Twists and Tangles

New Year, New Craft

2012-01-26T20:36:00.000-05:00

For the last few months, I’ve been admiring woven scarves on Ravelry. As I flipped through a Webs catalog awhile back, I casually remarked to Mike that maybe in a few years I’d look into weaving. For the record, I knew absolutely nothing about weaving other than self-striping sock yarns made pretty woven scarves. Looms? No knowledge at all other than that’s what you use to get pretty woven scarves. The actual process of weaving? Well, weavers talk about needing to warp their looms, whatever that is. And that would be the extent of my weaving knowledge.

You can imagine that I was a bit surprised when Mike handed me a box Christmas morning, and I unwrapped:

I may know zippo about weaving, but I know Mike deserves some major good husband points for taking an offhand comment I made about something I’d like to try and running with it. I mean, the guy read loom reviews. More points for helping me assemble the loom.

Once assembled, I started pouring through instructions and learned how to warp the loom, which I now understand is basically getting the vertical threads all measured and threaded to weave.

My small house is not exactly well suited to the task, but I made it work. Then, I poured through more instructions and actually started weaving. My first attempt was appropriately a total mess.

I only wove about a foot of that blue and green yarn before cutting it off the loom and starting something else. Still uncertain about how things would come out, I chose a handspun skein that was a little lumpy and not quite my colors for the warp and dug out some Lamb's Pride from the stash drawer to use for the weft (horizontal threads).

The fabric was much more even, but not surprisingly, drab-colored yarn created a drab fabric. Olive green, mustard yellow, and some brownish golds mixed with charcoal grey? Blech. The ugly project, however, gave me lots of practice and when I was finished, I finally felt ready to try making one of those pretty self-striping sock yarn scarves. Still lacking the confidence to break into any of my really prized self-striping skeins, I dug out a club skein I got last year that I was pretty lukewarm on.

And now I'm halfway to a self-striping woven scarf of my very own. How cool is that? And looms? Freaking brilliant. How does anyone ever come up with this stuff? I know there are a zillion weaving techniques, patterns, and textures to learn, but right now I'm just enjoying keeping everything simple. It's fun to know though that when time and energy allows I have a whole new craft to explore. Thank you, Mike!

Past, Present, and Future

2012-01-15T20:55:00.002-05:00

So let's wrap up the 2011 knitting goals:

1) 12 in 2011: Objective was to knit 12 projects in 2011 from stash yarn. Accomplished.

2) Operation Conquer WIPs: I started November with 7 WIPs and ended December with 1. I may not have totally prevailed (cursed Vivian sweater), but both the WIP drawer and my stress level over languishing projects are much more under control.

3) Sock Yarn Stashdown: Objective was to end 2011 with less sock yarn than I started with. My calculations put me at five fewer skeins. Not great but nevertheless, victory.

On the whole, 2011 was the year of low knitting productivity, especially when compared to what I finished in 2010. In 2010, I knit 7 sweaters, and in 2011, only 3 (2 of which were vests). But 2011 was the year I really started spinning. In 2010, I spun only a few ounces of fiber. In 2011, over 5 pounds and somewhere around 26 skeins.

DAMN!

The wheel was an expensive purchase, but at least I know I'm putting it to good use.

And my goals for 2012? I've written this section several times now, and it changes significantly with each revision. Despite my tendency to plan and create to-do lists, I'm determined that in 2012, there will be no goals to knit a certain number of socks, sweaters, or any other projects. No inventorying amount of stash used or number of skeins that enter the house. No knitting or spinning quotas. And no deadlines. In 2012, knitting will not be work. I am going to spin and knit what I feel like, when I feel like it. If I see some pretty sock yarn, I am going to buy it (wow, I'm being really tough on myself with these resolutions). In short, I'm going to relax about my crafting and use it for the escape a hobby should provide. At least I'm going to try.

Of course, I still have plans.
1) Knit another 12 projects with stash yarn, a few of which should use handspun. Hmmm, that sounds rather like a quota. Correction: Knit some projects with stash yarn.
2) Finish Vivian by the end of March Um, that's a deadline. Maybe just finish Vivian at some point this year. Still a deadline, but a little easier to think about.
3) Knit some of the sweaters and socks I've had queued forever and have been waiting to start until the WIPs were under control. Seems appropriately vague even if I do have 3 specific sweater lots of yarn in mind that I want to use up.
4) Continue spinning and knitting the Epic Handspun Afghan. Ideally, I'd love to have all the spinning finished and at least 12-15 squares finished by the end of the year. Uh, that's another quota...I better stop with this list right now.

Clearly, "relax about crafting" is going to be a little tougher for me than I thought. At least there's no yarn diet listed in there...although I'm really trying to knit down the stash enough to give Mike another drawer. Oh, I give up. Maybe I should just resolve to not stress about the goals I will inevitably set?

Catching Up

2012-01-14T11:38:00.001-05:00

Before I can delve into my plans for 2012, I have a bit to catch up on. As Oranje waited for a photo shoot for most of December, I finished my fifth WIP.

Pattern: Angostura from Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Ravelry Red

The vest came out quite nicely. It looked teeny when I finished it, but it blocked out to about the right size, albeit a rather fitted one. I've knit many of Ysolda's patterns, and I'm always impressed with the little details. For this pattern, the armhole and neck i-cord edging is fantastic. The edges look so clean and neat without needing to pick up stitches or create a crochet edge. The back cable, however, is still my favorite part of the pattern, which is what drew me to it in the first place.

The only annoying thing? Those light spots in the yarn. I alternated skeins to spread out the color variation, but those flecks of pink still bug me a bit. Not too much though, and Malabrigo Rios? Overall it's pretty heavenly.

Once Angostura was out of the way, I turned my attention to the Chelsea skirt, which only needed the lace hem and new buttons, and the elaborately cabled Vivian sweater, which needed most of 2 sleeves and the entire top yoke. Both projects were packed up for the trip to Connecticut for the holidays. Within a day, I decided I hated the yarn I was using for the lace hem for the skirt, so that project was relegated back to the knitting bag until I could get home and find different yarn. Then I moved on to Vivian and within a few rows on the first sleeve, I finally admitted to myself that I hated the shape. I started a new sleeve but was frustrated, tucked that project away too, and spent the rest of the trip knitting a cowl (I may have been determined to spend most my time on WIPs, but I'm still smart enough to bring a back up project. Or two).

After returning home, I spent the few days before New Year's Eve knitting the Chelsea lace hem with different yarn. After running 18 miles the morning of December 31, instead of heading to my bedroom for a well-deserved nap, I dragged my tired body over to the almost-finished skirt and settled in to sew on the lace hem. I finished the sewing, weaved in my ends, tried on the finished skirt, and with a satisfied smile crossed the sixth WIP off the list before the end of 2011 deadline.

A few days into the new year, I realized that I had sewn the lace with the wrong side facing out. And with that, I decided that rushing to finish a project just to accomplish an arbitrary knitting deadline is kind of stupid.

A Fresh Start

2012-01-05T20:15:00.000-05:00

I have much to share about the final outcome of my WIP challenge and what I have planned for 2012. I'm not ready to write that up yet though because I started a sock.

This sock is not on any of my to-do lists, and it's a mystery sock pattern, so I don't even know what the finished sock is going to look like. It's exactly what I need right now. I'll be back soon with finished projects, skeins of handspun, and details on the new craft I'm delving into. But for now, I'm going to go knit a sock and enjoy a fresh knitting project.

P.S. For anyone wondering, the sock is Blathnat, the mystery sock for the Sock Knitters Anonymous January knit-along. Yarn is Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Lubber Grasshopper.

Finally Oranje

2011-12-28T18:18:00.002-05:00

Oranje is finally finished. Completely finished. Pictures and everything.

Oranje was certainly a long process beginning with several nights agonizing over whether I should buy yarn to start the project. Then there were the color decisions. When the yarn was finally settled on, the knitting itself brought many new challenges--fair-isle with three colors, nine Latvian braids, steeks, and sewing in my first zipper. Phew!

After finishing the main knitting back in August, there was the pesky problem of reinforcing the steeks so they could be cut. The sweater sat and sat until it finally made the trip to Atlanta with me in early November where I would have access to a sewing machine. Not having worked a sewing machine in probably 15 years, I was hopelessly confused. I'm all grown up, but sometimes I just need my Mom.

I love you Mom! Thank you!

I took the scissors to Oranje immediately after the steeks were sewn. Leading up to this step, I had not been nervous about cutting my knitting. I didn't approach the task with fearful anticipation, felt no need to down hard liquor before starting the actual cutting, and didn't hesitate to make that first cut. However, after I started cutting, my heart started racing. I think I felt a little dizzy when I hit the colorwork section.

Holding breath...heart pounding...

The steeks were finally behind me, and my pullover was officially a cardigan.

Uh, now what?

Of course since I wanted to be able to close said cardigan, I was left trying to figure out the whole zipper thing. I had decided early on that I wanted to follow others' examples and insert a zipper instead of buttons. Had I ever sewn a zipper into a sweater? Nope. Had I ever sewn a zipper into anything? Nah. I knit facings for the zipper following notes from other finished Oranje sweaters on Ravelry, and then finally sucked it up and sewed in the zipper. After reading through many, many tutorials, I decided to follow this one. And you know what? It totally worked! Perfectly. I felt like a rock star when the zipper worked. Seriously, a ROCK STAR. I may have sat zipping and unzipping the sweater over and over in amazement and proclaiming to Mike my new rock star status. Training for a marathon? Eh, no big deal. I had sewn a zipper into a sweater. And the zipper WORKS!

Check out that awesome zipper action!

I have since come back down to Earth, but I have an awesome sweater to remind me whenever I put it on and zip it up that I am a rock star.

Zirkel Socks

2011-12-05T21:05:00.002-05:00

My last sock-in-progress is finished--Zirkel Socks, pattern by Stephanie van der Linden. I just looked up the meaning of "zirkel". It really should have occurred to me that "zirkel" translates to "circle" without needing to look it up.

I mean look at the pattern and say "zirkel" out loud. It's not rocket science. Anyway, moving on. These socks were mystery socks I started in July. After having so much fun with mystery fair-isle socks last year, I couldn't resist participating in another fair-isle mystery. And since I adore Stephanie van der Linden's designs, I was even more excited to start getting the clues. While I didn't love this mystery experience quite as much as before, there were several good lessons learned.

Lesson #1: don't mix yarns in fair-isle that have different fiber content. The green is Three Irish Girls McClellan, a merino/bamboo blend. I threw it together with a random undyed skein I dug out. Having one shiny yarn and one fuzzy yarn just looks a little weird.
Lesson #2: remember contrast is key! There's enough contrast between the green and white but just barely, and a darker color against the white would have looked much better.
Lesson #3: try not to have expectations for a mystery sock. I admit I was rather disappointed with the pattern at first, but that was because I had certain expectations based on my earlier experience. I figured that the design in a mystery sock would evolve so I got bored early on with the same repeating pattern.
Lesson #4: damn I love knitting fair-isle! (okay, not a "lesson" but an important reminder). Even with a pattern I wasn't jazzed about and yarn choices that could have been much better, I could barely put these socks down the past week. Again, fair-isle is calming to me in a way no other knitting can equal. I've been a little sad since finishing the sock, and it is taking a great deal of restraint for me not to forget the other WIPs so I can cast on more fair-isle!
Lesson #5: I love knitting fair-isle, but really need to get away from fair-isle socks. I hate the lack of stretch in the leg. I see mittens in my future.
Lesson #6: I love stripey feet! No question, the soles are my favorite part of the pattern.

Is that a "lesson"? Probably not, but it needed to be pointed out nonetheless. Finishing Zirkel brings me to 11 projects finished with stash yarn in 2011 (totally going to hit the goal of 12!) and brings the WIP count down to 4. Only 4! And 2 of the last 4 are in the finishing stages--I'm totally going to prevail in Operation Conquer the WIPs. Yup, feeling a little overconfident today. This will disappear as soon as I finally resurrect the Vivian sweater.

But, let's forget Vivian for now. Here's a sneak peak of what's coming next!

November on the Wheel

2011-12-03T00:49:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was brainstorming ways to get myself going on this blog again. The WIP challenge was a big part of it, but I wanted to include some spinning as well. My first idea was to do a weekly post on my current spins. Though when I thought more about that idea, it seemed rather boring. Unfortunately I don't have unlimited spinning time so the posts would inevitably be something like "hey, here's the ounce I did this week on the same fiber I posted last week so it looks pretty much the same. tune in next week for another identical picture". Uh, yeah, lame. So the weekly idea was pushed to monthly. I'm not exactly off to a timely start since I'm posting my November spinning in December. Oh well.

A couple of months ago, I stumbled upon the Completely Twisted and Arbitrary Spinning group on Ravelry. The group is filled with some awesome spinners and fierce fiber enablers (let's just say, Etsy has jumped to the top of the list of websites I visit), but the main feature of the group is a bi-monthly spin-along (SAL). Members nominate and vote on pictures inspired by a certain theme, and winning pictures are presented to a featured dyer who dyes fiber for the SAL. I jumped into the group for the August/September SAL with Fiber Optic. The fiber was awesome and I couldn't resist this brightly colored gradient.

It took several weeks, but I ended up producing a skein I was thrilled with.

What does this September spinning have to do with November? Well not much except that I never posted that pretty skein, and spinning that fiber got me really enthused about participating in future SALs. When the group's October/November round started up, I barely hesitated before buying two of the colorways, this time by Two if By Hand.

The two on the right occupied most of my November spinning time. It took me some time to get started since I was being my typical indecisive self. How thick should I aim for? Dunno. How was I going to ply so I could divide evenly? Couldn't decide. I gave up on planning and just spun up 8 ounces of singles.

It took several more days of hemming and hawing over what to do next. I finally decided that the colors might come together really well as 3 ply. I wound a third of the singles off each bobbin and set to plying.

I so love the end result. So much so that one picture really isn't enough. Here's a close up.

The only bummer is that I still spin really densely, so both skeins together are only about 325 yards of worsted weight yarn. I have yet to learn the magic by which spinners will get almost twice that yardage. Still, the 300+ yards should be enough for a scarf which is what I was planning on when I bought the fiber, and I'm officially hooked on SALs. The December/January dyer is Julie Spins. I've drooled over her shop for a long time but never purchased anything. Doubt I'll be able to say that much longer.

November Wrap-Up

2011-11-30T20:11:00.001-05:00

Along with most of 2011, November has flown. It was definitely one of my more productive knitting months (yay for setting goals!). While I feel as though I should be able to boast more than 2 finished projects, considering both of those projects were started well over a year ago, I've decided to just be thankful that they have permanently vacated the WIP drawer and move onto December and my ambitious goal of finishing all remaining 5 WIPs. Part of me wants to laugh out loud at that goal. The other part is downright determined.

Speaking of determination, this is also my first big test on the marathon training schedule (last week was an easy week to recover from the Annapolis Half): 7 miles Tuesday, 4 on Thursday, and 15 (?!) on Saturday. Seriously, 15. Gah! The 7 miler went well yesterday and 4 should be fine tomorrow, but Wednesday is cross-training day on the schedule. I just dragged myself in the door from work and errands and would like nothing more than to settle down on the couch with my sock-in-progress, perhaps with a puppy cuddled next to me, and do nothing but knit for the rest of the evening. But I'm not going to do that. I'm going to go climb on my bike trainer and stick to the training schedule.

So sadly for now, the bike trainer trumps blogging about my November spinning project. It started with 8 ounces of polwarth fiber beautifully dyed by Two if By Hand.

The rest will have to wait until tomorrow.

Cabled Mitts and the Magic of Charts

2011-11-28T21:57:00.001-05:00

And another WIP goes down.

Pattern: Glorious Cabled Mitts (Ravelry pattern)
Yarn: Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in Cherry Mist

I may have inched along initially on the second mitt, but once I hit the chart it was all over. Something about being able to cross row after row off makes me a more productive knitter. And well, once I finished the chart, I was just SO close that it didn't take too much effort to push through the last few inches of ribbing.

Pattern mods: cast on 64 stitches instead of 72 and took out cables that are supposed to run alongside the lattice pattern. As written, these would have been rather roomy and I like my mittens snug. I lengthened the top ribbing so that it would cover my entire palm and knuckles. This has never been a project I've had much enthusiasm for, but the end result is a nice pair of soft squishy mitts that I will wear as soon as mother nature realizes it's autumn and shouldn't be 60 degrees.

Yarn: With 20 percent cashmere this yarn is soft and smooth and feels wonderful. It doesn't have a super tight twist but isn't too splity and I liked the light feel compared to some of my denser sock yarns. The one thing I really don't care for is the color. The yarn can't decide whether it wants to be red or pink. The end result is a sort of washed out red with lots of white splotches. I've been told yarn is sometimes dyed like this on purpose to create a certain effect knitted up, but honestly it just looks like the skein wasn't fully dyed to me. I think one of these days, the mitts are going to take a swim in the crock pot with some red food coloring.

This brings me to ten projects finished with stash yarn this year and down to five WIPs. Of the five projects left there are two that I've thought it might be a longshot to finish by the end of the year. The first of those is an elaborately cabled sweater; the second is a pair of fair-isle socks. The socks were started last summer as a mystery KAL. I put them aside after finishing the leg and heel flap for both socks. At the time, I wasn't in love with the pattern or my yarn choice. For whatever reason, on Friday evening I settled onto the couch and pulled out these socks. It only took about two rows before I was completely enthralled. I knit for hours and finished more than half the foot. By Sunday evening I was grafting the toe.

I credit the chart. Every time I pick up a fair-isle project, I'm reminded how much I love stranded knitting. Cable and lace charts will keep me motivated, but there is something magical about color charts that make me unable to put down the project. After finishing the first sock, I figured I would try to finish off a couple of other projects before moving onto the second sock, but last night when I couldn't fall asleep, I reached for the sock and knit ten rows before putting it back down and going to sleep.

When I got home this evening, tired and with a headache, I went straight to the sock. The gusset decreases are now finished and I'm itching to get back to it. I don't think I'm going to have any problem finishing this project by the end of December. The same cannot be said for the cabled sweater.

The Next Big Thing

2011-11-20T21:44:00.001-05:00

I was so geared up Friday night for the Annapolis half marathon because I had a very specific goal: finish under two hours.

I came home with stiff tired legs, a big smile, and a nice feeling of accomplishment. I stopped my watch a little late, and my official time was 1:52:26. While I would love to think I finished a half marathon in that time, my watch also reads 12.71 for distance. Uh, that's supposed to be 13.1. Everyone I talked to had roughly the same distance so it seems that the course was a little short. Even if I add an extra four minutes to my time to account for the difference, I still would have come in around 1:56, well under the two hour goal. Accordingly, race photos show me with a big smile as I crossed the finish line.

A day and a half later, and I might still have that same smile.

A performance I feel good about at the Annapolis race also brings with it some nervous excitement for my next big athletic endeavor. A few months ago, I started considering the idea of training for a full marathon. I had never aspired to run such a distance (of course until last year, I had never really considered running a half either), but with Mike gearing up to start training for his Ironman triathlon next summer, I'm motivated to do something big. Something that requires a lot of work and dedication. And for whatever reason, the half-Ironman triathlon I'll be doing in June didn't seem to be enough (yeah, that just sounds crazy--I have no explanation). I focused my attention on the Annapolis half to see how I felt at 13 miles before making any decisions about aiming for 26.2. Feeling good and having a strong performance at Annapolis sealed the deal. Training for the Shamrock marathon on March 18, 2012, officially begins next week.

I haven't quite figured out details, but I'm fairly certain a yarn/fiber incentive or reward should be worked into my training program.

Anticipation

2011-11-18T22:06:00.002-05:00

I feel like I've knit a good bit this week. The evidence, however, does not support that statement.

I was so completely bored with with this project, I considered giving up and relegating these mitts to the frog pond. As soon as I bound off the first mitt, I cast on the second, and my enthusiasm has finally started to pick back up. I'm still clearly inching along, but at least I'm enjoying the knitting now instead of cursing every stitch.

I've taken a bit of a break from knitting this evening, as I'm too preoccupied with pre-race excitement to think about much else. I'm bouncing around the house eagerly anticipating a bright and early morning when I'll be running 13.1 miles at the Annapolis Half Marathon. I've been gearing up for this race ever since my somewhat disappointing end to triathlon season about six weeks ago (two flats and cramping calves did not quite translate to the finish I was hoping for). Unlike my first half marathon last year, I know I can run the distance. Last year I was nervous; tonight I'm just feeling psyched and ready to go. This evening I brought home some new running gear and have spent the evening trying on possible race outfits and gathering my supplies.

Bring it on Annapolis!

Back on Track

2011-11-15T10:32:00.001-05:00

I spent very little time with my knitting needles this past weekend. Instead, I have a much cleaner house and sore legs from an almost 12 mile run. As I contemplate starting marathon training, I shudder that soon 12 miles will be a recovery run, but that’s a subject for another day. Despite very little knitting time, 20 hours in the car the weekend prior equated to most of a second sock. I finished the foot by Friday evening, and despite spending hours scrubbing cabinets and floors or pounding the pavement this weekend, I was able to squeeze in finishing the toe Sunday night to cross off one more WIP from list.


Have I mentioned I hate taking pictures of socks?

Pattern: Cauchy from Sock Innovation by Cookie A.

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Tea Party

These socks have a long history. A very long time ago, Mike asked for dark brown socks. I was excited at the idea at first, especially as I began yarn shopping. I settled on the raved-about Dream in Color Smooshy, which I had never used, and cast on for Simple Skyp socks. This was October 2009 (I had to look back to an old Ravelry post to find that info). I didn’t like the yarn/pattern combo, and a few inches into the first leg, I ripped it completely. According to my Ravelry project page, I started Cauchy in April 2010. Progress was slow. In July, with less than one leg finished, Cauchy made a brief blog appearance with the goal of finishing the pair in December. It's obvious that I meant December 2011, not 2010, right?

I honestly can’t remember much about that first sock until I picked it back up a couple of months ago with the heel flap halfway done. Sock one was finished by the time I finalized my Operation Conquer the WIPs mission. I was less than an inch into the second sock when I left for Atlanta. By the time we reached my parents’ house, the leg was finished. On the return trip, I turned the heel and knit until my fingers ached. I bitched and whined these last few days as I slogged through the rest of the sock, but now, over two years after Mike made that simple request, I can finally deliver him some damn brown socks. I wonder how long it will take me to finally hand over the brown sweater I've started for him three times?

Details: I skipped the picot cuff and instead cast on 64 stitches and knit eight rows of 2x2 ribbing. I then increased to 66 before beginning the chart. The pattern is written for 60 stitches with a 10-stitch repeat. I threw in one extra stitch in between the purl zig-zags to make it an 11 stitch repeat to size it up.

Verdict: Easy pattern, nice texture, good guy sock without being mind-numbingly boring, although certainly not the most exciting knit either. Even though this was the first skein of Smooshy I purchased, this is my second finished pair of Smooshy socks. I know there are loads of knitters that adore this yarn, but I am not one of them. To me it feels rough and is hard on my hands. The sock feels like it will be extremely durable and the fabric has a nice feel now that the socks have gone for a swim, but it's not worth an unhappy knitting experience. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief last night when I moved onto the next WIP and felt the soft merino cashmere yarn sliding through my fingers. Next up: cabled fingerless mittens.

The Handspun Exception, Part II

2011-11-09T19:14:00.000-05:00

Since I learned to knit about five years ago, I’ve finished sweaters, socks, scarves, hats, mittens, shawls, slippers, toys, and a baby blanket. I have not, however, managed to finish an afghan despite starting several. Afghan attempt one was to knit a square a month in 2009 to make a patchwork afghan. To date, I’ve only finished four squares. This first afghan project was derailed when in April of 2009, I fell victim to the craze over Shelly Kang’s mitered sock yarn afghan. I expected the sock yarn blanket would be a three to five year project. Over two and half years later, and I’m less than a quarter finished. I will have to pick up the pace significantly to make the five year goal. I seriously doubt that will happen though as my attention is now only on afghan attempt three—the epic handspun afghan.

I wrote about my handspun afghan dream several months ago when I was struggling with color challenges. I heeded my advice, and my next two fiber purchases were much more subdued colors.

Both braids are blue-faced leicester (BFL) dyed by Miss Babs. The first braid I spun on my spindle before I had my wheel, and after plying, I had a nice light worsted weight yarn in soft colors. Definite potential for afghan yarn. My only hesitation was that the BFL fiber was not superwash, and really, did I want to contemplate handwashing an afghan? While I may come to regret this decision later, I ignored my reservations and started knitting. A few days later, I had square one of my handspun afghan.

Add to square one, a spinning wheel, another fiber purchase from Miss Babs, and a few months of spinning and knitting time:

I think the blanket will eventually have 15 or 16 squares (each is over 12 inches long/wide), so I’m at least a quarter finished with the squares. Knitting blanket squares is the other handspun knitting exception that is taking away from Operation Conquer the WIPs, and thus, square five is well underway.

So lately I’ve been knitting handspun cowls, a hat, and a blanket square, and not one stitch on the Angostura vest. Operation Conquer clearly has success written all over it.

The Handspun Exception, Part I

2011-11-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

If I have any hope of actually finishing my seven current WIPs before the end of the year, a challenge I’ve come to think of as Operation Conquer the WIPs, it sort of goes without saying that I shouldn’t cast on new projects. However, to preserve my sanity and to avoid knitting feeling completely like work, I have allowed myself a couple of exceptions—mainly that I’m allowed to work on small projects with handspun yarn. The handspun skeins are starting to pile up and several are floating around that are only about 100-200 yards. I’ve been perusing patterns for these skeins for months and recently have been dying to get going on a few.

In the last week, despite proclaiming my dedication to Operation Conquer, I started two new projects.

The Molly Hat

Yarn spun from Fiber Optic superwash merino in "Peacock"

The hat is going along well enough, but I when stumbled onto designer Carina Spencer’s Ravelry pattern page last week, I saw Betula Ring and realized I had a handspun skein that might work. The yarn I had in mind is little lighter than the bulky weight called for, but I bought the pattern anyway and cast on in minutes. Less than 24 hours later I was binding off. About 48 hours after that the cowl was blocked, dried, and had buttons.

Yarn spun from Bee Mice Elf superwash merino fiber in "Old Flame"

I’ve never been a huge fan of cowls, but I liked that this one could be worn in different ways so I gave it a shot. The pattern absolutely flies, and with the unusually cold few days we had last weekend, I even got a chance to wear it.

Yup, totally bribed Rugby and Juno to participate in photo shoot

I may or may not have purchased that grey shirt while making the cowl so I would have something to wear with it. This cowl is actually my first completely finished project made with my own handspun yarn. I enjoyed making this so much, I had to talk myself out of casting on another one right away with more handspun. That only lasted a few days. I cast on a second one today.

Off to pack now since I'm leaving for Atlanta tomorrow. Ten hours in the car should make for some productive knitting time. I really should leave the handspun projects at home and only bring Angostura and a sock, but....nah.

Ishbel

2011-10-28T23:32:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, I started knitting a shawl. It was so long ago that I can't remember exactly when, but there's no doubt it was well over a year ago. The shawl pattern was Ishbel. It's hard to go anywhere around the virtual knitting world without running into this shawl. If you've knit at least a couple of shawls, good chance that one of them was Ishbel. I'm a couple years late to the Ishbel party, but it's finally finished.

Like most new projects, I started out like gangbusters and quickly finished the stockinette middle section. I have no idea what happened next, but it did not involve knitting on this shawl for a long long time. Ishbel was buried in a drawer. I occasionally even forgot about it. When I finally made it back to Ishbel to start the lace section, I could only manage two rows before stuffing it right back in the drawer where it was neglected again for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Obviously at that pace, progress was slow. I usually like knitting lace, but my mind has been so foggy this year that even simple lace patterns have seemed extremely tedious. Thus, Ishbel sat. And sat.

When my determination to clear out WIPs kicked in earlier this month, I finally gritted my teeth and dealt with Ishbel forcing myself to knit at least a few rows every night. I really enjoy knitting the first half to two-thirds of shawls, but once the rows become so long that it takes fifteen minutes to get through each one, I start to drag. One night I managed six rows with the help of two hours of Battle: Los Angeles (gotta love a good brainless action movie, especially when there are aliens). A few episodes of Vampire Diaries and the Walking Dead (yup, vampires and zombies also totally fun to watch) got me through the last chart and epically-long bind off.

So Ishbel is finished. Finally. Ishbel puts me at eight projects finished with stash yarn this year (the goal of twelve might still be within reach!) and a little more progress on the sock yarn stashdown.

October update:
Current score: -3
Skeins acquired: 0
Skeins used/destashed: 2 (1 for Ishbel; 1 skein sold)

New sock yarn stashdown score: -5. Best score yet!

Cleaning House

2011-10-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

Somewhat unsurprisingly, a couple of weeks of relatively focused knitting did indeed result in a finished shawl. Go figure, right? I mean who could have predicted that outcome? I’m sure that logically I have always understood this concept, but it took some new-found determination for me to start putting it into practice.

Around mid-November last year I embarked on my great WIP knit-down of 2010. I started with 14 knitting projects. After six weeks, seven were finished, three were ripped, and I was left with a significantly smaller WIP pile and some serious knitting burnout. Nevertheless, slaving away on the Scarecrow socks was the first step toward my even more ambitious goal for this year—clear out ALL the WIPs. I shudder a little bit even just writing that. It’s a lofty goal to be sure, but hey, aim high? And I started a month earlier than last year. That's totally going to make the difference, right?

I have seven active WIPs (conveniently all pictured to the right) that I hope to finish up by the end of the year: two sweaters, two pairs of socks, fingerless mitts, a vest, and a skirt. I’m trying to forget that three of these projects were on the original 2010 list—the Vivian sweater, Cauchy socks, and the cabled mitts. I’m apparently still not quite ready to go back to these three yet since next on my chopping block is the Angostura vest from Ysolda Teague’s Little Red in the City. I was dying to start this vest all summer and finally cast on in early September. I flew through the back until I hit the armhole shaping. I tried to follow the pattern, but it didn’t look right and after ripping and reknitting a couple of times without success, I put the back aside and started the front. I didn’t make it too far before it was cast aside.

Angostura in its current state of neglect

Even though I moved onto the front, the issue with the back still frustrated me, and there were a few other issues that probably contributed to my abandonment. The yarn is Malabrigo Rios, which is heavenly, but since I didn’t buy the skeins together, I’m alternating skeins every two rows. I’m not a fan of juggling two skeins (that whole tangling problem I have), and one of the skeins has some light spots which is driving me crazy. It’s funny how small details like these will make me chuck a project right to the bottom of the closet. I’m still not looking forward to going back to the vest, but maybe a few nights of steady knitting and tangible progress will bring back that initial enthusiasm. Hopefully I'll have something to show soon!

Oh, and to clarify “all the WIPs” does not include my epic afghan projects (I’m not that crazy) or the few projects currently classified as “hibernating” on Ravelry, like the sweater that I’ve only knit a few inches of one sleeve or the socks that I still need to spin yarn to finish. There’s aiming high and then there’s just plain delusional.

Obvious

2011-10-07T23:01:00.001-04:00

I recently came to understand something ridiculously obvious: if you knit on the same project every night, you will make progress. Not exactly a news flash, but I'm still amazed it actually worked and that I finished a sock. A pair of socks over two weeks used to be fairly normal for me, but since the last pair stretched out over five months, I haven't exactly had any speedy expectations on finishing the next pair. Yet after a few nights of steady knitting, I have new finished socks.

Before I get too excited about finishing the second sock in a couple of weeks, I should remember that I started these in January. For the last couple years, Woolgirl.com ran a Wizard of Oz themed sock club. I only signed up to receive a couple of the kits, and the Scarecrow kit was not one of them. When I saw the pictures though, I really loved it. I managed to buy the yarn and pattern. At some point halfway down the foot of the first sock, I had the "what was I thinking?" moment.

The colors? Way too bright and crazy. Not me at all.

Realizing the socks were not quite to my taste meant I buried them away until a few weeks ago when I made up my mind to clear out my WIPs. I forced myself to knit at least five or ten rows each night. Some nights I knit more. Before I knew it, I turned the heel. A couple more nights of knitting and a day of long conference calls got me to the toe. And I admit, I do love the stripey toes.

I still can't say I love the socks, but finishing them means one more WIP crossed off the list, one more 2011 stash project finished (up to 7 now), and another skein of sock yarn I can count as used. Success!!

Sock yarn stashdown progress:
Most recent score: -4.
New skeins acquired: 2 (Aug and Sep club skeins).
Skeins used: 1

New total: -3

I have a shawl that has been sitting about as long as these socks. Probably longer. I honestly can't even remember when I cast it on. I think I'll put my new found discovery to work and try to focus on just a few rows every night and see what happens.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-30T22:48:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday there was an earthquake and four days later, Hurricane Irene arrived. Earthquake, hurricane...I'm on the lookout for locusts. Thankfully, Irene did little damage in the D.C. area, and the only effects I felt were a whole lot of rain and some wind and the ten-mile race in Annapolis was understandably cancelled. I would never wish for a hurricane, but I can't say I was disappointed to hunker down inside all day Saturday as it rained and rained and rained some more. No feeling of needing to run errands, or bike thirty miles, or even take the dogs for a long walk (it took some work to convince them to go outside at all). I suppose there are a number of tasks I could have done around the house--clean out closets, organize the mountain of paper on the dining room table, or maybe just vacuum, but I didn't do any of those. I sat at my spinning wheel. All day. Except when I took a break for a nap. I had it rough, I know.

By the time Hurricane Irene worked her way up to New England, I had finished my first skein of sock weight handspun.

3 ply, 385 yards, light fingering

This is my thinnest spinning attempt to date. Spinning the fiber went well, although I ran into some problems with underspun singles when I was plying. Fibers drifted apart, and on more than one occasion, I would realize the last ten yards I had just plied only had two plies instead of three. Definitely not perfect but very usable I think, and I love it. Thank you Irene!

Finally

2011-08-24T22:59:00.001-04:00

I finished something. It's been so long, I almost can't believe it.

I started these socks April 1st. I finished the first sock at the end of May. I thought sock number two would go a little more quickly than two months. Nope. Just shy of three actually. Most days I only knit a round or two while I waited for my computer to boot up at work. Occasionally I got in four or five rounds waiting at a doctor's office or in between runs at agility class. Clearly I was not enamored enough of the socks to keep knitting when I got home. No wonder they took forever.

The pattern is Knotty or Knice by Chrissy Gardiner from the Fall 2008 issue of Interweave Knits, and although I like the way they came out, they were not fun to knit. Those little cabled knots were seriously tedious. The pattern was easy to memorize, but there were anywhere from three to twenty-four cabled stitches in a round. Seriously, twenty-four. I counted. Twice.

At least they look good after all that work. I'm still really happy the experience is over.

This is my first finished pair of socks for 2011. Sheesh, my knitting productivity this year has been pitiful. I blame the spinning wheel. I wonder what my excuse should be for the four months prior to owning a wheel?

Probably due to the lack of finished objects, I haven't been keeping up with posting my sock yarn stashdown progress. However, finishing a pair of socks has motivated me to see where I stand.

Score at the end of May: +3
New skeins acquired: 2 (club skeins)
Skeins de-stashed: 4 sold
Skeins used up: 5 (Knotty socks=1; Oranje sweater=4)

New Score: -4. Back in the negative!

I have three more socks in progress. I've challenged myself to finish all three pairs before casting on any new socks. I think I can do it. It just might mean no new socks until 2012.

And on a completely unrelated note, yes I experienced the earthquake yesterday. I was at home, and I realized it was an earthquake right away since I was awake for the mini-quake that hit last summer. It totally freaked me out, and I could happily live the rest of my life without experiencing another. Now I'm eagerly watching the Hurricane Irene forecasts. It's looking like it will stay a little east of the Maryland coast but currently it's predicted to reach this area Sunday morning--right around the time I'm supposed be running 10 miles in Annapolis. Could make for an interesting race.

Lost

2011-08-22T22:54:00.001-04:00

August is flying by, and while I'm behind on several tasks (like the three blog posts that never made it out of my head), Oranje has recovered from timeout.

I said I wasn't going to rip those rows with the loose and gaping stitches, but they looked like crap and had to go.

Before:

After:

No explanation for the difference. I'm sure I should care so I could avoid the problem on future projects, but in all honesty, I don't. It looks good now and that's all that matters. I finished the main portion of the collar the same night but was bored to death once I started the stripey rows for the collar facing. I was so close to the end but completely unmotivated. So Oranje sat on my dresser. And sat. One day I picked it up, knit half a round, put it back down, and it sat some more. A few days ago I sucked it up, sat down with the sweater, knit the last ten stripes, and bound off. Tonight, Oranje finally went for a swim in the bathtub and is currently pinned to my guest room floor drying.

I would be really excited about the fact that it's almost finished except that I'm completely lost when it comes to finishing the last few steps. I have to cut it the steeks. Cutting my knitting doesn't really freak me out. I'm sure I'll need to take a deep breath when I finally take the scissors to the sweater, but I'm actually looking forward to that part. Where I'm totally and completely lost is sewing the steek reinforcement. I honestly don't know where to begin. I've looked at half a dozen steeking tutorials, and I'm still clueless. I know I need to machine sew two lines on either side of the steek, but here are the problems:

I don't own a sewing machine.
I haven't used a sewing machine in about fifteen years, maybe longer.
I don't understand the concept of how the sweater, currently a tube, can be fed through the machine.
I don't know what color thread to use.
I don't even really understand where I need to sew. Along the steek stitches or right outside?

I am so confused. And sadly, even if I manage to figure out the steek situation, I want to put in a zipper instead of buttons, and I'm equally clueless on adding a zipper to knitting. Oranje is clearly going to be a struggle until the end.

Timeout

2011-08-08T22:12:00.000-04:00

When I'm really into a knitting project, sometimes I actually kind of enjoy my insomnia, but more often than not, my early morning knitting often comes back to bite me. Last Friday morning around 4am, I found myself unable to sleep and happily knitting away on my Oranje sweater. I finished a section of colorwork that had been taking an extra long time (there were three colors in each row and I'm not so good with juggling a third color). Excited to have finished that section, I immediately moved onto the short rows for the back of the neck before heading back to bed. I was happy with my progress but wasn't thrilled with how it looked at this point. It seemed like a lot of white on the neck and my colorwork in that last section looked terribly sloppy.

With a clearer head the next day, I took a closer look at the pattern. I quickly realized that I missed the instruction to switch colors when starting the neck short rows. Ops. Okay, so there was going to be some ripping. I continued to study the pattern and noticed that the triangles that I had just finished in a sort of checkerboard pattern according to the pattern chart did not match the triangles on the sample sweater. The one pictured has striped triangles. If I had liked how my triangles looked, I wouldn't have cared, but when I looked at them again, I was even more displeased.

They were a complete mess. The colors were muddled and my tension was all uneven. Friday night was thus spent ripping back and re-knitting the triangles and neck shaping.

It was a rockin' Friday night. Don't you all wish your lives were as exciting as mine?

I was really happy with the results. The striped triangles looked much better, and the blue neckband was a big improvement. On Saturday, I moved onto the next section--a simple checkerboard in the blue and brown. Easy peasy, I thought to myself, and I knocked out those few rows in no time. Then I inspected my work.

Gulp. Some of my stitches were HUGE. A couple of those blue ones are twice the size as the brown stitches. And some of the brown ones on the bottom row are so big, it looks like I put in a row of eyelets.

Seriously, WTF? I'm relatively experienced at colorwork, and my tension is usually pretty even, so I'm completely thrown. I'd have no problem ripping back those rows if I had a clue what was going on and knew I could fix it. When I knit with two colors I hold one color in each hand, so I must be knitting a zillion times more loosely with one hand, or stretching out the stitch I'm knitting into, or something, but which? And why all of a sudden? And if I knit it again, will it look the same?

Having no answers, Oranje is buried back in a bag in timeout. I don't think I'm going to rip those rows back. I'm sort of afraid I'll screw up the braid, the uneven stitches really aren't that noticeable, and well, I just don't want to. But I'm annoyed enough that I'm not ready to continue knitting either. Maybe in a few days when we've both had a little time away from each other, Oranje and I will get it straightened out. Just not at 4 am.

Summer Wool

2011-07-29T21:26:00.000-04:00

I really thought I would post several times during the Tour de Fleece. Clearly, that did not pan out. I had a pretty successful first Tour--started out like gangbusters, had a minor flame out in the middle, but recovered and finished strong.

The final tally was five skeins and over 1200 yards.

Successes: Spinning over one pound of fiber. Learning to navajo ply.

Where I came up short: I did not spin every day of the Tour (those flame out days). I did not even come close to finishing the skein I was spinning with my spindle. I did not finish a laceweight skein.

That just means I already have goals for next year.

I really did enjoy the Tour, and I'm still loving my wheel. After three weeks of spinning almost daily, I do need a little bit of a break. Luckily several knitting projects are scattered about the house to keep me busy. Only one of them, however, is getting attention--the Oranje sweater.

I flew through the sleeves on a road trip a couple of weeks ago, and I've continued to work steadily along since then. I'm surprised that despite several 100-degree days, I'm still knitting along on a wool sweater instead of turning to a cotton tank top or something, but I'm not going to question productive knitting.

What I am going to do is go play with the puppy who keeps pawing the keyboard. Either Juno really wants to contribute to the blog or she needs a little attention. I'm guessing the latter.

One Year Later

2011-07-04T21:26:00.000-04:00

Exactly one year ago, I wrote my first post for this wee little blog. At the top of my to-do list today was to work on redesigning things a bit (I started a bit last night, so excuse the mess) and finalize some renaming ideas that have been bouncing around my head. I ended up scrapping the to-do list to enjoy the holiday with my family.

I spent the afternoon at Patapsco Valley State Park with Mike and the puppies. We did a little hiking, but the highlight of the trip was the river.

Rugby loves to swim, but Juno, not so much. She will wade in and splash happily, but that's always been about it for her. Today watching Rugby was too much to take, and she eventually followed us out.

Despite the picture, she did venture out far enough to need to paddle. It was her first voluntary swim. I'm so proud.

I think they had a good day.

The only bad thing about swimming in the river? Bath time.

But now I have happy and clean dogs. Just no time to spend playing with the blog. I made the right decision.

Happy 4th of July!

Ready. Set. Spin!

2011-07-03T22:31:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, the Tour de France began and right along with it, a fiber-enthusiast accompanying event--the Tour de Fleece. Every day the cyclists ride, you spin. For the past couple years, I've seen bloggers write about the Tour de Fleece. I admired the full bobbins and piles of skeins they produced, but I never thought I would participate. I seem to be saying things like that a lot lately.

So on Saturday, I started spinning with the Tour. Finished about 2 ounces the first day.

Today was plying day. Singles had already been spun, but 310 yards of 2-ply later:

I have high expectations for the Tour. I probably have about a pound of fiber set aside that I've convinced myself I'll be able to finish in the next few weeks. I'm planning on my first navajo-ply skeins, some spindle time, and maybe even trying to go as thin as laceweight. As I said, lofty goals. We'll see what happens.

Exception to the Rule

2011-06-28T21:13:00.000-04:00

Summer is my least favorite season, but it does have one redeeming quality.

Saturday was my first visit of the season to Larriland Farm. Thirteen pounds of blueberries and twelve pounds of cherries was the result. In retrospect, it's probably a good thing I was too tired to hit the raspberry fields.

The Merino Cashmere Cure

2011-06-08T21:48:00.001-04:00

This winter the Oranje sweater pattern was released. Definitely an interesting design, but did I want to knit it? Nope. Never even considered it. And even had I fallen hard for the pattern the day it was published, it required a yarn purchase, and this year I’m all about knitting from stash. At least so I thought…

In April a new thread popped up in the Sanguine Gryphon Raverly group announcing an Oranje knit-along (KAL). I was immediately tempted, but decided against joining in because of the whole not wanting to buy yarn thing. The smart move here would have been to stop reading the thread. People began posting pictures of their color ideas. I started to waver. Next swatch pictures appeared. I started thinking about possible color combinations and began sorting through my stash and browsing yarn online. The idea of a yarn purchase stressed me out though, and since I was struggling to come up with a combination I was completely happy with anyway, I decided (again) not to knit the sweater.

Then I bought yarn and started swatching.

When the KAL officially kicked off June 1st, I cast on immediately.

I figured I would stall out after finishing the stripey hem and braid since endless rounds of stockinette are all that followed. I was wrong.

I'm in love with this project. I don't want to put it down. The cure for knitting apathy is clearly merino cashmere yarn.

Sock Yarn Stashdown: May Update

2011-05-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

In April I mentioned my goal of ending 2011 with less sock-weight yarn in my possession than I had at the beginning of the year. Since it's the end of the month, I figured I'd better take stock of the situation. The results were not encouraging.

Score at the end of April: -1
New skeins acquired in May: 4
Skeins used up: 0
Skeins destashed: 0

Score at the end of May: +3

Uh, that score is going in the wrong direction.

The good news is that last night I finished a sock.

Pattern is Knotty or Knice by Chrissy Gardiner

And I cast on the second one immediately. It's not much, but it's progress.

What I do when I'm not knitting

2011-05-27T22:22:00.002-04:00

Most of the time, this is a knitting (and now spinning) blog, but occasionally there is just too much awesome in the non-yarn part of my life that I have to share. This past weekend was the Columbia Triathlon.

This race was the first time I attempted an olympic/international distance tri (.9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run), which is twice the length of some the shorter sprints I've been doing. Not only is it a longer race, Columbia is known for being challenging (read hilly, really hilly), but there I was bright and early around 6am walking into Centennial Park to join this mass of people and set up my transition area.

Even though my swim wave wasn't scheduled to start the race until 7:40, the morning flew by and before I knew it, I was seeing Mike off, squeezing into my wetsuit, and hustling down to wade into the lake. The swim went pretty smoothly. It took me about half the distance to feel warmed up, but I didn't get shoved around too much or kicked in the head--always have to be happy about that.

I was a little disoriented coming out of the water but recovered pretty quickly, got to my bike (easy to spot with my new bright yellow handlebar tape), and was off.

The bike portion of the course is where I was the most nervous. I'm not a strong cyclist, and even though I'd ridden the course several times, it has some tough spots, and I wasn't sure how tired I might feel after the swim. The course was crowded which stressed me out a little here and there, but I felt surprisingly good. Being familiar with the course was a huge help, and I rode it faster than in any of my training rides. As I turned back into the park, my chin quivered for a few seconds, and I almost had to fight back a few tears since I knew with the bike leg behind me I would be crossing the finish line even if I had to walk the entire run.

I had another good transition and was soon jogging along with just six miles between me and finishing my first olympic tri. The run didn't go terribly well but not terribly bad either. The heat started to wear me down, and although I tried to fight up the hills, my legs just didn't have the strength. I ended up walking parts of just about every hill. By the time I hit the top of the last hill, I was too tired even to be relieved.

I trudged on and felt a surge of relief as I heard volunteers shouting "last mile". As I neared the end, I tried as hard as I could to enjoy the experience and my first oly finish, but I was too tired to think anything other than "just keep running".

Mike had started well before me, so he was at the finish line to cheer me on. When I caught sight of him, I threw my arms in the air for a second and powered to the finish with everything I had left.

It was over. I had done it. My first olympic triathlon. My first finish on the daunting Columbia course.

The race took me 3 hours, 12 minutes. Not speedy compared to the superstars that participate in this race, but I was thrilled.

I cooled off in the grass and listened to everyone's stories, then headed home for a shower and a long nap.

If you think it looks like I barely have the strength to hold up that cup, you'd be correct. But it was worth it.

Crystal Vest

2011-05-18T16:24:00.003-04:00

Two posts in two days? Wow, I think that’s a record for me. And I'm not even posting at 4am. Bonus!

So, despite my attachment to my new spinning wheel, I did find time in the last few weeks to finish a knitting project.

Pattern: Crystal

Ravelry Project Page

Yarn: Brooks Farm Solo Silk

Needles: 7 US

This project had a slow start. First there was the website problem when I tried to buy the pattern. Then the ten knots in the first skein of yarn I wound (thankfully, the second skein only had one). Next I got stuck on the lace pattern instructions. When that was finally worked out, I swatched. Swatch was big to begin with and blocked even larger. Being too impatient to swatch again, I simply went down two needle sizes and cast on. I knit up to the v-neck divide and got stuck again on pattern instructions. This one required designer-consultation, but the designer got back to me super quickly and cleared up the mistake. The vest was pretty smooth sailing from there. The knitting went quickly, the lace pattern was easy to memorize, and I didn’t run into any lace shaping problems. I ended up needing to knit the neckline twice, but that was the only stumbling spot.

When I finished and tried it on, I was pretty happy with the fit, except it was a little shorter than I wanted. I knew it would stretch when blocked, and oh, did it stretch. I pulled a dress out of the water instead of a vest! I was initially rather frustrated and swore off using yarn with silk for anymore garments, but once it dried and I tried it on, the loose style and waist tie made it all okay. I happily wore it all day Monday.

I’m still totally over silk though.

My modifications were pretty minor: three-needle bind off at the shoulders, reduced the armhole depth and took out a few short rows on the armhole edging, and I did an i-cord for the waist tie instead of a crochet chain.

Even though it might be a tad bigger than intended, I’m loving the loose fit. The relaxed style is a nice change after years of knitting super-fitted sweaters.

So a finished project (yay!) and one more stash project down. This brings me up to four. I’m a little behind the goal of twelve, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to decrease the stash when I’m constantly adding to it with handspun. Might need to start working on a better storage solution rather than trying to just knit faster.

May what?

2011-05-17T20:59:00.001-04:00

I looked at the calendar today and realized it is May 17th. May is already over half over? I have no idea where the time is going. Oh wait, yes, yes, I do.

May 7-8 was the 38th annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I spent a fantastic Sunday afternoon wandering around the fairgrounds and visiting adorable sheepies. This was my fifth year attending MDSW, and I’m fairly certain I can point to this festival as my downfall in all fiber-related obsessions. After this year’s festival, I thought back to previous years, and it was fascinating to me how much has changed in those five years. My first year, I had only been knitting a few months. I remember coming home with bunches of Tilli Tomas silk and my first Malabrigo skeins. I had no concept of hand-painted yarn or indie dyers, and I don’t even remember seeing fiber or spinning instruments. It just didn’t register. The next couple years were all about the sock yarn, and even though last year I brought home a spindle and some fiber, I still went mainly for the yarn.

This year was different. I saw yarn and even picked up and inspected a few skeins, but this year was not about yarn. In fact, the only yarn I came home with was yarn I produced myself.

On a spur-of-the-moment impulse, I sent in that colorful skein of yarn that I wrote about in my last post. I entered it in the novice spinning class. Seeing that first place ribbon was a really nice start to my day. At the end of the judges’ comments was the note: “keep spinning”. That might have been more encouragement than I needed. I may not have purchased yarn, but I did come home fully prepared to make lots of my own. The fiber haul:

You can see I was so eager to start spinning my new fiber that I finished a skein even before I gathered the purchases together for the picture. Why so eager? Well, I also brought home this:

Oops. Okay, not really. This was a completely planned purchase. I’m terrible about making decisions. Terrible. Especially big decisions that cost a lot of money, but I headed to the festival with my main purpose being to shop for a spinning wheel. After trying a few, I was struck with the overwhelming urge to slow down, not rush into anything, and do more research. I sighed to myself, disappointed that I was going to let my indecision get the best of me. As I continued to hem and haw over a wheel purchase, I did start making fiber purchases. By mid-afternoon, I decided I had more fiber than I was going to want to spin on spindles. So I told myself the wheel was practically a necessity. And of course, the judges had said to "keep spinning". I browsed some more and eavesdropped on wheel conversations and finally settled on the Lendrum double-treadle that I had been testing at Carolina Homespun. It wasn’t long before I was lugging a big box out to my car.

I’m happy to say, I’m thrilled with the purchase. The wheel assembled in five minutes and within another five, I was spinning. I’ve barely stopped since. That would be where May has gone. Well, spinning and a good bit of swim, bike, run training. The Columbia Triathlon is this weekend!

And just because no MDSW post is complete without animal pictures, here's a really cute alpaca.

I already can't wait until next year.

Lesson Learned

2011-04-16T14:01:00.000-04:00

I am certain that I am not the only knitter who has experienced the following phenomenon: Learn to knit. Realize there is a whole big world of breathtakingly beautiful yarn in local yarn stores. Fall in love with gorgeous variegated colorways. Begin to acquire lovely variegated yarn. Start knitting. Realize that variegated yarn may be gorgeous in the skein but that I don’t actually wear multi-colored clothes. Wise up and learn to buy solid or semi-solid yarns and chalk up the unused variegated skeins to a learning experience.

Although I learned my lesson quite well when it came to yarn, I was not clever enough to apply this logic to fiber. I recently posted some lovely fiber purchases. Here is one of them again.

I started spinning this braid almost immediately after I came home with it. I finished spinning and plying early this week, and I have sat and admired my pretty skein for the last several days.

Last night, I wound the yarn, and began knitting what I intended to be the first of many log cabin squares for an afghan. I stumbled across the most beautiful afghan on Ravelry a few weeks ago—(picture HERE)—a blanket of blocks, each of which was knit with a different handspun yarn. I’m pretty sure discovering this project is what jolted me into my current spinning fervor. I love this blanket. I want this blanket. I’m totally going to copy it. It’s the perfect use for spinning. I can spin several different colors and it will all have a specific purpose. I like things to have purpose. Spinning yarn just to sit in a drawer doesn’t work for my goal-oriented personality. Anyway, so I started knitting. I got a few rows in, and even from this little bit, I realized it was way too colorful for me.

Since I don’t have to wear the afghan, somewhat variegated is acceptable, but I thought of what this square would end up looking like, pictured a whole blanket of variegated squares, and felt a little nauseous. I’m not sure “ugly” is the right word (although it very well could be), but whatever it would be is definitely not how I’m picturing this project.

I thought about a few other recent fiber purchases, all of which I sort of intended to use toward the blanket project.

Um, no, pretty sure none of these are going to work. Each braid has simply too much color contrast. While walking away from pretty painted fiber may be difficult, it must be done. Lesson learned. Again.

It could be worse. I could have learned this lesson after the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

Taking the Hint

2011-04-13T21:28:00.000-04:00

I've been spinning like crazy for the past several days (a post for another day), but I decided today that I wanted to start a new knitting project. I've had a cute vest pattern in mind for awhile and perfect yarn from last year's Maryland Sheep and Wool festival--Brooks Farm Solo Silk. I started winding the first 400 yard skein. There were ten knots. Seriously. Ten. Discouraged but determined, I decided to forge ahead and just deal with the idea of weaving in a lot of ends. I went to buy the pattern. The site was experiencing problems and wouldn't let me check out. I sent a message to customer service and they got back to me super quickly. The site is still not working for me, so now I'm waiting for a paypal invoice and they'll email me the pattern. Okay, great, but a few hours have gone by, and I want to start knitting NOW.

Moving on, I decided I would start a Clockwork scarf, another project I've been planning for awhile. I've had a deep red skein of yarn for several years now. It's only 330 yards so not enough for a shawl on its own. No problem--I'll get a pretty contrast color and make Clockwork. Perfect. I ordered another skein of the same yarn--Three Irish Girls Kells Sport Merino, which arrived a few weeks ago. This was the first time I ordered directly from Three Irish Girls, and I was so impressed with the package, I had to take a picture.

So nice, right? I'm in love with the tape measure. But I digress--okay, back to the scarf. The yarns look gorgeous together, yes?

And having struck out with the Crystal vest, I decided tonight was the night to start Clockwork. I bought the pattern, downloaded the PDF, and was immediately struck by:
Color A--420 yards
Color B--295 yards

420!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!?

I don't have enough yarn. Each skein is only 330 yards. That sucks. And it was right there on the pattern website, which if I had only read, would have saved me buying a pattern that I won't be using anytime soon. Crap.

Fine, universe, fine. Have it your way. No new new project.

Catch up

2011-04-10T10:38:00.000-04:00

Last month my knitting took a little trip.

That would be the view from the apartment I stayed in for a week in mid-March in Cullera, Spain (a small beach town outside Valencia). I felt like I knit very little on the trip, but knitting-wise, it was a major success. My needles made it through both security checks in Paris, and I finished Flamboyan.

I said the finished shawl was either going to be awesome or really ugly. I don't think it ended up as either. I was rather underwhelmed by the finished product at first. Even though the yarns are nice individually, together I thought they looked sort of drab. I was a little bummed that after having made a couple great choices pairing yarns, I was back to my old tricks of bad combinations. What the shawl has going for it is its nice size, and it feels amazing after blocking. Both yarns are a bamboo/merino blend (Sanguine Gryphon Kypria and Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs Gothling Ricin) with beautiful drape and sheen. Over the past few days, the shawl has really grown on me.

It's not take-your-breath-away beautiful, but that's okay. It's finished, it's wearable, and I feel a little better about taking on more intarsia projects. Since I have yarn waiting in the wings for Chadwick, a little more intarsia confidence is a very good thing.

At the end of 2010, I joined a group challenging knitters to knit 12 projects completely from stash yarn in 2011. Flamboyan puts me at three. More importantly, however, it used two skeins of sock yarn. My own personal challenge to myself this year is to knit down my stash of sock yarn. I don't have a specific goal in mind; I just want there to be less by the end of the year. I'm in a sock club that sends one skein every month, so at the very least I have to knit up or destash one skein per month just to break even. Here's where I stand as of today:

New skeins acquired since Jan 1: 7
Skeins used up: 3
Skeins destashed: 5 (2 sold, 3 gifted)
Current score: -1

I figure this little challenge is like golf--the lower the score, the better I'm doing. Not too bad so far, but definitely room for improvement, and with my new spinning obsession taking significant time away from knitting, it could be an uphill battle.

I might have a problem

2011-04-03T19:22:00.001-04:00

I have tons to catch up on, and yet I've been terrible about actually sitting down to write. However, I happen to have an excellent excuse.

This.

I hadn't touched my spindles in months, but I picked one back up a few weeks ago. It's all been downhill from there. I can barely put my spinning down lately. I spin while watching television, spin in the kitchen while trying to cook, spin before I go to sleep, and even spin for a bit in the morning before I leave for work. The last one is really crazy when you factor in that I won't take the time to eat in the morning since I'm always running late. I spin while the dogs are asking to play, I spin when I should be cleaning, and clearly I've been spinning instead of blogging. Hell, I traveled to Spain a couple of weeks ago and finished a knitting project, and yet I'm sitting here writing about spinning instead. I'm seriously hooked.

My addiction became even clearer last weekend when I headed to the annual Homespun Yarn Party. I circled the room twice and gorgeous as it all was, I was remarkably not tempted by most of the yarn. For most of my time there all I was thinking was that my stash really might be a little out of control if I could actually be at fiber party and not buy yarn. I don't think that's it though. I think I was just fixated on something a little different. I came home with very little yarn, but with a new spindle and these beauties:

Yup, all I want now is fiber. The Maryland Sheep and Wool festival might be dangerous this year.

Great Expectations

2011-03-03T20:24:00.000-05:00

For awhile there I was on a hot streak. Most of the projects I finished I was quite pleased with. Comfy slippers that felted to the perfect size, cute socks that showed off the yarn just right, and sweaters that I've already worn over and over again. Like any good streak though, I suppose it had to end sometime, and I feel that I've only had disappointments since finishing the Leyfi pullover. The skirt I was knitting (which is sort of finished but not quite) has some major issues, the hat I knit for Mike didn't quite fit right, and there was the most recent shawl disappointment. To make matters worse, I now have some serious doubts about the project that I've been focusing on for the last several days.

Another shawl--Flamboyan by Stephen West. In effort to use up a skein of sock yarn (the middle multi-colored yarn), I searched about for an appropriate contrast color (we will not discuss that it's sort of crazy to buy more yarn in effort to use up stash). I found a dark gray, which I thought would set off the blue/green/purple nicely. When I started this shawl, I was too caught up with trying to conquer the evil that is intarsia knitting (it should come to no surprise that I have a terrible time keeping the various balls of yarn untangled) to notice much else. It probably wasn't until I took this picture that I decided I might hate this project too.

Frustrated with the shawl, I spent a ridiculous amount of time yesterday trying to decide on a new project. I have drawers of yarn. A long queue of projects I've admired forever. And nothing appealed to me. Nothing. I think the success streak did something wacky to my expectations, and now I have to be convinced that the project is going to be the most awesome thing in the world before I consider casting on. The indecision is driving me bonkers. I'm giving myself permission to start whatever I feel like, and I can't make one stinking decision. Everything I consider seems to have some possible flaw or another. All sorts of crazy thoughts are holding me back. Maybe X pattern isn't the absolute best for that skein of yarn and I should wait until I find a better pattern. Oh, I love X pattern, but it has a complicated chart and I don't feel like dealing with that right now. X pattern would go perfectly with X yarn, but I'm not in the mood to knit more socks. GAH!

I've never found it this difficult to start new projects. Hell, most of the time, I impulsively cast on four different random projects just for variety. If I keep this up, the WIP drawer should be empty in a few months since after I exhaust myself with not being able to make a decision about something new, I grudgingly return to something I've already started. With that in mind, I will return now to the Flamboyan shawl. It's either going to turn out awesome or really ugly, but I'm fairly certain I won't know until it's actually finished.

Oh, but if you can already tell it's going to be ugly, go ahead and tell me so I won't get my hopes up.

Trying to bounce back

2011-02-27T04:26:00.003-05:00

I think I've abandoned this blog for long enough. And even though I feel like I have a ton to catch up on, I'm going to ignore it for now except to say that my crazy finish-as-many-WIPs end to 2010 caused some major knitting burn out.

Back in September, I posted about receiving a rather full package of yarn. I was particularly taken with one of the skeins, and it was such a brilliant, beautiful red that I literally gasped when I pulled it out the package.

I didn't have a project planned for this yarn, and it was tucked away to wait for me to discover the perfect pattern. A few weeks ago, frustrated with my knitting apathy, I decided to pull out this skein and knit it up. I hoped a project with special yarn would bring back some of my knitting enthusiasm, so I found a shawl pattern (Charlize) that I thought would be a good fit for the yarn, wound the skein and cast on.

I wasn't initially too enthused about the new project. I realized the yarn was more variegated than I had thought, and I wasn't loving the lace knitting. As I knit more, I started to like how the colors were working, and I was able to pick up some momentum in the last week. Friday night I bound off the shawl and eagerly dunked it in water to block. Blocking was the first hint that this wasn't going to be my dream project. The edge wasn't stretchy enough to fully spread out the lace middle, and something seemed wrong with the shape. Not surprisingly, nothing changed overnight as it dried, but I unpinned it, wove in the last few ends, and wore it out.

There's nothing huge wrong with it. The shape seems a little off and the bind off is a bit tight, but those are my only tangible complaints. Whatever is going on though, I'm just not happy with it. I'm determined to knit down my sock yarn stash this year, but I think this project could be heading toward a complete ripping and the yarn back in stash. I'm tempted to rip it out this minute, but it's 4am, and since I promised myself no more big knitting decisions in the wee hours of the morning, I'm resisting grabbing the scissors. Really a bummer that the first thing I've finished in weeks is such a dud. In the end, probably better to relegate the yarn back to the stash drawer than have a shawl that I scowl at, right? I think I need to go wind a skein with some cashmere in it and find a new project.

Leyfi Pullover

2010-12-20T18:20:00.000-05:00

I finally had time and decent enough light and a willing photographer to get some shots of my finished Leyfi Pullover.

Pattern: Leyfi Pullover by Romi Hill, from Interweave Knits Fall 2010

Yarn: Tahki Yarns Bunny

Needles: US 10 and 10.5

Started: July 28, 2010; Finished: Dec 2010

This sweater was both an easy knit and a huge headache. It was a complete impulse cast-on. I didn't swatch, wasn't sure I had enough yarn, and couldn't be bothered to even knit the sleeves on the same size needles as the body (US 10 for the body; 10.5 for the sleeves since I happened to have a 10.5 16-inch circular and I hate magic looping sleeves). It's kind of a miracle it came out at all. Even more amazing is that I'm really happy with it despite some major mistakes. Early on, I discovered I had completely botched the upper part of the lace yoke (that would be what I get for trying to knit a lace pattern at 4am). I agonized a bit over this mistake, but in the end, I decided not to rip and kept on knitting. Deep down I was convinced that these mistakes would drive me crazy even when the sweater was finished. But I'm pleasantly surprised that I don't care (much). Even close up, there really isn't anything that jumps out as being wrong.

Now granted, even in that photo, I can point out the mistakes, but I'm fairly certain that most people don't see what I see (and if you do, just lie). I've worn it happily twice now and accepted compliments without feeling the need to say, "thanks, but, look right there--don't you see all these glaring mistakes? I must be the worst knitter ever".

Other than my unintentional lace customization, I knit the sweater pretty much according to the pattern. The pattern calls for you to hold two different yarns together, but I used a single ply bulky wool that I had in stash, which worked out just fine. My only modification was to add some waist and hip shaping. Even with the shaping, Leyfi has a relaxed fit which I'm finding rather refreshing to wear since most of the sweaters I knit this year are very fitted. I love the nice long loose sleeves in particular, and the whole sweater is cozy and warm and comfortable and I love it. Isn't it great when that happens so unexpectedly?

Maybe most importantly, the nice neutral color doesn't show dog fur. And yes, that comment is really just an excuse to add in a gratuitous puppy picture.

With Leyfi finished, my WIP knit-down has hit a speed bump. I'm slogging away on the Chelsea skirt, but progress is slow and tedious. Only eleven days left of 2010, and I hope at the very least I'll be able to knock out the last pair of socks. Only time will tell...

'Tis the season

2010-12-15T19:02:00.004-05:00

Having grown up celebrating only Hanukkah, having a Christmas tree is still a novelty for me. For the past several years we have cut down our tree at Butler's Orchard in Germantown, MD, and this year we carried on that tradition. I like that it makes the occasion a little more of an adventure and that we are supporting a local farm in the process. Every year, I marvel at the rows and rows of trees to pick from.

In past years, we easily spent an hour wandering through the rows--we would find a tree we liked, decide to look a little further and eventually decide we liked the first tree best and now couldn't find it. Usually it was around the third tree we found that we would actually start sawing. This year we were more efficient and cut down the first tree we decided on. I admit, Mike did most of the hard work while I stood over him supervising and snapping pictures and being generally pretty unhelpful.

Soon the tree was on the car and we were headed home to start decorating. Awhile back, I started my own little holiday tradition--each year I add a new ornament that reminds me of something that makes me smile. I love that we are slowly accumulating a collection of ornaments with some sort of personal significance. Each time I pull one of these from the box, I remember some happy experience or trip. I was thrilled when I was in a running store and found this year's perfect addition.

I'm still really proud of finishing my first half-marathon (13.1 miles) this year. No matter how many more races I do, I love that every time I pull out this little green ball, I will think about how wonderful it felt to finish that race and how much fun we had that whole trip. This simple 13.1, therefore, became my "special" ornament for 2010.

Another great thing about the trip to the farm is that it's about a 45 minute drive away. Knitting time!! The Leyfi pullover was my priority last week, and on the way to and from the farm, I eagerly worked away on the second sleeve.

Leyfi is now finished. I'm quite happy with it--more so than I expected to be. I haven't had great light to take pictures so hopefully this weekend Leyfi will get a photo shoot and I'll post all the details then. Finishing Leyfi brings me down to seven WIPs. I ripped out one fingerless mitten project since the cuff was too snug, so that brings me to six. From fourteen to six in less than a month! Now is when it starts to get a little harder though since most of the projects I'm trying to tackle are not very far along. I've moved onto the Chelsea skirt, and I can honestly say I hate knitting this project. Luckily, I still have a sock to work on when I need a break, but I fear finished projects might be few and far between for a bit.

Parade of Socks

2010-12-07T17:55:00.001-05:00

Forgetting the yarn for the Leyfi sweater during my long day at the sleep clinic last Wednesday at least translated into progress on the other project I brought.

Pattern: Burning Rings of Fire (Ravelry pattern) by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Plum Paisley
Needles: 2.5mm
Started: September 2010

The pattern is little more than a basic ribbed sock and not the most interesting knit so I don't have much to say except that I'm happy the socks are done. If I had anything else to knit at the sleep clinic, they would still be a WIP. Let's move on.

Feeling the burden of finishing Burning Rings lifted, I surprisingly was super motivated to keep working on socks. So I did not go back to Leyfi last week as planned but turned my attention to another half-finished pair of socks. Before I knew it, more finished socks!

Pattern: Charade (Ravelry Pattern) by Sandra Park
Yarn: Yarntini Self-Striping Sock in Peggy (Mad Men collection)
Needles: 2.25mm
Started: September 2010

I love these socks. LOVE them. I love that I took the time to make them a nice length. I love that the stripes match up absolutely perfectly, right down to the three rows of blue at the toe. I love that they are a perfect match to my brown clogs, which are the only shoes I wear with handknit socks. Most of all, I love the combination of the stripes with this texture.

A little texture to catch the eye but nothing that disrupts the stripes. Perfect. This sock yarn was an impulse buy this summer, and it makes me happy that it's been turned into a pair of socks and is not just languishing in the sock yarn drawer.

My sock knitting hasn't slowed just because I've finished two pair in the last week. No, there is not a third pair I can show off but I did at least finish a first sock.

It's pretty obvious I'm enjoying the striping yarn lately. This is another great pattern that makes the sock a little interesting without taking away from the stripes--a free patten that was recently released: Down the Rabbit-Hole (Ravelry download). One more sock and all four pairs listed for my great WIP knit-down will be complete. That's kind of amazing to me given my lack of sock knitting for most of this year.

Finally, I finished one more project this week. Not socks exactly, but they're close enough.

I decided I hated one of the baby sweaters that I had started so I ripped it completely and knit up a pair of Saartje's Booties in its place using some leftover Dale of Norway Baby Ull and some mystery pink scraps. Instead of cute buttons, I used snaps to secure the straps, mainly because I had no cute buttons and wanted the project finished up quickly more than I wanted to go button shopping.

So all in all, a very productive week for me even if Leyfi still needs most of a second sleeve. Three finished projects bring me down to eight total. Single digits!

Forgetful

2010-12-01T10:05:00.001-05:00

I'm currently at a sleep clinic and will be here all afternoon. Every two hours I take a 20 minute nap with nothing to do in between but sit around. I came prepared to get a lot of knitting done and had dreams of finishing the entire second sleeve for Leyfi. I remembered to bring the sweater. I remembered to grab the right needles. I remembered the magazine with the sleeve chart. Know what I forgot? The yarn.

Instant Gratification

2010-11-30T12:21:00.000-05:00

I crossed two more WIPs off the list last night--the two pairs of slippers (aka Fiber Trends felted clogs). I swear these things are like magic. It's insane how fast over 1000 yards of yarn will turn into big floppy shoe-like things, and even more magical that a little hot water and agitation turns them into warm cozy slippers perfect for knocking around the house all winter.

I made a pair of these for myself a couple of years ago and they were so perfect for my cold floors that I made Mike a pair soon after. Both of us have lived in them the past few winters, and we've worn holes through the soles. We've been overdue for new pairs for awhile; now I can check that project off the list.

The WIP tally is officially at eleven. On the chopping block for this week is yet another pair of socks and one of my bigger projects--the Leyfi pullover.

Looks done, right? Close, but not quite. I finished the body and first sleeve this weekend, but there is the whole second sleeve to go. I think I can do it in a few days. If I knock out the socks and sweater, the tally could be down to single digits by the end of the week. I think once I get down to five I'll be allowed to start a new project. But, really, I'm not getting ahead of myself or anything...

Roger Socks

2010-11-24T15:39:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and while my mind is mainly on stuffing recipes and turkey preparation, it is also that time of year that most of us reflect on things for which we are thankful. My wonderful family and husband Mike top the list, of course. There are a million reasons for me to be thankful for Mike, but today he was presented with one more reason to me thankful he has me. Four words sum it up: merino cashmere handknit socks.

Pattern: Roger Socks by Anne Hanson
Ravelry Project Page
Yarn: Sanguine Gryphon Bugga!--Autumn Tiger Beetle
Needles: 2.5 mm
Cast on: July 2010
Finished: today!

I've used the amazingly beautiful and soft Bugga! yarn for a sweater and a shawl, but these are the first socks. They certainly won't be the last. They are soft and squishy and amazing, and it's a good thing they are too big for me otherwise I might have to keep them for myself! Luckily they are not going far so I can continue to visit and more importantly, carefully supervise their washing. Ah, pretty pretty socks...

These socks are part of my new dedication to clearing out the knitting works-in-progress. I recently did an honest count of my WIPs. Not counting two blankets or the "hibernating" projects (two sweaters, a vest, and three socks), I was at fourteen. 14?! I clearly got completely out of control somewhere in September and let the trend keep on going, and going, and going. I've been the Energizer bunny of starting new stuff and putting it down, and now I have this pile:

The tally includes two sweaters, two fingerless mitts, two baby sweaters, two pairs of slippers, one skirt, four socks, and one scarf. Yikes! The pile has been neatly put away and the projects ranked. I figure if I focus on a few at a time, more will get finished and I'll have less chance of getting too bored. For this week, I'm focused on finishing the Roger socks (done!) and the slippers, which will bring me down to 11. That's something at least, but I'm determined to finish up most of these projects before the end of December. Hopefully for the next few weeks, this blog will be a parade of finished projects. One can dream...

You spin me right round, baby, right round....

2010-11-21T22:47:00.001-05:00

I've been spinning. It's not as easy to pick up and put down as when I'm knitting a sock, but I am trying to spin a little each day. I'm drafting more smoothly, my yarn is getting more even, and, well, I'm starting to think a wheel could be in my future. I finished spinning about 2 ounces and have plied and made actual yarn.

I've learned, however, that I'm not any more monogamous of a spinner than I am a knitter. Three spindles = three different yarns in progress.

I've got a little of everything going: some rough practice wool, fluffy merino roving, and a merino/tencel blend (swoon). It sort of works for me having a few options when I want to spin. Different fibers for different moods? Maybe I'm just a fickle crafter.

I recently was lucky enough to be one of the random winners for a knit-along. My prize was a custom journal made by Becky's Paper Creations. I figured that with my new interest in spinning, it would be fun for the journal to be for spinning. I gave Becky a picture and a few thoughts, and on Saturday, this arrived at my door:

Isn't it the cutest thing? I love it. I figure I'll use it to keep samples of fiber and yarn and to record yarn specs. Now just to keep spinning so I have some more to put in it. Thanks Becky!

Yum

2010-11-18T21:32:00.001-05:00

I don't get a chance to bake all that often anymore, but every once in awhile....

Today was the annual pre-Thanksgiving potluck at my office, and I contributed one of my favorite recipes. I hate that I'm old enough to say I've been making something for almost 15 years, but I seriously have been making these Turtle Brownies since 1996, and they've never disappointed.

There's just something about chocolate, pecans, and homemade caramel.

Mike and I are staying home for Thanksgiving this year, and it will just be the two of us, but I already can't wait to start cooking.

Drop Spindle Spinning

2010-10-29T20:57:00.001-04:00

I've tried to spin yarn before, but not really having any clue what I was doing, I never got very far. I have 3 drop spindles and some practice fiber, all of which has been buried away in the closet for the last several months. When I saw that Cloverhill Yarn was offering a beginning drop spindle class, I jumped on the opportunity. After two hours of class, I definitely had some progress to show for my time.

I loved every minute of it. When I got home, I pulled out the pretty trindle and fiber that I got at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival last year, and I sat down and started spinning. It's new, it's awkward, and it takes my full attention as I try to draft the fibers evenly and keep the spindle spinning. I'm still big on "park and draft" -- meaning I stop the spindle from spinning as I work on drafting the fibers. My yarn isn't perfect but not lumpy either.

When you first start knitting, each stitch takes concentration, and in the beginning, it seemed to me that there were always new skills to learn. I loved that part about learning to knit. It was easy to block out the world and just stare at the loops of yarn over 2 wooden sticks. Simple, but so much to pay attention to. After knitting for several years, rarely do I shut out the entire world and focus only on my hands and stitches. A big part of me misses that aspect of knitting. I miss the escape it provided. For the past several days as I anticipated stress at work, I found myself reaching for the spindle. Spinning requires my full attention, and there is neither pressure to rush nor an expectation of how much I should be spinning in a given time frame. No rows to count or fabric to measure, just a calm and quiet twirling spindle. Progress is slow, but I'm definitely seeing some results.

I'm not sure whether spinning will stick more this time or whether once again the tools will be put aside. I'm not too worried about it one way or the other. Right now, I'm just enjoying the peace. Although I admit, I might be a little eager to finish up the 4 oz of purple fiber I'm working on now so I can move onto this:

Whippoorwill

2010-10-22T17:22:00.003-04:00

Whippoorwill is finished! Despite some setbacks, it came together rather nicely in the end.

Pattern: Whippoorwill (Ravelry pattern)
Ravelry Project Page
Yarns: Rainy Days and Wooly Dogs Oleander--Absinthe
Madelinetosh Sock--Emerald City
Needles: Size 7 US
Cast on: October 1, 2010
Finished: October 21, 2010

I know there are a ton of mistakes somewhere, but I have no idea where and nothing is visible. Maybe no mistakes are actually there then? I didn't waste too much time puzzling that one out. Instead I enjoyed waltzing around work today with my pretty new shawl wrapped around me and felt like a million bucks.

It's a very good size shawl--the amount of drape is a little more apparent in this back shot. I only knit the medium size, but I wanted a large shawl that I wouldn't have to constantly be throwing back up over my shoulder. Since I didn't have enough yarn for the large size, I knit the medium on size 7, so at a little larger gauge than the pattern instructs. The finished size definitely exceeded my expectations. It's perfect for warm or cool weather, and I knocked out two skeins of stashed sock yarn to make it. Basically an all-around win. I love when I get to say that!

Whippoorwill is an accomplishment for me for another reason. Picking colors for many people is the fun part of knitting, but I agonize over it. I have a hard enough time deciding on one color, but when I have to add on a contrast color--oh, the horror! It can take days of indecision, asking for opinions, changing my mind, even abandoning the project altogether. This time, however, it came together rather smoothly. I happened to hold the two skeins together, and it just seemed like it would work. I've gotten so many compliments since I added on the contrast color, I think I can claim this color combination as a success. This is a rare occurrence for me.

Speaking of the greens, when I added the finished pictures to Ravelry, a trend became ridiculously obvious. Here's a shot from my Ravelry project page of the last three projects I've finished.

Now, here are two more in progress:

It's pretty obvious that I've been on a green kick lately. This isn't exactly uncommon for me--there have been blue phases, and purple, but I think I might be ready for a change. I received another package this week--not yarn this time, but something I was even more excited about.

I think I feel a red phase coming on.

Smackdown

2010-10-16T12:34:00.001-04:00

I should have known better than to have been so overconfident in my last post. The knitting fates rarely let you get away with such cockiness. Within 6 hours of that post, the project smacked me right back down to reality and time consuming re-knitting. To make a long story short, there was an incorrect stitch count, a misguided attempt to "wing it" which I quickly realized was ridiculous, followed by the decision to yank the needle out of approximately 385 stitches without a lifeline (yes, I really need to learn not to make important knitting decisions at 4am). For the past two nights I've been picking up stitches, repairing dropped stitches, counting, recounting, trying to mark pattern repeats, and generally get the pattern back on track.

It's as fixed now as it's going to get, and I learned a valuable lesson: when the pattern says to count your stitches frequently--do it!

This morning I finished the main color section of the project while almost holding my breath and then breathing a huge sigh of relief. My cake of yarn seemed to be diminishing a little too quickly last night, and the worry that I wouldn't have enough started to set in. This yarn is a skein from a monthly club and to get more I would have to beg for someone's leftovers or a trade. I finished the last main color row without a problem, but here's all that's left:

Despite these issues, I really have been enjoying this pattern, which I'll go ahead and reveal is the shawl Whippoorwill (Ravelry pattern). I was actually quite excited to get back to it each night. My knitting mojo must really be back. I certainly hope so since I received a box filled with soft tweedy yarn this week and cast on the Chelsea Skirt last night in between my shawl repair work.

The yarn is Knit Picks City Tweed HW in Chipmunk. Given the latest knitting smackdown, I was very diligent and made a nice big swatch. So far, so good.

Teaser

2010-10-13T22:33:00.002-04:00

I've been working away on a new project.

Just this teaser shot for now though! It's actually fairly well along, and if I keep up the pace, I should have a finished project by the end of the weekend. I'm so happy to be enthused about knitting again. You know that "really, I'll put it down after one more row" phase? That's been me for the last several nights. It feels great. I'd write more, but since I can't put it down and haven't mastered knitting and typing simultaneously, something's gotta give.

Never say never

2010-10-11T04:11:00.001-04:00

As a kid growing up, I watched my Dad finish marathon after marathon. By the time I was a teenager he had run 20 marathons. He tried to get me involved in running, but it never took. For pretty much my entire life, I jogged sporadically for exercise but never seriously. Three miles was the farthest I worked up to, and I never had much enthusiasm to try to push further. Until this year.

A little over a week ago, Mike and I flew down to Orlando, Florida (Disney World!), and on October 2 at 10pm, I started jogging with a crowd of over 12 thousand at the Disney Wine&Dine half-marathon. A little after midnight on October 3, I finished my first half-marathon--13.1 miles!


Mike and I pre-race

It was so much fun! The course took you through three Disney parks, and there were bands and characters along the way cheering on the runners. We ended in Epcot for a late-night party, and got back to our hotel sometime around 4am. The whole experience was a blast from start to finish, and I can't explain how excited I am about this accomplishment. It's huge for me. A year ago, I would have never believed I would be able to run this distance. I ran more slowly than I hoped and missed my target time by about 10 minutes, but I could care less. I finished a half-marathon, running the entire race (except planned walking through the water stops), and that's all that matters.

I spent the next several days pretending I was Minnie Mouse.

It was a much needed vacation from home, from work, and I admit, even from knitting. Despite great intentions, I did almost no knitting. I think I needed the break. I'm ready to make all kinds of progress now. Let the fall knitting begin!

Pefectly Reasonable

2010-09-27T21:01:00.001-04:00

Is there anyone that doesn't love to come home to packages? The one waiting for me today was extra special.

Four beautiful skeins of sock yarn. Um, oops?

I often feel guilty about my stash. I frequently need to remind myself that I spend well within my means, all my bills are paid, the dogs are fed, and the yarn makes me happy. Perfectly reasonable, right? But when I finished admiring my new skeins and went to put them away, I discovered the sock yarn drawer is full. I could cram in a skein or two but not all four. Something about that fact is disturbing to me. I have several other drawers filled with yarn where the yarn could go so it's not a storage issue. It just makes me start to wonder if I've crossed some line and have started to go a little too crazy with the sock yarn.

I would feel better if I were finishing projects and using up more yarn, but I haven't been the most productive knitter lately. That brings me to yet another interesting development. I finished a Marigold sock last month. It's a really cute pattern. This weekend I grabbed the rest of the yarn and started knitting. I was really enjoying the pattern and by Sunday evening I was already about halfway finished with the sock. Wow, almost a finished pair, right? Um, not so much.

Uh, what's the problem with this picture? I knit a completely different pattern when I started the second sock. It wasn't a mistake; I did it on purpose. As much as I like the Marigold pattern, I wasn't in love with the first sock and didn't want to knit it again. I'm so much happier with how the yarn looks in the second pattern (Charade), and when it's finished, the original sock will be ripped and reknit to make a matching pair. I think this was a perfectly reasonable decision. I really really love the yarn, and I want to be happy with the finished project. That's much more important to me than checking another project off the list just so I can move onto another one. So reasonable, right? Yes. Absolutely. Nevertheless, this fickleness is certainly not helping me knit down the sock yarn stash, is it now? Would it be wrong to cast on 5 shawls tonight just so I can feel like the yarn is being used? Then I could lament about my overflowing WIP drawer....

My new obsession

2010-09-22T21:39:00.001-04:00

The whole thing began so innocently with an impulse buy at the farmer's market in July. I picked up some pickling cucumbers and got it into my head that I would try to make half-sour pickles. Within a few hours I had dug out some old mason jars, found a recipe, and before I knew it, this was sitting in my dining room:

And a few days later...pickles! I was so very proud and excited and eager to try more stuff. When my parents were vising over Labor Day weekend, I took them out to a farm to pick fresh peaches and tomatoes. My Mom absolutely loved it, and soon we had picked 40 lbs of peaches and about 20 lbs of tomatoes. The tomatoes were easy, and after a few batches of gazpacho and salsa, they're about used up. The peaches were a little more challenging. I've baked since I was a young kid, so before when I've gotten a little out-of-control when peach picking, I've used them to make peach ice cream, pie, cake, etc. But the pickling put all sorts of ideas in my head, and suddenly I was obsessed with making jam. Since I had no proper supplies, attempt #1 was plain peach freezer jam. It was so amazingly delicious, and I was determined to try more. Not ever being satisfied with only going halfway, I was wanted to do the real deal: I wanted to try canning.

I spent a couple of weeks gathering up supplies and reading whatever I could find on the Internet about how to can, and off I went. I started out with a peach rum butter recipe. The butter turned out pretty well, but the canning was a total fail. I knew my glass-top stove might be a problem and sure enough, it wouldn't sustain a high-enough temperature to keep the water boiling in the canner. Sigh. The yummy peach rum butter was relegated to the freezer, and I went back to the drawing board. The possible solutions for the stove required more equipment (a canner with a flat bottom and smaller circumference), which I really wasn't ready to invest in. But I kept reading and stumbled across another option--using a camp stove. I have a camp stove and the poor thing hadn't seen any use in a couple of years. Perfect! So last weekend, I cooked up some peach amaretto jam and attempted outdoor canning.

And you know what? It totally worked. The water boiled. All the jars sealed like they are supposed to. And now I have a new obsession. Instead of perusing the Internet for new knitting patterns, I'm suddenly looking for canning recipes, and I'm ridiculously excited about apple season now. I have a new craving for homemade applesauce and I think the whole family might be getting apple butter over the holidays.

Ironically, this morning I stumbled across this blog post that mentions how canning has recently become sort of a new fad. I had no idea my new hobby was the latest cool domestic thing to do, and I admit knowing that takes a hint of the wind out of my sails, but I don't think even that will slow me down much. Knitting used to be so exciting because I felt that I learned something new with every project. Knitting hasn't been like that for a long time, and I'm feeling some burn out lately. A new interest was definitely needed. So expect pictures with canned applesauce at some point this fall! But no worries that I will turn this from a knitting to a canning blog--I have way too much yarn to stop knitting (and a good bit more currently on the way). But for now, I'm off to make more pickles since I'm about out of peaches.

Enjoying the Process

2010-09-14T21:19:00.003-04:00

At the beginning of 2010, I joined the Intswemodo2010 on Ravelry. Intswemodo=International Sweater-a-Month Dodecathon. Twelve sweaters in twelve months. Before I joined, I counted up my sweaters from 2009. There were eight, and so it didn't seem beyond the realm of possibility that I could kick it up a notch and crank out four more in 2010. Well over eight months in and I have finished six sweaters. It's not looking good for me right now (I firmly believe my new fascination with sweaters made with sock yarn is to blame). Realistically there's no way twelve is going to happen, but I still have that goal nagging at me. I'm all of five inches into the body of Vivian, and when I've looked at it the past few days, all I could think is that it's not going fast enough for me to get to the other sweaters waiting in the wings. Stressing over the sweater made me not want to knit it, and I kept reaching for other projects.

I do this a lot with knitting. I set all kinds of crazy goals, and before I know it, I start stressing over finishing things and forget that knitting is not work. At 4 am this morning when I couldn't sleep (shocking, I know), I turned to Vivian determined to simply enjoy knitting. For a good row and a half, this worked out perfectly as I knit along quite contently. Then I spotted a problem: one of my cables was crossed the wrong direction. Now in a sweater with hundreds of cabled stitches, it's amazing that I felt this was something to worry about, but there was no way I was going to be able to let this one go.

At 4 am I was in no shape to deal with this problem, and I started working on a sleeve instead. When I was better rested, however, I turned back to the cable problem. The wrong cross-over was 6 rows down. Maybe I could just drop all the stitches down, cross the cable to the right, and pick up all the stitches again, and everything would be perfect, right?

I'm kind of impressed with myself that I did just that.

Dropped down 4 stitches all six rows. It looked a little scary at this point.

But thanks to a trusty crochet hook, there was a happy ending. All the stitches picked up rather nicely, and a few rows later, you could barely tell where I did all that "surgery". All the cables were happily leaning to the right as they should.

Phew. I've already got one project in progress with some huge mistakes; I was not mentally prepared to have two. I guess that trying to be less of a perfectionist has some limits. Nevertheless, somehow today reminded me to enjoy the process of knitting and to not think of only the end result when knitting a sweater.

On its way

2010-09-10T21:20:00.000-04:00

I'm not a warm weather girl, and this record-breaking hot summer has been rough. But when I left the house this morning, there was a chill in the air. For the first time in months, I'm wearing closed-toe shoes and needed a light jacket. Sweater weather is on its way! And I couldn't be happier about it.

Last week I cast on Vivian. I'm using Rowan Cocoon in a very pale sage green called "Fog". I think relaxing on the couch with my new project is the perfect way to celebrate the change in weather.

Goodale

2010-08-28T08:18:00.006-04:00

Despite how busy I was last weekend, I did manage to sneak in a good bit of knitting time. By Wednesday I had a new finished sweater to show for it.

Pattern: Goodale (Ravelry pattern) by Cecily Glowik MacDonald

Ravelry Project Page

Yarn: Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! in Southern Green Stink Bug
Needles: size 6 US
Cast on: July 25, 2010
Finished: August 25, 2010

I knit Goodale pretty much exactly to pattern with one major exception--the bottom edge ribbing. Pattern directions have you knit the 1x1 ribbing and then fold over and sew down the fronts. I had seen a couple of finished sweaters where this ribbing looked really heavy, and I had an idea I wanted to try out. Before I switched to the ribbing, I slipped the first 25 stitches onto a third needle.

I then folded over the front edge:

From there I started the 1x1 ribbing, knitting each stitch on the front needle together with one from the back. This gave me the bottom seam I was going to have to sew to make the little pockets and avoided needing to fold over ribbing. I'm not sure whether this really made any difference or whether I would've liked the other way better, but the finished edge looks nice so I'm going to try not to overthink it.

The Good:

The fabric is heavenly (have I mentioned I love, love, love this yarn?)--light enough to wear in summer heat and after blocking, it's so soft and smooth no description I give will do it justice.
I'm really happy with the color.
In general, it's a cute style and something I don't have much of.
And I love the buttons. (Thank you G Street Fabrics in Rockville, MD)

The Bad:

I really wish it were a tad less cropped. I added a couple of inches to the overall length, and I still feel like it's short (I guess this is fixable if I do some ripping....)
Since I feel like it's a little short for pants, it really makes me want to wear it over a cute sundress that I do not own (okay so that's not really the sweater's fault).
I sort of feel like it falls too open when I'm wearing it, and I found myself tugging it a little more closed a lot (hmmm, that might be more me being self-conscious and maybe I shouldn't blame the sweater).

Final verdict on Goodale? Well....I'm a little undecided. I named this project "Patience is a Virture" both because it took a lot of patience to wait to start it (I forced myself to finish Tempest first) and because I feel like I rushed through it at the end and maybe I'd be a little happier with it if I had been more patient and taken my time. Maybe this winter I'll rip out the hem and add even more length. We'll see. For now I will wear it and enjoy it and over-analyze later.

I'm off in a couple of hours for another busy weekend--at 1pm today I will hop on my bike and participate in a 24 hour ride to raise awareness and funds to fight cancer. You ride as little or much as you want during the 24 hours. I'm shooting for between 100 and 150 miles. By Sunday I expect to be rather sore and tired, but I'm sure I'll steal a little knitting time between rides so maybe I'll also have a little progress on a sock too.

Overscheduled and totally worth it

2010-08-26T18:46:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was one of the busiest of my life. I knew when I scheduled two big events back to back it was going to be a little rough. At the end of it, I was sleep deprived and exhausted, but it was totally worth it.

Part I: Saturday
At 6:30am Saturday morning I was on the road on my way to Westminster, MD. Not for a bike ride this time but for an agility trial. In my very first post, I mentioned that I do agility training with my dogs. For those unfamiliar, dog agility is where you train your dog to perform certain obstacles (jumps, tunnels, stuff to climb over, etc) and the purpose is to run your dog through basically an obstacle course as fast as you can go without making mistakes. Each course has different challenges, and on Saturday I ran a total of eight courses with Rugby and Juno.

At over eight years old, Rugby still has some serious spring:

Agility trials used to make me really nervous. For someone as self-conscious as I am, the whole performing in front of an audience thing is nerve-wracking. Then think about fear of making mistakes combined with having to rely on partnership with a dog. Recipe for disaster! But sometimes life forces you to be exactly what you are trying to avoid, and me and my goofy spaniel were often the center of attention not for stellar performance but because of all of Rugby's amusing antics. It was pretty common for Rugby to take off and zoom around the ring or run over to say hi to the judge. Once he left the ring to bury his head in a pile of prize toys and another time, he followed his nose right into a kitchen to see what was for lunch. When I stop and think about it, I'm rather proud that I kept going with agility rather than giving into my fear of embarrassment. At some point I decided to love Rugby for being exactly what he is--an unpredictable goofball.

As he's matured with age, Rugby is less of a clown at agility trials, and while he certainly still spaces out and wanders away, sometimes he puts it all together really well and we had 3 successful runs of 5 this weekend.

Juno has much more focus than Rugby but is still new to agility competitions so she can be a goofball in her own right. As she finished a run and before I could get her leash on, she jumped over the ring gating to go say hi to a friendly-looking Corgi. It's good she's carrying on the family tradition. Here she is navigating her way down an obstacle.

The little girl did quite well for herself. I only ran her in 3 courses, but she did well enough in one to earn her very first "qualifying score" and first place ribbon, which I promptly displayed on her crate.

What a good little girl.

It was an exhausting day. I didn't get home until after 8pm and barely had enough time to pack some things and try to get to sleep before the alarm went off at 4:30am.

Part II: Sunday
On Sunday morning, I left the house even earlier than on Saturday, this time for the Iron Girl triathlon. By 6am I was setting up my transition area in some light rain, and by 7:30am, I was in the water about to start the race. I'm somewhere out in this big pack of swimmers.

Swimming in a group like this is always an adventure, and I definitely got knocked around a bit in the beginning, but then I settled in and just swam. I felt like I had a strong swim, but my time was a little slower than I was shooting for. That meant I really needed some speedy transitions. Mike barely caught me running by on my way to grab my bike. That would be me there in the bright blue top.

Despite the rain, the rest of the race went pretty well. I had an average bike, but with a crowded course and wet roads, I was okay with that. I was able to quickly transition to the run, and had my best run on this course (which is no walk in the park--okay, well, actually it is in a park, but it's still a tough run), even sprinting full out at the finish. I think I'm verging on actually considering myself a real triathlete. No pictures from the end of the race since Mike was busy volunteering. I came home and not surprisingly, passed out for the rest of the afternoon. It was a packed weekend from start to finish but I loved just about every minute of it.

Where's the knitting? But what about knitting?! No worries, there was knitting--a decent amount actually (there's a lot of waiting around at dog trial), but I'm saving that for next post. Psst....Goodale is finished.

The Very Best Part

2010-08-18T20:08:00.003-04:00

I've knit sweaters every which way possible--in pieces, top-down and bottom-up, even sideways. More often than not, however, I find myself knitting seamless top-down yoke or raglan sweaters. My two current sweater projects, Leyfi and Goodale, are no exception. I've been switching off between these two and have lately been slugging through the raglan/yoke increases on both sweaters. For me, this is the most hated part of the top-down sweater: where the rounds or rows keep getting longer and longer until it feels like it takes 30 minutes to knit two long boring rows. The great part about this tedious stretch is that it is followed by my absolute favorite part: separating off the sleeves and knitting the body. Without those sleeve stitches everything suddenly seems far more manageable. I feel like I'm making actual progress. And I get to try on the sweater. So exciting!

Since Leyfi is knit with bulky yarn, there were far fewer stitches to begin with, and so it's not surprising that I kept picking up this sweater first. I divided off the sleeves this weekend. Woohoo!

I then forced myself to go back to Goodale. It was slow, boring, and at some point I realized I had accidentally changed the way I was doing the increase stitches halfway through the raglan increases (oops!). It's not hugely noticeable, and there was no thought of ripping back those 300 stitch rows. Yesterday, I finally reached the end of the increases, divided off the sleeves and tried it on.

It fits! Oh, happy happy day! I'm knitting this sweater in Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! in Southern Green Stink Bug. It took me forever to settle on a color, and although it does look very pretty in the skein and knitted up, when I tried it on, it looked so amazingly beautiful that I literally gasped out loud. (I think my next post might just have to be about my love affair with Sanguine Gryphon yarn). This gorgeousness is obviously not apparent at all in pictures. Maybe one day, I'll get the lighting and focus just right and everyone else can see what I see. Given how taken I am with this sweater now, combined with how amazingly hot I was for the five minutes I had on Leyfi, I'm now going full steam ahead on Goodale and looking forward to the next very best part of sweater knitting--binding off and finishing! Yup, I'm one of those rare knitters who actually loves finishing tasks.

Completely unrelated: I'm a full-time editor, and I work from home a couple of days a week. Rugby and Juno are almost always in the office with me during the day, and pretty much the second Rugby sees me sit at the computer, he hops up onto the futon (I let him start doing this right about the time we inflicted a puppy on him). During the middle of the day when I'm weary from staring at the computer screen, I often look over jealously at my snoozing pups. Yesterday as I was working I glanced over to see this:

Sometimes I really wish I was a dog.

Determination

2010-08-15T21:32:00.003-04:00

When I decided last summer that I wanted to give triathlons a try, I borrowed my Dad's racing bike to give me something to get started on. We're the same height and figured size would be about right. When I was terribly uncomfortable on the bike and had a professional bike fit, I found out the bike was too big for me and no amount of adjustment was going to fix the problem. I continued riding the bike into last fall but had already starting saving up money for a new one. This spring, I plunked down a whole lot of cash and bought my new bike.

Now I'm not really a cyclist. I've gotten better but am still not a confident rider, and when I ride it is with specific training goals in mind. But since I invested so much in my new seriously awesome bike, I'm determined to change that. I'm trying to look at cycling as its own sport--not just the event in between the swim and run, and so on Saturday, Mike and I headed to Westminster, MD to participate in the Eat a Peach Challenge bike ride. There are 5 different routes ranging from 12-100 miles. On the way up we settled on riding the 40 mile route. The ride was absolutely beautiful and at times so peaceful, I didn't feel like I was only an hour away from the craziness of DC but far away on vacation somewhere. The ride was filled with peaceful tree-lined roads:

Or wide open farmland:

We rode by horses, ponies, cows, an adorable Bassett Hound, an 18th century church the size of my living room, and some beautiful views. For the first 30 miles of the ride, I had an absolute great time and enjoyed the hell out of my new bike. It's not that easy to get good shots while moving, but here I am:

Those 30 miles were certainly not easy. The area around Westminster is know for its rolling countryside. There was plenty of up and down, some decent size climbs, and very little flat road. But I was okay. I managed up the hills pretty well, and even though there were one or two I thought I was going to have to walk up, I was always able to push and make it to the top due to pure determination that I will become a cyclist.

The last 10 miles are where I broke down. There was a long gradual climb that I fought up, followed by short but steep hill. My legs, calves, shins were all screaming at me, but I kept going. I started to dread the descents because they were inevitably followed by a climb, and while during the first part of the ride, I would get all determined when I saw a hill approach, now I felt like I wanted to cry. But on each new hill I dug even deeper and found a way to keep going. Mike was doing a great job of cheering me on and I was determined to finish strong. We hit a nice downhill, which worried me and sure enough suddenly a huge hill loomed in front. To make the situation even worse, there was a stoplight at the base of hill--red of course--so we had to start that climb with no momentum. This was a bad turn of events for me. I started up the hill, inching little by little, but my legs were killing me, my shins and calves were burning, and I finally gave in, hopped off the bike, and walked it up to the top.

I was terribly disappointed in myself. We finished the last couple of miles, which were mercifully easy. Mike was very positive and continued to congratulate me on a great ride, but I kept looking at him like he was nuts. I had failed; I had to walk up a hill. See this is my problem--I only see what I didn't do, not everything I did accomplish. He was right. I rode 40 very challenging miles; so what if I walked my bike up half of one hill?

I'm trying to use the experience as a lesson to myself: determination can be great--it helps us do the best we can and then push ourselves to do even better, but in the end, if we fall a little short, there is still progress to be proud of.

And to put that into practice: while I didn't get as far as I wanted on my Goodale sweater this weekend (yup, I had to sneak some knitting in), I'm going to feel good about my progress on Leyfi:

I decided not to give into my perfectionist tendencies and kept going with this one. So what if I can't wear this for months when I could wear Goodale now? I never said anything about the progress making sense. That can be next week's lesson to myself.

Mini-Skein Raffle!

2010-08-13T04:41:00.003-04:00

On August 28, I will be participating in 24 Hours of Booty -- a 24-hour bike ride that brings cyclists of all abilities together to raise vital funds for cancer research and survivorship. The fundraiser supports the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, and Johns Hopkins University cancer research programs. As part of my participation I am raising funds through a raffle that will award two lucky winners a collection of 30 mini-skeins of yarn!

If you are working on the infamous mitered sock blanket, stripey socks, or another project that requires small amounts of different fingering-weight yarn, this raffle could be a great opportunity to get started or to add to your current collection. For every $5 donated on my participant page (link also on the right sidebar), you will have one entry in the raffle. There will be two drawings, so as little as $5 gives you two chances to win!!

Both collections include the following 20 skeins:

Top row, from left to right: 2 skeins Socks that Rock Mediumweight mill ends, 4 skeins Pagewood Farms mill ends, 2 skeins Koigu KPPM, and 1 skein Spunky Eclectic Skinny Sock in Signature colorway.
Bottom row, left to right: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Amethyst; Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Raspberry; Crash into Ewe Jewel Collection in Tanzanite, Dream in Color Smooshy in Plum Paisley; Miss Babs Yummy Sock in Bronze, Miss Babs Yummy Sock in Cadet; Three Irish Girls McClellan Fingering in Erin; Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga in Blue Metalmark; Madelinetosh Sock in Butter; Neighborhood Fiber Co. Watershed in Thomas Circle

Collection A will have these 10 skeins in addition:

Left row, top to bottom: Koigu KPPM; Louet Gems Fingering in Navy; Miss Babs Yummy Sock in Purples; next two were custom dyes by Twilight Knits
Right row, top to bottom: Malabrigo Sock in Solis; Black Bunny Fibers Superwash in Audacity; Creatively Dyed Yarns Steele in Ginger; Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Longhorned Beetle; Wollmeise 80/20 in Veilchen

Collection B will add these 10 skeins:

Left row, top to bottom: March Hare Fingering Superwash in Pumpkin Patch; BB Knits Merino in On the Wings of Hope; Dream in Color Smooshy in Tea Party; Koigu KPPM; Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Steelhead.
Right row, top to bottom: Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Bejeweled; Madelinetosh Sock in Emerald City; Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in Aiden; Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Oak Timberworm; Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Blue Lobster.

The Details

The raffle will run from today Friday August 13 until Friday August 20 at 3pm, East coast time. For every $5 donated, you receive one entry into the raffle. So if you donate $25, you get 5 separate entries. I will send an email confirmation when I am alerted of a donation so that you know you are being counted. When I have a complete list, entries will be numbered and I will select two winners by random number generator. Winners will be notified immediately and yarn will ship Monday August 23, priority mail with delivery confirmation and insurance. International participants welcome!

All skeins are a minimum of 5 grams. Several are 7-9 grams since it didn't make sense to split these. All mini-skeins will have labels when they are shipped. So if you are willing to help the fight against cancer, please head over to my donation page, select "Support Heather", and contribute even just a small amount to a great cause and try your luck for some yarn! 24 Hours of Booty is a registered non-profit and all donations are tax deductible. Your gift will be hugely appreciated.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or come on over to the BlankieMania group on Ravelry and ask in the "Mini-Skein Raffle for Charity" thread.

One step forward, two steps back

2010-08-08T21:25:00.003-04:00

A pair of finished socks!! Woohooo!

Pattern: Progressive Sock Party (Ravelry pattern) by Chrissy Gardiner
Project page: Seasonal Sock Party
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette
Needles: 2.25mm and 2.5mm
CO: July 1; BO: Aug. 4

These were impulsively cast on last month for the Sock Knitters Anonymous July KAL. This is the group's colorwork mystery sock, so I received one clue per week. I truly enjoyed knitting them from start to finish. They are completely not my style--much busier than I like and I would never look twice at a pattern with such distinct color blocks (nor would I have chosen this color combo had I known how the colors were going to work), but I love them just the same.

Throughout July these socks turned out to be great stress relief and frequently my entertainment when I couldn't sleep. They will be super warm in winter, and I'm really impressed that they feel soft since I didn't expect that with the Palette yarn. I enjoyed knitting these so much, I might have just turned into a colorwork junkie, and I'm already plotting my next fair isle sock. Only one problem: I, uh, already started a new sock. Oops.

About those August WIP sock goals...I may have taken one step forward with the finished socks, but I think with the new cast on, I actually went backward. August is going to be a ridiculously busy month for me so I decided to take knitting goal pressure off the table. I'm just enjoying knitting whatever I feel like. I'll refocus in September. Really, I will. Seriously.

The perfectionist in me

2010-08-07T04:40:00.001-04:00

One of these days, I'm going to write a blog post at a time other than at 4am. I know it's going to happen. Really. Obviously I haven't exactly been sleeping well recently. Just about every night this week I've woken up at 3am and been wide awake until about 6am (because of course it works perfectly to be tired right around the time everyone else is waking up). Part of me has actually been enjoying the quiet few hours to myself with my yarn, and at 3am I work on whatever I feel like with no guilt about other languishing projects.

For the last couple of nights (okay, I guess early mornings), I've been working on the Leyfi Pullover from the most recent Interweave Knits. I won't get into the ridiculousness of knitting a bulky wool sweater in August; I have no explanation. Knitting the first lace chart did not go exactly smoothly. There was a lot of this: knit a round, get to the end and have the wrong number of stitches, rip back to a mistake, knit the round again, still have the wrong number of stitches, decide I don't care and K2tog or something in an inconspicuous place and continue onto the next round. Rinse. Repeat.

Now I'm quite comfortable knitting lace and once the pattern is established, I'm pretty good at reading my knitting so I notice if I'm off a stitch immediately, but I didn't get a handle on this pattern right away--probably had something to do with the fact that it was 4am. So the other night, I finally got to a point where the lace pattern was taking shape, and I could suddenly "read" a really big screw up. If you look at the picture of the finished sweater there are vertical lines in between the leaves going straight down from the neck. Um, my lines were not straight. I had gotten off pattern early on and by the time I recovered, I had knit a chunk of the lace pattern in sort of the wrong place, and finally I noticed the clear break in what should be a vertical line of stitches.

Well, see there's the risk of knitting from a small chart at 4am. Not always the best result. But in the wee hours of the morning, this didn't seem that bad. I told myself it was barely noticeable. And maybe the broken lines actually softened the look of the sweater. Yes! That's it! A design element. I had just customized the sweater a little, right? No problem. I felt so relieved--the somewhat annoying perfectionist in me seemed to not mind this mistake. Nope, not one bit. I kept knitting for awhile and then put it aside and fell asleep for a couple of hours.

What a difference 2 hours of sleep will do. My whole drive to work all I could think about was this screw up. The perfectionist in me had kicked in with a little sleep and now I couldn't imagine not ripping it all out. Sigh.

Sometimes I hate being a perfectionist. I had really felt like I was going to be able to let this go. I mean, who would notice? And the mistake is at the top of the neck where the lace pattern won't even be stretched out. When I got home from work, I went straight to the sweater to survey it. The screw up still didn't seem that bad. And all of the lower lace with the larger "leaves" looked great. So now I'm just stuck. The yarn is a single ply and a little fuzzy so it's not going to rip well (that could be a little rationalization, but I'm sticking to the claim), and I still stand by the idea that the breaks soften the look of the sweater (yeah, yeah, I know, I'm reaching). Not to mention when the sweater is finished, who is going to notice this other than me and maybe a really really observant knitter who would hopefully be too polite to say anything. I continued to ponder.

Even though I didn't really make a decision, I kept knitting the sweater last night. Part of me wants to free myself from always having to be a perfectionist--like knitting a sweater with a mistake is a personal challenge to relax a little. The other part of me wonders if all I will think about every time I wear this sweater is the tiny mistake in the neck. The saga continues....but for now, I'm going to knit socks and then I'm going back to sleep.

Just Because I Can

2010-07-30T21:44:00.004-04:00

Last weekend was hugely productive for me. In addition to putting the final touches on Tempest, I also finished up my current shawl-in-progress.

Pattern: Wandering the Moor (Ravelry pattern) by Celeste Glassel
Yarn: Brooks Farm Duet
Needles: size 7 US
Cast on: May 5
Bind off: July 25
Mods: absolutely none, and I love it!
It's a quick knit, but I put it aside for about 2 months. This is definitely a cold weather shawl, and I think it's going to look gorgeous wrapped around a fitted black turtleneck in winter. I didn't have any intentions of trying out that combo in the middle of record-breaking hot summer weather, and so I present, shawl with shorts and t-shirt:

I've only recently started knitting shawls, and this is the largest I've made so far. I know I will really enjoy it one day. For now it's folded and in the closet waiting for appropriate weather, and I'm onto new things. In the last few days, I've cast on 3 new sweaters. Yup, you read that right--3 sweaters. Yes, there are socks I wanted to finish by the end of the month that are far from finished, but whatever. I've been patient and finished my larger projects, and now I will cast on to my heart's content just because I can.

Sweater #1: Patience is a Virtue
Pattern: Goodale (Ravelry Pattern) by Cecily Glowik MacDonald
Yarn: Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! in Southern Green Stink Bug
Cast on: July 25

I've been waiting to start this sweater for what feels like forever but in reality, really only a month. I splurged and bought new yarn (which is much more green in person), and I've been chomping at the bit to get going. It's taken every ounce of patience I could muster to hold off. The evening that I bound off the shawl, I cast on Goodale. There's not much to show yet since I quickly realized I might not be in the mood for a stockinette sweater, but since it's short-sleeved and will be a lightweight cardi perfect for late summer/early fall, this one is the priority.

Sweater #2: Um, Why?
Pattern: Silk Cocoon Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio in Interweave Knits, Spring 2009
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK
Cast on: July 27

I've had this yarn for almost 3 years. It's one of those "what was I thinking?" purchases. The color is way too bright for my taste, and I've learned a lot about yarn since this purchase, namely, that alpaca sheds like crazy and this particular yarn is not comfortable close to the skin. Nevertheless, for no explicable reason, I dug out a skein this week and cast on a pattern that I'm not really in love with but seemed like a good fit for the yarn. Not loving the pattern combined with not being sure I'll even wear a hot pink sweater (and could possibly run out of yarn anyway) equals a sweater that could be a WIP forever. I started with a sleeve, and once I got used to the p5tog, I've actually been enjoying the hell out of myself working on this. I don't get it.

Sweater #3: Impulsive
Pattern: Leyfi by Rosemary Hill in Interweave Knits, Fall 2010
Yarn: Tahki Bunny
Cast on: July 28

The final sweater is just me being impulsive and fickle. I saw the pattern in the preview for the new Interweave issue and thought it would be a good fit for some bulky yarn I have that needed a project. When my magazine arrived, I cast on. No swatch or anything -- I just went for it. I knit 6 rows of the neck and put it back in the drawer so there's not even enough worth photographing. I have no idea when I'll get back to it, although writing about it, I'm thinking I may go pick it up now instead of going back to a sock. And I don't feel guilty about that at all (well, not much).

And finally to show some inspiration for the title of this blog, here's a little sample of my yarn-tangling tendencies. This mishap occurred as I wound the yarn for Goodale. I have no idea how I manage to tangle yarn on a swift. It's a talent.

Tempest

2010-07-24T22:49:00.002-04:00

If you’re a sock knitter, you probably have a few extra special skeins of sock yarn (most likely something with "handpainted" on the label). I have several skeins that I treasure either because they were a splurge or hard to get or just so beautiful that I almost rather admire than knit them. While I really don’t hesitate to wind and knit up my prized skeins, I do wait until I find that perfect pattern. Well over a year ago, I ordered a skein of Sundara sock yarn, and when it came, I knew it had been a good decision—it was the most beautiful perfect blue.

Sundara sock in Cobalt over Mediterranean (pictures are a terrible substitute for the real thing)

Not having a project in mind for the yarn, it was sadly stored away in a drawer. I struggled for awhile trying to decide what to do with it. There was only enough for a very small shawl, which I probably wouldn’t wear much. I pondered fancy intricate sock patterns but really didn’t like the idea of hiding the brilliant color under jeans. Enter Tempest. Once I realized I only needed the one skein for the contrast color, I knew I had found the right project, and Tempest is now finished:

Pattern: Tempest by Ann Weaver
Yarns: Sundara Sock and Louet Fingering
Needles: size 5 US
Cast on: May 1, 2010

Finished: July 24, 2010

I SO wish the brilliance of the blue came through in pictures. It looks like pretty basic blue in this shot, but the color is anything but ordinary in person.

For a long time, I dismissed sweater patterns that called for fingering weight yarn, but this is the second one I’ve made and I’m hooked. The weight of the fabric is just so darn comfortable. Tempest actually knits up fairly quickly and the stripes keep it interesting (although I was somewhat bored to tears with the sleeves). There is a fair amount of seaming and sewing, and while I actually like seaming, the finished product never seems to fit quite as well as sweaters that I knit in one piece. My row gauge was also off, so I altered the pattern a bit and removed a couple of large stripes to try to get the length right. Turns out I underestimated a bit on the armhole depth, but after blocking they are perfectly comfortable. I also really should have added some additional bust shaping, but in the end it’s a pretty good thing I didn’t make this sweater any bigger—I have 5 grams of Sundara yarn left. 5 grams. That’s it. Maybe 20 yards. I was even a hint concerned I would run out before finishing the second sleeve.

Going right down to the wire with the amount of yarn notwithstanding, I love that I was able to use this gorgeous yarn for a sweater that should get a lot of wear, and pairing it with black just makes the blue shine even more. Now if only I could settle on patterns for the other 5 (10?) skeins of super special sock yarn that are hiding in the closet.

Now. Right Now.

2010-07-22T04:03:00.002-04:00

Once again, I can’t sleep and so I started knitting the fourth and final clue to the mystery sock. I’m starting to think I wake up to knit the sock (the clue was released at midnight and I woke up at 2am) instead of knitting the sock as something to do when I can’t sleep. Unlike the previous 2 sleepless nights of knitting the mystery sock, my mind is not on the sock (must be that the mystery is over) but on the other 14 projects I would like to cast on RIGHT NOW. Thankfully none of these projects I’m dreaming about are socks so there is still hope for my sock WIP goals, but I’m itching to cast on at least 2 or 3 different sweaters and a new shawl.

Yes, knitters, I have a bad case of startitis—although at this point I’m only showing symptoms, and since I haven’t actually cast on anything new, apparently my immunity has strengthened over the last year. Don’t get me wrong, I love that I’ve gotten better about finishing projects, but I feel it’s having an unintended consequence—my stash is starting to get insane! Even though I’m not starting new projects, I’m still planning and buying yarn for them. Beautiful skeins keep arriving and are neatly tucked away patiently waiting their turn. I have been able to resist the temptation of diving into all the pretty yarn so that I can finish a sweater and shawl for a knit-along that ends July 31. A crazy amount of new projects will be cast on the second I finish the shawl (the sweater is pretty much done) or miss the deadline. So when the clock hits August 1, 12:01am I’ll be whipping out new yarn. I’m sure I’ll be awake anyway.

But I really want to cast on NOW. RIGHT NOW.

Overdue Introductions

2010-07-20T08:56:00.003-04:00

I really can’t believe I’ve gone this long without a post that revolves around my two beloved dogs, Rugby and Juno. They are a huge part of our family and even some vacations are planned around doing activities with the pups. This weekend, we headed up to Shenandoah National Park to go camping. While Rugby (8 yrs old) has camped with us several times, this would be the first camping/hiking trip for our little Juno (2 yrs). The pups piled into the car Friday evening and off we went.

Juno found the traffic a little tiresome.

We arrived just in time to set up our tent in the dark. Rugby and Juno were not of much help. The next morning, the pups explored the campsite. Rugby was quite at ease.

But poor Juno still wasn’t sure where to put herself.

We set off for our first hike, with Juno acting a little unsure of herself at first. After a few climbs over some rocks and splashing around in the river, she decided this whole hiking thing was pretty cool. Rugby and Juno trotted happily ahead of us for the rest of the hike, heading down to play in whatever water they could find, and usually cooling us off in the process when they would come out and shake it off.

After lunch, a nap, and another long walk, we all settled in at the campsite. Rugby and Juno passed out after the long day, and me? I knit.

I love camping if for no other reason than in the evening when there is nothing to do but relax around a campfire, I can happily knit without feeling one shred of guilt that I should be doing something else. On my lap is my current shawl project: Wandering by the Moor (Ravelry pattern). The yarn is Brooks Farm Duet which I got at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival last year. When I started this project I really underestimated how little I would want to work on a wool/mohair shawl in 90 degree heat, but it was perfect for the cool evening in the mountains. It was a good weekend.

Earthquake!

2010-07-16T10:17:00.004-04:00

I just found out that around 5am this morning, a small (3.6) earthquake rocked Maryland! Now normally at this crazy-early time I would be dead asleep and nothing short of the house falling down can usually wake me up, but this morning I was actually conscious and felt the house walls shaking and stuff around me rattled a bit. Now, come on, earthquakes don't hit Maryland, and my best guess was that maybe a large plane had flown a little low overhead. I shrugged it off and didn't give it any more thought until I heard the earthquake report just now. So, wow, I experienced my first earthquake a few hours ago!

Oh, and what was I doing awake at 5am? Knitting, of course. My insomnia became a lot less frustrating after I learned to knit. At least now I get something done rather than stare at bad infomercials. Mystery sock clue 3 came out yesterday (a day earlier than I thought), and I finished it up on the first sock right around the time the earthquake hit.

And yes, I feel pretty good about myself that I guessed this clue would have an autumn feel to it. I love the little trees. This sock is not my usual style and not something I would have ever picked out to knit, but I sure am enjoying it.

Sock WIP Roundup

2010-07-14T09:41:00.004-04:00

I’ve mentioned that I have a “few” socks in progress in the last couple of posts. I thought it might be best to get them all out in the open, so recently I gathered up my unfinished socks. I completely ripped 2, which brought the socks-in-progress number down to 5. That wouldn’t seem so bad if they weren’t all unfinished first socks. I blame pretty sweater and shawl patterns – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

1. Progressive Sock Party (Ravelry Pattern)

Cast on: July 2010. I can’t go any further on the first sock until the 3^rdclue is released on Friday. I’m getting a “spring” (green section) and “summer” (blue section) vibe so I’m wondering if part 3 could be “fall”? I did cast on and am working on the toe of the second. Goal: Finish by the end of the month

2. Roger
Cast on: July 2010. I’ve used this heavenly yarn (Bugga! in Autumn Tiger Beetle) for a sweater and 2 shawls, but these are the first socks. This sock is soft and squishy like no other I’ve ever made. Mike is a lucky guy. Goal: Finish by the end of the month.

Here’s where we start to go downhill. The next 3 are currently “hibernating”. If I can resist new sock projects (we won’t discuss the unlikelihood of that), they will start to get proper attention once the previous 2 are finished.

3. Cauchy (pattern available in Sock Innovation)

Cast on: April 2010. Last fall, Mike asked for brown socks. I immediately started shopping for yarn, and settled on Dream in Color Smooshy in Tea Party and cast on. I didn't like the first pattern I tried, so attempt 1 was quickly ripped. This is brown sock, attempt 2. Goal: Finish the first one in August, second by early December.

4. Tangled Woods (Ravelry pattern)

Cast on: March 2010. I bought the pattern as part of a fundraiser (the designer was donating a portion of the pattern price to Haitian relief efforts). I was really excited about the pattern and the yarn (3 Irish Girls McClellan in Erin). That enthusiasm died unexpectedly, although it’s possible cables and lace combined with size 0 needles might have had something to do with it. Goal: end of the year?

5. Sock with No Name (aka The Neverending Story)

Cast on: April 2009. Talk about being excited about a sock pattern. I love the look of this pattern. I love the beautiful purple yarn (Miss Babs Yummy Sock), which I think is a perfect match for the pattern – not too solid, not too variegated. However, I really hate knitting this sock. For whatever reason, the lace pattern and I do not get along. In fact as I wrote this, I went and got the sock, surveyed where I was, and decided the sock is going to have a stockinette foot. Finishing the first one is at least less daunting now. Goal: Finish in my lifetime. Okay, by April 2011.

Somehow I feel better now that I've assessed the socks and set goals. I'm going to go shove the last 3 back in the drawer now.

Budding triathlon careers and why I should always have stranded knitting nearby

2010-07-10T21:56:00.010-04:00

Over the last year, my husband Mike and I have gotten more and more involved in triathlon training and racing, and as the season is in full swing now, one or both of us has been racing 3 of the last 4 weekends. In June, I went back to the race that was my first ever triathlon—Tri-to-Win South Carroll Sprint. Coming with me to that race last year is what pushed Mike to want to start doing triathlons, so this year, both of us raced and had a great time.

It was particularly awesome since I put last year's time to shame!

Yesterday we headed up to Havre de Grace, MD for Mike to compete in the Diamond in the Rough Tri. Traveling anywhere can be stressful for me, and I started feeling anxious at the hotel. To cope, I pulled out and settled down with my current stranded sock project. It was a huge help—more so than any other knitting I could have picked up, and I started to realize that I almost always go into sort of a Zen place when I’m doing colorwork. I think the combination of having to coordinate yarn in both hands and follow the chart redirects my mind, and after just a few rows, my tense muscles start to relax. When I couldn’t sleep later on last night, I pulled back out the stranded sock and (relatively) cheerfully starting knitting again.

This sock is one that I really had no intention of starting. It’s the Sock Knitters Anonymous July mystery colorwork sock (Progressive Sock Party--Ravelry pattern). I have enough sock WIPs and didn’t think I was in the mood for colorwork. Nevertheless, I started scrolling through posts of knitters brainstorming colors for their socks, and I got sucked in. I didn’t want to buy yarn for the project, but I remembered my bag of Knit Picks Palette, and I pulled out some colors and joined in with the first clue last week. I couldn’t put it down. I switched it to DPN “holders” to use my circs to cast on a different sock (uh, what drawer full of WIPs?), but I just kept going with the DPNs—and I am so NOT a DPN sock knitter.

Clue 2 came out on Friday, which is why the sock came with for the overnight trip, and now I’m not sure I’ll ever go anywhere without a stranded project nearby.

As we headed to the race this morning, I had finished the foot and started the heel. It was pouring rain, and for a bit, I was quite content to sit in the car to stay dry with the sock. It continued to rain, the swim portion was replaced with a run for safety reasons, and I spent the next 3 hours getting soaking wet, shivering, and taking really terrible pictures of Mike and some of the other athletes.

And yet, when I look back at the last day, I barely remember the tension and shivering, but I do feel happy that I turned the heel on the sock. And oh yeah, of course, I’m really proud that my husband had a strong race. Now, where is that chart...?

The moral of the story? A technique that scares the bejesus of out some knitters and can be frustrating to learn could end up being your go-to relaxing knitting instead of the stockinette sweater.

Skewed Sock Mojo

2010-07-05T11:04:00.005-04:00

For a while I was a pretty prolific sock knitter—finishing about a pair a month, sometimes more. At some point during 2009, I lost my sock mojo. I had tons of great sock plans, but none of them seemed to work out. I would cast on, knit 4 or 5 inches, and toss the sock aside. I finished several sweaters during this time so I wasn’t being a completely fickle knitter—socks just weren’t holding my interest. I finished 2 pairs in February 2010 and thought my mojo was back, and maybe it was, but sweaters and shawls quickly won out and socks were abandoned again.

Summer, and my desire to not have a pile of wool on my lap, seems to have helped me recover some of that lost sock mojo—suddenly, I can’t put socks down, and I’m trying to work on about 4 pairs at once now! To celebrate the return of my sock mojo, I decided the first FO posted to the blog should be a pair of recently finished socks:

PATTERN: Skew by Lana Holden
YARN: Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs OhMyGoth in Bruised Ego
NEEDLES: 2.25 mm
CO: June 1; BO: June 30
Ravelry Project Page

The pattern is nothing short of brilliant. Seriously. Even if you’re not a toe-up sock knitter, give it a try. There is a good bit of “just trust the pattern” and it’s a little bit of a leap of faith, but once in awhile who doesn’t need to shake up their comfort zone a bit? I even tried a new bind off—Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. I’m not sure if I’m a convert yet, but it certainly is nice and stretchy.

So now about the yarn: OH, THE YARN! I will spare you the trials and tribulations it took for me to manage to get my hands on a skein (high demand + relatively short supply = frenetic shop updates), but I’m hopelessly hooked now on Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs stripy sock yarn, and especially OhMyGoth, a merino, cashmere, nylon blend with a very tight twist and perfectly soft and smooth. Swoon.

And so it begins...

2010-07-04T18:07:00.000-04:00

A while ago, an online friend asked me why I didn’t have a blog. I thought the question was rather amusing at the time, but looking back at that brief conversation now, I realize I’ve been thinking about it ever since. For me, however, it's easy to brainstorm blog posts in my head, but the idea of posting them publicly is somewhat terrifying. I'm shy--sometimes painfully so--and can be extremely self-conscious. What if I said something stupid? What if I embarrassed myself? Determination to try to face these fears actually became the push behind starting a blog. Well that and I recently got a new computer, which contained a folder for blog posts already created. So if the universe (or, you know, the programmer at Dell) is going to make it THAT easy for me, then I'll take the bait.

This blog is primarily a knitting blog. I started knitting in 2006 when a co-worker put needles in my hands and taught me to knit a scarf. To say I took to knitting would be the understatement of the century. I’m not sure I’ve put needles down since, and if I have, I was forced, did so grudgingly, and have since blocked out the experience. Like most obsessive knitters, I adore yarn--lust after it, daydream about it. I have an uncanny talent, however, for tangling my yarn, and I've spent many hours untangling skeins--hence the blog title.

A few other tidbits about me: I share my days with my smoldering, handsome, and mysterious husband and two wonderfully sweet and goofy Welsh Springer Spaniels. I teach dog agility training at a local club, compete with my pups occasionally, bake homemade dog biscuits on order, and over the last year, have started down the road of triathlon training and racing. All of these adventures will undoubtedly appear in the blog, but knitting will always be at the center—-although I consider myself relatively well-rounded, yarn is never far away during all other pursuits.