September Goals

Another month goes by and with it my finished Heather sweater, two pairs of socks, and very good progress on a top secret winter solstice sweater. August was a nice month as it was the return of winter knitting which I just love. There is nothing like using some lovely wool to create a garment that will keep you or a loved one warm even in the middle of a Chicago winter. Only a couple months until sweater season arrives!

For September I have the following knitting goals:
1) Silk Shrug in Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk
2) Elizabeth I scarf -Town & Country pattern
3) Besotted Scarf
4) Widdershins socks in Hill Country Yarns Honey Butter
5) Finish Trinket (now that it's finally cooler I can actually think about touching mohair again)

Two of the weekends in September we will have visitors so I hope I'm not casting on for more than I can knit. As you saw the other day, I've already swatched for the Silk Shrug. The yarn is simply decadent. I was lucky enough to find a great deal on the color I wanted on Ebay. This yarn may be the nicest, loveliest yarn I've ever knit up. There are not enough superlatives to express how fantastic this stuff is - the shine, the smooth texture, the rich color. Mmmmm...

Unfortunately my swatch on US 3 (3.0 mm) needles is very close to gauge, but not exactly the gauge I want so I have to wait a few days for a pair of US 2 circulars to arrive from KnitPicks. Oh well, just gives me a chance to start on my Widdershins socks (seen to the right - that's lovely Hill Country Yarn Sweet Feet Self-Striping in Honey Butter). I think it's time to give toe-up sock knitting another shot, especially since I almost had another shortage tragedy on my Isosceles Socks:

Isosceles Cherries Jubilee Socks

Pattern: Wildhorse Farm Designs Isosceles pattern
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Candy in Cherries Jubilee
Needles: Size US 0/2.0mm (8 stitches per inch)
Start Date: August 13, 2006
End Date: September 1, 2006
Comments: First off, the second sock had to be modified with a slightly shorter rib cuff and toe as I ran out of the first ball of yarn at the toe decreases of sock #1. I decided then to simply shorten the ribbing on the second sock and hoped that would be enough. Well, this time it just barely worked out, but as I'm worried about the frequency with which I appear to be running out of yarn before my socks are finished, I am very excited about knitting the Widdershins toe-up pattern.

Anyway, as for these socks, I love this yarn. This yarn is the first cotton I've used for socks and I loved every minute. It was not hard on the hands and has a lovely little cushiness to it. Another great product from Blue Moon Fiber Arts! (Just be careful about yardage...these socks have a six inch leg and 10 1/4 inch foot and I nearly ran out. Any future Sock Candy socks will have 4 inch legs just to be safe). As for the pattern, fun, fun, fun. I'm sure I will use it many times as it works really well to bring out the variegation in the handpainted yarn. I look forward to seeing how it looks with more contrasting colors.