We both think she's finally lost some weight. Next week I'll get some photos of her in roughly the same positions as the 1st week she was here for comparison.
I think I need to clean my camera lens because every photo I took today of my latest pair of Ruffled Colorwork Socks had this huge white blob in it.
We both think she's finally lost some weight. Next week I'll get some photos of her in roughly the same positions as the 1st week she was here for comparison.
We both think she's finally lost some weight. Next week I'll get some photos of her in roughly the same positions as the 1st week she was here for comparison.
The Solution to the Sock Knitter's Dilemma... Magic Slippers!
My biggest problem as a sock knitter, is what to do with my left over yarn, in particular with these no bigger than a walnut darling balls of yarn.
Yesterday, as I was packing all this week's colorways to be shipped from Hawaii to Brussels, and occasionally staring at the little yarn walnuts on the table, I found what I wanted to do.
For every pair of socks, I would knit a pair of baby slippers. So I took a little break from packing, grabbed my trusted Addis, and a little yarn walnut, and got to work. Here is the result. These slippers are magic to work. NO SEAMS at all, no origami construction, all garter stitch, mostly knit in the round, and about one pair per hour! My promise to myself is that I will knit a pair of slippers for every pair of socks I knit, and that I will donate the slippers to my local community health center.
Without further delay here is the pattern for the Magic Slippers.
Magic Slippers
These slippers are newborn size, but can easily be made bigger by knitting the even section of the sole longer, and picking up more stitches along the sides of the sole.
Materials:
Yarn: any walnut size left over ball of SW sock yarn. I used left over SockPixie SW Merino Sock yarn.
Gauge: 7 1/2 sts/inch in garter stitch
Needle: 2 16" US 1 circulars, or a set of DPTS in same size (Note that I wrote the pattern for 2 circulars, but it would be as easy t knit on dpts)
Sole:
Note that the sole is knit in garter stitch, knitting back and forth.
Cast on 7 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Repeat the following 2 rows until you have 15 stitches.
R1: K1, K1f&B, knit till 3 stitches are left, K1f&B, K2
R2: Knit
Knit even in garter stitch until the whole sole, from the cast on edge measures 2 1/2 inches.
Repeat the next 2 rows until you have 5 stitches left.
R1: K1, K2TOG, knit till 3 stitches are left, K2TOG, K1
R2: Knit
Do not BO. Keep these 5 stitches on your needle, and with that same needle pick up and knit 28 stitches to the center of the toe. Take you second needle, and with it pick up and knit 29 stitches from the center of the toe to right before the 5 original stitches, and knit 2 stitches from the first needle to the second. You will now have 31 stitches on each needle. The beginning of the round will be at the heel. Attach marker to show location of heel.
The rest of the slipper is knit in the round, in garter stitch (Purl one round, knit 1 round)
Yesterday, as I was packing all this week's colorways to be shipped from Hawaii to Brussels, and occasionally staring at the little yarn walnuts on the table, I found what I wanted to do.
For every pair of socks, I would knit a pair of baby slippers. So I took a little break from packing, grabbed my trusted Addis, and a little yarn walnut, and got to work. Here is the result. These slippers are magic to work. NO SEAMS at all, no origami construction, all garter stitch, mostly knit in the round, and about one pair per hour! My promise to myself is that I will knit a pair of slippers for every pair of socks I knit, and that I will donate the slippers to my local community health center.
Without further delay here is the pattern for the Magic Slippers.
Magic Slippers
These slippers are newborn size, but can easily be made bigger by knitting the even section of the sole longer, and picking up more stitches along the sides of the sole.
Materials:
Yarn: any walnut size left over ball of SW sock yarn. I used left over SockPixie SW Merino Sock yarn.
Gauge: 7 1/2 sts/inch in garter stitch
Needle: 2 16" US 1 circulars, or a set of DPTS in same size (Note that I wrote the pattern for 2 circulars, but it would be as easy t knit on dpts)
Sole:
Note that the sole is knit in garter stitch, knitting back and forth.
Cast on 7 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Repeat the following 2 rows until you have 15 stitches.
R1: K1, K1f&B, knit till 3 stitches are left, K1f&B, K2
R2: Knit
Knit even in garter stitch until the whole sole, from the cast on edge measures 2 1/2 inches.
Repeat the next 2 rows until you have 5 stitches left.
R1: K1, K2TOG, knit till 3 stitches are left, K2TOG, K1
R2: Knit
Do not BO. Keep these 5 stitches on your needle, and with that same needle pick up and knit 28 stitches to the center of the toe. Take you second needle, and with it pick up and knit 29 stitches from the center of the toe to right before the 5 original stitches, and knit 2 stitches from the first needle to the second. You will now have 31 stitches on each needle. The beginning of the round will be at the heel. Attach marker to show location of heel.
The rest of the slipper is knit in the round, in garter stitch (Purl one round, knit 1 round)
Round 1 and all odd rounds: Purl
Round 2: K25, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K25
Round 4: K24, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K24
Round 6: K23, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K23
Round 8: K22, K2TOG, K8, SSK, K22
Round 10: K21, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K21
Round 12: K18, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K18
Round 14: K15, [K2TOG] 3 times, [SSK] 3 times, K15
Purl Round 15.
BO loosely knitwise.
Weave in ends, make a second identical slipper, and find a lucky baby to give the slippers to!
This pattern is for personal use only. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.
Copyright 2007, caroline Dlugy-Hegwer.
Knitting Three Colors Per Row
In a perfect world all stranded color knitting patterns would specify just two colors per row. However, there are times you'll see three or even four colors per row (Dale of Norway, I'm looking at you!) in a color pattern chart. So how do you hold all those yarns?
First of all, you don't even have to knit three or four colors per row. Instead you can just knit with two colors and later go back and duplicate stitch the third color. Or you can just knit with two colors, slipping all the stitches that are to be knit with the third color. Then you go back and knit the exact same row again, slipping the stitches you just knit and knitting the third and fourth color stitches you slipped previously.
Still, if you want to knit 3 colors per row there are many, many ways to do this. All are a variety of the methods I've shown last week. You can put all three yarns in your left hand, 3 yarns in your right hand, or 2 yarns in one hand and 1 yarn in the other hand. In knitting with 3 colors a row you don't even have to worry about finding a method that doesn't tangle because they all do as far as I can tell. I generally stop a few times per row to detangle the yarns when knitting 3 color rows.
Here's how I hold the yarns for a 3 color row. The background color is again in my right hand and the other two colors are both stranded over my left index finger.
First of all, you don't even have to knit three or four colors per row. Instead you can just knit with two colors and later go back and duplicate stitch the third color. Or you can just knit with two colors, slipping all the stitches that are to be knit with the third color. Then you go back and knit the exact same row again, slipping the stitches you just knit and knitting the third and fourth color stitches you slipped previously.
Still, if you want to knit 3 colors per row there are many, many ways to do this. All are a variety of the methods I've shown last week. You can put all three yarns in your left hand, 3 yarns in your right hand, or 2 yarns in one hand and 1 yarn in the other hand. In knitting with 3 colors a row you don't even have to worry about finding a method that doesn't tangle because they all do as far as I can tell. I generally stop a few times per row to detangle the yarns when knitting 3 color rows.
Here's how I hold the yarns for a 3 color row. The background color is again in my right hand and the other two colors are both stranded over my left index finger.
I knit the yarn in my right hand English/American style and grab the specific yarn I need from my left hand finger and knit continental. This method is slow-going though.
I plan to try the method shown above the next time I have a three color row. I'll put all three colors in my strickfingerhut/knitting thimble and simply use the right hand needle to grab the color I need. I haven't experimented with this method much but I do think it will reduce tangling and the tangles that do occur will be easier to deal with.
Fragonard's Reverie...
Reverie... That is the perfect word for all the colorways for this week at SockPixie.
They are so different from the candy colors of last week, and yet equally mesmerizing. These new coloways are all inspired by the paintings of the famous French Painter Fragonard. He painted during the reign of Louis XV, and Louis XVI. His paintings are romantic, whimsical, and following the fashion of the day libertine! It is hard to say which colorway is my favorite but here is today's sneak peek. This colorway is Perrette and the Milk Pail. Poor Perette was dreaming of all the beautiful thing she would buy with her milk money, and was so engrossed in her dreams that she tripped, broke the pail, and lost the milk and all her dreams.
I am waiting to get more photos of various methods of knitting with 3 colors per row.
I have held off showing you some photos of Bubbles because I was hoping by now I'd be able to do some before and after photos of her weight loss. I think she has lost a little weight but we need to continue our efforts. She is still living in just one room to keep her and Jack the cat separate so she isn't getting as much exercise as I'd hoped.
She has the best bunny room filled with boxes and baskets and toys and hay and pet beds and blankets and even a stuffed bunny friend she is "grooming" here.
I like to hang out and read on the floor with her. The other night it sounded like there were about 20 coyotes howling right outside the window and I went in with her and she didn't even seem perturbed. Occasionally if I'm lucky she'll come up on my lap. She's such a sweetheart!
I have held off showing you some photos of Bubbles because I was hoping by now I'd be able to do some before and after photos of her weight loss. I think she has lost a little weight but we need to continue our efforts. She is still living in just one room to keep her and Jack the cat separate so she isn't getting as much exercise as I'd hoped.
She has the best bunny room filled with boxes and baskets and toys and hay and pet beds and blankets and even a stuffed bunny friend she is "grooming" here.
I like to hang out and read on the floor with her. The other night it sounded like there were about 20 coyotes howling right outside the window and I went in with her and she didn't even seem perturbed. Occasionally if I'm lucky she'll come up on my lap. She's such a sweetheart!
Looking ahead...
Thank you to all of you for visiting my "yarn candy shop"!
A lot of you have been asking me if I will bring certain colors back. This is what I have decided to do. I will put a poll on the blog, every couple of months so that you may tell me which colorways you would like to see coming back for a special encore.
Today, I will be packing all your orders, and walking ;) them to the post office! No snow, but definitely bitterly cold. Wrinkles get literally frozen! Who needs Botox!
Then, with a warm cup of coffee, I am going to start thinking about the new colorways for next Sunday. I have an idea... Valentine's Day is coming up, and I feel that a little romance with a French Twist, a la Fragonard, would be so much fun!Just think what a colorway with a name like Stolen Kiss would be like!
Just Like Candy!
I can hardly believe it, but I am done early this week: the new colors are all ready to go for this evening's SockPixie shop update.
The new colors are scrumptious!This one is Whirly Pop, and as Lucille Ball would say "Just like candy!"
This morning, my youngest son, who had not yet seen the new colors, and did not know I had decided to do a candy theme, said :" Mom, these yarns make me think of candy. Look a Hershey's Kiss!" I was so happy, I kissed him a million times, which he finds really gross (after all, he is almost a 10 year old young man!)
I have had practically no time to knit this week, so there will not be a new sock pattern today. I still owe you the Tiffany Socks. I am doing a final check before posting the pattern. Things should be better, my oldest has started her semester, and tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day, so we will not be homeschooling. I may even knit a pair of socks for me. You know that I have never knit a pair of socks for myself. I give them all away to family and friends.
I have my eyes on some of this week's colorways. I might go for a pair of gorgeous Whirly Pops, in plain stockinette. The yarn is so beautiful, I just want to let it do all the "talking"!
Two-Handed Two-Color Stranded Knitting
Occasionally you'll hear someone tell you there is only one right way to knit with two colors. I've heard people say that two-handed knitting is the best method. That is complete nonsense. It is the same as saying only English/American knitters can knit lace or only knitters who use circular needles can achieve beautiful hand-knit socks. I think the right method for you depends on your hands and how you hold the needles. Many incredible and extremely advanced color knitters don't use two hands.
I do use the two-handed method and frankly, I adore it. I actually pout a bit if I have to knit some ribbing or a stripe with just one hand. So I do want to urge all new color knitters to try using two hands on a small project. It only took me one sock project to fall in love with this method and the feeling of flow when using two hands.
To me the benefits of two-handed knitting are the relief the dominant hand gets and the sheer speed. It is much faster for me because I can start one of my hands knitting with the second color before I'm even done knitting with the first color with the other hand. I hold the right hand needle like a pencil but for some reason I don't with the left hand needle.
I tension the yarns through my fingers as shown although the yarn is too low on my left hand in this photo. When knitting I keep the yarns above my middle knuckles. The yarn in my right hand will be the background color and the yarn in my left hand will be the dominant color. In Carol Rasmussen Noble's Fair Isle mitten book, she says the stitches made by the left hand will be slightly larger if you're normally an English/American knitter and after looking closely at my knitting, she is definitely right in my case.
My method of weaving the yarns through my fingers is a pain if you need to get up frequently while knitting but I have at least learned how to keep the yarns woven through my fingers like that while changing from one dpn to the next.
To knit the left hand yarn, you knit Continental and either grab the yarn by going over or under the yarn. I go over.
When I need more yarn I simply lift my index fingers like this and pull more yarn out from the skein.
To knit with the right hand yarn I simply knit English/American and wind the yarn around the right-hand needle.
I do use the two-handed method and frankly, I adore it. I actually pout a bit if I have to knit some ribbing or a stripe with just one hand. So I do want to urge all new color knitters to try using two hands on a small project. It only took me one sock project to fall in love with this method and the feeling of flow when using two hands.
To me the benefits of two-handed knitting are the relief the dominant hand gets and the sheer speed. It is much faster for me because I can start one of my hands knitting with the second color before I'm even done knitting with the first color with the other hand. I hold the right hand needle like a pencil but for some reason I don't with the left hand needle.
I tension the yarns through my fingers as shown although the yarn is too low on my left hand in this photo. When knitting I keep the yarns above my middle knuckles. The yarn in my right hand will be the background color and the yarn in my left hand will be the dominant color. In Carol Rasmussen Noble's Fair Isle mitten book, she says the stitches made by the left hand will be slightly larger if you're normally an English/American knitter and after looking closely at my knitting, she is definitely right in my case.
My method of weaving the yarns through my fingers is a pain if you need to get up frequently while knitting but I have at least learned how to keep the yarns woven through my fingers like that while changing from one dpn to the next.
To knit the left hand yarn, you knit Continental and either grab the yarn by going over or under the yarn. I go over.
When I need more yarn I simply lift my index fingers like this and pull more yarn out from the skein.
To knit with the right hand yarn I simply knit English/American and wind the yarn around the right-hand needle.
Using a Norwegian Knitting Thimble/Strickfingerhut
First of all, there are several kinds of strickfingerhuts and the kind shown here is NOT the preferred kind to buy. Instead go for a metal one that looks like THIS as it fits your finger better, won't break, and holds the two yarns farther apart which is the whole purpose of this handy gadget. If you google "knitting thimble" you'll find a wide variety - there is even a type that fits over your fingertip like a sewing thimble.
The biggest advantage of using the plastic type shown here is that it can hold three or four yarns. In fact it may even be the best method of knitting 3 colors per row without excessive yarn twisting. Anyway, they're all around $3 so get a few and play with them.
Strickfingerhuts are mainly used by Continental knitters although I occasionally hear of a right-hand knitter who has figured out a way to use one. It normally goes on the left index finger and I like placing it as far down toward my middle knuckle as possible. That way I don't have to lift my index finger so high while knitting.
To use the plastic type, you open it up and insert the strands of yarn and close it up again. With the plastic type I put the two yarns as far away from each other as possible.
To knit the lower yarn you simply go over or under it and grab it and pull it through the knit stitch on the needle.
To knit the higher yarn try doing it similarly to yesterday's post on two colors in the left hand - grab the higher yarn by going over it and pulling through. You can use the rest of your fingers to hold/tension the yarns however you like. Many Continental knitters say that this handy gadget has greatly increased their 2-color knitting speed.
Tomorrow I'll talk about two-handed two-color knitting and this weekend I'll discuss some methods of knitting 3 color rows.
Here are my latest Roy G Biv socks knit in worsted weight yarn from the stash. I wish I'd been able to find a brighter yellow in the stash.
The biggest advantage of using the plastic type shown here is that it can hold three or four yarns. In fact it may even be the best method of knitting 3 colors per row without excessive yarn twisting. Anyway, they're all around $3 so get a few and play with them.
Strickfingerhuts are mainly used by Continental knitters although I occasionally hear of a right-hand knitter who has figured out a way to use one. It normally goes on the left index finger and I like placing it as far down toward my middle knuckle as possible. That way I don't have to lift my index finger so high while knitting.
To use the plastic type, you open it up and insert the strands of yarn and close it up again. With the plastic type I put the two yarns as far away from each other as possible.
To knit the lower yarn you simply go over or under it and grab it and pull it through the knit stitch on the needle.
To knit the higher yarn try doing it similarly to yesterday's post on two colors in the left hand - grab the higher yarn by going over it and pulling through. You can use the rest of your fingers to hold/tension the yarns however you like. Many Continental knitters say that this handy gadget has greatly increased their 2-color knitting speed.
Tomorrow I'll talk about two-handed two-color knitting and this weekend I'll discuss some methods of knitting 3 color rows.
Here are my latest Roy G Biv socks knit in worsted weight yarn from the stash. I wish I'd been able to find a brighter yellow in the stash.
Am I Willy Wonka?!
Yarn is just like candy. Sweet, colorful, it makes you feel warm, fuzzy and happy... It is mesmerizing. This week, there will be swirling lollipops, everlasting gobstoppers, and other magical bonbon colorways!
I will be a little like Willy Wonka, working with mysterious Oompa Loompas in my fantastic and secret yarn studio! Will you come and join me for a ride on Sunday on the SockPixie Site?
Knitting with Two Colors in Your Left Hand
HOLDING TWO COLORS WITH YOUR LEFT HAND
Continental knitters shouldn't be afraid to try to knit with two colors in one hand because it is done very similarly to how they knit with one color.
With this method you tension both yarns over the left hand index finger. Here's how I do it.
By stranding the yarns as shown (one going over and one going under the middle finger) I can try to avoid the two yarns ending up too close to each other on my index finger. (A strickfingerhut can also help keep the yarns separate but I'll talk about using one tomorrow.)
The yarn lowest on the finger is knit normally - by taking the right hand needle, putting it through the stitch on the left hand needle knitwise, then going over or under the lowest yarn with the right hand needle and pulling it through the stitch. I don't think it matters much whether you go over or under the yarn to grab it. Here I am going under the green yarn.
To knit the color held higher on the finger, nearer the fingertip, you take the right hand needle, put it through the stitch on the left hand knitwise, reach beyond the black yarn and grab the green yarn and pull it through the needle. I've tried grabbing this second yarn by either going under or over the yarn and I've found that using the needle to grab the color by going OVER the yarn is faster for me.
Here the black yarn is pulled through and I'm back to where I started.
As I said, the biggest difficulty I have using this method is how to keep the two yarns separate enough on my index finger so I can easily choose one color to knit. I do notice I lift my left index finger often to help tension the two yarns. Or I can use a strickfingerhut/knitting thimble. More on that tomorrow.
Continental knitters shouldn't be afraid to try to knit with two colors in one hand because it is done very similarly to how they knit with one color.
With this method you tension both yarns over the left hand index finger. Here's how I do it.
By stranding the yarns as shown (one going over and one going under the middle finger) I can try to avoid the two yarns ending up too close to each other on my index finger. (A strickfingerhut can also help keep the yarns separate but I'll talk about using one tomorrow.)
The yarn lowest on the finger is knit normally - by taking the right hand needle, putting it through the stitch on the left hand needle knitwise, then going over or under the lowest yarn with the right hand needle and pulling it through the stitch. I don't think it matters much whether you go over or under the yarn to grab it. Here I am going under the green yarn.
To knit the color held higher on the finger, nearer the fingertip, you take the right hand needle, put it through the stitch on the left hand knitwise, reach beyond the black yarn and grab the green yarn and pull it through the needle. I've tried grabbing this second yarn by either going under or over the yarn and I've found that using the needle to grab the color by going OVER the yarn is faster for me.
Here the black yarn is pulled through and I'm back to where I started.
As I said, the biggest difficulty I have using this method is how to keep the two yarns separate enough on my index finger so I can easily choose one color to knit. I do notice I lift my left index finger often to help tension the two yarns. Or I can use a strickfingerhut/knitting thimble. More on that tomorrow.
I will have info on knitting with 2 colors in the left hand tomorrow.
This week has been a week of pleasant surprises.
This week's CSA box (not completely local but from farms all over the region) from Los Poblanos Organics is not really a surprise but I just love getting it each week and planning menus around it. I think there is a vegetable pot pie in our immediate future.
Mary Tess surprised me with a lovely box full of Knitpicks Palette in 7 colors, a Red Sox DVD, a mitten cookie cutter and quite possibly the world's only glove knitting bumper sticker.
After several weeks of NEVER using her litter box Miss Bubbles is now completely litter trained. And I really didn't even do anything. I guess I'm just lucky. She got an extra treat today for being such a good girl.
This week has been a week of pleasant surprises.
This week's CSA box (not completely local but from farms all over the region) from Los Poblanos Organics is not really a surprise but I just love getting it each week and planning menus around it. I think there is a vegetable pot pie in our immediate future.
Mary Tess surprised me with a lovely box full of Knitpicks Palette in 7 colors, a Red Sox DVD, a mitten cookie cutter and quite possibly the world's only glove knitting bumper sticker.
After several weeks of NEVER using her litter box Miss Bubbles is now completely litter trained. And I really didn't even do anything. I guess I'm just lucky. She got an extra treat today for being such a good girl.
Yeti Spotted in Boston
You guessed right! Here is the abominable snow man, or woman rather. It was fun! The packages made it safely to the post office.
I'll do it again...
Knitting with Two Colors in Your Right Hand
I'm not sure I can top the heart-stopping, earth-shattering excitement of Thumb Week last year on this blog but this week I'm going to show different ways of holding the yarns for stranded color knitting.
Before I start I want to say again that ANY way you hold the yarns is a good method if you aren't twisting the two yarns. Some new color knitters use the pick up and drop method which involves knitting and holding only one color at a time and letting the other color hang. Unfortunately the pick up and drop method is really really slow so do try out one of these methods this week to see if it will click with you.
I think the shape of knitter's hands really dictates which method will feel the best. I'm going to show four different methods this week - five if I can find my strickfingerhut - but there are even more methods than that.
TWO COLORS IN YOUR RIGHT HAND
I've read that most knitters in the U.S. knit using the English/American/throwing method. When I first began knitting with two colors, I used this method of holding both colors in my right hand.
Here's how you start. One color over the index finger in the right hand and one color over the middle finger.
To knit with the red yarn, simply flick your index finger UP and grab the yarn and wrap around the right hand needle.
To knit with the black yarn make sure your index finger returns to being between the red yarn above and the black yarn below as is shown in the first photo here. Then move your index finger DOWN and UNDER the black yarn.
Pull the black yarn around the right hand needle. It is hard to see in this photo but the red yarn is ABOVE the black yarn.
Voila! You've now knit with both the red and the black yarns. Your right index finger does the bulk of the work. Return to the position shown in the first photo after each color change.
With this particular method the black yarn is held ABOVE the red yarn on the back of the work. This means that the red yarn will be dominant; i.e., the red stitches will be a bit larger and more noticeable in your design. Generally I use the dominant color for the design or foreground color and the other color for the background.
Before I start I want to say again that ANY way you hold the yarns is a good method if you aren't twisting the two yarns. Some new color knitters use the pick up and drop method which involves knitting and holding only one color at a time and letting the other color hang. Unfortunately the pick up and drop method is really really slow so do try out one of these methods this week to see if it will click with you.
I think the shape of knitter's hands really dictates which method will feel the best. I'm going to show four different methods this week - five if I can find my strickfingerhut - but there are even more methods than that.
TWO COLORS IN YOUR RIGHT HAND
I've read that most knitters in the U.S. knit using the English/American/throwing method. When I first began knitting with two colors, I used this method of holding both colors in my right hand.
Here's how you start. One color over the index finger in the right hand and one color over the middle finger.
To knit with the red yarn, simply flick your index finger UP and grab the yarn and wrap around the right hand needle.
To knit with the black yarn make sure your index finger returns to being between the red yarn above and the black yarn below as is shown in the first photo here. Then move your index finger DOWN and UNDER the black yarn.
Pull the black yarn around the right hand needle. It is hard to see in this photo but the red yarn is ABOVE the black yarn.
Voila! You've now knit with both the red and the black yarns. Your right index finger does the bulk of the work. Return to the position shown in the first photo after each color change.
With this particular method the black yarn is held ABOVE the red yarn on the back of the work. This means that the red yarn will be dominant; i.e., the red stitches will be a bit larger and more noticeable in your design. Generally I use the dominant color for the design or foreground color and the other color for the background.
It's a Nor'Easter!
It's a Nor'easter! The kids and I are jumping up and down. Rolfe, on the other hand, does not feel as happy as we do. He has to go to work. On the bright side he is using public transportation. Driving when it is snowing 1-2 inches per hour is no cup of tea! It can take people 6 hours to travel a distance they would normally cover in 10 minutes!
The only thing for me is my daily post office trip to ship all your packages. Rolfe has been insisting for some time now that I should have the post office pick up, instead of going to the post office every day. But I like the 40 minute round-trip walk!
So what should I do? Pack the packages safely in my weather-proof cart, bundle up, and do my own impersonation of the Yeti, or give in and ask for pick-up? Can you guess what I will do? How about a poll? Check in tonight to see what I decided to do!
The New Tiffany Colors...New Tiffany Socks
All the new colors are up, and as I do every Sunday, I always breathe a sigh of relief. There were no computer problems, the camera worked, I did not run out of batteries, the yarn dried on time, and we did not run out of coffee!
The picture above is one of a new Bamboo colorway called Apple Blossom .
The new pattern for the Tiffany Socks is almost ready, and as always I am too cross-eyed to post it tonight but it will be up tomorrow. For now here is the picture.
Bubbles was delighted to get her first shipment of bunny toys - a busy bunny basket, some willow chew toys, a seagrass mat, and a wooden rattle. The willow toys disappeared almost immediately. She really seems to adore DH which is nice because Jack the cat really adores me.
If anyone here is planning on knitting my free pattern for the Roy G Biv Socks, please go back and print out the pattern again. I just fixed an error in the heel and added a lot more detail to the pattern.
I was contacted by the editor of Knit Net a while back and she said they were going to feature some of my color stranding technique blog posts and the Roy G Biv pattern in their publication in February.
I decided to re-knit the Roy G Biv socks to get better photos. Back when I did the pattern I didn't even have a camera - I just stuck everything in my scanner for blog photos. I should have the completed sock photos for you by the end of the weekend.
Website Problems Fixed
It seems that my SockPixie website has been temporarily unavailable due to host problems.
Everything is OK now! Thank you to the technical team!
Everything is OK now! Thank you to the technical team!
Peasant Thumb, Step by Step, Part Two
I've put the stitches from waste yarn back onto dpns. To pick up stitches on the other side of the thumb hole, I take a dpn and insert it into the right side of each stitch directly above the cast on edge. Sorry I couldn't get a better photo of this. Don't pick up the stitches too far above the cast on edge or you'll get too much bulk inside the thumb.
All the stitches are picked up EXCEPT for any stitches that are picked up on the sides of the hole.
Here I am picking up and knitting only one stitch along the edge of the thumb hole. The tendency is to pick up lots and lots of stitches near a hole but this always ends up looking bad even if you go ahead and decrease them on the next row. I prefer to pick up the minimal amount of stitches and deal with any looseness or holes by using my favorite reverse duplicate stitch on the inside of the mitten.
All done. Again the pattern is Chapter 5, Pattern 9 from Anna Zilboorg's out-of-print book Magnificent Mittens.
And a side view.
Tiffany's?
What do you think of Tiffany studio lamps? The colors are just incredible. I am so inspired by the contrast, and the glow. Have you guessed what this week's inspiration will be? That's right, Tiffany lamps!
I see 15 new colorways, in merino, bamboo, cashmere, and my newest addition cashmino, a blend of merino and cashmere!
There is also a new pattern, which will of course be called Tiffany.
Now that the colors are designed, it's off to hanking, and dyeing...
Well, here I am
Today, a friend of mine gave me this lovely picture of my husband and myself. We had a great time that evening. My friend threw a great party in her backyard. There were people from all over the world, my husband of almost 16 years was at my side, I felt so at home.
For those of you who have not met me, you can now put a face with SockPixie, and Mr. SockPixie!
Peasant Thumb, Step-by-Step, Part One
Thanks for all the nice comments about Miss Bubbles! Because she is older and came from less-than-ideal conditions, we're busy trying to get her healthier and giving her lots of love and bunny compliments.
I've heard from new mitten knitters who want more info regarding peasant thumbs for gloves and mittens. I'm going to divide this into two blog posts because of all the photos.
Most charts will have either a solid line or a rectangle like above showing where the thumb will be placed. I vastly prefer patterns that have two different placements for the thumbs on each hand so I can make sure the beginning of the row is at the outside of the hand next to the little finger. That way I don't have to look at any color jogs in the pattern when I'm wearing them. Don't be afraid to move peasant thumb placements on the chart to make the mittens perfect for you.
When you get to the line on the chart that shows the thumb placement simply put the number of stitches for the thumb on waste yarn. Some patterns will tell you to knit across those stitches in waste yarn and then go back and knit the same stitches in pattern but I prefer keeping the thumb open so you can try on the mittens in progress and get the length perfect.
BTW, the chart in the photo is upside down because I'm working the Zilboorg mittens (from the out-of-print book Magnificent Mittens) the opposite direction. That is another benefit of a peasant thumb - it is worked the same in either direction.
After you put the thumb stitches on waste yarn, return to your working needle and cast on the same number of stitches you just put on waste yarn. I cast on using the backwards loop cast on and I cast on in pattern, using both colors of yarn. If you cast on with only one color of yarn you'll unfortunately have a really long float when you rejoin the row.
Once you rejoin the row you just continue knitting around. When you get to the stitches you cast on using the backwards loop cast on, you will REALLY appreciate it if you did that cast on loosely or it will be a serious pain to knit those stitches.
Now you just finish knitting to the top of the mitten. I try on the mitten and generally begin the top decreases when the mitten reaches the top of my fourth/ring finger.
Tomorrow I'll talk about picking up the stitches and actually knitting the thumb.
I've heard from new mitten knitters who want more info regarding peasant thumbs for gloves and mittens. I'm going to divide this into two blog posts because of all the photos.
Most charts will have either a solid line or a rectangle like above showing where the thumb will be placed. I vastly prefer patterns that have two different placements for the thumbs on each hand so I can make sure the beginning of the row is at the outside of the hand next to the little finger. That way I don't have to look at any color jogs in the pattern when I'm wearing them. Don't be afraid to move peasant thumb placements on the chart to make the mittens perfect for you.
When you get to the line on the chart that shows the thumb placement simply put the number of stitches for the thumb on waste yarn. Some patterns will tell you to knit across those stitches in waste yarn and then go back and knit the same stitches in pattern but I prefer keeping the thumb open so you can try on the mittens in progress and get the length perfect.
BTW, the chart in the photo is upside down because I'm working the Zilboorg mittens (from the out-of-print book Magnificent Mittens) the opposite direction. That is another benefit of a peasant thumb - it is worked the same in either direction.
After you put the thumb stitches on waste yarn, return to your working needle and cast on the same number of stitches you just put on waste yarn. I cast on using the backwards loop cast on and I cast on in pattern, using both colors of yarn. If you cast on with only one color of yarn you'll unfortunately have a really long float when you rejoin the row.
Once you rejoin the row you just continue knitting around. When you get to the stitches you cast on using the backwards loop cast on, you will REALLY appreciate it if you did that cast on loosely or it will be a serious pain to knit those stitches.
Now you just finish knitting to the top of the mitten. I try on the mitten and generally begin the top decreases when the mitten reaches the top of my fourth/ring finger.
Tomorrow I'll talk about picking up the stitches and actually knitting the thumb.
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