Jobo Designs

Finally... the "Mr Pitt" socks are compete!  Despite being dreadfully boring to knit because of the drab color and my general impatience of knitting non-stop ribbing... they have turned out quite nice in the end :)

The pattern itself is quite well written, and straightforward.  The end result is a nice, plain, stretchy, simple pair of men's socks... and it's available as a free pattern on Ravelry!

Mr. Pitt's Socks (aka Dad Socks) by Kaitlyn Wong

When I was reviewing my Christmas gift-buying list this year, I decided to make a simple pair of socks for my husband's uncle and cousin... but of course, while I know the shoe size of feet in question I don't have ready access to them to do specific measurements of key areas. (i.e. ankle and foot circumference)

Sooo... ribbing makes a good compromise, and will fit a variety of foot circumferences (I hope) with ease.  Generally I make mostly women's socks, and can eyeball them, but men's socks look ginormous to me.  Too tall, skinny long feet, and wide heels.  The photos show the socks on ladies size 7-9 blockers, because that's all I have around these days, but they would certainly fit on a men's size 9-10 blocker also with all of the stretchiness.

Because it is so difficult to see the design with the black yarn (Knit Picks Stroll Kettle Dyed - in "Soot") I changed the photos to "Sepia" toned.  You can see the heel detail nicely in this photo.  -->

I plan on rounding out the gift with some trinket of some sort and a tin of homemade peanut brittle (which my husband seems to inhale whenever I make it... )

So I'm just working away... and BAM!  I get an email from Hunter Hammersen pop up in my email notification...  and I think to myself:  "that's the woman who designs those cool socks!"   <<insert squeal of delight>>

I've won a contest from the blog Violently Domestic - Hunter's newest sock pattern AND a skein of Yarn from Barking Dog Yarns!

I have been watching Hunter's patterns online for a while now... hoping that someday I'd get to make one especially admiring "popped" and "nugatory."  I've been keeping my eye on yarns and waiting until the right one came along to match one of the patterns. 

Well I guess it's going to be quite easy to decide now! 

<-----"Sky Pirate" 100% Fine Merino Sock Yarn from Barking Dog Yarns

Nugatory - by Hunter Hammersen  ------------------------------------------>

I can't wait for the mail to get here :)

The Shetland Triangle has been a quite enjoyable project... beads included.  The tiny crochet hook was very easy to use, and even the beaded rows flew along at reasonable speeds.  I decided that the shawl didn't need all-over bling, but perhaps just the last few pattern repeats.  After some deliberation, I choose to add them to row 9 (the mostly plain knit row of the 10 row repeat) and then to bead the very points of the border with 3 beads on each point, and the centre one of course.

The beads themselves seem to match in quite nicely.  At first I wasn't sure if the slightly rainbow essence would match the Plum yarn, but I think that they compliment the shawl more than a plain flat black bead would have.  I actually found these beads by accident while shopping at Michael's - they were part of a premade necklace with multiple strands of beads.  There were strands of plain black shiny seed beads, several of these "e" beads that I used for Shetland Triangle, some silver metallic looking "e" beads, and finally some black "e" beads that have the look of hematite.  I bought the whole necklace for 99 cents... and I only used one strand for this piece!  I'm sure I will find something else to do with the rest at some point.

In the end I worked 2 more repeats of the initial lace pattern than the instructions called for, and surprisingly enough, I managed to use only one skein of the KnitPicks Shadow Lace that I had.  I wanted this to be large enough to wrap comfortably around the shoulders, but I don't really know the recipient that well, so I wasn't sure she would want a really huge overpowering shawl.  I think I reached a decent happy medium on size.  This also means I have enough yarn to make another of these... maybe for me, since I am feeling undecided about giving this away.  I think that's usually how I know I did a good job... if I like the item well enough to keep it myself, it's likely nice enough to be giving it away to someone else?

When I was knitting this up... using the prescribed sized needles... I had wondered if maybe I should have used larger needles to get a more airy feel to this shawl.  As usual though, the magic of blocking evened out balance, and I think it feels just about right. 

The finished shawl is light but still has enough substance to warm up the wearer.  I am always amazed at how much warmth a light shawl can give.  I think it's kind of like afghans.  How can something so full of "holes" trap so much heat next to the body?  Must be one of those life mysteries ;)  I hope that the person I made this for will feel good when she wears it.  I tried to think kind and comforting thoughts as I knit along, so I like to think that maybe those good vibes will go along with her wherever she goes.  Positive Energy is Good Medicine in itself.