I'll go ahead and say it. Fickle knitter, thy name is Elli. First I get you all worked up about new projects and how there will be Picovolis and Rivers up the wazoo and then, you guessed it...I go and work on an old project that you probably don't even remember (we're talking bottom of the basket here). But hey, I finished something!

Recent shoe purchase inspired by Amanda

The Specs:
Pattern: Your basic toe-up frankenpattern.
Yarn: Regia Cotton Surf
Skeins: A little under one ball of color 5411.
Needles: Started on Addi size 2 circs, switched to bamboo dpns, sizes 1 and 1.5.
Start to finish: Sometime last summer - June 18
For: Me!

Notes:
These socks started out as my first and only attempt at the two socks at once/magic loop method. I managed to knit up to the heels before switching to dpns (yup! I'm a big old quitter). I used my favorite PGR shortrow heel, knitted a k3 p2 cuff and finished them off with a stretchy bind off (the one that involves picking up and binding off an extra stitch at even intervals around the top of the cuff), which seemed to work pretty well. It's a little ruffley looking, but I don't mind.

The Yarn:
Cotton Surf is 41% wool but it still knits like cotton (makes my wrists hurt), is pretty inelastic, and tends to be fairly splitty. On the plus side, it's nice and soft and the colors are nice and fun. No comment on warmth yet...it's too hot to give these more than a five minute test wear. So, not a bad yarn for what it is (being cottony isn't actually a sin after all) but I think I'll stick with wool sock yarn from now on.

Final Verdict: Everybody loves a good sock!

Posted by Elli at 8:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

I've been hiding WIPs from you. Shameful, I know. To be perfectly fair, I haven't worked on any of these in the time that I've been blogging--they've all been loitering at the bottom of the knitting basket. Since I've been in a cleaning mood lately, it seems like an appropriate time to introduce you to the Projects Which Languish:

Apricot Jacket from Rebecca 27

I started her in September. I got 500 kinds of insecure about knitting a cotton blend. I put her down.

Heirloom Bag from Rowan 37

This was started over Labor Day when my sister Rae came to visit. She wanted to crochet something (being good at that sort of thing) so I gave her the leftover KnitPicks Shine from the bolero I'd just made her. I had some other colors sitting around (originally for Anouk) and she whipped up all of the crochet motifs in about a half hour. I started the bag part, but once Rae went home I lost steam. Mostly because the colors are, well, a bit vile. But I'm going to finish it. And besides, Rae just asked me about it on the phone last night.

Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave, Fall 2004

The oldest WIP going, I started it last spring when I thought I'd get a jump on the Christmas knitting. It turns out that I hate knitting lace. A lot. I picked it up again this fall and didn't get much more accomplished. It is slow. It is tedious. It makes me want to eat glass. I'd be crazy to rip out all my hard work now, right? The really sad part is that people keep citing this as an easy beginner lace project. Oh the shame.

Regia Socks

Also started last spring…a pair of toe-up magic loop socks. Much to my surprise, I loath the magic loop. I'm going to be a total wimp and finish these on dpns.

So there they are. Hopefully putting them up in the sidebar will motivate me to finish them.

Posted by Elli at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

I've been hiding WIPs from you. Shameful, I know. To be perfectly fair, I haven't worked on any of these in the time that I've been blogging--they've all been loitering at the bottom of the knitting basket. Since I've been in a cleaning mood lately, it seems like an appropriate time to introduce you to the Projects Which Languish:

Apricot Jacket from Rebecca 27

I started her in September. I got 500 kinds of insecure about knitting a cotton blend. I put her down.

Heirloom Bag from Rowan 37

This was started over Labor Day when my sister Rae came to visit. She wanted to crochet something (being good at that sort of thing) so I gave her the leftover KnitPicks Shine from the bolero I'd just made her. I had some other colors sitting around (originally for Anouk) and she whipped up all of the crochet motifs in about a half hour. I started the bag part, but once Rae went home I lost steam. Mostly because the colors are, well, a bit vile. But I'm going to finish it. And besides, Rae just asked me about it on the phone last night.

Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave, Fall 2004

The oldest WIP going, I started it last spring when I thought I'd get a jump on the Christmas knitting. It turns out that I hate knitting lace. A lot. I picked it up again this fall and didn't get much more accomplished. It is slow. It is tedious. It makes me want to eat glass. I'd be crazy to rip out all my hard work now, right? The really sad part is that people keep citing this as an easy beginner lace project. Oh the shame.

Regia Socks

Also started last spring…a pair of toe-up magic loop socks. Much to my surprise, I loath the magic loop. I'm going to be a total wimp and finish these on dpns.

So there they are. Hopefully putting them up in the sidebar will motivate me to finish them.

Posted by Elli at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)