A few days ago, I have finally finished binding off and weaving in the ends of my new socks.

After knitting a pair of Skew socks one sock after the other (which brought a problem in size, since one was done with very different tension than the other) and modifying the pattern so it would fit my higher instep, I had decided to do another pair, and that time simultaneously. Only... with some more tweaking of the pattern since the original heel is not roomy enough for my foot.


So after some knitting, some re-thinking, some maths, some more maths and lo and behold! not a single rip-back, my new socks are now finished. The heel has become roomy and maybe a tad too baggy even (there's a little bit standing out where the heel graft starts), but they fit perfectly otherwise and are oh so comfy.


I think there might be more socks like that in my future - or at least socks with skewed toes, or with otherwise anatomically more correctly shaped toes than standard socks, since I find the fit thoroughly delightful!

 I'm still working hard on all the different bits and pieces for Hartenstein, including getting enough things prepared that I can take sewing work with me when I'm out of office from Wednesday on to the end of October. Which means that I am doing extra-long hours currently - which for me always means that I need something to relax with, and that is usually books, films and, since last year, knitting.

So here's what is currently happening (at least some of it):

Sleeves are getting sewn in and fitted to the Lady's blue dress...


... the man's mi-parti hood in yellow and blue is getting dagges cut and edge-finished with beeswax...


... and to relax, I'm knitting leg warmers in Kauni rainbow-coloured wool.


As usual, I'm knitting two at the same time, which saves all the hassle of counting and writing down the counts, and I'm just past the knee. The leg warmers are fully fitted, because I have rather pronounced leg muscles, and that makes for a lot of shape and circumference, and I even have to increase rather generously for longer socks, let alone leg warmers.


I like the colour scheme and the long, slow changes of colour very much, and I think it's also nice that the two pieces start at a different place in the colour sequence. (Also makes two-at-once knitting dead easy, what with the different colours and so.)
That said, I'm most probably not going to buy that wool ever again: The colour repeats have a different length, so I'm ending up with green knees on both legwarmers. I can live with that, though - what really irks me is the quality of the yarn itself. The yarn is very irregularly spun and quite badly plied at times, changing from the thickness I would have expected to very, very thin plies - more like sewing-thread thickness at the thinnest bits. Were it my own hand-spun wool, I'd be quite ashamed of it, and it makes me rather fearful how long the material will hold up to being used as an item of clothing. And actually, I'm wondering why I never heard about that quality deficiency before - I heard that Kauni can have lots of knots, but so irregularly spun yarn?

Well, at least I have been knowing for a while that these months will be busy.

I'm wrapping up the analysis for the spinning experiment (hah! Finally!) with a little graph interpretation help from the Most Patient Man and preparing the last little bits for the Textile Forum (which starts next week, whee!). Meanwhile, I have also gotten the green light for some sewing for a very interesting project concerning medieval messengers . The project is still in its testing phase, but already sounds immensely exciting.

Apart from this bit of work during the weekend, the rest was fairly relaxed, including two nice breakfasts/brunches with friends and a lot of relaxing and knitting. And I finally finished my current-socks-in-progress:


Skew socks, from Knitty (issue Winter 2009), knit in a teal Regia Sock yarn. Though these are quite thoroughly modified; I have a high instep, and the original pattern did not fit that at all, which led to a major re-write of the pattern to fit my feet. The left sock feels a bit tighter at the moment (which might be due to much less trying-on during the knitting process), but they both fit, and the fit in the toe region is absolutely delightful. As you can see from the picture, I have a wide front foot, and normal socks just don't cut the mustard like these do - so I am actually thinking about adapting just the anatomically correct toe for use with standard knit socks.


Well. Though before I do such an adaptation, I'm planning to cast on for a second pair. And this time around, I won't knit the socks one after the other... but simultaneously. And I'm especially looking forward to simultaneous Judy's Magic cast-on for the two sock toes, which I finally figured out in the middle of Friday night. (The secret? Swiveling the needles.)

And no, I don't usually spend my middles of nights knitting. I spend them sleeping - Friday was an exception.

We spent a most wonderful and deliciously lazy long weekend, and I am a little sorry that it is over already - since the weather is still fine and warm and sunny, just like during the last three days. And it is amazing how much like a holiday it can feel if you are hanging around having breakfast and coffee with friends, sitting out in comfy garden chairs and seeing green all around you.

And for the first time in what seems like ages, I have found the leisure to take up the knitting needles again, starting to work on the "Skew socks" with a delightfully teal-coloured variegated wool.  Unfortunately that sock is not designed to work on feet with a very high instep like I have - so after working the heel on the sock, I found I had to rip back to the beginning of the instep, and I will now try stretching the gussets with extra plain rows and starting them much earlier.

But data doesn't mine itself - and that means back to the computer, and nose back to the grindstone. And today, in addition to data mining, an update to the Textile Forum website is due - so hop over there later today or tomorrow to find the preliminary programme!

Here are the promised pictures of the Fibonacci knit - first the after-blocking shot:

Now the double-Fibonacci spiral is clear to see. Blocking this form was easier than I had expected - I just blocked each section between the decrease lines, beginning from the middle and working towards the thinner ends. The resulting form means that the wide back piece will drape nicely across the shoulders, and when then hang freely, the ends fall in a pleasing corkscrew spiral:


And then there's a multitude of other ways to wear it - wrapped loosely or tightly around neck and shoulders, draped across back and chest, symmetrical and asymmetrical. And the best thing? It keeps back of neck and shoulders nice and toasty warm, and if you wrap it loosely around and tuck in one of the spiral ends, it will stay on and on and on.




  
I am absolutely delighted with how this turned out! It is comfortable, nice to wear, lightweight yet warm, and not as large as a full-size shawl. I put it on yesterday once it finished blocking and I haven't wanted to take it off since then - I guess this will see a lot of use!

With knitting being so much more communicative and so much better suited to sitting at a table than sewing a tent, I got a lot more knitting done on the weekend than tent-making - even though we took the tent with us, there was somehow no getting around to sit and work on it.

On the plus side, that means I finished the secret weird knitting thing and made a good start on the next project. Both are scarf-like objects, but with a twist - or should I say spiral?

I won't show you the one in progress (yet), but here's the finished piece, happily blocking along.


I'm sorry for the hard-to-discern lower bit, but I ran out of blocking mat and had to continue on the carpet.
The thing is part scarf, part stole, and part cowl, inspired by the Fibonacci spiral. It will not slip off if you simply drape it around the back of neck and shoulders, leaving the front ends to hang; it will tuck up warmly and securely around your neck and shoulders for some extra warmth, and it will always look like something else than a humble, normal scarf. More like a fancy, shaped stole. If you hang around with maths freaks or other geeks, you might even find it a wonderful conversation starter - or a great present for the colder half of the year!

While it looks somewhat lace-like, only the very short, simple and easy-to-remember bamboo stitch pattern is used, and the lacy look comes out in the blocking. There is a fair bit of counting required, but it's easy counting, no squinting and swearing needed. It is worked from the outside edge inward, so lots of stitches to cast on, but less and less to work with every row. The decreases are a bit special and absolutely fascinating - have you ever heard of the bunny-ear decrease before? This piece is worked with bunny-ear decrease and bamboo stitch, a match made in knitting heaven, making it nigh impossible to tell where the decreases take place.

The pattern works nicely with variegated yarn, showing off the colour changes, but will also look stunning in a solid colour (especially if blocked vigorously to enhance the lacy look). I will post some on-person photos tomorrow, and then get the pattern written up and test-knit as soon as possible.

In case the answer is yes... here are some.

The tent (sans the side walls still) went up again yesterday, for another test standing in the garden. While I am able to pitch it single-handedly, it is certainly much, much easier with somebody to help. I danced with the tent on my own once in the afternoon, and we put it up again together in the evening to measure for the side walls again (measure thrice, cut once, or something like that) and check which constructive details needed some more work or a twist. There are quite a few of them (that's the bad news), but the good news is that the tent seems to be moderately stable already in its not-quite-finished state, without the side walls in (which will add stability) and without any pegs and lines (which I hope not to really need, but we will add them just to be sure for good weather and to keep things from flying away in bad weather).


That's how it currently looks. The front still sags (something which I hope to remedy today), and the rolled-up front flap needs some fixtures to serve, half-rolled up, as a projective roof.

And another, very important piece of good news: I seem to have found the right dilution for my waterproofing venture of the cloth - I will be going with water-based sanitary silicone rubber, since I finally found out how to get a testing scrap absolutely waterproof after one application.

And something totally not related to the tent-making saga: We had a friend visiting us yesterday evening, and I made good double use of our chat during the evening by knitting along. Which means that I got a good bit further on the thing on the needles - and here's another teaser pic of it.


I love this structure!