Striped socks

I finished a pair of socks in three months! This is much better than the year and a half for the last pair. It must be noted that I can only knit for about 15 minutes before I get distracted; I am not a power knitter. I usually knit as a time filler between other activities.

Photo description: newly finished toe-up striped purple socks with ribbed arch knitted from Cascade Yarns self striping yarn, toe and heel from Cascade solid color yarn

I knitted these by feel and measurements, rather by row, and that also helped save me time. The ribbed arch is a personal preference that I added to the basic sock instructions.

Photo description: socks on feet, ribbing is right on the arch

That the socks match almost perfectly is pure serendipity. Or fabulous planning by the yarn manufacturer. I split the skein of yarn in two by winding one cake until I reached half the weight, then wound the second cake of yarn. I knitted from the center of each yarn cake, one per sock. I used a coordinating solid color for the toes and heel to avoid disrupting the stripe pattern. To be honest, I’m a little sad that they match so well, I rather like coordinated mismatched socks. Hm.

Throwback Thursday: crocheted bookmarks

Here is a cute teacher gift: crocheted pencil bookmarks. They make up quickly, use just single crochet, and use up yarn scraps, or those cute tiny skeins. I made these in May of 2015 using this pattern from LittleOwlHut on Ravelry.

Photo description: eleven multicolored pencil shaped crocheted bookmarks

Important note, as you crochet these curl. To get them flat, steaming them works well. You can also iron them between two thin layers of cotton. If you choose to do blocking (getting them wet and laying flat to dry), pin them down well.

Thoughts on an afterthought heel

After taking a year and a half to knit one pair of socks with a line-by-line pattern, I needed to try something where I could just knit by inches. I chose a toe-up striped sock with a ribbed arch and afterthought heel.

Photo description: a pair of purple striped socks with one afterthought heel location marked with scrap thread and one heel complete

The yarn is printed and self-striping, so no forced color changes or multiple ends to weave in, which is fantastic. I also really like the afterthought heel. It knits up like toe shaping, and is easy to track. No heel flap or gusset confusion.

This pair is almost done. Just one more heel!

Hand sewn button hole

I have hand sewn my first button hole. I bought a linen skirt to be a petticoat for my 1800s outfit for spinning demonstrations, and it was a bit big in the waist. One side of the waistband had elastic, but the other had a plain waistband. A machine sewn button hole would go through both layers of fabric and be useless, so I hand sewed the edges of the button hole with a satin stitch in just the inside layer of fabric.

Photo description: white linen waistband folded to make sewing the satin stitch in a straight lone easier. Needle in place, cat on lap.
Photo description: sewing on the button hole complete, a little wonky, but serviceable. Cat still there.
Photo description: seam ripper used to cut the threads between the lines of button hole stitching. Cat hasn’t moved.
Photo description: button hole elastic run through the newly accessible waistband and secured with a small white button. Calico cat is still on my lap. She was glad for the nap time, but unhappy that I wouldn’t let her lay on the linen.

The elastic is not historically accurate, and certainly not the button hole elastic, but I’m not doing reenactments, I’m doing spinning demonstrations and purchased look-a-likes are acceptable at this venue. I’m hoping the linen does its job keeping me cooler.

Spin walks

School is back in session, so I’ve started up my spin walks again. Really it is a matter of the temperature coming down and walks being pleasant in the morning, instead of a hot sticky mess.

Photo description: spinning Southdown wool on a 3D printed Turkish style spindle while walking a city park

I found two drop spindle projects in progress when I went to pick up my spindle. Hm. I decided to start with the Southdown, because this little Turkish style spindle is one of my favorites. If I drop it, the rubberized arms bounce, and the yarn is protected from contact with the ground due to the jacks like shape of the arms and shaft.