Happy Belated Birthday Canada!

Happy day after Canada Day everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely day out in the sun, enjoying the festivites and whatnot. I ventured forth to do a bit of social knitting in the park with my knitting friend Mammals. We lucked out and scored a bench under the perfect shade tree. It was lovely - shady and just the right amount of breeze - pefect for knitting.

For some reason I elected not to take pictures of us actually knitting, but I swear we really did. I'm working on yet another pair of socks, this time from Knitting Vintage Socks, the Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern. So far so good. By next posting I will be sure to have photos.

I do however have photos of a pair of socks that will gifted next week. The best part anout these socks is that the recipient has no idea they're coming. Sweet! I love surprises/surprising! This person knows that I knit (duh). This person always asks what I'm working on. This person waxed poetic about this pair of handknit socks she recieved once and how nice they were and that they were the best socks ever and that no one has ever knit her another pair, etc., etc., etc. Just ask. This is what I desperately wanted to say. Just ask and I will knit you a pair. Not often does anyone actually ask, they just hint, hoping that we knitters are not so obtuse as to miss their coded messages - "So, knitting socks huh? Boy, those sure do look nice. That's one of my favourite colours right there. Yep. Sure are nice looking. Are those for you? Oh. Hey, you know what? We have the same size feet. How about that, what a coincidence. Well, better let you get back to it." Subtle, very subtle. Well, my knitting radar picked up those subtle signals, and I knit her a pair of Waving Lace socks, featured on the cover of Favorite Socks. [Favorite Socks and Knitting Vintage Socks seem to be my go-to, never-fail books when I need a decent sock pattern. Needless to say, I recommend them].

A ball of Opal Solid in a nice bright fuschia was my choice for these bad boys. The recipient is a vibrant sort of person and I thought this colour would suit her to a T. I enjoyed this pattern - engaging without being over complicated, easy to get into and fun to knit. I like textured socks (even if they sometimes look like fleshy lumps) and this was my first pair of lace socks. The end reult looks great and I am resonably confident that she'll like them (there is the outside chance that "WTF? Wool socks in July?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" will come out of her mouth, but I'm betting on not.

The other item that had been occupying my knitting hours was Zephyr Style's Rusted Root. I was possessed by a burning desire to knit this cute sweater when I stumbled across it on Ravelry. I had to make it. Had to. And so I did, out of stuff in my stash no less - miraculous! I purchased some Garnstudio Bomull-Lin last year when visiting South Carolina, intending it for a certain project that lost it's appeal over time. The cotton/linen blend sat, unknit, in The Chest for over a year, waiting for it's time to shine. Well, shine it does. Since finsihing the Root, we have been plagued by overcast skies. Not at all conducive to taking nice FO pictures. I will take advantage of whatever sun comes my way this week to snap some pics. Until I can present photographic evidence that the sweater does exist, my comments on the yarn, the pattern and the combination of the two will have to suffice.

Bomull-Lin is a worsted weight cotton/linen blend that I originally intended for a sleeveless tank last summer. It just didn't happen. Happily enough I found a different purpose for the yarn and am happy with the result. What to say about this yarn? I did find it splitty - which I expected - and a bit rough on the hands - which I also expected. That said, if you pay attention whilst knitting, the splitty-ness shouldn't really be an issue. It aslo softened up after getting beat around in my knitting bag and after a washing. It offers up great stitch definition for the lace pannel on the front of the sweater and isn't as heavy as I thought it might be. I have a feeling it might grow a bit with repeated wearings, but we shall see.

Rusted Root struck my fancy when I found it on Ravelry for a couple of reasons. I like the shape and I like the lace column detail. I was also intrigued by the top down construction. I did make some modifications to the pattern after cruising through the various versions on Ravelry:

• knit at a slightly tighter gauge than called for and knit the med., instead of a small to get the fit I wanted


• decided to use a provisional cast on for the neck to make picking up the stitches for the neck ribbing easier and neater


• opted for plain, non-pouffy sleeves and lengthened them to the elbow.

It was a quick, mostly enjoyable knit. I say mostly because I knit and reknit the sleeves a few times before I arrived at something that I liked. This is not the fault of the pattern, as I was making them up as I went along. Everything turned out well in the end and I shall post pics soon.

Until then, I'll leave you with a shot of summer. Happy knitting!