Socks, Socks, Socks...

So I have pretty pictures on my camera. And on the computer at home. Sadly, I am at work. So no pictures for you.

I have been knitting an AMAZING amount of socks this month. I have had the one I was designing that was evil and required me to sit down and THINK about it when knitting. As I didn't have much sitting and thinking time, but a whole bunch of waiting time, I got a bunch of purse socks done. I have three four (I forgot one when I first posted - tee hee) completely done right now, two very close to finished, and one more just started. Single socks, not pairs. One of the completed socks finished a pair. All the rest are first socks. Three of the socks (two finished, one just started) are Christmas presents, so leaving them to languish for a bit is fine. They're all purse socks, so I've been switching it up a bit each time and starting something I'm interested in at the moment. I shall post a picture of all my socks the last day of the month to show you (and hopefully I'll have 2-3 more to put in the picture then!).

I have awesome yarn for my Monkey Swap Pal. It's a colorway I believe she'll like, bright and cheery and yellowy and orangey. Perfect for Monkey socks, I think. Picture at home. I shall update with it later. This is not one of those pairs of socks already started. It's one I'm dying to start, but I'm waiting for the needles to free up from the current socks. Too many socks! Though a nice reduction in stash, I must say.

Good For Nothing

"You're good for nothing when you're working on a sock," said Lee, after coming in from running. "It's 6:00 at night and you haven't even gotten dressed for the day!" My reply is a maniacal laugh. "It's 6:30!" "And you laugh about it instead of realizing it's sad!" he says as he's going in for a shower.
I'm designing a sock. A sock that has taken many iterations and a few left turns since its inception. But it is finally there. So today I got out of bed at 10:30, checked e-mails and things for a bit, talked to my aunt for an hour, ate breakfast and lunch, exercised for an hour, and worked on the sock. Incessantly. It's to the point where it's pretty much finalized, I just have to re-knit (again) to be sure. Today I've written it up and I'm halfway through the cuff. I can send the pattern off once I get past the heel to make sure that its correct. The heel is patterned. As soon as I am sure the pattern as written conforms to the sock as knit and that some of my weird yardage notes are correct (there are two colors at work here), I shall be productive again outside of the sock. Like I'll work on the other two socks that are on the needles. Or the two shawls. Or...
I think what Lee means is that I haven't done the dishes or the laundry or called a friend we are trying to meet with in a few weeks which were my chores for the day. He went in to work to make up some extra hours for a long weekend we took. I worked longer days, he goes in Saturday mornings.
I was productive though! I finalized the pattern, wrote it all up (except the heel bit) and it's all pretty! And I decided what my Monkey Sock Swap 3 pal is getting and what yarn I am using for her socks. So I am not good for nothing, I am simply good for nothing other than yarn.
On Thursday, when I came home from the yarn store, we had rice for dinner. For some reason, every time I tried to say "rice" I said "yarn." Maybe Lee has a point...

Monkey Swap 3

So I am a sucker for group things. I joined the Mystery Stole 3, now I'm joining the Monkey Swap 3. Maybe it's just group things with those initials. Anywho, if you're interested in making some Monkey socks to surprise someone with, and receiving some Monkey socks and some monkey related goods, click on the link and sign up. Who knows, maybe you'll be my swap partner!

Monkey Sock Swap THREE Questionnaire

The basics:

Though I couldn't knit them in my sleep (might poke Lee with the needles accidentally) I'm pretty happy with all I've tried and have done Fair Isle and lace in my socks. I haven't done cables yet, but they don't scare me!

The measurements:

Shoe Size: 10.5
Foot circumference: average - don't have a measuring tape right now and can't remember!

Foot length: 10"

Yarn Preferences:
What colors do you love?

I love deep blues and purples, bright purples and pinks, blues and aquas and greens. Deep reds, deep purples, saturated blues, basically the GBIVR bit of the spectrum. But mostly purples.

Do you prefer solids or variegated?

Depends on the purpose/pattern. I like variegated for things like Monkeys and Pomatomus, but most of Cookie's other patterns seem to look best in solids. Gothic Spire and Flicker may be good in variegated too.

Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn?

I'd rather not have 100% acrylic, but I'm pretty much up for anything.

What colors would you never wear?

I don't think there are colors I'd never wear. I'd rather have bright blues, greens, pinks, purples, and variations thereof, than browns, beiges, or pastels. Not so much of a yellow or orange person either.

What are your favorite brands of yarn?

I haven't tried many sock yarns, but I love KnitPicks!

Are there any new brands you would like to try?

Nothing specific. I've never tried any of the major brands people swear by, like Trekking or Socks that Rock, but that is because I am still going through my KnitPicks and a couple of others I bought on eBay.

Cookie A. Patterns:
Which of her patterns have you already knit?

Hedera (my favorite socks EVER) and Baudelaire.

Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own?

I like Thelonius as a short sock, Millicent as a long sock, and Pomatomus if you're on a budget and/or are thinking variegated!

Other pertinent information:

Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US?

Doesn't matter to me!

Do you have any allergies?

Nope.

Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals?

Just Lee. He's a boy. So it kind of counts.

Are you on Ravelry yet? If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name?

Yes, I am on Ravelry as Shlaci.

Not sure what's with the weird formatting. Blogger must hate me right now. Oh well.

I promise, I'll remember to use my camera this weekend and post. Scout's honor!

Spinning

I have the most amazing sunburn ever. Blisters, puss, swelling, and amazing amounts of pain and grossness. Lee and I went on a 3-4 hour kayaking journey for 6 hours. Sunscreen does not last so long. Especially when it is on parts that are getting wet and have not seen the sun at all this summer. My knees. To combat the pain and requisite lying down, I started a test knit stole for Chrissy Gardiner, the Path of Flowers Shawl, which will probably be coming out not too soon after it gets test knit. I wanted something that would take my mind off of the pain of the sunburn, but not something that was amazingly finicky. As I was still on the first clue of the Mystery Stole and socks just didn't seem right, I started this one. It's really nice so far (I'm halfway through the first repeat, yay me) and I like the fact that though it is lace, it is only a 16 row repeat. The size 6 needles also make for not terribly finicky squinty knitting. Once getting back home, however, I felt confident enough to continue on with the Mystery Stole. I am halfway through the second repeat. Which means that if I only had started when the clues came out, I could have been keeping up. It is looking beautiful though; I love the silver beads! The wing sounds great and I can't wait until I am far enough along to start it. That was kind of my goal for this week, getting through Clue 4 by the time Clue 6 came out, so I can just wing it (hee hee) for the rest. Again with the stupid goals.

I did some alpaca spinning (another stupid goal, I was thinking to make my aunt and uncle socks for their birthdays THIS MONTH) and got almost an entire spindle full in the two hours I spun. The major problem with the spinning is that I have raw fleece. It needs carding. I don't enjoy carding. I'm not sure if I will ever get a raw fleece again due to my severe dislike of carding. Spinning is great, but carding, now carding should be done outside due to the bits of dust and loose hairs flying about. The llama and alpaca I have do not require scouring before spinning and are dusty. One of the llama fleeces is amazingly dirty, and I am considering doing something with it before spinning. If I could just take the time to card up the entire bag, give it an entire afternoon and just suck it up, it probably wouldn't be so bad. Then I could spin and spin to my heart's content, or I ran out of rolags. I suppose I really don't like carding because there isn't much else you can do while carding. I read while knitting, listen to music, watch movies, talk, but stuck outside having to watch the carding, there isn't much else to do. Boring and slow and just not as productive as I like activities to be.

I was carding three rolags, spinning them, then carding three last time, as the straight carding was annoying. I was also carding in the house (don't tell Lee!) over the Rubbermaid to catch any dirt since this was a pretty clean fleece. I got through nine rolags. I think twelve would fill the spindle, but I did not want to continue after nine. It was food time, and the hair was just getting everywhere and mixing with the aloe on my legs. Not cool. I want to make a pair of Thuja socks for my uncle and a pair of Thuja-inspired socks for my aunt. I love the pattern, think it would go very well with the alpaca, but want something to allow them to tell their socks apart. I'm thinking of taking the stockinette portions of the ribbing on the back of the legs of my aunt's socks and making them cables or twists or something. I'd like to spin some more today, but my legs are so gross that I really can't do that. I'm still not sure how many yards I'm going to get out of the spindle. I only need about 175 yards for a pair of Thujas, which really isn't much. I am planning on plying the yarn, two ply, as I'm spinning pretty consistently at half the size I want it. That's making me pretty happy. I need to spin 350 yards, then ply it to get about 175 yards. Not too bad, not too bad at all. If I'm spinning it similar to how I spun the llama that was last on the spindle (and I think I am), a full spindle is about 100 yards (if I remember correctly), and if a full spindle is twelve rolags, then I need 3.5 spindles at 12 rolags or 42 rolags total, and I've done nine, so about 33 more rolags to card. Yeah, I think I can do that in an afternoon. Probably Saturday. That sounds like a pretty good Saturday, carding up a Rubbermaid container full of rolags, then spinning them while watching a movie that evening. Sounds great to me! I'll be able to knit them at the Kenny Wayne Shepard concert on Sunday, and finish them during the week. I can spin the other pair up the next weekend, and the socks will be late but not too late. If I can only keep to my schedule...

My List

So I realized that I tend to add new projects to the top of my list, not the bottom, on my blog. It is much the same in real life. I get so excited starting something new. And then the shiny wears off when I realize it's going to take me HOW LONG!?!?!? to finish it. Based on my track record, I really am too much of an instant gratification person to knit. I mean, I love it and all, and I have never not finished something I've begun (even though the Hobbit took me years of picking it up and putting it down to trudge my way through, and Punch Drunk Love was bad enough that I really should have gotten my money back halfway through...), but some things take a veeeeeeeeeery long time to get there. I have blankets and cross stitches that have been languishing for over a year. Or two. Or three. Though I don't think I have anything that I personally started that is over ten years old. I'd better finish that one cross stitch before it gets there! I also truly enjoy intricate things and I like putting the time into them to come out right. The main problem is that I have horrendous start-itis, and will have started (and sometimes finished) a whole bunch of things before going back to work on the time consuming project that had enthralled me so when I started it. Like the Frill, for example. It was on the needles since November, and I just picked it up the other day when I had myriads of knitting time at work and figured I could just finish the (&(^&$ thing if I had nothing else to do. It worked. I've had the Awesome Mohair Sweater in the works for over a year. That one is my own design, so is thrashing me soundly. What I had envisioned is just not working with the chosen yarn. Another design has been chosen and will be undertaken when I have the willpower to attempt such a thing. So maybe next summer.

Anyway, look at all the new pretty things that have been cast on and worked on instead of finishing those other projects! I think the reason the Mohair sweater just won't work is that it's jealous of all the attention the other yarns tend to get. It is like a poodle, thinks that it is the only one worthy of such adoration. I have alpaca, merino, peruvian wool, and it all deserves its time. Besides, the damn mohair has taken up waaaaaaay more than its fair share already!

Oh, also, I finished a pair of socks (Socks of Doom) which will be photographed and posted on soon. They are my first pair for August for the Sock a Month Knitalong, so they will definitely be discussed. Tempting is complete, though she could not be worn at the barbecue. Wool and hot, humid weather do not mix so well. This fall she will be shown off all the time, though!

Pretty fibery things (so you don't have to imagine anymore!):

Holy Sleeve

Better Sleeve (that looks even better now!)

Almost Finished Tempting (though farther than when in NYC)

Mystery Stole 3, Clue 1, Chart B

I finished Clue 1 finally too! It looks pretty good, though it's not all stretched out. The yellow bits are pins, the silvery bits are beads. Though the beads actually look more like yarn overs in this picture. Oh well.

Need to Blog More

So I am a bad blogger. Mostly I am a bad picture taker/uploader. I feel bad when posting with no pictures, as this is a knitting blog and I knit pretty things. Sometimes. I've not touched the Mystery Stole since the last post. I was trying to work late and finish my Tempting. Tempting, she did not get finished quite when I wanted her to be. I was about 2 inches from the end when I wanted to wear it. Oh well.

(visualize picture of almost done Tempting in a purpley-fuschia here)

Also, I did not have the directions out when attaching the underarm stitches for the first sleeve (lazy me). I remembered that you were supposed to turn it inside-out. So I turned it inside-out and kitchenered. Did not work.

(visualize beautiful 2x2 ribbing grafted on the visible {albeit underarm} side with a hodgepodge of purl stitches)

It also left huge gaping holes on either side of the grafting. Apparently my join was not sufficient. The second one, however, was done using the three-needle-bind-off, which went much smoother. The wonky bit is inside the underarm, so I can raise my arm on a roller coaster or something and it's all nice.

(visualize nicely grafted 2x2 ribbing)

I also made sure to close up the holes with the long tail while binding off. They still aren't nice and smooth and beautiful and invisible, but they're much better. I may go back and attack them with more yarn later. At this point, I need to re-attach the underarm stitches of the first sleeve, and then finish the last four rows of the pullover. So it will be done, if not tonight, then tomorrow on the long car ride to New Hampshire. And then I will wear it, probably on Thursday, and dance around all day singing about my nice new sweater. I tend to do that with all wearables when finished, dance around annoying all those who cross my path. Particularly Lee. Though I think he gets more amused than angry when I dance around wearing new socks.

I also tend to dance around singing the praises of knitted garments each time I wear them. As my homemade clothing collection increases, the singing and dancing should decrease. Or I'll just be singing and dancing all the time. One or the other. I'm kinda betting on the latter, though. I think that in a year, I'll be wearing some item of handmade clothing daily. I have two skirts, a couple pairs of pants (pajama and snake skin corduroy) and about ten shirts in the sewing queue, plus two cardigans and three shirts in the knitting queue, and probably fifteen pairs of socks. At least eight, the rest of the yarn I own may or may not go for my own personal socks. I get unnaturally excited when I can throw out a pair of store-bought socks, as that means I am coming ever closer to having just homemade socks, yippee!

Yay Mystery Stole 3!

So, I dyed the yarn. First time I dyed it, there were a few spots that were still white, and some bits that were blue or brown instead of black. I considered just going with it, but I got the nice silver beads to offset the black, and I'm really looking for a solid black stole. So, back into the crock pot the yarn went. This time, there's only a nickel-sized spot that didn't quite get inundated with dye, so that's as good as it gets. It's my first time dyeing yarn, so I felt that two dunks in the pot weren't bad at all! Apparently I just need to stir more next time. Putting it back in when I had allowed it to dry overnight was quite difficult though. Quite. I really, really wanted to just start the stole! When it was finally all black and all dry (with the help of a fan), I made this swatch:


Only two repeats of the pattern with (though you can't really see them) silver beads at the point of the first repeats. I gotta work on bead placement, they didn't really come out too well, kinda off-centered. I figure there's time for that later. And I probably won't be putting the beads on a triple decrease either. It is my first time knitting with beads in any way but stringing them onto the yarn and using them while casting on, which I did for the Frill (see last post). It is also my first time knitting with laceweight and making real lace. I've done some for Frill, some for Reid, and some for random socks, but this is hardcore lace. My goal for the weekend was to read Harry Potter, get through Chart A and start Tempting. I was quite happy, I started the stole on Sunday and finished Chart A the same day, in a rather short amount of time. The silver beads look amazing against the black yarn, but not so much in picture format. I assure you, it looks great!


Tempting is supposed to be for when I'm watching a movie or reading a book and therefore can't concentrate on the lace instructions. K2, P2 rib is for very simple not-paying-attention knitting. So of course I've been motoring through it. The goal was to have ten rows done per day, with the sweater at approximately 7 rows/inch and 20 inches long, that's about 140 rows so two weeks. There's minimal joining/weaving/seaming to do, and I'm going to make the sleeves much smaller than called for. The ones on the model that Jenna is wearing can't actually be 2.5 inches long, and I've really hated how the sleeves look on the larger sizes when people follow the pattern, so 1-2 inch sleeves for me, thanks. I should be able to fit in the sleeves, underarm graft, weaving the four ends, and threading the ribbon through by the barbecue. I want to wear it to Lee's big summer barbecue. He says I shouldn't. I suppose he's looking out for the knitting, as at a barbecue, it'll probably be not so much clean. If I finish, I will anyway. It looks like I will finish, as it's Tuesday, I started on Sunday, and I'm already 50 rows into it, almost doubling the goal pace. In fact, if I work on it at the knitting group I'll be joining this evening, I may finish it by my trip to New York City this weekend and wear it there. This is one of those that I just can't wait to get finished and get wearing!

I enjoyed Harry Potter, but thought it went out with less of a bang than I was expecting. Ah well, all's well that ends well, and that ended well enough, though in a very interesting way. Don't worry, no spoilers here.