Despite a bit of quietness I have been knitting, it’s just that I’m knitting a secret project so I can’t talk all that much about it. My moms birthday is coming up, and I’m making her a sweater (don’t worry, she knows that much!). Originally we had decided together that I’d make Riva from Rowan Vintage Style and I had already bought some yarn for it, although not the expensive Rowan stuff. On Saturday, just as I was about to start knitting a swatch, I figured out what had been bothering me for a while. It somehow just didn’t feel right. I really like the look of it, but it just felt too simple for giving to my mom, I want her to have something special. Something simple and elegant, but with a twist. So in the spur of the moment I flipped through my books and magazines and found exactly what felt right. I hurriedly knit a swatch from some yarn I already had and then ran to the yarn shop just before closing. Since then I’ve been working on it and it’s coming along nicely. But no pictures yet, mom has no idea now what the heck I’m making, mwahahaha!
I’ve been good at spending money on books lately. My newest aquisitions are these three
and they’re all fabulous. What happy bedtime reading time I’m having now.
I managed to finish my sockapal’s sock number 1. I did the short row heel following the helpful advice I got to a previous post, and it all worked out like magic. I ended with a three needle bind-off because grafting in this alpaca stuff just looked pretty horrible, in fact I have to say that knitting with alpaca is a bit tricky and I’m not sure I’ll be enthusiastic to do it again. Which is sad, because it’s oh so wonderfully soft. I’m also a bit concerned if these socks will wear well, and just in case I might recommend home-use and special occasions. It’s always nice to have something special, right? Anyhoo, here’s a picture of my foot in it. Sockapal and I have almost the same foot size, although our calfs differ a bit in width, so the lacey goodness is not showing off too much
I’m dying to finish these so that I can start a pair from Folk Socks. I’ve already bought yarn for it and it is sitting in my living room whispering for me to transform it. Which brings me to another issue. I got the idea that having a ball winder and swift might be a good thing and now I’m really seriously considering to open up my wallet (despite the “WOW, do these cost that much” reaction I first had). It all started when Cassie sent me that beautiful laceweight merino. After having just learned how to wind a center-pull skein by hand I started enthusiastically to wind the laceweight… all 1200 meters of it. Well, it took two and a half hours, but I have a darn beautiful skein. Now this sock yarn I bought comes in hanks so it needs to be wound but the problem is, the sock I’m making is in four colors and each hank is about 470 meters so in total I need to wind 1880 meters, which according to my rough estimate will take almost FOUR hours! Think about all the knitting I could get done in that time. Jeez. Maybe I’ll buy the stuff when I’m in the US. Isn’t that an excellent plan?
The socks are beautiful and your pal will love them! We all need a very special sock for special times.
You’ll love the two sock books! Nancy does such a good job of designing socks. You’ll be set for a long time!
Comment by margene — Wednesday, April 12, 2006 @ 10:24 pm
That’s a lovely sock! Lots of texture, which is always a good thing. :-)
I have never made alpaca socks, but I’d like to try. It’s such a soft, warm fiber–I’m sure they would feel fantastic, especially on a cold day.
You need the swift and winder. Everybody does. :-) I just got mine a few weeks ago and I can hardly remember how I managed without it! So go for it. Get a coupon, find a sale, whatever you need to do. :-)
Comment by Beth S. — Thursday, April 13, 2006 @ 5:04 am
Fabulous choice in books! I have 2 out of the 3 you pictured. :)
I broke down a few months ago and bought a swift & winder. Even though I had sticker shock too, I haven’t regretted the decision for one moment. I know that some of the local yarn shops in Seattle sell them, so when you’re in town you could most certainly pick one up here. It might be hard to wait that long, though! The swift I bought was wooden, and sold for about $56 USD. I think that the ball winder was about $35-40 USD. This seems pretty standard, from what I’ve seen around and online.
It’s a good investment, and will save you so much time and energy. Am I an enabler or what? :)
Comment by Amy M. — Sunday, April 16, 2006 @ 5:01 am