The bane of my existence...

Or, Vogue Knitting International Fall 2006 #8 Arch-Shaped Stockings.

For starters, the words "replace entire pattern" in the erratta do not inspire confidence. But, you'd think that the pattern would be correct the second time around. You'd be wrong, of course. I knit both heels twice (user error) and the sole of the feet at least three times (crappy instructions). Grrr.

The yarn is Knit Picks Gloss in Cocoa (two 50g balls) and Bare Merino/Silk (one 100g ball) on US3s.

I worked these two at once on two circs to the end of the heel. The pattern is odd (based on my limited sock experience) and has an uneven distribution of instep and heel stitches (less on the heel side) and once you begin the foot decreases you k2tog or ssk the edge st on the instep with the edge st on the heel. Anyway, the point is that it was waaaay easier to finish the foot of the socks one at a time.


As for the sole of these babies. The pattern wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. After trial and much error, the striping worked out, but boy was it frustrating. I'm not sure I can explain this properly, but here goes. The shaping works out from the center of the sole (which was white on my socks). As you begin the shaping you k2tog (using stripe color that will maintain the pattern on the outer part of the sole, in my case brown - every arch dec. will use this color), k3 (following the established color sequence), m1 (again maintaing the pattern from the outside, so, for me the first round was white - these sts will alternate colors each shaping round), kB (at your center st), m1 (white), k3 (in pattern), ssk (brown). Work the next round even. On your next shaping round you k2tog (brown), k4, m1 (brown), kB (center), m1 (brown), k4, ssk (brown). Get it?

The funniest (read: I think I may cry) part of this story is that I knit these socks to wear with a specific pair of shoes that were just slightly loose. Great shoes. Do you have my shoes? Yeah, neither do I. How exactly does one lose a pair of chocolate suede 3" wedges? How, I ask you? Seriously.

Well the socks are complete and cute, I suppose. The required gauge seems a little coarse to me and my tension could have been better. But they are destined to sit in a drawer, because I have no shoes that fit over them.

Cheers.

PS. Thanks, hubby, for helping with the photos.

Chunky Cable Purse

Here's the Knit Picks Chunky Cable Purse using the recommended 2 balls of Sierra yarn, in an, apparently, discontinued color.
This pattern is a great intro to cables. It knits up pretty quickly at 2.5 sts to the inch. And the finishing is a snap if you use a premade canvas tote as the pattern suggests.

I added an extra cable repeat (working rows 1-8 three times, instead of two, then rows 1-3 once more for a total of 27 rows), which used up almost all of the yarn and made the purse the same height as the canvas tote lining.

This made the handle attachment much simpler. I just cut the tote handle in half and threaded each of the resulting four webbing strips through the handle openings, then sewed them in place.











Make sure the tote is turned inside out and the handles are sewn on the outside. Trim off the excess webbing and slip the tote, which is now sporting your purse handles of choice, inside your knitting.

I used a machine to stitch the knitting to the canvas (do ignore the terrible thread tension), making sure the knitting covered the canvas compeletely.

Voila!

Santa Hat

I couldn't decide who looked cuter in the Handknit Holidays Santa hat, so here are both pics. You decide. But be quick about it - before hubby notices and makes me remove his picture.

I modified the hat because my cream alpaca was stash yarn and significantly thinner than the bulky called for in the pattern.

I did a provisional cast on and knit the red part of the hat as directed using Knit Picks Decadence in Winter Berry. LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVE that yarn. After trying the bobble brim as directed using first a single strand, then two strands together, and finally three strands together and still not liking the finished look, I tried a different approach.

This time I picked up the stitches and knit a ribbed band in red, then I followed Nicole's advice from the Handknit Holidays-along blog for the elongated bobbles (making sure the right side was facing out after folding the bobble band over the ribbing). Finally I crocheted a chain around the join of the red and white to hide the red that was peeking through.

Not perfect but still pretty fun.

Desk Set

I wound up with some LB cashmere blend stuff - two balls in pink. Totally unimpressed by the yarn, especially at $9 each. Regardless, here's the little warmers I keep stashed in my desk for the chilly days in the office. I loosely followed the Bow Knot scarf pattern and the wristlets are just garter stitch lengthwise. I started the wristlets with a provisional cast on, knit for a while then made a thumb hole by casting off a few and casting them back on the next row, then continued to knit until it fit around my hand snugly and grafted the end to the CO.

Victorian Beaded Bookmark

So I wanted to try something really tiny in preparation for knitting for a 1/12 minature. The pattern is from "A Step Back in Time" in the Interweave Knits subscriber content on the web. I'm knitting it with size 30 crochet cotton on US0000 needles and glass beads. It would look better with round beads, but this was all I had around the house. It's too hot to knit big stuff and this sure ain't big.

Pineapple Doily

My first doily...just to see if I could. It was actually pretty easy. Go figure. Crocheted with size 30 crochet cotton on a size 10 hook.

Trellis Scarf

1. Photographing unblocked lace is very difficult.
2. Photographing blocked lace probably isn't much easier.

Luckily, knitting lace is pretty fun. I'm on the 7th repeat of the Trellis Scarf from the Spring 2006 issue of Interweave Knits. KnitPicks' Alpaca Cloud (in horizon) is kitten soft and, at $4 per 440 yds, quite a bargain. Knitting such fine yarn on US5 needles is a bit odd at first but, as this is my first lace project, knitting laceweight yarn would likely be odd on any size needle. So far, so good.

Prairie Tunic

Almost finished the back of the Prairie Tunic from the Spring 2006 Interweave Knits. Having been set aside in favor of the baby cardi, it's now knitting up surprisingly quickly on US3s. The yarn is Lion Brand Micro Spun ("an ultra soft microfiber sports yarn") in Lily White. The yarn really is soft and machine washable and dryable, though it splits easily, creating obvious pulls on the finished knit. The lace panel, which makes up the center of the back and the sides of the front, looks great. The overall pattern is simple enough make this a great mindless knit and small enough to travel with. Thumbs up, so far.

Completed Cable Wrap

Yay! I finished my wrap (modeled by a friend, sadly I'm not that tiny). The wool softened up a good bit with blocking. The I-cord dangles are ab fab. The brooch is my husband's kilt pin, which has a fancy name that I've forgotten. It's a nice pattern if you're in need of a casual wrap. Here's the original post - Vogue Knitting International Cable Wrap.