Speckled is Spot On

I cast off what I’m calling my hard won pair of socks, not because there was anything particularly hard about them, other than there was a whole lot of purling, and I do hate to purl. Perhaps they felt hard won because they took more than six weeks to complete.

But despite the slow finish, this was my first time knitting speckled yarn, and I’m. in. LOVE! Like stripes, the speckles kept my interest. Unlike stripes, they're more versatile. Before anyone thinks I’ve gone over to the semi-solid side, here’s the thing.

This past week, fall arrived, and despite amassing a lot of handknit socks, almost all of them clashed with my business-casual clothes. This got me thinking that as uninteresting as knitting solid yarns can be for me, they’re more practical than some of the colorways I’ve stockpiled. Plus, knitting from a pattern instead of row after row of stockinette was fun.

I used Eaden Yarn’s Prism in Neon Lights. I think the pattern – Jane Cochran's Hedgerow – compliments this yarn. Plus, I really like the heel. It's not the typical slip stitch/short row heel. The pattern is centered on the flap, making a seamless transition between the leg and the heel. The speckles eliminate any pooling, and honestly, I think these can be worn with anything.

I have two more skeins of Eaden’s Prism stashed away but my next pair of practical socks is going to be a semi-solid. Fine, I've gone over to the semi-solid side. Like the Neon Lights, I know it may take me longer to knit a non-stripey, but honestly, the post-blocked reward is more satisfying.

My heart will always belong to self-striping, but I need to open up my sock drawer to speckles, and yes, semi-solids too. It's not personal; it's just practical. Until next week, bon tricot!

Comments

Spring Cleaning – Whipping Out Shawl WIPs

I decided it was time for a little spring cleaning. I had two shawls in different states of finishing: my Drops of Honey Shawl not started and Claire Randall Fraser one-quarter knit. The Drops of Honey shawl is the first installment of Indie Untangled’s Where We Knit Club, and since I knew the next installment was shipping May 1, I was motivated to cast on-cast off. This is my first time using merino-silk yarn. It was quite the treat! The golden-honey hue is not one I would pick for my blue-grey-turquoise loving self, but I couldn’t be happier with the finished product. It’s a great neutral and can be paired with anything. My son, who was fascinated with this project, compared the shawl to honeycomb. Sounds like something an aspiring knitter would say. Besides the merino-silk fiber, this is also my first time knitting a Janina Kallio pattern. But it won’t be my last. In the meantime, I’m woefully behind on my Among Friend’s Outlander Club knitt

2018 Knitting Goals

I’m a creature of habit. I eat the same thing for breakfast, the same thing for lunch. I drive the same way to work. I exercise the same time every day. Trying new things does not come easily to me. So I created a bucket list in 2017 with the hopes of pushing me outside my comfort zone – to innovate. My list was ambitious, and while I didn’t accomplish everything I had hoped to in 2017, I’m pleased with my progress…and the finished handknits. I knit fewer socks and more shawls. I learned several cast ons and cast offs. I knit my kits, including my first toy. And while I failed to pare down my stash, I did focus on creating versatile, wearable wardrobe staples. 1. Complete shawl that requires garter tab cast on 2. Knit a toy 3. Complete a sweater (kind of, if you count the sweater on the Velveteen Rabbit kit) 4. Knit something for the house – blanket 5. Knit something lace weight 6. Knit holiday o

Star Wars Day: May the 4th Be With You

Happy Star Wars Day! There’s been an abundance of Star Wars themed yarn this year, and I have fallen for many of them. After completing my Brandy Milk Punch socks , I cast on a new pair using Two SistersYarn Company’s These Are Not The Droids You're Looking For. I stumbled across this skein in February on Etsy. It was the only one left, and it's dyed on their Canyon Creek MCN Base, which is 80% superwash merino wool, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon. The striping sequence is five rows R2-D2 blue followed by Storm Troopers white, Millennium Falcon grey, Chewbacca brown, BB-8 orange, and the First Order black. I have completed two repeats, and I'm loving the color combinations. And speaking of droids, Must Stash Yarns is having a Star Wars KAL. To determine my allegiance – Empire or Rebels – I took a quiz . And it looks like I’m going to knit for the Dark Side. My skein of Rey arrived in the mail this week, but I’m going to cast on using R2D2.

Bon Tricot

Search This Blog