You Asked for Photos

And here they are.

First up: Swatch for the CPH. In the back of Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar book, she provides instructions on how to swatch for three needle sizes at once. It seemed like a great way to swatch, especially since I plan to knit the CPH on circulars as all one piece. Maybe even—*gasp*—steek it. (Next up—Jeanne practices steeking on a swatch)

I quickly ascertained that it is better to cast on for the swatch on the largest needle size rather than the middle size (derrr) and that it is better to transfer the first set of stitches to the smallest size and the second set of stitches to the middle size. She advises casting on 63 stitches, dividing into groups of 21, and purling the 21st stitch to show the size division.

It works pretty well, except blocking is tricky. (I blocked the sock swatches not shown on Gatorade bottles and turned a bowl upside down for the CPH swatch, which may explain the somewhat triangular appearance).



Next up: a lovely photo of the almost-finished Waving Lace Socks. I LOVE this pattern. It's fun to knit. It's so pretty. Next time I'll try it with solid yarn and see how I like them. There are a couple of mistakes but oh well. The first mistake was that I knit an extra set of rows in the scalloped edging on the first one (and didn't replicate it on the second one). The second mistake is on the heel. I did it right the second time. I did it wrong the first time. The pattern for the RS heel reads

*sl 1 as if to purl, k1; repeat from * to end

The first time round, I sl 1'd, then knit all the way across (because in the next row, only the first st is slipped, then you purl). The second time round, I read it correctly.

Third mistake: I just realized I forgot to incorporate heel (and toe) reinforcement thread. Oh, well. Too late now... they're special occasion socks, anyway. I don't foresee wearing the heels out.



Lastly, the piece de triumphe (forgive my spelling): the Blue Herrings!



Closeup of the herringbone pattern:




Closeup of the inside—can you believe it's this neat on my first try?



I'm itching to cast on for the CPH, but it's been so long since I rewrote the pattern in the round that I'm scared I made errors. If I can get a moment's peace around here, I'll take a second look. It's my modus operandi to get in the mood to knit it in the evenings—you know, cozy up on the couch and knit a sweater—but my brain is better suited to the figuring process in daylight. (Oddly enough, I also prefer to clean in daylight so I can see the corners and shadows, yet I am awake during twice the amount of dark hours... hmm.)

OK. Roomie is off to WalMart. Maybe now's a good time to tackle the CPH pattern, examine my four inches of ribbing (on size 8s that should have been done on size 6s) and try to remember how I was doing that thing with two balls of yarn at once.

---

Labels: colorwork, sockaholism, WIP

posted by Jeanne @ 2:49 PM