Holli Yeoh Knits

Hmm, my watery, wavy sock design just isn’t fitting the bill for me.  While I think parts of it are interesting - I like that the lozenge shaped repeat isn’t repeating predictably around the sock.  Sometimes it’s a double line of traveling sts, sometimes a triple line and sometimes just a single line.  I’m finding that the variegated yarn is taking away from the stitch pattern.  It’s not really following my “5 foot rule” -if you can’t really see a stitch pattern in a self-patterning or variegated yarn when it’s 5 feet from you, it’s not worth the extra effort.

Also, the traveling stitches are far more fiddly on dpns than I thought they would be.  I’ve been trying them without a cable needle, but the sts are unraveling a bit, so I have to tinker with them to get them back on the needle.  I think it’s back to the drawing board with this one.  I would like thicker waves, which will limit the number of them , but that just might work for this sock.  You may see this one again in the future, or you may not! 

Not in the literal sense.  I’ve really been wanting a mindless knit.  I love knitting someone else’s designs because I don’t have to figure out stitch counts or calculate the rate of decrease for raglans or any of those things.  I also learn a lot from other designers - the way they word their instructions or sometimes a unique construction technique.  I started in right away with a gauge swatch using the Peruvian Highland Wool I received on Friday.  I’ve been wanting to knit Bonne Marie Burns’ Ribby Cardi pattern from ChicKnits.

This is how much I’ve knit on the sweater so far.  I’m pleased with the wool - it’s soft and has a nice hand.  The gauge is so much bigger than I’m used to working with that this thing is growing really quickly!

I’ve made a few changes - just can’t leave a design alone.  I plan on making a casing for the zipper - more to follow when I get to that point.  I did this a while back with another sweater and was pleased with the results.  This time I’m planning in advance and cast on a few less stitches to accomodate for the extra width the casing provide.  I’m also knitting it in one piece up to the armholes so I omitted four selvage sts (two for each seam).  I juggled the ribbing pattern a little so it flows seamlessly where the seams aught to have been.

I placed an order with Elann on Wednesday.  This is the first time I’ve ordered with them although I’ve often looked.  I’m looking for a standard DK weight yarn for a design and want to experiment with the Rowan Pure Wool DK.  I’ve also wanted to try out Elann’s Peruvian Highland Wool for quite some time now.  This morning - Friday - the postal worker was at the door handing me my box.  I know that I live close to their warehouse, but I still couldn’t believe it.  Bonus as far as I’m concerned is that I can pay in Canadian dollars and the package doesn’t have to go through customs.  My fingers are itching to get started knitting something.

So I started a new computer sock the other day and after a good solid 2 inch ribbed cuff I took a good look at what I had so far.  The striping pattern of the Regia self-patterning yarn seemed pretty uninspired.  For a mindless computer sock I want the yarn to stand up on its own without any stitch pattern to create the interest.  This yarn just wasn’t cutting it.  … THEN I came across this sock  (scroll down to the bottom of the post) that the Yarn Harlot just finished.  A wonderful double cable that reminds me of the ocean in a Socks That Rocks yarn.  Hmm, the yarn I started my sock in is from Regia’s Canadian Fashion Colours collection and it’s “British Columbia,” which is where I live, right beside the ocean.  Now I want a watery wavy sock. Next thing I know, I’ve ripped out the needles and I’m flipping through my Barbara Walker books.

 I found a great pattern that should suit my needs, but quickly realised it doesn’t divide nicely into any standard st count.  Lots of fiddling around with the graph paper and lots of erasing later, I’m pretty happy with the patterns I’ve come up with.  Now it’s time to start swatching.

The weather is perfect for some photography today - cloudy and bright with a soft even light. I’m taking photos of Shelridge Farm’s beautiful Soft Touch DK weight wool for the BKK website.

I’ve recently discovered the Shelridge Farm line of beautiful wools. They call it Soft Touch and they aren’t kidding. After it’s been washed it blooms and becomes incredibly soft. I’m very excited about it also because of the lovely range of colours. It is hand dyed and the colours have a softness to them that makes them perfect for coordinating with Opal’s self-patterning yarns which we already carry. An added bonus - it’s superwash wool which is so practical for babies and children’s garments. We’ll be offering it in kits soon and I’m eager to make a final push towards getting the kits up on the website!

I like to have a simple stocking stitch sock on the needles and I keep it beside my computer.  When I’m reading blogs or email or waiting for pages to load I pick it up and knit a few more stitches.  It’s amazing how quickly it grows.

 I’ve just finished my latest pair.  This is a toe-up sock à la Cat Bordhi. I took a workshop with her last fall which you can read about here and she gave some of us a sneak preview of some of the new sock architecture that will be featured in her upcoming books. I can’t wait until they come out!

I’m happy with many things about this sock. Love the “whirlpool toe” as she calls it. Love the really high heel back - I usually wear through my socks just above the reinforced stitching on my handknit socks. Love the reinforced underside of the heel.  I used 2 mm needles for the first time - I usually use 2.25 mm - and I’m really pleased with the tighter, denser fabric. I also used Austermann Step for the first time and is it ever soft! The wool/nylon blend is impregnated with Aloe Vera and Jojoba oil which are supposed to help care for your feet and protect against dryness, if you can believe it. Apparently the effect is good for over 40 washes. The yarn handles nicely when knitting and the fabric has a nice hand. Then I tried them on. They even felt different - like they were really moisturizing! I would definitely recommend this yarn.

I teach a Strategies for Knitting with Self-Patterning Sock Yarns class.  How’s that for a mouthful!  One of the points I like to make is that your stitch pattern has to be really simple in order to do both the stitch pattern and the self-patterning yarn justice.  The standards such as stocking stitch, garter stitch, reverse stocking stitch, and ribbing all look great. If you choose a really intricate stitch pattern it will probably get lost in the patterned yarn.

Take a look at these cable and lace patterns and you’ll probably agree with me that there’s too much careful knitting for the visual return. If you walk 5 feet away, how much of the stitch pattern can you see? How about 10 feet? And across the room?  I say it’s not worth the effort to knit a beautiful lace or cable using self-patterning sock yarn if you have to be up close and personal to see the knitting.

This yarn looks much better in a simple stitch pattern.

While trolling the internet and pouring over my stitch dictionaries looking for both appropriate and inappropriate stitch patterns for use with self-patterning sock yarn, I came across Megan Humphrey’s sock pattern called Eagle’s Flight using Opal’s Owl colourway. In the online photos the feathery lace stitch looked promising. It didn’t seem to disappear into the Owl colourway.

I recently started knitting the pattern and was disappointed to see that when on the foot, it didn’t really seem to stand out. I’ve just started the second sock and snapped this photo which is not too bad as far as stitch pattern is concerned. I’m still undecided whether this stitch pattern works with this yarn based on my criteria. I’ll finish off the other sock and try to get some shots on my feet from a little bit of a distance. I’ll get back to you on this one.