12 /12 in 2012: January/February Socks

Look--that's two socks, not one! In under six months!

I love the swirly affect of the afterthought heel. My heels are a bit wonky, but my next pair will be much better.

This is a really true representation of this fabulous yarn and colorway.


So, I actually finished these about two weeks ago, so they were just a bit late, for the February sock anyway. My first afterthought heels, and a pair of socks in a bit over two months--a record for me. My 12/12 in 2012 challenge just might work! I seriously love this colorway--A Skirmish of Wit"--and enjoyed reading Much Ado About Nothing while I was finishing up the knitting.

12/12 in 2012: In By a Toe

This is my last skein of yarn from the lovely Shakespeare Yarn Club I did for my birthday. The three skeins were all based on "Much Ado About Nothing," and this skein is named for the main characters, Beatrice and Benedick. Actually, the name of the colourway is A Skirmish of Wit, which comes from a Leonato line regarding their constant interplay. It is a lovely stripey, with navy standing for Benedick, and a rich burgundy red for Beatrice. (The colors are pretty accurate in this picture.)

As part of my goal to knit 12 shawls and 12 socks in 2012, this one just squeaked in, and it's not even quite whole. I'm planning to do afterthought heels (see that line?), so I will hopefully finish this one and its mate next month. I am loving this yarn and how it knits up. Stripey socks forever!

Just in Time

So, my second skein for the Shakespeare Yarn Club is called Sweet Hero, and focuses on the tragedy that befalls innocent Hero in the play Much Ado About Nothing. It's a self-striping skein of yarn, with a black stripe alternating with a pale pink/lime green/white stripe. Black self-stripeys, as they're called, are "so hot right now!"

As the yarn content is merino/cashmere/nylon, I didn't really want to "waste" it on my feet, so I decided to make some gauntlet/mitts. The dyer of this fabulous yarn, Canon Hand Dyes, sponsored a KAL (knit-a-long) starting on Black Friday and ending today, January 1st. I just finished these up this morning, after knitting them all over Colorado and Wyoming.

They feel amazing and soft--although I think I need a punky shirt to wear with them.


They really make great, soft, warm reading mitts. I only have one skein left in this club, and it is destined to be socks. Hopefully I'll be posting about it sooner rather than later!

Shakespeare Yarn Club Skein One

For my birthday, I joined Custom Yarn Dyer Amy Lee's Shakespeare Yarn Club for three months--the three months covering the play Much Ado About Nothing, one of my favorites.

Right after my birthday the first skein arrived--Kill Claudio (name of colorway) in luscious Leo MCS (merino/cashmere/silk.) She had a lovely color theory behind the crazy colors--it begins with pink symbolizing Hero's innocence, moves into a darker pink of infatuation, to a purple and blue symbolizing love and fidelity, then green symbolizing Claudio's jealousy, and finally a deep red marking Beatrice's demand of Benedick that he "Kill Claudio."

You can really see the movement of the colors with the skein on my swift. Lovely--I am definitely going to use this when next I teach Shakespeare--students can create a description of the plot/emotion of a play using color!

Some people in the knitting world call yarn with this much variance of color "clown barf." Sometimes it applies, but not with this gorgeous skein--even wound in a ball I loved the colors.

As it had so much gorgeousness (and cashmere!) I decided to make a shawlette instead of socks with this skein. I chose Yvaine, a lovely pattern that uses garter, stockinette, and seed stitch. I love seed stitch, and it worked incredibly well with this pattern. I love this shawlette, and I know I will get tons of wear out of it this winter. Variegated colors go with everything!

I even had enough left to make some fantastic little mitts, that just keep my hands warm. I know I will wear these in the winter when my hands get a bit chilly. I love how the stripes pooled on these mitts.


I can't wait for my second skein--it should be arriving this week!