Summer is for Socks!

From now until the Autumnal Equinox it's all socks all the time here at Chez Woolly Discipline. Well, all socks, and Man-Sweater Knitalongs, and Mystery Stoles all the time. If you wanted to get technical about it. Which you didn't. But I did.

Anyway, the Glad Raggs socks are nearing completion — not so very far to go on the second sock. I had a minor disaster involving a torrential downpour at Dollywood. My extremely cool portable sock carrier that my best Jess made me has a lining that is not what you call "colorfast". So, once the socks are complete, I'll be experimenting with dyeing. Should be fun, and I'm not really fashed about it — the original color wasn't all that exciting to begin with. So, no wukkas.

Now, lest my total number of SIPs (socks in progress) accidentally ever dip below two, I went ahead and cast on a new sock. The Waving Lace Socks from Favorite Socks. I'm using Knitpicks Palette in Fawn on size 2 needles. Good Times.

(The Canada sock? What Canada sock?)

Sewing Queues, Mystery Stoles, Man Sweaters and RAVELRY!

Wow, I am lame in my non-postitude.

I haven't gotten much sewing done lately. I'm nearly done with a Yule gift for mumblemumble, and I've got a dress for Jess' Chi-Town Princess cut out and ready to go. Next in line is a shorts and T-shirt outfit for Morgan. Dig those crazy lime-green crabs.


In knitting news...well, I have lots of knitting news. Melanie is designing a third Mystery Stole and the group is crazy active. There are fifty-three million knitters already signed up, and there is a world shortage of JaeggerSpun Zephyr. I am exaggerating. A little. I'm pretty excited about all of this. The 2nd stole is absotively gorgeous (I never even cast on, although I did join the group) so I have high hopes for this one. In the spirit of stretching my skill set, I'm planning to knit this one with beads. Exciting stuff.

Jess and I are planning a wee tiny two person Man-Sweater-Along. There's a grand cardigan designed by Ann Budd in one of last year's Interweave Knits (I'll be more specific in an upcoming post). While Knitpicks had their Wool O' The Andes on sale for a buck fifty-nine, she and I both bought enough to make ourselves this sweater. More skill set enhancement with this one — it has a zipper. Neither of us have ever installed a zipper into knitwear before, but she and I both sew and have both done zippers in garment making. We'll figure it out.

Oh, and let me also casually mention.... I got my invite to Ravelry! Dudes. It's groovy. Totally worth the hype, and wicked fun to play in. Jess (different Jess) and Casey have my deep admiration and respect. I hear tell that Casey has quit his "real" job and they've decided to make a go of running Ravelry full-time. I am so impressed with the both of them. That's courage, people. Pure chutzpuh.

Community Quilting

My local (and regional) crafting group, Crafts of the Wise (or CoW for short) has been working on a community quilt for our religious organization to raffle for a fundraiser. We started it two years ago, and I think its time to finish that bad-boy.

This post is not about that quilt.

Our friend the (blogless) Cindy decided that my niece Sarah needed a quilt for graduation. She put together some scrap blocks set on point and passed them out to Sarah's friends, family, teachers, ROTC peeps (do they still call them peeps?)....

Anyway, Jess and I each donated a block, and the three of us got together last week to start putting the top together. It wasn't quite finished yet by the time they left here, but a lot of good work got done, and dudes, we had fun. (The embroidery was done by Jess, by the way.)


There was a party for Sarah that I didn't get to go to (had to work) but I'm given to understand that she really liked it, and was amazed that so many people signed it without her finding out.

So, the moral of this story is: Cindy rocks, and crafting together is fun!

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

While this post will not actually mention, show or even link to Soleil, please know that I am still working on it. In fact, we are on the waist now, and about to begin the increases to the bust.

I have been doing some clearing up of some small projects.

I made Rowan a vest what with dinosaurs on when he was two. I also cut out a pair of shorts, but never made them. Until, you know, now.

The good news is, my boy-o is quite a bit taller now (three years later) but not so much bigger in the tummy. The durned things still fit. Go figure.

In other news, I finished the Kitty hat out of Stitch N' Bitch that Rhi conned me into knitting for her. The child can totally knit, and I should have made her do it herself...but I'm a sucker for a kid that begs for hand knits, what can I say?

Here's my beautiful baby girl looking, as she says "Shwah!" I gather from context that this is meant to be positive. I used to speak 13, but there has apparently been a dialectical shift in the intervening 2 decades.

And now for something completely different....

The Larch.

Okay, not quite that different. BUT! I have bloggy content for you that may shock and consternate my more delicate readers. What I am about to show you, is completely finished. I began it this week. And.

Its not knitting.

I know. I was shocked too.

Behold, the monkey shirt.

My Mr. Reno-berry is in dire need of some summer play clothes, and my stash is in some dire need of ... well, ever being used. Pretty much a win-win situation.

I sat down to sew on Tuesday, and had it all finished but the buttons and buttonholes. Then I remembered that I have a brand new sewing machine, and I don't so much know how to make buttonholes on it. I decided at that point that Learning New Things could totally wait until Wednesday.

Wednesday rolled around and after a trip to Wal-Mart (would you believe that in all that stash I have, like NO boy fabric? What the heck?) I sat down to learn button-holering. I love my new machine. I really, really do. Four fancy-schmancy relatively painless buttonholes later, and my boy has a new shirt.

Things I've learned:

• Lesson One: Just because you've been sewing for 15 years, don't think that you can get away with just looking at the pictures on a pattern you've never sewn before. It might bite you on your tuckus.
• Lesson Two: Listening to the husband read a story to the kidlings while sewing is very pleasant, but combined with lesson number one while sewing in a collar? Let's just say that more tuckus biting occurred and leave it at that, shall we?
• Lesson Three: My dude is seriously cute.

Book Review: Favorite Socks

Interweave Press has gathered 25 sock patterns together in their spring release "Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave." Edited by Ann Budd and Anne Merrow, this book delivers exactly what its title implies: a collection of 17 previously published (and 6 brand new) sock patterns.

Let me first say that this is a very pretty book. If I were being totally honest, and I am, I spend far more time looking at knitting books than I do actually knitting. Its a bit of a hobby in and of itself, so the over-all aesthetic quality of a knitting book is important to me. This one is nice.

The pages lie neatly open on the hidden inner spiral. This is common to Interweave's newer books (think Ann Budd's "Handy Pattern" books). I love this feature, because its really hard to knit and hold a book open at the same time. Also, the photography is lovely. Some pictures are old friends that you'll recognize from your collection, but others are refreshingly new.

If you are the sort of knitter that has had a subscription to Interweave from the beginning (rare) and who can positively lay her hands on every issue (rarer) and who furthermore knows exactly in which issue the specific sock pattern she is looking for is located (I hate you) then you certainly do not need this book. Okay, well there are 6 new patterns.

But, if you are like me, and you've subscribed for the past several years, and the issue with Evelyn Clark's "Flower Basket Shawl" is still in your knitting basket with the Knitpick's Alpaca Cloud, and the one with the Icarus Shawl has completely disappeared (because it knows you want to knit it)....

If you are like me, you'll want this book.

On Cotton Tanks

I'm about half of a row shy of completing the lace section of Soleil. I'm working four repeats instead of three, so that that the top will be a little longer. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll add more length into the waist shaping. Conceptually, that seems like a very straight-forward and obvious kind of adjustment to make. I'm still not entirely sure how to translate that into actual string though.

I feel that my skill as a knitter is continuing to expand, and learning how to be the boss of my knitting (as EZ would say) is an important step for me. One of my knitterly goals for 2007 is to learn more about design and pattern alteration.

Anyway, I'm enjoying knitting it so far. The Sinfonia is a pretty alright yarn, although its just enough splitty that you have to watch while you're knitting it, lest you look down and notice that three rows down you only PSSO'd half the yarn, and the other half is dangling there PiSSingOff. Cheeky yarn -- but soft! And the royal blue I'm working with is a beautiful color. I bet pictures would help, but I'm in bed (BLOGGING IN BED!) and can't be arsed to borrow the daughter's camera.

Speaking of cotton, I'm itchy to get my hands on some of Elann's Lara. The pictures are just that pretty. I think that it would be about perfect for Deborah Newton's "Josephine Top" (scroll down) in the new Interweave Knits. Its not quite a tank, but close. I'm thinking that this may be my treat for finishing up Soleil.

Summer Sock Knitalong Might Cure the Summertime Blues

I'm such a joiner.

But hey, its not like I wasn't gonna knit socks this summer anyway, right? Sign ups are from now through May 26, and the knitting time frame runs from Litha to Mabon. Er, I mean from Summer Solstice to the Autumnal Equinox. Yeah, that's the ticket. Three months of socky fun. More information can be found by clicking the pretty button.


Go on, click the button. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it.


And now: Thursdays are for Making Lists! (List, list, oh list!)

Calceo in Progresseo:

• Not-So-Very-Glad Raggs
• Eyelets of My Very Own Design
• Blame Canada!

Calceo in Provisio:

• Horcrux
• New England
• Hippopatomus
• Queen of Cups
• etc...

Knitting Ennui (there ain't no cure for the summertime blues)

I've been having a knitting slump lately. I have things on the needles that I don't want to knit. I am having serious second thoughts about the Canada sock (or at least about the needle size for the fair isle bit), I'm tired of the Glad Raggs socks, acrylic cables are stupid and

WAAAAH!

Okay, enough of that.

What I need is some fiber therapy. New yarn, new projects, new UFOs... er, okay not that last.

Since its a full 86 degrees F here in middle TN on this lovely Beltane day, I've decided to knit me a tank. I've had my eye on Soleil ever since it was published back in '05. The construction is sensible (and very similar to my Green Tank, but less stupid).

I'm pondering my yarn choices. I think that Elann's Lara would be pretty, and about $17 before shipping. Not bad atall. I was considering Knitpicks' Shine, but the gauge isn't quite right and it would end up rather more expensive. I did some more pondering and then remembered that Omega Sinfonia (available at Hobbidy Lobbidy) is about the same gauge. Did the math — it will be $20. Yes: sales tax, No: shipping.... once you factor in the "hey, Its already here!" part of the deal, I think I have a winner.

I'm going to hit HL after lunch, and if they have a color that makes me squeeful, I'll go ahead and buy it. If no, then home I come to order Lara. I'm thinking Brick Red.

EDIT: Turns out Sinfonia is $4.99 a whack now, not $3.99 like I remembered. I went ahead and got it though, because instant gratification won out over the couple of bucks I would have saved going through Elann.com.

Being an account of how I was intentionally being artistic, and not just pants at using the digital camera, and also joined another knit-a-long

*shifty look*

Be it known that the pictures of my newest sock in progress are in black & white through a misguided attempt at being "artistic". The fact that I am helpless at using Rhiannon's camera is in no way related, and I'm ashamed of you for even thinking it.

So.

I've joined another knit-a-long.

Shut up.

Yes, I know I haven't yet finished the April 2006 sock project from the 6 Sock Knit-a-long. Although in my defense, I'm turning the heel in the second sock practically as we speak, and really, if you're going to be so critical, you can just stop reading now.

Yahoogroups is a dangerous place, and persons with low thresholds of will power against Join-a-long-itis ought to be warned to stay away. Consider this a public service announcement.

The new sock in question is Canada from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road. I’m enjoying it immensely, and am privately calling it Mt. Everest because I’m knitting it for the same reason that one might conceivably climb the aforementioned mountain. Because Its There.

Clearly, the only logical explanation.

Something of an Update

My eldest child ran off with her camera, so I come to you once again without pictures. Although, truth to tell, I don't have a lot to take pictures of anyway.

I've hit something of a knitting slump. Everything I'm knitting is boring, and I'm leary of starting new projects, because I don't want another go with the UFO pile from hell. That said, I have started a few new things. Bardic Olympics for our Ostara Gathering was weekend before last, so I quickly put together a cute little pink lace hat. It's got a spring skater-punk vibe going on.

My very astute 5 year old little man observed that "Pink is a very strong color" and "Pink is not just for girls." The hat, of course, looked absolutely adorable on him. I've decided to make him a green one, as I admire his enlightened attitude, but I fear me that his fellow kindergarteners do not share it. As these things have a way of doing, the project came full circle. My eldest child won a prize at Bardic Olympics (if you just have to know what I'm talking about, drop a comment and I'll explain). Anyway, when you win, you get the option of choosing a hand-crafted item from the prize table, and my Rhi picked the hat I'd knit. Nothing like getting public approval for you hand-knits from a 13 year old.

In other news, she — the 13 year old — conned me into making her a "Kitty" hat from Stitch N' Bitch. Its all done but for one ear flap and the kitty ears. I should work on that today between bouts of housework.

I haven't even picked up the purple cabled sleeve of death in a month. The gauge isn't right, and I don't think I have enough yarn. A wise woman would stop now, before a serious gauge accident occurred. And yes, I know the sweater is meant for a 6 year old, but I just can't do it. I can't knit an entire Alice Starmore (even a child's size) in acrylic. I can't. I'll get some superwash wool and use the acrylic for something else.

Dang, I am a fiber snob, aren't I?

New Template

I've been feeling some spring fever lately, and decided that my blog needed a cleaner look. I'm still not convinced I'm satisfied, so I'll probably continue to tweak it.

I noticed that the pictures in my last post are completely squonked. If the formatting stays an issue, I may be changing right the heck back.

I have done some knitting, and when my daughter and her camera are available to me, I'll show you!

Promised Pictures

I don't have any new content, but this new post will have what the last two did not... pictures!

Seems like I promised pictures of my Toe-Up Dancing socks. For some reason (change in gauge? tension? star charts?) the two socks turned out to be more... fraternal twins. You can tell that they share some basic genetic material, but they aren't whatchacall identical.

I like 'em though.

I had to have the obligatory "sock self portrait yoga" pose. And of course, an "action shot."

And because my husband fancies himself a humorist, a "before" shot.





The end is nigh for the Glad Raggs socks. I think that they are going to be some of the nicest (certainly most complima-cated) socks I've ever knit. As I've mentioned before, I altered the original pattern (which is sadly, no longer available. For reasons of her own, the designer had the file removed from the 6-Sock Knitalong site. I dunno why, I didn't ask.)

And last, but not least, a very purple sleeve. More pictures as the project progresses. (And other words beginning with "P")

Remote Blogging!

Okay, not really remote per se -- I'm actually in my bedroom. IN BED. BLOGGING.

BLOGGING IN BED.

How decadent is that?

The husband got a new laptop earlier this week, and so wireless routers were procured and voila!

Well.

Now that I have that out of my system I can talk about knitting (DUDE. I can totally read FANFICTION in BED!) *ahem* Sorry.

In other news, I've begun knitting Alice Starmore's Galway for Morgan. Aparrently, no one in all the blogosphere has ever knit this before. Else my Google-Fu fail me. See, I was gonna be all clever like and check to see if others of my ilk had attempted this sweater before me. But, that was only clever right up until I could find absolutely bupkiss about it. (Okay, I did fine one, entirely useless reference.) Oh intrawebs how you fail me!

I'm about a goodly 2/3 into one sleeve and so far all is well. Its PURPLE. The child wanted a purple sweater. Perhaps tomorrow when I am less remote (like, you know, in my kitchen) I'll have purple sleevish pictures.

Meanwhile, I'm about to turn the heel on my Glad Raggs sock Numero Two-oh. The end is near, and already my eye is glancing longingly at my new book. (Perhaps a review is in the offing?)

February is Finished (but I'm not)

February is for Finishing was, for me at least, a rousing success. I finished a tank top that I started over a year ago. I think I was dragging my heels on it because I basically thought it would suck. I decided to go ahead and finish it because a) I was in blood so far stepped, twould've been as tedious to turn back as to go o'er, and b) I figured it'd be good experience. This was my first adult sized sweater-ish object. Go me.

I've also finished my Toe Up Dancing Socks (pictures will be forthcoming). These had stalled out because I needed to do the short-row heel and I'd never gotten around to fishing out the directions. And speaking of socks, I'm a 1/4 of the way into my next Glad Ragg sock now. These are some pretty lace socks, slightly modified from one of last year's projects in the 6 Sock Knitalong. These were waiting for the needles that were stuck in the Dancing socks. (Ironically I'm now knitting it using two Knitpicks options size 1 circs. Gauge be damned, these are so much nicer to knit with.)

A funktastick faux-mohair acrylic Poncho monstrousity was summarily pitched early on in the month. What the Sam Hill was I thinking? I ask you?!?

So, even though I still technically have 6 UFOs left, I feel ever so much freer. I really feel like I've accomplished something.

I'll be finished with my other Glad Ragg sock any old time now, and plans are already in the works for a new sweater for Morgan. I've ordered some Knitpicks Shine in sport weight, and plan to make a simple little color work cardigan. Morgan helped me pick out the colors, which was fun in and of itself. More details to come!

The Story So Far

Here's my February is for Finishing update. I'm about 1/3 to 2/5 done with the second Dancing Toe Up sock (more on that in another post). I know I said that March was for Making Mates, but I needed a quickie portable project. Hey, they're my arbitrary rules, and I can bust 'em if I wanna.

• Baby Bib for Sprog
• Dancing Toe-up socks <---- 65%
• Glad Raggs socks <---- 50%
• Flamin' Fingerless Gloves <----- 48%
• Eyelet Socks <---- 50%
• Colinette Afgan Kit <---- omgwtf%
• Kerry Shawl <---- ditto%
• Green tank top
• Faux-Mohair Poncho
• Gryffindor Scarf <---- 20%

Triumph!

What a good girl am I.

I started this tank top last spring, and then gave up on it because I didn't think that it would look good, or even okay, when I was done. But my man convinced me that if nothing else it would be good experience for me — and also boost my confidence — if I went ahead and finished it I think that he secretly suspects that I'm a perfectionist with no real grasp on reality. But I digress.

The pattern originally came out of a Knitters mag from the days of yore (by which I mean "before they commenced to sucking"). I tried to be clever and alter it. Please note the use of the word "tried". By the time that all was said and done I unaltered what I had changed. I also repent me the use of acrylic. Lo! Tho I walk through the shadow of the aisle of Hobby Lobby, I will buy no acrylic. Amen.

• Yarn is Red Heart LusterSheen "Tea Leaf" 2.15 skeins (anybody want .85 skeins of LusterSheen?)
• Needles were size 5 addi turbos
• The tank was knit in the round to the armscyes, where it was separated and knit back and forth

Progress!

I finally finished the Toe-Up Dancing sock that has been languishing pre-heel for nearly 6 months. This is my first pair toe-up, and my first time using a short-row toe and heel. I definitely see that this technique has merit, but I'm gonna have to practice, cuz my first heel looks like poop on toast.

When I first started, I thought that I really didn't like the yarn. It kept twisting up on me, and the fabric felt weird. But when I tried it on, my opinion changed. I think I'm really gonna like these socks. The yarn is Knitpicks Dancing (now discontinued.) The colorway is ... uh ... lemme go look it up ... Square Dance, knit on two circular size 1 inox needles. I have biggly feet, so its a 72 stitch sock, and it fits perfectly. I will be making more toe-up socks in the future. Meanwhile, this sock will be joining Glad Raggs and my Eyelet sock in the back of the queue, waiting for March is for Making Mates. I have second sock syndrome bad, people.

Speaking of toe-up socks, I just finished reading Priscilla Gibson -Roberts' Simple Socks Plain and Fancy. I love this book — it has no patterns atall, its purely a technique book, with the cutest little black and white drawings for illustration. Her short-row technique uses yarn overs. The Dancing socks I'm knitting now use Wendy's wrap technique. I'm interested to try this, on the off-chance that I can execute it with more grace. I make no claims as to the superiority of one technique over the other, I'm just looking for one that I can make not look like a 4 year old knit it. (No offense to knitting 4 year olds intended.) I'll be using Wendy's method again on the second sock of the Dancing pair, and for that matter I had the flu when I knit the first one, so I'll make full comparative report once I have more data.

In other news Sprog's bib is now finished (because February is for Finishing, you know) save for the weaving in of ends and the placement of a button. I'm fairly certain that Sprog's mum doesn't read this blog, but if I'm wrong then... *waves* Hi Erin! Surprise!

I based this off of the bib pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter's Guide. For the record, I love that book. The yarn is Sugar n' Cream, size 7 Knitpicks Options needles. (Got the set for Christmas! Whee!)

I used a basket-weave texture stitch on the body of the bib, and did the straps in garter-stitch. Easy-peasy. Here's a close-up of the body.



And, in keeping with the color-scheme — I swear I didn't plan this — I've also finished up a baby blanket for a co-worker who's pregnant. I used Lion Brand Homespun and size 11 Knitpicks options needles. I made the pattern up as I went, and if I were ever inspired to try it again I'd do things a bit differently. I used a simple feather and fan stitch, but I didn't add enough repeats. If I were to do this again, I'd either double-strand the yarn or scale down the needle size, and I'd add at least one more repeat. I added a double crochet edging to the side to widen it a bit (and to disguise where I stranded the yarn along the right hand side. All in all I'm not ashamed to give it away, but it's not the very most awe-inspiring thing I've ever knit.

Next friend who gets pregnant is getting booties.

February is For Finishing -- The Counting

I still have the plague, so pictures will have to wait. But here's my tally of Unfinished Objects.

• Baby Bib for Sprog
• Dancing Toe-up socks
• Glad Raggs socks
• Flamin' Fingerless Gloves
• Eyelet Socks
• Colinette Afgan Kit
• Kerry Shawl
• Green tank top
• Faux-Mohair Poncho
• Gryffindor Scarf

I've already decided that the poncho is outta here. It was one of my uFo's last year, and I just don't like it enough to finish it. Also, gods help me, its made of acrylic. Um....no.

The bib for sprog is just about finished (which is good, because Sprog is also just about finished). I just need to weave in ends and add a button and voila!

The observant among you will note that there are three pairs of socks and one pair of gloves on my list. I'm thinking seriously about finishing the "active" item of the pair and then moving on to the Tank Top and Shawl. I think that perhaps March is for Making Mates....if ya know what I mean.

Poetry for Brigid

You can read about the "Second Annual Brigid in Cyberspace Poetry Reading" here and here.

Of course, I heard about it here.

I Said to Poetry
by Alice Walker

I said to Poetry:"I'm finished
with you."
Having to almost die
before some wierd light
comes creeping through
is no fun.

"No thank you, Creation,
no muse need apply.
I'm out for good times--
at the very least,
some painless convention."

Poetry laid back
and played dead
until this morning.
I wasn't sad or anything,
only restless.

Poetry said: "You remember
the desert, and how glad you were
that you have an eye
to see it with? You remember
that, if ever so slightly?"
I said: "I didn't hear that.
Besides, it's five o'clock in the a.m.
I'm not getting up
in the dark
to talk to you."

Poetry said: "But think about the time
you saw the moon
over that small canyon
that you liked so much better
than the grand one--and how suprised you were
that the moonlight was green
and you still had
one good eye
to see it with

Think of that!"

"I'll join the church!" I said,
huffily, turning my face to the wall.
"I'll learn how to pray again!"

"Let me ask you," said Poetry.
"When you pray, what do you think
you'll see?"

Poetry had me.

"There's no paper
in this room," I said.
"And that new pen I bought
makes a funny noise."

"Bullshit," said Poetry.
"Bullshit," said I.