Kuchulu! and Happy Solstice

i received my Kuchulu today! and on winter Solstice too! what a great gift i gavem myself <3 the Kuchulu is Jenkins' new and smallest low-whorl turkish spindle. i thought the turkish delight was small, ha! stay tuned for pictures ; )

unicorn found

i could always do short rows. i mean, i can follow pattern instructions. no problem. it's that there would always be something aesthetically bothersome about the heel once i completed it. holes, asymmetry, ill fit. i had tried every kind of technique, wrapping, double wraps, hiding the wraps, no wrap, double stitching German, Japanese, crazy YOs. you name it. if i asked for help and someone said "try this heel" i would do it with an open mind. over 3 dozen individual socks hells and that doesn't count the frog and repeats. than. last night. blammo. i unvented my own. NO HOLES. symmetrical as a mirror reflection, no wraps. just magical. the unicorn of short-row heels. it took me a year but i have earned my sock knitter badge !

knots

breaks happen. many reasons for the sudden ones. some days it's a choice between "crafting" or "blogging about crafting". most of those days i choose the former. rather than try to play catch-up, i am just gonna jump back in. double-dutch style.

Bugga! Madness

The Sanguine Gryphon booth at Sock Summit. Thursday August 6th 2009. Market opening preview for students only. i wish i would have recorded the part when i said to Gryphon " you had to expect this!?" and she was all surprise and shock and was like "nope". then popped right on top of a bin of yarn in her medieval frock and snapped a shot for herself. good times they was. yea, good times!

Autumn, the New Year for knitters.

well Fall has been here for a bit but this chilly day has really made me take notice of the season change. and it it friggin' October!

i have planned myself a bigger task list this month than i ever have. (mainly knitting, but some other projects too.) Mostly because i have not really been a planner. not in this way. i see things and i am all "oooh i wanna make that" and each mental picture goes in to pile and i pick them out randomly. so this planing ahead for stuff is way weird. and yet, fun. i don't want to get discouraged by acknowledging that i haven't been this productive in such a small amount of time before. ever. and chances are this list will be the same come November. no way. i just wanna be a glass-half-full kinda gal for a minute okay?

my first foray into a KAL was, well, i won't call it "unsuccessful". i didn't finish the project at all let alone on time. but it's still on the needles and once i gain the skill badge i was missing for it to be a complete success, i will revisit it. That said, i am trying new things! throwing caution to the lions, i joined not just a KAL, but a mystery one. not just a mystery KAL, but a lace one. i know. i am nuts! BUT don't give up on me yet. i have actually wound the yarn (1700+ yards. yes, a daunting task) AND i knit the swatch. all on the official day one of the KAL. so not bad right?

(click to embiggen)

yea, i messed up towards the end. skipped a row i think . i wasn't paying close enough attention. first time trying lace with patterning on both sides. i should be more scared, but well, i'm not.

mystic embers kal 2009
Sept 30 -Oct 31

yarn, wm lace in spice market, 4mm addi lace needles. the swatch is not properly blocked.
ravelry Project page

i did complete a Swallowtail shawl [interweave knits, fall 06]. it is a small shawl as far a shawls go. as many before me have stated. it went alot smoother than Ishbel. surprisingly. i was a little scared of it but had to dive in after seeing so many beautiful ones on shoulders at Sock Summit. (i know, i owe you some posts on my adventures there. procrastinated but not forgotten!) particularly Glenna's sea silk version. Her Ravelry project page. a real glistening beauty tat shawl. and even after touching it i didn't buy any seasilk in the SS09 market. Go restraint!
Here's mine

not the best pic ever.

yarn wm twin in maus jung 4mm addi lace needles
ravelry project page

you may or may not know the drama i have been experiencing with socks. one successful pair, three successful lonely abandoned singles, five ill-fitting single toe-up socks,and two frogged attempts at cuff down. int hat order. pretty much.

well...

i said i wasn't giving up!
i am up to the heel flap on the second one and trudging along steadily.
i want these to be finished! my feet are cold!

pattern is summer sox socks by Cookie A. cuff down with a hell flap *gasp* i know. not my preferred method. but i am open minded and tried it and it fits so there.
wm twin in wasabi 2.25 mm harmony dpns (woulda been better in 2.75 mm but still fits!
ravelry project page

Than there is the Gothsocks groupies KAL. i have mental plans for this.
also, been thinking about Multnomah since it first came out. that's a simple one i just can't decide on a yarn. i had single skeins of Bugga! but wanted it bigger since i already have two shawlettes- and like i said- i'm cold! i keep wanting squishy warm knits! i nabbed two skeins of Skinny Bugga! for this. but i have been wavering back and forth between the two ideas. if i knit it in the SB, i can make it bigger but. that means i will have to knit it bigger! kwim?

and then Damson caught my eye. i dunno how many shawlettes one girl needs, but so far the two i have made have been successful-at least in the end- and interesting to knit. they don't have to fit the way godforsaken socks do! it's really pretty. i dunno how much opportunity i will get to wear it. the girly prettiness of it limits it's versatility for me. but whatevs.

and i have to stop ignoring my February Lady. it would be nice to have it done for Rhinebeck. what!? it's possible! i just have to count my stitches and start the Gull Lace. it's totally doable. if i would just power through and stop dilly dally-ing. and maybe not knit anything else until it's finished... yea right.

hmm i think that's it. well, besides the fact that i have discovered hoop dancing and am madly in love. i guess i like being a beginner becase i keep trying new things. of course that means i now have to make my own own hoop. add that to the craft repertoire. i am starting to take my photography more seriously. not really for my craft photos (as is plain to see) but for other things.

i have slowed down on stashing. specifically Wollmeise. yes, because i have run out of room. (pictures soon!) but also, because the ratio of knitting to acquisition was unbalanced in a way that finally pushed me to do so. at first it was difficult, but i have been enjoying the extra sleep quite nicely. having opened my palette to other dyers at the summit i am shifting my attention in differnt directions. and having fun wiht other weights colors and textures. oh. and i'm broked. tee hee.

i'll try to visit more often!

eta: oh! and how could i forget! the dexterous Laris is hosting a KAL on Wollmeiseholics Anonymous for -what else but- gloves! sign ups are until OCT 4 and then i guess she'll email the pattern shortly after that. i am eager to get started on those. hmmm but in which colorway...

yarn winding, an adventure, in pictures!

no good way to knit a sock?

for my first sock i started the way i think most knitters do, on double-pointed needles. i later learned about Magic Loop and socks on two circulars. i have made a couple single socks using dpns, cuff down i might add, then learned how to magic loop (out of necessity for the legs on Mochimochiland's reindeer pattern and bob pattern -such tiny circumferences!) to complete my first complete pair of socks my tootsie, toe-up. i have used 8 and 12 inch circluars ( clover plastic mini circs) for legwarmers and arm warmers and i like those alot. also good for sleeves.

after that pair of socks i realized that MLing wasn't really any faster than dpns, because the time you save from switching from needle to needle is eaten up by guiding the yarn around that 32" circ. and if you knit tight, or have a needle with a bit of fight in the join (i have to meet ANY needle that has NO fight in the join whatsoever. though i acknowledge that some are better than others) than that adds to the seconds it make take for you to push the stitches across. it was this revelation that led me to think i might indeed be better off going back to DPNs.

having become a touch of a yarn snob over time, and having increased my experiences with different brands and materials of needles i am finding diffiulty getting in a groove with ANY method knitting a sock at all. basically i have used Knitpicks both harmony and and metal, Addis and Addi lace, Clover bamboo, KA and though i don't own them i have knit a fair few rows on Signatures. after ML ing on Addi lace and even the Harmonies i find the Clover DPNs just unsuitable for knitting a sock on. sticky. and i'd still have to magic loop the toe. because i don't think i will be switching away from Judy's Magic cast on or toe-up anytime soon.

i would love to be able to label myself "a sock knitter". to complete many pairs and each in a fair amount of time. to use of this coveted mountain of sock yarn (mostly the illustrious wollmeise) i have amassed since the beginning of 2009. i mean, i went across the country to Sock Summit for Bob's sake! but i can't seem to pump another sock of these needles. any of them. and let's not even bring up the heel troubles i have having!

my latest attempt are these 9" Clover bamboo circs. they are new to the market i think. and i thought them the answer to my DPN vs ML problem (two circs was never an option for me, buyin two of every needle? nah. plus i find the process the same as ML). ack! if they were 8" they would be just that. but they are not. they are 9". shit. and so even though i don't have to "set off an alarm" as Cat Bordhi says, in the round i have to struggle a strain to get all the stitches across the needle . because i don't quite have 9 inches worth of sttches on there. oy vey.

what on earth to do? is there no good way to knit a sock?

done!!!!!

DONE! bound off the ish. need a moment to breathe...

7/28 some pics...

the color is offon this one but i like the shape

blocking

oh, this? it's nothing, you should see the other guy.

me and the Ish, we go back and forth. it's a love/hate relationship. i give as good as i get though!

as you can see here the Ishbel is picking a fight! chellenging me by leaping, no hurling several stitches off the needles in defiance!

HAHAA!! i win! Don't try that again Ishy!

ish revisited

i have become calm enough to string a lifeline in my Ish after letting it sit sit sit. chart A took alot outta me! i am about to begin chart B which hopefully won't be as tormenting. cover me. i'm going in...

granny square meditation

i needed a little breaker from my fls. i started the short-rows and they are making me nervous. plus they take attention and i have a feeling i am gonna have to frog and repeat. which is okay. i haven't done them before and i dunno where they are gonna land. i don't want arrows pointing to my bits. but still.

(sorry the pics aren't fabulous. i am no brooklyntweed)


i dunno how i stumbled across the wool eater blanket on rav and wanted to give it a swatch. it wasn't easy. i ended up using pictorials and a youtube video and still fudged it. i would like to get some yarn appropriate for a king sized square but that will have to wait. and i would have to rewrite the pattern to fit my mods.



so what to do? revisit my poison Ish? pic up that garter stitch bed cover? nah!

when in doubt - granny squares!

i'd like to pile enough to make a blanky. at least square by square i can feel like i am progressing and not have one perpetual round after another. and i dug in my stash. i am using noro silk garden sock. rather than going out and buying a blanket amount of yarn. i don't feel like worrying about dye lot or color. just go lizard ridge style and pick up a skein, any skein as needed and press on especially when i dunno how far i can take the project. i dunno what's with me and blankety projects lately. i find them so appealing. the two squares so far:

this yarn is rough rough rough on the hands. i can’t imagine making/wearing socks from this. i read it softens up in the wash. even so a lap blanket is about as far as i can go with this stuff. if i can get that far. call me sensitive, whatever. it is Quite rustic. i can’t believe i paid $23 for this. lesson learned. it is pretty stuff though if you can get past all the cons. i can’t say i won’t buy noro ever again but at least i'll know what i am in for.

the summer of Wollmeise

it's a Wollmeise summer! the fabled unicorn yarn is in more demand now than ever. with all the new colors that just keep coming, the mystical lace fairy fart yarn that only appears once in a wm moon, and inappropriately sexy baby Molly (the new worsted) the frenzy continues.


i was lucky to snag up a sweater's worth of molly the update that it launched. it all went faster than my previous successful updates so i grabbed Fliederbusch not knowing how i would like it when it arrived. silly me! it's wm and it's purple - how could i even think i wouldn't love it to pieces.


i have swatched the hell out of my first skein. i paced myself with the task wanting to swatch properly. no lazy tricks! by. the. book. trial and error. four swatches. finally at gauge.


and gauge for what? for february lady! i am giving it a proper shot. i have attempted to attempt a few sweaters over the years. i am determined to see this one through! meaning, the flieder molly WILL become a wearable garment. i can't promise FLS will be a success. but i will keep this yarn on the needles until i can put it on my body. for reals.

i chose FLS for its forgiving fit on ladies with the 3 b's. i still think it needs customization, modification, and alteration. i have cast on for the 37.5 size and somehow have to knit the back to that size and the front to the 49.5 size. that means short-rows have to go in there somewhere... i dunno where or how but it hope i can figure it out. all suggestions are welcome of course!

in the meantime i have ishy sill lingering. that lace scares me lemme tell ya. that thing kicked my butt so hard- but i will finish it. i am not a monogamous knitter. i need variety! plus i can't really travel with ish. it requires full concentration. the garter of fls can go with me everywhere.

of course that ishybel is being knit up in wollmeise 100%. if i haven't said that already. in petit poison light.

since i keep buying the stuff i am trying hard to knit it up! i have no desire to buy any other yarn. so sad. especially now that there is worsted weight. well, i did order some handfarts... that is part of a co-op deal. it is being shipped, quite literally, on a boat and is taking a looooong time to get here.

there is also the Pn5 stockinette sock that has been lingering and lingering on the needles forever. i put leyburn down because of the heel issue and i had the instep too tight on the Pn5 sock as well. that was frustrating. i started over with the other end of the cake with a different stitch count. the fabric looks better that way as well. the first one looked a little pooly and this one is more stripy. my fingers needed a break from those tiny needles. it's been tiny needles/socks from the beginning of the year. now that i have the worsted (and a reason to use those super expensive addi clicks i bought!) i can have a break.

i haven't had the heart to rip the first one yet. i left it there just in case the second one was worse than the first some how. i will probably end up frogging the whole thing and starting super fresh. i dunno. the attachment to the time spent working on it dissipates as i let it sit. so, maybe.

one of the obstacles that keeps me from knitting up the wm, besides Ravelry which keeps me from all knitting in general, and besides it fairy fart status, is the winding. the hank is a smidgen too big for my swift. oy. that is a tragedy. really. i was tempted to buy a new one but that's just crazy. (thanks Kata for talking me outta that one.) plus, it always seems to tangle some how. the molly is breeze to wind, really. no worries there. but somehow i can't get through 575 yards of sock with out some problem. i had to cut PP when i wound her up! what a tragedy. a knot-less skein that had to be hacked in two. and i will have to weave that end into LACE! oy. what a nightmare. i'll cross that bridge when i come to it...

now let's see if i can get some decent pics to add to this post...

do the dishes!

i needed to do some dishes. now you should know that that is something i rarely ever do. not that they don't get done! they do, just not by me. and the reason for that is i don't like touchin that wet cleany thing. so i made this real quick and cleaned um all up. mostly.

pattern is Simple Tawashi flower by the lovely Marte
yarn is cafe kitchen antibacterial acrylic

kick ish in the shins

persistence! the ish got tired and i persevered! chart A of the lacey part is successfully complete! a small victory? perhaps. but it's mine and you can't take it away! now i have to rest up and rehydrate in preparation for... you guessed it...chart b...

Ishbel is trying to kill me

some people cast on for Ishbel (rav link) and have no troubles. they fly through it and make 3 more the first one was so "quick and easy". i cannot get past the first lace chart! and i am not the only one. i am not alone in my misery.

i have knit and tinked the first 8 rows, only four of them lace, no less than 9 times. seriously. i don't want to give up. but i may not win this one. i am knitting with the wollmeise in Petit Poison. and if i could finish this it would be one heck of an FO. it would get much use. but that length of thread that i have frogged and reknit and frogged again is beginning to look tired. and i am too. so tired. i am a process knitter and therefore don't complete as much as i start. but this process!... i am scared of this thing, really. ( pssst...i think it's trying to kill me!)

the asymmetry of it all!

winding molly

i threw all caution to the wind and i am winding up a skein o'molly to see how she flows.

nice

the knit kit

in my Lys today this lady was sitting, knitting, and she had the knit kit out. she let me have a fondle of it.
at first glance it was sure alot bigger than i had pictured. palm-sized. which makes sense if i had thought about it. but just seeing it in tiny web pics it just thought it was smaller. i was pretty 'meh' about it. it was plasticy. and the white would look dirty after a while. the scissors were pretty interesting but i could see me cutting myself trying to get them open or shut. i dunno, i would use it if someone gifted it or probably buy one if my lys stats selling them but i am not crazy over it.

Leyburn ponderings...

So. I have come to the point where it is time to start paying attention to turning the heel. Deciding just where to do it and such. I am glad i realized that because with this pattern stitch it is suggested to increase a bit on the instep before turning the heel. If I had missed that instruction: frustration.

I like the way it's coming along. The sock. It's a nice snug foot. More fitted than my other endeavors. I seem to prefer this so far as it shows I am improving at getting a good fit. Toe up construction just seems to make sense. I dunno why the standard is the opposite. I hope to become good enough at reversing pattern directions that I might be able to modify to get a good, custom, ideal fit. In socks and everything else.

The yarn I am using was originally purchased with the designation to become a clapotis. Two skeins at about 360 yards each. As a single skein is intended to provide for a complete pair of socks (of the average persuasion with regards to foot length and cuff length variances) the question arises: how long to make these leyburns?..

I could stop after turning the heel on this first sock, place it aside as i begin and complete the heel on the second sock, see how much yarn I have left, split it evenly between the two, and make a basic pair of socks.

Or I could complete the first sock an make the second to match with no regards to having leftover yarn.

Or I could keep knitting until the first skein gone. Letting the yardage determine the length and using the entire second skein for the next sock.

The issues with each option respectively:

What would I do with the other skein of korrppi after completing leyburns of average length? sure that's an issue of stash and therefore not an issue. but would i really make another pair of socks in the same colorway? and having only one skein limits my non-sock options for the yarn. just a bit.

The second option might leave me with half a skein of yarn left. or force me to wind the second skein for just a few yards in order to finish up. This option throws all caution to the wind and let's the project decide. hmmm. i don't really like that.

The third option, using an entire skein for each sock, seems the most appealing. but would require bit of design, math and time extension (into the "long-term projects" category. working on shaping and calf increase and such. i would really want to take my time and invest my energy properly into such an endeavor. those could be just knee-high or there might be enough yarn in those skeins to accomplish thigh-high or above the knee socks. i am not so good with the estimating due to lack of sock knitting experience and most of my projects going, thus far, unfinished.

Then there are issues with regards to wearability.

what can i wear them with in terms of footwear, and outfitting?

do i intend to be able to fit these into my work wardrobe? because if not, i might never get very much opportunity to wear them...

and so, when i wear them do i intend for them to be seen?

and a million more ponderings.

thoughts?...

Wollmeise nightmares

I sit up to check for an update on my phone (as I do when I need to check but I am not ready to get up out of bed) and there is a sneak update with a bit of laceweight. I want.

It's about 10:30 and i slept through the update ( most likely put up at 9:30 like last week) and I am super lucky to have this one skein in my cart. And a colorway I want.

I figure, somehow, that It will take longer to get to the desktop, or I just panic, because I try to checkout on my phone. A hundred problems!

I can't get into the login box. It takes forever. I get frantic. My login name keeps being misspelled. The account page loads slower than a penny passes through your puppy's intestines. I start to sweat. I get to checkout. My cart isn't jumped! I am checking out- wait why is it wasting time asking for address an shit? Oy! "use address on file! Use address on file!" I am clicking angrily. The list I scroll through is a mile long. I can't find the address! Where is it?!

I am lucky enough to catch the just one skein that someone didn't jump on, waaay late in the update (an hour already) and for some freaking reason I can't check out?!

--- this is freaking nightmare! A nightmare! Get me out----

And then I wake up.

The first socks

one of my first projects in the beginning days was a sock. i made a knee sock with striping , a heel flap and all. Pippi Kneestockings from stitch n'bitch.

but i only made one.

more of an exercise in technique. i put it down and picked it up and frustratingly persevered through that project for like 6 months.

i got involved in the CPaA swap group in December. this yarn was up for grabs and i was "meh" about it. someone posted a pic of it knit up and it was these cute footsie socks. froot loops. it's a knitty pattern i had seen before and was meh about that too. i was all anti-patterned sock.

"why all that work?, it's going in a shoe anyway, that's gotta be uncomfortable, etc..."

just stockinette socks for me.

but i saw what this raveler had done to the pattern. and the crazy yarn was very froot-loopy indeed. since they were ankle socks i could maybe even finish them! one ball, that's all. being December i was cold, cold, cold and i couldn't find cashmere socks or cozy warm woolie socks any where any how. my tootsies needed these footsies!

and some how, some how i finished them.

cast on dec 28th cast off feb 9

and they are cozy indeed! i heard all the smack talk about how fab woolly socks are. specially the hand-knit variety. i know there are the peeps out there that are flipping mad about there sock knitting. the sock knitters. i never considered my self a sock knitter. even though i had made three halves of pairs of socks. cause all the patterns people are queueing on rav, i was all meh about. these opened my eyes.

i dunno if i consider myself one or not but leyburn is hanging on my needles now. i could attribute that to the virus though. once the yarnharlot showed those puppies queue rates went through the chart. i resisted but hey, a girls gotta use up stash some how.

yarn porn

the wollmeise

the poison

petit poison light,red hot chili med, red hot chili light, rhubaber med, mitternacht dark

whoa

i just spent the entire day, like 7 good hours, getting this done.

whoa. i was determined. i can' say i am really pleased with how it turned out. but it's good enough. i just hope i try again and make another. better! faster! stronger!

i know it's a learning process but being able to sew a straight line - i thought that was enough! an accomplishment, a major river i crossed. i didn't realize it would continue (the frustration. ) i didn't take progress pics. lord knows how that would have delayed me. for the next one i will.

wollmeise calling...

the Wollmeise.

i first heard of her on the podcast knitters uncensored. they are in Deutschland! Claudia was on in an interview.

i was intrigued by the whole scenario. one of the many discussions they had was over the names of the colorways. in hearing about the Poison #5 i was distinctly reminded of that movie with sandra bullock that comes on TBS every now and again. a funny little number and of course the signature song--- love potion #9. relation? i dunno. misinterpretation? maybe...

through ravelry i slowly learned about the phenomenon. this gentle hand painter of yarns was indeed highly revered and her product obsessively sought after. skeins on ebay selling for 3- 5 times the original price. madness. over sock yarn.

i can be drawn in to these epidemics. things that are limited edition, nearly impossible to get your hands on. those things push my button and set me on a frenzy.

i was proud that i resisted the wollmeise. it was pretty easy since everything in her shop (online) is always sold out. the madness hadn't infected me. i chose to be indifferent. having never seen the yarn in-the-fiber, it wasn't that difficult. i even had the opportunity to get a skein in a ravelry destash and just clicked right by it. (i may have added my name to some sort of WM swap list at some point but i wasn't expecting to get that yarn anytime soon. especially since the WM announced that she was no longer going to announce her shop updates ahead of time. now it was officially impossible to get this yarn. i'll by some BMFA instead).

and last night i couldn't sleep. i lay there staring at the ceiling and i remember hearing somewhere the best thing to do when you can't sleep is just get outta the bed. do something. so i figured i would try to cast on my shetland triangle. queued for months, if not longer. yarn sitting in stash. brand new addi clicks waiting to be used....

"but first i must ravel a bit... then i work on that cast on..."

"hmmm. it's the middle of the night. isn't this the time when the wollmeise would update her shop... it doesn't hurt to look. "

"what!?! what is this... . what is this little green light i have never seen here before...stuff is in stock? impossible!"

the madness. took me over. i couldn't believe i was experiencing a wollmeise update. and i clicked fast. and i clicked to win. and i ordered that yarn.

was the wollmeise calling to me in my insomnia? does karma really exist? is it just a fortunate coincidence? pure luck? i guess we'll never know....