Catch-up on December

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.