Three Fates Fibers

January Knitting Progress

2012-02-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

The orange cardi is all knit up and I attached the lace border to the body of the sweater, only to find that the cast off edge of the border was a bit too firm. I'll need to remove the border, then re-do the cast on edge to be more stretchy before sewing it back on.

I spent the past week in Washington DC at a conference. My current sock project was too close to being finished to take with me and the other Socks In Progress too complicated, so I started a new pair of socks. These are another pair of socks for Sis. Pattern: Serpentine by Wendy Johnson. Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino. I'm halfway up the foot of the first sock.

Happy New Year!! 2011 Accomplishments and 2012 Plans

2012-01-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

I've discovered that one of the benefits of Ravelry is that it tracks what I've accomplished in a year, if I actually remember to enter all the projects into it. I don't know that I've really ever tracked what I've done before. Perhaps next year I'll keep even better track. So here's the rundown on 2011's knitting: I completed at least four pair of socks, a baby sweater and two shawls, plus a half dozen dish cloths. There might have been a scarf in there somewhere too.

I spun and plied a couple hundred yards of a sport weight three-ply merino yarn too. There's another pound or two of that fiber left. Currently on the wheel is some tencel-superwash wool fiber that I'd like to turn into socks or perhaps a shawlette.

For 2012, I'm still poking away at the orange mohair-linen cardi and the green cotton cardi, plus half a dozen half-knit socks. I'd like to finish all of those projects. I'm also going to keep +Tricia Smith company knitting MMario's Queen Anne's Lace shawl. On New Year's Eve, I purchased eight skeins of Shibui Knits Merino Kid in a dark emerald green and have tagged it to become the Blackberry Cabled Cardigan. I don't think I'll get it finished in 2012, but I'll give it a decent shot. I'd also like to finally finish my Freedom Sweater (started in 1995) and the February Lady Sweater (started only in 2010). This may be the Year of the Sweater instead of knitting mostly socks.

Regarding yarn and fiber purchases this year, the yarn or fiber will have to be something absolutely to die for or I think I'll give it a pass. I've got more than enough yarn and prepped spinning fiber to keep me busy for a good long time.

Oh, and I'm hoping I'll be more consistent about blogging fibery progress and photos along the way!

Socktoberfest 2011 Final Report

2011-11-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

I managed to not actually finish a single sock during the entire month. I did, however, start three new pair of socks including the socks reported in my last post.

There are the black socks for Sis. Too dark to knit in lower light conditions. Too complicated to knit wtihout the chart. Yarn is some sock yarn by Plymouth. Pattern: Devon by Cookie A.

There are the teal/peacock colored socks. Also too complicated to knit without the chart or while trying to multitask. Yarn from an indie dyer (Purchased at Fine Line Creative Arts Center). Pattern is Rosebud by Wendy Johnson.

There are the new cotton blend socks. Simple enough for pre-occupied knitting.Yarn is Sockotta. Pattern is Spring Forward from Knitty, Summer 2008.

Other non-sock ongoing projects:
Blocks for a log cabin-style blanket that I'm knitting for Project Linus. I don't knit on it very often, which I suspect is because I'm not quite comfortable just making up the pattern as I go. I want the blocks to all be different but then I also worry that it won't look good. Today I had a possible idea--adapt the Tokyo Subway Quilt by Oh, Fransson! to my knitted blanket. My version will just be two colors (red and blue), but it should still turn out pretty cool.

Current knitting focus
I've been working on the orange mohair/linen cardi. I've only got the lace edging to finish for the fronts and the sleeves. It's not particularly complicated and just needs to be done. Once the edging is finished, all that will need to be done is the sewing up. I need to quit procrastinating and just do it. I really want to wear this sweater this fall and winter.

Next focus
Finishing some of those socks during some upcoming travel events, especially Sis' socks. I'd like to get the green cotton cardi off the WIP list too. I'll have to rip out the sleeves and pay a heck of a lot more attention to the gauge and fit so I end up with sleeves that aren't so darned tight. This may involve modifying the pattern to get the fit I want.

There are a few pattern ideas percolating in the back of my head too. I have a lace stole sketched out. It may be that I actually knit a swatch or three and finally develop the full pattern.

Socktoberfest 2011

2011-09-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

I discovered a nasty hole along the side of one of the socks I wore yesterday. I suspect I snagged one on the buckle of my clogs yesterday. I have a vague recollection of that but hadn't thought it pulled hard enough to break the yarn. While examining the hole, I also discovered the heels are getting dangerously thin. :-(

On close examination, the socks probably should have been knit at a tighter gauge. I may rip both socks back to the ankles, then knit back down in a tighter gauge. I suspect that darning the heels of these socks will be futile at the current gauge.

So now I'm celebrating Socktoberfest. I'm using the same brand of yarn in a deep turquoise/jewel tone colorway. I initially intended to knit the very same pattern that sprung the hole (The Through the Loops 2009 Mystery Sock), but have achieved 8 sts per inch on size zero needles and will instead knit a pair of toe up socks from Wendy Johnson's Toe-Up Socks for Everybody. I haven't yet decided between Rosebud and Victory. At the moment, I'm leaning toward Rosebud. I'll make the final decision in another six rounds or so, when the toe is done and I'm ready to start the foot.

Through the Loops Shawl KAL finished

2011-09-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

The KAL ended at midnight last Friday. I finished my shawl around noon on Saturday, so I wasn't eligible for any of the lovely prizes. But I'm happy with my shawl and that's really what counts.

I estimate I've got about 300 yards left in the second skein of yarn.

Next Knitting Project
I am sorely tempted to join the Aidez KAL on Google+ that is starting up on October 15th or 17th. However, I do have a few projects that I'd like to finish first.

First and foremost is the orange mohair/linen cardigan I started last fall. It just needs the lace borders knit for the fronts and cuffs and to have the sleeves set into the body. After that, I'd like to finish the green cotton cardi also from last year. It will need the sleeves re-knit since they are far too tight. I'd also like to get two pair of socks knit up for my sister for Christmas gifts, but I might be able to sneak Aidez in there as well.

More important than whether the queue has room is to decide if I want to spend my entertainment money for the month on yarn for Aidez or on a road trip to Portland on the 28th to see the Yarn Harlot at a reading. I'm leaning toward the road trip. :-)

Through the Loops Summer Shawl KAL

2011-09-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've done it. I've let insanity get the best of me. (That seems to be happening quite a bit these days. I blame the recent full moon.) In any event, I cast on Jeanne this evening. Rather than using the blue Schaefer Anne that I was considering last night, I'd elected to use the two skeins of Madelinetosh Tosh Sock (color Sequoia) that I picked up at Serial Knitters last month.

Not sure I can get this project finished by the 23rd to meet the KAL deadline, but I'll give it a shot. We'll see what happens.

Frogging and Finishing and Starting

2011-09-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

First, the frogging--I ripped out the Errold's Grove Wedding Shawl that was probably 80% complete. It's been hibernating for the past couple years and I decided today that the yarn really needs to be something else.

Now for the finishing...the Pea Vines shawl is finished and blocked and ready to wear! I didn't do as nice a blocking job on the top edge as I'd have liked, but it'll be ok for now. To do it well, a set of blocking wires is really needed. Perhaps I'll buy some for myself this winter.

All in all, I really liked knitting this. I thought the pattern was extremely well written. When Anne Hanson said the pattern was a great traveler, she was definitely right. This was a great travel knit. I may end up making another of these some time.

The starting part is a bit trickier. I was resisting starting a new project until I started going through my stash and pulling out yarn to donate. Now I'm sort of hankering to start several pairs of French Press Slippers to use up some gorgeous Harrisville Designs wool in different jewel tones. These would be great slippers for a charity project. I mostly talked myself out of that idea, but then I stumbled across the Through the Loops Shawl KAL. There are only 13 days left to knit a shawl from one of Kristen Kapur's patterns. Jeanne happens to be #7 in m Ravelry queue. I just happen to have the exact yarn (Schaeffer Anne) in my stash and it's already wound into a ball....

Stash Saturation Point

2011-08-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know if such a thing exists but I think I may have reached it. I went to a lovely yarn store last week with my Sis (Wool and Company in St. Charles, IL) and I could find nothing that wanted to come home with me. Plenty of beautiful yarn to buy but nothing that I was even remotely interested in purchasing. No alpaca lace, no colorful sock yarn, no indie dyers, no cashmere. Nothing. I'm not even upset that I wasn't excited about the yarn. Very odd. :-)

Pea Vines Update
I'm a little over halfway through the first chart. I've managed to catch and correct knitting errors fairly easily so far. Markers for each repeat help a whole lot in that regard. It doesn't look like the mobile version of blogger will post photos from my phone or I'd share. I still love the yarn and the color.

An "Interesting" Start to the Day....

2011-08-17T22:23:00.001-07:00

The middle lane on the road to work was closed this morning. Drivers were not, however, really noticing the big flashing sign with the arrows pointing to the open left and right lanes. So traffic was backing up as the middle lane vehicles tried to merge at the last minute into the other lanes. And some drivers didn't notice the slowing traffic until the last minute.

Like the big F-250 pickup truck behind me.

Fortunately the driver had the sense to swerve smoothly onto the shoulder rather than slamming into the back of my little car.

Here's the fun part....

When the truck actually stopped, the front bumper was about even with the front of the passenger compartment of my car.

I suspect had the truck actually hit me, the bumper would have stopped about halfway through the passenger compartment, after pushing the rear of the car into me and me into the engine compartment.

That would have most definitely put a crimp in my plans for the day, not to mention the next few months or years.

I debated buying a lottery ticket today since I got tremendously lucky in avoiding a nasty bad accident today. Perhaps I'll do that tomorrow. :o)

Domestic Travel Knitting

2011-08-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

I decided against starting Sis' socks. I've been plugging away at the Tri-Cities socks (SpillyJane's Pittsworth pattern). However, as this pattern requires rather a lot of attention due to a goodly amount of cabling, it seemed to me that it's not really good travel or "visiting with relatives" knitting. So the socks will stay home while I trek off to Chicago and then the state of Georgia (as opposed to the country of Georgia I usually visit).

I made use of a KnitSpot gift certificate tonight and purchased Pea Vines, among several other shawl/stole patterns. I think the blue-green Hazel Knits yarn I just purchased will look stunning in this pattern. The shawl is knit from the point to the neck. Once I get past the border, it shouldn't be too bad to knit in the presence of company. If nothing else, it will give me an excuse to pet my beautiful yarn.

Initially, I thought I would make the Tall size, but am on the verge of deciding to knit the petite size instead. It occurs to me that a 80 inch wide triangular shawl is probably a wee bit too large for 65" me. The 60 inch version ought to be plenty big enough without being overwhelming. I'll end up with some yarn left over, but I'm ok with that. I can make some wristers or a cowl or use it as an accent color on something else.

Finishitis!

2011-08-07T13:26:00.001-07:00

I have, in the past few weeks, managed to finish three pair of socks!! The first were my green/brown Nutkins.

Then I finished Boy's Zombie socks. (no picture, I'm afraid). Both of these were travel knitting projects on my last journey to Tbilisi. Today I finished off a pair of parrot-colored Fawkes socks for me.

There is one more pair of socks awaiting a second sock--my Tri-Cities socks (pattern: Pittsworth by SpillyJane). I haven't decided if I want to start the second sock or if I want to start a new pair for my sister. I've already got Sis' sock yarn and pattern bundled up, awaiting my decision.

Serial Knitters

I visited a new-to-me yarn store while in the Seattle area over the weekend. Boy and I drove over so Boy could buy a new car. We stayed in Bellevue and popped up to Kirkland to visit Serial Knitters after breakfast on Saturday. Quite by coincidence, it happened to be Anniversary Weekend for the shop, so nearly everything in the store was 20% off. I only wish I lived closer to the shop. The shop staff are very friendly and the crew of knitters hanging out in the back were just fun. Too bad it's such a long drive over to sit and knit!!

I brought home five skeins in three colors. One Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Tart (not fart as I initially read it), two Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Aquarius and two Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Sequoia. The red yarn is destined to become a new pair of socks for me as I'm wearing out my one pair of red socks. The other two yarns might become a pair of medium-sized shawls rather than just socks (or maybe a small shawlette/scarf with matching socks). The blue-green Hazel Knits yarn is far too pretty to mostly hide under pants and in shoes.

Fall Projects

2011-08-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Without even considering the projects I already have in progress, I got to thinking today about what knitted items would be nice to have in my wardrobe this fall. I thought it would be nice to have a couple of medium-weight cardigans and maybe a pullover or two.

Wouldn't you know, I just happen to have these very items already in progress!! Looks like I'll have to get off my duff and finish the orange and green cardigans as well as the February Lady Pullover and the Freedom Sweater that were started years ago (close to ten years ago on the Freedom Sweater). The green sweater needs to have its sleeves re-knitted since they are waaaaaaaay too snug. I don't remember where I was at on the orange mohair cardigan. The February Lady Pullover got set aside in favor of the February Lady Cardigan that I knit for my sister's birthday a couple years ago. (She couldn't decide which version she wanted and I happened to buy enough yarn for one of each so I decided that I'd get the version she didn't pick.)

There will, of course, have to be sock knitting as well. Sis picked out and purchased yarn for at least two, if not three, pair of socks. I've got the yarn matched up with patterns already and just need to do the knitting. My current stash of handknit socks is wearing thin, so I have to keep up with the replenishment knitting (which frankly isn't as much fun as just knitting for the heck of it). I'll have to come up with some crazy scheme to make that more fun.

Nutkins Complete!

2011-07-23T00:11:00.000-07:00

I finished my Nutkin socks about 1.5 hours into a ten hour flight from San Francisco to Munich. Of course all of my other knitting projects were packed in my checked baggage. This was probably a good thing in the long run as I really did need to sleep on the flight. Having no knitting to do during a 5 hour layover in Munich was less ideal, but I did get some work done (reviewing presentations and answering e-mail) so objectively that was ok too, if not nearly as personally satisfying as knitting.

My current knitting project is the second of Boy's Zombie Socks. I got about three hours of knitting in yesterday while waiting and riding in a car. I could have done more if I hadn't kept taking pictures of the countryside. (We drove along the edge of a broad valley where wheat and oats were being harvested. The golds and greens of the fields and trees were stunning against a backdrop of blue sky and thunderheads. Too bad Van Gogh and Monet never used the Georgian landscape as subject matter.)

More Fibery Goodness
We visited the Kutaisi State Museum briefly yesterday. They had the usual museum display of what the inside of a typical home looked like 100+ years ago. It included a legless spinning wheel and wool combs!! The textile room included a 2 harness loom with a 24-30 inch weaving width. It was threaded with very fine yarns. I couldn't quite tell if it was new weaving or old weaving on the loom due to the faded colors. The boat shuttle has clearly been used often. Display cases held spindles, a crochet hook, patterned knitted socks (with a pointed toe that I associate with Turkish-style socks), embroidered clothing, a crocheted shawl, a knitted shawl and some religious textiles with heavy, detailed embroidery using gold threads. If there hadn't been a couple of disapproving-looking museum ladies, I'd have taken a whole bunch of non-flash photos. I should have asked if anybody actually uses the loom for demonstrations. In the commercial products/industry room, there was a cotton gin and a dissertation from someone which was apparently about thread production and included small skeins of silk threads from various places. The dissertation was handwritten (marvelous script) in French, so I was able to figure out what "soie et Canton China" meant. I snuck a picture of that too, but will have to wait until I get home to upload from my camera.

On that note, I'm going to load my knitting, bottled water and camera into my backpack and go find a nice park area in which to sit and knit for a few more hours.

More Progress and More Travel Knitting

2011-07-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

I've turned the heel on my second Nutkin sock. I'd hoped to finish it before the end of the week but that isn't going to happen.

Friday I head back to Tbilisi again so I need to come up with another travel knitting project. I'll clearly finish Nutkit before I even get to Tbilisi. (will need to take along a yarn needle to weave in the ends so I can wear the socks while traveling). I may take Boy's second sock or another of my second socks. Oddly enough, I don't feel like figuring out a totally new sock project. I don't even want to go randomly pick one of my self-bundled sock patterns/yarn out of the bin. I must have enough new stuff in my life at the moment to not want more of it right now. :-)

Nutkin Progress!

2011-06-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

My Nutkin socks are progressing rather rapidly. I have discovered that I can complete a single pattern repeat during a one hour TV episode (with commercials cut out). In the past week, I've been able to catch a couple hours of NCIS on DVD, which has facilitated some knitting time. I now have a finished first sock and have cast on the second sock. With any luck, the second sock will progress as quickly as the first!

The leg of the sock biases a bit, which has been reported for this pattern and some yarns. I don't think it'll be an issue in the wearing of the sock and I don't mind the appearance of the pattern spiraling up my leg.

Knitting Time
I have realized in the past few weeks where all my knitting time has gone lately. It seems that on the nights when I don't go over to Boy's house to watch DVDs on his very nice, large HD screen, I tend to spend the evening watching NetFlix or DVDs at home. This wouldn't necessarily impede my knitting time except that I tend to be surfing the internet rather than knitting. Perhaps I'll have to impose a moratorium on TV internet surfing just to make sure I get in my knitting time!

LYS news
I discovered this past week that one of my local knitting shops closed a couple months ago. Oops. That should tell you how often I buy yarn and how often I have been checking my groups on Ravelry.

The other local knitting shop, which is located a whole mile away from where I live, will be hosting Debbie Macomber on Friday. I haven't read many of Ms. Macomber's books, but have enjoyed the ones I did read. I know my grandmother really likes her books too. I'll have to head over there to sit and knit for a while. Friday is also the day I close on the sale of my house, so I'll consider the knitting session my reward for getting through the stress of getting it sold.

Travel Knitting Results!

2011-06-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

The Kiri Shawl was left behind in the interest of saving space. I did, however, take the Nutkin socks. I cast on while waiting to leave the US. I got through several repeats on the cuff. I like how the pattern looks. Not quite as fond of the sock color, but perhaps it will grow on me as I knit it. If not, I can always give them away.

While in Tbilisi, I was showed a gallery with some really creative felt projects. Wallhangings, hats, lamp shades. Unfortunately the gallery was closed at the time we went past. I'll definitely need to get there again when it is open. I'd love to see what sort of textile and fiber arts are being produced in the country. What little bits I could see were intriguing.

Travel Knitting Picked!

2011-05-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a pair of Nutkin socks in Prism Saki yarn. The colorway is Woodlands, which is greens and browns. Nutkin is a simple enough stitch pattern that I shouldn't have any trouble memorizing it and knitting while on the plane and/or while chatting with people around me. I've also got my Kiri re-do along for the ride. I probably only really need to take one or the other, but I'm taking both. I may focus on the Kiri for the trip over as I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to come back with my circular needle in my carryon bag. Or I could just leave the shawl in the checked luggage on the trip back.

Anyway, time for bed. Have a great week!

You Got Some Mending to Do!

2011-05-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Seems like I've had a neverending stream of socks to darn lately. As I've said before, I can't complain about most of those as many of my socks are well over five years old. It does fairly regularly remind me that I really need to get cracking on knitting up some socks for myself. The last time I got on a sock knitting kick, I knit three first socks. Now I need to get going on the second socks.

While doing some decluttering in my fiber room last week, I came across my lace shawls. The gray Swan Lake got snagged in my jacket zipper about 18 months ago, so that hole doesn't worry me much.

The camel colored cashmere, however, now has two holes in it. I might have been able to convince myself that the first hole came from a snag, but the second hole developed while the shawl has been resting on my work table.

Time to wash them both thoroughly and give them a spray of moth repellent. I'll end up ripping them each back to the holes, but that won't be too bad. The cashmere kiri is an easy repeat to memorize. I hope I can find all of the directions to the Swan Lake. I know I printed it out. Haven't a clue where I put it.

On the Sock Front
I counted up my handknit socks tonight while putting away the laundry. I have 20 pair of handknit socks in my drawer, 18 of which I wear with some regularity. Then I went to my sock yarn bin to count up how many socks are waiting to be born. There are 38 pair of unknit socks waiting for me and four pair of unknit socks waiting to become socks for other people, plus three pair of socks in progress. At least that's where it stands right now. I may re-purpose some of "my" socks into gifts for others. Although I followed the Yarn Harlot's lead a while ago and bundled the sock yarn into sock kits (yarn plus note of which pattern to use in a zip top bag), I have yet to make any progress on picking a kit a month and finishing it. Too much distraction by the two cardigans, I guess.

More Travel Knitting
I have another international trip coming up in a week. (Tblisi, here I come!) I will naturally take a pair of socks along, probably something fairly simple. I may also get Kiri ripped back to the first hole and take her along as a second project. The repeat is simple enough to memorize that it will make good travel knitting and it packs up rather small as well. Even better--if I get it done while traveling, I can wear it home on the plane to keep from freezing (I always get really cold on long haul flights).

Sleeve Island

2011-05-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

Stefaneener over at Reading While Knitting commented the other day that she's got three sweaters hanging out at Sweater Island, presumably waiting to have their sleeves either knit or installed or both. I've got two in the same condition.

The green sweater has 1.5 sleeves knit and I've discovered that the sleeves are far too snug, so they'll get ripped out.

The orange sweater has 1.2 sleeves knit and I hope they aren't too loose. Or too long. It's a loose fitting sweater with a knitted lace trim that will go on the end of the sleeves.

What really worries me is how long the sweaters will languish in the Straits of Seaming and the Finishing Forest. I've got one sweater that's been there for ten years now!!

It's Been That Kind of a Week

2011-03-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

First, I discovered that one of my favorite socks ended up in the washing machine, rather than the handwashing tub. And that it ended up with a huge hole ripped in the heel. Big enough that I won't be able to darn it.

Then I discovered that it's handwashed mate has a nearly as large hole in its heel. At least this hole didn't get unravelled.

So now I get to decide what to do with these socks. Can't wear them as is certainly and my darning skills aren't up to fixing these. So I'll be either tossing them in the trash or ripping the feet back to the heels and starting over from there. Or ripping them completely out and turning the yarn into something other than socks.

My socks are now officially wearing out faster than I can knit replacements. Even when I can darn them, they're old enough that the places next to the darning wear out. I may have to put the green and orange cardigans on hold until I get some socks knit for me.

First Sleeve!

2011-03-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Yet another photo-free blog entry, for now.

The first of the sleeves for the green cardi is done. I should really know better than to do sleeve shaping in multiple bouts of knitting. I think I followed the directions ok, but the sleeve cap seems awfully long and narrow to me. I'll see how the second one turns out, making sure I do the shaping in a single session to prevent mistakes.

I've been working on the orange cardi. I've started the neck shaping. In a couple inches, I'll start the armholes.

On Boy's gray socks, I've started the gusset increases on the second sock. Perhaps by the onset of spring he'll have a new pair of socks to wear.

International Knitting

2011-02-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

I have now knit socks on three continents. I've even knit the same two pair of socks on three continents! In January, I went to Amman, Jordan on business. Of course, I took knitting with me. I knit during layovers at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and I knit in my hotel room in Amman. Soon Boy and Sis will have some world travelling socks!

At the moment, I have the same two pair of socks with me at Disney World and should commence a bit of knitting shortly.

No progress yet on my crazy idea for spinning and knitting a twisted stitch pullover. I'm still figuring out which fleece might be the best candidate. I've decided on a colored fleece and probably one of the Coopworths.

I'm also toying with the concept of knitting my way through the non-sock yarn of my stash. I've been hankering for a sweater from some beautiful, naturally brown aran weight yarn that was purchased for me by my mom when she was on vacation in Ireland. I'm leaning toward the Fireside Sweater. With any luck it won't make my fluff look extra fluffy. (Or course, the best solution to that will be to actually get into better shape so that my extra fluff isn't so fluffy, but that's beside the point.)

Update on the project front....there hasn't been much to report. I've not had much time or inclination for knitting. I've been busy enough at work lately that I really just feel like being braindead and drooling when I get home, followed by an early bedtime. HEre's the rundown on my progress:

The first sleeve on the green cardigan is nearly finished. I worked on the sleeve cap shaping during the Super Bowl and then put it down and haven't touched it since. I should cast on the second sleeve soon. Might get this done by end of spring...

The orange cardigan is languishing in my knitting basket. I discovered that I failed to start the neck shaping at the appropriate time. I discovered this about 1/3 of the way through the armhole shaping. I have ripped back to start the whole shaping thing over. Will have to take careful notes of what I'm doing or I'll be ripping this out a bunch of times. I do still love the color and the yarn. Don't think I'll be done before summer though. It'll still make a nice sweater this fall.

On the other hand, I have finished the baby sweater I started at the spur of the moment a month ago. It's been completed for several weeks now. I just need to get the dang buttons on it. Sigh. If I keep procrastinating, the baby will outgrow it before I ever give it to him!!

I May Be Crazy

2010-12-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

One of my Christmas presents came in the mail this week. It's a copy of Twisted-Stitch Knitting by Maria Erlbacher. There are some lovely stitch patterns in this book and some even lovelier sweater patterns at the back of the book. Here's where the crazy part comes in. I have decided to not only knit at least one of these sweaters, I have decided that I'm going to spin the yarn with which to knit them.

You may recall that I have >75 pounds of lovely roving that I had processed by Spinderella this past spring. I've been trying to come up with projects to start using this up. I could knit 800 pairs of socks from it, but I think that would get rather boring, so a larger project (or 50) is in order. For the most part, the wool is soft enough for next-to-skin wear. I'm thinking sweaters and shawls and scarves. For the coarser wool, perhaps an afghan or a woven rug. My wardrobe could use the addition of several lighter-weight cardigans and maybe a couple of pullovers. The natural-colored wool should set off textured stitch patterns quite well, as will a worsted-spun yarn.

Spinning to meet a project specification will be a new experience for me. Ordinarily, I knit the yarn and then pick a project. It may be a challenge to spin a consistent yarn from start to finish. I'll need to devise a way to measure the yarn length so I can be sure that I have spun enough yarn before I start knitting. I'm also curious about how long it will take me to spin enough yarn for a whole sweater.

I'll keep pondering the details while I finish spinning up the merino roving I've got on the wheel right now (2-ply lace weight).

On the Knitting Front...
I've got one knitted gift finished. The other one is only half done (still haven't started the second sock). I have been making some progress on the orange cardigan. Haven't done much on the green cardigan sleeve, even though I'm already at the shaping of the sleeve cap on the first sleeve. Fairly soon I'll have to figure out what my travel knitting for next week will be.

Meme-Day Monday

2010-12-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

"Stolen" at the direction of Vicki over at knitorious.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 0330. Had to take Boy to the airport. I normally get up between 0400 and 0415.
2. How do you like your steak? Grazing in a pasture. I'm a vegetarian.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I saw "Red" just this past weekend.
4. What is your favorite TV show? "Castle." It's the only TV show I watch, though I shift it to Wednesday nights.
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Some place with gorgeous views, great food and fascinating people.
6. What did you have for breakfast? Oatmeal with blueberries and a piece of homemade whole wheat bread on the side.
7. What is your favorite cuisine?  Mexican or Italian.
8. What foods do you dislike? Lima beans, Brussels sprouts, greasy food, animals.
9. Favorite Place to Eat? Courier Cafe. The Tin Shed. Atomic Ale Brewery and Pub.
10. Favorite dressing? Spicy mustard mixed with apple cider vinegar and a bit of honey.
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? VW Golf and CBR 600 F3 motorcycle.
12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans and a sweater.
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Another planet. Tibet. Italy. The bottom of the ocean. Any place with gorgeous views, great food and fascinating people.
14. Is your cup 1/2-empty or 1/2-full?  1/2-full.
15. Where would you want to retire? Some place with gorgeous views, great food and fascinating people. Some place I can continue learning and doing.
16. Favorite time of day? Sunset or sunrise.
17. Where were you born? The same place as Captain Kirk. Iowa.
18. Favorite sport to watch? Equestrian sports. College football.
19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
22. Bird watcher?  Not since I moved and no longer have a bird feeder installed. I miss having meals with the goldfinches, bluebirds, woodpeckers and their friends.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?  I have become a morning person. I have been a night person in the past.
24. Pets? Do virtual fish count?
25. Favorite book? I can't pick just one. Maybe The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson.
26. What did you want to be when you were little?  A mad scientist. See? Dreams can come true!
27. What is your best childhood memory? Getting to have a pony for a week while staying at my grandparent's farm. Seeing at least one movie every weekend throughout my childhood and adolescence. Getting lost in various books.
28. Are you a cat or dog person? Either
29. Do you have children? Just houseplants and books.
30. Do you always wear your seat belt?  Yes.
31. Have you ever been in a car accident?  Yes.
32. Any pet peeves?  Yes, mostly having to do with bad grammar and a lack of common sense.
33. Favorite pizza topping? tomatoes, roasted eggplant, onions, no cheese.
34. Favorite Flower? To look at: sunflowers. To smell: Lilies of the valley.
35. Favorite ice cream? Frozen banana "ice cream". (Frozen bananas blended with almond milk until smooth.)
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? If I eat the lunch I packed while driving in my car, does that count?
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None.
38. From whom did you get your last email? A spammer.
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? I don't buy on credit, but I could drop a lot of cash at various yarn and book stores.
40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Yes. I try to do something spontaneous at least every weekend.
41. Do you like your job? Love it.
42. Broccoli? Cauliflower? Yes.
43. What was your favorite vacation?   Probably DisneyWorld for my 40th bday.
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Boy.
45. What are you listening to right now? Fresh Air on NPR.
46. What is your favorite color? Most intense colors: cobalt blue, forest green, purple, red.
47. How many tattoos do you have? None.
48. Coffee drinker? Yes.
49. Favorite pastime? Knitting. Reading. Watching movies. Baking.
50. Favorite quote? Two quotes, both from the XIVth Dalai Lama:
    "Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can."
   "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito."


Want to meme along? Go for it! Post that you played along and I'll come read your answers too.

I seem to be on an unraveling kick lately

2010-12-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

At least that's what my blog posts seem to indicate.

I have discovered that if you let a couple weeks go past while in the middle of doing the shaping for a sleeve cap, it's fairly difficult to remember where in the process you were. So now I've ripped out the top of the sleeve and started the shaping over again since I couldn't get the numbers to work out right (apparently started up at the wrong spot in the instructions). Now things are back on track. Given that the weather is supposed to be gloriously icky (freezing rain, sleet, snow--everything the Postal Service loves this time of year) this weekend, I think I'll park myself in my comfy chair next to the fireplace, put on a nice audiobook or DVD and finish off my sleeve.

Of course, what I really should do is finish off one of my Christmas gifts. The problem is that I'm worried that I might run out of yarn. It won't make more yarn to not finish the present, but that seems to be my coping mechanism at the moment. *sigh*

Perhaps I'll make a deal with myself and alternate one hour of sleeve with one hour of present.

Swan Lake Oopsies
My Swan Lake stole has now been zipped into my jacket three times, resulting in two rips. This is definitely not going to survive as my winter scarf. I'll have to rip back part of the wing to fix one of the holes. Hopefully I can find all the printouts for the pattern.

In the meantime I've been wearing a red mohair blend (Mountain Colors' Mountain Goat) scarf and have discovered that it's itchy. I'm thinking this particular variety of mohair and my neck just don't get along. I had suspected that last winter, but now I'm pretty certain of it. I've got two more skeins of the same yarn in different colors, but definitely won't be making scarves for me out of it. Will have to find a new scarf solution and soon!

Anti-Unraveling

2010-11-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

I have cast on the green cardigan's sleeve again, this time with the size 5 needles that the pattern (and my gauge) call for. So far the sleeve is about 4 inches tall and progressing well.

I also cast on for the orange linen/mohair cardigan. The body of it is in stockinette. I debated putting a garter stitch border at the bottom edge just to keep it from curling. And then I didn't do it. Now I'm debating ripping out 3 inches of knitted mohair. Ugh. First I'll block the knitting I've done and see how crisply it blocks out. So far nobody else on Ravelry who has knit this sweater (Cia) has mentioned the bottom edge curling. Either it didn't bother anybody or it didn't curl.

The first Boy-sized Zombie sock is nearly done. Time to knit the ribbing at the top of the cuff, then cast on sock #2. With any luck, I'll get these done for Christmas.

The first of the Pedicure Socks is finished. Need to get the second one cast on since that's a Christmas gift too.

Speaking of Christmas...I should probably figure out what, if any, other holiday knitting there will be, given that it's only a bit over a month away. I'm leaning toward no other holiday knitting, personally. This is not because I'm a humbug, just because I'm attempting to be realistic about the amount of knitting time and energy I actually have between now and mid-December.

What, if anything, are you knitting for the holidays?

The Week is Unraveling

2010-10-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

First, there was Inara's Sock. It took me what seemed like way too long, but I finally got two inches of sock knit up. And then I dropped a stitch at some point. And I dropped a couple more while picking up the first errant stitch. So I decided to rip back a bit. And then I discovered how difficult it is to pick up tiny twisted stitches correctly. So I ripped it back to the ribbing and started over. And promptly goofed up the first row.

I'm thinking this sock will still be Inara's Sock based on color but that I might try a different, less complex pattern. In any event, I'm unlikely to finish these socks before the end of the month, which means I'll be out of the Harry Potter Knit Crochet Cup for the rest of the term. :-(

Tonight I decided to pick up the sleeve to my Green Cardigan that I set aside several weeks ago. I just have the shaping at the top of the sleeve to do. I have been knitting the sleeve in the round using DPNs. Since the sleeve cap is knit flat, I wanted to switch over to a circular to simplify things. That's when I discovered the discrepancy.

I've been knitting on size 3 DPNs. The sleeve is supposed to be knit on size 5 needles. On the other hand, this explains why it was a bit more narrow than I had expected or wanted. *sigh*

So I'll be starting over on the sleeve. But perhaps not tonight.

In a tiny bit of good news, the swatch for my orange mohair/linen cardigan came out quite lovely. I really like this color. It's bright and cheerful without being garish. The yarn is Louet KidLin, which is composed of 1 ply mohair and one ply linen. The linen provides a bit of stiffness and body, so the knitted fabric is crisp yet soft and has a bit of halo. The one potential issue I found in knitting up the swatch is that occasionally the plies separate a bit and only one is caught in a given stitch. The body of the sweater I'm knitting is all stockinette so at least if I have to repair a split stitch, it won't be terribly complicated to drop a stitch back to the problem and run it back up after the fix.

What I haven't decided for certain yet is whether I'll wait until after the Green Cardigan is done before I cast on. I like how quickly this knits up, the color reminds me of autumn leaves and pumpkins, and it's just so warm and cheerful!

I'm glad I didn't feel like spinning this week. I'm afraid to think about how I might have goofed that up.

Mini Project

2010-09-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

Over on Ravelry, I'm competing in the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup. I'm a first year member of Ravenclaw. This month our first assignments are due. Unfortunately real life is getting in the way of my knitting and I didn't want to start a whole bunch of projects only to not finish them (and thus accrue an ever growing list of WsIP). I chose instead to start (and finish) a small project for the Charms course. We were asked to produce a "protective covering for an item of value." I decided to knit and felt an iPod case/cozy. I happened to have some Patons Classic Wool Merino in need of a project, so that's what I used. I thought the royal purple color might help deflect any mishaps from the iPod.

I haven't decide whether to add a button or not. For now I'll leave it buttonless and see how it performs.

Knitting Progress Update

2010-09-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting along on my cardigan sleeve. I'm afraid it's not terribly exciting, being that it's simple K1, P1 ribbing with paired increases every 10 rows.

The EZ 100th Anniversary Pi is languishing. I'm not even sure what round I stopped on. Fortunately I'm not very far along so it'll be easy enough to count.

I might have put in another repeat on each of the socks in progress. I squeezed in about 1/2 a bobbin of lace weight spinning.

Even with a couple of afternoons off from work I haven't had much knitting or spinning time. Maybe next week.

There's Logic There Somewhere

2010-08-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

For some reason I am still not entirely clear on, I decided that I needed to have a new knitting project for my weekend trip. I couldn't work on the Crabby Socks, perhaps because I was over halfway through the second sock and I wouldn't want to finish it, leaving myself with no project for an indeterminate amount of time. I couldn't take the new Pi shawl, because it would be too complicated for airplane knitting or knitting while talking to people. The green cardi sleeve would likely get too big for comfortable portable knitting, not to mention I'd have to keep the magazine with me (because I couldn't possibly have made a copy of the pattern for traveling purposes).

So I started a new pair of socks, of course. These are knit in Shibui Knits Sock, in a colorway that reminds me of parrots. Bright tropical colors: orange, fuchsia, turquoise, lime green. I'm using the Fawkes pattern by the late Monkey Toes, from the now defunct Socktopia site. Yes, I know that Fawkes was a phoenix in the Harry Potter books, not a parrot. They're both birds, right? I figure that's close enough. Technically Fawkes is a top-down pattern, but I want to use up every last bit of this yarn, so decided to turn everything upside down and knit from the toe up. On my trip I got up to the heel turn on the first sock. I'm now one or two pattern repeats up the leg. I might have a completed pair of socks by the end of next week!

Starting My Pi Shawl

2010-08-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

I initially started the WendyKnits Pi Shawl with size six needles. I knit about four rounds and decided that wasn't going to work. I started over again tonight using size four needles. I've unvented a new circular shawl start. Having recently been knitting socks from the toe up, it occurred to me that Judy's Magic Cast On might work for a circular start for a shawl. I started by casting on just four stitches, knit two rounds plain, then increased evenly to nine stitches and began following Wendy's pattern as written. I'm up to the second increase round now and things are going quite well. In another half dozen rounds, I should be able to see how the start looks.

The body of the green cardigan is currently drying on my living room floor. I decided to block it now. It's a bit longer than I really wanted it to be and I'm a bit worried that it'll stretch even longer. This is after knitting it shorter than the pattern called for (except for the armscye shaping). We'll see how it goes after it's all done. It may not be as long as I think it is once it's sewn up and on my body. And if it is too long, I can give it to my sister or I can rip back the top and redo it.

I'm traveling again this weekend. I've started a new pair of socks for the occasion. I'm knitting the Fawkes socks again, using some parrot-colored Shibui Sock yarn. I'm going to knit this pair from the toe up so I can use every last bit of the yarn. With any luck, I might have a first sock finished by the end of the weekend.

Closer to cardigan

2010-08-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

The green cardigan is progressing. The body is done and I'm now working on the first sleeve. I started knitting it flat, but am considering ripping it out to knit it in the round. If the body hasn't got any seams in it, why should the sleeves?

I've nearly finished the first of the Magic Mirror socks too. I think they look pretty good. I'm curious if the biasing will chill out a bit after I wash them. It doesn't affect the fit of the socks in any way, but it does make them look funny when they're flat.

Am about four rounds into the latest KAL by WendyKnits--a Pi shawl in honor of Elizabeth Zimmermann's 100th birthday. I don't really need a new project but something lacy was appealing. (Don't ask me why the already in progress cobweb weight Errold's Grove shawl didn't count.) I'm using some Misti Alpaca lace yarn in a dark burgundy colorway. I declined to make a gauge swatch, in favor of just getting started. Of course since I chose to do that, I'm not sure I like the fabric I'm getting with size 6 needles. May drop it back to size 4 or 5. Would like a bit of a lacy look to the solid portions of the shawl but not quite as lacy as I'm getting.

Spin It Up!

2010-07-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Decided to spend last night and tonight spinning. I've filled a bobbin with dark brown/black Shetland singles. A two-ply would probably be fingering weight. Not sure if I want to two-ply or three-ply this yarn. Not sure what I want to make with it either. Perhaps a nice Shetland shawl to wrap around myself in my freezing cold office. I think it's too scratchy for a scarf or hat. Might work for a lightweight sweater. Of course it might soften up a bit with washing too. I'm not even sure how much yardage I'll end up with at this point. However much I can get out of 2+ pounds of roving. By rough calculation, if I can get 400 yards of fingering-weight yarn in 4 ounces, that's 1600 yards per pound or approx 3200 yards total. Plenty for a light cardi or a huge shawl.

The difficult question right now is whether to spin up another bobbin full of Shetland singles or to spin up a bobbin full of the superwash merino/tencel roving that I started spinning at least a year ago. That will end up a nice two-ply, either for a shawl or socks. I'm leaning toward getting the merino/tencel out of the way, getting it plied and getting it knit. It only seems fair to get it done and out of the way before diving into the newer roving from Spinderella. Or at least that's my logic at the moment.

I Have Been Knitting....

2010-07-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Even if I haven't been blogging. :-)

Finally got the ends run in on Sis' socks that I finished a couple months ago. I've come to the conclusion that the pair of Crabby Socks for me are indeed too short so I'll rip out the top of the one sock I completed and knit another repeat into the leg before binding off. I'm glad I decided to think about that before just jumping straight into the 2nd sock.

The Green Cardigan is progressing slowly. I get in 2-4 rows a couple times a week now. I've finished the first repeat of the yoke pattern. Should be dividing for the arm holes in another 1/2 to 1 inch or so. I'm hoping things will pick up speed a bit at that point. It seems like I knit cotton more slowly than other fibers. Of course, this is also a much larger project than my usual socks. So far I like it though. Will measure the chest again tomorrow to make sure I'm on target. I suspect the length will grow a bit with wearing, due to cotton's general tendency to stretch. I'm hoping that means the sweater gets a bit smaller around. I really don't need it to get any bigger around while it gets longer. The current size is just fine.

These are the socks I started for my trip at the end of June. The pattern is Magic Mirror by Jeannie Cartmel. The yarn is probably Sockotta, purchased well over five years ago. Not entirely sure why I bought this particularly colorway, but it's cheery and spring-like. I've certainly purchased worse. :-)

Anyway, this photo doesn't reflect it, but I"m actually about halfway up the leg on the first sock. I had a bit of trouble getting the short row heel to work out on the first try. When I picked up the wraps on one side to either knit or purl them, it looked really sloppy. Of course I didn't notice that until after I'd knit several rounds of the leg. Conveniently, I was trying to justify staying up waaaaay too late in the night to watch Gene Simmons' reality show on A&E, so I ripped the heel right out and re-did it. I wasn't even that tired the next morning and the knitting turned out pretty well!

In Other Blogs....
I've been reading Anne Hanson's blog KnitSpot, quite a bit this summer. There are several shawls/shawlettes (among other designs) that I will have to knit for myself. They look to be just the thing for chilly air conditioning. She's also got a lovely garden that's producing lush yummy veggies like crazy. The photos of the garden are just gorgeous. (It does make me miss my garden a lot, though my garden was never as well-maintained or as productive as Anne and David's garden.) David does a great job with the knitting photos when Anne is modeling. I don't know how she manages the garden and putting up produce in the freezer and pantry PLUS knitting and designing and traveling for her pattern line AND she blogs regularly!! Amazing! I aspire to be that organized, productive and creative with my time!!

What I like about Anne's designs is that they have simple shapes, clean lines and the stitch patterns seem so natural/organic. The sweaters are close fitting and light- to medium-weight, not oversized or bulky. The sock patterns are textured, rather than relying on self-striping yarns for interest. I like crazy colored socks, but crazy colors come in mostly solid colorways too. It's nice to have a textured sock pattern that isn't obscured by the yarn. At least some of the shawl patterns include variations for different shapes and sizes. I like that the recommended yarns are mostly from indie dyers too, rather than from big yarn companies. I think that brings an added level of uniqueness to the finished product, plus it supports small craftspersons in their businesses, which I think is a good thing.

Anyway, go visit KnitSpot and see the good work Anne does!

You Know You Are Tired When....

2010-06-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

You absentmindedly click on a blog name in Bloglines, start to read the unread posts and GET HALFWAY THROUGH before you realize that you're reading your own blog. I actually had the thought "Wow! That's so cool. That knitter is having cold office issues and wants to knit a couple of light weight cardigans just like I do." *sigh*

In Other News...
Boy celebrated his birthday this past week. No, I did not knit him any socks (or foot hugs, as he likes to call them). But just as soon as I get a couple pair of socks for me finished, to shore up my dwindling personal supply of socks, I'll get another pair of Boy Socks on the way.

Printed Silk Cardigan Update
I'm halfway up the body of the sweater now. Just need to figure out the button band directions some time when I'm not half-braindead. I need to mark which side will have buttonholes and review the buttonhole technique that they recommend. I'm actually on the row for the first buttonhole now. I should also figure out when the armhole shaping will start soon, so I don't have to rip back. All in all, I think I'm making fairly speedy progress and I like the looks of things so far.

Swatchy Swatch!

2010-06-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

After tracking down a size 4 bamboo circular, I swatched for the Printed Silk Cardi and got exactly the same pre-washing gauge as I got with the size 5 metal needle. However, once the swatch was washed and dried per label care instructions, the size four swatch came out exactly on gauge. I'll cast on the body of the sweater in a little bit. I'll knit the body in the round up to the arm holes, then divide into fronts and back. That way I can avoid having to sew up the thing and also avoid the procrastination that goes along with having to sew up a sweater.

I have finished the second pair of Wendy Johnson's Serpentine Socks for my Sis. These are made out of Mirasol Hacho. All that's left is running in the ends and getting them in the mail.

The pair of Serpentine Socks I started for myself out of Socks That Rock Mediumweight have stalled out. I finished the first sock, but now am wondering if the leg is too short. I haven't come to a conclusion on that yet. I'm reluctant to rip out the cuff and add another repeat, but if it's too short, it's too short. So starting the second sock is on hold until I get that decided.

In the meantime, I've cast on for another Wendy Johnson toe-up sock. This time it's the Ribbed Ribbons socks from Socks from the Toe Up. I'm knitting them in Verve by the Unique Sheep. The colorway I have is called Lights. It reminds me of Christmas lights.

Other socks for me will be coming soon. I just discovered a second pair of cotton-blend handknit socks with major holes in the heel. Too big to actually repair and I'm not sure how badly I want to rip back to the heel and re-knit. These are socks which are easily 6 years old, so it's not like they haven't had a good long life. I've got at least five more pair of unknit cotton blend socks in my sock yarn stash.

Let the Sidetracking Begin!!!

2010-05-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

I've been craving some nice lightweight cardigans for the office. While we are coming up on summer rather quickly, I still find that I want/need a bit of extra warmth to deal with the air conditioning system in my office. Just a little light something on my arms. Preferably something stylish and not the oversized plaid fleece shirt that hangs on the back of my door.

Conveniently, Knitty Gritty Yarns, one of my LYS, had its 5th Anniversary sale this weekend and marked all cotton or cotton-blend yarns at 30% off. So I picked up sufficient Cascade Ultra Pima in a grassy green color to make myself the Painted Silk Cardigan in the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits. I even did my swatch last night. I have yet to wash and block it, but so far it looks like I'll need to go down a needle size.

So why haven't I knit the second swatch yet, you ask? Because I haven't got a size four circular needle that I can find. Sheesh. It appears to be the only size I don't have. I'll make sure to get a needle that's nice and pointy too. I was having some difficulty with the twisted stitches using my old Susan Bates needles.

Fibery Pursuits

2010-05-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've made my decision. I'm going to attend the 2011 Sock Summit. It'll be my very first fiber-related conference. The primary deciding factor was that it's only a six hour drive from here. It also sounds like it'll be a whole lot of fun and if I start saving now, it'll even fit in my budget! In the meantime, I can work on knitting down the sock yarn stash.

On my trip to Chicago I bought no sock yarn when we stopped by my Sis and Niece's local yarn store. I did, however, buy six skeins of Cascade Lace Alpaca. My initial intention was to knit an Apres Surf Hoodie. Of course, I failed to remember what weight yarn was needed so I bought lace weight intead of fingering weight. All is not lost, however. I think I'll make a Featherweight Cardi since I could use a few more cardigans for routine office wear. My current favorite work sweater is a lacy pink nylon/mohair cardi I picked up at the GoodWill store for a couple dollars. I need about two more of them. I may unravel a black mohair pullover that I don't like very much and turn it into a black mohair cardi too. At least that way I'll wear the thing.

My knitting progress during my trip wasn't as much as I'd hoped. I mostly slept on the way to Chicago. I did knit quite a bit on the way back. I finished Sis' first sock on the way to the airport to come back. I cast on the second sock while waiting for the plane. I'm now a bit over halfway up the foot. I could get the second sock finished by the end of the weekend if I don't do anything but knit. Given that I'm getting over a bad cold, I might get more knitting done than usual. Otherwise, it'll be the end of next week. Once her socks are done, I'll finish up my Crabby Socks and maybe start a sweater unless, of course, I get sidetracked by something else!

New Knitter Pics!

2010-05-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

As you know, I started teaching my niece to knit before I moved across the country. My sister then decided to learn too. To facilitate this whole process, they signed up for some private knitting lessons at Wool and Company in Geneva. Everybody think it's totally awesome that Niece (age six) has taken to knitting like a duck to water. She's now featured on their FaceBook page.

When Sis and Niece were at the shop this week, one of the guys at the shop asked Nephew if he wanted to learn to knit. Nephew said he knew how but had trouble handling the needles. The guy (sorry I don't know his name) raced across the store to find a project for Nephew to work on. The little ditty the guy used to help Nephew remember what to do was hilarious!

Stab him.
Strangle him.
Rip his guts out.
Throw him off the cliff.

Nephew won't be forgetting any time soon. We've also decided that what Nephew needs is small, short needles. The longer single point size 8s in the knitting kit are just too big and heavy for him to manipulate easily. He did very well with the much smaller needles that Knit Shop Guy had. Now Nephew will just have to develop an attention span that last longer than 5 or 6 stitches.

I'm headed to Chicago this weekend. Sis and I will naturally be hitting the yarn shop to see what there is to see and I'll be officially outed for being the instigator of Niece's knitting habit. With any luck, I should finish Sis' blue socks while I'm there and can leave them with her. I have no clue what I'll use as my return trip portable project.

Crazy Crazy

2010-04-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

First, I'm headed to Seattle at the beginning of the week for a conference. I just realized that I haven't even *thought* of looking up yarn shops near where I'll be staying. I can't decide if that means that I've been very distracted or if I may have reached some semblance of completion with my current stash size.

With that said I did buy yarn today. And my sister (the new knitting convert) said it was ok.

You see, I also got my first (partial) paycheck at my new job this week. She said I probably shouldn't spend all at the yarn shop. I told her that I wouldn't spend any of this paycheck at the yarn shop. She allowed as how that was rather wise of me to specify only this particular check was not going toward the yarn shop.

But you see tomorrow is a Team Battelle Project Linus work day. The local Project Linus website indicated a specific need for blankets in colors suitable for boys. I didn't have sufficient non-wool worsted weight yarn in boy colors. I had some pinks, but not even enough of those for a complete blanket. So I went to Jo-Ann's and bought a couple one pound skeins of Caron acrylic (soft, but not so soft that it'll pill quickly).

Then I texted my sister and told her that I did a bad thing for a good reason. She allowed as how it wasn't really a bad thing if it was for a good reason. She also agreed with my reasoning that it wasn't breaking my earlier promise in that a) I didn't actually spend any money at the yarn store and b) the paycheck in question is still sitting on my desk, waiting to be mailed to the bank so I didn't actually spend any of the money contained therein.

Not only is my sister a knitting convert, she's now heavy into the rationalization of more yarn acquisitions. This is definitely a sign of a hooked knitter.

I'll see her next week. I'm going to buy her yarn for the scarf she's decided to knit herself. Something washable, soft, warm and periwinkle, I believe were the criteria she had. With any luck, it'll be done by the time it's cold in Chicago again. (It took me two years to finish my first project. I'm hoping she won't be as pokey about finishing things as I was.) Speaking of Chicago....that reminds me that I need to figure out my airplane knitting. Given that I just put holes in two socks this week, I'm thinking I need to get me some more socks knitted. Though I could probably finish sis' second sock during the trip and then I can knit for me on the way back!

Project Linus Blanket #1

Rather than risking boredom (and an eternally unfinished project) by knitting the same thing ad nauseum the entire duration of the blanket, I decided to try a Log Cabin style blanket as described in Mason-Dixon Knitting. Up until the drive home from Jo-Ann's, I was committed to the simple same pattern throughout. Now I've gone from a traditional Log Cabin design to adapting the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket to suit the thicker yarn and two color choices (rather than the four called for in their pattern). I think it'll turn out well.

Yarn: Caron One Pound worsted weight in Claret and Midnight Blue
Needles: Size 8
Gauge: I have no idea and I don't think I care. I'll knit until it's big enough.
If this project goes well, I'll make more of them. It's too bad the project won't take anything wool. I've got quite a bit of superwash wool that would make a decent blankie. Oh well. Perhaps I'll make some log cabin-ish scarves or try a modular scarf.

Alpaca Show
Last weekend, I went to the Northwest Alpaca Showcase alpaca show. I resisted purchasing any fiber. I did, however, hook up with the local fiber guild, Desert Fiber Arts, and they seem like a nice bunch of people. They have a spinning group that meets at the local library on the first Saturday of each month. I might have to stop by there tomorrow. I have to return some books anyway. Too bad I also have other errands to run.

Spinderella's Goodies and Creating Two Knitters!!

2010-04-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

In an effort to simplify my move across the country, I shipped off the stockpile of spinning fleeces to Spinderella for processing. Well, the roving arrived the other day. Oh my goodness is it gorgeous and boy is there ever a lot of it. I knew they were going to ship me 60-70 pounds of roving back, but it just didn't occur to me how much roving that really is until it was piled up in my living room. Oh dear am I going to be busy spinning (and then knitting and weaving) for a good long time.

And to top it all off, there's an alpaca show in town this weekend *and* I discovered that the mother of one of Boy's co-workers is a spinner/knitter and raises her own sheep because she's picky about her fleeces. I knew I shouldn't have told myself that I didn't really need to buy any more spinning fiber in the next year.

There is some bad news though: the yarn shop a mile down the road from where I live may be closing soon. The owner needs to sell it by the end of May. The big sale on everythign in the store starts next weekend. I really don't need any more yarn or needles either, but I'll stop by anyway. I'll be really bummed out if they close. I was so looking forward to hanging out at Friday night knitting. *pout*

To end on a more positive note, I seem to have created a monster or two. I taught my Niece to knit not long ago. She picked it up rather quickly. Of course she'd sat in my lap and watched me knit for quite some time previously, but then I went and bought her the Disney learn to knit kit (contains a pair of plain single point needles and a pair of single points with the non-pointy end bent into the Mickey ears shape, plus a few other notions and a how-to book). We picked out a worsted-weight yarn in a color Niece liked and I cast on about 15 stitches for her. Over two days, she knit up a couple inches of garter stitch. My Nephew then wanted to try, but he figured out pretty quickly that he didn't have the fine motor control to manipulate the stitches and moved on to a different activity.

Now my Sister has taken up knitting, ostensibly so that she can help my niece when she gets stuck. Sis mentioned to me the other night that she had no desire to turn on the TV in the evening and just wanted to sit knitting or reading. She also confessed to having picked up Niece's knitting to fix it and ended up putting it down 10 rows later. Methinks she's hooked. At the moment Sis is making a doll blanket while Niece makes a scarf. Niece has planned "a sweater for daddy" as her next project and Sis is going to make a scarf, just as soon as she finds a nice soft washable yarn in a periwinkle blue. I'm thinking a gift certificate to a yarn shop may be in order....

Traveling Purchases

2010-04-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

On my great roadtrip across the U.S., I made a few fibery purchases. I stopped in Champaign-Urbana long enough for lunch at the Courier Cafe (I had a Darcy's Burger with a Gardenburger and sweet potato fries) and a bit of shopping at Needleworks. I picked up some lovely sock yarn and enough worsted weight Plymouth Mushishi to make myself a nice cardigan for work. I may end up using the February Lady Sweater pattern, again making the sleeves full-length and deepening the yoke to allow more ease in the armscye area.

I declined to stop at the Amana Woolen Mill in Amana, Iowa to purchase more merino roving. I used three arguments to bolster my resolve:

Stopping would have made me late to lunch with my Grandma and,
I have over 50+ pounds of roving headed my way soon from Spinderella, plus the 10 pounds of roving I previously purchased from the Amana Mill (and the other 30+ pounds of wool, silk, cotton and other spinning fibers in my spinning stash).
I have very limited space left in my car.

I avoided any fibery temptations until I arrived in Pendleton, Oregon, home of the Pendleton Woolen Mill. I stopped at their company store and picked up a big bag of worms and a cone of lace weight yarn. I think nice rugs for the bathroom and living room are in order.

All Boxed In

2010-03-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well, the fleeces have arrived at Spinderella's. Completely by coincidence, Spinderella has lowered their processing prices a bit and expanded their volume discount to cover the entire order, rather than just individual lots over a certain size. While none of my individual lots exceeded the minimum for the discount, the whole order certainly did. That was quite a nice surprise.

The stash is now living in a series of cardboard boxes. Tomorrow it gets loaded on a truck and sent off to my new home in Washington state. The drive to join my stash will take about five days of drive-time, plus I'll spend a day or two in Chicago visiting family before I go. I have two socks, a scarf and my Kiri shawl (which has another hole in it) as my travel knitting. I expect that I might get some knitting done while I watch the movers load the truck too. I really wish I had someone to drive me across the country just so that I could knit all day each of those five days. Oh well.... I do have a nice supply of books on tape to keep me company and that will just have to suffice.

77.8 Pounds

2010-03-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

I spent today organizing and packing up my spinning fleeces. By my reckoning, there are 77.8 pounds of fleece in my garage, divided into 9 boxes.

It's taken me a while to decide where to send the fleeces for processing, but I think I've finally decided on Spinderella's. Looks like the turnaround time is about four to eight weeks. That should work out pretty well with the moving in between shipping and receiving. They're also located relatively close to my new location, which should save on shipping. Now I just need to print out the order forms, fill out the info and get the boxes over to Mary at the UPS store.

And figure out what I'm going to do with the 50-ish pounds of roving I'm going to get back. Some of it I'll spin straight into yarn for which I already have ideas for thanks to Lisa Lloyd's book A Fine Fleece. Although I greatly dislike the poorly focused and sometimes poorly lit photos in the book, I do indeed like her cabled sweater patterns a great deal. I'm also quite curious how long it would take me to spin 1600 yards of a nice 2-ply DK or worsted weight yarn. I've never measured my handspun in the past.

Now that I have a drum carder, I might just try my hand at blending too. I've got some lovely alpaca, angora and silk that could be a nice addition to some of the soon-to-be-produced roving or to the already existing Merino roving I have stashed away.

Final Final FLS Update

2010-03-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

Sis has received the sweater. She was *very* surprised. She'd been expecting socks! I'm hoping she wasn't still expecting socks when she saw the size of the box that UPS kindly delivered yesterday. The report is that the sweater is gorgeous and fits perfectly. It's good to know that I guessed the sleeve length well. Sis is three inches taller than me, so has longer arms. I made the sleeves about 1.5 inches too long for me and apparently that's just right.

I told her that since I'd purchased a whole bag of Cascade 220 in Chocolate when we went sweater yarn shopping that I actually have enough yarn to make the February Lady Pullover too. So far she hasn't replied to that. Since I've already started the pullover, I'll pick it back up when I get done with the Sea Serpentine Socks.

Speaking of Sea Serpentine.... ripped them back out to the end of the toe shaping again and began working the smallest size. The foot was just coming out a tiny bit too large at the medium size (after ripping out the large size). I'm tempted with this yarn (Hacho) to go up to a size 3 needle. The fabric right now is a bit dense. Will have to consider that for the next pair with Hacho.

Since I now have an official signed/accepted job offer, I have gone ahead and ordered my yarn for the Evenstar Shawl. I decided on Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silk Thread II in Winter Solstice, just like the designer used. I love the glowing silver grey color. The second clue of the shawl just came out so I'm just a tiny bit behind. Perhaps the yarn will arrive late next week and I'll think about getting started. I'm also going to sign up for the whole Lord of the Rings mystery pattern series. The previews she's given look gorgeous!!

Final FLS Update!

2010-02-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

After making the sleeves longer, I spent an hour this morning making the sleeves back to their original length and sewing on the buttons. Of course, I failed to take any photos at all before packaging up the sweater and shipping it off to my sister. The good news is that it will arrive on Friday and her birthday is Saturday. I told her I was shipping her a quart of ice cream in a plain cardboard box. She's very excited to be expecting a sticky, leaky box of goo.

Of course, I completely forgot to get her a birthday card. DOH!

Now I'll have to work on the blue Serpentine Socks and see how far I can get between now and the Olympic Closing Ceremonies on Sunday.

February Lady Sweater Finished, But....

2010-02-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

I think the sleeves are going to be too long. And they have a decided tendency to stretch out even longer while wearing them. So after re-knitting the first sleeve last night to make it a bit longer, I will now be ripping out the cuffs plus an inch of actual sleeve in order to re-knit the cuffs at the original sleeve length. On the other hand, I think the armscye depth thing will be ok, so that's good.

I picked up some buttons on the way home from work that I think will work ok. I'm not 100% certain about them being exactly right, but I think they'll do for now. Sis is perfectly capable of replacing the buttons if she chooses to do so.

Overall, I think I'm pleased with the sweater design though I'm not terribly pleased with the hand of the fabric. It's a bit limp and stretchy for my tastes though I did meet the gauge that the pattern requested. If I make another one, I'll go down a needle size or two with this particular yarn (Cascade 220) to get a firmer hand. I'll give Sis an option to have a less stretchy sweater if she's not so keen on the hand of her birthday present too. (If I do re-knit, I'll carry the raglan increases down a bit further too so as to avoid the armpit tightness concern I had.)

Knitting Pics At Last!

2010-02-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

After agonizing over the February Lady Sweater and whether or not it will fit properly*, I decided to go ahead and finish it. I'm just a few inches from finishing the second sleeve. It seems like it's been like that for the past few nights of knitting. Perhaps today I'll get it done and then I can get it blocked, wrapped and shipped to my sister. Her birthday is next Saturday, so the package needs to be in the mail on Wednesday.

*I suspect that the armscye may not be deep enough to be comfortable. The only way to fix this, however, is to rip back the entire body and sleeves and knit the yoke deeper. I'm ok with doing that, just wanted to give the directions as written a try first. Perhaps it's just me agonizing and overthinking things too much. It may fit my sister just fine too. She's smaller through the arms and chest than I am. If it doesn't fit, I'll have her ship it back to me and I'll re-knit it. I think I can solve the problem by carrying the raglan increases to the end of the garter stitch yoke.

Also on the needles are the Crabby Socks for me. I'm nearly to the gusset on the first sock.

I started another pair of Serpentine Socks for my sister for my Knitting Olympics project. I don't think I'll get them done before the closing ceremonies. Not with the final push for finishing Sis's sweater. The yarn is Mirasol Hacho in the color Deep Blue Ocean. It's a bit heftier than STR Mediumweight so I'm making a smaller size than for the Crabby Socks. It's a nice squishy yarn though. Should be comfy on the feet. Hopefully it won't be too thick for Sis' work shoes.

More February Lady Sweater! (Still No Pics)

2010-02-09T19:52:00.000-08:00

It's really hard to take a picture of a one-armed sweater when you're wearing it. I'm just not coordinated enough to hold out one arm while taking a photo with the other. At least not unless I'm hoping to take a photo of the wall or ceiling. Yes, I could have just lay the sweater on the floor for the photo, but that isn't half the fun or challenge of taking action photos. :o)

Anyway, the February Lady Sweater for my Sis now has one completed sleeve. That leaves me with approximately 15 days to finish sleeve number two, which is completely doable. And find buttons, which may be a bit trickier. Finding buttons for things I wear is hard enough. Finding buttons for something for someone else to wear is harder. I'm tempted to not put buttons on it and let Sis pick out and sew on her own. She's got a whole lot more choices for button shopping than I do.

I am pretty certain that the sweater is still a surprise. Last week, when I was agonizing over what airplane knitting to pack, she did mention that I could always knit her more socks. (It was really cute because she specifically said she didn't mean to be pushy and I had just mentioned re-discovering the sock yarn she purchased just after Christmas.) I did mention that I couldn't work on her socks just yet because I had one project in the queue ahead of them, but that I'd get to them very soon. I made no mention at all of the sweater. I think we're good.

Now I just need to figure out if a) I have enough yarn left to make the February Fitted Pullover too and b) if I'll make it for her or for me! I should have enough yarn for the 3/4 length sleeve version. The long-sleeve version might be a bit dicey. She might wear the 3/4 length sleeve version once she tries it on. If she doesn't, I may just have to claim it as my own.

New Job Prospects
I've got a decent chance of getting a new job in the next few weeks. If things go well, I'll be moving most of the way across the country, which means packing up the stash. I'm giving serious consideration to sending most of the fleeces off to be processed before the move and then have them shipped to my new address after they've been turned into roving. That would greatly diminish the volume of stuff to pack in the fiber room. It would also do wonders toward getting me to actually DO SOMETHING with the multitude of fleeces. Let's face it, I've not managed to process a single one yet and some of them I've had for probably seven years.

The other cool thing about my potential new job is that the dress code is more relaxed. Of course what's odd about that is that I suddenly feel the urge to knit a bunch of nice sweaters (cardis, jackets) so that I can dress nicely and professionally. Making a point of knitting a little bit each day, I've figured out that I can actually accomplish larger projects, like sweaters. I used to think they took far too long (1-2 years), but now I can see that isn't the case. Heck, the February Lady Sweater is just one sleeve shy of completion and I only started it a month ago. If I work on worsted weight projects that are mostly seamless, I should be able to manage 4-6 sweaters in a year without giving up my sock knitting or the occasional shawl project.

Speaking of shawl projects....I've promised myself that I can buy the two skeins of Silk Thread II for the Evenstar Shawl just as soon as I get an official job offer. Hopefully things will progress fairly quickly on the job front since the KAL starts on the 12th and I don't want to end up hopelessly behind.

February Lady Sweater Update

2010-01-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

I have finished the body of the sweater and am progressing on to the sleeves. I'm a bit worried that the sleeves might be too wide, but it's a bit hard to tell for certain until I knit them a couple of inches. I'll definitely be decreasing to the wrist, which isn't in the pattern, but we'll get it sorted out. I'm tempted to use short-row shaping at the top of the sleeve, but haven't really thought that through yet. I'll probably try it as written and then work on modifying it. Seems simpler that way, don't you think?

So far I'm on my fourth skein of yarn. I'm not sure I'll have enough leftover to actually knit the Fitted February Pullover as a companion piece for my Sis's birthday sweater. I'll know for sure after the sleeves are done.

Evenstar KAL
I've signed up for the Evenstar KAL with Susan Pandorf. I have, so far, managed to refrain from purchasing two skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silk Thread 2 in the colorway Winter Solstice. This is the yarn Susan is using for her shawl. It is BEAUTIFUL! It's a glowing silver gray color and is just perfect for something titled Evenstar.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a happy bunch of holidays, whichever ones you celebrate. My sister loved her new Crabby Socks (shown here being displayed by my nephew). My niece loves to steal my sister's socks, but this pair are way too large for niece to wear. Niece did, however, ask if I could knit her socks and also if I could teach her to knit. I promised her knitting needles and knitting lessons for her birthday.

Sis and I hit Wool and Company in Geneva, IL on a day we got to hang out without kids. She bought yarn for me to knit her FOUR more pair of socks and I bought the yarn for her February Lady Sweater. I inadvertently bought enough Cascade 200 to knit both the pullover and cardigan versions, so I think I'll knit her both. I initially cast on for the pullover, but then she said she was leaning toward liking the cardi better so I started the cardigan last night. I should be able to get one of them done by the end of February for her birthday.

As presents, I received The Opinionated Knitter by EZ and Sock Innovation by Cookie A. I really like the chattiness of EZ's newsletters. I am thrilled by the extensive and detailed explanation of designing that Cookie wrote. It helped solidify some ideas I've had about writing patterns and gave me some insight into a different way of thinking about designs.

On the knitting front, I added a couple inches to the default Yarn Harlot One-Row Scarf that's become my mindless travel knitting. I also managed to finish my Blueberry Sweater. Well, finish it except for the weaving of the underarms. I'm happy that it's done, but I'm not as happy with the overall sweater as I'd like to be. For starters, I think the arms might be an inch too short (which may or may not be fixable with blocking). The other issue has to do with the shoulder "seams". They stick out too much, giving the shape of the sweater an 80s big shoulderpad look that I really don't like. Of course I have already sewn in the ends before I really thought about the fit and shape. I think I was just so pleased to have actually finished an adult-sized sweater that I wasn't thinking clearly. Now I'm putting off the underarm weaving until I decide what I want to do (if anything) about the sleeves and shoulders. I've got plenty of yarn left (5+ skeins) so making the sleeves longer is definitely an option.

Future Knitting Plans:
I've had a blast with the new Strauch ball winder that Boy gave me for Christmas. Being a wise Boy, he correctly deduced that buying me a handy tool like the ball winder might facilitate the production of more Foot Hugs for his feet. He actually ordered the ball winder from Otto Strauch himself and it arrived on my doorstep just two days later! I did spend the first weekend after its arrival winding a bunch of sock yarn, so Boy might be right about that Foot Hug production connection....

Despite finishing several items in the past few weeks, I'm not experiencing any knitting slump. Quite the opposite, actually. Once I get Sis' February Sweaters finished, I'm not sure what I'll focus on. Several of my family members have now mentioned getting socks again, so I suppose it's time for round two of socks for them. The last time I knit everybody socks was probably 7 or 8 years ago, so I can't really disagree with them. I still have two shawls in progress too (Errold's Grove and the Fall 2009 Goddess Mystery Shawl) and the Tri-Cities Socks. Maybe I can knit two rows of the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl a day, then work on the February Sweater.... At least my knitting energies are focused on getting projects finished, rather than starting new ones. :-)

Bad Computer, No Biscuit

2009-12-15T04:16:00.000-08:00

I had some lovely photos of my finished Serpentine sock uploaded on my laptop Sunday. Apparently a power surge yesterday caused my laptop's brand new hard drive to lose its mind. I think I deleted photos from the camera so I'll have to remember to take another pic. Even worse is that I lost the before picture to my French Press Slippers. The unfelted slipper was about 2 feet long. The felted slipper fits a size 9 woman's foot quite nicely, albeit a bit loosely about the top opening. I love to document the huge differences between before and after with felted items.

French Press Slippers
These were a lot of fun to make. I'd been enamored of them before the Yarn Harlot fell under their spell. (They remind me of the ballet slipper-like house shoes my paternal grandmother used to wear.) Having had a not-so-fun day on that particular day, I used them as a spot of personal retail therapy. I used some stashed Plymouth Galway in navy for them. I didn't whip out the pair in 90 minutes, but I did get them knit in perhaps 3-4 hours total knitting time. I have neither put the straps on them nor purchased buttons. There's no telling how long that will take.

Crabby Socks!
I have started sock number 2 for my sister. I foresee no reason I can't get these finished by Christmas. I might not even have to work on them in front of her and pretend that they're mine. (She's used to seeing me constantly knit.) I don't think I'll manage to get my pair finished, though I should be able to make a dent in getting them started.

I think I have the hang of the magic cast on for toe up socks. I had to look it up again for this one, but I think I've got it stored in my brain now. The slip stitch goes on the top needle and the yarn goes round the needles from under/outside.

The Russian cast off that Wendy describes in her book seems to be a winner in terms of stretchability and simplicity. I like having an option I can use in case I don't ahve a yarn needle (making the sewn cast off impossible). It doesn't always happen, but sometimes I don't always have extra tools available and I'd hate to get stuck with no way to proceed.

Pictures of all this stuff coming soon!!!

A Brief Update

2009-12-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

A deceased hard drive in my laptop has rather cut into my blogging lately. It's just not as much fun to sit at the desktop computer in the computer room to blog when compared to sitting in the comfy chair with the laptop while watching old movies.

On the other hand, I have gotten more knitting done....
The Socktoberfest socks are complete. They're a bit larger in circumference than I'd like but a trip through the washing machine this weekend helped that immensely. From here on out, they'll primarily be handwashed.

I had a sincere go at the Fall 2009 Mystery Shawl and promptly made a mistake about three rows into it. I'm in the process of tinking back. I need to figure out where to put markers in it. There are some motif repeats, but nothing really sticks out as a Place Marker Here spot. Once I get that done, I think progress will pick up dramatically.

The Tri-Cities Sock is past the heel and gusset shaping. I don't remember where on the foot I am. This is back to being a 4-5 row repeat so works pretty quickly. I won't get both socks done by the end of the year but I might get them done by the end of January.

Taking precedence in the knitting queue is a new project: The Crabby McHappypants socks for my sister and me. The yarn is Socks That Rock Mediumweight in the Crabby McHappypants colorway (corals and blues). The whole idea came about when my sister commented that she was named "Assy Jackass McSmartypants" at work one day for being a Smartass/Smartypants. Later that week I stumbled upon the Crabby McCrabbypants and Crabby McHappypants yarns. Since we've both been called Crabbypants before too, we thought Crabby yarn was a must have. Both of us liked the colors in the Crabby McHappypants better than the Crabby McCrabbypants, even if we do like the latter name a whole lot more.

Now I need to knit at least one pair of socks between now and Christmas. I'm not sure I can get it done. I've got a lot of baking and some shopping/shipping to get done too. Ideally I'd like to get both pair finished, but I think that's definitely out of the question.

The pattern I've chosen is Serpentine Socks from Wendy Johnson's new book Socks From the Toe Up. This is my first foray into toe-up socks. It took a bit of extra research to figure out Judy's Magic Cast-On, but once I got past that, I figured things out quickly enough. It was really fun to learn a new technique too.

The only thing I need to keep tabs on now is what numbers I use for cast on stitches, length to gusset/heel shaping, etc. It's not going to be difficult to do, unless I start getting top-down and toe-up numbers switched around. In hopes of preventing that, I'm putting an old index card box to good use and creating an index card for each of my sock victims recipients. The front of the card will hold the relevant measurements while the back will hold the information about the actua socks I've knit for them. Ideallly this would be kept on the computer, but a hard copy card system should work well enough for now. I'll build a real database later if I get bored.

Update: I have finished the first of the Serpentine Socks. I'm totally sold on the toe-up method though I still prefer DPNs over 2 circulars. I hate having to push the stitches over the join to get them to the needle tip. It feels like it slows my knitting immensely.

Long Time No Report....

2009-11-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

I still haven't purchased yarn for my sister's February Lady Sweater Pullover. I'd still like to knit it for her (February) birthday. Perhaps that will be my bit of Thanksgiving shopping this year....

I have, however, actually been knitting. I am halfway through the 2nd sock from Socktoberfest.

I'm halfway through the first sock of my Tri-Cities Socks (aka Pittsworth by Spilly Jane).

The Fall 2009 Mystery Shawl is still stuck in Clue #1. I went through a period where I screwed up every row I knit, so I put it aside for a while. Once I finish my socks I'll pick it back up.

Darning Pile
Not long ago, Yarn Harlot talked about her experience with Shoemaker Syndrome (or Cobbler Syndrome). She observed that while she knits socks all the time, she tends to knit them for other people rather than herself and that her socks all tend to be of a similar vintage so they wear out at about the same time. I have the same problem.

This is my pile of socks that need their heels darned.

It's only four pair. I've been trying to remember how old they are and, as near as I can tell, it's been five to eight years since these were knit. I can't say that I'm terribly upset or surprised that the heels might have small thin spots by this point. On the other hand, I dislike darning socks, not to mention that there is only so much darning that a given sock can take, so I should probably start planning to crank out a stack of replacement socks for myself. Fortunately I have somewhere around 185 sock patterns stored on my computer (plus the hardcopy patterns on my bookshelf) and sufficient sock yarn in my stash to knit 30-ish pair of socks. I think I'll be in good shape sock-wise before too long.

After I discovered the first pair of socks which needed darning, I when through the rest of my socks to check for others that needed repair. I also grouped them all by color, just to see if there was a trend or pattern. Surprisingly there really isn't. The most common color is various shades of red. I have no handknit socks in the following colors: black, tan, white or yellow. I could really use a pair of socks that is dark green (and of course I have no dark green yarn in the sock stash). The closest match to my dark green sweater I could find today was a pair of socks that is lime green and purple (Lorna's Laces Jungle Stripe). Other than that, I seem to have most colors represented in some way. Mind you, I still have clothes that don't match any existing socks, but if people aren't used to seeing me wear socks that don't entirely match my clothes by now....

I haven't any idea what socks to knit after I get these two pair finished. Heck, even if I did decide on something (as I'm sure I have done at least twice in the past), I'm sure I'd change my mind before I actually get them started anyway. At the moment, probably because of the socks I'm currently working on, I'm rather enamored of patterns with twisted stitches. Perhaps something like Pamina or Lohengrin or Magic Mirror. We'll see what I like when the time comes to actually pick something. :-)

Slight Change in Plans

2009-10-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

I came across a pullover version of the February Lady Sweater and sent the link to my sister (she for whom I was going to knit a FLS for her Feb Birthday). Personally I think the pullover would be more flattering on me and decided that I'll knit myself one soon. Sis was initially wishy-washy about which she wanted. I put my foot down and told her to tell me which one she really liked cuz I wasn't going to spend my time knitting her something that held no magic for her. She laughed and said pullover.

Finally, Procrastination pays off! I hadn't even purchased the yarn yet, much less cast on the sweater. w00t!

One KAL frogged

2009-10-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well, Crenellation is no more. I got to a point where I couldn't get the chart to work for me and I couldn't figure out where I went wrong. I also wasn't as enamored of the pattern as I had hoped I would be and wasn't terribly thrilled about the prospect of knitting the 2nd sock of the pair. So I frogged it.

On the other hand, the loss of Crenellation leaves me with more time for the Fall Mystery Shawl and the Socktoberfest Mystery Sock. The fourth clue for Socktoberfest comes out on Thursday morning. I don't know if it'll be the foot and toe or just the foot. I still haven't finished the first clue for the Fall Mystery Shawl (Clue 3 comes out on Saturday).

Sock KAL Progress! (Now with picture!)

2009-10-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

I've gotten to the end of Clue #2 on the Through the Loops Socktoberfest sock. Stayed up past my bedtime tonight to do it, but I think it was worth it. I'll post a picture tomorrow. I'm too tired to mess with it now. (Update: Pic posted.)

Next up: get caught up on the Solid Socks KAL (aka Crenellation). I still haven't done more than a row or two on the first clue and I think the second clue might have come out this past weekend. (I really need to put the clue schedules on a calendar or I'm going to get completely confused/lost. I already thought the MMario MMystery started in November instead of January 2010. Oops.)

I did start casting on for the Fall Mystery Shawl 2009 (FMS09) from Goddess Knits. But then I got sidetracked by watching Castle on Hulu and needed to work on something less brain-intensive. As soon as I get Crenellation up to speed I'll get cracking on the shawl. The news on the FMS09 is that we're knitting a stole from each end, so each clue will need to be done twice and then the two halves are grafted together. Some of the KAL participants aren't very happy about that since they don't like grafting. I don't like it much either, but it's not going to stop me. I'll just have to practice my grafting before I finish the shawl. I'm absolutely NOT going to let grafting get between me and a lovely lace stole.

Let's Not Do That Again

2009-10-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

I just hand wound a 1300 yard ball of lace weight yarn. It was supposed to be a center-pull ball, but apparently the yarn is sticking to itself a wee bit too much for that to work. I will have to finally get myself a ball winder. I've been meaning to buy one for some time, just never quite got around to it. (There's a 3300 yard skein of cobweb weight merino in my stash that has been languishing for about 5 years until I obtained a ball winder.) It'll be a Strauch ball winder. They make a good quality product that's well-built. I've been very happy with the drum carder I have from Strauch, so I might as well own their ball winder too.

The yarn I was winding is for the Goddess Knits Fall Mystery Shawl 2009. I'm using Penny Rose's Carrie (80% merino, 20% silk) in gold. It's a gorgeous warm butter yellow. I expect it'll make the shawl feel that much warmer. Clue number one came out today. I expect I'll finish it in about twice the time the knitalong is scheduled to take, but that's just an estimate.

Sock KALs....
I thought I had Clue #2 of the Through the Loops Socktoberfest Sock finished, but when looking at the photos of other people's socks realized that I completely skipped the part of the instructions that said "repeat these rows 5 times". Oopsies. On the other hand, this means the sock length will be much more to my liking.

The Solid Sock group's Mystery sock has been cast on, but that's all the further it's gotten. I'll have to check when Clue #2 on that one comes out.

And now I'm going to work on the TtL Socktoberfest while I watch Hulu and let the lace yarn sit and think about its poor behavior earlier today....

Ta Daaaaaaa!

2009-10-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have completed Sis' Striped Socks. All three of them. Why have just two socks that don't match when you can have three?!

Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Lobster Pinch (the red/pink) and Apricot Smoothie, purchased at Haus of Yarn.

Pattern: My basic sock top-down pattern knit over 64 stitches. K2, P2 rib for the cuff and instep.

Needles: Size 2 dpns.

I'll get these in the mail tomorrow or Friday, along with a t-shirt that reads "Will trade sister for candy". Long ago, she probably would have too, except that I used to just give her all the Halloween candy I didn't like, which was most of it. I'm the only person I've ever met that would have to dump out the previous year's Halloween candy in order to go Trick-or-Treating.

That reminds me, it's time to go buy another bag of Mary Janes..... (It's an amusing coincidence that the wrappers kinda match the socks!!)

Chemo Cap Done!

2009-10-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

The chemo cap is finished! It is currently tumbling around in the dryer after having a bit of a wash.

Speaking of Wash....
I talked to Boy a bit this evening. While we chatted, I happened to be browsing sock patterns on Ravelry and somehow managed to stumble across Wash's Sweater. I mentioned Wash's Sweater, since Boy is a fan of Firefly. He immediately Googled it and said that he had decided that he was going to start wearing sweaters in the winter again. And that he would wear a sweater like that if someone happened to knit it in a size that would fit him. When I asked if that was a roundabout way of asking me to knit him a sweater he said "maaaaaaybe". I told him that I would consider knitting him a sweater but only if he picked out the yarn so that the color and degree of softness would suit him. I also pointed out that an adult-sized sweater often takes me a couple years to finish. He said it wasn't a rush and that I should knit the other stuff on my list of things to knit first. (He's obviously not seen my Ravelry queue--there are over 300 items listed there now.) Maybe, if the yarn has been chosen by that time, I'll cast on after the first of the year....

New Sock KAL

Since it was a depressingly chilly and dreary weekend, I decided to cheer myself up by joining the Socktoberfest 2009 KAL sponsored by Through the Loops. This is the yarn I'm using for it. It's one of the three skeins of hand-painted sock yarn I purchased at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in July 2009. The yarn line is called Riot of Colors. I hope I can get more of that next time I stop by the shop.

And, since I was still a bit mopey, I also cast on Crenellation, which is the October / November Solid Sock Group mystery knit. Of course, I'm not actually using a solid color yarn (I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in a multi-color blue colorway.) I think it'll still turn out fine and I'll knit the next Solid Sock pattern out of a solid color to appease any irritated sock knitting spirits.

In addition to starting two new socks, I got all the way to the toe shaping of Sis' Striped Sock #3, added a couple inches to the body of the Blueberry Sweater, ordered the yarn for the Goddess Knits Fall Mystery Shawl 2009 and darned holes in a pair of existing socks (two more pair to go). All in all, it was a fairly productive weekend, knitting-wise. If the weather remains damp and dreary the rest of the week, I might get a lot of knitting done in the evenings too!

Whatever Happened to Travel Knitting?

2009-10-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Had a 2 1/2 day trip to Nashville. Got very little knitting done. For starters, I was the driver to/from Nashville (which is totally fine). I also discovered that Pittsworth is one of those patterns to which you need to pay attention when you knit. Each round is short enough that I don't really memorize a row/round repeat (only two repeats per row) and the vertical repeat is 49 rows long. On the other hand, I do still like the pattern a lot for this yarn. Anyway, it used to be that I got a LOT of knitting done on trips because I'd just hang out in my hotel room at night and knit. I was in my room at night, but not much knitting got done, mostly because I was either talking on the phone or too braindead to follow a fairly complex pattern. Next time I'll bring a less complicated project....

Socktoberfest!
I didn't mean to, but I stumbled across the Through the Loops Socktoberfest KAL. I even cast on the sock last night, though I have since decided to switch yarns. I wasn't sure that the ShibuiKnits Sock yarn had sufficient yardage to finish the socks and didn't' want to risk running out. I'll cast on with the winning yarn momentarily. I've decided to go with an autumn colored handpaint yarn called Riot of Colors that I purchased at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles, IL. It was dyed by one of the students in a dyeing class. I thought the autumn colors would be suitable for something called Socktoberfest, even if the pattern itself isn't really fall-like. It's still gorgeous yarn.

Chemo Cap
I expect to finish the chemo cap this weekend. I'm past the patterned section and only need to do the decreases at the top of the hat. I haven't read that part of the pattern very closely, but surely I could manage to finish that in a couple hours of TV time. It'll be good to get it finished and on its way to its recipient.

Holiday Knitting
I'm still planning to knit my sister a February Lady Sweater for either Christmas or her birthday (late February). I still haven't purchased the yarn for that. I'd like to finish the Critterknits for niece and nephew that I started last winter. I still owe niece a hat and some mittens. (At least, I don't think I finished the mittens.) I still owe nephew a hat and scarf. One of these days I'll knit them sweaters too. Also on the holiday list for 2009 are some dishcloths.

Boy Socks Received!
Speaking of gift knitting....Boy received his socks on Wednesday. I told him they probably should be washed before wearing and explained the recommended washing process. He said he's wash them over the weekend and wear them next week. His resolve lasted less than 10 minutes. He wore the socks to work on Thursday and he said they fit marvelously all day long. I allowed as how I could be talked into knitting him more socks if he asked me to and if he picked out the colors for me. He said he'd be happy to supply me with a list.

Chemo Cap Snafu

2009-09-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Remember a while back when I said I was going to knit the Santa Cruz cap? Then I changed to Interlude and finally decided on the Snowdrop Beret? I got a whole pattern repeat of Snowdrop done last weekend. Didn't have much knitting time this week, at least not much knitting time for knitting that required any sort of brain function. It's very much been a K2, P2 or garter stitch kind of week, mentally. Here's proof of that:

One night this past week I decided I'd work a couple rounds of the Chemo Cap just to be making progress on it. So I did. I got up to Round 13, which requires a cable needle that I'd put away, so I set the cap aside until today. Today I knit three or four more rounds and finished the pattern repeat. When I sat back to admire my work, I realized what was wrong.

I had knit seven rounds FROM THE SANTA CRUZ PATTERN on my Snowdrop Beret .

So I frogged an inch of hat. Now I'm ensconced in my comfy chair with a mug of hot Sleepytime tea, watching Ben-Hur on TCM. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to make up the ground I lost. The recipient of the chemo cap is probably a month into chemo at this point. I need to get this finished before she a) finishes chemo and b) regrows her hair!!! This hat needs to get with the program and STOP STRUGGLING TO NOT BE KNIT!!!!! Bad hat!! No biscuit!! (On the other hand, I have completely lost my sulky, crabby attitude about this project since it started misbehaving. I am now completely determined to kick its soft blue butt and show it who is boss!!)

I would just switch over to the Tri-Cities Socks (aka Pittsworth by SpillyJane), but I'm ready to start a 49 round repeat cable pattern. If I haven't the brain power for Snowdrop, I certainly haven't got enough brain left for Pittsworth.*sigh*

One thing I can say about Spa yarn by Caron. It holds up well to repeated knitting and frogging. I'm getting used to the splittiness of it and managing to not split many stitches now. I'm also using some rather pointy Bry-Flex needles too, which I'm sure helps.

Chemo Cap Reborn

2009-09-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

So I frogged the too small Santa Cruz hat and started Interlude by Marya Speton. I got halfway through the ribbing when I spied the Snowdrop Beret on Marya's blog. I liked Snowdrop so much that I decided to knit it instead. I'm just about to start the lace pattern now.

I'm also reminded that it's really hard for me to get into knitting when I'm knitting because I have to, not because I want to knit. I also realized that I tend to knit as a background activity while I read or watch a movie. It's very different when I'm supposed to be knitting, then need to find something else to fill the background. Too bad I can't figure out how to simultaneously knit and type (or surf the internet). I am, at least, mentally re-ordering my Ravelry queue and sort of making a list of stuff to clean/declutter/fix/do around the house...

Project Pictures and Project Woes

2009-09-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

First, for the good pictures, we have the Boy Socks (all finished save for the weaving in of the ends) and we have Sis' Striped Sock #3, just ready to turn the heel.

Now for the project woes....
The chemo cap is nice to look at, but only about 12 inches in circumference when unstretched. Although a bald head is smaller than a hairy head, I suspect that it's not small enough to allow this hat to fit. As much as I dislike this yarn, I'm not really keen on ripping out and starting over. I had just talked myself into finishing the hat quickly by promising myself I could start the Pittsworth/Tri-Cities socks as soon as I was done too. Grrrrr. Now I need to figure out what to do with the hat--either change needle size or cast on more stitches

The other woe isn't a complete and utter woe. This is a sock that I'm designing myself using Barbara Walker's Fractured Lattice pattern.

I had hoped the stitch pattern would show more stitch definition than it does. I haven't decided if I want to rip it out and start with a new pattern I devised the other night or if I want to just keep going and get this pattern proofed/tested. Just because I'm not overly keen on the pattern doesn't mean other folks won't like it. I am, however, really excited about the next pattern idea.

A Productive Headache

2009-09-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with a headache, probably of sinus origin, that left me pretty much uninterested in doing anything but sitting in my comfy chair. Knitting on any of my current projects (stripey socks, chemo cap, Errold's Grove or blueberry sweater) wasn't even appealing. The new Knitty did create some interest in knitting. I have added Clandestine, Cathedral, Girl Friday, Kernel, and Zozo to my Ravelry queue. I nearly cast on one of the sock patterns, but decided that it would be too much effort. (By that time my stomach was beginning to be upset too.)

So I decided to work on the sock pattern I started developing nearly a year ago. (Don't ask me how this is less work than casting on an already written pattern, because I have no idea. Brain said it was easier.) I had already written out the pattern on paper and had even cast on and knit the ribbing, then stopped. Now I'm a few rounds into the pattern itself as I sit here and watch Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring on DVD and sip some caffeinated beverages. The headache is abating. Now I'll need to decide whether to continue with the productive knitting or move on to some productive yardwork or decluttering.

Boy Socks Done!

2009-09-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I got the Boy Socks finished, but not, of course, while I was visiting Boy. I got most of the way down the foot by the time I left Boy's house and all the way to the toe shaping before I got back to my house. (Gotta love a long flight for lots of good knitting time.) Can't say I can complain about my progress. I actually started my trip to visit Boy with a sock which was about 1 centimeter tall.

On the first flight leg of my trip, my seatmate asked if I'd have a sweater by the time we got to our first stop and said he didn't know how long it took to knit things.. I replied that we wouldn't have a sweater but we would have a good bit of sock leg. He thought that was pretty cool. Later on I amazed him because I was reading the airline magazine *and* still knitting. Apparently he'd been watching me for some time. Initially he thought I was just flipping through the magazine, but not really reading it. Then he realized that I was actually reading and continuing to knit (while not looking at my knitting at all). He was truly amazed when I told him that I sometimes knit at the movies, even though I told him that I keep to simple, uncomplicated stuff for knitting in the dark

On leg number two, my seatmate asked what I was making and we chatted about knitting in general. Being a Union electrician, he understood the concept of paying more money for a high quality, long-lasting job. The idea of paying $20 for the yarn to make socks which might last me 5+ years was not absurd to him. He also admired the finished sock #1. We chatted nicely the whole flight about various things, including the nasty face the flight attendant made at a fellow passenger who left the overhead bin door open. All in all, it was a fun trip out and I got all the way to the heel turning by the end of the travel.

During my visit with Boy, I got a goodly chunk of knitting done, thanks to one road trip and a couple evenings hanging out at home. I could have gotten more done on the boat tour we did, but I was too worried about dropping a needle. I also took far too many pictures to have had much time for knitting. Most importantly during the trip, Boy tried on the re-knit Sock #1 and declared it to be an excellent fit. Of course I didn't really take good notes on what I did to make Sock #1 fit better the 2nd time, so I'll have to hope that Sock #2 mostly matches. (I know that I made the toe shaping more gradual, but exactly what I did isn't documented. Fortunately "close enough" will likely be good enough.)

The flights back weren't quite as prolific in a knitting sense. Leg number one was spent writing a summary of my trip. Knitting on leg number two was interrupted rather frequently by taking photos of the landscape passing beneath the plane (I like flying over mountains). And I took a bit of a nap too. But I got the second sock finished on the day after I returned so that's pretty good. I'll stick the socks in the next box o' cookies I mail to Boy. He's very excited.

Yarn Souveniers!
There are two yarn stores in the area where Boy lives. One of them, Sheep's Clothing, is actually just a mile or two away from his house. I purchased two skeins of Socrates sock yarn there. I picked out the colors Dress Blues and Navi's Blue. To my eyes these are more of a purple heather and a teal heather, but they're gorgeous regardless of name. I'm favoring the Fisher Price socks by Loumms and the Naive socks by spillyjane for these yarns.

The other shop is Knitty Gritty and I found a skein of Misti Alpaca sock yarn there. The colorway I chose, Maple Gray, reminded me of the colors of the landscape in the Tri-Cities area. I've decided that this yarn will become a pair of Tri-Cities socks. I've chosen the pattern Pittsworth by spillyjane. I thought it would reflect the three rivers that run through/near the cities and the three cities themselves, plus the steppes, orchards and fields. These socks are rather high up in the queue right now.

I find it amusing that I all the yarns I bought were alpaca blends. I hope that they wear well. I'd hate to end up with gorgeous socks that wear out far too soon. I'll have to pay attention to having a proper tight gauge.

Sis' Stripey Socks
I'm working on the heel flap of Sock #3. I might get past the gusset shaping by the end of the weekend. I've got a metric bucketload of house- and yardwork to do this weekend. Part of it is getting back on track after travel and part of it is getting things squared away for some house repairs/maintenance and an impending upcoming move.

Chemo Hat
The chemo hat is trying to entice me with its softness and nice color. I really don't like the splitty yarn very much at all. The hat will be needed by the end of the week, but I've already let the hat organizer know that it'll be closer to the end of the month the way my schedule has been. Unfortunately it's not likely the recipient will grow her hair back by then so I'm still in good shape time-wise. So, if I get sick of the stripey sock, I'll have a crack at the hat and vice-versa. Perhaps I'll stagger things so it's 15 minutes each project. Wonder where I put the hat pattern.....

sigh

2009-08-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

I hate knitting for an obligation. It never ends up being a project I care about. More often than not, there are other things I need to be knitting instead (like the two socks that need to be finished in the next two weeks) and I usually end up having to knit with yarn I really dislike because whatever project it is rarely is knit with a decent wool or wool blend yarn. I get to knit a chemo cap that's supposed to be delivered in <2 weeks. Nevermind that I'm travelling for about half that time. Nevermind that I don't have much knitting time at all right now with the burgeoning novel H1N1 flu outbreak. Oh and after I announced what yarn I was going to use (complete with picture), someone else when out and bought yarn in the same color then expected me to change things. Since there are apparently several people making hats, I'm tempted to just bail on it except then I would a) feel guilty and b) probably be bashed by the other persons involved, which shouldn't bother me but it does.

Knitting is supposed to be fun. This isn't it. :-(

Gauge Issues

2009-08-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

My sleeve for the blueberry sweater was nicely on gauge with the recommended size of needles. Actually, the sleeve was the gauge swatch. After getting the sleeve to nearly the appropriate pre-underarm length, I decided to start the body of the sweater. Apparently I am knitting more tightly now as I have added 1/2-1 stitch per inch. Now I have to figure out if I want to find a larger needle (I'm already knitting with size 11 needles) or if I want to re-figure the math or if I want to concentrate on knitting more loosely. I'd rather not re-figure the math for the gauge I'm actually getting. EZ actually cautions about knitting this sweater at a different gauge because the shoulder shaping doesn't work right. At the moment, I'm not terribly excited about the idea of going shopping for a size 13 needle. On the other hand, I don't know that I could consistently knit more loosely.

Gauge lately has become a problem for me. My sister's two striped socks are actually at slightly different gauges. I have no idea why. I used the exact same yarn and needles for both socks, but the second sock is tighter than the first. I don't recall being more stressed for sock #2 or knitting particularly tightly, but apparently I did. The difference in gauge means one sock fits more snugly than the other. It will be interesting to see how the third sock fits and whether it's of the tighter or looser gauge. Here's hoping my gauge issues sort themselves out soon and I become more consistent between knitting sessions. It would be nice to have a sweater whose body and sleeves don't have wavy sides due to inconsistent gauge.

Incremental Progress....

2009-08-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

The third sock is now about 3 inches tall. The first sleeve is about 3/4 of the way to the armpit. And I'm already trying to figure out what I want to work on next--shawl, sock or sweater. It might be a shawl, but I would feel obligated to finish Errold's Grove first. (For some reason it feels "wrong" to have more than one shawl going at a time. Maybe I think I'll get confused between the two projects, though it's perfectly normal to have three or more socks on the needles.)

If the next project is a sock, I think I'll skip the Monkey Socks I cast on for myself and use the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the blue/gray colorway that I don't much like. I might make another pair of Zombie socks or Anita Williams' Firenze the Centaur socks. I definitely want to make With a Twist from the Knitters Brewing Company, but with a different colorway than the blue/gray Lorna's Laces. I might use one of the new yarns I bought at Fine Line in July.

If the next project is a sweater, I haven't decided whether to find the Freedom Sweater or whether to start something new, like a Veste Everest or the Must Have Cardigan. Or I could do something completely crazy like finish sweater projects I've already started--like the purple vest or the orange tank or the green polo (that just needs seaming up). Perhaps when I start weeding through the boxes of junk in the spare bedroom, I'll weed through a box of yarn/knitting stuff and put all the works in project into a single labelled tote.

I'm becoming accustomed to knitting in the evenings at least a few nights a week. I've been too tired to do much yardwork lately and there's less of it to do anyway. It's been quite relaxing to knit for an hour or two while watching Hulu or a DVD. I've not quite gotten into listening to a book on tape while knitting, but I'm sure that would be fun too if I had the right book. Perhaps that will be my next task--find a good series of fiction audiobooks with which to knit.

Sis' Striped Socks Now With Picture!

2009-08-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

Here are the first two socks.
The yarn is Colinette Jitterbug knit on size 2 needles. I cast on 64 stitches and worked in K2,P2 rib for the leg and top of the foot. Basic flap heel. This is essentially my generic sock pattern. (I prefer ribbed socks to stockinette stitch socks as I think they stay up better, being both a bit more grippy and stiff.)

Blueberry Sweater, Incarnation #2....
Some time ago I started knitting a seed stitch pullover in Cleckheaton's Drop Dead Gorgeous (DDG) yarn. It's a bulky thick/thin silk/acrylic blend yarn in blues and purples. I had started using the seed stitch pullover pattern in Simply Beautiful Sweaters but had to fudge the gauge. I wasn't really happy with the body of the sweater and I was really unhappy with the sleeves, so I ended up frogging it last winter. Now I've decided to make one of EZ's Wishbone Sweaters.

I started the sleeve three times last night. The first time I didn't cast on the right number of stitches. The second time I cast on the right number of stitches and started the sleeve in stockinette stitch only to discover that I really don't like this yarn knit into stockinette stitch. The third time I cast on the right number of stitches and have been knitting along in seed stitch. I still get 2.5 sts per inch (was getting closer to 3 sts per inch in stockinette) so I'll still be on target to follow EZ's instructions. It took me a couple of increase rounds to get the paired increases done in pattern correctly. At first I had three stitches in between the two increases, but eventually decided that a single stitch in between was the way to go. And I am absolutely not going to bother with a faux seam and drop the column of stitches down to be crocheted up after. I'd never find the stitches again with this yarn and if I did, you'd never see the "seam" anyway.

After a couple hours of television (and fussing at my increases), I have one sleeve that is about 5 inches tall. If I knit on it pretty regularly during my TV/Hulu watching, I ought to make pretty decent speedy progress.

New Beginnings!

2009-08-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

I still haven't taken a good photo of the finished striped socks. I have, however, cast on sock #3. It'll be a helix-striped sock with one-row stripes.

I've also decided that I need to start a sweater for myself. I've cast on the sleeve (three times now) for one of the Wishbone Sweaters in Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann. At first I couldn't count right and then after knitting two inches in stockinette stitch, I have decided that I really like this yarn much better in seed stitch. The yarn is Cleckheaton's Drop Dead Gorgeous in the colorway Blueberries. I'm using size 11 needles which gives me a gauge of 2 1/2 stitches per inch, so this ought to go fairly quickly. If things go as planned, I ought to have a sweater to wear in a month or two.

My first idea for a new project today was to start in on the Must Have Cardigan, except I could only find the yarn in my stash and not the pattern book. Then I thought I could start on a Veste Everest, but I couldn't track down the yarn. After that, I thought I would work on my Freedom Sweater pullover but I don't know which bin the the sweater is in, although I do know where the pattern is. (There seems to be a trend here....) What I could find is the DDG yarn, so I might as well get the Blueberry Pullover going again and get a long-term WIP off my list of things to get done.

Sis' Striped Socks Finished!

2009-08-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to make the quick announcement. I still have the ends to run in, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, the pair is finished. I'll post a picture tomorrow. And cast on sock #3 of the set. Might get a good chunk of it knit up too, depending upon my energy level and the weather. There's a lot of yardwork that I could get done too.

First First Sock Progress....

2009-08-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

Since I was home sick over teh weekend, I got a lot of knitting done. The first sock of Sis' striped socks was ripped back to the end of the first stripe and I started to re-knit. I'm now working on the heel flap. Assuming my head doesn't asplode on me tonight, I might get past the heel turn and another inch down the food. If I feel like death warmed over in the morning, I may decide to call in sick. Oddly enough, I said that about this morning too, but I felt pretty decent until just before the end of the day.

Still trying to figure out the next project. I'm kind of thinking a nice cardi for work would be nice. Let's not talk about the unfinished adult-sized sweaters languishing in the WIP bins....

Second First Sock Complete!

2009-07-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the newly made second first sock and what's left of the unraveled first first sock. Had I been thinking clearly last night, I'd have taken a photo of the two first socks before I unraveled the one that is too short in the leg. The sock in progress will have a red heel and an orange toe, so will essentially be the "opposite" sock of this one.

I believe I will have sufficient yarn left to make a third sock to go with the first two. The third sock of the pair will be a helix-striped sock with one-row stripes for an even less identical pair of socks on my sister's feet. (She already buys the mismatched socks that come in sets of threes, so this will make sense to her and won't bug her a bit.)

This weekend should yield quite a bit of knitting time. I feel myself coming down with either a cold or an influenza-like illness today. If I develop a fever in the next day or two, I'll end up stuck at home for 7 days or until my symptoms resolve. That makes for lots of knitting time, assuming I'm not too miserable feelign to knit. (I'd really rather just go to work, but given that I'm the person who sends out the public health guidance about isolating sick people at home for a week, it would be rather inappropriate for me to blow off the recommendations and work while ill.)

Now for the Important Question....
What do I knit next? Start another pair of socks for me? Finish Errold's Grove? Start a new shawl? Start a completely different project? Finish spinning up the merino/tencel roving from months ago? Decision, decisions....

Travel Knitting Redux....

2009-07-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

I headed north this past week for my sister's graduation from nursing school. I had her try on the first of the striped socks and, as I feared, the leg was too short. I did, however, get most of the second first sock knit with a longer leg, though I just realized (now that I'm three hours away and on my way home) that I failed to have her try on the new first sock to verify the leg length is good. Sis is thinking that to lengthen the first sock that all I will need to do is add on to the top of the leg. That would be true if this was a toe-up sock, but it's not and I wouldn't be happy with the sock if I just tacked on an extra couple of stripes. I'm perfectly fine ripping out the entire sock and re-doing it right. But then, you knew I was crazy.

Nearly all the progress made on the second first sock came while driving my Grandmother back to Iowa. Or rather, while sis drove and I knitted in the front seat. Grandma sat in the middle row, while the niece and nephew sat in the back row and watched DVDs. Niece is enthralled with my knitting (which she sometimes calls "sewing") and likes to hold the ball of yarn while she watches me. Perhaps I'll get her some needles and yarn for Christmas. She's just about to turn 6 years old. She could manage a garter stitch potholder/project, I think.

Travel Yarn Buying....
You may or may not remember that when Sis visited Nashville a few months back that she became enamored of the February Lady Sweater. We made a foray over to the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles. I figured we might at least settle on a yarn color, if not actually find the yarn itself. We very nearly actually got the yarn, except they were a couple balls short. Sis has chosen Brown Sheep Naturespun in Plumberry.

While we were at it, Sis bought a pair of earrings that a student in a lampwork class made and I picked up three skeins of handpainted sock yarn, plus a skein of lace yarn with a label entirely printed in Chinese. I was only going to buy two skeins of sockyarn but when I asked Sis to help me decide between two particular colors, she said she'd buy one of them for me and then I wouldn't have to choose at all. Gotta love a sister who not only wears, but also requests hand knit items *AND* enables fiber purchases. I'll post pictures in the next few days.

Travel Knitting Report...

2009-07-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

I knit exactly one round on the travel sock. While killing time before my poster presentation. That's it. That is all the knitting I got done.

Now that I'm back home, I'm looking at a long weekend with very little work that I have to do. I have decided that I'm going to throw in some DVDs and knit myself silly. I have some socks to finish by Thursday and I'm only to the heel on the first one!!

Travel Knitting!

2009-07-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

I've decided that the Eastery/Spring-y colored yarn will become Monkey Socks. I was tempted by the Spring Forward pattern too, but Boy thought the texture of the Spring Forward pattern would get lost in the variegated color of the yarn.

Coincidentally, I have decided that when I make Sis and I the Crabby McHappypants socks that they will also be Monkey Socks.

As the backup knitting project (in case I get to a stuck spot or something bad happens), I'm taking the striped socks for my sister too. They'll go in my suitcase.

Tomorrow morning I head to the airport. I should get a couple of hours of knitting in between the airport and the plane. The meeting starts tomorrow evening with the keynote speech and a wine/cheese reception that is, oddly enough, sponsored by Kraft. I wonder if it will actually be Kraft cheese that is served or if it will be just paid for by Kraft. The technical sessions start bright and early at 8am Monday. The meeting ends Wednesday at 5pm and I fly back that night. That will be a looooong day. Of course, that's also the day of my presentation. On the other hand, with travel on Sunday and a couple of long days, I will have put in a full work week by the time I get back to my house on Wednesday. After a conference call on Thursday morning and turning in my timesheet, I'll have to flex off the rest of the week according to company policy. (We're not allowed to accrue overtime or comp time.)

Travel Knitting Time Coming Soon

2009-07-09T19:10:00.001-07:00

I'll be travelling part of each of the next two weeks. That means I get to knit on planes! and knit in the car when other people drive! Too bad I can't knit while I drive as I'll have two 7+ hour drives.

For travel knitting, I will be good and take my sister's striped socks. Errold's Grove is too big to travel well. I don't want to risk snagging it on something or dropping any stitches. Part of me really wants to start a new pair of socks. Like either another pair of Fawkes or maybe a pair of Monkey Socks or Pomatamous. I haven't had a new pair of socks for me in ~~ages~~ a month or two. *sighs*

The only down side to my sister's socks is that they're striped, so I have two active balls of yarn, instead of one smallish ball per sock. Maybe I'll have a plane-knitting sock for me and hotel-knitting sock for her. Then I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally yanking a ball of yarn out of my backpack and having it roll to the back or front of the plane, tangling up everybody's feet and leading to a mid-air yarn disaster.

Ok. That's it then. I'm knitting myself some new socks. I think I'll pick a cotton/wool blend and see about some pattern that reminds me of spring/summer weather.

Update: Just snagged a ball of OnLine Supersocke 100 in color 788. This is a self-striping yarn in spring/Easter-y shades of pink, purple, gree, yellow and blue. Now I just need to pick a pattern....I think something with a wee bit of lace perhaps. Any ideas or suggestions?

Checking In

2009-06-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted. I have actually been knitting. Watching Eureka on Hulu and on DVD makes for wonderful knitting time. Henry and Carter have some really good lines. I made good progress on the Errold's Grove shawl getting through seasons 2 and 3. Now I'm ready for Season 4 to start and I'm nearly finished with the Bond Birds border. I'm currently on round 115. The Companion Tracks border starts at round 123.

On the occasional evening when I haven't got the mental capacity for lace knitting, I've been making progress on my sister's striped socks. I'm just starting the heel flap on sock number one. I've decided that these socks will be a graduation present for her. She graduates from nursing school on the 23rd of July. That should be plenty of time to get 1.5 socks finished.

I've decided that Sis and I will have matching Crabby McHappypants socks for Christmas this year. I'll order the yarn either late this week or early next week. That will give me plenty of time to get them knit.

Then, since I started thinking about Christmas knitting, I started to think about last year's incomplete Critter Knits projects for my niece and nephew. And the pullovers I was going to knit them too. The evil bargaining process is trying to begin. You know that process "If I start now *and* I knit three days a week for an hour..." I can usually avoid it, but for some reason I have this urge to knit for Niece and Nephew. *sigh*

World-wide Knit in Public Day!

2009-06-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not actually doing anything to celebrate. The closest official gathering is >2 1/2 hours away. I have too much work to do around the house to go hang out at the local bookstore/coffeeshop and scare people with my knitting.

This evening, however, I will be watching part of Eureka (season 2) and knitting. That'll just have to be close enough to WWKiP for this year.

With regards to my current knitting progress, I am on round 103 and going strong. That puts me at starting the 2nd of three pattern repeats in the Bond Birds border. This is going pretty quickly even though all the rounds are getting longer every other row.

Finally A Picture

2009-06-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Of course, it's still not blocked or even stretched out. I'm at round 95 according to the pattern, though with the extra repeats I've added earlier, that's not really accurate. But it's what I'll go with for the purposes of keeping track of things and noting progress.

I'm working on the Bond Bird section now. This will make lace hearts. If I read the pattern correctly, I'll have three rows of lace hearts. Then there are 30 rows of Companion's Tracks (uncharted), which might give me a bit of trouble since I added extra repeats into the center. I may end up charting this section myself just so I can keep track of things.

Now that I'm closer to the finish than I thought I was, I'm really excited to work on this project. I'm actually as excited now as I was when I first started this project.

Errold's Grove Update

2009-05-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

I have finished the Ghost Cats in Border A. I am now starting the Bond Birds section in Border B. That puts me on round 91 out of 154. That's really quite manageable, when I look at it in terms of row count. Of course, I'm at over 400 stitches per round at the moment, if my math is correct. In the grand scheme of things, that's really not that many stitches per round either.

Once the body is done, I've got the edging to knit onto the shawl, which is joined to the shawl body every other round. This is a 23 stitch wide edging with a 10 row repeat. I've never done a knitted on edging before, so this could be fun. I may learn how to knit backwards on the return rows, rather than turning the whole project each row. We'll see how it goes.

Still no pictures. Perhaps when I finish the bond birds I'll get the thing spread out on a bit of scrap yarn. I'm not even entirely certain what this thing will look like when I'm finished, given that only one or two people have ever even knit this thing. I'm sure I'll like it though. And I'll have a bunch of yarn left over. I started with 2400 yards of Yarn Place Graceful. I'll have to weigh the finished product (or the remaining yarn) to estimate how much yarn is left. If I'm smart, I'll label the yarn ball with the yardage estimate and weight to simplify future project planning.

First of the Ghost Cats Completed

2009-05-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Of course, I have no picture of this because I haven't wanted to risk dropping stitches just to put the shawl on some waste yarn for a photo. I have been diligently knitting a round or two each evening. With a three-day weekend starting tonight and expected rainy weather (so no yard work), I might get some serious progress made on Errold's Grove. No where near finishing it, but I might get through the Bond Birds section. I'm still excited about finishing this project.

I do have a pair of socks to darn. The heels on my blue socks are wearing thin. I had forgotten all about that until I saw them tucked into my knitting basket this evening.

Sitting here, writing this blog entry, I'm now getting excited about the idea of spending the weekend knitting and relaxing. And maybe doing a wee bit of housekeeping to get things shipshape again. It'll be fun.

Slowly but Surely

2009-05-13T18:54:00.001-07:00

After having bragged about starting the Sister Socks, I haven't even looked at them. I have, however, managed to complete at least one round on the Errold's Grove shawl every day this week. At the current rate of knitting, it'll only take me 82 more days to get to the border. I have no way to estimate how long the border will take me. I have only glanced at the border directions. I believe the border is knit onto the shawl, perpendicular to the edge. (There was something in there about joining a border stitch to a live stitch on the shawl.)

I am a teensy bit concerned that the diameter of the shawl won't be quite large enough. I'm a bit less than halfway through the knitting, but the diameter right now is perhaps 2.5-3 feet (estimated). If it ends up being six feet across, that would work. I don't want it to be much less than five feet. My wingspan from fingertip to fingertip is five and a half feet. A five foot shawl would do nicely, I think. This will be my first square shawl, so I'm not entirely sure how wide I want/need it to be. I'm sure I can figure out a way to add pattern repeats before the border if I need to do that too.

Baby Knitting
A colleague of mine is having her first baby in about 7 1/2 months. I have, until now, primarily reserved my baby knitting for charity or for family members. But colleague is a lot of fun and I think she'd get a kick out of a baby sweater made just for her baby. She'd appreciate the work that goes into it too, since she makes jewelry herself, so understands the time, thought and skill that goes into a handmade gift. I'll ponder the idea for a few more weeks.

Sister Socks Started

2009-05-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess the "slump" has passed. I finished casting on my sister's socks this weekend while watching Firefly on Hulu. These are great TV/movie knitting since they are simple 2x2 rib. I just keep an eye on the tangling of the two yarns and remember to switch colors every 9-10 rows.

The colors really remind me of a fruit smoothie. I'll start the second sock with the strawberry color, rather than the apricot, so the socks will be fraternal twins. They'll have opposite colors on their heels and toes too.

Well, maybe not nothing after all....

2009-05-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

For some odd reason, I felt compelled to pick out a round and a half of knitting on Errold's Grove so I could start knitting it again. That took about 45 minutes, which completely by chance perfectly coincided with the length of an episode of Stargate SG-1 on Hulu. I almost started to knit the first round after the ripping back, but wisely decided that turning right around and screwing it up after I fixed it probably wasn't a good plan. It'll still be there tomorrow. As my reward for cleaning up my house.

I'm on call all weekend and the weather is expected to be horribly rainy. I potentially have guests coming next weekend and, with the current H1N1 flu outbreak, may not have any tidying up time this week, nevermind cleaning the boxes o' stuff out of the living room. So this weekend is major clean out/up time with laceknitting rewards. I figure a round of lace for every hour of cleaning is a nice ratio of work to play.

After All That....Nothing.

2009-04-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

I bought new yarn. I cast on half the stitches for my sister's sock. I dug out the next sock yarn for me. I moved my knitting projects around the house. After all of this, all my interest in knitting has vanished.

Largely, I think I'm mostly tired. I've been spending a lot of time outside doing heavy yardwork both after work and on weekends. When I do spend time inside, it seems to be catching up on the usual life stuff--paying bills, cooking meals, cleaning, doing laundry. When I finally sit down, I mostly just want to sit and stare blindly at not much. This is not terribly conducive to much knitting.

Of course, I just peeked at Lankakamero and completely fell in love with the Vernal Equinox Surprise shawl again. Isn't it gorgeous? I've got some J. Knits Lace-a-licious in Pueblo (very pale green) that would be perfect.

Yes, I am in complete denial about how mentally exhausted I am when I have knitting time and how complicated lace patterns are a disaster waiting to happen when one is knitting while tired. But it's a pretty denial, don't you think?

Sister's Stripey Socks
So, I cast on half the stitches for the first sock. I had intended to knit the socks with one-row stripes and to knit them using the helix knitting method for avoiding jogs in the stripes (see the current Interweave Knitting for more on this or Google Joan's Helix Hat). Rather than just knitting the socks according to my decisions, I called my sister and asked how she'd like her socks to be striped. She said 1/2" stripes. Hmmm. This complicates things a bit. First, there will be jogs to manage. Second, I will have to carry the yarn vertically between color changes, which is not impossible, but can be tricky to do smoothly. The lazy part of me says to just do it my way anyway. The nicer, more ethical part of me says to knit them per her request since they're *her* socks and I can't pretend I don't know what she wants. So they sit in my knitting basket. *sigh*

Yarn Shopping Results!

2009-04-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

My yarn retail therapy day was a success! My sister was more than happy to visit a yarn store with me as part of our day running around Nashville. She was even happier when I told her she should pick out yarn for a pair of socks that I'd knit for her. Right inside the door at Haus of Yarn was a display of Colinette Jitterbug. She really liked the bright colors, but blanched a bit at the price ($20/skein). After looking at all the sock yarn in the store, I finally convinced her that she needed to pick out two skeins of sock yarn and I didn't care a rat's patootie what the pricetag read. She finally settled on Lobster Pinch and Apricot, to be knit in stripes with solid heels and toes (one set of each color, of course).

For myself, I chose a skein of Skacel merino lace in a dusty grape color and two skeins of Misti Alpaca lace in a wine colorway, with both colors sister-approved. One of these two yarns will become an Aeolian Shawl for me.

The woman who rang up my purchase was having trouble finding the right color code for the Misti Alpaca and ended up only charging me for one of the two skeins. I didn't even notice until late last night, then didn't get home today before they closed. I'll give them a call tomorrow and see about paying them for the 2nd skein. If they can't charge my card over the phone, I can send them a check via the mail.

While we were waiting to pay for the goods, I pointed out the shop model of Pam Wynne's February Lady Sweater hanging overhead, knit in a reddish brown wool. Sis thought it was gorgeous and mused that the sleeves might be modified to be more narrow and full-length, rather than the wider 3/4 length shown in the model. I told her it was a very easy sweater to knit, should be readily alterable and that I'd even seen it in a pullover version. She then asked if it was something that might be knittable by Christmas. I laughed and said yes. Now I just need to track down the right yarn. I think Sis might have had a stroke if I'd bought it right then.

Yarn Shopping Coming Soon!

2009-04-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

I will be taking a day trip tomorrow to hang out with my sister, who is in Nashville at a conference. I'm going to take her out for lunch, we'll stop by the Parthenon and hit Haus of Yarn. There's nothing in particular that I am looking for, but I had a fairly crappy week, so a bit of retail therapy might be nice. I am thinking that perhaps a couple skeins of sock yarn or some lace weight for a shawl would be nice. I really have no idea what I want. Presumably the right yarn will talk to me when it sees me. And if none of it talks to me, then I'll leave it all in the store. Mostly the highlight of the day will be running around with Sis. Maybe I'll get her to pick out some sock yarn for herself. I haven't knit any socks for her in at least 5 years.

Queen of Cups Finished!

2009-04-12T09:28:00.001-07:00

I have finally gotten this pair of socks finished. I actually put finishing the 2nd sock on my list of things to get done this past weekend. So, without further ado, here they are:
Pattern: Queen of Cups from Spring 2007 Knitty
Yarn: Shibui Knits Sock in color Jewel
Needles: U.S. Size 2
Comments: The cuff is a bit short for my preferences. I might have had enough yarn to add another 1/2 repeat to the cuff, but it would have cut things awfully close for the finishing. In any event, they're certainly wearable and they're gorgeous socks. I think this yarn would make for a beautiful scarf too.

Next up, finishing the first Boy Sock and getting it sent off for a fitting. I've been rather distracted from my knitting by my garden and yardwork. Perhaps if there is a bit of rain later this week I'll get the Boy Sock's toe re-knit longer and wider.

More Organizing!!

2009-04-04T06:31:00.001-07:00

But first, there are giveaways to share with you!! I am not the only person having a spring cleaning and organizing spree this year. earthchicknits is cleaning things up too and also having a giveaway in the process. Head on over there to see her cleaning and organizing progress.

It doesn't involve spring cleaning at all, but it is a giveaway for a good cause. orinda5 is hosting a giveaway to benefit the Roseville String Ensemble. At the moment, the ensemble does not have sufficient funds for the 2009-2010 season. orinda5 wants to keep the ensemble going so she is giving away some lovely prize packages (enough Malabrigo worsted for a sweater, Malabrigo lace weight plus beads and a shawl pin, and a sock yarn package including yarn for two socks, stitch markers and a tote bag to hold it all). Please consider going to her site and making a donation to the Roseville String Ensemble via the conveniently provided Paypal button when you enter the giveaway.

Fiber Room Finished!
As for my fiber room, I think I've got it put back together now. I even put artwork up on the wall which I never do, as evidenced by the four or five framed posters/paintings leaning against various walls in my house. There are three bins of fleece headed to the garage. There are another three or four bins of fabric and clothing I need to sort through. I don't think the fabric will fit on the shelves in the closet, so may need to figure out an alternate storage place.

That's a Strauch's Finest drum carder in the back corner with a set of Indigo Hound 5-pitch combs next to it . I bought the drum carder used from a woman in Washington state last year with some of my tax refund, talked Boy into picking it up from her son (they were both located in the same town), and Boy shipped it to me. I love it. The combs I picked up at the Fleece Fair in Greencastle, IN (now known as The Fiber Event and happening next weekend!) With my worktable set up, I now have a nice place to use both of these tools, instead of sitting or kneeling on the floor next to the coffee table to use them.

The desk chair is a rather old, but ergonomically designed, wooden desk chair I found in an "antique" shop years ago. I think I paid $50 for it. I need to adjust its height, but other than that, it's remarkably comfortable even without padding. I love the lumbar support when I lean back and put my feet up.

The cloud of fiber on the table is some white Coopworth I washed just to see how clean it would get. It's a brilliant white. It will make some spectacular yarn. I'd consider dyeing some of the fiber or yarn, but I wouldn't want to screw it up with an ugly color or by accidentally felting it, so I'll probably leave it natural white.

The bins of yarn are toward the front, with the fleeces and prepared fiber at the back. That's a white shetland fleece at the top of the pile in the back.

The stereo cabinet is holding the two plastic boxes of knitting needles and patterns I got from my paternal grandmother. The bottom cubbyhole contains the Critter Knits book and the WIP totebag. The two boxes in front have been put in their proper places.

The three bins with the fiber on top are holding the grey coopworth fleece that I've teased open in preparation for washing. Once it's all washed, I'll comb it. I did some preliminary carding, but didn't like the end product as much as I like the combed product.

As for the loose fiber on top, that's Romney (I think) that I washed some time ago and carded. It wasn't washed thoroughly however, so it is pretty sticky feeling. I'll re-wash it in the next week or so. I really need to quit "sampling" the fleeces by washing bits and pieces and just focus on getting a whole fleece ready to go, otherwise I'll continue to lose track of what I'm doing.

It's very nice to have all my fibery goodness in one place. I will probably move my living room knitting basket and other odds/ends into the fiber room. To me it feels like I'll be more productive with an actual space to do fibery things, but only time will tell.

Darning Socks!
I found this marvelous sock darning tutorial today. I had been wondering how to fix a large hole in two of my socks that encompassed a 3x4 stitch area, but wasn't sure how to duplicate stitch/darn over a place where NO STITCHES were. Now I know! I'm actually excited to try this. Perhaps darning socks will be my reward today for getting other work done.

Shawl KAL Progress?
Yeah, nothing to report there. I got caught up with other tasks this week. I still haven't even swatched for it. I remain hopeful that I'll get the swatch done this week.

Re-Assembly in Progress!

2009-03-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

I started putting things back together in the fiber room this week. In the process I discovered some yarn I forgot I had, like the two "cheeses" (1 pound total) of Fingerlakes Un-Spun Silk in a nice pale raspberry and some Lorna's Laces Bullfrog and Butterflies in a khaki color.

I have always thought the Un-Spun would make some nice gloves, though since the "yarn" has almost no twist, I don't think they would be very durable. Perhaps a scarf or scarves would be a better choice. I'm not sure it would be quite sturdy enough for a shawl either. I figure I have about 1000 yards if I use it as 2-ply. Not sure what I'll do with the Bullfrogs and Butterflies.

Anyway, this is what things look like now.

The yarn bins will be closest to the table and the sock yarn bin may remain under the table. (The lone skein of yarn on top will be the next socks I knit.)

The fleece bins are furthest from the table. There are approximately 9 bins of yarn and about 18 bins of fleece and prepared fiber. (YIKES!) There are some fabric bins too and I intend to store the fabric on the shelves in the closet, once I clean the crap out of the closet. I don't have that much fabric and a lot of the stuff on the shelves in the closet just needs to go away or at least go somewhere else. That would be a nice solution. Leaving the fabric bins in the room would take up too much space for me to be able to use the table.

My goal for today is to have the table cleaned off and the yarn bins neatly stacked up, ready to go. The fleece bins are all labeled with what is inside. I may or may not get to labeling the yarn bins. Right now the only yarn bins labeled are the acrylics, sock yarn and lace yarn. I think it's doable to get this room all squared away and presentable today. My reward for cleaning up really well today will be to mow my lawn tomorrow and to buy a new video card for my gaming computer. W00t!

New KAL!

2009-03-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

I've joined the Secrets of the Shawl KAL. Yes, I know I still haven't finished the Critters for this past winter. Yes, I know all the bins from my fiber room are still spread around the house. Yes, I know I still haven't finished the 2nd Queen of Cups sock or Errold's Grove or the Boy Socks or even darned the 2 pair of socks waiting by my knitting basket. What can I say. I think I needed something new and group-oriented to work on. It's been a rough week and the new KAL sounded like something that might cheer me up a bit.

Now I just need to decide between the cone of red wool or the cone of black wool. And knitting a swatch would be a good idea. Perhaps I'll do that tonight while I watch Wall-E on DVD. Right after I put three bins back in the fiber room and finish my laundry.

Fiber Room Re-Build!

2009-03-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

I got the carpet steam cleaned and the new work table assembled. The carpet on that side of the room didn't dry as quickly as I hoped it would, so I put plastic wrap underneath the ends of the table to keep them from soaking up moisture from the carpet. I'm excited about having an actual work area set up. To the right of the table will be a small set of cubbyholes/shelves. Not sure what I'll put on them yet. Further to the right (out of the photo) is my floor loom. On the left side of the room will be the storage bins and probably a short bookshelf. I'll still have to weed out the number of bins or else there won't be room for me to get to the work table, much less to sit at it.

(No, the room isn't quite as pink as it appears in the picture. It's much less pale and the carpet is a nondescript tan, not rose colored.)

A Good and Bad Discovery

2009-03-14T18:53:00.001-07:00

I only wear handknit socks to work anymore. The bad discovery is that two pair of these socks have holes in the heels. They just plain wore through. They are at least five years old, so it shouldn't been too terribly surprising that they are wearing out. Now I need to decide if I want to fix the holes or just toss the socks. The frugal part of me says mend them, even if the mending isn't going to be terribly neat.

Now for the good part of the holey discovery. I realize that I need to hurry up and knit myself some more socks! I haven't knit myself socks since I finished the Fawkes Socks months and months ago. Time to whip out the second of the Queen of Cups socks and then turn out another pair right away. I think the second pair of socks will be a pair of Spring Forward socks from the Summer 2008 Knitty. I've got some nice spring-like wool from Unique Sheep that's already tagged to become Spring Forward. I'm also a bit fond of the Baroque Socks from Fall 2008 as well. I won't even mention the list of socks I have queued up on Ravelry. :o)

Cleaning Up
I had the crazy idea to empty out my fiber room this evening and steam clean half the carpet. I'll clean the other half tomorrow morning. Perhaps by tomorrow evening the carpet will be dry enough that I can assemble the work table that goes in there. Then I'll need to figure out how to arrange the table, loom, and storage bins and get things moved back. Not all of the bins will go back in the room, so I'll have to decide what goes elsewhere in the house and figure out where that elsewhere will be. I suspect that will be the garage. I can't wait until the first warm weekend so that I can re-arrange the garage and get a bunch of stuff thrown out of there too.

Once the work table is set up, I'll have a permanent place to leave my wool combs, drum carder and sewing machine. Right now I end up hauling them out to the living room if I want to use any of those items. This, of course, makes a mess in the living room and makes it highly unlikely that I'll work on any large project for very long since I dislike a messy, cluttered living room.

Crapadoodly!

2009-03-10T18:31:00.001-07:00

I *completely* forgot about sign-ups for Sock Madness this year. Needless to say, they were full up about six days ago. Poopers. Last year was fun, even if I did only barely make it into round 2. Oh well. Maybe next year.

On the other hand, I'm seriously considering having a go at the Goddess Knits mystery knitalong #12. It's only $6 and the previous KAL patterns have been spectacular. I'm thinking that it could be my reward for losing 15 pounds over the past six months and becoming a regular gym rat before work.

In other not-so-great news, I had a crack at Errold's Grove last night for a little bit. I am positive I introduced errors into the last half round I worked on. This wouldn't be so bad, except that when I thought I was "correcting errors" in the previous round, I was actually introducing them. Oopsies. So I need to undo the past 1 1/2 rounds. I should probably let it sit for the next week or two and finish up the Gator Scarf though.

Yarn to Go!

2009-03-08T18:30:00.001-07:00

Here's the array of yarn that I'm shipping off to the Society of St. Margaret in Roxbury, MA.

In the lower left are 18 balls of Stahl Hochland Tweed that I once thought I turn into a sweater for me. In the middle are some yellow and blue DreamBaby DK and Peter Pan DK.. The multiple skeins of white/cream yarn in the upper right are skeins of yarn from afghan kits I was given by folks who no longer crochet. Yarn weights vary from bulky to DK and fibers are mostly acrylic, wool or wool/acrylic blends. Some of it is yarn that I got on sale and figured I'd find a project for later. Some of it is yarn that I purchased specifically for a project, but ended up with much more yarn than I needed or never got around to knitting the project. The bright DK stuff is yarn I purchased for knitting baby stuff for my niece and nephew (now 5 and 3 years old, respectively). Since all of this is yarn I haven't touched since I moved almost three years ago, I figure it is time to let it go somewhere that it *will* be used.

I'm excited to get this yarn on its way to its new home, not only so that it can soon become something beautiful and useful, but also to make way for more creativity in my own fiber world. I almost have enough room to set up my work table in my fiber room now.

I'm Becoming an Addict!

2009-03-04T15:49:00.000-08:00

I can't stop washing fleeces. I did find two fleeces that I need to save for washing outdoors though. I have two long-wool fleeces (I think one is a Lincoln or Romney cross) that shed an incredible amount of dirt when soaked in cold water overnight. An absolutely amazing amount of dirt. Almost enough dirt to pot a plant with. I can't wait until spring/summer arrive so I can soak these fleeces outdoors and then dump the water on my garden. The dirt and other sheep cooties might do wonders on the plants.

Right now I've got a chunk of white Shetland soaking. Of course, what I really need to do is just keep chipping away at washing the silly Coopworth that I wrote about a few days ago, but my ADHD tendencies are causing me to flit about without focus. I'm writing myself a note, which I will post in my fiber/fleece room, that reads "You may only wash the Coopworth fleece until it's all washed, *THEN* you c an wash other fleeces. Otherwise you may never finish with the first fleece before you burnout or lose interest." *sigh*

As for tonight, I might knit on the Gator Scarf this evening, after I finish the final chapter of my overdue library book. (It's only one day overdue, I can't renew it and I'm soooooooo close to finishing it and finding out whodunnit! I can only hope that the person waiting for it to be returned understands my logic and forgives me for making them wait.)

Coopworth Fleece #1 ready to wash!

2009-03-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

I finally got the first of the grey Coopworth fleeces teased open and ready to wash. When I first started teasing open the fleece, I'd tease open a bunch, then wash it when I got tired of teasing. At this point there is already about 1/3 of the fleece washed. Now I'll alternate washing and combing. Given my rather restricted washing and drying space, I can wash about three "batches" of fleece in two weeks in the winter. I have discovered that this particular fleece benefits greatly from an overnight cold water soak, followed by a hot, soapy wash. There is a remarkable amount of dirt that comes out with the cold water. The end result is quite excellent. I look forward to combing and eventually spinning this fleece. I have no idea what project it will become or what sort of yarn I'll spin from it, but it'll be fun to work with.

For a brief moment, after I finished the last of the Coopworth teasing, I immediately went to my fleece stash and tried to figure out what fleece I'd start teasing open next. I nearly started in on the first fleece I ever purchased (a nice light grey Romney), when it occurred to me that I really needed to finish with the washing and combing of the first fleece before getting into the next one. If nothing else, I might remember what I'm doing and where I'm storing stuff if I do things that way. It also occurred to me that I need to start a spinner's notebook so that I'm writing down what I'm doing with a given fleece, just in case I end up having a big time break in the middle.

Destashing for a Good Cause!

2009-02-27T16:55:00.000-08:00

While reading through the knitlist today, I came across a message from Sister Grace of the Sisters of St. Margaret in Boston, MA. She indicated that their group knits scarves using donated yarn, then sells the scarves to raise money for their mission work in Haiti. This is most excellent timing since I've been wanting to clear out my yarn stash quite a bit, but didn't just want to take yarn to the Goodwill store. I really wanted the yarn to be used by someone for a good purpose.

I made a cursory pass through my yarn stash this evening. I'm apparently ready to get rid of more yarn than I thought. Close to two Rubbermaid bins worth, actually. There are yarns in there that I'm just not going to use. It's not that there is anything wrong with them. Either my tastes have changed or they were a screaming deal on sale and I thought I had an idea for them at the time but never quite got around to actually knitting the project. Some of these are yarns I bought to knit baby stuff, but the "babies" are now 5 and 3 years old! Approximately a quarter of the yarn is stuff that was given to me when I was given my loom. It's good wool yarn--some of it is Harrisville wool on cones--but I haven't done a darned thing with it in over 7 years, so I think I can let it go to folks who WILL do something with it.

The determination of what to keep vs. what to donate came down to "Am I realistically going to knit with this yarn in the next 12 months? Do I have a specific project in mind for this yarn? Would I wear something made from this yarn? Do I really love this yarn and want to keep it/knit with it?" If I couldn't answer "yes" to these questions, I figured it was time to let it go.

When I wrote to Sister Grace, I mentioned that I could also send knitted scarves and she said that would be fine too, so I even have a place to send my charity knitting too! I haven't done any charity knitting in a while, but I would like to knit my way through my Mountain Goat yarn stash and also try out the beautiful cabled scarf patterns of SmarieK Knits. I'm a whole lot more motivated to knit things as experiments if they get used by someone at some point. Not only do I get to try new patterns, but I also get to do someone some good and perhaps my scarf or other project will bring someone warmth and joy.