I think I mentioned I was going to take a short break from the mitten cuffs, but it grew and grew, so I’ve got all sorts of things to share.
I started my break off with a nice, plain sock.
I started this sock in June, I think, and got about halfway through before I put it in time out. That’s because I was trying to knit it toe-up with a gusset instead of a short row heel, and it really didn’t work out for me. I even tried reknitting it a couple of times, and it was just a spectacular failure. So I cut my losses, and knit it top-down, and it worked out perfectly the first time.
I used Vesper self-striping yarn for this sock, and like Heather at Knitting and Reading, I wasn’t very impressed with the yarn. I didn’t have the undyed spots that she had, but the base yarn isn’t all that nice (although the unevenness above is because of the reknitting, not the yarn; I’m sure it’ll even out when I wash the sock). I’m sure that dying this sort of self-striping yarn is labor intensive, based on tutorials I’ve seen, but this yarn is expensive enough that I hoped for a nicer base. I had, of course, acquired two skeins before I had knit with the yarn and drawn this conclusion, but was rescued by Ravelry. See, when I was adding my mitten project to the database, I ended up browsing the photos of Fleece Artist people had stashed, and noticed that someone had a berry colored skein up for trade. I offered up a couple of different things, and she decided she’d trade for the Vesper I had (which is not a terrible yarn, just isn’t my cup of tea).
The new yarn is gorgeous and soft; I’m more than happy with the trade. (Speaking of swaps, remember those socks I knit for Rosalux? She received my package, and they fit! I love successful trades!)
One sock down, I unsurprisingly got distracted again, this time in the form of a baby sweater.
I’m using this free pattern and Socks that Rock Lightweight in Blue Moonstone, and I love how it’s turning out. I’ve only got the sleeves left, but I don’t have 3mm DPNs, and having to magic loop the sleeves is driving me nuts. This isn’t an urgently needed sweater, so I’ll probably just order some from Knitpicks and finish the sleeves later.
And because I needed some mindless knitting to take on a fabulous women’s retreat my church put on this weekend, I started more socks. I can justify this, though: I want the Vesper socks to match, and so I’d have to take a tape measure to verify that I cast on the same way (yes, I measured on the first one), and I’d have to carry an extra sock to make sure that the heel happened at the same point in the color sequence, and also, I wanted to use the first installment of the Yarn Pirate Booty Club, since the third one went in the mail this weekend. Ahem.
That’s the progress as of last Thursday; since then, I’ve finished the first sock and I’m about halfway down the second cuff now. Love it! Of course, as I was catching up on my favorite knitting blogs, I experienced a weird moment of synchronicity. Remember how I mentioned that Heather (not my roommate) and I were both disappointed by our Vesper yarn? Of course you do, it was only a couple of paragraphs ago. Well, she started a new sock, too, and it closely resembles the sock I just finished! Okay, so mine’s fingering weight, and hers is sport, and mine’s got a peachy color, while hers has pink, but they’re pretty similar!
I’m confident that I can finish the second sock without getting distracted, mostly because I already cast it on. Plus, it’s for me, and I want to wear the socks, and those are both good indicators that I’ll finish them quickly. That, and the road construction outside of my apartment, and the new part-time tutoring gig that involves occasionally being stuck in interstate traffic jams. I’m hoping to be able to wear these new socks by next weekend!
