weekend knitting

We enjoyed a very relaxing weekend. On Saturday we drove up to Shepherdstown WV for a fall festival. The weather was perfect. I grabbed some sock yarn and started a new pair of socks while I sat in the sunshine and listened to bluegrass music.

Yesterday, though, I needed to start something a little more long-term. My mom’s shawl is finished, and I seamed the pieces together on Rich’s sweater and just need one evening for a collar. I have had some Kureyon marinating in my stash for a few months.  I often use Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns along with my stitch dictionaries.  I am starting with some basic ribbing. The last time I did a sweater in the round with Kureyon, I ended up frogging the entire thing after the body was completed because the stripes were too narrow. I re-knit, using multiple skeins that I re-wound in order to get similar colors together. I will be doing the same thing on this sweater.

This colorway does not have as many wild shifts in color as some of the other Kureyon yarns, but the close colors still have lots of subtle variation.

 

one stitch at a time

Last night I met a Ravelry person 3D! Rich and I went to Wolf Trap to hear Nancy Griffith and Judy Collins. Two rows in front of me I saw a woman knitting socks - and using yarn that I have already knit into a pair of socks that I love. Imagine! We chatted briefly during an intermission. On the way out to the parking lots we met up again and struck up a bit more conversation. It was nice to meet another knitter. We discussed the finer details of what counts as stash - yarn for charity projects does not count, sock yarn does not count. As I stated that “ebay yarn does not count” I realized that Rich was indeed listening - teehee. I am sure that I will have a chance to remind him that model train cars purchased on ebay take up as much room as train cars from other sources.

After at least four false starts, some with considerable amounts of knitting accumulated, the shawl for my mom is growing and I love it. It is warm and so soft, lightweight but snuggly. I devised a method for keeping track of my repeats (modified spreadsheet scribbled on an index card) and that has eliminated the need to unknit, finally. It was only a week ago that I started the version that is the keeper. The stitch detail:

The flickr version of the photo has notes showing the yarn details.

Rich’s sweater pieces are completed. A Red Scarf is underway and I have swatched two other stitch patterns. With any luck, all three of these projects will be completed before Oct 6, when we visit my mom.

 

sock progress

The Trekking socks will be twins! I had about 1/3 of the foot complete on sock two when I realized that there was finally a repeat. I frogged immediately. I am ready to turn the heel.

I always move the waiting stitches to some waste yarn when I am working the heel. My fumbly fingers just like it better that way.

In other news, I am starting some studio re-organizing this morning. The hand-dyed fabric is moving to a storage box for now. The yarn stash will take over some of the space. The work table is a wreck, the bins need some sorting too.

 

on the needles

When I was at Maryland Sheep and Wool last month I saw some Trekking in tan and light blue. I did not want to wait in line - the booth was crowded with sweaty people, the line was long, and technology was S L O W.

Then last week I was at Uniquities looking for laceweight (shawl for mom) and I saw the yarn again. I had to buy it. I cast on the first sock while we were at Kingstowne. There is not one single repeat in the first sock. I am not sure I found a repeat to start the second one. The socks are destined to be fraternal twins.

In other news, I got a new batch of fresh dye to continue the string experiments. I gave two of the experiments to Pam at her opening on Friday. I figured out a way to scour the skeins more thoroughly.