The Lazy Purl

Again - so far behind

2011-05-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

Let's just say there's a bit of knitting that has been done, but not a lot of writing. Too much work. Too damn much work. (And then, of course, an interesting federal election - but that's another story.)

Let's get started. These are the March socks:

This is Cascade Heritage - Cascade's sock weight yarn. I had been prepared not to like this yarn because there is just so much Cascade in the world. However, it was a very good yarn to knit. Consistent, good heft and with enough twist in the yarn that it didn't split. It's 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon, and if it's anything like the rest of the brand, it will wear well. The skeins are large and no-one should have a problem not getting a paid of socks from it. This is another that I would buy again.

This is April: Seacoast Handpainted in the Cowboy colourway. This is a yarn I bought years ago from Pick Up Sticks when Connie sold only sock yarn.

I thought it was a bit on the thin side, but it does have a nice feel. This one is 100% superwash merino and I'm not sure how well it will wear.

The other pair of socks I've finished (and quite like) are these:

This is Pagewood Farm's Alyeska - an MCN blend that is a delight to knit. It's got good heft (as most of the MCN's do) and reminds me of my all-time favourite yarn, Handmaiden Casbah. This yarn is so soft, it would make a great shawlette.

It's only problem (and it shares this problem with Casbah) is that the skeins are short. If you look at the photo, the toe on the second sock is a different colour. Most of the sock is Army Girl, but that one toe is Mississippi Mud. I'm too damn lazy to rip back the completed sock to make them the same, so they're not.

This is what I call my Butterscotch Sock (another "not quite Vanilla"). It's a six-stitch panel rib and gives good leg fit without being too fiddly.

I'll get on to May soon.

Too damn busy.

So far behind

2011-03-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

So far behind: this is the final result from February:

Schaefer Anne - 60% superwash merino, 25% mohair, 15% nylon. The yarn has a beautiful halo and was a delight to knit. I find it on the fine side and if I was making another pair of socks, I'd go down a needle size and increase the number of stitches. It would make a wonderful scarf or shawl.

Not real keen on the colour. (Surely Elizabeth Zimmerman deserves better than camouflage? Had it not been her name, I wouldn't have bought this colourway.

The great mosaic challenge

2011-02-26T21:36:00.000-08:00

Most months I try to do a pair of socks for the Ravelry group Sockknitters Anonymous (although, seriously, is anyone in this group actually trying to stop knitting socks???). The January challenge was mosaic knitting / slipped stitches. Ah - weakness. I enjoy slipping stitches. It's such an easy way of adding interest to a sock without having to do a lot of work.

So... instead of taking it easy in February, I hit the needles - two pair of Biscotti and two of my own. The Biscotti are done - it was January's hit pattern - Elizabeth Sullivan's Cranberry Biscotti. My version was a bit of an experiment. I used The Unique Sheep's Verve in the Doctors Without Borders Gradiance -

This is where I started: the #4 skein, the darkest, I saved for the cuff, heels and toes. The other three I used for the slip stitch pattern:

I'm not sure this was a great choice - and I'd use another gradiance again where there is a gradual transition from one colour to another. In this case, there was a lot of contrast within each skein and varying amounts of the three colours used - white, red and burgundy.

Keeping track of where I was proved to be difficult - and I couldn't swear that the two socks are identical. They are, however, lovely and I will enjoy wearing them.

Some progress

2011-02-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

I don't think I could be any slower at this month's sock. The poets say that February is the cruelest month - and as far as I know, it's because of the weather. It's usually neither good nor bad: not the deep-freeze of January, but not quite spring. The days are long enough that you know summer is coming, but no-one in their right mind would step out of the door without boots and a winter coat. (At least, where I live.)

February should be good sock knitting weather, but so far, it's been dreary.

This is progress so far:

Part of the reason I haven't done a lot for this months sock is because of the Sockknitters' Anonymous challenge on Ravelry. (Ravelry is addictive. Do not attempt this at home.) I had great fun with a couple of slip stitch patterns from the Harmony Guides (also addictive) and then, just at the last minute, decided I'd cast on the simplest sock of all (well - almost the simplest). It's a plain old Toffee Sock with slip stitches with yarn in back every fourth row.

In Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR Lightweight, this is a fast knit - great for meetings.

February Sock Yarn Review - Schaefer Anne

2011-02-06T12:24:00.001-08:00

Already February 6, and nothing about this month's yarn. Too much work (definitely too much driving), a fair bit of knitting in the early morning hours but no time to write. I've driven in and out of Winnipeg on business, and have been thinking a lot about quilting.

But there's always time to knit.

This month's yarn is one I have in my stash several times over, but have not yet knit - Schaefer Anne.

The Schaefer Yarn Company of Interloken, New York has is an American yarn dyer with several weights and blends of yarn. Schaefer Anne is a fingering weight yarn with superwash wool, mohair and nylon. It can be used for socks, scarves or mittens.

This colourway is Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Schaefer takes the majority of their colourway names from notable women. Elizabeth Zimmerman is a remarkable woman of American knitting, no longer with us, unfortunately, but in her lifetime and beyond a remarkable designer. Her Baby Surprise Jacket is still a great favourite for grandmothers (and everyone else who must knit an infant garment quickly. It's wonderful because it finishes in one piece and all the knitter needs to do is add a few buttons and sew in the ends. This is particularly wonderful for those of us who hate sewing together pieces of knitting.) Elizabeth Zimmerman's book, "The Opinionated Knitter" is worth reading, regardless of how experienced you are.

Whenever I look at Schaefer's offerings I wonder at how they chose colours for women's names. This one both intrigues and confuses me. I think of Elizabeth Zimmerman as being a colourful woman. How could she not have been and been as prolific a knitter as she was? This colourway is hardly, well.... colourful. To my mind, it's rather dull and a bit too much like camouflage for my taste.

January 2011 - Lucy Neatby's Celestial Merino

2011-01-31T21:02:00.000-08:00

They're done. It took a bit of doing since I was very focused on getting some SKA socks done so my review yarn took a while.

This is a great yarn to knit - top class. It's firm with a good twist and both soft and springy. Good stitch definition and no problems with splitting or frayed spots. I couldn't ask for better.

I was also very keen on the way the yarn was dyed. There are no stripes and no pooling - just flashes of colour. In the photos it looks as if there is barber poling, but in person, you don't really see it.

A little of this, a little of that

2011-01-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

January has been my back to work, nose to the grindstone, git-er-done month. Except when it comes to knitting. I have four sets of socks on the needles and all of them are progressing .... well, shall we say, slowly. Now, the quilt I'm making for my daughter is undoubtedly part of that, but .. I digress.

Here's where we are:

Monthly sock yarn review: Celestial Merino

We're up over the gusset on the first sock. Now, I should be much further along: these are the easiest socks in the world to make and I enjoy every stitch. Don't have to think about them, don't have to worry if I'm following the pattern. I sit, I knit, I am. That's why I love my Toffee Socks. Nevertheless, you see where I am.

And this is why (or at least one of the reasons why).

My Come Together Socks. The Sockknitters Anonymous challenge for January is mosaic knitting, where slipping the stitches does all the work. It's addicting. I worked through my Harmony Guides for a stitch I thought would work, and this is the result. I call them Come Together, because two yarns coming together makes for a much nicer sock than when they are apart. The yarns are Phildar Preface (the black) and Sliver Moon Farm's superwash in Rio.

Do you ever wonder why sock knitting is so addicting? I remember thinking I would never get them right - now I don't think twice. I know that five years from now this will have passed as one of the crazes of the 21st century, when young women made and wore hand-knit socks, and there won't be the yarns we have now, but when it happens, I'll be set for life!!

Sock Yarn Review - progress

2011-01-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

We are making progress. This is a very good yarn with an excellent hand. It has good stitch definition, and I am entranced by the way the colours have a faint barberpole.

The barberpoling shows up far more in the photograph than it does in real life. I need to take a photo of this outside in natural light, because I suspect the flash picks up some colours (blue, I think), more than others.

I've knit Lucy's yarns before (well, one of them) and I enjoyed it then - and I'm enjoying this one now.

January Sock Yarn

2011-01-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

January's sock yarn is Lucy Neatby's Celestial Merino in Fiery Fuschia.

Lucy's site - Tradewinds Knitwear - states that her yarns are hand-dyed by a dyer in Nova Scotia with the colourways designed by Lucy. The Celestial Merino is 100% merino, 320 yards per 100g.

I've used this yarn before - it's soft, and I am expecting good stitch definition.

If you go to her site, www.lucyneatby.com, what she depicts as Fuchia is bluer than my skein.

Catch-up on December

2011-01-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

December was a good month for knitting, but not a great month for writing about knitting.

December always comes with its own blessings and it's own challenges. Christmas is the great blessing. Every year I look forward to Christmas and our celebration of the birth of Christ. This year I was at the Cathedral for the service on Christmas Eve. As it has every year since I was a child, there is magic in Christmas Eve that has nothing to do with Santa Claus or presents. It was a cold, crisp evening, typical of the prairies, the cold of my childhood, and again this year, as I left the building, I enjoyed a deep sense of calm and hope. This is the dark part of the year, into which the light comes suddenly, and there is nothing that cannot be made better.

But ... and the but is always a big one..... getting there is always a great challenge in the eat what you kill world. I worked like a dog to get to Christmas. (As an aside, my dog appears to sleep most of the time. What it is this "work like a dog" thing? Dogs appear not to work at all.)

And so, I knit some before Christmas, but didn't write about it, because I came home every night to think more about getting to sleep than I did about sitting down at the computer.

After Christmas - now that was better. Off to Ottawa for visiting, needles in hand.

So yes, the December Sock Yarn Review is complete.

I like this yarn a lot - and I like it more in the knit fabric than in the skein. There is flashing and a minor bit of barber-poling - which I like. The colours stand out clearly.

There was the little issue of the cut in the skein, but there was only one, and the rest of the skein was well-plied and very even. I think it was an anomaly.

I'm looking forward to wearing these socks.

More December

2010-12-22T21:51:00.000-08:00

It's been an interesting month for socks. After the test-knit, then on to the cable socks I've been working on.

This is STR Mediumweight in Wonderful Goodness. This is a dye technique that I've never seen Tina of Blue Moon use before -

I like the speckle - and I've nothing but good things to say about Blue Moon yarn. This sock is full of cables, and Blue Moon works well for cabling without a needle. The stitches stay where they're supposed to be, are easy to pick up and have excellent stitch definition.

The skein. I'm hoping Tina does more of these.

December knitting

2010-12-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

Not a bad month for knitting, but not even close to a good month for blogging.

Here's the progress on this month's sock yarn:

So far, a very nice yarn. It's smooth, well-plied, knits into a firm fabric and has no slubs or loosely plied spots - other than that cut in the skein. I've knit past that, and it seems to be an aberration, so I'll not criticize the yarn for that. It could have been a cut when someone opened a box of yarn. (It could even have been me, but I don't think so.)

I have been busy with some other knitting - in particular, this test-knit for a new pattern for Hunter Hammersen. She calls it Truckle Socks and it's a simple, intriguing knit. There is a scallop pattern on one side of the front, one side of the back. The back set of scallops continues onto the heel flap, while the front continues down the instep. What I really liked about this pattern was the gusset decrease.

The gusset decreases on either side of the scallop pattern. For one side this is the usual position, but the other side creates an interesting pattern across the front of the sock.

I'm enjoying this. Hunter posted on Ravelry that she expects to have the final pattern available in the new year.

December Sock Yarn Review

2010-12-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

December's sock yarn is one I got through a Ravelry swap - Black Bunny Fibers. The Yarn Harlot had mentioned it on her blog and when I saw it come up in a destash, figured this couldn't hurt.

I really like these colours - intense blue, black and green. The yarn is fine, with a very nice sheen, but not too tightly twisted.

My only complaint: when I was winding it, I discovered a cut in the yarn.

One big ball. One small ball. Cut through. I doubt this came from Black Bunny this way, since it would have made skeining a right royal pain in the you-know-where, so I suspect it's an accident of some kind.

I'm going to overlook this as a defect.

Sock Yarn of the Month - Mountain Colors Bearfeet

2010-11-30T20:48:00.000-08:00

They're finished. Well, actually, they were finished some time ago, but this has not been a good month for writing about yarn and knitting.

I like this yarn a lot, although I'm not sure I would use it for socks again - not that it's not good for socks, but because it would be so nice for other things.

These are relatively thick socks, but make a nice firm fabric, with good stitch definitions. The socks feel nice on the feet. There is nylon, but I'm not sure how well these will wear.

Stats: Mountain Colors Bearfoot
Gauge: 8 sts per inch
Needles: 2.25 mm
Pattern: Toffee Sock

Mountain Colors has brought in another sock yarn, but this one is still offered.

progress

2010-11-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

Not a good month to be writing about knitting, although it hasn't been a bad month for knitting itself. The weather here has finally turned, gone from being unseasonably warm to what we might expect for mid-November. Not a lot of snow yet, but it's coming. Our days are grey and dull, the way Remembrance Day is supposed to be.

Here's progress on my Sock Yarn Review sock - the Mountain Colors Bearfoot:

Almost done the first sock. So far the yarn lives up to its reputation, but I can also see where the mohair in a sock yarn would drive me crazy. I'm more inclined to knit a really nice scarf out of this, or maybe a shawlette.

My fun knitting for the beginning of the month has been this: a test knit for Lucy Hilton - Pirates Pearls. This isn't a great picture, because it really does look better on the foot rather than off, but with the deep purple yarn and the gold beads, it is rather sparkly.

I'll get better photos, because this pattern really does deserve another look.

November Sock Yarn Review

2010-11-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

November's sock yarn is one that (unfortunately) is discontinued. I didn't plan it that way, but that's what got pulled from the bin.

Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Juniper.

This yarn is a mixture of 60% wool, 25% mohair and 15% nylon. The mohair gives it a halo not ordinarily found in sock yarns.

Casting on tomorrow morning.

October Sock Yarn - Tanis Fiber Arts

2010-10-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

The final stats for my Toffee Sock

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label
Colour: Sea Breeze
Needles: 2.25 mm
Gauge: 8.5 sts per inch

Composition:
80% superwash merino
20% nylon
4 oz skein (115 g) is 420 yards (385 m)

Tanis has 31 semi-solid colourways - the best selection of blues I've seen - and 8 multi-colours. This yarn would be wonderful for cabled or textured socks. This is a Canadian company; her website is www.tanisfiberarts.com

They're finished

2010-10-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

My sock yarn review socks are finished. This is Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label. I like this yarn a lot because the socks have good heft and are very soft.

No knots in the skein and the colour is saturated and consistent. What else could I want?

I like this yarn

2010-10-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

I like this yarn. It's easy to knit, shows great stitch definition, and if like me, you like socks that are on the thicker side of thin, makes a sock that feels nice on your feet.

Of course, I'm not quite there yet, but that's what progress feels like so far.

Up the leg, over the heel and into the gusset. Some days I think I can do this sock in my sleep. (I'd think of giving up except: a) they fit me perfectly and b) I like knitting socks.

Not quite sure about this sock

2010-10-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

This is my contribution to October's sockdown for Sock Knitters' Anonymous.

The category is under appreciated patterns - patterns where there are fifteen or fewer projects listed on Ravelry. I'm #6, which I found surprizing, considering this was the sock of the month for February 2009.

The yarn is Malabrigo in Impressionist Sky. This is the first time for me knitting with Malabrigo Sock - so far it's very soft, quite fine and slippery. I've gone down two needle sizes in the sock because I don't think I'll get a 72 stitch sock to fit using 2.75 mm needles.

The start is the cuff - knit sideways and then picked up for the leg.

Cast - on

2010-10-06T20:21:00.001-07:00

My socks are cast-on. First impressions: there's not a lot of shine to this yarn, but it is soft and it makes a fairly dense fabric on 2.25 mm needles. When I say not a lot of shine, I would compare it to Koigu, which is similarly dense, but quite shiny.

This is a semi-solid, with small areas of blue that are more sky blue than turquoise.

The photo is not true to colour. It was taken outdoors in the shade and appears to be more blue than it is.

October Sock Yarn

2010-10-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

October's sock yarn is Tanis Fibre Art's Blue Label, in the Seabreeze colourway.

Blue Label is her fingering weight - 80% superwash merino, 20% nylon.

This is a soft yarn, with a good heft for a fingering weight, so I am anticipating a dense fabric.

Where did September go?

2010-09-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Where did September go? One minute it was August, then the first of September and I cast on my Koigu, and then suddenly, our leaves are almost gone and we're staring down the barrel of October.

I guess the only good news is that with winter comes easier knitting, because it's not quite so hot.

These are my gorgeous Koigus. The short repeats in the yarn make for an overall look of being hand-dyed without either pooling or striping. (I prefer pooling, but that's me.) This yarn had no slubs, no rough spots and no knots. That is exactly what I have come to expect from Koigu.

If I had a complaint (and I don't), it would be that I'd love to have names rather than numbers for the colourways. This is P515. Now, seriously, who can remember P515? (I mean, other than me for the purpose of knitting this yarn and writing about it. ) I don't even know what the P means, or whether there's a 500 series that this is a part of.

Koigu is a Canadian yarn, dyed in Ontario. It's sold in 50g skeins, so you will need two for a pair of socks. The skeins aren't overly long, so if you have large feet, or you're knitting for a man, you'll need three.

Koigu - what's not to like?

2010-09-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

What is there not to like?

Progress so far:

The lighting isn't perfect - it was a cloudy day and the photo is taken on our new deck, but you get a good idea of how the yarn looks.

It knit like a dream - good tight twist, doesn't split, gives a firm fabric and feels good in the hand. As I said, what's not to like?

Minotaurs - frogged

2010-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

I don't frog an entire project very often. The same part of me that thinks a book started should be a book finished thinks that once I've knit a few rows, I should complete the project.

A little bit of maturity tells me that if I'm never going to wear it, and I know I'll never wear it, then it's best to start on the way back.

I did a test knit for a pattern for Minotaurs socks. It's a great concept, but without really looking at the grid I chose, I've ended up with a swastika.

The technique is called labyrinth knitting, and I'd like to try it again (although not with this yarn, and maybe not for socks), but the swastika got to me.

So they're gone.

In their place, I'm knitting up the Mini Mochi to a plain sock with some slipped stitches on the leg for texture.

The Mini Mochi is a roving type sock yarn (I couldn't use it to sew together the labyrinth, because a tug would pull the yarn apart). I haven't used it before and I have no idea how it will wash.

September Sock Yarn Review

2010-09-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

What came out of the basket (okay, Rubbermaid Tub, but basket sounds nicer) was Koigu KPPPM. It hardly seems fair to review a yarn I know I'll like in advance, but eyes closed is eyes closed.

The colour is P515. The numbers don't mean anything to me, but if I had to describe the colour, it would be Autumn Twilight. The colours are rich fall colours (no bright orange), but there is also a streak of almost navy that reminds me of the sky just before sunset.

August 2010 Sock Yarn Review

2010-08-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

August's sock yarn was a bit of a no brainer: Trekking HandArt Flame. This is a European 75% 25% superwash wool/nylon mix with a contrast strand to give the yarn a ragg look. Zitron makes many other very good sock yarns, including the standard HandArt (no contrast strand) and the other lines of Trekking.

It goes without saying that the yarn is consistent, even and at least for my socks, without knots.

My only disappointment (and it's a small one) is that the yarn is not as soft as I might like for knitting, although I expect that will mean that it wears well. This is not a high twist yarn. If you have problems with stitches splitting, this might be a sock yarn to avoid.

Summary:

Yarn: Zitron Trekking HandArt Flame
Colour: 551 - Sansibar
Needles: 2.25 mm
Pattern: Toffee Sock
Gauge: 8.5 sts per inch

A good European source for this yarn is astridsdutchobsessions.com in the Netherlands. She has good service at very reasonable prices.

Next month: a yarn I know already is a favourite.

Vacation gets in the way

2010-08-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of knitting - too much needing time off to recharge. Knitting is relaxing, but it's not the same as watching the prairie roll by and wondering what it must have been like for the first people to come to the great white flat.

I did get a few pair finished this month:

Hunter's test knit - we called it Lacy Socks, but it will have another name. Well written pattern and you'll enjoy it. The yarn was Zen Yarn Garden's superwash fingering in Garnet. Good pattern; good yarn; good experience.

This is another test-knit:

Pat Bishop's Bee's Knees. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in SSYC - a custom colourway for Simply Sock Yarn Company's anniversary.

And finally, almost done: Trekking XXL - Simple Ribbed Socks. These are about as easy as you can get - the interesting part is watching the yarn change colour - and watching the prairies go by. I cast on during the drive to Moose Jaw and knit much of it on the way home. There is nothing like Saskatchewan for making your mind wander over all the possibilities of life.

After all that knitting, it's time to do more quilting and writing.

Having fun with a test knit

2010-08-15T09:47:00.001-07:00

I volunteered to do a test knit for Hunter Hammersen on Ravelry. It's a quick, good-looking lacy sock pattern that took only a few days of knitting to produce the first sock.

This is done in Zen Yarn Garden's Superwash in the Garnet colourway. It's part of Roxanne's Harmony Semi-Solid club, a monthly offering. I've had some excellent yarns from Roxanne and they work well for lace or cable knitting.

Back to Hunter. This pattern will be a good, easy knit for a summer sock. Her directions were clear. The real name of the sock is probably not going to be Lacy Socks, but that will do for me for now.

Progress

2010-08-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we're off. So far, just about what I expected. The yarn is even and predictable, tightly enough plied to not split and and similar to Trekking HandArt, but with that extra ply.

I"m also going to use this for a test knit for a Hunter Hammersen sock. Zen Yarn Garden is a Canadian yarnie who has a great line of semi-solids.

This is the Harmony Semi-Solid yarn for July 2010 - Garnet. It's redder than it looks in the photo and will knit will for lace socks. Progress will be posted on Ravelry and also in this blog.

August Sock Yarn

2010-08-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

The August yarn for the review is Zitron Trekking's HandArt Flamme - in Sansibar.

This yarn is made in Germany by the same people who bring you Trekking and Trekking HandArt. The difference in the Flamme is a ply of (mostly) white that gives the yarn a ragg appearance.

I've always had good luck with Trekking, whether in the skein or in the ball, and I anticipate this one won't be much difference.

Why is this so late? Alex Klein's minotaurs. I volunteered to test-knit them, and so I conscientiously worked away to make them a reality. This is a very different way of knitting socks (or any piece of flat fabric for that matter) and all I can say is that without the stitch markers these would have been an unholy mess.

This is the leg of the sock after knitting but before seaming:

And this is the seamed leg.

July Sock Yarn Review

2010-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Both socks done (actually they've been done for a while).

The base yarn for the Claudia is Louet Gems. I don't think I have ever knit a yarn with a Gems base that I have not liked. In this case, the dying is very well done. The colours are saturated and are consistent throughout the skein. No knots, no slubs. The knit fabric is firm. My gauge is a little tighter than what she states on her website, but I like firm socks.

Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Fingering
Composition: 100% superwash merino
Pattern: Toffee Sock
Needles: 2.25 mm
Gauge: 8 sts per inch

There is a website: www.claudiaco.com - but it's not a retail mailorder site. She gives a list of bricks and mortar shops and on-line shops. I bought mine at Monterey Yarns in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I did a google search and there are many more than she lists for sources.

Claudia Hand Painted

2010-07-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

So here's my progress - first sock finished - not that I should be surprised, given that it's a very simple sock and this is a very nice yarn to knit. The tight twist keeps the stitches even and means the stitches don't split when knitting quickly.

The colour is nicely saturated and even throughout the skein. The repeats are short, so there is no striping and no noticeable pooling, even around the gusset - not that I mind pooling, but I know some do.

No knots. I like that.

July Sock Yarn Review

2010-07-11T05:37:00.000-07:00

This month' sock yarn was decided some time ago, but given the workload of early July, (I hate summer sometimes), this is it.

Claudia's Handpainted - on a Louet Gems base. I know already I'll like this yarn, because I like Louet Gems. It's a tight twist and holds up well for socks, gives good stitch definition and stands up to the manipulation required for cables or any other intricate stitch.

I'll need to add the photos later, because I'm working on my husband's Mac and haven't the faintest idea how to re-open Firefox so I can get to my photos without getting away from this post.

I'm the person who loves the Mac commercials and can't stand the machines.

June Sock Yarn Review - and Happy Canada Day

2010-07-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Finished. Finally. Not that it is so difficult a sock to do, but June can really be the silly month. Thank goodness for sleeping in on Canada Day.

Here's a photo of the finished sock.

The colourway is Franklin's Panopticon, one of the Color Commentary series honouring knitwear designers. This colourway grew on me as I knit it - I confess to not having been thrilled about it in the skein.

The yarn lived up to Lorna's reputation - smooth and consistent. There were no knots. The yarn is a little finer than I like, but the sock feels dense enough to wear well. I could go down a needle size, but I don't think it would be necessary.

One thing I was amazed at was how good the yardage was. Now, I confess this sock is five rounds shorter than my usual plain sock, but check this out: this is the second sock and I had just started the toe decreases.

That's pretty good value.

Stats:

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock
Composition: 80% superwash merino, 20% nylon, put up in 50 g skeins
Needles: 2.25 mm
Pattern: Butterscotch Sock

Koigu. I love Koigu

2010-06-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

Here are my Waterfall Cable Socks. This is a design I first worked out three summers ago when I was first knitting socks. I don't even remember where I got the stitch pattern (probably Vogue Knitting), but when I first knit it, it looked to me to be water tumbling over rocks - hence the name.

The yarn is the wonderful Koigu KPPPM, colour 703 - a pale purple with flecks of both purple and the occasional orange.

I like this yarn. I really like this yarn. It has a great hand, feels good on the feet, and so far (knock wood), wears really well. I like the way the yarn is dyed - almost too much colour for a cabled design, but not quite. If I have a complaint (and it's a small one), it's that the skeins are small and I wasn't sure I'd have enough yarn for a cabled pattern, even for my short feet. (I did - crisis averted.)

My only other complaint - and it's really not a complaint, it's an observation - why is it so hard to find this yarn in Canada? It's Canadian yarn!! I have nothing against buying from Americans, but why should I?

June Sock Yarn Review (yes, again)

2010-06-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Still Lorna's, but a different colour. Franklin's Panopticon is the first in Lorna's Color Commentary Series. These aren't colours I'd necessarily choose myself (good thing we're all different), but so far I'm liking this one.

I've done a Toffee Sock in Lorna's earlier, so I chose another simple sock - a Butterscotch Sock to show off the yarn. The Butterscotch Sock has a 2x1 rib for the leg, then five rounds of plain before an Eye of Peacock heel flap. The 2x1 rib is good and stretchy, with a little less purling than a straight 2x2.

You can see from the finished sock that it's easy to see how the yarn will work up, even on the ribbed leg.

The best laid plans

2010-06-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

I had planned to do Red Rover, but because I have already made a Toffee Sock in Lorna's, thought I'd do something different.

This is as far as I got before I decided it wasn't going to work.

It's a seed stitch rib - nice enough and I liked the leg, but thought it was getting a bit more complicated than I like for a review - I want the yarn to show itself off, not the design. And then, I made the mistake of forgetting I was working over 72 stitches, so by the time I did a heel flap over 40, I was too far gone to change my mind. Stubborn isn't my middle name for nothing. (My friends used to say that I should use the word "determined", not stubborn. I believe my kid's version was "pig-headed".

So this is what I did instead. I changed colours to Franklin's Panopticon. I like the colours - maybe not my favourites, but so far, the yarn hasn't let me down. Soft, no knots - perhaps a little finer than I would prefer, but it knits like a dream.

Hard to go wrong with Lorna's. The only thing I don't like is there are simply too many colours.

The Red Rover was too complicated, so this is a plain 2 x 1 rib sock - not quite vanilla - that's why it's butterscotch.

June Sock Yarn Review

2010-06-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not finished reporting on May's socks (they're done - they're just not photographed), but here is June's yarn for review - one of my old favourites - Lorna's Laces. I know already this is a tried and true yarn - the colours are good, the yarn is very high quality, and I have never had a pair of socks turn out bad.

I almost put it back in the box when I pulled it, but then changed my mind. When I started doing this, the idea was that I would pull from my yarn box with my eyes closed - the only time I would put back a yarn would be if I had already reviewed it. I have knit with Lorna's before, but I haven't reviewed it, so this will be the month.

Lorna's, don't let me down.

Progress - almost done

2010-05-31T18:28:00.000-07:00

Almost done. Almost done. Knit, Knit, Knit. We'll get there yet.

May disappeared. I am certain that yesterday was Mother's Day and here we are, halfway to Christmas. Well, perhaps I exaggerate - halfway to winter and I'm not even out of my winter clothes from last season. We had one hot dry spell and now we have had nothing but rain and more rain. I refuse to complain, however: we could be in Louisiana, watching our livelihoods disappear before the onslaught of oil.

This is progress to date:

It's not quite the easiest set of socks to see. The kettle-dying process Nancy uses creates a very mottled look - I quite like it, as it gives a lot of dimension to a pretty ordinary sock. This won't work for lace or cables, because the pattern will be lost.

Fireweed Dyeworks - first sock done

2010-05-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's the long weekend already !! And, because it's May long, it's raining - no - make that pouring. Anyone who has dreams of getting the bedding plants in might as well have stayed in bed.

This is the first sock from Fireweed Dyeworks Kettle Dyed Fingering in Northern Lights:

The sock itself looks a little off - that's because I have learned the hard way that when I rotate photos, the program compresses them. The leg isn't quite that fat.

The yarn, however, is plump and very easy to work. No knots, no slubby bits, no ply tears. The dye pattern creates what I call a mosaic look - variegated without striping at all. Some parts of the dye are saturated, some not so, but this is a look I like, so I am very pleased.

A slight change in plans

2010-05-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

It's Fireweed Dyeworks, but not the same yarn. This is alaskannancy's superwash merino in Northern Lights.

This is Nancy's Kettle-dyed Sock Yarn and yes, it's on the needles, and no, I'm not quite as slow a knitter as I am a blogger.

What I am very slow at is taking photographs. This is the cast-on post. I predict that magically, within a day or two, this first sock will be finished.

May Sock Yarn Review - Fireweed Dyeworks

2010-05-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

I said I was going to do Francis Patrick's yarn, but I can't find anywhere that the vendor is still active, so it seems, not pointless, but perhaps not what I had intended when I decided to blog about a sock yarn of the month.

Fireweed Dyworks is very much still in business.

On Ravelry she's Alaskannancy, and that's how you find her on Etsy. The yarn base is Cherry Tree Hill's Supersock Select.

April sock yarn review

2010-04-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Both socks are finished - Sara's Colorwave Yarns. I bought this yarn two years ago, and from what I can tell from the website, this exact yarn is no longer available. It came without a label, so I have little information, except that it is 100% merino. I am assuming it is not superwash. It doesn't feel like superwash, and I would think that if it was, Sara would have said so.

Yarn: Sara's Colorwave Yarns - 100 % merino, fingering weight
Needles: 2.25 mm
Gauge 9.0 sts per inch
Notes: These will be too small for me, so I will give them to my sister. If I were making them for myself, I would need to add more rounds to the foot. I think I would prefer this yarn for knitting lace scarves, or even for fingering weight garments. It reminds me most of shetland jumper yarn. Lest it sound as if I don't like it, the colour is superb. I didn't get pooling, as Sara predicted, but then, I didn't get her 8 stitches to the inch gauge, either.

Next yarn: Francis Patrick

The real SKA challenge

2010-04-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

SKA is Sock Knitters Anonymous on Ravelry. If you're a member of Rav, you know how it can suck you and your knitting into a great vortex of imagined over-achievement. Sometimes it's the same as a double-dog-dare - if you can, I can.

So it was with the January challenge - beads and texture. There was a mystery sock (beads and texture) that I finished. And then, because I can't resist the challenge of designing my own socks, I designed my own beaded texture sock based on the King Charles Brocade stitch pattern. That one I finished. But then I got adventurous - another beaded sock with a variation and then a second textured sock - no beads. And one more textured sock that had nothing to do with King Charles.

I finished one of these on time. And did I finish the others then? Nope. Started the February challenge - and then the March challenge.

So I figure the real challenge of SKA is not finishing in time for the draw - it's finishing the single socks when a new challenge is calling and you'd really rather move on.

So tonight I pat myself on the back: here is the King Charles Brocade Cuffed version - in all its glory. The yarn is The Painted Tiger's Silver Lynx in the Jelly Beans Colourway.

These were the greatest pain to knit - what with starting the cuff on straights and joining it, but when they're all said and done, I quite like them.

Isn't there a special prize for people like us?

Not quite a pair

2010-04-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

These are my lace socks for the Sock Knitters' Anonymous Challenge for March 2010 - lace. I used my trusty Harmony Guides and selected a stitch pattern I thought wouldn't be too hard, given that I was leaving shortly to go to Ottawa to visit my daughter. The problem is I took everything on the plane but the Harmony Guide and I had to try to remember the stitch pattern. Let's just say I sort of did.

After one repeat, I knew it wasn't right, but I was too lazy to frog, so I modified the pattern and kept going. The mod was actually the correct version and once I got going, I really liked it.

The yarn is Colinette's Jitterbug and I love it. Firm, squooshy (is that a word?), easy to work and .... short skeins. One toe is Simply Sock Yarn's solid in purple, left over from my Ripple Socks.

Which you can see better, here:

Actually, I really like them. And the cuffs aren't the same either, since I didn't want to do the same messed up version twice.

My challenge now is to find a skein of yarn that will be long enough to chart and test the pattern. Much as I love it, it won't be Jitterbug.

Does that mean I can't call the pattern Jitterbug Jive?

Some progress

2010-04-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

The leg is finished. This is a finer yarn than I am used to working, so I suspect these will be gifted to someone with smaller feet than mine. It is not a strong yarn and when I caught it on a chair leg, a tug broke it. Good news is it's easy to splice back together.

Mine isn't quite pooling. I've got broad, soft barber pole stripes that I quite like.

We're off!!

2010-04-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, we're off. Proof is in the picture. (As an aside (I love asides), the original expression is "the proof of the pudding is in the eating. That has been abbreviated to "the proof is in the pudding", which means result are what counts. Good looking isn't good eating.)

Not the greatest photo, but it's only the cuff and there is more knitting to be done. (Have I ever mentioned I love knitting. A perfect day has both knitting and quilting. Oh, and a run with the dog and a decent meal, not cooked by me. And a good book.) I digress. (See the comment on asides, above.)

So far, I'm not certain about the quality of the yarn, but I am impressed with the dyer. I like the way this yarn pools.

April Sock Yarn - Sara's Colorwave

2010-04-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

The yarn for April will be Sara's Colorwave Magic Sock Yarn. She has designed this so that the yarn pools, rather than stripes.

I have a weakness for blue and green together and am anticipating that I'll get pools of both on the sock.

When I wound it, I found two knots. The yarn is loosely twisted, but I did not find any slubs or badly spun areas.

March Sock Yarn Review - Dicentra Designs Superwash Sock

2010-03-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

Two done. Thank goodness for Law and Order UK. The energizer bunny and I love the accents, event when it's a repeat.

This yarn has short repeats, so unfortunately, the brilliant colours get somewhat muddied in the sock. You can really see them on the heel turn, but not really on the leg and foot.

The yarn was good to work - no knots, although there were some slubby bits that did not make a difference to the knit.

Gauge: 8.5 sts per inch
Needles: 2.25 mm

This is a firm sock and I'm pleased with the way it has knit. I would buy this yarn again and would try others that she has dyed.

Dicentra - finished one sock

2010-03-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Oh, my. Too much March. I worked too much, played too much and didn't do very much knitting. This is the first of the March socks.

What entertains me is the heel turn, which is the only place on the sock where I can really see the rainbow stripes.

So far, I love the dye job, but the yarn isn't quite as good as I'd hoped. There are a few too many slubs, although, thank goodness, no knots.

I hate knots.

Two pair of socks finished - finally

2010-03-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

Two pair finished. I say finally, because I worked like a little bear on the Ripple Socks and they took forever. Too many ends. Too much purling.

Now don't get me wrong. I love the way they look - but they weren't a fast knit.

They're shorter than the ones in the book - Socks, Socks, Socks. Nadine Stewart must have thought men would wear them, although there isn't a hope in you-know-where (otherwise known as he-double hockey sticks) that any man I know would wear them. My husband doesn't wear anything that isn't dull green or dull black.

The yarn was wonderful. The variegated is Knitpicks' Imagination in Evil Stepmother and the two solids are from Simply Sock Yarn. The solids were lovely.

I also finished the February Sock Yarn Review socks - from Schaefer Heather. This is the sock yarn with so much silk you can feel it. It was a wonderful knit - the yarn has a good twist - not like merino, but it makes a nice tight fabric, and for me, that's what socks need.

These are bright. I mean bright. They cannot be used for bed socks, because they would keep me awake at night.

Back to my needles. I spent the weekend quilting and I feel quite creative these days.

The Enchanted Wood - not so enchanting

2010-03-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have moved on to Clue #2, and in spite of my best efforts, this is not working.

First, there was trying to work from the wrong pattern - that was easily corrected, although not after I knit the first half twice.

And it didn't matter, in any event. The correct pattern still resulted in my not having enough stitches - so either I cast on incorrectly, or I decreased wrong, or I just can't count. It could be all three, but I lean heavily towards the latter.

And then there's the part where the beautiful colourway was obscuring the pattern. This shawl wants a solid, or a muted gradiance, not the wonder of wildflowers I'm using.

So the rest of the shawl will be in stockinette, and I will have a load of beads left over for some other project. And it will go a lot faster.

Shawls - why do I do this?

2010-03-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

I have no idea. I love to wear shawls. I love the look of shawls. I think people who design them are wonderful. I hate knitting shawls. No, correct that. I hate casting on shawls.

This is my attempt at The Enchanted Wood, which is a KAL from the Unique Sheep.

The yarn is Wildflower Fields, which is a gradiance colourway. (I love gradiance and I am equally fond of just about everything The Unique Sheep does. Any comment I make that might imply a criticism is not about them. It is all about me and my total inability to count. )

Correct. I got the lace cast-on (very clever, those Estonian lace-knitters. So simple and so effective.), but I'll be damned if I can even count to ten. As I knit back to the beads, sometimes I had nine, sometimes eleven. I have persevered and am now almost finished clue one. Since the bottom beads are strung, I think I can manipulate them to where they should be. If not.... well... anyone who gets close enough to me to see the beads are a stitch off the point ought to know me well enough not to care about beads and points.

And yes, I know this KAL is over. I'm a slow lace knitter.

We are so far behind....

2010-03-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

... but there is a little bit of knitting being done. This is March's yarn so far:

This is one very (and I mean VERY) bright yarn. In the skein, it's a rainbow. On the needles, it makes short spirals, with the yellow popping out, almost as if to say, "Hey, it's me!! ME!!" The yellow reminds me of our Giles, the rescue dog, who always comes in the door and rushes for the missing person (either me or my husband), tail wagging, almost as if to say "Mom (Dad), I'm home. Me. I'm home. And I know you are just dying to see me. I came back. Again."

That's yellow. I really like yellow.

And so far, I really like this yarn.

What else is on the needles

2010-03-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

This is the start of my Ripple Socks, my contribution to Sockknitters Anonymous challenge for February. I have had my eye on this pattern since I first picked up a copy of Socks, Socks, Socks, but it wasn't until I confirmed that it was an "underappreciated" pattern that I actually cast on.

Now, to admit to my proclivity for thinking I need more yarn, what I had in stash was one 50g skein of KnitPicks Imagination in Evil Stepmother - why I have one skein I don't know. It's clearly what I ordered, (I checked the receipt), but why I ordered one I have no idea. One 50 g skein does not a pair of socks make, and for this pattern I need two more colours regardless of how much I started with. So I ordered. Simply Sock Yarn has great solids, so joining Evil Stepmother are Magenta and Purple. (Those of us who are stepmothers and who love our stepchildren get a kick out of the name. I keep threatening my daughter's older sister that one day I'll turn on her. She laughs.)

So far the pattern is a dream. I'm a little further than the photos. Not really looking forward to the purl ridges. Purling on double points is always a pain in the you-know-where.

March Yarn - Dicentra Superwash Sock

2010-03-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

This is March's yarn - Dicentra's Superwash Sock - 100% superwash merino. This is a very intensely coloured saturated yarn. The colour is Pelennor - as colourful a yarn as I've ever used.

It's even more colourful than the photo looks, because you can't see any of the green.

Spring is coming to the great big flat. It hasn't been much of a winter so far - a couple of cold snaps, but nothing to worry about. The snow is disappearing from the pavements and we walk around outside most of the time with our winter coats open.

February Sock Yarn Review - Schaefer Heather

2010-03-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

For the first time I did not finish my review socks - only one of the pair. Blame it on the Olympics, fitting in one more pair for my Ravelympics Challenge - blame it on the King Charles Brocade. Regardless, I can report that this is a lovely yarn and I would use it again for socks.

My one and lonely sock. It will get a mate - I promise. I don't seem to have a problem with SSS (second sock syndrome).

This is the first sock yarn I've knit that did not pool on the gusset. Now, that's a neither here nor there. Most handpainted sock yarns pool because of the increased number of stitches that are gradually decreasing. Striped yarns have narrower stripes; random yarns pool in blotches - and I am generally very pleased with the changes. This one, for some reason I don't fully understand doesn't look all that different.

A few facts:

Yarn: Schaeffer Heather
Content; 55% superwash merino, 30% silk, 15% nylon
Needles: 2.25 mm
Gauge: 8.5

At this gauge, the fabric is tight and solid. I could really feel the silk in the yarn while I was knitting - and I would give the silk the credit for the sheen. All in all, a lovely yarn, although I think I might make my next skein into a scarf. There's only so much decadence these feet can take (or should be entitled to.)

King Charles Brocade

2010-02-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

I finally finished these socks for the S(ock) K(nitters) A(nonymous) January challenge.

The yarn is KnitPicks Essential Solid in Pine and the beads are something I picked up a long time ago when I must have been dreaming of beaded socks. They aren't the greatest, but they certainly did what they were supposed to do.

I have two other variations on this theme which I will be finishing shortly and putting into the pattern. The King Charles stitch was easy to remember once I had the rhythm in my head - all I had to remember was that whatever I did needed to add to twelve, and that was about it.

(And I won't get the sock yarn review socks done this month. Too many distractions with the Olympics and too few days. At least it's getting warmer and brighter.)

Oh, my ... some progress

2010-02-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

February is supposed to be such a cruel month, but it flies by like nobody's business. And here's me with not enough work done, not enough knitting done and not enough quilting done. Who's got time to get a life?

Some progress. I decided against all odds that I would do a Ravelympics project and cheer on Team Canada, so I thought - socks are small. I can design and knit a sock within 17 days. Sure.

Here's the start - JL Vinca, on 2.25 mm needles - and a mini-cable leg.

And here's the first sock. One sock. Only enough for one leg. And as I look, I still have two. (And thankful for two.)

The Vinca is a very loose twist and a fine fingering, so I have taken care not to split the plies. I'm not sure I'd use this for socks that were going to get a lot of wear, but I do like the colour changes, so I'll put up with it not being the best yarn I've ever used.

And did I mention I have to write the pattern as well?

Some progress

2010-02-08T17:45:00.000-08:00

Not a lot of knitting this past weekend. We had a doozy of a snowstorm - no not nearly like what the Eastern United States had, but lots of wind and snow nonetheless. If I had nothing to do, it wouldn't have blinked. As it was, I was due in Winnipeg for Saturday night, so that meant a two and a half hour drive in and a five hour drive back. Me and Jiles, our Lab/Border Collie cross.

Thank goodness for small motels just when you need them. Jiles and I had a good evening and Sunday morning we had only to deal with the wind and the blowing snow. You see, it's not that we get so much snow - we don't - but what we get simply refused to stay where it falls. And it's not at all sticky, so the minute a slight gust of wind takes it, it's off. It's pretty when it writhes across the roadway, but it does make telling the difference between the shoulder and the highway a titch difficult at times. As it was, we had both - lots more snow and all of it blowing. And when the wind hits the big flat, there's nothing to stop it but miles and miles of miles and miles.

Progress picks:

We're started. This yarn is 55% merino, 30% silk and 15% nylon. I can really feel the silk in it. I like the feel, but I'm not sure how it will wear.

And the bright pink is very bright. Very bright. My toes will need sunglasses.

February Sock Yarn Review

2010-02-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

February's yarn is Shaeffer's Heather in the Simply Sock Yarn colourway. This yarn was dyed specifically for the company to celebrate its fourth anniversary.

This yarn has 30% silk content, in addition to superwash merino wool and nylon. It appears to be a mid twist - a bit like Mama Bear's porridge - not too hot, not too cold. I'm a sucker for the colourway, having always liked rose and brown together.

January Sock Yarn Review - Cherry Tree Hill

2010-01-31T20:22:00.001-08:00

I liked this yarn a lot - and I think I'll like their new base even more. This was the Louet Gems base, and it's a good yarn - well milled, nicely twisted and very even. There was one slub in the whole thing.

The final stats for my Toffee Sock:

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Louet Gems in Foxy Lady.
Gauge: 8.5 (actually a titch under, but that's the closest. I don't do fractions of fractions and my feet wouldn't know the difference.)
Needles: 2.25 mm

One slubby area - and it wasn't bad at all. No knots. The colourway neither pooled nor flashed, but was consistent throughout the sock.

I have no complaints and I would use this one again - although it would be from stash.

Next up for February: Shaeffer Yarn's Heather in the Simply Sock Yarn colourway. Another pair of bright socks.

More King Charles

2010-01-30T21:23:00.000-08:00

The bead idea came from the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry - although I must say that unlike AA, this group doesn't do anything to deal with the addiction - if anything, it fosters it. Nuff said. One of the January challenges was beaded socks. The mystery sock has beads, and although I'm plugging along on it, I'm having much more fun designing my own.

My first King Charles sock is done - beads and all. I eventually realized that the most important part of beading the stitch is to ensure that the crochet hook is small enough to go easily through the bead with the yarn: too large and there's no chance of getting everything through, even if the hook itself fits.

You can barely see the beads - they're much more visible on this close-up:

And - just because I can, there's a second King Charles sock - one of my Variations on a Theme: this one has beaded ribs, with the brocade pattern on the bottom of the leg and the instep. The yarn is Blue Moon's STR Lightweight in Citrine. As usual, not a slub, not a knot. I added the beads to the yarn first, because I wanted them to lie between the stitches, and of course, I added too many. Because I'm too lazy to cut the yarn, I just keep sliding them down, reminding myself I will need them for the second sock.

The beads aren't the easiest to see because the cuff will be rolled over and then, they'll be much more visible.

King Charles Brocade

2010-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

That's the name of the stitch I chose for the Ravelry Sockdown challenge for January. This month's challenge includes beaded sock (the mystery sock is a beaded sock), and since I can't resist a challenge, I went through my Harmony guides to find a stitch that had good texture and would support the addition of beads.

This is after the cuff has been finished and the first round of beading has begun. The cuff has a foldover picot edge hem, and the pattern starts with a beaded round, although I think when I do the next test I'll put in another starting row that won't form part of the pattern.

Cherry Tree Hill - finished

2010-01-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

Oh, my. Can you tell I've been in trial for the past week? I can - nothing else matters when I spend my days in the courtroom. It's almost as if there are entire days gone from my life - and when I think back, or review my notes, I can hardly believe how much paper I've used in the pursuit of what I hope is justice.

My Cherry Tree Hill socks are done. This is the Louet Gems Merino base - and yes, it's not the current base yarn, but I still like this one. There was only one slubby bit and me being me, I simply knit it in. No-one will know but me, and my feet will certainly not feel it.

I'll do the stats on them for the end of the month, but I can report that this is a yarn I would use again .... and I these are socks I would enjoy wearing.

More Cherry Tree Hill

2010-01-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

I like this yarn. It's easy to knit, slips well through my fingers and I've had no problems with splitting or loose plies.

The leg is finished and the photograph shows some barber-poling, although truth be told, more in the photo than what you see on the sock itself.

It's finally warmed up a bit here, although when you think about it, it says more about us than about the weather when the temperature reaches -5 degrees Celcius and we all walk around without mitts or gloves, with our coats open and talk about how warm it is. We all know it won't last, but it's worth enjoying right now.

Mitred Squares

2010-01-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

Finished my Mitred Squares socks. These were a right royal pain in the you-know-where to knit, but they fit beautifully and the yarn was a delight.

The yarn is Fireweed Dyeworks Superwash Self-striping in the Midnight Sun colourway. The base is Cherry Tree Hill and I was so impressed that I went and ordered more from the dyer and ordered more from CTH. I've been working on my monthly sock in the Louet Gems - and this is different. The twist is a bit tighter and it knits to a denser fabric.

The close-up of the cuff shows the squares themselves. If I had this one to do over again, I'd use garter stitch, as I think the squares would sit better. Since I'm curious, I ordered more from Fireweed and will do it all over again.

CTH - cuff finished

2010-01-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

Cherry Tree Hill is as nice to knit as I expected. This is the Louet Gems base and although the plies are not tightly twisted, it knits up to a firm fabric.

So far, Foxy Lady looks as if it will spiral down the sock. We'll see.

January Yarn - Cherry Tree Hill

2010-01-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

January's Sock Yarn Review will be Cherry Tree Hill's Louet Gems Merino. I'm contacting the company because I'm certain that in the last two years, CTH has changed its base yarn.

The colourway is Foxy Lady - one I ordered from Pick Up Sticks in Brantford, Ontario about two years ago.

I pulled out my CTH for a test knit because I had a wonderful compliment about a pair of socks I've been working on for the Sock Knitters' Anonymous group on Ravelry.

The yarn is dyed by Fireweed Dyeworks in Alaska. Nancy puts right on the label that this is a CTH base and I am really enjoying it. I may get brave and publish the pattern for the sock - after doing another version with garter stitch squares, which I think will work better.

Cat Mountain Finished - Finally!!

2009-12-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

Doesn't December just do in the best laid plans? Knitting goes awry, work goes nuts (at least in my line of work) and then there are the holidays and friends and family. There's never enough time and way too much ambition.

Nevertheless, my December sock yarn of the month is complete.

I really liked the dye job on this yarn - the colours didn't stripe, (barber pole or otherwise), didn't pool and there was just enough yellow to give it spark, without the sock becoming a yellow sock.

The summary:

Yarn: Cat Mountain Fiber Arts Sock
Colourway: Sunrise on the Sangre de Cristos
Needles: 2.25 mm
Gauge 8.5 sts per inch

This is a nice firm sock - I wouldn't change the needle size for how I knit. There were no knots in the yarn, no loose plies or slubby bits. (I believe that "slubby bit" is a technical term - I confess to not being bothered by them, but I know that many are bothered.) I would use this yarn again.

I ordered it around the time of Sock Summit (thank you Ravelry for introducing us to so many tood indie dyers through the Dye for Glory contest.) The service was very good. There aren't many skeins of her yarn on Ravelry and if it was up to me there would be more!!

The other sock I finished was for the Ravelry group Sockknitters Anonymous. The challenge for November was to use slipped stitches, so I did two with the Double Brick Stitch. This is one version - with Trekking Maxima for the main yarn and some Phildar Preface for the black.

Now on to January and a New Year of knitting socks. (And yes, I'm one of those people who thinks the decade actually ends at the end of 2010, but I'm not such a weenie that I would waste my breath arguing about it. )

Cat Mountain - first sock finished

2009-12-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

First sock finished. Ta da!!

The yarn doesn't barber pole, doesn't pool, doesn't stripe. It really is a mottled sock, with flashes here and there of yellow and red. I really like this colourway and I like the way the yarn knitted up.

On 2.25 needles and my standard Toffee Sock, I have 9 stitches to the inch, for a firm sock.

Now, must knit second sock. Must knit second sock. Preferably before Christmas.

Thoughts about stuff

2009-12-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I hear something and for some reason, it stays in my brain, rattling around until I can figure out how I will use it in my life.

One of those things is this: "cluttering up the path to God with stuff". Thanks to Dean Robin, this has been niggling at me since Sunday.

How much stuff do I have? Serious stuff. (For stuff, read "stash"). I have a stash of quilting fabric, a stash of yarn. My yarn stash is older, my quilt stash larger. I could add to it every day if I could afford it, and work to make sure I don't.

Why do we need stuff? Is it to prove we're here? Is it so some little piece of me will be left to the grandchildren I don't have so that when I'm just a memory, they will have something to remember me by? I have only a few things from my Amma, who I loved dearly and thought was absolutely the best Amma in the world. I have one little china dog with pups and a box made from Christmas cards. Not a lot, but every time I look at them (and I can see them every day if I want to), I can see Amma and her house.

Is it because we make our homes into singular museums, so that wherever we look there is a story?

I am sure that God does not care about stuff. He cares about us, and he wants us to care about Him and do his work. My question is: how do I make sure the stuff doesn't get in the way.

Cat Mountain - up the leg

2009-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Up the leg and I've not changed my opinion about whether I like this yarn - I do, and I think I should.

This yarn is a true short repeat mosaic dye. It doesn't stripe, doesn't pool. It's variegated and the colours are regularly placed. I'm a yellow fan, so all that yellow is just fine with me. So far, no splits, no knots. So far, so good.

Cat Mountain - on the needles

2009-12-05T08:22:00.001-08:00

Cat Mountain is on the needles. What do I know so far?

18 wpi - this is more than I expected. The yarn feels a little thicker than that. However, I cast on my standard Toffee Sock and so far it is knitting well. The loose twist is not a factor. Now, that may be because I keep my tension fairly tight in my left hand, and try not to let it relax. I find that otherwise, my sock gauge is too loose and my socks will wear too quickly.

The colour is lovely. It varies between a red and a bright orangy - yellow with small flecks occasionally that I find add to the look. I have to admit I like yellow, so a fair bit of yellow is very acceptable, and I warn, if you don't like yellow, you won't like this colourway. (A quilter friend of mine always says that if a quilt has 10% yellow, it becomes a yellow quilt. I agree. Yellow is one of those colours that screams "Look at me!!" - it's the three-year old of colours.

Christmas knitting to do as well - we've just had our first snow, but it's definitely winter. We went from wearing our suit jackets outside in November to minus 10 - all in one week. We have snow, we have cold, we have mitts and snowboots. Bring it on!!

December Sock Yarn - Cat Mountain Fingering

2009-12-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

December's sock yarn review is Cat Mountain Fiber Arts' Superwash Merino. The colourway is Sunrise on the Sangre de Cristos - an interesting mix of reds and yellows.

The yarn content is 100% superwash merino. It appears to be a fairly loose twist.

Now, on to the needles!!

November Sock Yarn Review

2009-11-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

Perchance to Knit's wonderful 80/20. For most yarns, that's 20% nylon - this one is 80% cashmere. Beautiful, beautiful soft yarn, that I would never put on my feet again. It's too nice.

Yarn: Perchance to Knit's fingering
Colourway: Neon Rainbow Black
Needles: 2.25 mm
Gauge: 8.5 st/inch

I always want to call this yarn Perchance to Dream - obviously the inspiration for the name. I also think it's because it's such a soft yarn that it makes me think of clouds.

Coming up for November: Cat Mountain Fiber Art's fingering. I found this dyer during Ravelry's Dye for Glory contest.

More socks - what a month!!

2009-11-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

Quelle mois!! I'm sure the correct expression is that some month in spring is the cruellest month, but I personally think it's November. Now don't get me wrong - we've had an amazing November. Here it is, November 28, on the Canadian prairies and we have no snow. Let me repeat that: we have no snow. When I was a kid, if there was no snow at the end of October, we thought it was a mild winter.

We'll pay for it, of course. Weather never comes free, but for right now, we're enjoying it.

No, that's not the problem with November. The problem with November is that it butts up against December, and December means Christmas. (And I hope, snow.) One minute it's November 1, and all the saints are marching in. Then it's Remembrance Day, and then, somehow, it's November 25 and only a month until Christmas. I'm still not caught up from August!!

I have a little done - my Lorna's Laces Toffee Socks, which turned out exactly as I expected. Lorna's is entirely predictable, because the quality is so high.

The colour is Amy's Vintage Office, one of the Color Commentary series.

I've become a fan of Ravelry's Sock Knitters' Anonymous (which, when you think of it, fits me to a T.) For November, which is mosaic or slip stitches, I've finished one set, am halfway through another and have started a third.

Here's the set that is finished:

One skein Claudia Handpaint's Turquoise Jeans and one skein Louet Gems Merino in Mustard. The double Brick Stitch is from the Harmony Guides. I did a cuffed sock, with a rib section below to keep the sock up and the leg snug. The leg has scattered slip stitches to carry the theme through the entire sock.

As you can see, I didn't quite have enough of the Turquoise Jeans. I had four rows to go on the toe, (and couldn't bring myself to frog all the way back above the heel to steal from from under the leg), so I finished it off in the Mustard. I actually kind of like it.

This is a photo of the leg, showing what the cuff looks like folded back.

Now, back to the needles.

We're done

2009-11-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

We're done, we're done. This is absolutely the softest sock yarn I have ever used, and I would never use it for socks again. It's too darn nice. I suspect it will felt like mad and will be awful to wash, but it was a delight to knit.

The black doesn't show us as well in the photos as in real life. This was a 68 stitch sock, and the black was a round plus about four stitches. The colours followed, in the order of the rainbow, starting with red, and lasted for about a round and a half. Even though there is more black than any other single colour, the black rather fades into the background.

Also off the needles: a test moebius because I have to do one for my daughter. Lion Brand Homespun - soft, easy to knit, and a good price for doing a test knit. My problem is that I'm still not at the point where I can cast on because this one is just a bit too small.

Photo isn't the greatest, but you can get the drift.

Over the heel

2009-11-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

Up the heel flap and over the heel. the rainbow stripes finally show up -

They're bright, but these I like. The rest of the leg doesn't show enough of the colour - each round is a different colour, and they tend to blend with each other. Not on the heel cap - here is the rainbow:

--- those are really rainbow neon, just like the colourway.

It has been a long day. Two and a half hours into Winnipeg last night and two and a half back this afternoon. Won't find out for a while whether it was worth it - make that, won't find out for a while whether it was worth it for my client. A day in court is always a very fast day, even when we don't break for lunch.

Progress

2009-11-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

We're further along on this sock. It's the softest yarn I've ever knit for socks - I can feel the cashmere in every stitch - lovely, lovely, lovely. So far I think I'd prefer it around my neck, but not in this colourway (have I said this before?)

In the sock-compulsive category, I decided to do Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous challenge for November. This month one of the choices is a slip stitch pattern, so I decided to design my own, using a two colour brick stitch.

The cuff is folded over the leg. My real challenge is to make sure I have enough yarn for these socks, as I have only one 50 g of each yarn I'm using, and I know this stitch is a yarnsucker because of the way it draws up the fabric.

We'll see.

Cuff finished

2009-11-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

I'd like to say we're off, but as it turns out, it's not just the purl that's lazy, it's the blogger. I've cast on and although it's been a very busy week at work, I've finished the cuff.

This yarn is so soft, I can't imagine using it for socks. Of course, given that I am testing fingering yarn on socks, socks it will be, but I suspect it will felt the minute I put them on. Having said that (lawyers always say "having said that", which is our way of saying we're changing our minds in midstream), these socks would be so soft on your feet, it would be like wearing clouds.

So far, no splits, no knots. I can't say I like the colour, which is what kept me from frogging and deciding I'd change this months yarn. The blind pull is, after all, the blind pull.

October Sock Yarn - Perchane to Dream

2009-11-01T10:22:00.001-08:00

This is October's Sock Yarn: Perchance to Knit's 80% merino, 20% cashmere. This yarn is as soft as I would expect and with no nylon, and not being superwash, will become one of my "handle with care" socks.

The colourway is "Neon Rainbow Black" and was distributed exclusively through The Loopy Ewe.

As usual, I'm using 2.25 mm needles and my standard Toffee Sock pattern.

October Sock Yarn - All finished

2009-10-31T19:21:00.001-07:00

Actually, these were all done much earlier this month, but it's not been the kind of month where I spent a lot of time on the computer - except for working. (I worked a lot. I'm getting too old for this.) (Does that matter?)

This was a great yarn to knit. One slubby bit - didn't bother me. The yarn is firm and on 2.25 mm needles, makes a nice firm sock.

These are very stripey - not sort of stripey, but very. Red, white and blue for Les Habs - my beloved Montreal Canadiens. When I was knitting these socks I thought of my father. Dad died recently - and no, he wasn't a Montreal fan. Dad was a dyed in the wool Toronto Maple Leafs fan - such a nice man and so misguided. When I was a kid, Dad watched hockey every Saturday night. I wasn't all that keen on hockey, but if I watched with him, and brought him cheese and crackers at half time, he'd let me stay up to watch The Saint.

I started cheering for Montreal because it made life more interesting to cheer for a team my father clearly did not like. (And was better than his team. Even in the sixties, that wasn't all that difficult.) I had no idea that to be a girl from Winnipeg cheering for Les Habs was not something I should do. We learn what it means to be Canadian in so many ways.

Yarn: Biscotte & Cie's Bella
Colourway: Go Habs, Go!!
Needles: 2.25 mm
Gauge: 8.0 (actually just a titch over)

Coming up for November: Perchance to Knit.

So many yarns, so few months.

Now, off to knit. It's Halloween and the kids have finally gone home.

First sock finished

2009-10-12T07:46:00.001-07:00

Can you say stripes? Can you say Montreal Canadiens? Yes to both.

My first sock is finished and I am very pleased with the result, although (admittedly), not yet used to the stripes. With all the socks I've knit you'd think I'd had had one that striped the way this one did, but nada.

No knots, no slubby bits on the first sock.

This is Thanksgiving Day - I'm off to work for a few hours to do catch - up, but know that when I get home, my husband will have cooked a nice Thanksgiving supper. We're doing chicken, since even with help from his son, there is no chance the three of us will do damage to a turkey - but when you think of it, it's the thought that counts.

For me, Thanksgiving is the beginning of the winter. When we had a cottage, this was the weekend we boarded up the windows and made ready for next season.

We have much to be thankful for.

Heel Flap Finished

2009-10-10T09:43:00.001-07:00

Up and over the heel flap. The stitches have been picked up for the gusset.

The snow flew here yesterday - briefly, but it's cold enough that there is still a frosting of snow on the ground in shaded places. It feels a bit odd, not because it's October - here on the prairies, it's often this cold in October and rare that we don't have snow before Halloween, but we still have green leaves on the trees and our grass is still green. (Note to self: take photos.)

We had an unusually warm September - enough so that September was the warmest month of the year so far. Go figure. As one commentator said, "Take Manitoba out of the oven: we think it's done." It's been a blessing for our farmers, who had been looking at a less-than-average crop. This one may be better than average, because there was so much heat during September.

October is proving herself to be different. With Thanksgiving upon us, this is really what most of us think as being the last non-winter outdoor weekend of the year - time to close up the cottage or finish taking out the garden. That's my job for the rest of the day.

At least when the weather is cold, it doesn't seem illogical to be knitting socks.

Now done up the leg

2009-10-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

This yarn is delightful - it does stripe - broad stripes of about five rounds each, with an absolutely predictable pattern - white, blue red ad infinitum. Very Montreal Canadiens.

It's an easily knit sock - the yarn has a relatively tight twist, so I have had no problems with splitting and, as I predicted from the cuff, this will be a nice, firm sock.

You can probably tell the stripes still amaze me. This is the first sock I've knit (and there have been one or two) where the stripes were like this - not created by each change in colour being more or less a round, but by lengths of one colour after another. There's little shift between colours, with the exception of the red change to white, where there is a little transfer. There is no purple, however, where the blue and red meet. The stripes simply change colour.

So far, so good.

On the needles

2009-10-05T20:08:00.001-07:00

And we're off - this yarn is a little thicker than either of the others - with 17 wpi, you wouldn't think so, but this will be a nice firm sock. It also looks as if it's going to stripe - and I don't mean sort of stripe, or bands of colour - I mean plain old stripes. The break between the colours is sudden and so far, may be almost equal. We'll see when I knit more.

October Sock Yarn - Biscotte & Cie

2009-10-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

This is October's test sock yarn. It's a Canadian yarn by Montreal dyer Biscotte & Cie. The colourway is "Go Habs Go", which is what attracted me to it. For those of you who don't know who the Habs are (which essentially means everyone who is not a hockey fan), the "Habs" are "Les Habitants", which is what Montrealers call their beloved Montreal Canadiens. Check out the jersey - big C for Canadiens, with an H for Les Habs. I grew up cheering for the Canadiens, mostly because my father cheered for the Toronto Maple Leafs and it was the best way to make Saturday night interesting. Blue, red and a bit of white - those are the team colours.

I've wound this yarn and it had one knot - which I find acceptable - and long repeats for the colour changes.

After last month's knit, I'm going to swatch this one first to make sure I get my firm 8.5 sts per inch. One more Toffee Sock coming up.

September Sock Yarn Review

2009-09-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

No photos today - we've had horrible weather on those days when I've had time to take photographs and with the days getting shorter and shorter, no time in the morning before I head off to work. Now, I could leave work before eight, but I don't think it would get the work done.

This months yarn was Dashing Dach's Dachs Socks, knit on size 2.25 mm needles on my standard Toffee Sock Pattern. Although the gauge was the same as last month's yarn, the sock doesn't feel as firm. I think I would go down to 2.00 the next time I used this yarn. My fingers also tell me this is a fine yarn, which made sense to me when I looked at the length of 4 oz of yarn - 560 yards.

The variegated yarn has short repeats, so the stripes are narrow - never more than two rows deep at any point in the sock, including over the gusset. Over the gusset, the yarn pools, which is not unexpected.

Yarn content: 100% superwash merino
Skein: 100 g, 560 yards
Needle size: 2.25 mm (US size 1)
Gauge: 8.5 sts per inch

There were no knots. Would I use this one again? I would.

September Socks Finished

2009-09-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

The September Socks are finished. I really enjoyed this knit. The yarn is smooth and there were no knots at all. The dye is even and produces a narrow stripe pattern, except over the gusset where there was pooling. Since I like pooling, this is never an issue, but I know for some, the objective is to keep the look of the sock consistent throughout. If that is your objective, you will need to use a different heel, since a gusset heel always produces a distortion of the yarn pattern due to the increase in stitches.

Stats coming soon - before the end of the month.

Would I use this yarn again? Yes. The next time I would use smaller needless to make it firmer, as on my 2.25's it may be a little less dense than I would like. For me that's not particularly an issue, since I wear my socks mostly with Birks and there isn't a lot of hard wear on them. If you wear them in shoes you might want a denser gauge.

Here's another photo of the gusset, showing the pooling. One side of the sock was quite blue/green/navy - the other side, much whiter. Worked for me.

Dashing Dachs - Over the Gusset

2009-09-17T05:30:00.001-07:00

The heel is turned and the gusset shaping has begun - well, to be honest, it's almost finished. I like the way the colours pool in the gusset. I'm such a person of small pleasures: I know that a striping yarn will change when the number of stitches increases, and I'm always eager to see it happen. (I do believe I said "small pleasures" - at least I'm honest.) I should have turned the sock over, because on the other side is a more white patch, corresponding with the blue pool on the front.

So far so good. This yarn would certainly get a second look from me.

Dashing Dachs - Up the Leg

2009-09-14T05:31:00.001-07:00

The leg is finished. The yarn has continued to stripe as I expected from doing the cuff. If I was going to use this yarn again, I might move down to 2.0 needles. I tend to be a loose knitter, as many Continental knitters are, so I use smaller needles than many - for instance, if a pattern calls for 2.5 mm needles, I use 2.25 without thinking about it - and my goal in this series was to use the same needle so I could compare the firmness of the sock.

This yarn has a very soft hand and good lustre and I am tempted to use another skein of it for a scarf.

More knitting tomorrow. For today it's off to work.

This is an interesting yarn

2009-09-08T20:09:00.001-07:00

this is an interesting yarn. The colour changes are short, so the stripes, (such as they are) are usually only one round, or even less. There are a couple of places where a colour repeats itself from round to round, but not because the repeat is long enough to come around on itself, but because they're so short.

This is not complaining - this is really an observation about how a yarn behaves. However, it is a little difficult to predict what the sock will look like, so that will have to wait.

I don't think I would like this yarn with this colourway for a heavily patterned sock - the quick repeats would hide any kind of delicate (or even not-so-delicate) lace or cables.

And we're off!!

2009-09-06T20:40:00.001-07:00

We're off!! I've cast on 68 stitches for my standard Toffee Sock and have completed the purl ridge and five or six rounds.

When I unlooped the skein (is "unlooped" a word?) I could see that this yarn in the skein did not have solid areas of colour, but instead, the changes went all through the skein. So far, none of the colours has repeated on top of itself, so I am expecting that the colour changes will be very short.

The yarn is soft and does not seem to be splitty. (Another technical term.) As much as I can I will use the same needles for each sock so whatever differences there are will not be because the needles are different. The odd colour needle is what keeps my count straight - and also because I have only four Pony Pearl 2.25's now, and since I knit with five, I need something straight and pointy on both ends.

September is always a hard month to start, since Labour Day comes right at the beginning and then somehow we're into fall and and real world and regardless of what the weather is like, summer is over.

September Sock Yarn Review - Dashing Dachs

2009-09-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

September's yarn is Dashing Dachs' Dach Sox - (whoa, that was a mouthful) in the Futbol colourway. It's described as Fingering Superwash Merino, with no nylon. I haven't wound it yet, but can report that it feels good in the skein.

Now - off to the needles, using the same pattern as I did for the August yarn - my Toffee Sock.

August Sock Yarn Review

2009-08-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

These are the finished socks from the Sock Yarn Review. The August yarn was The Painted Tiger's Classic Merino, knit on 2.25 mm needles on my standard toffee sock pattern. ( I can't use the term "vanilla sock", because I always think of the Yarn Harlot and her vanilla sock, so it occurred to me that "toffee sock" might just work. Toffee is like vanilla - nothing terribly fancy, but always worth having.)

Yarn content: 100% merino
Skein: 100 g, 440 yards
Needle size: 2.25 mm (US Size 1)
Gauge: 8.5 sts per inch

This is a nice firm sock. I'll let you know how it wears. The dye is nicely saturated and intense, although not a great deal of lustre. It was a joy to knit, as the yarn is soft.

The Painted Tiger has her own website - ThePaintedTiger.com - and also has yarn available on etsy. The Classic Merino is now called Tiger Classic.

Next up: September

Gertrude Skein finished

2009-08-30T19:54:00.001-07:00

These are my basic socks with a mosaic leg. The Gertrude Skein colourway is in Blue Moon's STR mediumweight, which makes a dense sock that is very nice for boots or clogs. This yarn is aalways wonderful to knit with - as close as I've found to a gold standard for yarns. I know that in the previous club shipment, BMFA had problems with knots, but this one was knot free.

The pattern didn't work well for me - I tried, mind you, I really did. I got all the way through the second repeat of the Rogue Roses on the leg and then realized that although Iliked the panel, it was difficult to see the roses with all the colour on the sock. I think I'd like a more solid colour for that pattern, so I put it aside for later.

I wish I could convince my kid that colourful socks would be good for her. As far as socks go, she likes any colour as long as it's black.

Next up on the needles - BMFA STR

2009-08-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

This was the May 2009 (I think - I'm working off memory here) club yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Wonderful yarn, but I've given up on the pattern. Rogue Roses is an interesting knit, but it and I weren't getting along, so I frogged and now it's going to be my simple, standard sock. It's nothing fancy, but it works.

It seems to me that STR mediumweight is almost a sport weight yarn, so these will probably be winter boot socks. People who live on the prairies need boot socks, so these socks won't get the exposure they might if I were wearing them with Berks, but they'll keep my toes toasty warm.

2009-08-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

Not a great photo, but it turned out to be a very nice sock. The yarn was easy to knit, with no splitting, no knots and a good feel on the hands. I know that sounds sort of silly, how it feels on the hands, but if you knit a lot (and I do), how yarn feels makes a huge difference.

This yarn stripes nicely - I like the long yellow spirals - and is much brighter in the sock than it was in the skein. That's a bit unusual, since most of the time, I like the skeins better than the socks.

I'll take better pictures when its mate is also off the needles.