The Dyer's Notebook - Episode 69

 Episode 69 - Week of Fail

FO: Second Pair of Ravellenic Socks.

I finished these this morning, and this will be the end of my Ravellenic Games. I really want to get back to all my other projects that have been on hold.

Specs:
Pattern: Hummingbird by Sandi Rosner
Yarn: madelinetosh Sock in "Jade"
Needles: US 1.5
Notes: This was a very well-written pattern and I had no problems with it. The semi-solid yarn worked up beautifully. These will be a new favorite this winter.

FO: First Finished Pair of Ravellenic Socks.

I lost a good 4-5 days during the Ravellenic Games due to other obligations/no interest in knitting. Regardless, I now have one finished pair of socks. We'll see if I can get the second pair done by the end of the Olympics.

Specs:
Pattern: Vanilla Socks by Jasmin Canty
Yarn: Zitron Trekking
Needles: US 1
Notes: While I like this basic sock pattern, next time I'll up the number of stitches at cast-on, because they're a bit tight. I'm also not going to decrease as much at the toe. I already modified the toe here to make it less pointy, but next time I'll make them even less.
 

Second Completed Sock of the Ravellenic Games.

I finished this one last night at my knitting group.

If you are thinking that the sock appears a bit darker than previous pictures, you're right! I took the picture next to our balcony door, and someone had to come sit and cast a big shadow:

Thanks, Augustus.

First Completed Sock of the Ravellenic Games.

Operation Knit All The Socks is going well, I think. The first Hummingbird sock is done, and the first Vanilla sock is getting close to the toe.

Interview on Subway Knits and Ravellenic Games Update!

First thing's first: if you don't follow me on Twitter (or didn't catch my tweet), Gynx Yarns (a.k.a. me) is now a sponsor of the Subway Knits podcast. This is one of my favorite podcasts that I listen to regularly, so I jumped at the chance to sponsor it. Maria of the Subway Knits podcast interviewed me last week, and it is now up on iTunes! Search the iTunes store for the Subway Knits podcast to find the episode. Shownotes for everything we talked about are here. There is also a special offer regarding Gynx Yarns for listeners of the podcast, so be sure to check it out.

As I'm sure you all know, the Olympics started on Friday, and along with it, the Ravellenic Games (formerly known as the Ravelympics). I posted about my goals here, but to recap, I will be knitting as many socks as I can during the Olympic Games. I cast on the first sock promptly at 3 pm CST on Friday, which is when the opening ceremony began in London. I started both pairs of socks before heading over to MadTosh for the opening ceremony watching party, where I knit quite a bit of the first vanilla sock.

This is where the vanilla sock is today, after almost a full 72 hours since the Games began. I'd heard a lot of good things about this yarn (Trekking) before, but I was a bit skeptical because it definitely wasn't the softest sock yarn I've ever felt. After knitting it for a while, I think that's what will make it an excellent sock. The socks are on size US 1s, so they're already a bit dense, and the somewhat rougher yarn will hold up very well, I believe. I'm hoping these will be excellent socks for wearing in the boots I live in all winter, as opposed to some of my more delicate socks I just wear around the house.

I had previously said that my madelinetosh sock yarn was going to be the Veil of Rosebuds socks. Well, I didn't realize that those also needed to be on size US 1s, and I only have one full set of dpns. I instead decided on the Hummingbird pattern from the same book (The Knitter's Book of Socks) and I am loving it. Veil of Rosebuds is next on the list once the vanilla socks are done, except obviously now with different yarn.

How have your Ravellenic Games goals been going?

Ravellenic Games 2012 Plans.

The start of the Olympics is only hours away! I've decided that my goal for this year's Ravellenic Games will be to knit as many socks as I can in the 17 days.

I'm going to be casting on two different pairs today. The first one will be using this Trekking yarn, and they will be some plain vanilla stockinette socks that I can work on while multitasking.

The second pair will be the Veil of Rosebuds pattern from the Knitter's Book of Socks. These will take a bit more concentration.

If I get through those two, I'll find another pair to cast on!