Appetite for Destruction

Man, has it really been almost a month since I posted?

After the February whirlwind, I caught the worst cold I've had since December of 2001. In fact, the cold of 2010 may have been worse than the cold of 2001, and after hitting hard the last week of February, I'm just getting back into my regular routine (and still have a little bit of a cough).

The cold hit during the Olympics, and prevented me from finishing any WIPs or new projects. My initial plans were not overly ambitious--finish the Black Diamond cardigan (I started a few rows into the raglan decreases), start & finish the Komi Hat, and rip out a bunch of projects I haven't worked on in ages.

The Black Diamond is really, really close to being done now, but at the end of the Olympics I still had some work in pattern to do and it was more energy than I had. There's been zero work on the hat. I always think that if I am stuck home sick, I should be able to get a lot of knitting done, but I couldn't even pull something plain out to work on--I was too busy napping in between violent coughing fits. I've put the Komi hat in time-out for now (I don't love it, and now it's spring so no pressing need to finish it), and I'll most likely finish the Black Diamond after returning from my annual trip to Spring Training, which starts on Wednesday. I had hoped to finish it this weekend, but had a LOT of other things to get done since I've been neglecting all but the essentials for the past three weeks.

The Ravelympics weren't a total loss, however--I did summon the strength to rip out SIX works-in-progress that I was unlikely to ever finish. Here's the proof:

Mystery Socks, Started January 2008.



Kiila Greens, started May 2009

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Purple Graffiti Cables, started April 2009



Leyburn, started January 2009



Sockgate Socks, Started July 2009



Blue Hawaiian, started July 2009

All that ripping earned me a medal, which is good, and now there are six fewer projects I have to worry about finishing, which is even better. I think that the main thing I've learned by ripping these out is that I don't love toe-up socks when it comes time to figure out the heel. For the Blue Hawaiian and the Sockgate socks, I didn't like how the heels interrupted the pattern. For the Leyburn socks, I tried to make some heel adjustments and it just didn't work. For wonky fits or stripes, top down is probably the best way for me to go!

Ooo-ooooo-oooh, I'm Lookin' for Clues

Clue #1 of the Ravelry Sockdown January Mystery Socks is finally complete! Here's one of the socks, which I had to separate close to the end of Clue #1 due to a small pattern-following problem:

See the subtle, Valentine's Day theme on the front? I think that it looks pretty good so far, and I've started the heel flap on the other sock. Rather than juggle six different strands of yarn and two different charts at once on the intarsia heel, I've opted to keep the socks separate for the time being--three bobbins at once is plenty for me. According to the examples I've seen on Ravelry (such as these and these), the toe is supposed to be in the contrast color, and I'm a little concerned that I might run out of it--I am, after all, using leftovers. I think I have plenty of black yarn, though, so I could always use that for the tippy tip if I run out. I'd like to finish these up in time to wear to Madrona, although I probably won't be there on Valentine's day itself due to a trivia team committment (and my classes are on Sat & Sun).

I was able to finish the skirt in time for the wedding (no staples necessary, fortunately), but I forgot to take my camera so I don't have any photos yet. I also finished my wedding-related craft, making information cards for the chocolate tasting bar. Yes, you read that right--the happy couple had an incredibly delicious chocolate tasting bar, with 7 dark or semi-sweet chocolates, three milk chocolates, one white chocolate, and a Hershey bar. It was a great idea, and I tasted all but the Hershey's. Possibly multiple times. The wedding was lovely (and would have been even without chocolate), and I was so happy to be there. I didn't know many other people, but everyone was soooo welcoming and warm. I'll stop my gushing there, before it sounds like I'm reviewing the wedding instead of just discussing it--what kind of a jerk reviews weddings? Not this one!

Sweet Comic Valentine

I just realized yesterday that I haven't posted anything about these socks yet, even though they are moving along. I started these on January 1, a new project for a new year. They're the Ravelry Sockdown Mystery Socks (Rav link) by Fyberduck, and since I'm two clues behind I am not going "spoil screen" them. I'm looking forward to getting to clues 2 & 3, because the results, which I cannot help but seek out before I get to them, are going to look really cute with a pair of backless clogs. I'll give you a hint--it's a Valentine's Day related theme. The black yarn is Louet Gems Fingering weight, and the dark purple is Sundara Sock Yarn in Poppy, leftover from the Poppy Socks that I gave to E___ for Christmas, even though I really, really love them. I chose these colors because Fyberduck let on beforehand that the socks might be related to Valentine's Day, and I wanted low contrast instead of colors that were super themey. As attractive as it is for a single woman in her (very) late 30's to wear hearts, I decided to go with something subtle, and possibly goth-y. 'Cause I'm hardcore goth, you know. (note to self: find out if the phrase "hardcore goth" is something that the kids are saying these days).

I'm knitting these socks on size 1 needles, and the lace is really stretchy so I'm concerned that they might end up a little too loose on top. The concern is compounded by this pair (Rav link) that a friend is knitting that look so tidy and neat because she's a tighter knitter. I know that socks should be tighter for better wear, and I'm not sure when I became such a loose knitter--I think I could use some better tensioning skillz when working with smaller needles. In any case, the black part of the leg feels firmer to me, so I will live with the stretchiness of the lace, and add elastic to the cuff if necessary. Unless I make some other kind of mistake, and rip them all out, in which case I will break down and chart the clues before re-knitting.

I like where the sock is going overall, and I'd like to complete them in time to wear them to Madrona on Valentine's Day. There are (at least) three things to blame for the un-speediness of my knitting, none of which should prevent me from finishing them by mid-Feb:

1. Knitting the socks two at once, which doubles the time to complete clue #1:

2. Starting the Hawk Sawk at the same time

3. Working on my "try to exercise a little" plan. Note that progress towards my monthly Nike+ goal will appear in the sidebar, so far it's going pretty well. I'm using the "Couch to 5K" podcasts, because in May I might be in the right place at the right time to run a 4.2K. I'm looking forward to the tiny children of Prague taunting me as they fly by me, and I'm looking forward to the "Free Czech Beer" after the race. 'Cause nothing says "family run" like Free Czech Beer.