Socks, little knits, and more of the same.

It’s been months since I’ve knit a pair of socks, but I think the bug’s bitten again. I’m improvising a pair of simple summer-friendly socklets with Latvian Twist cuffs, knit in LL Shepherd Sock. (I love the Shepherd lines; I’m tempted by some of the pretty new colours, but I have more than enough already.

Hear that, brain? More than enough.)

I’d really prefer to be knitting these on my KP circs, but I… can’t find them. WTF? I’ve never misplaced my favourite sock needles before, no matter how long I go without using them. I’ve resorted to DPNs, which are slower and not as enjoyable for me, and am hoping the circs turn up soon.

I’ve just finished a little rust-covered slipover sized to fit a 3-month-old. I knit the front and back over a couple of days in February, then laid it aside and promptly forgot about it. I’m not altogether pleased with the finishing–some of the body stitches got stretched out when I picked up for the neckband–but a wash and light blocking will likely fix that. It had better, because the vest is supposed to be a sample for my LYS.

Apparently I haven’t gotten little knits out of my system, because I have another little sweater started now–a cabled cardigan from Sirdar’s Little Sweet Peas booklet. I’m using scarlet red Snuggly DK, and if one more person says “that’s not a baby colour” I may start using my needles as weapons. Washed-out pastels are mostly overrated.

I have more new handspun. (Shocking.)

Fibre: FreckleFaceFibers’ Merino/Angora in Strawberry Shortcake
Details: 2 ply, 10 WPI, approx. 115 yards

Mm, angora. 20% appears to be just enough to make the finished yarn deliciously soft with a bit of a halo. It feels lighter than I thought it would, and I got more yardage than I would have expected from the weight (of the fibre before spinning) and the WPI.

I wonder how much of that lightness is due to the angora and how much is due to my now being able to keep a lighter grip on the fibre, and not squeezing all the air out of it, without it slipping out of my hands. From what I understand, a short backwards draw (the only way I know how to spin at the moment) is going to produce yarn that’s on the dense side when compared to other methods, but not keeping a death-grip on the fibre should help keep it from being too dense, shouldn’t it?

There were a lot of little mats of angora to pick out while I was spinning. Most of them came out easily, but I wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to use tweezers in the future rather than my clumsy fingers.

Fibre: Merino top from WC Mercantile, in Copperwood
Details: 3 ply, 9 WPI, approx. 155 yards

I shamelessly love this, and wish I could manage to take a photo that adequately shows the heathering. There are at least a dozen subtle colours in it, adding depth to the dominant brown. The singles didn’t look at all like I expected (kinda disappointing, actually) but after plying… yes! Just what I’d hoped for.

Count this as another Project Spectrum submission–North’s associated element is earth.

I’m thinking of knitting it into a hat based on Foliage, but altered into a beret.

Aaaand suddenly it’s almost twelve-thirty. I’ve been up since before sunrise, but still have lots to do before I take time off for Knit Night tonight. I’d better get moving.

On a final note, though, it’s Flash Your Stash day. My stash is rather well-organised at the moment, but not in a way that makes it photograph well. I don’t really want to screw it all up again quite yet, so instead I think I’ll photograph a few choice skeins, later, and leave it at that. =D