Pictureless...

I just placed my first order from the Loopy Ewe. Can't wait to see what comes with the yarn! I ordered the Cookie A. pattern for my Monkey Swap 3 pal as well as some sock yarn from a dyeing company I don't think she's tried yet. At least, I searched her blog and the company didn't show up. All the others I was considering did, so I think I'm good with what I've gotten her. She likes variegated yarns, yarns from new to her dyers, and I got a colorway that, from reading her questionnaire and looking at the yarns she's purchased, should be right up her alley. Then again, I haven't used variegated yarns much, so it might come out completely wrong. The socks that I'm making her are coming out differently than I had thought when looking at the skein. Not bad, I still think she'll like them, but not as good as I thought they'd be. Ah well.

I have pictures of these socks, a couple of my Ravelry projects, and my Assateague trip. They're on my home computer. I'm at work. I stayed late yesterday as there was a knitting group in this end of town last night. Instead of going home and coming back, I just stayed here an extra couple of hours (we work on flex time, so I can go home earlier later in the week) and went to the knitting group. Met some great people there too. It was the yarn swap, so I got rid of all of my stashed yarn. Yup, there's a picture of what I got rid of. On the home computer. I got rid of a whole bunch, and only brought one measly ball of crochet thread home to make snowflakes with. I no longer have any eyelash yarn or full skeins of acrylic, or the black yarn I made socks with and felted, or the extra skein of my FAVORITE Peru Luxury DK. I figured someone else could have the loveliness. That and it's not machine washable, and the only things I could think of for one skein of it would be things that would get dirty easily. I still have the random non-full skeins of acrylic, because I don't feel right giving someone less than a full skein, even though one of them is only about ten yards less than a full skein of Red Heart SuperSaver. But I can make more Cabled Baglets out of the almost full skeins. Pictures of Cabled Baglet, a test knit for Chrissy Gardiner of Gardiner Yarn Works that will be up sometime after October, are forthcoming. I must say this is a freaking adorable bag. I love it. Like, absolutely love it. Very quick knit, I'm going to be using all of my random acrylic leftovers to make as many of these as possible as last-minute gifts for people. They are nice and small, fit a sock/sleeve-type knitting project and a couple notions, and the cables give it a very nice touch. It's a drawstring bag and EVERYONE who has seen it yesterday commented on it. Even all the guys at work at a meeting (it's a teleconferenced seminar thingie, which means two straight hours of knitting every Tuesday morning) thought it was great, and so did all the people at the knitting group. If you're in need of a cute little bag that takes somewhere between six and eight hours from start to finish (I was doing other things in between) this is definitely a pattern you should buy. I'll post the pictures when I get home and you'll see why.

I'm going to update the sidebar with only the projects that are currently topmost in my knitting priorities, instead of having everything there. Like that Frill and all those cross stitches? Yeah, I haven't cross stitched in forever due to all the knitting I'm doing. Honestly, I'm about ready to switch it up to mostly cross stitching (I have phases) but I have so many things I HAVE to get done that the cross stitching is not going to get touched for a bit. Which is sad, I really wanted to finish one of my huge ones this summer. Ah well, if I can finish a bunch of knitting and stop signing up to do more, maybe I still can finish it...

...Progress?

Lee had a major revelation this weekend. He thought that this magic number that has veered between 25 and 45 since I've known him is actually the number of projects I have yarn for/are planning to make. I laughed when I found out that that’s what he thought. He was in total shock when I told him that no, that’s not the number of projects I could make. That number would probably be over 100, as I have about 30 cross stitches that are in packaging still, yarn for about 20 pairs of socks, two sweaters, nearly 20 random small projects and around 20 lbs of fleeces. I think I am set for awhile. I don't stash, but I do buy for specific projects. So my stash is a bag of ten skeins of Peru Luxury DK, two skeins of sock yarn, and a few skeins of acrylic sportweight that a friend had picked up for me from a garage sale. That and leftovers from previous projects. My stash may be small compared to most knitbloggers, but my queue is massive. My yarn content may reach nearly as much as many others, but it's all set aside for a purpose. The number, my friends, is actually the number of projects I've started at one point or another. Whether it was that I was so excited to have it that I cast on, then the magic died due to the stitch pattern or (in the case of the Frill) I screwed up so I have an extra one cast on and didn't realize it, it is the number of projects that are in any form other than the one I bought them in.

The count. So, the plan was to keep it under 30 works in progress. I have eight that I can’t work on as they’re at home (usually paintings that I just haven’t finished) and about ten that I just shouldn’t have started (three blankets, five cross stitch, a stole and an amigurumi). So that’s about eighteen that are definitely in hibernation, but I still count them as they’ve been started. If I consider those eighteen to be in hibernation, then a good number of in progress projects should be something between 20 and 25, a cross stitch, a fleece, one or two crochet items, and two to four knit items, so I can switch off between an intricate stole and a simple watching a movie pattern, and have a sock or two in my purse. It really should only be up to 23 using that logic, as I have a crochet blanket (or three) that are in hibernation that I should start working on, and a stole that is also in hibernation that should be the paying attention piece. I was going to make it a goal to get down to 23 and stay below 25, but then I realized that I'm knitting a bunch for Christmas. I'll probably be making everyone's first sock, then everyone's second sock for the design that I'm making for all my aunts in different colors. So the goal really is to just stay below 40 until the Christmas knitting is done. Stay below 40 and don't put anything on stitch holders to use the needles.

Now, what number am I at that I'm going to try to reduce? That is the question. As I have had a major case of start-itis recently, mostly when it comes to socks, I will be trying mostly to reduce the number of single socks I have. How many socks is that? Eight. Yes, I have eight socks either waiting for a mate or just started on the needles. One of these pairs of socks won't be continued on until October (I got the wrong contrasting color and only noticed after completing the cuff) but three of these pairs are in larger weight yarns, so those won't be too bad to finish. I think I can get down to only one or two pairs in progress by the end of the month.

Now, keeping in mind that eight works in progress are socks and eighteen are in hibernation (for a total of twenty-six, already blasting by the twenty-three...) the number of works in progress is ...

thirty-seven.

So that's fourteen more projects than there should be. I'm not going to set any number goals other than the keeping it manageable for Christmas - only Christmas gifts if I'm over 30, but I can cast on something for me if I'm under 30. Once the holiday knitting has been completed, then I'll worry about getting that number down closer to where it should be!

Updating...

So this weekend I'm going to try to be a good internet person by actually photographing and updating things. I'm only going to be gone for one day instead of the entire time, so I should be able to take pictures of things in the sunlight (ahhhhh, nooo, it buuuuuuurns!) and actually tally up my projects for Blogger and Ravelry updatingness. Mostly I need to figure out how to photograph stuff better. Or con Lee into photographing me. That would probably work better. I get funny looks when I try to photograph such things as socks on my feet in the outside. I live in an apartment complex, and not a college student complex, which would make it much more acceptable. All college students do weird things, and RIT has a photography major, so pictures of weird things at weird angles are not that odd. Okay, well, they are, but people taking these pictures are commonplace enough that no one else notices.

Anyway, I own a camera, a very nice camera, so I should be taking awesome pictures of the things I knit and stuff. We'll see how that goes.

Socks (finally!)

Okay, so I lied. Not entirely my fault, Blogger, my camera, and the internet decided they didn't want to play nice. And I was away for the weekend, so couldn't do it then. However, here are some pictures!





Yarn for the Monkey Sock Swap! But oh, which one? I know, but I'm not telling, just in case she manages to figure me out. Either way, I do believe that these will be adorable Monkeys. I'm actually really glad my spoilee likes the color scheme that I got - I actually bought these a couple of days before I got my partner, and didn't really like the colors so much (it's not something I would choose for myself to wear) but I was drawn to it. Good for my spoilee!

Don't'cha just hate it when you're 2 rows from completion, and you run out of yarn? Yeah, I was worried I was going to run out. So I kept on knitting, and decided that yeah, I would just barely make it. Boy was I wrong. I did have scraps of this yarn from an earlier sock though, so it got finished.

And the sockapalooza. These are all the sock knitting I've done since the beginning of August (and some in September - I re-took the picture after finishing a bit after the weekend). Yes, I know, I have a large bunch still on the needles on the end. Yes, that's five pairs on the needles. And if I had the sock yarn for the few sizes that aren't being used up, they'd probably be in this picture too. I like having one or two in my purse, the easy, don't have to think about it out-and-about knitting (blue toe-up sock and multicolored, mostly done grey sock). Then there's the ones I have to concentrate on, either because they're colorwork or intricate (green sock, will be Fair Isled). Then there's the ones I'm designing (black, mostly done, waiting for yarn, and orange). It's all mostly Christmas knitting, some Birthday, some designed, and two socks that are just mine, knit from someone else's pattern. The question is: Can you find the pairs?

Nope, the blues are not mates. Different color blue which you can kinda see in the picture, and different rib pattern. These are the Mix and Match Rib pattern that I test knit for Chrissy Gardiner. Hourglass rib on the left, Eyelet on the right. Nice easy pattern in sport weight, a good way to use up random sport weight acrylic that I have lying around and give my sisters Christmas socks. They're ankle socks instead of full cuff socks - not sure how much acrylic I have, and I wouldn't want that much acrylic on my legs. Very fast, very cute though!

These for some reason wouldn't take with the flash. So I tried with no flash. Still not good, but better. Yes, these are a match. For my sister. Yay, Christmas Present #1 done! Also, these were finished in September, not August. I did finish one pair in August...

Betcha' you didn't see that one coming! I finished the first of this pair in July, and the second on August 2, I believe. International Sock of Doom 1. The second Sock Wars is beginning in October - I can't decide if I want to join. I think I will, but I did just sign up for a couple of test knits, and I am trying to do a bunch of Christmas knitting - I suppose that since the signups are open until October 1, I can set myself a knitting goal and if I meet it, I can sign up. I had fun for the first one, but things got crossed in the mail and I didn't particularly like the socks I got. Haven't worn them. It is something cool to be a part of. Okay, howsabout, if I finish all of my sister's socks, Lee's socks, Lee's mom's socks, Blaze, and I get to the wing in the Mystery Stole 3 (that I am AMAZINGLY far behind on) then I can join. Mystery Stole 3 is negotiable, but only if there's another project taking its place that is substantial enough. Like, not a pair of socks, but the two pairs of handspun socks (that are not done being spun) for my godparents and the needlefelted model of their dog made from their fur is a good swap. Which means that I have more knitting to do than can be done in less than a month. So I probably won't join, as I really shouldn't, but I might anyway...

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!