Socktopia! (Adriana)

(Today’s mantra is: 3 more weeks, 3 more weeks, 3 more weeks.)

This weekend something amazing happened: there was the perfect combination of nice weather and no activities which allowed Pete and I to head out to the courtyard and snap the pictures of various socks which I have been promising to you. These socks are so gorgeous that I want to evolve a few more feet to wear them on :)

Up first, SpillyJane’s Naïve sock #1

This was a joint effort as I got frustrated near the beginning. Luckily Spilly was in town and was able to get me past the fiddly part. The sock was a lot of fun to knit and so pretty! It’s a great pattern for getting familiar with cables as you can read where you are by looking at the cables. This was also the sock which taught me that the Kitchener stitch is not to be feared. I grafted that baby at lunch at work!

Pomatomus in progress

This is a seriously stretchy pattern. I still think that my YO’s are a little large but the consensus on Ravelry is that it’s not a problem. It’s so much fun to watch the fishy scales develop. I’ve got two more repeats to go on the leg.

And finally the Coupling-At-Sea Socks!!

These socks have been done for a while but then life exploded so there were no pictures.
This was a fun pattern and it is also very stretchy. Unfortunately I couldn’t quite memorize it which made it a little frustrating at times. The Sea Wool was lovely to knit with. I love that sheen!
Pattern: Coupling by Deb Barnhill
Yarn: Fleece Artist Sea Wool (birthday present from Heather and Gen), unknown colourway
Modifications: The pattern calls for a reverse heel flap but I wanted to do it my way so I followed Wendyknits' gusset heel. While not as much fun as the short-row heel it fits very comfortably. I’m using that heel for Pomatomus too and it is really nice.
I also decided to go with a picot edging (everything you wanted to know about picoting here) for the top which is adorable but not quite stretchy enough. I bound off the stitches first (using a sewn bind off which I thought would work) but next time I think I’ll just stitch down the live stitches and see if that’s better.

Knitting Milestones (Adriana)

It’s a dreary day at work and all that is getting me through is the mantra “four more weeks, four more weeks, four more weeks.” Thinking about knitting always makes me feel better and today I have been thinking about knitting milestones. I’m sure most knitters have them, the pattern that you’ve been drooling over but you just don’t feel up to tackling, the one that when you are ready to do it you’ll know that you have arrived as a knitter. For me there are three such challenging patterns: Pomatomus, Peacock Feathers Shawl and an undecided colourwork sweater done with thin yarn and tiny needles (something Eunny has designed like the Venezia Pullover or the stunning Autumn Rose Pullover).

Recently SpillyJane (always one to push the knitting envelope) encouraged Heather and I to start a mini-KAL to knit the first item on my list: the fishy Pomatomus. It looks like such a complicated pattern so I was nervous to being. It didn’t help that I was adding an extra bit of difficulty by wanting to go toe-up. Luckily by blog hopping I managed to find detailed instructions to do just that.
I knit the toe and then dove into the pattern. To my shock and amazement it wasn’t that hard. I didn’t make mistakes and the design actually looks like the one in the pattern. I guess I shouldn’t be to surprised because knitting really is straight forward but I’d built this up to such heights of difficulty in my mind that it was a real surprise to be able to do it. It’s such a thrill to accomplish something that I’ve been a little afraid of for several years.



Close up of the cute twisted rib
(We've formed a KAL for this pattern on Ravelry if you care to join us. Look for "Something Fishy" in the groups section)

Now I feel like I can knit just about anything! (Except for a colourwork sweater. I need to work up to that and Spilly will be helping me with some mittens this winter).

So what are your knitting milestones and have you accomplished them yet?