The feats and foibles of a fiber fanatic.
10/27/2004
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….
10/19/2004
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.
10/18/2004
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….
10/15/2004
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?
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?
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