Pelé the Magnificent Hornshaw Swift

Last Christmas I got a Hornshaw swift. I had been lurking around the Ravelry boards that extolled the love for them, and I really wanted one. (Sometimes I like being from a family where we buy stuff we like and then have other family members 'gift' it to us.) For me, the quality and craftsmanship of it make it well worth its cost. I wanted something I would have forever, and quite frankly I see it as a functioning work of art. Tim Hornshaw was a pleasure to work with, he made me a gorgeous sapele swift, and it works perfectly.

I recently got around to making a cover for Pelé. As much as I'd enjoy leaving it out to admire, I like having homes for things. The swift folds up nicely into a long slim rectangle, and this corner of my craft room makes a perfect home for it.

Trousseau

Such a conundrum. I love making shawls, but it's not really my style to wear them. So unless they are gifts (never), they live a sad life in a drawer. This still has to be better than my previous storage spot under the bed in a plastic Target bag!

But...this one...I may just wear it. I tell you, when I put it on my mood changes. I feel very girly and romantic! I want to light some candles and open a bottle of wine.

But I digress. I wanted to say that Fragrant from Madelintosh is a most beautiful color, and I am not even a pink-minded gal! I admit that I was a lemming and bought this colorway after a few of my knitting friends got it on our last trip to The Knitting Garden. This is knit up in Merino Light.

The pattern? Trousseau by Carol Feller, from the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Twist Collective. Very easy to memorize, and such great results. Here's a before shot to remind you of the magic of blocking. 

The yarn dye bled like crazy! I succumbed to adding vinegar to the wash after I soaked it twice with color pouring out each time. Once I added it to a vinegar bath (about 2 tablespoons of vinegar to my bathroom sinkful of water) it magically didn't let out another drop of color. As much as the smell of vinegar makes me gag, I am a convert! I added some Eucalan to the wash, but really there is no vinegar smell whatsoever. I wish I had done it on the first soak because I wonder if the dye darkened some of the lighter areas of yarn.

And here's a shot of it blocking. Blocking this was a breeze! Success all around! 

Ahhhh, summertime

Breakfast on the beach two times in less than a week?! Life is pretty good!

Rainbow Brite Socks

I have been stalking this yarn for awhile, and decided a couple of weeks ago to finally just buy it. I'm glad I did, because from the minute I got it, to when I was winding it, to when I was knitting it, I was smiling! It's so vibrant and bold. So I knit a plain vanilla sock that would let the yarn shine.

The yarn is the Trifolium colorway from String Theory Colorworks. It is obviously bright and fun, but it also feels awesome and knit up with no issues. I will admit that I haven't washed them yet and I am terrified of the dye running...but I'll worry about that later. I will either include some vinegar in the wash or use a Color Catcher.

Once I got the yarn I was so eager to knit with it. I cast on as soon as I finished my Inlay socks (I get stressed out if I have more than one active project on the needles!) and finished them in less than a week. More practice for Tour-de-Sock!

Inlay

At our Saturday morning knit group, nakedk9 challenged me to knit my second Inlay sock in 2 days. She might not have been too serious, but I took it seriously. Except for some errands around the house (that I didn't really want to do anyway) I had nothing going on for the weekend, so it gave me something to work towards. She also immediately threw the first obstacle my way by forcing me to go to lunch (taking me away from valuable knitting time)! :P

On my way home I went to the library and got some dvd's to keep me company on my knitting weekend (Big Bang Theory and Sherlock). I also made a couple of stops that confirmed my being doomed to ever do laundry again (more on that in another post perhaps). So I was completely prepared!

Anyway, I didn't knit the sock in 2 days. It took me 3. I do know now that I could have done it in 2, but I wasn't completely committed on Sunday. But, I think this was fabulous training for Tour-de-Sock and Sock Sniper coming up in September.

I love my Inlays! I wasn't sure if the variegated yarn would wash out the pattern, but in person I think it looks great. (This was a tough one for me to photograph.) I used Happy Feet yarn, and it feels really great on my feet after washing it, but it bled a LOT in the wash.

I have issues with knitting too tight, so I really had to focus on loosening up because of all the twisted stitches in the pattern. I couldn't memorize it, so I had to check the pattern on nearly every row, so I would say that makes this pattern a little more challenging than others. But, I really love it and I am looking forward to checking out other patterns by the designer, Hunter Hammersen, and her book, Silk Road Socks.

Finally, an Update! Nutkins & the Wall o' Knits

I love these socks because the pattern was super easy and required hardly any effort by my brain. I also loved the Pac-Man (aka short row) heel and toe, especially the heel because you don't have to pick up any stitches along the gusset, and especially the toe because you end up with a nifty ridge across the top of your sock!

The huge cast on edge (top of the cuff) isn't really that huge, but it's also not snug, so these might end up slouching a little. A few people have recommended to thread a piece of elastic through the cuff, which I think is a great idea.

I actually finished these weeks ago, but I've been really bad about updating my Ravelry project page and my blog (obviously!). The Nutkins were claimed by my cousin, so they won't be added to my drawer of handknit socks. But they might grace the wall of knitted gifts; how cool is this?

My cousin hung my handknit gifts along the wall. She says that this way she can see them more often and she doesn't feel bad about hiding them away in the closet. The hangers are hung on those removable hooks, so it's not a permanent installation. I love it!

Colossal Nutkins

Yesterday I cast on for Nutkin with some Shibui sock yarn. I was inspired after I peeked in my drawer of hand-knit socks and fell in love with them all over again. And I remembered my goal to knit 12 pairs of socks this year (this is only number 3!).

I cast on and did the funky fold-over cuff, loving the ingenuity of it but feeling very wary of the size of it. I have been consciously trying to loosen up my knitting lately, but this was crazy. The cuff of this sock is enormous! I'm already a large enough person so I don't need to feel extra self-consciousness of having such big socks.

I had to talk myself into it the whole time, but I kept going. There is no ribbing, I said, so it's bound to look larger than normal. I cast on 64 stitches on size 2 needles in sock yarn; this is my standard. I've knit the exact same yarn with the same needles and 64 stitches on some Monkey socks. I counted my stitches like 10 times to make sure I really only had 64.

On Ravelry there are thousands of people who have knit this sock...so I searched and searched for references to the colossal cuff. (I got really creative with my search terms!) Mostly I found people talking about the Nutkin Evil Twins or how amazingly well their socks fit (and they all looked like they have normal feet), but nothing too helpful for me except hints that they will pull in once you get going on the legs.

I hemmed and hawed about it for a little while and decided to soldier on. They have definitely pulled in as I have knit, pretty much to a normal size, but that top is just really big. The worst part is that I put them on and they look fine, which makes me think I have cankles!!!