And There's a Rat in Someone's Bedroom

I've been trying all week to get a photo of Frieda in her Halloween costume, and this is really the best that I could do. She's not very enthusiastic, but at least she tolerates me . . .

It Was a Fine Idea at the Time

Where has October gone? When I started these socks only a few weeks ago, I had big plans for Socktober. Knit this pair of socks from scratch, finish one or two pair that are already in progress, maybe throw in a Halloween craft project or two . . .

Let's just say that it didn't happen, and move on. The Poppy Socks are just past the heel turn, and I'm still enjoying the pattern. I'm not yet to the knit-foot-forever stage, but it will probably be here soon. I love, love, love the color of the yarn and the way that it's knitting up. I'm hoping that I can finish these before my upcoming mini-vacation--Mom and I are going to Kauai over Veteran's Day weekend. Any recommendations?

Spoiler Alert: RSC Oct 2007

Here's the penultimate Rockin' Sock Club yarn from the 2007 club. There are six total, right?

I love this yarn, although it's mighty close to some other sock yarn that is currently in my stash. The pattern looks interesting, although I haven't actually looked at it (or the rest of the stuff that came in the package) that closely yet. I'll catch up on that (and hopefully everything else I'm behind on) soon! I did complete the Flat Stanley project, he had a pretty good time on his travels. Here's a very seasonally-appropriate shot, one of my favorites from the batch:

Some Side With The Leaves

My niece has sent me her Flat Stanley, and so far he's having a pretty good time. See him rolling in the leaves? And now I'm in Orlando for a conference, so he's been Disney-ing it up something good. So far, I've resisted photographing a "Flat Stanley at Night" expose for this blog, but it could still happen once I'm back at home.

Arrrrgh, this be pretty!

Leaving for the airport in a half hour, but had to post a spoiler!

Two Toe Tuesday: Top Down Stizz

The Triangle Shawl was barely pinned out before I wanted to start a new project. Not necessarily a big project, but something that would keep me occupied on some upcoming flights, something interesting but that wouldn't require that I stay chained to a book (House Socks, anyone?). Enter the Poppy Socks from Sundara Yarn's Petals Collection sock club:

I love this pattern. It's one pattern row, three plain rib rows. The pattern is a little fiddley (it's a cable with a hole in the center), but very pretty. Nice texture, shows off the yarn beautifully, and the cuffs aren't super high so they should be pretty fast and there will probably be yarn left over that I can use for something else.

Doing the Things a Triangle Can

I was hoping to have one of those super spectacular finished shawl photos by now, but the first batch of full-shawl shots didn't turn out that well, and it's been dark and rainy since I realized I should take a new photo. So I'm going to make due with what I have, since I'm going to Boston and Orlando later this week and won't have time to fool around with it before then.

The photos above show some of the details--I think I like the shawl-over-dog-gate photo the best, because it looks very airy that way. The dog gate is actually a critical tool in this whole process--keeping the dachshunds off of the shawl while blocking would have been impossible without it!

Here's how the shawl looked (in bad lighting, taken at night), before soaking & blocking:

Barely looks like lace, no edge definition, basically looks terrible.

Here's how it looks after blocking:

Even in a not-super photo, it looks pretty good! I'm very pleased with the way it turned out, even if I'm not sure I can pull off the triangle shawl look. The top edge isn't really that crooked, I just didn't spend enough time arranging it. I was very glad to see that the scallops have held their shape--it's kind of amazing, really. The yarn is from Sundara Yarn, it's her sport merino. I used size 6 Addi Lace needles, the largest size they make. A larger size might have been a little more airy, which would have been nice.

I'm trying my hardest not to start another lace project, even though I have a couple of skeins of sport merino in my stash that would look great in lace. Time to refocus on one of the other three lace projects that are on the needles, maybe?

p.s. I reserve the right to continue to quote "Triangle Man" in the title of any future posts that involve triangle shaped things. I have no idea why this didn't occur to me sooner.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

The triangle shawl is about half dry, the light is uneven in the sewing room so I'm only showing a piece of it.

I've tried to be a little aggressive with the blocking, so that the stitch definition will still be good after I unpin it.
Now that it's on the wires (blocking wires from Knitpicks), it's easy to see that there are four stitch patterns. The first three are leafy (leaf, fir cone, a leaf from a Japanese stitch dictionary), and the last one is ripple. The first and last are from Evelyn Clark's book, and the other are patterns I wanted to try out and crammed into the chart. I was trying to go from a fairly closed leaf to more open patterns, and while I think it was a good theory, they kind of all seem to have the same amount of openness. The ripple at the bottom is the most open, and I think it makes a nice border.

Hopefully, it will be totally dry later today, although I may leave it pinned out until tomorrow regardless.

Rhonda--I'll definitely bring it to knit night once I'm back in town, provided that I don't lose it while I'm travelling!

Whew!

The lace triangle shawl is off the needles, and blocking. I soaked and pinned it this evening, and the flash photos don't look good so I'll try to get something better tomorrow. It was a close call--I skipped two rows of the edging, and here's what I had left:

My original plan, based on the yardage estimates in Knitting Lace Triangles, my original plan was to knit about 118 rows, but I think that the skeins must have had a little something extra in them, or it knit up closer to a fingering than a sport weight. At row 131, I had 42 grams of yarn left. After that, I knit 7 more pattern rows, and 4 rows of the edging, and the cast off. That's about 3 grams per row (if I count the cast off as one row), so taking out those two rows was probably a good idea, I think.

The Coolest Thing Out of Finland Since Laika & the Cosmonauts *

Or, what knitting all day on size 000 needles will get you:

I took Susanna Hansson's Lapland Hand Garments: The Mittens of Rovaniemi class on Sunday at the Nordic Knitting Conference, it was a little mind-blowing. Not to mention finger-cramping, neck-tensing, and butt-numbing--though I didn't really notice any of those things until later. I really enjoyed learning this new technique, I've never knit anything quite like it. I don't think that I can discuss this class with as much flair as the Yarn Harlot, so I refer you to her post about the very first such class.

Now it's Tuesday, here's a more recent photo:

Yes, that's right--no additional progress. This method is not to be attempted while two dogs are on the lap, the television is blaring, and the old lady you live with is yammering on about the Senior Center. I'll be travelling a bit in the next couple of weeks, which should give me a little more quiet time if I dare to bring it along with me.

In other photos, Desiknitter asked to see a side view of the Home & Hearth Eyelet Anklets. I hadn't even looked at them sideways, and now that I have I can see the genius of Cat's book. They are completely freaky looking because there aren't any gussets, but yet they fit perfectly. I couldn't photograph them on my feet sideways, but here they are on a (conveniently matchy) sock blocker:

See, no gussets! Totally smooth! The sock looks even weirder when it's not on a sock blocker:

Must cast on sock #2 soon, before I lose the mojo. I'm very close to finishing the Triangle Shawl, though, so I'm trying to focus on that.

* Not familiar with Laika & the Cosmonauts? They're only the best surf band out of Finland!

Story of an Anklet

My first New Pathways sock is complete, though it's not the same pattern that I started with. Right after this post, I ripped back to the start of the arch expansion, and instead of the Philospopher's House Sock I switched over to the Home & Hearth Eyelet Anklets. I like the simple, lacy panel that runs up the foot, even though it doesn't look straight in the photo above. I barely had to fudge any of the numbers to make it work with the toe I already had, even though it was different than the pattern and started with a few stitches more than my "master numbers" advise.

The yarn (Melody by Jojoland) has been a nice surprise--I haven't worked with it before, and wasn't sure what to expect in terms of color or how much I really need for these socks. There should be plenty of yarn left--the finished sock weighs a good amount less than the remaining yarn. The long color changes look better than I expected, and it will be cool to see how they are different from one sock to the next.

In terms of the pattern and book, I've been very happy reading it but only moderately happy using it so far. The architectures are really interesting and beautiful, but I don't like having to flip around the book while I'm knitting. To knit this pair of socks, I had to refer to at least 12 different pages, few of which were in order. Each piece of the pattern is in a different place, and it was frustrating to be glued to the book. For instance, the instructions for the reinforced heel are on two pages, but they also refer to three other pages. I seriously thought I was going to lose it when I got to Step 4, which is "same as plain heel (page 123)"--it shouldn't take 5 pages of instructions for one heel! Some people on Ravelry have had the binding cut off at Kinkos and replaced with a spiral binding, so it will lie flat, which is a good start, but the book is still a little large to share my lap with a knitting project and one to two dachshunds. For the next pair, (after finishing this pair, of course) I'll either copy or write out all of the instructions at once before I start.

One great thing about the book is that there are lots of graphics showing how the stitches should sit on the needles with the markers, and that illustrate the techniques used. Also, Cat describes stitches in a unique way in the text, such as comparing a wrap around a stitch to a necklace, which may make it easier for some knitters to remember her instructions. For me, it's a little confusing, but I think that's because I don't always read the whole instruction. I'm also very pleased with the fit of the finished sock, and I'm a little amazed that the measurements and gauge worked together to produce an actual sock. Now I just need to start sock 2, before my gauge changes!!

Put a Sock in it!

This evening I made a sock project bag, using possibly the most cloying fabric I've ever purchased. Seriously--kittens and yarn amongst gigantic flowers in 1974's finest colors? It wouldn't surprise me if I found this in my Mom's extensive fabric stash, but I can't explain why I bought a 1/2 yard on the quilt shop hop. I'm not sure why I had pink cord lying around, either. The vintage button on the kitty-pocket is from last winter's Sewing Expo. This is a good size for carrying around, and it's pretty unlikely that anyone else will mistake it for their kitten sock project bag.

Can This Sock Be Saved?

After some misteps, bad math, and indecision, this is where I'm at on the House Socks from New Pathways. Earlier in the week, I convinced myself that this pattern wasn't going to work because the number of stitches before the triangle starts was even, so no center stitch to begin with. I picked out a different pattern that would work with the already-knit toe, picked up some cool letter stitch markers at my LYS, and then realized that I'd counted the stitches wrong--I have 46 stitches, so 23 in the instep. 23 is an odd number, how about that? I'm about 20 rows into the arch expansion, and I don't like the pattern in the triangle for the following reasons:

1. I didn't like it all that much to begin with, even though the overall effect is nice--I wanted to jump in and make something, so I picked a short, fully-formed pattern.
2. I second-guessed the pattern when it started to look like ribbing, and "fixed" it so that now it's wrong
3. I've gotten used to reading charts while making these shawls, and I'm having trouble visualizing how the pattern should look while I'm reading the instructions

I think that I need to rip back to before the arch expansion, and then use the master pattern to start again. Also, if I'm going to put patterning in the arch expansion, I will chart it out so that I can see what's happening. This style of sock knitting is very cool, but since it's new to me I should probably plan a little better, and maybe read the whole pattern and make sure I know that it will work with the stitches I have.

One thing that I really DO like about the sock is how the yarn colors are changing. You can see in the photo on the left that the yellowy-blue is slowly giving way to a bluey-blue. I had no idea that this was even happening while I was knitting, it was only after I looked at it under a light that it was clear. Very neat!

Cat's book uses the letter markers as guideposts in the pattern, and there are a lot of people out there making sets of markers with letters. Two in particular that I like are on Etsy, this circus letter set (also check out this seller's Halloween buttons) and this metal bead set. I thought briefly about making some, but there are so many good, inexpensive options, and I'd really rather knit.

Can't you see you're not helping?

This is why my blog posts are often short and poorly edited:

I'm starting to think that she'll do anything to get on the internets.

The Petals Collection: Kit #2

I'm so excited about the Sundara Yarn Petals Club package that arrived today! The yarn is gorgeous, and the pattern is also great. I don't get the feeling that this club is quite so anti-spoiler as some of the others, but I don't want to ruin someone else's surprise with my geographical advantage, so I'll pipe down for now. Why do I aways start new socks just before delicious sock yarn arrives??

My Letter Hound Loves Them, Too

Just a quick shout-out to my Sockapalooza sockpal--I wore my socks for the first time today, and they were extremely comfortable. Pattern & yarn details available on her blog in this post. It's started to get chilly here, and I was very happy that I had them this evening at Safeco Field. Thanks again, Jennifer!

Two Toe Tuesday: One-Toe Edition

I started a new pair of socks last week, my first pair from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters book. There's already been some unexpected trial and error (my gauge changed between the swatch and the toe), so I'm going to knit these socks one at a time.

I know that I was supposed to knit some trial socks to get used to the new construction of the socks in this book, but after misplacing the book for a few weeks I was too impatient so I just jumped right in. The pattern I'm using are the Philospher's House Socks, which are just over ankle high and utilize the Upstream Architecture. I'm not 100% how far the yarn I'm using will go, since I've doubled it, so I picked a shorter pair. Worst case, I have no problem using a contrasting color on the cuffs.

The yarn is Melody by Jojoland, it has very long color runs, so the striping should be subtle. The transitions might be a little TOO subtle now that I've doubled the yarn, or it could be that I end up with two totally different socks. It'll be interesting to see what happens, once I get past Toe #1.

Scooping Up the Field Mice & Bopping 'em on the Head

The Bunny has a face! I dug up some embroidery floss and a few buttons yesterday evening, and in just a few minutes the bunny had a face. Now I just need to make some pants for the little guy, and he'll be ready to ship off to his new home. This is a very quick project, maybe a couple of hours total. The instructions are clear and well-written, and I'm looking forward to making more of these (and clothes for them). The pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls, I highly recommend it!

One thing about having dogs who love to tear apart stuffed toys is that they don't really differentiate between their toys and, say, a bunny that you're making. Frieda made a couple of bold attempts to take the bunny away from me while I was stuffing it, but I managed to keep her from doing any damage. Her goal in life is to remove stuffing from every dog she owns, and she didn't seem to like the idea of the stuffing (new stuffing, of course) going back into a toy. This evening when I took him to the backyard for a photo, Frieda totally ignored the bunny. Gretel showed a little interest, possibly in an attempt to make it onto the blog. She's an attention-hound, for sure!

Decisions, Decisions . . .

Right now, I have eight "active" WIPs in my Ravelry notebook, eleven "hibernating" WIPs, and one WIP that I haven't added to Ravelry yet. This doesn't include the bunny, or the tissue-holders I've started cutting out for the holiday bazaar, either. Is it any wonder that I'm having trouble deciding what to work on this afternoon? This weekend I've worked on:

Item 1: My second Chevron Scarf, which has somehow grown to about 30 inches after stalling for much of the summer. It's been my main car project since finishing the Brother Socks, and I've knit probably 10 inches in the last two weeks. I thought that the colors were a little boring when I started this, but they are growing on me now. The scarf will look super with jeans!

Item 2: The Big Footed Bunny. I clipped some curves, ironed some seams, stuffed one foot, and selected buttons for the eyes. Then I couldn't find the embroidery floss, so I stopped working on it. No photos--it looks not much different than before.

Item 3: The leafy triangle shawl that I started last weekend. I was able to get over 100 rows from the first skein of yarn, which is much more than I expected. My original plan was to knit about 118 rows, based on 450 yards of yarn, but I think that I can get closer to 140 rows. I'm on the fourth pattern that I've incorporated, and I'm not sure if I'll need to find a fifth.

Item 4: A secret Christmas project. If you're on Ravelry, you can see it here--it's for someone who's not on (yet). Sorry, N____er, that means that it isn't for you!

Item 5: A new pair of socks, from a pattern in Cat Bordhi's new book. More about this once I make some actual progress.

It's hard to see a lot of progress when I'm skipping around so much, although the leafy triangle shawl and the chevron scarf are getting bigger. It's also hard to focus (and to type) when there's a dachshund snuggled up on the corner of the keyboard. Time to put the computer down, and get back to knitting . . . maybe each project needs a turn.

Arrrrrrrrr! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day and I have nary a Pirate project on the needles. So I offer you a photo of an older project, and invite you to check out this cartoon, if you haven't seen it yet.

This is my friend A_____ M_______, in the hat that was too small for my big head, but that fits her normal-sized head very nicely.