Ooh La La: IK!

The Summer 2007 Interweave Knits landed in my mailbox today and, boy, are there some sweet numbers inside. There are socks and lace and simple, classic pieces that look perfectly suited for the hot weather ahead. With a few exceptions, there don't appear to be any purposefully strange or complex garments that have sometimes graced knit magazine pages. You know what I mean.

If time (and my body) permitted, I would knit 24 / 7 and forgo sleep to produce my IK picks (photos from Intwerweave preview site):


Josephine Top
Deborah Newton












Wheat-Ear Cable Yoke
Pam Allen












Spiral Boot Socks
Véronik Avery












Notre Dame de Grace Pullover
Véronik Avery











Pipe dreams perhaps, but lovely nonetheless. They'll have to go on the "I want that someday" queue along with selections from Rowan 41 and ChicKnits latest beauty, Nicole. Naturally, I have the perfect yarn for each of them.

Why tease myself with all of these patterns? If I'm going to live "inside my head," I may as well have lovely, inspiring company, n'est pas?

Flying Footlets!

What do you get when you mix a one skein of cashmere-soft yarn with the need for instant gratification? Flying Footlets!

(Flying Wings Footlet)

Why "flying?" Because the Flying Wings pattern is featured on the cuff and they virtually fly off your needles. It would have gone faster had I not stopped to pet the sock as it grew out of Cider Moon's Glacier yarn in the "June Carter" colorway. "Soft" seems inadequate to describe this yarn. Here are some of my favorite alternatives from Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition:

comfy, cottony, cozy, creamy, cushiony, cushy, delicate, downy, ductile, feathery, fine, fleecy, fluffy, satiny, silken, silky, smooth, spongy, squashy, squishy, supple, velvety, yielding

Yes, Glacier is all that! Since I'd purchased only one skein, I decided to maximize its sock potential with these footlets.

Details
First, I split the 110 gram hank into two equal portions using my handy iScale. I had already worked out a method for adapting the 6-stitch Flying Wings pattern repeat for knitting in the round. This was necessary because the Barbara Walker Treasury primarily chronicles flat knitting.

With two size 4 US Addis at the ready, I did a long-tail cast on of 60 - L (48 - M) stitches, distributing on the two circulars as follows: 27 /33 (21/27)

Place marker to indicate beginning of round, then begin the cuff detail:

Round 1: K(nit)
Round 2: P(url)
Round 3 - 4: K

Round 5: Skip first 2 stitches and knit 3rd stitch on left-hand needle. Next, knit 1st and 2nd stitches, then slip all 3 from left needle. Slip 4th stitch to dpn or cable needle, holding the stitch in front of your work; knit stitches 5 and 6, then knit stitch 4 from the dpn. Repeat to end of round.

Round 6: K5, *skip 1st stitch and k 2nd stitch on left-hand needle. Knit the skipped stitch and slip both off left needle; K4. * Repeat * to * until last stitch of round, then K1.

Repeat Rounds 3- 6 three times, then knit 2 additional rounds to set up for heel.

Redistribute stitches so that each needle holds half of the total number of cast on stitches. Begin your heel of choice. I used a standard slip stitch heel flap and gusset, knitting the rest of the footlet in stockinette and capping it with a (mostly) rounded toe decrease. Easy, peasy!

What of Forest Canopy?
I have not abandoned this fun and easy lace project. Nay, verily I say unto you that I'm about one-third of the way done with the shawl - that is, if I were planning to knit it to pattern. Since I have approximately 450 yards of Diaketo Diamusee Fine (color 116) to work with, I plan on enlarging the shawl from 52" x 23" to 70" x 35" or until I have just enough yarn to bind off or my shoulder gives out. Either one.

I would've done a progress shot, but as I was stretching out the lace blob, I pulled some of the stitches off the needle (grrr!). I opted for fixing, rather than photographing, the lace. I'm sure you understand.

Last, But Not Least
I give you the gratuitous sleeping kitties shot. Rocky opened his eyes long enough to give me that "get outta my face with that thing" look.

OK, boys. Over and out.