Two Pair (and I’m almost done)

It’s almost May! Hooray! In one day, I will be finished with my classes. I’m on the edge of finishing this last paper, which is due tomorrow. Then I have two weeks of finals, in which time I need to achieve one (1) fiction portfolio, one (1) Irish Social History exam, and one (1) organic chemistry exam.

In the meantime.

Bricker Lady Slipper
(pattern)
March 31 to April 16, 2010.
Knit Me Now sock yarn in “Lady Slipper.”
US 2s.

They’re great. Squishy and easy and happy. This pattern was so easy to work with, easy to memorize, and easy to knit! And fun! It kept me busy in class, where I couldn’t focus on more than a knit/purl combination most of the time. They were perfect.

Today I finished my Vipers.

Viper Pilot
(pattern)
January 20 to April 29, 2010.
Neota Zephyr in “Purple Mountain Majesty,” which I bought in Estes Park, CO, on our road trip this year. The yarn was very thin, and dark, so it was tough to knit them when they didn’t have my full concentration. Nonetheless, I love these socks.

JFC

It’s been six and a half million years since I was here. Dinosaurs literally walked the earth last time I posted. Okay.

Last time you saw me, I was at Rhinebeck in October. What.

November
I wrote a novel: ongoing! Original goal of National Novel Writing Month is 50,000 words in 30 days. I have 90,000 now, after 3 months. It’s almost done. Sort of.

I finished Juno for my grandmother for Christmas.

10/21/09-11/13/09, Juno Regina in JL Yarn Vinca. Pink! Lauretta loved it. Blocked it on my shiny new blocking wires which were a fabulous birthday gift from my mum. <3

I finished my Clover socks.

Clover by Kate Blackburn, fun to knit, in my handdyed in a “gradient” that was actually just kind of mostly purple. Brand! New! Picture! I blame my lightless dorm room partly for why I don’t blog. Pictures are crap. Blah.

December
Socks for granddaddy:

“No one has ever paid such attention to my feet!” Dec 10-20, 2009. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “China Blue.”

Clapotis for mom:
no picture! Sadpants.
Clapotis by Kate Gilbert, in BMFA Mediumweight “Tanzanite”: October 26-December 21, 2009. Purple! Shiny. Excellent.

Also in December was Finals Week and a personal ass-kicking, as well as winter break. I went home and promptly spent every day sleeping, writing, internetting, eating at weird hours, running occasionally in the mornings, and knitting. I ignored Daegmund the whole time and felt bad. Oh well. Made many plans. Spent time with friends. Enjoyed myself!

In January, I finished some Christmas presents, such as Dad’s gloves and Disco the hedgehog:

gloves by DROPS, 12/22/09-1/14/10, KnitPicks Gloss.

Hello terrible dorm picture! This was for Sarah. Smith by Ysolda Teague, with Cascade 220 and Berocco alpaca and fluff. 12/24/09-1/21/10.

The Whirlpool socks from my personal sock club got started and finished…

December 2, 2009 – January 3, 2010. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “Lakeview,” plus beads!!!!!!!!

ALSO, my pride and joy of the month:

The motherfucking DNA hat.

LOL. omg. So excellent. I had to knit it three times because it was too small EVERY TIME. Fuck you colorwork. Whatever.

Anyway. In the end, successful. January 1-19, 2010, Cascade 220, no pattern, just the chart on my Ravelry page (above).

Finished winter break with a whole lot more of the same, and came back to school. Had an impromptu “airing of the stash” all over my bed.

Not bad, eh? Still not buying more yarn. I just need to not.

Oh, also forgot, new fun incarnation of the sock yarn blanket!

This one is the Ten Stitch Blanket that I saw Erin knitting and waaaaaaaaannntteddd. So I ripped out the squares and went to town.

I started two new pairs of socks, also. My shitty shitty photography does not do these two justice, because they are both SUPER AWESOME.

The first (started at home) is York and Lancaster by the Lisa Grossman (the Tsock Tsarina). I bought the kit at Rhinebeck, and I adore it. Except that it has colorwork and pattern and is WAY TOO HARD to work on while also taking notes in Organic Chem and Biology of Macromolecules. FUCK. I love these. They are not getting worked on. ;_;

Also, Viper Pilots, still super awesome, still too hard to work on and take notes. Wah! I want them. Yarn is Neota Designs Zephyr in “Mountain Majesty” or something. Estes Park.

AAAAAANNNDDDD finally, what I actually HAVE been working on because it was easy enough:
One Row Scarf and Fetchings for Mary in Malabrigo “Amoroso.” No picture because I can’t get my camera to acknowledge a) light or b) saturation, so fuck it. Whatever. It’s very red.

and technically I’m still working on my Bayerische socks, but remember when we talked about things being too hard to work on while note-taking? These are too brain-consuming to even work on while doing fuck-all else. What.

THE END

Welcome to February. See you guys in May, probably.

Or for Ravelympics, which at this point I’m participating in with my goal being KNIT ANYTHING EVER.

My Rhinebeck Sweater…

is under way! Squee!

I’m finally knitting the February Lady Sweater, as planned. I’m knitting it in the Brooks Farm Four Play wool/silk blend that I tried to knit a sweater out of this spring, but failed. It’s knitting up beautifully now, and I’m psyched. I’m going to go visit my friend at Middlebury the week before, and then drive down to the festival and camp out in my car. =D It lines up perfectly with my fall break!

Okay, crap, I didn’t mean to leave this alone for two months, but many things happened since you last saw me!

So, since I last posted, I finished work and went on vacation, and then got back from vacation and went to school, and have been educating myself for four weeks. I have since struggled valiantly to keep up with my Google Reader, but right now, five whole weeks after getting home, I am still ~175 posts behind.

Before I left, I finished the Charade socks.

Start: May 26, 2009
End: July 31, 2009
Pattern: Charade
Yarn: Crash Into Ewe Merino Sock, in “Lady Sings the Blues”
Needles: US 2

Next were the Anastasia socks, which I started before we left as a new selection from my personal sock club.

Start: August 1, 2009
End: August 19, 2009
Pattern: Anastasia Socks
Yarn: Jojoland Melody
Needles: US 2

These were fun, and simple. I knit them all over the country!

I knit another pair while on vacation, and started another pair when I came up to school, but I haven’t taken pictures of them yet. Ack!

I’ve started to rethink my sock yarn blanket, too. I know, I’ve been working on the original since like, 2007, but I think this method might work better. It means I can use up every little scrap ever, and always be working on one piece, and not have to think about shaping too much.

It’s the Ten Stitch Blanket, inspired for me by Erin. I love the look of the mitered squares of the original blanket, but I think I’m going to like working on this one even better.

So, so far I’m just knitting what’s there, and I’ll see how quickly it grows, and how excellent it looks. So far so good.

Unf. October is almost here. I love October! Maybe we’ll get our regular I LOVE OCTOBER post on 10/1/09, but no promises. I have no goddamn time to do anything except problem sets and knit in class.

non-video post

I was going to do a video post for simplicity’s sake, but it was too difficult. Go figure.

Charade socks are coming along– I’m past the heel turn by now, and have finished the gussets. Yesterday at work I separated them from one another and I am working them one at a time. Not that this is particularly logical, given that the repeat is so short row-wise, but they seem to go faster. Also one sock was less unwieldy than two yesterday when I was knitting AT WORK because it was SO SLOW, so there.

Sock yarn blanket has 1.5 new squares: the green one, and the teal one. I love this blanket. That is all.

Last, I’m about 12 or 13 rows from the bind-off of this shawl, but it’s SO BIG by now that each row takes me 45 minutes. Plus nupps. It’s lovely, though, and the only thing I’m worried about is the liiiiiiittle tiny ball of yarn that exists now. Hopefully it can carry me through.

Bayerische socks are abandoned, because they’re hard! There’s no convenient time or place to work on them. Bah. Qiviut cowl is coming along, slowly but surely. It’s about 3/4 of the way done.

Today, I’m working at the LYS, and may have convinced one of the ladies from real!work to come in and learn how to knit. Hooray!

blog fail

Darn it. I was going to try to blog twice every month until December when my 101 in 1001 ends, but I failed for May. Once I finished my exams, I went home and started work right away, and didn’t have a lot of time to knit, let alone blog. So, that fell through. Hopefully I can manage at least two posts in June.

Anyway, today’s about a good a day to blog as any. My sister is graduating from high school today! Hopefully I’ll put pictures at the end of this post, when I get to publishing it.

Okay, what’s happened since the last time I was here? I finished my Flamingo Thuja socks for the PW, and gave them to him last week. I didn’t get a picture of them on his feet, but here they are in their enormity.

They took me a shockingly short amount of time for such large socks. April 19th to April 30th, and done. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in “Flamingo Pie,” and I knit them on US 2s.

Then I finished my mom’s Princess Sweater from Christmas. My sister dropped the ball on knitting the second sleeve, so I finished it, blocked all the pieces, and sewed it up. Finally. It fits great.

Started (again) January 14th, finished May 25th. The pattern is the “Sidelines Top” from the fall 2008 IK. Yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash, and we used US 8 and 9 to knit it.

That same day I sucked it up and crocheted the edging onto my Ballet Camisole, finishing that too. I don’t love it, but it’s not terrible, and I’m letting it sit for a while before I try wearing it again.

At the same time, however, I’m looking at other things I could do with that yarn instead of this top. I haven’t had a lot of luck lately with sweaters etc for me. Started this one April 13th, finished May 25. Yarn is Valley Yarns Southwick, which is a bamboo/cotton blend, and lovely to touch. Knit it on US 6s.

The last thing I finished recently was the Mossy Cobblestone Pullover, but I can’t show you that quite yet.

Okay, heading off to work now… sorry for the lame post, but I’ll do better this month! Pictures of S graduating forthcoming. Also a WIP post! Or several!

socks for a manly man

among other things! I’m posting my WIPs separately, so you can appreciate them best. =D

I’m knitting a pair of socks for the Playwright. He has big feet. Probably even bigger than my dad’s feet. Size 13. I’m going to be knitting forever.

Fortunately, they are entertaining enough. They’re simple, but that’s nice, especially since I’m approaching exams right now.

The socks are Thuja socks, and I’m knitting them in Dream in Color Smooshy in “Flamingo Pie.” The cuffs went quickly enough, but they’re a mere 6″ high, and the sock/shoe size converter said that size 13 feet are 11.87″ long. Wtf. So big.

But they sure are pretty, aren’t they?

I’m also still working on my Ballet Camisole and my Aeolian shawl.

The cami is pretty uninteresting to look at. I got through the body decreases, and am working on the increases now. It’s plain stockinette, so again, good for studying.

The Aeolian is coming along nicely. I’m already working on the second to last chart, but that makes me nervous because it doesn’t look like I’ve used even half the yarn, and that it’ll turn out really small. I’ve seen how lace grows in blocking, but if I haven’t even used that much yarn…? Don’t know. if I get to the end and find it’s tiny, I am happy to rip it out and knit the “shawl” size rather than the “shoulderette” size. Such is knitting life. I’ve gotten a lot better at being willing to rip out and restart things.

The socks are getting the most action at the moment. I want to finish them by June so I can give them to the PW for an anniversary present. Yeah.

FO: Herringbone Rib Socks

For Christmas, my sister gave me a copy of Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol J. Sulcoski. It was perfect. It was everything I wanted in a sock pattern book. Comprehensive, fun, with great patterns, and designed specifically for all the handpainted yarn I had in my stash (duh).

When I got back to school, I headed into Philly one Sunday afternoon to get my book signed (!!!) and came away with this gem of a skein…

Black Bunny Fibers sock yarn in “The Deep.”

Finally, on March 26th, I cast on for a pair of socks in this yarn. I chose the Herringbone Rib socks by Kristi Schueler.

They took a long time. The pattern is simple, but not easy. Or, easy, but not simple? There is patterning on both of the two rows that make up the pattern, and it has yarn overs and stitches passed over other stitches, and complicated details everywhere. It is beautiful. The fabric was fabulous, and the yarn felt so good in my hands. I loved knitting them.

So they came along slowly, row by row, and soon I was turning the heel. After the heel turn one half of each sock was plain stockinette, so I could go a little faster, but the instep side still required attention.

April 19th, I finished them.

I love them.

They fit perfectly, the pattern is gorgeous, the yarn is the best color ever. They’re my favorites.

Thanks, Sarah. =D If I didn’t love these so much, I might give them to you. But you’re out of luck, because these are the best socks in the world.

Eleanor and the Pretty Pirate

I promised myself I would blog today, and I will! Today was all kinds of fabulous out: I spent a few hours outside today, working on the Green like a college student ought to. =P It was beautiful. I got some done, even, which was double good. On the other hand, I am a bit sickish, which makes me a bit slow.

I wanted to blog a few finished things!

First up are the Eleanor socks, which I actually finished before the Leyburns. I gave them to my friend ML on her birthday the other day, and she loved them!

Started February 19, 2009, finished March 15, 2009. Yarn is Mind’s Eye Yarns Merino/Tencel, and the pattern is Eleanor by Monkey Toes.

After those (April 7-9, 2009) I finished these Pretty Pirate mittens on US 10s out of “Pretty Pirate” handspun, spun by Georgia of Yarn Pirate as a gift for me!

They are beautiful and soft, and now of course it’s 85 degrees out. Like you do. They’ll be ready for next winter. Hooray!

April Begins

I’m so happy to see Spring coming. I love Winter, it’s true (birthday! Christmas! New Years!), but the snowy season needs to end, and I’m excited for sun and lounging on the green like a college kid.

I thought I’d finished more since I last posted, but it looks like 2 weeks was enough to finish two pairs of socks and start 100 new things. I ripped out my Alaska Mittens and my long-neglected Socktober Stockinette socks, both of which had spent too long in the land of “maybe” and needed to be liberated.

Now, finished things! Two finished pairs of socks! The first pair I’m actually going to wait to show, because they are a birthday present for a friend, and while [friend] probably doesn’t read, I want them to be a surprise. Plus on the feet will make a good picture.

The other pair was my pair of Chapman Springs Leyburn socks. I was inspired by the Socks that Rawk!” Ravelry group, which was having a Leyburn Socks knit along, from January to March. I cast on March 16th, the day after I finished [socks mentioned above], and finished them in 10 days (March 26th). I knit them out of STR Mediumweight in “Chapman Springs” (evident), and I love them. They were such fun to knit (US 2s) and fit fabulously. And they’re squishy and comfy and cozy, like STR socks are wont to be.

I paused in the middle to knit a quick square for the Sock Yarn Blanket, but other than that used almost every inch of yarn. They are awesome. I’m going to go put them on.

Okay so I lied about the two-things-today thing. Thing. I should also post some WIP pictures, for the sake of it, because I always forget to. Today is beautiful out, so hopefully I’ll have good light for pictures (envision me running off to take them now).

Also there is a Cricket game going on outside my window (the ‘Ford has the only Varsity Cricket team in the country), and it has been going on since I woke up at 9 this morning. What the hell. Cricket is weird.

Okay but anyway. The first thing I have on the needles still are my Bayerische socks, which don’t look much different from the last time I mentioned them. I have put them in the bowl on the windowsill beside my bed, so that when I am in the vicinity, I will work on them.

Sitting on the floor by my desk (so that I will work on it if I have Blackboard [online] reading, or am listening to podcasts or watching House), is my Henley. I ripped it out a few weeks ago, and have been working on it not as steadily (crazily) as I did before. That’s okay– it will be fabulous when I finish, and it will fit too. I’m about 8″ down from the arms, and I’ve started the very gradual I-have-hips shaping (once every 11 rounds).

Mr. Bear is baffled.

Living in my backpack (so I’ll work on them in class) are my Herringbone Rib Socks, from Carol J. Sulcoski of Go Knit in Your Hat‘s book Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns.

I love them! They are beautiful, but they are a lot of work. These are not pattern-one-row-knit-the-next socks. There are two rows, and both of them are patternful, one of them is more labor-intensive than the other. So they’re slow-going, but I like working on them. The yarn is Black Bunny Fibers handpainted sock yarn in “The Deep.” I got it at Loop in Philly when I went for the KSWHY book signing there. Fun fun. Beautiful yarn.

And oh baby, look at that herringbone.

But most on my mind right now is the Aeolian Shawl from the Spring 2009 Knitty. The original is done with beads, but I couldn’t wait to get beads. The yarn is Dream in Color Baby in “Beach Fog,” which I got at Ewe and I in Narberth last fall. Yum yum yum. I missed lace knitting.

I hope it’ll be done after I get home, so I can block it at home. Dorm rugs are not conducive.

Yay spring!

Pi Day!

Was yesterday. But my mommy sent me a package that I have yet to receive that I expect will be full of pie. Oh boy!

So I’m back from Spring Break, which could probably be put down as the worst spring break I’ve ever had, but I’m not really going to go into it. It was shitty, and I know why, and I can’t wait for another opportunity to go home instead. South Carolina, however, was beautiful, I love the beach, and I think I have a tan, too.

Today, instead of working on a paper I need to have revised for tomorrow evening (I did a little editing, I swear), I’ve spent some of my time organizing a stash-based sock club for myself. Squee! I’m so outrageously excited about this. Here’s what I did:

1. Remove all stash from sexy clear hanging yarn-rack, and put it on the bed.
2. Admire yarn.
3. Label envelopes with each yarn’s name and colorway.
4. Choose patterns for each yarn.
5. Print/obtain each pattern and put it in each yarn’s envelope.
6. Seal the envelopes.
7. Put all the yarn back in the yarn-rack.
8. When ready for a new pair of socks, grab a yarn and its pattern!
9. Be surprised and delighted!
10. Knit awesome socks all year!

I had 11 sock yarns ready for a pattern. Or, maybe 10, because one of those yarns is supposed to be for the Playwright’s very boring and plain socks. I’m going to knit him Thuja socks instead of boring socks, out of Dream in Color Smooshy.

It’s a bit like cheating, but I’ve also got the next two pairs of socks I want to knit planned. Once I finish my Eleanors, I either want to knit a pair of Leyburn socks out of STR in “Chapman Springs,” or a pair of Herringbone Rib socks from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn in Black Bunny Fibers in “The Deep.” It seems fitting to pair a Carol Sucolski yarn with a pattern from her book! So excited.

Some pictures! Works in progress!

The might-never-get-finished Alaska mittens that I’m sort of working on. Sort of.