Sunday, March 25, 2007

Just an Update

I've finished the fronts/back of the Diamond Seed Baby Jacket:
Now that it's off the needles and I can lay it out flat it looks so nice. Anyone else just love to lay it out flat and see how it looks all square and perfect? I guess it's kind of like lace but not so drastic; on the needles - all bunchy, off the needles - all perfect.

I also started a new sock, the Embossed Leaves Socks from Interweave a while back:

I'm using the tencel blend from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm I got at Stitches Midwest last year. I'm really enjoying both the pattern and the yarn. It's going very quickly. I do so love a pattern that shows obvious progress, and this one is so beautiful.

Notes: The pattern has a specified cast on to use, and I found it to be a bit tight, but I liked it otherwise. It has three rows, and to make it looser I used a size 3 for the first row, then size 2 for the next two rows before going down to 1.5s for the sock. I also added an extra purl between the motifs, adding four stitches overall. It seems to have worked well. Sometimes using a larger needle on the cast on works and sometimes it doesn't depending on the cast on; it worked very well with this one.

Speaking of Interweave and socks, has anyone seen their new sock book? I haven't, and I thought I'd get it sight-unseen, but I did see the pictures at Amazon, and of the seven, two I don't like, one I'd probably never do, and two I've already made or am making now. I've had a subscription to Interweave for what, three years now? And I bought every issue before that for a year or two? So I already have a lot of Interweave's sock patterns. I thought it'd be nice to have them all in one place, but if I've already made the ones I like in the book, I don't think I'll be buying it, even though buying new Interweave books gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

4 comments:

Amanda said...

Hey, I have the new sock book if you want to look at it before deciding if you want it. I'll bring it on Wednesday.

Amy said...

I have a pair of those socks on the needles too. I started them last fall, and got too busy to finish them over the holidays. The pattern really is gorgeus.

Tipper said...

Purdy socks! They're so luminous.

I've seen the book, and I'm not that impressed; I recognized the majority of the patterns from issues of IK that I have, and several of those are things I don't enjoy (the retro rib socks) or would never make (the shadow-knit socks that Grumperina's working on now). There are probably enough patterns to make it worthwhile, but I wouldn't pay full price for it (it'd be a good gift!).

Gwen said...

If you still have your interweave magazine from the past 3 years, you have 90% of the patterns already. Just not bound up so cool. I was not impressed.