My Nemesis

I finally finished them.

These socks have pretty much been the bane of my ... okay, that's a little melodramatic, "bane" is probably over the top, but dang y'all, these socks have been a bitch to knit.

I started them back in May of 2011.   They were going along really nicely -- in fact I was feeling pretty smug about them at first.  "Oh the yarn is so pretty, oh it takes the patterning so well!" I cooed.  But I cast on the smaller size (64 sts), and I wasn't more than, say FOUR INCHES in before I realized that they would be too small.

Well, dangit, I says.  And I ripped them back and started over.  In late June (this is still 2011, mind you).

Sometime during that Fall I realized that I had carpet beetles.  (Can we talk about how much I hate carpet beetles?)   The yarn and the sock both had holes.  There was much violent cursing, and maybe a wee spot of fit throwing.

The socks got a VERY long time-out in my freezer.  V. v. long time-out.

Last February I decided to haul them back out and finish the durned things (February being for Finishing and all).  So, out comes the recently defrosted Sock #1.  I repaired the holes, and started knitting with some seriously damaged yarn.   Every few feet I'd have to skip a section anywhere from 8" to 10" long, to avoid the holes and have enough room to weave in the ends.

The first sock had a LOT of ends to weave in.  (The saving grace of this story is that the second skein of yarn was undamaged.  Shwew.)

So, I finished the first sock last February and set it aside because March is for Making Mates.  After all of the work to produce the one sock, I was just... not in love.  It was meh.  Okay.  This stupid sock was way too much work for just "meh."

Turns out March is also for Faffing Off when one is angry at the socks, because I never got any farther than this:

Until about two weeks ago.  Because damned if I was going to walk into another February with these bastards still on the needles.

I seriously considered setting the whole thing on fire, but Koren talked me out of it.

The second sock did come together MUCH more smoothly.  The only real problem I had with this one was the inch and a half that I ripped back due to inattentive patterning.  (Turns out that I wasn't able to read fan-fiction and follow this pattern at the same time.  Whoops.)

I do want to say that the problems (which were legion) that I had with these socks were NOT because it is a poorly written or designed pattern.  The designer did not summon carpet beetles into my home, nor is it her fault that I took leave of my senses, and lost my grip on the reality that is the size of my ankles.  The pattern's swell, I just had a rough time.

That said though, it might behoove me to pay more attention to what things are named.  If there are socks out there called "Kryptonite," well, let's just say I won't be knitting them.

Aptly Named

Nemesis

I've finished the fist of the Nemesis socks.  I just... I don't love it.  This damned sock was such a pain in the ass (not really the pattern's fault, the pattern's pretty easy)... the stars just conspired against me, yadda-yadda.

But anyway, it's a sock now, which is more than it was before.

The sock is really much "redder" than this picture implies, btw.  My new phone is lovely, as is its camera, but we're still getting to know each other.

Cuttin' it close

I used up pretty much exactly all of the yarn from one skein of Plymouth's Happy Feet.

I'm putting this away until March (which, as you know, for Making Mates.)  

Back to the afghan mines...

Always Do Your Best

Saturday was our Fourth Mostly-Annual Apollonian MidSummer Games. The event entailed Nine Games of Strength, Wisdom, Cleverness, Endurance, and Bad-Ass Pie Baking Skills. We competed in a Marathon (three miles of race-walking. Real athletes would scoff, but even so), the long jump (our longest jumper went 103" -- approximately 30" longer than his own height), coloring pages of the gods, and also pie.

A Plate of Pre-Prepared Pie Contest Entries

It was awesome.

All throughout the day, the same message was repeated, "Always do your best." We weren't competing to win (I lie. We were totally competing to win.) But we were also competing to give the very best of ourselves as a gift to the divine and to our community.

We ate the very best foods for lunch and also for dinner.

Don't You Wish Your Caprese Was Hot Like Me?

And we played a hard-core game of Twister.

Game On.

Always do your best.

It's a good rule to live by, even when you aren't trying to throw a frisbee across the yard like an Olympic Athlete.

It applies to baking.

Rhiannon is baking buns for tonight's cheeseburgers.

Mmmm. Cheeseburgers.

And also to knitting (you knew there was going to be a tie-in, didn't you?)

Nemesis...Aptly Named Socks Take 2

I started over. It's important to always do your best.

Conspiracy Theory

I'm starting to think I might be cursed. (Okay, not really) But you remember my May-June Sock Club Socks? "Ooh, look at the pretty depth and shading" I said.

Well, the thrice-blessed things don't fit.

The same problem I had with my doomed Jerkwalters. I've been successfully knitting socks for many years. Sometimes socks with patterns. And fancy work. Heck, I made a Nancy Bush sock once, and it fit me. What the eff is the matter with me now? I am so ready to frog this frakker and knit something in stockinette.

Okay, not really. I'm about to go cast on the next size up and try again.

At Least I Didn't Have to Make Any of This Up

I told myself that I had to blog today, even if I hadn't done anything interesting. "If you haven't done anything interesting, make something up," I says to myself.

As it happens, I have done some things — although whether or not they are interesting is at worst debatable, and at best, in the eye of the beholder. You'll have to let me know.

Rhiannon's Retro Daffodil Socks aren't any farther along than they were when last we spoke, but I did take another pretty picture of them.

Three-quarters of a pair of pretty socks.

I have worked on my Sock of the Month Nemesis socks. I'm not super sure they'll fit, but gosh they're pretty. I was worried that the pattern wouldn't show well in the Happy Feet, but it doesn't look like that's an issue.

Isn't the depth and shading pretty?

That's all done with increases and decreases.

And lastly but not leastly, I've dug out my Ab-Fab Afghan kit from 200...and something, 2004, I think, and have started working on it again. It's been a zillion years. We all know that I have a bit of a problem with project monogamy...this comes as a shock to no one, but at least this is an old project revisited. I get some credit for that...right?

One square of many.

And there you have it, all the news that's fit to print. Oh! And I am still working on Robert's quilt too. Every Tuesday night, the Sock Monkey quilt and I settle down in front of NCIS for some quality together time.

At this rate, I might be able to blog about finishing something, and we all know how rare that is.

The First Rule of Sock Club

The first rule of Sock Club is that you DO NOT BLOG ABOUT Sock Club.

That's my official excuse for not telling you about my May-June Self Imposed Sock Club socks until June 1.

The rules about Sock Club should be considered as the Pirate Code.... more like guidelines really. Somewhere around Rule 11.b.ii is: You should eventually knit the socks.

So anyway, after entirely too much ado, I introduce you to June's Nemesis.

Pattern: Nemesis

Yarn: Plymouth Happy Feet, Color "4"

Needles: Two

I'm not far in, but I'm dedicating every Wednesday in June to their creation, so I have great hope (especially after the failure of my Mar-Apr Jerkwalters.)

I like them already.

(I now only have two pairs of socks on the needles, these and my Retro Daffodil Ribs. It feels weird. I may cast on a "plain" sock... just to keep my options open.)

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Spring is springing all over the place here in Middle Tennessee, and I'm pretty much thrilled. I have daffodils on my table, greening grass outside, a red bud in bloom, and iris.

My iris are starting to bud out, and that makes me happy.

(A prepared blogger would have a pretty picture here of her front flower bed. Pretend I am a prepared blogger and imagine a flower bed full of beautiful green iris leaves. And since this is an imaginary picture and not a real one, go ahead and finish weeding that spot in front of the garage with your mind's eye, won't you?)

Things on the knitting front are moving apace. March is supposed to be for Making Mates, but so far it seems to be mostly for watching NCIS re-runs and test knitting mitts for a friend. (In my defense, I did make two mitts, so mate making happened.)

Meet Pretty Perdita X Mitts (Ravelry link). The cable would have been less, shall we say, "subtle" in a different yarn at a different gauge, but that is no fault of the designer. In any case, they are going in a box labeled "Do not open until Xmess" in a no doubt mis-guided attempt to avoid an onset of what Stephanie Pearl-McPhee refers to as "It."

Unfortunately, I also have less successful knitting tale to tell. My Sock Club socks for Mar-Apr are doomed to the frog pond, I fear. I'm knitting Jaywalkers (another Ravelry link) out of a really pretty striped indie-dyer yarn. They look gorgeous, but they aren't going to work. The fabric has no give (and Jaywalkers are tricky to fit anyway) and they aren't going to fit. So, rather than finish them and have pretty socks that I hate, I'm going to frog them and make a new plan.

My original concept with the whole sock club thing was to challenge myself (and to actually finish some damn socks, but that's beside the point). But... you have to know when to bail, I think. I may try Charlene Schurch's Chevron Socks (still yet more 'nother Ravelry link), and see if I can get them to act right.

Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

Getting There

This is more for my own accounting purposes than anything else (also, it makes me feel better when I see the list getting shorter). Here is what is left:

1. Ab-Fab Afghan
2. Dr. Who Scarf
3. Arabella — ~75% Finished
4. Flamin' Fingerless gloves
5. Socks that Wanted to Be Mittens Instead
6. Amelia Cardigan
7. Sooper Sekrit Surprise Projeck
8. Checkerboard Twist Socks — 50% Finished
9. Watergarden Cardigan

I will also be frogging:

1. BSJ (Baby Surprise Jacket, not Bloody Stupid Johnson)

So, I'm down to nine projects on needles, one of which is nearly finished (Arabella) and another is a pair of socks (and March is for Making Mates).

This, from 25 on January 31. Go me!

A note on socks: I'm thinking that I am going to embrace "March is for Making Mates" and get my Checkerboard Twist Socks and the "Socks That Would be Mittens" finished up. That will leave me whatever part of March is left (if any) plus all of April to finish up my Self Imposed Sock Club socs for Mar-Apr. As of right now I'm thinking not to cast them on until I'm done with Making Mates...but I'm fickle, so we'll see. The heady rush of "it is no longer February and I am free to cast on!!!" might overcome me. It's hard to say.

One is the Loneliest Number

I finished up the first of my Winter Marigolds (I keep changing what I'm calling them) two nights ago, and then very cleverly cast on the next one last night.

The toe on the second sock went together better and easier than the first one did, so I'll call that progress. Let it be known, however, that it still looks of ass, and I'm hardly convinced. Further forays into the world of the toe-up sock will utilize different toe conception techniques, cuz this shit's for the birds.

I took the sock outside to get some pictures...



Oh, you didn't just want to see the cat? Here's the sock then...

Knit Like You Mean It

I made some wicked progress on my Marigold for January socks. And then I hit the heel. (Cue ominous music here.) My first go at the short row heel ended with me ripping back after I'd done the first half of the wraps. I was sent to do the second half (wherein you pick the wraps back up) and I buggered it. So I pulled back and started again. Finished the heel, and then started doing the calf.

Funky afghan added for contrast.

Here is the part that makes me cry. I knew that it was likely to be a bit small for me (I usually need a 72 stitch sock, and these are 64), but I was planning to make them for Number Two Daughter. I got her to "model them" for me (read "try them on") this afternoon, under the premise of helping me get blog pictures. The (@&&!^% things are too shallow through the instep for her. So back I've ripped again, and this time I'm saying Eff the pattern sideways and through the wall, I'm trying a different heel. Yes, I'm here to learn new techniques, and one of those techniques is how to flee like a rat from a sinking ship when a pattern decides to turn on me.

I'm trying Wendy Johnson's reverse-engineered gusset heel next, as it is meant to add more ease through the instep. Wish me luck. The picture above is pre-ripping. There is considerably less sock now... I didn't have the heart to take another picture.




Oh! I did finish a thing though! Socks that I'd finished all save the last wee bit of kitchener stitch, are now officially done, off the needles, and ends woven in. We will not speak of how long they sat in that sad and abandoned state.










A Word To My Commenters:

First, let me say Hello and Welcome! I was thrilled to see comments from someone that I don't know in what passes for my "real" life, so let me say thank you for reading, and I hope you keep commenting!

One thing that LiveJournal does that beats Blogger hands down is how it manages comments. In LJ it is really easy to respond to a comment and to keep a conversation threaded. Here... not so much. But here's my plan — and I imagine that this is what most bloggers do anyway. If you comment in one of my posts, I'll do my best to respond back in the same post. The only way you'll know, of course, is if you go back and check (or clicky the little box when you comment that will prompt Blogger to email you.) So anyway, if you ask me a question in the comments, that's where to look for an answer.

Come on in, pull up a chair, and have some coffee. It's nice to meet you.

Begin as You Mean to Go On

I got my daughter to help me select my sock kit for January-February yesterday afternoon. This was accomplished by me holding out the box and saying "Just grab one!" while she eyed both it and me suspiciously.

Once I'd dashed her hopes and informed her that no, the socks would most likely not be for her, the deed was done, and my course laid.

I'll be making Marigold (Ravelry link) out of a lovely couple of skeins of Jojoland Melody wool, in the descriptive (and intuitively lovely sounding) colorway of "MS08."

Part of what I'm after with this experiment (other than to justify the purchase of more sock yarn, of course) is to broaden my proverbial horizons and to utilize techniques that I'm usually just too darned lazy to bother with. I have a basic, cuff-down, vanilla sock recipe that lives in my head and that I can knit in my sleep. That way lies boredom and sock-driven ennui. Hence the kits and the patterns.

My very first sock out I'm doing a short-row toe-up sock pattern, and I'm suddenly reminded of why I always knit my socks the other direction. I suck at toe-up short-row socks. They look of un-mitigated ass. And they are a pain in my tuchus. And I'm not good at them (this bothers me to no end. The cure, one hopes, is practice.)

I soldiered on and am now a repeat-and-a-half into the lace pattern. All is well.

Self-Imposed Sock Knitting Club

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has the most clever ideas. Last year she invented a sock club for herself, and at the end of 2010 she had 12 new pairs of socks that were (and this is the best part) all made from yarns and patterns that she herself chose, so she was sure to like them. (Or if she didn't, there was no one to blame but herself, and there is some satisfaction to be garnered even from that.)

So, in the spirit of band-wagon jumping—if you have a bandwagon, odds are good I will jump on it...I'm just that way—I've decided to follow suit in 2011. Not being nearly as prolific as Stephanie, (and my current sock production looking something like "exactly zero socks every month") I've decided, in the words of Eddie Izzard, to scale it back a bit.


I now have six neat little packets that include sock yarns that have languished in my stash since forever, paired with patterns that are all a wee bit more complicated than my standard sock recipe. Good times.

I draw the first kit on Saturday, and will be back with pictures and reports of progress.

P.S. Don't forget that February is for Finishing. I haven't.

P.P.S. March is for Making Mates. So there is still some hope for all of the pairs of socks that I started in 2009 and 2010 that didn't get finished.