The Potato Patch

Today I was all set to make a big post about my Branching Rib Pullover, and how despite the many hours I toiled over it, it turned out way too big. And how I was going to frog the entire thing and turn it into something else. And for fun, I decided to lay it down with my favorite sweatshirt, and show how insanely huge it was in comparison to it.



Only... it looks like it's just about perfect! I don't know if it shrank down since it's been sitting balled up on my shelf since the fateful day when I blocked it and discovered the hugeness, or if it was always this size and I screwed up when I measured it, or if I've just lost my mind. But I'm definitely going to put it together and try it on before I frog the entire thing. Maybe by the time the Oscars are over I'll have it done.

In other knitting news, I'm working away at a pair of garter rib socks, from Sensational Knitted Socks. I love that book so much. Seriously. These socks are a really quick knit, at least compared to my last pair, which had cables and eyelets. I'm using Regia yarn, in a faux fair-isle pattern with green, blue, and purple stripes. It's pretty.



I recently swapped for Mason-Dixon Knitting, and honestly, on first reading I wasn't too into it. But I think it seeped into my subconscious. I had this brilliant, original idea of how I would take my leftover sock yarn scraps and knit them up into a blanket. And then I remembered the log cabin blankets in the book, and looked them up. They are constructed exactly the way I envisioned my sock yarn blanket. So I'm not original, I just think I am. But I figured I was kind of original anyways, for using leftover sock yarn. And then I stumbled upon Wendyknits' blog, where she discusses her brilliant plan of using her leftover sock yarn to make a log cabin blanket. Hmm. OK, so I'm not the least bit original. But I still think my blanket will be cool. Here's how it looks so far:



And I had to buy some Addi Turbos to be able to make it, since I knit my socks on DPN's. I gotta say, everyone is right, the Addis are fantastic.

Labels: branching rib pullover, knitting, log cabin, socks

I finally got off my butt and took pictures of some of my latest projects.

I did not take pictures of the Branching Rib Pullover, because it hurt my feelings. I spent a year knitting this thing (well, I must admit it was on and off, but still). I washed it and laid it out to dry before assembling it. It is way too big. I'd need to gain 50 lbs to be able to wear this thing. And I'm just not THAT devoted to this sweater that I'm willing to do that. So now I will have to rip the entire thing out and start again.

Here's a hat I knit for the Dulaan project:


It was my first attempt at double knitting. Both sides of the hat were knit at the same time, by passing the yarn back and forth. This results in the inside of the hat having the same design as the outside but in the opposite colours. I love the effect. You can tell this is my first attempt, though. The stitches aren't as even as I would have liked. But it should keep some Mongolian kid's head warm, and that's the main thing.

I joined Socktopia, which is a knit-along for socks for the year 2007. This will be great for me, because Kenneth went nuts at Christmas and bought me enough sock yarn to keep me in socks for quite some time to come. They have a theme for each month, and you are supposed to knit a pair of socks that corresponds to the given theme. This month's themes are either:

1. Celebration
2. Blue Monday
3. Snowflakes and Starry Skies

The socks I have in progress seem to fit none of these categories. Here are a few pictures of the first, nearly finished (just need to graft the toe) sock:


It's not blue. It doesn't involve snowflakes or stars. The only way I could possibly think to make it fit the theme would be to say I'm celebrating the fact that it's finally done! But the 2nd sock still hasn't even been started. I think I'm not going to use it for Socktopia, but rather, will knit some socks for the Dulaan project out of some leftover blue yarn I have from a pair of socks I knit for myself.

I love this pattern, though. I think it would have looked better in a solid yarn rather than a variegated, but oh well. It's from a vintage Paton's Beehive pattern booklet I had lying around. It's kind of strange... when I was knitting before, I never knitted socks. At least not with sock yarn! I knitted socks once with chunky-weight yarn, which is a whole lot easier and faster. So why did I have this old booklet (looks like it's from the 60's) on socks? I certainly never knitted anything out of it.

The yarn is Shelridge Farms Ultra Fingering, 100% wool, and custom-dyed in a colourway I invented. I guess I was hungry when I ordered it, because the 3 colours in the colourway are Pumpkin, Nutmeg, and Toffee. It looks yummy, even if you can't eat it!

Labels: branching rib pullover, cable and eyelet socks, dulaan, knitting, not your grandma's double-knit hat, socks

I'm working on the Branching Rib Pullover from Creative Knitting magazine. It's not going very fast because the yarn I'm using is DK-weight (for non-knitters, that means it's really thin). I'm getting semi close to finishing the back, so I thought I'd post some update pictures.

This is an overall view. It gives you an idea of how far along I am.
















And this is a closeup of the rib stitch. I think it's a really neat stitch. It also is fun to knit which is a huge advantage in a project of this size.

Labels: branching rib pullover, knitting