Mariner Toe-Up Knit-A-Long (KAL)

For the last two weeks, I have been involved in a KAL for a pair of toe-up socks with a fairisle motif of anchors, hence the name Mariner.  Katalin Beth had a 5-day toe-up sock challenge, along with videos and written instructions, she also included Facebook live instructional guides.  A good time was had by most, if not all, participants.  Then she offer us a discount on a new pattern called Mariner, and the rest is history.  I  previously blogged about choosing the color combos, but now I will share my progress through words and pictures. Mostly pictures.

My final color choices

 March 10

I did have to start my first sock over
a couple of times, because working with navy blue yarn took a toll on my eyes.
Then there was the first set of fairisle charts and I had to do a bit back up and start again (a couple of more times). But I wouldn't let it beat me and I finally got started on the striped part of the foot.

March 12

March 14

A few more stripes and I was ready for the Afterthought Heel- Part 1, putting a provisional row of stitches in so you can go back later and add the heel.
Then more stripes.

March 15

March 16

More stripes and another set of fairisle anchor motifs, then the cuff and the Very Stretchy Bind Off. I did change to size 2 needles for the cuff.  And then for the Afterthought Heel-Part 2, which has another little motif of flecks. The color combination was reversed making the yellow the main color with navy flecks. One sock done and one to go.

March 19

March 20

I wasn't about to let second sock syndrome settle in, so I jumped right back on the horse and kept going.  Sock number two started out a bit better, than sock one and progressed faster as well.
Plugging along and trying to make it to the finish line. Fairisle to stripes, then the part one of the heel.

March 21

March 22

After the afterthought "zipper", more stripes, fairisle and the cuff.  Again a bit tight, even though I tried to knit the fairisle part loosely below the cuff.  I may trade up to a size 2 for the whole sock next time. Once I get my foot past that section the socks fit great. So as you can see below I have two beautiful socks.  I think they look pretty good. I had a great time knitting them.


So if you would like to try toe-up socks with a little a little nautical motif, these are the socks for you.  They can be found at Katalin Beth's website.  You can also find her on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/designers/Katalin-Beth.  She also has a Facebook group called Katalin Beth Fibre Central, where she hosts challenges, knit-a-longs, test knits and all manner of fibery fun. It is a private group, but you can ask to join and be admitted to the party.

March 23- TahDah! My socks!

Skein Shop Spring-A-Long & Mariner Toe-Up Sock KAL

I'm currently engaged in two a-longs......

Skein Shop is having a Spring-A-Long, which as long as it is a spring theme, it's okay.  It can be knit, crochet, or even weaving.  I am working on a design, but I haven't shared anything yet. Soon though! I've been having a little designer block.....I just can't get the idea to gel.  Swatching some lovely CoBaSi from HiKoo.  Lovely spring colors, in this cotton/bamboo/silk blend in a fingering weight. It's not too late to participate...go to their Ravelry group here to sign up, but don't wait too long...it ends April 16th.

I am also taking part in a KAL with Katalin Beth.  She's an indie designer/yarn dyer out of Australia.  You might recognize her name from the 5-Day Toe-Up Sock Challenge. This is a toe-up sock pattern called Mariner with stripes and a fairisle motif of anchors (making me use those fairisle skills from the last challenge). You should check out her website at Katalin Beth Designs.



These are some of my earlier color choices, but as you can see they didn't quite work out the way I had hoped.  I went with two contrasting solids finally, a navy blue and butter yellow as seen below.
I'm using Cascade Heritage Sock yarn. I like them together and think they look good, but I'll show you that in my next post.

Colorwork Catalyst Workshop with Francoise Danoy of Aroha Knits

Francoise Danoy aka Frenchie of Aroha Knits just release several colorwork patterns using mosaic knitting and other colorwork techniques.  She has a great bundle of patterns that you can buy as a group on Ravelry or at her website Aroha Knits.  She recently hosted the 5 shawls in 5 days challenge in January, but this was a more casual arrangement.

We got a lesson in selecting colors based on a color wheel.  We were challenged to pick several combinations before settling on one that we wished to use for the workshop. I chose these, but settled on one finally. That was Day 1.

Day 2 was reading colorwork charts.  We received examples of colorwork charts and saw a video on how it works and our homework was to work with the numbers and learn to follow the patterns.

Day 3 had a video and swatch for us to knit using Intarsia, which involves using little bobbins of color. We were lucky that our homework only required two colors. Intarsia involves blocks or spots of color in the middle of area.  Yarns are twisted so that you don't have gaps or holes.  They are good for designs requiring individual or multiple splotches or blocks of color.  I chose to work with the heliotrope and light lime.

Day 4 had another video and more homework.  Mosaic knitting is worked one color at a time and is knitting stripes in a fancy slipped stitch pattern. If I did it again, I might have chosen garter stitch only because stockinette curls.  I took a real close up,  because otherwise my swatch was sort of ugly with curled edges and all.  Mosaic also uses more yarn than I imagined.

Day 5 took a couple of days,because stranded knitted is best worked in the round.  Instead of a swatch, I decided to knit a hat that I could send off to my favorite place to send warm things. The Pineridge Reservation.  I have a series of pictures that shows the progress of my hat over a couple of days. This type of knitting also uses much more yarn, carried across the back as floats.  That will provide extra warmth in those areas, especially if you are using wool.

Overall, I had a great time with this workshop, which was more casual and worked at your own pace. I'm not quite so nervous about the types of colorwork any longer.  I will probably knit these types of colorwork again in the future, but now I'm not afraid of it any longer.

Thanks, Frenchie! You helped me get over my fear of colorwork and gave me a gentle kick in the pants to get off my duff and give it a try.💖💙💚💛💜

I won a prize...5 Day.Headband Challenge Update

I received 2nd prize in the 5 Day Headband Challenge from Solene LeRoux of SoleneKnits. I received a mini skein of yarn-colorway Mirkwood from Beloved Yarns and a copy of her headband pattern Shoal.  I received it this past week and wanted to post a picture. Lots of deep earthy tones-browns, greens, grays and a little black.  Thanks for the great prize.

Conquering Cables with Amanda Leah & Knitventure Society

My most recent challenge that I participated in was Conquer Cables with Amanda Leah of daisy chain knits & the Knitventure Society.

I had knit a few cables previously, but avoided them most of the time.  I decided that this challenge might get me past this apprehensiveness.  I liked the idea of learning cable constructions and the basics behind them.  The idea of being able to repair them without frogging also had an appeal!

It was also fun to actually be making something other than a swatch.  Our swatch was going to turn into a useful object. A gift card cozy!  She has two free patterns for those in her Ravelry shop.
The one we were making was the Plaited Gift Card Cozy.  We got a video & homework assignment each day, as well as live streams at various times to accommodate varying time zones.  She had a co-star for most of the videos, her handsome Persian cat - Sampson (who seems to like the limelight, as evidenced by his fluffiness making daily appearances)!😺

Day 1 was the basics, lots of technical info on cables, reading charts, etc.  We did a few set up rows as homework.  My picture is a little dark, because we were gone most of the day & I didn't take pictures until I got home. We also learned about lifelines, which came in handy later.

Day 2 was the first couple of repeats on our actual cables.  Our video on conventional knitting gave us the basics on the two types of cable crosses.  Amanda also included videos on mirror knitting for those who knit predominantly left handed.  We also covered the two basic types of cable needles, as well as quick fixes for when you can't find your needle.  She showed an inventive little cable needle ring that she wears, so that she doesn't lose hers.  An idea from her mom!

Day 3 was the completion of the cable repeats, as well as how to cable without a cable needle.  I tried it, but had limited success.  Thank heaven for lifelines, which we learned about on Day 1. I'll try it again some day, but I like the security of the cable needle for now.

Day 4 of our challenge dealt with the finishing rows, dry blocking, how to even out loose stitches and regular blocking. I completed my cozy and blocked it. I also used the time to pick out my button.

Day 5 was seaming and adding the button.  I was having so much fun, I went ahead and completed the Chain Gift Card Cozy as well.  I'm posting that picture, as well.  I chose a whimsical butterfly for the bright yellow cozy,  and something a little more classic for the green one.

There were great prizes and fun was had by all participants.  If you want to conquer cables, she will open the challenge back up in a few months.  Go to Daisy Chain Knits for more details or join the Knitventure Society.  Amanda is also going to have on-going KALs and other learning opportunities, with a new series of skill building adventures called igKNITion Skill Studio.  This will be starting very soon with their first edition, Celtic Cables.  Stop on by and join the crowd of happy knitters.

 

 

5 Day Toe Up Sock Challenge with Katalin Beth

More international challenges than you can shake a stick at! This week's challenge was the 5 Day Toe-Up Sock Challenge with Katalin Beth.  Her challenge run from her Fibre Central Facebook Group was just what the doctor ordered to cure my fear of toe-up socks.  I lost interest in socks several years ago, once I discovered felting.

When everyone was going on about toe-up socks and two-at-a-time socks, I wanted nothing to do with them. Maybe because I was supposed to fall in love with them like everyone else.  I was the same way about the movie "Titanic", all of my friends seeing it multiple times and breathlessly proclaiming that "you just have to see it!" or "you'll absolutely love it!".  It made me all the more determined not to see it and I never have.

Well, I'm growing my skills as a knitter and designer, so I finally took up the gauntlet of toe up socks. When I saw the free challenge coming up, I said why not! Katalin Beth is a designer and yarn dyer from Australia, who in her infinite wisdom decided to share an easy toe-up sock tutorial  with a few hundred of us. The tutorial  and other designs are now available in her Ravelry store and also on her new online store at http://www.katalinbethdesigns.com.


I picked Cascade 220 Superwash Paints from my stash in a nice green.  Day 1 involved a nice video where we learned Judy's Magic Cast On and Magic Loop knitting.  I had been doing my own version of  Magic Loop for a while, so it was nice to learn the official style.  We only had to knit the toe, so how hard could it be. Wrong.....that cast on drove me crazy for the first couple of tries. Finally nailed it though and boy was I glad, because that's the crux of the whole thing since it is toe-up. We also had a live streaming video, where she taught two other cast on techniques that are suitable for toe-up socks. To the right you can see my lovely sock toe.

Day 2 involved foot measurement for perfect fit, knitting the foot section
and preparing the set up for the Afterthought Heel.  Heavy knitting day, but I felt up to the task.
The following picture was taken before I did the set up.

Once the set up is done you continue knitting the leg of the sock, including the cuff and bind it off! I thought that part was crazy, because it looks like a tube sock. If you look closely at the next picture showing the "tube sock", you'll also see a different color in the middle of the sock. That's a row of provisional stitches, where the Afterthought Heel gets added. This was on Day 3. More videos and live streaming helped ever so much.  We learned the Stretchy Bind Off and Jogless Finish, as well.

Days 4 and 5 involved the Afterthought Heel, which once you get past the place where you take out the provisional stitches, really isn't as scary as it sounds!  The Kitchener Stitch grafting method (everyone's favorite) is well explained again in regular video and in the live stream as well.

The time conversion for Australia, was the one of the more difficult bits believe it or not.  They are a day ahead of us there, so some of us couldn't make the live streams, but they were available for replay. We had time over the weekend to catch up or move ahead, if we wanted.  I moved ahead and knit my 2nd sock, so that I wouldn't fall victim to the dreaded 2nd sock syndrome. So here are my socks..... they are soft and fit like a dream!

Katalin just released a new toe-up sock pattern called Mariner.  She will be having a KAL starting March 8th, 2017 and many of us from the challenge will be joining her there. It should be a blast!  If you would like to see her beautiful yarns and/or patterns look for her at the above links.

Next week, I'll be Conquering Cables with Amanda Leah.  Her Facebook Group is  Knitventure Society, where she'll be teaching us about cables, how to fix errors and other tidbits of knowledge. Oh, and there are prizes! I like the opportunity to learn and have a chance at prizes just for knitting!

Thanks as always for reading.  Leave a comment to let me know how you like the series on challenges.

Five Day Headband Challenge

I took the #5dayheadbandchallenge from Solene Le Roux  known on Instagram as @soleneknits &  Ravelry as soleneknits, and you can find her website at www.soleneknits.com.  She has some lovely patterns and you can also buy them from her Ravelry store.

Monday, January 30, was our day to gather inspiration from around the net and other places, as well as post in the Facebook group and Instagram using the above hashtag.  I made the collage below featuring a lot of texture and even a size chart for reference. You can follow me on Instagram @kraziknitz to see even more pictures.

Tuesday, January 31, was the time to search for the stitch patterns we wanted to try and to swatch two types of headbands, one knit flat and the other in the round.  So I did a swatch of  a three color chain stitch for the one in the round.  A hugs and kisses cable graces the flat swatch. Both were knit in Cascade 220 left from felting projects  Both stitch types were new for me, so it truly was a challenge by itself even to swatch.
 

Wednesday, February 1, was our headband in the round.  We received instructions for taking measurements and figuring how many stitches to cast on for our headbands. Solene provided a handy chart for our use and a lovely schematic as well. I changed my color scheme and produced this lovely headband.

The following day, Thursday, February 2 our email prompted us to make our flat headband, which we could seam together or graft.  I chose to graft using the Kitchener stitch grafting technique. I produced the following little headband, but I did have a place where I messed up one of the cable crosses. It wasn't too obvious, otherwise I would have seen it sooner and fixed it. As it was near the beginning and didn't scream at me to be fixed, I chalked it up to a learning experience.  Now I'm going to take a challenge later in the month about cables and how to correct them. 

Day 5, was Friday,  February 3 and it was our day to go wild and try something totally different.  Everything I had done to this point was new to me, so I splurged and tried some color work using a three color linen stitch. I believe it came out quite lovely, if I do say so myself. I love the geometric feel and play of colors.  Did I mention that each day there was a live stream, where we could ask questions and get some tutorials?  There will also be prizes awarded later in the week on a random basis.

The best part of all of it was the inspiration that I received by this simple act of applying various stitch techniques to a basic headband recipe.  I am actually in the process of designing some baby headbands for a future grandniece, who is set to make her debut this summer.  I am looking forward to my next challenge, which is starting later this week. 

More on the Toe Up Sock Challenge starting Wednesday February 8th later in the week.

Happy knitting and don't be afraid to try something new.