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.

Some pictures!

Whoops! First, I started this yesterday but Firefox crashed on me. Thankfully it was saved as a draft! Sorry for the double post here, I accidently posted it before editing.

ANYWAY. On to the knitting!

First - fruit cardi pictures since this has been sent on its way:
This was knit using Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille in the Fruit Salad colorway. One knitting group I'm on, people HATE chenille, but this stuff is really nice to work with. It worms almost not at all and the fabric it creates is really love. AND, it's completely machine washable and dryable, very important in baby clothes! The patterns is a loose adaptation of a bulky, top-down baby cardigan pattern but with a few adaptations. I really did just wing it (as usual, no swatching!). I changed the increase method and a few other things. I love knitting top-down sweaters, as I really dislike seaming! I can't remember what size I knit this on - 10.5 maybe? It was a quick knit. The proportions are a tad off, but when is that not the case with things I knit! :) I think it's cute, and the recipient also really loved it. The tomato buttons just make it, I think. I was going to do different veggie buttons but screwed up my math and had to add an additional buttonhole (well, it wasn't the math that was wrong, my math was spot on, it was the fact that with FIVE button holes, you have FOUR spaces in between). Anyway, it's cute (IMO) and I have quite a bit of yarn left over, so I can do some washcloths and probably a NICU hat as well.

Next we have the famous Booga Bag. I know, another bandwagon that probably left years ago, but whatever. I've been longing to work with the Noro Kureyon, it's SO pretty and I was not disappointed! The yarn feels less...processed somehow (perhaps that's due to the small twigs and occasional seed that kept showing up in it). This is colorway 188 (why yes, I do love the purples and greens, why do you ask? Oh, because everything I make or wear is purple or green?). The first picture is pre-felting, the second is the bag drying (upside down) on my kitchen table. It is SO pretty! For some reason I had some holes on this knit - I don't think I dropped stitches, I don't know what they were from. And the i-cord was certainly not the most lovely knitting I've done (maybe for my next one I'll try french knitting). The felting really hides all that! The bag is quite a bit smaller than I had anticipated, and I'm already planning a big one. I think it would make a great project bag! It feels close to dry now, and I'm just trying to decide if I want to run the i-cord through the wash for one more felting session or not. It's a bit stretchy now, but I don't want to lose anymore length either. I knit the original i-cord to just over 6 feet, and I'll do the next one longer. This felted up really easily. I ran it through the hot wash/cold rinse cycle with a pair of jeans and some towels. I let it get up to the rinse cycle, then restarted it. Just two runs through the washer had it felted nicely. It's definitely in more Fall colors, and I can't wait to use it!

And back to the knitting!

Now that I've finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I can refocus on the knitting. I just finished the endless i-cord for the Booga Bag, and now it's swishing away in the washing machine, and starting to felt! I have never felted anything before, so we'll see how it goes. It seems to be as much of an art as a science.

The booga bag is a detour from my other WIPs. I have to get back to the sock mania.

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.

Argh.

I just ripped out the Zokni sock. It's a bit of a complicated pattern and I made a few mistakes. One thing was livable, but I had to pull some stuff out (I made the mistake of trying to knit while my older son is awake, and while he's an utter love most of the time, he also is extremely chatty). I just can't knit complicated stuff while the kids are awake. Maybe I'll finally learn that lesson?? I am going to start it over because DARN IT, they're pretty. I'm not sure when, maybe tonight. DH is going to be home late again, so we'll see if it works.

And I had a couple of thoughts about knitting needles. When I got my assortment of KnitPicks yarns, I also bought a bunch of needles for knitting socks. Oh man, I *love* them! I love the Options set, so I'm not sure why I thought I wouldn't love these. I like them SO MUCH BETTER than the HiyaHiyas that I'm going to have to order the size that I have in the Hiyas. Those are fine for plain stuff, though the join of the needle and cable leaves a bit to be desired. But the KnitPicks are just wonderful - even better than my beloved Addi Turbos! Pointier, so better for lace. And the 32" size is perfect for magic looping socks. I'm not sure I'd do TWO socks at once, but I don't really like to do that anyway.

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.

Back from vacation...

But without my knitting mojo. *sigh*

I just ripped out TWO projects. The Dublin Rose sock - I messed up the lace pattern in a couple of places and it just wasn't calling to me. The yarn is pretty, I'm just not sure what the right sock pattern for it will be. I think it was almost TOO simple a lace pattern - it was a lace inset on each side of the sock. So it's "knit a bunch, do the 3 stitch lace pattern..." type of thing. I think I need either a pattern that requires focus, or brainlessness. I somehow found Monkey totally easy to do.

So, now at least I get to whip out the new KnitPicks needles and try something else. I am so not loving the HiyaHiyas, too. They're a bit pointer than the Addi Turbos, which is good, but not pointy enought that my k2togs were easy, AND the join is a bit rough, so it wasn't easy to slide the stitches up, and when that happens in Magic Loop, it makes me a tad crazy. Anyway. So yeah, what I should be doing is casting on for Monkey #2, but I think I'm going to hold off a bit and start something else. No actually, what I should be doing is redoing the Fetching I just ripped out, as that's a gift, and I want to get them sent off. Maybe I'll recast that on tomorrow. I ripped it out over a dumb error that I just couldn't recover from.

Did I mention all the yarn I just ordered? Noro, a whole bunch of sock yarn, and the baby cardi yarn. I finished the cardi. It's cute, I think, but I mis-calculated my button distances so I need 6 buttons instead of 5 (which, of course, is the number I have) so I need to order more buttons, like yesterday, which I haven't done, because the shower is next weekend. The cardi is a bit boxier than I would have liked, and I think again about how swatching might have helped. Yeah, you think? It's cute though. I do love top-down sweaters, no seaming! I have to post pictures soon.

So, I think that leaves me only with the baby blanket to be done.

Note to Self

Don't knit lace when you're wicked tired, not even a super easy lace pattern. I am working on Mossy Cottage Knits' Dublin Socks. It's a very simple pattern, and I have to admit that I like it much better in real life than on the page. It's not that I didn't like it, but I wasn't sure how the lace inset would look, and it's nice. I'm doing it in the Lorna's Laces in Somerset, so it's a really pretty pink and tealy-green combo, which does remind me, appropriate for this pattern, of roses. I did, however screw up the lace pattern on one side. I'm not going to redo (yay for me, suppressing my perfectionism) as it's not horribly noticeable, and I'm just wanting to move on. I'll do this, than Monkey 2.

I am obsessed with sock knitting right now. In part, because all my fun socks are getting old and nasty and need to be pitched out, and I cannot find socks I like in the stores, so I feel compelled to knit myself a sock wardrobe (which DH thinks makes me weird. WHATever.) Also, because I am a planner, and my life plan has been called into question. This makes me, perhaps, just a tad anxious, and so I am knitting. And planning projects, because I do that well. What's that you say? What about all those projects I've already planned, which are not complete? La la la, what did you say? I can't hear you.

I am going to branch out from variegated sock yarn, can you believe it? I found a couple of really pretty lace patterns that I think call for solid, so since I'm ordering from Knitpicks ANYway, I'll toss in some Knitpicks Essential Sock Yarn. And what's up with the lace obession, anyway?

I'm also designing a cable scarf for my friend who wanted me to knit something for him. I think I'm going to do it Knitpicks Swish, since that's supposed to be really soft. Think it'll show a cable pattern well? I have this big book of knitting stitches that my mom passed on to me (she used to be a big knitter, and gave me all her stuff, which is really neat, because some of it came from HER mom as well, how cool is that?). I'm going to pick a cable pattern and just do it! Design my own scarf! I've got a hat design I'm working on too...I could put free patterns up here, I suppose, couldn't I?

But for tonight, no knitting. I'm too tired. We head out to the midwest for a family thing on Thursday, and I'm going to be optimistic and bring some knitting. How crazy would it be to wing a toe-up sock with no pattern? I'm thinking short-row toe, short-row heel, how hard can it be? I might even wing the gague. Of course, I hate to swatch so I almost never do it anyway.

PSA

When one is knitting from a pattern, it behooves one to make sure that one actually does ALL the rows indicated because otherwise one's cute pinwheel dishcloth actually takes a sort of peculiar rhomboid shape. Twice. (Turns out there was one more line in column two. Sometimes I am amazed that I actually manage to finish anything at all).

And speaking of finishing things...MONKEY ONE IS DONE! Both my angels actually took naps today, so I got about two hours to myself, so I cranked through it! My fear that I wouldn't have enough yarn was completely unfounded. It fits wonderfully and I just love it! Pictures tonight when I have more time.

I've also got a big piece packaged up and ready to send off, so I can post pictures and talk about it soon!

And remember when I said I wasn't interested in knitting lace? Turns out that's not true. I'm going to knit The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep. What the hell, I'm placing a Knitpicks order next week anyway. :)

Now, I just needs ideas for a project for the ArtYarns Yarnmarket exclusive!

What does this say about me?

That when I just read that the Yarn Harlot is also knitting the Knitty Monkey socks, I shouted out to DH "I'm knitting the same socks as the Yarn Harlot!"

I may even have squealed like a little girl.

I believe that this may say that I am a complete geek. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

And in other news, I am currently panicking that I am going to run out of yarn for said Monkey sock, which would suck.

Psychologist, diagnosis thyself!

I think I have a combination of knitting-focused OCD and ADD. The OCD part is that I am obsessed, OBSESSED with planning projects right now (err, in retrospect, that may not be all that atypical, as a brief read of this blog will show), and the ADD part is how many different projects I have in flight. I don't mind having a few, but it's starting to get a little out of hand. Let's look, shall we?

Currently on Needles:

1. Jaywalkers (to be ripped out, and started with a different sock yarn, probably a self-striping as opposed to varieagated)
2. Monkey socks: in a KPPPM, this is gorgeous and I LOVE IT! I turned heel #1 last night, and I'm on a rampage to finish this and get #2 going. This yarn and this pattern are really pretty. This is my Santa Monica/Dartmouth memorial sock. I bought this yarn while out there for my wonderful friend P's wedding, and I knit a bunch of it at my Dartmouth reunion this past weekend (where I met P! And I'd say most of my good memories of college involve her.)
3. A pinwheel discloth.
4. A diagonal knit baby blanket (essentially, this pattern, but bigger). This is completely gorgeous, but it's really more of a girl blanket, and it turns out the person I intended it for is having a boy. Turns out also that her shower is in a few weeks, and I'd love to have something handknit for her.
   
5. Fuschia Fetchings for my wonderful friend K. (I had to stall on those until I saw her this past weekend because she has petite hands and I don't want them to be too long.) Have I mentioned how much I adore Debbie Bliss's Cashmerino Aran? It's lovely.
   
6. NICU hat - finishing up the leaves for an apple hat.
   

Okay, it's not quite as out of control as I thought, but still.

Projects being planned in my head:
Baby sweater and hat for the above mentioned friend. I think I'm going to do a simple cardi in this yarn in the Fruit Salad color, with these buttons. I think it will not be ready for the shower.
Scarf for a college friend (by request). Probably just in some nice, worsted yarn - blue, I think.
Queen of Cups socks, so I can use my new HiyaHiya needles, to try them out for lace. I've got a lovely Lorna's Laces (in Somerset) set aside for this. (Note, why is it that US 1 means different things to different companies? 2.5mm is not the same as 2.25 mm!)
I need to do something with this yarn in the Monet's Garden color. All of a sudden I really really want to knit a shrug! (Could you do this with the Artyarns yarn, do you think?)

This doesn't even take into account all the yarn I have as well!

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.

I am so skilled!

No, really I am.

I finished two dishcloths today. The first one was another attempt on the Bamboo stitch variation cloth that I frogged earlier. I didn't find it anywhere near as annoying as I did the first time around, though it's still more intricate than I like. I did manage to finish it but it look sorta...funny. The bottom is all wiggly and not even at all. I have *no* idea what happened!! I also had to tink and redo a couple of row several times, as I was apparently spacing out while knitting it and doing things like forgetting the YOs! Oops. Ah well.

Then I decided to finish off some Crystal Palace chenille that I had (I think it's the "baby" colorway) and whip out a diagonal washcloth (you can see where this is going, can't you?). I miscalculated on how much yarn I had left, and ran out, so now I have a penta-cloth. This yarn is lovely but it does not rip out well at all, and I just am so over this ball of yarn and needed it to be knit into something! It actually doesn't matter at all because it's for me, and I'll use it and love it. It's nice and wide, and the flat side sits nicely on your wrist, so maybe I'll pretend it's a feature, not a bug. HEY! Maybe it'll become a trend!!

I'm out of handmade washcloths because when my mom was visiting to take care of the boys while I had jury duty, she told me how much she loved the cloth I had made for her for Christmas and in a fit of gratitude I gave her every cloth I've made for myself. I want to churn out a bunch of cloths, since I want to stop using sponges and switch over to using handmade dishcloths for my dishes. I think I need to put my sock obsession on hold for now and focus on things that I can actually finish.

I'll post pictures when I'm not about to go to bed. I gotta take a picture of the blanket-in-progress too, it is so beautiful, it's almost enough to make me have another baby (except I just know I'd have another boy and it's really more of a girly blanket so someone I know has to have a baby girl soon).

Have I mentioned lately how profoundly grateful I am for the place that knitting holds in my life? It's a hobby that I feel I have some skill at, but so much to learn, so many ways to grow. It allows me to spend time doing something productive yet enjoyable, and perhaps the greatest gift it gives to me is it helps me quiet my mind. The spiritual practice I am most drawn to, and have been for years, is Buddhism, but I am so not there yet. I'd love to have a serious meditation and yoga practice. Maybe someday. Knitting is really quite meditative for me. I have so many blessings in my life, I am so lucky.

FO and some planning...

I finished some things AND managed to take pictures, so let's see what they look like!
Okay, so the picture isn't too great, but you can get a sense of the stitch pattern at least. This is the Bee Stitch cloth. I tried this cloth earlier in the Crystal Palace cotton chenille, and it didn't work at all (who knows why!), but it was great in this yarn (Sugar'n'Cream). It's a super easy pattern, and I love the texture that the stitch creates! It shows of the variegated yarn wonderfully too!

The rest of the FOs are NICU hats. First, the Lemon hat. Quite cute! I'm trying to make my hats a little longer because I think I make them too short. I also did the Raspberry hat. I think it's adorable, though the texture stitch was a bit of a pain in the ass. Both of these are done with Magic Loop, in Tahki Cotton Classic, size 4 needles. The next hat is the Raspberry hat. Also adorable, but the texture stitch was a bit of a pain in the ass. The last picture is two hats: one I knit a while ago, next to another hat that was supposed to be a gift for a friend but I never got my act together to send it so I've got to do something else for them. It's the same yarn, Plymouth Fantasy Naturale, but just different number of stitches. I sort of like the patchy one, it makes me think of easter egg camo!
I also have one more big project that I finished, and it's really pretty, but it's a gift, so I need to send it off (this one I really do have to send off) before I can post the pictures. It's one of the bigger things I've done, and while it was a simple knit, it's really pretty and I'm happy with how it turned out !

On to the next projects! I just pulled out a baby blanket that I'm doing, also out of Crystal Palace Cotton chenille, but in the Painted Iris colorway. Oh. My. God. This is so beautiful! But, the person it was originally intended for is having a boy, so I may have to finish it and keep it for the next girl baby that comes along. I have enough of the yarn to do some washcloths for myself, so I'll be able to keep some of the beauty for myself! Perhaps I'll do one for this friend in the Baby Blue or the Seascape colorway (or maybe the fruit salad, that would be fun!). I love this yarn for baby blankets! Given my issues with color consistency in the Lion Suede, I'm not sure about doing more big projects with it. Which is a bummer because it's perfect for baby blankets! At least for northern babies! It's so soft and warm! Anyway, enough about baby blankets.

So, that leaves on the needles...Jaywalkers. *sigh* I am afraid that they're going to be too small and I'm just stalled on them! I really *want* to be knitting socks...I just don't love the tiny needles! I somehow managed to bring home a skein of Tofutsies, and I'm actually *gasp* trying to swatch it up! I am going to do a non-short-row-toe up, heel flap and gusset heel, with this. I think I need a scale to make sure I don't do one sock too long! I am also planning on getting some of these, so I can do lace socks more easily...What do you think, go ahead and order 1, 2 and 3s? Or just get the 1s and assume that I won't need the bigger ones? That'd certainly be cheaper! But it's almost a new month and a new allowance!

I just need to finish the leaves for one of the other NICU hats I've done (an apple, so cute!), and then I'll take them over and drop them off (or send them in). It's funny, I don't remember being excited to knit last summer, but I'm going strong this summer!!

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?

Musings on Perfection and Perfectionism

aka How Imperfect is TOO Imperfect?

I've mentioned this before. I am a recovering perfectionist. You wouldn't totally know it from my life, but I used to be obsessed with being perfect and loathed myself for all my failures, real and perceived. Lots of therapy and love later, and I don't feel that way most of the time. It gets stirred up, and it's sort of a knee-jerk reaction to many things that I can move past quickly, but it's there.

I see it with my knitting. I want to be *good* at this. I am pretty good, but I'd put myself very much in the early-intermediate level of knitting (err, if there were such a thing as quantified levels of knitterness, which I don't think there actually are). I'm not a beginner, I can tackle more challenging projects, but I'm not very good at some of the things that I think I should be, in order to feel truly proficient at this craft. More to learn, right?

So, I'm doing my first sock on DPKs, and while I'm not finding it as hard as I thought I would, I'm not doing it...well, perfectly. I've got two issues. I've got some laddering going on (to be honest, I had a little of that with the Cascade socks, which were done Magic Loop, but with ML you only have two inter-needle connections to worry about, not the four I have on these needles), and I had a small-child-induced-disaster, in which one of the needles got pulled out of the stitches. I managed to salvage it somewhat, though there's an obvious spot of kerfuffle where I didn't do a good job of picking up the dropped stitches (note to self, go buy some teeny tiny crochet hooks to assist you in these dropped-sock-stitch emergencies).

I'm not hugely bummed about that spot ("See that? That was when you pulled the needle out of mommy's knitting and she freaked out and threatened to put you in time out until you were twenty, do you remember?"), but the laddering is annoying. Not, at this point, annoying enough to pull it out and redo it, mind you, but it's there, and I'll notice it. I'm trying to treat it like a learning experience. This is my first time doing this kind of project, and I want to become proficient, but NO ONE is immediately proficient while learning a new skill, it takes time. I'm only doing this for the joy it brings me, so if it's not joyful, why do it?

Perfection isn't attainable, at least not by me. But at what point do I say this is really not good enough, and frog it and start over?

In Process

As in...that's all I got. I am doing knitting. I got summoned to Jury Duty on Tuesday and thought I'd have a lovely hanging out all day to knit. I did 4 rows on the Jaywalkers (and messed 'em up, ah well), and then got called to a court room...and got empaneled on a jury! Again! This happened to me less than 4 years ago too. So, on breaks and lunch, I'm knitting. I started a different project: Wendy's Toe Up Sock. I'm using some sort of sock yarn, no ball band, I've had it for ages, I think it's Plymouth Socotta in colorway 6674 (it's the stuff in the bag, you can't tell form this picture, but it's really pretty). I started it on my Crystal Palace 35" size 1 circs, and quickly recalled how much I hate using these for Magic Loop, so I switched to Clover DPKs, size 1s (I think mine are 7", they're the longer ones). My gauge was waaaaay off (swatch? what swatch? lalalala I can't hear you!). So I switched over to my Clover size 2s, which are the shorter 5" ones. I still didn't swatch, but this looks way more reasonable. I did want to switch back to my size 1 Addi Turbos, but turns out that Clover's size 1 is 2.75 mm and Addi's is 3.0 mm. Ah well. I haven't done socks on DPKs yet and I'm not loathing it anywhere near as much as I thought I would. I sorta like it, actually! I thought this might turn from jury duty sock to my ER sock as I managed to do something nasty to my foot and thought I might need an x-ray. I don't think I'm really THAT clutzy, it's more that I'm too distracted to be allowed out in the world.

Doing toe-up socks with this yarn is not recommended for someone who's going to freak out at the fact that the top half of your toe is going to be different from the bottom half, and the whole thing is going to be different from the rest of the sock. I thought I would so be that person, turns out I'm not. I think it's cute. I don't love the double-wrapped short-row toe. I wonder what would happen if you didn't do the wrapping? Anyone know? Is there a different kind of toe one could do on a toe-up sock? I'll have to exercise my google-fu and see what I can find.

Am I reading this one right? Ahh, Knitty never lets me down! I am going to have to learn that Figure 8 toe! I've done it (badly) a few times. This one sounds interesting too! I found some crochet patterns too, which I'll have to try at some point, you know, when I have all that free time.

In other things...I've got Jaywalkers going, but they seem to need more from me than I have to give right now. I've got two gifts on needles, once they are given, I'll talk more about them. *scrunches up face, thinking* Uh, I think that's it. Okay, off to knit some more of my easy sock!

Say what?

Okay, I can totally understand that different dye lots may be different, maybe even radically different. But...I expect a dye job to be consistent WITHIN the skein, right? Am I crazy here? I am starting a Project for a friend (can't talk too much about it, not sure if she reads this blog or not!), and there is a point where the color of the yarn shifts. It's subtle, but there. It gets lighter.

It's not a particularly high end yarn, it's Lion Suede, one of the variegated colorways. It's gorgeous, and I love the colors (I actually really like the yarn), but this is...annoying. I don't think it's quite annoying enough to actually stop the project, and as I move along, I think it's shifting back, but come on, people! I know this is going to bug me, but I have no idea what to do about it..."use a much nicer yarn" isn't really in the budget right now, and this yarn is exactly what I have in mind for this project. Hmmph.

In other news, I finally made it to Mind's Eye Yarns (a) when it was open and (b) without kids so I could go in! I don't quite understand why I've never gone (may have something to do with (b) part of my visit today). The woman who owns it is SO nice!! A skein of her sock yarn somehow managed to make its way home with me. *innocent look* It's in my favorite green and purple combo, it HAD to be done! I can't remember if I wrote this or not already, but I think I need to have more than one pair of socks going at a time: one pattern, one plain. By the time my knitting time rolls around in the evening, I'm often not good for much beyond stockinette.

It's a mystery.

Why is it that every attempt I make to crochet a hat turns out like a big yarmulke? I'm clearly doing something wrong, but I'm such a novice, I can't even figure out what that might be! Clearly I need to take another class.

Off to do some more Jaywalkers. I'm enjoying them, but man, knitting on such tiny needles is SLOW GOING!

Peapod Delivered!

The hat made it's way to the big boy today! It fits him exactly - it could stand to be a bit longer, actually, and it's almost too small. *sigh* Sizing is so hard! He may not even get to wear it, but if he ends up with a little brother or sister, that child will definitely be able to wear it! Now I want to knit him the acorn hat once I order some more of the Samoa. Did I mention how much I love this yarn?

I've got an idea for a project for a friend, I just have to go get the yarn for it. You ever just feel *called* to do something for someone? This project is calling me for this friend, so I think I need to move it up in the priority list. /me checks my budget...Okay, I do have my May allowance coming up in 2 days, I should be able to do it!