BacoKnitting & Re-Knitting & Re-Knitting

I have several projects in the works right now. I’m 10 rows away from finishing up the Haruni Shawl. I’m at the point where each row is taking over 30 minutes so I’ve got a little time to put in on it before it’s ready for blocking but I’m getting pretty excited.

I recently finished my first beaded knitting project. My friend Michelle did a little instruction over our lunch break and after three unsuccessful attempts at the Channel Island cast-on (also a new technique for me), I got them done. The cast-on makes an incredibly stretchy cuff that almost looks like picot – very cute.

I pre-strung 126 seed beads onto my yarn per sock and followed Michelle’s pattern. She calls them “Beaded Surprise Socks” because the beads are all in the purled part of the ribbing so they don’t show up until you pull them wide or put them on (Surprise!).

Mine didn’t show up quite as much as I had hoped since I used a variegated yarn, but I’m pretty happy with them nonetheless and I’m hooked on bead knitting now. I went out to Bobby Bead in Uptown and bought some more beads to use on future projects.

The beaded socks were my first time using Pagewood Farms sock yarn and it quickly became a new favorite of mine. It has a very tight twist that reminds me of Blue Moon Socks That Rock but it’s closer to a lace weight. It feels great on your hands while you’re using it. I went out the next week and bought another skein at StevenBe and then got this one through a Ravelry trade which I purchased with the money from my first pattern sales.

Over the weekend I knitted up a clutch (Corded) with some Noro cord that I bought on craigslist. I’m not too sure if I like it yet. It definitely has to be lined and it really could use some structure. It was a little difficult to get even tension with this “yarn” and it doesn’t feel great on your hands. I heard many people had problems with it slipping off their needles but I had no issues since I used wood circular needles and adapted the pattern for Magic Loop after I knitted the base. The pooling is kind of interesting – it’s always fun to see how your yarn goes from this:

To this:

I also started a pair of socks for my dad in KnitPicks Felici (colorway = Ecology) using the “Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings” pattern from Nancy Bush’s book, Knitting Vintage Socks. This is the second pattern I’ve used from this book and I love it so far. I’m having some trouble obtaining the correct number of stitches since the pattern calls for a Size 0 needle with fingering weight yarn and I’m using a Size 1.5 needle with sport weight yarn. It looks like I may have to cast on again but for now I’m continuing to work on it while constantly questioning whether I need to rip it out and start again.

So far 2011 has been a year of ripping out and starting over. The beaded socks took three cast-ons, the corded bag took two, and I’m almost certain these socks will be frogged and redone any day now. Le sigh… And speaking of false starts, yesterday I began work on a drop stitch scarf which took three cast-on attempts. The pattern is really easy and looks pretty cool. I’m using KnitPicks Imagination (colorway = Seven Dwarves) and it’s my first project using my beautiful new Harmony Wood Straight Needle Set.