For quite a while, I've felt like an old fogey when it comes to things like Twitter. I didn't tweet, twit, or... (I think I'll stop there.) I had the general concept of Twitter, but this old fart had no need for it. However, one thing has brought me screaming into the 21st century - Jimmy Bean's Wool Watcher. For those of you who don't know, it's discount yarn that changes every 2 hours or sooner if something sells out. I've become addicted to watching it. Note that I didn't say purchasing from it. (Not that I haven't purchased from it, but the buying part hasn't quite become an addiction yet - only the watching.) But it's hard to know when something new will come up without sitting at the computer... unless you sign up for their Wool Watch tweets. Hence... TWITTER.
So if you want to tweet me, I'm @knittymelissa. Or if you are tweeting about me or my patterns, go ahead and use #knittymelissa. I'm not quite sure what those mean, but my husband tells me that's the correct way to write those, so there you go.
While you're at it, please subscribe to my new youtube channel. I just put up a KnittyMelissa-specific channel and copied my colorwork knitting inside out video there, so check it out, subscribe, watch the video, and stay tuned for more videos in the future!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3BPlWAqG1c3a_1EkwUMww
Happy knitting!
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
An Unexpected Compliment
Let me preface today's blog by saying that it's not about knitting or spinning or anything fiber-related. I had a dental cleaning scheduled for this morning to which I arrived 10 minutes early while they were running 10 minutes late, but other than kicking myself that I didn't take any knitting, there's no yarn in this post.
A little history... I've been going to the same dentist for almost 22 years, although I should probably say that I've been going to the same hygienist (Kathy) because honestly, it's she who has kept me driving 40 minutes each way every 6 months and not my actual dentist. (When I first moved to MA, I used to live 3 minutes from the office and stayed with the office even after we bought a place farther away. Plus it's only a mile or two from my husband's work, so I schedule a mid-morning appointment after which I make a quick stop at the nearby mall and then meet him for lunch. But I digress...) I've had her as my hygienist from my early 20's single days as a "career woman" to being a newlywed, a new mom, a SAHM, and now the mom of a teen & tween. She always remembers what was happening in my life, has been an Usborne customer of mine, and gets a Christmas card from me every year. As long as she's there, I'll never change dentists.
As Kathy prepared to begin my bi-annual scraping and polishing, she paused and kind of furrowed her brow. It looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure that she should. Finally she said "There's something I want to tell you." (Quite frankly, my initial thought was "Uh-oh...." Why do I - and so many of us - expect the worst if someone says they want to talk or tell us something???) But then she said, "You are a really good mom." I'm not sure exactly how I responded, but I believe it along the lines of a surprised "Oh!" As a note, I had just been to the office a month ago with both kids for their cleaning & check-ups where all three of us go into the room together. I sit and wait and chat with one kid while the other is in the chair and then they switch. It's how we've been doing it for 10 years now.
She continued. "I see a lot of parents - mostly moms - here with their kids, and I have to tell you that I notice how good of a mom you are. The way you talk to them and the way they talk to you. It's so nice and yet they totally respect you and know that you aren't going to let them get away with talking to you in a certain way or doing certain things. They're good kids and polite and know where the boundaries are. With my boys, I was a good mom, but I could have been better." (Her boys are 20 & 23 now.) "I could have been more strict and set better boundaries and followed through with them. I can tell that you do that and that's a great thing. And I know that as moms, we often second-guess ourselves and wonder if we're doing things right and raising our kids well, so I thought it was important for me to tell you that you are."
And then I cried. In the dental chair - and no drills or needles were even involved. And if I wasn't reclined back with a paper bib around my neck and she hadn't been wearing her face shield, I would have hugged her.
Because it's true. As mothers, we can only hope that we are raising our children to be good people and to respect us and others, but it's sometimes hard to know if we're doing a good job. I can't even express how much it meant to me that she noticed - and told me.
Kathy and I went on to talk about how parents need to be their childrens' parents - not their friends, and how it's not bad to be strict or "mean." Our kids need to know that we are the boss - they are not our peers or equals. We need to expect them to do certain things and act certain ways and establish consequences if those expectations aren't met. They may not like it now, and it's certainly not easy, but it's so worth it in the long run to raise children who aren't going to be disrespectful, obnoxious, and worst of all - entitled.
So thank you, Kathy, for making me cry today.
A little history... I've been going to the same dentist for almost 22 years, although I should probably say that I've been going to the same hygienist (Kathy) because honestly, it's she who has kept me driving 40 minutes each way every 6 months and not my actual dentist. (When I first moved to MA, I used to live 3 minutes from the office and stayed with the office even after we bought a place farther away. Plus it's only a mile or two from my husband's work, so I schedule a mid-morning appointment after which I make a quick stop at the nearby mall and then meet him for lunch. But I digress...) I've had her as my hygienist from my early 20's single days as a "career woman" to being a newlywed, a new mom, a SAHM, and now the mom of a teen & tween. She always remembers what was happening in my life, has been an Usborne customer of mine, and gets a Christmas card from me every year. As long as she's there, I'll never change dentists.
As Kathy prepared to begin my bi-annual scraping and polishing, she paused and kind of furrowed her brow. It looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure that she should. Finally she said "There's something I want to tell you." (Quite frankly, my initial thought was "Uh-oh...." Why do I - and so many of us - expect the worst if someone says they want to talk or tell us something???) But then she said, "You are a really good mom." I'm not sure exactly how I responded, but I believe it along the lines of a surprised "Oh!" As a note, I had just been to the office a month ago with both kids for their cleaning & check-ups where all three of us go into the room together. I sit and wait and chat with one kid while the other is in the chair and then they switch. It's how we've been doing it for 10 years now.
She continued. "I see a lot of parents - mostly moms - here with their kids, and I have to tell you that I notice how good of a mom you are. The way you talk to them and the way they talk to you. It's so nice and yet they totally respect you and know that you aren't going to let them get away with talking to you in a certain way or doing certain things. They're good kids and polite and know where the boundaries are. With my boys, I was a good mom, but I could have been better." (Her boys are 20 & 23 now.) "I could have been more strict and set better boundaries and followed through with them. I can tell that you do that and that's a great thing. And I know that as moms, we often second-guess ourselves and wonder if we're doing things right and raising our kids well, so I thought it was important for me to tell you that you are."
And then I cried. In the dental chair - and no drills or needles were even involved. And if I wasn't reclined back with a paper bib around my neck and she hadn't been wearing her face shield, I would have hugged her.
Because it's true. As mothers, we can only hope that we are raising our children to be good people and to respect us and others, but it's sometimes hard to know if we're doing a good job. I can't even express how much it meant to me that she noticed - and told me.
Kathy and I went on to talk about how parents need to be their childrens' parents - not their friends, and how it's not bad to be strict or "mean." Our kids need to know that we are the boss - they are not our peers or equals. We need to expect them to do certain things and act certain ways and establish consequences if those expectations aren't met. They may not like it now, and it's certainly not easy, but it's so worth it in the long run to raise children who aren't going to be disrespectful, obnoxious, and worst of all - entitled.
So thank you, Kathy, for making me cry today.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
She's Alive!
Hi. So yeah, I'm alive. Just not blogging, apparently. I don't know what inspired me to sit down and write something today, but it did, so let's just accept that and move forward.
What have I been up to? Doing a bit of designing, of course! I even added a couple of hats to my pattern store which are companions to sock patterns of the same name. I've also branched out a bit in my personal knitting to knit THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SOCKS. Heaven have mercy! Melissa's knitting something that isn't a sock! Check it out - I even knit... a Rhinebeck sweater. I was so proud of myself and love it so much that I bought yarn at Rhinbeck (Oct 2015) for another sweater which I promptly cast on Nov 1st for NaKniSweMo. Said sweater is sitting in my WIP pile. It needs the bottom ribbing, two sleeves and neck finishing. I'm thinking I'll finish it in a mad rush before this year's Rhinebeck just to start a tradition.
I also bought a spinning wheel. A gorgeous, time-sink of a spinning wheel.
Isn't it pretty? It goes perfectly in my new den (now known as "the spinning room") and was worth every minute of the hour and a half drive each way to pick her up. I bought some undyed fiber to play with after I spun the braid given to me by the former owner. My first spinning attempt waspretty laughable for some art yarn. It was too dramatically thick and thin to ply (which I totally did on purpose), so it ended up as an artsy single that I knit into a remarkably cute hat... and which my daughter promptly claimed as her own. Because I love her.
I was also RAKed a big box of fiber from an amazingly generous Ravelry member. If you aren't aware of what "RAK" means, it stands for Random Act of Kindness, and Ravelry has a group by that name where people post wishlists and can randomly gift things to others who post lists. Some of that fiber became some soft fingerless mitts - for me!
I also spun some EVIL FIBER that I purchased from a destash. The former owner did tell me that she never spun it because she didn't like the way it felt, but it was a good deal - $10 for 8 oz - so I decided what the heck. The fiber was 50/50 merino/soysilk. Not silk, but soysilk. The evil step-cousin of real silk. I posted about it in a spinning group and anyone else who had ever tried it basically laughed at my naivety. "Oh honey, don't you know that stuff is evil???" Yeah, thanks. I figured that part out. Fortunately, my stubborn gene kicked in, and I kicked that fiber's soysilk ass. I spun just enough to make a very pretty scarf which has yet to be blocked. I have a mental block about blocking it. I think subconsciously I believe that there's no way that I could have beaten this fiber and it still has some evilness up it's sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if I submerged it and it drifted apart into a million tiny pieces. Or it somehow wraps itself around my neck and my kids will find me strangled and blue and wearing my evil handspun scarf.
Silver lining - everything I've spun since that has been a cakewalk!
All I need now is more time in the day. Knitting, spinning, and designing - why oh why can't the laundry do itself?
(Oh hey! Apparently people name their spinning wheels - who'd a thunk it?? I have a couple of ideas but nothing has really jumped out at me as "the perfect name." Any ideas? Post in the comments!)
What have I been up to? Doing a bit of designing, of course! I even added a couple of hats to my pattern store which are companions to sock patterns of the same name. I've also branched out a bit in my personal knitting to knit THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SOCKS. Heaven have mercy! Melissa's knitting something that isn't a sock! Check it out - I even knit... a Rhinebeck sweater. I was so proud of myself and love it so much that I bought yarn at Rhinbeck (Oct 2015) for another sweater which I promptly cast on Nov 1st for NaKniSweMo. Said sweater is sitting in my WIP pile. It needs the bottom ribbing, two sleeves and neck finishing. I'm thinking I'll finish it in a mad rush before this year's Rhinebeck just to start a tradition.
I also bought a spinning wheel. A gorgeous, time-sink of a spinning wheel.
Isn't it pretty? It goes perfectly in my new den (now known as "the spinning room") and was worth every minute of the hour and a half drive each way to pick her up. I bought some undyed fiber to play with after I spun the braid given to me by the former owner. My first spinning attempt was
I was also RAKed a big box of fiber from an amazingly generous Ravelry member. If you aren't aware of what "RAK" means, it stands for Random Act of Kindness, and Ravelry has a group by that name where people post wishlists and can randomly gift things to others who post lists. Some of that fiber became some soft fingerless mitts - for me!
I also spun some EVIL FIBER that I purchased from a destash. The former owner did tell me that she never spun it because she didn't like the way it felt, but it was a good deal - $10 for 8 oz - so I decided what the heck. The fiber was 50/50 merino/soysilk. Not silk, but soysilk. The evil step-cousin of real silk. I posted about it in a spinning group and anyone else who had ever tried it basically laughed at my naivety. "Oh honey, don't you know that stuff is evil???" Yeah, thanks. I figured that part out. Fortunately, my stubborn gene kicked in, and I kicked that fiber's soysilk ass. I spun just enough to make a very pretty scarf which has yet to be blocked. I have a mental block about blocking it. I think subconsciously I believe that there's no way that I could have beaten this fiber and it still has some evilness up it's sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if I submerged it and it drifted apart into a million tiny pieces. Or it somehow wraps itself around my neck and my kids will find me strangled and blue and wearing my evil handspun scarf.
Silver lining - everything I've spun since that has been a cakewalk!
All I need now is more time in the day. Knitting, spinning, and designing - why oh why can't the laundry do itself?
(Oh hey! Apparently people name their spinning wheels - who'd a thunk it?? I have a couple of ideas but nothing has really jumped out at me as "the perfect name." Any ideas? Post in the comments!)
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
HSS - The Newest Knitting Affliction
I think I've mentally embraced startitis a bit much. I may even be losing the will to actually finish projects, as long as I get to cast on something new. Don't get my wrong, I want to finish things. I just don't want to actually work on them after I get about halfway through. It's no secret that I knit mostly socks and that I typically knit them two at a time to avoid the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome (SSS). But now once I do the heel flaps and pick up the gussets, my fingers start itchin' for something new. As of this moment, I have three pairs of socks that have been knit to somewhere in the vicinity of the heel. (Plus one pair that's only a single sock done as a test knit, but I swear that I'm going to conquer SSS for those next month. But that's another story...) Two pairs are gathering dust but I actually turned the heel on the third pair.
Three pairs stuck about halfway through and what did I do for two hours last night? Browse Ravelry's 127 pages of free sock patterns and add numerous ones to my library and favorites. I definitely have a problem.
I have Half Sock Syndrome.
Three pairs stuck about halfway through and what did I do for two hours last night? Browse Ravelry's 127 pages of free sock patterns and add numerous ones to my library and favorites. I definitely have a problem.
I have Half Sock Syndrome.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Embracing Startitus?
I was reading an email edition of "Knitting Daily" a few moments ago with a title of "Don't be a knitting monogamist!" This piqued my interest, especially since I've been dallying in some knitting polygamy recently.
For my first two years of sock knitting, I'd at most have two pairs of socks going at one time. But most of the time it was one pair. Cast on, knit the pair, bind off, weave in the ends, start a new pair. (This is how I know that it typically takes me about two weeks to knit a pair of socks.) Once in a while, I'd cast on a new pair before the first pair was finished. When I did, I always had trouble making eye contact with the temporarily abandoned pair. I almost felt guilty cheating on my half-done socks with a shiny new cast-on.
However, with the start of 2013, I found myself with FIVE pairs of socks OTN (on the needles)! Three of them were started in December along with an additional two for new January knit-a-longs. I found myself getting a bit twitchy. I was alternating between them. Bored with one? Grab a different pair! Tired of lace? Switch to cables! I had become a player. A bonified, sock-knitting play-ah. And there was the guilt.
Five project bags lined up next to each other. "Knit me!" one seemed to say. "No, knit me!" another would soundlessly cry. I was stretched thin... too many at once! How can I ever finish any of them with so many taking my attention??? (Now I know how the husband on "Sister Wives" must feel...)
Then a miraculous thing happened...
I started finishing them. Bam! One pair done! BAM! Another! BABAM! A third! After languishing in various states of almost-completion, I had a rush of finishing that was almost as good as a giant slice of New York style cheesecake smothered in strawberries. (Almost.) So when I saw the article in Knitting Daily, it was as if it was written just for me.
Here's an exerpt:
Huh. How about that? Just when I'm struggling with another three pairs of cast on socks (Haymitch test knit, Jacob (as in the Twilight Jacob), and Elm (by Cookie A)), a not-quite-half-finished Nightlock shawl, and Sock Madness coming up. (If you don't know what Sock Madness is, it's basically a speed sock knitting competition for crazy people. Check out their group on Ravelry.) But even with all of those things, I still find myself wanting to cast on more. Yarn is wound for Gollum socks. More yarn is wound for some fabulous gloves (pattern by Julia Mueller). Do I dare start them? Will I be empowered and feel those creative juices flowing? Or will I just stress myself out? I'm walking the fence here - it could go either way. This weekend may be the determining factor. With two feet of snow supposedly on the way, I should hopefully be stuck in the house and get a lot of knitting done. Will I be bored with my current projects and give in to my slutty desire to start a new knitted love or two? Or will I remain committed to the socks with which I've already built a relationship? Only time will tell...
For my first two years of sock knitting, I'd at most have two pairs of socks going at one time. But most of the time it was one pair. Cast on, knit the pair, bind off, weave in the ends, start a new pair. (This is how I know that it typically takes me about two weeks to knit a pair of socks.) Once in a while, I'd cast on a new pair before the first pair was finished. When I did, I always had trouble making eye contact with the temporarily abandoned pair. I almost felt guilty cheating on my half-done socks with a shiny new cast-on.
However, with the start of 2013, I found myself with FIVE pairs of socks OTN (on the needles)! Three of them were started in December along with an additional two for new January knit-a-longs. I found myself getting a bit twitchy. I was alternating between them. Bored with one? Grab a different pair! Tired of lace? Switch to cables! I had become a player. A bonified, sock-knitting play-ah. And there was the guilt.
Five project bags lined up next to each other. "Knit me!" one seemed to say. "No, knit me!" another would soundlessly cry. I was stretched thin... too many at once! How can I ever finish any of them with so many taking my attention??? (Now I know how the husband on "Sister Wives" must feel...)
Then a miraculous thing happened...
I started finishing them. Bam! One pair done! BAM! Another! BABAM! A third! After languishing in various states of almost-completion, I had a rush of finishing that was almost as good as a giant slice of New York style cheesecake smothered in strawberries. (Almost.) So when I saw the article in Knitting Daily, it was as if it was written just for me.
Here's an exerpt:
I also love starting projects, and I let myself start new ones while old ones are still in progress. I find that new projects keeps my enthusiasm for knitting at top speed. To me, looking at yarn and patterns and starting new projects is the lifeblood of knitting—there's always something new to work on!
"Start as many new projects as you can!"
That's my new motto, and I'm sticking to it. I'm not talking about mindlessly and indiscriminately knitting any old thing with any old yarn you can get your hands on; instead, I'm talking about choosing new projects wisely and for very specific beneficial reasons. Yet recognizing that creativity is fluid, I want to keep a steady stream of new experiences flowing with as many different kinds of projects as I can manage.
Huh. How about that? Just when I'm struggling with another three pairs of cast on socks (Haymitch test knit, Jacob (as in the Twilight Jacob), and Elm (by Cookie A)), a not-quite-half-finished Nightlock shawl, and Sock Madness coming up. (If you don't know what Sock Madness is, it's basically a speed sock knitting competition for crazy people. Check out their group on Ravelry.) But even with all of those things, I still find myself wanting to cast on more. Yarn is wound for Gollum socks. More yarn is wound for some fabulous gloves (pattern by Julia Mueller). Do I dare start them? Will I be empowered and feel those creative juices flowing? Or will I just stress myself out? I'm walking the fence here - it could go either way. This weekend may be the determining factor. With two feet of snow supposedly on the way, I should hopefully be stuck in the house and get a lot of knitting done. Will I be bored with my current projects and give in to my slutty desire to start a new knitted love or two? Or will I remain committed to the socks with which I've already built a relationship? Only time will tell...
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Single Digits
The outside temperature is in the single digits, making it far too cold to go outside even taking into account that we are down to our last 1/4 gallon of milk. The Amazon Prime video-on-demand refuses to play the next episode of season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What to do...? What to do...?
Hey, maybe I'll blog!
I may not have been adding to my knitting blog recently, but I have been knitting. Yes, yes, mostly socks, but I did manage to stray away from wool footwear long enough to make a few Christmas presents. A Scalene scarf for Mom, Exeter hats for Dad and my brother, Michael, and Tweed Mittens for my friends Darlene & Crista. I did have a pair of socks for Chris in progress for the holidays but they didn't quite make it in time for his Christmas stocking. No worries - I finished them early in January. Too bad I told him about them when I didn't finish them in time or they could have been a Valentine's Day present. (And too bad my friend, Leigh, didn't suggest that a mere 12 hours earlier...)
Oh, before I forget - Happy New Year! I have some grand resolutions for 2013, some knitting related and some not. First the general stuff - I want to plan weekly dinner menus for my family (it makes shopping and cooking soooo much easier!) And... I actually think that was my only resolution that didn't have to do with yarn.
For yarny resolutions, I decided that this year I am going to knit a sweater. For myself. That isn't some big boxy, acrylic yarn held double-stranded monstrosity like I knit for myself in 8th grade. A real sweater. One where people will say, "Oh, I love your sweater!" and I can reply, "Thanks! I made it!" to which their eyes will bug out of their heads and they'll be so incredibly impressed that they'll barely be able to gasp, "You made that???" To which they'll go home and have five weeks of depression that they only thing they've produced recently is a score of over 300 points in Words With Friends.
But I digress.
I want to knit a sweater. I've even picked out a pattern - it's called the Blackberry Cabled Cardigan. As the name suggests, there are a LOT of cables.
I obviously decided to start out small and simple and not just jump insanely into a complicated pattern that will make me want to strangle somebody and that I have no chance in hell of finishing.
This sweater will also be an investment. The cheapest yarn option I've found so far (Knit Picks) will set me back about $65. My first choice option priced out at $150, so we'll just pretend that yarn doesn't exist. I am perfectly content knitting my crazy sweater in less expensive but still good quality yarn. (And it will NOT be purple.)
I also have resolved to knit a pair of gloves. A designer named Julia Mueller has some fabulous glove patterns, some with unique construction. (No mind that I've never knit a glove of any construction before. But I did knit mittens, so how hard can it be to add all those fingers???) I'm considering a pattern of hers called Eisblume.
I may not add the beads because I've seen some lovely ones without them. But I do like knitting with beads, so for that reason I kind of do want to add them. But I like the look better without them. But they are more impressive with them. But it would be faster to knit them without beads. But I already have beads I could use.
As you can see, my internal bead dilemma rages on.
My final knitting-related resolution is to not grow my stash. (HA!!!) No really. I'm going to try. I did join Cookie A's 2013 sock club, so that's one skein every 2 months - only 6 for the year. And I love Hazel Knits so I gave myself permission to purchase that club which is 2 skeins every 2 months, so that's 12 for the year. Add that to the Cookie Club and that would be 18 skeins. Considering I knit 30 pairs of socks last year, that would decrease my stash by 12 skeins by the end of 2013. But honestly, if I can even just maintain the level of the bins/bags/pile, I'd be happy. That means I need to... Knit. From. Stash.
Can I do it? That remains to be seen.
Next blog- recently finished socks! Are you on the edge of your seat???
Hey, maybe I'll blog!
I may not have been adding to my knitting blog recently, but I have been knitting. Yes, yes, mostly socks, but I did manage to stray away from wool footwear long enough to make a few Christmas presents. A Scalene scarf for Mom, Exeter hats for Dad and my brother, Michael, and Tweed Mittens for my friends Darlene & Crista. I did have a pair of socks for Chris in progress for the holidays but they didn't quite make it in time for his Christmas stocking. No worries - I finished them early in January. Too bad I told him about them when I didn't finish them in time or they could have been a Valentine's Day present. (And too bad my friend, Leigh, didn't suggest that a mere 12 hours earlier...)
Oh, before I forget - Happy New Year! I have some grand resolutions for 2013, some knitting related and some not. First the general stuff - I want to plan weekly dinner menus for my family (it makes shopping and cooking soooo much easier!) And... I actually think that was my only resolution that didn't have to do with yarn.
For yarny resolutions, I decided that this year I am going to knit a sweater. For myself. That isn't some big boxy, acrylic yarn held double-stranded monstrosity like I knit for myself in 8th grade. A real sweater. One where people will say, "Oh, I love your sweater!" and I can reply, "Thanks! I made it!" to which their eyes will bug out of their heads and they'll be so incredibly impressed that they'll barely be able to gasp, "You made that???" To which they'll go home and have five weeks of depression that they only thing they've produced recently is a score of over 300 points in Words With Friends.
But I digress.
I want to knit a sweater. I've even picked out a pattern - it's called the Blackberry Cabled Cardigan. As the name suggests, there are a LOT of cables.
I obviously decided to start out small and simple and not just jump insanely into a complicated pattern that will make me want to strangle somebody and that I have no chance in hell of finishing.
This sweater will also be an investment. The cheapest yarn option I've found so far (Knit Picks) will set me back about $65. My first choice option priced out at $150, so we'll just pretend that yarn doesn't exist. I am perfectly content knitting my crazy sweater in less expensive but still good quality yarn. (And it will NOT be purple.)
I also have resolved to knit a pair of gloves. A designer named Julia Mueller has some fabulous glove patterns, some with unique construction. (No mind that I've never knit a glove of any construction before. But I did knit mittens, so how hard can it be to add all those fingers???) I'm considering a pattern of hers called Eisblume.
I may not add the beads because I've seen some lovely ones without them. But I do like knitting with beads, so for that reason I kind of do want to add them. But I like the look better without them. But they are more impressive with them. But it would be faster to knit them without beads. But I already have beads I could use.
As you can see, my internal bead dilemma rages on.
My final knitting-related resolution is to not grow my stash. (HA!!!) No really. I'm going to try. I did join Cookie A's 2013 sock club, so that's one skein every 2 months - only 6 for the year. And I love Hazel Knits so I gave myself permission to purchase that club which is 2 skeins every 2 months, so that's 12 for the year. Add that to the Cookie Club and that would be 18 skeins. Considering I knit 30 pairs of socks last year, that would decrease my stash by 12 skeins by the end of 2013. But honestly, if I can even just maintain the level of the bins/bags/pile, I'd be happy. That means I need to... Knit. From. Stash.
Can I do it? That remains to be seen.
Next blog- recently finished socks! Are you on the edge of your seat???
Sunday, August 5, 2012
I've heard of two left feet, but...
Last month's challenge in my Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry was colorwork. I love colorwork socks! Two different colors, the stitches are all knits, the socks go fast and look harder than they really are. And I had the perfect pattern in mind - one called "Water for the Elephants" by designer RoseHiver (Yvette). She had created the pattern for herself one month but hadn't released it to the public. Having knit a couple of her patterns previously, including my much-loved "Butterflies Are Free" socks, I asked her if I could knit her Elephants pattern and she very graciously agreed.
The socks are mirrored and the instructions start with the left sock, so that's where I started. I followed the pattern the entire way through and a couple of days ago finished the first sock. I immediately cast on the second sock and finished the leg about an hour ago, ready to start the heel.
Here is a photo of the first sock:
Notice anything amiss?
Remember, the first sock knit is the left sock....
There is only one elephant per sock....
The elephant should be on the outside of the sock....
Yes. Somehow I knit a right sock. I don't know how, but I started the heel on the wrong needle. And it never dawned on me as I tried the sock on over and over to admire it. I went on in colorwork sock bliss until I started the heel flap for the second sock. After two rows, I suddenly yelled "Oh no!" My husband, thinking something serious was wrong, asked what was happening. I replied, "I'm knitting another right sock!" Catastrophe! Surely he could see that! Someone had to help me! But after a well-meaning "Uh-oh" from him before he returned to staring at his computer, I knew I was on my own. As luck would have it, minutes later I received a phone call from my knitting buddy, Leigh, who was surely on some knitter's psychic wavelength and knew subconsciously that I was in trouble and needed left sock moral support. Or maybe she was just venting about an unending bind-off on her latest mystery shawl from the Janel Laidman sock club. In any case, I whined a little about my situation before begging off the phone to figure it out.
I don't know if I should admit this or not, but I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out how I had screwed up and created a right sock until I realized that's what I should actually be knitting. The real question was how had I screwed up the first sock and turned it from a leftie to a rightie??
That left me with how to transform my correct right sock into an incorrect left sock so I'd have an actual pair at the end of this project. My solution? I've started the heel flap on the opposite needle as the one called for, so cross your fingers (I can't cross mine because I'm knitting) that the charts for the foot all work out with my changes. But why shouldn't they? The left sock charts seemed to work just fine for a right sock.
The socks are mirrored and the instructions start with the left sock, so that's where I started. I followed the pattern the entire way through and a couple of days ago finished the first sock. I immediately cast on the second sock and finished the leg about an hour ago, ready to start the heel.
Here is a photo of the first sock:
Notice anything amiss?
Remember, the first sock knit is the left sock....
There is only one elephant per sock....
The elephant should be on the outside of the sock....
Yes. Somehow I knit a right sock. I don't know how, but I started the heel on the wrong needle. And it never dawned on me as I tried the sock on over and over to admire it. I went on in colorwork sock bliss until I started the heel flap for the second sock. After two rows, I suddenly yelled "Oh no!" My husband, thinking something serious was wrong, asked what was happening. I replied, "I'm knitting another right sock!" Catastrophe! Surely he could see that! Someone had to help me! But after a well-meaning "Uh-oh" from him before he returned to staring at his computer, I knew I was on my own. As luck would have it, minutes later I received a phone call from my knitting buddy, Leigh, who was surely on some knitter's psychic wavelength and knew subconsciously that I was in trouble and needed left sock moral support. Or maybe she was just venting about an unending bind-off on her latest mystery shawl from the Janel Laidman sock club. In any case, I whined a little about my situation before begging off the phone to figure it out.
I don't know if I should admit this or not, but I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out how I had screwed up and created a right sock until I realized that's what I should actually be knitting. The real question was how had I screwed up the first sock and turned it from a leftie to a rightie??
That left me with how to transform my correct right sock into an incorrect left sock so I'd have an actual pair at the end of this project. My solution? I've started the heel flap on the opposite needle as the one called for, so cross your fingers (I can't cross mine because I'm knitting) that the charts for the foot all work out with my changes. But why shouldn't they? The left sock charts seemed to work just fine for a right sock.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Test Knit
I have certainly been knitting more than I've been writing recently, much to the chagrin of at least one of my blog followers. (Okay, so probably just that one, but who am I to deprive her of my attempts at wit?)
I've finished quite a few pairs of socks since my last blog post. One that I'm particularly proud of are my Gale Socks. These are the second test knit I've done for a designer who is working on a series of Hunger Games based sock patterns. The first was Peeta, whose single completed sock is currently languishing in my "hibernating" pile until I get the time and motivation to replicate it. (Based on my list of socks-to-knit over the next couple of months, the chances of me having both the time and motivation to even cast on the second sock are looking pretty slim, but it will happen. Someday.)
In any case, I guess I was a good enough test knitter (i.e. I found enough errors in the pattern) that she asked me to test another sock - the Gale socks. I even had the perfect yarn in my stash - some Dream in Color Smooshy in a nice, stormy color called Dusky Aurora.
I also knit a very pretty pair of socks that have been in my queue for a while now. They started out as a mystery sock but the mystery wasn't so mysterious since quite a few people have knit the pattern since it was first released. And that's fine with me because I didn't want to waste my pretty Grant Creek Yarn on a sock that I wasn't sure I would like. (But my OCD reasoning behind why mystery socks just aren't my thang can wait for another day.)
The pattern is Harold and Maude and the socks turned out lovely, albeit extremely tight. In fact, they are the only pair of socks I've ever knit that are too narrow for my narrow feet. But with a little wiggling, I can get them on, so I will wear them dammit!
Oh, and there are more socks, oh loyal reader. But it's late and I'm tired and I've miles to go before I sleep, so they will have to wait for another day. Good night.
I've finished quite a few pairs of socks since my last blog post. One that I'm particularly proud of are my Gale Socks. These are the second test knit I've done for a designer who is working on a series of Hunger Games based sock patterns. The first was Peeta, whose single completed sock is currently languishing in my "hibernating" pile until I get the time and motivation to replicate it. (Based on my list of socks-to-knit over the next couple of months, the chances of me having both the time and motivation to even cast on the second sock are looking pretty slim, but it will happen. Someday.)
In any case, I guess I was a good enough test knitter (i.e. I found enough errors in the pattern) that she asked me to test another sock - the Gale socks. I even had the perfect yarn in my stash - some Dream in Color Smooshy in a nice, stormy color called Dusky Aurora.
I also knit a very pretty pair of socks that have been in my queue for a while now. They started out as a mystery sock but the mystery wasn't so mysterious since quite a few people have knit the pattern since it was first released. And that's fine with me because I didn't want to waste my pretty Grant Creek Yarn on a sock that I wasn't sure I would like. (But my OCD reasoning behind why mystery socks just aren't my thang can wait for another day.)
The pattern is Harold and Maude and the socks turned out lovely, albeit extremely tight. In fact, they are the only pair of socks I've ever knit that are too narrow for my narrow feet. But with a little wiggling, I can get them on, so I will wear them dammit!
Oh, and there are more socks, oh loyal reader. But it's late and I'm tired and I've miles to go before I sleep, so they will have to wait for another day. Good night.
Monday, March 26, 2012
A Good Knitting Day
Yesterday was a good knitting day for me. After being in a knitting rut on several things, I was due for a day full of knitting happiness.
Rut 1:
My Peeta socks based on the character in The Hunger Games. I knit the first sock to the toe, decided the heel flap was too long and the gussets were too wide, and tossed the sock into time-out for a couple of weeks. I eventually ripped it back to the heel flap, shortened it, and decreased my size medium sock down to small for the foot. I got through all of the gusset decreases and was working on the foot, until I realized that after putting the sock down overnight, when I picked it back up I kept decreasing on the sole and the sock was woefully narrow. Back into time out it went until yesterday.
I pulled Peeta out of the shadows in the corner of my family room, tinked back all of the extra decreases, and actually made some forward progress. I'm halfway down the foot and getting closer to the toes with each row! Happy day!
Rut 2:
I've been working on a pair of Hiccup socks for Dominic for months. They are my leave-in-the-car project where I knit a couple of rounds here and there at parent pick-up or when Chris and I go out to breakfast on Sunday. The first sock has been done, but the second has been languishing on the leg for quite a while. Now spring is coming and it won't be wool sock weather in another month or two.
I finished the leg of his second sock, knit the heel flap, turned the heel, picked up the gussets, and worked through the gusset decreases. I have 37 rows left on the foot and then the toe, so they are also nearing the home stretch! Happy day!
Rut 3:
This one wasn't a huge rut - more like a little divot. The Janel Laidman sock club mystery pattern for March had clue 2 released on Friday. I had knit half of it and then put it aside. Yesterday, I finished clue 2! Happy day!
Rut 4:
I gave up buying yarn for Lent. Seems easy enough, right? Yeah. I wish. So much yummy yarny goodness has been calling to me, and I know it's because I can't buy it! It's like when you paint your nail and the polish is still wet and you get itchy everywhere just because your body knows you can't scratch it. There are yarn sales and free shipping flying around everywhere recently! But yesterday, a wonderful, all-knowing random number generator chose my project to win a skein of yarn in the Springtree Road Spring KAL. I had entered my Stalagmite socks knit with Springtree Road's Julep (merino/cashmere/nylon) sock yarn. I loved the socks, loved the yarn, loved the pattern, and love them even more now that I won! And what better thing to win but more yarn??? It's like the universe knew I needed some sock yarn stash addition to get me through until after Easter. Happy day!
Here are the winning socks:
I just hope it doesn't mean that today I'm destined a day of knitting doom. Maybe I should stay away from my needles for the next 24 hours....
Rut 1:
My Peeta socks based on the character in The Hunger Games. I knit the first sock to the toe, decided the heel flap was too long and the gussets were too wide, and tossed the sock into time-out for a couple of weeks. I eventually ripped it back to the heel flap, shortened it, and decreased my size medium sock down to small for the foot. I got through all of the gusset decreases and was working on the foot, until I realized that after putting the sock down overnight, when I picked it back up I kept decreasing on the sole and the sock was woefully narrow. Back into time out it went until yesterday.
I pulled Peeta out of the shadows in the corner of my family room, tinked back all of the extra decreases, and actually made some forward progress. I'm halfway down the foot and getting closer to the toes with each row! Happy day!
Rut 2:
I've been working on a pair of Hiccup socks for Dominic for months. They are my leave-in-the-car project where I knit a couple of rounds here and there at parent pick-up or when Chris and I go out to breakfast on Sunday. The first sock has been done, but the second has been languishing on the leg for quite a while. Now spring is coming and it won't be wool sock weather in another month or two.
I finished the leg of his second sock, knit the heel flap, turned the heel, picked up the gussets, and worked through the gusset decreases. I have 37 rows left on the foot and then the toe, so they are also nearing the home stretch! Happy day!
Rut 3:
This one wasn't a huge rut - more like a little divot. The Janel Laidman sock club mystery pattern for March had clue 2 released on Friday. I had knit half of it and then put it aside. Yesterday, I finished clue 2! Happy day!
Rut 4:
I gave up buying yarn for Lent. Seems easy enough, right? Yeah. I wish. So much yummy yarny goodness has been calling to me, and I know it's because I can't buy it! It's like when you paint your nail and the polish is still wet and you get itchy everywhere just because your body knows you can't scratch it. There are yarn sales and free shipping flying around everywhere recently! But yesterday, a wonderful, all-knowing random number generator chose my project to win a skein of yarn in the Springtree Road Spring KAL. I had entered my Stalagmite socks knit with Springtree Road's Julep (merino/cashmere/nylon) sock yarn. I loved the socks, loved the yarn, loved the pattern, and love them even more now that I won! And what better thing to win but more yarn??? It's like the universe knew I needed some sock yarn stash addition to get me through until after Easter. Happy day!
Here are the winning socks:
I just hope it doesn't mean that today I'm destined a day of knitting doom. Maybe I should stay away from my needles for the next 24 hours....
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Are You Hungry?
Over a year ago (maybe two?), I read the Hunger Games trilogy just as the third book was being released as really enjoyed them. The first book was actually reminiscent of a Stephen King short story called "The Long Walk" in that teens are competing against each other to better their or their family's situations at the risk of death.
Since I first read the books, my son has also read them - also with great enjoyment. We were both excited to hear that a movie was in the works, and it's release date is almost here - March 23. I plan on dragging my husband to see it opening night.
So you might be thinking, "What does this have to do with knitting?" I'm getting there.
A pattern author on Ravelry.com is designing socks based on Hunger Games characters. Her first sock is called Peeta, after the boy-next-door baker's son who accompanies Katniss as the male tribute in the Games from their district. The pattern has striping and a contrasting toe which gives the socks a bit of an athletic sock feel but in a more elegant and aesthetically pleasing way. But the best part is the pattern on the legs which looks like stalks of wheat, especially knit in a golden yarn.
I was drooling over the Peeta socks.
Unfortunately they were being designed as I discovered them and only recently (in the past week) moved into the test knit phase, with the pattern release scheduled for the end of March.
Fortunately, I commented on one of the test knitter's posts on Ravelry asking how she got lucky enough to be a test knitter and the pattern author contacted me to test knit it, too! So basically I've said "screw the Cookie A. pattern for the beginning of the month" and cast on my Peeta.
I had ordered a skein of merino/nylon from Grant Creek Yarns in a new colorway called Winter Wheat which I had earmarked for Peeta before I even owned the yarn. However, when I got it, it was quite a bit darker and more brown than the golden wheat color I had hoped it would be. (Turns out the dyer opened new bottles of dye for the latest batch of Winter Wheat, hence the darker colors.) Don't get me wrong, the yarn is beautiful, but wasn't right for Peeta. Luckily I had some Knit Picks Stroll in Mustard in my stash which was earmarked for a Gryffindor project at some point down the road, but desperate times call for stash diving and it has become Peeta. A little of the same yarn in the Fedora colorway for the stripes, and here are my Peeta's so far:
The same designer has started socks for the other main male character, Katniss' best friend, Gale. I can't wait to see them!
Since I first read the books, my son has also read them - also with great enjoyment. We were both excited to hear that a movie was in the works, and it's release date is almost here - March 23. I plan on dragging my husband to see it opening night.
So you might be thinking, "What does this have to do with knitting?" I'm getting there.
A pattern author on Ravelry.com is designing socks based on Hunger Games characters. Her first sock is called Peeta, after the boy-next-door baker's son who accompanies Katniss as the male tribute in the Games from their district. The pattern has striping and a contrasting toe which gives the socks a bit of an athletic sock feel but in a more elegant and aesthetically pleasing way. But the best part is the pattern on the legs which looks like stalks of wheat, especially knit in a golden yarn.
I was drooling over the Peeta socks.
Unfortunately they were being designed as I discovered them and only recently (in the past week) moved into the test knit phase, with the pattern release scheduled for the end of March.
Fortunately, I commented on one of the test knitter's posts on Ravelry asking how she got lucky enough to be a test knitter and the pattern author contacted me to test knit it, too! So basically I've said "screw the Cookie A. pattern for the beginning of the month" and cast on my Peeta.
I had ordered a skein of merino/nylon from Grant Creek Yarns in a new colorway called Winter Wheat which I had earmarked for Peeta before I even owned the yarn. However, when I got it, it was quite a bit darker and more brown than the golden wheat color I had hoped it would be. (Turns out the dyer opened new bottles of dye for the latest batch of Winter Wheat, hence the darker colors.) Don't get me wrong, the yarn is beautiful, but wasn't right for Peeta. Luckily I had some Knit Picks Stroll in Mustard in my stash which was earmarked for a Gryffindor project at some point down the road, but desperate times call for stash diving and it has become Peeta. A little of the same yarn in the Fedora colorway for the stripes, and here are my Peeta's so far:
The same designer has started socks for the other main male character, Katniss' best friend, Gale. I can't wait to see them!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Where's the Flood?
Finding jeans that fit can be an ordeal. Wait, let me rephrase that. Finding jeans that fit if you are a woman can be an ordeal. (Why is that men can walk into a store, grab a pair of jeans by matching up two numbers and they fit, while women's denim manufacturer's can't seem to get it together on what cryptic number like 4, 6, or 10 mean? You'd think that it would be easier now that some companies are actually listing sizes by supposed waist measurements, like 32 or 38, but apparently they are all using some hand-whittled-in-the-dark-ages measuring sticks that are unique, just like women's bodies. But I digress...)
In my quest to find "good jeans," I have no fewer than 12 pairs of jeans hanging in my closet. (Okay, for the sake of accuracy, I just checked. There are 15 pairs in my closet, one pair that I'm wearing, and another in the laundry.) Of those jeans, there are two pairs that I can't zip, another two that zip but are uncomfortable, three with holes in the knees that I can't bear to part with quite yet (one being a pair of Lucky Jeans that got a giant hole when I fell down my front cement steps the first time I wore them), one pair that I think are just too young looking for me so I immediately take them off every time I put them on (they still have the tags attached), a couple that are okay, a couple that are too short to wear with anything other than super flat shoes (I'm a heels girl), a great pair of trouser-ish jeans that fit fabulous but again are just a smidge short, and two pairs that are long and that I think I look pretty good in. (I may have missed a few pairs, but you get the idea.)
There are many ways that jeans don't fit - waist, hips, thighs, length, rise.... Can someone please tell me what's going on with today's female youth in that many of them don't have hips? I'm sorry, but boyfriend jeans that are cut straight from the waist to the thigh should - and do - leave giant gaps in the back of the waistband for those of us with hips. (And saddlebags, but that's another issue.) Is there some new evolutionary bias for hipless females??? Whatever the cause, I do not fit into the new straight torso category. But fear not, there are new "curvy" cut jeans for us ladies whose waists are smaller than their hips. Hallelujah.
But for all the ways in which jeans don't fit me, there is one that at least has a small silver lining. Length. You see, I'm 5'8" tall, which is not Amazonian by any standard, but is apparently tall enough that the average pant teases at being long enough while being worn in the dressing room, but then suddenly shrinks an inch by the time I get them home. Who knows why this shrinkage occurs. (Perhaps my house is significantly colder than the store dressing rooms???) I even try to outsmart the jeans by trying them on - *gasp* - with my shoes! Yep, they look long enough. Until I get home... Maybe it's my desperation to find good jeans. I overlook seemingly obvious faults in an attempt to hope for the best later. (Holy heck, is this jeans shopping or my dating life in my 20's???)
I am aware that they make jeans in tall sizes, and yes, I do own a couple pairs of said jeans. They are, however, made for Amazonian women and necessitate the wearing of significantly heeled shoes so as to not drag on the ground behind my heels. (No, I don't hem. And if I did hem, it wouldn't be jeans. Jeans are sewing machine needle killers.) And because I have recently began to grudgingly admit that heels are not entirely perfect for all situations, my tall jeans do not work for all outfits and/or footwear. (Okay, that's not true. Heels are always fabulous. It's because of a nasty neuroma on one foot that causes constant pain, otherwise I'd wear heels to the grocery store.) This leaves me with my slightly-short jean options. (Save me the "where's the flood" jokes as I hear them in my head every time I look in the mirror while wearing my I-wish-these-were-an-inch-longer denim pants.)
But....
Wait for it....
I knit socks. Beautiful socks with lots of fancy crap like cables, lace, and heel flaps that have brought me to tears. Socks using $20 skeins of hand-dyed yarn. A pair of knee socks that was almost the death of me that took 40-50 hours of knitting time and $40 in yarn (not including shipping). Socks that I love wearing.
Socks that are usually hidden under long-enough jeans.
So the next time you see me in my jeans, instead of thinking that I'm preparing in advance for my hot water tank to break and flood my basement, take a peek at that inch between my hem and the top of my shoes. You just may see a sock work of art.
In my quest to find "good jeans," I have no fewer than 12 pairs of jeans hanging in my closet. (Okay, for the sake of accuracy, I just checked. There are 15 pairs in my closet, one pair that I'm wearing, and another in the laundry.) Of those jeans, there are two pairs that I can't zip, another two that zip but are uncomfortable, three with holes in the knees that I can't bear to part with quite yet (one being a pair of Lucky Jeans that got a giant hole when I fell down my front cement steps the first time I wore them), one pair that I think are just too young looking for me so I immediately take them off every time I put them on (they still have the tags attached), a couple that are okay, a couple that are too short to wear with anything other than super flat shoes (I'm a heels girl), a great pair of trouser-ish jeans that fit fabulous but again are just a smidge short, and two pairs that are long and that I think I look pretty good in. (I may have missed a few pairs, but you get the idea.)
There are many ways that jeans don't fit - waist, hips, thighs, length, rise.... Can someone please tell me what's going on with today's female youth in that many of them don't have hips? I'm sorry, but boyfriend jeans that are cut straight from the waist to the thigh should - and do - leave giant gaps in the back of the waistband for those of us with hips. (And saddlebags, but that's another issue.) Is there some new evolutionary bias for hipless females??? Whatever the cause, I do not fit into the new straight torso category. But fear not, there are new "curvy" cut jeans for us ladies whose waists are smaller than their hips. Hallelujah.
But for all the ways in which jeans don't fit me, there is one that at least has a small silver lining. Length. You see, I'm 5'8" tall, which is not Amazonian by any standard, but is apparently tall enough that the average pant teases at being long enough while being worn in the dressing room, but then suddenly shrinks an inch by the time I get them home. Who knows why this shrinkage occurs. (Perhaps my house is significantly colder than the store dressing rooms???) I even try to outsmart the jeans by trying them on - *gasp* - with my shoes! Yep, they look long enough. Until I get home... Maybe it's my desperation to find good jeans. I overlook seemingly obvious faults in an attempt to hope for the best later. (Holy heck, is this jeans shopping or my dating life in my 20's???)
I am aware that they make jeans in tall sizes, and yes, I do own a couple pairs of said jeans. They are, however, made for Amazonian women and necessitate the wearing of significantly heeled shoes so as to not drag on the ground behind my heels. (No, I don't hem. And if I did hem, it wouldn't be jeans. Jeans are sewing machine needle killers.) And because I have recently began to grudgingly admit that heels are not entirely perfect for all situations, my tall jeans do not work for all outfits and/or footwear. (Okay, that's not true. Heels are always fabulous. It's because of a nasty neuroma on one foot that causes constant pain, otherwise I'd wear heels to the grocery store.) This leaves me with my slightly-short jean options. (Save me the "where's the flood" jokes as I hear them in my head every time I look in the mirror while wearing my I-wish-these-were-an-inch-longer denim pants.)
But....
Wait for it....
I knit socks. Beautiful socks with lots of fancy crap like cables, lace, and heel flaps that have brought me to tears. Socks using $20 skeins of hand-dyed yarn. A pair of knee socks that was almost the death of me that took 40-50 hours of knitting time and $40 in yarn (not including shipping). Socks that I love wearing.
Socks that are usually hidden under long-enough jeans.
So the next time you see me in my jeans, instead of thinking that I'm preparing in advance for my hot water tank to break and flood my basement, take a peek at that inch between my hem and the top of my shoes. You just may see a sock work of art.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Christmas Upswing
I survived December. More specifically, I survived my December knitting deadlines. That pesky December 25th sneaks up so quickly, necessitating the completion of meticulously hand-knit gifts. (Meticulous, frantic... they're interchangeable, right?)
I managed to whip out quite a few presents for friends and family members in time for the holidays. I'm proud to report that they were even completed before our 9.5 hour drive to Western PA. (I had originally anticipated much last minute car knitting with the clock ticking like the Tell Tale Heart.) Can I remember everything I made, or is some lost to the post-holiday black-out?
Is that it? It seems like the list should be longer, much longer. Or maybe it's just the PTKS talking. (Post-Traumatic Knitting Stress)
I also worked on a few other items during the same time, just to keep things interesting.
My cousin, Cameron, is fighting cancer - a germ-cell tumor in his chest. During the course of his chemo, he has lost 80 lbs and all of his hair. I felt pretty helpless being 500 miles away and unable to help, so I made him a new hat to keep his sensitive, newly-bald head warm. It's a simple ribbed hat with cool decreases at the top. Here is photo of my brother modeling it over Thanksgiving:
I also knit a pair of Cauchy socks from Cookie A's first book, Sock Innovation. I couldn't resist - my friend Leigh knit them in a royal purple and they turned out so cute! (And I don't even like purple!) I had some nice olive green in Plymouth Yarn Company's Happy Feet sock yarn, so these were done by the end of November:
On a whim I decided to whip up a pair of booties since I had been looking at patterns for Francesca's pregnant gymnastics coach, Heather. I had some Knit Picks Imagination yarn left over in the Looking Glass colorway which is so pretty, soft and warm, so that's what I used.
And... Not that I'm a glutton for punishment or anything, but I was also working on my first pair of knee-high stockings - the pattern is Lissajous by Cookie A. I started them in October but they stalled once I realized just how looooong is is from my knee to my ankle. Including the feet, I had over 42 inches of sock to knit along with heels, gussets, and toes. I started them one at a time, got about 4 inches in, and then didn't touch the sock for three weeks. I finally picked it back up, knit past some funky calf shaping (that's mirrored for each sock), cast on the second, knit to the same point, then put them together on a single needle to work them two at a time.
The stockings needed to be done by the end of the year to qualify for the Knit Sock Love knit-a-long for them, so they went with me on my trek to PA where I finished them at my parents' house on December 27th. These socks are cable crazy!
Wow, that's a lot.
And I'm not done yet.
One more pair! Knit entirely during the month of December and using some beautiful Grant Creek Yarn that Chris has bought for me last Easter, I made Kai-Mei socks. I did utilize quite a bit of our car driving time to knit these considering the entire leg is ribbing. The foot pattern was knit at my parents' and mother-in-law's houses over the holidays, and finished on the car ride home on December 31st.
It's such a unique pattern and used a few different construction methods that I had never done before. The first was starting the pattern on the gusset. Every other pair of socks that I've knit have plain, stockinette gussets. Just little triangles on the sides of the heel leading to the feet. Not Kai-Mei - the open pattern starts there on the side of the foot and gradually moves across the top of the foot to the toe on the other side.
The design itself was also unique - using multiple yarn-overs which are dropped on subsequent rows and then later purled together with a live stitch. I should take a close-up photo of the pattern to post. I'll have to do that the first time I wear them.
Thus ends the saga of my November/December knitting projects. My fingers ache just from thinking about all the knitting. You'd think I would be taking it easy in January. Ha, ha, that's funny.
I'll regale you with my January projects soon. I promise.
I managed to whip out quite a few presents for friends and family members in time for the holidays. I'm proud to report that they were even completed before our 9.5 hour drive to Western PA. (I had originally anticipated much last minute car knitting with the clock ticking like the Tell Tale Heart.) Can I remember everything I made, or is some lost to the post-holiday black-out?
- Hedera socks - for my boss Elaine at Curves. I have taken so many finished socks there to show the ladies in my Zumba class that I had to make her a pair.
- Scalene scarf - for my wonderful friend, Darlene (besties since 2nd grade!)
- Scalene scarf - for my other wonderful friend, Crista (also 2nd grade BFFs!)
- Chunky slippers - for my mother-in-law
- Chunky slippers - for my grandmother (who unfortunately has majorly swollen legs & feet so I have to reknit her a giant pair and my mother claimed the original ones)
- Sashay scarf - for my mother-in-law (her birthday is the day after Christmas, so she got double knitted goodies this year)
- Sashay scarf - for my best friend, Lori
- Sashay scarf - for my friend, Charlene
- Sashay scarf - for Francesca's teacher (Note that Dominic made one himself for his teacher!)
Is that it? It seems like the list should be longer, much longer. Or maybe it's just the PTKS talking. (Post-Traumatic Knitting Stress)
I also worked on a few other items during the same time, just to keep things interesting.
My cousin, Cameron, is fighting cancer - a germ-cell tumor in his chest. During the course of his chemo, he has lost 80 lbs and all of his hair. I felt pretty helpless being 500 miles away and unable to help, so I made him a new hat to keep his sensitive, newly-bald head warm. It's a simple ribbed hat with cool decreases at the top. Here is photo of my brother modeling it over Thanksgiving:
I also knit a pair of Cauchy socks from Cookie A's first book, Sock Innovation. I couldn't resist - my friend Leigh knit them in a royal purple and they turned out so cute! (And I don't even like purple!) I had some nice olive green in Plymouth Yarn Company's Happy Feet sock yarn, so these were done by the end of November:
On a whim I decided to whip up a pair of booties since I had been looking at patterns for Francesca's pregnant gymnastics coach, Heather. I had some Knit Picks Imagination yarn left over in the Looking Glass colorway which is so pretty, soft and warm, so that's what I used.
And... Not that I'm a glutton for punishment or anything, but I was also working on my first pair of knee-high stockings - the pattern is Lissajous by Cookie A. I started them in October but they stalled once I realized just how looooong is is from my knee to my ankle. Including the feet, I had over 42 inches of sock to knit along with heels, gussets, and toes. I started them one at a time, got about 4 inches in, and then didn't touch the sock for three weeks. I finally picked it back up, knit past some funky calf shaping (that's mirrored for each sock), cast on the second, knit to the same point, then put them together on a single needle to work them two at a time.
The stockings needed to be done by the end of the year to qualify for the Knit Sock Love knit-a-long for them, so they went with me on my trek to PA where I finished them at my parents' house on December 27th. These socks are cable crazy!
Wow, that's a lot.
And I'm not done yet.
One more pair! Knit entirely during the month of December and using some beautiful Grant Creek Yarn that Chris has bought for me last Easter, I made Kai-Mei socks. I did utilize quite a bit of our car driving time to knit these considering the entire leg is ribbing. The foot pattern was knit at my parents' and mother-in-law's houses over the holidays, and finished on the car ride home on December 31st.
It's such a unique pattern and used a few different construction methods that I had never done before. The first was starting the pattern on the gusset. Every other pair of socks that I've knit have plain, stockinette gussets. Just little triangles on the sides of the heel leading to the feet. Not Kai-Mei - the open pattern starts there on the side of the foot and gradually moves across the top of the foot to the toe on the other side.
The design itself was also unique - using multiple yarn-overs which are dropped on subsequent rows and then later purled together with a live stitch. I should take a close-up photo of the pattern to post. I'll have to do that the first time I wear them.
Thus ends the saga of my November/December knitting projects. My fingers ache just from thinking about all the knitting. You'd think I would be taking it easy in January. Ha, ha, that's funny.
I'll regale you with my January projects soon. I promise.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Cookie Sock Club!
I did it! Today I signed up for the 2012 Cookie A. Sock Club. If you've been following my blog, you know that I've been knitting my way through her latest sock book - "Knit Sock Love" - along with bunches of other people on the KSL knit-a-long group on Ravelry.com. Her sock club is a year-long club where every two months you get a skein of sock yarn, two exclusive patterns by Cookie, and two cookie recipes (yes, for actual cookies that you bake in the oven). So you can make Cookie socks and Cookie cookies. Double cookie bonus!
Now, this club is pretty exclusive. It sells out every year and sign-ups are open first to those who are current members. That leaves people like me crossing my fingers hoping that there is room for us mere non-Cookie Club mortals to join when sign-ups finally open for the riff-raff.
General population sign-ups started this morning at 11:00 AM EST and I had no idea how fast they might sell out. Is it a matter of minutes? Hours? Days? No clue. So there I was this morning, at our newly-opened Wegman's grocery store (holy crap, that store is giant - and awesome!) having breakfast and conversation with a couple of friends with my netbook plugged in to a nearby outlet. The browser was open to her sock club page and beginning at 10:55 AM, I started hitting the refresh button every 30-60 seconds. The only time I remember exhibiting such manic refresh behavior has been:
I'm now a member of the club. Be jealous. Be very jealous.
First installment ships the first even month of the year. Is it February yet???
Now, this club is pretty exclusive. It sells out every year and sign-ups are open first to those who are current members. That leaves people like me crossing my fingers hoping that there is room for us mere non-Cookie Club mortals to join when sign-ups finally open for the riff-raff.
General population sign-ups started this morning at 11:00 AM EST and I had no idea how fast they might sell out. Is it a matter of minutes? Hours? Days? No clue. So there I was this morning, at our newly-opened Wegman's grocery store (holy crap, that store is giant - and awesome!) having breakfast and conversation with a couple of friends with my netbook plugged in to a nearby outlet. The browser was open to her sock club page and beginning at 10:55 AM, I started hitting the refresh button every 30-60 seconds. The only time I remember exhibiting such manic refresh behavior has been:
- A Grant Creek Yarn shop release about 6 weeks ago when I had to get my hands on her Inventor Arthur Fry Post-It note hand-dyed yarn.
- About 14 years ago when trying to get concert tickets for the Monsters of Rock tour (with Poison!) before it sold out.
I'm now a member of the club. Be jealous. Be very jealous.
First installment ships the first even month of the year. Is it February yet???
Friday, November 4, 2011
Holy Holiday Knitting, Batman
Could I have more projects started but not finished???
My WIPs (works-in-progress), completion percentages, and their deadlines:
Monkey Socks - 25% - Dec 15th
Cauchy Socks - 25% - Nov 30th
Lissajous Socks - 5% - Dec 30th
Scalene Shawl - 80% - Dec 22nd
Button-Up Beanie Hat - 20% - this winter
I have finished the Hedera socks I started a while back (Sept? Oct? I've completely lost track of time.) that are a Christmas present. One gift down! Only 37 to go! Okay, not 37, but the Scalene shawl is a gift plus I want to make a second one for another gift. And I need to make a hat for my cousin Cameron who just started chemo this week. And maybe socks or a shawl for my grandmother who just went through yet another surgery but has a lot of recovery ahead of her.
Needless to say, I'd better stop typing and get my knitting butt in gear.
And as if on cue, there goes the buzzer of my dryer. There's laundry to fold....
My WIPs (works-in-progress), completion percentages, and their deadlines:
Monkey Socks - 25% - Dec 15th
Cauchy Socks - 25% - Nov 30th
Lissajous Socks - 5% - Dec 30th
Scalene Shawl - 80% - Dec 22nd
Button-Up Beanie Hat - 20% - this winter
I have finished the Hedera socks I started a while back (Sept? Oct? I've completely lost track of time.) that are a Christmas present. One gift down! Only 37 to go! Okay, not 37, but the Scalene shawl is a gift plus I want to make a second one for another gift. And I need to make a hat for my cousin Cameron who just started chemo this week. And maybe socks or a shawl for my grandmother who just went through yet another surgery but has a lot of recovery ahead of her.
Needless to say, I'd better stop typing and get my knitting butt in gear.
And as if on cue, there goes the buzzer of my dryer. There's laundry to fold....
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Knitting Nevermore
I came across a book of knitter's cartoons while perusing Amazon.com today. The book's title is "It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons." While taking "a look inside" the book, there was a page titled "Lost Knitting Diaries of the Famous." One in particular really tickled me, so I'm sharing it here. (I know it's copyrighted, but it's printed on their page so I figured there's no harm in reposting on my blog. But if I'm shut down tomorrow, you'll know why. ;)
"The weather being very fine, I sat for some hours in the park to work the second of the pair of stockings I wish to give Lenore as a birthday gift. When for a moment my back was turned, its finished mate was plucked clean from my knitting basket by a large raven. I am sick at heart to think I shall see it nevermore. (Note to self: Possible story idea here?)"
Love. It.
And from one of my favorite authors, too!
"The weather being very fine, I sat for some hours in the park to work the second of the pair of stockings I wish to give Lenore as a birthday gift. When for a moment my back was turned, its finished mate was plucked clean from my knitting basket by a large raven. I am sick at heart to think I shall see it nevermore. (Note to self: Possible story idea here?)"
Love. It.
And from one of my favorite authors, too!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Definition of Insanity
There are various ways one might define insanity - some clinic, some anecdotal, and others based on actions. In the spirit of the latter, I have cast on a pair of knee socks. And not just any knee socks, but a pair of knee socks from Cookie A which have many charts and many, many cables. The pattern is called Lissajous and comes in both a sock (ankle-length) and stocking (knee-high) version. I love knee highs in the winter, so I decided rather flippantly to knit the stockings. I ordered three 50g skeins of Shibui sock yarn (most socks use ~100g, so I figured 150g would be plenty) in a pale yellow called Jonquil and waited excitedly for October to come so I could cast on.
I had started a scarf pattern called Scalene after finishing my September In and Out red socks, so before casting on for Lissajous, I wanted to finish it. The scarf was done in fingering weight yarn - Knit Picks Chroma. I basically copycatted someone else who knit it using the same yarn in the same colorways. The pattern was gifted to me by someone in the Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) group on Ravelry, and I ordered the yarn from one of our frequent Knit Picks orders.
I had never worked with Chroma before but knew that it was a single ply yarn. I have to say that while it was very soft to work with, the single ply was a little tricky at first The yarn has very little to no twist, so it's almost like skinny little roving. When I first started the scarf, I was splitting the yarn left and right. Luckily after several rows, I got used to working with it and didn't have any more splitting issues.
The Scalene pattern is basically a triangular scarf done in garter stitch - knit every row. Back and forth. Knit knit knit. But there are some keyholes added where you can pass the scarf through when you're wearing it. Those added a bit more of a challenge than all the knitting, but the pattern was pretty easy to follow. I did have to cast off a bunch of stitches in the middle of a row which wasn't hard but I had never done it before. Then I also had to cast on stitches in the middle of a row which necessitated some youtube searching before I felt confident enough to do it. All in all, Scalene is a pretty quick project even with fingering weight yarn. I think I'm going to attempt to make two more for Christmas gifts, this time using worsted weight yarn so they go even faster. I have a pending Knit Picks order for more Chroma but in worsted weight, plus size 7 needle tips to use with their interchangeable cables. (The pattern calls for U.S. size 4 needles for fingering yarn.)
I still want to block the finished scarf so that it's a flat triangle, but just got some T-pins two days ago and haven't done it yet. Here it is unblocked:
(Oh, did I mention that after knitting 2" of Lissajous, I cast on a fourth pair of socks? Yeeahh... I'll tell you about that next time....)
I had started a scarf pattern called Scalene after finishing my September In and Out red socks, so before casting on for Lissajous, I wanted to finish it. The scarf was done in fingering weight yarn - Knit Picks Chroma. I basically copycatted someone else who knit it using the same yarn in the same colorways. The pattern was gifted to me by someone in the Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) group on Ravelry, and I ordered the yarn from one of our frequent Knit Picks orders.
I had never worked with Chroma before but knew that it was a single ply yarn. I have to say that while it was very soft to work with, the single ply was a little tricky at first The yarn has very little to no twist, so it's almost like skinny little roving. When I first started the scarf, I was splitting the yarn left and right. Luckily after several rows, I got used to working with it and didn't have any more splitting issues.
The Scalene pattern is basically a triangular scarf done in garter stitch - knit every row. Back and forth. Knit knit knit. But there are some keyholes added where you can pass the scarf through when you're wearing it. Those added a bit more of a challenge than all the knitting, but the pattern was pretty easy to follow. I did have to cast off a bunch of stitches in the middle of a row which wasn't hard but I had never done it before. Then I also had to cast on stitches in the middle of a row which necessitated some youtube searching before I felt confident enough to do it. All in all, Scalene is a pretty quick project even with fingering weight yarn. I think I'm going to attempt to make two more for Christmas gifts, this time using worsted weight yarn so they go even faster. I have a pending Knit Picks order for more Chroma but in worsted weight, plus size 7 needle tips to use with their interchangeable cables. (The pattern calls for U.S. size 4 needles for fingering yarn.)
I still want to block the finished scarf so that it's a flat triangle, but just got some T-pins two days ago and haven't done it yet. Here it is unblocked:
Unblocked Scalene Scarf using Chroma fingering yarn in Prism & Bare
Scarf done. On to socks!
At this point, I had two pairs of socks in progress - Monkeys using the Tree Fort colorway from Knit Picks and Hedera using Patons Stretch sock yarn in Kelp. Monkeys for me, Hedera for my Curves boss Elaine for Christmas.
Only two pairs in progress??? Wow, that's pretty darn good. So no problem starting a third! I cast on Lissajous.
Heaven help me! This pattern, while the knitting itself isn't THAT complicated, putting the pattern and charts together correctly to actually knit it is an exercise in organization and strategic post-it notes placement. Here's an example of what I have to do:
Knit chart D for front of leg. For back of leg, knit to marker, knit chart B, knit to marker, knit chart E, knit chart G (starting after row 10 of chart D, otherwise skip G), knit chart F, knit to marker, knit chart C, knit to end of round.
That's a lot of charts to track. And that's not including the earlier part when I had to knit halfway across chart A, insert charts E & F, then knit the rest of chart A. (Did I mention that charts B & C are subsets of chart A so after the first 8 rounds you abandon the other stitches in chart A and only work B & C with E and F between then and knits making up the missing stitches from A? Are we having fun yet?)
As amazing as it sounds, I cast on and have been knitting without any major chart oops errors.
As a side note - see that green Ball Sack? A wonderful woman on the RAK forum made a pair for me! I had requested them for my birthday and she contacted me saying she was going to knit them. How awesome is that??? Hmmm... maybe I should have called this project "Lemon & Lime." :)
Anyway, after knitting about 1.5" of sock, I tried them on and slide them up over my calf to just below my knee. I noted two things.
1. Even though I'm using the needle size (U.S. 1.5 - 2.5mm) called for by the pattern and knitting the size based on my leg measurements, I probably could have used size 1 needles for a snugger fit.
2. My legs are freaking long.
I thought knitting 6" of sock before starting a heel was a lot of sock. Ha. For these babies, I've got a good 12-13" of sock to knit before I can start the heel. And that's for one sock. Let's say 25" of leg, two heels is another 5" or so, then almost 9" per foot. That's a grand total of 48 inches of sock. Four feet of sock knitting. With skinny yarn. On tiny needles.
This, my friends, is the definition of insanity.
(Oh, did I mention that after knitting 2" of Lissajous, I cast on a fourth pair of socks? Yeeahh... I'll tell you about that next time....)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Dyeing Day
My interests aren't limited only to knitting, you know. There are a variety of "fiber arts" that float my boat. For example, I would love to spin. I want a spinning wheel. But so far I have refrained due to several factors. Number one, it would take up valuable real estate in our house, as would the many bags of fiber I would be certain to accumulate and hoard. Second, it would be expensive - a decent wheel is usually $600-1000 plus accessories, and all of that sure-to-be-hoarded fiber isn't free. Third, I unfortunately have a limited amount of time to devote to my hobbies. If I added spinning, that would cut down on my knitting and reading. (I can only wish that somehow it would reduce my time spent cooking or doing laundry. Maybe if I could spin straw into gold....) And finally, if I was spinning yarn, I'd have to knit it or my yarn stash would grow at a greater rate than it already is, plus we then go back to reason number three - more yarn but less time to knit.
But there is one yarny, fibery thing that I wanted to do that wouldn't take too much time and wouldn't increase my yarn stash too much (at least at first, because believe me, the potential is there) - dyeing my own yarn. Start with natural, undyed yarn and before you know it - BAM! Gorgeous yarn. (Or a muddy-looking mess, but let's stay positive, shall we?)
A while back, I had posted somewhere on Ravelry.com that I wanted to attempt to dye yarn some day. One of the other members saw my post and emailed me. She lives about 20 minutes away and offered to have me to come to her house and having a dyeing day. Uh-huh. Twist my arm. This was in early August and we decided to get together after my kids were back in school.
Kids + professional permanent dye = potential for disaster.
So we did it! On September 19th, I made the short trek to her home with my little tote bag full of three skeins of blank-slate yarny goodness. (Knit Picks Bare Fingering in merino/nylon). Jennifer then proceeded to school me in yarn dyeing.
The first step is to make sure the yarn is tied at least four times around so that when it's being stirred in a pot of dye water, it doesn't end up being a tangled mess. The Knit Picks skeins are only tied twice, so I added two more ties to each.
Next we had to soak the yarn for 20-30 minutes in water with a little wool soak. The water temperature wasn't cold or hot - just middle of the road from the faucet.
For my first skein, I wanted to try to recreate a colorway by Grant Creek Yarn called Hollyhock. It's a pretty light-to-midrange pink with splotches of darker, almost rusty pink on it. I have around 12 skeins of GCY at $20-25 each, so I've been trying to be good and use some of it before buying more. But this color called out to me and it was so hard to resist! So I figured what the heck, I can at least try to make my own.
We started out mixing up dye in fuschia and brown. The fuschia was screaming pink, so the brown toned it down quite a bit. Once we got a color we liked (testing drops on a white paper towel), we added some of the resulting dye to a pot of simmering water on the stove and dumped in two skeins of yarn - one for each of us. This is often referred to as kettle dyeing. (Sounds more impressive than "dumping dye and yarn in a pot of water," doesn't it?)
We then started dropping in more of the dye as the yarn absorbed it since the color started out too light for what we wanted. I also attempted to drop in dye without mixing to see if it would create the dramatic splotchy effect I was looking for. It did give variants of color but not as much as I wanted, so once the dye was exhausted (completely absorbed so none was left in the water), I pulled out my skein, put it into a pan and started "hand painting" splotches. I just used a spoon and the leftover fuschia/brown dye mix. to get some really dark, distinct areas of pink. (Yet another fancy term -"hand painting" sounds so much better than "dropping dye onto the yarn with a spoon, brush or squirt bottle.")
Jennifer didn't do the dark pink splotches on hers, but she did leave her skein in the pot and add some straight brown to it. Here is a picture of our two skeins hanging from the knobs on her grill to dry. Hers is the longer skein on the left with the muted brown. Mine is the darker pink on the right. Jen's reminded me of a colorway by Knit Picks called "Frosting" which is pink, brown, and cream, but without the cream color.
One skein down, two to go! Next we decided to do something with an Autumn feel to it, since summer is over and winter is rapidly approaching. I'm cold and grumpy just thinking about it. Anyway....
Jennifer had a great color called Aztec Gold that she hadn't tried yet. I was game, so into the pot went our yarn with the gold dye! Mmm... spaghetti...
After we kettle-dyed the gold to a really pretty deep gold-orange color, I took mine out and decided to give it a little variation. Jennifer put the rest of the fuchsia/brown dye into a squirt bottle for me and added some water to dilute it. The I proceeded to just dribble it around on patches of my yarn. I went for a more subtle effect than with the first skein.
Jennifer hand-painted her yarn after the initial gold dye with distinct sections of purple, red, and a darker orange. She told me that she has since overdyed it so I have no idea what hers ended up looking like. I can't wait to see once she knits it up into something.
For third and final skein, Jennifer went way purple on hers with a little gray mixed in to mute it. It actually gave it a bit more of a periwinkle look than the royal purple it started out as. I'm not a huge fan of purple, but her resulting color didn't annoy me.
For mine, I went with a gray and decided that since we had purple mixed up, I'd add some faint streaks of lavender through it. So I kettle dyed my yarn with the gray dye, but had to mix up some black and add it to get it dark enough. I actually had someone on the yarn dyeing forum on Ravelry comment that I got a good gray, so I guess we did okay getting a medium gray! Then I tried the squirt bottle technique with very diluted purple. I also went with more distinct stripes around the perimeter of the yarn rather than random splotches. Looking back, I should have added a little black or gray to the purple to mute it because it still turned out more purple than I wanted. I think it's pretty - if you like purple. (Which means my 7-year old daughter loves it.) Here it is in the tray after the purple was added. The camera really shows the purple - it did not look that bright/distinct in person.
Dyeing was done! We hung everything to dry outside while we cleaned up. Here's a nice picture of all six of our skeins hanging of Jennifer's deck railing. Mine are the three on the left which means that hers are (obviously) the three on the right.
Here is a close-up of my three:
Once I got them home (in plastic bags), I hung them from the door frame over the washer & dryer until they were completely dry the next day. I was tempted to try to reskein them because all of the dipping and swishing in the dye pot made them a bit unruly, but luckily realized that I would have spent hours (and probably a bit of cursing) to do it. Instead, I twisted them into hanks, and I think they look pretty good even though they are a bit messy.
So I give you the final results of my dyeing day, in hank form!
There are just two things left to figure out. First, what shall I name the colorways? (Post comments if you have any good ideas!) And second...
What should I knit with them???
But there is one yarny, fibery thing that I wanted to do that wouldn't take too much time and wouldn't increase my yarn stash too much (at least at first, because believe me, the potential is there) - dyeing my own yarn. Start with natural, undyed yarn and before you know it - BAM! Gorgeous yarn. (Or a muddy-looking mess, but let's stay positive, shall we?)
A while back, I had posted somewhere on Ravelry.com that I wanted to attempt to dye yarn some day. One of the other members saw my post and emailed me. She lives about 20 minutes away and offered to have me to come to her house and having a dyeing day. Uh-huh. Twist my arm. This was in early August and we decided to get together after my kids were back in school.
Kids + professional permanent dye = potential for disaster.
So we did it! On September 19th, I made the short trek to her home with my little tote bag full of three skeins of blank-slate yarny goodness. (Knit Picks Bare Fingering in merino/nylon). Jennifer then proceeded to school me in yarn dyeing.
The first step is to make sure the yarn is tied at least four times around so that when it's being stirred in a pot of dye water, it doesn't end up being a tangled mess. The Knit Picks skeins are only tied twice, so I added two more ties to each.
Next we had to soak the yarn for 20-30 minutes in water with a little wool soak. The water temperature wasn't cold or hot - just middle of the road from the faucet.
For my first skein, I wanted to try to recreate a colorway by Grant Creek Yarn called Hollyhock. It's a pretty light-to-midrange pink with splotches of darker, almost rusty pink on it. I have around 12 skeins of GCY at $20-25 each, so I've been trying to be good and use some of it before buying more. But this color called out to me and it was so hard to resist! So I figured what the heck, I can at least try to make my own.
We started out mixing up dye in fuschia and brown. The fuschia was screaming pink, so the brown toned it down quite a bit. Once we got a color we liked (testing drops on a white paper towel), we added some of the resulting dye to a pot of simmering water on the stove and dumped in two skeins of yarn - one for each of us. This is often referred to as kettle dyeing. (Sounds more impressive than "dumping dye and yarn in a pot of water," doesn't it?)
We then started dropping in more of the dye as the yarn absorbed it since the color started out too light for what we wanted. I also attempted to drop in dye without mixing to see if it would create the dramatic splotchy effect I was looking for. It did give variants of color but not as much as I wanted, so once the dye was exhausted (completely absorbed so none was left in the water), I pulled out my skein, put it into a pan and started "hand painting" splotches. I just used a spoon and the leftover fuschia/brown dye mix. to get some really dark, distinct areas of pink. (Yet another fancy term -"hand painting" sounds so much better than "dropping dye onto the yarn with a spoon, brush or squirt bottle.")
Jennifer didn't do the dark pink splotches on hers, but she did leave her skein in the pot and add some straight brown to it. Here is a picture of our two skeins hanging from the knobs on her grill to dry. Hers is the longer skein on the left with the muted brown. Mine is the darker pink on the right. Jen's reminded me of a colorway by Knit Picks called "Frosting" which is pink, brown, and cream, but without the cream color.
One skein down, two to go! Next we decided to do something with an Autumn feel to it, since summer is over and winter is rapidly approaching. I'm cold and grumpy just thinking about it. Anyway....
Jennifer had a great color called Aztec Gold that she hadn't tried yet. I was game, so into the pot went our yarn with the gold dye! Mmm... spaghetti...
After we kettle-dyed the gold to a really pretty deep gold-orange color, I took mine out and decided to give it a little variation. Jennifer put the rest of the fuchsia/brown dye into a squirt bottle for me and added some water to dilute it. The I proceeded to just dribble it around on patches of my yarn. I went for a more subtle effect than with the first skein.
Jennifer hand-painted her yarn after the initial gold dye with distinct sections of purple, red, and a darker orange. She told me that she has since overdyed it so I have no idea what hers ended up looking like. I can't wait to see once she knits it up into something.
For third and final skein, Jennifer went way purple on hers with a little gray mixed in to mute it. It actually gave it a bit more of a periwinkle look than the royal purple it started out as. I'm not a huge fan of purple, but her resulting color didn't annoy me.
For mine, I went with a gray and decided that since we had purple mixed up, I'd add some faint streaks of lavender through it. So I kettle dyed my yarn with the gray dye, but had to mix up some black and add it to get it dark enough. I actually had someone on the yarn dyeing forum on Ravelry comment that I got a good gray, so I guess we did okay getting a medium gray! Then I tried the squirt bottle technique with very diluted purple. I also went with more distinct stripes around the perimeter of the yarn rather than random splotches. Looking back, I should have added a little black or gray to the purple to mute it because it still turned out more purple than I wanted. I think it's pretty - if you like purple. (Which means my 7-year old daughter loves it.) Here it is in the tray after the purple was added. The camera really shows the purple - it did not look that bright/distinct in person.
Dyeing was done! We hung everything to dry outside while we cleaned up. Here's a nice picture of all six of our skeins hanging of Jennifer's deck railing. Mine are the three on the left which means that hers are (obviously) the three on the right.
Here is a close-up of my three:
Once I got them home (in plastic bags), I hung them from the door frame over the washer & dryer until they were completely dry the next day. I was tempted to try to reskein them because all of the dipping and swishing in the dye pot made them a bit unruly, but luckily realized that I would have spent hours (and probably a bit of cursing) to do it. Instead, I twisted them into hanks, and I think they look pretty good even though they are a bit messy.
So I give you the final results of my dyeing day, in hank form!
There are just two things left to figure out. First, what shall I name the colorways? (Post comments if you have any good ideas!) And second...
What should I knit with them???
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
In and Out
Is it just me, or do the days go by faster and faster? I know, I know, that's so cliche to say, but I swear they do. I had anticipated tons of free time with the kids back in school and Chris at work, and yet it seems as though I have less time. I have still been knitting, though. My primary focus is to keep up with the Knit Sock Love knit-a-long so I can knit every sock in that book. The other couple of KALs I've been participating in are taking a backseat, especially as I've finally started to knit my first Christmas gift for someone.
But first, the latest in the continuing saga of KSL. This particular sock is called "In and Out" and I have to say that the photo in the book didn't do much for me. It's in a dark blue yarn than, while very pretty, doesn't show off the pattern to the best advantage. But I'm doing every sock, darn it! So I choose some of my "good yarn" - Grant Creek cushy merino/nylon in a gorgeous deep red called "Frankly My Dear..." (If you don't get the reference, you can stop reading here and go get some darn Southern culture, pretty please with sweet tea on top.) Coincidentally, the solid socks group has red as their color for September. It's my favorite color and yet I didn't have any RED socks. How is that possible? I had to remedy that situation right away.
Now "In and Out" is a chart heavy pattern - several charts for the sock and different charts for each foot since they are mirrored. However, the hardest part was keeping track of where I was on each chart - not just which row but where in heaven's name I was in a 66 stitch row of symbols. I ended up using my chart keeper from Knit Picks and having a long magnet placed just above the row I was working on, and then a short magnet that I moved across the row from right to left to mark where I was in the row. And my wonderful friend, Leigh, had made copies of the charts and blown them up, so she gave them to me to use (since she was a speed demon and finished these socks pretty much as I was starting mine).
Note about the KP chart keeper: I like it, but the magnets move easily, so I don't trust it to carry around and not lose my place. When I finish knitting in a session, I write down or use a row counter to record what row I'm on rather than rely on the magnet which is easily bumped & shifted.
So after a fairly quick knit, these are my In & Out socks (the picture isn't that great - it was super gloomy when I took it).
I like them more than I thought I would, and I can't wait to knit more red socks!
Next up.... dyeing.
But first, the latest in the continuing saga of KSL. This particular sock is called "In and Out" and I have to say that the photo in the book didn't do much for me. It's in a dark blue yarn than, while very pretty, doesn't show off the pattern to the best advantage. But I'm doing every sock, darn it! So I choose some of my "good yarn" - Grant Creek cushy merino/nylon in a gorgeous deep red called "Frankly My Dear..." (If you don't get the reference, you can stop reading here and go get some darn Southern culture, pretty please with sweet tea on top.) Coincidentally, the solid socks group has red as their color for September. It's my favorite color and yet I didn't have any RED socks. How is that possible? I had to remedy that situation right away.
Now "In and Out" is a chart heavy pattern - several charts for the sock and different charts for each foot since they are mirrored. However, the hardest part was keeping track of where I was on each chart - not just which row but where in heaven's name I was in a 66 stitch row of symbols. I ended up using my chart keeper from Knit Picks and having a long magnet placed just above the row I was working on, and then a short magnet that I moved across the row from right to left to mark where I was in the row. And my wonderful friend, Leigh, had made copies of the charts and blown them up, so she gave them to me to use (since she was a speed demon and finished these socks pretty much as I was starting mine).
Note about the KP chart keeper: I like it, but the magnets move easily, so I don't trust it to carry around and not lose my place. When I finish knitting in a session, I write down or use a row counter to record what row I'm on rather than rely on the magnet which is easily bumped & shifted.
So after a fairly quick knit, these are my In & Out socks (the picture isn't that great - it was super gloomy when I took it).
I like them more than I thought I would, and I can't wait to knit more red socks!
Next up.... dyeing.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
I'm Twisted
Holy crap, where did the summer go? Talk about getting back to reality - in the past two weeks, my kids have returned to school and my husband went back to work. After 9 weeks of all four of us being home together, it's been a bit of an adjustment starting with getting up about 2 hours earlier than Chris & I were used to. (The kids get up around 7:00 regardless.) Silly me thought that I'd have so many wonderful, alone hours in which to knit my heart out. Everyone gone and it would be just me and my yarn.
Ha. As if.
How could being alone in the house cause there to be more work and fewer hours in the day? There must be some breach in the time continuum that somehow only affects stay-at-home moms. (Continuum? Is that a real word? Spell check thinks it is.) Of course, having gymnastics immediately after school four days a week for three hours at a time requiring major pre-planning with pre-pared dinners and pre-packed leotards & water bottles also puts a damper on fun time.
However, I am happy to report that I did finish the August socks for the Knit Sock Love KAL - Twisted Flower. My goal was to have them done by the end of August, but I actually finished on September 3rd. So sue me.
This pattern is a one size pattern. How I love the one-size-fits-most sizing. It's kind of a big "screw you" to anyone who is smaller or larger than the majority. There should be a note with them that reads, "Sorry, this pattern is for the average person. Those of you on the outskirts of the bell curve can bite me." Like with hats. I have a tiny head. Like a little orange on a long toothpick of a neck. Hats invariably come down over my ears. And eyes. Grrr.... This could be the reason I'm not a hat person. Either that or because they look ridiculous on me. It's one or the other.
But I digress.
The pattern for Twisted Flower was one size, but heck, I'm game for almost anything, so I crossed my fingers and cast on. At first it was seeming pretty big on my calf/ankle, but I kept reading people's posts on Ravelry saying they were worried it was going to be too small. Hmmm... I guess along with a giraffe neck, I also have chicken legs. But I persevered and kept knitting and luckily they tightened up as I went. The final product is a smidge looser than I'd like, but not loose enough for me to give them away as a gift. Plus they were a lot of work and I know I'll appreciate them.
These socks were a lace/cable combo. First some lacy, fan-looking stuff, then a bunch of teeny cables crossing happily, then more lace, then more cables, and so on. I realized that I hate cables. Teeny tiny little cables - just two stitches crossing a specific way, over and over across a row, maybe 5 times, maybe 10... I'm gritting my teeth just thinking about it. Not that it's hard, just tedious. Tee. Dee. Us.
But here they are, in all of their lacy, cabley glory! I give you.... Twisted Flower Socks.
And since it was September when I finished, that left me free to cast on the next pair of socks in the KSL book - In and Out. The photos of this sock in the book don't do much for me, to be honest. They are a dark blue which is pretty but doesn't showcase the pattern very well. I'm using RED yarn. (All caps because this yarn is really, gorgeously RED.) It's from Grant Creek Yarn and the colorway is "Frankly My Dear..." I think the name is completely clever and the color is beautiful. And since red is the color of the month for the Solid Socks group, I can double dip in their challenge.
Ha. As if.
How could being alone in the house cause there to be more work and fewer hours in the day? There must be some breach in the time continuum that somehow only affects stay-at-home moms. (Continuum? Is that a real word? Spell check thinks it is.) Of course, having gymnastics immediately after school four days a week for three hours at a time requiring major pre-planning with pre-pared dinners and pre-packed leotards & water bottles also puts a damper on fun time.
However, I am happy to report that I did finish the August socks for the Knit Sock Love KAL - Twisted Flower. My goal was to have them done by the end of August, but I actually finished on September 3rd. So sue me.
This pattern is a one size pattern. How I love the one-size-fits-most sizing. It's kind of a big "screw you" to anyone who is smaller or larger than the majority. There should be a note with them that reads, "Sorry, this pattern is for the average person. Those of you on the outskirts of the bell curve can bite me." Like with hats. I have a tiny head. Like a little orange on a long toothpick of a neck. Hats invariably come down over my ears. And eyes. Grrr.... This could be the reason I'm not a hat person. Either that or because they look ridiculous on me. It's one or the other.
But I digress.
The pattern for Twisted Flower was one size, but heck, I'm game for almost anything, so I crossed my fingers and cast on. At first it was seeming pretty big on my calf/ankle, but I kept reading people's posts on Ravelry saying they were worried it was going to be too small. Hmmm... I guess along with a giraffe neck, I also have chicken legs. But I persevered and kept knitting and luckily they tightened up as I went. The final product is a smidge looser than I'd like, but not loose enough for me to give them away as a gift. Plus they were a lot of work and I know I'll appreciate them.
These socks were a lace/cable combo. First some lacy, fan-looking stuff, then a bunch of teeny cables crossing happily, then more lace, then more cables, and so on. I realized that I hate cables. Teeny tiny little cables - just two stitches crossing a specific way, over and over across a row, maybe 5 times, maybe 10... I'm gritting my teeth just thinking about it. Not that it's hard, just tedious. Tee. Dee. Us.
But here they are, in all of their lacy, cabley glory! I give you.... Twisted Flower Socks.
Twisted Flower
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Co. Happy Feet
And since it was September when I finished, that left me free to cast on the next pair of socks in the KSL book - In and Out. The photos of this sock in the book don't do much for me, to be honest. They are a dark blue which is pretty but doesn't showcase the pattern very well. I'm using RED yarn. (All caps because this yarn is really, gorgeously RED.) It's from Grant Creek Yarn and the colorway is "Frankly My Dear..." I think the name is completely clever and the color is beautiful. And since red is the color of the month for the Solid Socks group, I can double dip in their challenge.
Here's my first In and Out in progress:
I'm working these one at a time instead of two at a time because there are different charts for the left and right feet and I didn't want to fiddle with following the correct chart and tracking which sock was which. I felt it would leave me too open to messing up somewhere along the line. However, I'm past the heel turn and gusset decreases on sock 1 (the left) and am working down the foot and can already feel SSS (second sock syndrome) creeping up. I have the urge to cast on another pair of something different rather than think about the second RED sock.
Must... Resist.... Urge!!!
Luckily I do have another pair of socks OTN (on the needles) that I can alternate with if necessary. They are a pair of Monkey socks in the Tree Fort colorway from Knit Picks. I don't have a photo yet, but I promise to put on in an upcoming blog post. Plus I'm just past the cuff so there isn't much to see yet.
Hold on...
Did I totally forget about my second pair of BFF socks? In a "firey" colorway? Short version: Since we were driving to western NY at the beginning of August, I needed a car project that I could do without reading a pattern so I cast on a second pair of BFF socks in an unknown colorway from Holiday Yarns that I got from their bargain bin. It looks like fire to me, so I call the socks my Firey BFFs. Finished August 25th - here they are...
How about that artsy-fartsy photo? What can I say, I was feeling artsy at the time. Or was it fartsy? I can't remember. Either way, the piano seemed like a cool idea.
I also bought more yarn. A few times. My sock yarn stash is growing faster than I can knit it down. I may be approaching S.A.B.L.E by the end of the year. (Stash accumulation beyond life expectancy.) Unless I live to be 147, then I'm good. If you're a Ravelry member, you can see all of my pretty yarn on my stash page. I still have a couple of hanks to post, but most of it is there.
So there you have it - you and the rest of the world are now up to speed on my knitting exploits. Next week I'm going to dye yarn for the first time with a friend I made on Ravelry who lives about a half hour away. I'm taking some bare yarn and she's setting us up with dye and the know-how. I'll try to take pics during the process, but if it's too hard or messy then I'll at least be able to share the results!
Toodle-loo!
Hold on...
Did I totally forget about my second pair of BFF socks? In a "firey" colorway? Short version: Since we were driving to western NY at the beginning of August, I needed a car project that I could do without reading a pattern so I cast on a second pair of BFF socks in an unknown colorway from Holiday Yarns that I got from their bargain bin. It looks like fire to me, so I call the socks my Firey BFFs. Finished August 25th - here they are...
How about that artsy-fartsy photo? What can I say, I was feeling artsy at the time. Or was it fartsy? I can't remember. Either way, the piano seemed like a cool idea.
I also bought more yarn. A few times. My sock yarn stash is growing faster than I can knit it down. I may be approaching S.A.B.L.E by the end of the year. (Stash accumulation beyond life expectancy.) Unless I live to be 147, then I'm good. If you're a Ravelry member, you can see all of my pretty yarn on my stash page. I still have a couple of hanks to post, but most of it is there.
So there you have it - you and the rest of the world are now up to speed on my knitting exploits. Next week I'm going to dye yarn for the first time with a friend I made on Ravelry who lives about a half hour away. I'm taking some bare yarn and she's setting us up with dye and the know-how. I'll try to take pics during the process, but if it's too hard or messy then I'll at least be able to share the results!
Toodle-loo!
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