Auseklis Socks

I've been eyeing out this sock pattern for ages and I finally decided to take the plunge to purchase it. And, to top it off, I decided that it would be the first pair of colourwork socks that I would make for Hubs. If there's enough yarn leftover, I also plan to make a pair for myself.😁🤞🍀 So, with my Knot House Yarns Sock in Romeo and Kim Dyes Yarn Sourdough Sock in The Heart Remains a Child and my Chiaogoo 2.0mm (US0) needles, here's how my adventure went:

1. I started with a Provisional cast on with a total of 36 sts. I found that my Knot House Yarn was really, really stretchy so, my "normal" cast on for his socks just wasn't working. 😳🤷‍♀️😱🤦‍♀️
2. K 1 straight row on each side, then connected in the round
3. K 7 rows in the round as part of the foot portion
4. Started the toes: with 18 sts on each side, splitting it up for 8 sts for big toe, 10 

    sts for remaining toes

5. Big toe:

• Row 1:
• Front: k to the 2nd to the last st, pick up 1 st below, for a total of 9 sts
• Back: k, pick up a st below, k to the end for a total of 9 sts
• Row 2: 
• Front: k, pick up a st, k to the end, for a total of 10 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, pick up a st below, k for a total of 10 sts
• Row 3-10 (8 rows): k
• Row 11:
• Front: k to last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 9 sts
• Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 9 sts
• Row 12:
• Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 8 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 8 sts
• Row 13:
• Front: k to last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 7 sts
• Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 7 sts
• Row 14: k
• Row 15:
• Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 6 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 6 sts
• Row 16: k
• Row 17:
• Front: k to last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 5 sts
• Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 5 sts
• Row 18:
• Front: SSK, k for a total of 4 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 4 sts
• Row 19: same as row 15 continuing to decrease 2 sts, total of 3 sts on each side
• Bound off using the Kitchener stitch

    The big toe came out to 5.5 cm (2 in)

6. The rest of the toes:

• Row 1: k, picking up 4 sts on each side, for a total of 14 sts
• Row 2: k
• Row 3:
• Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 13 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 13 sts
• Row 4: k
• Row 5:
• Front: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 11 sts
• Back: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 11 sts
• Row 6: 
• Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 10 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 10 sts
• Row 7:
• Front: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 9 sts
• Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 9 sts
• Row 8: k
• Row 9: 
• Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 8 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 8 sts
• Row 10: k 
• Row 11: 
• Front: SSK, k to the end, for a total of 7 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 7 sts
• Row 12: k 
• Row 13: 
• Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 6 sts
• Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 6 sts
• Row 14: k
• Row 15-18: same as Row 13-14 for 5 & 4 sts
• Bound off using the Kitchener stitch

    The rest of the toe came out to 4.8 cm (1⅝ in)

7. Then I went back to the bottom of the provisional cast on and picked up the 

    stitches to start the foot with my Chiaogoo 3.25mm (US3) needles

• Row 16: *k, M1R, k3, M1, k3, M1, k4, M1, k3, M1, k3, M1L, k* in the round (added a total of 12 sts). There should be 24 sts on each side (total 48 sts)
• Row 17-40 (24 rows): Follow the Colourwork Chart (starting with 2nd stitch), maintaining 24 sts on each side, repeating the chart for a total of two (2) times, until it's 11 cm shorter than desired length of foot
• Including the initial 7 rows, this came out for a total of 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in)

 

Top side

Bottom side

Note: I'm no longer using my Kim Dyes Yarn Sourdough Sock as it was just too muddy looking with the Knot House Yarns Sock. I had switched it out with my arimisu Trek in Actiniite yarn and it looks so much better.

8. With the foot done, I started on the gusset and heel portion:

• Gusset Row 41-64 (24 rows): pick up a sts below on each side of the middle strip, adding 2 sts on each side twelve (12) times for a total of 48 & 24 sts on each sid, 72 total stitches; be sure to continue maintaining the chart, repeating it twice (2) more & ending with completing the gusset to the BOR center marker
• This came out to 8 cm (3 1/8 in)
• Row 65-72 (8 rows): complete the short rows, adding another 8 sts (56 & 24 sts per side, 80 total stitches)
• K to the last st before the gusset market, twrl1, k1, turn
• P to the last st before the gusset market, twrlp1, p1, turn
• *K to four (4) st before last turn, twrl1, k1, turn
• P to four (4) st before last turn, twrlp1, p1, turn*
• Repeat * twice (2) more
• Row 73-82 (10 rows): complete the heel portion, decreasing a total of 20 sts (36 & 24 sts per side, 60 total stitches); I opted to use the Eye of Partridge pattern instead of using the pattern's heel flap
• With the gusset and heel flap, the total foot came out to 20 cm (7 7/8 in)
• This came out perfect! :) *yay* :)

9. With the heel done, I finished off the leg:

• Row 83-117 (36 rows): Following instructions for the leg, continue to follow the chart, starting with the 1st stitch on chart, ending with the 5th stitch on chart, doing the 2 MC sts, then finishing with the 8th stitch through the end of the chart, repeating chart three (3) times, maintaining a total of 60 sts
• Total length of the leg was 12 cm (4 3/4 in)

10. With the leg done, it was time to cuff; Hubby said he wanted shorter ribbing this time (*yay* homestretch!); so with my Chiaogoo 2.00mm (US0) needles:

• Row 118:  decrease 2 sts on each side for a total of 28 sts per side (total 58 sts) and begin a 2x2 ribbing, starting with a k , p, *k2, p2*, until the last 2 sts, p, k.
• Row 119-126 (9 rows): complete cuff using 2x2 ribbing (29 sts on each side) for a total of 2.5 cm (1 in) of ribbing
• Bound off using Jenny's Stretchy Bind Off. :) 

The total length of the leg and cuff was 13 cm (5 1/8 in).

Yay! Another finished pair! 🎉 

 

Thoughts on this sock:

• Boy, it was a major brain buster!😳😱🤯😔🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️🙇 Since my gauge was totally off from my "normal" sock pattern, it was even harder to make it work with the pattern. It took a few trial and errors to simply get the toe portion correct much less the foot portion!😳😱🤯😔🤦‍♀️ But, I must say, despite it all (and the amount of frogging I had to do & the math I had to do), it was definitely a "learning" project.
• Thankfully, when I started this sock, the maker was also having a Sockalong (which I joined). It has been super helpful and fun seeing, reading, and sharing advice on socks. It also helped me know that I was not following the chart pattern correctly so I could self-correct before getting too far ahead on my sock!😳😱😳😁👍

(following the Chart incorrectly)

(following the Chart correctly - see that there's a "line" now) 

• The "other" learning item was my colourwork colours itself. After doing two (2) chart repeats, I realized that it was really hard to see the pattern and it looked "muddy". While the yarn itself looked "nice" next to each other, it definitely "melted" in with each other - it was too close in colouration. 

In the end, I decided to rip it out and use another yarn: arimisu Trek in Actiniite.

• The other thing I kept having trouble with was remembering which yarn should be on "top" and which should be on the "bottom" which determines which yarn should be the background colour and which should be the actual colourwork colour. When I started my right sock with my new yarn, I got it mixed up and ended ripping back out (again) to get it "right".

Here;s the colourwork done "backwards"

Here's the colourwork done "correctly" 

• Never have I ever thought I'd ever need a lifeline in a sock! 😳😱🤯😭🤦‍♀️ But, boy, oh boy!! did I ever need a lifeline for this sock with all the ripping back I did just for the foot portion alone!! 😳😱🤯😭🤦‍♀️ And after learning how much a lifeline was really such a lifeline, I also used it for the gusset and heel as that was also another trial and error portion of this sock!
• Learning how to actually do the heel flap, in and of itself!, was also quite a big learning curve for me in addition to learning how to actually do the Eye of Partridge heel flap itself!😳😱🤯🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️ What I'm very glad about this pattern is that the heel flap incorporates the decreases as you create the "flap", very much like a regular Fleegle heel so that was nice that I didn't need to pick up stitches or had any "holes" along the heel. (for the most part).
• Overall, I liked this sock pattern. It was definitely a "learning" sock and depending how it wears, I am open to make more socks like this. 👍🙌🎉🥰

I Love Yarn Day 2026

I Love Yarn Day came and went for me this year. And, I didn't knit on I Love Yarn Day because I was a bit out of it from both my flu and COVID up-date shots. It also didn't help that I was also a bit sad over my current project (a pair of socks): I've been doing the foot portion over and OVER and OVER again for nearly two (2!!) weeks as I've been (it feels like almost consistently) running into issues with the sock and its corresponding problems.😳😱🤯😭😔😡😤😠🤦‍♀️ First, I couldn't get my gauge to match the pattern (the pattern was way bigger than what my sock needed to be); then I had to figure out what I should be knitting based on the pattern so I could follow the chart properly; then (thank goodness I was part of a sock-a-long!), I realized that I actually didn't follow the chart correctly (hence ripping it out); once that was sorted, then I realized that the yarn I was using for the colourwork was too muddy! Instead of immediately ripping it out, I decided to do the other foot (thank goodness I had the sense of mind to only do 1 foot at a time for this project!). B-u-t, as I started the other foot's colourwork, I got the "background" colour and the "top" colour mixed up!😳😱🤯🤯😭😔😡😤😠🤦‍♀️So, I had to rip that out. At this point, it was beginning to feel like every time I thought I was moving forward on this sock, I kept having to rip the damn thing out! 😳😱🤯😭😔😡😤😠🤦‍♀️ Eventually (though), I finally got it right. 

 

It wasn't actually as horrible as it sounds (especially seeing it written down now!); this sock was supposed to be a learning project for me (and boy, oh boy! am I learning! 😳😱🤯🤯🤯🤭🤭) and I'm also very glad to be part of a sock-a-long which helped me to catch my error before I got too far along. I also figured out how to use a lifeline on my socks (something I never thought I'd ever need for a pair of socks!). So, as you can see, I've been learning (and learning) on this sock.

 

So, while I didn't knit on I Love Yarn Day (much less "love" any yarn), I have been having quite an adventure this month!😁😉🤭 🥰💗

ブルーベリーチーズケーキ (Blueberry Cheesecake)

One of my "gifts" to myself this year was this pattern as I wanted more "summer" tops. At first, I was going to use my Blue Moon Yarn Silky Socks in Denim for this other pattern but as I was winding the yarn, I thought it might be perfect for this pattern. Here's how my adventure went:

 

First, it took me forever to wind the yarn. For some reason or another, I just couldn't get my swift to have the proper tension with my ball winder for it to wind properly.

 

After that ordeal was over, I reviewed the pattern instructions and rewrote it in my knitting book to make it easier for me to follow along.  While writing out the "back" side, I started to worry if I actually had enough yarn.🤨😳😱😯 Instead of fretting over it, I decided that I would just "go for it" and see how far along I could make the sweater. I figured if I really ran out of yarn, as long as I had enough for the body, I could always use another "close enough" yarn for the neckline, hem and shoulders.🤔🤞🍀🧶👕🐥 So, I casted on for a M size and here's how the following turned out:

 

Back side: Followed the instructions and so far so good!👍🥳🎉🥰 Finished through nearly all of the armhole shaping (just missing the last three (3) rows but think I need to do (at least) 5 more repeats for a comfortable fit) on 08/15/26. I finished the last three (3) rows on 08/16/26 as well as reviewed and rewrote the rest of the Left & Right Fronts and joining the front together to get a better idea of how much I would need to modify if I  made the armhole depth longer. Thankfully, what I think I need to add on is either less or just about how much I would need for the underarm cast on anyways so, I think I'll be "safe" to do the adjustment.👍🤞🍀 So, I did five (5) more repeats on 08/16/26 before calling it a day. On 08/17/26, after having Hubs check how the back is going on my actual back, I did three (3) more repeats for a total of 100 sts then started working in the Left Front side.

 

Left and Right Front sides: On 08/17/26, with an 8" & 14" cables (knit with the 14" cable, put stitches on hold with the 8" cable), I completed both the Left & Right Front sides then joined the front side. Doing both sides was very similar to parts of the back.

 

Joining the Front: On 08/17/26, combining both my 8" & 14" cables, followed instructions on how to join the front in addition to the additional armhole increases I did for the back. Because I added eight (8) more armhole repeats, I'll only needed to cast on 4 sts for each side to connect the front to the back. Here's what it looks like so far:

Body: On 08/18/26, joined the front to the back by casting on 3 sts on each side and completed 7 rows for the body before calling it for the day. On 08/19/26, I did 12.5 more rows. On 08/20/26, I did 12.5 more rows & now, I have 10cm worth of "body"; I need 30 cm worth (at least) so, it looks like I'll be working on this for quite sometime!😳😱🤦‍♀️🤣. I did another 8 rows before quiting for the day. On 08/21/26, I did 34 more rows; yay! 22 cm done!🥳🎉🙌 On 08/22/26, I did another 28 rows to finish the body at 32.5cm.

Neckline & Hem:

I decided to do the neckline first before finishing the hem. On 08/26/26, I picked up the neckline (also using my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles and 22" cables) and finished it before moving back to the hem; I ended doing 5 rows before using Lola's Modified JSSBO to bind off. As I've been loving split hems, I used the hem instructions as a guideline on how long to make my hem; using my Chiogoos 3.5mm (US4) needles and 22" cable for this portion, I did five (5) rows and used Lola's Modified JSSBO to bind off as well. I also finished the hem on 08/26/26.

The hem kept flipping up and I didn't think it'd block out so, I ended up ripping out the back half of the hem on 08/29/26 and the front half on 08/30/26. I redid the hem by adding two (2) rows of Slip- Stitch Selvage (using my  Chiaogoo 4.0mm needles) then redoing the hem (using my Chiaogoo 3.5mm needles) and bind off (again); I also finished this on 08/30/26. Here's the finished bottom (again):

Sleeves: 

On 08/29/26, using my Chiaogoo 4.0mm (US6) needles and 22" cables, picked up the right sleeve and followed the instructions to "test" out one side before commiting to both sleeves. While the cap seemed fine, the overall sleeve was a little tight so I added four (4) stitches back in the underarm area (total number of stitches after the short rows: 70 sts) to give me a bit more room. On 08/30/26, I started the left side to catch up. On 08/31/26, based on how much yarn I had left, I ended up with 30 rows for each sleeve before I decided that more yarn was needed.😳😱😞

On 09/08/26, after much deliberation and agonizing,  I decided that I would use my Malabrigo sock 806 Impressionist Sky yarn to finish off the sleeve. I did three (3) more rows using my original yarn then used the fade method from my Mottainai sweater for the Malabrigo yarn for nearly six (6) rows; then did another six (6) rows with just the Malabrigo yarn before finishing for the day. On 09/09/26, did another 24 rows of the sleeves; then started decreasing 2 sts every 5 rows for another 15 rows. On 09/12/26, finished decreasing for another 5 rows then did decreases on Row 1, 4, 6, & 9 (alternating the decrease from the center seam and the "top" of the arm) for the next 10 rows; then switched to my Chiaogoo 3.5mm needles and did decreased 4 stitches in row 1 (2 at the center seam and 2 at the "top" of the arm), four rows for a split hem, and 2 slip stitch rows before using Lola's Modified JSSBO to bind off.

And, here's the completed sweater:

 

Front

Back

Inside Back 

 

Side 

Cuffs 

Overall thoughts: 

Overall, this top was quite easy to make and relatively quick too (it took me 12 days to finish this sweater). The instructions were very clear and the pictures provided were helpful (although I wish the initial back pictures were actually on someone's back to give you a better perspective).  Also, measuring the back to one's self is nearly impossible so, it's really a two (2) person job unless you've made the pattern before and know your gauge is spot on. Other than that, I would totally recommend on making this pattern as it's a good basic "top" pattern and can at least be a three (3) season sweater depending on the type of yarn used.

My Little Gansey (マイ・リトル・ガンジー)

Remember when I made Hubs a gansey sweater? Well, I also wanted one for myself but in a lighter weight yarn. So, I picked up seven (7) balls of Drops Fabel yarn in colour 300 (a heathery chocolate) and proceeded to follow the pattern instructions for a M sized sweater (hopefully, it won't be too loose on me!😳😯🙇‍♀️). Using my Chiaogoo 4.0mm (US6) needles and a 37" cable: 

 

On 07/21/26, I finished the back yoke.

 

On 07/22/26, I finished the first repeat of the back armhole chart.

On 07/26/26, I modified the repeat where I only did Rows 11-14 twice while doing the increase in the 1st 11th & 13th row to meet the stitch count. I also finished the right & left shoulders and joined the front (using a 14" & 22" cable). Finished the initial 6 rows for the front (using a 22" cable).

On 07/27/26, I finished the front chart as well as repeated Row 11-14 of chart twice while doing the increase in the 1st 11th & 13th row to meet the stitch count. I also joined the front to the back (using the 37" cable I used for the back).

On 07/29/26, I completed 1.5 patterns within the chart pattern (FYI: there are 4 patterns within the body chart pattern). Up to this point, I used 2 balls of yarn and am on my 3rd ball of yarn. On 07/30/26, I finished the rest of pattern 2 and 1/4 of pattern 3. On 07/31/26, I finished pattern 3 and started pattern 4 before I realized that I was oddly off by 1 st so, it was time for me to "rest my eyes", especially since I had counted and double checked my stitches four! (4) times!😱😞😭🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️ I had also finished using my 3rd ball of yarn right as I had 26 sts left to finish on the 1st row of the 4th pattern (using 4th ball now!). On 08/01/26, with rested eyes, I finished the half of the body; I was just so exhausted that day, I couldn't finish the rest of the body, including the ribbing like I intended to. On 08/03/26, I finally finished the rest of the pattern, including doing Chart Rows 1-5.  Then I realized that I needed to repeat pattern 1 again as my sweater was very cropped. So on 08/04/26, I finished pattern 1 (Rows 6-16, including the repeats). On 08/05/26, I finally got to the ribbing (which I changed to a split hem with a 3 sts overlap instead of a "regular" ribbing in the round & switched to my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles (& 22" cable) which I did for 14 rows before working a double knitting (2 rows) and finishing with an Icelandic bind off. I managed to do the "front" ribbing. I finished the "back" ribbing on 08/07/26 as well as started on my 5th ball of yarn.

On 08/08/26,, I picked up for the neck edges and finished the neck ribbing (using my Chiaogoo 3.5mn (US4) needles and a 22" cable). Then, I picked up the sleeves (using my Chiaogoo 4.0mm (US6) needles and a 22" cable) and completed pattern 1 (of 4 patterns) for the sleeves; I also did the first decrease on Row 4 instead of after the first pattern since the sleeves were quite roomy already for me. On 08/09/26, I finished  pattern 2 and while working on pattern 3, I realized that because I did a decrease early, it threw off my stitch count for pattern 3.😳😱🤦‍♀️😞 So, to "fix" it, I didn't do a decrease in Row 24 and replaced it in row 35; and to get the stitch count back to a multiple of 4, I also did a decrease on Row 38. Finished pattern 3 on 08/10/26 as well as started on my 6th ball of yarn; also complete pattern 4 on the right side and half of pattern 4 on the left side. On 08/12/26, I finished pattern 4, repeated pattern 1 again and did additional decreases in Row 67 & 60, ending with 60 sts for the ribbing. As I started the ribbing (using my Chiaogoo 3.5mm needles & 22" cables), I  tried on my sweater again and realized that the sleeves were just too short. So, I did pattern 2 again (through Row 76) for 8 repeats as suggested as well as decreased 2 sts on each of the "break" rows to reduce my stitch count to 50 sts. I wanted a more fitted cuff so, I did 2 more break rows to decrease a total of 6 sts (purl row = 4 sts decrease & knit row 2 st decrease) for a total of 44 sts. Then, I saw someone's sweater where the cuffs were split and I thought that would also be a great idea for this sweater!😊🥰 So, I did the ribbing just like my bottom ribbing where I picked up 3 sts on each side and ribbed for 10 rows before doing the double knitting rows and bound off using the Icelandic bind off method. I finally finished the sleeves on 08/14/26 (and I just had an itty bitty bit of yarn left from my 6th ball!)

And now ... it's done!  I have my very own light weight gansey!🥳🎉🎊😁🙌 Unfortunately, now that I've completed it (and altered the sleeves), I'm not sure if I really liked what I did.😔😳😱😭🤦‍♀️🙇‍♀️ In some ways, I really liked how the cuffs fit; but ... Between the last pattern and the actual cuff, there was a 16 sts decrease over the course of 7 rows so, there's a little bulging part now. It's not super noticeable but, I noticed it.😔😳😱😭🤦‍♀️ And while looking it over, I also noticed that I had dropped a stitch quite a way back on my left sleeve so, there's a hole now!😔😳😱😭🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ So, I took a few weeks to let it "sit" to see if it would be something I could "live with". In the end, on 09/01/26, I ended up ripping back the entire sleeve (both sleeves) and using my Chiaogoo 3.75mm (US5) needles (& 22" cables) did eight (8) decreases on Rows1-4, completed Pattern 1 & did another eight (8) decreases on Rows 11, 12, 14 & 16 before stopping for the day. On 09/02/26, completed Pattern 2 & did eight (8) decreases on Rows 20, 22, 24 & 25. On 09/03/26, completed Pattern 3, did eight (8) decreases on Rows 45, 36, 38 & 40, completed Pattern 4 & did eight (8) decreases on Rows 56, 58, 60 & 61. On 09/04/26, finished Pattern 1 through Rows 72 with no decreases. On 09/05/26, finished Pattern 2, ending with repeating Rows 68-72 & followed the decreases this time (total stitches: 44 sts). On 09/06/26, switched to my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles and started the ribbing (just like on my original sleeve) for 5 rows. Then I decided to try it on only to discover that my sleeve was too long!😳😱😞😒🤨🤦‍♀️🤬 So, I gave up for the day. On 09/08/26, I ripped back both sleeves so that there were only 6 repeats of Pattern 2 and did the final decrease on the final row of repeat 6 (instead of Row 68) then re-did Rows 69-72 again (on my Chiaogoo 3.75mm (US5) needles), switched (back to) my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles and finished off the ribbing (again as well).😞😒🤦‍♀️ Finally, my sleeves are D-O-N-E and look so much better now!😊🥰🙌🥳🎉🎊

Front

 

Back

 

Side

 

Cuffs

Here's my thoughts on the making of this sweater:

• I definitely like how it's much thinner and lighter than the original sweater I made for Hubs. I feel like I'll be able to wear it more frequently and not have another "travel" sweater.
• While I had expected to get a smaller gauge due to the lighter weight yarn, as expected, I still managed to meet the gauge despite using a thinner yarn (on the same recommended needle size). Here's what it looks like compared to Hub's sweater:

• Like all sweaters made with finger weight yarn, it often felt like forever getting through the pattern, especially in the body section. However, in reality, I'm quite surprise on how quickly I was able to start and finish this sweater. Amazingly, it only took me 17 (well, really, 24 since it too me forever to redo the sleeves) days to finish this one! 😳😱🥳🎉🎊 
• I oddly found the Fabel sock yarn that I was using wasn't as consistent as the original yarn I used (& purchased from Canada). It was more splitty and seemed to be slubby in some areas while in other areas, it was thinner than sock weight yarn. It could be just this colour way though (although I haven't used the other colours I bought yet so ... 🤔🤨).
• I found that even though the colour wasn't really "dark" (like navy or black), it was still dark enough that I needed a lot of light (and glasses) to knit with this colour to make sure I didn't miss stitches (or drop them!).😳😱😭🤦‍♀️🙇‍♀️ Despite all the extra light and glasses, it seems that I still managed to drop stitches!🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
• I really like the 3-stitch split hem (instead of the 5-stitch hem I did for my Mottainai sweater) as well as how the hem is actually completed before binding off (where you slip stitches for two (2) rows). It seems to give a "firmer" edge. I will try to remember this "tip" for future sweaters!🎗🥰

Mottainai (勿体無い)

I was waiting for some yarn I ordered to come in to make some other sweaters when I remembered that I had purchased the Extra Light Bright Sweater and I already had yarn for that! So, while I was waiting for my yarn to come in, I decided to start on this sweater project.  Here's how my adventure went:

 

First, I needed to figure out how much yarn I needed.  Since I know that when I knit, it tends to be tight but by the time it's washed, my sweaters tend to relax a bit, I figured I would knit the 3rd size even though I normally knit the smallest or 2nd to the smallest size (but, according to the measurements, it looks like I should be the 3rd size so ...).  Once I had that figured out, it was time to figure out which yarn (and how much of it) I needed.

 

Based on the instructions, I would need anywhere from 1,020 to 1,410 yds of yarn.  Based on my Dala Sweater, I had used 982 yds of yarn (and yes, I wanted another 3/4 sleeved sweater. Thus, I needed at least 1,000 yds of yarn or so, especially if I wanted a looser sweater. Plus, I wanted to also use up all my bits of sock yarn I had.  So ... I dug through my stash and found the following:

Irlanda Effect                                                          Colour:05                   257 yds 

Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Superwash                     Colour:902.0078         45.9 yds

Diff G. Brui Confetii 100 Superwash                      Colour: Multi Brown    46 yds

Hjertegarn Camouflage                                          Colour: 7716              153.3 yds
H&W Comfort-Wolle Comfort Sockenwolle 4 fach Colour: 574                110 yds  
Blue Moon Yarn Squishy Sock                               Colour: Bechglass     106.6 yds

Wisdom Yarn Pix                                                    Colour: 104                270.8 yds

Lion Brand Sock-Ease                                           Colour: Rock Salt       175.2 yds

Garantiert Filzfrei Super Soxx Color                      Colour: Faux Fairisle  68.9 yds

Maui Yarns Superwash Merino Nylon Fingering    Colour: Tidepool         76 yds 

 

All of this yarn totals up to 1,309.7 yds of yarn.  In theory, it should be enough for at least a 3/4 sleeved sweater, if not a bracelet length sweater.  Then, based on the math they provided, I should need to make about 14 rows per colour to make the fade work.

 

Next up was making sure I fully understood the pattern so on my "start" day (Day 1), I reviewed and basically rewrote the pattern in my notebook so I had something I could follow step-by-step with my own numbers (so I don't get mixed up and use some other number accidentally). I reviewed all the way through the split (for the sleeves) before reviewing the collar part (even though the instructions said that should be done last, I've also read that you should do the collar next as it really set-up for how long your body & sleeves should be). According to the instructions, I need to pick up stitches for the collar so I went back to review if I could pick up those said stitches as I casted/added it on doing the yoke. But, it seemed that I had hit my limit for the day. 😔😭🤦‍♀️

 

I actually casted on the next day (Day 2) and finished Step 1 of the yoke. On Day 3, I finished Step 2 & 3 of the yoke.  Since I needed to start a new ball of yarn for Step 4 of the yoke, I reread the instructions (again) and determined that this would be a good point to complete the collar before finishing the rest of the yoke. So, on Day 4, I picked up stitches for the collar, finished the collar then went back to finish Step 4 of the yoke. I ened up picking up 2 extra sts but I just decreased it on the shoulder area to get to the stitch count needed. Then I decided that I would do 2 knit rows before the ribbing. Once I was on Round 3 of the ribbing, I felt like the collar was still a bit large so, I tinked back Round 3, decreased it by 4 sts and finished the rest of the ribbing (total of 9 rows) before binding off using Lola's alternative for Jenny's Stretchy Bind Off method. On Day 5, I went back to the yoke to finish Step 4-5 and started the fade (as recommended) here. Then I found that I couldn't count for the life of me so, I decided that I would "pause" for a bit. About two (2) weeks later, on Day 6, I finally finished Step 6 of the yoke and split for the sleeves. 

 

Now it was time for the body. I realized that I really needed to reassess my yarn choices because I had already used my nearly 2 full balls of the Irlanda Effect and my remaining Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Superwash just to get to the split portion and as beginning to feel doubtful that I actually had enough yarn to do the rest of the body and the sleeves (I might have enough for the body but not the sleeves!😶😱🙇‍♀️). Here's what it looks like so far:

I think I have enough of my initial yarns to make some of the sleeve but it may not fully "match" length-wise. So I reassessed my stash and decided to move three (3) of my leftover stash (my Lion Brand Sock-Ease Rock Candy @ 175 yds, my Garantiert Filzfrei Super Soxx Color Faux Fair Isle @ 68.9 yds & Maui Yarns @ 76 yds) for the sleeves instead of the body.  I also think I may have enough of my Wisdom Yarn Pix @ 270.8 yds for both the body. As I was trying to calculate yardage, I realized that while the transition chart was useful, for the amount of yarn I actually had, it just wouldn't work for that many rows; so, I decided that I would "cheat" a bit and just use portions of the chart for the transition portions, especially if I felt like there wouldn't be enough yarn.😳😱🙇‍♀️This was how I spent Day 6 - hemming and hawing over how much yarn I may or may not have to complete this sweater!😳😱😭🤦‍♀️😤

 

After reassessing my yarn and transition choices on Day 7, I worked on the body and ribbing for the next 5 days. Here's what I did for the transition between yarns:

• Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Superwash & Diff G. Brui Confetii 100 Superwash, I worked Chart Rows 16-24 (total 9 rows).
• Diff G. Brui Confetii 100 Superwash & Hjertegarn Camouflage, I worked Chart Rows 16-24 (total 9 rows).
• Since I had a good bit of Hjertegarn Camouflage, instead of doing regular stockinette stitches (as the colours started to pool), I did a 4-row pattern where I: SL1, K for Row 1, K for Row 2, K, SL1 for Row 3 & K for Row 4 to try to prevent pooling. I did this for 25 rows.
• Hjertegarn Camouflage & H&W Comfort-Wolle Comfort Sockenwolle 4 fach, I worked Chart Rows 14-22, repeating Row 19-22 two (2) more times, Rows 14-17 one (1) more time & Rows14-16 & 18 one (1) more time (total  25 rows).
• H&W Comfort-Wolle Comfort Sockenwolle 4 fach & Blue Moon Yarn Squishy Sock, I worked Chart Rows 13-17, repeating Chart Row 13 one more time (total 6 rows).
• Blue Moon Yarn Squishy Sock & Wisdom Yarn Pix, I worked Chart Rows 13-14 19 times (total 38 rows), switching to my Chiaogoo 3.25mm (US 3) needles for the last row.

Here's what it looks like so far: 

It was finally time to do the bottom ribbing. The pattern says that I could do either a "regular" ribbing (in the round) or I could do a split hem. Then I saw this on Instagram and I wanted to give 'em a try. As I wanted a "deeper" overlap, I casted on 5 extra stitches on each side and started to do a 1x1 ribbing. After 5 rows on the front, I noticed that the front kept flipping up. I ended up ripping it back to the original row (right before the ribbing) and decided to take a break from it. On Day 13, I ripped out the row where I had used the 3.25mm needles, switching back to the 3.5mm needles and knitting 2 rows, purling 1 row (total 3 rows) using only the Wisdom Yarn Pix Yarn before starting the ribbing again. For the ribbing (also using only the Wisdom Yarn Pix Yarn), I did 8 1x1 rows for the front and 12 1x1 rows for the back. Then I used the same bind off I used for the yoke and added this trick for binding off the last stitch. Here's what it looks like:

While I was working on the body, I  also wanted to work on the sleeves to ensure that I would have enough yarn to at least make 3/4 sleeves and here's how that went:

• On Day 11, I worked on the right sleeve:
• Picking up 88 sts using my Irlanda Effect yarn and did 1 row, then added 2 sts (total 90 sts) before staring Chart Rows 13-17 with my Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Superwash. 
• Then, I K 5 rows with my Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Superwash before doing Chart Rows 13-21, repeating Rows 14-17 with my Lion Brand Sock-Ease. 
• Then K 3 rows, slipping stitches when I came to the yellow potions of the yarn (total 17 rows for the right sleeve on Day 11).
• On Day 12, I worked on the left sleeve to catch up that side.
• Then for both sleeves, with the Lion Brand Sock-Ease, I K an additional 7 rows for a total of 10 rows for both sleeves before starting Chart Rows 13-17 with Diff G. Brui Confetii 100 Superwash & Garantiert Filzfrei Super Soxx Color where I ended splitting the Garantiert Filzfrei Super Soxx Color into 4 balls (2 for each side) to spread the coloring more evenly and ending on Chart Row 13 (total 22 rows for both sleeves on Day 12).
• On Day 13, I used the remaining Wisdom Yarn Pix and Blue Moon Yarn Squishy Sock for 9 rows for both sleeves, following Chart Rows 14-17, then repeating Chart Rows 13-17.
• On Day 14, with the remaining Wisdom Yarn Pix & Maui Yarns, I followed Chart Rows 13-17 for 40 rows decreasing 2 sts on the 2nd, 8th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, & 40th rows.
• On Day 15, I finished the rest of the sleeves continuing Chart Rows 13-17 for another 10 Rows, decreasing 2 sts on the 45th & 50th rows. Then I did another decrease, ssk on the right side and  ssk, k2tog 2x on the left side then did a 1x1 ribbing (for 2 rows) on the cuffs. I'm sure you're wondering why my sleeve cuff was exceptionally short: well, it's because I realized that I would run out of yarn and not have enough to bind off.
• On Day 16, after a few various attempts to bind off (& have enough yarn to weave in), I finally found a stretchy enough bind off with the minuscule yarn I had left. I basically did the same bind off as the neck and bottom except I did it for every 5 sts instead of every stitch. It's not ideal but at least I won at yarn chicken! 🐔💪

And here's what it looks like (fully blocked):

(Front)

(Back)

(Side)

And here's what I learned from making this sweater:

1. While it was interesting on how the fade worked on this sweater, it used up a lot more yarn than I thought it would due to all the colourwork involved.😳
2. I really liked how this project showed me how alternating yarn could really bring out and change the "look" of the yarn. However, it also made the sweater thicker than I had originally anticipated. It was no longer a sock weight sweater as it became a DK weight sweater in the end; no longer a 3-4 season sweater that I had originally envisioned.😔😭
3. It made me realize that I should be more discerning about the "kind" of sock yarn I may want to purchase in the future, especially if I want to use my scraps for another sweater project. 
4. Despite making a larger size, it was still quite fitted on me. Perhaps I need to try a larger size or larger needles next time?? 🤔
5. Overall, it was a good learning experience and it was a good way of learning how to "fade" yarns in a different way.  Perhaps my next "fade" sweater will be a combination of how this sweater worked and my City Limits sweater. 

Knit in Public Day 2026

2026 Knit in Public Day this year came and went without me again. 😳😱😭🤦‍♀️😔 I was vaguely aware of when it would be but I would've missed it anyways because ... I haven't been knitting! 😳😱😭🤦‍♀️😔 I had started a project back in February and had gotten stuck with parts of it on and off so, I've been binge reading instead of knitting (at least there's easy and solid results from binge reading!😉😁). So, this is currently the sad state of my knitting affairs so far this year (again) ... 😭🤦‍♀️😔 I'm hoping this isn't going to be an on-going cycle for me every year since this is now the second year in a row in which I start of strong and peter out by mid-year.😳😱🤦‍♀️😔

However, I've recently had a break through on my project so, I'm hoping that this will help 1) finish my current project and 2) inspire me on getting back to my knitting (as I have several more sweater projects I'd like to accomplish this year!).🤔🤞🍀🐰🧶

No. 1 THE LARCH (aka Tabi Monogatari v57)

I had originally seen this sock pattern as a cuff down pattern but the designer finally made a toe-up version. So, of course, I had to try it.😉😁Using my leftover sock yarn scraps and my Chiaogoo 2.0mm (US0) needles, here's how it went:

1. Cast on a Provisional cast on with a total of 44 sts.
2. K 1 straight row on each side, then join in the round.
3. K 10 rows in the round as part of the foot portion.
4. Started the toes: with 22 sts on each side, splitting it up for 8 sts for big toe, 14 sts for remaining toes.
5. Big toe:

• Row 1:
• Front: k, m1, knit to the last st, m1, k to for a total of 10 sts
• Back: k, m1, k to the last st, m1, k for a total of 10 sts
• Row 2-11 (10 rows): k
• Row 12:
• Front: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog, total of 8 sts
• Back: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog, total of 8 sts
• Row 13-14 (2 rows): k
• Row 15: same as row 12 continuing to decrease 2 sts, total of the 6 sts on each side
• Row 16-19 (4 rows): k
• Row 20: same as row 14 continuing to decrease 2 sts, total of 4 sts on each side
• Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The big toe came out to 4.5 cm (1 3/4").

6. The rest of the toes:

• Row 1:
• Front: k to the end, pick up 2 sts, for a total of 16 sts
• Back: pick up 2 sts, k to the end for a total of 16 sts
• Row 2: k
• Row 3:
  
• Front: ssk, k to 2 sts to the end, k2tog for a total of 14 sts
• Back: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 14 sts
• Row 4:
• Front: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 12 sts
• Back: ssk to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 12 sts
• Row 5 : k
• Row 6:
• Front: ssk, k to the end, for a total of 11 sts
• Back: k to the the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 11 sts
• Row 7: k
• Row 8-19: same as row 6 & 7, continuing to decrease 2 sts, for a total of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 & 5 sts on each side
  
• Row 20: same as row 19, for a total of 4 sts

• Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The rest of the toe came out to 5 cm (2 in).

It fits like a glove.

Then I went back to the bottom of the provisional cast on and picked up the stitches to start the foot.

7. Row 11: pick up a st from the “front” side and put it on the “back” side; pick up a st from the “back” side, bringing it behind the st picked up from the “front” and put it on the “front” side. Then k to the 2nd to last st in the round & pick up a sts from below. There should now be 22 sts on each side.
8. Row 12: pick up sts on the 2nd, 7th, 12th, 14th, 20th & 25th sts for a total of 28 sts on each side (total 56 sts).
   
9. Row 13-57 (45 rows): K

Including the initial 10 rows, this came out for a total of 12.5cm (5").

With the foot done, it was time for my standard Fish Lips Kiss Heel method. Since the method is copyrighted, here's the changes I did to make it work for me:

   10. Row 66: 

• Right side: K the "top" portion, start the heel on the "bottom" portion.
• Left side: start the heel as you're already on the "bottom" portion.

   11. Row 66-106: Follow the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method until you have 9 twin stitch 

         (ts) knits & purls sts on each side and 10 regular sts

It worked as it came out perfectly! 🙂  *yay* 🙂

Turning the heel is always magical and never gets old:

With the heel done, time to finish up the leg and cuff:

   12. Row 107-111 (5 rows): follow the pattern repeat 4 more times, maintaining 28 sts.

Then to finish off the cuffs, follow Laura Nelkin's Toe-up Larch Peds Cuff directions:
   13.  Row 112-143 (32 rows).
   14.  Bind off using Laura Nelkin's alternative elastic bind off.  The total length of the leg and cuff was 9 cm (3 9/16 in).

And here it is, in all its finished glory (finally): 

Oddly enough, I was able to knit up this pair of socks quite quickly: I set up the sock and finished the big toes on Day 1; finished the rest of the toes and the foot, including setting it up for the heels on Day 2; finished the heels and leg on Day 3; and learned & finished the cuffs on Day 4.😳🥳🙌 So, either I'm knitting faster or all my sock "practicing" really paid off since it seemed very second nature on punping this pair out.😳😁😊🥰 As for the cuff (the whole point of this sock), it was a really interesting way to add additional padding to the back of the sock. It did have a learning curve to it (I initially knitted it backwards on the outside portion and correctly on the inside portion 😳🤦‍♀️) but by doing it incorrectly, it allowed me to really "see" what I was supposed to be doing. Now, I  just need to "test" them to see how well it holds up as well as how "cushiony" they'll really feel against my shoes.🤞🍀😊