Jobo Designs

I have lots and lots of sock yarn leftovers... it comes with the territory.  I rarely make socks that use an entire skein.  So I thought between the January and February KnitFromStashKAL socks I might try and use up a few little scraps that are cluttering up my studio space!

The Yarn:

- Knit Picks leftovers... if I can remember correctly - Stroll Tonal in "Wine Tasting" and Stroll Tweed in Flagstone Heather

lovey toes!

The Pattern:

- who needs patterns!  (yeah right!  We all do sometimes...)  I decided to fly by the soles of my feet on this one and make it up as I went!

- I began with a Turkish Cast On... aka Toe up.

- Next came a color switch, since I knew that I likely wouldn't have enough to make the entire foot in the grey shade, I thought I might go for some Valentine themed socks and throw in some purple and pink shades!  Gotta love the contrasting heels, toes and  ribbing.  Classic.

- What goes with February and Valentine's Day?  Hearts.  <3 <3 <3

- I improvised a lace heart on each of the toes.  Just one on each foot.  Simplicity Rules.

- Then I knit until I was almost out of the Pink/Purple yarn on each foot, and did a short cuff with K2P2 Ribbing, and cast loosely with a stretchy bind off.

- The heels were afterthought ones... (see my tutorial here!)

cuffs and heels...

Notes:

- Another easy and simple pair of socks... maybe not the best design to keep feet warm in this wintery season (we just finished up with a snow and freezing rain storm over the weekend and there is another big white mess coming this evening!) but they're cute, they cleaned up a little of the yarn mess in my studio, and I think they will be perfect for lounging around the house.  Plus - they match my housecoat!  Win win win!

SOCK TALLY FOR 2015 - 2 Pairs!

Yarn:

Knit Picks Chroma in Prism and Black (Worsted)

Pattern: 

Started with Drops Rainbow Mittens 143-32... and branched out from there

After a few cuff modifications... I am off to the races on these lovely little colorwork mittens for a friend. 

I had forgotten just how much I enjoy the process and technique with knitting stranded designs.  After much practice a few years ago, I learned how to do the Philospher's Wool technique of holding one yarn in each hand.  Basically this means you "pick" with one hand and "throw" with the other.  I like to hold the color I want to be dominant in my left hand (continental style) and the other color gets held in my right hand and worked like my usual style of knitting allows.  I have never been good at knitting continental style, and I don't think I could work a purl stitch that way to save my soul... but for colorwork it just makes sense to me.  Go figure. 

the plan is for these mittens to run the whole spectrum of color - starting with pale green, through yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue and back to green.  I still haven't decided what should be done with the thumb.  I'll figure that out when the time comes.

Originally I had considered making a lining to double the warmth... but the nice tight gauge means that the fabric is already really thick.  These puppies are going to be bulletproof even without any lining I think.  I might try some alternate lining method... maybe weaving some strands of Angora inside or something after the fact. 

More photos coming soon!