The Perpetual Sock Saga

November 28 2009

i wanted to do these on 2.5 mm needles. because those are the only Signature dpns i have. but i just couldn’t get used to the way the fabric looked. so i switched to 2.25 mm. the fabric now looks the way i like: goldilocks.

using toe as gauge getting like 9 stitches per inch. pattern wants 8. (probably the M1 increases tightening up the stitches. hopefully chills out once i stop increasing.) for my size the pattern already wants lots of stitches (76sts at 8 sts per inch). and despite the math and the logic i have only increased to 72. trying the toe on it already seems just a tad loose. even though i measured my foot and calculated and my gauge is tighter than the pattern. even still. it’s weird. but also i am still earning points towards my “Sock Knitter” badge. if you have any insight, please feel free to leave a comment. * note added dec 6- it was the M1’s tightening gauge. after finishing the foot and working on the ankle gauge is a definite and clean 8 sts per inch.

i will try it on again near the middle of the foot and if it seems tight i will add some increases.

see-sawing on the idea of an afterthought heel …

i expect these to take 1.5 skeins if i keep them below the knee. can’t imagine i will have enough patience to go over the knee with these but it would be nice to use all the yarn. we’ll see. plus, i’d like to repeat this pattern if i can get it successfully down. ::fingers crossed::

Dec
having major issues with the stitch count. frog and repeat. sticking with 64 sts on 2.25 mm needles. my gauge is 9 per inch. pattern is telling me 76 stst at 8 per inch for my size. ::shrug:: 64 is working just fine.

Dec 3
foot doned! in record time whilst chilling with Frogtasticjess at the whole foods.

Dec 4
no knitting today.

Dec 5
picked this up to get at that heel. i went through it with minimal frogging. haven’t got this short row heel symmetry perfect yet, but it’ll do for this sock.

ankle doned!

Dec 6
not sure if i should follow the pattern for the calf increases and all. since i had all that trouble with what stitch count to go with, i don’t even know how to read the chart and follow the pattern at this point…

Dec 7
no knitting today. Working with Nozo setting up the visuals in Trish’s apartment for the even tomorrow.

Dec 8, 9 &10
after having a good look at the calf increase section form the pattern i realized i could use it after all. instead of following the chart portion for my size, i followed the stitch count i actually ended up using. so, it was like 3 sizes smaller on the chart. it is fitting perfectly. i have just been chugging along. finishing up the decreases while watching Lost. if only Netflix would play without reloading every few minutes and interrupting my flow :s

July 2010
every now and again i toss a few rows onto these bad larries. they are done up to the ribbing and the ribbing is perpetual. i grab this project bag when i need some mindless knitting. after the summer i’ll probably be motivated to finish them up so i can friggin wear them. no hurry while this damn heat an humidity abounds.

August 2010
rib rib rib

September 28 2010
BINDING OFF! i decided to stay to the knee for these. i want to wear them to Rhinebeck, it’s getting cold and i am in a finishing mood!

• noe to self: when i attempt again to make over the knee socks or thigh highs, i will start the ribbing much, muchmuchmuch, much later.

used JSSBO

in the third picture (bottom to top) you can see the purl bumps this bind off leaves on the knit stitches. lsg discusses them here

October 5 2010
Bound off the second sock in the wee hours last night. not with out fail, as my knitpicks Harmony circ tip snapped near ten rows left. grrr. not a big deal i thought as i have Harmony size 1 dpns in stash, i go to get them, i ordered them a while ago, the package says size 1, i put them in a needles gauge and blam! size zero. knitpicks you fail again.

i finished them with the broken needle. wasn’t easy and my yarn did not like it but i had no other recourse! i was short on time.

i have crazy eyes in this pic. but whutevs!

yarn dust?!

me winding some Wollmeise 100%, gettin' dusty

after a hundred or so yards more

yes that is a chunk of yarn dust right there

i believe the correct response is something like "wtf?" accompanied by a headscratch

January 5

Check it out, i knit this much sock today:

so far...
plus i did like 6 rows on my Multnomah since yesterday.
it took me most of the day to decide on this stitch pattern for the sock. i originally wound this up and had a go at charade. it was a fail .way to tight after the heel . you remember me and heels not getting along right? i have to get through at least one more pair before i am truly truly convinced i have it down. since i have cast on like a dozen socks over the past year, me and toe-up goes know each other pretty well. i like to start them with circs but as you can see i am knitting the foot of these here with dpns.


what you see: a toe-up sock with lozenge stitch pattern in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! differential Grashopper. acquired at SS09. Signature 2.5 mm Double-Pointed needles. i go around with 5

the early part of the eyar has seen me spinning just a bit. i mean i had to play with my Kuchulu. it came with a sample piece of Finn wool and i have been taking my sweet time with it. also came with som esuper silky silky. it's like floaty cotton candy threads. i can't mess with that.
i'd better go log in a few more rounds...

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...

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...

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

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

my etsy

my first order came in the mails to-day! yay!

i am a busy-ness entrepreneur. scary. my goshness the threads from japan are uber kyuuto! i just can't take it. they are like little baby yarns next to american jumbo skeins. pics coming soon. for now, a color chart.

etceteraetc.etsy.com

the staycation

knitting

knitting has been on  hold. i am finding i am not as in love with my knitpicks options as i thought i was. so i don't feel like knitting with them. maybe all i need is a break from them. the summer heat and my ufo add has me crocheting quick and dainty projects. plus, i just LOVE my hamanaka rakuraku crochet hooks. to pieces! i have both the regular set and the lace hooks. somehow this summer i became a threadie. who knew!

tatting

so, Nozomisan was nice enough to translate that freaking book for me. the whole book ! in like a week. she's crazy. but i am thank-ful. i learned the tatting. it's hard stuff. i made this little motif practice thing with size 10 thread. 

sure, i made a mistake or two but i got the gist.

 i immediately took up the size 80 and tried a different motif with that. ha! size 80 is no joke. i have had to cut the thread like three times. i will make that stupid thing though! -i think. somehow. it's hard work. now that i know the mechanics of tatting i just dunno what i wanna make. collar edgings and table runners aren't really my style. plus those are kinda huge projects. i have to conquer this other motif first then i will worry about that.

Nihonjin kurafuto?

my adoration for all things cute-ly crafted inevitable-y and eventually lead me into the world of  crafts japanese style. it doesn't help that-well, actually it does help, it does, that i have a Kinokuniya a hope, skip, and jump from me. amigurumi, tawashi and little crocheted coasters and fabulous little fluffy handmade yumminess-i am into it all. and still i haven't woken up with the magical ability to read and speak japanese fluently like that girl did in Heroes. poo. until then i will have to make due. ( i do have that Rosetta Stone. i give it a thumbs up. i just don't do the lessons as often as i should.)

 i have learned, from these japanese books,  to read a chart. a wonder in itself, the charted crochet pattern allows for no loss in translation. actually, i can't go chartless now. there is just too much ambiguity in written out patterns. even in english. 

tawashi

the business end

all this dabbling in japanese craft and acquisition of many japanese pattern books inevitably and naturally led to a search for japanese yarns. the yarns they make for tawashi are silver ion treated acrylic with antibacterial properties ideal for cleaning ( ehem, 'ta-washi' carries an audible resemblance to the english words 'to wash'. coincidentally that is the purpose of tawashi, to wash. dishes...etc.). the cottons they use for these home projects, even just through photos, seem of a different origin. much more representative of the cozy comfy cotton we use for clothes. more reminiscent of the plant the fiber came from. in texture and weight that kitchen cotton cannot compete with. 

the antibacterial acrylics like Cafe Kitchen iw as able to find in ichigonopantsu's etsy shop. gotta love the ravelry connections. but delicious cotton! that was different task.  this project from this book as seen on this blog  started it all. 

substituting this yarn was waaay more difficult than i thought it was gonna be. the yarns that i found were too thick too thin and too rough looking. so i started lookin for this Hamanaka Paume which is the yarn suggested and  couldn't find it anywhere! now i got my own etsy shop, etceteraetc.etsy.com, so the next person looking for it won't have to look that hard.

this bag was made with a sport weight or dk cotton called CottonnottoC . also a hamanaka concoction. i haven't found that one... yet.