Recently in Arlecchino Cashmere Diamond Category
Pair #1 done!
Pattern: My own, also known as Cashmere Diamond, also known as Arlecchino. See project notes. Google and ye shall find Judy Becker's Magic Cast-on (in Knitty.com), short-row heel, sewn 1x1/tubular bind-off.
Yarn: Peruvian Collection Baby Cashmere (60% Baby Alpaca, 30% Merino Wool, 10% Cashmere; 100m/109yd; 25g/0.88oz) in #1960 Rose Heather; 2.4 balls (Yay, small feets.)
Needles: US1 dpns; bamboo
There are little details I like: the way the sock pattern starts at the toe with the moss stitch diamonds. The way the moss stitch diamonds wrap around the leg after the heel; the way they end the sock before the ribbing. Accidental details, no foreplanning. I could say I planned it, but why bother the pretension. Sometimes it just works out.
They're deliciously soft against my callused feet, which deserve pampering! Given the recent controversy regarding KFI's Debbie Bliss line and Cascade Yarn, I'm mindful of how much actual cashmere my yarn has. I like to think it's really 10% cashmere, it's super soft and super warm! Keeper, these. No no, make your own, you know who you are!
BF and I had just finalized our trip logistics (note: the camera is definitely coming with us) when we read this: Todd Skinner killed on Leaning Tower. Mr. Skinner was one of America's leading climbers; he perished in an accidental fall in Yosemite on Monday afternoon. This sport is unforgiving and brutal, especially in the subcategories of "big wall" (which was what Mr. Skinner was doing) and mountaineering. This incident, sadly, is not isolated, I can't emphasize enough how important safety checks and redundancies are. Climb hard, but climb safely.
P.S.: I have a doozy of a Sock Pair #2. Check back tomorrow.
Is my Italian right?
Trust me: this is a whole sock. The second one, which I'm already halfway done with, is just chugging along. I even cast on for BF's newest socks. Hello, progress!
The yarn is Elann's Peruvian Collection Baby Cashmere, which is a combination of alpaca, merino, and cashmere. Alpaca is supposed to be too drapey and unable to retain any shape, so I hope the combination of merino and cashmere will balance it out. It has such a pretty halo, too. I kept an eye on Sundara's socks, which used the same yarn. And I was quite happy when she posted an update on them. I don't mind halos, and having read that, I can securely go on knitting these.
And while there are several online tutorials for the tubular, 1x1, sewn bind off/cast-off, the one I always go to is this. It hasn't got the greatest pictures, but the directions are clear. I easily get into the purl, knit, knit, purl mode.
Blogworthy:
◊ Go visit Monica: she's having a baby!
◊ From Margene, an article on Dooce.
◊ Design 215's got a chart on the maximum-sized, high-resolution (300 dpi) photo you can get per megapixel. Note it's for high-resolution quality; for home printer quality you really only need 150 dpi.
◊ Do you have certain patterns planned for [sock] yarns? Do you buy yarn and then choose a pattern? I buy sock yarn without thinking of patterns, just for the colors. I'm mad about colors, you see. I have lots of patterns in my head; I sketch a few designs, knit some swatches, make notes.... then I either knit it or forget it. More likely the latter, since climbing tends to get in the way!
◊ Does a certain sock yarn you have in your stash take you back to a certain event? The Lorna's Laces I took with me to Europe to make a batch of socks with. I remember knitting baby socks in Barcelona, Sitges, Las Almunias, all sorts of places. Dang, I want to go back.
Consider the diamond pattern, in knit, purl, and moss stitches, and in a knit-purl outline. Readjust to match my gauge of 29 sts and 40 rows on US1 double points. Readjust again, doubling rows, to prevent the squashiness that 40 rows per inch would force. Click images to enlarge.
Some experimentation in just diamonds.
A couple in argyle.
And finally, the pattern I selected. It is by no means an original design: it's just diamonds, which can be of any width or height. Mine is 7 stitches by 14 rows to accommodate my gauge and foot measurements. If you had graph paper, or Adobe Illustrator, or even Microsoft Office, you could make your own design. The yarn is so, so fine that I decided that cables would be too much. Lace would be as well. So, texture in knit and purl.
And my progress so far.
Just for fun, I'm calling this "pattern" Arlecchino, which is Italian for harlequin. Mine doesn't have the riotous colors of the costume worn by the harlequin, but it's the same lines. I'm already past the heel and should be done with it by the time we get back from points North (you know what I'm doing, don't you). Have a good weekend!
