No Weaving, Just Sock Knitting

I confess that I haven’t been at the loom for several days as I’m knitting furiously in hopes of getting a pair of socks off to my Dad in time for his birthday.

I am a slow knitter, so in some ways knitting to a deadline is a bit frustrating for me. In my mind, knitting is a relaxing activity. So while I'm impressed with fast knitters, I have deliberately remained leisurely about my knitting. However, when I have a deadline (like now), I put pressure on myself which I don’t enjoy, and I end up kicking myself for not starting earlier. Which is the case here.

This is the progress on the 2nd sock:

The yarn is Knit Picks Essential. I’ve not knit with it before but they had the color my Dad wanted. My only problem is, that because of the size of the sock and length of the cuff, I only got this far with one skein:

That tail is the end of the ball! So, I’m wishing I’d either made the cuff a row or two shorter, or knit toe ups. A short row heel takes less yarn and knits up faster.

I knit toe ups for myself, but somehow don’t have the confidence to knit correctly fitting socks based on measurements alone with a toe up pattern.

Initially, I wasn’t sure what to do about that first sock. I finally decided to go ahead and start on the second. Who knows, there may be a few extra feet of yarn in that skein and I’ll be able to finish grafting the toe on the first.

Then again maybe not and I’ll have to come up with something else. The men in my life say just use another color. Their reasoning is that the toes are hidden in shoes or boots anyway. But to me, these are a gift so there is no room for flaws, cosmetic of otherwise! Not that I think my Dad would mind, but somehow “design element“ just doesn‘t fit the bill here.

At any rate, no decision has to be made yet. So I’ll wait to see how far I get with the 2nd sock to make it. ; )

© 2006 Leigh's Fiber Journal

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Socks Finished!!!!!!!

Shadow Weave Samples - 3

Two more samples.

The first (on the left) is another scarf actually. The pattern is the four block 2 by 2 shadow weave draft from Madelyn van der Hoogt’s “Color-and-Weave Basics” article in the March/April ‘05 issue of Handwoven. I did adjust the number of ends per block according to my desired project width. I followed the treadling order for the scarf (as drawn in), but can imagine a lot of treadling fun with it.

The yarn is the same Yarn Bee Icelandic Jewels that I used for the green and orange scarf. Red and black was the other color combination that I couldn't resist buying. I think what attracted me to these yarns was the ribbon plied into it:

My other experiment with this draft was to tie on some sock yarn leftovers. I used orange (obviously) and one of those Fair Isle space dyed sock yarns.

So this is the same pattern as the scarf but, as you can see, the effect is very different. I found the results intriguing, not only for the ikat-like pattern in the lower sample, but also because of the textured look added by the overshots. More design possibilities!

A couple of close-ups which I scanned in are below.

Next - Shadow Weave Samples - 4

© 2006 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Shadow Weave: Doing the Triple S - my introduction
Shadow Weave Profiles- how to interpret
Shadow Weave Samples 1 - Begins a series of samples

Merino/Silk Mess Update

Well, I've gotten this far with this:

And still have this on the wheel:

So at least I'm at the point where it appears salvageable.

Many thanks for the encouraging comments! It's been a comfort to know I'm not been alone in this type of problem.

Merino/Silk Mess

I didn’t do any weaving over the weekend, but I did get out the merino/silk blend from my silk goody pack. Spinning was a breeze. Then came plying. Look what happened:

Talk about discouraging! I usually ply from a center pull ball without any difficulty, but this one got away from me. Somehow the innards of the ball pulled out and commenced to twist back on themselves. The more I tired to fix it, the worse it got.

What to do.

Chunking the whole thing is not an option. Merino/silk is not a blend I often get my hands on.

I could pop the whole mess into the washing machine and make a felted pin cushion.

Nah.

I could actually try to unravel and unknot the mess.

Hoo boy.

I could try and auction it off on eBay as Rubik’s yarn ball.

Hmmm.

I could cut and tie as I ply in hopes that I could salvage enough to knit with.

Sigh.

I’ll have to let you know.

Shadow Weave Samples - 2

For my second set of shadow weave samples I used one pattern with different types and colors of yarn. I chose figure 30 from page 43 of Powell’s 1000 (+) Patterns. The main reason I chose it was because the pattern repeat had only 16 ends. This was desirable as I wanted a fairly narrow sample on which I could experiment. All the samples were treadled the same.

Upfront I have to say that I’m not especially happy with the pix, specifically the color representation. I like to photograph in natural light but wasn’t able to do so with these. So I’m making do! And of course I had supervision:


The first samples (on left) are shadow weave and a switch drawdown. In the (regular) shadow weave sample, the weft colors follow the warp sequence of dark, light. In the switch sample, the sequence is switched. Looking at them now I couldn’t tell you which was which, so I'll leave you to guess on your own.

I used green and purple yarns of similar value, so the patterns are not especially easy to see. In fact, while weaving, I couldn’t see the pattern at all! It wasn’t until I took it off the loom and stepped back that the pattern emerged.

With this same warp I next wove the samples on the right, replacing the green weft first with a light brown and then with a dark. I really like the look of these, especially the light one. I also tried a couple of variegated wefts, which you can see in Rascal’s picture above. However I didn't care for these.

This first warp was an acrylic worsted weight knitting yarn. I'm not sure why I like to use this for weaving samples. I know I definitely don't like to knit with it. But it's thick so it warps and weaves quickly. Plus it's inexpensive, readily available, comes in lots of colors, and gives me a chance to decide if I want to weave the same thing in a serious yarn.

Continuing with this same threading, I next tied on some cotton yarns next, using an 8/2 black and a 16/2 green. I chose these because they are the only cottons in my stash which match some large scraps of store bought fabric I have on hand. I thought perhaps I could weave fronts for a jacket or vest and wanted to see if I could use these two sized yarns together.

Again I couldn’t see the pattern until I stepped back. Happily, the two yarns worked well together, though I will choose a different pattern if I ever do weave anything with them.

Lastly I tried some bulky designer type yarn I found on sale at Hobby Lobby; Yarn Bee’s Icelandic Jewels. I’m not sure why I chose these colors, the orange is very unlike me. I tied on again, this time with enough to weave a scarf.

The close up shows what I’ve meant about not being able to see the pattern:

Stepping back doesn't help a whole lot:

And here’s the scarf which I’m not much impressed with. From a distance the colors (which aren't very accurate here) muddy each other out, though someone who likes brown might not mind.

So far I like my first shadow weave samples from the previous post best. Partly because of the colors and partly because I like the drafts better. Even so, these samples are valuable to me. Perhaps not so much for what works, as for what doesn't work. I've learned some things about color and I've learned a little more about shadow weave patterns. Hopefully, I can utilize this new knowledge as I decide which patterns and yarns to use next.

Next - Shadow Weave Samples - 3

© 2006 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Shadow Weave: Doing the Triple S - my introduction
Shadow Weave Profiles- how to interpret
Shadow Weave Samples 1 - Begins a series of samples