Scotland Knits

My blogging hasn't kept up with my knitting. I have quite a few FOs to share, and I think they can be united by the theme "Scotland Knits."

What did I knit while in Scotland? I took two sock projects with me. They are very small and portable. I made sure one was a plain vanilla sock, because I can knit those anywhere - and I did. On the coach while looking at the scenery, in the pub, on the farm, during the lectures... I just went round and round and round. This pair of plain vanilla rainbow socks is for Boy 1, who selected the yarn from my stash:

My go-to sock has a flap heel (it seems to fit everyone in our family better than the short-row or toe-style heel). I've found that if I break the yarn at the bottom of the heel so that it matches the last stripe from the leg, the stripe pattern continues pretty well down the front of the foot.

I took another sock project, too - one that I started at home but hadn't had much time to work on. I've made this pattern about 9 years ago - it's the Retro Rib Socks from Favorite Socks (remember when we bought books to get patterns? so quaint!). 

A coworker admired Sharon's pair a LOT, and I decided to make her a pair. Ostensibly they are to celebrate her earning the rank of Full Professor. Her reaction was among the best I've received for a handknit item.

That pair took me longer to knit, because the 4-round repeat wasn't super friendly for office or social knitting. Those socks were knit in Scotland AND Cleveland, but started and finished here at home.

Next, I finished the little colorwork coin purse project that we started at a workshop in Fort Augustus, Scotland (the Sarah Berry class). It's worked in the round and grafted at the bottom. Cute, right?

It did not look nearly as cute when it first came off the needles. This is one of those cases where blocking makes a big difference. You can see the biggest difference on the edges, where I changed needles (I worked this on two circular needles, as I do socks). Here is what those yucky edges looked like before blocking:

And here they are after blocking:

Now all I have to do is make a lining with a zipper and sew it in. My mom is going to help with this part. It's a wee little thing. I'd like to make a larger version as a project bag, too.

My final FO to share is one that I didn't make IN Scotland, but I saw the sample and bought the yarn in Scotland. this is the Seol Gansey Mitt by Di Gilpin, made in her Lalland yarn.

Di promised that one ball would make a pair of mitts, and she was right... but boy, did I feel the pressure of playing Yarn Chicken on this project! You can see the tiny butterfly of yarn that remains after making these.

The gansey designs are lovely on this, but there are 4 charts printed in about half of a sheet of paper, and they are TINY. I wish this pattern had been formatted better. I missed an instruction to work two charts at once and realized it when it was time to finish the thumb - can you see the stockinette section that should have a diamond pattern on it?

Luckily, I could ladder those stitches down and change some of the knits to purls. It was a little hairy because this loosely cabled yarn really wants to split, but I did it:

This pattern is worked flat and then seamed. I can't tell you how long it's been since I worked a hand item that way. I think I'll try to modify it for the next pair. Here they are before seaming:

The palm have an attractive little twisted stitch, too:

I have yarn to make 2 more pairs of these (one for myself and one for my mom).

I've started a new hat that's a bit more complicated than my usual approach. It's part of the #WoollyWormheadKAL with Fruity Knitting. Stay tuned!