More Socks

I have finally finished the second pair of socks that I started in June; just in time for the new season of Sock Knitters Anonymous.

As I had previously posted, there were so many options for June and I sensibly narrowed it down to just two patterns. The first pair took me just over a month and this pair took me 2 ½ months. When I knew I was not going to get them finished by the end of July I decided that I had plenty of time to finish them by the end of August. I finished them on the 29^th. Not quite the 11^th hour but running close.

I do not know what the yarn is as it is one of the stashes given to a friend and then given to me. But it is really pretty and goes well with this pattern. The pattern is Esther by Stephanie van der Linden and was published around 2006. The written pattern is a bit strange in places which I think is a combination of being translated and starting off as a German pattern. As an experienced knitter I was able to decide how the heel should be worked and the pattern centered. 

 

The 17^th year of SKA is starting off with a bang.  My aim is still to try to choose patterns that I already own or are in my queue or library. And for September I already have many choices. The pattern I am starting on the 1^st is not a beginner pattern and there is another pattern I really want to make. If I can get the first sock finished quickly, I can start a second pattern, otherwise there will be other opportunities to cast it on. It is rare for a sock pattern to fit a theme and/or designer and not also to fit into a technique.

I Thought I Wasn’t Making Shawls

I have a finished project at last. It certainly has been a recurring theme of lots of knitting but nothing to show for it. Considering the number of projects I have on the go, this was a relatively quick knit – two months in total including blocking.

(A quick note about my WIPS, it feels like I am getting ready for the WIP challenge in the last quarter of the year.)

I was given two balls of Rowan Fine Lace way back in 2019 because they were my colours – pink. In 2020 when I saw a new pattern –Flowers in the Air – I knew my yarn was perfect for it. But it still took 2½ years to cast on! It is a paid-for pattern but really inexpensive. The pattern is charted and written and is relatively simple. There are options for beads which, although pretty, I decided not to include. The other thing that was surprising for me is that I decided to bind off when I came to the end of the pattern and not keep working until I ran out of yarn. It turns out that was a good decision as the shawl was quite wide already. I used 1¹/₃ skeins and the shawl is as light as air.

Although I said I bound off when I came to the end of the pattern, I actually worked four rows of stocking stitch before bind off so that it wasn’t straight after a lace row as I knew the edge would roll. I modified the edge stitches to make them looser, even so when blocking I could not shape it into a true triangle; another reason why I am glad that I didn’t make it bigger. I just need an occasion to wear it.