BackBou Exposed and some FOs

So the BackBou was outed this week as the obsessed baker that he is. Those of us in blogland (and those of us who happen to live with him) have known about his alternative lifestyle for a while now, but let me tell you, it's generating some interest in his attorney world of work. Read the Home Style article here. The print edition has some great pictures of the kids helping to make the pizzas.

In addition to working on the lace scarf and some socks (I'm unfortunately not the uber-sock knitter that Tiennie is!), I was able to finish these hats (for my neighbor's new twins) over my vacation.


Pattern: Cabled Greenspun Beanie from Nature Babies by Tara Jon Manning.
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK in Mirage and Sweet (I think, I'm not sure about the names of the colors)
Needles: US 6s

Notes: I really liked Nature Babies. I checked it out from the library and really enjoyed looking through it. I think I'm going to try to make the soft play bloxes to sell at a RWS festival. Or maybe the stitched moon and star toys. Or maybe the flannel star babies. Or maybe some elfin bonnets. Or ...

Setting it Aside

It's not that I didn't knit when we were in Maine, because I did. At night, when the kids were tucked into their beds in the sleeping loft, I would knit on the New England sock as Mr S read. On the plane and on the interstate, I cranked through Potato. I made some significant progress on each; I got through the heel and into the foot on the sock, and I got far enough on Potato that I finished it up this week (and will have the FO to debut this weekend).

But Maine, for me, was about putting aside everything to engage. It is hard to admit this openly, but we all know that knitting can distance you. Like TV or a good book, it can mediate the way you interact with the present, a shield against intimacy with your loved ones. It can be like a giant, flashing neon sign saying, "Leave me alone." Sometimes, I need that flashing neon sign. Sometimes, I need to be left alone, and knitting provides me with some solitude. Sometimes, you really do need to shut up because I really am counting.

But on this trip, I wanted to be alive and awake to my surroundings. I didn't want to miss one call of one loon on our pond. I wanted to hear the leaves rustling, and the sound of the kids playing in the woods. I wanted to watch the fog lift over Cadillac Mountain and hear the sound of our canoe gliding through the waterlillies. There was no TV, no radio, no newspapers or internet or cell phone. It was remote enough that there was no hum of air conditioners, no road noise in the background. (It was also close enough to civilization that is was just down the road from a yarn shop, but that is a post for another day.)

There were moments when I wished I brought my sock. I regretted a few missed photo ops for the blog: the sock on top of the mountain, the sock and a lobster, the sock at the Clam Box and the Great Maine Lumberjack Show.

But then I wonder if I brought the sock to the lobster pound, would I have been too distracted to catch this:

My husband is at his happiest eating lobsters.

Would I have been taking pictures of my sock on top of Cadillac Mountain and missed this:

Rosebud was truly moved by the experience of being on top of a mountain for the first time.

Would I have built this Fairy Bed in the woods with her if I was busy with my sock?

Would I have avoided sticky fingers and gooey kisses to protect the yarn?

So I don't have a lot of knitting to show you, but what I do have is (shhhhh) better.

Back Home Again

We arrived home yesterday after a glorious vacation in Rockport, MA. I had a great visit with Liz and then my extended family, finished a project, went whale watching, and read HP7 once, twice, and then certain chapters over and over and over again ... I have lots to blog about, but first things first ... vacation yarn buying ...

I had determined that I would not visit yarn stores on this trip. Liz had already gifted me with the wonderful Schaeffer Anne and I didn't want to test my family's fiber tolerance after they cheerfully accompanied me to MDSW. I'm also trying to keep a handle on the stash. I was fairly certain that I could avoid any fiber stores. (Stop laughing now. I mean it.) There happens to be however, a curious phenomenon that occurs when a yarn-loving knitter enters a fiber-friendly city. It is magnetic. Yarn stores just materialize in the path of the yarn lover and the force of the subsequent pull puts gravity to shame.

It happened to me while Letterboxing with the BackBou's wonderful cousin and her family in Portland, ME ...

After finding the Casco Bay letterbox, this yarn store just jumped in front of the path ...



Seaport Yarn! Well, I had to go in ... I ended up with 4 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (two Fresh Stripe and two Jungle Stripe).

I have never knit with this yarn (can you believe it?) and I can't wait!! While in the yarn store, I saw two extremely nice knitters who were executing a very successful yarn crawl -- they offered again and again to show me where the other great yarn stores were on there map, but after seeing the warning looks from the BackBou, I declined. However, it seemed quite clear that Portland is a fiber-friendly city.

As if that weren't enough, Portland has a Flatbread Company Restaurant! Lorna's and Flatbread? We were in heaven!

Socks and Rocks

I have returned from Maine only to be buried in a week's worth of scummy laundry and an empty larder. I'll return to posting later this week, but in the meantime, my sister, the World's Most Deserving Recipient of Handknits, has prepared the post below. An occasional guest-poster on XRK, she is once again providing the Muggle's Voice, extoling the handknit socks in action.

And don't miss her last statement -- she finally is ready to join the cult learn to knit!

As many of you know, I'm in a master's program for Environmental Studies at UPenn. Part of this fabulous program is a class called Rocky Mountain Geology and Ecology, which could also be entitled: Oh My God, What Am I Doing With This Desk Job. Basically, I went out gallivanting in the Rocky Mountains in Montana and Wyoming, and have had in my company two pair of Big Sis's socks along for the ride.

Pair #1 you know well: Trekking Blah. Which brings me to the first order of business: A confession. Yes, XRK readers, I have gone on record as a No-Socks-With-Sandals kind of gal, but alas, here is my (not really) shame laid bare:



I found a darn good reason: a cold, 8000-foot Rocky Mountain summer evening, with a cold delicious beer, after a long, hot hike. Guilty as charged, and not feeling bad about it at all.

But the real point here is to wax poetic about my new Tofutsies. So beautiful are they. You know this from our pre-trip shoot in Avalon, NJ, earlier this summer. They are incredibly silky, the colors pool delightfully, and they fit like a dream. Sis made them a wee bit longer in comparison to TB, and the heels hit me just right this time.

The first field test of the Tofutsies came on July 4th. My classmates and I struck out to the Glacier Lake trailhead off Route 212 in Montana to climb a mere two miles... and just shy of 1500 vertical feet. It's a gorgeous, eye-poppingly beautiful, lung-burning, exhilirating hike which I highly recommended if you're out that way.

For any pair of socks, this is a serious test. What did I find? I didn't even notice them. Hence, perfection. They didn't rub funny or bunch or get soggy or any such terrible thing.

And they made a fine picture at the top of the world, or so it seemed to be:


For the remaining ten odd days in the wild, I put both Tofutsies and Trekking Blah through the worst possible washing and drying regimen imaginable. I washed them repeatedly in a sink at my mountain camp, with water from Howell Gulch creek and a bar 'o soap. They dried on a wooden railing in the dry alpine air, with rocks as clothespins.

I wore them repeatedly, day in, day out, for two hard weeks of trekking along the Montana/Wyoming border. I caught grasshoppers with my bare hands for hours. I saw bison, wolves and grizzlies in Yellowstone. I climbed ridges and valleys and benches and ditches and glacial moraines and creeks. I took them on and off for dips in swimming holes of freezing water and boiling springs. I pranced amongst alpine wildflowers. I drank at the Grizzly Bar in Roscoe, Montana. I bet on racing pigs in Bear Creek. I saw men chase wild horses at the rodeo, ride bucking broncos bareback as storms charged across the plains 50 miles away in plain view. I answered a cowbell for dinner.

And dear readers, these socks, both pairs, for all these activities - they totally, totally rock.

Not one pull, none too much in the pilling department, no residual smell, no weird blisters, nothing. Nothing but good that is. I have relegated the commercial socks of this world to the dustbin of history and say to you now: Never hike in anything except perfectly fashioned handmades. By Liz, preferably of course.




Now if only she would make me two dozen odd pair more...

Or, if only I could knit. Hey Sis, how's about a sock lesson?!?

Cheers XRK friends - til next we adventure again!

Vacation Knitting

The family and I are headed to Maine on Friday, and we are in the throes of vacation planning and packing. First, on the enthusiastic recommendation of my sister who called me from the top of a mountain in Montana to tell me how much she loved them, I furiously knit myself a pair of TOFUtsies socks to wear while hiking.

They are a bit too small; the heel flap is too shallow, but they will do. After spending a year perfecting my toe-ups, I'm working on my cuff-down technique, and I still need some more practice. TOFUtsies is a very thin yarn, so next time I'll stick with a US1/2.25 mm needle and cast on more stitches and make my heel flap longer. I do love the silky feel of these socks, so you can expect to see more simple TOFUtsies from me.

Once I had the appropriate footwear packed, my attention turned to what knitting to pack. We'll be staying in a pond-side cabin in the Maine woods, with several days spent in the surrounding Acadia/Schoodic regions. I'll have a plane ride, some good long car rides, and hopefully, some time knitting pond-side as well.

I always travel with socks, and of course, I had to bring my summer crush, Nancy Bush, with me. Predictably, I'll be knitting the New England Socks from Knitting on the Road, corny as it may be. The dilemma was what yarn to choose. A lacy pattern calls for a solid or mostly-solid, so here were the candidates:

Lobster red Spirit Trail :: Leafy green Gems Opal :: Watery blue Koigu

You'll have to see the winner when I return, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which one I chose.

Much of this trip will be spent in the car, meandering up Route 1, going back and forth between the cabin and Acadia. I cannot admire the scenery while hunched over a lace chart, so I will need a simple knit as well. Tomato is coming along, now being knit on smaller needles.

I am a chronic overpacker, but as the chief packer for the entire family, I am trying to break myself of this habit. I think stopping at two knitting projects seems like a good place to start. Surely a pair of socks and an entire sweater should keep my needles occupied for a week?

See you when I get back!

Navel Gazing

Ann and her family passed through Philadelphia for a quick overnight visit on their way North, and it was so fantastic. Yarn was exchanged, socks were knitted, Greek food was eaten, the kids played like old friends, and we made plans for a family weekend in the fall.

Ann gave Liz Fleece Artist Sea Wool
Liz gave Ann Schaefer Anne

Have you seen the newest Yarnival? I haven't had a chance to click through all of this month's features, but a certain Dear John letter to a sock pattern is featured this month.


In other news, despite having a a very refined taste in literature, our pal Bridget likes to slum it by reading our blog and likes it so much that she's nominated us for a Rockin' Girl Blogger Award. Shucks, Bridget, thanks! Carol introduced us to Bridget at MDSW and were instantly friends. Bridget has great literary content on her blog, with lots of reviews and recommendations, so if you like to read, check her out.


I suppose I get to name some other Rockin' Girls, so here goes:

Specs, since we have a mutual deep love of David Bowie.

Rachel, because maybe it will give her motivation to blog a bit more. She's been super-busy at work, and though I wish her lots of career success, I am endlessly entertained by her blog and wish she could post a bit more. And really, anyone who goes swimming in her wedding dress totally rocks in my book.

StuntMother and Eyeknit at Two Sharp Sticks deserve more readers. Eyeknit's analysis of her FOs in unparalleled, and her attention to detail rivals Grumperina's. That's saying a lot. StuntMother knits a staggering variety of things, from the most diaphanous lace to a sturdy woolen sweater, and she is an amazing writer, which she showcases at her other blog. StuntMother recently moved with her family to the country, and so I have an added empathy for them, as they too are now knitting friends separated by geography and united by blogging. They are also my friends in real life, and are amazingly accomplished women in their own rights.

Jody, because she is one of the smartest knitters I know, and is great company as well. But you all knew that already.

And finally, Sally at the Frog and the Daisy, a pal from the Montco Sit and Knit. Mostly a crocheter, she is also a natural knitter and serious yarnaholic. She also was one of my very first friends when I moved up here, and remains one of my best.


Up next, vacation knitting dilemmas.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Instead of blogging (or knitting much at all) this week, I:

went blonde spontaneously

found my perfect pair of jeans for 40% off

ate fresh raspberries from my backyard

took the kids to the pool every day

I also frogged another sweater-in-progress (Tomato was too big), and knit one sock. Blogging is likely to be sporadic over the next couple of weeks around here (for all of us). Mo is on a bit of hiatus since returning to work this Spring, and Ann and I will be in vacation mode over the next few weeks. But we'll post occasionally and try to check in with your blogs too.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer as much as we are!

Widdershins on the Rebound

My Darling Widdershins,

You knew that you would not be alone for long. I know that you must have been devastated when Liz kicked you to the curb, but I saw my opportunity. I had been eyeing you from afar for months now waiting for my chance to try my needles on your clever pattern.

I know I was a clumsy knitter for our first time together. I was trying to rework the pattern for my 4-year-old and I had to keep re-knitting to get the fit just right. But you made it all so easy and natural.

My only regret is that I was so casual about our project – small stash-busting socks. I know you thought I was just using you in order to finish up oddments, and, truth be told, I was. By the end, I was so completely smitten with your heel flap that I wanted the project to last longer – much, much longer.

I am yours Widdershins.*

With Big Knit Love,
Ann

*On an as needed basis of course: I do reserve the right to keep seeing Nancy Bush. She is a jealous mistress and I must not stray for long …



Pattern: Widdershins by Brooke Chenoweth Creel
Yarns: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids, Burgundy (toe); Wildfoote Vinca Minor (cuff); Claudia’s Handpainted Purple Earth (main color)
Needles: US1s dpn
Notes: I made these to fit a child’s size 10 and just adjusted things as I went. It was marvelous!

Fiberlicious Cotton

The Cropped Cardigan project has been scrapped. It wasn't the yarn's fault; I just couldn't modify the design to my satisfaction. It is hard to pull off a reaaaaalllllly deep neckline like that when you have curves, and every time I tried it on, I didn't like how I looked. I tried to raise the neckline twice, and gave up on a third attempt when I realized that I would have to frog the entire thing to raise it further. I haven't actually frogged it entirely; I figure I have a giant gauge swatch to study, measure, wash, and observe. Perhaps the Sylvan Spirit will be some kind of sweater-y thing (remember my yardage issues?) or maybe something else.

But I am not chastened in my attempts to actually make myself a sweater. My next try?


Tomato, in chocolate brown King Tut Cotton, with no fair-isle stripe across the chest or anywhere else for that matter. Knitting Daily reinforced my interest in a pattern that I had previously noticed at MDSW and during a perusal of No Sheep For You. My love of raglans knitted from the top down is well-documented, and despite my failure with the cardigan this week, I am quite excited for this top!

Conwys

I love Nancy Bush. These socks were such a joy to knit and like Liz, I'm having a fling with Nancy.

Pattern: Conwys from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids, Burgundy
Needles: US 1s dpn
Notes: No modifications. I loved knitting with this yarn and will knit with it again. I was surprised by the color which I found tended toward a deep rose rather than what I typically think of as burgundy. It is really lovely.

Lace Report
I haven't been completing my required 2 pattern repeats of the Diamond Border Scarf. I'm going to be picking it up much more this week. Although I did buy a pattern for the XRK Yarn-Along Yarn -- Sylvan Spirit. Many thanks to Melanie at The Yarn Lounge for help in picking it out! I thought it appropriate to knit the Leaf Lace Shawl with this yarn due to the name and the color. I won't start for a few more weeks since I want to be really making headway on the Diamond Border Scarf before I start another lace project.

Stash Report
I was in Charlottesville a week and a half ago and picked up these goodies at The Needle Lady.

Koigu and Jitterbug

Yummy. I see more socks and a chevie for me!

Garden Report
Here's how the garden looked at the close of June. Since I snapped this, the black-eyed Susans and purple coneflower have burst into bloom as well as my favorite oriental lilies. Things are so lush and full -- my time is spent mostly in watering, weeding, and deadheading ... oh and knitting on the patio!

XRK Yarn-Along

It doesn't take a sharp-eyed reader to notice that the three XRK bloggers have very different aesthetics, and are inspired to knit for very different reasons. When the same pattern catches all of our fancies, then, it is the perfect occasion for an XRK KAL. So at MDSW when Ann and I both swooned over the same yarn in the same color, we knew it would be the perfect yarn for the first ever XRK Yarn-Along. The yarn, Green Mountain Spinnery's Sylvan Spirit is a 50/50 wool/tencel blend, in a beautiful silvery green colorway called Peridot.

The idea of our yarn-along is to see what the three of us create with this same yarn, to see how different knitters can take the same material and create something totally unique, as well as learn from each other how each of us treat the same material.

So as the first knitter with the Sylvan Spirit yarn, I have some impressions and observations:

- the yarn is even more beautiful knitted up than in the skein. There are beautiful yellow flecks throughout the yarn, and some darker green ones as well. The yellow surprised me, especially with the generally silvery cast of the yarn, creating a verdigris color that makes the fabric rich and interesting, even in plain stockinette. The stitches are beautifully defined, and the fabric it creates is an interesting blend of elegant (the silveriness) and rustic (the tweediness and hand).

- the wool is not like a soft merino, so it does not have that super-soft hand, but I imagine that will change some upon washing. An informative review of the yarn here confirms these suspicions. It has a crisp, almost crunchy hand, but the fabric feels a little smoother once knitted up, similar to hemp or linen, although it is not at all twine-like to knit with. I wouldn't call it itchy, but itch-tolerance is relative.

- I am getting about 5 spi on US7s.

- This yarn would make a beautiful clapotis or any other simple shawl. It isn't smoothly silky, but the drape would be divine, especially knit at a larger gauge.

I originally had the Rusted Root pattern in mind but discarded that idea when I realized that this yarn really is wool. Not in that really scratchy, Lopi-like way, but in that really warm way. This is not a summer-top yarn. So I started the Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits (also available for free here). Although my gauge is different, I think this yarn is a good match for the pattern, and it is the right weight for a cropped cardigan, a perfect, "throw-it-on-over-something" layer. But through this process, I learned something else about this yarn that I am very, very sorry to report:

- I don't think we bought enough yarn to make a cropped cardigan. A shrug? Yes. Bolero? Maybe. Vest? Sure. But a cropped cardigan with sleeves? Probably not.

- You can buy more of the yarn here.

Enough with the Socks Already!

Alas, my membership in the SSLS was very, very short. I am too type-A to be leaving single socks laying around, waiting for their mate. So, another finished pair of socks to report, my first for the Summer of Socks KAL.



Pattern: Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern, from Knitting Vintage Socks, by Nancy Bush

Yarn & Needles: Tess Supersock & Baby, Twilight colorway, 2.75mm (US 2) KnitPicks circs
I love the twist and spring of this yarn, but I do not like two things: lots of pooling on the foot, and the dye the yarn left on my fingers. The pooling is somewhat masked by the shell pattern, but it pools nonetheless.

Pattern Mods: I had no intention of modifying this sock, and originally knit the first one with no modifications whatsoever. When I knit the second sock, I made the heel flap several rows too long because I wasn't paying attention to the pattern. I assume a heel flap has 30 rows, with 15 slipped chain stitches to pick up, and did this on the second sock, and proceeded to decrease for the gusset as usual, back down to 60 stitches.

The CFS calls for only 26 rows in the heel flap. I noticed my mistake when I tried on the second sock and it fit so much better across the instep with a longer flap. The foot of the first sock did some seriously ugly pooling as well, so I was happy to rip it out and lengthen the heel flap to match the better-fitting second sock.


Now, never would I question the genius that is Nancy Bush, but future CFS knitters might want to lengthen their heel flap too. I remembered Megan complaining that her CFS did not fit across her instep originally either. Megan and I have seriously different feet -- she is quite tall and has, um, substantial feet, while I am quite short, and my feet are decidedly small. Very different feet, same problem -- you do the math.

Despite this little issue, my torrid summer affair with Nancy Bush continues, with continued progress on the Gentleman's Fancy Sock, and perhaps Canal du Midi next in the queue.

I am not a Single Sock gal, but I did learn from my recent sock profligacy that I can knit multiple sock projects simultaneously and still not suffer from serious Second Sock Syndrome. Knitting only socks for weeks, though, has got me antsy for something a little meatier. For the last few months, I have knitted socks, accessories, stash-busting design projects for Rosebud and the like, but now I am hankering for some tops and sweaters for me, maybe some lace to get me through the dog days of summer.

I started one already. I'll blog about it more this week, but for now, a little preview, Fiberlicious-style!

I've Been Zimmermanned

On a whim about a month ago, I purchased "The Opinionated Knitter" from my LYS. Okay. Not really on a whim. Ever since Liz wowed me with her Baby Surprise Jacket and Spidey (has that baby arrived?) showed us her Tomten, I've been intrigued by Elizabeth Zimmermann and I vowed to buy one of her books. However, I always thought her patterns and writings were for knitters far more experienced and talented than I.

How wrong I was. Every knitter in the world should know and love Elizabeth Zimmermann. Her wit, talent, and, yes, opinion, is clear in every newsletter in this book. Here is my Tomten for an old friend's dear little baby. I enjoyed every minute of knitting this; I have deepened my knitting practice by allowing myself to design on the needles with the gentle guidance of EZ.

Pattern: Tomten by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: Maggi's Aran Tweed (color 03) and O-Wool Classic (I can't seem to find the color name or number)
Needles: US8s
Pattern Notes: I adjusted stitch counts for gauge and improvised to get the right vertical measurements since the vertical gauge was so different. I will spare you all the number crunching, but suffice it to say, it was not difficult. This size is about 12-18 months.

I had planned on doing an attached i-cord for the borders but didn't like the way it caused the jacket to pucker. I also really liked the way the garter stitch looked going different directions, so I just knit a garter stitch border. I'm afraid of zippers and button holes (I'll need to confront these fears one day soon), so I chose these clasps. I like the Scandinavian look.

I didn't think the sleeves were loose enough, so I didn't seam the sleeves all the way and crocheted a simple border around them. I love the look. They can be kept turned down or flipped up for a more gnomish or elfin look ...

I will gift this tomorrow and immediately start planning my next Zimmermann project. (Maybe an adult Tomten a la Brooklyn Tweed?)

XRK- Now With Fungus Protection!

My membership in the Single Sock Liberation Sisterhood has been short-lived, but I have a really good excuse. My sister needed new socks.

A student in an ecology masters program, she is about to go to Montana and Yellowstone, and she mentioned that needed to pack lots of extra socks to avoid foot funguses (fungi?) as she plotted geographical maps and collected samples with wet feet crammed inside her hiking boots. My sister cannot have fungal feet, and as a sock knitter, there is something I can do about it!

Only a sock knitter would consider trench foot a reason to buy new sock yarn, but I have been intrigued by TOFUtsies, the new-ish sock yarn from Southwest Trading Company, since its release, and thanks to my dear sister, my most fervent knitting enabler, who provided me with the perfect reason to buy it, I snapped up a skein at Rosie's and cast on right away.

Some longtime readers might remember that not only does my sister enthusiastically request the handknits, she is pleased to contribute posts to the blog to provide a muggle's perspective on the wearing of the handknitted item. This is one non-knitter totally willing to photograph her socks for my ongoing Tricot-in-Situ series, and is happy to provide fodder for Summer of Socks, too. My sister truly deserves a drawerful of handknit socks.

Pattern: Madder Ribbed Socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn& Needles: TOFUtsies, colorway 787, 2.25 mm KnitPicks Options needles

Notes: Because I am a total idiot, I knit this pattern totally incorrectly, but didn't even realize it until I began the second sock and thought the pattern seemed a lot easier that the first time. I went ahead and knit the second sock wrong too, but it looks fine.


I have heard lots of differing opinions about the yarn, but I have to say, I like it. I like it so much that I bought a second skein this week for myself. It is a touch splitty, but the super-pointy KnitPicks needles were the perfect tool for minimizing the split. It has a truly silky feel, and the short sections of color made for mostly pool-less sock knitting. I cannot speak to the wearability of these socks, but the nylon content should provide a hard-wearing pair of socks, and I anticipate that these socks will wear similarly to Regia or Opal.

My sister has promised to photograph her socks in Yellowstone this year. Now, if only we can get her to pick up the needles...

Center Pull Puke

It always seems to happen at some point. My nice center pull cake of yarn vomits up its guts. It's not a pretty sight. I know that Carol has blogged about this. And if she's not pulling from the center, I'm not pulling from the center either. Who's with me on this?

Old Yarn, New Skirt

What can I say? Rosebud, she is my muse, especially when it comes to stash busting.


Pattern: Simple Top-Down skirt using techniques from Barbara Walker's Knitting From the Top Down. I would highly recommend this book for any knitter's library. Basically, using very old leftover yarn from the stash, my gauge swatch and some simple instructions, I was able to improvise a simple round skirt with a cute ruffled edge. It would surprise you how many "designs" available on the web are almost straight from this book.

Yarn & Needles: Three skeins of Classic Elite Flash in the Lapis colorway, US 7

This project qualifies as some super-duper stash busting, as I bought a bag of this yarn over three years ago when I was still living in Richmond. I used some of it to knit a Soleil tank, and have had a few leftover hanks hanging around just waiting for the right project. Having a tiny daughter with an endless enthusiasm for her mother's handknits is my best stashbusting tip!

This yarn is a mercerized marled cotton yarn, with two plies of a sapphire blue and one turquoise ply. I have used it for several projects over the years, all of them before I began blogging (thus there are no pics for linking, sorry), and would recommend it for easy-care projects. The different colored plies creates an interesting effect, and some of the colorways are really unusual. I have managed to pick up vast quantities of this yarn twice on major sale, and nothing against the yarn, but after having knit at least five different projects with it, I am officially done with Classic Elite Flash.


The bad news is that I still have two hanks left. I wonder if Rosebud needs a halter top...

The Break-Up

Dear Widdershins,

It is not easy to write this letter, but after all we've been through, you deserve the truth. I think our love affair is over. It's almost summer, Widdie, and I think I need my freedom to knit other socks.

It's not you. It's me. No one likes to hear this, I know, but really this time it is true. You are a wonderful sock pattern, one of the best! Your magic cast-on is brilliant, so much better than those crochet-hook provisional thingies. And you know that your toe-up heel flap is clever, well-fitting, attractive and easy to execute. You are great for variegated yarns that don't want to settle prettily into a pattern, and there is nothing like Widdershins to help a knitter use up all of a skein of sock yarn.

You have meant so much to me this year as I endeavored to develop my perfect simple sock. You really were it. Oh, I tried others, and they were fine, but when I met you, it was an instant connection. You fit my small foot perfectly and I memorized you instantly. You were even simple to convert to smaller sizes for the kids.

But, summer has me looking at other socks longingly. There are so many pretty designs out there, and I think I have some perfect sock yarn for some of them. Have you seen the Sidewinder socks that Nona has designed? Don't you think my Opal yarn would be perfect for that?

Lately, a lot of my bigger, non-sock projects have involved a lot of simple stockinette, so I have been looking to socks to provide a little patterned-interest for me. And I said I owe you the truth, and the truth is, I have met someone else. Her name is Nancy, and well, she isn't just a pattern. She's a designer. An author. A sock guru. I didn't mean for this to happen, but well, there was wine, and I bought all these new KnitPicks needles, and the next thing I knew, Nancy Bush and I were having a full-blown sock affair.

(L to R, Madder Ribbed Socks in TOFUtsies, Gentleman's Fancy Sock in Brooks Farm Acero, Child's First Sock in Tess Supersock & Baby, from Knitting Vintage Socks)

Yes. Most of her socks are cuff-down. I know, I know, toe-up is superior for finishing up sock yarn, but let's be honest! We both know I have really short legs and I don't like really long cuffs anyway! I always end up with lots of yarn left over. And I know that her patterns usually work best with solid yarns, but you know what, I am thinking about branching out into solids and semi-solids.

Don't look at me disapprovingly for having so many socks on the needles. I know you counted on me to be a monogamous sock knitter, but lately, I am just too excited to stick to just one pattern. Nancy just does that to me. And lots of other knitters do it. Some even celebrate it! And I had lunch with a couple of them who really encouraged me to move in this direction, and you know what, Megan and Ashley are right. It is time for me to spread my sock wings and fly in all directions.

You taught me so much about how to knit socks to fit my feet, but I think Nancy can move me to the next level, to teach me to tweak existing patterns for fit. You should see all the different heel flaps and toes she has to teach me! You don't want me to stagnate as a sock knitter, do you?

Look, it isn't forever. You are the perfect pattern for self-patterning yarns, and I always have room in my stash for self-patterning yarns. And whenever I need a simple sock, you know I will always, always reach for you.

We had a great run, and I think we are going out with a bang with these Vesper socks we made for me and Rosebud. That juicy bright Sweetwater colorway is perfect for your simple lines, and the stripes settled perfectly into your heel flap.

Twin Widdershins for Rosebud and me

Vesper Superwash Merino & Nylon, Sweetwater colorway

I need my freedom, Widdershins, but I'll be back. I promise.

Love,
Liz

Digging the Lace

I've been working on a lace scarf with my Sea Silk. I had to knit and frog a few times before I got the hang of the pattern and of correcting my mistakes. Now, after 10 repeats of the border I feel good. Real good. I love it. It is currently sharing knitting time with some other projects, but I hope to be done with this in about 3 weeks or so (I am not a fast knitter!).

The pattern is from Victorian Lace Today: Scarf with the No. 20 edging. Or as I have been referring to it: The Diamond Border Scarf.

I cannot impress upon you all enough how much I love this Sea Silk. I have been unable to capture the beauty of the colors and certainly if you have felt it, you know that one would have to be a poet to fully describe the texture. And the smell is ... well, vacation. Knitting this project is just a feast for the senses (I guess the hearing thing is lacking. But I've been listening to lots of good music while knitting as well ...)

I leave you with today's colors in the garden.