Painting with Stinky Socks

knitting post!

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:38:17 GMT

It's been a long time since I've done one of these!!!

I absolutely LOVE this sweater: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTamelia.php Amelia from the Winter 08 Knitty. It's super awesome and I want to make it with that yarn in that colorway. I am forcing myself to finish my two sweaters I have on the needles before investing in the $100 worth of yarn I need for it though... It's knit all in one piece, which is interesting to me as I've never made a sweater that way before. Fun!

The WIP I'm currently trying to finish is based on Mr. Greenjeans (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTgreenjeans.html). It's the same sweater but I'm making it long sleeved instead of 3/4 sleeves. I'm cold all the time so I see no point in 3/4 sleeves for a sweater I'm wearing to keep warm... I'm perhaps 2 inches from finishing the sleeves, so I'm almost done... I also modified it to have 4 buttons down the front instead of just one. I hate following directions, you know.

My eternal WIP... Mariah (http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTmariah.html). God, when did I start this sweater? THREE years ago. Seriously. That's pathetic. I remember knitting this during a knitting weekend in Provincetown, and that was, yeah, 3 1/2 years ago. I so totally suck. It was going well and I'm mostly finished but then I ripped out the top of the sleeves long ago because I realized my stitch count was a little off. In retrospect I should have left it, because it would have been fine, but now it's been so long I have no idea where I am in the cable pattern. I've looked at it a few times and where I seem to be vs. where I marked off on the cable chart don't jive. And I haven't had the time to really focus on it so I figured I'd finish Mr. Greenjeans first because that is easier and quicker. I also modified Mariah a bit in that I made it a bit longer (because cropped sweaters make me crazy) and I'm making a collar instead of the hood. I've no need for a hood either. I'll do a collar that matches the bottom edge and it'll be rad.

Thing is too, that I'm finally knitting again after a bit of a hiatus. Not that that justifies my embarrassingly long experience with Mariah. You'd think I'd have finished it by now because it's so fabulous. I'll make that my new years resolution, to finish Mariah before the weather gets too warm to wear it.

Other than that, I have a pair of socks on the needles as I always do. They travel in my purse and are always there for when I'm bored. But I haven't touched those lately either. It's funny though, I knit my socks Continental, but I knit everything else English. But now that I've resumed knitting a bit, every time I pick something up I start knitting Continental... Maybe I'll be switching to that exclusively, but stitch manipulation (beyond the simple knit/purl) is still so much easier for me English style. I will finish the sweaters English because my tension is different enough for it to be noticeable (to me, anyway). But it's funny, because I used to pick something up and automatically knit English. Interesting that's switched.

Mmmm, yarn

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:49:06 GMT

I can't seem to stop touching my new yarn. I bought some Cherry Tree Hill Sockitome in the limited edition Wool in the Woods lottery colors. Ohmygawd, it's so pretty and so soft. I don't think I've knit myself merino socks before... It's handpainted in deep purple, navy (black where those meet), dark green and a burgundy-purple. I had intended on buying some Koigu today but there was none and this yarn is an awesome alternative. Koigu will be next.

The store I was at (Woolcott in Harvard Sq.) also had the new Noro sock yarn. I just recently heard of it. I was tempted, as Noro has wonderfully vibrant colors - but it's so scratchy! I've knitted with Kureyon before and wouldn't think to wear it against my skin. They had a big sock knit up - the woman told me they had tried to felt it because it says hand wash on the skein but it didn't felt. It softened up a lot but they'd probably still be too rough for my preference.

Now I'm quickly knitting the legs of my current socks-in-progress because I'm anxious to start this next Sockitome pair. I'm doing a pair of toe-up socks, 2 at a time on 2 circulars, Lorna's Laces in Mother Lode (LOVE that colorway, my favorite LL yarn to date), doing my own thing. Judy's Magic Cast-On, plain knit foot, short row heel, 2x1 rib on the leg. I probably have about 3-4 inches to go because I'm trying to make my socks a bit taller than I have in the past - just to keep my legs a bit warmer in winter. I'm such a big baby about drafty ankles.

I'm still a knitter

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 10:52:32 GMT

Yesterday I frogged my newest socks, because I'm sure everyone is excited to hear that. I'm knitting some toe-ups with Regia Wool/bamboo. It's lovely and soft, but it's extremely stretchy so even though I'm knitting it up at the same gauge as I do Lorna's Laces it made sock toes that were clearly too wide. So I ripped out all that work and took out 8 stitches. I'll rib them on the top of the foot even after subtracting those stitches because it just seems to me that they will stretch a lot still. I like the yarn, although it can be slightly splitty when doing increases. My super pointy Knitpicks US1s are ensuring I keep my sanity. I'm kind of sick of tiny sock knitting but I cast on for these to have a project to work on that I don't have to think about. And also because I really, really like Judy's Magic Cast-On.

I finished the girls socks a while ago, although Kalen wants me to double-stitch skulls on the ankles. I need to get around to that. Talyn wants to wear hers every day, I love the flattery of a 4-year-old. Her socks pooled badly, which I dislike, but she doesn't care at all.

I've been avoiding Mariah again, silly girl, because I haven't had thinking time to devote to charts. I'm shortening the sleeves by a lot and kinda winging it. I had been so nervous about them coming out wide enough but now that I've lost 10 lbs I no longer have to worry about that. Now I'm kinda thinking I should make the body slightly longer than it is. Sometimes I really wish I were the type of knitter that could follow patterns completely. All this modifying and re-thinking, much math, and re-modifying many times over makes a project long to complete.

I was knitting a bag to felt, then I LOST MY STRAPS. WTF? How did I lose my knitting? I've looked all over for the damn things. They were 2 i-cords I had planned to twist into a rope before felting. I was almost done with the 2nd one, so that means I've lost the needles they were being knit on, and the ball of yarn. I have no idea what happened to it, the last time I remember putting it down it was at my usual knitting spot by my chair. I've cleaned a million times since then and it's disappeared. I bet someday I'll find it somewhere stupid. Until then, that bag is on hiatus too, because I had intended on using up that yarn for it. It's funky burgundy with sections of chartreuse in it, I think it's cool looking but it surely wouldn't appeal to everyone.

It's exciting in tineland

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 19:18:54 GMT

Been busy with my mom visiting and now that she's left, Steve's mom is due to be here in a day and I've got lots of cleaning to do. It's chilly and rain is coming soon and I just want to sit and knit, because that's way more fun than cleaning. I had my half-finished sweaters out yesterday to show my mom what I've been working on and now I'm itching to work on them.

One sweater (the Manos one) needs just a button band, which is a really lame thing to have it sitting around for. I was going to rip out the bottoms of the sleeves because they came out a bit long, but upon trying it on last night, they aren't as long as I remembered them being, and they'll be just fine the way they are. That's why I've ignored it so long, I didn't want to rip out those sleeves. They were slightly tight too, around the biceps, but since I've lost 5 lbs they fit perfect now... woo hoo for that. The other sweater is my Mariah, which is gonna be so freaking awesome, but that still needs lots of work. I'm almost done with the sleeves, the back and fronts are done and ready to be joined with the sleeves to finish with the yoke. I'm still thinking that I'm going to nix the hood on this sweater and make a collar instead.

I've started knitting Kalen's socks, they are pink and purple and very girly... I'm slightly nervous that they are going to be a bit big, but she has wide feet and is growing every day so I should just stop thinking about it and just knit. She got the most kick-ass shoes for school, they're really funky mary janes. Her girly socks will look really awesome with those shoes since they'll be visible.

I'm expecting some of the new Knitpicks needles this week. I ordered a couple of US1s, so I can have 2 pairs of socks going at the same time. I also got a US0 needle and a ball of their Gloss yarn (merino/silk) to make wrist cuffs for the girls. I haven't been able to find black fingering weight yarn here locally. (That's not including sock yarns, which I didn't want, because of the nylon content)

Sometimes, I still knit

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:31:43 GMT

I am this --><-- close to finishing my mom's River stole, now that I've finished fucking it up. Yes! It's true. I only started it a year and a freakin' half ago. I fixed whatever I was doing wrong by frogging and refrogging the same 4 rows twice over, and I'm now halfway through what is to be my last repeat. Hopefully I will resist the urge to knit just one more, just to make it a bit longer, but I'm so sick of this project that I probably won't get that urge. It's hard to tell how long it's going to be when I block it, being my first lace project. I am so looking forward to getting this thing off my needles. My goal is to finish it this weekend.

Larin's socks are the cutest. They are footie socks with a picot bind-off and are sweet. I need to have her pose for pictures. Now onto Talyn's socks, I think. Kalen and Talyn both want me to do their socks next, but I think I'll start T's, because they are smaller and will be faster. I'm toying with the idea of buying some Knitpicks needles, just to try 'em out, so maybe I could even do both pairs at the same time, keeping both girls happy.

I'm really quite sold on toe-up socks.

I couldn't help myself and I ordered some of the new Regia bamboo sock yarn. I noticed that my favorite online yarn retailer (Two Swans Yarns) happened to carry it so I bought some. I resisted the urge to buy some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Mixed Berries, however. I've wanted that colorway for a while but on top of the LLSS yarn I have for Kalen and Talyn's socks I have a couple of hanks of Motherlode for another pair for me. I need to catch up on my sock knitting before I buy too much more. I'm really looking forward to trying out the bamboo yarn, if it's half as soft as the bamboo yarn I fondled at my LYS I will be happy. Two Swans Yarns rocks because when you shop there you earn points. Your points earn you free shipping. Your points also earn you money off. And Karen who runs the store is very responsive and very nice. Perks, good prices and great service are what keep me going back.

Let's do a knitting update!

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 12:18:29 GMT

It's been quite a while. Here's what I've been up to, which isn't much, considering:

- Larin's sock - I "finished" one of them yesterday, binding off during K's karate class after Larin tried them on and said she liked them short the way they are, as footie socks. OK, I did that, adding a cute picot bind-off which she likes. Turns out there isn't enough ribbing at the top to prevent the dreaded stockinette curl so the picots flare out the sides. She likes it that way. But she also wanted me to embroider a flower on each side of the sock. This was a request from long ago, and long unmentioned, until yesterday. There is no room on a short footie sock for an embroidered flower. So today I will rip out my picot bind-off, knit for maybe another inch and go from there. It's a good thing I had the foresight not to cut my yarn after I bound off. Sometimes I am a smart girl.

- The endless River stole - It's mom's birthday at the end of August and she is coming to visit the last week of said month, so it MUST be done. I started this in the Spring of '05, I will be really, really happy to get it off the needles and gift it away. I put this project on knitting hiatus more than anything else, I think. In the beginning it took a lot of concentration, being my first lace project, and it had the tendency to fuck with my brain and make me screw it up. Now, I am in the groove and can knit it well and at a decent pace so it's going faster. Only I'm adding probably 5 repeats to make it longer. I went down a couple of needle sizes so it is shorter than it should be so I'm compensating. I just hope I don't get impatient and make it too short. It is kinda hard to tell how big I can make it with blocking.

- i-cord bag handle - I'm trying to be funny by listing this as a project. I have an almost-finished felted bag that is lacking a handle. I had to go see Garfield 2 with the kids and since I can't knit River in the dark and the last time I tried to knit socks on slippery Addi's at the movies it was a disaster, I started the i-cord strap. It kept me entertained during a bad movie and it's my thing to pick up when I don't want to think but my hands want to be busy. I'm attempting to make a twisted cord type of a strap.

I have 2 sweaters on the ignore list:
- Brown Manos - I'm embarrassed that I haven't finished my Manos sweater. It's knit, it's seamed, it's lacking a button band on either side of the cardigan opening. The sleeves are also too long and one of these days I'm going to unravel it from the bottom, to avoid ripping out the sleeve caps to shorten them. Maybe when the weather gets a bit cooler. I can't stand a pile of hot wool in the summer, especially when it's been 90 degrees and humid. Even with air conditioning I'm not going there.

- Mariah - I haven't touched this since summer started, with good reason: hot, cabled wool. I'm at the top of the sleeves, modifying them as I go to fit my short, stubby arms. The body pieces are ready to be joined with said sleeves and then it's on to the yoke. I really love this sweater so far. I'm a bit scared I am going to fuck up the sleeve increases at the top because I stress about stuff like that even though frogging cables isn't all that bad. I'll dive back into this when the heat goes away. I also think I'm going to nix the hood on it because as much as I love my Rogue, I can't easily wear it under my winter coat since the hood is always bulky and in the way. I don't like the Mariah neckline as it is in the pattern, I think it would work better with a collar instead.

The Wyvern socks are done!

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 02:05:30 GMT

I love the excitement of a new project, it motivates me to finish projects that have otherwise been dragging on forever. I finished my Wyvern socks today, largely because I put up our little pool today and the girls spent most of the afternoon playing in it. Knitting is perfect for when I need to be there, watching them in the pool. I can still keep my eyes on them while keeping my hands busy and then I don't get bored. They'll happily play in the pool all day, while I'll happily knit all day :-)

I am going to cast on for Larin's socks. That means I have to decide what I'm doing :-) I think I'm going to do toe-up socks for her, I'm trying to decide if I should do a simple pattern or just keep them plain. I'm knitting them with Lorna's Laces in a colorway that is just turquoise and purple. I think with only 2 colors in the mix and with the small size of the sock it is going to knit up with stripes thicker than what I'm used to with Lorna's Laces that have several different colors going on. Patterns tend to get lost in variegated yarns but I also don't want to do something like a Jaywalker sock that looks cool with a variegated yarn because it's not stretchy enough for a growing girl's sock. If I weren't so damn indecisive I'd get more knitting done I bet.

I've been knitting this silly little cotton towel which will be used to dry dishes on. Mainly to stash-bust but also because I kinda wanted to and it was something to do that I didn't have to really think about. I was using the stitch pattern from the My So Called Scarf pattern. But I don't love it. I don't love knitting with cotton and I don't love the stitch pattern because I have to purl two together repeatedly and I don't love doing that.

When I took this finishing class in April, Susanna Hansson taught us to only knit what you love. She said that you could be working on this project that you've come to hate, it was something you thought you'd like but then you didn't like the pattern, you didn't like the color, you didn't like the yarn, whatever. But you felt obligated to finish it, since you picked it and started it, so you trudge through, hating it all the way while the project you love is sitting in your knitting basket, waiting patiently. But then, you die, and your family finds your unfinished, hated project. They don't know you hated it, so they take that project, and they feel obligated to finish it for you, and wear it, because you died before you had a chance to. Then you're remembered by a project you hated, and the beautiful yarn waiting patiently in your basket gets donated to charity.

I thought of that when I saw my stupid cotton towel project today. I don't love it and it's a waste of my time so I'm going to toss it and buy a towel instead. Then I will cast-on for Larin's socks. I'd work on my mom's River stole but it's way too frigging hot and humid for that. It's gotten on the big side since I'm more than halfway done and I'm not interested in having a pile of mohair on my lap in this weather.

Knitting update

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 12:27:30 GMT

It's been a long, long time and since Steve's been playing his XBox 360 for the past 8-9 hours, it's a good time to post.

I've been actively knitting (sorry, no pics, I suck):

River: Yes! I took River out of hibernation. I've finished 1 ball of the Kidsilk Haze. It was about 7 or 8 repeats, I think. The pattern says to do 12 repeats but I'll likely make it a bit longer. I also knit the beaded fabric for the knot. I wasn't going to, but I happen to have some nice beads that look good with the burgundy yarn so I went with it. This is for my mom, she can use the knot if she wants, or a brooch if she doesn't. Good thing mom is patient, because I started this more than a year ago now. Let's overlook the 6 months I ignored it, shall we?

Wyvern Socks: I am almost done with my short row heel on sock #2, we're in the home stretch. Almost. The leg of this sock seems to take for-freakin-ever, because the lace pattern is on all sides as opposed to just on the top of the foot. I was thinking of knitting this leg a bit longer by adding another repeat then ripping back the top of sock #1 and making that longer too. But at this point I'm getting sick of knitting these so they'll be perfect the way they are. I'm just anxious to start Larin's socks, I think.

Wine cozy: Because everyone needs a wine cozy in 90-degree weather. Actually, I need to give a gift so I decided to stash-bust and knit this. It was quick and easy and I needed a break from charted knitting so I made it. There you go.

Mariah: I haven't actually been knitting Mariah for a while since it's been so warm here. But since I last updated I've done a lot with her. The back and both fronts are done and ready to be put back on the needles for the yoke once I'm satisfied with my sleeve length. I added the small cable up either side of the cardigan fronts for interest. I'm continuing the cable pattern up the shoulder. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to knit the hood and do a cabled collar instead. I live in sweaters through the winter and like to be able to just throw my coat over them when I need to run out. I'm afraid the hood will make it too bulky to wear under a coat. My Rogue annoys me a bit because of the hood preventing me from comfortably wearing my coat. No, it's not as simple as pulling the hood out the back, because my coat has a hood too and then I feel like I have an extra head in the back.

My felted bag has been put in the ignore pile until I decide on a strap strategy.

I think I made something else simple too and I can't remember. Nice.

I also knitted a beaded wrist cuff after my knitting weekend away. I took 2 classes, one of which was a beaded knitting class. Beaded wrist cuffs are pretty big in Nordic countries, apparently, and they have many books devoted just to them. They keep your pulse points warm and therefore keep your body feeling warm. It works! I've only done 1 cuff because I had to borrow my US1s from my Wyvern sock to make it.

I also took a finishing class which was really informative. We learned things such as how using a garter stitch edge makes seaming SO much easier (I'm sold). We were told to do an 8x8 swatch instead of the standard 4x4 and to keep it, not frog it, because then you'll have a great piece of your garment fabric to pick up stitches and play with edgings and button bands, etc... I barely do a 4x2 swatch because I'm both lazy and anxious to start the project. The analogy was that great painters don't sit down with their canvas and just create their masterpiece from scratch, they sketch and plan it out first and that takes time. It makes sense, but it doesn't make me any less impatient.

I also learned Japanese short rows in that finishing class. They are beautiful and fun. I plan on getting much use out of them to shape sleeve caps and shoulders instead of the step-like bind offs that are usually spec'd in patterns. I HATE those step-like bind offs. No matter how well the sleeve is seamed to the shoulder I can always and forever see those spots where the corner is. Makes me crazy.

My summer projects are going to be socks for all 3 girls. I can't bear to knit with anything but thin sock yarn in the summer. I picked a random hank (to make it fair) from the bag for the first pair and it was Larin's yarn. She'll have some great turquoise/purple socks. I've already figured out the # of stitches I need for her feet, but still need to decide on stitch pattern, toe up vs. cuff down, etc... I've got time, as my sock needles are currently still working on the Wyverns.

Onward to the weekend

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 01:35:20 GMT

Looks like it'll be a rainy one, which is fine, as I'm planning to be in knitting for most of it. It would be nice to be able to go sit outside and knit by the ocean but hey, if the weather won't cooperate, I'm happy knitting inside too. I'd like to go walk around P-town as well, we'll see if that's in the cards or not, I guess. It *is* still a bit on the early side to predict the weather.

My lawn needs some serious raking, but I've refused to do it all week because I don't want to get blisters and mess up my fingers/hands before this weekend. Nice excuse, eh? They *do* need to be in top shape for that 6-hour class, if it's anything like the 6-hour class I took back in the fall. It is a finishing class so it will probably be a lot of seaming too, but it also covers Japanese short rows and other things too, so there will still be a lot of regular knitting to keep the hands busy.

I'm nearing the end of my Mariah sleeves. I've already shortened them a lot, but it looks like I'm going to have to chop a lot more out of the chart. That's fine, I can work it out with a little more thought and I wanted to continue the cable up through the yoke anyway. I think I might be putting these aside and cast on for the back or one of the sides to work on for the weekend. Easy, plain stockinette is what I need for the social knitting and "downtime" this weekend.

I am so indecisive

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:55:57 GMT

I've been trying to figure out what to do with this yarn I have and it's making me nuts. This "easy" project for my knitting weekend is becoming a big pain in my ass. I have only like 810 yards of this bulky yarn, which isn't much. I was thinking of doing a top-down raglan, so I could knit until I ran out of yarn. And also throwing in a stripe or two of a contrasting color just to expand my yardage. I have really short arms too, which helps my case. I have to shorten all sweater sleeve patterns I knit for myself by about 2 inches.

OK, so I swatched. I get 3.25 sts to the inch on 10.5s. That makes a decent fabric. I swatched before on size 11s and got 2.75sts to the inch, a looser but still acceptable gauge. I didn't want to wash my swatch because I have such limited amounts of yarn. So anyway. I wish I could meet somewhere in the middle because I'd like to get like 3sts/inch but I don't want to knit on size 11s, they're too big. I'm afraid the 10.5s will use up too much yarn and I won't be able to finish. But then I could add some stripes. I wish there was a needle between 10.5 and 11, there's such a big jump between the two. From 6.5 to 8.0mm.

But then that adds a-whole-nother piece of fun. This is handpaintedyarn.com handspun in garnet. I bought it for another project but when it came in the mail it was rust orange when I had wanted more of a red. I'm afraid if I buy more of it the color will be completely different, especially for hand-dyed wool with no dye lot. So what the hell do I pair with rust orange for stripes? Black would make me look like a Halloween fool. I already have a bag and a coat that are rust orange and light gray. I'll look like a big dork with a sweater in those colors too. Then if I pick a color that works and buy it from handpaintedyarn, I run the risk of it being completely different or clashing instead of contrasting.

Crap.

I've been knitting continental

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 04:31:37 GMT

I knit on and off for a good part of 6 hours on Saturday, working on this impromptu felted bag to kill time. I'm knitting on big, honkin' size 11 needles, which I'm not used to. My other WIPs are on size 1s and size 7s. I don't like knitting on big needles.

Apparently it made my right finger hurt too. Sunday night I picked up the bag to knit while watching The Sopranos and my finger was killing me. I'm an English knitter, after having initially learning (wrong) continental. I've been wanting to re-learn (for potential 2-handed colorwork) so I had at it. Surprisingly, I remembered how to do it. And I picked up some speed by the end of Big Love. I'm not all that fluid and still need to find my comfort zone where I could do it efficiently and not look at my hands but it works. I suck ass at purling continental but since this bag is in the round, there's no worries about that. I'd like to become an "ambidextrous" knitter, and practicing on something that will be felted is a good idea. My tension seems to be great though.

I've been working on the Mariah sleeves, doing both at one time seems to take f.o.r.e.v.e.r but at least when I am done they will both be done. I haven't touched my sock. I really need to pick up my River stole again, and soon, mom was asking about it. Being that Mother's Day suddenly seems too close I had better work on that again for there to be any hope of finishing it.

knit stuff

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 04:37:45 GMT

I've been rejuvenated lately when it comes to knitting. Hooray for that. I got my swatches done for my class next month, they were faster and easier than I originally thought. Those easy, mindless swatches were just what I needed to get back into it.

I've been knitting away at my Mariah sleeves and actually started Wyvern sock #2. I don't think I've yet completed a full repeat but the toe is done :-) But at least I've started.

I need to start a new project tomorrow for this academic tournament I have to go to with K on Saturday. It's going to consist of a lot of sitting on my ass, waiting around because K will be off with her team. I can work on my sleeves for a lot of it, but I have to volunteer for an hour and I can't read sleeve or sock charts while doing that. Volunteering will consist of me sitting on my ass too so I will probably start a felted bag or something. I have this gorgeous bulky weight burgundy yarn with small sections of chartreuse thrown in for good measure. I really would love to make it into a sweater but I have only about 540 yards of it so maybe a bag is a better idea. If I can find some similarly colored burgundy that I might have leftover from another project maybe I could squeak out a top-down raglan if I use a loose enough gauge? Probably not. I wish I had more than 4 hanks of this stuff, but I think it's all they had left when handpaintedyarn.com had a little clearance sale a while back. Crap. It's so beautiful and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for chartreuse.

KSSPII Questionaire

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 01:37:36 GMT

1. We know you prefer natural fibers, but which ones do you adore? On the same note, what yarns make you absolutely cream yourself?
Merino wool and alpaca are quite lovely for their softness, although I haven't actually made anything with alpaca yet.

2. What other crafty shit do you do? (ie, spin, crotchet, bead, put babies on spikes, etc)
I sew, but these days I only do valances and Halloween costumes for my 3 daughters. Sometimes I like to make buttons and beads with Sculpey. I'd love to learn how to spin with a spindle, as I tried learning to use a wheel once and I was severely uncoordinated for that. But pretty much, I knit.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I'm allergic to apples, nectarines and peaches, and don't mail me any birch pollen.

4. What yarns do you absolutely hate?
*cough* Lion Brand *cough* It all just feels so icky. Fuzzy, eyelashy, novelty yarns are also on the hate list.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
It's somewhat outdated, but it's here.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Hmmm. Honeysuckle. Vanilla. "clean sheets" or "crisp linen" type scents for candles. I'm not really all that girly so my preferences are not all that solid.

7. What do you like to eat? You know you want chocolate!
Mmmm, truffles. Toffee. Dark chocolate fan here. I'm a strong, dark Starbucks kind of a girl.

8. What are your pet peeves?
I can't stand it when people are scared to try new things or techniques. Don't limit yourself because of fear. Just Do It. Life is too short, and it might not be as hard as you thought.

9. What's your favorite thing to knit?
Lately I've been knitting sweaters and socks with some handwarmers/mittens/hats thrown in the mix whenever one of the kids needs something. I'll do a felted bag if I need a mindless project when I can't pay attention to a pattern and need to keep the hands busy.

10. What are your favorite colors?
Black. Rust Orange. Gray. Burgundy/red. Dark Purple.

11. What new knitting technique do you want to learn?
I haven't knit any "official" fair isle, I think someday I'll learn the 2-handed technique. I've done some stranded colorwork, but that doesn't really qualify...

12. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Particular brand?
I knit almost exclusively with Clover circulars but I knit my socks on Addi Turbos. I hate knitting with straight needles.

13. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo. I hate metal needles, except for Addis. Plastic sucks.

14. Any crap that you collect obsessively to fill a void in your life?
No! I don't collect much of anything that I'd have to dust :-)

15. Any books you've been dying to have?
A Gathering of Lace. Stitch pattern books, because I like to make stuff up.

16. What is the air-speed velocity of a swallow carrying a coconut?
What? A swallow carrying a coconut?

17. Are there any yarns that you'd like to try but aren't available to you for one reason or another?
I've enjoyed looking at Colinette yarns in magazines, but no LYS's around here that I've been to carry them, so I've never seen or tried them. I'd like to try Fleece Artist yarns, as I've heard they are lovely but haven't seen them anywhere either. I'd like to try nice (superwash) sock yarns, as I've been stuck on the lovely Lorna's Laces. The only other sock yarns I've ever used are Regia and Opal. There's so much else out there... Oooh, Koigu. I'd love me some Koigu.

oh boy, I have to buy needles

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:29:11 GMT

Hey! I finished the orange/pink vest! Well, except for the buttons. I might make them. I might buy them. Gotta decide that soon.

The mood hasn't struck since my Wyvern sock was finished so I haven't cast on for it's mate. Might do that soon too.

I've been knitting my Mariah sleeves and they are going well so far. I'm a bit nervous on the length, but I think it'll work out OK. I'm kinda winging it. I've messed up the cable twice on the sleeves (I'm knitting them at the same time) and I've now proven that I CAN indeed drop down several rows and fix my cable. No more frogging for me! I was so scared of attempting to fix cables on my Rogue that I just fudged them (read: I double-stitched over the mistake to make it look like it should. Unconventional and really unnecessary now.) Now there's no stopping me. I'm doing Mariah with no cable needles either. There are so many cable crossings with these sleeves that I'd go mad if I had to use a cable needle.

But.... I haven't really been knitting much at all lately. I suck. I've really been kind of uninspired. I suppose we all go through these lulls? My knitting weekend is coming up in just over a month's time and I've just gotten my "homework" sheet for the 6-hour finishing class I am taking. I've got to knit 5 swatches for the class - I figured mindless swatching would be good to break up the cabling and eventual sock when I get that going again. But the swatches aren't completely mindless - of course.

I need to pick up some more Paton's Classic Wool for these. I think I've got enough of the light gray leftover from my class in October to do these swatches but I need a contrasting light color to bring to the class. And also, since my size 7 needles are currently in use for Mariah, I'm gonna have to buy more needles for this class. Ah, can't hurt to have another, differing length of size 7 needles anyway.

A new project

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 17:36:37 GMT

I cast on for a new project yesterday. Bad, tine, bad. I was supposed to fix all my broken projects. I've been doing well with that but since I finished my sock (that I now wish I had gone one more repeat with, but whatever) I had NOTHING on the needles - oh the horror. I couldn't go wait for my car to be serviced without a knitting project, now could I? I couldn't face my week with nothing to pick up at a moment's notice. I have begun my Mariah. I'm doing the sleeves first, which I can likely finish before my knitting weekend in April, leaving the easier body to do there, which is better suited for social knitting than knotwork. And if I happen to finish the whole sweater by then (HA HA HA) I'll do a felted bag or top-down raglan. I'm using dark gray Paton's Classic Wool for Mariah, which is my favorite, it's so soft and wonderful to knit with.

I'm done fixing the orange/pink vest, two more bits of pink edging to do.

I'll cast on for Wyvern sock #2 this week when the mood strikes.

Project Pictures

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:55:24 GMT

An update on the broken projects:
- Natalya mitts are done and I wear them. They are nice, soft and warm. But I wish I made the wrist cuff area a bit shorter and on smaller needles so they wouldn't slip off like they do. I want to make another pair of fingerless mitts with sock-weight yarn for warmth without bulk for only slightly cold days.

- Wyvern sock has been fixed and *gasp* finished! I'll cast on for the 2nd one early this week.

- I frogged the too-long bit of the orange/pink baby vest and am almost done re-knitting it. This should be quick to finish now.

- River stole and Manos cardigan are still in the ignore pile but the Manos is next on the fix list after I'm done with the vest.

I'm trying to think of what I should be knitting next, as my next big project besides the 4 pairs of socks I have the yarn for. I need to find a nice, easy project for my knitting weekend in April too. That needs to be simple and easy for social knitting. Since I'll be taking that intensive 6-hour class I'll want something on biggish needles too. Maybe I'll do a top-down raglan on size 10s or a felted bag.

So I think that means that next-up on the new project list will have to be Mariah. Have pretty yarn, must start.

And on to the pictures

First up is the River stole WIP:

Next, the sweater and socks for baby Hannah, who was born in January:

And 2 pics of the bag I made for my mom long, long ago:

I still need a pic of Miss Rogue and Kalen's new hat. I'm thinking the Natalya mitts won't photograph well because the yarn is a green so dark it's almost black.

new hat for K

Sat, 11 Feb 2006 03:41:36 GMT

I knit a new hat for K today. I know I had a no new project rule until I finished my broken projects but I needed something to do for 3 hours while I got my hair cut and colored. And K lost her hat this week (that I made, argh), and she really needs a hat! It came out really cute. It's like a dusty rose color (Plymouth Encore Worsted) with 2 stripes of a lighter pink which I sized using Fibonacci numbers (because I'm a big geek). I was going to rib the whole thing but ribbing was annoying me today so after 12 rows I switched to plain stockinette. It looks cool and she likes it.

Two days ago I finished my 2nd fingerless glove. Now I've got a wearable pair. Go me.

Next up, I'll probably fix the tiny error on my Wyvern sock so I have *something* to knit when the urge hits and start frogging the orange/pink vest.

knitting

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 01:54:05 GMT

I think I've decided what classes to take on my knitting weekend in April. I'm going to take the bead knitting class on the Sunday, that was a no-brainer. Saturday I couldn't decide. There's a 6 hour finishing class which includes learning Japanese short rows. Or there's a 3 hour class on making a wind chime scarf, aka potato chip scarf aka spiral scarf. I don't care about those scarves, I hate them, but the class does teach you to knit backwards, which I've never been able to figure out. The scarf class is free, the finishing class is an extra 45 bucks.

I think I'm gonna be out 45 bucks because that class is going to be intense but fun and I'll learn a lot. I don't think any of my friends who are going are going to take that class either so I'm gonna be on my own, which is fine. They'll just go off and have fun while I bust my ass. Apparently Japanese short rows are tricky to learn, but they are great for doing shoulders/sleeves instead of the usual step-like bind offs. Those step bind-offs make me NUTS when seaming sweaters. I'd love to avoid that, so the finishing class it is. It has homework even, or pre-work since you have to show up with certain stuff finished.

As for my broken projects, I have fixed my fingerless mitt and am halfway done with it. I'd like to finish that this week since winter is back and it's gonna be colder over the next week. It goes pretty fast though.

Next up, I'll have to fix the sock so I have something to knit, then the baby vest, then the Manos cardigan and the River stole will have to fight for 3rd place.

The Rogue is a sweater

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 03:17:12 GMT

I seamed her this weekend. Seaming set-in sleeves is not near the top of my most-fun list, although I do generally enjoy seaming. I'm happy it's done, I'm still weaving in ends though. Funny how many of them there are, despite the fact that a lot of this sweater is done in the round.

I like it a lot, it fits :-) The only thing is that it's a big baggy in the armhole area when I hold my arms out. My row and stitch gauges were spot-on so I'm not sure why it's so weird and big there. It looks totally fine normally and since I don't plan on walking around with my arms held straight out I think it's fine.

I still have to block it, especially those wonky spots on the hood where the double decreases are.

I've ignored all my other broken projects. I am going to start with A's vest and fix that first as my Olympics challenge.

Broken project list for my reference:
- Orange/pink vest: rip out edging, unseam shoulder, frog left front back to where I *should* have bound off for the neckline and re-knit the top section. Seam again and re-do edging.

- Manos Cardigan: Un-seam sleeves, frog sleeves back to last increase then decrease for sleeve cap, removing the 1 1/2 inches that were knit straight to shorten sleeves.

- Natalya fingerless mitt: drop stitches down and put in that cable twist I missed.

- Wyvern sock: Figure out what I did to mess up that weird-looking stitch, fix from where I am or frog back half a round to do it right.

- River stole: Fix that one yarn-over I missed.

What the hell? I NEVER make mistakes like these that I've listed!!! Where is my mind? I need to be more careful, methinks.

This week I'm in the remedial knitting class

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 13:00:07 GMT

I barely knit much of anything to write home about this week. I weaved in a bunch of ends in my Rogue, which is likely the most productive I've been. Haven't had a chance to sew on those sleeves either, they are set in and I haven't had enough concentration available (or time!) to devote to the cause.

Thursday was knitting mistake day. I finished the book I was reading so when it came time to go to the gym I grabbed my Wyvern sock as I was running out the door instead of hunting down a new book. I knit a few rounds on the exercise bike then got to some weirdness- I don't know WHAT I did or how this wacky looking stitch happened. I need to look at it more closely when my legs aren't spinning fast and try to drop down and fix whatever mistake it is. I have a feeling it's a k2tog that I messed up somehow and I'm not quite sure how to fix that by dropping the stitch down a row or two. Maybe I can figure it out, although sometimes it is faster to rip back.

Then, fast forward to Tali's gymnastics class. Couldn't bring the sock, stuck on that. So I decided to cast on for my 2nd fingerless mitt. I knit the first one out of some gorgeous, yet impractical, Malabrigo merino that I got back when they sold it on handpaintedyarn.com. It's been so warm here this winter that I haven't been motivated to knit the 2nd one. I cast on and got going at a good clip and got a good bit done. I started rushing at the end to finish *one more round* since class was about to end, then I got to a spot where I forgot to cross a cable in the pattern. I should be able to fix this mistake by dropping down, it's a simple cable after all, but it sucks because now I'm stalled on that too.

So now I've got those sleeves to sew, 4 broken projects that need fixing and NOTHING to pick up and just knit when the hands need something to do. That sucks. (the other 2 broken projects are the baby vest and my Manos cardigan, haven't touched those two things either.)

Guess I'll have to fold my laundry.

The Rogue is almost wearable

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 02:01:47 GMT

I seamed my Rogue sleeves this weekend! Now I've just got to attach them to the body, weave in seemingly millions of ends and wear! Well, I should block it too, I suppose. I am going to have to scrounge for enough yarn to seam the sleeves to the body, though! It's a damn good thing I shortened those sleeves so much (they will be a perfect length as far as I can tell) and that I have that swatch, because I think I'm going to have to rip the swatch to get enough yarn to seam the sleeves to the body... Knitting on the edge...

I want desperately to start a new project but I'm not letting myself until I fix the Dunkin Donuts sweater I munged and until I fix the too-long sleeves on my Manos cardigan. The only thing I have on the needles right now is my Wyvern sock. It typically makes me crazy to have only one thing to knit, but I need that as motivation to finish these other things.

The annual knitter's weekend is coming up in April! I just got my flyer in the mail for it the other day. I'm a bit bummed to hear that it's the weekend that TWO of my friends will be on vacation so they can't go. That's sucky. I wonder who's going to make it this year... last year I think there were 8 of us who went and it was a lot of fun. It's way more expensive this year too, it's a bummer but it's worth it. Last year I came away from that with a boatload of knowledge.

The Rogue Knitting is DONE

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 05:06:17 GMT

I had 3 yards left per sleeve once I bound off. All those decreases at the end really saved my ass. I've still got plenty of yarn left to seam those sleeves and I don't even have to rip out the swatch for that. Yay. It's a damn good thing I have short, stubby arms, apparently. I shortened the sleeves by 2" and they are still going to be on the longish side for me. If I hadn't needed to do that, I definitely would have run out of yarn.

But I can't believe I am actually done knitting my Rogue. I can't wait to seam it, but that won't be tonight, that's for sure. Eyes are too tired for that. I love my Rogue, it's going to make an excellent sweater to wear instead of a coat in Spring. It's big enough on me for that and it's quite cozy.

So I've pretty much convinced myself that I am going to frog back the sleeves on my Manos cardigan. I need to shorten those by 2 inches or I won't wear that sweater, it would be way too annoying. I hate re-knitting things but it's necessary. At least now I'm aware of how much shorter my arms are than everyone elses I'll know to shorten the next time. The Manos cardigan was my first sweater I made for myself. 'Twas a nice learning experience.

Now I've got only my Wyvern socks on the needles. I don't like having only one project on the needles. I think I'm going to pick something easy to start next. Maybe the top-down raglan I was thinking of. I've got to design/calculate it first, however.

It's really not fun...

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 03:20:42 GMT

...when you're knitting on the edge of your seat because you are *sure* that you are going to run out of yarn before you are finished with your sleeve caps. Fuckity-fuck-fuck. I think I'm going to be frogging my swatch, the one and only time I actually did a real one and saved it (rather than frogging it and using the yarn for the project). I have 22 rows left. Wish me luck, I don't think I'm gonna make it.

oh, lovely yarn

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 01:06:06 GMT

I got my new sock yarn in the mail today. Karen at Two Swans Yarns has amazing prices on Lorna's Laces sock yarn, discount points and superb customer service, and not to mention super-fast shipping.

I got 2 hanks in Motherlode for my next socks, 1 hank of Child's Play (rainbow) for Tali's socks, 1 hank of Fresh Stripe (turquoise/purple) for Larin's socks and 1 hank of Iris Garden (pink/purple) for Kalen's socks. I bought them all with Christmas money from MIL. The husband is all insulted because I didn't buy any sock yarn for *him*. Does he not realize that it would take a lifetime and some wacky shaping to handknit socks for his giantly wide feet? I'd knit him some worsted weight socks maybe, but not fingering weight socks, that's nuts.

I'm nuts in that I still have 1 and 1/3rds of my Irving Park socks to finish. I have knitting ADD in that I have to devise my next project while I'm in the midst of my current one. It's a sickness, I tell you.

In Rogue news, I'm only a few rows away from starting the sleeve cap on my sleeves. It's very exciting to be almost done with my Rogue!!! There isn't much finishing to be done, so this is big news. I'll have a wonderful wool hoodie to wear come Spring. The only thing is......I think I'm going to run out of yarn. I'm soveryclose to running out of yarn. I think I *might* make it, only because there's lots of decreasing going on once you get to that sleeve cap. But with my luck I'll be just shy. This makes me nervous, so I've been frantically knitting, just to find out how I'll fare with my remaining yarn. I'm positive there's no more left of my color or even dye lot at the store. I should stop by or call to check but there's something a little exciting about just going for it.

I sorted through my stash this past weekend. It's not even that large in comparison to some stashes I've seen online, but it's too big for me. I'm already plotting my next projects (besides those socks, which have to wait for the Irving Parks to finish because the needles are in use). I think next I'll make a top-down, in-the-round raglan pullover out of my rust-orange bulky wool from handpaintedyarn.com. I probably have barely enough yarn for that but lucky for me I have short, stubby arms. Otherwise I'll throw in some contrasting stripes or something. OR I'll start my Mariah sweater, but I almost don't want to do 2 intensely cabled projects back to back. I am anxious to knit with the Paton's Classic Merino though. I also have 4 hanks of this gorgeous lime green and burgundy yarn I desperately want to knit. I think they might become a felted bag, but they almost want to be a garment. 4 hanks isn't nearly enough for a sweater, unfortunately. I do have some yarn that would match it but I'd have to figure out color schemage first. That's in the back of my mind.

I should stop thinking about new socks and new sweaters to knit. I have several WIPs that have been ignored for FAR too long and need some TLC. I have a baby vest I need to frog because I fucked up one side of the cardigan like I have never fucked up before. It's embarrassing because apparently I wasn't paying too close attention when I knit the 2nd side and it doesn't match the first. Dumbass.

My Manos cardigan has been ignored too because I haven't been happy with it. I am this --><-- close to ripping the sleeves off the body (they're already seamed) and shortening them. The sleeves are long, which is somewhat a/the style but I'm now thinking they will annoy the fuck out of me. I also seamed them too tightly and the seam doesn't have as much give as the fabric. So ripriprip that will be.

toe-up socks

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 22:31:29 GMT

My Wyvern socks are coming along nicely -- now that I've successfully completed my short-row heel. The damn thing took 3 tries to get it right, which is nuts because it's really easy. The first time I knit some of it when the kids were around, bad idea. I messed up a wrap and turn somewhere and it was easier to frog. The second time I finished the entire heel, tried it on then realized that I messed up picking up those last 2 wraps with the last stitch and that edge unraveled down quite a bit. That sucked, because I was *done* and I had no hope of fixing all those wraps and picked up wraps and whatnot so I frogged it again. Damn thing.

I do like the short row heel though, it's easy (despite my frogging) and it looks nice. I do wonder if I could pick up my wraps differently to make them look nicer on the right side of the work but maybe I'll figure that out with the mate to this one.

It's funny, the heel is my favorite part of knitting socks - it's always fun to turn regardless of whether you're knitting toe-up or top-down. But then it's all boring after that! I felt such a let-down when I started knitting the cuff, like 'oh, there's nothing exciting left now'. It just makes me anxious to finish and start the next one so I have another heel to work towards :-)