June 2017 – Knitting Up North

Knitting Round Up

Can I just tell you how incredibly pleased I am with these sock blockers? For many many years I used homemade sock blockers. They worked ok, but it was slow going on the drying process as these were made out of vinyl placemats and they held water. Then I upgraded to plastic sock blockers. That worked ok too, but my house is a bit chaotic sometimes and certain members of my family maybe don’t put the same importance upon sock blockers as I do. (Not that I’m blaming anyone) So the plastic broke. I still used them, easing the wet sock over the broken pieces and trying not to snag the inside of the knitting. Finally, one day at work, I “splurged” on these metal frame sock blockers. They have the nice hanger end – with the end piece covered so as not to cause problems with knitting that might be stored nearby. The hanger means that 1. You can store them easily in a closet. 2. You can actually hang up your socks to dry. 3. Lots of air circulation means that socks dry super fast! Pretty cool, huh?

As for the socks, they’re a basic sock pattern with a little purl section here or there to keep things interesting. I sort of made them up as I went along. The gauge is a little looser than I would normally like, but they work well as socks for around the house.

I’m looking forward to a long holiday weekend where I can knit and sleep and (hopefully) enjoy the return of the sun. (Sorry folks, the rain and cool weather is all my fault, I actually put away my warm sweaters this year to make room for summer clothes before mid-July) This weekend I’m working on a little baby sweater for my cousin’s new baby and a bigger child sweater as a Christmas present. I’m also bringing out the spinning wheel again as I’m determined to participate in Tour de Fleece this year.

I hope everyone has a great weekend filled with knitting, campfires, and a few s’mores – or whatever it is that you like to enjoy around the campfire!

Knitting in the Wild

Our family took a short vacation to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area about 5 minutes after school was out for the year. Actually, it was two days after, but it felt like 5 minutes.

We travelled with my father-in-law and my husband’s good friend from college who just happens to now live in Alaska. We were so happy to have them on the trip! We did a little canoeing, waited out a hail storm, fished a little, and generally just enjoyed the peace and quiet.

One of the friend’s daughters is our Godchild. So what does a knitter do when they’re in the BWCA for 4 days? Knit socks of course! Child size socks are the perfect camping knitting project. The bag fits very easily in a Duluth Pack or regular backpack for daytrips. I may have over packed when I packed my little oilcloth knitting back with 3 half knit socks and the start of the child size socks, but at least sock yarn is light!

I almost knit two socks in the time we were up there. Not too shabby since I was also the camp cook! We decided that I would make tube socks since the size of a 6 year old’s foot is sort of a moving target. This would give her the most wear out of the socks.

In case you’re wondering, (and really, why wouldn’t you be?) you can get a pair of women’s size socks and child size tube socks out of one skein of Roam Fusion 4 ply sock yarn. Now that’s a lot of bang for your sock knitting buck!

Return of a Highly Caffeinated Knitter

The school year has ended and I feel like I can cut back a little on my high caffeine consumption. Just a little mind you. After all, my day does not truly start without coffee. OK, so I go and work out before coffee, but that’s only because I don’t have to string words together into a sentence at the Y. And if I am not stringing words together, I’m not really awake yet.

So, what have I been knitting in this highly caffeinated state? Well, a little of this….

It’s a Foolproof Cowl out of Knitting My Way Home handspun for a class at Yarn Harbor.

and that…

That’s a Find Your Fade out of mohair. (And if you’re thinking I took the crazy train to make a massive shawl out of mohair, hold onto your hats, you’ll be stunned by what I say next.) I’m thinking it should be called, Find Your Sanity as I try to rip back and fix a mistake in the lace portion. Ripping mohair is not a fun activity. It might just become a very unique Find Your Fade. I’m even thinking of just doing the lace sections at the very beginning and the very end of the shawl and keeping the center knitting easy peasy. I’d like to get this one moving again as it is currently in Time Out. Plus the weather is going to heat up and mohair is not something to play with when it’s 90 degrees F and humid.

some of these for a class…. they are Smooth Operator Socks.

I’ve been doing a lot of the Smooth Operator Socks lately. It’s a great pattern and I really like how the heel fits. And no kitchenering, well how can you beat that?

oh yes, and there has been some of this Joji Mystery Knit Along going on….

I won’t bore you with the whys and wherefores of my busy spring, because we’re all busy. Suffice it to say that summer has its own rhythm around here and it is different from the late winter/spring rhythm. It’s nice to take a deep breath and enjoy the sunlight that we’ve been soaking in. I’m hoping to see the flat surface of my desk sometime soon at the office, and I’m hoping that my house looks less like a middle school locker exploded in the entry which then set off a secondary explosion of a camping store in the rest of the main living area. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll spend a little time knitting in the sun this summer.