The Colours Got Me

A podcaster was knitting with Sophie's Toe yarn (Emily Parson @emilyquilts.com), and I went to check out her hand-dyed yarns. I fell for this one, Sophie's Toe Sock yarn, 100% merino superwash, 350 yards, in the Iris colorway :

When it arrived, I went to put it with my sockweight yarn and found a skein of Koigu in a very similar colorway:

I also found a solid purple Koigu kppm skein:

I love having yarn in my stash, waiting for something to happen. Now I get to dream about what I could create with these three skeins, 700 yards of sockweight yarn:

 I'm thinking maybe socks or a shawl, perhaps Antarktis....❀❀❀

Fall in the Garden

Because it was such a glorious fall day, I took my half-completed shawl (The Lonely Tree Shawl by Sylvia Bo Bilvia, knit in Madelinetosh vintage Glazed Pecan) out to the back garden to take a work in progress picture:

I also had to capture some garden shots as we are having a rare, true autumn. Typically, the green foliage  is struck by a hard frost in early September, causing the foliage to brown quickly and fall. But this year, we've still not had a hard frost, so there was time for the changing colours to happen:

coral bells

hardy geranium

hardy geranium

sedum 'Autumn Joy'

spirea

false astilbe

plum

spirea

\

barberry

leaves on the rundle rock path

a local artist's glass ball

view of the backyard and garage from the house

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October 22: Finished pics:

March Socks in Progress

2014 is the Year of the Socks for me. It should be, given all the sock yarn I've managed to squirrel away.
Lately, I've been scouting the Ravelry sock forums to see what people have knit. I came across this lovely free pattern, Estonian Button Stitch Socks by Jane Prater. I love learning new stitch patterns, plus I think it nicely showcases variegated yarn.

I'm knitting it in Phydeaux Chaussette sock yarn (80% superwash merino, 20% nylon). colorway, Vignoble. This gorgeous skein was purchased by a friend for me at Stitches West in Santa Clara, California in February 2014.

©dedolha

Did you know....?  Chaussette is the french word for 'sock'. 

Because I often start a new sock pattern before finishing the second sock, I have joined the 12socksin2014 forum on Ravelry to keep me on track. I've completed 4 pair so far, so off to a good start. 

Another pair of socks I'm currently working on is the Sunday Swing socks by Kristel Nyberg, the pattern available free on Knitty.com: 

I'm using Western Sky Knits Aspen Sock (100% merino), colorway Kettle Rainbow. This skein was also picked up at Stitches West 2014. I love seeing the difference in how variegated skeins are in the skein and after knit up...

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March 27, I'm pleased to report that I finished sock #1 and immediately cast on #2; I'm currently starting the leg.

To mark my serious commitment to sock knitting, and to celebrate my March birthday, I have ordered Signature Needle Arts 2.5 mm 6" double-pointed needles. I've heard everyone raving about these needles and I hope the hype is true, as these babies set me back $65 Cdn (incl. shipping).

January's Sweaters: Slanted Gretel Tee, Goodale, Sibella, and Moira

One of my goals for 2014 was to finish up some old sweater wips. The first up was the Slanted Gretel Tee by Petra Manis, knit in Madelinetosh alpaca sport (50% merino, 50% alpaca) in the color Logwood:

©spdolha

I had almost finished the Slanted Gretel Tee in September 2012, but found the top raglan wasn't fitting me properly. So, I ripped the top part back to above the bust and figured out my own sizing/decreases to make it fit better. I had alternated skeins on the original sweater as well as on the re-knit part; unfortunately, there is a noticeable difference from where I re-started. Knowing myself, I will likely try to fix that at some point... 

The second sweater I modified was Goodale by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. It is knit in Madelinetosh 80/10/10 sport in the Dr Zhivago's Sky colorway and has a turned-back i-cord edge that creates little pockets: 

©spdolha

I originally knit Goodale in March 2012 but it was too short for my liking (seemed to finish halfway up my back whereas I wanted it to at least hit my waistband). So I undid the ribbing and pockets and added a few inches. Being almost 5'8" and long-waisted, I tend to modify the length on most of my garments. 

I then decided to knit a new sweater that had been in my Ravelry queue since spring 2012: Sibella, by Carrie Bostick Hoge. I knit this bottom-up pullover with its patterned yoke (frost flowers) in a dk merino/silk blend, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool:

©spdolha

I loved the yarn and the knitting, but again I was getting a sweater that was too short. The pattern was written to have 13" in length from underarm, so I added 2". However, after washing and wearing it once, I realized I wanted it an inch or two longer. Because it was knit bottom up, I actually cut the sweater above the ribbing (unweaved the row and placed the top row of stitches on a circular needle), and then I knit a few inches more and the ribbing again. It is not really a very hard process, but this is coming from the perspective of a fairly experienced knitter. When I'm able to find the source that taught me this method, I will add it. 

Another new sweater in January was Moira by Anna Wilkinson. Published in the Pom Pom Quarterly (Issue 3, Winter 2012), a UK magazine. I knit it in Cascade 128 in the Summer Sky Heather color:

©spdolha

This sweater knit up quickly and the cables were very enjoyable to do. I have since gone back and tightened up the neck.