Magic...

Fearlessly I started with magic looping. For hats, like this Ganome it is a welcome techinique, since you do not have to switch to dpn. Instead, you just pull the string out between a pair of stitches somewhere in your work and voila, Magic Loop.




Socks are possibly also made by Magic Looping. I started them but alas! this is not for me. The troubles with avoiding gaps and the tension in the circular needle became to much for me. I guess it is easier with a smooth cable between the needles, but I do not have a smooth circular. So I gave that up. I considered switching to doing one sock at a time on two circulars, but then I figured I just could insert one of those (short) circulars on each sock and thus knit two socks at one time on three circular needles. Hence the spaghetti on the picture. I know what I am doing, though.


Hat: handspun (not by me) found in a thrift shop, handdyed with food colouring, Elizabeth Zimmerman Knitting Almanac: Ganome hat. needle 5.5.
Socks: Overdyed inherited sock yarn, overall anatomy of sock: Yarnissimas Firestarter, twisted stitch pattern by me, inspired by Bäuerliches Stricken, needles: 2,5

Ignatia

Ignatia is basically a firestarter with a different twisted stitch pattern. The pattern is broader, so I had to make some changes other places too, and I have bit feet, so these socks are larger and wider than the original firestarter.

To date the best socks I have made. Up to the next pair...

26

I'll jump on the fearless wagon and try out something new this year: Magic cast on and magic loop. But, inspired by Tijm I also made an inventory of things I made in 2007. And actually, 2007 was pretty brave, too - I tried a number of new things:

*I learned to spin, first on a drop spindle, later on a wheel

*I spun yarn from dog hair (which were knitted into mittens)

*and I knitted my first ever toe-up socks which you can see here. They are the firestarters by Yarnissima . I gifted them to my mother.


A quick inventory shows that I knitted 4 pairs of slippers, 10 hats, 4 mobile cosies, 2 pairs of mittens, 1 pair of knucks, 1 pair of socks, 1 scarf, 1 pair of baby booties, 1 calorymetry, and a nose warmer. That's 26.


For 2008 my expectations are more twisted stitches, more socks, tip-down mittens, knitting with soy yarn and as always, more hats...

Ignatia

Ignatia is basically a firestarter, the pattern written by Yarnissima.

The cable of the original firestarter is changed to one I found in 'Bäuerliches Stricken'. As in my first firestarters, I knit over 64 st. The cable (from p. 67, if you have the book), has a repeat over 18 needles, so I am doing 2.5 repeats and land at a point where it can be divided into two equal parts that will continue along the gusset. All other directions as in the firestarter.

I bought the yarn in 'The golden fleece' in Santa Cruz, CA.

The firestarter started a fire: Socks and twisted stitches are a lot on my mind (and in my fingers) nowadays.

Oh and yeah, happy new year of course....

Firestarter progress

We've had a lousy summer, but this year, the fall is magnificent. Colours like those behind the sock everywhere, sun on it all. I gasp now and then.

As you can see the firestarter is already close to finish. In one week.