Hanging the sign

Well, there once was a blog here. Where did it go? Quite honestly, I was never keeping up with it. Blogger was such a pain to use and so unwieldly, to someone used to Livejournal and Semagic. In fact, until I started getting comment spam for HAWT YOUNG TEEN GIRLS and CHEAP DRUGS, I actually sorta... forgot about this blog completely.

I toyed back and forth - should I just delete it completely? I was going to. Then I took one look at the page - supposed to be my final look, and I thought 'augh, but it looks so nice. I don't want to delete it!'

So what that gets is a final 'CLOSED INDEFINITELY' post.

If someone should happen along to read this and they want to find out what I'm up to, there's always my livejournal. I promise, I post there more frequently than once a month (try probably once a day). Of course, not everything there is knitting related. In fact, most of it isn't. But if I have an LJ, what do I need a blog for?

So, goodbye.

End of Socktober

So, I didn't update for a good chunk of this month, for lots of good reasons, like a sick dog (calcified disc in her neck causing really bad pain, and a couple hundred bucks in medical bills...), kicking my roommate's deadbeat ass out - and another $250 gone fixing the rugs (which were brand new when I moved in in July) he grossed up in the second bedroom... and I'm still on the search for a new roommate. Sigh.

Then, I got through 13 of the 14 pattern repeats on my sister's Harry Potter scarf... and ran out of the yarn, which is a color currently out of stock at elann. Sigh.

But, hey, it is socktober. So I did do some sock knitting. In fact, 2 pairs are completed in just the past few days:




Mexico Disco or something like that - it's got glittery bits, and Lion Brand Magic Stripes in the jelly bean colorway. I have to say, I did like knitting with the Magic Stripes more than I thought I would. The yarn doesn't split easy and is nice and sturdy - almost feels a bit like cotton to me. I suppose now we'll see how they wear... although from the knitting experience itself, I wish that they made it more colors that I like.


And because it's socktober, how bout a sock stash pic?


Some Opal, Regia, elann esprit, elann puzzle, Cherry Tree Hill, Knitpicks Dancing and knitpicks memory/sock garden, a little bit of lorna's laces sport, Sockotta, a few other random german brands and a few skeins of hand-dyed at the top. I have a lot of sock yarn for someone who's been only knitting socks for about 2 years. Oh, of course - this doesn't include everything that's currently on the needles, either.

I always say this but

shit gets hectic, and I forget to write anything for a month. Well, I have an excuse - preparing for AWA at the end of September. This required an entire weekend devoted to working on costumes before con.

There was also a lack of knitting... trying to take it easy on my arms - especially my left - so that I don't get it aching all the time to the point where I can't do anything. It's a bit better... but I keep overdoing it. The week before AWA, after sewing costumes and making buttons, it was murder. Felt like it should have been in a sling. I'm too young for that shit.

And then, Dulaan 2007 was announced. I already have two hats knitted, but I'm trying for a lot more. Of course that link button went up in the sidebar. I think I'm going to aim for 20 items.

I also managed to destash several skeins of yarn I was never going to use in an unexpected way. A friend of mine took a weaving class, so she got about 6 or 7 skeins of yarn that had been intended for a blanket I was never going to finish in addition to some novelty yarns that were leftovers from scarves and the like that I'd probably never have a use for. Well, I'm glad to be rid of them in a way that doesn't involve throwing them out. I just can't stand the idea of tossing something when more use can be had from it.

Finally, SOCKTOBERFEST. I joined last year, because I like making socks. In fact, the one thing I knit more than anything is socks. Socks are nice and mindless and zen, which is the sort of knitting I normally prefer. There are those who knit because they like the challenge of insane cables or tricky lace on tiny tiny needles and while I do occassionally have a desire to knit such things I more often like a simple, small, instant gratification project where I don't have to pay too much attention to what I'm doing. Socks are perfect - to make your basic sock, I don't need to consult a pattern. I can do toe-up, I can do cuff-down. I can do a flap heel or a short row. I can do a ribbed leg or sockinette with a rib cuff. Whatever, it's all good. I don't even like to go for fancy patterns with socks; I prefer to buy interesting yarn that appeals to me and let the colors do all the work.

So, in the spirit of Socktober, pictures. First, we have a pair of Cherry Tree Hill I finally finished after dawdling since the Blue month of Project Spectrum:


Call it 'still life with cat hair'. I wore these a few days ago, and I never remember the lesson 'Wash your new socks before wearing them, or you will end up with colorful feet'. Oops. The nail on my right big toe is still blue. Colorway was called something like Tropical Storm, I think.

Speaking of cat hair:


Fred Fredburger, the cat I got in July, does not like it when I knit. Or, rather, I guess she does, because she thinks the yarn is a delightful toy. The rest of the time? She tries to kill whatever I'm working on or will crawl in my lap or sit on my shoulder and stick her fuzzy ass in my face while begging for attention.



The object she was trying to kill? The Gryffindor scarf my sister wanted. Now in it's 9th repeat of the bar pattern, growing quickly. This thing is going to be 8 feet long before it's done, and I may need to order more maroon yarn. Eeergh.

But I digress - back to socks. I have 6 (!!) different socks on needles... and I don't even have anything on two of my sets of dpns. I'm kind of ADD like that.



Left to right: toe-up Opal Rainforest Angelifsh socks, toe-up Knitpicks Dancing - I bought a ton of this since they were liquidating it, and the cuff of Lion Brand magic stripes. I think I bought the lion brand sockyarn mostly because it was super-cheap at a craftstore that was having a going out of business sale. The colors aren't something I'd normally pick (except for the bright green) , but I'm not so picky I won't wear the socks I make from it. I also have to say I LOVE knitpicks' dancing and am sad that they're discontinuing the line. It's a good cotton/wool blend at a more than decent price. I bought 2 skeins of every color they still had in stock when I found out. They also discontinued parade, which was another line of their yarn I liked. Grr.



Left to right, once again: Knitpicks somethingorother in a razorshell lace pattern, plymouth sockotta that looks suspiciously like a Jaywalker but is NOT (I have an aversion to the pattern for several reasons, including it's rampant popularity) and a sparkly mexico disco sock. You can really see the sparkles in this picture. Also, the socks in the middle will most likely not be for me.



Finally, the host of Socktoberfest has put up a questionaire for participants:

• When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
  

In 2004, around Thanksgiving. I used the universal sock pattern, which I found online and purported to be a complete guide to making cuff-down socks even if you had no prior experience. I still use the basic pattern given to knit most of my socks. Like most of my knitting skills, it was self-taught.

• What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

Have a picture. They've held up pretty well. There is some fading in the dye in some spots, and on the heels and feet you can see where they've darkened from the black insides of my work shoes, but they're in good shape. I also say they look like thanksgiving threw up on my feet, due to the color.

• What would you have done differently?

Not made as many mistakes, obviously. I've learned to get better at picking up stitches along the heelflap since then. However, for a first try at socks when I had only been knitting for about 3 months - and never before with dpns, they turned out well

• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Ones that are a wool/cotton blend like Sockotta and Dancing. I like the way they feel and they're not as hot as ones with a higher wool content, which is nice when you live in florida. Some people say knitting with yarns that have cotton make their hands hurt, but my hands always hurt anyway, so I've never noticed any difference.

• Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

No crochet. I am no good at crochet. And I only use dpns on socks. I could learn 2 circs or magic loop, but why bother messing with a good thing? And as you can tell, I overwhelmingly prefer wood/bamboo needles to metal ones for sock knitting.

• Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I'm not particular. I usually do heel flap because that's the first way I learned, but I do like the short row, because once you're done turning, you're done - no messing with decreases and gusset stitches.

• How many pairs have you made?

I honestly don't really keep track. Not too long ago, I did a count and I figured it to be around 30 pairs. Not too bad for only 2 years of knitting socks, I say.

Dyeing fun

Not only has Knitpicks introduced more dye-your-own yarns (including superwash sock, which makes me very happy), but they're carrying several colors of Jacquard dyes now, too. So of course, I had to buy some and play with it, since I've been wanting to try professional acid dyes for a while. I bought black, turquoise, magenta, and yellow, since you can mix many colors from the last 3. The results?




Well, that orange was supposed to be yellow. So, I need to play around with mixing colors more. The right skein was first, and I'm not sure about the method I used of dividing the skein into quarters with the dye. Maybe once I've knitted it, I'll like it more. The skein on the left was a sort of 'slap it on, mix it up, squish it around' attempt, using colors from the first skein plus blue. I like it more, especially the vibrant green I got from mixing the orange and green from the first skein (it's the color I was intending there, not such a bright kelly green). One other problem I seem to be having is getting the dyes to penetrate all the way to the center of the yarn, but I should be able to solve that by flipping it over and spreading the threads out more.

After dyeing, I wrapped them in saran wrap and put them in a newly-purchased crockpot (with about 2 inches of water outside the wrap - obviously, you want to wrap them good so no excess water can get in) for 1 hour on high, and about 1 1/2 on low, then left them to sit overnight. So, the question I couldn't find an answer to online: you can put saran wrap in a crockpot without problems.

One of the things about being a keyboard monkey for the government is that all that typing takes its toll. As a matter of fact, the continous pain in my wrists (arms hands shoulders neck, you know, the whole thing) has been a problem since Thanksgiving or so, but especially so for the last 2 months. So much so that my knitting time has been SEVERELY limited to days where my arms aren't aching, twinging, and generally being big sticks of pain.

It's even affected me to the point where gripping anything with a strong hold hurts, picking things up that weigh more than a few pounds hurts, and just getting my fingers to work right to even pick things up is a challenge.

But. I got transferred to another department, effective as of today. The majority of the past 2 weeks have been spent training the person to take over my old job, meaning less typing for me. And so far, the new position is far less keyboard intense. Thank god, because I was seriously getting worried.


So, I did some knitting, and I actually finished something:


Well, half finished, I guess. It's only half the pair. Let's see how elann's esprit sock works on size 3 needles.



In related news, I have decided to save up for a spinning wheel. All my spare change will be going in the empty ice cream bucket marked 'donations' that's been sitting gathering dust on the kitchen counter since I made it 3 years ago (actually, it has a few pennies in it, but you know, that's just pennies). I am aiming for hopefully $400 saved to buy a decent wheel. Although, given how infrequently I use cash and thus have change to dunk into the bucket, this may take a while.

UFO parade

I am so bad at updating this thing. I need to work on fixing that. Anyway, I have used all my exceptions for SOS:




Yup, elann.com gets me again. Actually, my sister wants me to make her a Harry Potter scarf, so I had to order yarn. That didn't stop me, however, from ordering MORE yarn in addition... some of their esprit to make socks - I'm giving the yarn a second chance, I also figure with smaller needles, socks may be more comfortable. And enough yarn to make the child-size version of the circle sweater they have in the free patterns section. I like this pattern enough that I want to make one for myself, but the size indications are so vague that I have no idea what the final measurements would be and how to go about modifying construction. I figure doing the child-size will help me on that, not to mention when I finish it I can give it to Dulaan since I don't know anyone with toddlers.

As for the UFO parade?


In no particular order, the sleeve of Banff, the Harry Potter scarf, 5 different socks on needles (well, the finished blue one is there to represent its unfinished twin, which is in my work bag), an Irish hiking scarf, the Ziggy lace scarf, the Danica scarf from Knitty, but in Noro, and the light green mass is the Zen 'sweater' I'm working on. I say 'sweater' because it's only got 3/4ths sleeves and is supposed to be lightweight when finished.


Finally, I've been working on my cosplay for AWA:



One of the costumes I'm going to do is one of the Marines from One Piece. So far, just the hat is finished, but it came out almost perfect.

Finally getting somewhere

Or at least that's what it feels like. I completed another hat for Dulaan like the one in my last post, but with a major snag:


That is the end of one of my Denise interchangeable needle cords (the 12"). Notice how the black connector piece is not in the picture? Yeah, it snapped off in the needle while making the damn hat! At least Denise sells replacement cords at a reasonable price. I have sent in the money for it, so I am hoping it should come in the mail any day now. Then I can make some more hats.



In the meantime, I've started a shirt (it doesn't feel right calling it a sweater) with some Zen I got off elann.com around the beginning of the year for 50% off. Sadly, they've discontinued the color, Edamame, in favor of some really ugly - in my opinion, at least - ones.



Then, of course, there is always the socks. I have 5 sets of sock needles, this is 4 of them - the other pair is in my work bag. The orange/yellow yarn is worth note - this is one of the two skeins of yarn from my dye-o-rama pal, who runs a store at Cidermoon. I'm doing both socks at once toe-up because I'm worried I may run out of yarn since I have gianormous feet. So far, it looks to be okay...



And finally, something project spectrum related: The front of the Banff sweater I've been working on off-and-on for probably a year. I've got the back completed and the front and one sleeve started, so I'm hoping during neutrals month to get some serious work done on it.