Sunday, March 23, 2008

Alpaca socks



I've just finished my first pair of socks made from 100% alpaca fingering weight yarn. Since the yarn had no reinforcing fiber, I knit it with a strand of fuzzy nylon serging thread. I thought this might be difficult, but it was surprisingly easy. I kept the yarn and thread in a ziplock bag together, and they fed out together very nicely. I was fortunate to find nylon in the same color as the yarn, and it is essentially invisible in the final knitted product. I got this yarn from my friend Brad Neuman, owner of Big Meadow Creek Alpacas (www.bigmeadowcreekalpacas.com), who wanted to see how it would work for socks. I am happy to report that it was easy to knit, is wonderfully soft, and washed well. I washed the socks on the gentle cycle of my washing machine in cold water, and laid them flat to dry. They came out just fine.
This is a 64 stitch sock done on #1 bamboo DP needles. The pattern is a lace rib, a very easy 4 row repeat. I continued the pattern down the front of the foot.

Rows 1-3: K2 P2 ribbing
Row 4: K2,YO, Slip 2, P2 together through the back of the two slipped stitches. Repeat these 4 stitches to end of row

If you are interested in knitting very soft, slightly fuzzy, very warm socks, I recommend you contact Brad through his website listed above, and see what he has available. You won't be sorry.

Yarn Feeding Frenzy!













A friend asked if I could bring the yarn that I had hand painted to work one day. Suddenly my little office was filled with women with yarn lust in their eyes! They bought 8 skeins - what fun. They all promised to send me photos of their finished projects.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Socks and cats


This weekend we had a visit from my son Ian and his girlfriend Veronica. After a week at Christmas breathing the sock knitting infused air here, and helping me dye yarn, Veronica decided to take up sock knitting. She is doing very well, and is nearly ready to make her first heel. This is a photo of her two cats, Tully and Toby, and her first sock in progress.