Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Two quick things ....

Thing the first:

The amazing Abigail has another new dish cloth pattern -- the Pinwheel! Yet more fun with short rows. It's a quick and easy knit, and the pattern is clear and well written. And quick. Did I say that?



Thing the second:

I closed my eyes and reached into the stash to pull out some yarn for my June socks. This is what my hands touched first.


Recalling my last not-completely-satisfactory experience with Spunky sport in the same dye lot but two separate hanks, I quickly wound it into balls to get a better look at it.

Any quick thoughts?



57 people had something to say:

Stacey said...

wow - those look really different - did you try re-winding again to see if they came out more similar? If not - hmmm - maybe alternating skeins?

Jennifer said...

I'd alternate skeins, or go for the fraternal twin sock look.

Midnight Purls said...

Wow! They look like two completely different colorways. I'd probably bury them somewhere in the stash and hope I forget all about them. But that's just me.

lexa said...

Oh, my! They are very different! I agree maybe alternating skeins... It's a pain, but that is probably your best bet.

Anonymous said...

How do you feel about switching dye lots every few rows? If the idea doesn't appeal, how about knitting toes and heels in opposing skeins? Me personally I would knit each skein into a single sock and not be bothered with the differences.

PurlingPirate said...

Wow!! I'm surprised at how they came out! Guess a reminder to myself to buy hand-dyed in one skeins only! eep!

Anonymous said...

Yikes! Uh, Chevron Scarf? hee...not funny, huh?

BTW, you were talking once about how annoying blogger can be about not giving you email addresses to reply to comments? You know what annoys me? That it won't remember my information, say, like typepad, because I don't use blogger for my blog. Sorry, had to rant.

Love the colorway, though.

Anonymous said...

Hehehe... I'll give you my snail mail addy and give them a loving home :)

I'd go with the alternating of the 2 skeins... but maybe not every 2 rows, but I'd make 10-row stripes or so... I think that would give the socks a real interesting look...

Cheers Eva

Anonymous said...

If you don't want to alternate skeins row by row, you might do the toes, heels and cuffs (or legs) of both socks in one color and the feet and legs (or part of legs) in the other.

Or if you want to go a little crazier , you could do the toe, cuff and ribbing of one sock out of one skein and the toe, cuff and ribbing of the other sock from the other skein, using the alternate skein for the foot and leg. But that might look a little weird once shoes and slacks (does anyone still say slacks?) were on.

Wannietta Kirkpatrick said...

That sucks - 'specially since they're supposed to be the same dye lot!!
Buy another skein - it's bound to match one of the ones that you've got!

Angie said...

I agree with all prior comments. Boy, it does skein up very differently. I've an idea, why not knit the body with one skein and heels/toes with the other and then switch? Kind of a funky matching, but not matching look? Heck, they are socks, it doesn't matter, make yourself happy! :)

LaurieM said...

Do fraternal pairs. Do the light pair with dark cuffs, heels and toes, and do the dark pair with light cuffs, heels and toes.

Funky and fun!

Yes, and maybe a little bit weird. :-)

yarnmule said...

This would only work if you have good yardage, and are making smallish socks, but you could do the toes/heels/cuffs in one skein, and the body of the sock in the other. That prevents the fiddlyness of alternating skeins, but will give you matching socks.

Nana Sadie said...

Alternate skeins. Or reach into the stash again....those could be saved for something entirely different where it won't matter - a ripple blanket maybe?
(((hugs)))

Chelle said...

Add me to the alternating skein list...geez, they aren't even close, are they?

BTW, love the Pinwheel Dishcloth!

Anonymous said...

Doh. I think after your last experience, you would be pushing it if you knit these skeins up as separate socks...unless opposing dominant hues is what you are going for...I am in the alternate the skeins camp, I am afraid (though all that fiddliness give me pause). Good luck!

Dorene said...

Yikes! Not even close! My vote.. fergetaboutem! Pick something else, please, pick something else.

Anonymous said...

What about mixing them with a solid color (light or dark gray)? That is, you can have, say, solid gray stripes with the dyed yarn between those stripes--or some other similar pattern. If that's not possible, add my vote to those suggesting that you alternate balls every few rows.

I'm another Typepad person who is irked at Blogger because it won't link my info to my name. And when I do use Blogger for KALs it doesn't give me all posting options (as in adding links to posts) because I use Mac's Safari. I guess you're either in the Blogger world using Windows Explorer, or you're not.

primetimeknitter.typepad.com

karrie said...

First thought: Uh-oh...
I like that washcloth - thanks for the link!

Sachi said...

I vote that you email Spunky for her ideas. Seriously... she might surprise you with something fabu.

Anonymous said...

I feel your pain! After my recent experience, I wouldn't knit it.

RoadSide said...

I like the fraternal twin idea.... just like in life, its best to embrace differences and make them work :) I love the red reversible scarf....thats one lucky pal!

Anonymous said...

Whoa! Big difference. I'd knit the toes and heels(maybe the cuff, too?) with one ball and the leg and foot with the other. Otherwise, use them for a scarf where it's easier to alternate.

Ang

turtlegirl76 said...

I think that yarn would prefer to be a chevron scarf. Not socks. Definitely not socks.

earthchick said...

[in Chandler-esque voice]: Could they BE any more different?

I'd go with the alternating skein idea.

Great dishcloth!

limedragon :-: Harriet said...

I downloaded the dishcloth pattern as soon as I saw it. Love the colors you used for yours!

As for the sock yarn... I would try rewinding one skein in the opposite direction to see if that helps any. (Probably not?) But I like Angie's suggestion above. Another option would be to add in a contrast color if possible.

sko_G knits said...

i HATE when that happens!!!

auntiemichal said...

Dave, beautiful yarn and cute dishcloth! Would the pattern you want to use work if you spiralled the yarn ala Stashbuster Spiral's technique? So you don't have to google, it's starting an extra strand opposite the original one so the two strands spiral through the sock. When you get to the other strand, you drop the current one and knit until you get to it again. No worrying about jogless joins. But you already knew that, right? LOL

Debi said...

Sorry but life is way too short for the "alternate skein" businees, especially on socks!! Here's my suggestion...knit both ribbing, heels and toes with one skein and both "bodies" with the other. Voila, matching socks. The caveat is depending on how long you make your leg and your foot heels,toes,ribbing may NOT equal leg and foot. Make em for a small footed female friend and you're golden :)

Kathleen said...

I was thinking fraternal... or opposites for heels/toes v. body, but whatever makes you comfortable.

I must say I have never used that yarn, but looking at the skeins in their pre-wound-into-a-ball state, I would not have expected the balls to look any different than they do. The hanks look completely different!

aija said...

Wow, crazy different! I'm lazy and would just use one skein for one sock, etc. But if it bugs you, no harm in tossing back :)

CynCyn said...

perhaps these two skeins were not meant to be socks. Alternating skeins while knitting socks? Not my idea of fun, but i guess it depends on how motivated you are...

Teyani said...

alternate rows?

Pat said...

I alternated skeins when it happened to me with Koigu - It really wasn't that bad....had to untangle every once in awhile, but the socks turned out great. Either that or LauriM's idea of fraternal opposites.
I like the yarn!

Beth said...

Wow! Much too fraternal for me. Have you written Spunky? I'd be pretty unhappy with this yarn. I couldn't deal with the fiddly changing skeins every few row. I'm afraid they'd have to be something else.

Mona Schmidt said...

*snort* I have another quick solution: If you don't want to/cannot/will not work with these two balls - heck, I'll take 'em!

Otherwise, I am with the majority: alternate the colours every couple of rows and take up the challenge! Hey, don't be trodden down by two skeins of really fabulous yarn just because the (work intensive, time consuming) dye job is not as matchy as you'd like. You can do it, I am sure.

Let your creativity soar - rise to the occasion. (that'll be my motivational speaker part for today)

Anonymous said...

Stripes?

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, those really are different! Would you have to knit with both, alternating every 2 rows? - What a pain that would be.

kathy b said...

My first thought, honestly, was GoodnPlenty candy. Oh but you mean solve the issues thoughts. Well, I would add some stash grey if you have it and fair isle with it. Won't be near as noticeable.

Karen said...

I have 2 skeins of Claudia Handpainted like that. Guess you'll be knitting with both balls at the same time too, alternating rows.

Anonymous said...

How about ankle socks done in two-end knitting? Tedious, but long-lived.

Anonymous said...

My 1st thought? FORGET IT, because you've won more sock yarn from me!!! I decided to draw a couple of runner up prizes and you won! So, you get to select the sock yarn of your choice from here

My 2nd thought? 2 scarves.

3rd? Donate...

Anonymous said...

thanks for the head's up on the pattern. i've already made one up. :) now, as for alternating skeins for socks. i'll have to agree with everybody else. that's too much work. maybe you can overdye them and use them for something else?

Anonymous said...

I vote for the alternating heels/toes plan. Seems like your best bet since I agree that alternating skeins in socks is just too much work. Good luck!

monica said...

I say alternate the balls. I am doing that with some very, noticably different, same dye lot, Koigu right now. Since I just bought a bunch of dish cloth cotton, I will have to try the pinwheel out. Thanks for stopping on at my blog.

Terby said...

I have to go with the alternating skeins crowd. Either that, or knit a couple hats like Kate Gilbert's pattern in the latest Interweave.

Irie said...

I suggest alternating skeins every 4-6 rows for a subtle striping effect.. take advantage of that "unfortunate" difference! :)

yvette said...

I couldn't knit from alternate balls for socks, too fiddly, then again I don't mind mismatched socks. Its a shame cause its pretty too.

Valerie Polichar said...

I'm for toes, heels and ribbing in darker mix, rest in lighter...

But really, I'd go "eek" and redip into my stash. ;-) Honesty compels one to admit...

Marguerite said...

I would groan and throw them back into my stash to deal with some other day. Then, eventually, I'd give them away so I never had to see them again.

There are just too many beautiful things I want to knit to bother trying to get offending yarn to work right.

Anonymous said...

I'm too lazy to do alternating skeins, so I'd probably go with the 'fraternal' socks ;o)

Jennifer said...

How disappointing. If it were me, I would use the yarn doubled and knit a hat (or a scarf or whatever).
Thanks for visiting my blog with your suggestion about the tidepool socks!
Jennifer

monica said...

I would alternate the balls if, I am doing that right now with some Koigu that looks completely diferent from skein to skein. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Carrie K said...

What two things are unrelated in this picure?

I'd go with the fraternal sock thing since mismatching really doesn't bother me at all, but if it did? Those skeins would be a scarf.

BEESTLYproducts said...

Abagail is the dishcloth queen! I love her. I have more discloths than I'll ever need thanks to her. As for your yarn dilemma, I'm voting for alternate rows.

Knitterary said...

Thanks for the great tip on my blog about re-winding sock yarn.

I love the idea of knitting with the yarn doubled for a hat or similar small project. Very clever.

Unknown said...

I love the colours but it does suck that they're so different. I say go for the toes & heels with the alternate skeins.