Vinca Minor

A new sock pattern for you on this rainy Monday evening.  (Lovely and rainy for New Mexico!)

The pattern says it, mostly, but I wanted to talk a little about my inspiration for these.  Sometime in like . . . darkest 2011 or something, I went to the Yarn Underground.  It may have even been the first time I went--it was that long ago.  I was wandering around, browsing sock yarn like you do, and my eye fell on this skein of Society Socks Fingering.  Once I saw the colorway name, I knew I had to have it, and it had to be socks for my mother.

My mom, you see, is a stone-cold hardcore gardener, and botanically-named yarn is right up her tree.  (So to speak.)

Being the procrastinatrix that I am, it took me years and years to get around to knitting them, but once I did, they were so quick and easy that I wondered why I hadn't done it before.

Anyway, they are this year's Mother's Day gift (given early so she could model for me, haha).  Love ya, Ma.

For all details and to purchase, follow the link (and take 50% off with code MAYDAY)!

Lapstrake

I am pleased to announce that after months (and months and months) Lapstrake is finally available!

You'll remember the teaser shots from the contest I held to name the thing, and here it is in all its glory:

This design came about as a result of a Ravelry meeting--Heather posted about a potential blog swap, and I suggested that we collaborate on a project.  She dyed the yarn--in a custom colorway, no less!--and I designed this little shawl.  This project has been great fun from start to finish, and Heather is a great collaboratrix.  I hope we can work together again in the future!

If you'd like to use Heather's yarn to knit your own Lapstrake, go to her website and use coupon code LANA2014 for 20% off!  Even better, mention in your order that you are knitting a Lapstrake, and she will provide you with a coupon code to get a copy free.

If you're too impatient for that, it's available on Ravelry here for 4.50 USD, and until September 30, you can take 50% off with coupon code CLINKER.  Some details:

YARN: T&H Fiber Works Heather's Favorite Sock (80/20 merino/nylon, 400 yds/100g skein) in colorway “Lana” (small version) and Wollmeise Pure (100% superwash merino, 575 yds/150g) in colorway “Krauterbeet” (large version).   Any fingering weight yarn will work well for this pattern.

NEEDLES: 3.25/3.5mm needle or size to obtain gauge.

GAUGE: 20 stitches and 40 rows (20 garter ridges) = 4” in garter stitch, washed and blocked.

SIZE: Small (pink): Approximately 42.5” wingspan and 16.5” top to tip, washed and blocked.

Large (purple): Approximately 56” wingspan and 20” top to tip, washed and blocked.

Huge thanks to Heather for donating her yarn (and time) and to Allison for sending me the Wollmeise that became the large version as a wedding gift.  Thanks are due to my models, Aspen Davidoff, Mickey the cat, Biscuit the dog, and “Touch the Sky" the bronze sculpture.  Also to Pat Harding, who takes pictures for me even when he doesn't want to.  The name Lapstrake was suggested by Ravelry user Tianaeve.  Thanks, Tianaeve!

Drumroll, Please!

ETA: Karen, I don't have your contact info!  Please email me at lanafactrixATgmail.com.

And the winner is . . . Karen B, who wrote "I like "clinker" or "lapstrake" because the lines remind me of viking-style ships."

She was spot on in her comparison, don't you think?

Gokstadskipet, Vikingskipmuseet, Oslo, 2005, Karamell

Lapstrake it is!

Honorable mentions include:

Hotline from Terri D

Lines of Lloyd from Tivity

Take Offs and Landings from Kaitlin (perhaps she is also a Rilo Kiley fan?)

Matrix from Joy

Vector from OneTwistedStitch

Electrical Alternans from Wendy

Thank you all so much for your participation--I totally know where I'm coming the next time I'm stuck on a pattern name.

Wherein You Do My Work for Me

So here's the deal, my darlings.  I need to name this:

(The shawl, not the dog.  The dog has a name already.)

It's a fingering-weight shawl, made with one skein of Heather's Favorite Sock Yarn.

Here are some more pictures, for your reference:

I simply can't think of what to call it, which is where you come in.

Leave a comment with your naming suggestion on this post, and the person whose name I choose will receive a skein of Wollmeise.

Specifically this skein:

This is a skein of Wollmeise Pure (100% superwash merino, 150g), in the colorway "Gluckstag" ("Lucky Day.")  (Not incidentally, it would work wonderfully to knit the pattern above.)

HERE ARE SOME RULES:

1) Eligible comments must be submitted by no later than midnight PST Thursday, August 21.

2) Multiple entries are welcome, but only one skein of yarn will be awarded.

3) Anyone may enter, but an international winner will not permitted to bitch about how slow the mail is.

4) I like pithy names that suit the item in question.  No profanity or lewdness, please.  (Subtle innuendo is okay.)

Go ye forth and name!

And have one more gratuitous Gozer photo:

Still Yet One More WIP . . .

. . . about which I will be coy a little longer.

But doesn't it look nice and squishy?

State of the Lanafactrix: Knitting Edition

Now that you're all caught up on what I've been doing that ISN'T knitting . . . here's what is.

The Rose of England proceeds apace.  It's past where it was before I discovered my horrible error of the other day, even.  Not that you can really tell.  It's still a giant white blob.  But I have reached the final chart for the smaller size.  So "soon" (read: in another 30 rows) I'll have to decide whether I'll stop there or continue.  It pretty much depends on how much yarn I will have used, because the KAL requires a minimum of 1000 yards.  Heaven knows I have more than enough on the cone.

I haven't worked on them much since starting the Rose of England, but I do have non-blogged progress on my Animal Crackers socks to report--I'm past the heel turn.  See?  Still a nicely written pattern that's turning out a nice project.

Mostly this week I've been devoted to the piece I'm designing for Heather--everything but the very last finishing is in place, conceptually, so I've been trying to push through version one so I can take version two with me on vacation next week.  (More about that later.)  So really I'm going to be terrifically boring for the duration.  Sorry.

Teaser

Whatever could this be?

Could it be made from Heather's Favorite Sock (80/20 superwash merino/nylon) dyed by Heather Hertziger?

Could you save 20% on your order of Heather's Favorite Sock (or anything else you'd like) from T&H Fiberworks with the code LANA2014?

Why, yes.   Yes, it is.  And yes, you could.

What are you waiting for?

Plans and Schemes

Remember this?  (It is still Heather's Favorite Sock and you can still get 20% off purchasing it--or anything else on Heather's favorite website with the code "LANA2014."  In case you forgot.  Her blog is also a good read today.)

It has undergone a state change because I have begun swatching.  No progress photos of THAT to show you, alas; I unraveled my swatch because I am a Bad Knitter.  But there may be more of those in the week to come.

Otherwise I am still plugging away on my Moyen Age--but one sleeve to go!

A note about the pattern, actually, while I'm thinking about it.  I've mostly been knitting it exactly as written with no trouble, but that fell down completely when it came to the sleeves.  I was knitting busily away on the first of them and thinking "hmm, that seems a little big."  Then I tried it on.

ENORMOUS.  Sleeve that could blot out the sun.

What happened was this: I have very, very short arms.  The decreases as written happen very, very slowly.  Therefore, I ended up with a sleeve big enough to fit my upper arm . . . below my elbow.

I must emphasize that this is not the fault of the designer.  My arms are so short that they are genuine sideshow material.  She could not possibly have anticipated this.

I will say, however, that if your arms are similarly constructed, you might want to pause and check your rate of decrease after you finish the sleeve short rows.

Sprightly Socks

I was obsessed with the Wollmeise colorway "Iris Sibirica" pretty much from the moment I saw it.  I finally managed to lay hands on a skein last winter and, finally done gloating over it, cast on a sock toe in mid-February.

Then I promptly cast it aside because I have the attention span of a particularly flighty magpie.

You know what happened next--thwarted from making further progress on my Moyen Age, I picked the poor neglected thing up once more, and BAM.  INSTASOCKS.

These are seriously addictive to knit, people.  I'm not sure I should sell them, to be perfectly honest.  The world economy might grind to a halt while the sock knitters neglect their jobs and homes to knit Sprightly Sock after Sprightly Sock.


But I can't keep them to myself--they deserve to be out among their people.

So without further ado, the Sprightly Socks--put a little spring in your step!

Purchase it here (and take 50% off with coupon code "SPROING"!)

These would be a great place to start for someone who knits a lot of socks cuff-down but has never knit toe-up socks before, or someone who has cut their teeth on the Mindless Socks and is looking to something a little more challenging.  The rectangle toe-up cast-on and German short-row heel both have photo tutorials!

(They would also be excellent for those clown-barf multis in your stash that you never quite knew what to do with.  This is how much I care.)

So Excite

Guise.  Guise.  You know what this is?

It is yarn, of course.  But it is SPECIAL yarn.

How special?

 This is yarn hand-dyed by Heather of T&H Fiber Works.  And it is in my hot little hands because soon, very soon, I will be creating something with it!

Heather and I are incredibly excited to bring you this product of our collective genius.  (Well, okay, any genius contributed is strictly Heather's.)

Be sure to hop over to Heather's blog to read about her process and her yarns.

Wanted to make sure all was in readiness before I added this--from now until the end of 2014, if you'd like to purchase any of Heather's yarns, you may use coupon code LANA2014 for 20% off your order.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

This Is Not a Pipe

Nor is it a blog, as it has no pictures, which are surely the sine qua non of bloggery, no?  (Note my subtle working of a Latin bon mot into the conversation.  This is why I spent all that money on college.)

But sock the first of the obsessive pair is done, and I am about three inches up the leg of sock the second.  If I knit diligently (and monogamously), I'll have it done by the weekend and the pattern polished enough to release by next week.  But this leaves me with something of a dilemma.

As is usual, I knit this pair of socks to fit myself.  But I don't think my feet and legs will photograph well in the pattern--it needs someone with narrow feet and skinnier calves so the stretch of the fit won't interfere visually.  And I'm not sure I know someone here whom I know well enough to ask to be a sock model.

Imagining the ensuing Craigslist ad has me crossing my eyes.

What else am I up to?

Mostly, I've been devoting myself to Moyen Age, a gorgeous sweater designed by Hanna Maciejewska.  I got to the point where I could really try it on the other day, and it fits like a dream.  I'd show you a picture, but the juxtaposition of blue sweater and polka-dot bra is far too amusing to let loose on the internet.  So here's a progress picture from earlier:

Now I just have to knit the sleeves . . . and the neckline . . .

Maybe I'll work on some socks, instead.

Like these:

A few weeks ago I cast on a sock toe in Wollmeise Twin with the vague intention of doing something with slipped stitches.  Monday night, needing to wind more yarn for Moyen Age, I picked up the toe and started playing around . . . and now I am OBSESSED.  Like, knit an entire sock foot, turn the heel, and make it three inches up the leg in two days obsessed.

I paused at that point to try it on and made three observations:

1) The foot was not long enough.
2) The short-row method I had used for the heel looked gorgeous on the left side and like utter ass on the right side.
3) The leg was tight in a . . .  worrisome fashion.

So, because I am a knitter dedicated to my craft, I ripped that sucker back.  The foot length was easy to fix, of course, but resolving the heel problem took most of my knitting time today.  I did eventually conquer the thing, on the third try (pro tip: do not bother to reinvent the wheel; it works fine), and I've made it an inch and change up the leg.

I intend to set a land-speed record with these.  Just watch me.

Sweater!

Here is my finished alpaca sweater:

Yarn: Henry's Attic Prime Alpaca , 665 yd/227 g, 2 skeins, colorway Charcoal. It was a bit of a pain to work with--splitty and with no give in that alpaca way--but the resulting fabric is divine and the sweater is soft, warm, and lightweight.


Pattern: Of my own devising, based on measurements from the The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. (It's a set-in sleeve, adapted V-neck cardigan. If that helps.) I added some details like the slight bell sleeve and the cross-over front. I'm particularly fond of the absolutely luscious buttons:


They're a modern rework of a 1930s vintage design. *loves*

And here it is on:


The fit is better than that pattern would have you believe. The shoulders are perfect, which is a big improvement from the Boyfriend Sweater debacle.

Here is me being silly, but you can really see how the buttons extend around the side:


And this one is pure silliness.

All in all, I'm really happy with how this turned out. I barely took it off for a week after I'd finished it. (I'd still be wearing it if it weren't, like, 60 degrees here. Stupid Maryland.)

Quickie

Okay, first of all, Irtfa'a is DONE. Off the needles, blocked, clipped, the whole shebang. I just need to take pictures, and then I swear I will post them.

That means the knitting focus for the moment is my Papyrus shawl. I think I'm going to try to release it under the Knit Picks Independent Designer Program, as it was designed with a Knit Picks yarn. The greater visibility does come with a slight financial hit, but if no one's buying your patterns, you're not making any money anyway, right?

And last but not least: I got a job at a yarn store! The LYS I frequent recently changed management, and when I inquired, the new owner was looking for someone--and that someone was me. It won't replace my old job, but it'll be a fantastic addition. Much yarn awaits . . .