Socks, swatches and notes

Hey Everyone!

The last few days have been busy! 

I finished up the first sock of the first pair of socks that I am knitting up using KnitPicks Palette Yarn in Victorian. I have enough to make 3 full pairs, but I am going to be knitting up two solid pairs of Victorian, as well as a pair of Victorian & Hazelnut and a pair of Victorian and Larch Heather. I still have some Hazelnut and Larch Heather Palette Yarn left from the pairs of socks I made from them and they go well with the Victorian. 

I have also been working on some swatches, because I really want to do swatch boards for the different yarns I make gauge swatches of, when I am able to have a place of my own and have a craft area. I am also wanting to do boards of all the different Palette yarns I have (and will use for socks, for color references. 

Yesterday, I started a list of the pairs of socks I have made for myself, including what size needles I used for each pair, as well as notes about stitches to cast on, lengths for the cuff, heel and foot, for future reference. I know there will come a time when I am not knitting socks for a while, and I want to have all the information I have now, that I figured out that works well for me, to be able to come back to, as well as information about tension and gauge that I used for different brands and types of yarns. Once I get done with the sock yarn I have, and then don’t knit any socks for 5 (or more years), then want more socks or to replace the pairs that have worn out, I can then just come back to my notebook and not have to try to remember (because, let’s face it, I won’t), or refigure out (which is what I would ultimately have to do), what I did. That is way more hassle than simply making notes now, while I am in the middle of knitting up a lot of socks and the details are still fresh in my head. 

As it is, all but one of my pairs of socks is sock weight / fingering weight Yarn, which is pretty simple to go with, I use either the 2.25mm size 1 needles or the 2.50mm size 1 needles, and always cast on 72 stitches, and I can go by rows to get the cuff and heels to turn out right. If I were to use a thicker yarn like a sport weight or a dk weight I would have to figure out the information again for that yarn (ie number of stitches to cast on, how many rows for the cuff and heel), as well as size of needle to get the right tension for that weight of yarn I am working with.  If and when I use a different weight of yarn and figure all that out, I would make notes if that so I could refer back to that in the future. 

Drying Washed Knits Outside

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Now that the warm weather is upon us, whenever I get a pair of socks done, I wait until there is going to be a sunny day with a high temperature above 80 degrees Fahrenheit and preferably below 30% humidity, to wash and dry them. I like to pin my just washed socks to sock blockers and hang them outside on the clothes line to dry. It’s not as easy and takes longer to dry them in the winter, and I have to find an alternative way to hang them to dry. I have yet to really wash a lot of socks in the colder months, though I have a few ideas of how to dry them during that period of time, which if I resort to, I will have to write about and post pictures of. Beings that the weather is more ideal for hanging washed socks outside to dry, I am able to do so.

I love being able to hang my socks out side to dry on hot summer days, because they dry a lot faster, and there is something about hanging outside that helps decrease the amount of wool wash scent that is left in the socks when I bring them in. While I love the scent of Eucalan Wrapture Woolwash, but sometimes it can still be very strong and over powering. I have noticed that when I am able to let whatever I have washed with it, dry outside, the scent that is left behind is not as strong as tends to be when I have to let it dry indoors.

While I personally detest the heat, and am currently camping out in a nice cool, air conditioned house (because it is 95 degrees outside), it has been a perfect day to wash and then hang socks out to dry. While I would typically say I would rather be at the beach, the beach is as bad as it is here in the valley, which is weird. It shouldn’t be 95 degrees on the Oregon Coast, 75 maybe, but 95 is just down right nuts. It’s crazy when the coast is hotter than Eastern Oregon, which was the case in some places today.

Summer is only good for….

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As of writing this, it is barely noon and already 81 degrees Fahrenheit, which means it is a perfect day for drying socks outside. That, and growing fruit are the only things this weather is good for.

Right now I am glad I have socks to work on, so I don’t have something bulky and warm like a sweater or my wrap (once it gets longer), sitting on my lap heating me up even more than I already am. While I know 81 isn’t hot for most people, for me it feels like an oven, especially since the humidity is sitting at 51%.

Friday and a bit of Saturday I did make some progress on my wrap, as well as the socks I am making out of the Turquoise Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn that I have. I am currently working on the heel flap of the second sock.

I decided to go ahead and wash the pair of socks I had knit up using regal KnitPicks Palette Yarn. Every time I wash a pair of socks for the first time, I am always amazed at how much excess dye is in the yarn. It has made me wonder if they rinse the yarn after they dye it, or if they pull the yarn out of the dye, dry it and then wind it up without rinsing the excess dye out. But that is part of why I always wash what I knit before I wear/use it. I don’t want the excess dye or the waxes and other chemicals they use in the dying and processing to come off on my food clothes, or in my boots. Washing whatever I knit up also helps to soften up what I have made and make it so it is not stiff or not as stiff as it was before I washed it (again getting all the waxes and stuff out that makes it stiff).

One thing I have noticed about wool and other natural fibers (like cotton), is that they tend to soften up once they are washed. While you can get a bit of an idea of how the yarn will feel in the store, you don’t get a true idea until you have knit it up and washed, blocked and dried it.

So I am trying to make the best use of summer, and work on knitting up as many pairs of socks as I can. I still have a lot of sock yarn waiting to be knit up into socks.

Wraps and Catalogues

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Today I have been making progress on a couple of my WIP’s. I got the cuff of the second sock that I am knitting up using Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn half way done. 

Once I got the cuff half way done, I switched to working on the wrap I have in progress. The wrap I am working on, I am using Cascade Eco+ Yarn. I am using a K3P1 pattern.

It is a really pretty dark sea blue, it is heathered navy blue and forest green. While working at the studio we had a lace weight Todd and Duncan cashmere yarn that was a similar color. 

The Cascade Eco+ Yarn is an Aran weight yarn. It is a bulkier yarn. I am using size 9 bamboo circular needles. With this combination it is warm, thick and cozy,  yet not super bulky. 

Today, I also got a new KnitPicks catalogue in the mail. I love looking through the catalogues, and getting ideas for what I want to knit, in the future. I have a long wish list of yarns and knitting books. 

It feels like late Winter ❄️

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Today is kind of an exciting day for me. It has been cool, overcast & rainy most of the day (with a little bit of partially sunny thrown in there for variation). So it has been a perfect day to me, as I love the cool and rainy weather. 

Yesterday, I finally finished the pair of socks that took me a month to knit up and three try’s to finally get the first sock complete. I love the color of socks, and this pair will probably be one of my favorites, but I was ready to get it done and off the needles. 

These socks are made of KnitPicks Palette yarn in the color: Regal. 

I get them done before heading to a bridal shower, so I didn’t have to try to get them done after getting home a bit after 9 pm. 

Yesterday I had also gauge swatched the Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn I am using for my newest pair of socks that I started this morning. Beings that I have never used the Heritage Sock Yarn before, I wanted to gauge swatch it before diving into socks, so I would get the tension I like. 

I figured out that I like the 2.25mm size 1 dpn needles for the Heritage Yarn, over the 2.50mm size 1 dpn needles. The 2.50mm swatch was just a bit to loose for my liking. I also washed and blocked the swatches so I would know what it would look and feel like once I washed my socks. 

So, like I previously mentioned, I got socks started this morning using the Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn, in color 5626 – Turquoise.

So I have really been productive the past couple of days in the Sock department. 

Final Measurements

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While I was working on the first sock of my regal pair of socks, I had remembered something I had learned while working at the studio. 

This tip is: let the garment/item you are knitting shrink up before taking final measurements. 

I.E. the sock I am working on needs to be 5.25 inches from the heel flap to where I will start the toe. Once it measures 5.25 inches while knitting, I let it sit until the next day, then measure it again (it is typically a bit shorter than it was while I was working on it the day before), and then I knit up the remainder I need, before knitting the toe. I make sure it is the right length once it has shrunk to final size (as it is looser while knitting), before moving on. 

While I was working at the studio, we had to check the pieces against the final dimensions and against the other pieces of the same size to ensure consistency. 

Almost Done!

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I am making progress on the second regal colored sock of the pair that I have been working on. The first sock I had to start over twice, and it finally worked out on the third attempt. By the third time knitting the first sock, I was very ready to be done with the pair. With that being said I have made an effort to get the second sock knit up as quickly as possible.

As of writing this post, all I need to do is knit up the toe and sew in the end. Beings that it is about 9:30 pm as I am writing this, I am leaving the sock until the morning to knit up the toe.

Beings as the weather is cooling off and rain is moving in, I will leave the washing and blocking until the weather is more cooperative. Once I finish the toe tomorrow, I will start another pair of socks.

I may have mentioned in a previous post that this pair of socks is being knit up from KnitPicks Palette Yarn in the color: Regal.

Third Times the Charm

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After spending close to a month working on, and reknitting this sock, it is finally done. 

The third time starting this sock, was the reknit that worked. Here is hoping that the second sock won’t take as long to knit up as the first sock. 

The socks I am working on, are being knit from KnitPicks Palette Yarn in Regal. 

While I have spent a fair amount of time working on this sock, I have also been working on other projects I have going. 

I had been working on a scarf that I decided to pull off the needles and restart it as a wrap. I have plenty of scarves, and realized that I have a lot fewer wraps. I am not a huge jacket person, and prefer wearing hand knits. The yarn I am using is another one that I have started a project, then have kept deciding to do something different with the yarn. I have enough of the yarn that I decided to make a wrap from it.

Jackets just aren’t as cozy as a hand knit wrap that is made from bulky wool. For the wrap I am working on, I am using Cascade Eco+ Yarn in Aporto. It’s a really dark bluish green.