DH on Vacation, Classes Starting, and Halloween…

DH is 1/2 way through his second week of vacation. That means that my “schedule” is all out of whack because we go have lunch and it seems we inevitably go run errands afterwards and before I know most of the day is over and we’re into our evening obligations. Then on October 20th my first grouping of on-lines classes started and since I’m converting to a new classroom system it has meant a fair bit of work each week to get the lessons ready. Now, the other grouping of classes starts next Wednesday so the work load will be getting larger this week. Lastly, we’re having a big Halloween shin dig here on Saturday night. Which means lots of cleaning, decoration, and cooking. DH is constructing - the living room is filled with three HUGE cabinets for our TV and AV stuff for the basement. He’s sanding this morning and hopefully finishing at least one coat this morning.

Now, all this busy-ness does not mean there hasn’t been any knitting going on. In fact, I’ve accomplished quite a bit. I’ve completed the multi-directional scarf, though I had to decide whether to fringe or not. I’ve completed a super sekrit project for my SP3, I’ve turned the heel on the first of my dad’s sock and I finally got to visit Textiles a Mano last Wednesday afternoon and picked up some great yarn I think I’ll use for one of the patterns in the book I got from my SP3. I’m hoping to be back later today or perhaps tomorrow (it’s rather overcast right now, so not conducive to god photographs) with pics of the stuff….

I’m a woman obsessed…

I’m obsessed with socks! Despite the fact that I only have two pairs of hand knit socks for myself I nearly cannot stand to wear my store bought socks anymore. They slip and slide around on my feet and that &@#* seam across the toes is constantly bugging me. I cannot knit socks fast enough, LOL!

Just the other day I was telling my mom about a yarn shop in a small town to the northeast of them and saying that I needed to go there the next time I was visiting. She asked why and I told her I had been really wanting to try Lorna’s Laces sock yarn but no one near here carries it, but out of curiousity I did a check of Minnesota stores and found the listing for that store. Her comment was then “are knitting socks for everyone on the planet?” So, I had to explain to her why I gringe whenever I put on store-bought socks.

My access to sock yarns in LYSs in the vicinity is somewhat limited. I can get Regia, a very small selection of Sockotta, a bit of Opal and a bit of Wildfoote. I cannot, however, find any Kiogu or Lorna’s or some of the other oft lauded sock yarns. If at all possibly I like to be able to feel and touch yarn before I buy it so I’m not a big fan of Internet ordering a yarn for the first time, but I think I may have to break down and do so at some point.

Last night at Stitch ‘n Bitch we got into a discussion of sock yarns. Ashley really liked her Socka yarn. Amanda mentioned a couple types that came with reinforcing thread for the toes and heels, but I can’t recall the names of those. So, what your favorite sock yarns?

I have my little “travel” sock book completed. Or, mostly completed. I still need to strap down DH to get his measurements and put the first page in with the usual CO stitches for the various gauges of yarn etc.

I also ran into these kewl Pink Ribbon Socks for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I want to make some and it will have to go onto my future projects list. Though I don’t have any appropriate sock yarn at the moment. I’m not a big “pink” person, though it has creeped into my wardrobe a bit this last season.

Goodies!

Look what was waiting for me in my PO Box today!! Wheeee, what fun!! My secret pal sent what looks like a great book, called Exquisite Little Knits: Knitting with Luxurious Specialty Yarns. I haven’t had a chance to look at it in depth yet, but it looks great. Even though they use novelty yarns for a lot of the projects it doesn’t look like the projects will be that dated and they are all smaller, portable sorts of projects - just what this instant gratification gal tends towards!

Those three balls of yarn that came with the book are a fun cotton/synthetic blend boucle-like yarn in a nice warm off-white with hints of browns and blues and even a small touch of sage from Filatura di Crosa. All colors that look great on me. Each one is about 82 yards. I’m not sure what I’ll make with them yet, but I’m excited! And, if I have some left over from knitting something, it’ll make some great addition to some fabric/fiber art work as well.

Thanks, Secret Pal! It makes the day much better!

In knitting progress news…

I got through the first skein of Silk Garden on the multi-directional scarf. I’m thinking my fears of it not being quite manly enough are probably coming true. But, DH loves the design - as do I. I’ll reserve judgement on whether it will be giftable to my FIL or not until it is completed. But I have to say this pattern really does look great in these self-striping yarns!

The colors don’t look great in this picture. Hopefully I’ll have better lighting and display for the final picture.

I’m also closing in on the end of the leg portion of the first sock for my dad. I’m debating stoping the single circular and switching over to my dpns. I think I’d move faster. But I’d like to do a whole sock on the single circulars so I get a feel for whether the heel and stuff is in the same location with respect to the cast-on as it is when I use the dpn’s. I think the big problem I’m having is this 47″ circular. It’s just too long and unwieldy. I’m not casting off the idea of doing the single circular method, just not with 47″ cables… And, I’m kind of in a hurry as there are a few other projects I’d like to complete for the holiday gift giving season… Hmmm… Decisions….

New Needles!

Well, I got rewarded for being stupid…

I walked to the end of the block in 40 degree, misty weather to get the mail. Did I mention that I’m sick… Yeah. But, it was totally worth it…

These were waiting for me…

Yeah! I can see a few drawbacks… the cables won’t serve as stitch holders and you can’t combind cables to make longer ones. But, they are bamboo needles! With much longer screw mechanisms than the Boye variety and you also don’t need a key. Plus, the case is much smaller than the Denise. And, well, did I mention that these are bamboo and not plastic?? To be fair I haven’t seen a set of Denise needles in person, but I’ve tried some Bryspuns and I’ve tried other varieties of plastic/acrylic etc. needles and I can’t stand them. So, I doubt I would feel any better about the Denise needles.

I’m not sure if it’s that I’ve been sick or if I’m not really carring for the magic loop one set of circ sock method or what, but I’m not making much progress on my dad’s first sock. And, since I’ve always been one who had to wear all her new clothes immediately, I’m going to cast on the Multidirectional Scarf with the Noro Silk Garden I picked up at the LYS sale back in September.

I’m thinking it might be a night home along for me as we had a friend call and invite us over to honor the celebrities that passed on this week with a movie marathon of Caddyshack, Psycho, and Superman. I’ve love to see the first and the third, but I’m not sure I could make it through a late night, or that I should make it through a late night… So, I’m thinking I’ll probably have to opt to stay home. But I think I’ll finally venture out of the bedroom and go watch some TiVo’d programs that DH doesn’t care about and hopefully knit!

Oh, and while catching up with the knitting blogs this afternoon, I cam upon a Knitbloggers Cookbook project by Elizabeth of My Favorite Things. I passed along three of our favorite recipes around here. How about you?

Still Sick…

Well, I’m still sick, though feeling a bit on the mend. Once in a while I can even breathe through my nose, LOL! My left shoulder is still hurting quite a bit, but the Epsom salt bath last night followed by some carefully blended oils massaged in by DH has be at least able to knit some today, though not for long stretches of time like I tend towards.

Since I’m still kind of “foggy” I’ll leave you with a mindless knitting quizzie…

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it’s not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you’ve
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you’ve never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people’s patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.
http://marniemaclean.com

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Mea Culpa…

I keep forgetting to mention that last week I got a lovely e-card from my secret-pal wishing DH and I a happy aniversary. I also got a post card from California marking the places she had been for work. What fun!

I’ve Fallen. . .

For months now I’ve been watching Eliza spin these gorgeous yarns using only drop spindles. I’ve been contemplating spinning since last spring or so.

Well, a few weeks ago I picked up Indigo Thread’s newsletter and once a month on a Wednesday morning from 10-11am there is a Drop-In Drop Spindle Spinning class. Since I developed a terrible cold/flu yesterday and can’t really sing I was able to go to that instead of my usual voice lessons. I got to try out several spindles and a couple different fibers. And well, I fell…

Above is about 5.5 oz of smoke grey wool roving and my very first drop spindle. I found this grey roving really easy to work with. I found it much easier to use than the machine drafted white stuff that is already on the spindle. I actually got pretty smooth yarn from the grey roving. I figure I can make a pair of socks or something from it when I’m done.

The shaft and part of the whorl is made from a wood called Bubinga. I looked it up and it is from Camaroon and Gabon, West Africa and is often used for turning. It is somewhat similar in properties as Red Oak, though considered to have a bit better workability. The spindle is 1.4 oz and is from Spindlewood Co from Oregon. It is a true work of art!

Now, I just have to work on not putting much pressure on the forming yarn with my right hand. I tend to “grab” it and thus stop the spindle from spinning…

But, I think I’m going back to bed and sleeping so more in hopes of getting rid of this cold/flu thing as soon as possible.

Stitch Markers and Kewl Tip…

One of the gals at knitting tea saw some of the beaded stitch markers I made a month or so ago and wanted to order some for her to give as a gift to a gal she has taught to knit who is moving to Guatamala. She didn’t tell me numbers of colors. She just said she wanted an assortment. So, I just went to town with whatever beads I had on hand and the above are the results. We had a new hot water heater installed this morning so I couldn’t make it to knitting tea so I went to her house to visit her yesterday afternoon and she bought the whole lot of 18 (14 stitch markers and 4 row counters). And, she would like me to teach her how to make them! Most of the beads were from HobLob assortment tubes. Some of them I absolutely love and I am hoping I can locate more of the similar beads. I love the top assortment the best and then I like any of them that use the long, skinny beads and the ones with the triangular beads at the bottom. I need some for myself, LOL! I wasn’t expecting her to want the whole lot of them. I guess I should have marked them up a bit more, LOL!

The Great Tip

So, last week I posted to the ample knitters list asking for suggestions of books with sock patterns that are texture or lace-based instead of all the intarsia or faire isle work I see dominating most of the books. I got some rather snotty comments asking why I needed a book for that. My reasoning was that I like to support people in the businesses that support my habit. Plus, since socks are my “on the road” project there are times when I have to be able to just grab and go and when I’m riding in the car, or sitting in a waiting room etc. I don’t find it easy to convert stitch patterns to circular knitting etc. So, I wanted a book that I knew I could grab and know with confidence there was a pattern in there that I could use with any yarn I happen to grab as I’m running out the door.

Well, besides a few rude comments I got a wonderful tip from Joyce. She scans in her most loved stitch patterns that work for her number of cast on stitches, sizes them down to 4 X 6 inches and carries them around in a dollar store photo album that holds 48 photos! So, I’ve been drooling over my copy of The New Knitting Stitch Library and 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Perpetual Calendar. At first I had chosen way too many patterns. This included some rather intricate cable patterns that I liked (but I haven’t done cabling yet) and some fun laces or lace panels. But, then I got to thinking that by the time I wear socks I probably don’t want too many holes in them because it’s pretty cold outside. If it’s remotely warm I’m pretty much in sandals. So, I narrowed them down. To save some time I used my digital camera instead of my scanner. But I have a great macro mode on it and it turns out quite nice. The ones from the library will be easy to convert to circular knitting because they have charts for them. The ones from the calender will require a bit more work to convert. But it sure will be fun to have a book to grab quickly for making socks. I’m also going to include DH and my measurements and I’m going to sort the patterns by the number of stitches in the pattern so once I know the gauge for the given yarn I know how many sts to cast-on and can look through only those sections that are a factor of the total number.

I’m so excited by this I’m not doing the work I should be doing, LOL! But between fumes from the plumbing to put in the new hot water heater and the lack of heat we’ve had I think I wouldn’t have had the motivation to work whether or not I had the distraction of this project, LOL!

Yucatan Socks!

Yucatan Socks for John
Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Persian Peacock
Sz 7 DPNs
Reinforced toes and heels
Based on Seaweed Socks

These socks look huge! However, they fit DH nearly perfectly and from a rough poll of all are male friends he has a fairly average sized foot so they should fit John. I still need to wash and block them. But I haven’t yet made my sock blockers and we just got water back - less than 30 minutes ago (that whole long story that I won’t get into, if you on my friends list over at LJ you already know it). But I think I may tackle that this afternoon once the house heats up a bit more and I don’t mind having my hands in cold water, LOL! I’m hoping the wash will make it a bit less itchy. Though I guess it didn’t really feel itchy on my feet or DH’s… I’m also having to decide what I’ll use to wash them - Woolite, Dreft, Baby Shampoo, or go buy the expensive wool detergent…

I’ve now cast on a beaded rib sock using the magic loop. This is my first foray into magic loop and I like it. Though I have a bit of excess cable as the LYS didn’t have any 40″ ones in the sizes I needed so I got the 47″ ones instead. I’m thinking I might cast on for the second sock as well and catch it up to the first and do them both at the same time and hope that reduces the feeling of too much extra cable…

Up next, a modge podge post sometime later today including a neat tip I got from one of the ample knitters and and some beaded stitch markers I sold yesterday…

Lots of Knitting Going On…

Still no pics and I know I promised some. However, last week I had a major flare of my chronic pain issues. I was mostly on bed rest and due to meds sleeping an awful lot so I haven’t had a chance to take any pics just yet, but there will be some soon…

While I was “down and out” I did start and finish the first of the Seaweed Socks for our friend John. I made some adjustments for gauge differences and for a men’s size. I also did not continue the rib across the instep because of the thickness of it in worsted weight. DH and I decided we thought it might be uncomfortable with shoes on. One thing I forgot when I chose the yarn was that intricate stitches do not show up well with Lamb’s Pride because of the 15% mohair. So, for my dad’s socks I think I’ll just do a basic rib of some variety as this seaweed rib is not very prominent.

I have a couple of questions though…

1). I believe I had read some more thrifty ways to hand wash wool and I was thinking it was to use Baby Shampoo to wash them. Am I correct? Please share your tricks to save some $$ when handwashing wool as I’m pretty sure John is not going to big on buying special soap to wash his socks so I’d like to give him some practical washing instructions.

2). Are there any sock knitting books out there that do not have a huge number of intarsia or faire isle designs in them, but rather are focused on knit/purl or cable patterns instead? I do have a few books with stitch patterns but often when I start on socks I’m on my way out the door and needing something to do while waiting or riding in the car and don’t really have the time to create the pattern from scratch so I’d love a no-fail sock book. But, I don’t want to mess with intarsia or faire isle. Any ideas?

In other sock news, the second Sockotta sock is on hold for a bit. Partially because I decided that while I love the socks and they make me smile, I don’t think they are a great fit for the intial intended recipient so there is no huge need to complete them. Then I made the heel flap a bit too long and had a few rows where I skipped a slip stitch on the side so I needl to pull back to the beginning of the heel flap and picking up the stitches has me procrastinating.

The poncho is mostly where it was at last week, except a little over 1/2 of the ends on the first rectangle are woven in. So, there is still much work to do on it, but I’m giving it a bit of a break because it takes a lot of concentration to do that openwork pattern with all those novelty yarns. So, not a good mix with drugs that make me drowsy.

I also started a *super easy* shawl last night based on one we saw at Indigo Thread last Tuesday. I’m 1/2 done on that and did that entire first half while DH and I vegged on the couch watching Pride and Prejudice with Collin Firth and Jennifer Euhle. I took breaks as using full length 13s is a bit hard on the wrists. I’d say I probably knit for about 3 of the 5 hours of the movie. Though that’s a rough estimate.

Tonight at Stitch ‘n Bitch and at knitting tea tomorrow I plan on working on the second seaweed sock…