, I’m not a very good record keeper when it comes to my knitting. Most Finished Objects make it onto the blog. Many appear in other forms on Instagram. Some things make it onto Ravelry. But I feel like there are still some things that never even get snapshotted. So I’ve been wanting to take stock of my 2013 knitting, and now that I’ve pulled these images together — organized as chronologically as I can reconstruct it — I’m kind of amazed. While I didn’t sew or crochet or weave a single thing this year, I knitted more than I realized. As much as I kick myself for the two unfinished sweaters in my basket, the three finished ones have become such wardrobe staples I forget they’re from this year. And I feel good about the fact that those two sweaters are my only UFOs right now, rather than the mess of unworthy WIPs I’ve let pile up in the past. There’s even some color!

But the thing that really stands out about this year is that I gave myself the opportunity to make a lot of more advanced mistakes. And from making and analyzing and fixing those mistakes, I’ve become an infinitely more capable knitter. So while there have been successes and failures, project-wise, this year has been a big, big win for me.

ROW ONE
left: My chunky Walpole, begun last year and finished in January. I’ve decided open-front cardigans are not for me, but this still gets a lot of wear around the house.
middle: This State Street Cowl is among my favorites — an extremely fun and rewarding knit, and I love having it around my neck.
right: Dubbed the Almost Perfect Pullover, and although I wear it a lot, I chastise myself every time for the neck. Never again will I do a sweater with no neck shaping, and always will I pick up stitches (for some structure) rather than knitting it in one piece.

ROW TWO
left: Wabi Mitts — I couldn’t be more proud of this pattern.
middle: Did I never blog about this one? I whipped out this Bulky Hat (pattern mentioned here) one evening while drinking and chatting at a crafty social gathering — that’s a fun, quick, simple knit.
right: Acer, sigh. Cast on at the end of February and I really hope to finish it before the year mark rolls around.

ROW THREE
left: The sample sweater from my top-down sweater tutorial. Talk about rewarding: I don’t even have words for what it’s been like, seeing all the sweaters that have resulted from that tutorial.
middle: My first Orlane’s Textured Shawl. I love this shawl — even/especially the kerchief-y size of it — but wish it wasn’t ivory. I always feel like I have a bath towel around my neck.
right: see below

ROW FOUR
left and right: Along with the hat above, my little pattern collection: Stadium Hat, Stadium Mitts and Whichaway Mitts. Love all of these.
middle: My Heel Stitch Hat was both a hit and a miss. It got big when blocked, so I wound up felting it down a little, and now it looks like I sewed it out of a funky old orange bath mat. But I’ve taken to wearing it at night, pulled down over my eyes! So it’s my pal, even if it’s not much to look at anymore.

ROW FIVE
left: My first sock, so I love it, and I had a lot of fun knitting it. But I hate the yarn so much I never made it a mate.
middle and right: Bob’s skullcaps. These make me feel all warm and fuzzy every time he wears either of them.

ROW SIX
left: My bigger, chunkier Orlane. Love it.
middle: Oh, Slade. Realizing I had yarn from two dye lots took the wind out of my sails a little bit, even if I still can’t see what the camera saw. But I’m picking this back up in the new year, don’t worry.
right: My first colorwork, these Muckle Mitts were definitely a major high point.

ROW SEVEN
left to right: With the mania of the past several weeks, I took refuge in hats, from the Simple Rib Hat to the pair of Hill Country Hats to, finally, the absolute highlight of my year, my beautiful Gentian. Such a perfect final knit of the year. Although I think that yarn may have ruined me for anything else.

So that’s my year in a nutshell. Thank you to every single one of you for reading, linking, pinning, and especially commenting over the past year. It’s been an honor to have your company, and I’m looking forward to finding out what 2014 holds for us all. Have a fabulous New Year’s Eve!

.

2013: My favorite New Favorites and your favorite posts

by

Best of New Favorites: Sweater patterns

You know there has to be some reflection and projection here as the calendar flips over from 2013 to ’14, starting with the patterns that caught my attention over the course of the year. Pretty much every week, under the heading of New Favorites, I post about the patterns that I not only like or admire but that make my fingers twitch with the urge to cast on — whether it’s great new releases, a designer who’s caught my eye, or some gap in my wardrobe or skill set I’m thinking about filling. Clearly I’m fickle, and some are more passing fancies than others. But some of these picks burrow into my brain and simply demand to be knitted. Here are the ones I’m still fixated on — I hope to cast on at least some of them in 2014.

SWEATERS
top left: Stonecutter pullover by Michele Wang (Pattern of the Year, as far as I’m concerned)
top right: Dwell cardigan by Martin Storey
bottom left: Trillium cardigan by Michele Wang
bottom right: Rook pullover by Kyoko Nakayoshi

Best of New Favorites: Fingerless gloves

FINGERLESS GLOVES
Antiquity mitts by Alicia Plummer

Best of New Favorites: Scarf/shawl patterns

WRAPS
left: Flying Squirrel stole by Michiyo
right: Imposter’s Shawl by Amber Corcoran

Best of New Favorites: Sock patterns

SOCKS
left: Climb socks by Jane Richmond
right: Cream socks by cabinfour

The hats I am most persistently obsessed with were both mentioned on the blog, but neither of them in New Favorites. They are the Bray Cap by Jared Flood and Gwyneth by Leah McGlone.

.

And speaking of favorites, here are the ten posts that attracted the most views over the course of 2013:

1. How to improvise a top-down sweater
2. Holiday knitting cheat sheet: A hat for every head
3. Best summer sweater knitting patterns
4. Double Basketweave Cowl (free pattern)
5. New Favorites: Simply Great Cowls
6. Scarves to start now
7. Wabi Mitts (free pattern)
8. Fast, easy and warm: Jumbo Stitch Cowls collection (free patterns)
9. Knitter’s Delight: Beautifully textured hats
10. Holiday knitting cheat sheet: Cowls all around

.

New Favorites addendum: Cream socks

by

Cream socks pattern

Remember those adorable improvised socks I mentioned at the end of the last New Favorites? What I failed to notice is that, in the time since I first saw those, many moons ago, she has published the pattern for them. Had I realized it, that particular New Favorites would have been a duo of Jane Richmond’s Climb and Cabinfour’s Cream, so this is me making up for that missed opportunity.

Thanks, Deneise, for bringing it to my attention (and for the pattern!).

.