good-natured ribbing

When I got home from a short trip on Friday evening, there was a package waiting for me. It contained four skeins (2 colors) of Reynold’s Soft Sea Wool and the pattern book that goes along with it. I thought one of these might be for my sock pal. I started knitting right away. I chose a combination of the Barber Pole sock from the book and the Spiral Boot sock from the recent IK. These are almost identical except one is knee high with a fancy top, the other is just calf high with plain ribbing. I was shooting for a calf high sock with a fancy top.

It was coming out great (and fast!) until I slipped the sucker over my foot. It was generously sized, to say the least, even for my generously sized calf. I cast on 60 stitches, used size 2 needles, and the called-for yarn from both patterns. Oh well. I ripped it out.

Still excited about the new yarn and the possibilities, I cast on for a different sock in the pattern book – Mrs. Hunter’s sock. Just as the first one, I got all the way to the heel and it didn’t fit. This time, I couldn’t even squeak it over my foot. This one had 56 stitches but it didn’t have much stretch – you can see why in the picture. Oh well. I ripped it out.

All in all, it was a wasted knitting weekend. Thank goodness I finished one Wollmeise sock on my trip to NY.

Oh yeah, I probably took over 300 photos this weekend (of various things) and most of them turned out terribly. The best thing to do was put the needles and the camera down and start weeding.

I started knitting and the face of Marilyn Monroe appeared.

Well, I lie. I was following a chart and hoping that the face of Marilyn Monroe would eventually appear. This will be a bag for Emily, based on the Poster Boy bag in Stitch N’ Bitch Nation. It’s hard to tell when you’re looking at it stitch by stitch if it resembles anything, but I think I see it emerging.

In other knitting news, I was looking at the Sockapalooza blog, and saw that some people were worried because they hadn’t heard from their sock pals yet. We’re supposed to get in touch?! I thought it was radio silence until we sent the socks in August. So, I created myself a new, untraceable email account and sent a message off. My sock pal says she likes blues, and has rather long feet. So the first thing that comes to mind is either a Nancy Bush sock (NB patterns = long and skinny, in my experience) in Schaefer Anne, or Merino Lace Socks (from Favorite Socks) in baby blue Regia.

(In an aside, there is now a link from the Sockapalooza blog to “the knit pligg.” Somebody tell me what a pligg is and why we would use it…)

I have other socks going. Not as many as Kristen, but enough. I’ve been traveling, and working, and stuff, and so am making slow progess on these, my Knitting-on-the-Road Along socks. The last time I posted was a month ago, and they’ve hardly grown since then. The other knit-alongers are already voting on the next sock, and I may have to sit out the next one.

And I finished this one on the plane to NYC, and half of its mate.

In New York, Kristen and I saw this exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design:

We were going to try to get to the knitting speed trials on while there on May 17, but had already made a commitment to go to Noodle Pudding in Brooklyn, a place I love and which I have written about before. It’s still great. But I haven’t yet been able to find out who the fastest knitter was.

Chapter 31

This left me time on my hands. Eight-thirty. I needed to check my own messages, but I owed Passaro a call, too. And Dahlia, and Stash. I dialed up my messages first.
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Chapter 30

By the payphone outside the Picot, I found the Binding number in my notebook. Six rings, Mrs. Baine answered, irritated, “Hello?”
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Chapter 29

I came to, the lights were still on. My head hurt. It was doing that a lot lately. I indulged in a groan or two before getting to my feet.
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My Ashford Traveller was delivered on Monday. I ordered it unfinished and unassembled and I’d estimate that I spent 6-8 hours over the course of three days getting it all ready to go. I put two coats of tung oil finish on it…I had to wait 24 hours between each coat. Of course, being lazy, I initially thought about leaving it unstained. I’m really glad that I didn’t, because it looks a lot better and is much more protected from temperature and humidity fluctuations, which seems important in Michigan. Last night everything was dried so I got to work on putting all the pieces together. It was frustrating at times, but overall, I felt really satisfied at the end of it all to do that myself. Now, if I just knew what to do with it….I’ll post pictures later.

Wow…this is quite a thing to see.

http://www.mohairknitter.com/MOHAIR_CATSUIT_MOHAIRKNITTER.htm

My Wollmeise and I have resolved our differences.

I’ve started a few different socks with this yarn and just wasn’t happy. I was starting to think it was the yarn – which made me sad. Each time, I’d used a size US 1 needle. This time, I tried a US 1.5 and I guess that did the trick. It is working out beautifully this time.

The pattern is New Year’s Day Socks by Dipsy Doodle. They are so easy and fun to make plus the pattern is lovely. The cable adds a little something special. I sure can’t wait till these are done!!

A while ago Sherry gave me a skein of Lorna’s Laces Flamingo Stripe yarn (mentioned here). She knew Ava would enjoy anything made out of these colors! When I got it home, Ava was excited to see the yarn – as much as a three year old can get excited about yarn. She said “Here, Mommy, you hold it…. but don’t knit it yet!!”

I thought about doing something a little fancy with these, but as I worked through the ribbing for the cuff, I decided the striping was enough for these sock. I ended up doing the Basic Ribbed Socks from Socks Two (Sherry’s favorite). I reduced the number of stitches to 48 and used size US1 needles.

I love the way they turned out, and so does Ava. I’m so glad she has outgrown the “I hate everything you knit” phase! I better not overdo it, though – she could turn at any moment.

And thanks to Denise for the new shoes. These are now the favorites. (Even though she has 3 other pairs of new shoes. Nick thinks I’m turning her into a shoe addict, just like me.)

Well, I was going to spend the weekend in the garden teaching Ava how to weed, but thanks to Mayarn, I have bigger and better plans! She was kind enough to send me an invite to join Ravelry as a beta tester.

It is all the rage and now I can play, too! I can’t wait to pull out all my yarn and take lovely photos of everything to include in my stash inventory!!! The website is bound to be an indespensable tool for all knitters. No more wading through Google results for yarn stores when I just want to find what someone made with a certain yarn :)

Oh yeah, and thanks to Megan, I must present you with 8 Random Things about myself. Sorry everyone… blame the Philistine.

1. I truly have a bad memory. It often happens that I have no recollection of conversations or activities I’ve participated in in the recent past (so say the other participants). However, I can remember things like the circumstances under which I obtained each and every book on the shelf or a scent that I’ve not been around since childhood.
2. I have a bit of a mean streak. Yes Christina, just a bit. I can’t imaging where it came from but unfortunately, I’ve already passed it down. This, combined with my other family traits – sarcasm and crankiness – make me a real treat to be around.
3. I really really like photography and have a really nice camera. But I can’t be bothered to really learn anything about photography. I just rely on the skill of the camera to get the good shots.
4. Until knitting, I didn’t have a hobby that lasted for more than one project. While this does expose you to a lot of different things, it also costs a lot and creates a lot of clutter. Now that I have found my crafting niche, I still spend a lot of money and have a lot of clutter – but I’m much happier.
5. I’m a habitual “sleep-doer.” What I do is so far beyond sleep walking that it isn’t funny. Well, I’m sure it is funny to any onlooker. I’ve been known to have entire conversations, make the bed, search for the dogs, fix the blinds, and engage in other even more bizarre activities while sleeping. My husband has grown very tired of it. Too bad for him, our daughter has already started exhibiting this behaviour.
6. I use the term “pencil crayon” instead of “colored pencil.”
7. Every morning when I leave the house for work, I will have had on at least 2 outfits and 3 pairs of shoes. No wonder I’m so tired in the morning.
8. My husband tells me that some of my food preferences are weird. The most recent thing that grossed him out was milk on jello (but only red jello). I did that all the time as a kid.

There you have it.

Now, I must pass this chore along to some other unsuspecting knitters. Since I copped out last time and listed the other Good-Natured Ribbers, I’ll pick some others this time:

Kristy, Judy, Bea, Tienne, Chris, and Neil.

The blogless Neil can just add his to the comments.

I had a long day today…left the house at 7:45am and didn’t get home until 9:15 this evening. All that drudgery was forgotten though when I found a package sitting on my doorstep from my SP10 Pal! She’s got very good taste—-the alpaca yarn is soooo soft and perfect colors. She also included the new Interweave Knits, yummy treats, and neatest of all, a cute, little measuring tape. Love it. Thank you so much for the inspired package…I’m going to eat a cookie right now.

Actually more of a prodigal blogger. I have been knitting steadily since the move. I have completed Mike’s “bad-ass skull cap” and my first two pairs of baby socks. Unfortunately I still have not mastered the digital camera. I have drafts of posts but can’t add the photos to them until I figure out how to make the photos a smaller size. So now you know that buying a house didn’t kill me. Almost…but not quite.

I just had to start a project with the lace yarn I dyed recently. I decided to go with the Flower Basket Shawl.

Stupidly, I was trying to work on this while taking care of a cranky, recently-immunized child. Needless to say, I was a bit distracted. By the end of the second repeat, I was already several stitches off!!

I was also working with Denise needles, which are far too blunt for a lacy project. So I’m going to rip this out and start again (probably on bigger needles, too). It looked so pretty, through, I just had to share.

I’ve talked about my little crochet number a couple times now without showing a good picture. I managed to remember to get a few shots before we left for the wedding. Here they are:

Pattern: Short & Sweet from Stitch ‘n Bitch Crochet
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns – Classic Silk (50% cotton, 30% silk, 20% nylon)

It is soft but substantial (I used a 5mm hook, which may have been a bit small, but it worked out to my advantage). I did get some compliments on it but they were overshadowed by comments on my hair. I guess it is more surprising to see me with straight hair than wearing a handmade garment.

Aside from simple single crochet items, simple granny squares, and simple edging, this is my first real crochet project. I classify this as real because I followed a pattern that wasn’t made for beginners. It went pretty smoothly, though there were some errors and oddities in the pattern that I was able to find correction info. It only took 4 days to complete, so I guess it was pretty easy!

Chapter 28

Then it was really confusing. My ribs hurt, my head hurt, a ton of bricks landed on my chest, and it was dark. A cry nearby, struggle, heavy breathing, whispers, a gasp from my poor squashed lungs. Then light.

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I did it, I finally purchased a spinning wheel– the Ashford Traveller, to be precise. And how did I manage to finally afford this little luxury??? Cashout of vacation days! Now I’ll just have to figure out how to use the darn thing.

This is really a comment on Kira’s post below because I couldn’t figure out if I could put a picture in the comments field. These are the mittens she made for me last year, but now all ready to be put away until next winter. I brushed them gently with a sweater stone and then washed them with knit wash and they look perfectly new.

Thanks again, Kira.

Last weekend I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I have been trying to go for the last two years, but I have had to work. This year, I planned early and let everyone know the dates ahead of time so there were no conflicts. It was a bit of a drive (a little over an hour), but definitely worth the trouble. I don’t have photos as just about everything I got was for Christmas (mostly for a lucky sister), but imagine a fair ground filled with yarn, wool, sheep, llamas, rabbits and all of the accouterments associated with them. That’s a pretty fair picture. I went on Sunday specifically to see the sheep to shawl contest (where they shear a sheep and make a shawl out of the wool in four hours), but couldn’t find a map to see where it was being held. That’s okay, because I spent 3 1/2 hours shopping! If you are in the D.C. area, you should definitely go! The food was also good, but I must admit to feeling a bit guilty about eating lamb kabobs while being surrounded by all those sheep and their lovely wool. I got over it quickly though, because the lamb was really good!

I have been knitting a bit lately – mostly mittens again. There is something about two color knitting I just love, and mittens are so fast! Here is a pair for my sons girlfriend.

Here is a pair I started for Bonnie’s mom, Barbie.

And here is a pair that I am calling “Go Blue!” for fairly obvious reasons. Well, obvious if you’re from the Big 10 anyway!

These are done using the “sitting dog” pattern from Anna Zilboorg’s “Fancy Feet” book. Although they aren’t really wolverines, I think they are close enough! I don’t really have anything to wear them with, but I am sure I can find a Michigan fan to take them off my hands!

Although I have been knitting a bit, I have mostly been working on dolls and clothes for my niece, Lauren. Here is a picture of one of the dolls.

This one will be donated to our church’s Christmas Bazaar. I was going to give it to my niece, but my son, Ian, said it had “crazy” hair! So I made Lauren another with “normal” hair. Can’t post it here until September in case she is watching!

Well, I am off to watch some Firefly – I borrowed the complete series from a friend, and I need to watch it while the boys are off bonding! Happy knitting!

Some people might wonder about having 16 feet worth of sock pairs in progress all at once. For me, it’s a comforting thing. They’re getting finished, though slowly. Some are for me, some for family, and one pair may be for a jilted sockapalooza 3 member.

In between the socks, I’ve completed a few other things.

Today, I sewed the buttons on a baby sweater, for a friend at work:

It’s Mission Falls 1824 wool (stashed from the old mill), in the Mission Falls “Star” pattern. I added the smaller star on the back of the sweater. The intarsia’s looking a bit puckery, but there’s no time to block again — baby’s imminent. Let’s hope he’s not a critic.

For myself, in the early spring I finished a couple of things in the Blue Sky Alpacas – Alpaca Silk:

I don’t think I could ever get enough of the Alapaca Silk. It washes up beautifully and has a lovely sheen to it.

Well, not in its current state, anyway. Right now it is all wet and flat but I promise you, it is very cute. And despite the concerns I had with sizing during construction, it fits perfectly.

I guess I should mention that this is the crochet bolero I was thinking about then not thinking about making to wear to a wedding next weekend. I decided to go for it after all. I started working on it on Tuesday or Wednesday and finished today. Crochet it fast.

As soon as it was done (this afternoon), I put it on and went shoe shopping. It must be good luck because I came home with three pairs!

As I promised, here are some lovely shots of the yarn I colored last weekend. I felt a little so-so about these when I was finished dying them (see here), I really like them now and can’t wait to start knitting with them!

And now I need your help with naming the color – I have no creativity for that kind of thing. Here are close ups of each one:

1. 2. 3.

Do you remember I started that shawl a while ago with all the Claudia yarn? Well, I’ve been making some progress. The seed stitch section just about kill me (and I cut it a bit short – but just a bit).

I’m not as pleased as I thought I’d be with how the colors work with each other. I think the 1st and 2nd colors are complementary and so are the 3rd and 4th. But there is something missing between 2 and 3, I think. I just feels too stark. I’ll have to wait until I see the final product before deciding for sure. It might make a lovely gift for someone!

And finally, last weekend I mentioned that I might go to the yarn store by my brother’s house. I did. This is what I got:

Sweet Georgia in Honey Fig and Black Orchid. For anyone looking to get their hands on some Sweet Georgia, The Yarn and Bead Gallery in Tecumseh, Ontario has a big basket full of it.

This has been an ongoing problem for me–having neat ribbing on the sides where knit meets purl. I knit continental, and can never seem to get this to look good. I’ve tried playing with my tension, but to no avail. Anybody know any tricks? Oh, and this is for socks so it’s in the round.

A little late, but worth the wait. Despite his birthday being February 10th, I finally finished Mike’s bad-ass skull cap or “birthday hat”. It was of my own design using a skein of Berrocco Ultra Alpaca I had in my stash. I knit the hat on size 4 needles…much smaller than I was accustomed. Accordingly, the hat took me longer than usual to knit. Perhaps the fact that I worked on it almost entirely on my lunch hour at work contributed to the delay as well.

Well here’s Mike looking his most bad-ass and me seeing what I will look like when I steal the cap back for my own…

I have a wedding to go to in about two weeks and of course I need something to wear. I think I might wear a dress I already have (seen here) but it is sleeveless so I’m thinking of whipping up a little sweater-like thing to wear over it.

There is a cute little lacy jacket in The Happy Hooker (stitch & bitch crochet) that I thought I might attempt. Of course, I picked something with the most complex stitch pattern in the book. I made a swatch out of some spare yarn last night to see if I 1) could do it and 2) enjoy it.

The result was 1) yes and 2) no. I don’t think I’ll make this sweater right now. I can definitely do it, I just don’t want to! If you have ideas for a quick wrap/bolero/cardigan project that is suitable, let me know soon!!!

I dyed some yarn over the weekend. I’m only sort of pleased with the outcome. Here are the three skeins I dyed:

From left to right: lace weight merino (I’m least pleased with this one and am thinking of overdying it); KnitPicks Peruvian Wool (same colors as the first one, just applied differently); and Australian merino sock yarn (my favorite – soft, nice colors!). I’ll put up some better pictures once I get them skeined properly. In case you are interested, I got the non-KnitPicks yarn at Wool2Dye4.

And this was just to funny to keep to myself. Here is a picture of Ava, playing with a sock blocker in my yarn closet.

Yes, she picked out her own outfit!