Spring Has Sprung (Skirt) - 08/52

After finishing the socks, I pulled out a few UFOs.  I've made some decent progress on one of them - finishing a pair of sleeves in 4 days.  I've now learned the only thing that makes sleeves feel like a fast knit are a pair of socks.  I should probably mention the sleeves were knit on size 15 needles, which would help explain their rapid growth over a pair of socks knit on size 0s.

In addition, I went to Gallifrey One yesterday (why yes, I do love Doctor Who, thank you very much) and got in some good knitting time in Hall A.  That project is on size 8s, using bamboo tape yarn, and I am feeling the results of that in my shoulder now.  Meh.  There's a reason that project's been sitting.

Here's a sneaky pick of Arthur Darvill (Rory) I took yesterday:

Finally, I finished project 8 of 52 this evening!  Work has been taking up a lot of my time, so I'm happy/relieved to be able to stay on track with this crazy goal of mine.  The pattern I used was New Look 6107 and the fabric is the last of some stretch sateen I've had for awhile.  I've previously made two blouses out of it, but today I had the bright idea to make a skirt out of it for Spring/Summer.  I blame Pinterest for inspiring the idea, as I saw a vintage Anthropologie picture with a dress made from landscape fabric.  Anyway, the end result is quite cute and I think it can be dressed up or down.  The shape is a classic pencil skirt, and the pattern itself is quite well-drafted (everything went together well).  I changed the back vent to a slit and sewed the side seams in 1/2" instead of 5/8" seams (I'm right in between a 12 and 14 and this worked out fine).  I'll definitely be making this skirt again.  Here's the finished skirt:

And here's Clancy being a good sport while I cut out the skirt (I call this series, "Scraps on my cat"):

Let there be socks!

Sorry I haven't updated the blog with my projects, but I am happy to say I am more or less on track with the 52!  Projects so far include, a black and white striped tee (which I need to fix, le sigh), a cardigan (Copine), a hat (my own pattern), a navy and white striped tee, a brown and white linen skirt, a beige linen top, jodphurs and a pair of socks.  That's right, I finished a pair of socks!  I used the fine sock pattern from Paton's Next Steps Four - Socks and Slippers and highly recommend it.  I modified the pattern a touch - shorter cuff (20 rows), smaller needles (size 0) and shortened the body of the foot for the ladies 7/8 to 6".  I also decreased to 12 stitches and then ran the tail through the live stitches to close the toe. The only way I could be happier is if it didn't take me so long to knit them.

I even took a picture, because all words and no graphics make a boring blog:




I've had them on all day and find them very comfortable.  They haven't stretched out like my last pair, either.  It will likely be awhile before I attempt my next pair (just because knitting socks on size 0 needles takes me a really long time!), but the experience wasn't so bad to put me off them forever.  Maybe I'll use a heavier yarn so I can knit on size 2s - that should make it go a little faster.  We'll see...