The end is near....

Not Armageddon, just the end of 2006 -- bring on the new beginnings!

Thanks for the compliments on my Scale Skin socks! I'm glad my unnatural love for them has been validated :)

A lot of commenters asked for the pattern and it's readily available at the Six_Sock_Knitalong yahoo group. It's called "Michelle's SSS pattern" listed under August 2006 in the file section BUT you must be a member to get the pattern.

That being said, I know my readers are so smart and the pattern is honestly so EASY, it's ridiculous! So for all you smarties, here's the stitch pattern:

Cast on an even # of stitches divisible by 4 (52, 56, 60, 64, ect.) I used 64 for my picot edge, then decreased to 60 for the leg and 56 for the foot. I feel the scales do run a bit big because I usually use 64 as my "standard" for a woman's medium.

Round 1 and 3: Knit
Round 2: *K2, yo K2, pass the yo over the 2 stitches just knit*repeat from * to end
Round 4: *yo K2, pass the yo over the 2 stitches just knit, K2* repeat from * to end

That's it, I swear!

So you can plug this stitch pattern into your standard sock formula and you can have a love affair with your socks too! :) And for those more adventuresome among you, why not give beaded knitting a go in 2007? It's so much fun and really enhances the finished object AND there just happens to be a nifty tutorial on my very own side bar!

Now for some more knit love, I give you Ruben!

Specs:

Ruben designed by Elsebeth Lavold in Designer's Choice, The Sentimental Journey Colllection, Book Two

7.5 skeins Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Verdigris (subbed for the cotton patine suggested in the pattern)

US #3 (3.25 mm) addi turbo for ribbing and US #5 (3.75 mm) for the body

Mods: NONE! :)



I love this design and I LOVE Silky Wool!! It's become one of my favorite yarns as it knits like a dream and just flows over the needles plus it's sooo soft.
On the downside, altho it was a simple cable, the pattern is pretty organic in that it leaves quite a bit up to the experience of the knitter. Plus, there are no schematics so size is kinda based on getting gauge and trust! Lining up the cables to "flow" into the ribbing was quite hair raising too so I'm pretty proud it only took me two tries :)



The Silky Wool is pretty fragile, you can pull it apart quite easily and I was concerned about using it for the sweater finishing. Being unable to find a suitable colored yarn to seam with I did use the Silky Wool but *very* carefully and did tear the working yarn in mid-seam a few times.



In the end, it's a gorgeous, classic, manly sweater that I would knit again keeping in mind the caveats I mentioned!

There's been a lot of buzz around Knitbloglandia about paring down for 2007. In other words it's cool to.....



And here at Chez FKD, we will be jumping on this bandwagon! And we'll even be paring down the rules......

The Rules:

1- knit from stash for the entire year, 2007
2- sock yarn DOES count (boy oh boy, does it!)
3- yarn purchases can be made for gifts but only after all possible stash options have been exhausted
4- Gifts of yarn and yarn swaps don't count - especially birthdays (hint, hint!)
5- I'm on the fence about the one "free" day...I would really like to try to make it thru 2007 with no yarn purchases at all! It's not so much that I have this ginormous stash, but that I have yarn for so many projects already that I really want to knit, it just seems a shame for them to be languishng in the stash!

ETA: The showing of the stash will NOT be happening, never ever, no way, no how, nein, neit, nunca, nuh uh so I'll just pretend we never had this conversation :)

That's it! So good luck to me and all the other knitters taking the plunge!

To all my friends in Knitbloglandia who've shared a little bit of our lives here at FKD in 2006, Pumpkin and I want to thank you for your friendship, kindness and support and wish you a

Happy, Healthy 2007!!