Stockinette and something else

Yeah. I'm plugging away at the grey sock that I'm really starting to like, although I realized that since I didn't know the yarn would really stripe when I started knitting, I have pretty much no way of making the stripes match up. I hope Dad can live with fraternal socks. Chris won't use them, he says colored socks make his feet itch. I was telling Mom this, and she said her dad, my Granddaddy, used to say the same thing.

And I'm still in love with the ridiculously bright drawstring bag. It's really just like a big sock without ribbing or shaping and with a row of eyelets, but I don't care. I love it. I'm looking forward to the three-needle bind off; I've never done one before.

I am reading Ender's Game for the umpteenth time before I reread Deathly Hallows. I'm not sure why I decided I needed to do that, but I'm finding similarities.

bag and book

bag and book
Originally uploaded by trimmje

This is what I did this weekend. Along with finding an outfit for a wedding in a cornfield, going to a wedding in a cornfield, and making contact with five places I might not mind working at as much as I mind working where I do now.

That yarn looks faded compared to reality in the photo. It's really got a bit of neonish to it.

And the book was good. Very weird in places, but good.

Oh, and - I went to the yarn store early Saturday afternoon. I hadn't eaten lunch yet, so between the hunger and the wool fumes I almost fell down hard. I left with nothing, miraculously (since I wanted EVERYTHING), but some of that stuff has gnawed its way into my brain and I will be returning to stock up before my trip Wednesday. I will fall down hard Tuesday, but I've budgeted and stuff and right now, I'm ok with that.

It exists.

My Harry Potter book is in town. Sigh of relief. Flurry of activity. I'm thinking Sunday's a stay at home and read all day kind of day.

In other news, my laptop is working again! So I might just spend half the night on Ravelry.

Pictures!

Because it's gotten dreary this afternoon and there's not much overhead lighting in my house, today's sock pics are from the top of my washing machine. Deal.

First, beautimous blocked Monkeys!



They are so pretty, it's kind of a shame they're being put away till November, when they're a birthday present for my Mom. She'll like them, though.

Then Breeze!



These were super quick and a lot of fun. I "modified" the pattern a bit (read: left out two rows of the pattern twice and just kept on rather than frogging). We'll see if I make a pair for me. I might rather make a pair of socks just in the pattern on the heel flap, it's fun, quick, and pretty.

And then the boring plain jane thing gets lots more done when I'm not distracted by pretties with things like lace and cables... Also when I'm away from home and with people who are cool with me knitting while waiting at a restaurant and stuff.



I'll be turning that heel tonight. Heel-turning during work breaks has proven to be a sticky thing.

My Harry Potter book is theoretically in transit, but has not updated with a location since it was in Missisauga, ON, CA on the 21st. If it's not here by the time I leave to visit Mom next week, I'm totally reading hers.

A resolution

Another breeze sock done! Pictures tomorrow, I think. Pictures of the end-woven blocked monkeys too, I'm sure.

I seem to have some bizarre form of startitis where I am bored and dissatisfied with everything currently on the needles, but I don't have the oomph in me to pick something new to cast on and stick with it, either. The kool-aid yarn has been cast on and frogged twice this weekend. So basically it's back to grey sock, blue sweater, and green scarf. The sock has made great strides over the weekend. The new mathghan got some work done, too, but I'm worrying my gauge is too loose, because my ridges aren't quite square with my stitches on the current square. May need to frog back and redo this square on a smaller needle, because I'd rather frog to fix it here on the 25x25 square than on the 40x40 one that's next.

And so, since the stuff I have is kind of boring, all of it - a stockinette sock, 7x1 ribbing on the sweater, a 2-row lace scarf, and a garter stitch blanket, I resolve today to be more of a process knitter than a product knitter. Most all of these things are going to be a long, boring meditative haul. And truthfully, I have some non-knitting stuff that I need to spend brainpower on before I do any more cable/lace sock knitting. So, as excited as I am to have finished three socks in the past eight days, I don't think I'm going to start anything new till next week or so.

Maybe not till I've read my Harry Potter, which has shipped from Ontario. Which means not till I've done the list of stuff that I have designated as "To Do before I open the Harry Potter package" as well.

Although there's travel coming up. We'll see what kind of travel knitting ensues.

As requested

From left to right: Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, Lemon-Lime, and Pink Lemonade. Yes, I like lemon. I'm thinking something made from these must be called "Lemon Twist," even without any yellow. Or maybe that's the twist? There's a little tie-dye effect from bad skein tying on my part, but I'm ok with it.

I finished two socks on Sunday. One toe was only kitchenered, the other involved half a foot worth of knitting (the part of the sock, not the measure), the toe, and the kitchener afterward.



Monkeys are done! But for weaving in ends, but I think I do that at knit night now. It's so much nicer with company, and that way people get to see my FO's as soon as they're done.



One breeze and the heel of another. This heel is turned and the gusset is picked up, though you can't see it. I realized somewhere that I lost two rows of the chart TWICE, so I figured I'd just kick them out for the second sock too. They do look "alarmingly long and narrow," don't they? Lots of lateral stretch, though, so they should be okay. I may need to make myself a pair. We'll see. I'm actively looking for what's next in socks. These'll be done by the end of the week if the second sock goes like the first.



Still boring. And now they're plain stockinette. I realized a couple days ago that the ball band shows regular narrow stripes. I'm waiting for a second stripe. I need to knit for it to happen, though.

A guy at work did internet research this morning to verify that I know what I'm talking about with prob and stat. I had to laugh a little and try very hard to not be offended. He doesn't know me, after all. :)

I never used to be this susceptible

Dares and peer pressure. Seriously. I never wanted to try things because the cool kids were. I didn't drink till college, I never smoked, didn't do drugs. I didn't even get my driver's license till I was eighteen and needed to drive to go to college 500 miles from home (while I had friends who chose colleges based on "where everyone was going" - it's where Auburn gets half its student body, I'm sure). I was always the person who felt that "everyone else is doing it" was probably a good reason not to do whatever it was.

And yet here I am. It's Friday night, and I'm up to something. I came home via Meijer, where I spent way more time than anyone ever does at the Kool-Aid rack. And then I passed through the store going to the pharmacy end (Qtips were an item lost in the move. I don't know how.) and there was easter egg dye. In July. On clearance. I bought three boxes. So I have three packets of kool-aid in various colors, three boxes of egg dye, and three balls of cream-colored wool (and a ball of magic stripes, because I am helpless in the face of sock-usable yarn when buying other yarn anyway).

It's Mandie's fault. She was laughing at me last night because I was amazed by her dye job on her gorgeous Stag Bag. (She made Gryffindor colors with egg dye, tea and coffee! How cool is that?) And she kept saying that I could totally do the same thing.

And okay, I am feeling like nothing in the yarn world is a bad idea because hey, I CAN FIX CABLES WITHOUT FROGGING! I can't emphasize how powerful this fact makes me feel. It is the triumph of the week. It's that teenage feeling of indestructibility. It's Felix Felicis. I'm a knitting rock star.

So me and the Kool-Aid have a date tonight. The egg colors will be held in reserve till needed. Or till I get bored on another Friday night, and get up to no good.

Sock surgery

I was chortling to myself last night about how I was going to be able to blog that the Breeze socks "were a breeze." (Yes, I like puns. I'm afraid it's a professional hazard, most mathematicians I know are fascinated by wordplay.)

Then I got to the end of the first repeat, and realized I'd twisted cables the wrong way. It was midnight. I was really tired of the cotton. I put Breeze aside and worked on Monkey for a while. I got through a pattern repeat and realized my gusset decreases weren't all what they should have been. Boo.

So this morning's tasks - fix the cables and fix the gusset. I already fixed the cables, which was a little hair-raising and something I'm not sure I'd do again, but I do like the symmetry of the Breeze pattern, and how the cables turn one way or another depending on how the lace slants. But now, hah! I can fix cables without frogging.

And the gusset thing I've done before, but I think this one is more involved than the time before. We'll see. I've got breakfast, caffeine, and floods of morning sunshine, all which will make this better than last night. Oh, and the day off!

I feel compelled to finish both these pairs of socks by the end of the month, and then not knit anything else for my Mom for a while. Not that I'm feeling particularly motivated to knit my Dad's socks either. I really really don't want to go to Alabama by myself twice next month. Even if I don't have to drive it.

Oh, and I fell down at Knitpicks last night. They're having a book sale, so I got the few yarns I'd been wanting and a couple books from my Amazon wish list and yeah, free shipping.

I'm thinking about seeing Order of the Phoenix today, if I get everything else done. Back to the sock OR.

Socks, Goals, and Distraction

I started two new pairs over the weekend. Actually, one over the weekend and one last night. There are several non-knitty things I should do this afternoon and evening. I'll probably spend most of my time on this.

I need to get the purple monkeys to the gusset to move past the ribbing on the plain grey socks due to needle conflict, and there are probably two or three more pattern repeats on the brown breeze's heel flap before those need turned.

Mass Ave was talking at some point about a sock club once or twice a month, starting sometime this summer. I could use some company that's as out of control as me.

These are Breeze, from the summer Knitty. My mom came up with an occasion that might require socks before her November birthday (an occasion at the beginning of August), so I figure this might work. The yarn is Paton's Grace, the needles were available. I'm reserving judgment on the two circs thing till these are done. It's much happier with this mercerized cotton than it was with the mohair blend I swatched with before. If I love the socks, I'll make myself a pair in the green ginger color that tempted me Friday. I am loving the cabling, it's making this seem fast, that's for sure. Not having any leg helps too.

I got my Ravelry invitation yesterday. Now that I have flickr photos for all these, I have to do that now. It's really fun, and I think it could be very useful. If I ever get all my stuff in there.

Resurfacing

Monkey #1 is finished! Well, but for weaving in ends. And the second has the ribbing done, so that's a start.



That's the sill of my new front window behind it. Morning sunshine is a happy thing.

This, however, happened during the move. You see the giant lower box in here? The one under and behind everything?



That's my yarn stash. And my spinning stuff. The box on top of it is too heavy for me to lift, containing the lion's share of Chris's movies and video games. It was under there for a week. I did manage to excavate it this afternoon, (clearing the floor in front, sliding the pile, and sliding the big box off the back) and I feel a little more whole. Getting back to knit night last night helped too. The sweater got worked on then, it's the only movement that seems to happen on that front, when I work on it at Panera with people.

There is knitting. There is unpacking. There is also computer trouble. Something in the move and upgrade of the wireless router has my laptop refusing to acknowledge the existence of our home network (or more likely, the husband's wireless security doesn't want to let my laptop in, although he can't figure why), and so I get to play on his desktop when I can steal a minute or two. I'll try and keep updated though.