Madeline’s cuffs- progress on cuff two.

SISC2011-11, Primavera socks in Trekking XXL

In any case… I have a fair share of fiber and yarn and I haven’t made any choices yet as relates to goals for 2012.  It could be another “Year of…”, but I just don’t know yet.  I’m rather inclined to do a year of “knit whatever, whenever I feel like it”, rather than set any kind of structured goal.  Maybe a little “vacation” from knitting after the last pair of socks is done, and I’ll do some spinning and other crafty crafty.  All told, it’s left to my whim and whimsy to decide, and I’m going to let it be until after pair 12 is done.  Who knows what fascination I might take up once my last pair is off the needles….

Watch this space….

To all my adoring fans:

Bahahahaaaaaaa! Sorry, can’t keep that up.

Anywho, sorry for the protracted blog silence. I’ve had no progress to report in some time, so I just kept quiet.

But!

After 2 months of knitting, unknitting, reknitting, swearing, procrastinating, designing, redesigning, swearing, searching,, swearing, changing needle sizes, knitting, swearing and finally finishing the June socks (in September), I have something to.show for my grueling efforts in the name of hobby textiles-making.

Yeah, I don’t believe it either. If knitting is grueling, it’s time to hang up the circulate, I hear you say. 

But anyway, knitting!

So, here I am in the breakroom at my office. I can’t take a picture because cameras are not allowed, and before you say anything, yes, I’m aware that my phone has a better camera on it than my actual camera. That’s why I’ve been able to take such  good pics lately; the quality improvement has been the equipment, not the photographer.  Anyway, the socks progress nicely. I’m (finally) working my way up the second one, with hopes of finishing soon. Since I worked out the worst of the kinks on sock 1, I should finish sock 2 with ease and speed (fingers crossed…). As long as I can remember the pattern alterations I made! Most of my changes are for fit through the leg and into the cuff, and the frequency of decreases in the afterthought heel.

Until next time,
MissK

Still, they do progress, despite my slowness:

They’re Texas Rangers Socks.  Yarn is Loopy Ewe Solid Series, in Strawberry, Blue, and White. I’m doing 1-row stripes using the helical stripes method on the foot, I inserted a strand for the afterthought heel, and I’m about to start the stranded colorwork on the leg.  I had to rework the pattern for: different stitch count, direction of knitting (I’m knitting toe-up instead of cuff-down), size (to fit on a woman’s size 11 foot, instead of a woman’s 6.5.  As the lovely and talented Carissa says, NO SMALL FEET!) Oh, and I have to finish the cuff and knit the second one.  But hey, what are challenges for, right?

Anyway, yes, these are June’s, but they’re coming along and I have a pair of little slipper sock thingies that will go quickly to help me catch up for July, once I finish these.  Then I have a smaller version (woman’s 6.5, miracle of miracles) to knit for August.  Then I’ll be back on the regular sock trail for the rest of the year.  … Or will I?   (Dunh dunh DUNH!!!!!)

Oh! A meme:

ABC’s of me.

I saw this on Knitiot who saw it on Crafty Addiction, and thus the meme continues.

So here we go…26 things ostensibly about me.  Although some of them are really more about my sense of humor, than about me.  Because I don’t like to give out all of my most personal info in the Internet.

A. Age: I haven’t yet had my birthday this year.

B. Bed: Full, European pillow-top back supporter. My idea of camping is anything less than 3 stars.

C. Chore You Dislike: Vacuuming.  I loathe it.  Good thing Mr. Man doesn’t mind doing it.

D. Dogs: I like dogs that are proper dogs:  Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, Bloodhounds.  Something that would give a burglar pause, if not enough of a fright to choose a different house to rob. Maybe a pair of them.   Nothing you can fit in a purse is a proper dog.  However, I will make a cuteness allowance for dachshunds.  And I will take it away because a dachshund is a small, yappy-type dog.

E. Essential Start to Your Day: Coffee.  Oh, coffee.  I could wax rhapsodic about the wonder and joy of a well-made cup of joe, about how very essential coffee is to me rising in the morning, but I think I’ve already been over that here.

F. Favorite Color: I love black, which isn’t a color, per se, and I love jewel tones, like bright raspberry pink and royal purple.  I like orange a lot, but can’t wear it, same goes for yellow.

G. Gold or Silver:  Silver all the way, baby.  Or white gold.  Or platinum.

H. Height: The measurement of vertical distance, but has two meanings in common use. It can either indicate how “tall” something is, or how “high up” it is. (source: Wikipedia/height).

I. Instruments You Played: I learned clarinet oh those many years ago, but doubt I could play a note anymore, and I’ve recently begun fooling around with ukulele.  I should really practice more on that….

J. Job Title: Legal Assistant II

K. Kids: may refer to

• Child
• Young goats, or leather made from their hides
  • Goat meat from young goats (source: Wikipedia)

L. Live: Emo rock band from the 90′s.  Most notable hit, “Lightning Crashes“.  Listen for it in your favorite grocery store’s easy-listening mix.

M. Mom’s name: Prefer not to state.  Never know who’s reading, and can’t be too sure an ID theft person wouldn’t take interest.

N. Nicknames: Gina,  Miss Knotty.  But most people don’t call me that. It’s more of a pseudonym than a nickname.

O. Overnight Hospital Stays: None, knock on wood.

P. Pet Peeves: Bad grammar from people who should really know better.

Q. Quote from a Movie: “I just want you to know, we’re all counting on you.” – Airplane

R. Righty or Lefty: Lefty!

S. Siblings: Yup, I have them.

T. Time You Wake Up: As late as I possibly can and still make it to work reasonably on time.

U. Underwear: brightly colored!

V.Veggies You Don’t Like: Mustard greens.  I like collards, kale and turnip greens, but I just don’t like mustard greens.

W. What Makes You Run Late:Define “late”.

X. X-Rays You’ve Had: Sinuses, and teeth. That’s it.  Again, knock on wood.

Y. Yummy Food You Make: Chocolate coffee toffee oatmeal cookies.  Oh, they are that good.

Z. Zoo Animal Favorites: Penguins, definitely.  And not available at the zoo, but at the aquarium, sloths.  Love the sloths.  Also skunks.  But only cute stuffed-animal versions, not the real ones, so much.

… Nice to see you here… Yeah, it’s been a while. No, totally, I missed you too, was thinking about you all the time..   What?  Of course I still have your number.  I’ve just been really busy, that’s all.  I know, I didn’t call or e-mail, or send you a Facebook message, but, but….  I just wanted to give you some time to focus on your art. … What?  You’re the one who asked for time, not me…

…. What?…

Okay, alright.  I’m the one who asked for time to work on my art, but it’s not like you haven’t been busy too … I mean, it’s not like you’ve just been sitting here, waiting on me to utter a word.

…  You have?  … [even more awkward silence ensues]

Right, well. Maybe you need a hobby.  Can I recommend knitting?

March Socks, Self Imposed Sock Club 2011

Electrosock Therapy by Carissa Browning

Yarn is Online Supersocke 100

Knit on either U.S. 1.5 or US 2, I don’t recall which.  Knit toe up with a very different heel construction.  You can’t see it on these pictures, but there’s a little row of double decreases right up the top of the foot, a very neat little detail.  Also I COMPLETELY ADORE this colorway.

My last post indicated that I finished them, and now I’ve taken a picture as well.  See, sometimes I’m not entirely remiss.

April’s Self-Imposed Sock Club socks:

No particular pattern, just toe-up socks.

Yarn is Shibui Knits sock

Little bit shallower toe-cup, cast on 24 stitches instead of just 16, and once up to the optimal number, begin just knitting in the round, and purl all chartreuse stitches.  Garter Stitch short-row heel to bring in the garter ridges and 2×2 stitching at the top, ending in Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.  A quick knit and finished entirely inside the month of April.  Within a week.

Sometime in May I got knocked on my tailfeather with a positively wretched sinus/ear infection combo that really set me back.  I spent most of the time while sick asleep, instead of knitting, so I  got behind in my Self -Imposed Sock Club goal and am consequently only on the 2nd May sock, even though it’s already June 12.  But I am on the 2nd one, so that’s something…  Right? They’re knit out of Regia Silk yarn in Black, and the pattern is the Lombard Street Socks by Susan Pierce Lawrence.  Once I get them finished up, I’ll post a pic.  In the interest of being proactive, I’ve cast on the June sock so that I don’t get even more woefully behind – June’s Socks are the Naive Socks by SpillyJane, and I’m knitting them from a beautiful Burnt Orange Knit Picks Essential Sock yarn.  2 months in a row with cables.  Oh well, this is what happens when you ask a non-knitter to pick a baggie with yarn in it out of the closet at random.  So anyway, I’m still proceeding, if slowly.  I’m also getting REALLY distracted.  I started the Bridgewater Shawl by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed fame, and I’m actually progressing (!) on my Sheryl’s Request Shawl – I’m past the border, picked up the stitches and am in the body stitches, if only barely.  I also just got yarn and pattern for the Catalina Cardigan by Jordana Paige, so watch this space for progress on that.  Color will be a a pretty cedar green in Kollage Yarns’ Corntastic, so we’ll see how that goes too.  I’m also watching a lot of foreign films (Thanks Netflix Streaming!) and I can’t knit and read subtitles if there’s any patterning to be done, so I’ve been opting to watch instead of knit.  Bad Mormon.  I’ve also been watching Dexter, and to say I’m riveted would be an understatement.  I finished the first season, and I’m ready to start Season 2, but I’m trying (impatiently) to wait for Mr. Man to catch up with me so we can watch together.  But I’ll re-watch.  I’m not proud.

I finished my February Socks late, on March 5th.  But I got back on track yippee skippee by finishing my March socks with days to spare.  Days, m’friends!
February: Divergent Socks by Carissa Browning

March: ElectroSock Therapy, also by Carissa Browning:

I did actually finish the March socks, I was just remiss in shooting a picture. Because I forget.

March roared in like a… actually, it was a really mild March, but it’s been a crazy April.  High winds, a crazy-strong thunderstorm where it not only hailed, it hailed so fast and so hard that the hail made DRIFTS at my place.  There was also a big ole pile of hailstones in the parking lot at my office when I drove in the NEXT MORNING!, and there are wildfires burning in other parts of my fair state.  Kindly keep the firefighters and people whose homes are being affected in your thoughts and prayers, please?

But back on topic:  Knitting!

…. Knitting(!)…

…knitting?…

…knitting.

Okay, so there hasn’t actually been much knitting happening lately.  I started my April socks, the Highland Fling socks by Wendy, of Wendyknits fame.  Mr. Man picked up the pattern for me for Christmas (of 2009) and it’s been marinating.  I’m using Knitpicks Essential (now discontinued) in a beautiful dark hunter green.  However, I have had struggles with these socks.  Struggles!  First I got a nice 10 stitches to the inch on the needles called for, which is pretty fantastic, except that the pattern calls for 8 sts/in.  I have had to go up 2 needle sizes to get the gauge that’s  called for in the pattern to make my size.

Also, this pattern features a different process than I’m accustomed to:  It’s knit on 2 circular needles (I’m a DPN devotee, personally), and once the toe is done, the upper is a different size needle from the sole.  Let’s start again:

The toe is knit on 2 circs that are the same size.  Then the upper is switched onto a different (larger) needle, and the sole continues on the smaller size, so as to make a firmer, harder-wearing sole.  Which makes a lot of sense, really, except that I don’t have a needle the size I need, given that I had to majorly upsize from the needles originally recommended.  I was going to just use DPNs, but the risk is too great that I’ll end up with the sole and upper needles reversed, and I don’t really feel like carrying around another 2 DPNs.  It’s just asking for me to lose them.  And I haven’t even gotten to the absolutely beautiful and TOTALLY BEYOND ME twisted stitch pattern.  Now. I know what you’re going to say.  “But Miss K, all knitting is just one stitch at a time.”  I hear you, and I agree.  However, I’m working 45-50+ hour weeks at work lately, and those working hours mean that my brain is on a slow hum when I get home.  I’m not complaining, but I am saying that even though I WANT to, I just don’t have the bandwidth left over after a long (fulfilling, challenging) day of the work I’m doing these days.  Heck, I don’t even have time to have inspirational flashes over my next project anymore!

As a result, I have been discouraged with April’s socks, and I’m considering giving the pattern a raincheck until I’m a little less mentally-strapped, and starting again in May, doing something else.  Since I just haven’t had the brainpower to work on the socks, I’ve been working on the border for my Sheryl’s Request shawl (Rav Link, sorry) (AKA the DHKG exclusive shawl pattern designed by the Knitting Fairy), since a 14-stitch, MumbleMumble row pattern seems like it would be a little easier to manage at the moment, so I’ve been just cruising along on that.  Also I have to get 50 repeats in and I just crossed the 30-repeat mark, so at least I’m trundling along.  I’m not saying it’s mistake-free, but I’ll tell you, it’s dark brown cashmere, and if you find the errors, you’re looking too hard.

As an aside, aaaaah, cccaaaaaaasssshhhhmmmmeeeeeeerrrrre.  So nice.

… Sorry, forgot myself there.

Anyway, I know what you’re all REALLY here for:

Lootz!

I went to the DFW Fiberfest on April 8-10, and I had myself a BALL!!!  I got beautiful, beautiful stuff, see?!

Saturday’s Take:

Pretties, back to front and left to right:

Back: Cold Woolie Ewe cup, The Weaver’s Idea Book, a rigid-heddle weaving book, Artichaut Shawl pattern by Anne Hanson of Knitspot,

Next row: (L) Australian Cashmere, Black Shetland Wool, Mixed Batt by Butterfly Girl Designs, Creamy white merino/Tencel blend

Front: Orenburg Spindle and Elm bowl, Tosh Sock in Neon Rose, and 2 in the hand Superwash Merino in colorway “Lady Pilot”

Sunday’s Take:

Back row: Dark Green 100% bamboo roving by Fiberlady, 100% camel down by Spinning Straw into Gold, Spinning sticker, Knit Happy travel mug

Next row: 100% bamboo laceweight yarn by FiberLady in color “Twilight”, and buttons.  The Black one says the same thing as the sticker, and the white one says, “I was a nice girl before I started all this knitting”

Front Row:  Beads! and Soak fiber wash in a couple of different flavors to try.

You might have noticed that I only have 4 skeins of yarn here.  And there’s a good reason for that.  Namely, that I have OODLES of yarn and plenty of access to more yarn here, vis a vis LYSes and online outlets.  I suppose it then follows that I would have equally as much access to fiber, which is MOSTLY true – I have access to fiber online, and some of my LYSes have begun to carry it, but not in the variety I can get at FF, and there’s something about being able to touch it that makes such a difference to a spinner.  So let’s have a little fiber round up for what I bought this year:

Black locally-grown Shetland, Superwash Merino, Camel down, Bamboo, Australian Cashmere (yep, I bought cashmere to spin on my Orenburg spindle.  I am too excited by half), Silky prettyfulness, in the form of a mixed batt from ButterflyGirl Designs.  It even has BEADS and sparkliness in there to spin in! Woo!, and Merino/Tencel Blend.

It ALL feels luscious, so I’m jazzy-jazz jazzed to start spinning it up.  To that end, I had to finish spinning up what was on my wheel in order to start something new, so now I have pretty handspun!, finished, washed and wacked this weekend:

This is a superwash BFL that I hand-dyed last July at Fancy Fibers Farm in Farmersville, TX (of which I am a shareholder this year – another Christmas gift from Mr. Man) It’s a laceweight to fingering-weight, and the finest I’ve ever spun up to this point, which is pretty cool, actually.  I think I have somewhere around 200 yards of this, which feels like a lot of work for not a whole lot of payoff, but man is it pretty.

Also acquired, but not by purchasing:

A beeeeeaaauuuutiful Yak/Merino blend in colorway “Chartreuse” from Abstract Fiber, which is a payment bribe gift from the lovely, lovely TexasPurlGurl, for unwinding a little puzzle that her dear pup Gypsy mixed up for her.  In the form of a complete, brand-new skein of Dream in Color Baby.  The little dear.  I’m still unwinding it, but I’m almost done.  She can do a NUMBER on yarn, though, can I just tell you?  It’s almost like she untied the little figure-8s on the skein before she did her little head shaky-shaky, to add to the challenge.  It’s a beautiful skein of yarn, though, all that color depth.  Gooooorrggeeeeouuuus.

4 oz of handpainted roving as a door-prize, from a generous donor, but who didn’t come to the festival this year.

And that’s just the stuff I got at FiberFest!

The week before that, I was feeling acquisitive, and I ended up buying 9 skeins of Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Strawberry, White and Royal Blue to make some Texas Rangers colourwork socks for my attorney and another friend, because they’re absolutely baseball NUTS!  So those will likely be my next sock projects.  In my search for the ‘right’ red, I also ended up with 1260 yards of Cascade Heritage Sock yarn in a beautiful kind of brick red.  Not the right red for Ranger red, but absolutely right for a pretty something for yours truly.  I think I might do a pretty shrug for me, or something else.  I haven’t knit anything from Knit So Fine yet, but I’m getting itchy garment-fingers.

I also have a repair job to do on a sweater for another friend, because a well-worn and loved sweater needs a little TLC and I think it’s something I can do.  It’ll require some sweater surgery, but that’s OK.  It’ll look better once it’s fixed up.

Well, I guess I had a LOT to report, after all.  Heh…

I’m working up the leg on my February Self-Imposed Sock Club socks, and they’re coming along.  I’m at the point now where I’m ‘even-ing up’ the front of the leg to the back:

Yarn is Trekking XXL in a colorway I’ve named ‘peas and carrots’.  Because that’s what it reminds me of.  It has some maize, some pumpkin, some … well, some beige (whole wheat? to continue the food color names…), and a charming little faux fair-isle band breaking up each color.  The color patterning held up, even through the widest part of the heel construction, which I kind of love.  You knit down to the toe, and the designer gives very specific instructions for finishing, which I did, and I’ve picked up the leg and I’m working on up.  Special Thanks to the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice, which I sat down to watch yesterday with DangerLad , because I got most of the foot done in that span.  I’ve also finished his slippers.  They got felted last night, and they’re drying now.  Slowly but surely.  I held a bright kelly green together with a dark hunter green for the upper, and I used the same heathered gunmetal grey for the sole and accent cuff, and it turned out just charming!

What a difference felting makes, eh?!  I got a good 3″ of shrinkage vertically, and the stitch definition is gone, even from the soles.   I think I could maybe get 1 more inch of shrinkage if I had to, but I had him try them on last night, when they were still a bit damp, and he said that, although clammy, the fit was good.  So we stuffed them with newsprint and left them to dry.

He’s wearing them today (even while still damp) to help get the shape conformed more to his foot.

He is thrilled with them. I’m thrilled that he’s thrilled. It pleases me to know that I’ve made something for him that he’ll actually use and wear.

I should also comment here that the Secret Project of yestermonth was gifted yesterday, and now I’m at liberty to share same with you guys:

The “seam” side:

Folded up all pretty-like:

Yarn is Candy Cane, by Knitting Fever, Inc. It’s 100% acrylic, and after I washed it up, I was VERY agreeably surprised with how soft it got. It took 6 balls total to complete this, and I have some left over. Not a lot, but some. I got it at Yarn & Stitches, a nearby LYS. Pattern is Rambling Rows, by Pat Penney & Carol Anderson.  This is the third iteration I’ve made of this little guy.  I made one each for my niece and nephew, son and daughter of Mr. YoungerBrother:

This one, for nephew Ryder, is made from “boyish” colors, in Berrocco Comfort, a microfiber/nylon blend:

This one, for niece Ayden (and the first one I made, back in 2006) is made from Caron Simply Soft, in VERY girly pastels):

It’s a veritable gallery!

I’m told that now that I’ve made three, it’s rather a family legacy. I don’t mind, really, although this is a record-breaking for me; this is the only pattern (besides socks) that I’ve ever made more than once. And really, I usually don’t do anything besides the vanilla sock pattern more than once, so… trippy. But they’ve turned out pretty every time I’ve done them, so it’s not like I’m displeased.

On a sidenote, I find it very funny that each of these photos were taken in different apartments.  That may only be funny to me, but Yeah.  The bottom one is from an apartment in 2006, the 2nd-bottom is from an apartment 2 moves later in 2008, and the third in my current apartment in January 2011, another 2 moves later.  HA!  Also, I move a LOT!

Deets:

Pattern: Hat Heel Socks, by Kathleen Sperling (Rav Link)

Yarn: Austermann Step

Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Mods: to the pattern: none.  To the process: I knit the second in a different order from the first.  For the first one, I knit the heel, then the foot, then the leg; on the second, I knit the heel, then the leg, then the foot.   That the ribbing matches almost perfectly is a happy accident, but since I’ve been a freak about the matching lately, it should hardly come as a surprise, should it?

My February Self Imposed Socks are a charming pattern by Carissa Browning (a local designer), the Divergent Socks (Rav Link) (Designer’s Blog Link). I’m knitting them from Trekking XXL that’s been swimming around in my stash for a while, waiting for Just The Right Pattern to come along.  I’m knitting them on a US 1, 2.00 mm DPNs, as recommended in the pattern.  I tried it on last night, and it’s turning out pretty nice.  I’m a little concerned about the leg opening being too big, but we’ll have to see how it all works out.  It’s knitting nice and densely on the foot, so there’ll be some sturdy socks in my future.  Really digging how this colorway is working up in this pattern.  The striping has held up all the way through the heel, much to my pleasure, despite LOTS of increasing through that region.  So much is my need for The Match, that I’ll probably pull through the 2nd ball until I get to the same area of pattern to start my second sock.  The pattern starts at a provisional cast on at the heel, and you begin by knitting a little rectangle.  Isn’t that cool?!

This is the second sock in my Self-Imposed Sock Club that is started at neither the top nor the toe.  Not all of my socks in this year’s Club have alternative “sock-itecture”, and this one was chosen by DangerLad for me, so that it would be random (well, random-ish.  He went into the closet at my behest and pulled out a bag with sock yarn and pattern.  I don’t know what his decision process was in choosing this one over the other 10 in there.)

It looks slightly skewed in these pictures because the needles don’t perfectly correspond with the sides of the sock.  That said, it’s fitting very well, and I anticipate I’ll be finished with these pretty quickly if I just keep on them.  Fortunately they’re a very interesting knit, so ‘keeping on them’ is not a challenge at all, particularly since I’ve been watching my way through True Blood on DVD (again). Thank God SOMEBODY’S still in favor of a bad-ass vampire.  Seriously, I was SO tired of angsty, tormented vampires.  There are still SOME angsty vamps in True Blood, but the majority are still actually Scary Monster types.  Love that.

The color in the second picture is very “true”, even though it was shot with tungsten lighting and flash, so I guess my camera still has some life in it yet.

I’m also knitting up some Felted Clogs for DangerLad, in a beguiling hunter green and gunmetal grey combination.  Will shoot some pics before and after felting, but after these bitty needles and tight knitting, working with US 13 needles is like knitting with broomstick-handles, can I tell you?!!