KOIGU: THE TEST OF TIME

The yarn is Koigu Painter's Palette Merino sock yarn. It's too expensive for me to use very often, but I have made a few pairs of socks with it. I love knitting with it because it is so soft and springy and buttery, with beautiful colors. I found a few scraps left over from the socks in my stash and made them into hexipuffs. This is the perfect way to compare "new" (left) and "worn" (right) with the same yarn. The socks were always hand washed and drip dried. Click to embiggen the pictures.

The brown yarn has faded a good bit, but not so much the other two. The socks have gotten softer and softer with wear, and felted ever so slightly, but there has been little or no shrinkage. I haven't noticed any thinning, pilling, or holes (yet). They are still my favorite socks!

The only problem that I've had with Koigu is ordering it online- I've been unpleasantly suprised twice because what came in the mail wasn't at all what I thought I had ordered. Luckily I have a local yarn shop that carries it, and I buy it there because I can see what I am getting.

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FUN WITH HEXIPUFFS (HEXIFUN)

Look in the previous post if you don't know what a "hexipuff" is!

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SOCK YARN KEEPERS QUILT

After at least fifteen years of making socks, I have FINALLY discovered a wonderful pattern to use up my huge bin of sock remnant yarns. Some of these go back a long time. Some were even the result of my first yarn-dyeing experiments with Kool-aid dyes. I'm going to make the Beekeeper's Quilt. Here are my first three "Hexipuffs":

I love the memories that come back to me as I pull out the yarns from socks made long ago. In a small way the socks that I make are like my children, and the hexipuffs are like photographs! It's like going through the baby albums-- lots of "aaawwwww" moments!

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MAJESTIC RIB DISHCLOTH

Of course now that I have introduced the new stitch pattern, I had to make a dishcloth.  This one was over 44 stitches, and used Knitpicks Dishie cotton in color "Azure". I used the chart for Majestic Ribbing in the previous post (MAKEOVER) with two slight changes: I spaced the little crosses closer together, so there are 5 regular rib rows in between instead of 7. I also added two more edge stitches.

Please be aware that the closer you space the ribbed crosses, the less elastic your ribbing will become. This is certainly not a problem with a dishcloth, but use caution with patterns that require a great deal of stretch, or you may not be able to get the sock/hat over your heel/head! Don't ask me how I know this!

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MAKEOVER

About five years ago I made these now bedragged and sorry-looking slipper socks for my husband. He wore them a lot, and was so careful with them that he even wore socks underneath so that he wouldn't dirty them unnecessarily (how can you not love a man like that?). The yarn is Plymouth Encore, and as you can see it did not hold up well. I used a generic sock pattern, and purchased leather soles. The soles are in fine shape, so I decided to do the tops again. A makeover.

The stitch pattern is my own invention. It is a juiced-up version of "Elegant Ribbing" from Barbara Walker's Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Since mine is a bit more elegant than elegant, I shall call it "Majestic Ribbing".

Here is a chart for Majestic Ribbing with a multiple of eight stitches, plus two edge stitches (one at each edge). The red box shows the pattern repeat.

Here are the slippers after the makeover, this time with Berroco "Vintage". I left one sole off for the photo so you could see they are just regular old socks. 

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CHRISTMAS REVEALS

I was asked to make a pair of gloves for my father-in-law this year. Gloves are great because they knit up fast, and don't use much yarn (these are Dream in Color "Classy" worsted). Somehow I always end up making the ring finger first, so it looks like the gloves are for rude people only.

This one is the Tasseled Fez from Charlene Schurch's book Hats On. Hopefully it will keep the head of my college boy warm this winter. More detail on the construction in a previous post here HERE.

Nancy Marchant's Hostas scarf (previous post) was a big hit with the college girl. These are her favorite colors.


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I'M OVER DISHCLOTHS, FOR NOW

Those wonderfully cottony portable experiments in knitting have lost their intense grip on my mind, for now. The cooler weather has inspired my fingers to turn to soft woolly things. Not to mention that the usual demand for Christmas stockings has begun.

 But for fun, I am making Nancy Marchant's wonderful scarf pattern, Hostas. I love the look and smooshy feel of Brioche stitch, and I love knitting it too (previous posts HERE and HERE).

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