Twisted Flower

Pattern: Twisted Flower from Cookie A
Yarn: Louet Gems Pearl
Yardage: Two skeins, 50 grams each, with just a little bit to spare
Yarn Source: Louet's website
Needles: Size US 1 (2.5 mm) Knit Picks circulars
Estimated Time to Complete Project: 2 1/2 months (ouch)
Modifications: You don't need to modify perfection.

I learned how to cable without a cable needle from a tutorial on Grumperina's site while working on these socks and I am absolutely thrilled to have that in my skill set. I am purposely looking for something to make with cables now.

I'm going to start my husband's socks with the KnitPicks Felici yarn I recently acquired. He picked out the color AND helped me find a stitch pattern, so I think they'll be appreciated.

Here is my totally cute shirt that my Best B got me for the Stitch N Pitch game.See Kelie Knit
Knit Kelie Knit
Knit Knit Knit
Purl

And now I have to go read my Vogue Knitting magazine that just arrived. :)

Laying Cable

Yesterday was a hibernation day for me. Sometimes I just need to be on my own, playing with my things, uninterrupted. It was a wonderful day. While I was online catching up on my blog reading I found this - Grumperina's tutorial on how to cable without a cable needle. I've run across tutorials on how to do this before. And when I had asked the lady at my LYS about it she just said it was a bunch of moving stitches around on needles and wasn't any faster than using a cable needle. Which is what I had found with the tutorials I had seen. They just teach you how to transpose the stitches and then knit them. The reason Grumperina's caught my eye is she mentions that it is the method taught by Annie Modesitt, and I love her. So I took a look and the difference is that you knit the stitches before you transpose them and it is very fast and once you get going INCREDIBLY easy. I probably would've glossed over this hidden treasure if I wasn't on Cookie's wild ride which she calls Twisted Flower. These socks have a bunch of little twists and cross-overs, so you are using a cable needle to move one stitch either to the front or back depending on the direction. It has been so tedious and cumbersome that I have not enjoyed the process very much and have continued on just because I don't want to look like a wuss who can't deal with a little cabling. And I want the socks.


Here they are being modeled by T. Riley. He's a really good sport and will be my future knitting companion if I can start the brain-washing early.

So I'm all the way down to the heel flap and thoroughly enjoying the knitting. I am just as pleased as when I first learned Combination Knitting. My Best B is coming over this weekend and I'm sure I'll get the heel flap done and the heel turned while basking in our happy place of movies, knitting and food.