Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I've been trying to figure out a problem with my camera (and trying to lose weight), and I haven't gotten any pictures of anything I made in the last year or so. Now that I've worked through both of those things to various degrees, I figured I'd better catch up on statusing my knitting. My latest sweater is Norah Gaughan's Joyella , an interesting knit out of joined hexagons. I finished another Einstein Coat, this one using alternating colors of Lite Lopi. My first Einstein Coat is posted here and here . I made a simple top-down V-neck cardigan using two colors of Creatively-Dyed Woodbrook, alternating colors for a bit of a transition. I used the "Pink" pattern from Wendy Bernard's "Custom Knits" book, a pattern I've used before, here . I made a Debbie Bliss " Drop Collar Cable Cardigan " with several mods, including changing out the cable, adding a 3-stitch slip stitch edge to the front (a feature I learned on Nan...

I keep socks as a traveling project. My sock "knitting bag" is a cosmetics bag that was a giveaway at a makeup counter at Macy's, and it holds two half balls of yarn and my sock needles very nicely, as well as fitting inside the top of my purse. I started these socks last June, and they have been languishing away while I had a hiatus from traveling. I even finished two other pairs handspun socks in the mean time. I had worked on these on a couple of different trips in 2012, and I realized at some point that I had counted my rows a little differently on the foot of the first sock (after the gusset) than I had on a previous trip, and the cables were all one row shorter. Rather than frogging about a third of a finished sock, I decided to just make the second sock to match... which added a bit of anxiety to working the second sock, on top of it having hibernated most of the last half of 2012. So, another trip came up, and I dutifully took my sock knitting bag out of hidin...

I keep a set of socks going almost all the time, working on them in the car and when I'm traveling on trips. They are easier to carry around than a sweater project. This weekend, I finished a pair I started in March. The pattern is based on Wendy Johnson's Serpentine Sock , only with more repeats due to a fingering gauge instead of sport. I had 29 stitches on the instep, four repeats plus a balancing purl on the end. I used String Theory Caper Sock in the color Didgeridoo. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Twisted Fiber Arts makes really interesting self-striping yarns that shade in long transitions and have intermediate colors that make the stripes seem to glow. Here are my socks in their Ravelry colorway. I used a gusset heel pattern… just stubborn. If I were going to use this yarn, again, I would do an afterthought heel in coordinating color. TFA offers mini-skeins in coordinating solids. I didn’t manipulate the colors to come out in stripe pattern after the heel. Perhaps I should have broken the yarn after the heel and re-started in stripe to match with the instep. Oh, well! In shoes, no one will notice... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

The Fat Cat Knit s December spin along color was "Sugared Beets." I spun Mixed Blue-Faced Leicester, which means the base fiber had different shades of brown and cream, lending a rich color variation to the dyed fiber. I ended up with about 220 yards of worsted weight. BFL is "known" for not giving a lot of yardage... It wasn't quite enough to make a pair of socks, and so I used some other leftovers for the toes and heels, and the top of the rib on one sock. I used up every inch of the handspun. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I'm on a kick of handknit socks. My latest pair is using a Merino/Bamboo/Nylon blend (aka "Panda") in the colorway "New Moon" from Becoming Art . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I made some more simple socks using some commercial yarn this time... one that looks a bit like handspun. This is Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Stärke 6 in the colorway "India Pink." The colors caught my eye, and like a raccoon with a shiny thing, I grabbed it. I think that it does a good imitation of handspun hand-painted wool, the way it looks in the knitted socks. So if you're wanting to try some handspun socks, but don't spin, here's something to try. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay P.S. I used David's Toe Up Sock Cookbook again.

Those socks I was knitting on Christmas Eve are " Achilles Heal " socks from the Winter 2011 Knitty. I used the latest Rockin' Sock Club installment, "Comfort and Joy" in the Socks That Rock Lightweight. Sign ups for 2012 Rockin' Sock Club start on January 4th, here . Aren't they great Christmas socks? Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Southern Cross Fibre 's October fiber clubs, both on Polwarth, included a colorway called, "Autumn Leaf." I decided to try to make matching socks, with mixed results, as you'll see. I broke the fiber into two pieces in the middle of the length, and then I split each long piece into six more-or-less equal weight strips. Here is a picture of three of the strips (1/12 of the 4 oz fiber, each). Then, I spun each 1/12 of the fiber into a single, as shown here: I plied three singles together, using three from the same half, lining up the colors as much as possible. Here are the first two pairs of three-ply yarns (half the fiber): And wound into balls, ready to knit "matching" socks... So, I started knitting socks, using David's Toe Up Sock Cookbook , and used up the first half of the yarn. I had a couple of setbacks, mainly because the two yarns weren't exactly the same thickness. I got the first sock through the gusset, careful to allow ...

I worked up a simple sock on my last couple of trips, just picking a colorway out of stash, something that made me smile. The colorway is called "Cactus Dawn." It is made by Lime & Violet, a brand which is apparently not available anymore. I just cast on at the top and worked k2 p2 rib until it looked right. It was 80 rows. Then, I made my first short row heel. After 50 pairs of socks, I thought it was about time... I finished with 65 rows of stockinette and then a simple toe, decreasing every other row until 8 stitches remained. Simple joys. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've been concentrating on sweaters and spinning, so my socks have been just a traveling project... but I did finally finish the Potion socks. Previous post on yarn and pattern here . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

A few weeks ago, a colleague asked if I could help with some Civil War re-enactment socks, as his were holey in the toes and heels. I looked at his previous pair and tried to find some similar yarn, ending up with Classic Elite Portland Tweed, a rustic-looking wool with some alpaca (and some man-made fiber, too... sshhh). I used David's Toe-Up Sock Cookbook for the pattern, and worked with just the length and circumference measurements, ending up with a reasonable fit. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Both of the sweaters I've got in progress are to the point of seaming-collars-finishing, which means they are a bit too cumbersome for a carry-along project. As we were about to start our Saturday swim-lessons-and-shopping outing, I realized I didn't have a small project to take with me, and I dove into my sock yarn stash and grabbed something and wound it up in a hurry. I ended up with Hedgehog Fibres sock club yarn in the colorway "Potion." Without much time to consider patterns, I decided to just do another BFF . I liked that one, and I still have the photocopy with notes in my sock knitting bag. I am really impressed with Beata's colors. There are so many colors (copper, bronze, purple, rose, teal...), and the transitions are beautiful. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

July was a "Rockin' Sock Club" month (once a quarter), and so I received the new installment... The color is called "Schwarzwald." I don't know what that means, of course. I like both of the patterns, and the colorway is a great brown/green combo that seems consistent with some of my recent spinning. I think this is my favorite RSK kit so far... Yea! I also received the Hedgehog Fibres sock club, Phoenix (left) and Ondine (right). As always, Beata came up with some impressive handpaints. She's amazing. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished my second BFF sock while we were out-and-about today, going to swimming lessons, getting lunch, and the normal errands. Previous posts with more pictures and yarn/pattern info are here and here . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished the first BFF sock in Gradiance. I like the Tinsel Toes yarn. It has a nice shine. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay