Decided that I'd had enough of the ribbing on the kilt hose so I took the plunge, got out all the bobbins I posess and started winding them with 5 yards each and started the intarsia. I had no idea that it would take all thirty (Oh my gosh - THIRTY!) bobbins to get started on these socks! As I'm not really crazy about weaving in ends, I use Kaffe Fassett's method and bind them in as I go. Messy looking while it is happening, but no ends to weave in for later. I call that a win!
I decided to take some pictures - even though it looks pretty messy at this stage...
Those little triangles will be diamond shaped as the knitting progresses. This shot shows both the front and back. Here's one of just the front...
And here's one of just the back side of the knitting. You can see the woven in ends... not the prettiest finish, but I think it is one of the most flexible, since it is done as the knitting progresses. Oh, and did I mention, no ends to weave in later? That's my favorite part!
Once again, I'm very glad that I'm doing both socks at once. This is really slow going, but they will be lovely when complete... I'm thinking ten years or so (not really, it just seems that way right now).
Next up, pictures of the finished yarn I've been working on!
I added a few rows to show the narrow bands of black and white in the tartan (Buchanan #151 on www.house-of-tartan.scotland.net) This is, of course, an interpretation since this relatively narrow band can't duplicate an entire tartan pattern. Lots of fun to do though, and I had the opportunity to make three of them!
As I was finishing them up, it was fun to see how they felted. It only took 13 minutes of sloshing around to get them to the proper size. Then the sewing up... Called the customer, one of the brothers three, and he was delighted with them.
Then I got the rest of the story behind these hats. This brother has had some significant health issues and is doing this batch of hats for a "bucket list" adventure with his brothers. They are going out to Oregon for some kind of a fishing trip together and this is one of the gifts that he dreamed up to give to his brothers. I'm grateful and humbled to be part of such an adventure. I hope they find happiness and joy in their time together! He did promise to bring back pictures of the whole clan wearing their hats... I'll share them when they arrive!
