Two new sock patterns!

Yes, I've stepped out of my "summer cave" and I just posted two new sock patterns! :)

Striped Melon Socks

Simply 200yds or less Socks

*Both have PDFs that are available through Ravelry. The PDF links are also on the pattern posts as well.

I realized after publishing these patterns that 5 of the 7 patterns I have available all start with a "S" for the title.... I think I better get more original on the titles from now on. 

That's it for now! :) 

Simply 200yds or less Socks

 Made available August 31st, 2014

PDF of pattern available

After becoming a sock knitter, one of the problems I had was that sometimes yarns I currently had in my stash did not have at least 350 yards for me to knit a basic pair of mid-calf socks. So, I would go to a pattern for ankle socks, but many never specified the amount of yardage I'd need to knit the pair... I could have taken a risk, but might end up with 1 1/2 of a pair of socks and a tremendous amount of frustration. 

So, I have solved that problem here with the "Simply Socks" pattern. (It's also a little spin off of my "Shrimp. Sock. Love." pattern.) Tested and proved, this pattern will let you utilize that 50g skein of sock yarn that has been sitting in your stash all alone. :)

Supplies:

• Wool is Why 75/25 handpainted yarn [75% Wool, 25% Nylon; 218yds/199m per 50g skein]; 1 skein

• 24” US #2/3mm circular needle for magic looping.

• Scissors

• Yarn needle

• Split ring or stitch marker (to keep track of where you are in rows)

GAUGE:

 32 sts/ 46 rows = 4 inches of stockinette stitch

Abbreviations:

LLinc: Left-leaning Lifted Increase

LRinc: Right-leaning Lifted Increase

A great tutorial is here for lifted increases: http://dailyskein.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/lifted-increases/

W&T: Wrap and Turn

K2TOG: Knit two together (decrease)

Instructions:

You will definitely need a second ball of yarn if you are making a longer sock.

Any hand-painted skein of sock yarn will work wonderfully with this pattern.

PATTERN:

Using Judy’s magic cast on:

CO 22  sts (11 on each needle) with MC. Knit from first needle only.

TOE:

Row 1: k3, LLinc, knit to last three sts, LRinc, k3; k3, LLinc, knit to last three sts, LRinc, k3.

Row 2: k all sts.

Repeat rows 1 & 2 until stitch count reaches 66 sts (33 on each needle) ending at row 1 after increasing.

FOOT:

Knit in stockinette stitch until foot measures 2” less than desired foot length.

Continue on to short row heel.

SHORT ROW HEEL:

Knit first half of stitches with MC (33 sts).

Now working flat with the last 33 stitches:

Row 1 (RS): k to last stitch, wrap & turn.

Row 2 (WS): p to last stitch, wrap & turn.

Row 3 (RS): k to last wrapped stitch, w&t.

Row 4 (WS): p to last wrapped stitch, w&t.

Repeat rows 3&4 until there are 10 right wrapped stitches, 13 unwrapped stitches, and 10 left wrapped stitches (20 wrapped stitches in all) in total.

Row 5: k to first wrapped stitch, k the stitch w/ wrap, w&t

Row 6: p to first wrapped stitch, p the stitch w/ wrap, w&t

Repeat rows 5&6 until there is only one wrapped stitch on each side (two total)

Row 7: k to last stitch, knit stitch with wraps, and continue working on instep. REMEMBER to pick up the first stitch after the instep. Continue on to leg.

LEG:

Row 1-4: K all sts

Row 5: *K2tog, k1, p2, (k2, p2) 7times. Repeat again across second needle. (64 sts)

Row 6-11: (k2, p2) around.

FINISHING:

Bind off with the “stretchy bind off” (Same as a regular bind-off but for the purl stitches, purl them instead of knitting them as you normally would while casting them off.)

Repeat for the second sock. Enjoy your socks after finishing (sew in the ends)! :)

Please do not try to steal and say this was your pattern, no profit for finished product or pattern that is FREE. 

Striped Melon Socks

 

 Made available August 30th, 2014

PDF of pattern available

Striped Melon Socks are a solution to any different colored yet coordinating 50g sock yarn skeins. The yardages were insufficient for anything above ankle socks, so I thought, “Why not make a pair of striped socks?” Looking far and wide, I couldn’t find a striped sock pattern, as strange as that sounds, so I made my own pattern. The stripes repeat every four rows, but you can adjust the striping length any way you’d like.

Supplies:

[MC] Louet Gems Fingering Weight [100% Merino; 185yds/169m per 50g skein]; color: Fern Green; 1 skein

[CC] Louet Gems Fingering Weight [100% Merino; 185yds/169m per 50g skein]; color: Willow; 1 skein

24” US #2/3mm circular needle for magic looping OR

A set of five US #2/3mm DPNs

Scissors

Yarn needle

Split ring or stitch marker (to keep track of where you are in rows)

GAUGE:

 28 sts/ 44 rows = 4 inches of stockinette stitch

Instructions:

·       You can use any color you’d like. J I just happened to use green since those two skeins happened to be in my stash.

·       I find that if you use two skeins of the same type of yarn, it will look more uniform.

·       I used US #2 needles, but if your feet are smaller or larger, needle size change is recommended.

Usually when knitting stripes, a “jog” join will form through the start of the rows. I have found this tutorial for a “jogless” join to be the most helpful: http://jlyarnworks.blogspot.com/2009/02/tutorial-jogless-join_22.html

However, please do not move the beginning of the row (needle) as the jogless join goes around the sock. Keep all the stitches where they are from the beginning.

***Instructions are in for DPN usage, but you can use circulars as well.

PATTERN:

CUFF:

Long-tail CO 64 sts (16 on each needle) with color A.

K2, P2 for 3 rows of color A.

K2, P2 for 4 rows of color B.

K2, P2 for 4 rows of color A.

K2, P2 for 4 rows of color B.

LEG:

Pattern of colors:

Knit 4 rows of color A

Knit 4 rows of color B

Repeat the rows until the leg is as long as you want it to be (save 2” for the heel). Before you start the heel, only knit 2 rows of the opposite color you want to do the heel in. I knitted 2 rows with color B

Ideally, you should repeat the pattern of colors long enough until the jogless join reaches before the 2^nd needle.

SHORT ROW HEEL:

Knit first half of stitches with (32 sts).

Now working flat with the last 32 stitches and working with color A only.

Row 1 (RS): k to last stitch, wrap & turn.

Row 2 (WS): p to last stitch, wrap & turn.

Row 3 (RS): k to last wrapped stitch, w&t.

Row 4 (WS): p to last wrapped stitch, w&t.

Repeat rows 3&4 until there are 9 right wrapped stitches, 14 unwrapped stitches, and 9 left wrapped stitches (18 wrapped stitches in all) in total.

Row 5: k to first wrapped stitch, k the stitch w/ wrap, w&t

Row 6: p to first wrapped stitch, p the stitch w/ wrap, w&t

Repeat rows 5&6 until there is only one wrapped stitch on each side (two total)

Row 7: Switch to color B. k to last stitch, knit stitch with wraps, and continue working on instep. REMEMBER to pick up the first stitch after the instep.

Knit 1 more row in color B.

Continue on to foot.

FOOT:

Pattern of colors:

Knit 4 rows of color A

Knit 4 rows of color B

Continue with the pattern of colors until sock is 2” from the desired length.

Now work on the Toe Decrease.

TOE DECREASE:

Switch to the opposite color, and cut off the color you’ve just been working with.

*Knit to 3 stitches before the start of the instep.

K2tog, k1.

Next needle: k1, ssk, knit rest of needle.

*repeat to finish row.

Knit next row

Row 1:

1^st needle: K to 3 sts before end of needle, k2tog, k1.

2^nd needle: k1, ssk, knit rest of needle

3^rd needle: K to 3 sts before end of needle, k2tog, k1.

4^th needle: k1, ssk, knit rest of needle

Row 2:

Knit

Repeat Rows 1 & 2 until there are 28 stitches (7 on each needle) left.

Knit off next needle. Now put half the stitches on one needle and half on the other (14 sts per needle)

FINISHING:

Kitchener st the rest of the stitches on the needle.

Repeat pattern for the second sock. Enjoy your Striped Melon socks after finishing (remember to sew in the ends)! :)

Please do not try to steal and say this was your pattern, no profit for finished product or pattern that is FREE. 

Summertime Knitting!

It's Summer vacation time here in the U.S., which means I'm off school for the next three months! That equals knitting time! :D Unfortunately, I will be working on my college essays as I will be applying to college this year and be college-bound next year. However, I am trying to squeeze a little knitting time before that. I have a gigantic stash I have to reduce before I go to college, so I'm trying to work it down now. :)

Below I have a picture of a WIP, "Fruity Striped Socks" made from two 50g skeins of Paton's Stretch Socks in the Fruit Slices colorway The pattern I used is Cristi's Stripey Sock Recipe. I believe I bought these skeins about two years ago. One sock down, one more to go! 

Next is another WIP using the same pattern, but with Paton's Kroy socks in the Blue Striped Ragg colorway. I'll also be using 2 50g skeins for this as well.

Finally, here is a soon-to-be released pattern preview. I'm going to call it, "Simply 200yds or less Socks"

That is it for now! I will post the sock pattern in a later post soon. :) 

New Pattern and PDF availability!

Hello everyone! If any of you have popped in my blog for the past few days, I have released a new pattern, Fishy Fingerless Mittens. Also, in the four years I've been designing and self publishing, I have finally learned how to put a PDF file on Ravelry for knitters to download! So not only are some of my patterns available on the website, they're also available as downloadable and printable PDFs as well. Of course, you'll need to be a Ravelry member to download, but I'm sure you wouldn't read this blog if you weren't a member. ;) 

I will add the link to the patterns I have PDFs for (Fishy Fingerless Mittens, Spearmint the Bunny, and Shrimp. Love. Socks.)

Fishy fingerless mittens

Made available May 21st, 2014

PDF of pattern available

Supplies:

About 100 yards of handspun yarn (12 WPI) or a heavy and springy fingering to sport weight yarn. I used my special Meow brand "Fishy Blue" yarn, to be available for sale online in the coming months. 

US size 3/3.25mm DPNs or 16"-24" circular (whatever is most comfortable for knitting in the round)

Scissors

Yarn needle

Split ring or stitch marker (to keep track of where you are in rows)


Gauge:

9 sts/9 rows = 1 inch of k2, p2 ribbing (unstretched)


Notes and Instructions:

If you make the mitten larger or longer, you'll need 100+ yards of yarn, so please plan accordingly.

You can cast on any amount of stitches, but please make sure it's in multiples of 4. 

The thumb is added on after your mitt is done. It's completely optional. 



PATTERN:

Long-tail CO 40 sts, separate

Start k2, p2 ribbing for four inches.

Now, turn and start k2, p2 rib, going back and forth as if knitting "flat" for 8 rows.

After 8 rows of flat knitting, continue back to knitting in the round for 10 rows. 

Bind off using a "stretchy" bind-off (with knit stitches: knit bind off, with purl stitches, purl bind off). 

*Optional
Pick up 16 sts on the thumb hole, separate.

k2, p2 rib for 10 rows. Bind off with "stretchy" bind-off.



Repeat for the second mitt. 

Please do not try to steal and say this was your pattern, no profit for finished product or pattern that is FREE. 

Freshly Handspun skeins!

Time to catch up on my handspinning projects and what I've been up to! :) 

I have been recently, for the past month, been experimenting with dyeing yarn!   It has been an exciting adventure for me using professional acid dyes. I mainly started dyeing yarn because of a school project for inventing something. More on what I invented on a later post. ;) 

Remember my first handspun (blue/brown one) with my miniSpinner? I actually knit the yarn into something! I bet you'll never guess what..... Well it's maybe too obvious when the yarn is a Superwash BFL. What else would I make besides socks?!

Soooo pretty! :) They don't match but who cares? They're so soft and beautiful! :) I love the colorways that Sweet Georgia has. Every color is absolutely gorgeous. 

About a month ago, I completed a skein of hand-dyed Corriedale by Woolen Mill St. I started on after finishing my Sweet Georgia Coal Harbour skein.

It's in the "Rue" colorway. It's a 14 WPI yarn (yes, I finally got that WPI tool!) and 322 yards I also have the same exact roving in her "grape" and "Zoe" colorways that I'll be spinning up in the summer. 

After that skein, I dyed my first roving! Probably the ugliest thing I've ever seen. (Definitely NOT my colorway)

I mean it looks OK.... Well, I guess I have to agree that when I spun it up, it looked much much better:

The SUPER MEOW game!

Has anyone played the amazingly addictive yet academic game of 2048? A recent game, there's now a Flappy 2048, Chinese and even a DOGE version. Do you know what's even cooler though? A version of 2048 starring..... ME!! :) That's right, a Meow game. Owner made it and she calls it "SUPER MEOW!" Anyone is welcome to play. The link is below. We hope you enjoy it. 


FOLLOW THE MEOW!

Sarasota! (By: Meow-Meow)

Last week, owner and I went to Western Florida. On the way, we stopped by A Good Yarn in Sarasota. :)

The store was huge! Probably the largest in Florida, as far as I know of. They have knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, and needlepoint supplies in-stock! Usually yarn stores in the Southeast do not offer a wide selection like that. Owner has always had to order her yarn online or wait to go up north (which rarely happens), so whenever we pass by Tampa, we always have to stop by A Good Yarn. :) 

So, here is what owner bought at the store:

Oooh, yummy yummy yarn that I can dive into! :) Well, owner is the one that knits, but you get the point, hehe. 

Listed in the picture is (L to R):

-Addi Turbo Sock Rockets in US size 2 24"

-Berroco Vintage in 5100 colorway

-HiKoo Kenzie in "Seal"

-Biscotte & Cie Stitch Surfer Kit in "Go Habs Go"

-Swan's Island Bulky in Winterberry

-Schacht Zoom Loom

-Dje Handwovens "Twodot the Turtle" Kit

-Frabjous Fibers Polwarth Wool in "Chromatophobia Red"

For the first time, owner started and completed two projects in an incredible three days! Granted, both were quite small to medium-sized projects, but she finished them anyways! 

So I got to ride Twodot the Turtle:

Yay! :) He's so soft. I believe he's made from pure wool (green) and some type of silk or synthetic wool blend for the orange part.

And the second project, a bandana cowl for owner. I also got into the fun a little though.. :) 

I am running too many blogs!

Hi everyone! I'm just popping in to say hello and to just bring up something I haven't brought up before. 

I. Have. Too. Many. Blogs. 

Someone normal would think updating and posting for a single blog would be more than enough, but in recent weeks I have added two more on my workload in addition of Imaginative Knits. The difference between those new blogs and Imaginative Knits is that the new blogs are for school. That means I'm required to post at least weekly for both of them. 

All blogs allow me to discuss whatever is on my mind that relates to the website's purpose, but I don't have the ability to post three times a week (one post for each). :P This is just a message that if you guys don't see any recent posts, you'll know the reason behind it. (Fortunately, those two blogs will only last to early June.)

Besides that, lets update on some knitting! :) 

I completed another project to enter into the 2014 Ravellenics:

A swirl hat for the Hat Halfpipe, Single Skein, and Lace events.

Along with the hat, I also submitted the Regia Socks I wrote about in my last post.  So for the Ravellenics, I knitted two items. :) Not bad, considering I am probably the slowest knitting factory in the planet. :P