It's Not Just Me

Knitting Mom’s vest has been a bit stressful. She is wonderful, and deserves good things. That added a bit of pressure. I meant to give this to her for either a birthday or Christmas gift. I missed those deadlines. Then I began to think that there could be some problems with the pattern. I was more worried that I had been the one to mess things up and could not see what I had done wrong. I did not know of anyone else knitting this vest. Then the other day I was using a different search engine and came across this blog. It seems that the problems I have run into knitting Snowmen & Skates are not mine alone, but they can be overcome. I busily knit away last night and finally bound off the vest. We had snow, so I had to lay it out on the front porch and take a picture at 2:30 in the morning. I hope this works out well. I ran out of the cream. I did a lot of fudging on the neckline decreases. I think I was supposed to have made a couple more decreases, but I decided to try my luck. Then I worked the crochet reinforcements on one armhole. I cut. I went on to crochet reinforce the rest of the steeks. I cut some more. It looks like this might work. Next I will block it, and then sew the shoulders, work edgings, embroider, and sew on the buttons (that I have yet to purchase).

Red Scarf Away

I sent off this red scarf and gift card the other day. I just doubled some mystery sock yarn and worked in seed stitch until I ran out of the yarn. This is such a great project. Encouragement for young people who are making good decisions is important. I think I'd like to knit more for next year. I have a few ideas for good patterns I'd like to use.

I'm also making progress on my Arwen. I completed the back and have begun the left front. I ripped back my cabling as I did not care for the looks of my initial backwards loop cast on. It looks much better now. This reversible cable is lovely. I also re-wrote the charts. I wanted to make them larger and make one change. I wanted the uniformity of reading a blank square as a knit stitch and a black dot as a purl stitch no matter which side I am working. Since doing this, I'm moving along more quickly and smoothly. I also made the charts without the set-up row. Again, it is not a big change, but it just simplifies reading the chart for me.

I've been getting in a bit more spinning. I'm considering trying my hand at Navajo plying. I'm going to search for videos and written instructions. I think I'll play around with my old Louet sheep head spindle. I do not love this spindle, and want to investigate why. There may be some adjustments I can make to improve it.

Well, the shoulder seams to the vest are not seaming themselves. Time to get to it.

You Load 13 Pounds

Whaddya get? In my case, you get two skeins of Louet Gems in Navy. If you had some unwanted stash (full skeins with labels only, please), you could trade it in for $1/pound in credit to be spent that day at a yarn store not too far from me. It only cost me $3.13 after my credit was applied. I do believe I will receive more pleasure out of knitting these two skeins than I would have with what I brought in to the store.

Most of what I traded in was not yarn I had purchased. The majority of it had been gifted to me over the years. You may have had this experience. Someone knows you knit and knows of a stash of yarn that belonged to someone somewhere. You accept the bags, sight unseen in the hopes that it will be one of those fantasy scenarios. I know I am not the only one to have these types of daydreams. Instead, it is usually a lot of easy-care, synthetic yarn that needs airing out. I have knit my share of this yarn for appropriate gifts. My niece was the recipient of several blankets and hats for her baby dolls last year, and it all came from these unexpected gifts of yarn. I have also donated multiple bags to people seeking yarn with these characteristics. In fact, I read of just such a request the other day. If they are open to receiving yarn that has lost its label or is not a full skein, I will pass on the remaining bag I had planned to trade in at the store. Otherwise, it will go back in the other room until it is needed. This adventure has helped me to organize my yarn a bit better. Elisabeth mentioned that she has a database organizing her stash. I like the idea, but I don’t quite see myself doing it. Still, I know I can better organize the stash and all it entails, and will give it more effort.

History

Not long after I began knitting, I found the Yahoo! Group, northalabamaknitters. Intensely nervous, I found my way to one of their meetings in a conference room of a local city hall. I was warmly accepted into the group and have enjoyed knitting with them ever since. There have been a couple of changes in the meeting locations. People have come and gone. One lady who no longer attends informed us of another group organizing to knit together through Meetup. It was a bit shaky for a while there. Then the service changed and began charging fees. We moved on over to Yahoo! and became part of NAKG. We had also changed meeting times from the third Thursday to every Monday. Not many people attend both the regular NAKG meetings of the second Tuesday afternoon and fourth Friday evening at Books-A-Million and the Monday night meetings at Barnes & Noble. I attend both whenever I can. Still, we found many times when we had email messages we wanted to pass amongst the Monday night people that had little or no relevance to the regular NAKG list. One evening, I checked my email and saw the subject line of a message welcoming me to the Skanky Knit list. I thought it might be spammers and nearly did not open it. One of the Monday Night Knitters had set up a separate mailing list for us. Skanky Knit was born. I do not know if we’re truly any wilder or weirder than other knitting groups. We jokingly refer to ourselves as The Skanky Knitters. It is funny. Still, there are times when it is not easy to call them Skanks, even in jest. The group, as a whole, is special, and each individual is very dear to me. They are more important to me than they might know. I missed three knit-togethers with the Skanks last week. It was a very difficult week. It meant so much to me to receive the warm greetings and to hear that I had been missed. Truly, it was a medicine. As if that were not enough, Christina had brought me a copy of Wendy Knits. She is so sweet. She is a great wife, mom, knitter, and friend. I like to read her blog. I don’t tell anyone I know about my blog. I’m pretty sure Christina knows about it, but senses my insecurities and never mentions it. Not only did I leave Monday night with a new book, but also two skeins of Soy Silk. Elisabeth needed some dark sock yarn and I had a couple of skeins of Knitpicks Essentials in Pine. I gave them to her, and I hope they work out well for her. She asked what I wanted in return. I said that it wasn’t necessary. However, she promised to bring me some yarn. This soft, lovely yarn is what she gave me. I am blessed.

Hanky Time

Nah, I’m not going to cry about my knitting woes. However, if I need to, I am prepared. Behold, the lace-edged handkerchief I knit. The handkerchief itself originally belonged to my great-grandmother. I like this simple piece. I believe that I will knit more lace edgings on handkerchiefs. The next time I knit one I will try to work the corners differently. I have some ideas that could work.

While you like viewing my lace, I know you’re most interested in my knitting sorrows. I have frustration with Mom’s vest. You knew this already. I knit through the Cream that I purchased per the pattern’s instructions. It got me through my second time knitting the little houses. I have now unraveled my swatch and am preparing that yarn to use in the vest. I hope that it will be enough to complete the vest. I still need to decrease about twenty stitches on the fronts. The decreases are meant to be worked every-other round. The math on this is simple. What baffles me is how there could be forty more rounds in the body of this vest. Is there an error? Is this just a row gauge issue? If so, what do I do? I’m considering working my decreases more frequently. I so want this to be nice. I do not like the unkind, common adjectives that keep popping into my mind when I think of this vest. Oh, great and wise Kathleen Taylor, what has gone awry? What would you suggest? If I continue to follow the pattern as written, I think it will be longer than the target twenty-three inches for the length of this vest. The largest size measures 23 ½ inches in length. The other possibility that occurs to me is that I am not getting any kind of accurate length estimation due to the drawing in of the garment because of the decreases along the various steeks. Does this make any sense? Am I just grasping at straws? I again worry about Knitpicks leading me down the wrong path as another of my Options cords has shown itself to be defective. I also believe I found another set of possible errors in this pattern, but I’m not sure. Even if I am correct on this discovery, it is only a difference of two stitches. It should not matter much. It does not matter to what I am having trouble with presently. As we return to the issue troubling me so much, I desperately seek your advice. If the problem is not an error, but rather a difference in row gauge (the pattern does not list this) between my knitting and the author’s, how would you suggest I fix this problem?

In Lieu of a Half-Picture

Would you accept five hundred or so words? There are days I can knit for hours and not have a need to take a picture. This is not to say that I have not knit well, nor accomplished anything. It’s just how it is some days. Yesterday was one of those days.

I retrieved the US 0 circular and placed it in the last correct round of the vest. Then I ripped back eight rounds and knit one round with the Cream. I set it aside for the night even though it was not as bad as I had made it in my mind. This is good. I needed something to not be as terrible as I had imagined. Something else that I had thought would only be a bit stressful turned out to be more than I had predicted. Teenager. Need I say more? This drama still has another act or two. I pray for wisdom, and I knit. Actually, the situation is not difficult because she is a teenager. That is just a complicating factor. I am so glad to not be teenaged.

After the encounter with our daughter, I did the vest ripping. I thought that knitting it would be a good way to keep my mind off the situation, but I could not capture the proper mindset to work on it. Instead, I reached for the soothing, simple stockinette of the back of Arwen, and read knit blogs.

When I set aside Arwen, I could have gotten out the Brea Bag and knit on it for a while, but I knew it would lead me back to thinking about the situation with our youngster. I could have begun a square for the V-Day Community Afghan, but I did not feel like working with dishcloth cotton. I could have cast-on for the second Traveler’s Stocking, but I did not possess the requisite capacity to focus. Instead, I began work on a lace-edged handkerchief. I bought the pattern quite some time ago. I’m not using the pattern. This is nothing against the pattern; however, I wanted to try something different. I got out Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves, and looked at edgings on the different shawls. I settled on Alberta. I had already worked the foundation of single crochet around the handkerchief. My plan is to knit the edging onto the handkerchief as I go instead of sewing it on later. I worked several repeats and thought it looked pretty good. Still, I had wondered whether it might be better to attach to every-other single crochet rather than to every one. I worked another repeat attaching every-other, and I liked it much better. Therefore, of course, I then had to rip out all of my work. I didn’t mind. I like a lace-edged handkerchief, and I want this to be right. This is a nice project. I like the contrast of the white cotton against the brilliant blue aluminum needles. I find it quite pleasant and soothing to just look at. Although each repeat consists of twenty rows, the stitch counts range from just three to eight stitches. It is so simple to memorize that I did not need to watch the chart for long.

Yes, knitting is good. It is therapeutic. Be it the healing and comfort of wool or the magic of lace, there is power in what we do.

Uh-oh

Today, I feel stranded. I don’t quite know how I missed the mistake. I know that if you had been able to see it, you would have considered how and whether to gently inform me of the error. I sat down to knit on the vest today and as I neared the end of the round, I discovered my blunder. I blinked hard and looked again to be sure I was seeing correctly. I counted and compared knitting to chart. I carefully examined to see if it was something I could duplicate stitch or somehow otherwise fix without ripping back eight rounds. It is not. The problem is with the little houses you couldn’t see in the picture the other day. Even if I had uncurled the top of the knitting so you could see the houses, the error would not have been visible because it was on the other side of the vest. I’m not looking forward to this, but rip I will rip back. However, I will wait to do this until after I’ve gotten a decent night’s sleep. I didn’t catch much shuteye last night. Isn’t that something? It was when I was bleary-eyed and tired that I found the error.

I’ve knit four fuzzy, furry hats for the kids. They don’t take long to knit. I get the feeling of accomplishment from completing the caps and the nice feeling that comes from helping others. I know that I will feel good when I can finally give Mom her sweater, but I’m trying to stay relaxed about that.

I still have been unable to accept my invite to the Arwen knitalong. Blogger is having difficulties. Truth be told, there isn’t much to show on the cardigan. I’ve passed the hem and have knit it together with the body. It isn’t much to look at, but I already love it. Straight stockinette for another seventeen inches or so appeals to me right now. Of course, I’m looking forward to the cabling on the fronts. The weather is turning back into winter here, so I know that I will have a longing to wear this soon. Still, it is also nice to knit along on a wooly project while the temperature drops. I can focus on that pleasant feeling as I rip back the vest and knit it again. Yes, that sounds like a plan.

Challenges

I swatched for Arwen. I knit four chemo caps. I began Traveler’s Stockings. I knit the back and front of my daughter’s purse. I put in some quality time with the drop spindle. I needed to do all of these things to return to the challenge. Yes, I can now go back to knitting Mom’s vest. I had just become so frustrated that I had to give it a break. I really have made a lot of progress on it since you’ve seen it last. How about a peak? There you go. It curled at the top and you cannot see that I'm halfway through another repeat of the little houses. I’m closing in on finishing the body of the vest. If I need to buy more of the Cream, Knit Picks says that they will waive the shipping fees. I cannot say that I’ve regained my enthusiasm for the project, but I no longer dread it. I will get excited again when I am closer to finishing it.

Of course, Stranded is not my only challenge. I have again enrolled in Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge. It kicks off this weekend. Seeing as how this is the beginning of the National Body Challenge, this seems like the right time to post a picture of my exercise space. Rather than showing you my living room where I workout, I decided to share a picture of my exercise stuff. I have been an in-home exerciser for a few years now. This is what works best for me, and it is what I have been able to stick with. I put in a dvd and get moving. It does not matter what the weather is like outside. It does not matter what time it is. I don’t have to worry about bugs, animals, or traveling time and traffic to a suitable destination. I can don whatever attire is best suited to exercising without concern to how it will impact others. When I’m done, I can peel off my sweaty clothes and head straight to my own shower. I can choose from a variety of workouts just by pulling a different dvd from the shelf. I can make a big change to my routine with a modest investment in a new dvd. Like I say, I still don’t love working out, but I can do this. The best exercise is the one you’ll do.

Since I’m committing myself (shhh, be nice) to challenges left and right, how about one more? I will go 100 miles by April 1st.

Arwen Along

I wanted to knit this from the first time I saw it. I received the yarn for Christmas. I'm using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in the color Hyacinth. I've seriously swatched. My first attempt was not to gauge. My second try looked much more promising, so I washed and treated the swatch as I will the finished garment. Much to my delight, I have gauge. Next step, is casting on for the back. I'm considering knitting this without the hood. I don't yet know how I would make this work, or if it would work. Suggestions, anyone?

Today was an NAKG Tuesday afternoon knit together. I was showing my yarn for this project when one of the Monday Night Skanky gals asked what weigh the pattern requires. It seems my incessant yammering can be positive sometimes, and I may have company knitting this beautiful cardigan. This is an anomaly. I will try to not let it go to my head, nor detract from the fact that my run-on mouth is usually a source for trouble. Besides the prospect of companionship on this project, I am also excited because Margaret is a genius at knitting and changing garments. She would probably be able to see how I need to make the changes to Arwen that I would like to make. Time to cast-on!

Happy Roc Day

Was your Distaff Day delightful? Did you have a rockin’ Roc Day? I managed to get in a few minutes of spinning. My copy of The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook is due to arrive tomorrow. I am excited. I’m also getting The Knitter’s Almanac. Can you believe that this is my first EZ book? I checked Knitting Without Tears from the library when I first began knitting, and found it very helpful and interesting. Perhaps one day I will have my own copy.

In the meantime, it has been Caps for a Cure knitting all the time here. I need to send off the five I have completed. Two more need to dry before I can get them in the mail. I also need to attach the tags. No pictures this time. Christmas knitting got in the way, and I got behind.

Speaking of knitting the chemo caps, have you seen this? I’m gathering up the Fun Fur and its cousins and knitting some of these. If I run out of what I have and there’s time, I may look for donations. I’ve knit chemo caps from the eyelash yarn before for Caps for a Cure. They’re fun, easy, and quick. C’mon, it’s for a good cause.

Buh-bye 2006

It’s been quite a year. There’s been plenty of the good and there has also been the not so good. I look forward to the new year, but I won’t even begin to guess what my adventures might be. You never know where life is going to take you, or what it will bring. This is one of the things I’ve learned in life, and I sometimes receive reminders of this fact. They can be pleasant surprises or dreadful shocks, but both leave me thinking, “I never would have guessed.” You might guess what variety the most recent of these reminders has been, but we’re moving on from that. I’m choosing to laugh and shake my head.

I am still working on my mom’s Snowmen & Skates vest. It would be reasonable for me to be finished by the end of January. I have set it aside temporarily because I have been getting frustrated with it. I think I’m going to need to order another ball of Knit Picks Palette in Cream. I don’t think the rest of this ball is going to get me through. I must say that I feel a bit frustrated that I bought what the pattern calls for and might not have enough. I’m concerned that there could be a problem with the pattern. My sense that it could be something on Knit Picks' end was magnified when my first attempt to try out my new Options set (Christmas present) resulted in the discovery of a defective cord as I attempted to cast on my first stitch. I’ve already contacted them and they are sending me a replacement. My bigger worry is that I have made some error and this vest is going to be all wrong. It looks alright, but I wondered if my vision is clouded by all the things that keep a knitter from seeing that she has made a terrible mistake and continuing on to end up with a horrific mass of wool and sorrow.

While I’m taking my break from the vest, I’m swatching for Arwen, and have begun a couple other projects. I need some socks on the needles, and I decided that Traveler’s Stockings from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road would be a good choice. I’m past the lacy cuff portion and onto the first chart. Flipping through my current IK, my daughter (who had the audacity to turn 18 on Christmas Eve) saw a picture of a purse she wants. This made me happy, so I have picked up the yarn and cast-on for this project, too.

I am again signed up for Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge. It changes up a bit each year. I liked the program best that they had when I enrolled for the first time three years ago. I wonder what it will be like this time around. You might want to check it out for yourselves. There is good information, and it usually helps to inspire me to change up my exercise routine. The fact that I have given exercise a permanent part in my life is another one of those things I never would have guessed. It still isn’t my favorite thing, but I’ve stopped treating it as an option and accepted that this is what I do. I have yet to take a picture of my exercise space and stuff, but I’ll get on that soon.

I’m so glad I gave spinning the time it needs this year. I’m still spindling along on the same spinning project that I’ve been engaged in for several months now. I’m okay with the fact that I’m slow at spinning, and that is another big step for me. I enjoy it, and have many new fibers to explore. Just think, soon I will be knitting with my own handspun.

Thank you for being part of my life in 2006. Happy New Year!

What's in a Name?

What did we really expect to happen when we began calling ourselves The Skanky Knitters? Did we believe there would be no consequences? It was A Very Skanky Christmas this past Thursday at Margaret’s house. Laughter, knitting, food, and fun filled the festive occasion. The Skanky Santa (think White Elephant or Dirty Santa) exchange was entertaining. We laughed, ate, knit, and there was even a Wii. I arrived home late and obsessed about weight gain from all of the wonderful food. I vowed to return to sensible eating and continue to exercise. As it turns out, my worrying was all for naught. Yes, The Skanky Knitters all came down with The Plague. I told my husband I had a slight case of death. Not everyone had recovered for Monday Night Knitting, but most of us were able to laugh about it. The experience left me weak, tired, and fearful of all foods. Even after the big symptoms had died down, I could only sit next to my knitting and try to imagine that I would one day be able to pick up the needles again. It is unknown whether the illness was foodborne, or just that nasty bug going around. Because I was out of commission, the Christmas celebration at my mom’s, which had been planned for the 17th, has been rescheduled for the 26th. The upside of this is an extended deadline for Mom’s vest. Could I actually finish it in time? The rounds are now getting smaller, I’ve added in my armhole steeks, and have begun the decreases for the v-neck. The snowmen have returned. It seemed like they would never end the first time I knit them. Even after the body of the vest is done, I have to work the crochet reinforcements and steeks, the edgings, buttons (which I have yet to purchase), and embroidery. Oh yeah, I also need to block the thing. So, probably not going to be finished by the 26th. I did manage to finish a mini sock for JJ to clothe a stuffed sheep he wants to give to a co-worker, and I knit a decorative stocking pin for Brittany as part of the Skanky Twist to Skanky Santa. Those were both completed on Monday. So, I’m trying to keep a balanced look at what is getting done rather than looking at the things I still need to do.

Speaking of balanced, I’ve still been spinning. My friend, Annette, a local knitting buddy and fellow Twisted Knitter gave me some lovely gifts last Tuesday. Amongst the many timely gifts that promote relaxation and refreshment were several lovely fibers to spin. I’ve not yet tried Angora rabbit, Shetland wool, yak/merino blend, or alpaca/vicuña blend. This very generous lady gave all these to me. She is a wealth of fiber and spinning knowledge. She’s also facing challenging days, so please pray for her. I am hunting down a special prize to give her the next time I see her. I hope it will be Friday night. We take things one day at a time, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, that vest isn’t getting done while I sit here and type, and my body still insists I sleep. After the recent battle, I’m not brave enough to argue when it says it needs something.

Stranded

I enjoyed the Norwegian Knits-Along so well last year that I decided to join in on this year’s Stranded: The Colorwork Challenge. So, without further ado, here are my answers to the opening questions:
What are your projects for this knitalong?
I’m currently Stranded in the Fair Isles as I work on my Mom’s Snowmen and Skates Vest from Knit Picks. I’d love to complete it in time to give it to her as a Christmas present, but that remains to be seen. I’m doubtful about making that deadline, but stranger things have happened. Please pardon me as I mention once again, that this project involves steeking. I don’t have a planned colorwork project after this, but I am thinking of hats or mittens as a possibility. Those Star Wars charts have me inspired. I have long admired many of the colorwork patterns in Folk Socks and might try my hand at a pair of them.
Is this your first colorwork project? If it isn't, what was your first, and has it survived the test of time?
Nope, I’ve done colorwork before. My first was a lone mitten from Folk Mittens. I’ve never finished that pair, and I don’t know if I ever will. I’ve since read that the pattern had errors. I love the mitten, but it has been years since I knit it, and I doubt that it will gain a mate. Two hats knit last year went to Alaska. I had knit a hat for my husband a year before using that same pattern from Hats On! It is still going strong and we've even gotten enough cold weather for him to wear it a couple of times this year. I’m trying to regain custody of one I knit last year that no longer fits a nephew to pass on to a niece for whom I think it will work, but that may be a lost cause on many levels. Such is life. It's time to get back to Mom's vest. I had begun to believe that I was closing in on reaching the armhole steeks, but each time I measure, well, I'm sure you can all relate.

Votive and Vest

I’ve knit a second wire and bead votive cover and am need only to graft the third. I keep mentally adding potential recipients to a growing list of people for whom I’d like to knit these. It remains to be seen how many I will actually complete and gift. They are so simple and lovely. I simply string a bunch of beads on some 26-gauge wire and cast on nine or ten stitches with some US 8 straight aluminum knitting needles. Then I work in stockinette, knitting in the beads on the knit side until the piece is long enough to go around the candle holder. Then I graft or sew together the ends of the piece together. I finish off the ends, and I’m done. The process is a bit harsh on the hands and fingers, and the set of knitting needles used for the process are now solely dedicated to wire knitting.

I want to knit hats for the young nieces and nephews. One already made his way through the Knit Picks catalog and let me know which blue he would like. He was quite specific about which would be acceptable, and which would not. I need to get an order off to Knit Picks. For one thing, Mom’s vest needs a ball of orange and one of black in Palette to work the embroidery. I didn’t know that when I placed my initial order, but could have figured it out if I had been thinking more. The vest is coming along nicely. I’ve worked my way through the first chart, begun the second chart, and woven in all of my ends. At nearly four hundred stitches to a round, this is taking a long time. It isn’t something I pick up and work on when I have a few spare minutes. It takes some time to sit down, get the two colors organized, find my place on the chart, and get knitting. Still, if I intend to complete this anytime soon, I need to get to it.

We Fit Knitters have been encouraged to share photos of our exercise places. I read that after I had been fitness walking at a local mall. I could have snapped a picture of my stalker. Yeah, I had a creepy guy follow me about as I walked. He first suggestively flicked his pierced tongue at me when I passed him. I thought he was with a significant other and their child. As I continued to make my way through the mall, I saw that it was just he and the little boy in a stroller. Yeah, he’s a class act. At first I thought that perhaps I was being paranoid, but after changing directions, taking shortcuts, and winding my way through a department store and still spotting him behind me each time, I knew I was being followed. About the time I was ready to seek out mall security, he decided to end his little game. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of things or scare the small child, but I was certainly not going to head out to the parking lot while this continued. This is a long-winded way of letting you know that I don’t have a picture of my exercise area for you yet.

Back At It

Long timey, no bloggy, eh? I’ve finally caught up on many things, just to find myself at a time of year when I’m never caught up on things. It looks like we might have three Thanksgivings to attend, and I think I might make a S’more pie for each. I made three of those last week for my stepdaughter. Those went to school. I have a feeling that at least one-third of my efforts went to feeding the high schoolers, rather than the teachers. I don’t mind. I just wish that I had added a bit more chocolate. I’ve never tried making three at once.

I have been knitting the Fetching a bunch lately. Unfortunately, one experiment did not work out the way I had hoped. I read the yardage on the yarn label and knew it would be a long shot. It’s not a big deal. If I want to try again with that yarn, I can just add in a stripe of another color. I’ve seen it done on other pairs of Fetching, and it looks nice. These are Christmas gifts. Too bad most of these folks need easy-care type yarn. I’ve been knitting the pairs right along, but I still need to work the thumbs. One pair has already been gifted for a November birthday earlier this month.

Speaking of the holiday gifties, I tried my hand at knitting with wire to make a beaded votive sleeve. Nope, I don’t have Handknit Holidays, so I just made it up as I went along. I like what I have created. I might like to make a few more of these, but I definitely want to give my hands a break between sessions.

Mom’s Seasonal Fair Isle Vest is coming along, but I don’t think she’ll receive it for her birthday (December 5^th), and maybe not even for Christmas. I’m past the first set of snowmen, and nearly through with the first set of snowflakes. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I may be helping her out with a crochet project. I know, I know. She came across a Leisure Arts magazine from years gone by which contains the pattern for a blanket she crocheted for my younger brother. She wants to make it again for him. She’s having a little trouble with it, and I may end up crocheting it. I’ve tried helping, but between the years since either one of us has crocheted regularly and an issue of Mom being a lefty and me being a righty, well, I think I will be crocheting this. At least it is worked with double-stranded worsted weight yarn on a large hook. It should work up pretty quickly. Maybe Mom will stick with it. I tell her that whatever she keeps doing over-and-over becomes a stitch pattern.

In the meantime, it is all baby doll knitting all the time here; at least for a few more days. It has just been decided that we will combine Thanksgiving and Kaitlyn Olivia’s 2^nd birthday celebrations on Saturday. I’ve nearly completed two little blankets. Hats and socks should be quick and easy. The dolly blankies have me feeling compelled to knit larger blankets for children. I’m sure the feeling will pass soon.

Playing Catch

No, I’m not out engaged in some athletic event, nor am I inappropriately using balls of yarn. I’m in catch-up mode. Not much was accomplished last week, even though there was much to be done. Then it was the excitement of a hospitalized husband Saturday through Tuesday evening. We’re fine. I cannot decide which sounds better and which sounds worse. I could say that they did not find any reversible ischemia, or that they just could not do anything to help. In truth, the former is truer than the latter. Not everything can be fixed. We were taken care of very well, and everyone was wonderful at the Birmingham VA Medical Center. It is an excellent facility with excellent people, and we are blessed to have it. We even had a visit from Birmingham television personality, James Spann, bearing Veteran’s Day cards drawn by students in Carbon Hill.

I knit all I could, and it helped the time to pass and worked to calm my nerves some. I was stuck in some sort of anti-progress time warp, as I do not have much to show for my efforts. I suppose I got just the right amount done to get through the experience. Knitting is a great help to me, and I thank God for it.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. I think I wrote back and thanked everyone personally, but in case I did not, here are my thanks. I will show off my treasures soon, including those acquired in Murfreesboro. I’ll also share my tales of adventure at the fiber festival.

Thank you, Stephanie!

There was never any doubt in my mind that my October Birthday Swap package would be wonderful. I could hardly wait to go to the post office this morning. As I opened the package, I was greeted by a gentle lavender scent. Everything was wrapped so beautifully. I had trouble deciding which present to open first. Of course, I read the card first. I also followed the directions and opened the other envelope last. Stephanie picked out such lovely prizes for me. Instead of a thousand words from me, I'll give you a picture of it all.

I think that gift-giving is such fun. I know I truly enjoyed picking out her presents. This has been a wonderful swap, and I am so glad that I joined. Thank you Bev, for hostessing this event for us, and thank you again, Stephanie for the wonderful gifts.

Happy Birthday

Today is my birthday! I have been having a wonderful day. You'll have to wait for the pictures of my prizes. I came home to one of those pink slips in the mailbox Saturday afternoon letting me know that my October Birthday Swap package is waiting for me at the post office. Yep, since I have to wait, so do you. I'll also tell you of my Murfreesboro adventure soon, too. For now, I think I might need some Starbucks, or maybe to go play with some of my new stuff.

Busy, busy, busy

No, not really, but time has gotten away from me, and I’ve been playing catch-up like mad. I was way behind on my bloglines. I finally managed to skim my way through. I wasn’t able to leave comments. I can see that a wonderful time was had at Rhinebeck, and fabulous fiber acquisitions were made. Part of me wishes that I could have attended, but another part tells me that I’m not quite ready for such a huge and overwhelming experience. Still, I am in need of a fabulous, fiber-filled event, and there’s something a bit closer to home that will fit the bill nicely. Saturday, October 28th, I will be attending the Harvest Days and Fiber Festival (last entry of the page) at Cannonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I believe this is their 30th Anniversary. I look forward to a great time. This is only my second time attending, and indeed, it is just my second time at a fiber festival. I have tried to save some money to maybe do a little shopping. I will pick out my birthday prizes that day, as my birthday is the 29th. I really hope to find a new spindle and some new fiber, and maybe a niddy noddy. Yes, I know I can construct a pvc one, and perhaps I will, but I still would like a nice wooden one. I suppose it’ll be one of those things where if I am trying to make a decision between a niddy noddy and some other fiber or spindle, the niddy noddy will wait.

In other spinning news, I finished plying what I have spun. The plying took longer than what I thought it would. I am glad to have received my copy of Spinning in the Old Way, to help guide me in my spinning adventures. I had finished the spinning and was ready to ply when it arrived. I set the spindle aside and read. I knew that my spinning could be improved, but I wasn’t quite sure how to improve it besides putting in the time. I have made my way through the book and have learned bunches. It is a wonderful resource. I also have Evelyn and Annette as wonderful resources. Evelyn may be slowing down, but she’s still going. She knits and spins on a budget, and has been great letting me in on little bits to keep doing the crafts we love when the dollars are quite limited. She has been my constant encourager to spin everyday. She says that she spends some time on the wheel, spindle, charkha, and with the needles each day. Annette has the information you need in one of her bags, if only she could find it. It’s written down in one of her notebooks or scribbled in the margins of a newsletter from spinning guilds both near and far away. Consequently, she might arrive to a knitting meet-up late and keep you yakking away afterwards, and I suspect she has purchased book duplicates because she doesn’t quite remember what all her library contains. They are great. I hope to be able to calm my nerves enough to spin around others. When I have tried to spin around others I get nervous, my hands sweat (not conducive to spinning), the spindle drops, and I just end up sitting quietly or go back to knitting. Also, the local spinning get together is on the second Monday night of the month at the library. I’ve been advised that I might want to avoid that area at night, and Monday nights are Skanky Knit nights, and I really hate to miss those. Anyway, as I discussed spinning with Annette and Evelyn a couple of months ago, they told me about the magic of washing the handspun. It’s like blocking. I’ve just done it, and I now have this new skein of my handspun. Not bad, eh? Yeah, I know that my spindling still needs improvement, but this is about 203 yards by my calculations. I could make something with that. I think I’ll try and spin and ply some more and turn this into the Swallowtail Shawl, or maybe I’ll just knit this into a scarf. We shall see.

So, the drop spindle is empty. I’ve got the itch. On the one hand, I want to spin up more like what I’ve already made and make it a shawl. I confess that I had an unrealistic fantasy that I would have enough to knit the Swallowtail Shawl and wear it on Saturday. The fantasy goes on in my head, and I am nonchalant as I announce that not only did I knit the shawl, but also spun the yarn, too. People are awe-struck, and I am cool. Then I step in a pile of sheep poo, and I know that the fantasy has ended. But I digress. On the other hand, I want to keep the spindle empty in case I don’t get a new spindle, but only fiber, and then I long for a cleared spindle to use the new fiber. Who knows what I will do. Until I decide, I’ve got plenty of knitting, and it’s time to exercise.

October Recap

It’s that time again, kids. That’s right, time to show you my contribution this round to Caps for a Cure. I’ve managed to finish four this time. I have a Shedir on the needles, but I’m just on round twenty-one and doubt it will be completed in time.

In purple Woolease, we have Odessa without beads and with beads it is the Black Sea Hat. This is the sixth Odessa I have knit. Whenever I want to knit a chemo cap and don’t have a pattern in mind, I knit an Odessa without beads. I like to knit some of the hats with the beads, and some without. My bead supply for hats is running low. Poor, me, I’ll have to go bead shopping soon. The next time I knit the Black Sea Hat I will knit it deeper/taller. Generally speaking, I’ve been knitting big chemo caps. It would seem that my head is a bit on the big side. I cannot go to my local mass merchandiser and pick up a floppy straw hat to shade myself from the sun. I just don’t find one to fit me. Consequently, I knit these chemo caps a bit on the large side. I know that I’m not the only one who has a head that is a bit biggish, and I want to make sure that there is an option amongst the other chemo caps that will fit. I also know that this means that there will be people who pick up one of my caps to try on and discover that it is way too big. I figure too big is better than too small.

The blue Cotton-Ease hat is Coronet. This pattern is very similar to the Cap with Turk’s Head Cuff by Charlene Schurch in her excellent book, Hats On! I knit it in honor of my uncle who has been recently diagnosed with lung cancer. It’s wrapped around a lung, spread to the liver, and also on his spine. Time is short for him; I pray he does not suffer much.

The light pink one is inspired by a hat by Judy Gibson. It isn’t quite what I was going for, so I’ll just have to keep tweaking the pattern. I should have kept notes. I liked knitting the hat top down and experimenting. I would like to be able to work it out so that I can write out the pattern and contribute that to the group. Anyway, I later steam blocked the hat some and this helped smooth things out a bit.

I need to get a mannequin head for photographing hats. I think this would help to show the hats a bit better. I know that they look better when I try them on or get someone to be my model. I may try looking at the local Sally Beauty store to try and find one of those heads.

Wired

It’s hard to believe, but up until recently, I had not knit much with mohair. I had often thought of knitting a lacy shawl with mohair, but I was a bit apprehensive. I had read the dreaded horror stories of fixing mistakes in mohair. Still, mohair enchanted me. Three balls of Kid Silk Haze sat in the stash beckoning me. Back in the spring I purchased some Crystal Palace Kid Merino on sale. I bought five balls each in two different colorways, Ultra Blues and Painted Iris. I knew that they would become shawls one day, but which, I did not know. I like to knit lace, and I like to knit shawls. My first foray into charts was the Pacific Northwest Shawl from Fiber Trends. I had longed after the shawl for quite some time before I purchased the pattern and some Emerald Jaggerspun Zephyr. It is wonderfully written, and by the time I had finished I was a chart convert. It turned out to be a pretty big shawl. I did not know of Zephyr’s bloom factor. I loved the shawl. I loved knitting it. I danced around in it. With all that love going on, you know I ended up gifting it to someone I love. I knew that one day I would have to knit it again, but for me. Several times I’ve fished out the Iris Jaggerspun Zephyr from the stash, but each time something stopped me. It might have been an attempt to rid myself of the summer blahs that prompted me to begin this shawl; I do not remember, but I finally decided to turn mohair into lace. I cast off the last stitch on Saturday night. I shoved it back in the bag and waited for Monday. The shawl was a joy to knit and looked wonderful. Ah, but once lace leaves the needles, there is still magic to be done. Yes, this magic of which I speak is blocking. I enjoy blocking lace, and I really do believe it to be a kind of magic. I have wanted a set of blocking wires for so long. Of course, every time I’ve gotten ready to buy them, I end up buying yarn instead. I always reasoned that I have gotten by with the T-pins and allowed the call of the yarn to win. I’ve heard that one can use thin welding rods as blocking wires, but whenever I ask people about their source for them, I don’t get a response. I have heard of people making their own blocking wires, so I decided to give that a go. The PNW soaked in the sink while I began my adventure. I grabbed some stainless steel jewelry wire and sat on the floor. The larger gauge wire I had seemed to be the best choice. I had trouble straightening it. I finally had about eight, eighteen inch lengths of the wire that were fairly straight when I ran out of that wire. I knew this would not be enough. I picked up the spool of lighter gauge wire. I thought it might make do until I could buy more of the heavier stuff. I snipped off a length and began straightening it. This wasn’t going to work. I took hold of my safety wire pliers, put together two lengths of the lighter gauge wire, and twisted it. Oh, my goodness, children, I had stumbled upon what I needed. I snipped, twisted, and repeated. A few minutes later I was ready. Another time I will twist up more of the lighter wires and I will also do some finishing work on the ends. Until then, behold, the Pacific Northwest. This is so cool. And, yes, I did fix the bottom point of that, but I didn't get a picture. You can see the color better in this close-up detailing some of the lace.

Sockyarn Stash Flash

After a respectful week of mourning my death, it is time to move on.
There it is, in all its glory, the sockyarn stash.

Some I bought myself, other bits were bought for me, and then there is other people’s unwanted sockyarn. There are the lonely 50g balls of sockyarn that will become socks for children or footie socks for me. I did not include all of the yarn I have that could be used to knit socks because, after all, any yarn can be turned into socks. I did, however, include some partial balls of yarn. I figure that 25g of Regia could be baby socks one day.

Do you have certain patterns planned for some of the yarns? Do you buy yarn and then choose a pattern?

I can look upon the stash and mentally (shhh…be nice) assign patterns to the various yarns. I think about the different people in my life for whom I’ll knit socks, and imagine presenting them with their handknit socks. Of course, it doesn’t always get knit up that way. This is the beauty of the sockyarn stash and of stashing sockyarn. If I purchase 100g of sockyarn, I know I can turn that into a pair of socks. They may be plain or fancy, toe-up or top-down, but I know that I won’t stare at this yarn and try and figure out just what I can do with it. The same can’t always be said about other impulse, no-plan yarn purchases. When I go through my yarn, I see purchases from back when I was new to knitting and hadn’t learned very well how to most effectively stash enhance. Sockyarn stashing is fun, easy, and nearly guilt-free.

Does a certain sock yarn you have in your stash take you back to a certain event? (where you were when you bought/received it? what was going on in your life at the time!)

Occasionally this is the case. Sometimes I remember a particular yarn sale or yarn crawl. Mostly, it is the completed socks that bring on the memories. I remember whom I knit socks for, details about the patterns, and what was going on in my life when I knit them. I know I had quite the trip down memory lane when I gathered together the small balls of leftover sockyarn for Major Knitter during March Madness. It reminded me of the Grandma’s Attic series of stories I read in my childhood. I knit socks on the go quite a bit. I suppose this is part of why they hold so many memories for me.

Death By Socks

She had just returned from the post office to mail a package for her October Birthday Swap pal, Stephanie. She had gone a bit overboard and stuffed the box with last-minute extra goodies. She was tired from all the shopping. She trudged up to the mailbox. It had been empty the two previous times she had checked it that day. She reached inside to find junk mail and a soft, squishy package. She handed the junk mail to her husband and contemplated the package. Finally, she opened it, and the contents burst forth. She battled bravely, but alas, Sarah has been killed. Before dying, she was able to subdue one of the socks with dpns. The pair is being rehabilitated. They shall serve out their remaining days warming feet.

Sarah was a noble sock warrior. Never a cold-blooded killer, she sent socks on to deserter and fellow warrior alike. She lived to see all but one of the fellow Skanky Knitters she encouraged to join the battle fall prey to deadly socks. In lieu of flowers, please donate a chemo cap to Caps for a Cure. Of course, consolation Knit Picks gift certificates will not be turned away.

Socks in the Mailbox

The last I read, my assassin had not finished knitting my socks. Still, I knew that she might not necessarily post to the world that she had fired off a pair of deadly socks to me. My day had been full of adventure, and when we pulled up to the mailbox, the Priority Mail package shocked me. I knew it must be my socks. I reached inside the mailbox, felt the squishy package, and knew that I had just been killed. Yes, it was socks. No, they were not for me. Can you believe this? My husband has been sent four pairs of socks to test. So, I’m still alive, but I think that I’ll have to wash these socks a bunch for him to do this test project.

It’s not quite all Sock Wars all the time around here. I do have a package on its way to me encouraging me to go to the mailbox each day. I’m expecting Spinning in the Old Way by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts and Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch to arrive any day now. Later on this month, I shall receive a fabulous birthday package from Stephanie, my October Birthday Swap Pal. Speaking of, I’ve been out to The Knitting Zone, and I’ve got some more prizes for Stephanie. I’ve nearly got all the goodies. There are a few more little items I want to pick up, but for now it’s time to begin working on the presentation aspect of the package. This is so much fun. I really think she’s going to like what I’ve gotten for her.

We managed to make it by the hospital just as Freda was being released. I found out this morning that Freda of the Skanky Knitters had an appendectomy. I brought her a Mini Kacha-Kacha. She had once remarked that she thought that only little old ladies used clicking counters hanging from their necks, only to discover two of us using them. I love mine and use it often. She will come to love and use hers all the time. Perhaps we will stop teasing her about this one day. Upon her release, it was determined that a trip to the Cracker Barrel was in order.

Now, I must exercise a bunch to make up for that wonderful dinner. I’ll do it after we finish watching Castaway, throughout which my husband has been tossing out helpful survival tips to Tom Hanks. I need the break. I’m still a bit sore from yesterday’s vigorous exercise dvd, Complete Aerobics and Weight Training. I think I'll do something a bit lighter today. In the meantime, I'll finish off another chemo cap. I just have to close up the top and weave in the ends.

Socknitting History

Lolly posted a questionairre so that we Socktoberists might share our personal socknitting histories. It was a nice stroll down memory lane to answer these questions.

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

I began knitting socks just a few years ago when I was a new knitter. I taught myself from the booklet Knit a Dozen Socks by Edie Eckman. I made a test sock using the Basic Sock pattern from the book using some pink worsted weight Red Heart. I made the leg and foot short because I was just practicing. I was amazed with the heel turning. It didn’t make sense as I read it, but just followed the directions, and was thrilled that it worked. When it came to work the toe, I got the numbering of the needles wrong. This means that only a twisted foot (and incredibly short, too) would have been able to wear it.

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

My first pair was the Basic Sock from the same book. They were knit from Woolease Sportweight, and they are still alive and kicking.

• What would you have done differently?

I had transferred the instep stitches on the first sock to waste yarn while turning the heel. As I was still quite new to knitting and didn’t really understand how to read my knitting, I ended up knitting all of those across the top of the foot twisted. As I got further down the foot I knew something was different about those stitches, but only later knew what I had done and how to not repeat such a mistake. I remember wearing the socks for what was probably the first time when we were visiting my husband’s Aunt Beth and Uncle Joe. In true Aunt Beth fashion, she pointed to that row of twisted stitches and asked, “What happened there?” Aunt Beth was a trip. It’s a good thing I had gotten to know her before this incident, or my feelings would have been really hurt.

• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Cherry Tree Hill is so wonderful, as is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock.

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

Yes, I do have a past as a hooker, but I never crocheted socks, and don’t think I ever will. I began knitting socks using four dpns. I usually knit socks 2-on-1 using the Magic Loop method. This is my preferred method. If I use dpns for socks now, I use five rather than four.

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

I’m a short-row gal. I had tried this type of heel, but after getting Simple Socks Plain and Fancy by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts, I was really won over. Sometimes I substitute the short-row heel in place of the flap-type. I did this with Pomatomus.

• How many pairs have you made?

I can think of at least 17 pairs, not counting all of the baby socks (I prefer making little socks to most all bootie patterns) of which I’ve probably knit a dozen pairs, and then there was also my mini sock phase, although they were never knit in pairs.

Much of my Socktoberfest has been filled with the Sock Wars. Celebrate the kill with me. I've actually killed twice. After much harrassing, I was able to get an address for my original target, Sarahkat. Although she does not appear to be participating in Sock Wars, I still sent the socks to her.

Twisted

You always knew I was twisted, didn’t you? I now confess it proudly and announce my association with those like me. Okay, so they’re not crazy like me, but we’re all dyeing to spin and knit. That’s right, I joined the Twisted Knitters Dye-Spin-Knitalong. It’s going to be quite an adventure. It begins October 2nd and runs through March. We’ll use that time to dye, spin, and knit something. Just what will that something be? I’m thinking that I’d like to spin, dye, and knit socks, a scarf, or a shawl. Some of us will dye and then spin, while others will spin and then dye. I haven’t made a decision on this one, yet. In the meantime, I’ve got to clear my spindle. I want to spin 1/8 oz more of the roving I have going and then ply that. I also need to buy fiber. As a fairly new spinner, I am still fiber deficient. There is a fiber festival in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on the 28th of October that I hope to attend. I’d love to pick up some fiber there, and maybe even a new spindle. We’ll just see what happens.

Happy Socktoberfest

It’s that time of year again, kids. It is time to honor the humble sock. Socks are so very important. If I would have been wearing socks last night, my feet would not be suffering the agony of three mosquito bites right now. What's the deal with mosquitoes feeding from my feet? That sucks more than a little bit, but I digress. I’m still alive in the land of the Sock Wars. I’ve mailed off two pairs of deadly socks, and now I wait for the postal service to determine what I do next. Now what kind of socknitter would I be if I waited on the mail to begin more socks? Ha-ha, very funny. But you know that I have stash, so I’m casting on for some new socks now. Okay, back up the train a moment. I’m actually deciding which socks to knit next. I’m thinking toe up, of course, and perhaps some sort of leaf motif. Twisted stitches or cables would be neat too, don’t you think? Maybe this is the perfect time to give Bayerische a try. Those orange and black striped knee socks in the Socktoberfest button are so cute. It has been awhile since I’ve opened up Folk Socks, and it is filled with such wonderful patterns and valuable information. I could just begin at the toes and knit up the feet, turn the heels, and then decide the patterning to go up the legs. It just goes to show you that the world of socks is endless. Okay, let’s just settle on the yarn. How about some Knitpicks Essential in Pine? Sound good to you? Groovy. Let the celebration of a thousand socks begin!

If you liked the isod...

...you'll love the isod mini. While waiting to receive deadly socks to finish or a pair that will finish me, I knit a mini ISOD. I used some perle cotton and knit up the mini sock using 24 sts. I considered using some #10 crochet cotton, working it over 12 sts, making a pair, and turning them into earrings. I may still do that. I'll turn this one into a pin and attach it to my knitting bag. I could make a bunch and start sending them along in the assassination packages. Hmmm...that's how the dead could still participate. They could knit a bunch of these mini ISOD, and everyone who participates could be sent one as a badge. They are small enough to be sent in a regular letter envelope. I may be onto something here. What do you think?

October Birthday Swap

I joined the October Birthday Swap. I’m going to have to take a pass on the next round of SP, but I still wanted to be part of an exchange, and this one is perfect for me. My partner is the new blogger, Stephanie. I have received her questionnaire for the exchange, and my mind is swirling. I have so many ideas for little gifties (and big ones, too). I like to give gifts. This is going to be fun. I look forward to sending a special birthday package to a fellow knitter with whom I share a birthday month.

Go Ahead, Laugh

It’s okay, I’m laughing, too. I’m sure it will come as no surprise to any of you to know that in spite of Yarn Monkey’s announcement that all the dossiers had been emailed, I have not received a dossier. Yeah, it’s more than a little bit funny. My original target is incommunicado. I don’t know the reasons, but it is her loss. Sock Wars rocks! She is missing out on tons of fun, and this pair of ISOD. I suppose it’s okay to post a picture of them. Maybe if I get her address, I’ll send them on to her anyway.

Because of the little interruption that Hurricane Gordon caused, we had to do our best to figure out how to proceed. We decided to assume that Sarahkat is not participating in the game, so we skipped over her. That made Scarybez my new target. I had already knit a pair of women’s US 8 ISOD. Rather than ripping back the toes and knitting the feet longer to turn that pair into a pair of women’s UK 8, I decided to cast on for a new pair. I like the way these turned out, but I cannot show them to you. As they will cause Scarybez’s death, she gets to see them before the rest of you. That’s right, kids, Aunt Sarah is a Killer!

It’s hurry up and wait time again, but I’m not in a hurry. I’m returning to the Pacific Northwest. Okay, so I’m just resuming the knitting of that shawl, but I would love to go back and visit one day. I’m down to the last chart in the body of the shawl, and then it is on to the edging.