On My Needles

Busy Bee

2008-11-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

I've been busy during classes this year:

So far completed are a number of scarves.

Webs Crocus Shawl worked in Brooks Farm Yarns, I'm not sure which one. It's a lovely blue and there are 50gm of the yarn left, so I'm thinking I can get wristies out of the remainder.

The Noro Sock yarn scarf from the fall Interweave Crochet. The covered ring fringe is a little annoying to work, but so much fun to play with. This one will be a Christmas gift to someone, I'm just not sure who.

And I'm 4 balls of Plymouth Boku into a granny-square baby blanket. Apparently I don't want to give away the green Encore one until I've made a replacement for my stash of baby gifts. How odd.

And, since I've not blogged in forever, here's the rest of the finished projects I can think of from this year:

Last spring, right after I shaved my head, I finished up a simple cowl in a super-bulky white yarn that I think had Blizzard in its name. It was from a Secret Pal exchange, originally tried to be the croched edging scarf from One Skein, but there just wasn't enough yardage.

Before that I worked up a (one, two?) skeins of Auracania in a beautiful red into a travelling rib cowl of my own "design". I'm really not sure that you can call picking a stitch pattern that works over the relevant number of stitches designing. It went to my sister for her birthday. Ideally I'll get a picture of her in it.

Early last summer, I finished a pair of mitts in a vibrant green sock yarn. That pattern was from Knitting New Mittens. The sideways garter is so easy, and they're surprisingly fun to work for such mindless knitting.

Projects in progress that are worthy of note:

I'm still working on the Cobblestone pullover for Tcepsa. We're still getting married next August. That's definitely a project in progress. Planning a wedding is scary stuff. I'm horrified that I'll forget something important.

Anyways, that's enough rambling for now, especially since I sincerely doubt there's anyone still following this. Though bloglines is a wonderful thing, so there may be an audience out there... hi!

A is for Arisia

2008-01-19T19:43:00.001-08:00

A year ago this weekend (well, last weekend, they moved the convention a week so it could fall across the three day weekend), I drove to Boston for a con, Arisia to be precise. I wanted to see a friend from Washington (state, not DC), who'd moved to Boston for college (a long time ago), and the convention sounded like fun.
Tcepsa popped up and said he'd be there, sent me his phone number and we decided to try to meet up over the weekend. He popped up while I was registering, and we spent pretty much the entire weekend together.
Insert a full year, the first 3 months of which were spent saying that we were looking for fun, a relationship, but not a serious one, the next three months of which I spent in Seattle (home for the summer) talking on the phone almost daily, and a conversation that started in early November regarding the symbolism we'd be laying into a pair of bracelets he was making for us (the conversation was put on hold when I asked "so is this something normal people would be symbolizing with a ring?" neither of us was ready to deal with the answer we both knew was most appropriate for that question). The conversation ended over Thanksgiving break this past year with us becoming engaged.

So, A is for Arisia. Where I met this boy.

They also have a wonderful stairwell which I do not (yet) have pictures of.

Socks.. or rather Yarn!

2007-06-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

I have picked yarn for my sockapalooza socks.
I still haven't picked a pattern. Bother. I can default to one of my oldy but goodies, but I don't want to.. I want to try something new and interesting.

Unfortunately, at the moment, I'm scared of doing that.
I'm making a pair of socks for a friend that I realized a couple weeks ago at knitting group may well be far too large. Next week, I'll have her try on one of my finished socks to see if I need/want to pull hers all the back to a ball of yarn. Eek.

The other reason this may well happen is because I'm going to run out of yarn well before the toe, but could probably stretch it to something that looked reasonable if I did contrasting cuff, heel and toe. This obviously involves ripping back to re-do the cuff. I think I've already actually made a decision and will be ripping this sock. Whee... Good thing I'm a process knitter, right?

Giant doily!

2007-05-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

For the NWRSA fiber exchange, I'm crochetting a shawl. It's the cover picture on Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan. In other words, I'm crocheting a giant doily.

Only I don't have enough yarn to do the whole thing, so I did the center section in the round, and folded it in half, and then am working the leaf pattern around a smaller section. I have just over one half the number of leaves because I wound up with an odd number of sections and as written, each leaf required two sections for its base. So I centered the odd one and made an extra leaf with only one section at its base. I hope I like how this turns out.

For those of you who read Spin-Off, it's the same technique employed by Regina Rooney in the Four Generation Shawl (Spring 2007). I would have loved to do that shawl pattern for this project, but I didn't make the yarn thin enough, or even enough. Alas. Perhaps I'll do it out of commercial yarn at some point, or maybe I'll get back to the spinning with a different fiber.

Procrastinating

2007-04-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

I should be studying anatomy for the final tomorrow. But I don't want to. So instead I'm updating my blog on the progress (or lack thereof) that I've been making on my knitting.

Yesterday I unknit about 1200 yards of Zephyr from the gauge swatch shawl from forever ago. I did get it all knit and cast off, but it's squarer than would be ideal for its actual size, so I decided to reclaim the yarn. Amusing how much faster it came out than it went in. Maybe I'll do something with it this summer. Then again, maybe not.

In the spinning front, I'm still working on the yellow wool and soysilk barberpole yarn that I'm making for the NWRSA swap. Yes, I realize that I'm very much pushing the deadline on this one. The conference (which I am not attending) is at the end of next month. At the moment, I have about 200 yards of roughly fingering weight yarn and am thinking that I can get the spinning wrapped up this week and start crocheting in classes. I do hope so.

My class knitting has been a pair of socks for Mary, in a lovely purple koigu. The cat has only chewed the yarn apart twice. Bad Kitten! Blessedly he likes the yarn better than the actual knit fabric. I'm going to try to get this first sock knit past the heel before I get home in May so that I can have her try it on. That said, I'm uncertain enough about the fit that I don't feel driven to get very much farther than the heel. Target finish date: end of this summer.

Tatami has languished in her bag for the last couple of weeks, but is definitely going to be finished this summer. Speaking of which, I've started packing. The knitting and sewing projects are all picked out and packed. Nothing has been packed by way of clothes or other so-called necessities, but I have the important stuff taken care of.

Still knitting

2007-04-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

*pokes head up from the hole I apparently fell into*

I've been knitting...
Doing a fair bit of it, in fact. Mostly in class.
What I haven't been doing, is finishing anything.
I think..

There are tickles in my brain of things that I'm done knitting, though I don't know that I wove the ends in.
Ooh, and the two things that I finished and gave away to Kappa Psi (fraternity) brothers.
But mostly, I've just been knitting, and getting distracted and starting new projects.

On the needles currently:
2nd sock of the trecking socks that had the first sock finished 2.5 times before actually being satisfactory on iteration 3.
Purple Koigu socks for a friend at home.
Tatami from Sundara in a lovely blacked purple.
Various and sundry other projects in various stages of being completely forgotten.

(Happy Kat? You asked, I posted.. So, neah!)

Re: Snow

2007-01-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

*Written mid-last week*

Snow is lovely.. however, we should not get snow the day before I am planning to spend 8.5 hrs in the car driving across a number of states.
I realize that this is partly my problem for deciding to drive north in January, but still. We haven't had winter yet, would it kill someone to have it hold off for another 5 days or so?

It didn't stick, but when I looked up this afternoon and saw it my first two thoughts were, "Hey, neat, snow!" and "Aww, bugger, I don't want to have to drive in this, hope it doesn't stick."

It hasn't and hopefully it will stay that way.

Snow is fine, when I have a functional transit system to rely on (as in St. Petersburg, Russia), or when it is restricted to mountains that I (or others, I'm feeling benevolent) visit with the express purpose of playing with it. I suppose it's fine anywhere it doesn't get in my way, that's what this really boils down to.

For the history portion of this story. I've driven in snow exactly twice in my life. Both times were last December (2005).

The first I was at the fire department listening to people talk politics after a regular drill night when someone looked out the window and said, "guys, it's sticking, anyone with a drive better head out now." Given that I had an hour drive, I did. It was fascinating. Anti-lock brakes feel quite strange when they engage. But it was just loose pack snow, no ice under it and I got home just fine.

The second was that Saturday morning. I'd taken a red-eye flight to Dulles airport and as I started hearing the news in the terminal I realized that perhaps the Thursday's snow was a practice run for my drive to Winchester. It's very unnerving to go pick up your very first rental car ever, and have to scrape 4 inches off snow off of it before being able to depart. The radio was suggesting that everyone who didn't absolutely have to be on the roads stay home, schools were closed, etcetera. But here again I arrived safely. I claim blind luck and ignorance because on that trip I also discovered why it is a very good idea to also scrape the snow off your roof, but thankfully I did not run into anything while attempting to look through the that had (until I came to a stop) been located on my roof and was at that point covering my entire windshield.

So yeah, snow is only good if I don't have to drive in it.

*Post-trip addition*

Boston has come and gone. I drove back Sunday night in some less than pleasant rain, but blessedly there was no snow.

Yesterday the temperature here was 64 here, today the weather forecast is for a high of 34. A 30 degree drop in temperature overnight. Whee! And there are little flakelets of snow falling. They're so cute.

When it started snowing in Seattle last week, people started saying to the weather, "Go East where it's supposed to do this." I replied to many with, "No, not until after my road trip this weekend." It appears to have worked. Our very unseasonable weather held for long enough for me to get home and a generous margin of error thereafter. Thank goodness.

Kitten Approved Pictures: SP9 and Ornamental II

2007-01-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

My parents and I went to Williamsburg for the New Year's. The wreaths they had on almost every door were quite fun to look at. Here's one of my favorites, the dried yellow flowers sanding out quite nicely against the green leaves and red wall.

I promised a picture of the lovely package my SP9 sent me forever ago. The kitty has approved both the package and the picture. I am looking forward to working up some washcloths with the cotton, but I am trying not to start any more projects before I finish at least one of the ones I already have on my needles. We'll see how long I actually stick to that resolution. At any rate, here's the package.

5 balls of Sugar'n'Cream in blues and greens, some fabulous chocolate. I ate the last piece just before the New Year's trip, it's the first time in a very long time that I've liked chocolate enough to ration it. It was in such perfect bite sized pieces to do just that. The raspberry hard candies are slowly disappearing, I don't tend to eat as much hard candy as I do chocolate, but they are quite yummy. Up at the top of the book, you can just barely see some stitchmarkers with fascinating square beads. I've not started a project with stitchmarkers lately, but I am looking forward to using them.

And now for the amusing part of this story. This is, actually, my third copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting. Kat sent out a request in her SP9 questionnaire, and I do believe that the powers that be decided that the entire family must have been in need of this book. I love this book and am very glad that this surplus allowed me to pass on the joy that is MDK, but I do find it laughable to have 3 copies of it in a one-knitter household. I am now down to the much more reasonable number of 2 copies having put together a very similar package for my SP when it was revealed to me that she did not yet have a copy.

(however much the kitten might like yarn, he does not knit)

Which brings me to my next kitten approved package. I got my ornamental swap package, a lovely box full of Wee's, all the way from Australia. Thank you, Belinda, thank you so very much! Aren't they cute? Their faces are so expressive for so little stitching.

Last, but not least we have the two ornaments that I sent out. They are the ones described in my ornament recipe from December. Quite fun to knit and take almost no yarn, but infinitely variable. Looking at them now I wish I'd thought to needle-felt some embelishment onto them, but I did not, alas.

"The Gentleman's Sheep"

2006-12-30T21:03:00.000-08:00

Or, I've been learning about the Leicester while in Williamsburg with my parents.

These are the sheep raised as part of the Colonial Williamsburg rare breeds program.. They are lovely. One not very well known tidbit, they do sell fleece. The adults must be bought by the fleece, but the lamb's wool can be bought by the pound. So, I now have some amusingly authentic fleece for my stash. I hope to get it washed and spun at some point in the not too distant future, but I think we all know it's been a long time since I posted about spinning, and there's a reason for that.

As George Washington said, "It is a shame that it is illegal to import them (the Leicesters), for they have greatly improved my flock." I believe the rationalle used was that since the illegal action had already occurred (importation of the breed to the colonies), that breeding to them and using the sheep was valid... I happen to think that's a bit of a stretch, but..

Oh, and Virginia is a bad place to try to raise sheep. It can be done, but the climate is, a bit more humid that would be, strictly speaking, ideal. It's also a bad place to raise cotton as a cash crop because the type that grows here has a sticky green seed instead of the smooth black seed of cotton that requires an even warmer climate to grow.

I have seen a bed rug. Goodness those are unattractive. Especially the one that looks like a refugee from a 1970's VW minibus (black ground, blue octagons, orange squares, 1.5" loosely spaced tufts of yarn for the pile). I wouldn't want to make one, I might, actually like to sleep under one, but then I called my mother one year looking for suggestions for heavy non-insulative blankets. Yup, I'm odd, I like to know where my blankets are and in the summer, that means heavy cotton no batting.

Links.. and knitted ornaments

2006-12-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

The raglan pullover agreement is hilarious.

The little cork elves are terribly cute. My mother thinks the korknisser are scary.

The jingle bell buns are also terribly cute.

I am unlikely to make either of the ornaments. Much as I might like to. I find knitted ornaments are great fun worked up free form. This is what I did for my ornamental pal (they also make great kitty toys, just ask my kitty!)

Bethieee's ornament recipe:

Decide how many sides you want your ornament to have.
Cast on that many stitches (I suggest between 3 and 5).
Increase however you want until you get bored or are worried you won't have enough yarn to finish the ornament (I use the little samples from the yarn of the month club so running out is a very real possibility)
Decrease however you want, remembering to pause and stuff the bottom half of the ornament at some point while you can still get your finger into the ornament to manipulate the stuffing (ask me how I know this is important...)
When you have the same number of stitches as you did when you started, work i-cord until you have enough to make a little loop.
Thread yarn through stitches to "bind off".
Sew i-cord tail into loop, weave in other end.
Hang from tree merrily.
Retrieve from cat.
Repeat last two steps ad infinitum.

This is rather more detailed than my recipe for squash and pumpkin soup.

Muppet's pumpkin soup recipe:
(Forewarned, if this is made too early in the fall, people in the cafeteria look at you funny and wonder why you're eating pumpkin pie in September. The looks get funnier when they determine you must have run the pie through a blender. Explaining that it's soup doesn't help much, they still look confused.)

1 can pumpkin
1 butternut squash, chunked
1 can coconut milk
some water
some cinnamon, salt, pepper, ginger, cumin and cloves

On medium heat, cook pumpkin, squash and enough water that it doesn't burn until the squash is squishy.
Add coconut milk, salt, pepper and spices until it tastes right. (more cinnamon than salt, more salt than any of the other spices... yeah, helpful, I know..)
Stir together and cook on low heat for a bit.
Squish squash or puree, your choice (I prefer mine slightly chunky)

I'll know in about a week if this recipe freezes well. Tonights leftovers are in the freezer. I'll probably eat them early next month.

Finals done, holiday blues

2006-12-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks.
I know I owe you a couple of posts.
I've been knitting, but not finishing anything.
I've been taking pictures, but not getting them transferred off the camera.
I've been eating, but not really what I should be.
So, yeah.
I'm falling behind.
Again.
Sorry.

Toes of socks - II

2006-12-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

Today we talk about toes again. Once I get home from school and finalize the post, we'll see toes as well. (I found my camera cable, and have been having a slight argument wiht my battery about whether or not it's going to keep a charge... I appear to be losing that argument, I need a new battery)

I made pointy toes for my Sockapaloooza pal when I followed Nancy Bush's pattern earlier this year. They fit decently and I really enjoyed not needing to kitchener the stitches at the tip of the toe, however, most people I know do not have a very pointy middle toe. So, this toe was less than perfect for actual use.

I figured when I worked up the green Lorna's socks that I'd try modifying my standard toe to alleviate the need for the dreaded kitchener stitch (I have actually conquered the kitchener, I think I can even do it without going and looking up the directions again, but that's beside the point). My new favorite toe works up quite nicely to the shape of my feet. It's here in the green picture.

In the red picture, however you see a toe that I should have realized would be problematic and modified it accordingly ahead of time. I love the lace on these socks (Thank you Sundara). The pattern is from her Petals Collection fall mailing. The yarn is a lovely slightly varegaited collection of reds like one sees in fall leaves and it's a joy to work with. However, the toes of this sock are square

and mine are, most definitely not, see?

I wish I'd thought to modify the toe before I did a couple of repeats of the lace, but I'll rip it out and do it again because I am quite enamored of how the lace looks. I'll probably use the same lace chart for a scarf at some point in the not too distant future, it's just pretty.

And, just because they haven't shown up on the blog in person before now. Here are the Socks that Rock socks that I finished during Socktoberfest. The pattern is the same one as the sockwars pattern, but with more stitches. Aren't they pretty?

I mostly don't even mind the pooling around the ankles. There are days when I wish I had more patience for doing contrasting color short-row heels just so the color patterning on the leg and foot wouldn't be interrupted. Alas, I prefer heel flaps and even if I did a contrasting flap, the gusset would still throw things off. I'll just pretend I don't notice that part and love them anyways.

December already

2006-12-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

So it's already December. Finals are next week and I'm not quite sure how they got so close.
I have a post about sock toes written, and need to get the pictures put into it before I post it.

I also need to post about the lovely box I got from my Secret Pal over the weekend. It was fabulous, but that's all your going to hear until I get pictures.

So I'm still here, stressy as all get out, but classes are wrapping up and one by one I get to tick them off my list. Tonight I go into town (DC area) for a reading and tomorrow is class. Friday's class is already technically finished, but I have things to do that morning, so it's not (quite) a long weekend.

Ooh, and the current knitting. I made the cutest alien skull patch. Pattern courtesy of Sol, modified by the both of us. It's terribly cute. And socks, the ever present socks, only one pair on needles at the moment, but that will change.

I knit and pulled out a scarf width version of Lady Eleanor (in green Silk Garden); I didn't have enough yarn. I really enjoyed entrelac though, so I'm thinking a felted entrelac bag.

Anyways, off to edit the paper that's due tomorrow.

Toes of Socks - I

2006-11-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

I have just discovered a new favorite toe.

I finished a pair of green Lorna's in a 4x1 rib. And when it came time to do the toe, I decided that it would be interesting to see if I could modify the pointy toes from Knitting Vintage Socks, so that I would not have toes that pointy, but could still just thread the yarn through 8 stitches at the end of the toe.

So I did a standard decreasing 4 stitches every other row toe until I had 8 stitches remaining on each needle. Then I decreased every row until I had 8 stitches total.

I love them. No kitchnering, and no pointy toe. This is my new default toe.

(Pictures to be added later when I find where the kitty hid my cable. He's decided that cords are fun to play with.. I'm trying to break him of that, and hopefully it takes soon!)

Knit Mitt Kit Swap Questionaire

2006-11-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

What are your favorite colors? Green, Blue, Purple, Red.

Are you a new mitt knitter? I suppose so, but I don't consider it intimidating at all. The first mitts I knit were my own re-write of an IK pattern made for my little sister a number of years ago ('02, '03, Kat?)

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? Yes. I love pretty colored yarn. I'm trending towards varegated solids rather than true multicolors right now, but I really like them all!

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn? I prefer at least some wool content because it has the spring that helps them keep their shape. And I'm a natural fiber junky, so the synthetics don't do that much for me.

Where do you usually knit mittens? Everywhere I knit... which is to say, everywhere.

How do you usually carry/store small projects? In my purse.

What are your favorite mitten patterns? Any and all, I don't have any favorites that I've made. Fetching was fun and I've been meaning to do a traditional(ish) stranded pair at some point, but haven't gotten around to it.

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques? I don't know that I have any. I don't like open thumb-holes on my mitts, I like to have at least a short thumb on open top mitts.

What new techniques would you like to try? Stranding is relatively new to me. The single stitch cables like on Eunny's recent socks, look interesting. Intarsia is not something I want to do, aside from that, I'm pretty easy, I think..

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens? I use whatever's on hand. I prefer double points to magic loop and magic loop to two circulars, but I'm perfectly happy re-writing patterns to whatever needles I happen to be using.

What are some of your favorite yarns? Koigu, SundaraYarns, STR, my own handspun, any good basics, smooth spun, plied, natural fiber yarn.

What yarn do you totally covet? hmmm... I've been lusting after Beaverslide's for a while now. And Brooks Farm as well.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? Ooh, something from Poetry in Stitches, probably this jacket and the red ruffled muff. Or Hanne Falkenberg's Mermaid jacket.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? DPs and circs. Generally wood or bamboo, but I use metal with cotton and cotton blends, or if it's the only thing handy.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? ooh, I don't know on that one... there are too many good choices

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Chocolate! (dark, please, I've gone vegan), ginger candies.

What’s your favorite animal? My puppy, my kitty...

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts? Either would make me perfectly happy. I have uses for both and don't really have either planned into my project list.

If you were a color what color would you be? Maroon, just barely between purple and red.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? The patterns that water makes when it flows in thin sheets over rocks. The waterfalls were my favorite part of the summer I spent working in Yosemite.

Do you have a wishlist? That I do, drop me an email and I'll get it to you.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? My kitty's a spazzbucket. Bouncing off the walls, furniture and puppy. It's hilarious, I'm so glad the puppy doesn't seem to mind.

Dishcloth Shuffle

2006-11-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

I put this up on the exchange's blog a over the weekend and forgot to put it up here! Oops!
The camera's still nowhere to be found. Or, and probably more likely, it's right in front of me and I'm just not actually seeing it!

I had a wonderful mail day a couple days ago. There were a couple packages of stuff I'd ordered for myself and there was a package for me from Jussi.
Yay...
(no picture at the moment, my camera's nowhere to be found, perhaps the cat ate it)
There was a lovely paper covered box with green leaves and pink flowers, a pink and white dishcloth that I will adore using, a pink round cloth that will be set in a drawer somewhere and fondled when noticed, a bar of green and black's chocolate (it's already gone..),
a needlecase in pink and brown flowers and stripes, and a ball of taupe cotton that I'm looking forward to knitting with.
A fabulous package, thank you so much Jussi!

In other related amusements, I took a bar of the same chocolate (Maya Gold by Green and Black) to a study group on Monday night, and offered it around. The consensus was that it's nasty. For the rest of the evening there was neverending, "this is nasty, you try it" going on between the ones who had and the ones who had not yet. It was terribly cute. Especially the one who ran to the bathroom to rinse out her mouth. More for me, it's one of my favorites!

Socktoberfest Yarn Accounting and Contest Winners!

2006-11-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

Skeins of yarn:
136! That's right, I have over one hundred thirty skeins of sock yarn!
No one actually guessed how many skeins were in the stash, so both prizes go to people who guessed based on potential socks. There is one winner that guessed before the "end date" of Friday 10/27, and one who guessed after it passed.

Potential socks:
86...
I think I have some knitting to do...
This means that Kim (who guessed 66 pair, before the deadline) and Janell (who guessed 76, after it) will be getting some sock yarn from me.
(Ladies, you should have an email asking you some questions about what you look for in a sock yarn. Let me know what you like.)

I'm going to save the breakdown of these staggering numbers into type of yarn for another post. And, obviously, my sock yarn inventory is going to carry me out into November. But since I have no intention of ceasing to knit socks, that seems perfectly fine with me. For that matter, I'm thinking to start using Squirl to start keeping track of my stash. I do need to go check if it will output my collection or not, and, if not, then perhaps I'll set up something else. Checked, it will output as a comma delimited list, which is perfectly fine with me.

Socktoberfest Confessions & Contests...

2006-10-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

Containers filled with sock yarn:
7 shoebox sized sterlites
5 larger sterlites (I believe they're the next size larger)
There are around 6 pairs worth of yarn on the floor that didn't fit.
And 3 more floating around the apartment because they're "in progress"

I mentioned a contest. And I shall deliver.

Guess how many skeins of sock yarn I have coralled in my apartment.
-or-
Guess how many pairs of socks* those skeins of sock yarn could make if I knit from now until the end of time making nothing but socks... (have I mentioned I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by my sock yarn stash?)

The prize, you ask?
Yup, it's the predictable answer, sock yarn!
There are two questions, there will be two winners.
I'll ask you a few questions about what you like working with and your favorite colors and pick what I think is a good fit from my stash!
And, if you don't knit, or don't knit socks, I'm sure we can work something out, so guess anyways.

Submit your guesses to onmyneedles at bethieee dot org by the end of this week, Friday the 27th in order to enter the contest.

* For the record, I counted pairs of 50 gram balls and 100 gram skeins as one pair of socks. To make my life easier, 50 gram single balls were also counted as a pair of socks, but there weren't many of those. I can get footies out of one 50 gram ball of yarn, whether I actually choose to do so when it comes time to knit them, or not is another matter entirely.

Socktoberfest Sock Accounting

2006-10-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Pairs completed: 2
Burgundy Rowan Wool-Cotton for SockWars (my target is dead)
Varegaited verdigris green and browns Socks That Rock using the SockWars pattern adjusted to 60 stitches. An out of date picture. They're done, I swear, I even wore them at school (after kitchenering the toes during my first class that day).

Socks begun:
Green Lorna's Laces, 4x1 rib, most of one sock was done before, ripped it out and started anew.
Blue Green Jaeger, SockWars socks - my target's target went AWOL, so I'm knitting for her target.

Socks due for completion:
Grey Regia Silk, rib pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks (anyone willing to make me a copy of that pattern? I loaned my book to a friend in Seattle and need to get it back from him still. I'd let you know what the rib count was, but I can't actually find the sock... Bother!)

Socks ripped:
Green Lorna's Laces, 2x2 rib.

Red Trekking, Jaywalker, converted pattern to toe-up, never liked how it fit.

Pink Bearfoot, Fancy Silk Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks, leftover from the Knitting Olympics and Sockapaloooza. This is the one that was too big even for my rather wide feet.

All three of those lovely, mostly completed socks, have now returned to being balls of yarn! Yay, new beginnings, possibilities, hope!
Or maybe I just have a terminal case of second sock syndrome...

Socks whose fate has not yet been decided:
Blue and purple, toe-up stockinette, from Karen for naming her fiber room "The Stitchery", I love the yarn, I'm just bored of the knitting and am not really fond of the magic loop.

Socktoberfest - Confession preparation

2006-10-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

I went into the spare bedroom this afternoon to prep for my sock yarn confession and found myself doing a minor edit of how my other yarns were shelved.

In the course of doing this I found a handful of projects that just needed to be ripped out. Among these, the bottom 6 inches of a tank top begun in 2001 and the cuffs of two pairs of knee socks that I am now comfortable admitting that I will not finish in that particular incarnation.

It's refreshing to rip something back to yarn and declare it a new blank slate. If I were being truly responsible, I'd re-skein the yarn and block it, but I'm not. I might do it when I decide to start something with the yarn in question, but then again, I might not.

Sock yarn confessions should come later today or tomorrow, but if not then, then not until next weekend.

SP Puzzle

2006-10-12T01:43:00.000-07:00

So this is the email I got from my new Secret Pal.

I'm so excited to start this round of secret pal. I must say, I do read your blog regularly, so I kind of know a lot about you. It's going to be so hard for me to keep my identity a secret. Lets see if you can figure me out! Until then, happy knitting!

EEK!! I feel so out of my league. I'm not so much good at puzzles like this though I will definitely be giving it a try to figure out.

I also received this in one of my comments recently:

what yarns would you like to try that you've never tried before?

And quite frankly, I don't know what to say in response to that question. I've been fairly bad about moderating my yarn purchases and most of the things I want to knit with I have and just haven't gotten around to yet. For instance, the STR socks that I'll be posting about at some point this weekend (it is Socktober, after all) are yarn that I bought over a year ago, but they are my first STR socks!

I know there have been some yarns that people got at fairs on this side of the country that I couldn't get at home, but right now I'm not coming up with any... wracking brain, wracking brain....

It's a quarter to two, I really should go to sleep even though I'm not tired.

Ooh, I remember one of them... it was... bother... it left...

No, wait, it's back again.. Brooks Farm Primero such pretty colors.
And for spinning fiber, I've been drooling over the colored tufts from Grafton Fibers.

Even shorter hair...

2006-10-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

Went in for a trim.
Had some miscommunications with the stylist.
She kept length in back that I wanted gone and took off the curls I liked so much pulled forward onto my cheeks. They had someone else try to make it better, but I was stuck with a mid-grow-out meh haircut when all I'd wanted was a trim.
I hated it.
So I went back and had it pretty much all chopped off.
Enjoying the new look quite a bit.

Not the best picture, but then what do you expect from the bathroom mirror.

Two cuts in two weeks causes a 75% redution in length.
I'm not planning on continuing with this rate of change.
I'd be bald by the end of the month. I'm not up for that this month.
(but I do, kind-of want to do it at some point... bother)

SP 9 Questionnaire

2006-10-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Ooh, favorite yarns... that's a tough one.
I absolutely adore Sundara's yarn, especially getting the Petals Collection boxes every couple of months.
I'm on an Alchemy kick since Knit Happens had them on 50% off when I was in their shop a couple of weeks ago.
For staples, you know, those yarns you just keep going back to again and again, there's Koigu, Cascade 220, 220 Superwash, Lambs Pride and Cotton Fleece.
Color patterning favorites would have to be Koigu, Socks that Rock, Lorna's Laces, and Noro's Silk Garden/Kureyon
For baby stuff, Dale's superwash, 220 Superwash, and (though I hate to admit it) Encore.
I think that's enough. Pretty much, I don't really have any one favorite yarn. It all depends on what I'm working on.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My apartment.
No, seriously, they're everywhere...

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for most of 8 consecutive years now. I consider myself intermediate, though that's probably an underestimate because if you give me a pattern and enough time, I'll be able to do pretty much anything. (My tension on cables and stranding distresses me, but people tell me I'm being too picky)
My mom taught me when I was little. I taught myself again in college.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do, ask for the link if you're interested.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
Not synthetic.
Pretty much I'm not too much of a scent type of girl (though I've been lusting after some Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs Imps for a while now and just not getting around to setting aside some of my spending money for them).
Generally I prefer my scents simple and dilute. I really don't like walking into a space and getting smacked by a scent.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a chocolate tooth. (but I'm vegan, so at this point milk and white chocolate are right out... check the ingredients, the new allergen labelling requirements make it really easy, I love them)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I spin. I crochet. I sew (infrequently and badly). I dye (again infrequently). I have a cross-stitch pattern I'd like to work up, but haven't gotten around to it. Generally I don't finish needlework projects, so I really try not to start them.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Almost any, and yes.
I have an oddly extensive collection of Latin pop (Thank you Muppet!), and a soft spot in my heart for hard rock/metal that actually has a melody line and band members that can sing. (Nightwish and Dresden Dolls are two personal favorites in that category). I also particularly like new(ish) folk, singer/songwriters, etc... (think Dar Williams, Joan Baez, Rebecca Riots, etc..)
My personal laptop spends most of its time playing music for me off an external hard-drive that is embarassingly close to full. And I haven't even put most of my CDs onto it yet... I don't think they're going to fit.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Favorite colors: Greens and Blues.
Colors I shouldn't wear: Yellows and Browns.
Colors I can't stand: not so much, every color has its use, the only question is whether it'll be useful to me. *giggle*

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I have one pet, a lovely chow-cross named Zhenya.
Isn't he cute?

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, Yes, Yes, No.
I also particularly like shawls.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Um... I have yarn for more socks than anything else, but I suspect that's just because as projects go, it's inexpensive and the colors keep inspiring me to pick up "just one more pair"...
I have lots of yarn for sweaters, but I seem to have trouble finishing them. (Poinsettia is earmarked to be finished before Christmas. We'll see if it happens, just one sleeve cap left to knit and then the finishing)

13. What are you knitting right now?
I'm not knitting. I'm typing.
That's not what you meant, is it?
I'm working on a lace sampler scarf of my own anal-retentive design, Poinsettia, Icarus, a baby blanket, a baby suprise jacket, Charming wristwarmers, and assorted other projects in various stages of neglect.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes, absolutely.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer pointy needles with smooth joins (I suppose that makes them circular, huh?), and double points for socks.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes. Yes.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Don't ask, I don't know. Maybe by flash your stash in April, I'll have found them all and will be able to tell you then, but for now I plead ignorance, pleading the fifth would be unnecessary.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween, Samhain.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn? UFO's? Little PMC or paperclay dragons made by the TattersMan at Norwescon? Train Lanterns from my Grandfather's collection?
None of these things are particularly useful as the start point of gifts.
Knitting books. Knitting patterns. I'd love to collect pretty crochet hooks, but I haven't started that collection yet. Would you like to do it for me?

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Spin to Knit looks interesting though I'll probably not buy it for myself any time soon. Poetry in Stitches and Norsk Strikkedesign are two I've been lusting after for years.
I subscribe to InterweaveKnits and Spin-Off.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Not really. I'd like to get better at stranding, but that will come with time I suspect. I keep meaning to pick up one of each of the varieties of yarn holder ring-thingies, but forget where I've seen them.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I am. I'll go find the measurements later.. I'm pretty sure they're in my SP8 questionairre, but I should get back to studying.
A related side note, I prefer my socks fairly tight around the instep.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
05/27
This means when I'm attending a state school I'll often get a holiday weekend for my birthday. Now that I'm back at a private school, I'll be done for the year before my birthday comes around.

Why I knit in class

2006-10-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

I knit in class for a small handfull of reasons.

If I'm interested it helps keep me focused.
If I'm not interested, it helps keep me awake.
If I'm pissed off by the lecturer, it helps keep my mouth shut!

Why do you knit where you knit?

SP 8 Reveal

2006-10-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

I got a wonderful last box from my SP8.
It came in just over a week ago and I've been overwhelmed since then.
So, better late than never, here we go.
My fabulously understanding Secret Pal was none other than The Wool Princess who lives over at Hand over the Wool!

For the last box she sent me:
Some lovely Ashland Bay fiber in a color that is bluer than it looks in this picture.
A Burt's Bees sampler pack. I've been lusting after these for so long and never quite justifying picking one up for myself. Thank you wonderful Wool Princess.
-and-
A copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting. It's a book I already have, (but may still have on my Amazon wishlist... I should go update that), but definitely a book I don't mind having an extra copy of. It's a perfect gift for people you've just taught to knit and I seem to be starting a collection of those. There's the boy back home who was taught by committee, there's one classmate, and another two or three classmates who have expressed interest. .

This last box was not as impressive on the yarn front as the second one that I raved about a while ago before I'd figured out how to get my camera to talk to my computer. Here's the absolutely fabulous second box she sent to me.

A copy of OneSkeing and a truly impressive assortment of onese and twoses of ballses of yarnses. (okay, maybe I need to go to bed early tonight, it's nowhere near late enough to warrant that level of (un)grammatical silliness).
The blue linen got made into 2/3rds of a handtowel and was ripped out last night while watching Grey's Anatomy. My classmates were appalled that I'd pulled something out... how much they have to learn.
The white puffy stuff was Blizzard and I was making it into the ruffled cravat from OneSkein, but misread the gauge so I ran out of yarn when I had roughly five-eights of a scarf. It too has returned to being a ball of yarn. I did, however fall in love with the pattern. I've made 3 and 5/8 of them this fall!
But they deserve their own post, later.