MG: poolside pop

fiber: handpainted merino/tencel top from Black Ethel Cash's Stash, color Poolside Pop. spun: over-the-fold longdraw; 2-ply; vigorous fulling wash to finish. gauge: 21-28 wpi; 108 grams; 580-ish yards.

MG: ace

these socks were finished a few weeks back during a string of hot summer days. still, hubby wore them to work--happy colors hiding under the cuffs of his work trousers--the very next day after their completion. he is a good handmade giftee like that. they are named after a hotel we loved in Seattle, where the blue yarn was purchased.

ace socks
yarn: Araucania Ranco, color 105 (orangish); Claudia Hand Painted fingering in deep blue. needle: 2.5mm addi lace circular, 32". size: 76 stitches around for a hubby with 25cm ankles.

notes: toe-ups with shortrow toes and heelflaps. provisional cast-on 38sts. 12 YO sets to shortrow down to 14sts; "longrow" back up. pickup provisional stitches to start knitting in the round (76sts). stocking stitch for 44rounds until sock reached bony bump on top of foot, changing colors as whim struck.

gussets:: 15 pairs of matched M1 increases on sides of foot; increases done every other row.

heel:: on sole stitches only (excluding gusset), shortrow until sock reaches length of foot (10 YO/wrap sets; down to 18sts). then work all sole stitches back and forth for heelflap, decreasing the shortrow YOs into the sole stitches as they are encountered. shape with a pair of matched decreases along the center of every right-side row; as well as working in one additional gusset stitch + leaving behind a wrap/YO to close gaps on each edge. this maintains overall stitch count in the heelflap.

leg:: once all gusset stitches are worked in (back to 76sts), start knitting in the round again. 30 stocking stitch rounds. 40 rounds of 2x2 ribbing. EZ sewn bind-off.

a white kitty likes them too...

...nice enough to sit on

MG: hone

i'm still at the mercy of my spinning in thickness and consistency. i don't quite spin what i mean to spin. instead, there are particular yarns i drift towards--they escape from my fingers--the thickness of which ebbs and flows depending on the session. it's always a thin yarn; singles thicker than sportweight are difficult for me to maintain, but even the thin yarns i spin as my rhythm bids are not consistent.

after an eye-opening post on spinning for consistency over at Twosheep (why have i been guessing and remembering, relying on amorphous memory?), i began spinning the above (blueface leicester. larger photo here.) with my physical eyes towards consistency. i didn't make a sample card, but i stop often and twist a length over itself to compare with landmarks on my fingers.


i've also been practicing thicker singles (larger photo here). the white one is blueface leicester (again), and the yellow/green is Blue Moon Spinnery's 80/20 merino and silk in the Guardians of Water colorway. no, still not consuming conventional (versus peace-silk) silk; this was a gift and will be going to homes elsewhere. both the blueface and thicker merino/silk range from 6 to 17 wraps per inch but average about 9-11wpi--bulky. the thinner merino/silk is light worsted to fine fingering, 13-17wpi or so.

all three are relatively low-twist; hanging skeins wind about a quarter turn. they are soft and fluffy, and i can't stop smooshing them. oh, note to self: do NOT wind low-twist yarns (before setting the twist) on tension (duh, you say. i know... i wasn't thinking). too little twist to ply probably means too little twist to stand up to tensioned lazy kate? i paid for my foolishness with many knots. an invorgorating warm bath fixed everything. twist set. strong and bouncy and elastic now.


these yarns were instant gratification. they took me hours rather than days. extremely satisfying. and even though i don't love bright greens and yellows, am rarely taken by wild color variegation, i still somehow find these little skeins appealing. they make me think of parrots. i covet more handpainted roving.

MG: hello!

hi there! too-stressed-to-even-knit-a-stitch deadline time is over, and i've even had the benefit of a little trip to loved ones to relax my frayed self. i'm back now. i've missed you, and my fingers have itched for fiber. i dived back into bok choy. all finished, weaved, washed; a brand new pair of socks for me made by me.


i love knitting toe-up, but a well-finished cuff is then an issue. i'm extremely pleased with the hems on this pair. it's the EZ stretchy, sewn bind-off where i picked up a stitch from below at the same time, i.e. hem and bind off at the same time or three-needle version of the sewn bind-off. clean edge; no bulk; barely detectable from the right side; stretchy.


calf shaping employed center back increases--matched M1s on either side of 3 stitches.


Bok Choy socks:
pattern: simple stocking-stitch, toe-up, short-row socks. some shaping for custom fit. yarn: vesper self-striping sock yarn in the color crew (thank you, Kitty Kitty! knit yours up!). needles: 2.75mm (US 2) bamboo DPNs; 2.25mm (US 1) for inner edge of picot hem.

random thoughts: my gauge varies greatly based on psychological state; one sock is noticeably smaller and tighter than the other. bok choy does tend to drift downwards; maybe run a bit of elastic into the cuff seam? i wanted cute, quirky, fraternal socks, but now i'm not sure how i feel about that. as the calf shaping increased, the stripes became thinner; this looks a little funny. i love self-striping socks.

MG: oregano v.2

socks finished! to resolve the pooling-barbershop-pole woes, i worked part of the second sock leg inside out for a spiral running in the opposite direction. the color patterns of the two socks don't particularly speak to each other, but it is not distractingly disjointed either... i think.


the two accidental sorts of short-row spines are in mirrored position. matching ones are either both on the outside or inside of the heel.



i've started oregano's redo. craving a cozy knit and inspired by the shape of the sweater on the left (click to visit it at Phildar)...


i cast on for a sleeve with my clover mini circulars. this version of oregano bears no resemblance to the first (teehee). i'm thinking scoop neck, snuggly ribbing, and columns of double eyelets.


mmmmm... tubular cast-on--i used the version in Wiseman's (2002) The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques and adjusted for 2x2 ribbing.