So I Lied

...about those pictures of the sock. I decided to block it instead, and then of course I didn't want to put it on. Instead, some spinning:



It's hard to see here, but this is actually 2 different natural colors plied together. This story would be a whole lot better if I remembered any actual information (or wasn't too lazy to go check), but the only thing I can remember about it is that one sheep is named Sarah and the other Coco. I bought 8 oz. of each color, spun them separately (I still have 4 oz. of one color to do), then plied them.

I thought about making a 3-ply, starting with all three the same color and changing one at a time till all three were the other color, but now that the color differences are so subtle, I'm glad I didn't--it would have been a lot of calculation and weighing for something that didn't even show in the end.

I used the woolee winder (and accompanying bobbin) for most of it, and the skein is huge in comparison to the skeins from original Lendrum bobbins--there's room for so much more yarn on the woollee winder bobbins!

I ripped out the sweater (just a partial sleeve) from the last post (the one I wasn't sure I'd blogged about before). The construction I'd imagined seemed like a good idea in theory, but once I got going I decided it would look sloppy. And as a break from small needles I started a felted basket/bowl. Or bunny bed.

Bunny!

Kevin does like the bunny now that he's seen her nose (and since she hasn't chewed on anything yet, AND doesn't recoil in panic when you look in her general direction... Previous Bunny was a little skittish).



How could you not like that nose?



I am sort of leaning towards Muppet (or maybe Moppet? Conveniently shortens to Mopsy!), because her ears are kind of muppet-y. The one small problem with this is that I didn't actually watch the muppets. So instead of thinking of the real muppets, I think of the year my elementary school class put on a play in which the muppets were on General Hospital (scarily, several of the girls in my class watched General Hospital in elementary school).

I was a chicken, and the boy I had a crush on was the Swedish Chef. The stage was set for him to fall madly in love with me, naturally, except that my wings weren't as good as the other chickens' wings. They (or, I suspect, their parents) cut out big wing shapes from cardstock (two for each arm) , stapled the edges together (leaving one side open), glued paper feathers on the outside, then stuck their arms inside and flapped around. I cut out feather shapes and scotch-taped them to the sleeves of a white cardigan--every time I moved my arms I nearly molted as the tape pulled away from the sweater.

(Next time, I swear I will actually write about knitting! I finished the first sock--the pattern is going to be available, Karen, both here and linked to the Brooklyn Handspun store--and am inching along on the sleeves and upper bodice of a summer sweater which I may or may not have mentioned before, and I still need to take better pictures of the shawl... which I brought to the CT sheep and wool festival but didn't actually wear since it was pretty warm. Also, in non-knitting news, I am so, so, so glad that I did my LAST! LONG! RUN! before the marathon yesterday, because it is gross and chilly and rainy today. And I learned to erg, in preparation for learning to row, on Saturday and did not make a complete fool of myself!)

I Only Bought a Little Fiber...

But look! It came with bunny attached!



(I still haven't picked a name for her. Ideas? Hassenpfeffer has already been rejected.)

Let's Pretend

...that this is the same color as my previous sock pix, okay?



(That's what you get for taking camera-phone pictures inside!)

This is the new and improved pattern, without the gigantic invisible problems from the last version. I had an essay to read (for work), so I took a longer lunch than usual and read and knit at the same time, and have partly turned the heel. It's toe-up, and I'd usually do a short-row heel, but I'm trying a modified Cat Bordhi-style toe-up heel from New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I say modified because I put my increases in the usual place, and because I don't have the book with me so I'm making up my own numbers, not following a master pattern. I can always revert to a short-row heel, but it seems to be working so far.

RIP

I couldn't help myself:



I kept staring at the sock for the rest of the day, and finally ripped it back late last night (always a good idea!). I do like the stitch pattern, but I think it will work better with a slightly fuzzier yarn. This is Signature, which has very tight twist, and amazing stitch definition--I think I'd like the rib pattern better in a yarn with a little less definition.

I was telling Kevin that even though you guys thought it looked good, there were gigantic, unbearable problems that just weren't visible in a picture. My argument was slightly undermined when he pointed out that he'd seen it in person (as did Annie), and not seen these supposedly gigantic, unbrearable problems (neither did Annie), but I stand by it anyway: I needed to rip due to gigantic, unbearable, invisible problems.

I tried a bunch of other patterns without liking them either, but I think I've finally found one that might work. Maybe. Unless I decide to switch back to the ribs and eyelets, with some kind of invisible modification to fix the invisible problem.

Possible Sock

So, here's how the socks for Brooklyn Handspun are coming along:



I'm about ready to start the shaping for the heel, but I'm suddenly not sure about the stitch pattern.

I wonder if I might like it better if the eyelets were simpler--maybe just one loop (small? big?), instead of a figure 8? Or maybe different decreases? Although now that I'm looking at the picture again, maybe I'm obsessing over nothing?

(There are a couple more pictures in flickr, if you'd like to obsess with me--just follow the link in the picture.)

Changes

You may or may not have seen the post on Ravelry, but The Garter Belt has been having problems for the last year and a half--I haven't posted about it because I hoped things would work out, but it looks like they won't. I'm disappointed, and I'll miss working with everyone, but maybe it'll be the push I need to explore other directions, design-wise.

In any case, I think I've successfully updated all the links on my sidebar (that's why I posted all the patterns earlier) and the Ravelry links. We're still working out how to keep the patterns together in Ravelry, and I haven't worked out how to link to free Ravelry patterns for non-Ravelry users, so School Picture and Seaweed socks are temporarily unavailable here (if you were planning to knit them this second, leave a comment and I'll send you a PDF!).

And now I need to go to bed... I'm getting a cold and Kevin has decided I need to get 8-9 hours of sleep every night between now and the marathon!

Picot Cardigan

I wear sweaters to work all winter, but I have a hard time getting dressed once summer comes.

Maybe this will help: short, loose sleeves, an open front (although you could add a dramatic button), and mostly cotton yarn. Simple waist shaping and picot-edged hems at elbow, waist and neck finish it off.



Size:
XS [S, M, L, XL]
To fit: 34-35 [36-37, 38-39, 40-41, 42-43] inch bust

Finished Measurements:
Chest: 37.5 [39.5, 41, 43, 45] inches
Length: 20 [21, 22, 23, 24] inches

(shown in size XS on 35 inch bust)

Materials and Supplies:
Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere [85% cotton, 15% cashmere 103 yds per 50 g skein]: 9 [10, 11, 12, 13] skeins
1 set US #7, 4.5mm double-point needles
1 US #7, 4.5mm circular needles
tapestry needle

Gauge: 17 sts/24 rows = 4" in stst

Price: $6.00

Purchase a PDF via Ravelry here or from my Etsy shop.

Mary's Shawl

This triangular shawl starts with just five stitches at the center back neck and grows out to deep scalloped points along the lower two edges. The main stitch pattern is number 42, from Knitting Lace: A Workshop with Patterns and Projects, by Susanna E. Lewis. It’s large enough to keep your shoulders warm, but small enough not to overwhelm a non-shawl wearer.



Difficulty: Intermediate

Finished Measurements:
Width (across the longest side): 48 inches
Length (from center to point): 24 inches

Materials:
About 350 yards sock weight yarn [sample is knit from about ¾ skein of Schaefer Anne (60% superwash merino wool, 25% mohair, 15% nylon; 560 yds/4 oz. skein)]
US size 6/4 mm 24-inch circular needle
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers

Gauge: Not crucial for lace; select a needle which produces fabric you like, and creates good contrast between YOs and stitches.

Price: $4.00

Purchase a PDF via Ravelry here or from my Etsy shop.

Lacy Cable Socks

As the queen of pooling, I love how slipped stitch patterns mix up the colors in hand-dyed yarn. This pattern, which combines a 2-stitch cable with a faux cable with a tiny eyelet in the center, swirls the colors a bit and makes a nice stretchy fabric to boot.

The socks are knit cuff-down, with a heel flap and gussets. The directions are ”needle-neutral,” relying on two stitch markers rather than the arrangement of the stitches to explain turning the heel and forming the toe. I used the magic loop technique, but two circs or a set of DPNs would work just as well.



Difficulty: Intermediate

Size: To fit an average woman’s foot

Finished Measurements:
Circumference: 6 inches unstretched, easily stretches up to 9.5 inches
Foot length: adjustable
Leg height: adjustable

Materials:
About 350 yards of Schaefer Yarn Co. “Anne” (560 yards/ 4 oz. ball. Anne is produced in one of a kind colorways.)
US size 1.5/2.5 mm 40-inch circular needle OR set of 4 or 5 double pointed needles OR 2 circular needles
Darning needle
2 stitch markers

Gauge: 36 sts/44 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Price: $4.00

Purchase a PDF via Ravelry here or from my Etsy shop.

Keyhole Cable Socks

It’s hard to know how much you can cable sock cuffs without losing much needed stretch. These stay stretchy, but if you’re worried, the magic loop technique lets you try these on as you go, avoiding unpleasant surprises after the bind off.



Difficulty: Intermediate

Size: To fit an average woman’s foot

Finished Measurements: Circumference: 7 inches unstretched/8-9 inches stretched

Materials:
Hill County Yarns Sweet Feet Sock Yarn, 400 yds/4 oz. skein. 1 skein.
Set of US size 2, 2.75 mm circular needle, 36 inches or longer (for magic loop technique)
Darning needle

Gauge: 36 sts/40 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Purchase a PDF via Ravelry here or from my Etsy Shop.

ISO Socks

I have a knack for casting on the exact number of stitches to make hand-dyed yarn pool (hey, everyone needs a superpower, right?), so I’m always on the lookout for ways to break up the color repeats. The tuck stitch caught my eye, but in the round, all of the rows would purled, and I’m not willing to purl an entire pair of socks. And then it hit me: make the socks inside out, so they’re mostly knit, then turn them right side at the end. I peeked inside some handmade socks: a toe-up, figure-eight cast-on looked great from the inside, and so did an after-thought heel.



The 4-stitch repeat means that the pattern is easy to memorize, and that the sock’s circumference is easy to adjust: just work the toe increases more or fewer times, keeping a multiple of four.

Difficulty
Intermediate

Size: To fit an average woman’s foot

Finished Measurements: 8 inches (circumference, unstretched)

Materials:
Schaefer Yarn Co. “Anne” 560 yards/ 4 oz. ball. 1 ball. Anne is produced in one of a kind colorways.

Set of US size 1, 2.25 mm double pointed needles
Darning needle
Scrap yarn of similar weight in contrasting color

Gauge: 36 sts/40 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Price: $4.00

Purchase a PDF through Ravelry here, or from my Etsy shop.

Chevron Wrap

Watch the three related stitch patterns evolve from one to the next and then back again as you knit the length of this shawl. The patterns (Dainty Chevron, Daintier Chevron, and Arrow Pattern) are borrowed from Barbara Walker’s A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.



Difficulty: Intermediate

Finished Measurements: Approximately 16” x 64”

Materials:
650 yards DK weight yarn. Sample is knit from 2 skeins of Schaefer Martha (80% lambswool, 10% cashmere, 10% dehaired angora; 4 oz /330 yards)

US size 8/5mm straight or circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
Tapestry needle
2 stitch markers

Gauge: 16 sts/27 rows = 4” in lace, unblocked

Price: $4.00

Purchase a PDF through Ravelry here, or from my Etsy shop.

Baby Bolero

This baby-sized bolero knits up quickly enough to finish before it’s outgrown or to give as a last-minute shower gift. It’s knit from side to side with seed stitch edging. Matching panels of seed stitch run up the sleeves from cuff to shoulder.



Difficulty: Intermediate

Sizes: Newborn (6 months, 12 months)

Finished Measurements: 11” (11.5”, 12”) across back

Materials:
About 250 (270, 290) yards light worsted or heavy fingering weight yarn. Newborn size sample knit with 1 skein Lola from Schaefer Yarn (100% superwash merino wool; 4 oz/280 yds)

US Size 7 needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Tapestry needle

Gauge: 22 sts/28 rows = 4” in st st

Price: $4.00

Purchase and a PDF via Ravelry here, or from my Esty shop.

Good Mail

Look! I took a picture!



On my desk! With terrible light and a weird spot from the flash/desk lamp interaction!

Rewarding my determined knitting on Thursday, Friday was an excellent mail day. Gale brought a copy of her book, Shear Spirit to knitting a while back, and I fell in love with the Montana Tunic too (although I am tall, I will probably not wear it while fly-fishing either). I pre-ordered it then, and was getting more and more impatient as other people got theirs.

But mine is here now!

In the same order, I bought Sensational Skirts, all about different ways to embellish skirts. I sew half-heartedly, and buy a lot of skirt patterns which I don't make (when they're on sale for $1... this is not the wildly expensive habit it might be!). I finally realized that I don't need more skirt patterns, I need ideas for making more interesting skirts from the patterns I already have, and I'm hoping this will help.

And yarn! I responded to a post from Brooklyn Handspun on Ravelry, looking for designers to write patterns for her yarn, and after a few emails back and forth, my yarn arrived on Friday. This isn't an accurate picture any more--I've wound the yarn and already knit most of the foot of the first sock, and will try to take pictures at lunch today. It's lovely--the green (called Shazam!) is spring-y and nearly solid, which is my favorite kind of colorway.

Speaking of yarn, I was remarkably restrained at Webs. I visited all the sale yarn, but only bought a skein of navy sock yarn to make more socks for Kevin. Poor Kevin... ever since I finally started wearing my own hand-knit socks last winter, I have been a sock-knitting maniac (I knit at least a pair a month all year, and often two) but he's only gotten two pairs.

And I Didn't Even Stay Up Very Late

I was a very speedy knitter at lunch yesterday, and decided that being done by this morning was totally do-able. And it was, see?



Not that you can really see anything! I need to remember that my camera screen is much brighter than a monitor (at least, than my monitor at work, which I'm lucky displays color), because when I looked at this picture on my camera, I turned down the flash! And the rest of the pictures are completely unusable as a consequence.

But I did finish it last night at midnight, even through the last hour or so was very slow going... the knitting went fine, but I got this idea that I could look for a spring cardigan pattern on Ravelry at the same time, and it turns out that overall progress is slowed when the knitter is also looking at a screen (I need to look when I knit lace, don't you?), and using her hands to mouse (pesky non-automated knitting needles!). I mostly avoided catastrophe, although slightly earlier in the evening I'd had to knit, tink, and reknit half a row (once the rows were a manageable 120 stitches... I would have been very cranky if they'd been longer) four times because I suddenly forgot the pattern. Which I'd knit 12 times, and by that time had only 2 "real" rows every 8. Argh!

It's blocking now, and I'm faced with a new dilemma. I definitely have enough yarn for the border on the long edge (to review, I'd assumed I wouldn't, since I started with a bit less yarn than the pattern called for, and my early knitting progress vs. yarn used calculations weren't very promising). It's a knitted-on border, kind of leaf-y, about 16 stitches wide--and I can't decide if I want to do it or not. (Don't worry Annie--I won't try to do it by tomorrow! But maybe next weekend.)

I have this idea that I hate knitting knitted-on borders (I think it's based on my actual hatred of I-cord), and as a result, I've only knit them twice, and both were very short (I think one border was 6 inches and the other 18). I didn't hate them, but this one is much longer. I don't have the directions in front of me, but I think they start "pick up 238 stitches along long edge of triangle," or something similarly dispiriting.

But maybe I don't actually hate knitting knitted-on borders--I was sure I hated colorwork, but then I didn't. In this case though, I'm also not sure I want a fancy border along the upper edge of the shawl--that edge tends to get very squished, and maybe it would just make me sad because it wouldn't stay blocked?

It's a quandary! Try to live with the suspense and I'll report back after I wear the shawl a bit.

Not Socks

So, I wasn't distracted by socks, but I did start a sweater Tuesday night. I'm still on-schedule (because of course the second I gave myself a goal, I spontaneously developed a schedule... why am I not this motivated about work?) to finish the purple shawl in time for the CT Sheep and Wool Festival (or Woolen Sheep festival, as my mom would have it). Because the schedule is going well (86% finished as of last night!), I'm toying with some kind of insane plan to finish and block it in time to show it to my friend Anne on Saturday, when we meet up to knit at Webs. This insane plan would involve staying up all night tonight, finishing tomorrow morning so I can block it before work, then unpinning it before bedtime so we have somewhere to sleep. See? Insane.

In addition to the sleepy-at-work-tomorrow factor, I'm pretty sure that trying it would cause me to make catastrophic errors, so I'm trying not to think about it. Speaking of catastrophic errors, I dreamed that I'd dropped a stitch, on what in my dream was this shawl, even though it looked different. In my dream, the dropped stitch made the whole section below it unravel into a gigantic triangular ladder. It was one of those dreams where you know you're dreaming but keep forgetting, so I'd panic, then remind myself that it was a dream, forget, and panic again. Lovely.

Maybe I should think about the sweater instead! I'm using some Schaefer Laurel that I had in stash, with a little texture pattern (I'm trying to combat my natural tendency to knit everything in stockinette, then wish the fabric had some texture right as I'm finishing... most annoying!). I'm knitting the sleeves and upper bodice from elbow to elbow, then picking up stitches and knitting down to the waist/hips. If I have enough yarn, that is. It's the same yarn and colorway (Lillian Gilbreth) as my Coachella and the sweater I knit my sister for Christmas, and I had 4 skeins to start with: 1 for Coachella, 1.25 for Anna's sweater... I think I should be able to knit a elbow-length sleeve sweater out of 1.75 skeins, don't you? Even if the sleeves are loose?

Phew!

Two pieces of (picture-less, of course) good news:

1. I have finished the front of the striped sweater for Schaefer, and in a burst of unusually good knitterly behavior, sewed the whole thing together this morning! So, just a smidge of collar and some math left, then I can send that off.

2. I might not run out of yarn on the purple shawl after all. As of this minute, I've used 61.25% of the yarn to knit 64.3% of the pattern. At this rate, I'll have 38 yards leftover when I finish. If it turns out to be more than that, I might have enough to think about working a border on the long side, which is part of the pattern but which I'd assumed I didn't have enough yarn to make. But I might skip the border for the moment, even if I do have enough yarn, because it recently occurred to be that if I'm very efficient over the next 2 weeks, I might be able to finish the shawl in time for the CT Sheep, Wool & Fiber Festival.

Maybe it could be a word problem:
If Rebecca can knit 64.3% of a shawl in 6 weeks, while she's meant to be working as fast as she can on another project (in my defense, sometimes the striped sweater was too big to bring with me!), can she knit 35.7% of a shawl in 2 weeks, with time left to block? Or will she be distracted by socks?

702

I've been knitting, truly. But mostly on the striped sweater for Schaefer, which may never end. I've made all kinds of progress (and really, am almost done), but my goodness, there's a lot of fabric!

It's an XL men's sweater, and I mostly knit women's sweaters (and my last several have had 3/4 length sleeves), so it seems never-ending. The back, which I finished over the weekend and just took off my blocking cushion has a surface area of 702 square inches. That's nearly 5 square feet! And if the rule of thumb that the sleeves (finished!) together and a third of the total sweater and the front and back are each a third, that means the whole sweater will have a surface area of slightly more than 14.6 square feet.

Maybe this isn't the best way to think about this!

On the bright side, the yarn is lovely, and I can work the pattern without looking, so I can read or watch TV. Since there are 3 skeins of yarn, plus however much finished fabric to tote around, it's not the best project for break, but it's fine for knitting group (where people understand yarn containment). And when it's finished, I'll have only used 1,680 yards of yarn (or less--I think I'll have a bit of each color left over), which is less than 20th of how far I ran on Sunday.

See? Much better!

(Sorry for the picture-less-ness... this project and the other be-deadlined one are secret-ish, and the purple shawl is still an unphotogenic blob. But I'm making great progress--in 6 more rows I'll have a mere 354 stitches, a vast improvement over the original 620! Eventually, I'll be able to spread it out on the needle and attempt a photo session.

(Remind me that I have a story: I realized the shawl wasn't trying to kill me initially--I just had an unusually stupid knitting moment, which lasted for several days!)

Not Knitting Related

At work, groups of us have been teaching high school classes about archives, why they're not as geeky as you'd think (if you'd ever thought about archives), and what it's like to be archivists. For the first class, each of us brought in something archival of our own as an example. I ended up bringing in one of the notebooks I use to organize information about my knitting (look! It does relate to knitting after all!), because I figured it was best to get have my knitting-nerdiness out in the open right away.

But I thought a lot about bringing in something about my paternal grandparents. The main thing I associate with them is their garden--they retired to Spartanburg, SC and over time, bought up quite a bit of land. There were houses around the edge (which they fixed up and rented out), but most of it was being used as an unofficial dump. So they cleaned it up (I want to say they pulled out abandoned cars and refrigerators, as well as general trash, but that may be my imagination), and turned it into a beautiful garden, with flowers, trees, ponds, streams, paths and ducks (my sisters and I loved feeding the ducklings every spring).

As they got older and started to think about how it would be cared for after they died, they gave it to the city as a municipal park. One of the lots on the perimeter became a continuing care facility, where they both lived at the end of their lives. I haven't been there in years (and honestly, it's a little weird to think of so many people visiting what I thought of as my grandparents' backyard, even if that's what they wanted), but it's flourishing, with a website and everything.

All this is a very long way of getting around to what I meant to write at first... that even though the garden is what I think of, it was actually towards the end of a long list of contributions, most of which I don't think of because I didn't experience them directly. There's a book about my grandfather, which I've read, but I'm still surprised by where he turns up. Such as with Martin Luther King. (My grandpa is the one with his elbow on the table.)

No Pictures...

But I made all kinds of knitting progress during my trip (mostly on the plane, between naps). I also managed to avoid accidentally being on TV--one of my goals in life, in addition to avoiding situations which might lead to alpine rescue, is to avoid being on TV. You can imagine how interesting that was to people in LA--my friend Jen is an actress, and by the end of the weekend she was introducing me to people like this: This is Rebecca. She's an archivist. She doesn't want to be on television.

Anyway. Knitting progress: I finished the veil of leaves socks, knit maybe 16 rows on the purple shawl that may have resumed its efforts to kill me, and nearly finished the body of the secret thing I can't describe (which is still not a baby sweater).

I'm wearing the veil of leaves socks at this very moment, and I'm not sure about them. You may recall that the pattern calls for you to knit the cuff (using a very nifty, new-to-me technique to make a hem), then decrease kind of dramatically (72 to 63 sts), then carry on with the leaf pattern. I did that for the first socks, and whined about how the hem was slightly ruffled (although it fit OK). For sock #2, I cast on 63 sts and worked the cuff, sans decreasing. That fits fine too, and frankly, looking at my ankles now I can't tell which is which (although the bigger cuff looked bigger when I compared the unworn socks). If the difference is noticeable after I wash the socks, I may consider removing the 72-stitch cuff, making a smaller one and grafting it in place... but probably not. Or, I'll probably consider it, but probably not do it.

I'm a bit nervous about the shawl. According to my row tally and Jessica's lovely shawl progress calculator, I'm 46.5% done with the shawl. But, according to my scale and some math, I'm 47.5% done with the yarn. This is troubling. While I hate excess leftover yarn as much as the next person, I do like having enough to finish, and it's not looking good (this is entirely my own fault, as the pattern calls for 1300 yards, I have 1250, and the collective wisdom of Ravelry warns that the yardage estimates in Victorian Lace Today are low).

I have several plans:
1. Ignore the shawl calculator (this is actually not such a bad plan. 1% is less than 13 yards, and think how annoyed I'd be if I did something dramatic to conserve yarn and it turned out that I hadn't needed to?)

2. Decide that the skein might have been slightly less than 4 ounces, so maybe I haven't used 47.5% yet (this is slightly possible since I didn't weight the skein before I started, and can only weigh what's left (2.1 oz) and surmise how much I've sued (1.9 oz of the 4 oz skein). BUT it's not exactly consoling either, since if I started with less than 4 oz, I may have less than 1250 yards, and I'm back to my impending yarn shortage.

3. Work some more, redo my math, reapply the shawl progress calculator, then decide what to so (options 1 and 2 will be reconsidered, along with schemes for altering the stitch pattern slightly to decrease more quickly. Faster decreases = fewer decrease rows to work = slightly smaller shawl = less yarn used.

4. Knit to a division in the pattern (between sections, for example), then introduce a new yarn. I have a semi-solid green, also from Schaefer, which might be great with the purple (or it might be terrible).

I'm currently leaning towards 3, but who knows that I'll eventually do?!