monkey-in-progress

monkey-in-progress
Originally uploaded by trimmje

I had to try the flickr blogging thing, and I couldn't bear putting this away for mom's visit without a photo. It looks bluer in the picture than it does in all the light I usually see it under. Still loving it. Want to finish the current lace repeat today, but we'll see whether that happens.

Now it's time to pack the yarn stash!

There were going to be pictures, but I'm just too tired

And the title was going to be "hey, hey, it's a monkey" too. Since casting on my Summer of Socks Monkey on Thursday, I've knit little else. I finished the Greensburg block I had started in the sockless week, and I may have done a row on the green lace scarf. The Pink Latin Granny blanket got mailed (finally!) and so that's at least one less thing to worry about right now.

But I'm moving. I spent the evening packing the kitchen breakables and taking a bunch of stuff over to the new house. Where I knit the only rows of this evening, talking on the phone with my mom and sitting on my kitchen floor.

This sock is going great guns. I can see why everyone loves this pattern. It's pretty, it follows itself so that you don't have to constantly read the chart (although I'm still doing the row-counter thing. It's paranoia, really, half the time I read my stitches and the chart and I've forgotten to click the counter.), and I'm on the gusset already (although I did one less pattern repeat than the pattern called for). I'm using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Jewels Potluck thing they do, and it's the happiest sock ever right now. I really should have pictures. It's the prettiest thing I've ever done. At this rate, I'd have it done by Thursday if I didn't have to do anything else. Like work. Or move.

And these Monkeys are a planned birthday gift for my Mom. They're purple, they're pretty, and she's going to love them. And when her birthday comes in mid-November, it should be getting cold enough for wool socks in Alabama. But since she's coming to visit in two days, that means that this sweet little sock has to be hidden from her during her visit. Which means I need another sock to knit while she's here. And while I'd planned on doing plain socks for Dad during SOS as well, current family politics makes doing this in Mom's presence a Bad Idea. So I need to do something else, and since it's the other thing I've already swatched, the yummy Bearfoot will probably get broken out tomorrow or Thursday. I'm afraid of losing momentum on the Monkeys. I want to at least be finished with the gusset before I put them away. Oh well, new mohair-blend pretty blue socks for me!

Probably won't blog again till moving is over and Mom's gone. So then, if the camera is locatable, you'll see pictures of two half-finished socks here!

Done! Progress! Crack!

Finally! They're done!



The second toe taught me things about kitchener stitch, like, for instance, I can't do it around other people. Here's a really bad dark picture of them on my feet, and the carpet I won't have to live with after a couple weeks.



Last night after my first kitchenering attempt, I gave up and worked on the sweater for a while. I'm still not sure it'll ever be done, but I'm seeing progress. Yay for that.



And I gave in. Here's another crack dishcloth. Seriously, if you haven't done one, don't start. They're crack. You can't just do one. I promise.



I started swatching at lunch today for Summer of Socks. I'm playing with the Bearfoot I got in Paducah, because it's just yummy and has been calling to me. I've been emboldened by how much sock yarn I keep having left over, so I'm doing a sock tube as described in No Sheep for You. I started out with zeroes, but that wasn't even worth casting on, I hated it so, so now I'm starting with 1.5's and will work my way up to threes. (We will ignore the fact that I don't have size 1 dpns and act like this is all good.) I cast on 32 stitches and split it between 4 needles. It seems a little silly, but it's not bad for amusement. I'm trying to decide if doing this with all the sock yarns in the stash is a little extreme, or a nice way to spend time between now and next week, and if I decide to do it for more yarns, should I just attach the yarn to the same tube? Why not? Seems reasonable to me. I need to get gauge for the planned Monkeys and there's a bunch in the stash that is new to me.

I almost bought sock yarn yesterday at the newly-expanded Knit Stop. The haze of dust and pomeranian fur on the beautiful chocolate-colored Regia Silk made me hesitate long enough to remember Knitpicks Gloss, which is 40% of their price, and also has a gorgeous cocoa color. I have a deal with myself about how many socks I have to knit before I go nuts at Knitpicks. I think it's three pair. We'll see how long I hold out.

Yes, I'm posting at 2am. It's a knitting emergency.

Because holy crap, it looks like yarn!



I thought about another few minutes of spinning from the roving tonight, but instead, inspired by finding the new home of I Can Spin and reading in Spin to Knit about Andean plying, I figured, hey, why not? So that's Janet's First 2-ply. I desperately want to knit it up, but into what? I can hardly believe it's yarn, but it sure looks like it! Of course, I think there's still some stuff I'm supposed to do with it before I knit it, but we'll get to that. It's slubby and uneven and odd and I love it and I want to play more now.

I also got EZ's Knitting Around at the library today (along with that spinning book and a lovely one about folk shawls that take way more yarn than I have, boo), and it is making me want to buy and study every last one of St. Elizabeth's books. She's just lovely. I'm thinking about her Moccasin Socks for Summer of Socks, along with everything else, and there's a lovely Norwegian mitten pattern.

And tonight during the IRL Texas Night Race I finished the heel flap on the second SeaWool sock. I decided to not turn the heel tonight due to the wine I'd consumed during the race, but that should happen tomorrow and I'll go back to work on Monday all good and partially gusseted.



And a psa: Ball Band Dishcloths are crack. I'm going to cast on my third any second now. Seriously. I wish I could stop, and I resolved to stop after the second, but then I was shopping for a bridal shower gift last night and when I realized that I had cotton in the bride's registered kitchen towel colors, I pulled the yarn and almost cast on immediately. And while digging through the cotton stash I thought of another one to make for my mom. And that one I'd have to buy cotton for. So don't start. I can't figure why these dishcloths are doing this to me, but surely I'm not the only one.

I'm going to go play with the yarn I made now. Have a good Sunday!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Sweater progress?



It's there, but not much of it. At this rate, I'll be done in time to need it. Maybe.

And that thing I thought of last week?



Started. That red block was the plan for the first square, but I realized that the blanket would be huge to the point of futility before anyone would realize what it was about. So rather than starting with a three-inch square, I started with a 1.5-inch square. I think it'll be ok to stop a step before the rectangle I linked to did. It's Red Heart from the stash. I might stick with these three colors, although I'll need another. Or maybe I'll find others to throw in, and make it more freaky. We'll see.

Oh, and while I'm starting things, here:



It's the scarf from Mindful Knitting, and it's nice. I hadn't done any double-decreases before, and it took me a couple tries to get this in my head and make the lace pattern work, but now I'm enjoying it. It's going in the Christmas box eventually.

Oh, and Sunday I learned to do this:



Spinning really is magic. We'll see if I ever knit anything from what I spin. Or even ply my singles. The woman who taught me showed me Navajo plying, and it was cool. The white stuff on the tp roll is my first handspun, the stuff she showed me with. The grey is from roving I bought at the festival, and I'm afraid I went a little overboard buying roving. In all, I bought about twelve ounces of it, in three lots of different colors. The grey is natural Romney, and I'm liking it. I got two dyed bits too, one a semisolid red, the other several fabulous brights.

Here's the thing: the grey's not going away. I put it in a gallon ziplock bag when I got it home. I've spun three days since then, not much, but a little each day. And the bag is just as full as when I first packed it. I'm hoping Sunday maybe I can make some visible progress. We'll see. The amazing thing is how much cheaper roving is than yarn. I must keep this in mind for the whole "yarn is entertainment" budgeting thing. HOURS of entertainment. For seriously cheap.

Meanwhile, also got my first laceweight yarn (Fleece Artist Suri Blue) and am looking for the appropriate project for it. I said no to the SeaSilk at the festival, but it was hard. I also got a passel of Artful Yarns Jazz at Golden Thimble this weekend. I'm thinking a worsted shawl might happen. I have a library pattern that's cables and dropped stitches that I really like. Because I should really start something else. Meanwhile I'm thinking about going to Mass Ave since they've got a sale going and I'm hoping to check out the shop in Lafayette when I go up there this weekend. Apparently I'm in a consumerist way lately. Good thing I'm working.

I'm still working on the SeaWool socks. I'm cranky and bored with them. I knit them when I have nothing else available. I should probably finish them soon if I'm going to take a sock break before Summer of Socks. Which I think might be wise, as I'm bordering on burnout. But it'll be okay. I don't see me permanently going off socks. Just chevron-patterned things.

Paradigm shift

My mom in March: "I don't know why you'd want to knit socks, you can go to Wal-mart and buy a pair for $2."

My mom tonight: "If you want to make me more socks, I wouldn't say no... for my birthday, or the fourth of July..."

I have found the perfect mathematical use for log cabin knitting: The Golden Rectangle.

The last square would be a booger, but I feel this must be done. The 21-square can't be done in one piece, but this totally can.

It's half-past midnight. I'm two repeats through a dishcloth and have a sweater and a sock part-finished in a bag. I've been unable to focus on anything for two days. I'm eyeing the cheap acrylic stash and wondering if I'm finding this idea so irresistible that I can't wait till tomorrow and the promise of better yarn at half off.

Maybe I'll just swatch a little. Do the first three squares or so. I don't have a problem...

Radio blurb

While driving to knit night this evening, I heard a nifty story about a family from upstate New York who upped and moved to Fair Isle. The webpage is even better, because of the hat the guy is wearing in the picture. Need to play with that technique.

The in-laws have decided to postpone and condense June celebrations, as there are at least three of them. This is good because it means a) an extended deadline for MIL's birthday Ball Band cloth - currently cast on but without other progress, and b) I get to go play with sheep and bunnies (and maybe goats and llamas) on Sunday. Think I'll come back without the spinning bug? It'll take a miracle.