FO - Molly Ringwald

Last Sunday, I finished my Molly Ringwald.



I think it's pretty cute.



Pattern: Molly Ringwald by Michele Rose Orne, from Knitscene fall 2006 (on Ravelry)
Size: 43"
Yarn: Bernat Satin, 100% acrylic, 10-ply worsted weight, color 04232 Sage, 3.3 skeins or approximately 546 yards
Needles: Knit Picks Options, size 6 (4.00mm), Brittany birch crochet hook, size E (3.5 mm)
Modifications: added 1 inch length to body, used kf&b increases instead of m1, reversed strap stitch pattern for mirror symmetry, added crochet rounds at armscyes

Started: March 3, 2008
Finished: April 20, 2008



This was a lovely pattern, and I learned a lot in the process. It is full of elegant little design touches, like the way the ruffles are formed or the transition from the bust to the sleeves.



Because it is relatively simple, I knew finishing would be important. I was very careful with my seaming, and while I was tempted to avoid learning how to crochet for the neckline, it is now one of my favorite details. I like the clean, sharp edge so much that I crocheted around the armscyes as well. This is definitely a good skill to add to my knitter's toolkit, as I'm sure I'll use it again.



I really admired the way the sleeves were constructed, and that is another trick I plan to remember: the front neckline stitches are reduced down to 4 stitches on each side, and these are knit into a ribbed strap which extends over the shoulders and attaches to the back. Once the body is sewn together, you pick up stitches from this edge and knit outwards to form a pretty little shoulder. I imagine it would not be at all difficult to extend this to a cap or short sleeve. Way cute.



There were a few times when the 3x1 ribbing became maddening, but mostly I zoned out and got into the Zen of it. It was a good companion project for reading, or in this case, listening to the audiobook of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll for the Knitting 19th Century Novels group.



I'd been wanting to knit this top for a while, but when I envisioned it as Alice's pinafore, I couldn't resist bumping it up to have something cute for spring.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am completely entranced with this particular shade of soft bluish sage green, and I'm sure this won't be the last project I knit in this color. The yarn was lovely to work with, and it's soft and comfortable to wear. This was my first time using Satin, and it was just perfect for this project.



I do think I could have gone down a size. I've come across quite a few people online who've said there is a lot of ease built into the pattern, but I thought I'd rather have something slightly loose than too tight.

I would definitely recommend this pattern. It's a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I think the effort I put into the finishing details really paid off, and overall I think this is a sweet top. I will probably not wear it with puff-sleeved embroidered shirts all the time, but I think it will still carry some of that charm with simpler styles too.



Now for my next sweater, something without ribbing!

Previous Entries on this Project:
- The C-Word
- Knitsomnia

Switcheroo

Once I decided to put my Entrelac Socks aside, I eagerly picked up my Spring Twists socks.



I truly love working with this yarn, as it is so spectacularly luscious and agreeable.



The only trouble is, I really don't like how it looks in this pattern. Something about the vague striping of the variegation or the way the traveling stitches dissipate in softness... it just isn't working the way I'd hoped.



So I decided to try a different yarn, a 100% mercerized cotton which is not actually intended for sock-knitting. This is Jager Siena 4-ply, and I think it's going to work perfectly.



The tight twist of the firmer yarn makes the traveling stitches and ribbing pop more, and the solid color proves much less distracting. Which is to say nothing of how head over heels in love I am with this slightly shiny sage green.

I'm feeling a lot better and looking forward to how these socks turn out.

No-Roll Hem and Some Notes

I have so many things to talk about, and I feel like I've fallen behind, but I'm getting to that point in the semester where everything is accelerating and becoming almost overwhelming.

I did want to mention a cool technique I just learned for knitting no-roll hems. I read about some similar techniques the other day on Knitting Daily, and I made a mental note to try them some time.

Then I cast on for a new project (we'll talk about that soon), and it called for just this kind of hem. Serendipitous!



This project is knit in reverse stockinette, but the premise is almost identical to working it on a stockinette sweater. I started with smaller-sized needles to work an inch and a half, then switched to larger needles for another 1.5 inches, to make a total of 3 inches. This will give me about a 1.5-inch hem. For a longer hem, you would simply increase each portion by equal amounts, remembering that the whole piece gets folded in half.



From there, I used a smaller needle to pick up stitches from my cast-on edge (the green one above), such that I have an equal amount of stitches on my working needle and on the back needle.

I arranged the needles so that the wrong sides of the knitting faced one another, then took a third needle and began to attach the hem by working p2togs.



To do this, I inserted the needle through the back stitch, then through the front, and purled, pulling the yarn through both stitches.



This transforms a weird three-needle-pronged tube into a tidy, folded no-roll hem. The post I linked above has instructions for working a picot turning row and some other fancy ideas, but the basic technique is really quite elegant.



Now, for two quick notes...

I've decided for the sake of sanity that I'm not going to try to finish my Entrelac Socks by the end of this month. I haven't made much progress on them since the last time I showed them, and I know they aren't going to start moving more quickly any time soon. I'm really glad I learned the technique, though, and I like the way these socks are coming out, so when I get some time I look forward to finishing them.

Instead, I have a new, exciting project that I'm starting for my Chemistry of Artist's Materials class (which also overlaps a bit with a graduate assistantship I'm working).

I'm not going to say exactly what it is just yet, but here is a big hint:



Man, I am thrilled beyond words.

The C-Word

My mom always says that you achieve greatest personal growth outside of your comfort zone.



I expect I should be growing quite a bit then.

FO - Seduction Socks

This weekend I finished my Seduction Socks.



And yeah, they are everything I thought they'd be.



Pattern: Seduction Socks by Ann Budd, from Interweave Knits spring 2007 (also available as a free PDF here)
Size: women's US 9
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss, 70% Merino wool 30% silk, 4-ply fingering weight, color Dusk (dye lot 29279), less than 2 skeins or approximately 330 yards
Needles: Knit Picks 6" nickel-plated DPNs, size 2.5 (3.00mm)
Modifications: worked toe-up with a short-row heel, added length to leg and changed cuff to 2x2 ribbing

Started: March 1, 2008
Finished: April 12, 2008



I absolutely loved this pattern, and these socks were a joy to knit. The 8-row sequence was extremely easy to memorize, as it was actually two very similar "patterny" rows, with 3 rows of simple filler in between.



If it were poetry, the stanzas might have gone ABBB CBBB (does that make sense?). In this case the difference between A & C was practically negligible, so it was really more like a 4-row repeat, where 3 rows were the same. My point is that it was very easy and fun lace that I worked from a Post-It for the first two or three repeats and from memory for the rest.



I am simply thrilled with the elegance of this approach. I'm a huge fan of patterns where you get a big pay-off for a simple effort, and the graceful, dancing movement of this lace makes me so happy for both its economy and beauty.



I decided to go toe-up so I could make the most of my yarn and decide on the length of the leg as I went. Conversion was simple, and I'm really happy I made that choice. I used a figure-8 cast on (12 stitches to start, for a wider toe) and increased to 56 stitches. I worked 5 rows after my increases to get a toe length of about 2". I determined this length by looking at where the decreases were supposed to begin in the original pattern.



I worked 64 rounds of lace (8 pattern repeats) on the foot, then worked a short-row heel calculated from this pattern. Because I had 56 stitches, I worked the heel over 28 stitches, with 10 in the middle and 9 on each side (if you're looking at that pattern, E=10). I am really happy with these heels - the fit is spot-on perfect. I hope it's not immodest to say they are probably the best heels I've ever worked.



I worked 96 rounds (12 repeats) after the heel, to give a leg that came just to the point in my calf where I'd have to start thinking about increasing. I had an abundance of yarn leftover, probably enough to have made knee socks. I used 2x2 ribbing with a stretchy bind-off at the top, and they feel marvelous.

The yarn is more than heavenly to use, with a decadent feel and insane softness. They really are luxurious on the feet, and worked on such large needles, I worried they might not be strong enough to wear with shoes. Because of the silk content and the fairly open lace, I was planning for these to be lounging or bed socks from the beginning, though once I've worn them around the apartment some, I'm no longer concerned about their strength.



I would absolutely recommend using Gloss if you want to fall in love with socks. The new colors are especially appealing, and I am exercising tremendous self-control by resisting the urge to buy every available color immediately. As for this blue, it has a seductive power all its own, and I'm really pleased with the fit of yarn to pattern.



I think these socks would make an excellent beginning lace project, and I actually think they'd make great first socks. Using a row counter alleviated any anxiety I had about having to pay attention or making sure they matched, but it's simple enough to see what's going on in this pattern by itself. I think I've reached a comfort level with sock-knitting that there was no point where I worried about not knowing what to do - actually, I knit these socks on autopilot, so they were wonderful stress relief and downright meditative.



In conclusion, I am utterly, thoroughly seduced... and now rather smitten.

Previous Entries on this Project:
- More Socks on the Needles
- Seduced

More Socks on the Needles

I must thank you all for your lovely and kind comments about my Bella Paquita, horrid photo and all. I'm going to take clearer, nicer photos as soon as I can.

I realize I am becoming more than a little obsessed with socks lately. At present, I have four pairs on the needles.

The first I meant to post a photo of back when I started them. I was kind of stunned that I couldn't find any mention of them (haven't I shown these before??), as I cast on the same day I cast off my toe-up Magic Stripes socks, using the same pattern and the Regia Design Line Kaaffe Fassett yarn in Landscape Carribean.



I'm more than a little in love with the way they're coming out. They have been my between-projects project, as well as my current portable project.

I've shown the second pair, my Seduction Socks. I decided to go with short row heels, and I'm falling more and more in love the longer I knit with the luxurious wool/silk Gloss yarn.

The next two socks are also products of the Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown challenges on Ravelry. It is so fun to participate in these, and I find the group really supportive and entertaining.

The March themes were a design by Ann Budd (my Seduction Socks) and/or entrelac. I've never done entrelac before, but I was hoping to get a chance this month.

I cast on Entrelac Socks by Eunny Jang in the spring 2007 Interweave Knits around 11:30pm on the last night of March, which just lets them count for the challenge but does not give me much time to knit complex knee-high socks.



I am double-dipping with these, as they will be my second project for a Knitting 19th Century Novels group, also on Ravelry. This group is a new incarnation of the recently and mysteriously deleted Knit the Classics blog, and it's a lot of fun so far. We're currently reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, so I thought the blue and white colors and checkerboard aspect was fitting.

I was also inspired by the crazy bodysuits and checkers in the Wonderland-themed Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers video for "Don't Come Around Here No More."



Entrelac is incredibly addictive and lots of fun. The yarn I'm using is Elann Esprit, an elasticated cotton. It was really tough to work with for the SSKs in the set-up triangles, but it loosened up and became quite agreeable once I moved into squares. I'm hoping that the stretchiness of the yarn will help these socks stay up around my calves.

The fourth and final pair of socks currently on my needles is just a toe, but it will become toe-up Spring Twists (Ravelry link) by Jeanie Townsend. She is the featured designer for the April sockdown, and I'm pretty excited about this pattern.



The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in the color Petal Shower, and it is absolute heaven to work with. I seriously love this yarn in practically indescribable ways, and I'm very much looking forward to focusing all my attention on these socks.

I would be quite busy if I were only knitting socks, but as it happens I'm also working on a handful of other projects at the same time, which we'll talk about soon.

It feels really good to be knitting so much and making so much progress. These knit-alongs are definitely helping me stay focused and push myself toward a challenge, so I'm happy to keep them up.

Now back to sock-knitting!