FO: More Socks!

No pictures yet on these, I'm still coping with flu and I'm tired and need to go to bed, maybe tomorrow.

But, these are another pair of toe-up, non-pattern socks.

Yarn: Socks That Rock (lightweight, I am pretty sure), Grandma's Flower Garden
Needles: KP Fixed Circs, 32", 2.5 mm

For these, I cast-on 32 stitches using Judy's Magic Cast-On, and increase 4 stitches every other row for 7 rounds, when it seemed like they'd be big enough. Then I knit until they seemed long enough, and did a double-wrapped, short-row heel. Then I knit two rounds, did 7 rounds of 1x1 ribbing and bound off using EZ's Sewn Bind-Off. I made ankle socks because this was leftover yarn from Branching Out (which I must block and will then post about but I'm scared because I've never blocked anything like lace before and what if I totally screw it up??) so I knew I'd be cutting it a bit close. And I sure did...I had about 1 yard of yarn left at the end. Thank goodness I had enough to finish!!

September?

How did it get to be September??

The rest of the summer has flown by. In part, we've been ridiculously busy the last few weeks. We were away for a week, then the weekend we came back, we rearranged our house and hauled a lot of furniture. Then we had some friends over then another friend came for 3 days with her 10-month-old baby girl. Then we were away over the weekend visiting family (and seeing James Taylor!!) and now we're back. We went down to RI yesterday to hang out with a friend at the beach, and now we're gearing up for DS1's birthday. Friend party tomorrow, family all through the weekend...and then he starts Kindergarten next week! We had the practice bus ride this morning and I will admit I got a bit choked up when the bus pulled out with all those wee folks waving to us. They couldn't see over the seats in front of them! Sometimes he seems to big to me (and he's older for Kindergarten due to the cutoff, which I am so thankful about) but I have to remind myself that he's still just a very little boy and this is a big deal. He's nervous about it, but I'm hopeful it's going to be a great year!

So, while we were in the Berkshires, I knit a sock. :) Just an ankle sock but still a sock! I used the leftovers from my Branching Out (and I'm going to be cutting it verrrrrry fine to squeeze the second one out of what's left!). I cast on in the car on the way out and bound off the day after we got home. So, it's STR, I can't remember if it's light or medium weight (lemme look at the other skeins...lightweight), toe-up, 60 sts and a 1x1 ribbed short ankle. It didn't pool weirdly at all and it's so pretty!! It knit up really nice and quickly and if I didn't live somewhere with serious, serious winter, I'd make all my socks ankle socks because it's really nice to turn the heel and think "wow, I'm going to be binding off in eight rows!"so

Now I just need some new shoes for the fall, to show off my socks! Keen replaced my warped Calistogas with new Calistogas...which warped again!! And the glue that holds the toe to the shoe leather leaked, and I can't get it cleaned up. I think Calistogas are just not in the cards for me...we'll see if they replace these. I love Keens, but this one style just doesn't work. Which is a bummer because they're perfect for showing off handknit socks.

Of course, in order to show off all these alleged socks, I need to actually finish some PAIRS. Yes, socks come in pairs. I know, it's shocking, but it's true. So, this means you have to KNIT TWO OF EACH KIND OF SOCK YOU WANT TO WEAR. Can you believe it? I apparently couldn't because I've now got four or five single socks hanging out, waiting for mates. Need to get on that.

FO: Another Noro Scarf

I finished another Noro scarf! Nothing really much to be said about it, actually. Details are the same as for the Trinnit scarf. Except for colors of course! I can't find the ball bands for this, but I *think* the colors are 274 and maybe 270? I don't know. I'm not sure who this is going to be for, actually. It's definitely not for me, it's not really my colors overall (which are, of course, green and purple). I think this is pretty, but I don't really love it. It was still a very fun knit, nice and easy with no thinking really involved. I'm glad it's done so I can move on to something else!

I did start a plain vanilla toe-up stock with the Mini Mochi in the Violets Rainbow (see what I mean, green and purple!). I cast on 24 and increased to 64 stitches which look like they it should fit. I'mgoing to do an afterthough heel to preserve the striping. I just needed a super-low-brain-intensity project. Since getting back from the hospital, poor DD is sleeping like CRAPOLA which means I am too, and I am just So. Tired.

And I have the new Monkies that are going well (heel is turned, finishing the gusset rounds). The KP Imagination Wicked Witch is quite possibly the prettiest yarn I've ever seen, really. I am wondering if I'd wear socks made out of it in a different pattern. Because of the alpaca (I think), it's a bit fuzzier than I normally like, but it's so gorgeous!

I am also just OBSESSED with learning to spin. OBSESSED. I think that hobby is 1-2 years off for me, just for time and space issues, but I really want to.

Around the Riverbend

Yes, I am actually following up on a promise to blog about an FO. And I even have pictures. So, here are the Riverbend Socks. The pattern is from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters, the yarn is Regia Cotton Colors (I believe the colorway is 5407, but the ball bands are long gone, so who knows?). I believe I knit these on KP 2.5 mm fixed circs, using Magic Loop (of course). If I ever knit a pair of socks with DPKs, well, I don't know, I think we'll all be a little stunned.

Okay, so the pattern is the issue here, obviously, because this is a plain stockinette sock. On the one hand, I really like the yarn. It's lovely to knit with, has a really nice feel and I like the fabric produced on this size needles. I love the reinforced heel, I've never done one of these before. I really love the Riverbend design. Unfortunately....I do not love the fit. I've worn them a couple of times now, and they're baggy. Not horrendously, not so I can't wear them, but they bag around the ankles. I also think the cotton leads to a fabric that stretches out and doesn't bounce back (I'm not sure if that's the proper term or not, but these stretch as you wear them). Even brand new, they bagged at the ankle. Fit is apparently an issue with these new sockitectures. The thing is, I haven't (so far) really had fit issues in the other socks I've made. People on the Ravelry group talk a lot about how much you have to "tweak" the numbers to get them to work for you. I don't know, I'm just not sure I have that kind of time, you know? I can definitely wear these...perhaps the bagginess would have been alleviated by fewer stitches at the largest part? (Fewer decreases?) I don't know. Maybe I have narrow ankles. :) I just don't have the brainpower right now to do a lot of tweaking of anything.

I'd love to do some more socks from the book, I really do think it's such a neat idea, but I'm thinking now might not be the time for it. So sad, because I love the heel architecture. Maybe I'll do another pair, but not increase as much as she tells you to and see what happens. One thing I love about this particular architecture is that the increases are all on the bottom of the foot (can't take a picture because I've been wearing them all day and they're grubby). This means you could easily adapt any patterns to this architecture. I may try it, I may not. I'm glad I knit a pair (and finished them!), and I do think they're really pretty, I'm just a tad disappointed that I followed the numbers and they don't fit as well as I'd like.

And this is why I love Magic Loop for socks.

Because you can try on your socks as you make them!!

Yarn: Regia Cotton Color
Needles: KP Fixed Circs, 32" length, 2.5 mm
Pattern: Riverbend Master pattern from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways...

It fits very well - very fitted. So far, I'm diggin' it! I had some confusion at the heel, but it turns out I was just misreading her diagrams, not that I'd made a mistake. I did what I thought was right, even though it didn't fit with what I *thought* the pattern was saying, but it turns out it *was* what the pattern was saying so I was right even thought I thought I was wrong. Or something.

I am desparate need of socks, and one pair of handmades is wearing out! The Yarn Harlot has the perspective that sock knitters are the ultimate optimists because you make something you pretty much guarantee is going to wear out, if you use it as intended. So, basically it means I can knit as many pairs of socks as I can stand (and dude, I can stand A LOT OF SOCK KNITTING), and they'll all be used!

In other knitting news, I got the preschool basket off today, hooray! When this sock is done, I've got a couple more crochet projects to finish and then I think I'm going to do a sock blitz.

I can't believe it either!

Guess what I started today. No, go on, guess!!

A gauge swatch.

I *know*, it's so...out of character for me. But remember how I needed to finish all my socks on needles, and then I was going to do socks from the New Pathways book? Okay, so I didn't precisely finish *all* the socks I need to do...in fact, I need to start the second lace sock (it's been so long, I can't even remember which pattern it is...Falling Leaves, maybe?), but I need a vanilla project too, so I'm going to do the Riverbend sockitecture. I have some cute sock yarn (I know, what a surprise) and I'm going to try it. But, you need to know your gauge. So, swatching I am!

FO (with pictures) and some musings about Knitting and Life.

• A couple of random thoughts - I usually title my blog post before I write it, because I'm pretty concrete on this blog (and in life), so I know pretty much what I want to write. I'm wondering if I'll have time to get to the musings, as I have preschool pickup pretty soon.
• I am very envious of people's wonderful photography of their FOs. I have taken classes and stuff, but when I'm doing pictures of my things, I just tend to snap and go. Maybe someday I'll work on that.

Okay, and on to the FO, which really counts as TWO because it's a finished sock. Apparently I finished this sock about...14 months ago, though I can't find anything on the blog about it. These are the green stripy sock I have been muttering about for MONTHS!! Done! Details:

Yarn: KnitPicks Felici in Argula (no longer being made)
Needles: KP 32" 2.5 mm (Magic Loop)
Pattern: None. I know! Me! And it actually worked out fairly well. Socks really aren't hard once you've done a pair or two and have a sense of the typical construction. (I know, such an expert, right? I've done...7 or 8 pairs, that's all!) Anyway, I cast on using Judy's Magic Cast-On. I cast on 32 stitches, and then did an increase every other row for 9 knit/increase row pairs. I did the increases at the sides, so knit 1, increase, knit to next to last stitch and increase in that, knit 1, switch to second half and to the same. I did that so I had 68 stitches. I knit for a while and thend decided that this might be too loose, so I decrease down to 64 stitches. I did a double-wrapped short-row heel, which I do like though I think, for self-se triping yarn, I prefer an afterthought heel so you don't mess up the stripe pattern. I knit around for a while and then did 1 inch of 1x1 ribbing and used EZ's sewn bind-off. I wish I had made the whole foot at 64 stitches but it's fine. I wish I'd made the leg longer but I was so bored and sick of it that I didn't. Lesson learned.

I'm still not great at the transition back to the leg or foot once you've done the short-row heel. I didn't pick up any extra stitches this time, but I will next time, as there are small holes. Not a big deal, not even enough to stitch (more of a gap, really) but I think it would look better without it. Also, on this second one, I actually dropped a stitch, not once, but TWICE. Rather than rip back to fix it, I just used a crochet hook. On one of them, I caught it right away so it was super-easy to fix, the other I had missed it for a round or two, so it looks a bit muddled but it's on the back so it's not really visible. I am so over these socks, I wanted them done. I really don't drop stitches regularly at all, so I have no idea what was happening. I think I was going too fast. I am so happy they're done and I'm having a joyful day wearing them!

Okay, no time for musings because my DD is awake and wicked cranky. Poor boo. I've been doing a lot of thinking about why I love knitting/crafting so much, and what role it plays in my life, that I'd like to try and get out, but now is not the moment. This moment is for keeping my beautiful little girl from eating the camera cord.

Whoops! Sorry about the last post!

Well, I'm not sorry about the post, I just didn't mean to post such a downer and then disappear for a while.

Things are actually going pretty well. DD is not so yellow anymore. We'll see on Thursday how she's doing on the gaining weight thing. I know she's getting lots of food because she's nursing a lot and we had Poop-A-Thon 2008 this afternoon (good times!!). She also has a cold, poor bub. She's quite possibly the most wonderful baby ever, and she has this truly amazing characteristic that neither of the boys had: she lets you PUT HER DOWN. Now I just have to, well, do that. I love holding her, but man, my back is aching.

We've been on our own for about a week now, and it's actually going well. I can manage the kids, but not so much the house/cleaning/cooking part of it. Though, to be honest, that's never actually been my strength. I sort of wish I were really wealthy because then we'd hire someone to come and clean, and that would be really cool. Except that I'd still have to pick up all the crap that's lying around so someone COULD come and clean, wouldn't I?

Oh, did I mention that I'm now truly, 100% a suburban housewife? We now have (a) the house in the 'burbs, (b) the many, many children, (c) the minivan and as of today, (d) the stand-alone freezer in the basement! Can I just say that I lay awake last night thinking of what I'm going to fill it with, and it's not even ice cream! Whoa.

There was a neighborhood association party on Sunday and I saw two of the women from my knitting group there. :) It was really cool to actually have people that I sort of know to run in to, you know? And one of then gave me nine tomato plants, so that was even cooler. AND, my MIL found the green sock (it was tucked in with some sewing stuff), so that's a happy thing. So, at this point, I have the green stripy sock to do, and Falling Leaves #2 to start. I have so much great sock yarn, which I reacquainted myself with when I reorg'd my stash, but I fear that all I am capable off right now is stockinette. At least I'd have some pretty socks at the end, right?

The other day I had DD in her hat that I knit her, tucked into her carseat with her blanket that I knit her around her so all you could see was her (completely adorable) face, and my husband looked at her and said "Someone who knits loves this baby." So true.

ARRGH!!!!

I just made a stupid, stupid mistake on the thing I am sewing, and ruined it. Luckily, I have half the fabric left and can start over but GRRR. I was cutting and just didn't notice that I was doing it ass-backwards!!!

As I just said to my husband (before I even made this error), sewing teaches me a lot about patience and imperfection.

And for a knitting arrgh, my son pulled the needle out of Falling Leaves sock 2. Luckily I hadn't even finished the toe, so I can rip it and start over, but another argh. Green stripy sock #2 is coming along, almost ready to turn the heel.

A FO with a PICTURE!!

Can you believe it? I found the cord for the camera (it was actually already hooked up to my computer, I don' t know when DH did that!). So, here's at least ONE small sample of what I've been up to.


This was made as a donation for my son's preschool silent auction (this was last year's endeavor). These were knit using Tahki Cotton Classic, no pattern, I just sort of winged them. They were knit using my KnitPicks Options (what else) size 5 needles, magic loop. This is actually the second hat - the first I cast on 72 stitches, which gave me a hat circumference of 12" (I was getting 6 sts/inch), which will work on a very new baby, but not for long. So I redid it with a cast on of 80 sts. I can't remember the length I knit to, about 7"? Then I did decreases starting on 8, every round. I thought it was cute as is, so no i-cord. The socks are 32 stitches, 2x2 rib for the cuffs (about 3.5 inches in length), short-row heel, knit the foot to approx. 3 inches, then the decreases every other row (4/decrease row), and a grafted toe. Very simple and easy, and I had to squeal several times at the cuteness. Can you tell I have baby girls on the brain? :) I may have to bid on them myself.

In other news, because what I really need to be doing is starting a new project, I, um, started something new. DS2 has requested a "green blankie" so we went to Joann's and picked out some Lion Big Fat Chenille (that's not what it's called but I am too lazy at the moment to look it up). He picked the color "basil," which is really pretty. I'm not certain about the yarn, in terms of quality, and how well it will wash, but it was easily available and it's VERY soft and cuddly. At first I was going to crochet something, but I'm not a great crocheter and this yarn is so not a good yarn for a novice crocheter (too fluffy to see what you're doing). Then I just cast on a bunch of stitches and did a random pattern but I didn't like it. So I'm doing YET ANOTHER diagonal eyelet-edged blanket. I've only done a few rows, but I think I'm going to frog it and start over with a slip-stitch edge as I just like that better than the straight garter-stitch edge. I bought two skeins of the yarn, so we'll see how big the thing ends up. It's a snuggly blankie, not an actual "cover you you up and keep you warm while you sleep" blankie, so I don't think it truly matters. But yeah, another garter-stitch blanket. Ah well, they're good zoning out projects.

I also started the second Falling Leaves lace sock. I've not even got the toe done, so I don't feel like I'm in a groove with it. But, I'm in desperate need of socks.

I read somewhere of one knitter's plan to end 2008 without a stash. I so could not do this (my knitting time is so limited) but I think it's a cool idea to try! I can't afford anything right now ayway, and in about 3 months, my knitting time is going to be severely curtailed.

OH! I forgot to mention, I found out that there's an actual real-life yarn store in my new town! AND there's a knitting group at the library, twice a month! If this town had a coffee shop, I think it would be perfect.

Finishing off 2007 with a bang!

I managed to complete all my knitting in time for our holiday in Western MA! And, except for SIL's booga bag (which was a hit, and coincidentally, is the same colorway as the bag features in the pattern), I even have pictures!

So, first, the mini-fetchings. All were done in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, all using Knitty's Fetching pattern. For the red pair (for the youngest recipient), I did 16 instead of 18 rounds on the palm. I used the Magic Loop technique, and I used Addi Turbos, 40" in size....I can't remember, I think it was size 3 (which I think is 3.5 mm, but I'm not sure, and I'm too lazy to go look, sorry). I was down to the wire on these, and regretted breaking my "no knitting after 9:30 pm" rule, with the last thumb on the black ones. I've never really figured out how to successfully pick up the thumb stitches, and I always have little holes. Well, on the last black thumb I also ended up dropping stitches here and there (it's REALLY hard to see what you're doing when the yarn is so dark!) and it was sort of a disaster. BUT, the black did hide most of the errors, I got them all fixed (one way or another), and the recipient (a 7 year old boy) was *thrilled* with them. All three kids loved them, and slept in them every night! :) I was fully prepared for the kids not to be too excited so it was an added bonus that they were such a hit.

This hat is the Irish Hiking hat pattern that I can't find again (my google-fu seems to be lacking today), but it was a nice pattern, and an easy knit. I accidentally knit it on size 9s instead of 8s, and dropped one of the cable repeats because it seemed SO huge. I made it deeper than she called for as well, because, well, I like hats deeper. It ended up fitting my husband (who has a huge head) quite well, but was too small for the recipient (my BIL, who has HUGE head apparently), so my husband is keeping it and I'll do another one for BIL. I think I'll drop the needle size and add back an extra cable repeat and add at least another inch, maybe two. It looks sort of weird but it does fit well.


Here's the fetching inspired-inspired hat, which I am loving. It's not quite as wind-proof as my fleece hat, but it's quite warm for most weather and I love it. (Not the best picture of me...)

And, I finished the monkey socks! I love them so much!!! I am really happy with how they came out. I started these in August and I've been working on them on and off, and it's so great to have another pair of socks done! I have been loving all the handmade socks I've done so far, and wearing them a ton (pretty much all my other socks are old and sad, and slowly getting thrown away due to holes) so I really need them! YAY! I promised SIL a pair of handknit socks too, so I'll have to figure out some good yarn for her. She really liked these but I just couldn't waite find it in my heart to give them to her. I am a bad person, I suppose.

I also managed to get two cable repeats done on my Double Braided Cable scarf, and I think I'll do two more, probably, since the recipient (who doesn't know he's getting this!) seems to like shorter scarves. I am a bit unsure how to block this, as it's superwash wool. Is that an issue? It needs some blocking because even with the garter stitch edge, it's still rolling a bit. It's quite pretty though, and I'll have enough left over to do some hats or something.

So, I'm feeling pretty good and inspired at the moment. :)

FO!

And it technically counts as TWO, right, because it's a PAIR of socks! I know, a FO that isn't a hat or a dishcloth! I am so excited. But, on to the details.

Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta "Fake Isle" in 6674. Purchased eons ago and the ball band is long gone, but I'm sure that's what this is.

Needles: 2.75 mm Knitpicks Fixed Circs, 32". (Have I mentioned how much I adore these needles?)

Gauge: ? I could go measure but the socks are in the other room.

Pattern: My own. There wasn't even really one. I cast on 32 stitches using Judy's Magic Cast-On, and then increased until it looked like it would fit but not be too big (60 stitches).
Then I knit stockinette until it was about 8 inches (I think my foot is 10", so that left 2" for the heel). Then I knit one-half row on waste yarn and reknit it for the afterthought heel. Then I knit for a while until it seemed long enough (60 rounds), and then did 10 rounds of 1x1 ribbing. Bind off was EZ's Sewn Bind-Off.

Thoughts: Technically, I am happy with these socks, for the most part. Remember how I was raving about the afterthought heel? *enh* I was not feeling the love on this second sock. Maybe because I had hit that point in the project where sticking the needles into my eyes sounded more appetizing than finishing, you know? (Oh, you don't?) But yeah, picking up the stitches from the waste yarn is a PITA. I also wasn't thinking clearly and picked up two extra stitches at the beginning of the heel, instead of the one (I was looking for 4 extra stitches over all), but it all worked out. Here's the deal. I love knitting socks. I love wearing hand knit socks. BUT I have yet to find a heel construction that I love. So far I've tried short-row heels (top down and bottom up), heel flap and gusset (top down and bottom up), afterthought heels. I am sure there's lots more that I'm missing but they all annoy me at this point. Oh and I am also a tad concerned that the purse-string closure of the after-thought heel leaves a small bump that's going to be a bummer on my heels. That's why I *have* to finish all socks-in-progress (SIPs) before I try Cat Bordhi's new sockitectures, because I fear I may never go back. :) Her short-row heels look less irritating than the classic short-row construction.

My other beef with these socks is the yarn. Now, Plymouth Sockotta, IMO, is not a high-end sock yarn (Webs has it for $8.99 per 100 gram ball, so much much less than the $24 for 2 50 g skeins of Koigu that I just spent!). It doesn't feel like a high-end yarn either. It feels more string-like to me. This isn't a complaint. The resulting fabric is a little rough, but certainly wearable and comfortable enough, I think. This yarn gets good reviews in terms of durability of the resulting socks, which is very good. It's machine washable, which is EXCELLENT. It wasn't a pain to knit with (like the TOFUTsies, for example). My main beef is with the self-patterning aspect, which is as much a beef with my own personality as anything else. With variegated colors, I have learned to release control of how it looks because, well, you don't have any! The yarn is going to do what it's going to do. It's helping me in my pursuit of Zen calmitude. BUT, this stuff, man, it made me so anxious! Sometimes the patterning did what it was supposed to do, sometimes it didn't! To be honest, I'm not even sure WHAT the purple was supposed to do! The dying wasn't consistent, so for example, with the green, there wasn't always the same amount of space between green parts, and the green parts weren't all the same length. AND, the patterning wasn't consistent. Now, I personally prefer fraternal twins in my socks, I feel like in contributes to the hand-made funkiness of them, but if you are someone for whom this is an issue (L, I mean you), then don't use this yarn! So, the yarn is okay, but it's not good for me. I think the socks are *fine*, and I'll wear them with joy, but the pattern kerfuffle will bug me just a bit.

All in all, a worthwhile project, I learned some good stuff, blah blah, but time to move on! I cast on Monkey #2! Woo!! I just love Koigu.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat some of my Trader Joe's Peppermint Jo-Jos Cheesecake.

Does this count as a FO?

So, I am currently OBSESSED with Cat Bordhi's new book. As in, even though I'm not working on anything from it, it's the only book I took to the Berkshires this weekend (and I am a VORACIOUS reader), and I read it each night before going to bed. I cannot wait to try these patterns!

So, when I got home, I spent some time poking around online for the letter stitch markers to see if they were for sale yet (they're not). So...I toddled off to my local bead store (LBS?) and made some! This picture is really dark; I think they're a lot prettier than this! I am not entirely convinced that the 9 mm split ring is the right size, I think it may be too big. She does have some patterns on larger needles, so that's fine, but I might make another set with a smaller size. I need to file down the ends of the posts a bit too, as they're sharp from the wire snippers and might snag, but all in all, not too shabby for $13 and about a 1/2 hour of my time! I haven't done any wire and bead work in FOREVER, and I felt very clumsy. I have a feeling if I made a bunch of them, I could really get into a rhythm.

Now I just need to knit: 1 green stripe toe up sock, 1 monkey, 1 falling leaves and finish the sock I've got going now, and THEN I can start some new socks!! Hah, like that's going to happen any time soon? Ah well, a woman can dream, right?

Well, that's a bust...

Meaning not a heck of a lot of knitting going on right now. I'm not feeling 100%, so instead of knitting at night, I've been sleeping. I've also been attending to life outside of knitting (is there such a thing??). I've got a few things going on right now, and I actually made some progress. I've almost finished Module Two (out of 7) of my Childbirth Educator Program, which is exciting. I think this is the least interesting module to me: prenatal testing, physiology, that sort of thing. Not where my interests lie. I'm much more interested in the psychological transformation of pregnancy and becoming a parent. Which makes sense, what with my having spent, you know, 7 YEARS getting a Masters and Ph.D. in psychology!!

I did knit about 6 rows on one of my simple stockinette socks. I'm hoping to get the leg done tonight, and maybe even get the heel stitches picked up (afterthought heel), so I can get it done. Then I'll have an actual pair of socks to wear!! I hope to have pictures for you by the end of the week. :)

Why am I awake?

My body has this super annoying habit of being unable to return to sleep for several hours, if woken up in the middle of the night. I'd say this has happened 7 of the last 10 nights and I am SICK OF IT. But, I thought I'd blog a bit. Whee! Middle of the night blogging! Better than middle of the night angsting, which is what I usually do, right? Right!

My new favorite sock heel is the afterthought heel, and I haven't even done it yet! We'll see how I feel about it once I actually complete it. I am happy with the sock so far because the striping has stayed in pattern. Hey, here's a question - say you knit one sock, and realize that you don't like something about how you designed it (just, hypothetically speaking, say you knit a sock in self-striping yarn and did a short-row heel and now it bugs you that you didn't do an afterthought heel). When you do the second sock, would you change your design? Which would bug you more - having two socks that are out of striping order, or having two socks that don't technically match? I think I need them to be identical, but I'm not sure.

I have started and ripped out the scarf for my friend about 25 times. It turns out, when I have an idea of what I want to do (a cable knit scarf), substituting all sorts of other things (fake cables, twisted stitch patterns, faggot lace) doesn't work for me. I am not sure why I am surprised by this, as this is completely my personality, but hey, there it is. So yeah, after many more design hours than I anticipated, I just picked a fairly complicated cable, and I'm just doing that. I finished the first set of pattern repeats and I'm fairly happy with it. The cable crossings aren't making me want to poke myself in the eye with a shiny stick, so that's good. The yarn is great, it's KnitPicks Swish in Deep Ocean which shows the pattern really nicely. It even withstood being knit and yanked a LOT without too much pilling. I could see this yarn being a nice sub for the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.

So, I've been having fantasies about dying my own yarn. Shh, don't tell my husband, I think he would be...well, to be honest, he'd be completely amused and supportive because he is the Best Husband Ever, and tends to be supportive, but given the variety of things we have coming up over the next year, I don't think I'm going to have time for this for quite some time.

I also want to learn to spin my own yarn.

The dark side's callin' now...*

I'm not sure this is the best way to manage my WIP issue. I finished a sock (!!), so I immediately cast on not one, but TWO socks today. I am working on a lace sock, but any sort of pattern that requires focus is not possible for me during the day (what with two small boys running around), so I added another plain stockinette sock. No, it's not the mate to the one I just finished, why do you ask? :) BUT, I finished the Booga Bag, so in reality, I didn't change my WIPs at all! Right? Right.

The stockinette sock is being knit with Plymouth Sockotta (I am pretty sure the ball band is long gone but it's colorway 6674), toe up, Magic Loop (of course). I did Judy's Magic Cast-On, which I can finally do without instructions right in front of me. Love. This. Cast-on. I just find it way easier than short-rows. I am using KnitPick Circular 2.75 mm, 32". I have to decide what I'm going to do for a heel on this. I am thinking I might try an afterthought heel, since I've never done one of those before, and given the self-striping-ness of the yarn, that would not interrupt the pattern. Since I'm not using a pattern (I know, me! Can you believe it**??) I cast on 32 stitches, planning a 64 stitch sock, but I am only doing 60 - that looks to be big enough. I think this one will knit up quickly.

The lace sock pattern is Falling Leaves from Knitty. It's quite pretty! I substituted the Magic Cast-On for the toe, as I just like that better than short rows. I'll do the short-row heel. I am usin the KnitPicks cirs in 2.5 mm - the pattern calls for 2.25 mm, but (a) I only have those in the HiyaHiya and I am so not happy with those needles and considering the yarn issue I am having, they would be a total nightmare; and (b) the yarn I am using is a bit thinner than the Koigu, so I figure it'll work out. It may be bit looser than written, but that's okay. So, the yarn. I am using color 726. (Yes, it's purple! Shut up.) Wow, I am finding this yarn to be super*** annoying to work with. It's splitty, and it just doesn't slide easily onto the needles. When Magic Looping, this is...an annoyance, to say the least. I know it's not the needles, because I didn't have this problem at all using KnitPicks Felici on the same needles. It makes a nice fabric, and I think this lace works well with it. It's a bit disappointing because in theory****, it's such a cool yarn! And really, how often do you get to work the word chitin into general conversation?

Would it be a bad idea to work through all the sock yarn I have, making one sock each, and then starting the second socks?

Yes, it probably would. I already feel like I'm flirting with the dark side of sock knitting here. Can't you just see it? I'll die, sad and alone, surround by a million hand knit socks, none of which match.

* Name that tune! Wow, that does take me back to a certain high school dance...
**I obviously use this phrase too often, as my older son has started using it too. He's four.
*** Another word I obviously use to often because now my two-year-old is using it a lot too.
**** In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.

I have come to the conclusion...

...That I am just not meant to knit the Zokni socks right now. Don't get me wrong, they're totally gorgeous (when done, you know, CORRECTLY), and I even have the perfect color yarn, but I just *keep* *screwing* *up*. I think my head isn't in the right space for them right now. I don't think it's lace, I think this pattern is just too complex for me right now. It's not simple lace, each row is four repeats of a complicated pattern and I just keep screwing it up. I just ripped it again (this time in my 3rd repeat) and I'm going to put it aside for right now. I have Big Life Stuff going on (nothing bad, it's all fantastic, but I'm not capable of anything but filtering through anxiety right now), so it can wait. I think I need a slightly tighter yarn. I've got KnitPicks Essential (that the pattern is written for) but it's a tad fuzzy.

I am chugging along on a sock that I'm making WITHOUT a pattern. Go me, I am such a rebel!! (Ha. If you knew me, you'd know how ludicrous that is, I am *such* a rule follower....err, piercings and tattoos aside). It's totally simple - I did Judy's Magic Cast-On (which I had to do several times to make it work, I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong), and a simple short-row heel. I used Misocrafy's short-row technique of passing the wraps over, and it looks lovely! My one error was that I neglected to pick up a couple of stitches in between the heel and the instep, so I've got holes. :( I'll stitch them up, no problem, and I'll try it on the second sock. I'm using the new KnitPicks self-striping yarn and it's really fun! Seems higher quality than the Essentials to me as well.

Speaking of KnitPicks, I must order a 2.25 mm 32" needle from them and then my sock needle collection will be complete. I am *loving* these needles for socks!! Have I mentioned that I'm a total gear-head? I love gear.

I think I'm going to go cast-on for Monkey #2, I'd love to get an actual pair of socks finished! OR maybe I'll just take advantage of the fact that my husband is working late and my kids are actually asleep and go to bed.

FOs: Rosemary Shawl and more Fetching

Given that I haven't posted a FO picture in about a month (and those were all dishcloths), I have a couple of other types of things to show.

The first was actually finished quite some time ago, but I hadn't sent it to the recipient until recently (and if you're reading, friend, I loved your email and I'm truly not ignoring you!). This was a triangle shawl (my very first shawl) out of Lion Suede. I *love* the colors in this colorway, but I was frustrated with the lack of consistency within the dye lot - not only from skein to skein but WITHIN a skein as well. It's OBVIOUS (to me at least). But, the shawl was really pretty and snuggly and I think my friend liked it. I think I knit this up on size 9s? I used my KnitPick Options (which I loved, as always). This picture is horrible, but I was packing it up to send off (which took way too long), so I was really in a hurry (as you can see by the unmade bed! Oh the shame of it!). I was pleased with how the eyelets on the hypotenuse came out, as I had to sort of make up the pattern there. I had lots of fun with the math of this project, both in trying to figure out how long my sides needed to be to get a 60"-62" hypotenuse, and also getting the eyelets to work with the number of stitches (I wish I'd written down what I did).

The second FO is a pair of Fetching for my friend. I haven't sent them off yet (tomorrow, Fred!), but she knows they're coming (though she may have given up hope at this point!). The one modification I made to the pattern was that I made the hands a few rows shorter as she has eensy little hands! I hope they're not too wide. As always, I really loved knitting these. It's such a nice pattern, the yarn is delicious, and I had fun experimenting with different shapes of cable needles. I found that I liked the flat needle better for the cable in back, and the U-shaped needle better for the cable in front.

With the completion of these, I can now start new projects. I started a Zokni Sock today while I had the babysitter (I gave myself a couple of hours off, it was so lovely). I like the pattern but I had to write it out as I'm not adept at charts yet. I still need to do Monkey #2 as well. I need to do a couple more NICU hats and get those off, as they haven't had anything from me in months and probably think I disappeared.

My baby blanket is on hold, but I just heard that an old friend had a baby girl (didn't even know she was pregnant) so maybe I'll finish it up for her. I'm waiting on more buttons for the Fruit Salad Cardi, once I get those, I'll post pictures (if you promise not to laugh at my slightly funny shaped baby sweater, babies are boxy, right??).

In other news, we're house-hunting with a vengeance, which makes me so anxious I can barely breathe (it's just my nature, nothing to write home about), so expect a lot of knitting these days. It calms me.

Jumping off the Bandwagon and some FOs!

So wow, I haven't posted in a way too long. I've actually been doing quite a bit of knitting - I've been on a dishcloth RAMPAGE! :) So, a few things I've finished.

First, the funny looking dishcloths:

What is there really to say about these? They're funny looking. The bamboo cloth is also just smaller than I like. Oh well.

These next two, I'm much happier with. I think I wrote about needing more dishcloths, so I bought a whole bunch of variegated yarns on sale at AC Moore ($1/ball!). I really like the bee stitch cloth in this yarn, the colors are fun and happy, sort of like fruit stripe gum! I originally started the DW pattern in this yarn but it just didn't work, and I think it looks much nicer in this stitch. I also just love this garterlac pattern. I've got more to do, but these are so fun and easy.

By jumping off the bandwagon, I mean...I think I'm going to frog the Jaywalkers. I just don't love how these look, I'm concerned at the tightness of the fabric, and well, I'm not into them. So, I figure it's better to cut my losses and just be done with them. *sigh* I know the knitting blog-o-sphere loves these, but the pattern just isn't doing it for me. There are other patterns I'm more interested in that will suit me better, I think, and I also just need to do some straight up, plain old stockinette socks. I want to get more done. So, rather than not start something that I really want to be doing because I haven't finished the thing I'm not enjoying, I'm just going to call it off. I can't decide if this is a good thing or not, but I do feel measurable relief at the idea of not finishing the Jaywalkers. I think it's the right decision.

Where did it go?

I had a post half-written but it apparently got eaten during the whole kerfuffle of jury duty, which is DONE! No one seemed happy, everyone got spanked (metaphorically), so I guess we did a good job. All jury members took it very seriously, which was cool. So, that's my second trial as a juror. So inconvenient, but I am glad I got to do it.

I scrapped the sock. I made yet ANOTHER error and couldn't live with it. I guess that answers my questions...THREE major issues is one too many.

I started another NICU hat in consolation and I'm gonna need some help on another project because I can't decide how to end it. The yarn is bumming me out. Ah well.

I think I may need to learn to spin and dye my own yarn. Or do you dye first then spin?