Holidazed on Holiday

Finally - I share with you FO #2

"Holidazed"

Details:

Pattern: "Holidazed" by Anne Hanson

Source: Rockin' Sock Club 2009

Yarn: BMFA Lightweight "Muddy Autumn Rainbow"

Method: Magic Loop

Mods: Toe up over 56 stitches rather than cuff down. Worked well except the Diagonal Twill Rib stitch count did not work evenly over 28 stitches per needle. So.... I just added a purl & knit stitches on either side of the 24 stitch pattern.

"Toe Pic"

Time Frame: Well.... Sock #1 was completed during our Thanksgiving Holiday to Hawaii last year. I started sock #2 while we were there, but then returned home, lost my sock mojo & the sock languished in a sock bag until our 2010 summer road trip. I think I actually finished sock #2 somewhere on I-80 in Pennsylvania.

Of course, I neglected to bring the sock pattern with me & didn't have the mental capacity to figure out where I was. So - my wonderful BKFF was also a member of RSC 2009, so she was able to email me the Diagonal Twill Rib pattern. I couldn't remember where I had left off last November (write it down - what a novel idea!), so just had to make my best guess. I don't think I guessed correctly, but oh well - I doubt anyone could really tell unless you were up close and personal. And.... if you're that up close & personal....

Diagonal Twill Rib Pattern Detail

Since this is supposed to be a blog about knitting and traveling, I hope I've upheld the knitting end with this little tidbit. While I'm posting this as FO #2, I think it's actually the 3rd FO completed on the road trip. I still have 2 more to share - as soon as they have their respective photo shoots. And when it's 90°F+, it's hard to put on wool & stand in the sun without looking like a wilted flower. Perhaps I'll suck it up before we drive off.

Until then - Ciao & Happy Travels!

In Season

As promised, another FO to show:

Details:

Pattern: In Season by Melissa Morgan-Oakes the July kit for the 2009 BMFA Rockin' Sock Club.

Yarn: BMFA Lightweight in Garden Daze colorway. Tina's notes said the color reminded her of heirloom tomatoes. Since I'm not a fan of tomatoes (much to my Grandfather's dismay), I didn't really see it. Other knitters thought the colors reminded them of bell peppers - yup - that I agree with more.

Size: The Medium (64 stitch). I think these will fit someone w/a size 8.5 - 9 foot.

Needles: Knit Picks US 1.5

Dates: Cast on: August 11, 2009
Finished: September 24, 2009

Modifications: None really to the pattern other than I decided to knit these toe-up. I'm a big fan of Judy's Magic Cast on & thought the foot was incredibly easy (1 x 1 rib), that toe-up might be more fun. I used Wendy Knits instructions for a heel-flap & should have followed the instructions for the smaller size as the heel flap is just a tad too wide. I also knit 2 more pattern repeats than the pattern called for. These are relatively short socks, so I'm glad I went with 2 more pattern repeats. I could have done more - plenty of yarn left over. I'd heard about Judy's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off (thanks Michele!!) and decided to give that a go (after the tubular bind-off wouldn't work due to my lack of smaller dpns). JSSBO is fantastic & so easy to execute. You can find the instructions in the latest issue of Knitty.

Intended Recipient: Someone at my children's school fall auction.

A bit blurry, but that's the best I have of the pattern detail.

Feeling good about the progress made with knitting projects this week. As mentioned before, I have a finishing class next Tuesday (mostly for socializing with friends & getting wee bits of assistance) where I hope to get a head start on seaming up my Hey, Teach. I have another project for the school auction that is just about finished & I picked up the 2nd sock of a pair started 5 months ago. It would be nice to finish these up before the September installment of the 2009 RSC arrives & Socktoberfest's Mystery Sock begins.


Must be the drop in temperatures & snow on the mountain tops that has kicked my knitting into high gear. Now I need to think about holiday knitting - maybe hats for the boys' teachers. What about you - what are your holiday knitting plans?

Ciao~

One Trick Pony

Yup - it seems that if I have a finished object to share, it's going to be a pair of socks. After losing my sock mojo last fall, it's back in full force. Socks are a relatively fast knit (especially when you compare how long it takes me to knit a sweater), so it provides the sense of accomplishment.

These are Cleopatra's Stockings, the RSC 2008 kit from last July. You may recall I shared a bit of this project while we were gallivanting around the lower 48 in our Eurovan. While I love the yarn, the fit, and the construction (toe-up), the process of knitting these things wasn't nearly as enjoyable. Lots of traveling crossed stitches which normally don't cause any issue. However, the my normal needles of choice back then weren't pointy enough to do the job, so I struggled with these for so long. Finally, after staring at 1 finished sock and 3/4 of its mate for the past 6 months, I finally decided to bit the bullet and finish them. I only had the cuff to finish - sad, I know.
Of course, when I picked them back up, I couldn't remember where I'd left off, so the cuffs do not totally match. After 6 months, I can live with this. The instructor of my finishing class say historically eastern knitters rarely had matching socks as they could only knit with available materials, so.... in keeping with history, and all - my cuffs don't match, and I don't care. They will be hiding under my pants for the most part anyhoo.

Close enough, huh?

Wait... that's not all....
I've also finished the RSC 2009 January kit - Queen of Beads by Sivia Harding. Please excuse this crappy photo - I was wearing my slippers outside (where there is still snow, uggh) & just wanted to capture something to upload.

Glad these are done. After the beads were finished, these socks flew from the needles. My regret is that I didn't knit these on a smaller needle. I used a US 2 (2.75mm) and should have used a US 1.5 - they are a bit loose & feel a bit slouchy.
I only made a slight mod to how I knit the left twisted stitch. After finishing the first sock, I kept looking at the left twisted stitches and just didn't like how they looked. They didn't seem to match the right twisted stitches. So - after a little google-fu, I ran across this tutorial & used it for the 2nd sock. Go figure - now the left twisted stitches have a bit more 'pop'.

I hope to have something different to share with you next time. I have cast on another sock (just can't be without a sock project; oh wait - I still have 2 other sock projects on the needles - whoops) for the Ravelry KAL while I'm waiting for the RSC March kit to arrive. (The kit's been sent, but with Mt. Redoubt blowing it's top again and again, the kits arrival might be delayed due to flight cancellations.)

Happy Knitting! Ciao!