Increases are DONE!

I have a baby blanket that's been languishing for, oh, a long time now. It's a simple, diagonal, garter stitch thing, in Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille in Painted Iris (and oh, how I love it, it's soooo pretty!). Garter stitch is about all I am capable of right now, just remembering to do the YO at the beginning of the row is almost more than I can handle right now. But, in our new house (!!), the boys' bedroom/playroom is upstairs. We put the love seat in there too (this room is HUGE), so I can hang out in there and supervise, since most playing turns to tears right now. So, I'm getting some knitting done (instead of random internet surfing). I finished the increases on the blanket today! I've got plenty of time to finish this, but I'd really like it off needles soon, so I can move on to something else. I've got a couple of second socks to finish. Well, to start and THEN finish, but who's counting. Oh yeah, I am. Plus some other things that I can't even remember right now. Scarf. Hat for BIL for his ginormous head. Other stuff too, maybe.

Can you tell that I am feeling a bit strung out from this whole move thing? We had 1 weekend to get settled and then life kicked back in, so I'm sort of reeling a bit.

I am wearing my felted clogs every single day because it's damn cold in this new house, and because I am wearing hand knit socks often (my sock collection is pathetic, I tell you) and I read somewhere that socks wear out because you wear them without shoes or slippers and I want to prevent that because the clogs are cheaper and quicker to knit, so I figure wear out the clogs to protect the socks, right? I think the next pair I do, I'll do in a neutral grey entirely. The purple are awesome, and I do wear a ton of purple but not everything is, like my pj's, so they sort of clash. It does seem a tad odd to me that a woman who lives in jeans and casual clothes, and wears absolutely no makeup, actually cares about whether her slippers match her pajamas, but there you have it. I care.

Still here...sorta.

We survived the move. All my various craft things are now gathered in one place (the ENORMOUS closet in the office), which is not as horrifying as one might think. It all fits. I had ONE day so far where I've done some knitting, and I eve completed something! Okay, it was just a garter stitch washcloth, and I haven't managed to cut off the yarn so it's still on the needle with one stitch, but HEY. It's something. No, I can't take a picture. That would require knowing where the camera is (I might be able to lay hands on it), knowing where the cords to connect said camera to the computer are (again, I think I do, but really, who can be sure), and most importantly, it would be having MY computer set up which it isn't. My personal hardware slave (aka DH) claims that MY computer will be plugged directly into the something-or-other and will therefore not be a SLOW as this molasses wireless connection I currently have going on. Besides, the washcloth just isn't that interesting.

The euphoria of having accomplished this move is wearing off, and leaving in its wake a feeling that is quite familiar for someone who has moved 14 times in the last 16 years (including two moves to CA, one move to WI, and 3 moves to Boston). I can't quite articulate the feeling, but it's that sort of "oh yeah, reality" thing. We didn't move THAT far, so we'll still see our friends, sometimes, but really. It's hard enough to see people when you live 10 minutes from them. When you live 45 minutes (without traffic), it gets much harder. We need to establish a life here, friends here, a community here, and I *know* that we will. But it just takes time. This is a crappy time of year to meet people anyway, it's too cold to be hanging outside. My kids are incredibly needy right now, I'm realizing that I'm going to be seeing less of my husband, what with the whole commute thing, and we're buried in boxes of crap. Oh, and we still own the condo. So, yeah, I had a meltdown yesterday, but I think I'm back on track. The house is awesome, so much less stressful than the condo, I'm in RUTHLESS GET RID OF STUFF mode, which always feel good (except for yarn, of course, I mean, come on), so there's good stuff too.

And I'm going to end this entry because this stupid computer is so slow, it can't keep up with my typing and it's making me insane.

And I'm thinking about crocheting a blanket. What do you think?

Absolutely No Knitting Content

None.

Instead, I am deep in packing up the condo. We're surrounded by a sea of boxes, not to mention anxious cats and anxious kids. Good times!

I boxed up most of my yarn (and rediscovered some AWESOME stash! Socks, socks, I must knit socks!). My current projects bin is taped up and will be moved. I have two smaller bins (one for tools and one for some purpose that I can't remember but now also has yarn in it) to get loaded up. I've got my sewing things to pack up (well, many things to pack up).

So yeah, no knitting. I'm a bit too tired and stressed and sadly, I think the knitting content may be sort of slim here for a while.

But, the move will get done, the new house is AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL, and life is great, even if I'm feeling stressed!

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. :)

ARGH!!!!

So, I'm pretty behind on the knitting, what with having many other things to be doing. I got the booga bag done and felted it last night (and attempted to re-felt the purple slippers too, but I think they may be as felted as can be, they got a little smaller, so that should be okay, but next time I make the ladies M). I got the bag done and decided to let the icord felt a little more. Can you see where this is going? I spaced out, and tossed the things I'd put in with the felting items into the dryer...and the pillowcase with the icord in it. Which managed to shrink it so it (a) looks like crap and (b) is nowhere near long enough. F-ck. So, now I have to HOPE I have enough yarn left to knit another one, and then refelt it it sometime tonight, while also finishing the 2 pairs of Fetching left to do, plus doing primary kid care for the rest of the afternoon, plus somehow cleaning, doing laundry, and packing, so that we can go away for vacation for a week tomorrow, oh plus we're doing the walk-through for the house tomorrow on our way out of town. Did I mention we're closing in less than a week and moving in 3 weeks?

Can't blog, knitting.

Well, not just knitting. It turns out that if one wants to make a holiday festive, and one does not go visit one's Mommy who will do this for one, then one must do all festivity-creation oneself. We were totally low-key and it still was a LOT of work.

But, presents were wrapped, cookies and a pie were baked, the Christmas meatloaf was delicious, the fancy breakfast with homemade cinnamon rolls was also delicious, and fun was had by all.

On the knitting front - booga bag is knit and I've got about 18" of icord done. One pair of mini-fetchings are done, another is started. The third pair is just a gleam in my eye. The hat for BIL is done. It looks sort of funny off the head, but it fits my DH just fine (who has a huge head), so it should be okay. Turns out I knit it on size 9s, not 8s, and I took out 1 12-stitch cable repeat, but it looks just fine to me. DH has decided he wants one too, so if I have enough of the Swish Superwash left-over after I finished the braided cable scarf, I'll do a hat for him in that.

Once everything is done, I'll post a ton of pictures. I've been sadly delinquent on the photo-front, which makes for a none-too-interesting blog, I am sure.

And I pulled out the baby blanket that I'm almost half way through. Remember how I thought it was girly looking and wasn't sure whose daughter I was knitting it for? Turns out it was for mine*. :)


* At least, they give us an 85% chance of the Frog being a girl...which apparently is as good odds as they'll give.

I am so smart (not).

I have a lot of knitting to do in the next week and a half. A LOT. Well, a lot for me, because my available knitting time is really small. Perhaps if I had full-time childcare and no job (and, you know, some random, seriously lucrative source of income to pay for said childcare), I could get it all done easily and perhaps toss of some more socks for myself as well. But that, sadly, is not my life situation so my knitting time is mostly limited to the evenings, and it turns out that by the time evening rolls around, I Am Fried. Today was a particularly busy day, as it involved not only some Christmas shopping (I relented after I asked my husband to go purchase his gift from me and agreed to do it myself as well as get the present for his dad), but about 200 phone calls between my real estate person, my mortgage person, and my lawyer to work through a last-minute hitch in our house-buying experience. IT WAS SO FUN. Then I had to go to my husband's office to print out a revised P&S, get him to initial some stuff, initial some stuff myself and fax it to our mortgage lady (who does rock my world). So instead of having a fun afternoon hanging out with the boys at home, I was doing all that. It's sort of good that I don't actually have paid employment, because in my grown-up life, I'm a psychotherapist and not really available to wrangle a million phone calls.

So, yeah, what's left? About 10 more rounds of Fetching 2 of 6 (sounds so Star Trekian) plus the thumb, the rest of the Fetchings (4 total), 32 rounds on the Booga bag plus 6 feet of i-cord and felting, and a cable-knit hat for my BIL because apparently I am NOT CABLING ENOUGH.
I am doing my BIL's hat out of some sort of craft-store yarn (Patons worsted weight wool). I actually do like this yarn. It feels pretty soft, they had the color I wanted (a charcoal grey), it doesn't break the bank, it is actually 100% merino wool, and I was AT Michael's and didn't have to go make a special trip anywhere to get Fancy Nice yarn. He won't care at all. Do I sound defensive about using craft store yarn? :)

What else. The Frog has a nice heartbeat. It looks like our house deal is going to go through. Perhaps our condo will even sell. It's all good. It's all going to be okay. *deeeep breath* Tonight, I think I'm going to climb into bed and read and do Sudoku and go to sleep early.

Slogging Through

That's how it feels, anyway. We've got lots going on, big stuff, some very good but stressful, some simply stressful. Nothing truly BAD (no one is sick or dying, knock wood). But other big stuff. So, I'm doing some easy therapeutic knitting. Even though I hate casting on, I enjoy starting projects, so I've got mini-Fetching #1 going (1 of 6 needed), and I started SIL's Booga Bag. It's funny, the colors she chose so aren't ME (since I pretty much only seem to like green and purple), but it's actually fun to be knitting something so bright and cheery. Lots to get done, but it'll all be gifted POST-Christmas, so I've got some time. I'm going to knit BIL a hat too, since I can't really give hand knit stuff to everyone in the family but him.

I still haven't taken pictures of finished Fetching-Inspired-Inspired hat, but I am loving it. I didn't wear it today, as it's not as entirely wind-proof as I'd like (fleece is good for that) and it was a raw and chilly day today, but I do love wearing it.

I feel like I've been focusing a lot on knitting for MEMEME lately, and once I get through the Christmas season, I need to get back into knitting more for others (err, you know, not including the hat, the booga bag and the 3 pairs of Fetching I'm doing for family). I haven't been doing the NICU hats that I love, and I need to keep doing that. I've got plenty of yarn, just need to get focused. Anything that can get me out of my own head and into the perspective of what's really important is good right now.

Fetching-Inspired-Inspired Hat Done!

I'm not sure where the camera is, so no pictures at the moment. Maybe tonight.

The hat is done and it IS long enough! Woo hoo! This makes me happy. I ended up modifying the pattern a bit. Where she has you doing 8 rounds of st, I did 14 (I think). I then did one round of decreases, 5 rounds of st, then alternated a decrease round and a round of st until the end. For the last couple of rounds, I did decreases (so 16 to 8, and then 8 to 4), and then did not do the last knit round (I didn't like the little bump it made).

I think it's going to be toasty warm. I wore it around the house a bit, but I was self-cleaning my oven, so it was really hot in the kitchen. My head was quite warm though. I am going to wear it out in a bit when we go to pick up DS1 from school, so I'll report back. But, at least it fits, and I think it's cute!

Buh-bye hat!

So sad. I ripped out the hat. I actually tried it out last night (24 degrees, felt like 10 or so with the wind) and it was entirely inadequate. It just didn't cover my ears, and it turns out that when it's very cold out, you don't just want the top of your long and pointy head to be covered, you do actually want your ears covered too.

So, I pulled it out, and managed to pick up all stitches (only really dropping two, which were easily picked up), AND figure out where the start of my row was. I am pleased! I also actually measured the (ballpark) length that I need to add, and did a rough estimate gauge, and figured out how many rows. Turns out it was double what I was assuming. I guess I have tall ears as well. :) So, I'll reknit it and see if my math leads to a hat that fits me in reality. It would be nice to have such a thing, and it's a good thing to learn that I need to add a couple of inches to hat patterns to make them cover my ginormous pointy head (why no, I haven't developed a self-esteem issue around this AT ALL). (Really.)

I must say that I do adore the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran...it's so yummy!!!

Bugger!!

This post could also be entitled "Apparently I have a very long and small head."

So I finished the Fetching-Inspired Hat. Overall the pattern is nice, not difficult (I mean, I've knit Fetching 3 times already so I know the cabling, and I've knit a ton of hats so I know how to decrease). But, for one, I had to drop the number of stitches I cast on from 135 to 120. I arrived at that number by the very scientific method of measuring my Fetchings and calculating gauge of the 4x1 rib (6 stitches per inch), picking a circumference that I was shooting for (about 20"), and multiplying the two and hoping it was divisible by five (it was). Other than that, I followed her pattern. I am pleased to note that the hat does fit my head circumference perfectly.

BUT. BUT. BUT. This is the THIRD hat I've knit myself that is TOO short. Not by a lot, probably even another half inch would have done it, but DAMN IT. I'm not going to do anything about it right now because I am too tired and annoyed. I know this will drive me crazy, and also, I live in NE and even with global warming, I am still going to want a hat that entirely covers my ears, you know? Apparently I need to adjust all adult women's hat patterns to add a half inch of length or so. Long skinny head, that's me (why couldn't this have been an issue with my WAIST, I ask you?).

I think I am going to rip it back to the beginning of the decreases (i.e., half the damn hat) and add about 5-6. I've got plenty of yarn, so that's not a worry (I used far less than she recommended).

Argh. And I still have no warm hat to wear tomorrow.

Knitting Math

(also known as OMG 2 POSTS IN ONE DAY???)

But anyway.

Because I have all of this gift knitting to do, of course I decided to start a hat for me. I found this pattern but I have concerns. So my first attempt, I foolishly thought "hey, a long tail cast-on would be great!" Forgetting how twisty it is. So half-way through the 135 stitches, I bagged and started over with just a plain ole cast-on. So. 135 stitches on size 6 needles. Color me suspicious, but doesn't that sound like a heck of a lot? I cast 'em on, knit one row, and slid the stitches back onto the cable of the needle, and even with only one row, I can tell it's going to be GINORMOUS on me.

So, I'm going to rework the pattern for my head. But I have questions. How much negative ease would you put in for a hat? 10%? I measured my head at 22 inches, and I measured the gague on my Fetchings (in the rib pattern) at about 6 stitches per inch. So, assuming I want approximately a 20 inch circumference, at 6 stitches per inch, does 120 cast-on sound right? That also seems ginormous to me. Well, maybe not, actually that seems comparable to Halfdome. I'll have to try that. Argh, that means casting on 120 freakin' stitches! I hate casting on. Well, not hate it, but it's not my favorite part of the knitting process.

I am not doing this tonight (or tomorrow probably) so if someone reading this thinks my numbers are out of whack, let me know!

Long time, no blog.

Whoops! How did almost 2 weeks go by? Well, we've been gone for a week, off to see my folks for Thanksgiving, then to DH's folks' house for one night so we could (a) see the cousins and (b) go to DH's 20th high school reunion. Which was actually not bad. I'm pretty social, so an evening spent chatting with people I don't know isn't anathema to me, and the best part is the dishing we do on the way home.

Pardon me if this post seems choppy. I have what we call in my field "clinically significant attentional issues" and, out my office window, I can see over to the next street and there is an ambulance parked with flashing lights and it's very distracting. Let's hope everyone's okay over there.

But, this leads to one of two announcements (you know, for all three of my readers, most of whom already know this but whatever, I have no real knitting content and this is why). The first is that it looks like Knitting With A Purpose is moving to the 'burbs!! I'd call it the country, but the town does have a commuter rail station, so how country is it, really? We are moving towards P&S on our very first HOUSE. We currently own a condo, so buying isn't new (but still Big and Scary), but a HOUSE is different. It's new construction in a great neighborhood in a nice town with good schools. The logistics for the spring are going to be a tad complicated, but all in all, it's a fantastic thing. And, since it's not done, we get some say in countertops and faucets and whatnot. Since I am not detail oriented, that's DH's department. I'm really not...I honestly didn't notice the 10 foot tall bright teal septic pipe sticking out of the middle of the lawn. Even after our Realtor commented on it. :) So DH will do the picking out of things. I get to do things like figure out the school situation for next year and make sure we can actually afford this.

The second announcement is really the impetus for the move. The move and house stuff is something we've been wanting to do for quite some time now (and we have been looking for a while) but the clock is now ticking because the odds look pretty good that Baby #3 is going to arrive sometime in May or June! Yes, we are crazy, thanks for commenting. ;-) I feel many things, but mainly right now, I feel grateful for what seems to be a healthy fetus, and just so thankful, and so so blessed. Not to mention freaked out and stressed about it all but hey. Stress is what gets me out of bed in the morning! I really really wanted to do a clever announcement like knitting some baby booties and saying "Hey look what I made!" but dude, I am tired.

So, you might ask, in the midst of all this, what's up with the knitting? Here's the state of the KWAP.

1. Monkey #2: Heel is turned, 3 lace repeats left to do on the foot and the toe and it's done. I do have to learn how to properly pick up stitches for the gusset because I'm not thrilled with how I did it. But whatever, it's still functional and so pretty!

2. Cable scarf: Not much progress made. I didn't take it with me.

3. I knit my SIL a pair of red Fetchings which it turns out, not only does SHE love, but her three kids love too, so she asked if I'd knit them each a pair for Christmas. Of course! So I've now got bright pink for Niece (the same shade I knit for my friend, I think), black for Nephew 1 and the same red as his mom for Nephew 2. I am planning to knit the big kids' gloves on smaller needles, and I might take out one cable repeat for the littlest guy. I also just happened to be carrying my Booga Bag, and SIL fell in love with it, so she picked out some Noro Kureyon and she'll be getting one of her own. The color she picked is actually the one that the sample on the pattern is done in, so that's close to what it should look like. When I'm going to get these done, who knows?

4. What else. Nothing, no progress on anything. I need to knit myself a hat. I have some more Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in the same purple that I did my Fetchings in, so I should swatch that up (*gasp* I know, but I'm tired of making hats that don't fit me) and do something with it.

5. I passed along the Flat Top Hat to my mom, so hopefully she'll wear it and enjoy more than I would. I have enough of the ArtYarns Supermerino left from the Purple Poncho of Doom that I can do another one, should I be so inclined. I'm not sure. That yarn might be better served somewhere else, I don't know.

6. My friend received and LOVED the uterus. *phew* It wasn't, perhaps, in the BEST of taste, but it was meant to cheer her up, which it appears to have done, which makes me so happy.

So, all in all, many things to be thankful for.

Well go figure.

So younger DS asked to try on the hat this morning. It looked ADORABLE on him. It was cute and not shapeless at all. So, I need to knit another one, maybe one size up needles, and make it longer so it sticks up enough that you can see the top.

Ponder ponder. I think I have something like 3 skeins of the yarn from the purple poncho of DOOM left. So, I guess I'll make another one. Maybe my mom would like this one? I need to give it to someone with a smaller head than mine. :)

Oh yeah, that was my other thoughts about the Art Yarns modular patterns. My frustration with the poncho - I knit the first diamond the size they suggested, and the poncho is just way too big. I have to check if the Supermerino is superwash, maybe if I was it, it'll shrink up a bit (it also stretches when you wear it).

Two, COUNT 'EM, TWO FOs!

So, I managed to get some knitting done this weekend! The first object was a quick little project that I'll be sending off tomorrow or the next day. One of my very dear internets had a hysterectomy today (she's younger than I am), and I figured she needed a little cheer-me-up surprise. So I knit her a uterus, and I plan to fill it with these, or these, perhaps.

I am pretty sure she'll think it's funny (and not too tasteless). I did modify the pattern quite a bit, mainly in that I added a picot cast-on (because wouldn't you like a cervix with a frilly edge?) and made the whole thing quite a bit smaller. I added a braided tie cord. The yarn is some Red Hat acrylic I had hanging around, and I love the colors. I used KnitPicks Options in a size 8 (I think). Gauge is not particularly important in this project. I'm going to add some Sudoku (and new pencils!), and perhaps a Nora Roberts or two. I think it's a nice surgery recovery kit.

On to the second finished object, which pleases me much less. Oh, I'm quite happy to have this done and off the needles. It would have been a quick-ish knit if I'd, you know, kept working on it, but it got dropped for a while. I decided to finish it today because, well, it's cold and I need a hat that actually covers my ears.

Pattern: Artyarns P51: Flat Top Hat by Iris Schreirer
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino in Colorway 108
Needles: Knitpicks Options in Size 7

First, here at the pictures:


Now, some thoughts. Overall, the knitting is fine. However, there are some things that I'm just not thrilled with. I *love* the feel of the Artyarns Supermerino, it is SO soft and makes a really nice fabric. I just, as I've mentioned before, don't love the way they do their dying on the variegated yarns. I'm not dissing the yarn, it's so pretty, but it's just a matter of personal taste. They do more...monochromatic with little (3 stitch) bits of other color interspersed. I think you can see it in the picture. I guess I like how Koigu designs their yarn better. Simply a matter of personal preference.

Overall the pattern was well written, easy to follow. These modular knits are really clever. I got cocky on the last triangle and instead of crossing off every line or two as I did them, I just plowed ahead, and late in the game realized that I had gotten turned around on where I was doing my skp's. Whoops! I just finished it and it's fine, but I learned that lesson. :) I didn't like how at the end, after you've done the 3-needle bind-off to join your top triangles, you really had a big gap at the center that you have to sew together. I've read that other people have that issue, so perhaps it's not just me. Another small peeve is that I got gauge exactly, and the hat is quite snug on me (and I have a pretty small head). It's going to be warm, but leave a wicked hat head! Also, I feel like when the hat is on, you really don't see the cute construction, and it just looks...shapeless. I will wear it, but it's sort of a bummer. At least I didn't feel like I'd put hours and hours of work into it, you know?

But, yay for getting something done that's been lingering! (And yay for a warm hat!) This leaves currently on needles: Monkey 2, Braided Cable Scarf, and the diagonal baby blanket. Then I need to finish the green stripy socks and Falling Leaves socks...and then, who knows what?

I think I'm going to end up eating my words that I had no interest in ever doing a lace shawl. The whole idea of something that really requires blocking scares me....but I am thinking of doing this in this (maybe in Grape Hyacinth). And perhaps ordering these and this for my husband to give to me for my birthday/Christmas present. Hmmm.

Okay, off to update my Ravelry projects since I finished something!

And now for something a little different!

I had a moment yesterday to do some knitting. I didn't want to keep working on Monkey because I need to turn the heel and I need a solid hour or so to concentrate and get the whole thing done. I wasn't in the mood to work on my Garter Stitch Blanket, and I need to wind the other skein for the Flat-Top Hat, so I pulled out the Cable Scarf. You know, I really love to cable! It's surprisingly easy and makes such a nice result! This yarn is super soft and nice too: Swish Superwash in Deep Ocean. I thought I was making this scarf for an old friend that I saw at another old friend's wedding this summer, but I changed my mind, and it's going to be for my sweet husband (shh, I don't think he reads this). The old friend threw out the "what are you going to make for me" thing as a joke, but he really won't appreciate the time and effort that's going into this, while my DH surely will. Also, DH bikes to and from work all through the winter, and could use a warm, snuggly scarf. AND the color is perfect for him. I way overbought the yarn, so I can make him a hat too. It's funny, knowing I'm making it for him just makes me enjoy the process even more! I am even, I think, going to block the thing!

Today I am going to try and felt the purple slippers a little more, to get them to fit perfectly. It's chilly enough in here that I do need them now (since we still haven't turned the heat on) and my tootsies are cold. They'll need some time to dry and I'm going to puffy-paint the soles so I don't fall on my bum, since they're rather slippery.

Where is the time going??

How can it be November already?? And over a week since I last posted?

Well, part of that is that I've not been doing much. It's weird. I'm focused on Monkey #2 right now. I adore the yarn (KPPPM)1, I adore the needles (Addi Turbos2, even though they're not really pointy enough for lace, I still love 'em), I adore the pattern. I love how the colors of the yarn work with the lace, I think they're gorgeous! So, what's the issue? I'm just pretty darn tired at the moment, so I don't really have the energy or focus to do more than 1-2 lace repeats at a time. I did two tonight...that's 22 rows, people. 1408 stitches. It's not a lot really. But I'm tired. I am at a natural stopping point, I did finish the lace repeats for the leg tonight. Turn the heel sometime this weekend and plug on down the foot! I might even get it done before Thanksgiving! How nice would that be?

So, Blue Moon Fiber Arts has opened up their Rockin' Sock Club registration for 2008. I've been saving my pennies, I could actually afford to do it out of my ME money. I even printed the registration form...but I think I've decided not to do it next year. I just don't think 2007 is going to be the year for me to have lots of time to knit. I have a bunch of BIG things in fight right now (more on that later), and I think it's going to be a busy year. Plus, I do have about 10 pairs worth of sock yarn to knit already, not to mention some other things. I think I will comfort my disappointment by ordering a couple of skeins to have in my stash...I think I'm going to go with mediumweight, as someone mentioned to me that that's closer in weight to KPPPM. AND, many of the patterns in New Pathways for Sock Knitters use it. So, you know, it's not a luxery, it's a NEED. RIGHT?? Right. So now the burning issue is, which colorways???

1 Anyone know the different between KPPPM and KPPM?
2 I have to admit that I've been thoroughly converted to KnitPicks Fixed Circs in 32" length for Magic Looping socks.

What I accomplished yesterday.

1. 3 (or was it 4) loads of laundry (INCLUDING folding and putting it away!)
2. Many, many dishes.
3. Ran and emptied the dishwasher.
4. Picked up the two rooms we live in, plus the boys' room.
5. Cooked a big fancy dinner for ILs who ended up not coming, so DH and I ate it (crock pot ribs-a new recipe that I ended up really not liking and didn't eat, rice, salad, corn bread which was really good).
6. Spent 1.5 hours at the doctor's office confirming that DS1 did NOT have appendicitis. Worried over DS1 anyway when his temp hit 102 (in the armpit!).
7. Swept the kitchen approximately 4 billion times.
8. A nice nap.

You'll notice that knitting is not on the list. That's not entirely true. I did 128 stitches (aka 2 rows) on the Monkey #2 cuff. I was just in domestic mode.

The list for today is a tad different...

1. Survived a day with a much better feeling kid who is still quarantined from the temp but had ENERGY.
2. Built an AWESOME train track.
3. Finished the cuff and did three lace repeats on Monkey #2.

My house is a disaster and we had mac and cheese for dinner, but I'm feeling not quite so worn out today. :)

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.

I want to have something to post about!

I truly do. I am just not in a knitting space right now. I was knitting during nap/quiet time, and before bed, and I am now spending those times, well, sleeping. I did do about 10 rows on my afterthought heel sock, so I've got 25 left to do, plus the heel. If I just were to buckle down, I could finish it. And then I'd have a pair of socks to wear! And show you! But alas, we had a much later night out than we usually do (my goodness, we were out past 8:30 pm!!!), and I'm just wiped. So, alas, poor knitting, tonight is not the night. Tomorrow ain't looking good either.