What's on my needles: Cabled cardigan for me (The Sweater Sally Knit Instead, by Sally Melville), new cozy for my mp3 player.

I have been concentrating on the cardigan for the past several days. I need to get another pair of socks on the needles, to have a travel project available. I think I'll design another sweet tomato heel pattern. They were quite enjoyable.

I'm listening to tons of older episodes of knitting podcasts. They are invariably women with very calm voices and it's soothing to me.

I want to make a lap afghan for a friend, so I'll be casting that on after I finish this cardigan and Danny's sweater. It will work out nicely. I will be making it out of the Lion Brand Pound of Love, I think because it's soft, washable, and cheap.

What's on my needles: I Heart Rainbow Socks for Becca, a second gauntlet in icky green Red Heart Super Saver for Aaron, and the cabled cardigan for me (The Sweater Sally Knit Instead, by Sally Melville)

It's been a little over a week since I posted my goals, so I thought I would update. I'm currently working on my 5th pair of socks. (Ravyn's, MIL's, mine, David's, Becca's, for clarity) I love the yarn I'm currently using, Felici by Knit Picks. I will definitely order more of this yarn in the future. Don't tell Danny. *smirk* He's still freaking out about the Wool of the Andes I ordered for his sweater costing $51.11 plus tax. I could easily spend that much or more on a beautiful sweater at a store, so I didn't bat an eye. Add into this the hours of entertainment I will get on the sweater and it was worth it. I will remind him of this the next time he wants to spend $65 on a round of golf. *eyeroll*

I'm still enjoying knitting podcasts. They're calming. And since most of the ones I've picked started in 2008, I have plenty of listening time before I am caught up.

I am coming up with a few more patterns for socks and other designs for sweaters. I will post as I can. Does anyone know how to insert a table in blogger so that I can make up charts along with the written patterns? Please leave a comment if you know what I can do!

I Heart Rainbows Socks

I got my Knit Picks order today that I placed for Valentine's Day. Could you hear the squee? It was wonderful. I got 4 pairs worth of sock yarn and a sweater's worth of Wool of the Andes. Oh, and I got approval to buy a swift and a ball winder. I haven't played with those much yet, because when Becca saw that I had her much coveted Rainbow yarn, I had to immediately start on her socks. At first I wanted to do these in plain stockinette, but I knew I would get bored with that, so I grabbed some graph paper and quickly sketched out a little bit of lacework in the shape of a heart. I would love to share the pattern with you.

Information for the heel technique in this pattern can be found at: http://catbordhi.com/books/cats-sweet-tomato-heel-socks-3/
A youtube video demonstrating the technique is available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRc3309JUyc


I Heart Rainbows Socks for Big Little Girls

Materials:
2 balls Knit Picks Felici in the Rainbow colorway, or other fingering weight yarn to give proper guage.
Size 1 sock needles of choice (40" circ for magic loop, or two circ recommended)
Stitch marker, if desired to differentiate between front and back before lace pattern is begun.
Darning needle
Gauge:
8 stitches per inch

Toe Cast On:
Round 1: Using your favorite toe up cast on, CO 12 st on each needle for a total of 24 stitches
Round 2: Knit around
Round 3: K1, Kfb, Knit across to last 2 stitches, Kfb, K1
Repeat rounds 2 and 3 until you have 30 stitches on the front and back needles, for a total of 60 stitches.

Instep: (Note that every even round is knit across, excepting row 2 and 12. On these rows, knit across to the double yarn over, knit the first yo, purl the second, knit across to the end of the needle.)
Front needle: K5, work lace pattern, K5
Back needle: Knit across
Knit to appropriate instep length before beginning heel of choice. I am using Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel

Work Sweet Tomato Heel (Be mindful to continue lace pattern across front needle during the rounds between heel wedges)

Ankle/Leg:
Front needle: K5, work lace pattern, K5
Back needle: K5, work lace pattern, K5
Continue until desired length. Calf shaping can be added in the stockinette border on the edges of the needles as appropriate if knee high socks are desired.

Ribbing:
Work K2, P2 ribbing for 1 inch. Use preferred stretchy bind off.

Lace Pattern: (20 row repeat)
Row 1: K2tog, yo, K6, K2tog, double yarn over, SSK, K6, yo, SSK
Row 3: yo, SSK, K5, K2tog, yo, K2, yo, SSK, K5, K2tog, yo
Row 5: K2tog, yo, K4, K2tog, yo, K4, yo, SSK, K4, yo, SSK
Row 7: yo, SSK, K3, K2tog, yo, K6, yo, SSK, K3, K2tog, yo
Row 9: K2tog, yo, K2, K2tog, yo, K8, yo, SSK, K2, yo, SSK
Row 11: yo, SSK, K1, K2tog, yo, K3, K2tog, double yarn over, SSK, K3, yo, SSK, K1, K2tog, yo
Row 13: K2tog, yo, K1, K2tog, yo, K2, K2tog, yo, K2, yo, SSK, K2, yo, SSK, K1, yo, SSK
Row 15: yo, SSK, K3, yo, S1 as if to knit, K2tog, PSSO, yo, K4, yo, S1 as if to knit, K2tog, PSSO, yo, K3, K2tog, yo
Row 17: K2tog, yo, K16, yo, SSK
Row 19: yo, SSK, K16, K2tog, yo

What's on my needles:
Socks for the MIL, and a cabled cardigan (The Sweater Sally Knit Instead, by Sally Melville)

I want to lay out some goals and publishing them to the internets seems like a way to get accountability for myself. Even if no one reads the blog.

In 2012 I want to knit 12 pairs of socks. I'm currently on my 3rd pair and it is mid Feb. I felt confident enough to cast on the sweater. Turns out I've been knitting since 2001 and I have never made myself a sweater. Just plain neglectful. Then I'll get to work on another. I like the idea of more sweaters for me since I'm cold all the time.

The knitting of the sweater is quite cathardic for me. I will post a pic when I get a little further. The next step would be to design my own. Eeps! We'll see how that goes.

I've been listening to a couple of knitting podcasts. Knit Picks, Knit Views, and Whatcha Swatchin are all fun and cute. I have learned a lot from Kelley on the Knit Picks podcast. She almost has me convinced to try steeking.. I will have to find an appropriate pattern and gather my courage. ;)

I'm trying to talk a few of my irl friends into letting me give them knitting lessons. I think it would be so cool to have friends to sit and stitch with. We'll see if I can cajole them into it.