First up, we have the current socks in progress. These are for my friend Jennifer as a barter agreement. (Jen, the stripes won't match for many reasons, I hope you're OK with that). The yarn is from Knit Picks, Felici sport weight in the Seaside colorway. Because they're sport weight, they're a bit thicker than my normal socks (best under boots or around the house), and they'll be really warm. For the knitters, I'm doing these on size 3 DPNs using a plain vanilla sock pattern courtesy of the Yarn Harlot (56 stitches).
And for the ongoing project for the year, this is the calendar that the swatches spring from. All are knitted from the same yarn, Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool (in cream for now, but I might do some other colors), on a size 6 (4 mm) needle. I want to keep the needle and yarn consistent through the year and see what happens. I'm also trying to keep the swatches all about the same size so that when they're all done, they can be assembled in some way into an afghan (or several depending on how much real estate they take up).
January 1: Basket rib. An interesting slip stitch pattern that makes a thick fabric. Could be good for a hat band.
January 2: Whelk Pattern. Another one with some slip stitching for another thick fabric. Apparently a whelk is a kind of sea snail. I'm not seeing it myself.
January 3: Brick Rib. I like the way it looks, but the requirement to purl through the back loop drops this one way down on the list of stitches I might use.
January 4: Zigzag openwork. My least favorite of this week's swatches. Not difficult to do, just not that big a fan of the look. Overall, meh.
January 5: Lacy Rib. I like this one, and as a design note, I don't do SKP; I do SSK as it's structurally identical, easier to do, and I think looks a little less stretched.
January 6: Simple Lace Rib. Simple my ass. Way too much through the back loop action to make this one I'd use a lot, but I have to admit I love the finished product.
January 7: Crocus Buds. Another pattern that I don't see where the name inspiration came from, but I do like the way it looks. This is also the first swatch that I started "framing" in garter stitch to make the blocks easier to connect at the end of the year. Eventually I may go back and redo the swatches that don't have that frame but not today.
So there you have it, what I have knit so far this year. I'm more halfway through my first of 12 pairs of socks and have 7 of 366 swatches (it's a perpetual calendar so there's a leap year day pattern which I'm not waiting until next year to do) done. Only 359 swatches to go! Oh, and everything else on my list.
I'm going to need a lot more yarn.
1 comment:
I like the Simple Lace Rib best this week. You were definitely right about the garter border - it frames the swatch off nicely.
Great post, Connie! I look forward to seeing your swatches over 2011.
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