Summer Knitting

I haven't been slacking on the knitting, just the posting. Recently completed:
Two Color Fair Isle Socks, Woman's size 9. Knit Pick's Simple Stripes Fair Isle Socks pattern and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn, Rainbow Colorway. The Knit Pick's pattern is deisgned specifically for their own self striping yarn, and the bands of fair isle patterning should be distinct. It turns out that Lorna's color repeats are much shorter, so the intended effect is lost. However, I got back to kntting two color with two hands, and the socks are fine, just different than I expected. The black is Paton Kroy sock yarn (black, although this shade is not shown on their web site). Knit on Clover double points bamboo, size 1.

Comments:  I knit the heel per the instructions with just the black wool and was very unhappy with the look. Short row heel just looked crappy. I elected to knit an afterthought heel in two colors to give the heel more durability. The afterthought heel is the only way to go with highly patterned socks. Now that I look at the socks, I would prefer the heel in black, and should have just done two strands of black (knit like a two stitch fair isle).

Close Up of the afterthought heel, and my favorite band in sock:

The Orange Saga continues

Still working on this damn sweater. Rounding the bend, should be done soon. When I'm complete with this, I will have knit the whole thing about three times. The good news is that it fits Carol. Thank GAWD.

P.S. the sweater is Cascade 220 wool, color #2436

27 Dec update: The sweater is sewn and finished. I have the cannot-felt-side-loading-new-type of "no agitator" washing machine and decided to put it through a cycle to make the stitches consistent. Guess what. Cascade 220 felts in any type of washing machine. The damn thing felted. I blocked it to Kathmandu and back, and it will probably fit Carol ok, but I HATE this sweater.

Kool Aid Yarn

After reading about kool aid for dyeing yarn on Knitty, I decided to give it a go. It is oh so simple.

The first batch was a rescue of some really ugly brown/blue varigated worsted wool. I bought it because I thought the blue brown would look earthy, but when I swatched it the result was something that should have been left in the '70s.

Now, I have some lovely chocolate cherry yarn, ready for a project:

Next, I dyed 2,640 yards of Knit Pick's Bare - 100% Merino Wool Lace Weight using Grape Kool Aid. The test sample I dyed was a very dark eggplant. Using the formula from the Knitty article, (1 packet per ounce of yarn) I thought my yardage would be a dark eggplant color. Instead, I got a light lavender that is spotty striated and will result in some interesting lace.

Short and Sweet, sort of.

Thought that knitting in a cotton/rayon yarn would be prudent for Summer. This finished product has a nice drape and weight, but I won't do this again. Slubbed Rayon is hellish to deal with because it is so slippery. I re-knit lots of this broken rib scarf due to easily dropped stitches.

Fiber Trends Clogs complete

Wool used: Elann Peruvian Collection Highland Wool, 3 strands -- pattern calls for 2 strands, but recommendations were 3 - for a total of 6 skeins
Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs
(I knitted the orange example in the pattern).
Felting time in washing machine, in zippered pillow case: 1 hour
Total cost: $14-15USD + time (several movies on a weekend)
Finish on bottom (not shown): leather cut to shape and glued on. (These slippers will make for massive slippage if you don't do something to prevent it.)

Pre felting:

Post Felting:
Completed with "bumper" row joining the two soles

Back of clogs (raised heel option)

What would I do different? The "bumper" section, an extra row or two added when the inner and outer soles are joined, is difficult to felt evenly. Next pair, I'll do a 3-needle bind off and knit a 3-4 stitch i-cord in the bind off to create a bumper. As it will be even all the way around, it is likely to felt more evenly.

15 August 2006 Update: When I made these clogs I glued leather soles to the bottom. I thought they were expensve (the leather cost $7.USD). Today I saw the Fiber Trends soles for $16.99 USD, and now I realize that purchasing a hunk of leather and cutting it to the size of the sole is very economical. And, slippage is prevented indeed!