The past few weeks have left me little time for the needles, but I have managed to get a few things completed.
First of all, are these stranded slippers, called baffies in Scottish parlance. They're the first pattern in the Seven Skeins club I subscribed to recently. I was going to postpone making these until later in the new year, but I wanted to make something handknit for a friend of mine with a November birthday and I thought these would be just the thing. I hope you like them, Mary Peace!
They're pretty easy to make. Although you can see I had some tension issues, they're really not as different in size as they appear in this photo. They're made toe-up until the garter stitch striped heel. That's worked flat and then joined with a three-needle bind-off. Then it's finished off with an applied I-cord edging. A smart design, really. The white color is called Ptarmigan and the other is called Highland Coo after the shaggy cows of The Highlands. But everyone in Austin thinks it's UT Burnt Orange. I have to admit it's pretty close!
I've also finally gotten around to completing the first of my Domino socks using the ombré-spun Crazy Zauberball yarn I got in Maryland. The rainy, gloomy weather in north Texas this long holiday weekend has given me plenty of time to catch up with this project. It's been on the needles for months. I usually pick it up when something else gets too big or complicated to be easily portable, so I hadn't been working on it with any regularity. The black toes and afterthought heel are a bamboo/wool/silk combination called Panda Silk. This yarn would look better on 2mm needles instead of the 2.25mm that the rest of the sock is knit with, but it'll do. I turned once again to Janelle's excellent instructions for an afterthought heel. So helpful! One more sock to go...
I'm getting pulled in a lot of directions inspiration-wise. I've got my eye on a pullover pattern, I need to make a hat for a friend, I'm kicking around blanket ideas, and I've been wanting to try my hand at a houndstooth double-knit scarf. There's never not something to knit!
So true! There is NEVER not something to knit!
ReplyDeleteWell done, they both look great! I still haven't started on my seven skeins but... my university librarian (and friend) is leaving us, heading to a new job in New Zealand, and I've been thinking of one of the seven skeins designs as a leaving present for her.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you'll start on net, the pullover design sounds intriguing as does that houds tooth scarf - double knitting? I am still puddling along with my cable sweater. Big projects don't give you much to say during the long plodding phase...
PS: If I ever knit socks with an afterthought heel I'll be sure to read up on Janelle's instructions first!
Do -- her instructions are clear and handy. It' just like working the toe of a sock, except you do it at the heel. Not difficult at all.
DeleteDo you trust the Panda Silk to hold up at the heel? Or perhaps that is why you did an afterthought heel...regardless, they look lovely!
ReplyDeleteI did the afterthought heel because the Zauberball stripes unevenly and I kinew the socks wouldn't match. But I wanted something to draw the two together, so I thought solid matching toes and heels would be just the thing. Panda Silk was the only solid black sock yarn my LYS had at the time I was looking for it. I think it should hold up just fine -- but it's a thinner yarn than the Zauberball, so it stretches out and looks a little lacey. But it seems to be plenty tough!
DeleteThe foot coverings all look great. You are the master of knitting stash before it becomes entrenched. Kris asks about Panda Silk because she's using it for something right now (not socks). Do report!
ReplyDelete[See above] I do like the Panda Silk and think it's pretty rugged. I did have one small issue during the kitchener toe when I split the yarn got a weird snag where one of the plies bunched up, but I was able to fix it. I chalk that up to black yarn and poor lighting!
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