Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Eeek, it's steeking!

I joined in the steek-along at the Angel Yarns Knitting forum, and have completed my first ever steeking. It's only a swatch, but I like the way the crocheted edge worked, and I have a few patterns this is required for.
I knit the sample in one day in between band practises and an evening concert, including the coach trip on the way there. I did the steeking on Monday evening, and I'm quite pleased with the result. Below is a view of the swatch before cutting. Unfortunately this shows my inability to concentrate during fairisle knitting, but i think i would have concentrated more if I knew it was going to really matter.
I knitted this using the magic loop method, and one colour in each hand. I felt like i was doing something really clever! Two views of the swatch before and after cutting. I tried both the crocheted edge and the blanket stitch but i think i needed a sharper, smaller needle for the blanket stitch and much prefer the crocheted edge. I also added some ribbing to the crocheted edge (not shown) just to show myself that i could.

Dying using acid dyes

Dying was Ashford acid dyes turned out to be almost as easy as the KoolAid dying I tried previously. Completed in a couple of hours one evening, I used a skein of sock yarn that I bought ages ago (which unexpectedly turned out to be horrible), a skein I dyed using KoolAid which turned out far too pale, and an undyed skein.


They look a bit prettier now they are in balls.



Pomatomus Socks - Finished

I have been busy, I have been on holiday, I guess I am never going to be a good, regular blogger, but I have been knitting (and dying) and have some finished objects to blog about...


Pattern: Pomatumus socks, started and finished on holiday.
Modifications: The lacey pattern of the second sock was adapted to be a mirror image of the first. I twisted the stitches picked up along the heel flap edge, which i think looks quite pretty and suits the twisted rib stitches used throughout the lacey pattern.
Yarn: I used some hand dyed wool, dyed using Ashford dyes

I spent a lot of time sat on a canal boat knitting these last week. They are a bit loose on me so i might try a smaller size needle (these were 2.75mm) if I do this again. Also, the second is a lot neater than the first, which is slightly annoying, but not so noticeable in the photos I think. However, I do like this pattern, I love the way the twisted rib at the top and heelp flap flows into the fish scale pattern, and I would definately consider knitting these again.