Posts Tagged ‘Socks’

Nothing to fear but fear itself

{ 20 November 2009 @ 10:08 am } · { knit }
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If you were following along in the comments yesterday, you probably know that I didn’t finish the Fascine Braid Socks, but I did finish the yarn. You also know that the lovely Miss Helena has offered up a bit of her stash to allow me to finish the nine remaining rows. I figured that not being able to work on a project due to unavailability of resources (I was in San Diego, Helena is in Vista, so I couldn’t get to the rescue yarn) was a good enough reason to start in on the next project – the Bird in Hand mittens by Kate Gilbert.

I’ve only done a little bit of stranded colorwork, mostly because I have a hard time deciding the best way to hold the two strands of yarn. I also have a bit of an issue with my tension when carrying the non-working yarn across the back. But these mittens are so cool, I’m determined to overcome my limitations in order to claim them as a finished project.

I started them last night while waiting for Sami (who is now a Purple Belt in Kempo) to finish with her class and private lesson. I worked on them some more when we got home. And here is where I finally stopped at 12:00am (the pattern is so engrossing I didn’t realize how late it was):

If you look closely at the middle panel, you’ll see that I’m still having tension issues. And those braids? Holy cow! It may be because I was knitting too tightly, but those braids were a pain in the butt. I’m seriously considering calling this attempt a swatch, and making some adjustments when I start fresh.

  1. I’ll use the braids from my Latvian Mittens book. They’re way easier to do, and I think they look cooler.
  2. I’ll get some larger needles. Right now, I’m working with size 2 needles and Cascade 220 yarn. But maybe I just need to loosen up a bit. We’ll see.

I’m also not sure I like where the thumb gusset is. The Latvian Mitten patterns have the thumb just coming out of the palm of the mitten, and I really like the way it looks. This pattern has the thumb poking out from the side which, to be honest, is what a thumb does. I just don’t think it looks as graceful and streamlined. I guess you’ll find out some time tomorrow what I decided to do.

Well, CleverKnits doesn’t open until noon, the washing machine just chimed, so I’m going to go be responsible – at least until noon or so. See ya later!

Completion Anxiety

{ 19 November 2009 @ 7:09 am } · { knit }
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The second Fascine Braid sock is nearly done. I have 4 pattern rows left to do, then I’ll shape the toe. This is where I stopped last night at 6:00, when, while sitting at Borders waiting for the girls, I set my knitting aside to surf through Ravelry a bit and check up on some things on Facebook.

This is worth noting, because it won’t take me more than 30 minutes to finish what’s left of this sock. And I had at least 45 minutes left before Jojo & Sami got to the bookstore. I could have been done with these socks, and ready to start the mittens this morning with a clear conscience. But instead, I surfed the web.

Even now, I have 30 minutes before I have to leave for work, and rather than knitting, I’m writing a post. Procrastination is a strange and wonderful thing, don’t you think?

I’ve come up with two possible reasons for my completion anxiety. First, the mittens that are next on my list are stranded colorwork, and although I’ve done a bit of it before, I’m not very efficient at it. It could be fear of not being able to finish this last Christmas gift that has me stuck on finishing the second-to-last one. Second, there is this:

This is the sock. Do you see that little squiggly pile of yarn on the left? That’s all the yarn I have left to finish this lovely pair of socks. I was having flashbacks to my first attempt at the February Lady Sweater, where I knit late into the night, only to run out of yarn when I was just rows short of completion. I think I might have an “episode” if it happens again. Last night, however, I found a lovely person who has some of this very yarn in her stash, and she’s willing to part with a skein. Now I just need to figure out if I need it.

I guess I know what I’ll be doing during my lunch break.

Gotta Go!

{ 17 November 2009 @ 11:42 pm } · { knit }
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Oh, tonight was busy. I made the dessert for Alex to take to the potluck tomorrow; I made grilled ham & cheese sandwiches for dinner; I made it to knit night, especially to wish Karen a Happy Birthday, give her the card that Sami made for her for me (that makes more sense, somehow, when I say it out loud), and pick up some yarn for my next project (Bird in Hand mittens); then I made it home before Max was ready for bed – we played cars/blocks/dinosaurs/what-animal-is-this-and-what-sound-does-it-make and put the alphabet puzzle together. Then I snuggled him to sleep, which wasn’t even a challenge. And I just finished spending an hour looking at knitting patterns online (I should have been knitting that stupid lovely second sock).

But now I’m tired.  So I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to finish the aforementioned sock.

Then, and only then, do I get to start on the mittens. I’m blackmailing myself.

As the Heel Turns

{ 16 November 2009 @ 8:59 pm } · { knit }
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Fascine Sock, Attempt 2, Sock 2 Update:

Heel turned, decreasing for gusset, end in site (although really just a speck on the horizon).

Tomorrow I have another birthday to celebrate: Karen at Clever Knits is turning the big 5-0. I commissioned Sami to make a card for me to give to Karen, and I can’t wait to see what they’ve got cooking for knit night. The last birthday that fell on knit night was Helena’s, and it was quite an impressive blow out. I’m going to have to stop in, say hi, maybe pick up some yarn for the Bird in Hand mittens, then come right back home, because my lovely husband has a pot luck at his office on Wednesday, and he very nicely requested my culinary assistance (ha!). So I will be making a Spiced Pumpkin Mousse Trifle. The best part about it is that: a) there is no actual “cooking” or “baking” involved; and b) I was thinking about making this for Thanksgiving (which I get to host again this year… I’m so glad they’re giving me another chance. I’ll tell you more about that later), and it will be nice to try it out on a bunch of strangers first!!

Happy Monday, and special greetings to Kellie (a new visitor), Valerie (who stops in for a quick look-see everytime I post), and Sharon M., my lovely friend from Wisconsin whom I met in San Diego. Hello to you all!

happy birthday to cristina!

{ 15 November 2009 @ 9:57 pm } · { knit }
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this entry is brought to you by Max. He’s a tough editor, but has no respect for capitalization (he’s laying on my arm so I can’t reach the right shift key).

Here’s the knitting status:

Friday Max and I bonded ALL DAY LONG, without a break (i.e., no nap was taken). He finally fell asleep at 8:30pm, and by that time I was ready for bed too.

Saturday evening we went out to dinner for my sister-in-law’s birthday. I can’t believe she’s  only 28.

Sunday I had many household responsibilities to address (like grocery shopping), plus that whole pesky post-grocery-shopping-feed-the-family thing. I fed them pizza, but I still had to go get it, and do the dishes afterwards.

In other words, the second sock is just barely further along than it was last time.

I’ve also made a decision. I’m sick of knitting socks. I cannot, canNOT knit another whole pair. If someone would be willing to take a single sock, I might be able to do it. But that just doesn’t sound like a very good Christmas present. So instead, I’ve decided to do mittens. I know, aren’t really that much different than socks. But I’ve been waiting for months to make these…

These aren’t mine. These were knit by Melissa, and she said I could borrow her photos. Aren’t they lovely?  If you look really closely, you can see the bird on the thumbs. I’m hoping to finish the second Fascine Braid sock by Tuesday so I can get going on these. I’m even looking forward to doing the thumbs. Wish me luck!

I apologize

{ 12 November 2009 @ 5:12 pm } · { knit }
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I know. I’ve been a slacker, but I swear it’s only in the blogging department that I’ve been lagging. The biggest drain on my time has been… you guessed it… knitting. I’m working hard to finish the knitting that’s destined for Wisconsin before Christmas, and I think that if I can keep focused and not be distracted by every sweater, mitten, and yes, I admit it, scarf that I see in a book or being worn by someone, I might just make my November 28th deadline. As it stands right this minute, I have 3 socks left to knit, and one of them is already cast on.

This is the first Fascine Braid sock, done in Jitterbug sock yarn, colorway “Vincent’s Apron”. Doesn’t it look like a sock that Midas got hold of? I originally did this pattern using white malabrigo, but the yarn was too thin for the size 2 needles I had available, so that yarn has been set aside for some as yet undetermined project (although it won’t be started until I’m done with the rest of my Christmas knitting).

Here are the little boy (he’s actually 9, and may actually object to being referred to as a “little boy”) socks I’ve alluded to. The blue-green (Jitterbug “Jay”, I think) pair is based on the YarnHarlot’s plain sock recipe, with the stitch count adjusted to accommodate a smaller leg. The red (Jitterbug “Mardi Gras”) pair is based on the same pattern, but with ribs, and a funky no-cable-needle, knit through back loop, twisty thing going on with the knit ribs.

I’ve gotta tell you, I love Jitterbug for its squishy softness. I do not, however, like Jitterbug very much for the frustratingly inconsistent dye job. The skeins are significantly duller at one end than the other, guaranteeing not-even-close-to-matching socks.

After the Wisconsin knitting is done, I have a whole herd of projects that I’m looking forward to doing. Some I’ve played with a bit already, some I’ve just been eyeing from afar. The thing is, after Christmas the birthday season begins, so I’m going to need to keep my eye on those dates as well. Plus, I still owe my mom her birthday/Christmas present, which I now fear will have to be combined with Valentine’s Day and possibly Mother’s Day as well.

But mom, I promise, it’s really cool, and you’ll totally appreciate the delay once it’s done. I swear.

Christmas Knitting Update

{ 1 November 2009 @ 7:54 pm } · { knit }
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Here’s the latest tally on my Christmas knitting.

The first pair of little socks is done. The second sock of the second pair is started, and I’m about halfway down the leg. That leaves me with 4.5 socks left to do before November 30th (my self-imposed “Mail Gifts to Wisconsin” date). I figure that it will take me about a week to do each of the big socks that are left, which works out just about perfectly. I have about a week of fudge time, just in case, but I’m hoping not to need it.

I’ll post a photo of the socks that are finished as soon as I find where Sami has put my camera.

Halfway There

{ 7 October 2009 @ 10:55 am } · { knit }
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Willoughby has officially reached the halfway mark. Last night at Knit Night, I finished the bottom edge of the first half, and this morning I carefully removed the blue yarn that was holding my provisional cast-on and started the second half.  Unblocked, including the bottom border, it measures 40″ at this point. Which will result (theoretically) in an 80″ scarf. It will be interesting to see how long it is after it’s blocked. I’m betting close to 8 feet.

Willoughby, half done.

On Friday, whilst Max and I were doing the Tour de Yarn Stores, I picked up some rosewood DPNs by Lantern Moon. I used to love using DPNs, and hated the circulars. Now, I find that I’d rather use circulars than even straight needles. I think it’s because there’s no way I’ll lose one of my needles in the middle of a project.

Anyway, I bought these DPNs because a) they’re really pretty; and b) because I thought maybe the reason I’d moved on to circulars was because I was constantly bending my DPNs. These are far sturdier than the bamboo needles I’d purchased in the past. I made a small something, just to test them out. They were lovely to work with, and didn’t bend at all.

a new sock for Max (I’ll do the other one today), and my new DPNs

Today is overcast and chilly at my house, and Max had the right idea. This

turned into this

and so now I’m going to do some of this

before he turns back into this

Have a good Wednesday!

Another Christmas Scarf

{ 23 September 2009 @ 1:05 am } · { knit }
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Even though the first Christmas Scarf (that would be the Irish Hiking Scarf), is still on the needles, I’ve begun a second scarf. I won’t tell who it’s for, as I’m not sure if she reads my blog or not. But suffice it to say she’d better like it. If she doesn’t I’m going to have to insist she return it, because I think it’s the cat’s pajamas.

This is the Willoughby Scarf, pattern by Jared Flood. The pattern calls for cashmere, but I couldn’t find any that was inexpensive enough to afford the 800 yards required. So I’m using Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light. I’m also using size 7 needles rather than the size 8 he suggested, as it looked extra sloppy with the larger needles. Because of these two modifications, I’m quickly realizing I’m going to be doing WAY more than 40 pattern repeats. But that’s ok, because I really like this pattern.

The Fascine Braid Socks are on hold. I’m nearly to the point where I can start decreasing for the toe of the sock, but when I tried it on I noticed that my purls are not even, and the sock looks… not very well done. This may be due to my inadvertent substitution of thin sock yarn for the recommended medium.

I’m going to do a quick swatch using smaller needles and figure out where to add stitches to make the pattern work, then start over. Just as with the Willoughby, I’m not upset about this because the pattern really flies.

Well, back to work!

ps…

Valerie, I did see your comment on my last post voting for the FLS to be the next thing I worked on. However, we went on an adventure (we drove to Julian) and the sweater was too big and hot to work on in the car.

Actually getting somewhere

{ 16 September 2009 @ 11:20 pm } · { knit }
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My Christmas knitting is coming along, although it would help a lot if I could finish a few things rather than continually casting on. I suppose this is why I started in August… I need all the lead time I can get!

I did manage to get one item done. Kaylie’s sweater is

Mabel sweater in Cascade 220 Heathers

It even has a button!

Pewter Celtic Knot button from Clever Knits in Vista, CA

Last night at Knit Night I bought two skeins of white malabrigo sock yarn, which I quite intended to turn into the Willoughby scarf. Alas, after six or seven attempts at getting past the first repeat, the yarn finally got its point across that it didn’t want to be a scarf, it wanted to be socks (hence the name). So, Willoughby has been put on hold until I can find some more cooperative string, and instead the malabrigo is being turned into these:

Fascine Braid Socks by Tiennie in malabrigo Sock yarn (who knew?)

I love how the picot hem turns out, but I really, really hate knitting it. I murmured, “It’s only one row. It’s only one row,” to myself thru the entire ordeal. It was totally worth it.

Check out the braids. Aren’t they clever? The best part is that they’re not cables. And the second best part is that because they’re not cables, this pattern moves really fast. I’m not sure who these are for yet, and I won’t have to make that decision until I get to the foot length, so it’s anyone’s guess, really.

I’m going to spare you more pictures of my uncle’s scarf. Suffice it to say, it’s six feet long, and still not long enough (according to the several big-chested men who indulged me and tried it on). I ordered two more balls of yarn from Knit Picks, which should add another 16-24 inches to the length. If it’s still not long enough at that point, the scarf is going to someone littler, and my uncle is getting a book.

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