Here is a quick look at what I finished last month and what I’m working on in October.
Finished!
I finally finished my coffee inspired project out of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in the color Pecan. The color is a beautiful brown that I love and I really enjoyed working with this yarn. It’s lovely and the written pattern is almost through final edits of the pattern getting it ready for test knitting. I’m excited to get this one into test knitting. I really value all the comments, questions and suggestions I get from testers as they work through a pattern. And the fresh eyes are so very necessary because by the time a pattern has made it to test knit, designers (and editors) have already looked at it so often that is easy to miss simple errors or think a thing is clear when it really isn’t or “see” a thing that was deleted three edits ago as still being present or whatever else.
On the Needles
I’ve got several things on my needles for the month of October.
First, I’ve been working with the DK Treasures Yarn I got from Treasure Goddess Yarn at Knitting in the Heartland in April of 2018. I got the colors Ghost Ship and Pieces of Eight. I’m using US Size 5 needles and like how the slightly smaller size needle really helps the cables pop. From the very beginning I envisioned a pirate inspired two-tone cabled….something. So I’ve been playing with different cables. My first thought was a shawl (if you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that I was thrilled when my knitting math came out exactly right when I double checked the logic using a geometry calculator) and the shawl was lovely. But eventually (about 300 yards into the project) I realized a shawl wasn’t quite the right fit for this yarn and the cables I’ve chosen. So I frogged it back to zero and started over. Now it I’m pretty far along in a different design and I’m loving it!
Next, I cast on a new top down sweater design! I’m knitting the sample garment out of Knit Picks Simply Wool Worsted in the color Wallace. I’m using US Size 6 needles which is again on the small side of the suggested needles on the ball band. I find that I knit almost all my worsted weight sweaters on US Size 6 needles these days which is two needle sizes up from what used to be my norm. The sweater is just now starting to take form as I work down the body from the cast-on at the neck. I’m really loving having the wool on my lap as the weather turns cooler (yes! I’m making the sample garment in my size and I can’t wait to add it to my winter rotation). The color Wallace is a muted grey-brown that I had trouble getting to show up quite right in my photos. I’m really going to like wearing it with a bright solid long-sleeve tee underneath. I was super excited to try this new-to-me yarn. I’m really liking the rustic, slightly airy feel of it and I’m certain it is going to be a warm, cozy sweater.
I also made it a bit further on my Close To You shawl worked in Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Rosehip colorway. I have now completed 11 of the 14-row pattern repeats (that’s three repeats further than the 9 I had finished last time). The pattern is written with nineteen total repeats, so I past the halfway point on this one! I’m using US Size 1 (2.50 mm) needles for this and I almost wonder if I should have gone up a needle size or two for it. I definitely not changing it now though.
And finally I cast on a new pair of socks. I found this Austermann Step in the deep, deep, deep stash so I’m not certain how long I’ve had it. It has been marinating in with the other sock yarn since at least 2012 but I’m thinking probably even longer than that. Austermann Step is 75% wool and 25% nylon treated with jojoba and aloe vera. Mine is the 03 Greens colorway. I’m using US Size 1 (2.25 mm) needles and really like how solid the knit fabric feels as I work. These socks feel like they are going to be warm, cozy and durable to wear.
I’m using the same basic sock recipe that I use for all my socks adapted from one of the very first knitting books I ever own (The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns). Because these will likely go into the Christmas Gift Basket, I did decide I wanted to give them a little extra stretch so I’ll keep two lines of simple ribbing (p2, k2, p2) running along the length of the leg and onto the top of the instep of the foot to the toes.
That seems like not all that much knitting going for me. But I’m keeping plenty busy running three test knits and getting other designs ready for release plus keeping up with boy activities of band, cross country, taekwondo, soccer and band again for another age group.
