Saturday, March 31, 2007

new

Hello! This is my first time doing a knitalong on Blogger, and I'm excited. (Incidentally, I'm also hoping this will post successfully. My personal blog has been giving me errors...eep. But I'm thinking that might have something to do with my domain.)

This will also be the first time I've attempted complicated cables.

I'm really itching to get started, but I'm determined to first finish the sweater I'm working on. If I don't, I'm afraid I won't get back to it! Hopefully it won't be more than a week.

The yarn I have is Rio de la Plata superwash Merino Sock. I think this is a new yarn. I'm VERY excited - it's gorgeous and soft.



The green is actually a little less yellow than it looks there.

Anyway, glad to be here! It's great to see everyone else's progress. :)

"Do not complete this round"

Sooo...because you slip the last cable section to become the start of the next round for the ankle shaping, did everyone who's gotten that far begin that cable's next twist one row earlier when it came due for the others? Or should I still treat it like it's the end of the last row, since it belongs to that part "in pattern?"

I haven't seen anyone else mention a concern about this..

?

Friday, March 30, 2007

Joining the Pack

Greetings All!

I fell in love over Clessidra as soon as I saw the new Knitty, and found to my utter surprise that the only sock yarn in my stash with sufficient quantities was Regia Silk in a soft gray. I flip-flopped for awhile since I doubted that gray would do much for my already pasty legs, but when it came time to pick up stitches for a sweater-in-progress, I cast on for Clessidra instead.

This isn't the first time I have done cables, but I am finding the teeny traveling cables challenging... it is hard to keep the reverse stockinette areas as even as I would like. Nevertheless, I had the chart memorized somewhere around the third leg decrease and things are moving fairly smoothly.



At the time of this picture I think I am just past the 8th leg decrease.

Some of you have stated concerns about your calves being more curvaceous than the designer's... my worry is the opposite: I have spindly legs, and while the sock seems to stay up fine when I test it out, I worry that in practice it will quickly sag. Is anyone considering sewing in elastic thread afterwards?

Anyway, I am happy to have found you all! I am drooling over all your luscious colours. Thanks for the inspiration!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Hello Hello

I love these socks. So much. To compound my joy, I actually got the prescribed yarn. I've never knit a pattern with the actual yarn called for.

Acquisitions

I'm a little worried because my calves are like 34 times the size of the designer's. I'll try casting on more stitches.

Thanks for having me!

P.S. my blog is here if you'd like to check it out.

So pretty


I love these socks. They are so beautiful, and so much fun to knit. I'm a little farther along now, but not by much.

the finished leg photos




This how far I've come with the first sock.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

One down, one started

I actually finished this sock on Friday, the 23rd shortly before 5pm. Of course, I immediately cast on for her mate because with this sock, there is no SSS. The plan is to knit the second sock until I am nearly out of yarn. By then, I will have placed my put-off Knitpicks order and the yarn should be nearly to my doorstep. Although I moaned all winter long about wanting spring to get here NOW, Clessidra has me almost yearning for winter again so that I can enjoy the work.


So, how are YOUR Clessidras coming along?

Monday, March 26, 2007

Slowly But Most Definately Surely

I would have reached further if not for: 1) having to wait exactly 2 weeks for my yarn to arrive at my very slow Post Office; 2) watching a Cricket Match between the West Indies and Ireland (I took pictures); 3) helping my brother and 2 of his friends cook for some guests of ours. But I have made very good progress nonetheless (cool I spelled that right!)

Oh, and sorry for the bad pic, I took it with my phone. The Yarn is the one called for, Regia Silk, in Chocolate. It looks much better in person (but my desk doesn't).

Friday, March 23, 2007

Progress

I just finished the first decrease round, so I thought I would share pictures of how it's shaping up! It's not perfect, but I'm slowly getting there. Knitting the cables is going faster than I expected, although I think it will still take a while to finish. The yarn is actually much more dusty blue and less purple than this picture makes it look.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Any minute now.

These are my socks.



What? These are totally my socks, I just haven't assembled them yet ;)
4 skeins of KnitPicks Gloss, in Burgundy, just lying in wait...If another week goes by and I haven't cast on yet, someone should really smack me.

Confusion

Needles are confusing.

So I cast on with Crystal Palace dpns, size 1 1/2 (2.5 mm) because that was the only size my LYS had in stock at the time. I thought, how much difference can a 1/4 of a mm make? I'm using Koigu for now, by the way.

Working on the ribbing, I decided that it was a little too loose for a sock. So I thought I'd try casting on with my Addi circulars in size 1. Lo and behold, the package says that Addi 1's are also 2.5 mm. Is that right? How can US sizes not even be standard? They seem thinner than the dpn's, but I doubt I can judge a 1/4 mm.

Now I don't know what to do. Maybe Koigu is too thin to use with 1's? I don't know. The mysteries of making socks fit gives me a headache for some reason...But then, I had also wanted to make Eunny's entrelac socks from the new Interweave, and those use Koigu with size 1's. Bleargh. I suppose this explains why my Jaywalker sock turned out a little loose, too. I am so disillusioned! ;)

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Pattern corrections

One of our KAL-ers, Jill, has discovered a correction to the pattern! She passed the information on to the designer, Gabriella, who in turn asked if I would post the corrections here at the Knitalong. Here they are, fair knitters!

In the Leg Pattern Round: very last part says "work Round 1 of Cable B." It should read "work NEXT Round of Cable B."

Second is in the Gusset section, Needle 4: "...pick up and k 19 sts along edge of heel flap, k first 20 sts of bottom of heel flap. 31 sts; this needle will be designated Needle 4." This should read as follows: "...pick up and k 19 sts along edge of heel flap, k first 10 sts of bottom heel flap. 31 sts; this needle will be designated Needle 4."


I hope this is helpful.

I'm really enjoying seeing everyone's progress pics so far! I am hoping to start my own pair soon...

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Pattern Question

I started my first sock this weekend, and I'm just beginning the leg pattern rounds. For all of you who are past this point, I want to double check that the last set of stitches is "Round 1 of Cable B" and not really "next round of Cable B." I can't get mental picture of how that fits into the pattern, and I'd like to double check before I have to rip out several rounds. Thanks!

Also, a BIG thanks to Jill for all of the tips and encouragement (and colored chart) for knitting cables. It's such a big help!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Progressing quickly

From Friday being midway to the 4th leg decrease to Monday being almost done with the Chart C cables on the ankles. Once I found my rhythm for this knit, she has moved along quickly.


My calves measure 15.5" but I have made no changes to the pattern whatsoever. I keep remeasuring them to be sure I really can read the tape measure correctly. Clessidra feels like a dream on, just perfectly snug as knee socks should be. They are not binding tight as I feared they might be. It will be a long summer with these tucked in a drawer waiting for the cold, snowy weather. I am already planning to knit at least 2 more pairs of these: one in a royal purple for my teen dd and a pair in green for me to match my favorite nightgown!

Mmm...kosher pickles...


So - here's a progress photo of sock #1, using my green & gray Cervinia Calzetteria yarn. In person, the color keeps making me think of kosher deli pickles, which are sort of grayish inside with the dark green skins. Ok, I'm weird. I do love those pickles though. ;)

You can see how the yarn competes with the stitch pattern; they actually do look better in person. Will try to get better pix as I go along. Knit knit knit!

Finally

Today my yarn came. It is a solid color Opal and I am going to start knitting tonight. I already have the Socks that rock club on my needles, but hey - I have more needles. Maybe tomorrow I can show you a photo of it.

Hanna

Hej, hej!

Hello!

This is how far I've come with Clessidra knee sock. The colour is more dark green than in this photo. The yarn is from Marks & Kattens; Strompe & Jumpergarn (shade 1753).
I'm starting to get the hang of the pattern now. First time round it became a total mess and I had to redo it. I had printed out the pattern from my computer in such a way that the hourglass cable didn't fit on the paper and I kept knitting the cable without the two first stitches in every round. I couldn't figure out why I had two stitches left at the end of the round.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Another party heard from...

Just a quick hullo to say here I am, I've got about 1 pattern repeat done on the first sock, and hopefully I'll be able to put the knitting down to go back to work on Monday. Pictures to come later (when I put batteries back in the digital camera)...

Mel

And here we are--not so much, and please excuse the can of workable fixative--it's all I had close to hand!

Completely Obessed

I've been astutely ignoring almost everything and anything that I should be getting done this weekend, so that I can continue to knit on this beautiful pattern. Do I care that my hands are a wee bit sore/cramping b/c I'm in poor knitting condition from lack of work out? NO.





I love how it's turning out and I'm happy with the way I increased. I love how the ribbing flows into my cables... I'm not sure if it would've happened that way if I had increased a different way.

Also, FYI, when I got to the leg decrease section, the pattern says

Leg Decrease Round 1: K5, k2tog, k4, work in pattern to last marker on Needle 3, k4, k2tog, k5; work in pattern to end. 108 sts.
Work 11 rounds in pattern.

What I did:
Leg Decrase Round 1: K9, k2tog, k8, work in pattern to last marker on needle 3, k8, k2tog, k9; work in pattern to end. 124 sts.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Hello! and request for input please

Hi everyone! I love this pattern... so pretty. My knitting time has recently suffered a significant trauma (as I started my doctoral program) but I couldn't stop myself from casting on for this pattern as soon as I had a free minute.

Problem: I have big calves, which Gabriella so nicely describes as 'extra curvy.' To account for the extra girth, I've cast on an extra 16 sts (for a total of 92 sts) instead of the 76. After I finished the ribbing section, I realized I was stumped for the next row:

Next Round: K2, [p2, m1, k2, m1] 4 times, p2, [k2, m1, p2, m1] 5 times, k2, [p2, m1, k2, m1] 4 times, p2, [k2, m1, p2, m1] 4 times. 110 sts.

So, should I end up with 126 sts (110 sts as pattern notes + 16 extra that I cast on?) Or should I have a proportionate # more of increases too?

If you check my personal knitting blog, you'll see that I am cursed by being a wee bit impatient. I ran into this problem early this afternoon, and couldn't wait around for the answer. What I've bravely (or stupidly... depending on how this works out) forged ahead and done was this:

Next Round: K2, [p2, m1, k2, m1] 4 times, p2, k2, p2 [k2, m1, p2, m1] 5 times, k2, p2, k2, [p2, m1, k2, m1] 4 times, p2, k2, p2 [k2, m1, p2, m1] 4 times, k2, p2. 126 sts.

I figured that I don't need more than 2 inches added to the circumference, and additional increases would be overkill. What do you all think? Would you have done something different?

Can't wait to see everyone's progress!

Howdy ho!

Hi everybody! I've only been knitting socks for a few weeks now, but I'm in love with this pattern and am dying to try it. My Knit Picks Gloss yarn came in today, and it's a gorgeous blue. I'm trying to write a big paper for school, but as soon as the draft is done I'm casting on. I've only done cables once, so if anyone has tips for doing these socks without the cable needle, I'll welcome them!

The yarn:

Friday, March 16, 2007

Hi All!

Just a quick post to say hello :)

I love these socks - but, I could use some help on yarn choices. I have a weird thing going with socks...I haven't managed to finish even one sock yet, after trying a couple patterns. So, I don't really even know if they'll fit me...

But anyway. I'd love to use the Regia, but I can't find any around here. Can anyone think of some solid color yarns to sub in that wouldn't require too much pattern doctoring?

Hi everyone!

Thanks, Glenna for letting me join in the fun! Here is my Clessidra late last night. She has now passed the 3rd leg decrease and will see the fourth in about an hour. I'm using Knitpicks Bare 100% merino sockweight, US 1s and loving this knit so much!

My other creative efforts can be seen on my blog

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Like sand through the hourglass, these are the socks...

Ok nevermind that...I was never a soap opera person...but these ARE cool socks! Thanks Glenna for hosting this KAL!

About me and socks, well -- I am so far not quite the sockaholic that I know some are, but I always appreciate an eyecatching complex stitch pattern and great "lines." I'm also not very big on the super variegated yarns that tend to dominate the sock world, but since utterly solid yarn doesn't tempt me much either, I find myself gravitating to combinations of somewhat subtler variegations or ombres -- and then jamming them into complex stitch patterns. I know the 2 qualities compete with each other, but heck...I'm goin' with it for now.

I have started these socks with some stash yarn that was gifted to me by my wonderful fiance last Decemberween. Fittingly, it's Italian yarn -- good old Cervinia Calzetteria in Verona (bottle green/pearl gray). My needles are size 0. Progress will be languid...so far I've done the top rib and 9 pattern rows. I'll add a pic in a later post. :)

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Ordered yarn

I just wanted to chirp in and say hallo and that I am on my way to start knitting - I have ordered yarn. I found a Opal-yarn in a solid color that I hope will work. I tried to look for Regia silk here in Sweden but with no luck. So soon, very soon I will start knitting these lovely socks.

It is however good that I didn't have any solid colors at home. Because thus I get time enough to finish the socks in Jitterbug that I am knitting right now. I don't mind having several WIPs on the go (and boy - do I already have that), but once in a while it would be nice to finish something too.

Hanna in Sweden

Something to get excited about

As soon as I saw this pattern on knitty.com, I had to knit these luscious knee socks. Who doesn't need a pair of sexy knee socks. Off to the local yarn shop I went. "Regia Silk" she said, "no one would pay that much for socks!". Needless to say, she didn't have the yarn, nor was she going to get it. Have you heard anything so insane. "I would buy it!" I told her. Oh well, since I just had to start right away, my first pair of Clessidra will be in plain ol' regular Regia...sexy burgundy of course. Many thanks to Gabriella for offering up this pattern on Knitty!

So far it is knitting up just beautifully and I can't wait to get home from work each day to knit. I am finding that I really have to be sure to mark each row as I complete it so I don't get lost. There are already many pencil marks on my charts. One day someone should invent an easier way to keep track.

Would love to hear what yarns other people are using, and where I can get them in Canada.

Cheers,
Heidi

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Welcome

This knitalong for the Clessidra socks is officially open! Let's celebrate the pattern and encourage each other as we knit.

To join, please send me an email at crazy.knitting.lady[at]gmail.com requesting to be added to the Clessidra KAL blog, and I'll send you an invite email. Let the knitting begin...