YOP#6 Week 18

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Last week I knit a pair of socks for my husband.  Unfortunately I misread how long the foot is to be, I keep such notes on Ravelry, and did 7″ from back of heel instead of 7″ from end of heel shaping.  Socks are now for Tyler who has scored 3 pairs of socks since YOP goals were assembled.  This pair, and the last pair, are to be Christmas gifts.

This August we went to MidAmericon in Kansas City and I purchased Tyler a piece of artwork from art show.  It was a relatively expensive gift and he was told to not expect anything for Christmas so the socks are all the unwrapping he will be doing this year.

So the yarn is an oldie from my stash.  There was a time, say 11  yrs ago or so, when I purchased several hanks of Mountain Colors Bearfoot sock yarn and I am down to 3 hanks after this one called Moose Creek. For some reason it always looked like a brownish plum color but honestly it is a brown and my eyes were just drawn to the flashes of plum or burgundy in it.  Here is the hank wound up into a yarn cocoon:

Mountain Colors Bearfoot Moose Creek yarn cocoon.

Mountain Colors Bearfoot Moose Creek yarn cocoon.

 

See the plum and reddish tints?

Here is the finished sock, overexposed and unwashed.  You can see how the colors pooled but it isn’t nearly as obvious in the actual sock:

Finished sock

Finished sock

 

One nice thing about Bearfoot sock yarn is the mohair content which makes it super warm and cushy.  Usually whenever I wash a pair I reach inside and take out yarn pills.  Sometimes I let them gather for a while and it is extra padding on sole of foot.  For some reason it just pills inside the foot.  I have knit textured socks and the texture is basically lost after several washes.  But these have made my warmest and longest lasting socks.  I have  pair going back 8 years.  My Mad Color Weave socks.  I also have a couple of pairs even older than that but I don’t have them saved anywhere handy picture wise. Most were Michelle’s Basic Sock pattern.

Another awesome thing about this sock yarn is that it is slightly heavier than fingering weight.  I think it is the mohair again.  The yarn feels dense and plush and fills in any place that would normally have a gap such as the gusset area.  Here is a close up of heel and gusset to once again show color of socks {not overexposed}:

Sock heel and gusset

Feel free to click to embiggen 🙂

The pattern is A Classic Sock from Nancy Bush’s Folk Socks book.  I purchased my copy when Zoe was a baby so about 21 yrs ago and it is falling apart at this point.

In a few days Wovember starts.  I have been anticipating Wovember for weeks.  I have cast on Strokkur and am hoping I don’t have the same tension woes that caused me to rip and reknit this sweater 3 times so far.  I have switched from my Trusty Grays {aka Aero needles} to bamboo ones hoping that will help.  I am also planning on measuring every 20 rows or so which is annoying but should end up with a finally FO.  It is expected to be in the mid-80’s on Tuesday, not the least bit Wovemberish at all, but such is St. Louis weather.  Winters here tend to be relatively warm and drizzly instead of snowy.  It makes me sad but home is where the heart is and I do heart my family.

yarny days and knitterly evenings

~Elka

 

Thwarted

Hmmmmmmmm so I finished the shawl and had to decide on what to work on next. Consulting my WIP roundup with the knowledge that Colinette garment yarn was due any minute I decided upon Michelle’s Mahrvelous Dahrlink socks. I kinda wanted to work on the top down [ha ha ha] but figured that if I managed to get the sleeve pick up correct I wouldn’t remember how for the second with a project in between. Socks it was. I was about 20 rows short of toe shaping on first sock last Sunday night. Looksie where I was late last night:

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Ummmmmmm thats the second sock~ I am not that slow. Do you see that? The kitchnering together toe stitches point and only a few inches of thread before a knot in yarn.  Well I spit spliced and can only hope this machine washable yarn holds cause I certainly lurv the socks:

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Unfortunately the colors came out wrong. Super unfortunately cause I rudely mentioned to Gina that I loved the colors and asked if she could take the base and do a little sumthin sumthin for me. Oh yeah I am that rude but hey when you know a superior colorist and they offer to dye up some yarn for ya what are you gonna do? Oh there is one problem with the socks~ my gauge was looser than for my CTH and the sock a bit more roomy. I don’t think there is enough leftover for me to go down a needle size next pair out of this particular yarn….. Wild Raspberry Bearfoot sock yarn by Mountain Colours BTW.

Ok so being aggravated by le knot I couldn’t very well sleep so picked up Shetland Tea Time shawl aka the neverending knit of epic proportions. Thwarted again!  I couldn’t find my chart much less where I was on nowhere to be found chart. A trip to XRX corrections site and Thwarted yet again. The printer dies. Hmmm well it did print the page before the needed chart. I was up til 5 am staring at my screen and knitting…..

Living the vida loca and hoping you aren’t~ yarny days and knitterly evening y’alls