Holiday Knitting

It's been a very busy Christmas season, and I've been getting a little knitting done while visiting, etc. I found 3/4 of a pair of socks that I went ahead and finished. You can see photos which show more detail on all of these by clicking here.



The pattern is Pat's Almost Serious Socks, which I got from Patternworks some time ago. It was free with a yarn purchase, and the original pair was my very first pair of socks. It has an easy lace pattern, and was meant to be done in a cotton yarn with gold and silver carrying thread for the heels and toes. This is a nice wool from Bergere de France, and for some reason I had done the first sock, and had the second one done about halfway down the heel flap, then stopped cold for about 5 years I think. Whatever. Anyway, it seems like sock time again, so I finished them, and then began a pair of quickies from an old favorite pattern called Fundamental Socks. It's in the Spin Off Socks book. It's just a plain ribbed sock done in a worsted weight yarn, but you put wooly nylon in the heel and sole. It's a nice technique which really adds to the durability of the socks. They were designed as work socks, and they are nice. Here's a picture of the cuff so far, with the Peep looking on.




I also did gauge swatches for the Bendigo Cabled Cardigan, and started it as well. Here's my progress on one side of the front, so far.



I like this pattern very much. It doesn't come with a chart, so I made my own after doing one full repeat with the written instructions. After that, and making the chart, it's almost memorized anyway. It's not a really complicated pattern, but interesting enough to make for good knitting, and I really like the color and the yarn itself.

I also have photos of the Fake-A-Gamo bag that is all knitted, and now just needs to be assembled. I haven't quite found the right lining for it, which is going to be important, as it will show through the fairly large holes in the pattern.



And here's a close up of the stitch pattern.



Hope you've all had a great holiday season, and a little down time to spend with family and friends. It's been very nice here, but today we are suddenly buried under snow, which makes a few last visits very difficult, if not impossible.