Life, Knitting, and the pursuit of Roller Coasters

Upgrade!

2007-03-17T00:55:00.000-04:00

This blog is moving! I got it some new digs for a blogiversary present... (still a week away). Not much there yet except the relocated blog, but it'll get fleshed out into a true site over time.

A zillion years online, and it's my first domain purchase, so please follow me over to my new home at http://www.bethtoons.com/blog

I've caught the disease

2007-03-14T01:15:00.000-04:00

and it's name is Sock Madness....

I finished the first pair of sock madness socks in record time (for me) today. I got a late start because of the whole Cali trip (which was awesome) and didn't cast on sock #1 until Sunday afternoon. A Lazy day on Monday saw the first sock finished. I cast on and knit the cuff of sock #2 on the redeye flight home Monday night, turned the heel on the bus ride from the airport and finished up the foot Tuesday afternoon and evening closing up the toe after my bedtime around 12:30. Even with my late start, I still managed to complete early enough to make it into the next round so I'm gearing up for round 2's head to head soon.

In addition to knitting an entire pair of socks in three days (as if that weren't enough)... I finished up the first Baudelaire early in the trip and turned the heel on the first Pomotomous on the trip out too. So, sock madness still extends beyond the insanity of the competition. The Pomo in 100% merino is squishy and amazing but slow going, the Baud is in Sundara sock yarn, and I'm absolutely adoring knitting with it and the color (denim over purple) is amazing and incredibly rich looking in this pattern. The photos don't do it justice. Plus, it's my first time doing a toe-up sock and I'm enjoying that process as well. However, because the first Pomo is on the needles, I won't be starting the second Baud right away so I can keep a set of size 2's open for future Sock Madness. I have my priorities...

Obsess much?

2007-02-26T20:19:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, I'm on a bit of a sock kick right now. It's been all socks all the time so far this year (except for that one scarf, it might have been a fluke). Lots of Sock-related KAL's over in that sidebar.

So, naturally, I finished another pair this weekend. The speed socks are done. These were zippy fast. I cast on last Friday and cast off yesterday a few hours before the Oscars. Simple stockinette socks with a Lana Grossa self striping yarn in gray and blues and greens.

I'd intended to cast on my first toe-up pair last night during the ceremony, but static electricity thwarted my yarn winding efforts and I spent the entire ceremony untangling the mess.

However, now I have a gorgeous skein of Sundara's sock yarn (in Denim over Purple) all ready to go and be cast on tonight.

In Training

2007-02-22T20:23:00.000-05:00

Sock Madness starts in a couple weeks and I've been gearing myself up for the strain of competitive sock knitting.

Some of my strategies:

1) Finished the cotton socks. They were sitting by the computer with just the toe on the second sock waiting to be knit. I finished it up last night while playing with my new toy. These have been a long term project. Not out of necessity, I just haven't felt the need to zip through them. They would get a row or two here and there, gradually progressing until the second sock was just close enough that I just sat down with it and finished it up. I'm pretty sure I cast on for these in late July/early August. Definitely a back-burner project.

2) Increased my speed. I knit an entire stockinette sock this past weekend. Cast on Friday night, kitchnered the toe at about 2am on Monday. The second sock is progressing a little slower in the evenings during the week but I'll probably have another finished pair this weekend. In project spectrum colors even.

3) The new toy. I succumed to the allure of time-delayed TV and added a Tivo to my plethora of gadgetry in the house. I'm also letting myself get a little obsessed with it, so it's going to have lots available for me to watch and knit during the marathon.

4) Vacation time. The marathon's official start date is a Saturday... a Saturday that I will be spending in California in an amusement park. I'm hoping to "catch up" though. I'll be able to steal a little time here and there on Saturday and Sunday to get started, print things out on Sunday and continue progressing Monday. I'll have the whole flight back on Monday night, and I'm considering taking Tuesday off as well which will give me another free day to hopefully catch up and keep running with it.

5) New skills. I think I've dabbled in most of the requisite skills here and there, not all at sock scale, but I've done some color work, a little lace, a few cables. The only thing I haven't done yet with socks is toe-up construction. So, once the second sock for the speed pair above is done, I'm going to work on my first toe-up pair that will be another long-term sock sock project. I'm considering either Baudelaire's or Falling in Love as they will both give me good training on toe-up construction, plus a refresher on lace and cables.

6) Supplies. Most of the required supplies I have in my stash. I did place an order with the Loopy Ewe to fill in the blanks. So I should be all set on needles now and filled in some of the solids to go with varigates I already own.

7) Progress on the backburner projects. Pomotomous has become my stand in for the cotton socks now that those are done. I love the pattern, but the sock just gets a few rows here and there in between other things. It progresses slowly, but they'll get done eventually. I should also finally revisit the legwarmers, make a decision and either frog or continue.

I probably should plan a mad dash at housecleaning prior to the start date as well, we'll see if that happens or not over the next two weeks.

Monkeys for Mom

2007-02-15T01:37:00.000-05:00

FO: Monkey Socks
Yarn: White Willow's Secret Garden

These have to be among the fastest I've completed a sock project so far. Less than 2 weeks from cast on of the first sock to weaving in ends on the second. I think that may mean I'm ready for Sock Madness (these are also my 5th complete pair to date, so I just barely still qualify as a "Novice" sock knitter for Sock Madness).

When I bought the yarn last month, I picked it out specifically as more mom-friendly in color than the last pair I made her. If you've read back, you'll recall that those were a happy accident of mis-fitting my own foot that resulted in a perfect fit on her foot but the colors while fun and funky were a little loud. This colorway while still not plain by any stretch, is a little more subdued and momish.

I think they are by far my favorite pair that I've knit to date. It's going to be hard to give them away, but I know the pattern now and have plenty of other yarns in my stash that should look good in the same pattern should I choose to make another pair. I've already got plans for another pair of jaywalkers, might as well repeat the monkeys too.

Another stretch for me this time, these were knit in pattern exactly as written. No shortening of the cuffs, cleanly kitchnered toes, heel flapped heels. Granted previous socks weren't altered much or didn't follow much more than a formula rather than a pattern, but I've been cutting cuffs short on most all the socks I've made to date.

The lace pattern was really easy to memorize (I never thought I'd say that about any pattern longer than 3 or 4 rows) and I'm completely smitten with it's effects. Definitely addictive and quick as well.

Have I lauded these enough? My only disappointment is that I won't be keeping them for myself. But my mom is definitely a worthy recipient and I'm sure there will be more handknit socks for her in the future too.

I really didn't want to leave Chicago

2007-02-06T19:37:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not still there, but that was a possibility Monday. Cam left for work around 9, I packed up and went down to my car about an hour later. It was cold, windchill around 30 below, and I couldn't get back into Cam's building once I discovered that my car's battery was d-e-a-d, dead.

So, I rediscovered my inner bethcicle while waiting to be rescued. We spent the rest of the morning getting me warmed back up and tracking down someone who was willing to 1) try to start the car and 2) put a new battery in it asap so I could get on the road home. I also let them change the oil.

Cam got to leave work for the morning, I got to stick around a while, and I was finally able to get on the road with a much lighter wallet late in the afternoon. Awesome car guys though, highly recommended, great customer service and very friendly.My car is much happier now. Maybe I'll make a trip back once my timing belt is due to be changed out.

So, an afternoon of sitting around and not driving (plus the progress made at the super bowl party the night before) got me into the gusset on mom's sock. Had to have something good come out of it all, right?

Super Storm

2007-02-04T13:38:00.000-05:00

The weather in Michigan is leaving me stranded in Chicago today (oh darn, more time with friends and a vacation day tomorrow, I'm so disappointed). So, I'll be tagging along for a super bowl party tonight and braving the messy roads through west Michigan tomorrow morning instead.

Whirlyball was crazy fun last night. we had a great dinner and the three hours we played flew by. Fortunately, the bruises on my body aren't quite as severe as they were last year. Can't say the same for some of my friends though.

Plus, a weekend hanging around Cam's place always seems to be conductive to knitting progress. He brought me in to work Friday night and Saturday to help with some testing, and we spent most of Saturday watching Doctor Who on DVD.

Adam's scarf is now finished and it came out great. I would hold off on photos, but since I brilliantly already posted one forgetting that he now has the link to this blog I might as well post another. So, um... happy birthday in a couple weeks, little bro. Hope I didn't spoil the surprise too much.

I've also been working on the first of mom's Monkey socks and have gotten through two repeats of the lace. The repeat seems to be really easy to remember and after the last few pairs of socks being knit on size 1's, these seem to go so much faster on the twos. Even though I have two other socks already on the needles, I cast these on Feb 1st to be my February Socktopia socks. I'll probably alternate between these and the blue socks this evening during the game though. I brilliantly didn't pack enough clean clothes even though I knew there was the possibility of staying an extra night, so if I can finish the second blue sock tonight then I'll have a clean pair to wear home tomorrow.

The end of SP9

2007-02-01T21:16:00.000-05:00

Now I know who my spoiler is! Thanks Firefly, for everything. Including the great package that arrived today.

She sent a lot of goodies, 4 skeins of yarn in some great colors, a huge bag(it's folded up in the photo), chocolate, magnets. And she made me a hat! My coworkers already pick on me for wearing a scarf and my fingerless mitts at work... they're going to really think I'm a freak when I add the hat to the mix. :)

I'm headed to Chicago this weekend for a little off-season fun with the coaster friends... the bag is the perfect size to pack for the weekend. Thanks again!

On an unrelated note... I finally tallied up my sock yarn mileage for the Lime n' Violet Sock Marathon. Keep in mind, I've been knitting a few weeks shy of 1-year and it took me a few months before I plunged into socks. I've completed 4 pair of socks and have two others on the needles now. I crocheted for several years prior, but never used any natural fibers until I started knitting and certainly didn't have any sock yarns in stash before I started knitting socks.

So, how is it that in about 9-10 months I've gathered 11.34 miles of sock yarn!?!?!?!? Enough for 46+ pairs of socks!!! Apparently I'm a far more effective shopper than I am a knitter. Good thing sock yarn doesn't count as stash... plus it all fits in that one crate.

Reunited!

2007-01-26T23:28:00.000-05:00

I can finally post photos again! I can finally post photos again! I can finally post photos again!

I didn't realize how hard it would be to blog without my camera, but this last month has definitely been a challenge and I have no intention of leaving it behind anywhere ever again after the past few weeks without it. So, a photo heavy post. Because I can.

I'm not going to post the remnant Christmas photos, but the album is here if you want to see Christmas with my family.

As for the month of January, I started the year with a little colorwork and got through half a manresa legwarmer. I've set it aside because a couple of my floats near the top are a little tight and I can't pull it up as high as I probably should be able too... so I'm debating between manipulating the floats throughout and working the slack back up to that area, frogging it and starting over making sure that end stays loose, or just letting it go and wearing them slouched. I'm leaning towards frogging to the color join and starting over.

While that's been sitting on the back burner, I've made some progress on the second Regia cotton sock, I'm about halfway through the foot now and it gets a few more rows every few days. I'm eager to get them finished, but the cotton seems to dry out my already dry winter hands.

I also used my Michaels gift card from Mike's parents to get yarn for my brother's scarf. I took Jody's suggestion and picked up the Patons SWS in the Natural Blue colorway. I'm really enjoying working with this yarn, although I did find a couple knots in the first skein, and I'm about 2/3s through the second skein so far. I bought 4, and I'm knitting it in the simple one-row pattern St ephanie posted back in October.

In addition, I cast on and am halfway through the second repeat of the leg chart for my first Pomatomus sock. The pictures aren't fully accurate representing the color, it's a really lovely varigated merino in several shades between pink, magenta and purple that I think I got off of ebay last spring.

The last thing I worked on this last month was my first FO of the year, the jaywalkers out of the yarn I dyed with kool-aid from my secret pal in December. This was my second attempt at this pattern, and the first that was successful. I will be making these again with the yarn I made the first attempt with, I'll just use the larger stitch count again the next time. I've already worn them and washed them twice since I finished them last weekend and a finished pair of socks is always good motivation to finish the other socks on the needles. These will also be my Socktopia January "Celebrate Good Times!" themed socks because I celebrated every part of the process of making these socks and have definitely been celebrating the results.

Disappointment

2007-01-21T18:42:00.001-05:00

I love my grandmother, but sometimes she frustrates me to no end. I would love to be under the impression that my elders would teach me that childish behaviors go away as we age.

So, you'll recall I gifted a purse to grandma that made her cry, and gifted another to Aunt Betty (grandma's sister). Same pattern, one has a flower the other has bamboo handles. Both came out lovely and were well received, initially.

It festered for a few weeks, but earlier today my grandmother was on the phone with my mom whining about the damn flower. Betty got a flower, she wants one too.

I really thought that a woman in her 70's might possibly be mature enough to have moved beyond the "mine has to be just like or better than my sisters" whine.

The sad thing is, I'm not sure what is worse. The disappointment that she would have that response despite any maturity that should be there, or the fact that I knew that that response was inevitably going to happen and I still made the purses different.

So, as much as I hate obligation knitting, there will be one spite filled felted flower in my future. In mauve please. Glad you have learned how to show your appreciation in such a mature manner.

First FO of the year

2007-01-21T01:22:00.000-05:00

There is a pair of finished jaywalkers on my feet and I'm going to sleep now. You'll have to be patient and wait til I get my camera back next weekend for photos though. Sorry.

Technicalities

2007-01-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

I may be leaning a little too heavilly on the sock yarn isn't stash rule. I might have maybe sorta ordered seven skeins of it in the last week *cringe*.

Two skeins from WhiteWillow. One of which is destined for my secret pal's last package and the other will probably become a pair of Monkey socks for mom. Two sympathy endorsement skeins of Socks that Rock following their banking debacle last week. Then today I camped the update at Sunshine Yarns and got a single skein of one of her solids, and also camped the update at Sundara and got two skeins from her too.

So, um... yeah... I might have to think about closing that loophole or at least imposing a limit on it.

Still Camera-less

2007-01-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

My camera is still residing at my parents house. I may dig out my old digicam if I get desperate, but for the time being I'm just stuck referencing old photos. So, a little bit of randomness today.

If I did have my camera, you could ooh and ahh over an almost complete first jaywalker out of my kool-aid dyed yarn. And my almost complete second blue and khaki sock. (I'd show you photos of the yarn and the first sock again, but blogger is being a pain today). I'm also half-finished with the first Manresa legwarmer.

But, since I can't post photos of the stuff I'm working on, I'll point your attention to the new KALs I've joined over ----> there.

Project Spectrum 2.0 looks like it'll be a lot of fun, and it was fun reading all the stuff going on with the first version. I like the non-structured nature of Lolly's KALs in general anyways and color direction is just vague enough to work for me.

Soctopia is a little more directed, but I'm hoping to up my sock production this year anyways, and a pair of socks a month directed towards a theme or three isn't such a bad thing.

Holiday Headstart is a good place to keep the holidays in focus through out the year and hopefully have a second year of successful holiday knits that are finished on time or early.

The one I haven't added a link to yet is Lime & Violet's Sock Marathon. I haven't done the math yet to figure out just how many miles of sock yarn I have in my stash and I obviously can't post a photo right now, but it's another way to stay focused on finishing some socks and making a dent in the stash this year.

The other random thing I have to share has to do with my friend Craig. He has a little too much free time on his hands and not nearly enough creative outlets. So, as a revenge prank to get his friend back for stealing the baby jesus out of his holiday display, he turned his friend's front lawn from this into this. It even got a write up in the local paper. If you can't read the sign in that second photo, the paper mis-quoted it. It says "Jeff's Slightly Used X-mas Trees". I think that one will go down in the history books. I'm still shaking my head and laughing every time I think about it.

Some Assistance Please

2007-01-04T09:45:00.000-05:00

My little brother was the only member of my immediate family who didn't receive a handknit for Christmas and my mom suggested that maybe I should make him a scarf for his birthday in February and I'm thinking this is a good idea, but I have some concerns and I'm hoping the handful of people who occasionally stumble on my blog might be able to offer some yarn suggestions (preferably something I have in stash, since I'm trying the whole knit from stash thing, but since it'd be for a gift, i'd be willing to use an exception or my Michael's gift card to aquire something else).

Concern #1 - my little brother is 6'7". If I go with the scarf length = person's height, that's one freakishly long scarf. So really fine guage yarns are pretty much out of the question if I want to dream of finishing something ever. I didn't do the height thing with dad's scarf and it still looks good at the length it is, but I think a longer one would be better for Adam.

Concern #2 - while they aren't bad now, my brother did have a lot of animal allergies as a kid. So I don't know how sensative he is to animal fiber content in a scarf. A plant-based fiber or animal/acrylic blend is probably best, although I could potentially use up some 100% acrylic too.

Concern #3 - he overheats easilly. He went to college way up in the upper tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and currently lives in Minnesota, and yet I know that even in a very cold environment he often doesn't zip up his coat when going outside for short periods of time. And ANY time he's active no matter the temperature, the boy is drenched in sweat. So this points me more in the non-animal-based fibers direction.

So, if you wanted to make a super long minimal-animal-ish scarf for someone who overheats easilly, what yarn would you use?

The way I figure it...

2007-01-03T12:51:00.000-05:00

I got to delay Christmas by a week, so I should be allowed to delay New Years by a week too. Or at least until the Christmas chocolate is all gone and I have a chance to go to the grocery store. I didn't do too horribly with the weight thing over the holidays, but I do need to get back on track and progress in the good direction again.

We had a great Christmas this year though, and I should have a zillion photos of happy family members receiving their handknit gifts, but I brilliantly left my camera at my parents house in the mad dash to pack everything up and head home on Sunday afternoon. So, no photos of Amber with her purse, or dad in his new coat with the scarf, or mom picking through her doll clothes or wearing her new socks, or Aunt Betty gushing over her purse. Not until I get back to visit and get the camera back again anyways.

There was one other handmade gift that mom and I were scrambling to get finished before Saturday morning, we put together a scrapbook of wedding photos for my brother and his wife. I had the last of the pages done around 1am, found the page protectors, found that the pages didn't fit in the page protectors and mom and I were up until almost 3 trimming the pages to fit. Fortunately, it was worth the work to finish it and it came out beautifuly. Not that I didn't contemplate giving them a binder, some page protectors and the pages and letting them figure out how to make it all fit.

We were able to totally surprise several members of my family with Mike being here, and gave his mom a good shock when we got back to town as well and it was wonderful to be able to spend New Years Eve with my guy.

All in all, a great holiday weekend.

Knitting wise, I made a stop at Threadbear on Friday night (still 2006) and picked up some needles, and my last yarn purchace before the great Knit from your Stash 2007 started. I do have one of my own rules that I'm adding, otherwise I'll be adhering to the rules Wendy has established. I am allowed to use the Michael's gift card I got from Mike's parents for yarn if I choose to, but not beyond the limit of the gift card.

When Rob was working the checkout at Threadbear, he refered to the Collinette Jitterbug skein that I picked up as "Sex on Sticks" and mentioned that he's on his 5th pair with the yarn already. It's lovely, and I can't wait to use it, I picked it up in the Marble colorway. I also got a skein of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Rose Garden, and two skeins of Bartlett Farms yarn in a heathery green. That's going to have to sustain me into 2007 for several months... fortunately, there's the sock yarn isn't stash rule, so I'm totally going to The Fold when I'm back in the Chicago area in February.

As for the projects listed in that last post? I cast on Manresa last night and I'm through 10 rows of the chart so far. My tension is a little wonky, but not too bad and it's definitely seeming more difficult to strand in the round then it was back and forth for that little doll sweater, but I'm starting to get the hang of it, I'm loving how the inside looks and the pattern is starting to emerge on the outside too. I've also advanced the second khacki and blue cotton sock to the point where I can put a heel on it, and I cast on the first Jaywalker in the Kool-Aid yarn with the larger size stitch count.

On this the eve...

2006-12-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

Christmas is tomorrow! Christmas is tomorrow! Well, for my family it is anyway. My brother and his wife made it to my parents place earlier this week, my boyfriend is flying in for a series of major surprise appearances this weekend and we will have our family Christmas tomorrow.

The doll clothes are finished, I don't have photos of the last 3 sweaters and hats, I was so excited to be done that I put the case in the gift bag before I could fiddle with it any more. I'll get lots of photos tomorrow as they and the rest of the handknits are gifted.

So, with my knitting pallete essentially clean aside from a couple of socks, I started pulling together what I want to work on next while I was cleaning up a little. I have no less than 8 new projects sitting and waiting for me to pick one and run with it... Colorwork and cables abound too. I think this may mark my unofficial and very quiet participation point in the Knit from your Stash in 2007 club too. I might even use the vigor of the new year to undergo a massive stash organization and figure out just what all I have in there (seriously, it's taking over an entire room in my apartment).

But, for now, here are the projects I'm letting stare me down.

Two skeins of lettuce green malabrigo is currently assigned to become a Cabled hat and an Irish Hiking Scarf.
A skein of soft pink Calmer is destined for Shedir.
I have a bunch of Diakeito Diamusee set aside to become a Short Row Ribbed Scarf. I probably have enough of this yarn to also make a matching hat and/or mittens, but the scarf will come first.
My kool-aid colored sock yarn is going to be Jaywalkers.
I also have some Knitpicks Andean Treasure in the same colors as shown on the pattern to make Manresa. I plan to reverse the colors though with the embers as the main and fog as the contrast.
Some Knitpicks Palette in sky blue and cream for Anemoi.
And some Knitpicks Essential in burgundy and brown for the Endpaper Mitts.

I'll let you know what I decided to cast on when I post again next year.

Gifted

2006-12-26T10:42:00.001-05:00

Still plugging away at doll stuff, I finished the koigu sweater, a matching hat and another hat this weekend in between family gatherings, scrapbooking, and meal preparations.

Three of my handknits were gifted this weekend in the mix though. My cousin's bag, my aunts dishclothes, and my grandmother's bag.

Not too surprising, given the age of my cousin, the bag was appreciated but got set aside for other cousin's toys. She did put it on her head like a hat a couple times too. I think it'll still get plenty of use though.

Grandma's bag made her cry. She tried to use the "it's too nice to use" comment and I told her that I didn't make it to sit on a shelf and be looked at, and if she wore it out, I'd just make her another one. So, after that, she starting piling stuff into it from her other purse.

The rest will be gifted next weekend.

Still plugging away

2006-12-22T23:45:00.000-05:00

This last week I focussed more on dishclothes than doll clothes, but I made some doll progress too. I know I'm starting to think "resourceful" when I start looking and seeing what other people are making for their handknit Riley clothes on ebay. However, I'm also printing off a zillion patterns a day and planning out all the selfish knitting that I can get back to once we have our family Christmas (not until New Years weekend, so I get an extra week to keep plugging away at the doll stuff).

I somehow got Gromit to sit still and let me drape him with dishclothes. So, this is the fruit basket of clothes for mom. The green is a pear, lavendar is grapes, magenta is cherries, burgundy is an apple, and the varrigated is another garterlac.

And that skein I dyed with kool-aid from my SP9 pal? I wound it up into a gorgeous ball of yarn, and cast on the first small little sock yarn thing I could think of... another doll raglan. I wasn't sure how the blue would work with the oranges and reds in the yarn, but that added overdye with more red gave it a ton of colors I didn't see in the yarn when it was hanging, and I love how it knit up. It actually patterned more evenly than the koigu over the width of the sweater body. Of course the sweater body is about 40 stitches and knit back and forth instead of in the round, so it will likely look different in a sock, but I think it's still spaced enough that it shouldn't pool. I'm thinking the rest of the skein may become jaywalkers in the new year and there will definitely be more dye experiments in my future.

Looking Back

2006-12-20T16:28:00.000-05:00

While I continue plugging away at doll clothes and dishclothes and doll clothes and dishclothes... etc... etc.. ad nauseum... ad nauseum... (I will be SOOOO ready for selfish knitting next week) it seems like a good time to look back at what 2006 held.

So, off we go...thanks for the meme Elizabeth.

1) What is your absolute favorite project you've ever knit (one that fulfilled both process and product)?

So far, it's been socks. I enjoy that I took the leap into sock knitting and I've fallen for them hard. I haven't done any particularly involved patterns yet, but I look forward to many socks in my future and love wearing the pairs that I've finished.

Which of your handknits do you wear the most often?

My two pair of socks get worn frequently, and I carry my sophie bag with me daily.

What was your favorite gift to knit?

I'm really enjoying the doll clothes and I think they will be very well recieved. It's been a great medium to try things out without using up a ton of yarn and a great way to play with sock yarn leftovers.

Which of your handknits are gathering dust your closet?

My ribbon not-x-back. It never really fit quite right and I haven't had the heart to fix it or frog it. It just hangs on the back of the bathroom door and has just become a wall decoration.

Which of your handknits have you gotten rid of?

I've had a handful of projects that got some false starts or have been abandoned, but I haven't disposed of anything finished.

If you've knit socks, what is your favorite pattern?

I haven't done anything more complicated than ribbing yet, I did really enjoy the picot hem on mom's socks and I'm eyeing some other patterns for '07 that will challenge me and should be a fun adventure.

What would you like to make in 2007?

Cables, Colorwork, Lace. I'm eyeing several projects that incorporate these features and it's all I can do right now to keep myself from diving right into something new.
Also, I hope to move past the zillion false starts on my first sweater and actually take the plunge.

What have you learned about your craft in 2006?

Everything. I only learned how to knit in February. I've at least tried a lot of different things even if some of them didn't make it to a finished state. I'm hoping to step beyong dabbling and actually finish some projects that are more than just the relatively plain items I've finished so far.
Probably the biggest development that I'm still working on is that I've learned how to read my stitches. I just realized last month that I was purling "upside down" and that was causing my stitches to twist. It didn't take much work to correct that one. I do knit backwards primarilly though as I am very much a leftie, and I'd like to become a little more ambidexterous and learn to knit forwards too as I'm not sure what the mirrored connotations will mean to garment construction... although it doesn't seem to affect my little mini doll raglans so it may not be a big deal.

What events/sites have you particularly enjoyed in the blogosphere in 2006?

I haven't been the greatest participant, but I do enjoy the swaps that I've participated in. It's much simpler to put together a box for shipment than it is to start and finish a project in a timely manner with a KAL. However, The Amazing Lace was fun even if I didn't really participate, and reading all the Knitting Olympics stuff at the beginning of the year was what ultimately prompted me to start this blog.

2006 was a fun crafty year and I think that kept me sane with the other crazy stuff that was going on in my life. Personally, it was a more complicated and trying year with some big events and adjustments both good and bad, but sometimes it takes some big shakeups to make things better. And I think this year is definitely ending in a much better place than where it started. So, for that, I'm grateful.

But for now it's back to dishclothes and doll clothes for me...

Dying to thank my secret pal!

2006-12-12T21:05:00.000-05:00

Thank you Secret Pal!!!

A cool box of surprises arrived today full of all sorts of goodies from my secret pal.
There were all the fixings plus the printed out knitty article to play with kool aid dying yarn. An undyed skein of sock yarn, several packets of kool aid, and a turkey baster.

She also sent two handknit ornaments that she made (the sweater and socks) and a cute little knit sheep ornament that will all go on my tree (maybe the little one at work, not sure if I'll put the big one up at home this year).

And a ton of other goodies. A cute stuffed reindeer, some magnets (she also has been sending postcards instead of emails that I keep forgetting to mention and thank for), A cool handmade card, a pen, some lip gloss, and just enough chocolatey treats.

Of course, with everything else I should be doing, I honed right in on the dye stuff, cleaned up the bathroom sink, laid out a ton of plastic wrap and had to play with kool aid and the microwave. So, that white skein of yarn up there is the one now hanging over my bathtub drying. I used some of the kool aid she sent and some that I had here from forever ago (college) when I still drank the stuff and experimented with it as a hair dye. I did three initial colors - 3 packets of black cherry in one, two packets of blue raspberry with about 1/4 packet of grape mixed in, and the third was one packet orange, one packet lemonade and an old packet of some tangerine that darkened the orange up a bit. When this came out of the micro, the blue and orange seemed too bright, so I let it all cool and then overdyed with two more packets of black cherry to fill in some of the white holes and darken the orange and blue.

This is dangerous. And I can see how it can get addicting. Can't wait to see it dry, re-skein it and knit it up. And I can see myself trying more and digging out some of the henna I have from playing with hair dye earlier in life too... dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. Thanks secret pal!

4 more FOs for Christmas

2006-12-12T00:33:00.000-05:00

There's nothing like knitting small projects to give a sense of accomplishment. This week I made another doll-sized raglan sweater in baby blue, a lavender smocked party dress with a picot hem, a Nativity dishcloth and I might have snuck in a selfish knit and made myself a pair of fetching fingerless gloves too.

Not quite as many finished doll clothes this week because I went shopping on Sunday, but I do have half of a peach-colored raglan started and I picked up enough koigu for a pair of socks and maybe a doll item or two while I was out shopping in Lansing. I might have also gotten two skeins of malabrigo in a cool green colorway called "lettuce". Actually, I walked out of Threadbear with exactly what I'd hoped to get there. and didn't spend a small fortune this time.

The trunk in the photo was the result of three of the ladies working at Toy Village scrambling all over the store to find any and all armoire and trunk options in every price range for the size doll I'm fitting. It was a little crazy but they were helpful and we found an affordable option that will work perfectly. Although the clothes are already filling it up.

I decided last week to jump on the fetching bandwagon and ordered two skeins of the recommended yarn (soooo soft) and decided that when it came in, I'd allow myself to drop all other projects and make the fingerless mitts for me before continuing on. So, I picked up the needles while I was shopping and had 1 1/2 of them finished last night, and finished the second one tonight. I had mere scraps left over. I twisted the cables the same way on both, so maybe with the other ball of yarn I'll make two more that twist the other way and have two matching pair. They will be great to have at work where I'm always cold.

And the dishcloth. I may have decided that after making a bazillion dishclothes for my brother and his wife, that my mom is going to want dishclothes too. So, I made the nativity one, and I may also make 4 other fruit clothes (grapes, cherries, pear and apple) and another garterlac to match her kitchen. If I don't finish them, her birthday is always in January.

Knitting Like a Madwoman

2006-12-04T01:13:00.000-05:00

I've been busy cranking out the Christmas knits this week and weekend. Booga #3 and Sophie #3 are both off the needles and felted. I sewed the handles onto Sophie and she still needs a flower which I'm debating because of the extra handles.

And the doll clothes are in full swing production. Since Thanksgiving I've finished 4 more sweaters, a hat and a scarf. Each item I make gets progressively better than the one before and I now have a great understanding of the top down raglan construction.

I made the grey sweater first (to match Spammy's and be a little more boyish for the boy doll). The neck is a little wide even with a button on the back to cinch it in some, but it can either be pulled up from the bottom or pulled over the doll's head. This one was constructed in two pieces, seamed together and the neck-line and sleeves knit on after.

The other three sweaters are all top down raglans. The orange/pink/yellow one was the first one. It's out of a handspun hand-dyed yarn I got months ago on ebay, and I'm a little disappointed in it. The person who spun it got a few dark fibers spun into it that didn't take the dye, so there are some dark spots that look like dirt in the top.

Next up I made the striped raglan. This is my favorite of them all so far. It fits the doll great, I was able to line up the colors on the sleeves, and play a little with the different colored buttons. The doll's are supposed to be preschool/kindergarden aged and it seems appropriate for that age group. Not that I wouldn't mind finding the yarns to mimick it in something my size either. It's the leftover sock yarn from mom's socks and I almost think she'll like it better in this application than as the socks.

I love the striped one the best, but I'm proudest of the navy and white cardigan. It's the last one I made this weekend (just cast off the last sleeve less than an hour ago) and it is my first ever forray into the world of stranded colorwork. Was a simple short border pattern I pulled out of a book and about halfway through the technique made sense and sort of clicked. I made a few mistakes, but I'm downright giddy in how well it came out.

The hat and scarf were quick knits last weekend. The hat out of the same yarn as the navy sweater, and the scarf out of a thin-guage rayon chennile that was stranded with a green mohair that I got from KimiK as an extra mini-skein with the yarn I bought from her. I may do something else doll scale with the mohair too.

Also this weekend I finished the second dishcloth for my aunt, this one is a coffee cup pattern in an off-white yarn. No photos, but I'll be sure to get pics of it being gifted.

I've still got grand plans for more doll clothes. Maybe a couple more raglans, another dress or two, and at least one more hat and scarf. I've got appropriately sized hangers arriving soon, and I still need to find a scale size doll armoire or trunk to fill up with everything. With my brother and his wife spending Christmas with her family this year, I'll get an extra week to work on mom's stuff since we'll do our immediate family Christmas at New Years instead, so I've got a great start and will keep churning out the doll knits until the bitter end.

If only it were this easy to knit for humans.

Feast or Famine

2006-11-28T12:29:00.000-05:00

So, yeah... I'm a bit of a procrastinator. But, I've got a ton of stuff to talk about now.

The trip to Cali was a blast. We spent a day park hopping at Disney, we spent 3 hours at Magic Mountain, Mike seemed to have a good birthday and we had a great visit. And I knit.

This is Spammy in his new sweater that I made while visiting. Mike is aware of the boyfriend curse, but that doesn't stop him from requesting knitwear for Spammy. And for some reason I obliged. Cute though, isn't it?

I also knit mom's second sock primarilly on the flight there and back with a little heel turning time in front of the TV while I was there. I finished the toe last night. I love how they came out, and it's purely a coincidence that the striping matched. I didn't want to bother trying to match them and figured they'd come out fraternal, but apparently my ideal spot to start the cast on was in the same place with both socks, so they match almost perfectly. I love happy accidents like that. These have been travelling socks, the bulk of the first one was done on the trip to Denver over Labor day and the second one was mostly knit on this last trip to California.

I also finished a couple dishclothes, no photos. I tried the Garterlac cloth which was fiddly but fun and I'm sure I'll do a couple more in that pattern before Christmas. The first one was in pastels and is one of the two for my aunt from my mom. She has now also requested crocheted towel toppers.

And finally, that scarf I finished before I left. This matches dad's Christmas present perfectly so it's going to him. Not bad for a handful of alpaca scraps bought off ebay for cheap.

Oh, and the rainbow brite story... On my flight home I was seated next to by far the most colorful person I've ever met. Head to toe rainbow. Airbrushed suit with her portrait on the back surrounded by rainbow colors, a matching fedora, big fake tinsel-like eyelashes in rainbow colors, her hair under the hat - rainbow dyed, big fingernails that curled in rainbow colors and a rainbow colored feather boa. I'm kicking myself for not sneaking a photo. The kicker though... while making small talk (I was knitting on mom's socks) I made the offhand stupid comment of "but she probably won't wear them out of the house much, they're a little loud".

Quick Blip

2006-11-21T17:08:00.000-05:00

I made it home safe and sound from SoCal, more to follow soon. Redeye flight home, sat next to rainbow brite, fell asleep in a meeting this morning (thank God my boss has a sense of humor) and now I'm going to go sleep until I have to go to work in the morning.

Watch this space tomorrow for reports of park visits, pig knitting, sock progress, flight neighbor and more. Maybe even the FO post for that scarf I finished last week.

Insert Evil Laugh Here

2006-11-13T11:20:00.000-05:00

So in conversing and planning with the boyfriend last night for my visit to Southern California this weekend, we were trying to figure out what to do with our open days on Saturday and Monday. He innocently mentioned taking the motorcycle out and maybe finding a local yarn shop or two.

I guess he'll learn. Although he does know enough to know that that's how to get me back on the back of his bike... put yarn at the other end of the ride.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for yarn shops in the greater Fullerton/Anaheim area? They seem to be sorely lacking in web pages, but google maps has a couple within blocks of his place, and several more in a wider area from there but alas no websites or even customer reviews anywhere. How am I supposed to get a feel for the shops before going (let alone hours, selection, identifying photos) without that info available? I'm not big on the whole phoning ahead thing, but I suppose I can in a pinch.

Oh, and the striped scarf is done, I'll finish weaving in ends tonight and block it before taking final photos though. Probably post something tomorrow.