At The End of My Yarn

The irony in knitting a pattern called Sakura in a down-played beige yarn is not lost on me. I used some stash GGH Elb Sox that is actually a really pretty color in real life. Naturally, the best I could get photo-wise is a shot of them against a grocery store parking lot, but you do the best you can when you need that natural light! A long commute during the week doesn’t do me any favors in that respect.

As expected out of DROPS, this is another well-described lace sock pattern in their succinct technical style. The cuff is a little longer than I expected, but that just makes it less likely to slip off your foot and get caught up in the sheets if you wear them to bed. I goofed a bit and the cuff is a little shorter than is written, but it’s not like anyone would notice. Except for anyone reading this.

Thinking of making another pair in a pink-ish orange yarn to come a little closer to the pattern’s cherry blossom namesake.

Yes, the exclamation point is in the official pattern name. I am not that excited about lacy ankle socks. Although they are quite nice.

Another pair of ankle socks courtesy of the prolific pattern writers at DROPS, these are knit top-down with the lace pattern wider than the front of the sock so that the pattern is about than three-quarters of the total number of stitches in the round which gives them a particularly delicate appearance, without actually being delicate to wear. I went and spoiled the effect with my use of a tweed sock yarn (Knit Picks Stroll Tweed in Dill Heather) which does disguise the pattern a bit.

It took weeks to get a decent photo of these! With daylight savings time I get off work after the sun has gone down, and I’ve found that indoor photos don’t really do the trick. I ended up stepping outside for a minute while wedding dress shopping with my future sister-in-law on the weekend (hold up, guys, have to take my shoes off and take foot pictures next to a busy sidewalk downtown!) but it’ll work.

The downside to shorter socks of course is the left-over sock yarn, but the holiday sale at the gallery is currently running through the end of January, so I’ve been weaving bags and that’s a quick way to use up left-over stash. Come by if you’re in the area!

DROPS pattern titles are such a nice little mix of the clinical and the romantic. I’ve been on a DROPS kick recently and neglecting my massive collection of pattern books, but who could blame me? There are so many patterns on the website and they’re all free. Free under the assumption that you will buy and use their yarn which I haven’t done but I’m not opposed to the idea, just haven’t any in my stash. Luckily, the gauge is clearly listed as well as the yarn weight (in their own particular alphabetical style) so it’s easy to swap out yarns which I’ve done here with some ancient stashed Berroco Weekend in Tomatillo. The patterns themselves are rather sparsely written without any unnecessary elaboration, but if you’re a pattern writer for DROPS and you push out so many patterns you can’t take ages on each one, I suppose.

221-26 Blue Pine Shore is a lacey cabled tank top with what was supposed to be a folded over ribbed neckline (called a double neck in the pattern) but I just knit an inch or so of the ribbing instead. The pattern is easy to follow and the pattern repeat is easily memorized which makes it a good fit for ‘waiting on an oil change’ knitting. Took the photographs at the VMFA last weekend in both a fancy, deserted bathroom on the lower level and tried a trick shot in an antique mirror in one of the galleries. Exasperated docent behind me not included.

I had a plan in my head, and that was to make the loudest pair of socks I could. Busy yarn with a complicated pattern. I think I succeeded! It’s Absinthe in Felici in the colorway Dragonboat. About a decade ago I attempted this pattern in a clingy single-ply Zauberball that I never finished (don’t even remember what I did with the frogged yarn, which must mean it was a bit traumatizing) but experience won out with this pair. Absinthe isn’t a super complex pattern, but if you tend to knit your socks on double-pointed needles like I do, you’ll need to switch to a circular for the gusset increase because the stitch count increases by quite a lot and I don’t think I would have realized the need for a different approach back in the day.

The stripes almost match up, which took a bit of adjusting for the second sock. The stretchy bind-off on the second sock bit into the yellow stripe which is just the cost of doing business I suppose. Fond of how these turned out. The pattern is one that stuck in my brain over the years, and I’m glad I was able to knit a pair that did it justice.

There’s something about a shared temporary space at the office (the usual space is being renovated) that makes you acutely aware of temperatures. My coworker runs hotter than I do, so she has a fan pointed in her direction which also blows on me. There’s also a fan behind me to help dissipate the old marijuana smell (temporary office is right next to the old evidence storage room and that stuff seeps into the walls) so between the two sources my hair is constantly in motion. I’m also cold. Come this cardigan into my life. It’s the Maureen by my favorite designer White Lies Design. My third pattern so far from her, and probably my favorite. I knit it out of Hayfield Bonus DK which is 100% acrylic but soft with a great drape. And also inexpensive.

I dig inexpensive in a yarn, but not at the expense of quality which is why I enjoyed this yarn. It’s hard to tell from the pictures but it’s slightly heathered as well. The pattern itself is the most straightforward of White Lies’ I’ve knit thus far. There is little guesswork in this pattern (at least, less than there was for Ruby) but you do need to rely on the photographs for the beginning of each section. You may also need a few extra buttons. The pattern calls for six and shows six on the designer’s sample, but the instructions have you knit seven buttonholes. I screwed up the math for spacing the buttonholes so I ended up with eight. Not a big deal, more buttons means less stress on each one. That’s a good thing for a cardigan like this one, which I will live in for the next couple of months. It’s light and warm!

I never managed to memorize the main lace pattern that runs up the back, fronts, and sleeves, but it is called ‘twig and berries’ which makes the twelve-year-old boy I am giggle every time I read it.