15 December 2011 · 11 Comments
I’m rather taken with these. I worried at first that the yarn would be too busy for the pattern, but I think it’s working out. The stitch pattern is sort of magical…super stretchy (looks much better once it’s on a leg and under a bit more tension), works up quickly, and easy to just read your knitting and see what comes next. Now…would someone like to come finish them up for me so I can hurry up and wear them?
19 May 2011 · 2 Comments
First, my apologies if the title leaves you whistling terrible songs all day. That song pops into my head every single time I hear someone talk about manly socks (with the substitution of the word ‘socks’ wherever you hear ‘men’ of course). I wouldn’t want to speculate as to why exactly this happens, but it does. Hopefully I’ve spread the pain a bit. Now with that out of the way, on to the socks. See?
The goal was socks that were thick, blue, and guy-friendly.
I’m confident I’ve gotten the thick part down, and pretty comfortable about the blue part. That’s Dream in Color’s new(ish) yarn Everlasting in Tidal. This is the 12 ply that I used (and loved) in Carom. It is definitely thicker than a traditional sock yarn. It is, in fact, not really a sock yarn at all. These are much closer to slipper socks than to ‘stuff them in shoes’ socks. Dream in Color does offer Everlasting in an 8 ply sock yarn for those who want a more traditional sock weight. I, however, wanted something super thick, and this seemed perfect.
Now for the guy-friendly part. This one is always tricky to judge. First, and most importantly, guys are no more a homogeneous set than are girls. I know for a fact that there is at least one guy out there who has knit Gramercy in a lovely pale peach and is totally rocking them. But most of the guys that I knit for would not really love pale peach lace. They tend to lean more toward the more somber end of the color spectrum and to prefer to avoid lacy or swoopy designs.
I’m hoping that the straight lines, complete lack of anything that could be seen as lace, and decidedly blue coloring will help it pass muster as a boy sock. And if not, I will steal them back and wear them myself because I love super thick socks with an unholy passion. And if they do pass muster, I see another pair in this yarn for me in my immediate future (I may possibly have several more skeins of this yarn sitting right on the very top of my stash).
Oh, and on an unrelated administrative note, I got some exciting news the other day that may necessitate just a bit of schedule shifting. I will still be putting the two patterns mentioned the other day out very soon, and I will totally put the hat out first, but I may be shifting the schedule back by a few days.
5 February 2011 · 53 Comments
So the plan had been to put this pattern up on Monday. But it’s ready now, and I don’t really do patience if I can help it. Also, there might just possibly be something else going on on Monday that I’ll want to squee about. So I’m putting it out now. Handy thing, making your own schedule.
These are, of course, the magical, sanity-saving, purple hats. One is for me, and one has made its way into the post to head off to my mom. The first of these was cast on within hours of getting my hands on the new Everlasting 12 ply dk by Dream in Color. I remain unreasonably smitten with it. It’s more or less perfect, and it’s the first time I’ve seen one of the ‘zillions of tiny plies’ style yarns in a heavier weight. I’ve already gotten scads more for another project and will be casting on soon.
And now, because the people at Dream in Color are awesome, I can share this new obsession treat with you. I’ve got two skeins of Everlasting 12 ply dk in the color Amethyst to give away. You can easily make both of these hats from one skein of yarn (I made 2 big hats from one skein and had about 30 yards leftover).
If you want to give it a try yourself, go take a look at the Everlasting colors, pick your favorite (or favorites, I’ve not been able to narrow it down much really), and leave me a comment telling me which ones you like best. Remember, I’ve got Amethyst, the one used in the hat to give away, I’m just shamelessly polling you to find out what colors you like (and to pad out my next shopping list). Do be sure to use your real email address (no one but me will see it, and I won’t use it for anything other than to notify the winner). I’ll keep comments open until Tuesday evening, and announce winners on Wednesday.
In the meantime, if your own sanity needs a little restoration, you can find the pattern here.
19 January 2011 · 3 Comments
Now while I don’t generally condone matching outfits, I think there may possibly be an exception for hats. Especially hats that don’t really match so much as share some characteristics. The exception is even easier to grant if the hats will generally adorn the heads of people who live in different states. Really, the chances of these hats being worn at the same time in the same place is pretty low. The risk of hat duplication embarrassment would be far higher with a hat from Target, right? I’m declaring it an acceptable risk.
The first hat was made for my mom, but I was so overcome with glee at both the pattern and the yarn (Dream in Color Everlasting DK) that I had to make myself one too. There was more than enough yarn in one skein to make both hats. I have a feeling that this is going to become my go to hat yarn. I need to get my hands on some of the sock yarn too. Proper pictures (with heads rather than bowls) and a pattern to come shortly!
15 January 2011 · 5 Comments
Do you see what I meant when I said this hat had the power to keep me sane? Look at the top of that hat. Pretty damn nifty if I do say so myself. Tidy and orderly and soothingly regular…the sort of hat that could well be expected to keep the universe together. Unfortunately, if you’re seeing the crown, that means it’s done.
So I did the only reasonable thing and cast on another one. It’s not quite the same (smaller scale version of the pattern, a few more purl stitches, a bit less lacy), but it seems likely to have similar magical properties.
14 January 2011 · 3 Comments
I have become convinced that the universe is conspiring against me (this is rarely a good sign). It seems quite clear that something out there is trying to gather up the last tiny scraps of my patience and sanity, tear them up into teeny tiny shreds, and sprinkle them over me in the world’s most infuriating ticker tape parade.
One of the few things keeping me sane is this hat. I am completely smitten with it. I love everything about it. The yarn, the design, the color, they’re all perfect. Alas, it is almost done. I don’t want it to be done. I want to keep knitting it. I can’t remember the last time I wanted a project to be bigger. I’m that taken with it. Luckily, there seems to be enough yarn there to immediately cast on another hat. I’m thinking I’ll do a similar-but-less-lacy-and-more-manly version and call them a set.
13 January 2011 · 3 Comments
I think the sock gods are angry at me for my recent hat dalliance. I keep overhearing murmurs that sound like ‘three good years of faithful friendship’ and ‘ungrateful upstart’ and ‘feckless dilettante.’ All of which is my way of saying that take two from yesterday may also be a bit too variegated. It’s been set aside while I ponder its fate. The secret sock is going well (smashingly well really), so I do have some hope that the sock gods haven’t completely cast me out for my inconstant ways. It could just be an attempt to torment me though by making me have pretty knitting I can’t show you.
To console myself, I cast on a hat. My mom has recklessly valiantly offered up her head for hatting. Boy hats are fairly easy. Boys tend to give one word answers to questions about color (blue, gray, brown), and as a rule, they’re less concerned about hair issues than are girls. Girls tend to have much stronger feelings about hat color (a darkish red with brown undertones and no hint of orange) and to have hairstyles that require more consideration. After a bit of consultation, we decided on this purple.
It’s the new Everlasting 12 ply from Dream in Color in Amethyst. (There doesn’t seem to be any information about Everlasting on the DiC site, so I linked to the Webs page for it. It’s not part of an evil plot to make you shop there, it’s just where I bought mine, and there’s not much in the way of non-store info out there about it just yet.) I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this since I heard about it a few months ago, and I’m thrilled with it so far. I tend to love the yarns with a bunch of tiny plies. They seem to have fabulous stitch definition, and they don’t go fuzzy after washing. This yarn is no exception. I have a feeling I will need to pick up a few more skeins (just to confirm that I like them too…in the interest of science you understand…especially that Rain Cloud color…that one needs further investigation immediately). There is also an 8 ply sock yarn version of this that I’m now coveting. You’ll note this purple is also a lovely semi solid (variegated yarns and I are not really on speaking terms at the moment) and so in no danger of being ripped out in a fit of pique.
