05 June 2008

A bit of knitting

I have been knitting. It is easy to squeeze out a couple of minutes on the needles. And unlike quilting where I can have umpteen million projects going at the same time, I usually only have one project on the needles. Except recently. I not only had the Elizabeth Zimmerman PI shawl on the circs but I have been aching to start playing with the patterns in Cat Bordhi's book New Pathways for Sock Knitters.

She has you start out by knitting up a little sock; I made two just because. I grabbed a couple of oddments of yarn to knit these up. These happen to be made from Debbie Bliss Baby Alpaca/Silk. Highly impracticable for a pair of toddler socks but there you have it. I am going to advance myself to the next pair of little socks using some scrap yarn. These little socks have a different look to them, don't they? The construction is a bit different too.

One of the best things about this book, is her very clear, concise instructions. For the first time in my knitting career,I have been able to pick up a wrap on a short row. Most other instructions have said "pick up the wrap" kind of like the quilting directions "quilt as desired". I have even asked at the yarn store and in classes ""how do you pick up a wrap? But I was never shown how. Now I know! Thank you Cat Bordhi! Thank you!

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Is this not just the coolest knitting bag? It is holding my EZ PI shawl. I found the bag in the back of a closet at Auntie's condo. It was stiff with grime so I soaked it in a vintage textile soak (several times) and it came out supple and bright. It is a fillet crochet base that is embellished with wool yarn in the bright magenta and turquoise. It is lined with a salmon colored silky and has wooden handles. I think it is an item that my Grandma Vera made because she was the crocheter of the family.

I love it. It is a perfect bag for the current long term knitting project, which, btw, is almost finished. Yay!

It is a rainy day here. A perfect day to stay inside and either quilt or knit.

6 comments:

  1. Those socks sure are odd. Glad that you learned a new trick!

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  2. I love the bag! Great job on the little socks, and I agree a rainy day is made for quilting and knitting! Keep at the shawl
    Vicki

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  3. That bag is a fantastic find . . . made even better that it cleaned up so nicely.
    Those socks are pretty darned cute - the shape reminds me of a brand (that I cannot remember) I enjoyed for The Princess. They seemed to not slip off as easily as other styles - a fantastic bonus when you are trying to keep up with little teeny socks *s*

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  4. Those are the cutest little socks!!
    I love that bag! We are having a gray rainy day here. I will be finishing up a couple more charity quilts that I have had pieced for awhile. Trying to the UFO's under control. :)

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  5. What occurred to me looking at the socks is that the sort of triangular shape of the sock foot is a better fit to little fat baby feet and might be easier to put on. Putting socks on a squirmy baby is possibly harder than putting them in a car seat!

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  6. You did a good job on the baby socks! I've done pairs of the first two baby sock patterns from the front of Cat's book as well as several of the adult socks. I like the way you can adapt them to the yarn that you have, but am still working on getting the fit right.

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