Hubby’s Socks

These were knit with Opal Mississippi color 5082, #1 needles.  Very happy with them.  Okay, I lied, it’s an ‘it’.  I’m still working on the second sock.  Oh how I wish I could knit one sock and then POOF, the second one is magically done at the same time.  I need to perfect that.

What I learned from these socks that is above all else:  I can knit my hubby a pair of socks from one skein of Opal and have a smidge, and I do mean smidge, left for mending.  That is so good to know.  I always thought he’d take two skeins for his size 12 feet.  Whew!!

Have fallen head over heel for the Nancy Bush Knitting Vintage Socks book. Had to order it. I really like how her patterns are written and of course, that I was able to knit it without making mistakes helps too.  I know that the pattern got lost in the pattern, so to speak, but hey, it was an experiment with both the yarn and the pattern.  Seems like I’m doing a lot of that lately.  Oh, the hair…you want to know?  I’m peachy.  No oil, just dandy.  I’m to the place I wanted to be, and the hair color setback really didn’t set me back at all.

But I did tell a woman at work about the experiment, big mistake. I’ll probably have to hear about it daily now.  Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?    Some people just don’t get the natural thing.  If using shampoo doesn’t hurt you, and it’s available, then why not do it, is their attitude.  Why not find out what natural truly is, I say.  Just because we live differently than our ancestors did, doesn’t mean we’re truly living better.

Yarn Candy

Apparently, as usual, I arrived late to the party…this time about Trekking #126, Brach’s Candy.  It’s absolutely the most fabulous sock yarn I’ve ever seen.   But like I said, I was the last to know about it,  It arrived in my mailbox yesterday. (Yarn in my mailbox is just the lovliest thing.  It’s one of those things in life that just makes me feel like a kid again, which is ridiculous since I ordered it and know exactly what it is.  Crazy.)  So I instantly began balling it into two separate hand wound balls, my own weird method that allows me to knit two socks at once.  I am so ready to jump in and begin these socks, but am thinking I ought to pause and choose a pattern carefully, instead of knitting my standard purl rib from Sensational Socks, which I love to bits and makes the best fitting socks for my skinny feet.   Ravelry has lovely examples of what to do with this yarn, but the challenge is to not interfere with the pattern of the self striping yarn.  Hmmm.  What to do?  Knitting has taught me much patience through the past 6 years, but at times like this I feel like I haven’t learned a thing.  Maybe I’ll just knit the cuffs while I’m searching for the perfect pattern.

giftable baby socks

these socks are a mini version of the four stitch sock patt from sensational socks book by charlene schurch, my favorite sock book ever.

I used opal yarn, forgot the colorway, and #1 needles.  Took me a weekend to knit them, off and on, of course.  Baby socks are fun to knit!

“Don’t you know you can buy those at WALMART?”

Guitar Trim Hat

Knitted this for my nephew’s birthday, in January. I know he won’t wear it this year, but he’s getting it anyway, along with a bit of birthday cash. Aren’t late gifts fun??

Love this pattern from LynnH on www.ravelry.com. If you haven’t joined yet, you must. It’s a great resource, and many free patterns.

New FO!

I finally finished oldest child’s socks this week.  What a great feeling of accomplishment.  He wears men’s size ten shoes, so these took quite a bit longer than socks for myself.  Of course, now it’s March and when I gave them to him he said, “Now it’s too warm to wear them.”  Sigh.  I’m so unappreciated.  There’s another one off the list.

For anyone curious…I used Kroysocks, and a rib patt from Sensational Socks book.  Four stitch repeat, slip st. heel flap,  and short row heel.  My favorite method so far.  Oh, and I used dpns, size 1, my new favorite: bamboo! My wrists don’t hurt anymore when I knit socks…Yea!!

Latest FO

I have such fun knitting and felting these beer cozies from my handspun.  They make great gifts and I really love using them.  No more cold hands or warm beer!

 

 

The Sherman Heel ‘Yay!’ Moment

I have become obsessed lately about learning this new technique for sock heels.  I don’t know why I am the way I am, but I love mastering new knitting techniques.  A few weeks ago I read about this this heel and decided to figure it out.  [There are two great sites with directions, www.knitlist.com/2002/ToeUpSock.htm and http://hipknitism.com/classes/basic_ribbed_socks/lesson4.shtml (lesson 4: Sherman heel) (also,has modified chart for various size socks, invaluable!).  I needed all three to get the job done, however. ]  I have knit several pairs of socks over the past couple years, but was searching for a better heel, one that be more easily replaceable, or just more easily mended.  The thing I really like about it is that I can memorize the pattern, well, I haven’t yet, but I know I can if I do it a couple more times!  I liked the heel flap and gusset, makes a lovely sock, but it’s very time consuming, this definitely is faster.  I was going to put photos of my socks up, but they are both in incredibly dark yarns and the heel stitches are hard to see.  So why am I blabbing about it?  Because I am having a ‘Yay!’ knitting moment.  At times I get into a rut and think I’m not a very good knitter, and then I try something that seemed difficult at first, wrestle it a bit, and DO IT!!  It’s just completely cool. 

 I know a lady at church who only knits garter stitch washcloths and always the same pattern.  Why?  Because that’s all she knows how to knit.  She has absolutely no interest in any other aspectof knitting, I’m not sure she can even purl.  I know she’s happy in her ignorance, and content to have a bit of handiwork to help her through her quiet moments; she’s told me this.  But I’ve always thought it sad that she’s not on the Knitting Journey.  What makes us different?  She just doesn’t want to work at it, is that it?  She only likes a little knitting?  She’s not a Knitter, merely a knitter?   What makes someone a Knitter? I don’t get it.  I didn’t ask for this.  I fell bass-akwards into it.  I learned to cast on and the runaway train did the rest.  I didn’t have a choice.  Knitting chose me.   I have met some fascinating people on this journey, made some wonderful friends, come to appreciate handcrafted things and the artists who make them, learned some amazing things about history andpeople, met some adorable sheep, alpaca, goats, bunnies, and the people who care for them, and learned the art of giving gifts from the heart.   And most impressive of all, I have done things with two sticks and string that I never would have believed I could.  The greatest part of it all is that the journey never ends. 

 

 

Lace Urges

Here’s the thing.  I knitted Icarus. I patted myself on the back. I blogged about it. I emailed photos of it.  I blabbed incessently about it.  Basically, I O.D.ed on it.  It was so much fun.  I really just want to knit another lace shawl now.  Or maybe not a shawl, but some other lace thing that will knock my own socks off when I finish it.  I’m having lace urges. So many urges that I’m looking at shawl porn daily on ravelry.  I just cannot help myself.  I’m just so drawn to it.   It wouldn’t be so bad it if weren’t for this yarn diet I keep telling myself I’m on.  I am really attempting to de-stash this year.  I’m doing pretty well so far, but with no lace weight in the stash, I have a problem.  Hmmmm.  I could hurry up and spin some, but see, the lace shawl urge is happening NOW, not in a week or three when the hand spun yarn would be ready to use.  I just need to settle down.  I have socks on the needles, they could keep me happy for awhile, and the urge will pass, right? Maybe, but I NEED to start a new lace project, and soon.  I think, “Strike while the iron is hot” is great advice, indeed!

What about a nice swap?  I have oodles of worsted brunswick wool yarn just sitting in totes waiting to be loved.  I always imagined the felted slippers, hats, bags, mittens, and other yummy winter delights I could knit with the 15 skeins I have purchased through the years on discount.  If I swapped yarns with someone, does that still count as stash-busting?  I think so.  But could I part with it?  I’m a bit attached to my stash yarns.  Even the ugly yarns I bought as a beginning knitter make me think of the project that I originally imagined that will never be.  And how would I feel with no stash yarn?  What if I could actually use up all the yarn I’m storing? Then what, I just buy yarn for every project as I need to?  But isn’t that why I bought all that yarn to start with, so I wouldn’t have to do that?  And if I run out of yarn, that means I can start rebuilding the stash, right?  So in the end, when I die, I will still have craploads of yarn.  So maybe I’ll just order up that lace weight right now.

Icarus Mission Accomplished

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I can’t believe I’m even typing this.  I am actually finished with the Icarus Shawl.  I am just beaming, can you feel the rays from there? I know I’m a bit behind the Icarus Bandwagon, I was left in their dust at least a year ago. I’m not even sure how it happened. In the fall of ‘06 I knitted about 70 rows, ran out of yarn, I blinked, then about 14 months went by before I picked it up again.  Here’s what I learned from this project:

1. Lace charts suck.

1A. Breathing when knitting lace is a good thing.

1B. Hunching over knitting until my neck hurt for three days requiring Vicodin isn’t fun.

1C. Post it notes on the knitting pattern denoting RS symbols and WS symbols are a time saver. (did I mention lace charts suck?)

2. Never again will I assume I’ll remember what the hell I was doing when I had to put the project down.  I will always write knitterly notes to myself as if I’m planning to develop Alzheimer’s before I get back to it.

3. Always, always, always buy more yarn than you think you’ll need to finish, especially if you use heavier yarn, DUH. (hence the reason I ran out of yarn after 70 rows.) Buying form a LYS rather than an online store would have helped too.

4. Say extra prayers daily for the kind hearted knitter (whose name I forgot) in Canada who graciously sent me two skeins of yarn matching the dye lot I needed. Are knitters great folks or what?  (I really hope she liked the soap I sent her in return!)

5.  Although K’Nex toy blue circle gizmos make great stitch markers, it’s a good idea to  invest in oodles of stitch markers for lace because I lost a zillion of the real markers I started with on this project.  also, the ones that come apart would have made this project soooo much easier.

6. Buy an Ott style craft lamp.  This dark yarn made me a basketcase. 

7. Buy lace addi-turbos. Sheesh. This was my first experience with regular addis and loved them, but this was alpaca/silk yarn and it was way too slippery for these needles, also, they’re not pointy enough.

8. Lace is very rewarding, especially when it’s a yummy alpaca shawl I can drape around my shoulders!  I absolutely cannot wait to wear it.  It’s blocking at this very minute!!

9. Sacrifice at least a dozen skeins of crappy acrlic yarn from my stash to offer thanksgiving to the lace goddess.  She was so kind to me.  It really is the least I can do.  I am eternally grateful.  For the most part, this project went off without a hitch (after the running out yarn incident, which was my own stupid fault).  It seemed at the start that I was biting off way more than I could chew with this pattern, but I took it one step at a time, ripped every time it started to go awry, and just kept plugging along.  I really did learn a tremendous amount from this project, and isn’t that really what it’s all about??

Early Knitting Photos

My sister found this photo recently.  I found it hilarious.  I don’t recall it being taken, and how funny that I’m faking knitting (and wearing her glasses)! 

I actually did learn to knit as a child, but quickly forgot it and obviously had forgotten it by the time this photo was taken. 

I would like to say I plan to be better about keeping up with the blog, but honestly it has fallen from my priority list.  My days are busy and it’s just not as fun as it used to be.  I will still post from time to time, however, and hopefully my lastest knitting project will appear soon.  I also plan to use ravelry.com to post my projects, I love ravelry! 

Best to all of you in 2008,  and happy knitting!