The Soapy Knitter

Nope. I wasn’t at MDSW. I was in New Cumberland, PA. Never heard of it? Yah, neither had I but DH is working nearby until further notice so we’d booked a room to go visit him. It was a nice enough little 3-day weekend. I loved that there wasn’t a lot to do around there so I should have PLENTY of knitting time. I did.

I was able to finish my mystery project: the one for the Little Knits design contest. I’ll block that this week and get it in the mail.

I also finished the River Nuts socks I’d started a few weeks ago when I asked you all what socks I should knit next. I opted for the Nutkin pattern with some mods.

The first mod: these were knit toe-up using magic loop. In the pattern, the designer has you do a 3-needle bind-off at the top of the toe to make a little ridge. I just knit two purl rows to create this ridge.

Next mod: the OCD in me decided that I couldn’t have the swirls all moving in the same direction on both socks. So I reversed one of the swirls on the back and the front of each sock.

I also increased to 68 sts from the original 64 and switched to needles one size larger after the heel because otherwise these babies weren’t going to fit. I had to also increase to 72 sts for the cuff to do a k3, p3 ribbing.

The biggest mod was the heel. I opted for the Riverbed arch expansion and plain heel from Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways book. I love the snug fit of the heel and the ease of working the “gussets” with no need of picking up sts after a “flap” but you get the flap heel-look!

Knitting with the Araucania Ranco yarn was fantastic! I loved the wool-y feel of it and even using size US 2.5 addi’s, it still produces a nice fabric.

Nutkin Socks

Source: Knitzi

Yarn: Araucania Ranco, Color: Acorn

Needles: Size US 1.5 & 2.5

Cost: $16, not bad for a pair of comfy socks where the yarn is a pleasure to knit with

Started: April 13, 2008

Finished: May 1, 2008

After realizing that these are my 6th pair of completed socks in the four months of 2008 so far, I decided I needed to switch my purse knitting to something else! I cast-on for Anne’s Alhambra scarf using some Misty Mountain Farm Alpaca Laceweight I purchased for a song at Rhinebeck last year. So far, it’s a nice easy knit and quick, too!  I’ll need to find a fancy pin like the leaf one Anne is wearing in her pictures!  HAWT!

I just bound off the cuff on my latest pair of New Pathways socks. I’ll take pictures this weekend.

Now I’m wondering what socks to cast on for next. I’ve been scrolling through my stash pictures (window shopping!) and looking at my queue but I can’t make up my mind. So I decided to ask YOU my loyal reader(s), what’s next?

Here are some yarns that I would like to use (if you don’t like these, feel free to browse through my rav-stash and choose one):

A Swell Yarn Shop Skinny Duet Sock Yarn in Lace Breeze colorway

Araucania Ranco Multi in Acorn colorway

Fleece Artist Merino Sock 2/6 in the Cornflower colorway

Seacoast Handpainted Superwash Sock in the Sahara colorway

I’ve had my eye on several patterns too:

• Eleanor by Monkey Toes
• New England by Nancy Bush from Knitting on the Road
• Friday Harbor by Nancy Bush from Knitting on the Road
• The Firestarter by Yarnissima
• Nutkin by Beth LaPenzee

These are just a few from my queue.

What combo yarn and pattern would you use? Or, share with me your own ideas!

Lately, I’ve been knitting socks to add to my stash. I’m usually bored with the many sock patterns out there so I’ve been mostly knitting on the different architectures from Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters book. I ADORE this book and have been using it like crazy. When I received it, I immediately had it spiral bound because I knew it was a keeper. I’ve finished 3 pairs and have 3 in WIP-mode. To me, Cat Bordhi is the Elizabeth Zimmerman of sock knitting! She unvented how we normally knit our socks and has presented us with many different methods to do our toes and heels and gussets in this book. I hear this is the first of a series maybe for Cat. WOO HOO! I can’t wait for the next ones.

The first pair I finished were part of her two practice socks. I knit both of the practice ones and made one into a pair to be gifted.

The next pair are my Very Tall Tibetan Socks.

I doubled Trekking Pro Natura for this pair. It makes for some warm socks, I tell you that! They’re comfortable for the most part, except for the purl bumps on the inside of your foot as with any handknit socks when you first wear them. The fit is INCREDIBLE on any of Cat’s designs in this book.

Tall Tibetan Socks

Yarn: Trekking Pro Natura (doubled, colorway #1603)
Total Cost: $17.50 per skein (altho, 1 skein was a gift; I used most of both skeins)
Needles: Size US 5
Mods: I knit a similar pattern for the leg as the one in the book but not the exact one. I also kept knitting until I ran out of yarn, as opposed to the anklets shown in the book.

Another pair that I finished are the Spiraling Master Coriolis socks. These have stitches that run up the foot and spiral all the way around the leg design. A very easy knit. The fit is OK as long as I don’t pull the socks all the way up as the spiral make the sock a bit tight on the leg in places. So I wear my socks scrunched down.

Spiraling Master Coriolis

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock (Pinstripe colorway)
Total Cost: about $16
Needles: Size US 1.5
Mods: None really, except add a few extra sts to the leg to make it wider.

I’ve been so into my New Pathways socks and inspired by my coworker, Knitting Leftie (who puts her Knit Notes book to full use) I decided to make labels for my Knit Notes pad from The Loopy Ewe instead of carrying the whole New Pathways book around everywhere. Yes, I’m anal, OCD, whatever you wanna call it. Shut up.

If anyone has the book and would like copies of my label set-up drop me an email.