sock porn for knitting voyeurs.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

"Beware the ides of March..." Or, A Finished Sweater and Socks! (Pic heavy)

"He is a dreamer, let us leave him: Pass."*

"Cable and Rib Sweater with Hood" from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits Book.





I'll have modelled photos and more knitting details tomorrow, still drying :)

(I want my wood medal!)



Baby Cable Rib socks from Sensational Knitted Socks
Started March 2, 2006
Finished: March 15, 2006
Socks That Rock, medium weight -- Carbon colorway
Addi 1.5's (2.5mm) -- 2 socks on 2 circs
136 gm yarn total

Some finished pics...













I'm amazed how "identical" the socks turned out-- I knit from the inside and outside of the skein and assumed the socks' striping/pooling would be reversed, but it wasn't. I didn't intend for them to match, but if I'd chosen to start both socks from a similar colorway break, I'm sure I could have had identical socks. This may be a cool thing for some people who like identical socks... I'm indifferent (I think fraternal is the norm in handpainted yarn, I like the character it gives.) But there you go :)


26 gm leftover from skein. 136 gm total used for the 2 socks... one thing that impressed me when I purchased the "Socks That Rock" was the weight of the mediumweight skeins, plenty for socks. I'm not sure if there's enough here for a pair of toddler socks, but perhaps I'll use it with a solid heel & toe.

Socks on:







I find I liked the pattern more on the needles than off; on the baby rib looks too small to me. Perhaps I just got too used to them on the needles, they were there for so long!

Check out the detail on the 3 st garter edge on the heel flap, I've never done it before (tek from Sensational Knitted Socks, when in Rome etc.) and am not sure how I feel about it. I like the look, but was unhappy with how picking up the garter ridge stitches... I prefer picking up the selvage stitches tbl for the twist, but I think I'll try this "edge" again sometime.

The pattern is nice and "fitting" all around, no bags or looseness. And the socks and the yarn feel great on, I like the mediumweight yarn! :) (Caveat: I haven't tried the lightweight.)

Knots in "Socks that Rock":

**Edit, March 16: I took Jennyraye's suggestion and contacted Blue Moon Fiber Arts about the knots in my skein of "Socks That Rock"-- I received a very (VERY) prompt email stating that the number of knots I found were unacceptable and not their norm. They are going to make it up to me and I'm thrilled; I wasn't going to contact them about it but I'm left super impressed by their customer service and how they stand by their product.**


Detail of knotted, broken 3rd ply in "Socks that Rock"


Detail of 2 knots inside 1st sock.


Inside of 2nd sock, 2 knots in ply. Needle inserted to give an idea of the knot.


Broken ply not knotted.

I will say, as heavy and as pretty and as coveted as the "socks that rock" yarn is, I'm disappointed by the knots I found in the yarn I used. They weren't "true" knots-- they didn't bring together breaks in the entire yarn. Instead, in four seperate spots in the hank, the 3rd ply of the yarn had broken and had been tied back together. I'd also found several "slubs" or loose bits of the 3rd ply of the yarn that wasn't broken enough to be knotted down to itself, but nonetheless left a loose strand from the yarn even though it was caught up in the twist of the yarn somewhat.

I'm bummed; even though I was able to "hide" all 4 knots in the inside of the sock (with a little figeting and varying tension so they'd end up back there), I was disappointed to find them in the first place.

In other knitting news...



I joined the "Diamond Fantasy Shawl" KAL for Sivia Harding's beautiful pattern and was going to use some of the Lisa Souza Sock! yarn for the scarf (it only takes one hank!) but when I pulled it out of the stash bin, I decided I needed some *eye of the tiger* kickarse socks in my life right now, instead. So this (mahogany colorway) will become some rockin socks... I'm thinking "Childs first sock in shell pattern" from Knitting Vintage Socks.

Eye of the tiger was my favorite song when I was like, 6.

I've also decided to frog my "Glad Ragg" socks I started for the Six Sox KAL, and use the Cherry Tree Hill supersock for the shawl, instead. I like the pattern, I love the yarn, but I can't get into them... one finished cuff has been sitting in my inbox, taunting me. This'll be the 1st sock I frog "without reason"... its still waiting to be ripped, don't know if I'll work up the courage today or not.

Thanks for slogging along if you'd gotten this far :)

* Julius Caesar, Act I Scene ii.
Shakespeare is rolling in his grave.

10 comments:

lexa said...

I love the way your STR socks striped! Also your cabled sweater is gor-gee-us!

Dontcha hate knots?! Grrr! I'm knitting my 3-year-old a sweater right now with Sirdar Denim Chunky. I haven't come across knots yet, but the yarn isn't spun very well. All four skeins are the same. I don't know if that's usual for that yarn, or if it's because it's acrylic/wool/cotton blend. I don't really like the look of the stocking stitch. It splits pretty badly, too. I think I may have to cast on a pair of socks to give myself a break from it tonight!

Jenny Raye said...

Contact Blue Moon Fibers about your knot problem asap. I can tell you from experience that this is not acceptable to them. They had some problems with their mill earlier in the year and have seemed to have worked it out. Let them know. Their customer service is prompt, courteous, and all about pleasing the customer. I am not affliated, just satisfied.

Dave said...

Wow ... great sweater, and the socks are beautiful! I agree with you on the garter flap edge. Maybe on a plainer pattern where it could be a "design detail." I'm looking forward to seeing your Eye of the Tiger socks.

Rain said...

Your socks have come out really well.

The cabled sweater looks great. I keep eyeing up the pattern for it too.

Alyssa said...

Love your STR socks - I just ordered some mediumweight. How many stitches per inch did you get?
That sweater is gorgeous too:)

Anonymous said...

Holy matching pooling!

Your socks look great, I like the cabling on the pooling section more than the striped, the stripes make it hard to make out the cables (I had this happen on some socks I'm working on too).

Jenny Raye said...

Excellent!!! I'm so glad things worked out. My initial reaction also was to not contact them about a similar problem. Kaci pretty much put me through the wringer for NOT contacting them as soon as I knew there was a problem with the yarn. They made mine good too. Fabulous customer service!

Jerry & Maxy said...

Gorgeous, all of it. Bummer about the knots, but they look great! And the sweater is positively adorable - call those cables make me want to knit cables :).

Tina in Wonderland said...

Cool Socks That Really Do Rock! I love the colors and the way they matched up, even though you said it wasn't on purpose, they look great with their matching pools!

It sucks that you had knots in the yarn. I HATE it when that happens! But I'm glad to see that the company is gonna make it up to you.

Anonymous said...

I love your socks! I just wound up a skein of that yarn that I had bought from this last spring and found 7 knots and 1 really thin spot. I did a google search to see if I was the only one out there as I thought that was a very strange thing.

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