One pair of xmas socks

In (some) previous years, I have knit xmas socks for those near and dear to me. Not this year, as I find myself distracted by multiple fiber projects - dyeing, weaving, spinning, etc. However, my son relayed a request from his SO for a pair. I complied.

Pattern: Sock Recipe by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, short-row heel courtesy of Short-Row Toe and Heel Basic Socks by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Austermann Step, colorway 23, Simply Sock Yarn in black for toes, heels, and cuffs
Needles: US1
Modifications: Besides the short-row heel (to maintain the striping), I rounded the toe by decreasing every other round until 40 stitches remained, then decreased every round until 28 stitches remained

This colorway looked better in the skein than it does knitted, IMO. It's also not very festive. The wide stripes worked out for the length, though.

If only

If only I could find my tapestry needles, this sweater would be done...

and these socks would be blocking.

Last night I broke down and purchased some new needles at Joann's, and yep, you guessed it - today I found the missing ones.

And if I had remembered to take my knitting to work the other day, a day that included two hours of mind-numbing, soul-sucking meetings, I would be two hours closer to having another pair of socks done.

Oh. Hello there.

I am not knitting up a storm here, that is for sure. For one thing, I have been distracted by yardening. For another, our prolonged heat wave makes wool seem positively repugnant at times. To counteract the latter, I turned to cotton.

Nothing special, just a dishcloth in box stitch. This color is a bright alternative to my other projects.

Still plodding along on this cowl - over halfway done, but it still seems to be taking forEVER. I blame the Kidsilk Haze - I can stand to knit only 2 rows at a time.

I turned the heels on the current sock project without looking at the instructions. Whoohoo! Now for the march to the toes.

I anticipate the Olympics will glue my butt to the couch in the coming weeks, so hopefully more progress will be forthcoming. I'd like to get these projects done, as I feel the itch of winter sweaters coming on (pun intended).

Plain ol' (striped) socks

As I have said before, socks are my go-to project for portability, so I almost always have a pair on the needles. Sometimes they do not get much attention (can you say "Honey Cowl"?) but they are patiently waiting for when I need to grab and go.

Pattern: Sock Recipe, from Knitting Rules
Yarn: Austermann Stepp, in colorway 0028
Needles: US1
Modifications: Eye of partridge heel flap

Since I knit socks so often, always from detailed patterns, I wanted to get used to the idea of just knitting a pair of socks with little help from instructions. My goal is to be able to just pick up some yarn and needles and GO, a la the Yarn Harlot.

This was the practice pair. I am going to try to do the next pair without peeking at the book.

RDA

Do you have a Required Daily Amount when it comes to knitting? I find that, if I knit less than three hours a day, my fingers get itchy and I need a mini-marathon of stitchery to get over it.

The second best cure to a lack of knitting is a yarn purchase. I took my 40%-off-one-item coupon to Joann's Friday and bought a big spool of crochet thread. I wanted enough to play with unhindered while I learn the (literally) finer art of filet crochet, aka thread crochet. It's more than a little frustrating and hand-cramping, and I'm not sure whether it will become a new needle art in my heart, but it's always fun to try something new.

Meanwhile, the Jaywalkers are finally finished.



I don't know why I had so much trouble with this pair. I have made the pattern before, in the same yarn. The only difference is I made these larger, per the pattern instructions. I am glad to be done with them. I am also glad to have them on my feet this chilly morning.

Pattern may be found here. Yarn is Austermann Step (mit Aloe Vera und Jojoba). Needle size is US1.

In other knitting, the blob of powder puff pink is growing bigger. I seem to have plenty of yarn, so I am increasing the size of the shawl by two 10-row repeats. And I have been hacking away at the Blue Lagoon baby blanket. I would have pix but right now I am lacking AA's for my camera. I think it is time to switch to rechargeable batteries.

Oops - Stash Enhancing eXpedition!

Just could not resist a visit to the Yarn Basket in Fitchburg, MA. They carry mostly Plymouth and Bernat and lots of novelty yarn, but I found a few things to try: Zitron Trekking XXL sock yarn, Oasis Aussi Sock (in "Faded Valentine" - don't you just love that color name?), and JCA Reynolds Lopi Icelandic wool.

It was so nice to wander about and pet and squeeze yarn. I miss that, so my wish for today is that someone open a yarn store in my home town. Please?

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

This weekend I fly east to visit family. Or, rather, some of the family. I was the only sibling missing from an informal gathering in October, but I just could not get away from work then.

In anticipation of this trip, I had been keeping track of airline tickets. Several months ago, to fly from here to there was about $300. Not bad. When I was still contemplating flying there in October, I checked ticket prices again: $500. Now, economically, it became a toss-up between flying and driving, except it is a two-day drive and I'm low on vacation days. Then I discovered I had enough miles to cash some in, and I got me a ticket for $200 - sweet! Last week, I received an email from NWA about last-minute deals, so I decided to see if my ticket price had fallen in the meantime. Nope. Now, with taxes, the price was over $800!!!

Besides being expensive, flying has also become quite the ordeal. Flying used to have the advantage of saving time and being somewhat glamourous, but now you have to get to the airport early, strip in front of and (if unlucky) get patted down by strangers, make sure you have enough time between flights when making connections, bring your own food and entertainment, choose between lugging all your stuff in a carry-on (that may still be taken from you and stowed below) or risk losing it to the bowels for the baggage handling system, etc., etc., and so forth. And then, it is not uncommon to be treated like sheep (best case) or hauled off to be questioned (worst case) if you voice displeasure over any of this.

But what are the alternatives? In this country, virtually none. So that is my wish for today, that somebody somewhere develop a new and better way for us to travel.

Side note: I am currently reading A Fortune-Teller Told Me : Earthbound Travels in the Far East by Tiziano Terzani, which is about how the author (a journalist) spent a year traveling around Asia and Europe without flying. His job is such that he was able to spend the time traveling by land and water. So maybe what we need is not a way to travel fast but more time to travel slowly.

Knitting: The Jaywalkers are done! Even the gusset gaps are closed. (One modification I would make to the pattern is to incorporate a M1 on either side of the gussets to prevent the gap.) I chose the Austermann Step sock yarn because it contains aloe and jojoba, and the saleswoman assured me that not only would my feet benefit from wearing the resulting socks, my hands would be softened while I knit. I did not find the latter to be true, but when I soaked and blocked the socks, the yarn really softened, so I'm hoping the former is.

I promise to take photos tonight!

Dream the Impossible Dream

I don't usually watch TV, but I tuned in last night just in time to hear the concession/victory speeches of our mayoral candidates. It was the first time I had seen either of them live, and I was impressed at how both were very poised and articulate. Matt Kelty was gracious in defeat, and Tom Henry actually came off as inspirational. The future of our fair city should be interesting, if nothing else.

As I arrived at work today, a pickup truck I have admired from afar pulled into the parking lot. I used to have a pickup truck, a Fordza - it said Mazda on the vehicle but it screamed Ford. Ordinarily, I do not get extended warrenties, but the salesman scared me into one for that truck, and it paid for itself twice. Which is why I will never buy another truck from either Mazda or Ford. Now I have a Honda CRV, which is okay. It gets me from point A to point B reliably and inexpensively, is easy to park, holds four adults comfortably, has all wheel drive that kicks in only when needed, etc. An okay car.

I really miss having a truck, though, or something trucklike. Actually, my ideal vehicle would be small enough for parking and fuel economy but large enough to pull a pop-up camper. That is not really so far fetched. It could run on 4-cylinders with front wheel drive when there is no load, then switch to 6-cylinders and rear wheel or all wheel drive when towing. Would that really be so difficult?

So, that is my wish today: a vehicle that actually met all my personal transportational needs. And was affordable!

One Jaywalker sock is complete, the other lacking only the toe. My daughter tried them on, and they are snug, just the way she likes them. But, since they are snug, they are also difficult to get over her heel. I will have to look through my sock books and see what I can find about enlarging the gusset to make them easier to get on. I will probably use this pattern again, as I have another skein of Austermann Step and the zigzag design works really well with self-striping yarn.

And I wound a skein of Cascade 220 into a ball, in anticipation of the hoodie. I'm still waffling over how to knit it up, but I can still start with the sleeves.

If You Don't Vote, Don't Complain

We are having local elections here. I was hoping that Graham Richard would run again. He is the invisible mayor, presumably because he is busy getting things done instead of looking for photo ops. I think our local government has a long way to go to becoming more efficient and effective, but Richard made a few strides in that direction during his tenure.

Since Richard is not running, I hope that Tom Henry beats Matt "I am not a crook" Kelty. I fear that Kelty has a not-so-hidden, so-called Christian agenda that will cause a lot of grief and animosity. He is a divider, not a uniter, as evidenced by how he has alienated many in his own party. Plus, he bears an uncanny resemblence to John Mark Karr; it's creepy.

Henry has the experience, which hopefully will enable him to be an effective leader. Sometimes it is healthy to stir the pot with new meat, but not with Kelty in the mix.

My real wish for today, though, is that more people would exercise their right to vote. Like so many of our rights, we take voting for granted. Even if you think your vote won't count, at least be counted; show which side you are on.

On the knitterly front, I am almost done with the Jaywalker socks; my daughter needs to try them on, then I can finish the toes.

Now that I have wrapped up a few projects, I am facing an unusual dilemma: what to knit next? It's not that I don't have plenty of yarn, yarn purchased with specific projects in mind. It's more of a commitment issue. And I can find an excuse for not starting just about anything. This is odd, because usually the only thing keeping me from starting a new project is the size needles I need to use are already occupied.

One project I have been contemplating is a hoodie sweater for moi, but I'm afraid to start - so much yarn! so much knitting! The original pattern is seamless and calls for a zippered front, but I plan to knit sans zipper so I can knit it in the round - no purling! But then I need to swatch in the round. While walking the dog this morning, I decided I will start with the sleeves, as then I can check my gauge without swatching and before I've gone too far.

But first, I need to wind the yarn into a ball. And we all know my track record on that!

Daylight Saving

Well, yesterday's wish did not come true, but that's okay. The Colts were handicapped by several key players being on the DL, which impacted the passing game. (Don't I sound knowledgeable?) Once everyone is healthy again, the Colts will be impossible to beat. (Knock on wood!)

If Daylight Saving Time is so great, why don't we stay on it year-round? Changing the clocks back and forth is hard on us biologically and psychologically. So that is my wish for today, that the whole world abandon the clock-changing habit. Time is just an abstract concept anyway.

On the crocheting front, I finished the neverending afghan! The fringe alone took nearly an entire skein. Photos forthcoming.

Knitting progress: I am about halfway through the feet of the Jaywalker socks. For some reason, they have been a bear to knit, with many dropped stitches and much mental confusion over which row I am knitting. I feel like I am in the homestretch, though.

Next weekend, I am flying east to visit my dad, which leads to the what-do-I-take-to-knit-on-the-plane debate. Last time I flew, I think I crocheted dishcloths and knit socks on bamboo needles. Maybe a final pair of Magic Stripes socks and/or a crocheted scarf? I don't want anything too complex or too big.

The Neverending Afghan

Did you ever have a project that, no matter how much you work on it, just will not progress? Everytime I measure what I am now calling the Neverending Afghan, it seems there are always 6 more rows to go. It was the perfect thing to work on tonight, though, with the ghosts and goblins ringing the doorbell every 2.5 minutes.

I did manage to get through the gusset on one Jaywalker sock, which seems to have exhausted me on that particular pattern for now. Also, even though I can guess what the foot holds in store, I cannot find the instructions. Since I grew tired of my livingroom looking like a cross between a yarn explosion and a petting zoo, I rearranged things a bit. The TV and the rabbit switched places, and the yarn is shifting to the family room, which now looks like a cross between a yarn explosion and a petting zoo, plus there's the breakfast bar from hell. Horizontal surfaces in my house fill up quickly. Anyway, the Jaywalker instructions disappeared during this flurry of activity.

An alternative to the Jaywalker is knitting through the homestretch on the IU socks, which is b-o-r-i-n-g, so I will save it for lunchtime at work because my job is even more boring.

Maybe the lace shawl needs some attention.

(Can you tell I am doing everything in my power NOT to cast on a sweater, the red- red-red yarn for which is calling me as I write? All that is really holding me back is trying to decide whether to follow the pattern and make it with a zippered front, or to listen to my aversion of purling and knit it in the round.)

Best Laid Plans

The plan was to finish crocheting the afghan while watching football. After watching the Colts struggle through the first half, I decided to take a little nap. Well, I must have needed the rest, because I woke up just in time to see them win by a huge margin. I also measured the afghan and realized I was not quite as close to finishing as I thought.

I also worked on turning heels on the Jaywalker socks, but that has not gone very well, either. The yarn I am using, Austermann Step, has aloe and jojoba in it, which makes the needles very slick, which makes it easy to drop stitches. And then there is my short attention span. Even though I use sticky notes to help me keep track of row counts, sometimes I forget to make a mark for each row. The result is a lot of tinking around.



But I am enjoying how well this self-striping yarn works with the Jaywalker pattern. Since I am working from both ends of the skein, the stripes are reversed.

Bad Yarn Day

I woke up early this morning and decided I might as well get up and knit over coffee. Last night I had finished the top on one Jaywalker sock, so I started catching up on the second. One thing I like about this pattern is the stitch increases at the needle ends hides my laddering between DPNs. One thing I dislike about the pattern is the double-decrease in the middle of each needle, which is where I screwed up this morning. My eyes were not focusing yet, so I set that aside to fix later and picked up the lace shawl... and dropped several stitches there as well. Ok, maybe it was too early to knit. At noon, I picked up cream-colored sock #2 and started working on the 2x2 ribbing for the top. I happened to glance at sock #1, though, and realized it was done in 1x1 ribbing. Fortunately, I had not gone far on #2, so I ripped that out and started over. Friday night is no-knitting night - I eat popcorn and watch a movie instead - and it looks like I really need a break.

On a different topic, I brought The Happy Hooker to work yesterday for a coworker, and she reciprocated by giving me a copy of her Patternworks catalog. While leafing through the catalog, I saw a photo of a model wearing a crocheted scarf that looked just like a scarf in THH. Hmmm. When the coworker returned my book, I checked it out: not only was it the same scarf, it was the exact same photo! I can see the pattern designer selling the pattern to two different publications, but how did the same photo get in both?

And topic number three is, The Opnionated Knitter: Elizabeth Zimmerman Newsletters 1958-1968. I must have read something about this book somewhere, probably in relation to the Baby Surprise sweater, and checked it out of the library, but I think I may have to purchase it. After all, it has a pattern for an Adult Baby Surprise sweater, among other timeless designs. So many projects, so little time!

One Down, How Many to Go?

Today, Knitting Daily posed the question knitters hate to hear: How many UFOs do you have? At first, I smugly thought, Not that many. And I guess I don't have that many, since "many" is a relative thing.

Here's my list:

• Afghan (crochet)
  
• Falling leaves lace shawl (yarn used to be for a baby blanket)
  
• Cream-colored socks
  
• Aloe-jojoba socks
  
• Vintage handbag #2
  
• Denim blue Fat Bottom Bag (needs lining)
  
• Brown Fat Bottom Bag
  
• Orange baby hoodie (abandoned)
  
• Ribbon yarn tank top (abandoned)
  
• Ballband washcloth

Ha! Finished that last one tonight:



Details:

• Pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting
  
• Size US5 needles
  
• Lion Cotton in turquoise and sunflower