A Surprise and a Secret Revealed

It's really tough for me to keep secrets, especially when I have to keep them for a long time. In the case of what I have to share with you today, it's a secret I've been keeping for almost a year, so it's a relief to finally be able to spill the beans. I'm very happy to share with you that I have a pattern in the 2014 edition of Knitscene Accessories. These are the Corbusier Socks.

Photo (c) Knitscene/Harper Point

One of the themes on the call for submissions for this issue was Art Deco. These socks are named for Le Corbusier, the architect credited with coining the term for the style, and were inspired by architectural elements of the era. The stitch pattern combines relatively simple lace with a 1x1 rib, with a resulting fabric that's very stretchy.

The yarn used in the sample is Holiday Yarns FlockSock, a sock yarn that was new to me and that I really enjoyed. It's a superwash merino/nylon blend with multiple plies, so it should be fairly durable in a sock. While I was waiting for the yarn support to arrive, I started another pair (in order to have a pair for myself and to do a dry run of the pattern) in the skein of Verdant Gryphon Eidos that I bought at MDSW last year or the year before. I'm not usually a yellow/orange person, but I love this golden hue.

I'm extremely honored to have a pattern in this issue, which is chock full of gorgeous designs. I highly encourage you to take a look at the full preview on Ravelry or on the Knitscene blog. There are quite a few patterns from this issue that I want to knit! Last I heard, the magazine was at the printer, so keep an eye out for it on the newsstand or at your local yarn shop very soon!

A Large Big Thaw

This post has been a long time coming, but I finally got The Mister, his sweater, and some sunlight together at the same time.

Pattern: Big Thaw Pullover by Amanda Berka (fall 2008 Knitscene)
Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool, color 8061, just a little more than two skeins
Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm) Knit Picks Options
Started/Completed: January 21/February 6

If there's one positive thing I can say about this sweater, it's that it was a very interesting and fast knit. The sweater is knit from the top down, starting with the saddle shoulder. Stitches are then picked up along the back, with some short rows thrown in for upper-back shaping, and along the front, and then the front and back are joined under the arms and knit down for the rest of the body. The sleeves are worked with short rows to shape the sleeve caps and then worked down to the cuff. Finally, stitches are picked up around the neckline for a garter stitch collar. The large gauge combined with the seamless construction makes for a very quick knit, even for a man sweater.

Unfortunately, the resulting garment -- perhaps especially knit in this color -- somewhat resembles a potato sack. Some aggressive blocking helped to smooth things out, but as you can see from the photo below, the upper arms are especially roomy. If I were better with the math and logic required to adapt sleeve shaping, I would have made them more narrow.

In spite of this extra and somewhat unflattering ease, The Mister assures me that this is a very warm, comfy sweater. I don't think he'll be wearing it outside the house anytime soon, or at all, but it makes for a good lounging sweater for around the house.

Another plus for this sweater is that it was very economical, which is something that's especially appreciated for a project that was less than a success. I used two full skeins of the Eco Wool along with only about 25 yards of a third skein for the collar -- which is probably about the same yardage I used on my swatch. So that means I got an entire man's sweater for about $30, not to mention many hours of knitting enjoyment.