Kalajoki

More socks! I'm down to two projects on the needles right now and am trying to figure out what I'm going to cast on next. Either Candelia or Brooklet. Hmmm....suggestions?

Pattern: Kalajoki (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR Mediumweight in Falcon's Eye
Needles: 2.75 mm Addi Turbo
Notes: Knit using the magic loop method - I finished the first one in approximately 10 hours! I knit the shaped toes but did extra decreases at the bottom of the foot so I could kitchener the last few stitches together. I don't trust the "pull through remaining stitches" method to hold up to in-the-shoe wear and prefer grafting. This was the first skein of STR that I ever purchased and am happy that it has a new life as socks.

Toe-Up

I've been working my sock yarn stash pretty hard lately. You know, digging down into deep stash and pulling old, forgotten skeins out to use in shiny new projects. It feels good to finally use yarn that has been languishing - like my yarn shipments from the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club. Flipping through my pattern binder I randomly grabbed Cleopatra's Stockings and the matching yarn and cast on. Cuff-down socks are my go-to for sock knitting since the heel flap and gusset construction fits my foot really well but this pattern is written toe-up with a provisional cast on and short rows which eliminate a seam at the front of the toe. It was interesting to knit but I'm not sure I actually liked it. It's new and different and that's about all I can say about it. We'll see how the rest of the sock goes.

How about you? Cuff-down or toe-up?

Happy Feet

It has been uber hot in Seattle the past few days. I mean, almost Ukiah hot and that is pretty darn spicy. The heat wave has led to an abhorrence of all things sweatery since a pile of wool in the lap is equal to another ten degrees of heat. With Sock Summit looming I decided to cast on for these beauties. The Cycling or Golf Stockings (of which I do neither) from Knitting Vintage Socks. It's my first go with Spud & Chloe Fine which is a new yarn line from Blue Sky Alpacas and which we now carry at the shop. The yarn is lovely to work with although the label says size 1 to 3 needlewise and I think if I went any higher than a 2.5 mm (that's a 1 & 1/2 US) the fabric would be very loosey goosey. I was a little surprised that there was no calf circumference measurement in the pattern since there was a measurement for just about everything else. The colorwork is pretty snug on my calf but not unwearable, if my calves were any larger I'd make the socks shorter to accomodate the pretty cuff. Spec wise the Spud & Chloe color is Anemone, the brown is Lorna's Laces in Chocolate, and the pink is some unlabeled koigu leftover from another project. I've already moved on to another sock project. The pattern is Sunshine from Sock Innovation in STR Mediumweight. The color is Hoofle Foofle which I thought would be appropriate for a pattern name Sunshine. The pattern is working up very quickly and is nice and squishy. This is yarn from my first ever Blue Moon purchase and has been languishing in my stash for a couple of years. It's nice to finally dig it out and see it as a project.

In with the In Crowd

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Blue Moon Fiber Arts just opened up their 2008 Rockin' Sock Club for registration at 10am (PST) this morning. I printed out that membership form and stuck it in the work mail within nanoseconds. I'm pretty sure the hairs on my arms stood up and I might have suffered a slight heart attack. This is heady stuff, I have now attained (if everything goes right) the holy grail of sock clubs. Now I just have to wait it out until January when the first shipment comes. It's a good thing I have some (read, a crapload) of knitting to do until then. Oh, and the Holidays are coming up too.

In other news Jessica is on Stash and Burn this episode so check it out. FYI, I'm feeling pretty darn lucky about my knitting group and the rockstar knitters who are a part of it.