a tad late, but Ta Da anyway!

Hedgerow is finished, well you knew that, but here are the images to prove it, and Brother Amos' grows, I mouth bad words and blame some tools like a bad workman, and another sock book or two, plus my latest spindle progress (yes, the Ashford is still in the box!). I can be a patient soul.

So, hedgerow, all done and worn and washed, and worn again. This is such a nice comfortable sock, thanks again Jane for the pattern! I will knit this one again, for both Toby and for Bear, but first Brother Amos.


This is how Brother Amos looked a day or so ago, I frogged the toe several times, and struggled with both the 2-circ method, and the sherman toe. Why did I struggle with the 2-cric method that so many love? Well I blame my tools, my Inox 2.25mm have a little bend just before the join and despite looking smooth snag the stitches every time at that **** join. I've tried to show the difference between the two needles joins but not sure this is a visible difference, it is a performance one. My 2mm and my 2.5mm addi's don't snag and are smooth and hitch free. So I blame my tools, call me a poor workman/workwoman/workperson, but I still blame my Inox needles. Suzanne who comments here often, suggested going a down a size for the toe and heel - something I would never have thought of. But a very good idea to add extra durability and it doesn't even show where I switched needle size. And using 2 circs with smooth needles like the Addis? That was Magic, but I don't have needles in the right size (2.25mm) yet to continue that way for the entire sock, but I soon will !


I did however loove judy's magic cast on, another one of those very clever knitters who share their clever ideas with us mere mortals of the knit world. One day that might be me!, What didn't I like about the sherman toe that Brenda D loves, well it involves short rows (fine by me), and done without wraps (again perfectly fine by me), but because of that it means shaping every row, not every 2nd row, which for us of the longer leaner (boney?) feet variety of human, well we need more length to our toe shaping. I have my dads bony feet. Also I do like a row of plain to allow the extra bulk of the increases (or decreases) to become meshed in to the knit fabric. With shaping at the same place every row - well there tends to be a bulk and stiffness to that section of knitting that throws me out of sorts - I just don't like it. So I substituted a toe, with standard increases every 2nd row, one stitch from each side of the foot, on the instep and the sole.



This is how Brother Amos looks now, today, after a night knitting last night. The lace pattern is working out fine, near the end of the second repeat, i found myself not needing the chart at all. I've just started the gusset increases, and my hand dyed flame yarn is working out well. I am quietly proud of this. I must return to Fannigan, I promise more on that next time.


And yes, I am still working with the spindle, this is some 'free' fiber, gifted by a work collegue who found out I bought a spinning wheel. I was warned it would happen, free fibre, and it did! Its old, naturally brown, and kind of dry yet sticky, but its spinning up nice and even and fine. Jenny, a spinner and knitter of considerable experience, yet new to our knit-night group, showed Kelly, a founding member the basics of spinning this week while we met. She also showed me, and I learned so much about feeding the fiber into the twist, and that little 5-10 minute practice, well it improved my spindle spinning amazingly.
For comparison - here is my first every plied spindle yarn. Well its yarn, but as I announced at knit night, well i wouldn't buy it. Still it is yarn, and it is mine, and I made it.


and books, yes I've added a few recently, Cat Bordhi's New pathways, Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks, Patterns for Guernsey's, Jersey and Arans, by Gladys Thompson, and of course the Ashford Book of Spinning by Anne Field. My library grows! So I have no idea what I am going to do next, other than knit and read.... finish that study report so I can unpack the Ashford. I think my deadline is end October, so things could get busy. Oh - and I have booked to got to a knitting designing weekend workshop mid November, so I'll tell more about that next time.