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!

Two Toe Tuesday: Kiila Sockdown Edition

Watching a five-hour, 15-inning baseball game on television chewed into a lot of my Sunday plans (the M's eventually won), but it also gave me a lot time to work on the Kiila socks. I've finished the first toe through the first clue, and the second toe is well underway. The foot is stockinette with a little cable up each side, and although it's a little fussier to knit than the similar (but wider) cable on the Red Hot Chili socks, I like the way it's coming out. I'm using Dream in Color Smooshy, which is splitting a little when I try to cable without a needle, but I am definitely getting more comfortable with that technique. I've shied away from it on socks before because the stitches are so tiny, and I'm not doing it 100% of the time now, but it can be faster. I just have to train myself to stop yanking the stitch that's still on the needle! I'm hoping to have both toes ready for clue #2 when it comes out later this week, but I'll be heads-down for most of the week on other things so it may not happen. The May Sockdown runs through the end of June, so even if I get a little behind there's still a chance to catch up--provided that I'm not distracted by other, shiney new patterns!

I Just Want To Fly

Oh, it's hard to take a picture of a shawl, when you're not willing to be in the photograph. But it's done, and I'm pretty pleased with it. The edging turned out a little more ruffley than I expected, but I think that a little more length to the edging (or severe blocking) would probably have taken care of that. The edging is Blue Sky Alpaca's Alpaca Sport, and it's a little denser than the blue Rowan felted tweed, so that could be a factor too. I hope that it will be a popular item (it's for a raffle for my local college alumnae chapter), or at least that whoever wins the basket it's in won't immediately donate it to another charitable cause!

I can easily see myself making one of these for myself, although I'll probably wait awhile. It's been nice to do a little work on other projects over the last couple of days, and to start a little something new:

Another Sock Knitter's Anonymous challenge--the May Mystery Sock! The pattern is called Kiila (Rav Link), which means gusset in Finnish, and it's designed by the wonderful Yarnissima so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it shapes up. I'm using Smooshy that I bought at Stitch N Pitch last year, the color is Happy Forest. Intuitively, I know that this is a soft, spongey wool, but it feels stiff and a little scratchy after that soft Alpaca sport border. Weird, huh? Must be careful not to turn into a person who will only knit cashmere and alpaca . . .

Anyway, I'm enjoying the pattern even though the sock has not been totally trouble-free. I took the photo above last night, before ripping back to the beginning of the chart that starts at the top of the toe. It's hard to see it well here, but there was either an extra row in the first cable group or something else was going on--it didn't look quite right, and there was also excessive laddering on the left side. I've reknit as much as I ripped back and a little more, and I feel better about the results. The problem may well have been just trying to keep the tension even, rather than my inability to follow a 4-stitch, 6 row chart, but either way it's looking better now.