Sockin' and Rockin'

I love learning and trying new things. Thirassia is the first pattern I have knit which was written in a language other than English. The presence of a chart made things so much easier. Still, I read through the written instructions and think I spotted an error on Vtas 13 and 15. I am more than a bit impressed with myself. Either I have forgotten less Spanish than I thought, or my knitting abilities are greater than I had imagined. This pattern led me on a learning adventure about Spanish language knitting patterns. Tejemanejes is a nifty online knitting magazine. I first discovered it when one of the Skanky Knitters shared a link to this pattern.

It is a wonderful pattern and a quick knit. It seemed to be something of a magic pattern because I am still left with quite a bit of yarn. My modifications were to knit it toe-up and I did a different ribbing at the top. I also started the first foot on Vta 1 and the second foot on Vta 9 to make mirror image socks. The yarn is Knit Picks Essential in the color Petunia. This was my first time using this yarn and I love it. Speaking of lovely Knit Picks sock yarn, I got to feel a ball of the new Risata that one of the Skanks bought. It feels quite nice.

I am honored to receive this Rockin' Girl Blogger Award from Becky. Thank you so much! I was reading right along and was quite surprised to see my name on the list.

As part of my duties, I pass the Rockin' Girl Blogger Award on to these five:

Margene I love the feel of her blog, and she has been a great inspiration to my spinning.

Laurie Her funny, offbeat stories have brightened many a day for me.

Kimberly I think it is great that she has given fitness a place of importance amongst knitters.

Mandy Her work with Caps for a Cure is one more reason she rocks.

JenLa The pictures and the stories are a great source of entertainment for me.

I may not feel very Rockin', and I feel shaky at best about my blogging skills, but I graciously accept this special distinction. Thanks again, Becky.

I am still patiently waiting for the time that I can share my surprise.

Waiting

Yesterday I returned to my so-called doctor and waited to be seen. I waited for a reason to believe that I was under the care of a competent physician. I waited in vain.

I waited in line at Hobby Lobby to purchase more beads for my MS3 (spending more on this than I thought I would). The wait would not have been so bad if I were feeling better. I almost purchased the latest Knitters magazine because it did not look too bad. I did not trust my judgment. At least I will not wait for the third clue for MS3, but that is because I am behind. I am ready to put in a lifeline and begin clue two.

It is too early to head to the theater to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so I must wait.

There is a mini skein of handspun soaking, and then it must dry. I wait some more. Will it be acceptable sock weight yarn? We will wait and see.

I waited for the pages to load over at the Hurt Book sale. I did not get any books there.

Now, I wait for something even more exciting. I am in a bit of a state of awe and disbelief.

Did I ever tell you that I do not really mind waiting? I am considered a pretty patient person. I have knitting and spinning to keep me company. Still, I am excited!

Socks and Snacks

It is good to be home. I think we were only gone for about fifty hours, we had a good time, but I am still relieved to be back. I still have much to catch up on with Bloglines, but I wanted to share a bit of my out-of-town time with all of you. This picture is more illustrative of the trip than is good for me. We do not have Dunkin' Donuts at home, and have not for years. I missed them, and we became reacquainted quickly.

I managed to visit a lovely yarn store while we were gone. I bought some Warm Wine Corriedale roving and a clearance copy of the Winter 2005 IK. I kind of wish I had picked up the bag of black diamond bamboo roving. Ah, there is always next time. Besides, I have a lot of roving already.

I am wicked behind on Mystery Stole 3. Sign-ups are closing and the second clue is about to here. No need to panic. This is lace we're talking about, not life.

Baby, Baby

I may have bought Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac specifically for this pattern. I think I would like to knit some other patterns in the book, but I know I will knit more of these sweaters. This is the first EZ pattern I have knit. Her instructions are different from others with which I am more familiar, but I made it just fine. I was unsure of how I would fare, so I just grabbed the unlabeled skein of soft, white, acrylic (leave me alone, it's a baby sweater) yarn and knit. It worked so well that I decided to cast on for another. I had the finished white sweater in my bag along with the variegated yarn when I was shopping for buttons and other fasteners. I did not find the right buttons for the first, but had buttons ready to go before I even cast on for the second. Minor mods: I changed this to completely seamless by working the sleeves in the round. Minor oops: She gives the directions for the buttonholes a bit later in the pattern and I had to fix my error. I do not know what I was thinking. I guess I was not.

I am going to see if I have enough of the Moroccan Red Cotlin left to knit one of these. It would go to one of two babies that are in process. I might also like to knit matching hats or maybe socks or booties to go along with these. I think that I have another ball of the variegated mystery yarn and could perhaps knit another set.

In other knitting news, I did not begin knitting for MS3. There is a bead issue. I may try something different. In other non-knitting news, we were missed an adventure Saturday night. Apparently, there were pigs running amok in the neighborhood wreaking havoc. We would like to have seen it, but maybe it was best that we were not here.

Dobby Socks Done

It is with much joy that I present to you a picture of this finished pair of Dobby Socks. It is unfortunate that there is still a month before I can send my Sockapalooza4 Pal her socks. She would surely have a couple of events to which she could wear them in July. Then again, she may be dressing as a hippogriff for a costume contest and these socks would be entirely inappropriate.

What a Week

With all that has happened, it seems like the last week must have had a few extra days. We had the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am doing my best to keep focus on the good, because there is little I can do about the other.

Friday, we had a wonderful, laid-back birthday celebration for my sweetheart. He thanks everyone for the birthday greetings. While the presents I purchased him did not arrive on time, most of them showed up the next day. The day was a busy and long one. It was so cute that he got excited about his birthday and could not sleep. That meant that he needed to sleep a bit during the day. This left me time to seek out medical attention for my ear infections. That is a story in itself. Add to this the fact that we kept the five-year-old nephew, and you see just how full the day was. Still, it was good.

I had packages arrive last week, too. One was expected, and one was a surprise. They both arrived on Thursday. I purchased some merino/mohair roving on eBay. I chose the purple, but they also included a small sample of a colorway they call mint julep. It is pretty stuff. My happy surprise was a package from my grandmother. She made it out to Estes with my aunt, and they picked out some cashmere, angora, pygora, alpaca/pygora blend, Regia Bamboo, and Crystal Palace Kid Merino. I am going to have a great time with this fiber and yarn. It should keep me busy for quite some time.

I've already given some of the mint julep a test spin. That was my first time working with merino or mohair, let alone, a blend. It went pretty well, but I just spun a few yards. I have some Corriedale singles ready to ply, and then I think I am ready to begin a spinning project. I think I want to have a planned project on one spindle, and I will use the other to try out different fibers. Of course, this may change. I have a couple of projects I would like to spin for now. Maybe that means I need another drop spindle. I am just kidding. I have so much, and I am thankful for it all.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday to my dear, darling, wonderful husband! I hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you.

Feeling Special

Today started early with the arrival of wonderful children. We had a good time together, and their mom was back from her doctor's appointment before we knew it. I feel special and honored to know the brand of the baby in process. It is exciting, but I will not spill the beans. I was glad to be able to be a help to a friend. She is so very thoughtful that she gave me some yarn as a Thank You. She did not need to do that. Of course, I could not turn it down, because that would be rude and crazy. I now have this lovely pile of tweedy goodness, mohair magic, and quite a mound of Manos. I already have several ideas of what it might become. This is a good sign, as the other day I had to leave the Skanky Knitters early, and could barely pick up the needles.

When I had trouble knitting, but was able to get off the floor and move toward the fiber pile, I spun. I am trying out some Corriedale. I like it, but I like the BFL better. My husband thinks Blue Faced Leicester sounds like some sort of insult. He is funny. I hope that at least some of his birthday presents arrive on time. I know that some will arrive late, perhaps very late. I guess that will make the celebrations last longer.

Fun With Learning

I am still new to spinning. I have improved from when I began, but there is still much to learn. Friday night, I learned a lesson. It is not just about spinning. I learned to be sure that the yarn I use for ties on my skein need to be checked for colorfastness, especially if I am going to give the yarn a simmer bath. FYI, the bits of Magic Garden Cotton Candy DK that I tossed into the scrap drawer after I wove in all the ends from the last Shedir I knit, yeah, they are a poor choice for this process. I had spun and plied some Blue Faced Leicester. It is lovely fiber and a joy to spin. I liked what I had spun and thought that I would spin more just like this and knit a shawl. Well, this mini skein has some stained spots from the ties, and it is all lightly colored. I was disappointed, but it is not a big deal. I may knit a little swatch with my baby skein of lace. I just did a try at checking wpi, and I think it is about 38. It was my first time trying to check wpi, and I did not give it too much effort or attention. I think I have about 70 yards of the stuff. It should make a nice-sized swatch. I need only pick out a lovely, lacy, stitch pattern to try.

My learning experiences did not end with this stained skein. Some of the Skanky Knitters are taking a class to learn to spin on a spinning wheel. They are renting wheels to practice between classes. One ran out of fiber, so I volunteered to bring her some. She let me have a go on the Majacraft. It was my first time with a spinning wheel. I thought that I would fare decently because of my experiences with the drop spindle. I thought wrong. When I began on the drop spindle, there was some emphasis on the word "drop." How I managed to achieve this same effect with a spinning wheel is beyond me. The upside is that we were able to change the bobbin, as she had filled one, and did not know how to switch it out for an empty one. I did not do well with the wheel. Still, it was nice to try it out and it was even nicer to visit my friend. It was my first time to her home and it is lovely. She is doing pretty well with the wheel. Some of the fibers I brought for her to try out worked better for her than others. It was good that she got to sample a few varieties. Still, I wish that I had brought her more of the ones that spun more easily for her. I hope I brought enough to get her through until her next class on Tuesday. I can always bring more to her on Monday night if she needs it. I suppose it is just as well that I struggled with the wheel, because it will take awhile before I can buy one. I believe that I have decided on an Ashford Traveller. Before that happens, I think we may have to buy a new refrigerator, as ours might be dying. We are going to try and see if we can perhaps repair it. We shall see what happens. Being responsible feels boring compared to the fantasy of a spinning wheel. Everything in its time, eh? Until then, there is still much to do and learn. My lovely stash will keep me company and keep me entertained. I do have some projects I would like to begin.

Festivity Blocked

This started out to be a quick knit. Then the project and the knit intersected and progress ground to a halt. I needed to be able to accurately measure the garment for shaping, but we were on the go so much. I have nearly given up my bad habit of measuring gauge swatches and other knitting on my thigh, so Festive was set aside. When I picked it back up, my enthusiasm waned briefly, but then I was making good progress and I wanted my top done so that I could wear it. I went through several changes of water as it let loose some excess red dye. Now I wait for it to dry. All that remains then, is to seam, work the collar, and sew on the snaps and frog closures (once I buy them).

Throughout the knitting of this, progress photos would not be very interesting, nor is it a thriller as it dries on a towel on the living room floor, not to mention the fact that the red in this picture is way off. I decided to take this opportunity to share a shot of my most recent chemo cap. I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and the pattern is the Vine Lace Baby Hat from Knitting Daily. The original pattern called for much smaller needles and fingering weight yarn. I think I could have gone down in needle size for this hat, and will probably do so for the next one I knit. This is a simple pattern and I think it makes a nice chemo cap. I think the combination of the heavier yarn and the openness of the lace will balance each other nicely.

Although I got the time wrong, tonight, I was still able to offer a little help to one of my Skanks who was conned into teaching a beginner’s knitting class. They said that they just needed her to walk around the kids and help if they had a problem while someone else taught. She thought she would sit in the back of the room with her current project and knit until someone dropped a stitch. Then a week before the class, she found a flyer listing her as the instructor. All of a sudden, she was on the spot, and asked the Skanky Knitters to help. Unfortunately, it did not work with most schedules. I had resisted signing up for a spinning class, or I would have been unable to assist. I was glad to be of some help.

From Socks to Sweaters

I do like my Tap Dancing yarn from Knit Picks. I am sad to say that it is discontinued. I brought this yarn out of the stash for the third round of Sock Madness. Apparently, it was not meant to become that pair of socks. After it rested amongst some other sock yarns, I retrieved it so that it might be redeemed. I knit one sock toe up through the heel turn, unsure of what patterning I would use on the leg. I began the foot of the other sock and knit on it on a Monday night. One Skank asked if it was a cast sock. You know, a sock meant to warm the toes of a foot encased in a cast. I felt a bit worried as I looked down and saw how huge it was. I had the same number of stitches as the other sock and it fit. I carried on and hoped for the best. Once the foot of the second sock was knit and the heel turned, I began the patterning on the leg. I had decreased six stitches in the ankle to accommodate the pattern. I chose Chevron from Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks. It draws in the fabric quite a bit. I knew this from past experience on a pair of socks that did not work out for me. These socks look a bit lousy off the needles, but they fit my feet. They are my illusion socks, and I love them.

Not wanting to end my time with this lovely yarn, I immediately cast on for a miniature sock to fit my keen new sock-blocker key chain. Brittany sent one for each Skank along with the Shedir she knit. I enjoyed handing them out last Monday. I did not begin on mine until after I had delivered them to the other Skanky Knitters. That just seemed fair. Anyway, is it not too cute for words? Brittany is so kind. This makes me even happier to announce that she is the winner of the Shedir contest! I will be packaging up her prizes and sending them out as soon as I can.

The Festive is nearly finished. I have most of one sleeve completed. I am making the sleeves a bit longer than they are written in the pattern. Then it is on to blocking, sewing, and frog closures. I looked at the closures at the store today, but I was unsure of which size I want to use. I will take the top to the store with me when I am done to make my final decision.

Seeing as I am so close to having a garment completed, I have left it in a pile and begun something else. I am working on the Baby Sweater on Two Needles; Practically Seamless, from Elizabehth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac. This is my first EZ pattern, and it is written a bit differently than others that I have knit. I have completed the garter-stitch yoke and have begun working the gull lace patterning. I am almost to the arms, and think I might try something different to make it seamless. EZ always encouraged us to be thinking knitters and to make our knitting our own, so it seems even more apt that I attempt to change this sweater. We shall see what happens. It may be a total wash, but that is okay. I am more than a wee bit shaky, and I think experimenting might be the best thing for me.

Wrapping Up the Round

Look what arrived in the mail the other day! Brittany knit this beautiful Shedir. I was going to wait to show it off when I could also show you the lovely gifties she sent to me and the other Skanky Knitters. Problem is, I haven't gotten to deliver the thoughtful gifts, and I do not want to spoil the surprise. Anyway, I did pretty well knitting chemo caps this round. We had two places to donate hats this time--one for children, and one for adults. Including Brittany's, I shipped sixteen hats. I guess that means it is about time to draw for the prizewinner amongst those who knit and donated a Shedir. I am excited. I also looked into sponsoring the next round and found a local cancer treatment center that would like to receive caps.

Speaking of contests, be helpful and get in on fabulous drawings over at Mandy's. She is preparing to participate in a Relay for Life event.

The smoke from the fires in Georgia and Florida made it this way. This has my head all stuffed up and my ears and throat irritated. It has also kept me inside a bit more than I would have hoped. It has kept me from getting outside and trying to capture wild animals. Each spring I try to catch, tame, and find homes for new kittens. I am rarely successful.

I am close to finishing Festive, but a picture of it would not be very exciting. I have the back, left front, and most of the right front (midway through armhole shaping) finished. I guess I need to decide whether I am going to make changes to the sleeves. It might be more trouble than it is worth. On a happier note, I believe I purchased more than a sufficient quantity of Cotlin to make this top. I may use the leftovers to knit a baby sweater. I am itching to try the baby sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac. There is a crop of new babies growing, and I think I might like to knit this for some of them.

And the Answer...

...is Dobby Socks! My mind was so focused on these that I was sure someone would have guessed. Here is the beginning of my Pal's socks. I want to finish and block these socks. Colorwork always looks better after blocking. Working the Golden Snitches was a bit fiddly, but I was through with them before I knew it. I hope the broomsticks turn out well. I hope to knit more of these socks. Maybe I will make a pair for myself to wear to the movie and book parties in July. Now I am wishing that the Sockapalooza4 mailing date could be July 2 instead of August 2.

Sockapalooza Yarn

The pattern has been chosen. The needles are ready and waiting. Now, all the yarn is gathered together and ready to jump on the needles. Do you know which pattern I'm using? I told some people Saturday at the yarn store. It was nice to let out the secret. I've never knit it before, and I am trying several new things with these socks. If they turn out the way I hope, these shall be spectacular.

Sale Day Adventures

A local yarn store has a sale each May for their anniversary. Sometimes I attend, but other times I do not. Several of the Skanky Knitters had planned an outing to the sale. They began at Starbucks and then proceeded to the store. I have had a hankering for some Starbucks. Friday night was not a good one, and sleep was difficult.

When I woke up Saturday morning and saw that I would miss meeting everyone for coffee I thought I would just stay home. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. It just was not going to happen. I went to the store with a budget and an idea of what I wanted. My plan was fiber (if it was included in the sale), Plymouth Dreambaby DK for Chemo Caps, and maybe some sock yarn. I was unsure if the fiber was on sale. Since it was, my fibery splurge was the Lorna’s Laces Combed Wool Top in Purple Club. I also picked up a bag of Blue Faced Leicester and one of Corriedale. I tried BFL for the first time on Friday night and fell in love. Since there was only one bag left, I grabbed it up at once. I do not have any Corriedale, but decided that this was a great time to pick some up to try. Then I made my way over to the Dreambaby. As it turns out, I chose the same three colors one of my fellow Skanky Knitters purchased. Of course, he will be using his for weaving, but I thought it was nifty that we picked out the same colors. Then I turned the corner to face the sock yarn. Aloud, I asked whether I really needed more sock yarn. JJ began the list of questions that either help to enable or curb a yarn purchase. One skein of Trekking XXL caught my eye immediately, and I picked it up. There was a similar ball of Trekking Pro Natura, but I put it back and got in line. We kept each other strong by continuing a conversation and turning our backs on the wall of Koigu. We paid, and I was off to the movies to see Shrek the Third with my sister and nephew. It was a good day.

Another Star on My Chart

I finally finished my latest Shedir. Whenever I knit this hat, there is a point where my progress seems to stall. I continue working on it, and the next thing I know, I am zooming on to the end. I used Magic Garden Cotton Candy Baby DK. This is from a bag of yarn given to me years ago by a friend who was cleaning out her stash in preparation for a move. This was my first time using this yarn. It is a machine washable, 70/30 cotton/wool blend. It is soft and was nice to knit with, and I think it is a great choice for this chemo cap. I was disappointed that several times they had knotted together ends to continue the ball of yarn. That is one of my yarn pet peeves. Still, it is not such a big deal in the scheme of things.

So, how is your Shedir coming along? I have it on good authority that there is one headed my way already. There is still time. I am getting ready to package together the prizes.

Speaking of prizes, I will be sending out a little something to Becky, who spotted the mystery knit under my Arwen. I am sad to say that no one was able to correctly identify what I was wearing as the Ballet Camisole that I swatched and blogged about last year. It was a bit of a bugger to finish. I had to rip out the beginning (not easy to do) because I messed up where I joined in the second ball of yarn. The top sat for months while I figured out how I would fix the unsightly mess. I carefully put in needles and frogged the first few inches and re-knit the bottom and ribbing. Weaving in the ends with this yarn is a major pain. It is hard to do so invisibly. I have been unable to get a decent picture of it. After that, crocheting around the neckline and armholes was a breeze. I might not ever buy this lovely, silky, cool, and wonderful yarn again. I know that I am not rushing to knit something with the leftovers.

Happy Mother's Day

I was finally able to give this to Mom. This may be too warm for her to ever wear. This is okay because she knows the love and dedication I put into this, and appreciates it and its beauty.

Home Alone

I have a greater appreciation for the quiet life we have. Our houseguest has moved on to the next leg of his journey, and now it is just the two of us. Still, we are glad to have had him down, especially since his health is not as we had expected. We had quite a time, and really enjoyed the wedding we all attended at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville. No matter how wonderful a trip is, or how great a houseguest is, I am always relieved for things to return to the relative normal that is our life.

Before we headed off for Tennessee, I took a moment for myself to pick up a few knitting accessories. I experienced a happy surprise when I was able to purchase a new book at a nice discount. I love Sensational Knitted Socks, and More Sensational Knitted Socks might be even better. Ms. Schurch includes a chart of shoe sizes and widths with foot measurements in men's, women's, and children's sizes. She addresses issues of wide feet (the ball of my foot is quite wide), narrow heels, odd and even stitch counts on the heel and instep, and more. The stitchionary is great, too. This book is a wonderful resource. I know I will use it often as I knit socks. I hope it helps me to knit socks that fit even better. I will definitely be incorporating some of the things I have read in my latest pair of socks. It is another toe-up pair.

I am pretty sure that I have figured out what pattern I will use to knit for my Sockapalooza Pal. I am straying a bit from her two favorite colors. Instead, I am knitting socks which fit with one of her great loves. I am debating whether to show them here on the blog. I feel like they are such a great match with her, that if she were to see them here, she would know right away that they are for her.

So far, I have not received a single guess on the mystery tidbit from my last post. Maybe it is a bit more difficult to figure out than I had thought. I will give you all a bit more time to investigate. Since it might require a bit more work to find the answer, I have added more to the prizes. Speaking of prizes, I look forward to awarding them for the Shedir contest. You have until the end of the month.

Arwenagain

I have had some questions about how I changed the pattern to make my Arwen without a hood, and have received requests for extra photos. I am always happy to oblige, so I arranged another photo shoot. This time I braved the weather and went outside. A tiny token to whomever spots and identifies the bonus surprise.

First, however, I will tell you about my modification to make my Arwen without a hood. It was not a difficult modification. I was not sure just what I was going to do when it came time to shape the shoulder, so I followed along the directions and had my stitches for the center front in waiting on a holder. When I finished with all the other knitting of the sweater, I had decided upon an i-cord neckline. I went back and bound off the stitches on the holders. I sewed blocked and sewed everything together. After I had finished the shoulder seaming, I grabbed my dpns, and worked a three-stitch i-cord around the neckline, using a k2tog to attach as I knit. I confess that I grabbed the wrong size dpns and was nearly strangled when I tried it on the first time. It was no trouble to rip it out and work it with the correct needles. I like what I created here and the way it gave shape and structure to the neckline.

And now, to the pictures. First, we have a picture of Arwen without me. Then we have a close-up of the cabling, including a picture of some mystery cashmere/silk gift yarn. Did I ever mention that my Skanky Knitters are the best? Next, we have a couple of pictures of me wearing Arwen. These are better representations of the way Arwen looks on me. I like the way the cabling folds back naturally at the top. I do love this sweater. It is beautiful, comfortable, and an interesting knit. I enjoyed knitting it. It has inspired me to make more sweaters.

I am not getting nearly as much knitting done as I would like this week. We have a houseguest in from out-of-town. It has been an experience. Still, there have been some opportunities with the needles, and I have completed the back of my Festive and am nearly halfway through with the left front. I am considering making the sleeves a wee bit longer. The need to measure Festive makes it less suitable for on the go and in the car knitting. I need to get some socks on the needles. I have a couple of ideas of patterns and yarns to use. Whichever I choose, they are both suitable for relatively mindless knitting. I need that kind of knitting.

Speaking of socks, I have been stalking my Sockapalooza pal's blog to determine the right pattern for her. I am close to making a decision on yarn and colors. The introductions over on the Sockapalooza blog have been overwhelming. We have 1006 participants from 26 countries. I have clicked so many links, seen so many great things, and cannot remember where they all were.

While Sockapalooza has many participants, Sock Madness is down to the Final Four. The pattern will be released sometime today. This pattern sounds like it could be quite challenging. We have already been told that it is Fair Isle. It also seems like gauge could be deadly and difficult.

Timely Finish

It is nearly ninety degrees today. This means that I finished a wool sweater. It also means that you have to settle for this lousy indoor photo. Yes, I finished my Arwen. I knit this without the hood. Instead, I worked i-cord around the neckline. I like the way it turned out, but I was worried. The unique construction of the sweater made it difficult to see if I had knit the correct size for me until I had finished sewing it together. It will be a wonderful sweater to wear. However, it will be waiting quite some time to get much use. I enjoyed knitting this well enough that I could possibly knit another one some day. I knit this using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in the color Hyacinth. I used my Knit Picks Options. The lovely points on those needles made cabling without a cable needle easy. I really do like this cardigan, and I might knit this again in a cooler fiber so that I can wear one in warmer weather, too.

Mad Prizes

SockMadnessPrizeYarn
Originally uploaded by sarahknits.

It was another wonderful day at the mailbox. My Sock Madness prize package arrived. Thank you so much, Hillary and Felicia! Everything was packaged so nicely. This 100% Blue Faced Leicester yarn is so beautiful and soft. The stitch markers are gorgeous. I brought the chocolate to a family gathering to share and we all loved it. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Sock Madness. It has been such a fun experience. I can't wait to see the remaining patterns. Round 5 begins on Friday. Best of luck to the Elite Eight!

A Case of Mad Cows

Check out these peachy keen Mad Cows I won! They fit me wonderfully and I love them. Thank you so much, Stephania! I don't recall which day they arrived, but I was so excited when they did.

You remember that achy back of last weekend? It got worse. I spent Monday evening at the ER and left loopier than I have ever been. They shot me in the behind and gave me an assortment of pills. The last week is a bit of a blur. I did not get much done, and should have attempted even less. My advice to everyone: Seam Sober! I somehow thought it was a good idea to sew my Arwen after taking those silly pills. Now I must undo those seams before I make another attempt to put my Arwen together. Anyway, I am way behind on everything. I'll get caught up eventually.

Long Weekend

The weekend seems to have dragged on forever, but I did not accomplish much of what I had hoped to do. I had hoped to finish knitting Arwen. It was not to be. I put in a good bit of time on it, but ripping out those twelve rows set me back more than a bit. I have made it to the point where I am just knitting back and forth on the long sleeve rows. Then it is the complementing set of short-rows, and I am nearly through. I am not knitting the hood on this because I do not want one. I have also lengthened the cardigan a bit. I was not sure how much longer I would make it when I finished the back. I did not bind-off the back in case I need to knit more or rip back some. I will probably knit on Arwen after I finish writing this.

Completion of my cardigan is not the only thing I was unable to do this weekend. I missed a birthday celebration of one of the Skanky Knitters on Saturday. Weather was lousy. The wind blew, the rain poured down, and the thunder rumbled. We did not even turn on the computer until Saturday evening. It would have been a good time to knit furiously on Sock Madness socks, but I would have been rattled to not be able to obsessively check the competitors' progress. In this way, it was a relief to have been knocked out of play. Still, the weather was not all that stopped me from participating in the festivities. What has given me the biggest grief this weekend has been my back. It has not been as bad as other times, but it has seemed that at any moment I could be in big trouble. I spent much of the weekend brewing herbal tea to help warm me while I applied cold packs to my back. Once or twice, I was able to stretch my back using my stability ball. If I had felt a bit stronger, I would have done a gentle, beginner yoga dvd. However, I could tell that I was not up to it, so as I worked to achieve the proper balance of not sitting, lying, or standing for too long, I knit. After I had done as much Arwen as I could stand, I knit a new chemo cap.

I used a stitch pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. I knit this hat using Plymouth Dreambaby DK. I love this hat. It is soft and stretchy. I think it will be a good fit for just about anyone. I can see myself knitting more of these. I am unsure of my next hat pattern. Maybe I will choose another stitch pattern from this book.

I have been flipping through many sock patterns lately. I am in search of inspiration. I will be engaging in some super-secret knitting soon. I have joined Sockapalooza 4. This is my first time participating in Sockapalooza. I hope to do well and not be a Sockapaloozer. We will get our matches soon. Then I will do more research, and begin knitting. I want to complete these well ahead of the deadline just in case life happens later. I also have some more super-secret knitting to begin. It is unlikely that the intended recipients read this blog, but I will not show you until much later, just in case.

Because I am preparing to knit so much for others, I must definitely have some things on the needles for myself. I have Arwen near the finish line. It will be a race to see if I can finish her before the weather turns so blazingly hot that I cannot wear her. For warmer weather wearing, I have Festive on the needles. I am knitting this top in Cotlin in the Moroccan Red color. It seems that many people are interested in this yarn. I want to finish this shirt and wear it so I can share more of my experiences with this yarn with all of you. So far, I give this yarn a positive score. I liked knitting with it when I used it last month to knit an Odessa. It held up well to the abuse of the beads. There is not much point in taking a picture of the knit at this point. I am working my way up the back. I have worked the waist decreases and am now increasing again. The fronts will be interesting to knit. If I follow the pattern as written, I will be knitting the seed stitch bands using smaller needles at the same time as I knit the stockinette portions on larger needles. I think my Balene II dpns will work perfectly for this. I may knit the sleeves a wee bit longer than what is written in the pattern. My greatest worry for this shirt is that I did not choose the right size. It will not be such an ordeal if I need to rip the whole thing out and knit it again, but I would rather get it right the first time.

Share a Shedir

Shedir is the most beautiful chemo cap I have knit. I would knit this pattern for a loved one. I think it is very special, and I love including it in the rotation of patterns I knit for Caps for a Cure. In fact, here are some pictures of my latest that I neglected to include in my last post. I knit this one using Sinfonia. It is a 100% mercerized cotton yarn. I liked using it, and love that it is a readily-available, economical option.

I could go on and on about the ways I adore this hat, but instead I will get to the point of this post. I would like to challenge you to knit a Shedir to be donated to Caps for a Cure. Knitting this hat makes you feel like a Knitter with a capital K. It is a bit more complex than other hats I have knit, but the pattern has clear, well-written instructions. In conjunction with the challenge, I am offering prize-y goodness. I have been compiling goodies for this, and I think you will be pleased. Not only can you have the good feelings from knitting a challenging pattern and donating it to a worthy cause, you could be a winner. So, go ahead and knit a Shedir. You can send it to me or directly to the sponsored center. This round goes until the end of May. Just email me when you finish knitting your Shedir, and I will send you the details.

Eeew! Stinky

These are the words of my niece. She would be making this declaration if she were here. Right now, my home is definitely stinky. The odor of hard-boiled eggs and vinegar lingers. I am thankful that we dyed only the eggs. My nephew did a great job. He is a bit disappointed by the fact that his creations will be cracked open and eaten. The next strike against these eggs is that they are filled with egg, rather than candy. He assures me that he has a stash of plastic eggs ready for candy. I wonder if my sister knows about them.

I have a long overdue fo waiting for better weather to show you. I have begun something in Cotlin. Arwen is about have long rows again as it is time to add the sleeve. I could actually finish her soon. I will fill you in with some more details. Oh, and before I forget, I have another Shedir completed. I have some ideas about more of those. Do not be too afraid. It is something good.

Madness the Third

Kristi’s birthday coincided with the release of the Round 3 pattern for Sock Madness. She posted the photo of her completed socks about twelve hours after we received the pattern. Quite a fast knitter has knocked me out of the competition. Perhaps this is proof that the birthday wish is powerful.

I will admit to feeling a bit bummed. Sock Madness was fun. At least I was brought back down to earth, and no longer feel the need to sign up for the 52 Pair Plunge. I suppose it is just as well. I told the Skanks that this pattern makes my ankles look fat. I do not know if this is true, or if my mind is just trying to find ways to cope with my failure. Don’t worry kids; I am okay. I can now move on to the next adventure, whatever it might be. Still, I may need to frog the socks for therapeutic purposes. I also have the rest of the patterns to look forward to without the strain of competition. I might not have been ready for the pressure. I am still glad that I joined in on the game, though. Best of luck to the remaining competitors!

Too Twisted for Words

We have reached the end of the Twisted Knitters Dye Spin Knitalong. It has been quite an adventure. I did not engage in the dyeing portion of the adventure. Instead, I used dyed roving to spin and knit a shawl. I began with a bag of fluff. Then I spun and plied and spun and plied. I ended up with my two skeins of yarn. It took me a long time to spin it all. I have read more about plying and color and how to achieve different yarn. Of course, I am a beginner. I have learned as I have gone along. This explains a bit why when I laid out my two skeins to photograph them I saw such different yarn. I admit that I was quite disheartened. I pressed on towards my goal of knitting a shawl from my handspun.

I decided to knit the Shetland Triangle. To compensate for the differences in the two skeins, I alternated rows from each ball of yarn. It worked. I knit two additional repeats of the main pattern before working the edging. I had nearly used every bit of my yarn. This is what I wanted, though I did have some stressful moments as I bound off the shawl. Then I looked at it in its unblocked state and felt a bit ill. I did not care for it one bit. My husband loved it. He especially liked the back with all of its bumpy texture. While it was nice that he could see beauty in what I had done, I was still disappointed. I told myself that no matter what I ended up with, it would be a special shawl. I put the shawl in the sudsy water and walked away. Then it was on to the clean water. I carefully lifted it out and pressed out the excess water. I spread out towels and got down on my hands and knees with the blocking wires, pins, and tape measure. Blocking really is magic.

It's Madtini Time

I made it to Round 3 of Sock Madness! Sorry to knock you out, Sandy. I had another fast finish. I barely slept, just enough so that I could knit again. If I had slept more than three hours the night before, I might have been able to knit straight through. Once I got up and began knitting again, I obsessively checked the Flickr group. I had to limit myself to refreshing the page no more than every five minutes. Therefore, I timed myself against the clock on the computer and kept making predictions as to the time I would finish. I had a small moment of panic when I realized I had gone straight from knitting the heel flap to picking up the gusset stitches without turning the heel. I remedied this error quickly and knit on as fast as I could. When I finished knitting, kitchenered, and wove in the ends, I grabbed the camera, went outside, leaned back, put my feet in the air, and took the picture. I rushed back inside with a promise to the cats that I would feed them once I posted my picture. I was so nervous as I uploaded and then sent my email.

I like this pattern and these socks. I knit them using some of my precious Wool Ease Sportweight (discontinued) in the Autumn colorway. It was odd to use these colors when spring is all around and the temperature reached the eighties. I will knit this pattern again, but I will not use sport weight yarn next time.

I need a few days to rest before the next round. I wonder whom I will go up against next. I also wonder what the next pattern will be.

Head to Toe

I am getting ready to box up the chemo caps for this round. I messed up and missed mailing deadlines for the furry caps, so some will go to Caps for a Cure. I will save more for other rounds. I knit a simple cap from some Bernat Handicrafter, but none of my pictures turned out well. Today I am showing off my seventh Odessa. This might be my favorite pattern for chemo caps. I have knit them both with and without beads. For this one, I used the new yarn, Cotlin, from Knit Picks in Fiesta Pink. I like this yarn. The only negative I can offer is that there were some linen bits I felt the need to pluck out as I knit, but they really were not a big deal. The yarn is soft, pleasant to knit with, and can be tossed in the washer and dryer. I believe it will be great for more chemo caps, especially in the summer months and when we donate to a group located in a warm climate. I want to knit at least one more chemo cap before I package up this round's contribution and go to the post office.

As promised, here are my Traveler's Stockings. I do love these socks. I wish this photo showed the color as well as my other progress photo did. I even waited for a nice, sunny day. I am in the midst of the Sock Madness, but perhaps after that ends, I will begin another pair of socks from Knitting on the Road. I do enjoy flipping through it just to look. I can hardly believe this is my first pair from the book.

One Round Down

I made it through the first round of Sock Madness. The pattern for Round One is called Mad Cow Socks. I knit this pair in less than twenty-four hours through stresses I gladly admit I am already beginning to forget. It is nothing worth mentioning, especially when I consider one of my fellow participants persevered through medical messes. Still, it was a stressful weekend for me, and I am glad to have had knitting to see me through it. It is also nice to have the self-imposed strain of a knitting competition. It is fun, and beats the real-life stuff. It reminds me of soap operas. There is no need to take it seriously. I am quite pleased with the pleasant way people are conducting themselves in this event. Helpfulness and encouragement abound.

I finished plying, skeined, and the new yarn is soaking. After it dries and I check my yardage, it will be time to decide on a pattern. I am trying to choose between the Swallowtail Shawl from Fall 06 IK and Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style. My yardage may be the determining factor. If you have any thoughts, please, feel free to share.

It's a Ply, I Tell Ya

However, it's just a single ply. I finally wound the spun single from my drop spindle into a center-pull ball. I used my ball winder. I also used my super amazing shoebox creation. I cut some holes in a shoebox and used that to hold the drop spindle so I could wind. I need to make a small modification to the box, and then maybe I might even decorate it. I transferred the cake of wool to the nostepinne. I will ply from the nostepinne, just as if I did the first half of this project. Then I will wind, skein, tie, and wash. Maybe I'll skein straight from the drop spindle.

My latest Knit Picks order has arrived. I have such plans for much of the yarn. A niece will be spending a weekend with us for the sole purpose of knitting. She wants to knit a felted purse. She wants turquoise with lime green fun fur accents. We will have to carry her wool to a craft store to select the fun fur. The King of One Skein Knitting (of the Skanky Knitters) wanted some sheepy note cards and one skein each of Moroccan Red and Key Lime Cotlin, and I have set those aside for him. I think I'll also give him a new Chibi, as his has gone missing.

I also purchased some more sock yarn, just because. That is not completely true. I have the beginnings of Sock Madness on Saturday. We shall see how long I last in that adventure. There are already some people panicking and complaining. It would appear some did not read all of the information, or misunderstood what they had read. For the first round we need two, 50g balls of fingering weight yarn. It is recommended that one ball be solid and the other variegated. That being said, you can choose two different solid colors or two different variegated yarns. I believe I will be using a couple of lonely, lovely skeins of Lorna's Laces that have sat in the stash waiting for such an opportunity. I had picked up one variegated skein from a clearance bin, and a friend gave me the solid as part of her stash reduction. Now, I hate to think of knitters being upset and giving up, but if it increases my chances of winning the lovely prizes, well, perhaps they can soothe themselves with wool fumes. It's a game, kids; relax.

In preparation for the big event, I have finished my Traveler's Stockings. I'll show them off later. My husband thinks they are the best pair of socks I have knit so far. This means my sock needles are all empty. I think I will go ply, or knit on Arwen for a bit.

Travels with the Traveler's

The heels are turned on both of my Traveler's Stockings. I finished turning the heel on this one while my husband was test-driving cars. I had been knitting away, semi-conscious, when he asked if we had passed the Toyota dealership. We were on our way home and still had about two more hours to drive. I had no idea where the car lot he sought was located. We passed it, took the scenic route, and arrived. I stayed in the car hoping to get in some more knitting or a much needed nap. I require more sleep each night than the half-hour I had gotten the previous night. Sleep was not going to happen, so I knit. When the heel was turned, but I was not ready to put both socks on the circ together, I decided to stick my foot out the window and take pictures. I would like to finish the pair this week so that the needles are cleared for Sock Madness. This ought to be a good week. My Knit Picks order has shipped and they predict it will arrive by Friday. I won (their word, not mine, but don't get me started) a new drop spindle on eBay yesterday. I think it is reasonable to expect to receive it sometime this week, too. Also, on the spinning front, I finished spinning that last bit of fluff. Maybe I will get it plied this week.

Secrets

Margene's third blogging birthday is here. I went to wish her well and saw that she is having a contest. I have enjoyed reading all the little and big secrets that people have shared. All day long, various secrets have been running through my head. It is another round of the familiar blogging-balancing act. The post also has that old Conan O'Brien Celebrity Secrets bit running through my head. It has provided comic relief for some of the blechy feelings I have when I think about other secrets.

My love of ice cream is not a secret. That means I will be one of those crazy pajama people pursuing free ice cream this weekend. I am spreading the word about this to everyone I can think to tell. If the predicted bad weather does not get us, we will be eating free ice cream in our jammies.

Just a little more fluff to go.