January One -- Socks
February 05, 2008
A Prince of A Monkey
Even with all the excitement during the big game on Sunday, I managed to finish my Purple Rain monkey socks. I love them. 'Natch.
For all of you who've been living under a rock, through no fault of your own I'm sure, I'll give you the particulars. The pattern is Monkey by the genius that is Cookie A. All the credit for the Picot Edge mod should go to Margene because she's the one who did it first. Wizard Woman Tina dyed the yarn - STR. Purple Rain colorway. Don't ask me if it's available. If it's not on the website, it probably means the colorway's not in the rotation at this time. Don't hate me because I have a large stash of the stuff.
I am definitely NOT sick of this pattern yet. In fact, yesterday I cast on for a new pair, but I'm not loving the harmony between the colorway and the sock. I may go a completely different direction in colorways on the next pair. I have to go through my stash again and make some decisions.
Thanks for all the kind comments on Oblique - and on my belly! This pregnancy thing is so weird. All of a sudden, sort of like, you're this completely different person. Not just mentally and emotionally - but PHYSICALLY! What happened to me? I don't remember what it felt like to NOT be pregnant.
The drilling today is driving me nuts. BONKERS. C-A-R-A-Z-Y! So I think I'm going to eat some breakfast (or MORE breakfast) and take a walk in the fog wearing my new cozy sweater and new socks. My polling place is pretty close by so I think I can make it there and back without too many breaks. If you live in a primary state, I could care less who you vote for - that's your personal business and just like I don't think anyone should tell you who you should (or shouldn't) marry or which god you should worship - I don't think anyone should tell you how to vote. You should vote the way YOU believe is right for you and your family. But you should definitely VOTE.
That's my public service message for the day. Have a good one!
Posted by Cara at 10:00 AM | Comments (21)
January 25, 2008
Monkey Feet
Hey! Check it out! It's a SOCK!
I finished my first purple monkey last night (STR Lightweight Purple Rain.) I honestly forgot how much I absolutely adore those tiny little sock stitches. They look so perfect. I'm so glad I've remembered!
So here's the deal on why I haven't worn any monkeys until recently (although now I haven't taken them off.) I started knitting monkeys in May. The last pair I finished was in August and I started the first purple sock in August. I don't think I need to tell you that May through August equals NO WOOL SOCKS. I'm a barefoot girl in general, but I do like to wear my handknit socks. I usually wear them all winter. But I also wear these shoes most of the winter. They have a very warm fleece lining which is perfect for bare feet. (I actually really like going out in the cold with bare feet and these shoes. It's a little bit decadent and wrong.)
Also, this winter hadn't been so cold until recently and I'M PREGNANT. Which means I'm 80 million degrees most of the time. And nothing makes you hotter faster than wool on your feet. Trust me.
There's also a little secret weird thing I do with my socks. I don't weave in the ends until I'm ready to wear them. I finish the sock, I photograph it for the blog, and then I stick it in my sock drawer. When I'm ready to wear them I take them out and weave in the ends. So strange. The real truth is that anytime I reached for a sock this winter I remembered I hadn't woven in the ends and went for a Jaywalker instead. Sad but true. Now you know the whole story.
I can't wait to cast on for the second sock and I'm already planning what I'm going to knit next! Jaywalkers and Monkeys are PERFECT for my beloved STR Variegated yarn - anyone have any other pattern they've had particular success with in terms of variegated yarns? I'd love to hear about it!
I've also finished the collar on Oblique.
Which means all I have left is some quicky ribbing on the sleeves and seams. I hope to have it finished by the weekend. This thing is HUGE. But I still love it.
I've got some yarn coming to me for a very special project that I'm chomping at the bit to start. Hopefully I'll have it for next week! And I've got another project that I hope to get on the needles this weekend. At least cast on. If only I didn't have all this cleaning to do. Or taxes. Or other work stuff I'd be KNITTING KNITTING KNITTING!
I'm also planning on a major fiber sale. Time to make room for baby. Stay tuned!
Have a great weekend!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 10:44 AM | Comments (36)
January 22, 2008
Dream Baby Dream
Last night I had an awful dream - I was injecting myself with something and I knew that injecting myself with this "stuff" was going to kill me, but I did it anyway.
Yeah. Not so much fun to wake up to a suicide dream. Although, I realize, that it has nothing to do with suicide and everything to do with being pregnant. I'm thinking that the injections symbolized the fertility drugs I had to take to get pregnant and the dying wasn't so much a physical death but a METAphysical death. You know - like the death of my current identity being morphed into my NEW identity as a mother? Just my armchair psychology for the day, but it was spooky nonetheless. Took me awhile to fall back to sleep again.
I've pretty much escaped the crazy dreams of pregnancy. I have one every now and then but most of the time I'm pregnant in my "regular" dreams and I'm always telling people I can't do this or that because DUH I'm pregnant. Tellingly I wasn't pregnant in last night's dream. Georgie, my poor sweet, has been shouldering the bulk of the nightmares this pregnancy. I think because I manage to work out my anxieties while I'm awake rather than asleep.
The identity dream fits well with all the work we've been doing around the house. Sunday we needed two cars to schlep the FIFTEEN bags we had filled to the Salvation Army. FIFTEEN and yet our house is still filled with crap and looks a mess. Georgie started moving things out of the room that will eventually be the baby's which means I have to now SHARE the spaces I've called my own for the last ten years. Not too much resentment here. I walk into my closet and there's all of his STUFF.
It's okay. I'll get used to it. And it's not like we're all freaked out that the room won't be ready for the baby, per se. I mean, the furniture and stuff won't be delivered until AFTER the baby's born - it's that we have 16 years of accumulated CRAP that needs to be weeded through and thrown out and the baby is just an excuse. I keep telling myself that this is a great exercise because hopefully sometime in the next year we will be moving and there won't be as much to throw out when we do!
It is a daunting task though. Yesterday I actually got down on my hands and knees and vacuumed the base boards next to my bed and underneath my night stand. DISGUSTING. I told my sister and she said WOW - you really are nesting. Guess it's true.
I also did some knitting!
Friday - when we had no heat or hot water - it turns out a transformer blew in our building. So in order to fix it they had to turn off all of our electricity. They did this at 2PM. I thought GREAT! I'll get out my Creative (like an IPOD only BETTER) and listen to some podcasts and finish Oblique's sleeves! Only the Creative was dead. So I knit to the tune of jackhammers (they had electricity, of course) until the sun went down. Then G came home and rescued me from the cold and the dark. Sometime while we were out, the lights went back on - as well as the heat and hot water.
I did manage to finish the sleeves. And I did the button bands on the body AND I seamed the raglans. All I need to do now is the collar, finish seaming and decide what to do with the bottom of the sleeves. I sort of draped it on my shoulders and this thing is HUGE! I think, it will get a bit smaller once it's all seamed up, but still - it's like a blanket coat! Which isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. I hope to have it finished by the end of the week. There's a chance I'm going to run out of yarn, but I have an angel helping me out. Margene has the yarn in her stash and she's going to send me a skein. Although, I think, now, I might be okay. Fingers crossed!
I knit something else yesterday too!
Believe it or not, I wore my first pair of monkeys Sunday night! We had a party to go to and I wanted some fancy socks in case I took my shoes off and I pulled a pair of monkeys out of my sock drawer. I have never worn ANY of the monkey socks I knit! NONE! I mentioned that I've been thinking about socks a lot lately and wearing them was so fantastic that I took out the Purple Rain STR Monkey that I started a million years ago - actually it was back in August. Last I knit these I was on the heel flap. Yesterday I managed to finish the flap, turn the heel and knit the gusset! All night long I kept telling Georgie how good it felt to be knitting SOCKS! This was all punctuated by the fact that I went through my "pedestrian" sock drawer over the weekend and got rid of EVERYTHING. I told G - once you've gone handknit - you never go back.
Thank you all for all your encouragement and support about my last post. I'm much calmer now (although we do have childbirth class tonight) and I'm handling my fears pretty well. I've been reading some stuff - stuff that pisses me off and makes me feel VERY judged and stuff that assuages my fears and lets me know that whatever I want is truly fine. It seems to me that the baby will be coming out of my body - in some way shape or form and that's NATURAL. Nothing about this pregnancy started out conventional - so who's to say the end will be that way as well? I'm open. Truly open. And I think that can only be a good thing for my body as well as my mind. I have some very solid ideas about how I want things to go - and that really has more to do with how I want to be treated (with respect and honesty and intelligence) than the actual EVENTS that take place. I trust my husband implicitly that he will help me to have the best birth I can have. So thank you for your confidence in me. It means a lot.
Off to get rid of more stuff! It's so FREEING!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 11:20 AM | Comments (42)
October 03, 2007
Socktoberfest!
Before we get to knitting, let's get a little business out of the way - shall we?
Bruce. I've listened to the new album, and how shall I put this with all the love and respect and adoration in my heart - I'm very UNDERwhelmed. I've been reading my favorite fan site for months now and these people seem to love it - they make me look like a casual fan - but I'm not sure I get it. The "wall of sound" did nothing but give me a headache. There are some good ones on here, no doubt, but I'm reserving my final judgment until I hear them live. And no, we don't have tickets yet. But I have faith in my man.
Baby. Let's start with the things that are improving: I don't have to eat every thirty seconds. In fact, I can go an hour or two sometimes THREE without food passing my lips and I don't get sick. I call that progress. I'm also (most nights) sleeping better and I have more energy during the day. Like I don't have to all of a sudden crawl into bed because if I don't I'm going to die. I've been getting up at my regular time in the morning (about 7:30 ish) and at around 8 I have to crawl into bed or I'm going to die, but during the day I'm pretty okay. My appetite has branched out as well. I can eat more foods and every day I get a little bit more adventurous. (Pizza for dinner last night! YAY!)
Okay - the bad news. I'm still puking every single fucking morning! I wake up. Eat my breakfast. Puke. Then eat another (different!) breakfast. Fun times. Although that's it. I'm pretty much okay the rest of the day. I mean, I get bouts of nausea every now and then, but definitely not all day. The other bad news - headaches. I pretty much get a headache every day now. I've read this is very common and my sister got a lot of headaches when she was pregnant. Yes I'm drinking enough. Yes I'm eating enough. Ditto sleeping, peeing, and whatever else you're going to tell me to do. I'm thinking it's a combination of eye strain (I have an eye doctor appt today), allergies, and just regular old pregnancy fun times. As Kay told someone at Spin Out - if there's a symptom, I've got it.
Whew! Now onto the SOCKS!
Here is a spectacularly craptacular picture of (almost) all the socks I've knit!
Turns out, including the 2 sockapalooza pairs I've knit, I've only completed 21 pairs! Doesn't that seem too few? I don't know - I was thinking I'd knit at least 30. But I counted a bunch of times and 21 seems to be the magic number. We've got two pairs of finished knee highs, ten pairs of jaywalkers, five pairs of monkeys, and two pairs of stockinettes. I've also knit seven single socks. And off the top of my head I have about six socks in various states of being knit. Hmmm.
Here's the first pair and the last pair I knit:
The first pair were plain stockinette knit with Regia Cotton Surf. The last pair were STR monkeys.
Believe it or not, I also started a new sock!
It's a nice mod on garter rib that I found over at Ravelry. I'm calling the socks Chawne's Rib because Chawne's the one who came up with it! So far so good!
I think I figured out my problem with knitting these days. In my mind and my heart I WANT to be knitting. I see patterns and want to make them immediately. I miss the old days of knitting for hours on end like you wouldn't believe. The problem is I have a limited amount of time to get things done during the day - and I have to get those things done or I won't have clients anymore. By the time I'm done my work, the time I would normally spend knitting the night away, I'm so exhausted that after a round or two I can't take it anymore. And I've had A LOT of eye strain, so that doesn't help any. Add in the headaches and voila - NO KNITTING! It's so sad. Knitting was my main source of relaxation and it really sucks that it's such a struggle for me. I'm hoping that the puke to knit ratio will improve everyday and I'll at least be able to finish a sock. Although I'd really love to be knitting a sweater. For me.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 09:19 AM | Comments (62)
September 24, 2007
License To Ill
My bloglines subscriptions are dropping like a big belly in the ninth month! I mean, sure, pregnancy's all wonderful and everything and a miracle blah blah blah, but let's face it: I wouldn't want to hear about someone puking everyday, so why should you? (Still happening by the way.)
So let's talk about something else. Let's talk about *GASP* KNITTING! YAY! Whenever I get anxious, as pregnant women are wont to do - you know, will I ever stop puking? OH MY GOD, what have we done!!!!!!!?!, the baby comes out WHERE?! - I think about what I used to do to calm myself. I used to knit. Oh how I miss it! But also, not so much. It's really really weird.
I managed to buy yarn - on clearance at WEBS - for the Mommy Snug. I even swatched for it on two different needle sizes and I fully intend to knit it for myself. I think it's going to be fantastic. But it's not going to be done for Rhinebeck, maybe not even CAST ON for Rhinebeck, but I want something new. I want to be knitting towards a goal, you know? I want something - ANYTHING - to spur me on.
Enter Sundara and her fabulous yarn!
After I went through all the fabuloso yarn Sundara sent for Spin Out prizes, there were a couple of colors I just HAD to have. The Orchid colorway you see in the photo was one of them. I pass by it a million times a day and it calls out to me - it's practically screaming at this point - KNIT ME KNIT ME! So I'm thinking I'll start a pair of socks. For Rhinebeck. And Soctoberfest, which starts super soon. I think I haven't missed a sock-filled October yet, so why start now? And with a sock I can see progress pretty quickly, without having to knit that much. I can ease myself back in.
I need your help though. I can't figure out what pattern to knit. I want something plain-ish - not too busy - to show off the beautiful subtle coloring. And while I love the LOOK of a rib, I hate to rib in socks more than anything. Really. I don't mind purling - like in the monkey sock - it's the back and forth I hate. Got any ideas for me? I really appreciate it! Thanks!
Business: Tomorrow, a HUGE post of Spin Out prizes. HUGE. It's going to take me all day to photograph them! And all of you who have asked about the Spin Out location and whether or not you need to bring chairs - I'd say YES - you need to bring chairs. I'm planning Wednesday to scope out the sight and I will report back Thursday with all the particulars of the event, but until then - you're going to need somewhere to sit if you're bringing your wheel - and don't forget - you can always knit or spindle!
Have a great day! I'm sure gonna try!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 09:53 AM | Comments (74)
July 25, 2007
ChickaMonkey
Geez! I'm just posting later and later these days. I'm sorry. I would've posted earlier today but we had an Internet blip - you know the kind. Where you call your provider and they hang up on you because EVERYONE is calling to bitch them out. All is well though and I'm just so glad because I have a finished pair of socks to show you!
New monkeys! Yup, that's right, monkey socks. Bored yet? I'm not! I love these socks! They might just be my favorite pair of Monkeys!
The yarn is Lightweight Socks That Rock in the Chickabiddy colorway. Tina told me that this yarn will be available in the Fall on the website - so if you like it, wait for it! I LOVE IT! It's the perfect combination of pinks and browns and yellows and oranges and reds. PERFECT! And the picot, well, the picot is ALWAYS perfect. I knit these on two 2.5mm Addi Turbo circulars (US #1s.)
I was asked the other day my secret to getting my STR socks to rock so well - meaning - no obvious pooling. The secret is the number of stitches on the needles, needle size, pattern and I suspect a bit of kismet as well.
The best way to illustrate this is with a picture of a knee high I knit last year using ONE SKEIN of lightweight STR.
Click on it for a bigger version to open in a separate window. See that knee high - I used ONE SKEIN throughout. Never changed yarn ever - but look how it changes? And I never changed needles either - Addi Turbo US 1 - 2.5 mm - circular needles. The only thing that changed was the stitch count. I started off with (I think) 88 stitches, increased up to over 100 then decreased down all the way to 64 stitches, which is my personal sock stitch number. (You know - the pattern that you figure out after you've made a bunch of socks that you stick with - favorite toe, favorite heel, stitch count.) There's pooling around the gusset because I added stitches, but then look at the pretty stripes on the foot - that's the magic number 64.
Now that's to say it's MY magic number. I don't know what your magic number is. Maybe, honestly, you don't have one with Socks That Rock. I've never knit socks with Mediumweight STR (or Heavyweight STR for that matter) so I can ONLY speak to Lightweight STR. This is MY preferred sock yarn. It works for me. Once you add a pattern into the mix, it might change everything. Different patterns use different amounts of yarn and they may mess with your magic. If you love the pattern and the yarn doesn't work, try a new yarn. If you love the yarn and the pattern's not working, try a new pattern.
One other thing I've learned - with Monkeys at least - they look so much better with a REALLY variegated yarn. Lots of color changes. The STR I've used so far have had a least four different color changes. Anything less and they're going to look really stripey. Unless you use a solid or semi-solid - that should look great too.
There are a MILLION sock yarns out there - new ones everyday from what I can see on the net. Find your yarn - your number - your passion. It's out there. Just look for it!
Posted by Cara at 05:05 PM | Comments (43)
June 05, 2007
The Princess and The Picot
If you can stand it, so can I!
Finishing a pair of socks is like your birthday, all eight nights of Hannukah, Christmas morning, a gift from the tooth fairy, a visit from the Easter Bunny, fresh baked cookies, a good hair day, getting into your skinny jeans, making out in the car, and a Springsteen concert all wrapped up in a fantastic box with a shiny bow on top!! Okay. Maybe not as good as making out in the car or a Springsteen concert, but you get the idea. I love my new mini-monkeys!
I love that they are a bit tight (like my beloved Jaywalkers) so they stay up - no slouching here! And I love the colors and the STR and the undulations of the monkey pattern. I love that my friend Tina dyed the yarn and my friend Cookie designed the pattern and my friend Margene knit the modification. There's just LOVE ALL AROUND!
Most of all, I love that when it's finally chilly again I will have a drawer full of monkeys to choose from and you can bet your bottom dollar that my mini-monkeys with the picot edge will be the first pair I grab. There's nothing like a picot to bring out my inner princess!
Monkey Socks
Pattern: Free on Knitty
Yarn: STR Lightweight in Watermelon Tourmaline
Modifications: I cast on with a picot edge and knit four repeats for the cuff. I did my preferred heel and toe. I used US#1 Addis for the entire sock.
Princess Rubber Ducky: My sister purchased them here. Knock yourselves out. There's like a duck for everything.
Posted by Cara at 10:21 AM | Comments (36)
May 31, 2007
Mini Monkeys!
Oh my god!! Can I just tell you how much I LOVE my mini monkeys?!? THEY ARE THE CUTEST SOCKS EVER! And, if I didn't believe it before, I'm here to bear witness that a picot edge makes EVERYTHING in the world sunshine and unicorns and rainbows. It's like a big hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and rainbow jimmies and TWO cherries on top for your feet!
Here is my mini monkey formula: knit 5 rounds, yo k2tog - repeat for entire round, knit five rounds, knit together stitch and cast on edge to create picots next round, knit one round, start monkey pattern. I then did FOUR repeats for the cuff, which gave me about a 3.5" - 4" cuff, then do the heel and foot as directed by the pattern. All done on Size 1 Addis. I DEFY you to tell me these aren't the cutest socks EVER!
I made them with vintage STR from my stash - the lighter pinky color is Watermelon Tourmaline, which is still available on the Blue Moon website, and the green blue colorway is Seastone, which Tina told me is now discontinued. Both socks are from the old put up - 325yds. I'm not sure how much I'll have left over, but it won't be much. There's a possibility that I could do another repeat on the leg, but I think I'm sticking with this formula. I don't have to worry about running out of yarn AND I don't want them any higher on my leg. This length is PERFECT. The best part is that the monkey pattern really has little to no give so they stand straight up. No slouching here. I LOVE THEM!
Last night I cast on for the second Watermelon Tourmaline sock. I just wish it wasn't a million degrees outside. I might just have to crank up the air and sock it around all day.
I received a couple concerned emails yesterday regarding my self-proclaimed craziness. Thank you so much for caring, but I didn't mean to say that I was crazy (well, no more so than usual) but that IT was crazy. Meaning life. And all the stuff I have to do. I've got a lot of work which is GOOD, but I'm feeling the pull of the deadline, so I opted not to kill myself by staying up late to finish the socks and thus have a legitimate post for yesterday. I hope today makes up for that fact. Thanks for reading!
Posted by Cara at 10:13 AM | Comments (59)
May 25, 2007
Two Little Monkeys
Jumping on the bed!
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!"
The monkey thing never gets old, does it?
Just this morning I finished my STR Dutch Canyon (Lightweight) Monkey Socks and I love them! So much so I'm casting on another pair this afternoon - using Margene's FAB mod - the picot edge! Truly the new jaywalker has been born. I'm taking a chance with the new pair and going with the old put up - 325 yds - so we'll see how I do.
(Oh yeah - and to all the people that questioned the validity of a DUTCH Canyon since Holland doesn't seem to have any, Dutch Canyon is an area in Oregon near to Blue Moon Fiber Arts headquarters. I've got an answer for everything!)
In the meantime, a baby or a book?! That's the best you could come up with it? Where's your sense of adventure? Your sense of imagination? Mad props to those of you who thought things like - creative director of Red Heart - what was it? Acrylic Czar? HAHAHAHAHA! And especially to Kathy - she thought I might be taking over for Rosie at the View. Not on your life, my friend. Not on your life.
You'll all just have to have a bit of patience. All will be revealed in time. Including what to do with miles of acrylic. I couldn't get it together for today, so you'll have to wait for Tuesday. I hope I don't disappoint.
Have a great weekend everyone! Long or otherwise!
Posted by Cara at 11:49 AM | Comments (54)
May 15, 2007
QUICK! Look out your windows!!!
Do you see the pigs flying by?!?!
Yes, my friends. Your eyes do not deceive you. I have crocheted.
Here's what happened. First, Margene talked about crochet non freaking stop. Then Ann with the blah blah blah crochet crochet crochet. The final straw to fall was Vicki. She's making up songs about crochet! Yesterday I actually told her to shut up and knit already.
This morning, though, I woke up to a dream about crochet granny squares and that damn bag all my girls are making. The honest to god truth is that I want that bag too! So when I talked to Ann this morning, I asked her if she thought she could teach me to make the square over the phone.
Three and a half hours later - I had a square.
I'm not going to tell you that I enjoyed it - because I didn't. It was tough. At one point I started screaming in agony and Ann's going what? WHAT? and I yelled TOE CRAMP because my foot started to cramp up. She's all like, well then you're doing it wrong honey and duh I was so tense that my foot cramped. That hurts. Add in my elbow, my wrist, my shoulders and my back and WHOO HOO! Crochet is FUN! Seriously, I know that with practice it will all get better. I need a new hook though. I have a few lying around the house but none of them were the right size really and the one I used was way to small for the yarn (which is Heavyweight STR). The square is going to be a coaster because the gauge is so tight the damn square could stand on it's own. No drape, people. NO drape. Which might actually be good if I make this bag. We'll see. I'm going to get a bigger hook and try again. Maybe.
Ann was crochet teacher EXTRAORDINAIRE and we all got a little bit of help from Laura's crochet tutorial. Thanks Laura! All in all, I think it was a pretty good foray. Definitely room for practice.
I'm getting lots of practice on these:
A finished MONKEY SOCK! Surprise, surprise! This one is Dutch Canyon STR Lightweight. Casting on for the mate as we speak. Still loving this pattern.
Thanks for all the nice comments yesterday about the kids and the pictures. Those kids are a HUGE HUMONGOUS part of my life and it's always fun to show them off. Alright - I have GOT to eat something. Too much crochet, not enough food.
THANKS ANNIE! FUCK THE YARN - YOU ARE MY LIFE GURU!!
Posted by Cara at 02:32 PM | Comments (53)
May 10, 2007
Knanette and Her Monkeys
I stayed up late and finished my first pair of Monkey Socks - and then I stayed up later watching Inside Job. Clive Owen and Denzel Washington. Nuff said.
First though, I want to talk about Knanette! Thank you for all your encouragement. Some initial work has been done and I can pretty much guarantee that this will not (at least not right away) turn into another miter madness. There are lots of kinks to be worked out, I think, and also, it's going to take a lot more planning on my part.
I need to say right off the bat that I take no credit at all for the construction of the square I'm about to show you. I was merely the workhorse. The genius comes straight off the brain of Kay. If you'll indulge me please, I'm going to take a minute to talk about Kay. She's a great friend, a fantastic host and most of all, she has been the single most influential person in my knitting life (besides, of course, my grandmother, who actually taught me to knit.) She has opened up possibilities to me that I never ever dreamed about. She has awakened my inner artist. Thank you, Kay, for changing my life for the better. You truly are my Kaffe.
Okay. Back to Knanette. Fifteen minutes on the phone with Kayye and I'm ready to tackle my miter in the round. I don't know much about crochet, but I understand that if you know what you're doing, those baby squares in Babette can go super fast. Not so with knitting. It will take CONSIDERABLY longer to knit this blanket than it would, most likely, to learn how to crochet from scratch, fuck things up a bit, then finally be on your way cranking out squares.
That's not an option for me. I don't want to crochet this blanket. I want to knit it.
Kay and I decided (or really Kay decided) that by knitting the square from the outside in, it gives you the best way of knitting the blanket WITHOUT SEAMS. You knit a square, then pick up one side of that square and knit another one. And so on and so on. Kay also suggested the garter stitch border - which I happen to LOVE. I think it gives the square a decidedly granny FEEL while being VERY different from an actual crocheted granny square. This is how I knit the square above:
Cast on 96 stitches. Join in the round. (When you're casting on, you might want to place a marker every 24 stitches - this demarcates the four corners of the miter.)
Round 1: [Knit 10, k2tog, k2tog, knit 10] Repeat 3 times.
Round 2: PURL all stitches (For garter stitch in the round.)
Round 3: [Knit 9, k2tog, k2tog, knit 9] Repeat 3 times.
Round 4: PURL all stitches
Round 5: [Knit 8, k2tog, k2tog, knit 8] Repeat 3 times.
Round 6: PURL all stitches
Round 7: [Knit 6, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, knit 6] Repeat 3 times
Round 8: KNIT all stitches (You're now doing stockinette in the round.)
Round 9: [Knit 5, ssk, ssk, k2tog, knit 4] Repeat 3 times
Round 10: KNIT all stitches
Round 11: [Knit 3, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, knit 3] Repeat 3 times
Round 12: KNIT all stitches
Round 13: [Knit 2, ssk, ssk, k2tog, knit 1] Repeat 3 times
Round 14: KNIT all stitches
Round 15: [ssk, k2tog, k2tog] Repeat 3 times
Round 16: KNIT all stitches
Round 17: [s1, k2tog, psso] Repeat 3 times
You should have four stitches left. Cut your yarn and thread them threw the last four stitches pulling them together. Change yarns wherever you see fit. I knit my square using two circulars because that's the way I do things, but this pattern lends itself nicely to dpns seeing as it's all in fours and such.
I just love the little bud in the center from the four remaining stitches. I LOVE this square. LOVE it. Some things I discovered: I think you really need to start with a stitch count, that when divided by 4, gives you an even number. I was going to try for a slightly smaller square, starting with 84 stitches, but the breakdown is 21 and when you're decreasing by 2 for the garter stitch rows, it's not so neat. Also, you need to knit three garter stitch ridges to get the stitch count back to something divisible by 3 so you can start the stockinette section and be able to get three decreases.
The worst part of this is that you have to cast on a lot of stitches. If I want to make a really big miter - I might need to cast on 400+ stitches. BUT you start decreasing at a very fast speed - 12 stitches every round. So you pay the price up front, but soon get to a manageable place. Re changing colors - I thought you might get a bad jog because you're knitting in the round - but the color change wasn't really noticeable at all. Maybe because really you're knitting flat? I don't know, but weaving in the ends seems to cover all ills.
The square above measures 4"x4" and I really wouldn't go much smaller. I mean, I guess you could cast on 72 stitches, but it would pretty much be garter stitch. This is acceptable to me as my SMALLEST size. I tried a bunch of times to cast on the next square by picking up 24 stitches on one side then casting on the next 72 and theoretically it should all work. I kept messing it up though - didn't like my initial cast on. Twisted it when I went to knit in the round. Cast on too few stitches. You know. Bonehead stuff. I think I've got the cast on I want to use (cable cast on) and if I can just keep the round straight this should work pretty good. My plan is that I'd take a section of the blanket and attach those together - then move onto another section. So when it comes time to finish the blanket - you seam sections as opposed to individual squares.
As I said - this will take a good long while. I really want to plan things out - make up some rules color wise (already working this out in my head! It becomes clearer by the moment!) and layout wise. If I were you, I'd probably just learn to crochet. But, I'm a glutton for punishment. Don't expect much on this for awhile. I definitely LOVE my little square though!
Hey Hey it's the MONKEYS!
Poor sad little monkeys! Look how wrinkled and scrunchy they look! Dance MONKEYS! DANCE!
I totally agree with the assessment I've seen around the blogs that these socks look better blocked - they do. But only for their photoshoot. Don't let the scrunchiness fool you. They look JUST FINE on your feet - the best blockers of all.
A thoroughly enjoyable knit, these monkey socks. EXTREMELY enjoyable. This pair took me a week. And I would've knit them faster no problem if I didn't have other stuff to do. I used Socks That Rock Lightweight, in the Rare Gems colorway (which means that it was a "special" skein that didn't go as originally planned and then was overdyed and sold as a rare gem - these are one offs. This skein is UNIQUE.) I used Addi Size 2s for the twisted ribbing and the first two repeats, then switched to 1s. I love the fit - nice and snug. The only modification I made to the pattern was to do my standard heel flap and toe. The rest of it is as written.
I'm fairly certain I'll be making a bunch of these.
Okay, so I'm signing off for the weekend. My one friend from high school, the one I'm going to the reunion with, told me she bought a new dress. So I feel like I have to go shopping - especially since all the things I thought I might wear don't fit. On a happier note, I'm getting a pedicure! Have a great weekend - reunion details next week - and more Monkeys I'm sure!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 09:28 AM | Comments (48)
May 07, 2007
I got rhythm!
Who could ask for anything more?!
Sock modeled by my own personalized Leggy Creations Sock Blocker!
A fabulous birthday gift from Margene!
I finished my first Monkey Sock, and I've got to tell you, this could be my new Jaywalker. It's got everything I love in a knit - especially in a sock. First off, it's FAST. The repeat is only 11 rows so by the time you've knit four rows you're like oh my god I might as well finish the repeat. And there are only six repeats for the cuff so you can polish them off and be ready to split for the heel in no time at all. The pattern lulls you into the perfect rhythm that makes you knit faster and faster. Like the Jaywalker pattern. Like miters. Apparently, I like to be hypnotized by my knits.
STR Lightweight, Rare Gem Colorway
While there is purling in the sock (I actually like to purl very much - but I HATE purling in a sock - I think, really, I hate ribbing in the round and on such small needles. Actually, I hate ribbing ALL the time.), for some reason it's not bothering me. I love how they fit - nice and tight. I did the twisted rib and the first two repeats on size 2s, like the pattern calls for, but then I went down to 1s for the rest of the sock. They're a little tight getting over the heel - but just like my Jaywalkers - they're nice and snug and they stay up GREAT!
The foot is actually a smidge long - but otherwise I'd have to cut out a whole repeat and I'm not doing that - so they're a smidge long. No biggie. I'm already lining up all of my old skeins of STR (in the 325 yd put up) to make Monkeys! I think if I drop one of the repeats out of the cuff I'll be good to go. When I held them up to a pair of my Jaywalkers, the length is perfect with five repeats. I've got JUST the yarn to try too. WHOO HOO! Time for some sock knitting yessireebob!
As soon as I finished the first sock, I cast on for the second. In no time at all, I have five repeats under my belt.
I'm gonna have a pair of socks before I know it! Just in time for Summer! ;-)
Posted by Cara at 03:37 PM | Comments (71)
January 14, 2007
Feels Like the First Time
As Tracey said, every time you knit with Socks That Rock feels like the first time! This morning I finished my "pair" of socks - the G-Rocks and January One socks which I knit at the same time on two circulars. Of course, I love them! They are soft and stripey and perfect for my feet and G wants his own pair. I told him I'm gonna have to get some heavyweight for his socks - he wears size 13 shoes. Lucky 13 for me! (Um... That didn't come out right. Insert sarcastic face here.)
I immediately cast on for the mates - two at a time - once again. Even though I really didn't like the whole two at a time thing. I guess, technically, it probably takes just as long to knit two at a time as it takes to knit one at a time, but it FEELS like it takes forfreakingever and sometimes perception is enough. I was going to just knit one of the socks and then I was going to start with a completely different yarn, but in the end I decided that knitting these socks is like marriage. I was super excited when I started knitting them - TOGETHER - and I'm thrilled to be wearing them, but starting the next "pair" was a little bit hard and I'm sure it will be even harder to knit them but when I'm done I'll have TWO new pairs of socks and I will love them all the more for the effort that went into knitting them. Sometimes we need to do things we don't really want to do - but in the end it's all worth it. Just like marriage. ;-)
January One loves G-Rocks!
I know you don't really care about my socks, you want to know about YOUR socks, or more specifically, did you WIN! Well, I've already sent out an email to all of the winners - did you get one? Check the list to see:
Denise
Jan
KathyH
Mary
Linda
Marlana
Brenda
Stephanie
Sandy
Karen
Carol
Vitpil
Michelle
Rob's Wife
Amy
Chelle
Stéphanie
Carina
Gayle
Frog Princess
Lazuli
Subha
Annette
Irene
Sanne
Barbara A.M.
Stacy Wittmann
Lies
Zita
CONGRATULATIONS! I hope you love your yarn as much as I do! As I mentioned, I sent an email to all the winners - so if you see your name up there and think it's you but didn't get an email, please check your spam filter before you email me.
All I have to say about this contest is thank god I didn't ask for Haikus and damn people! Go out and get yourselves some! What are you waiting for?
Thanks for playing!!
Posted by Cara at 09:00 PM | Comments (38)
January 05, 2007
Potpourri
I'm all over the place today, so let's go random.
-- Yesterday, while working on the sofa (seriously - I was really working!) I went to put one of my feet up on the ledge and notice what I thought was a pill on the back of my sock. I wish.
You know how sometimes you think things and then you write them down or say them out loud and you wonder if you just tempted the fates and brought on EXACTLY what you didn't want? Well, that's how I felt yesterday when I noticed the hole. The first hole I've ever found in one of my handknits. The first hole in one of my precious socks. The first hole in one of my jaywalkers. The first hole in my beautiful Socks That Rock.
I was devastated. I may have cried a little bit. For a good five minutes I wondered why we ever knit at all - especially socks - if they're only going to get holes in them. Seriously. I was ready to quit on the spot. But then I looked at the hole - which, by the way, is on the LEG of the sock in a place that has never rubbed against any shoe - and I realized that it is only one stitch. It must have gotten caught on something and snapped. I have no idea. And I do think it is completely fixable. I mean, it is only ONE STITCH. I have looked at some options - namely at Grumperina's recent post and the Knitty article she linked to and I will fix it, but for now, I'm not in the mood to be reminded that things don't last forever. Hits a little too close to home. So I picked up the socks I've been knitting - the G-Rocks and January One socks and I got back on the horse. Hopefully I'll have a perfectly mismatched finished pairs of socks to show you Monday.
-- Reason No. 4,391,628 why I love The INTERNETTTTT. (See? No S!) The vast majority of blogs I read are knitting blogs - but I don't just love them for the knitting. Lately I've been running down memory lane because of a couple of blog posts. First, Jane mentioned When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit in a post. This was one of my absolute FAVORITE books as a girl. I thought I had my dog-eared copy - the one with the gray cover and ink line drawing on the cover, but I couldn't find it. So I went out and bought it and read it and loved it all over again. I was a little bit afraid that it wouldn't hold up to my memories, but it did. And honestly, because of a part in that book, I can't be sick without thinking of it. And then, just yesterday, one of the Two Black Sheep sisters (fess up! Which one of you was it?) mentioned my OTHER MOST FAVORITE book: The Westing Game. I've read this book more times than I can count. And as soon as I'm done the book I'm reading now, you can bet I'll read it again. What I love about these posts is that these are books that are mine - that I never really talk about or ever really talked about growing up - I don't remember my siblings ever reading either of these books or friends or anyone for that matter. Yet here are two people, who are really strangers to me, sharing something about them that is just like me. Thank you for that. It's really a nice feeling.
So I'm going to throw out another title - a book that came along way before that Harry guy - Half Magic, by Edward Eager. I loved this book and I hope it sparks in someone else the same feelings the other bloggers sparked in me. Happy reading!
-- I'm not sure how many ways I can say this, but I found someone else using a photograph of mine without my permission. In theory, I didn't object to the way the photo was being used, and there was a link back to my site and credit for the picture, but YOU HAVE TO ASK ME FIRST! I'm not sure how much clearer I can be. I OWN the picture, I OWN the words. THEY ARE MINE. ASK ME FIRST. I hope this is the last to be said on this matter. (And, again, it's not you. Unless you and I exchanged emails about this - where I was very friendly, I thought, and told you you could use the picture, just ask next time - then it's NOT YOU.)
-- I've been really missing my spinning lately. I waited forever for my WooLee Winder (over six weeks!) and then I got it and it was a disaster. I've been seeing all this great yarn being spun all over the place and it makes me sad because I've still got my wheel in time out. It's not the wheel's fault and after reading Judy's post today, I'm going to spin on Sunday. Distaff Day. It's as good a day as any and if the WW doesn't work out - I'm taking that sucker off and I'm spinning without it.
-- There will also be some swatching this weekend. Look what came in the mail today:
Margene has been singing the praises of Beaverslide Yarn (grow up Annie!) for forever. The Friday night before my birthday, after serious consultation with Margene, I placed my first order. Huckleberry Heather is the color and I love it. Get yourself some color cards. Totally worth it.
This yarn is a departure for me, what with it's 10% Kid Mohair. I've gone on the record many times about how much I HATE mohair, angora, alpaca - any of those hairy yarns. But Margene assured me that I wouldn't even know it's there and then she sent me a snippet that I stuffed in my bra and wore around for the day and I barely noticed it at all - and when I did it was to remark at it's softeness. I can't wait to knit it up. What's it going to be? A Central Park Hoodie. Because all the cool kids are making them.
The coolest part of my package from Beaverslide - the stamps!
This is so totally going to be a superhero sweater! Have a great weekend!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 03:29 PM | Comments (77)
October 05, 2006
SOCKS!
In honor of Lolly's fantabulous SOCKTOBERFEST, I give you my sockstory:
When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I started knitting my first sock in January '05. It was Koigu and I used size 3 bamboo dpns and a pattern from Ann Budd's The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns. No one taught me per se, I just followed everyone's advice to do what the pattern said, and turned the heel as it was written. Let's just say I didn't get much farther than this:
I think I lost a dpn somewhere and the sock was slouchy and I hate to rib and the color was boring. I abandoned all sock knitting until...
What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
My first pair of socks were knit in June '05 after seeing Meredith's pair of purple stripey socks. I took one look at her stripes and knew I had to have another go at it. This time I used two circulars instead of dpns (the d stands for dreaded) and it only took me 11 days to finish the pair!!!
I used Regia Cotton Surf and while I loved knitting the socks, I haven't loved wearing them. Cotton just doesn't work for me for socks. They've stretched out quite a bit and haven't bounced back. BUT I loved knitting with two circulars instead of dpns. LOVED IT! And had every intention of knitting another pair. I started a few other pairs of socks after that but nothing that I really loved. Then I went to Rhinebeck and bought A LOT of Socks That Rock. When I got home I was itching to try it out and I stumbled upon the Jaywalker sock pattern by Grumperina which appeared in the September '05 Magknits. I thought, hey - this might work.
Let's just say that the pattern literally changed my life. Between October 2005 and February 2006 I completed 8 pairs of Jaywalkers in STR yarn. I currently have two single jaywalker socks and one mate on the needles.
What would you have done differently?
Absolutely nothing. I feel like my sock journey has been exactly as it should be.
What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
My love for Socks That Rock is well documented. It is by far my desert island yarn. I could live on it forever. That said, I've been enjoying Koigu as of late. I also love Sock Hop yarn and will be spinning up my very own Sock Hop roving for socks very soon. I've tried other yarns, but these are the ones I come back to - and when I haven't knit with STR in a bit, I always fall in love all over again. I make no apologies for my unadulterated affection for this yarn. It is, in a word, perfect.
Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I have knit my socks with two cicular needles exclusively. I prefer Addi #1s for my socks. I like to have one circular be longer than the other. I always do the heel on the shorter circular. I'm not sure why. Also, I move the stitches around when picking up the gusset so that half the heel and half the instep are on one needle, and the other halves are on the other. I can't see myself going any other way on this.
Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I prefer top down heel flap socks with kitchenered toes. I LOVE to kitchener. LOVE IT.
How many pairs have you made?
I have knit seventeen pairs of socks - two pairs were for Sockapalooza, and three pairs of those socks are actually six singles waiting for mates. I'm currently obsessed with knee highs. I've finished one pair, one pair is waiting for handspun heels and toes, one pair needs a mate, and my current sock is just about ready for a heel:
The yarn is Koigu - the semi-solid green is 2340 and the variegated is P852. I'm thinking I'm going to start the second sock and knit to the same spot - right before the heel flap. For some reason I like doing knee highs this way.
My plans for Socktoberfest 2006 are all about finishing. Finishing my new knee highs. Finishing my old knee highs. Whatever I get done I get done.
Handknit Socks. They make life better.
Posted by Cara at 03:43 PM | Comments (35)
May 19, 2006
0.592592592592592592592
Yes. I really did put the squares in the sand. G was a bit freaked out about this and wanted to know which was the most important when he had to grab them up lest they drift into the sea to be lost forever. I said don't worry. If they get wet they get wet. The yarn will dry. And the likelihood of them being lost in that crystal clear water was pretty slim and you know what? It's yarn. That I knit. It's not so precious. They're squares for a blanket that should be used and loved and abused and it will last and if it doesn't I'll knit another one. At the heart of it, isn't knitting a functional USEful craft? You need to use the stuff, not put it under glass. (Okay - maybe when it's 100 years old and I'm dead and famous my family can leave it to a museum and put it under glass with the picture on the beach beside it, but not now.)
Before I left I couldn't stop knitting squares, as you know, and I continued to knit pretty much through the entire vacation. After the first day on the beach I came up with a goal: six squares finished. Half the blanket. So I knit and I knit and I ran out of the dark green and moved onto the solid color squares and then I ran out of almost all the medium green so I knit my last square and had just enough left over for the middle of the 8th square. Hence the number in the title. That's how much I've finished.
Borrowing from Lauren, I have the light sections to do. I've used all the green yarn I have and Tina's going to make me some more and I love this project. The light green (limestone) seems to be knitting at a bigger gauge than the rest of it, so the squares where the light green is on the outside are a bit wonkier, but overall I think it's FABULOUS. I originally thought it would be a test and then a gift and now I don't know if I can part with it. Especially since I might find bits of sand in some of the squares every now and then and it will remind me of Anguilla. That would be really nice all cuddled up on a snowy winter night. Wouldn't it? Could you give it away with memories like that knit into it? We'll see.
While I wait for my new yarn to come, I've started a new sock. I'm taking a page from the genius that is Eunny and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue the socks I have on my needles right now so I started a new one. Shut up. I am SO allowed. Anyway, they're going to be plain old sockinette socks because it seems all I can do these days is knit. But when I say plain old I'm totally lying.
What you're seeing there in the crappy dark picture above (Sorry! No Anguilla light today. Only gray rain.) is HAND DYED, HANDSPUN SOCK YARN! Can you BELIEVE it! It's all freaking BARBERPOLE! My heart can barely take it. Where did I find such gorgeous yarn? Well, the other day I was reading over at Amanda's and she posted a picture of this new sock yarn she bought and my heart actually DID stop so I rushed over to Teyani's to see if she had any left and thank god she did. The yarn is from Crown Mountain Farms and Teyani calls it Sock Hop yarn. All of the colorways are named after 50s Tunes. I bought Heard it Through the Grapevine (on the left in the picture above) and Heat Wave. I've started a sock in that. Can I tell you? THIS is what I want my spinning to be. I want to spin my own barberpole sock yarn. I fear I'm a long way off from this endeavor, but in the meantime, I'll take one in each Sock Hop color! Thank you Teyani!
Thanks for all the entries in the MDK Peaches & Creme contest! It's closed now and the entries are all really great (read them - seriously - they are so funny!) I'm going to have a hard time narrowing it down to ten. I'll announce a winner when I get back. Yes. I'm off again tomorrow. I know. Just when I'm back I'm off - but absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? My grandmother's 85th birthday party is on Sunday and it's been planned for a while now so I'm going down to help my sister and visit with the family. I'll be back sometime on Wednesday and I'll try to check in before then. It gets kind of crazy down there so no promises. Orignally our vacation was planned for the first week of May so I didn't think I'd be gone back to back, but there it is. See you on the flip side! Have a great weekend!
Posted by Cara at 11:50 AM | Comments (20)
April 28, 2006
WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!
My host server had a DoS attack today, so my websites were off line for awhile. I wrote this post this morning before Jen called and asked me to hang out. So off I went AND she took pictures for me all gussied up. They'll come later. Patience my pretties.
Build a house and build it high
Build it right up to the sky
See the roof, see the floor
See the little swinging door
See the momma making bread
See the children asleep in bed
1…2…3 WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP
This children's song was going through my head yesterday while I was trying on dresses for the wedding. The red one from Nordstrom’s doesn’t fit. It’s not really bad, in fact, G first thought it was good – the problem is the dress is really nice. The fabric’s nice. The color’s nice. And it sort of fits. It’s the kind of dress you try on in the store and you carry around with you for an hour because you can’t decide so you buy it anyway and end up returning it. Instead I bought it online and now I’ll return it. The fit is just off. It fits through the middle, sort of, but it’s too big through the chest, sort of. And no, I don’t think alterations will help. Plus, as G said, if you’re going to pay $188 for a dress you want it to fit RIGHT. (Please don’t tell him I thought the price was pretty reasonable.)
Anyway, so when I went out to the P.O. yesterday I stopped at some of the outlets around my house, you know, just to see if there were any dresses out there.
DUDE! When did my body get so old?!?!?
I had an older friend tell me once that 25 was it. That you start to lose your body after 25. She neglected to tell me that it’s gone by 36. ;-) It’s not really that I need to lose that much weight (20 lbs would be great, 15 probably ideal, even 10 would make a big difference) it’s just that everything needs to be toned up. I know, I know. The weather’s nicer now and I have no excuse (well this week I do – PMS is kicking my ass – actually my boobs) NOT to start running again and plenty of inspiration to get me going: Ann, Elisa, Chelsea, Lolly, the other Lolly. Hell, everybody’s doing it! Why shouldn’t I? And I will. My arms were enough to scare the crap out of me. I used to have nice arms. I want nice arms again. Not all Angela Bassett muscley or anything just a teeny bit cut.
Normally I’m not one to obsess about my body (god knows I obsess about everything else) but this wedding is one of those high school reunion type things. You see, these people knew me or met me when I looked like this. Never mind the fact that NONE of them look like they did back then, I don’t look like I did. And it’s not that I really want to look like that again – well the body, yes, but the hair was a pain in the ass and I actually think I look younger with shorter hair – but I want to look like I feel and I still feel like I did back then. Only smarter. And wiser. And better. You know?
Now I’m even more happy about the shawl. I’ll wear the San Simeon dress and cover myself with my own handknit luxury.
To assuage my bruised ego, I started a new sock.
It's Pomatomus in one of the new spring colors from Blue Moon: Dutch Canyon. Sometimes it’s good to try new things because I learned that a) the whole time I was knitting this I kept thinking how nice Dutch Canyon would be as a jaywalker and b) that Pomatomus is an interesting pattern but maybe not so much for me. Especially in this yarn. It will be ripped.
Live and learn people. Live and learn.
Have a great weekend. I will let you all know how the wedding goes. Thank you so so so much for all the compliments on my shawl. It means so much, especially since it will probably be ignored at the wedding. ;-) I PROMISE I will do my best to get action shots. I’m not sure how and I’m not sure when, but I will get them for you! I PROMISE! Jen took them for me! Hopefully they'll go up sometime tonight. Thanks!
PS - GO TELL CARRIE MAZEL TOV! The Pants asked her to make it legal! YAY!
Posted by Cara at 05:33 PM | Comments (6)
April 14, 2006
Rare Gems
I guess I might as well admit it. I'm a sock knitter. I know you all think I'm a sock knitter, but I've been avoiding the label because, well, I DO knit other things besides socks. Although it might not seem like it these days.
I finished three socks while I was at my sister's. The first one I'm going to talk about is a mate - so now I have a pair.
Yes, yes. I ran out of yarn. I'm still using the old put up - I've got a lot of STR skeins to get through - but it wasn't all the fault of the yarn. The colorway is a RARE GEM, which means no one else in the world has it but me! Sometimes mistakes are made in the dye pot and Tina transforms these "mistakes" into gorgeous unique colorways through overdyeing. I was worried from the start that I'd run out and in this world of self-fulfilling prophecies I did. The funny thing? I made a mistake in the pattern. I hope you're laughing because I certainly did - this is my 11th pair of jaywalkers? I've lost count to be honest. So here I am knitting on this sock and I decide to do a stitch count and I realize that somewhere I added an extra stitch. The best part is that I made the mistake in a place that's completely obliterated by the pattern! That's why I couldn't see it. (For those of you intimately acquainted with the jaywalker pattern, I added the second ktfbl on a knit row down the middle of the sock so on the next row the pattern was unchanged for the first ktfbl. And if you understand that - maybe it's time to find a new sock pattern. ;-) ) When it became clear to me that I was going to run out of yarn, I called my favorite dyer Tina and asked for some Spinel, which I thought would work perfect for the toe.
And I think I was right! I love the sock. Then I had to decide whether or not I wanted both socks to match, since I had already finished the first sock with the Rare Gems yarn. I decided I liked them different. Truly a pair of Rare Gem socks.
I love them. They will sit in my (soon to be determined) sock drawer and wait for the cold feet of fall.
I also finished one of my Hot Flash jaywalkers:
OH MY GOD! I have GOT to start counting more. This time I made a very similar mistake (left out a ktfbl) and ended up a stitch short. I'm getting better with the whole perfectionism thing though because I didn't rip it out and fix it at the source (the mistake was on the cuff and when I figured it out I was on the foot.) I fixed it where I found the mistake. Same as the Rare Gems sock. Love the sock. Will be making another one.
And in the biggest news of the day, I finished sock ONE of my Sockapaloooza socks:
LOVE the yarn. LOVE the pattern. LOVE the sock. (That's three loves for sockapalOOOza.) It is SO hard knitting socks for someone other than yourself - especially someone far away that can't try them on for you. They are pretty loose on me so and a bit long so I've got all my toes crossed that they will fit the recipient.
I think it's pretty funny that the jaywalker looks bigger than the sock pal sock. So not the case.
Anyway. That's what I knit while I was away. It was excellent to see the kids and hang with my sister but I'm VERY glad to be home. Look for lots of black and bead lace knitting to come and another sock pal sock. That's going to be pretty much it until the end of April. Deadlines loom. Oh and if anyone has any ideas about sending expensive and IRREPLACEABLE jewelry through the mail (fedex, etc.) please let me know. I left my fancy wedding ring at my sister's and I want it back in my possession ASAP. I don't feel like going back down there to pick it up and I'm missing it desperately. But can you really send that kind of stuff?
Posted by Cara at 11:26 AM | Comments (34)
April 03, 2006
Monday Monday
It's one of those mornings. Daylight savings time really threw us for a loop. I'm up by 7:30AM every day (even on the weekends) and today I slept until 8:30. Then G was really late and I drove him into the city so my morning was pretty much shot. Add to that some seriously hurting boobies and a massive sinus headache and I'm just so freaking happy today!! Yeah MONEY!
I did, though, have a very fun and productive weekend. Saturday was CAR day. G and I had narrowed it down to three cars after all our (his) research and spreadsheets and statistics. We had one more test drive Saturday morning: one was already pretty much out of the running because of cup holders (all things being equal, it's a dealbreaker), one was on the top of the list, and then one needed to knock our socks off. Didn't happen. Then we went and test drove our first choice again and we were both once again COMPLETELY WOWED!! We love this car. It's different - not many people have it all - it's fast - it drives like a dream - it's safe. Everything we want. We're not in a complete rush - we have a couple of months before we have to give our car back, so they're working on finding exactly what we want. (We always go for a weird combination of color/extras that's kind of hard to find.) On Sunday we actually changed our minds a bit about the interior color and G sent the guy an email. Wouldn't you know it? They found the original car we asked for at the port, but now we'll have to wait again for the color combo. I'm so excited!!! I would tell you what car we got, but it's so perfect for the ABC A-Long Letter R that I don't want to give it away. ;-) Suffice it to say we're EXTREMELY excited about our new purchase. It's going to be a blast!!!
Friday I worked diligently on a job and rewarded myself by starting my Sockapaloooza socks.
And the whole time I'm knitting them (I got about two pattern repeats in after the picot edge) I'm thinking this yarn would look really really good as...
...you guessed it. Some people may claim to be a harlot when it comes to their knitting, I'm just basically a whore. I scraped the sockapaloooza socks and started a pair of picot edge jaywalkers for moi. So crass. I knit the entire cuff on Saturday going from car dealer to car dealer. G was nice enough to drive the whole time - usually I'm the one behind the wheel. The heal has now been turned and I just have to pick up the gusset. Before you go and accuse me of being the worst kind of charlatan, the yarn just wasn't working with my chosen Sock Pal pattern. I've since ordered some new fantastic yarn from Tina at Blue Moon, which should arrive later this week, and this yarn is guaranteed to be PERFECT for the pattern and my sock pal. GUARANTEED. And since the socks I've chosen are short, on size 2s with an easily memorizable pattern, we're good to go by the deadline.
The best way to gain back interest in something you claim to be bored with is to actually SAY you're bored with it. All I did this weekend was knit socks. I picked up the Embossed Leaves sock again - and found that I had made a mistake with the instep pattern somewhere after I picked up the gusset so I ripped. Then counted wrong and ripped again. FINALLY I'm on my way to finishing the foot. It's going pretty fast - I think I've got a repeat and a half to go before I start decreasing for the toe. There's only one itsy bitsy problem. I think I like them better on the needles than I do on my feet.
I dont' know. It's weird - I think they look really cool off - the colors the yarn the pattern, but on, they seem just eh. Oh well. I will finish them. I think it's pretty funny that you all got so concerned when I said I was bored with socks. I mean, I don't really consider myself a sock knitter. Of course, I knit socks, but basically I've knit the same sock a million times. I often get questions about socks and sock knitting and I rarely know the answer - unless, of course, you're asking about jaywalkers. I don't know anything about heels or toes or short rows - in fact, I put my normal jaywalker heel on my embossed leaves sock. Not that I mind being thought of as a sock knitter, it's just not really how I see myself. That said, here are the three socks I've got on my needles currently. Two need the gusset picked up and one needs a foot.
Yesterday, I finished another job and sent it off to the printer! YAY! And I'm thisclose to getting the taxes done - I just needed some stuff from G which he provided late last night. Today they will be finished. And then I have to at least make an attempt to clean. A bathroom at the least. Bookish Wendy is coming for a couple wild parties with the girls over at MDK. I hope they don't get sick of me because I plan to go to see them Tuesday, Wednesday (with the LI Crew in da house!!!!), Thursday and finally Friday in Philly! WHOOHOO! I lurve me some Ann and Kay.
Last but not least, I flashed my stash on Saturday. Many of you stopped by to see. When I was taking the pictures I didn't really think much of it - it's just another blog thing why not, but after getting all the comments and traveling around to other people's stashes I actually was kind of uncomfortable about showing mine. The few posts I read about excess and waste didn't help matters, but I glossed over those. I mean, I know I have a decent amount of yarn. Some of it I should really get rid of because I will never knit with it and deep down I know it but I'm not ready to part with it. Besides STR (which I'll get to in a minute) I haven't really been buying a lot of yarn lately. Most of what's in my stash was bought last year: my first experience with elann.com. My first trip to Maryland. My first pair of socks. Since I've gotten rid of all those firsts, the only yarn I've really bought had a pattern to go with it. And I've been trying to knit from stash when I can. The STR is a whole other ball game. I think of that like a collection. And the truth is that I do knit it up - I've got STR socks on the needles (right now three pairs going) at all times since I started buying it. I'm going to Maryland next month and while I will probably come home with some yarn, I don't have any intentions of buying any. I won't be buying any STR (unless I see something I've really been looking for, but I doubt it.) I will be looking for fiber and spinning stuff. That's this year's obsession. Right now I'm too busy making my own yarn to buy someone else's. ;-)
The thing is my house is also filled (and I mean filled) with books. I doubt anyone would comment on the excess of that. Just an observation. I could be wrong, and I'm sure my feelings of discomfort are just that - my feelings. No one said anything unkind to me - it's just the impression that I got from the comments. And no need to stroke my ego in the comments today - it's all just thoughts off the top of my head.
Off to finish the taxes and clean a toilet or two. Ghost story winner announced tomorrow.
Have a FANTASTIC DAY!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 01:50 PM | Comments (20)
March 15, 2006
Frantic
Hi! Let me introduce myself. My name is Cara and I used to blog. A lot. Oh god how I miss it. I'm home again folks and I can only hope you missed me as much as I've missed you. And miss you I did! I'm SO out of the loop. I forgot not one but TWO birthdays: two of my best blog buds Margene and Wendy. How awful am I? I pride myself on being an excellent friend - I work hard at it - and I totally dropped the ball. So much so Margene sent ME a present for HER birthday! How ridiculous is she and how much do I suck?
Bunnycrack from Kim! Awesome, no? That Margene. She rocks. Happy happy birthday to you! And a FANTABULOUS birthday to the BOOKISH Girl! Sorry guys. Next year I'll do better. I promise.
So G and I had our homecoming last year night (But oh man it felt like a year! Being at my sister's - no matter how much I love her, the kids, spending time with them - is NOT a vacation. I work hard. This time there was lots of work and lots of sick so I'm happy to be home.) and it wasn't what I had anticipated to say the least. I'm on the train coming up from Philly and I get a call from G-Love. He had arrived home a couple of hours earlier and when he finally got home from the airport he realized a mistake had been made! Right out of our favorite movie, G had picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport!!!! Now, before you start snickering and think to yourself WOW! She bagged a winner! I saw the suitcase he picked up and it was identical to his bag. And to make matters worse, the bag itself is very different and easily identifiable. Georgie is the last person on earth (I guess, now, one of two) to NOT have a roller bag. Know what I'm talking about? He carries a soft suitcase (not a duffel) and it's got this bright orange/yellow trim and the word LUCAS on it. So here comes the same bag on the baggage carousel and right next to it - TOUCHING it - is his other bag. He was on the phone arguing with the car service guy about where to meet and I was ringing in on the other line and he just picked up his bags and left. It wasn't until he got home that he realized he had the wrong bag. When he called me I was all like OH MY GOD it's FRANTIC and what if there are drugs in the bag?! Apparently only an I-POD, ten pairs of sneakers and some condoms. Somebody had fun in Miami.
When G called me I was like no biggie - pick me up at the train station and we'll head over to the airport. I always come into Newark Penn Station and the airport's like ten minutes from there. One problem though - G flew into La Guardia. Nothing like a midnight run to LGA. While we were going through the tunnel we got a call from American Airlines informing us they had his bag. Whew. We got to the airport with a little detour (missed a sign) switched out bags and headed home. Thank god we made that little detour because we took the BQE home and there was like a ten mile back up going TOWARDS the airport. Which we would've been stuck in. Maybe until today. Sometimes there is such a thing as luck.
So we're home. Safe and sound. I miss the kids terribly - I've spent A LOT of time with them this month and now they're off on a fabulous family vacation. The baby and I had some great bonding time. As sad as it is, it's a great ego boost when the little guy cries every time you're out of his line of sight. Awwww.
Knitting was sporadic. I found that weaving in ends on Short Rows was a great nap filler. I'm almost done, believe it or not. I have another new goal for this sweater - I want it done by Passover. And I have a FANASTIC new project on the horizon - details later in the week I hope. I need it for an event at the end of April so I have to start it soon, but it's something I've been dreaming about for awhile and I think it will be phenomenal if I can pull it off.
Socks, socks, socks! I finished a jaywalker and cast on for a mate (not this sock's mate - but you know how I like to switch socks up.) And the embossed leaves saga continues!
Looks like I haven't made any progress, doesn't it? Uh uh uh! Looks can be deceiving! No sillies! It's not the second sock or anything as ambitious as that - it's still the first sock. Only a brand new incarnation! I got to the turning of the heel, believe it or not, and decided it wasn't right. I had done about 15 rows of ribbing and the 3.5 pattern repeats called for and, well, it looked short. So I ripped back to row 12 of ribbing and started knitting the pattern on size 2 Addis. I continued on 2s for two repeats, then switched to 1s. Right now I've got about 3.5 repeats done and I'm planning on doing 4.5 and then starting the heel. Everything's going along pretty well now. I'm happy with it.
Anyway. I'm back. And I hope to be back for good - for a while at least. There's still a lot of running around this month and now it's extending into April and May but, it's okay. I'll deal.
Hope you're having a GREAT day!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 02:18 PM | Comments (24)
March 04, 2006
Embossed Leaves
God I just LOVE jumping on someone ELSE's bandwagon. Love it! So I'm making these pretty socks from the Winter 2006 IK in Koigu #P704. I've decided that the spackly spotty Koigus are my favorites. What a surprise to knit! Every now and again such a shocking color rolls past my needle - something I'd never expect and seems so out of place - that I have to laugh. Very nice. (Although for the record, STR is MUCH softer than Koigu. Surprisingly so.)
Okay - so the socks. I LOVE the pattern. So much so I'm planning on knitting 8 million versions of this sock as well. There is a problem though. I followed the cast-on directions (even though they don't really seem like what I thought a tubular cast on was supposed to be) and I did the ribbing on size 2 Addis (3mm) and then after fifteen rows of twisted knit ribs, I started the pattern on size 1 Addis (2.5mm). Now I'm thinking I should've done the whole thing on 2s. Or even start over and do the ribbing on 3s and the body on 2s. They seem too tight. All you embossed leaves knitters out there - what say you? Yeah. Yeah. I didn't do a gauge swatch. They're socks. Do you really swatch for socks? Isn't it just easier to rip out and start over? Thanks for the thoughts.
I washed my yarn and hung it to dry and you were all right. It seems a lot better. Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement (and offers for a good home for the yarn. The yarn appreciates it, but I think I'll keep it.) I think my problem was I really thought my spinning was improving by leaps and bounds (and I still believe this) but when I went to ply and was reminded of those bits of the spinning where I HADN'T improved - I was disappointed. It's a one step up and two steps back kind of thing. I'll get there. I know I will and I can't wait to spin some more.
Unfortunately though there won't be much spinning this month. Although I'm going to kick ass to get the Project Spectrum Spinning in. It seems I'll be on the road a lot this month - G's away a few weekends in a row and I'm on my way to Philly today. We've got some family stuff going on this weekend that I don't really want to talk about, but I will absolutely appreciate any good vibes you can send my way. I'm awfully open on the blog - but only when it comes to me and me alone. Stuff that affects my larger family I like to keep pretty quiet and it hasn't been the best of times for us lately. Tomorrow is just another chapter in the continuing changes that we're all still struggling to get used to. Blah. Let's all sing together: It's just another Xanax Sunday la, la! (Apologies to The Bangles.)
I be back home on Thursday, so I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging between then and now. I'm on kid duty a lot - I'm actually going to help out my sister - so my computer time might be kind of scarce. Look for late night shout outs. Have a great weekend! See you soon!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 08:44 AM | Comments (45)
February 22, 2006
Join the CLUB!
Now you too can have the stash I have! Well sort of.... Blue Moon has unveiled their SOCK CLUB!!!
Posted by Cara at 12:13 PM
February 21, 2006
Come Play With Us
So Becky tagged me for the "The View from Your Front Door" meme. I told her that it would be really, really boring. I'm not so sure she believed me.
I live in a high rise apartment building, so looking out my front door gives me a wall. A very boring wall. I thought I'd take a picture of the hallway too. This is walking straight out my front door and turning left:
It's a crappy picture of the hallway, but it's usually pretty dark out there. They're supposed to be re-doing the hallways in the building - walls, carpeting, lighting. They're charging us a gazillion dollars but the board's fighting about it. As usual. Supposedly it was all supposed to be started and halfway completed by now and I think they painted the stairwells and maybe ripped out one floor. Fun, fun, fun! Anyway, the most interesting thing I can say about my hallway is that sometimes it scares the freaking crap out me. (Ask Jen. She'll tell you. I totally wigged her out the other day.) It's because sometimes, when I'm walking down from the elevator to my apartment, all I can think about is the twins in The Shining. You know - the ghost girls who want Danny to play and then the hallway fills with blood and I literally break into a run to my apartment. I hate scary movies and I think The Shining, with Jack Nicholson, is one of the scariest movies ever. But yet, whenever it's on, I have to watch it.
I much prefer the view from my balcony:
