Gosh, have I gotten out of the habit of blogging while I was gone!
I had a wonderful time--sculling camp was really fun (after the first couple of sessions, which were overwhelming), and seeing my family and then Kevin's family afterwards was great. And Moppet enjoyed the peace and quiet of the house, with visits from MissAliceFaye (spaces? no spaces?). So much so that she was annoyed to see me... perhaps because I immediately started brushing her?
Kevin took some incredibly flattering pictures of me rowing (I look especially stunning when I have to r e a c h w a a a a y out across the boat to reach the far oarlock!). For some reason, they're in reverse order, so it looks like I materialize on the water, approach the dock, set up the boat, practice rowing on land, carry my oars to the docks, then stand around. But the standing around was actually first.
We spent between 3 and 4 hours a day rowing, plus stretching, videos (watching ourselves as well as famous races), some yoga, and lots of eating, but I still did a fair bit of knitting:
- I finished the socks from New Pathways and am OK with the shaping, although not thrilled. I must learn to resist the pictures in that book, and stick with the shaping methods that fit my feet (I plan to give the socks to a non-knitter, who will have no idea what about them irks me so).
- I knit a hat and sweater for my impending niece/nephew. They were meant to be a set (I used the same yarn), but instead the sweater is toddler-sized and the hat is baby-sized. It's probably just as well, since that means the sweater (which took longer to make) will fit a bit longer. However, since the baby will live outside DC, much of that time it will probably be too warm for a sweater. A and S, is there any chance you want to move to Alaska to accommodate my sweater-making? How about turning up the AC?
- I knit about 2 rows of the top-down shawl I'm starting to design, using the kimono lace pattern from Folk Shawls (I think that's the name), but adapted to fit a triangular shape better. This would be impressive, but I'd just started, so the rows were very short.
And on the way home I just missed what might have been a wool shopping spree. Someone at the general store two towns over from the camp said that the inn across the street (the Craftsbury Inn) had a wool shop! I scurried over to the Inn, but it turned out that they've closed the shop. One of the innkeepers said that they do have wool for sale (evidently, everything from raw fiber to handspun yarn), but that his wife was the one who knew about it--and she was out of town, so no wool for me. Buy some on my behalf if you're ever in Craftsbury!
But I consoled myself when we stopped for lunch in St. Johnsbury, visiting both of the town's yarn stores, Wool Away and the Rose Knitting Parlor (just down the street, at 378 Railroad Street #103 St. Johnsbury, VT--but apparently not online). I bought some lovely brown yarn from an alpaca named Gracie (excellent fine motor skills for a creature without opposable thumbs) at the Rose Knitting Parlor. I was originally thinking I'd make a lacy scarf, and I may still, but I'm also thinking about wristlets.
We swung by home for about 5 hours Friday afternoon, to unpack, launder, repack and eat, then left for part 2 of our trip: DC for a baby shower (the one for which I knit the sweater and hat), then on to NC. Naturally, I swapped my knitting, so I brought the makings of 2 new pairs of socks, as well as the neglected shawl, on that portion of the trip. That may seem excessive (especially for one who sleeps like a baby on every form of transportation!), but it's best to be prepared. I did finish 1 pair of socks and make a bit of progress on the shawl by the time I got home, but supplies for the second pair may have been over optimistic!
Ok... this is kind of boring without pictures, huh? It could be worse, though--I could start rambling about sculling (at least I know something about knitting!).
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Na Obed
which means "out to lunch" in Russian (and became an ongoing joke among the group I studied with in Russia, after the sign at Lenin's tomb suggested that Lenin himself was out to lunch. Being dead for going on 90 years is hungry work!).
Anyway--Kevin and I will be at marathon camp (Kevin) and sculling camp (me--sculling is one type of rowing) till next weekend. Cell phones aren't supposed to work there, and there's definitely no internet access. Which seems like a good idea in theory, but which may cause us to short-circuit. I have packed enough knitting for an army of octopuses.
Have a good week!
Anyway--Kevin and I will be at marathon camp (Kevin) and sculling camp (me--sculling is one type of rowing) till next weekend. Cell phones aren't supposed to work there, and there's definitely no internet access. Which seems like a good idea in theory, but which may cause us to short-circuit. I have packed enough knitting for an army of octopuses.
Have a good week!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Remind Me
The next time I tell you I'm going to make socks from New Pathways for Sock Knitters, remind me that I swore I wouldn't do it ever again, ok?
I'm making (or, trying to make) the Rushing Rivulet socks (toe up, with little eyelets all over and gusset shaping on the underside of the foot, rather than the sides). I did all the measurements and math she wants, and have followed the directions, but things are going badly. I'm about halfway through the gusset increases, and already the sock seems like it's big enough around--like I should work the rest of the length I need without any more increases. And the gusset starts too close to my toe--so the extra room it makes is positioned before my foot starts to widen for the heel.
I think I know why, maybe: my preferred ease is incompatible with Cat's gusset shaping. I do tend to make looser socks than many people (the whole 72 vs. 60 stitch thing I wrote about last time), and Cat's gusset shaping is more gradual than most other sock patterns (she has you increase 2 sts every 3 rows, instead of every 2 rows), so it has to start further from the heel (i.e., closer to the toe, in a toe-up sock). Since my socks are loose to start with, and following her shaping means adding width sooner, I end up with more extra width sooner than I need (which manifests itself as a flap of extra sock around the middle of my foot). Like cooking with someone and both adding the salt in case the other forgot, and ending up with too much salt.
There's just one small problem with this theory: her master number charts (which I followed like a good little knitter) say they include adjustments for a good (tight) fit already, so by following the directions to that point my sock should have been compatible with the rest of her directions. It's a mystery.
I'm thinking about ripping back to the beginning of the gusset shaping (maybe 3 inches) and reknitting, this time waiting till I think it's time to start gusset shaping my way. Which defeats my whole aim, which was to follow a pattern and not have to do any calculations.
And is disgruntling because knitting a pair of socks a week is much harder when you rip back!
Also, I'm deeply annoyed because I got an iPod Shuffle, with the impression that I could listed to things in an order I set by creating a playlist and loading it onto the Shuffle. But apparently that doesn't work with podcasts, which is the main thing I listen to--although you can reorder the list of podcasts in iTunes, when you go to play them (on the shuffle), they always reorder so the newest ones are first. Which would just be irritating, if I didn't regularly fall behind on podcasts where the order matters (CraftLit, mainly), and where I want to listen to the older episodes first.
I was slightly comforted to see many other people with this complaint on Apple discussion boards--but less comforted now that I haven't been able to find anyone who's solved it. (I thought I could trick the shuffle into treating my podcasts as songs by changing the genre to a music genre, but that's didn't work.)
Anyone want a slightly used iPod Shuffle and a slightly used copy of New Pathway for Sock Knitters? (Just kidding!)
I'm making (or, trying to make) the Rushing Rivulet socks (toe up, with little eyelets all over and gusset shaping on the underside of the foot, rather than the sides). I did all the measurements and math she wants, and have followed the directions, but things are going badly. I'm about halfway through the gusset increases, and already the sock seems like it's big enough around--like I should work the rest of the length I need without any more increases. And the gusset starts too close to my toe--so the extra room it makes is positioned before my foot starts to widen for the heel.
I think I know why, maybe: my preferred ease is incompatible with Cat's gusset shaping. I do tend to make looser socks than many people (the whole 72 vs. 60 stitch thing I wrote about last time), and Cat's gusset shaping is more gradual than most other sock patterns (she has you increase 2 sts every 3 rows, instead of every 2 rows), so it has to start further from the heel (i.e., closer to the toe, in a toe-up sock). Since my socks are loose to start with, and following her shaping means adding width sooner, I end up with more extra width sooner than I need (which manifests itself as a flap of extra sock around the middle of my foot). Like cooking with someone and both adding the salt in case the other forgot, and ending up with too much salt.
There's just one small problem with this theory: her master number charts (which I followed like a good little knitter) say they include adjustments for a good (tight) fit already, so by following the directions to that point my sock should have been compatible with the rest of her directions. It's a mystery.
I'm thinking about ripping back to the beginning of the gusset shaping (maybe 3 inches) and reknitting, this time waiting till I think it's time to start gusset shaping my way. Which defeats my whole aim, which was to follow a pattern and not have to do any calculations.
And is disgruntling because knitting a pair of socks a week is much harder when you rip back!
Also, I'm deeply annoyed because I got an iPod Shuffle, with the impression that I could listed to things in an order I set by creating a playlist and loading it onto the Shuffle. But apparently that doesn't work with podcasts, which is the main thing I listen to--although you can reorder the list of podcasts in iTunes, when you go to play them (on the shuffle), they always reorder so the newest ones are first. Which would just be irritating, if I didn't regularly fall behind on podcasts where the order matters (CraftLit, mainly), and where I want to listen to the older episodes first.
I was slightly comforted to see many other people with this complaint on Apple discussion boards--but less comforted now that I haven't been able to find anyone who's solved it. (I thought I could trick the shuffle into treating my podcasts as songs by changing the genre to a music genre, but that's didn't work.)
Anyone want a slightly used iPod Shuffle and a slightly used copy of New Pathway for Sock Knitters? (Just kidding!)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Sockses
Hey, guess what? I took pictures of my socks!
First up, Socks that Rocks' Lenore socks, in the Lenore colorway (the pattern and yarn are from last year's sock club).
I used a 2.5 mm needle, and since they're only 60 sts around, they seemed to go really fast. Speaking of which, how many stitches do you usually use for your socks? When I'm not following someone else's pattern, I tend to use 68 or 72, which fits fine, but 64 and now 60 also seem to be fine. Obviously, this should be explained by gauge, but here's the thing: 64- and 72-stitch socks using the same yarn, same needles, and similar stitch patterns (so, the gauge should be the same) both fit. Do you think I'm knitting more loosely on 64-stitch socks because I'm worried they'll be too tight and thereby compensating without noticing? Or is it just that wool is magic?
Moving on, we have Monkey socks for Sunflowerfairy:
These also seemed speedy, even though I knit all 6 reps of the lace pattern on the cuffs like a good little knitter. My Monkeys only have 5 reps, because I like shorter cuffs (and possibly because I got impatient).
And the infamous (to me) 2-at-a-time socks. I'm still working them both at once, and while it's going better now that I've started storing one of the yarns inside the socks to reduce tangling, I'm still not crazy about it. (I might have liked the technique better if I didn't also need 2 balls of yarn for each sock, huh?)
On the bright side, although you can't see it here, I've turned the heel on both of these, so the end is in sight.
I noticed a while back that I didn't have any yarn in my stash that had been there for more than a year (at least not any complete skeins--there are probably scraps destined for hats that have been floating around longer than that, and as I type this I also remember that I have a partial skein of Red Heart acrylic from a craft project that's 18 months old... but I many never use the rest, so it doesn't count). And of course once I noticed, I wanted to keep it that way.
Mostly, this has happened without any particular effort, but suddenly I have 500 yards of handpainted laceweight (which I never photographed--what a surprise! It's shimmery purples, blues, and greys) which will turn 1 this month. What to make? I've thought about the Shetland triangle (sorry family, that's a Ravelry link that won't work for you), Laminaria (maybe with a contrast edge, because I don't have quite enough), or maybe I should make something up?
First up, Socks that Rocks' Lenore socks, in the Lenore colorway (the pattern and yarn are from last year's sock club).
I used a 2.5 mm needle, and since they're only 60 sts around, they seemed to go really fast. Speaking of which, how many stitches do you usually use for your socks? When I'm not following someone else's pattern, I tend to use 68 or 72, which fits fine, but 64 and now 60 also seem to be fine. Obviously, this should be explained by gauge, but here's the thing: 64- and 72-stitch socks using the same yarn, same needles, and similar stitch patterns (so, the gauge should be the same) both fit. Do you think I'm knitting more loosely on 64-stitch socks because I'm worried they'll be too tight and thereby compensating without noticing? Or is it just that wool is magic?
Moving on, we have Monkey socks for Sunflowerfairy:
These also seemed speedy, even though I knit all 6 reps of the lace pattern on the cuffs like a good little knitter. My Monkeys only have 5 reps, because I like shorter cuffs (and possibly because I got impatient).
And the infamous (to me) 2-at-a-time socks. I'm still working them both at once, and while it's going better now that I've started storing one of the yarns inside the socks to reduce tangling, I'm still not crazy about it. (I might have liked the technique better if I didn't also need 2 balls of yarn for each sock, huh?)
On the bright side, although you can't see it here, I've turned the heel on both of these, so the end is in sight.
I noticed a while back that I didn't have any yarn in my stash that had been there for more than a year (at least not any complete skeins--there are probably scraps destined for hats that have been floating around longer than that, and as I type this I also remember that I have a partial skein of Red Heart acrylic from a craft project that's 18 months old... but I many never use the rest, so it doesn't count). And of course once I noticed, I wanted to keep it that way.
Mostly, this has happened without any particular effort, but suddenly I have 500 yards of handpainted laceweight (which I never photographed--what a surprise! It's shimmery purples, blues, and greys) which will turn 1 this month. What to make? I've thought about the Shetland triangle (sorry family, that's a Ravelry link that won't work for you), Laminaria (maybe with a contrast edge, because I don't have quite enough), or maybe I should make something up?
Monday, June 30, 2008
Nineteenth Century Technology
I don't usually spend that much time weighing my yarn (the constant weighing of remaining yarn while I knit the purple shawl was an aberration, I swear!), but the second I left my digital scale at home to visit my parents, I needed it constantly.
Over one 24-hour period, I needed to divide not 1, not 2, but 4 skeins of yarn into equal halves! (One skein for socks, and the rest for the wraps for Afghans for Afghans that my mom and I are making.)
Fortunately, the 19th century was able to help me out:
And I mean the 19th century literally:
That last line says the scale was patented in 1886! (Also, how many Beckers were involved in this business anyway? There's the current Becker, Christian, but also the original Becker in Becker & Sons, at least 2 sons, and at least 2 brothers in Becker Bros. So 6? Or maybe some of the sons were also the brothers?).
Over one 24-hour period, I needed to divide not 1, not 2, but 4 skeins of yarn into equal halves! (One skein for socks, and the rest for the wraps for Afghans for Afghans that my mom and I are making.)
Fortunately, the 19th century was able to help me out:
And I mean the 19th century literally:
That last line says the scale was patented in 1886! (Also, how many Beckers were involved in this business anyway? There's the current Becker, Christian, but also the original Becker in Becker & Sons, at least 2 sons, and at least 2 brothers in Becker Bros. So 6? Or maybe some of the sons were also the brothers?).
Prodigal
Kevin got a quite unexpected phone call on Friday...
Look what the police found:
Poor Vespy--missing mirrors, stolen battery (Kevin and the man at the impound lot tried to jumpstart it, then Kevin managed to kickstart it), mangled and partly missing ignition, scratched paint, and somehow the handlebars and front wheel have gotten slightly misaligned--when the handlebars are straight, the front wheel is slightly angled (presumably the thief broke it when s/he unlocked the front wheel without the key). Oddly, it's only been driven another 150-200 miles since it was stolen.
We're hoping it can spend the next couple of weeks (while we're traveling) at the repair shop, and then we're going to have to rent a garage, I guess--unfortunately, if it's more than a block or two away, I don't think we'll ever ride Vespy, so our options are rather limited). The police and the impound lot guys suggested that we get a large chain and big lock... but we had that, and it didn't do any good!
Kevin's race on Sunday (organized by the same people as the previous swim) went much better--although it didn't start out promisingly, as we had quite a time finding the registration. The course was much simpler--they jumped off a water taxi, then swam around Governor's Island till they got to the right pier, so you just had to keep the island on the same side of you at all times--and the tides cooperated.
I helped out with bag check again--and nearly strangled another of the bag check volunteers, who insisted that we put all 100-150 bags in exact numerical order (each bag had a numbered tag), rather than just grouping them by number range (which worked just fine last time). So we did, but he still couldn't find a single bag when the swimmers came back--he just stood around bleating "124? 124?" till someone else found it. It felt a bit like he thought he was in charge of managing the rest of us.
Look what the police found:
Poor Vespy--missing mirrors, stolen battery (Kevin and the man at the impound lot tried to jumpstart it, then Kevin managed to kickstart it), mangled and partly missing ignition, scratched paint, and somehow the handlebars and front wheel have gotten slightly misaligned--when the handlebars are straight, the front wheel is slightly angled (presumably the thief broke it when s/he unlocked the front wheel without the key). Oddly, it's only been driven another 150-200 miles since it was stolen.
We're hoping it can spend the next couple of weeks (while we're traveling) at the repair shop, and then we're going to have to rent a garage, I guess--unfortunately, if it's more than a block or two away, I don't think we'll ever ride Vespy, so our options are rather limited). The police and the impound lot guys suggested that we get a large chain and big lock... but we had that, and it didn't do any good!
Kevin's race on Sunday (organized by the same people as the previous swim) went much better--although it didn't start out promisingly, as we had quite a time finding the registration. The course was much simpler--they jumped off a water taxi, then swam around Governor's Island till they got to the right pier, so you just had to keep the island on the same side of you at all times--and the tides cooperated.
I helped out with bag check again--and nearly strangled another of the bag check volunteers, who insisted that we put all 100-150 bags in exact numerical order (each bag had a numbered tag), rather than just grouping them by number range (which worked just fine last time). So we did, but he still couldn't find a single bag when the swimmers came back--he just stood around bleating "124? 124?" till someone else found it. It felt a bit like he thought he was in charge of managing the rest of us.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Must. Take. Pictures.
Last Saturday, Kevin and I survived our longest and hilliest tandem ride to date--56 miles on the Lake Placid Ironman course (it's a 2-loop course in the real race, so we just biked it once). We'd thought about trying to do the whole thing, and about 40 miles in that seemed totally possible, but the end of the loop is terrible. You start in Lake Placid (which is almost the highest point on the course) then zip down to the lowest point, cruise along happily for a while, then have to climb back up to the start again. Which drains your will to live. We aren't really training to ride this far, or on such hilly hills (the longest race Kevin is signed up for this year is a half IM), and after getting back up to LP, we decided we'd had enough.
Wanna see how hilly it was? This site lets you display the elevation changes of the North American triathlons. Click on USA for Lake Placid (but remember that we only did the first 56 miles)--and compare it to Florida, the one Kevin did in November!
On Sunday, Kevin and the others swam a (slightly long) version of half of the swim course, and ran a (slightly longer) version of half of the run course. I swam laps next to a dock during the swimming portion, and helped out with water and snacks during the run.
Then we went on to my parents' Ithaca--I stayed there till yesterday, while Kevin went on to Niagara Falls to see his parents. (Moppet stayed in Ithaca with me.)
Naturally, there was lots of knitting, but very little picture-taking. I finished the Lenore socks from earlier (pair #4), and started 2 other pairs. Monkey Socks (pair #5)for Sunflowerfairy, using yarn she gave me (we're trading knitting, since she hates socks but really wants some Monkeys, and I am knitting hardly anything but socks), as well as a basic stockinette pair (#6) for myself, using scraps, plus some Jitterbug I bought on Tuesday... because of course using up a scraps requires the purchase of new yarn!
I'm trying to knit the second pair 2-at-a-time, and I must say I'm not a fan, so far. It's working fine (I was especially proud of myself for casting on both pairs, then knitting 2-at-a-time starting from the very first row), but it feels like the socks aren't getting longer (each sock grows half as fast, since my knitting time is divided between them). Plus, maneuvering the needles into position seems to take forever each time I finish a section. I don't usually have any trouble finishing the second of a pair, so there's no particular benefit to me of knitting them both at once. I'm thinking about switching back to regular, 1-at-a-time magic loop, although on the other hand I want to give this technique a fair shot, so maybe I'll wait a little longer.
And I've made great progress on the afghans for Afghans wrap--I've used up the main yarn (deep turquoise from Peru), and the first accent yarn (Miss Priss), and have just started the second (Cascade 220--newly purchased for the occasion when it was still too short after accent #1). The colors are gorgeous, and I think it'll be warm and appropriately covering but still drape-y.
Wouldn't it be great to see what all of this knitting looks like?
Wanna see how hilly it was? This site lets you display the elevation changes of the North American triathlons. Click on USA for Lake Placid (but remember that we only did the first 56 miles)--and compare it to Florida, the one Kevin did in November!
On Sunday, Kevin and the others swam a (slightly long) version of half of the swim course, and ran a (slightly longer) version of half of the run course. I swam laps next to a dock during the swimming portion, and helped out with water and snacks during the run.
Then we went on to my parents' Ithaca--I stayed there till yesterday, while Kevin went on to Niagara Falls to see his parents. (Moppet stayed in Ithaca with me.)
Naturally, there was lots of knitting, but very little picture-taking. I finished the Lenore socks from earlier (pair #4), and started 2 other pairs. Monkey Socks (pair #5)for Sunflowerfairy, using yarn she gave me (we're trading knitting, since she hates socks but really wants some Monkeys, and I am knitting hardly anything but socks), as well as a basic stockinette pair (#6) for myself, using scraps, plus some Jitterbug I bought on Tuesday... because of course using up a scraps requires the purchase of new yarn!
I'm trying to knit the second pair 2-at-a-time, and I must say I'm not a fan, so far. It's working fine (I was especially proud of myself for casting on both pairs, then knitting 2-at-a-time starting from the very first row), but it feels like the socks aren't getting longer (each sock grows half as fast, since my knitting time is divided between them). Plus, maneuvering the needles into position seems to take forever each time I finish a section. I don't usually have any trouble finishing the second of a pair, so there's no particular benefit to me of knitting them both at once. I'm thinking about switching back to regular, 1-at-a-time magic loop, although on the other hand I want to give this technique a fair shot, so maybe I'll wait a little longer.
And I've made great progress on the afghans for Afghans wrap--I've used up the main yarn (deep turquoise from Peru), and the first accent yarn (Miss Priss), and have just started the second (Cascade 220--newly purchased for the occasion when it was still too short after accent #1). The colors are gorgeous, and I think it'll be warm and appropriately covering but still drape-y.
Wouldn't it be great to see what all of this knitting looks like?
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