Giveaway – Socks With Hand Painted Yarns

So is there anyone out there who hasn’t heard of the Sock Summit?? Is there anyone besides me who isn’t going?

Why aren’t I going? I’m a professed addicted sock knitter. Well, for one thing, I’m also a farmer. I also live in Michigan. You do the math. Even if the money were there, the critters demand to be fed twice a day. So, no sock summit for me, at least not this year.

So, I loved all of the horror stories about your socks, sure made me feel better about my “less than perfect” socks. Here’s my horror story: I knit a pair of socks out of Flat Foot Yarn by Conjoined Creations. Hated the colorway, loved the socks when they were done, however, I experimented. The first sock I used a pattern that I came across, nothing special, just liked it, it was a toe up so what the heck. It came out ok, really, it looked good. Next sock, I found another toe up pattern (which has now become my default standard pattern) and knitted according to that. It fit. It was gorgeous, not just nice, but awesome. So where’s the horror in that? These 2 socks do not match. At all. I’m not talking color, or splotchiness, I’m talking about that sock 1 fit until I tried on sock 2. The the first sock became something more of the “green giant” variety. It was huge, and long and it fit fine until I tried on the other. So, there, now the whole world knows!

Tell me your horror stories, it might get you a book!

When I first saw Orofino, a cute summer top from Berroco, I thought it was crocheted. Something about those shifting blocks of eyelets made me think of crochet but on closer inspection it is knit, so let’s take a closer look.

This project alternates blocks of simple eyelet lace and garter stitch to make a boxy tee with a bit of air flow and a lot of texture.

The project is worked from the bottom up mostly in rounds (which does mean a fair bit of purling to do that garter stitch in the round, but the effect is worth it). When you divide for the armholes, the back and front are worked separately and flat to the end of the project.

That leaves you a little seam at the top of the shoulder, and there’s a tiny bit of finishing (literally picking up stitches, purling a round and binding off) at the neckline and armholes.

It calls for a worsted weight cotton yarn, but this would also be nice worked in linen or a blend.

The pattern includes both written and charted instructions, but the key on the charts is a little confusing in how it describes working flat versus in the round, so you can always double check with the written instructions if you need help.

There are six sizes available, ranging from a finished bust circumference of 38 to 71.5 inches, or 95 to 179 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 6 to 12 inches (or 15 to 30 cm) of positive ease.

It is rated as an intermediate knitting project, but if you have a little experience with lace knitting and potentially reading a chart if you want to use them, it shouldn’t be difficult for you.

The pattern is available to download for free on the Berroco website. You can also learn more about it on Ravelry.

[Photo: Berroco]

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