Everybody into the pool!
If you're one of those knitters who freaks out when handpainted yarn pools, avert your eyes now cause I've got a doozy for ya!
This is my new sock yarn from Claudia at Tausendschon. The colorway is "schlangengift". (I love this yarn, btw - so vibrant, so soft!)
Personally I've yet to discover pooling, flashing, ect. I didn't like. I think it's one of the best things about handpainted yarns, the interesting designs that form and undulate across the garment.
When I saw how this was knitting up I knew it was tailor made for my niece! She *LOVES* pooling because she thinks it looks like lightening bolts (me too!)
I'm knitting this on US size #0 (2.0mm) because I wanted to maintain the cool pooling ( I usually eschew #0's for #1 and 8 sts/inch - on the #0's I'm getting 9.5!) and I'm knitting plain stockinette cause I figured the yarn was shouting loudly enough :) Isn't it great?
Here's another kind of pool...
Carolyn is starting a new online shop called SpinningYarnsOnline.com. She spins and hand dyes her own yarn plus has cute bags and accessories. She contacted me to try some of her yarn...
I haven't swatched with it yet but I can say it's super soft and the colors are vibrant and rich! It's 100% superwash merino fingering weight and I can't wait to knit some socks with it! Go pay Carolyn a visit, you wont be sorry :)
Here are my finished footies...
Specs:
Breeze footies from Knitty
1 Skein Regia Stretch in Blue Jeans
Magic Loop US #1 (2.25mm) 32" circular needle
I think these footies are beyond cute and I think my mail carrier will love them!
The pattern is written for 3 DPNs which I *hate*, it just feels so awkward and cumbersome to me ( I prefer 4).
I switched to magic loop so I could have the instep pattern on one needle and the sole stitches on the other and it worked great! It also made it easier to cable without a cable needle! One other slight mod I made is that the heel is written as C4B but I find it much easier to cable without a cable needle using C4F. So my footies are actually mirrored cables, the first having C4B and switching to C4F for the second. Yes, I know, I admit it, I cannot leave a pattern be :)
ETA: D'oh! I totally forgot my other mods! The pattern calls for Mandarin Petit cotton which apparently is much thicker than Regia Stretch (7 sts./inch) To accommodate my smaller gauge (8 sts/inch) I worked on 64 stitches throughout the body of the sock by casting on 64, not doing the first decreases as per the pattern and adding an extra knit stitch at the start and end of the instep panel. I made the medium size sock but I did the pattern repeats for the large to make the socks long enough for a size 7.5 foot.
It's a holiday weekend for those of us in the States so while you're eating a hot dog and taking an end of summer last dip in the pool think about those that aren't so fortunate. Two of our fellow knit bloggers are taking to the streets to help so I thought I'd spread the word...
Julie of Noolie Knits is raising funds for a special friend battling Multiple Myeloma and others coping with Leukemia and Lymphoma.
You can help Julie and offer support here: Julie's Donation BlogCarole of Carole Knits fame is walking to fight breast cancer again this year!
You can help Carole stomp out breast cancer by donating here: Carole's Donation Blog
The P-Man can't walk with Carole or Julie but he's making biscuits in empathy cause these are such worthy causes!
32 comments:
I ADORE the colors of the sock yarns! Particularly that flashing Claudia's at the top of the post.
Best of luck to your friends and their worthwhile efforts! Skritches to the P-Man for his help, too :o)
Yowser!! It isn't the pooling that freaks me out, it's those colors!
Trying to imagine an entire sock like that is giving me a headache.
Hmm, I can never really get over the pooling issue. Sad, but true. It just bothers me more than I can say and I'm surprised by it, but there you have it. The colors in the sock are very vibrant and pretty.
Love that pool color too.
Pooling only bothers me when it just shows up out of nowhere. Like when I knit some STR socks and they were striping all the way,then all of a sudden some pooling, then back to striping. Other than that, I like the pooling.
Thanks for the shout out!
The footsies are super cute! Alright I'm going for it. I am going to attempt some socks this weekend...I think. :)
Pool is lovely!
I like the pooling too. It surprises me because I am such an OCD perfectionist but I like it!
I read your profile and it made me laugh really hard when I read your age, 250. So I had to check your blog and comment.
That is one COOL cat!:-)
I HATE pattern using 3 dpns too ... just awkward and the ladders would be even more obvious! You're right, the colours of the new yarn is gorgeous!
I just love those footies! They look just perfect. I'm aching to cast on for a pair. *gack*
Those footies are lovely!
That's some SERIOUS pooling you've got there. Thanks so much for the Race for the Cure shout out, too.
I have to admit that I'm a fan of the pooling also and your's is outrageously wonderful. The footies are fab, too. Lucky mail carrier.
I still can't decide how I feel about pooling - I'm a little ambivalent. All I can say is you sure spoil your niece and mail carrier! They are lucky indeed.
Talk about flashing! I'm glad you like it.
Happy Long Weekend!
Happy holiday weekend to you and the P-Man!
Super sweet footies. So feminine and dainty.
P.S. Mine eyes doth be averted. I hate pooling like I hate novelty yarn. (yeah, let me tell you how I really feel....) But those bright colors - yowza. Love the colors!
aw you know I love that sockage and the new yarn, but P-Man just blew me away! He's so darned adorable!
Interesting to see that you took a 15+ year break...maybe there's hope for me!
If that pooling continues, she'll have to keep the drawer closed or sleep with an eye mask! :) Personally, I think it looks super.
Nice footsies and yarn prOn - but I have too much yarn - can get no more until I've worked some of this stuff down.
Oh those footsies are sooo cute and already on my list. Thanks for the mods!!
Your niece will love those socks-the colors are great!
Not a loyal fan of pooling, but those are cool!
Very nice footsies
(but the very BEST ones are the P-Man's!)
(((hugs)))
Wow! Girlfriend, those are some bright colors!
The footsies are great. How nice of you to make home made socks for someone who is always on their feet =)
I can't wait to hear the review on the new yarns!
Wow, how can you not love a color that's called snake poison? It's so bright, and the pooling is fabulous. Great work on the footsies too, they're on my must knit list.
Of course, the kitty pic is better than all the rest. What a cutie!
ah!! i so agree with u that it's easier to work those teeny cables without the cable needle~ :) Nice work on the Breeze - especially the mirrored cables!
cuddles for p-man! :)
WOW! I love that top colorway. :)
Love the purple/green socks. That is some really great pooling. I have one pair that has very thick stripes like that on one sock, but thin stripes on the other. Same gauge and same skein of yarn, but they pooled differently. How weird, huh? They are one of my favorite pairs.
That sock yarn so so cool. I love the wild ones. Can't wait to see the finished product.
The footies are great Debi - Thanks for all the information on your mods. These have been at the top of my to do list since I first saw the pattern, but with all that has been going on here I haven't had the chance. Maybe I'll cast on and see if knitting again will help the old nerves.
I love your "lightening bolts" also! :)
I love pooling. I love the color combination in that sock also. Can't wait to see what else it does in the rest of the sock. And the 2nd sock. How much or how little will it match? Sounds like a mystery in the making huh?
I like the pooling, too. If you call it "flashing" it sounds more interesting, and less like a mistake.
That magenta/lime color combo is pretty psychedelic!
Oh, and thanks a LOT for that link to Claudia's yarn. Resistance just might be futile. Which variety is yours? Wool? Wool blend?
I LOVE the way that heel-flap is worked with cabling! AWESOME.
And it's good to see P-man hasn't lost his touch. He's as adorable as ever
My goodness that is some seriously bright yarn! Cool pooling though. Breeze came out nicely too. :)
Jessica
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