What's on my needles (#130)

  I am not knitting only socks 

But let's start with socks.

I finished the pair for myself in the beautiful Hedgehog Fibers Sock yarn Color "Tremble". I love the color and think the stitch I used is perfect for this. For the toes, heel and cuff ribbing I used the same yarn in a different color ("Aroma"). This was left-over yarn from Stepehen West's Building Blocks Shawl which is in it's final stages and may be done by the time I write my next post (in two weeks).

If you want to knit up your heel in a different color using the FLK method by the Sox Therapist (click for the $1 instructions), there are several ways to get that color change done. I have more extensive notes on ravelry, but let me quote myself here:

" TIP. When using a cc yarn for the FLK heel, make sure to work the first row in the main color so you have your working yarn sitting in the right position once you are done with the heel and ready to knit once again in the round.
If you forgot, you can carry your working yarn by doing a triple stitch in the first two sts of the last row.
A third way would be to knit the first two stitches of the first heel row in the main color and then switch to the cc at the third stitch thus positioning your main color yarn to use for the final heel row."

To  read all my notes on ravelry, click on the caption below the picture.
 

MORE

My husband's birthday surprise socks are also almost finished and at that will be ready way ahead of time (mid-April).  

Another Birthday, more Socks

My next two pairs of socks :)

 

When I saw the free pattern by Skacel for Tom & Ethel Socks in CaBaSi, I knew I wanted to knit these up for Tony and me.  The main difficulty was to choose colors we both like.  I ended up getting brown and light blue.  These will be my Anniversary present (35 years on July 1st !).  Tony's socks will be blue with brown stripes and mine will be brown with blue stripes. <3

The heel construction in this sock is similar to the FLK heel in as much that it, too, is worked entirely with short rows.  But the Sox Therapist's FLK heel pattern has additional information on how to custom fit your sock and where to place the heel for the best possible fit (well worth the $1 for the 16 page instructions).  Also her short rows are using a unique stitch and I will most likely use the FLK heel for these socks.

You can download the free pattern on ravelry by clicking here:  Tom & Ethel Socks

 

Caesura Tuck by Asa Tricosa

And last not least the Caesura Top is coming along in leaps and bounds as this is my TV knitting now after finishing my socks since I don't want to knit Tony's socks in front of him.

The red scrap yarn indicates where I will add a small pocket. I have to do another 3-4 inches to finish and then I will think about whether or not I want to change the sleeves from straps to slightly capped sleeves by adding a few short rows around the arm-opening.

Winter's Dreams

 

Some thoughts about variegated yarns (Post# 129)

Perhaps you are tired of hearing about my sock knitting,  but it is due to many socks I have knitted so far (and will be knitting in the future), that I thought to share with you about the look a variegated yarn gives your knitting and how to avoid pooling of colors which may be more of a problem when knitting garments.
First, a definition of variegated yarn (from Wikipedia):
"Variegated yarn is yarn dyed with more than one colour. It can produce effects that vary depending on the technique of the crafter, the pattern used, and the frequency of colour change. These effects include "flashing" (lightning-bolt effects) and "pooling" (patchy or marbleized effects)."

Here are a few pairs of socks I knitted without considering how to break up the colors:

The yarns used (from left to right) are Crazy Zauberball by Schoppel,  Frolicking Feet by Done Roving, CoBaSi byHiKoo, and again CoBaSi by Hikoo,  Innovation Sockenwolle by Strauss, and last but not least CoBaSi by HiKoo.


If you want to break up the colors, the simplest way is to alternate between two different skeins making sure you don't start at the same point of the color sequence.

Another way is to choose a stitch which breaks up the sequence.  A slipped stitch is ideal for this.
I am presently working on two pairs of socks and I am using slipped stitches in both.

• For a very dramatic effect you may want to choose this Quilted Lattice Stitch from Barbara Walters.

  

  Using Sock Yarn by Hedgehog Fibres color "Tremble"

The slipped stitch stretches over two rows and I think it looks really pretty.
The sock pattern by Linda Jo Park is free on ravelry:  Mexican Waters Lattice Socks

Here is the 8 row repeat for the stitch:
Rnd 1: *K1, sl5 wyif. Repeat from * to end of rnd.
Rnd 2 and all even numbered rnds: Knit.
Rnd 3: K3, *insert needle under loose strand and knit
next stitch, bring stitch out under strand, k5. Repeat
from * ending with K2.
Rnd 5: K4, *sl 5 wyif, k1. Repeat from * ending by
slipping 3 sts at beginning of rnd 6.
Rnd 7: *K first st under loose strand, k5. Repeat from
* ending with k first st under loose strand.
Rnd 8: See Rnd 2.

The only problem I ran into since I am not using the sock pattern, but my favorite FLK heel, is that due to the slipped stitches the top of the foot does not grow in length at the same speed as the sole.  I simply decided the heel turn on the length of the sole and it is giving me a perfect fit.

• The other stitch I am using is the Waffle Stitch from Project Peace which is also a free pattern, this one by Christina Campbell on ravelry:  Project Peace

The stitch is a 4 row repeat:
ROUNDS 1–2: P1, slwyb, *P2,
slwyb, repeat from * until 1 st
before marker, P1, sm.
ROUNDS 3–4: Knit around.

Using Frolicking Feet Sock Yarn by Done Roving Yarns color "Mercury"

On other news:

My Caesura Tuck by Asa Tricosa is fitting beautifully (I tried it on).  The only concern I have now is the width of the shoulder straps, but if I cannot fix that with vigourus blocking, I will pick up stitches around the arm hole and work a few short rows to get something between a strap and a cupped sleeve.
This picture is not showing off the piece  well, but I didn't want to take pictures when I tried it on; so, keep posted :)