WIP Wed 2/3/10

I've made progress on the serenity quilt - it is quilted and waiting to be bound. Without a good camera and good lighting, it is hard to see, so I'll post finished pictures later.

I've got another WIP that I keep forgetting to post.

leftover sock yarns crocheted in blocks to form strips. The strips will be bordered and bound in a neutral. My Grammy used to make similar afghans with her scraps.I have one and I love picking out things like the yarn she used for a sweater for me or the shirt on my doll or a dress on another doll etc.. this one will be going for quite some time. Guess I'll just have to knit more socks!

Speaking of Grammy, Alice is modeling my finished prayer shawl.

Glad to have that one off the needles. It is pretty and soft and I hope it brings comfort to the recipient.

Speaking of prayer shawls...

I've made some progress on Urchins and Limpets. See that unfinished motif? That would be where I ran out of the green. I had a decision to make -buy more green or remove the whole row. I didn't think it would have been long enough with one less row, so I'll be getting more green tomorrow. Right now I'm ignoring all of those ends that need to be finished.

Next up is some swatching for the Ravelympics.

This is Caron Spa - bamboo and something synthetic. Feels nice and I would expect it to have anice drape. It is DK and the pattern calls for worsted wt. so swatching and math will be key here.

WIP Wednesday 1/27/10

As you can see above I finished my latest pair of socks for ME! very comfy too.

I'm sitll knitting away on the prayer shawl. It looks a lot like the last picture, just longer. I'm sooooo bored with it. Prayer shawls are generally simple and repetive to facilitate prayer - which is completely logical. However, there is a fineline between simple and boring. It is hardto focus on the medetation when you are sick of looking at the same damn thing. next up is another attempt at urchins and limpets in a basic acrylic (I know..) from my stash.

These are the latest blocks for the QAL on Ravelry. I only used 2 fabrics instead of 10 because I wanted to continue to highlight each fabric as I use it. I made teh secondsquare the opposite of the first and it will go on the back ofthe quilt. I also did somemore quilting on the first strip. I'll take a picture of that in better light with a better camera when it is done. I ran out of thread.

WIP Wednesday 1/13/10

My FO of the week wasn't even on the radar last week.

It is a chemo cap in some Homespun leftovers. (I think the rest of this skein was some sort of bag.) I went into a bit of the background yesterday, but the pattern is Braid-Edge Cap. I really liked the pattern. I did this on the size 8s and followed the directions for the smaller size, which gives a bigger hat with the bigger yarn and needles. As is always the case with gage, YMMV. I enjoyed this knit it was interesting enough to be fun but not complicated enough to be frustrating. The only thing I would do change if I were to do it again is to do a provisional cast on and graft the beginning to the end. Sure, a kitchner would be more work, but I'd rather have a grafted seam than a sewn one for a chemo cap - or any cap fpr that matter.

I've been attempting to replenish my Prayer Shawl supply to donate to the Church. First, I started Urchins and Limpets. LOVE the pattern. I did not love the yarn choice I made. Homespun. See for yourself.

I've got leftovers of sage and white in my stash. I may use those. I may pick up a couple of small skeins in other colors. I may not. I'm not ready to return to this one right this minute. What I am working on is the Shawl Ministry Prayer Shawl from the book Knitting for Peace (Christmas gift from Mom). Homespun again. I used the US 11s as suggested by the pattern, but the stitch pattern was just lost in this yarn. I went up to a US17. Mostly because I love working with this particular set of needles. smooth, soft and warm. I frogged out about 6 inches and started over.I'm on row 3. Not much to see. Pictures next week.

I've made progress on my socks. Heels are turned and I'm on the way up the leg.

Simple 4x2 rib, but I decided to stick alternating cables in the middle of each color band. Why? Well, why not? I just wanted something to break up the monotony. I made 4 pairs of basic rib socks for my guys for Christmas and varrying the rib repeat did little to hold my attention.

WIP wednesday 1/6/10

This is actually an FO now, but I wanted to show you the WIP photos. The pattern is from Knitting Cables on the GO and is actually for fingerles mitts. I decided early on that I wnted my fingers to be warm too. Might have been that day the wind chill was -2 and I was standing on the tracks where it was probably more like -6. I devised a decrease method that sorked out well and they fit great. Notes on the decreases are here.

as I was about to start the thumb gussets, I realized that the stitch markers and stitch holders I normally have on me were stolen. It occured to me that I had plenty of paperclips in the office!

talk about a multipurpose tool! they worked great as markers, then I just slipped the thumb stitches on when the gussets were complete. The original pattern also called for an open thumb as well. The instructions are here.

I've cast on some socks for me next. It is my basic toe-up sock pattern with a 2x4 rib. I'm adding alternating cable twists just to make it interesting. Kim gifted me with the yarn (5th Avenue Socksation) and another ball for her BUT her feet are in WI, so I need her to send me a tracing so I know how big to make them. I'll start hers as soon as I know what size they want to be.

I am now thinking about the Ravelympics again - what shall I make? I'm thinking that I may re-work this pattern with a crochet lace. Need to chose yarn and so far, I'm thinking Cotton Ease.

FO Round Up.

Once the Anniversary Shawl was done, I could wrap up the other projects I had going.

First, I finished Todd's Heavy Metal Monkey socks.

Then I finished off my socks to go with my Tubey sweater.

After everything was done... I needed a new project.

fraternal Jaywalkers for Todd.

Sick of the Scum

The Pond Scum socks are D-O-N-E! finally! It was starting to feel like I've been knitting these for.E.V.E.R. I did manage to use up almost all of the yarn though.. That is always nice. I hate waste.

Details:

• Pattern- Seaweed Socks by Wendy Johnson
• Yarn- ONline Linie 3 Supersocke 100 lost the ball band with the colorway... but I bought it at WEBS.
• Ravelry project link
• Notes- I like the heel - I'll probably use that again. The lace was OK, but I'm clearly sick of it. It does bias a bit

Up next:

I promised the next pair of socks to Todd. He Picked out some "MANgenta" sock yarn at WEBS,

BUT he was flipping through the latest WEBS catalog (he'll read anything in the bathroom!) and saw a picture of CookieA's "Monkey" socks and a black/grey sock yarn. So I ordered the yarn. It came in as I was Casting off the Pond Scum, So I started the Heavy Metal Monkey Socks this morning.


Toe-up - as usual. I'm also going to omit the picot at the cuff. It isn't very manly...

The Prodigal Socks

I know all of my blog readers aren't yarnivores, so I'll give you a bit of background. Hand knit socks are almost a higher plane of knitting. Many knitters think they could never accomplish such a challenge. The thin yarn and teeny needles intimidate many a knitter. Throw in the fact that you are knitting in circles- well, actually a spiral and then "turning the heel" and it seems like the Everest of knitting. BUT once you knit your first pair and put them on (assuming that they fit human proportions) you never want to wear store bought socks again... and you are addicted!



My Grammy was both a knitter and a crocheter. Every fall, she traced our hands and feet for new mittens and socks. We usually wore them right out before spring, but Grammy was happy to make us more. As the years got on and we got bigger, it became harder for her to knit, so I was more careful with my hand knits. After she passed in 1992, I was darning and hand washing my socks, hoping they'd last forever. I do still have them, but by 2005, they were no longer wearable and there wasn't enough left to darn.



Grammy taught me how to crochet when I was very little, but I never asked her to teach me to knit. I used to be mad at myself for not asking her when I had the chance. Now that I think about it, she had such little patience that I don't think that would have gone well. At one point I did try to teach myself to knit with a book and a baby blanket pattern, but I got bored long before it was even swatch-worthy. BUT, once I was out of hand-knit socks.... I knew it was time to try again. So, yeah, I finally learned to knit - with socks!



My knitting habit started around the same time as this blog actually. One of my first entries was my first pair of socks. You'll notice that was in April of '05. I only wore them a couple of times and put them away for the summer. I (apparently) brought them with me on our camping trip that August. It (usually) gets cold at night up in the mountains. shortly after that... they vanished....



Fast forward to this weekend. I pulled out the sleeping bags to air them out.





Imagine my surprise as I find MY SOCKS. My FIRST SOCKS!



After 3 years, the Prodigal Socks have returned. Last year there were record high temps and I ended up sleeping on TOP of my bag (which I evidently neglected to air before the trip and didn't bother after since I didn't use it). The year before, I skipped camp, being 9m pregnant and all (worked out well since Colin was born while the big guys were still at camp with the ILs...).

Now, these are not the prettiest socks - or the best socks I ever knit. not even the most comfortable. But they are my FIRST socks. They are a rite of passage and a symbol of my becoming a Knitter.

Back in the saddle....

I got my bike back on Saturday (yes, I bought a new helmet!). I was really happy to be back on the bike Monday morning.. until the clouds unleashed their vengeance on me about 3 blocks from the station. NOT.FUN. neither was the cold, wet train ride (I had a change in the office thank goodness!). My commute didn't improve with the bus ride. Some lady pulled out into the side of the bus. She destroyed the front end of her car and scratched the bus. Still, it is better than being hit on your bike... but really, 2 accidents in two weeks? Enough already!

Monday night also meant stitch removal for me. While I am THRILLED to be rid of them, the bandages and the itching, I'm not liking the return of the pain! It hurt getting them out and it hurts to even touch my leg again. Still, the doctor said it looks good and is healing well. I'll take his word for it. It looks like I have a vagina on my leg. (nice mental picture, no?) I did bring Andy with me. He was fascinated adn asked lots of questions. He said it looked easy...

As for the potential legal action, I'm leaving that up to my lawyer and not expecting any news soon.

While we are on the topic of commuting, I finished Todd's Patriotic Socks. He was putting the first one on while I was sewing in the ends on the second. Guess he likes them! I know Ryan does because I have been oredered to make a pair for him. I've got plenty of yarn leftover for a kid pair, so why not? next pair is MINE.

Yarn Barf

One of my biggest pet peeves.

The whole point of working from a center-pull skein is so that you don't have to deal with knots, tangling and balls of yarn rolling down the aisle of the train car (or is that just me?)

I'm knitting Todd's socks in ONlinie 3 Supersocke 100 - which I got on sale at WEBS because it is being discontinued. It isn't the softest sock yarn, but it seems like a durable yarn and a bit more "grabby" than some others. Maybe I just got used to primuim sock yarn. My last 2 pairs were in Loran's Laces afterall... there are no knots (so far and I'm not even to the heel yet) and no bizzare dye screw ups (had that happen with Fortissiama Colori). It isn't even splitty (again with the Fortissima - which hasnt' held up for anything).

BUT the skeins keep barfing! I spend more time untangling than knnitting these days! BAH!

knitting -1 FO and 2 WIPs

I finally finished my Zaftig Tank. I added lenfth in a horseshoe lace. I increased the needle size a couple of times as I went down. I finished it off with a crochet BO. I also opted to sew the straps to the center back to make it a tank rather than halter. I have long hair - it knots.

you can't really see it in these pictures, but the last ball of yarn was a different dye lot (WHY didn't I check first???) I didn't notice until I was 2" into the lace and said "eff it"! Now, it still bothers me. it isn't distinct enough to look like an on-purpose stripe, and it isnt' close enough that it isn't noticable - well to me anyway. I'm considering a slight over-dye to attempt to even it out.

I have 2 things OTN right now.

I have a pair of shorties for Colin as my home/soccer project:

It is basically my "Twisted" pattern, but I did the cuffs in seed stitch and added crotch gussets.

My train/travel project is a pair of socks for Todd:

They are coming along, but he does have some big feet!

All the yarn in this post was from my trip to WEBS for the Harlot signing. There is still yarn in that stash for another pair of shorties, 1 more pair of socks for Todd and 2 pairs for me!

socks and such

I've finally finished Todd's Safari Socks. It seems like forever, but for a oair of his socks, they went pretty quickly. about a month of karate classes and a month of commuter knitting. As soon as they were off teh needles, they were on his feet. I did manage to snap a quick pick with the phone:


on yesterdays commute, I whipped up an inhaler sock for him to keep in his gym bag. The tops always come off and you get gunk in them - ICK!



I'd love to take credit for the idea, but it isn't mine. I found it on Ravlery, but you can also find it here. I didn't follow that pattern per se. I used the same formula as I did for Todd's socks, just scaled it down.

Cynthia had a great idea for reusing outgrown baby socks as inhaler socks on her blog.

Chugging Along

I was going to take a pic of the Safari Socks on the train, but I thought with Homeland Security and all.. maybe not... so here it is in my office.



I may be able to turn the heel tomorrow.. maybe...

the Commute

new job - new commute. the first morning didn't go so hot. my stinkin' cab was 40 minutes late*! I missed FOUR trains and screwed my shutle connection at the other end. I ended up being 1:15 late for my second day - nice. Fortunately, the new boss is not an ass, so it was ok. The ride home was better.

On the way back a lady saw me knitting and sat down next to me. She is a new knitter and we talked needles and yarn shops and I introduced her to magic loop and HK socks. she asked "the" question "why not just go to Kohls?". I told her to knit a pair, put them on - then ask me. Its like parenting. you think you know - but you don't - not until you are ankle deep in it.

This morning, the planets aligned and the commuter gods were kind. My cab was about 10 minutes early - which meant that I caught the early train - semi express, through train to my stop - no transfer in stamford :happy dance: I got off the train, down to the street and my shuttle was wating. My stop is the last in the loop, so I was the last one on the bus. the driver pulled up to the driveway of my building instead of the regular stop next door. I hope the rest of my train rides go this well!

so, if you are on the MNRR New Haven Line and see someone knitting this:



come and say "hi"!

*Note to Cab drivers: if you are 40 minutes late and I miss 4 trains - you do NOT deserve a tip - so don't ask for one - jerk!

Catching up...

1. Ryan is getting REALLY good at hockey - fast. this week he did a drill where he had to dive under the coach's stick, get up and shoot a goal. He scored twice. He came home and said "Dad, I scored two girls!" oy!

this was taken toward the end of his second practice - as you can see he was getting pretty tired.

2. the shawl is off the needles and blocking.


3. Todd's socks are past the toes and maybe 1/3 the way up the instep. no new photos..

4. The epic quilt is assembled. I do have pics in it's current state, but FIL took them with his camera and I didn't get digital copies - yet. I had a stroke of creative genius. I added tabs to teh top of the quilt to hang it from. the hanger is a fishing pole... how smart am I???

I'm also crocheting "seaweed" to embelish the quilt.

Once the quilting is done I can add the hemotite beads for the fish eyes. shell beads to the sea bed. the crochet seaweed and I also have some rough peridot beads to add in somewhere in there.

5. Todd got his Blue Belt.

January thaw is not Global Warming

As I said the other day, I finished the mittens and they were immediately put to use - even though we are in the midst of a "January Thaw". I did swipe them for a photo op. I had to use the remains of giganto tree as a backdrop as said thaw has depleated us of snow ice.

I really liked the density of the fabric. The thumb gussets worked up nicely, look good and are appearntly comfortable. I don't like the decreases at the top. it decreases to rapidly and makes it bunch up. I think the next pair will be a little different. I'll make the tops more like sock toes and decrease a little more slowly. I'll also either double strand of use bulky weight on larger needles. I'll still work it in a firm gauge to get a nice dense fabric, but it'll go a little faster and make thicker mittens - which will work out nicely once winter returns to kick us in the arse.

With the mittens off of the needles, I cast on Todd's Safari Socks. I am really liking the LL. I'll be working more with this in the future. I am still working on the toes. Did I mention that he wears a 14EEEE?

yeah.. I'll be knitting these 'til next winter... sigh...

oh- and the whole blocking wire thing - I was looking around on ravelry and learned that I do NOT need wires (which are wicked expensive!) I can use string - or more likely crochet thread. WOO HOO!