WIP: Kew socks

This week the bonus knitty patterns came online and I immediately casted on for the Kew Socks. I don't like the socks all that much (sensing a pattern here?) but the design is one that works for my beginner sock knitting issues (ie, I can only figure out top down patterns with a heel flap) and I wanted to try my hand at a lace pattern.



The first sock is coming along nicely. I'm just about finished; only half a pattern repeat remains (12 rows) before the toe shaping decreases begin.



The leaf pattern is quite nice but, as you will see when they are finished, it makes for a very loose-fitting sock. I wonder if there's a way to take out one leaf to tighten up the circumference of the sock. Maybe I'll just gift them to someone with larger ankles.

FO: Ball Band Washcloths

This past summer I was in a knitting funk but wanted to rejuvenate the knitting with a small project. I wanted something small in size, relatively inexpensive, simple but not mind-numbing, and suitable for warm weather knitting. Enter the Ball Band Dishcloth, also found in Mason Dixon Knitting. The pattern can be found here, listed as Textured Slip Stitch.



I went to the local craft store and purchased a few fluorescent balls of Sugar and Cream cotton, packed up the knitting in the beach bag and headed off to Cape Cod for a weekend. Awesome: These were easy to knit on the beach and I wasn't worried about getting sand on the yarn. Not awesome: I do not understand how people can use this yarn regularly on any other project. It was like knitting with cardboard. The cotton has no give and scratched up my fingers. However, the results were fantastic.

The only issue? I don't use washcloths or dish cloths, ever. So now I've converted the pattern into towel size by adding three pattern repeats and have started on the largersize so the finished result will actually be used in my home.

Innaugural Address

As an introduction to the world of knit-bogging I'll start with the latest meme that is sweeping the internets and list a few knitterly things about myself.

~ I don't knit in public. Okay, I did once but I really needed to finish a baby sweater before the mama popped. I only took out the knitting while on the bus and sat on the window side with my boyfriend in the aisle so I wouldn't be bothered by onlookers.

~ I'm a self-taught knitter, for the most part. My sister (who took up knitting for a whopping two months) taught me how to cast on and I took it from there, using the internet and Stitch N Bitch Nation for reference. My parents bought me Vogue Knitting about six months after I started knitting but I still rely on the internet for instruction.

~ My first project was a scarf knit from beautiful hand-painted yarn that my mother stuffed into my Christmas stocking. I had no idea what I was doing so I just kept knitting until I ran out of yarn. It was knit entirely in garter stitch because I still didn't know how to purl. I still wear that scarf.

~ My second project was the Fulled Lopi Tote from Hello Yarn. Still no purling necessary. I learned so much with this bag: increasing, decreasing, knitting in the round, binding off to make handles (though I still think I'm doing that wrong), and three-neelde bind off. I have never once used the bag but recently bought some fabric with the intention of lining it someday.

~ I just started my first pair of socks. Had I known sock knitting was so addictive I never would have started. Hopefully they turn out okay. My skills at picking up stitches are rather pathetic but practice makes perfect.

~ This winter I intend to rip apart almost evey sweater I own and re-use the yarn for new garments. Last night I tore out pages from the Anthropologie catalog for inspiration.

That's all for now. Soon I'll have pictures and the like to contribute to this space. I highly encourage comments and can't wait interact more with the knit-blog community!