Grace’s Socks (FO), Juno Regina, Decimal, and Mini Mochi

There’s something I really love about plain stockinette socks. They call to me above any other projects I’m working on. I could have a deadline to knit something by and if I have plain stockinette socks on the needles, they will win out, no matter what. (Okay, that may not be 100% true, but it’s not often I’m on any kind of knitting deadline!) It’s no surprise that these socks took me hardly any time to knit. I liked knitting them, they called to me to knit them, and as luck would have it, I was on a deadline to get them done in time for Grace’s birthday!

Pattern: Grace’s Toe-up Socks (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: May 6, 2009
Completed: May 11, 2009
Yarn: Vesper Self-Striping Sock Yarn in the “Seashells by the Seashore” colorway
Needles: US 1 Knit Picks Nickel Plated DPN’s
Notes: Cast on 8 stitches, increased to 64, worked until it was long enough, did a short row heel, worked until it was time for ribbing, worked ribbing, then did the sewn in bind-off. Easy ;o)

Grace loved them and they FIT! I was excited because I wasn’t sure of her foot measurements, but I knew that her foot was probably about as wide as mine and that she wears a size smaller then me, so I knit the socks as if they were for me except making them about a half inch shorter. She loved them! I was worried she might not like them or they might not fit, so it was a relief that they fit and she thought they were great. The day I gave them to her, I was wearing my Sweet Water socks and Matt got a picture of our feet together. I’ll have to get it from him and share it with you all!

I have some sad news. Juno Regina is no more. Okay, I’m not that sad over it! I was really bored with knitting it and I don’t think that having regular Addi’s (instead of the Addi Lace needles) helped at all. I just didn’t want to do it anymore. So I frogged it and cast on for the Fountain Pen Shawl from the Spring 2009 Interweave Knits.

I had to get a pair of the Lace Addi’s because I simply couldn’t do the nupps with regular Addi’s. Okay, that’s a bit of a lie. I did manage to do them, but it was the biggest headache and when I finally got the first one done, I didn’t even want to THINK about doing the second one. One pair of Lace Addi’s later and I’m through the first chart and part way through the second chart. I think this will keep my interest enough that I won’t get bored and want to quit knitting it like I did with Juno Regina. The yarn is Malabrgio Lace and it’s very nice to work with, so that’s a bonus!

I’ve been working on Decimal off and on. At one point, I was a few rows from what I thought was being done with the sleeve, when I took a closer look at it. It didn’t seem right, so I re-read the pattern for what felt like the millionth time and realized I didn’t follow it correctly. I had only knit ONE row between the decrease rows instead of 7 (or 5 for the last few). Needless to say, I had a lot to rip out. I was NOT happy at all. I was so upset I didn’t even want to see it for a long, long time, but I decided it would get me nowhere to stick it in the UFO pile, so I ripped it out, picked up the stitches and started knitting the pattern the correct way. I’ve got 3 more decrease rows to do, then however many rows until it’s the right length and done. I’m over half way done, so I don’t think it will take that much longer. I’d like to have this sweater done before it’s too hot to even consider wearing it!

Last week I stopped at Yarns & Fabrications to get the Lace Addi’s and I saw that they had Mini Mochi! I knew it was coming soon, but wasn’t sure when, so it was a nice surprise to find they’d got it in already. Of course this meant that I had to take some home with me! Very pretty yarn and quite soft. I think the resulting socks will be warm and perfect for the cold months.

I did start a pair of plain socks (toe-up) with it already and I’m loving them. I got to the heel, did a short row heel, then rejoined to work the leg of the sock and realized that the color change was pretty dramatic. I didn’t like it at all, so I ripped back to before the heel, put in waste yarn and continued knitting on. This will be my first ever afterthought heel! Should be interesting. I’ll share pictures next time :o)

I have a few other things I want to show you, but I’ll save it for next time. This post is already long enough! Happy crafting!