31 December, 2008

FO 08

2008 Finished Objects

These are my projects that were started and (mostly) finished in 2008. The mosaic was made using Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker tool.

My one goal for fibery adventures in 2009 is to learn to weave on a four-harness loom. Oh, and maybe knit a few socks.

Happy New Year, everyone! and Good Luck!

23 December, 2008

Plum Chilly

Plum Mitten

It's very, unseasonably, miserably, cold, snowy, slushy and icy here in the Pacific Northwest, and my knitting has turned from socks to mittens. Or gloves. Or glovey-mittens. These are intended for a photographer friend, who likes to photograph in the icy cold but occasionally needs his fingers & thumbs free of woolly covering. I plan to knit these as fingerless gloves, then to add colorwork mitten-tops and thumb-tops.

I am using Ann Budd's "Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" for the basic glove shape. I made the corrugated cuff with Wendy's brilliantly simple technique.

The yarn is (of course) Hazel Knits artisan sock, in Rogue Plum and Laguna.

Happy Festivus to all my wonderful readers (all two of them)!

21 December, 2008

Like a Rolling Stone

Moss Agate Socks

My brother and I worked out a great deal for birthday gifts this year. For my birthday, he went to his local yarn store and chose a skein of Blue Moon Socks that Rock in a colorway he liked (Moss Agate). For his birthday, I knit the yarn into some woolly waffley socks to keep his feet warm this winter. These socks are already well-travelled: they went to Boston with me and most of the first sock was knit at 30,000 ft elevation, both east- and west-bound.

Moss Agate has green, gold, plum and a bit of brown. The garter/waffle rib pattern created even stripes with very little pooling. I made the sock legs longer than usual (for warmth) but then found I would run out of yarn, so I added toes in a complementary color from yarn in my stash. My brother loves them - and they fit!

Blue Moon Socks That Rock Lightweight Moss Agate

project name: John's Birthday Socks
pattern: garter rib (modified)
designer: Charlene Schurch, Sensational Knitted Socks
main yarn: BMFA Socks that Rock (lightweight) color Moss Agate
toe yarn: Claudia Hand Paint Fingering color Honey
needles: 2.25 mm (US 1)
size: men's size 10, cast on 72 stitches
my gauge: 7 st/inch
Ravelry project link
project notes: I modified the garter rib pattern by knitting two plain rows between each rib row, which gives the fabric a waffle look.