Skew 2

I finished my February socks on Saturday, way early. I am totally in love with the Skew pattern by Lana Holden. In the above pic, you can see the inside part of one sock (left), and the outside part of the other (right). See how the chevron direction is different? It's so easy to knit, but so totally cool. All in all, a very elegant (and elegantly designed) project.

bottom of foot (top), top of foot (bottom)

 

They look odd and un-anatomical on the needles, but once they are on feet, they fit perfectly.

 I really like them in this yarn, too. Soxx Appeal is a great match. The elasticized wool is super-soft, and the elastic makes getting the sock on over the ankle much easier than the pair I knitted in Trekking. I was all set to keep them, but DD#2 claimed them at the last minute.

I made it!

Yes folks, I finished my Trekking Skew socks at 10:50pm MST. Ends darned in and everything!

 I was hoping they would fit Tara or Finn because they both liked the yarn and don't mind wool socks, but they fit me just great. I have a drawer-full of handmade socks, but these are a welcome addition. I don't have any others in these colors, and they look great with my brown corduroy pants.

Not that it would have made much difference to have finished today (or tomorrow for that matter), but I'll take all the little victories that life hands me. I even got to see Craig Fergusen, because I stayed up until midnight darning a hole in my favorite wool socks. I don't usually darn socks, but this time the hole was on the side of the foot, not the bottom, and I noticed it when it was just about 1 stitch gone instead of a gigantic, gaping mess. So now all my socks are finished and in good repair.

I pulled out a  new sock bag this morning, but the yarn weight didn't suit the pattern as well as I thought, so I did some rearranging. I decided the yarn in the bag (Soxx Appeal) would look great in Skew, so that'll be my February. The stretchiness will work well, too. I can make this pair smaller so as not to be a sock-hog, too.

Last day for January socks

I just might finish in time, if only because of the arctic blast we're now experiencing in the Denver area. Not that I've spent any of my day so far knitting, but I did get some chores out of the way. Last night I grafted the heel of the second Skew sock. That leaves the leg and cuff. Totally doable, I just need to sit down and do it.

School is canceled for tomorrow because of the forecast temps. If I get through the second Skew, I can work on one of the other projects that I have been longing to get back to for the past few weeks. We'll see, won't we?

Lots of knitting!

This past week I got a lot of knitting done, as well as a little weaving. First, I cast on the larger Sonja Esbensen doily from this free pattern as a shawl. I'm knitting it with Knit Picks Shadow and size 9 needles. It's just over 100 rounds, so it aught to be plenty big enough when it's done.

I also worked a lot on my Kureyon zigzag scarf. It's coming right along and I can make a lot of progress when I pay attention to which side I'm knitting so I don't miss the decreases. ;)

Skew is coming right along. Although it is easy to knit, it's a truly bizarre sock. Here's the foot, about halfway I think:

This is what it looks like once you start the heel shaping:

 I'm nearly done with the first one, just started the ribbing this morning. I tried it on last night and it's very comfy. In fact, all the kids tried it on, too, just because it looks so funky. They all like how it fit, so there may be more of these in my future.

New Year's Lace

On Thursday I realized I hadn't knitted any "lace" lace in a while and I really missed it. A few days before I came across a free Sonja Esbensen design I hadn't seen before, so I cast on the smaller piece, as "instant gratification" lace. I cast off and blocked it this afternoon. It's just what the doctor ordered!

The color in the top pic is accurate, but the design show up better against the wood table.


I also got a decent pic of my Fairies and Flowers scarf.

This one drove me a little nuts on the second half, so it sat in time out for a while. There are wrong-side decreases on the flower half that I was sometimes, and sometimes not, in the mood for. The finished product thrills me. Just the right length, lacy and beady all over, soft and warm. It's more teal-ish than the photo shows, though.


Also started my January socks today, Skew.