Dawn Brocco's Life & Design Blog

Am finishing up another pair of gift socks, this time a woman's pair. Way back (a year or more), I bought 2 skeins each in 4 colors of Jo Sharp DK wool, from Ozeyarn . I always get my Jo sharp wool and even some Breeze yarn from her, as the prices are excellent, I don't mind waiting a smidge for the package to come from Australia, and she always encloses color cards of whatever's new. Ozeyarn gives great and friendly service, which should always be promoted - it's hard enough running a small business and getting it to be profitable - positive word-of-mouth is the least we can do to keep excellent businesses "in" business!

Anyway, I had begun a design in these 4 colors, but ended up ripping it out - the idea just wasn't tickling me enough to spend all that time working it up. So, I've been doubling the DK wt wool and with size 6's and 7's (cuff only), have made 2 pairs of socks. I've used some of this stash previously, but can't remember at the moment what I used it for!

Jo's DK wool yarn is a very nice, basic staple-in-one's-stash yarn. A soft, yet sturdy, well-made (worsted spun) Merino/Border Leicester wool, if I'm not mistaken. With the 6's (4 mm) and 2 strands, I got near 4.75 sts/1". I'd go up to 4.5 sts/1" for socks, but not much looser.

Feeling this yarn as a knit fabric made me think I'd like to see it in a sweater, still doubled, but at about 4 sts/1". It also reminds me that if I had a medium gauge knitting machine, I'd be more likely to knit it with just 1 strand, at the usual DK gauge of 5.5, or maybe, 6 sts/1", as I just don't have that kind of time to devote to a single design. I do like heavy worsted's gauge. Not so bulky, it can't be worn indoors, especially living anywhere where winter hits, and not so fine, it takes forever to knit "and" maybe necessitates wearing another garment with it for added warmth.

I still find that my store bought sport or DK wt sweaters aren't always warm enough by themselves. This may change eventually, as I age, but, it's still a real issue for me, as I'd think it would be for many young to early middle age women, where being cold is the norm, not being flushed! So, I'll add it to the long list of waiting ideas - a 4 sts/1" doubled Jo Sharp wool design....

I've been perusing my quite spare stash (everything's been getting knit up rather quickly), and thought there was little chance of having enough of anything to design myself a sweater, preferably a cardigan, that I can wear indoors and would be soft and snuggly. I have bits of this and that - all leftovers from other projects. Then I thought that if I made it cropped-ish - 20-21" long, maybe I would have enough.

I've got black and a beautiful fuchsia/orange tweed in the Alpaca Boucle left. 6 balls in the tweed and 5 in the black. Not a huge amount, I know. But I'm going to give it a go anyway. I "did" do a pullover, knit rather tightly that took 13 balls and had cables, so if I don't do a tight gauge and don't do cables, and with the shorter length, maybe I'll get lucky.

As it turned out, I wasn't crazy about how the cables in that pullover looked bordering the V-neckline. So, despite having a ream of pattern notes and 3 huge charts done for that design, it will remain unpublished - not the first time I've done that either. Once a garment is fully finished, all together, I don't rip out. I only rip out while the process is going on, once something is done, it's perfectly useable and I will wear it or give it away to someone who'll wear it. Maybe DD will like it, though anything reddish isn't her fav (because it's mine!)

Lovely day out today - gotta go and get more tomatoes off the vine. Sent hubby to work with 2 bags of tomatoes, - easily 3 lbs each - to give to co-workers, as we never can use all of what ripens, as so much ripens at once. If they'd just grow like peas, beans or lettuce, pick once, then they'd regrow or the plant would make another flower, but no, of course they gotta be different! All these pounds of tomatoes ripening at once!