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...