This and that on and off the needles

My knitting this week bounced from project to project...so many yarns tempting me.

First I finished my Opal Ambiente socks.

Now I knit these on 3.25mm needles, 56 stitches and they felt a bit loose when I wore them. So I washed them... in the washer... and dried them in the dryer...for a long time. I hoped they'd shrink a bit and when I wore them the second time they were a bit snugger at first but as the day wore on they were still not as snug as I would like. Why is it if you want something to shrink nothing happens, and if you don't want it to shrink you end with it micro sized? Anyway this is superwash merino yarn, it shouldn't shrink and it didn't. Also, it isn't recommended that you machine launder this kind of yarn if you want it to last a long time but I haven't had a lot of problems with that. I haven't had many socks that shrank but I have experienced some color fading with other yarns so I'll wait and see.

Armed with the knowledge that it doesn't appear I can shrink this yarn I decided the next pair of socks should have less stitches. so I went down to 52 stitches.

When I grabbed this ball of yarn I thought it was the one with the turquoise in it but I was wrong. This is an old gold/olive mix. Reminds me of Fall and my school colors when I was in high school - green and gold. Along with the first pair of socks being on the big side I wasn't happy with how the cuff got stretched out as the day went on. Now starting with less stitches would probably help but I decided to go one step further and knit the cuff with an Elastic Yarn Thread. It is from Clover and comes in white and black. I got it here at Webs,

 You use this along with your yarn. It does show a bit here and there but isn't really noticeable.The cuff does seem snugger with this thread knit along with the yarn. I'll report back after I wear and wash these.

And then this yarn was calling my name and I could NOT resist. My BFF Stephie gave me this yarn last Thursday night. It is the Regatta colorway of that Lion Brand Amazing yarn.

I think I cast this on Sunday or Monday and I had it all knit by Wednesday night. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors in this one. Somehow it makes me want to use fancy descriptions like terra cotta, and stone, and moss, and sea glass and cadet blue and well you get the idea. Thanks for the gorgeous yarn Stephie! Oh it is that same Urban Lace Infinity pattern -you can see it here.

So another good week for knitting. On one hand I can't wait to wear my new cowl, on the other hand I'd be happy to break out some capris and sandals. However, Mother Nature isn't done with winter yet (forecast for the weekend includes snow, freezing rain and low temps) so I think I'll have plenty of opportunities to sport my new woolen wares.

Happy knitting -
carol fun