Pucker

When I started the Pucker socks back in the beginning of January, I had visions of finishing them by the end of January. That didn't happen.

I didn't realize when I started that I was going to have to do a 72 stitch sock rather than my usual 64 stitch sock. 22% more sock knitting was going to go into these socks. When I do color work, I often end up doing a 72 stitch sock. No big deal, I told myself. I'll be done in February.

It took a bit longer than usual to get the leg to the length I wanted. I figured I wasn't used to the pattern. When I finished the first heel of the first sock, I read the gusset instructions, which said something like: decrease the gusset every third stitch because mosaic knitting is tighter and you'll need to space out the decreases. Aha! That is why it was taking so long. I needed to knit a third more rounds in order to get the length I needed. All in all, I was going to have to do 55% more knitting than my usual sock knitting amount. I gave up on guessing when I was going to finish.

By the time May rolled around I had come to terms with the fact that I was going to be knitting these socks for the rest of my life. So after finishing some deadline knitting and decided that I was going to be completely monogamous with these socks. Why not? We were clearly going to have to get used to each other now that we were spending the rest of our lives together.

Lo and behold, after spending time on these socks and only these socks, they decided to finish themselves. Maybe they realized how long our lives were really going to be. One sock is slightly bigger than the other. (I'm putting that one on my bigger foot.) And now I can knit new things!

Mr. Bear Ears And His First Knitted Scarf

Connor had been diligently knitting away at his scarf. He thought he would have it done for next winter, but it got cold, so he became "motivated to finish" so he says. I'm pleased to show off his very first knitted project, a 2x2 ribbed scarf in Jill Draper Makes Stuff's own Rockwell in the Pacific color.

We decided that the only place the Pacific scarf could be photographed was in front of the Pacific itself

He's already received compliments at work. A co-worker told him they didn't know what a "manly" scarf would look like until they saw his. He was pleased to report to them that he made it himself. I'm so proud.

I'm also pleased to report that he is working on his second project already. It is Purl Soho's Lovely Ribbed Cowl out of Anzula's For Better Or Worsted in the Mariana color.

Since he is on his second project, I thought it was high time for him to join ravelry. You'll find him under the moniker mr-bear-ears.

Finish All The Things!

It's funny how every autumn, everyone gets really busy, including me! After getting the books, it was just event after event. I barely have had a chance to catch my breath. Anyways, I was thinking about what to write and I realized that I haven't talked much about what I've knit, much less what I've finished in quite some time. So without further ado, here is a parade of FOs starting with one from (gasp) August. I made the Free Bees pattern in 2011, but it wasn't until this year that I knit myself a pair. So here is August's FO. Free Bees knit with Tosh Sock in the Gilded color way.

In September I knit up my third pair of Velomeisters from the yarn I got during the epic yarn crawl of '13. This was the closest match of yarn I could find to match my crazy bike shoes. The orange is so loud in both the shoes and socks that there was no way to get the camera sensor to capture them correctly. Just know that it's hard to miss me when I bike by. The yarn is Alchemy Juniper in the Blue Jay Way and Tangerine color ways.

In October I knit up both a Deep Sea Wanderer, seen in an earlier post, and this Watch Cap. The hat was for a friend's birthday. He was thrilled. I had a hard time giving it up though, it fit me pretty well. The yarn is  Plymouth Worsted Superwash Merino in the Dark Gray color way. 

Then there is the Pomatomus socks. It took me from September to November to make these. And considering that I knit on them nearly everyday, that is far longer than they should have taken. Previous posts explain the multiple problems I had (because of me, not the pattern.) The socks are awesome though. The yarn is Socks That Rock Medium Weight in the Tlingit color way that Alicia destashed on me. Thanks Alicia! The socks truly rock.

So what am I left with? Well, I'm knitting my father a birthday sweater. I started in September, but I completely ignored it in favor of finishing the Pomatomus socks. However, as soon as the socks were done, I realized that I had less than a month to finish the sweater. So I have been completely monogamous with this project. It is my only WIP at the moment. That's right. I have nothing else on the needles. I have so many things I want to cast on, but I know I won't finish this on time if I do.
It is Brownstone out of Naturally Mainlander Aran in color 862. Dad was with me when I bought the yarn in New Zealand in 2010. He said, "Maybe you could make me a sweater." I laughed at him. I'd never made a sweater before and I certainly wasn't ever going to make a dad-sized sweater. I suppose the joke is on me. (The picture below isn't current. I've only got 2.25 inches left of the collar, then it is just all the finishing work.)

I don't even know what to cast on next. Everything seems exciting at this point.
What are you guys working on these days? Or are you about to have a bout of start-itus like me?

Parade Of Knits

Holy Moley guys. I have so many FO (finished objects) to show you it's crazy. I have no idea why I've managed to get this productive. But it doesn't even feel like work. Either that, or I've quickly forgotten how much work it all was.
Let's get started. I finished my Aestlight in a week. It's pretty. I'm having a hard time wanting to give it away like I'm suppose to. (I'll be good this time and gift it like I intended to.) I think I will be knitting myself one at some point. I did choose to do a picot border rather than the knit on border. I think it works well with this design. It was also the first time I'd done a picot border.

I also finished my Skyp socks. I had been knitting them during my lunch breaks at work. The plan was to save it for knitting at work, but with just half a foot left, I couldn't stop myself. Plus, it has been cold and I need socks.

I found myself without knitting, so I broke out the "To Knit" list and busted out a pair of Rathtrevor mitts from Jane Richmond's ISLAND book for my friend Alina. (I also had a hard time giving these away... but they were gifted today.) They are made of Stansborough Mythral. I love this yarn. It is made by the same people who wove the cloaks and other things for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. You can find some on their site. Be warned that it might feel rough to knitters who are use to knitting with Merino. The yarn is made from the Stansborough Grey sheep. But it is gorgeous. Gorgeous! Once the book is done I may have to celebrate with a sweater's worth of this yarn.

I've worked away so much stash that I am now digging into deep stash. I started a scarf using a skein I bought in New Zealand back in 2010. There is a technique were you fiddle a bunch with vareigated yarn in order to figure out how to line up the colors. I am giving it a try with this scarf. It took me 2 hours to get something that might work. We will see. The yarn is Margaret Stove Artisan NZ Merino Lace in the Ocean colorway. I'm using size 4 needles and will be knitting a feather and fan pattern from Barbara Walker's first treasury of patterns. The border will be a little weird because after the pattern repeats, I have 5 stitches left over. So one side will have 3 border stitches and the other side will have 2. Normally I would care, but it was such a pain to get this far that I no longer do.

So what am I up to now? Well, I spent all day working on the first draft of the companion piece to Celestarium. This shawl will be of the southern constellations. My chief complaint with doing Celestarium was that there is no standardization in constellations. It is my chief complaint with the upcoming shawl as well. I did my best to composite all the different interpretations of the constellations. 

And I'm still waiting on the yarn for the last book pattern. I'm mildly concerned, but I won't bug anyone until after Christmas. Plus, it gives me an excuse to knit whatever I want because, "I'm waiting for the yarn."