Fun ankle socks knit from the scraps of previously knit socks. A mix of Regia, Trekking, and Opal, at least. I ran out of grey for the heels and like the splash of rainbow added in. While I intentionally tried to put colors next to one another that I wouldn't normally pair up, I did keep the same striping pattern on both socks. Oh well--a little organization within the chaos can't hurt.
My friend Laurie made these socks on one of her antique sock knitting machines (this particular machine is circa WWI). While she's been making beautiful socks for the past year, she learned a way to make cables while attending a sock machine convention out here in the PNW a few weeks ago. In order to make the cable, as I understand it, certain stitches for the future cable are marked and treated differently as the sock is knit, and once the sock is complete, very clever hand sewing creates the look of the cable. Here's a close-up:
Clever, indeed! I love them--thanks, Laurie!
And this is Jackson after yesterday's trip to the groomer :
Yep, that's what a golden retriever looks like with a buzz cut. In just a couple of weeks we'll be headed to Maine with him, and we're hoping this short haircut will help with preventing hotspots and detecting ticks faster. He seems happy, and should be cooler, but I'm still getting used to seeing him without his long tresses. He's ready to go undercover!
The stitch pattern for this hat and scarf is the “Blister Check, or Coin Stitch” pattern in Barbara G. Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. While Walker’s pattern is written for flat work, my pattern has been rewritten for work in the round.
(detail: top, outside fabric; bottom, inside fabric--look Ma,
no loose threads!)
The hat is worked from hem to crown but begins with a provisional cast on in order to finish the hat with a garter-stitch edge knit in the round and Elizabeth Zimmermann’s super-stretchy sewn cast off. The hat pattern is written for two sizes, S/M and M/L.
The scarf is also worked in the round, creating a tube which hides the inside fabric, and is finished at both ends with a closed hem of garter stitch:
Suggested yarns are Zitron Trekking (XXL) for the variegated color and Vuorelma Satakieli for the solid color, although any fingering-weight (14 wpi) yarn such as Brown Sheep’s Nature Spun Fingering or Louet’s Gems Fingering Wt. could substitute for the Satakieli and another variegated yarn of similar weight could be used in place of the Trekking XXL. Or, pick your two favorite colors and go solid!
For only a hat or only a scarf, one skein of each yarn listed above should be plenty. For a small hat and a short scarf, one skein of each yarn should suffice. For a larger hat and/or a longer scarf, partial second skeins of each yarn may be required.
Suggested needle sizes are US 1/2.5mm and US 0/2.0mm.
Suggested gauge is 28 stitches and 70 rows = 4 inches in Bubble Pattern.
The pattern sells for $6 US. If you are in Portland, Oregon you can pick up a paper version at either Close Knit on NE Alberta or at Twisted on NE Broadway. Or, from the comfort of your own home, you can purchase the pdf either through Ravelry (search for "Stained Glass Bubble" or see my profile under sunnydayknitter) or here:
(Note: clicking the button above will take you to Ravelry's Paypal site. Ravelry will delivery the pdf to your email address. If you have any problems, please let me know! And I'd love to see photos of any finished Stained Glass Bubble hats or scarves--please share!)
If you like the bubble pattern but would prefer knitting it as a pair of socks, I hope to have a Stained Glass Bubble Sock pattern ready later this summer.
Errata, added 7.30.09:
p.5, for hat size M/L, fourth row of 1-st bubbles: Revised round 5 or 11: *make bar, k1*, k1
Also, added 1.27.10:
I have posted a tutorial on the provisional crochet cast here.
