A year in the making

I started this sock a year ago on a road trip. I just returned from a road trip to the very same place, and I found myself knitting on the sock again. I had previously decided to rip out the heel and redo, but I changed my mind.

I took this picture to show the kind of scenery I was enjoying while knitting, but knitters might notice something interesting about this picture. Look at the needles. Can you see that one is missing? When I put the knitting into my knitting bag, I some how pulled out a double-point and didn't notice. Directly after taking this photo, I put the double-point back into the knitting. It actually went back in quite smoothly.

 

The yarn is Knitpicks, the discontinued Essentials. It's really quite soft and lovely to touch, in sharp contrast to some other Essentials I have.

 

I started the toe as written, and then remembered that I wanted a double-stranded toe. I ripped out 12 rows of toe and redid the toe to match the heel. That didn't turn out so well. The toe was too pointy to fit a human toe, and the decreases made the chequerboard look messy, not cute. I ripped out the double-stranded toe, and redid it as written in the pattern, finishing just as we arrived home this afternoon. A year later, one sock complete.

 

The pattern is Hiiumaa from Knitting on the Road

Finished Objects Three!

In the aftermath of knitting Jeanie, I have found myself in a frenzy of knitting. I'm back to the point where work feels like a major barrier to my creative needs. The carpool driving means an hour out of my knitting time, though the wait-time is all about knitting.

In this frenzy, I'm actually finishing things, sometimes. First I have the stripey socks to show. These were actually done knitting probably two weeks ago, but it took me a while to weave in the ends. I was too busy knitting!



They fit the grrl and fit her well! The socks have gone to school today. Look how well those stripes line up. Let me remind you, I was knitting from opposite ends of the ball!!!



I also used some Knitpicks Andean Silk that I had on hand to make up some donation hats. The yarn was designated for some Christmas gifts, but I decided it wasn't exactly what I wanted. So the gifts will use a different yarn, and I couldn't let this go to waste! I'm very happy with the yarn. It has a lovely soft hand, knits up quickly on size 9 needles, and makes a lovely product.

And a sock post

So I'm finishing up a pair of socks that never made it to the blog. These were my more portable project, something to knit on when knitting Jeanie was inappropriate or implausible. I've actually expanded my definition of when knitting Jeanie is appropriate. For a while, I considered her too bulky/finicky to take to work, but I've decided to just deal with the problems, since I can make serious progress by using an entire hour every day at lunch.



But back to the socks. I had intended these to be my July socks for the Sock-A-Month club. Yes, I did. I even thought I could make it, for I was making steady progress up the leg as July was waning. Yeah, well, I didn't. And then I didn't make it for August or September, either! At the end of September, I was only 3 rows from casting off. Now I've cast off one sock, and woven in its ends, too. It won't take me long to finish the second sock, but I'm just not willing to take much time away from Jeanie. I will, however, finish this pair in October.



My participation in the Sock-A-Month club this time round has been pathetic. What a bummer. I hope that I can finish off Jeanie and get back into the groove. I even have baby socks to make, so that might help me succeed in the sock department in the months to come.

Singular Sock Wrap-up

In a previous post, I weighed my pine and pumpkin sock yarn and determined I had enough left to make one more sock. In a previouser post, I had examined the finished socks and pondered what project could use up the yarn. In the spirit of serious stash-busting, I went ahead and made another Hiiumaa sock, to match the others and use up what was left. I started it last April on a trip to Seattle, using my nice Comfort Zone needles on the plane. (These needles are in my comfort zone because I'm terrified of having my needles confiscated. I figure the Comfort Zone needles not only aren't metal, but can hardly be threatening in any interpretation.) Unfortunately, the sad truth is, while I admire double points, finding them aesthetically pleasing, and they appeal strongly to my vintage sensibilities, I just don't like knitting with them at all. Thus, the entire sock has been a pain in the bum to knit.

Two nights ago I was finally about to start the toe decreases, and the menfolk came into the room to chat. I showed them the sock, along with how much green yarn was remaining.

#1Man, with a sigh: Does this mean you need to buy more yarn?
Me: No, it just means the sock will have an orange toe.
#1Son: That's what I love about homemade socks. You work with what you've got, and they always turn out cooler than any other socks.

Yes, the #1Son does deserve many, many pairs of socks.



So I began knitting the decreases, and immediately discovered a grievous error. While 3 needles had 18 stitches, as they should, 1 needle had 21 stitches. Very, very wrong. The error originated from some anomaly in the gusset decreases, this I am sure. I cannot offer a satisfactory explanation. I can only say that I completed the gusset decreases during a lunch hour at work, sitting outside in the shade during a hot desert noon, listening to Orson Scott Card's Shadow Puppets on my mp3 player. Apparently I was distracted enough not to count thoroughly and notice that while the first decrease needle was at the right spot, the second one most certainly was not.

Then I began to agonize. Clearly, the extra three stitches over the course of the sock were responsible for me running out of yarn. I had a choice: rip back to the decreases, fix, and reknit the foot, or just proceed. I articulated the question:

If I knit forward, making the toe orange, will it be a visual reminder of my failure and mistakes? Or will it be a powerful symbol of my flexibility and adaptability?

The menfolk clearly couldn't see that an extra three stitches on one needle was any thing to get upset about and certainly couldn't see why I would have to rip back. I decided to adopt their casual attitude and proceeded, using what green remained to make an echo of the cuff pattern. And I am very pleased with how it turned out! I'm happy, not annoyed, that I didn't rip back, and delighted with how the toe looks.


These five socks in the photo began with four balls of Knit Picks Essential. All that remains is that tiny little length of pumpkin yarn. Not a bad output from four balls of yarn.

Singular sock progress

Probably because I started it in April, this singular Hiiumaa sock has seemed to drag on and on. I am pushing to finish it up before I succumb to the temptation to start a new pair. I'm running low on green yarn and i'm curious to see what will end first- the yarn or the sock.

Acquisitions

This is the spot where normally I would show off all my new yarn from shopping in Seattle. If I remember correctly, I have shopped in Seattle on every residency trip I have made. However, on this my last residency trip, I did not make time to shop for yarn. This was a combination of being OHMIGODTOOBUSY and OHMIGODIHAVETOOMUCHYARN. The latter may have been inspired by a small bounty from Knitpicks that arrived the day I departed.

You see, my coworker wanted to order some needles from Knitpicks, and she needed some purchases to pad her order up to the free shipping minimum. Naturally I had to help out a friend in need!

Thus I now am the proud owner of some Felici in the colourway Arugula, and some Shamrock in that blue colourway. (whatever it's called). I also acquired a Harmony size 3 circular needle which I have since misplaced on the disaster that is my desk at work.

 

Thrice as nice

Live from baggage claim... Travelers every where are celebrating the sock's progress. It has tripled its length during travel. Sadly, it will be promptly neglected.

Knitting on the road

Live from the SeaTac airport... Yes i had several works in progress, but i always like a special travel project. This shows my total progress for the short trip. I did have to rip out several rows yesterday because apparently i cannot count to 3 while attending class.

Finally blocked

As of December 10th, the Candle Flame Shawl was finished and blocked. It still hasn't gone into the mail, but will depart tomorrow, along with the red hat.



Pattern: Candle Flame Shawl
Yarn: KnitPicks' Gossamer in Blue Jeans
Started: Nov. 2, 2007
Finished: Dec 10, 2007
Pattern notes: No modifications
Needles: Clover Size 6 straight bamboo needles.

Candle Flame Progress

 

I am a mere 9 rows of garter stitch from comleting this shawl. Ideally, I would have made this another 10" or so, but unfortunately, I am knitting with the breaky yarn, and that is a Serious Drag. I will finish up tonight or tomorrow, and then get it blocked and into the mail. Joy!

candle flame update

No pictures of the candle flame shawl, but it looks just like it did before, only longer. I've been knitting it for 16 days, and I'm officially past the half way point at 36 inches, and 8 repeats. I managed to exceed my goals for the week. Instead of 2 repeats, I did 2.5. But I fell short for the weekend, only managing 1.5. Of course it all came out the same, but I had high hopes of being ahead.

I had a terrible setback Saturday when I finished the first ball of yarn and started the second. In a very short time, only 16 rows, the yarn had broken 6 times! At that point it was obvious I was foolish to continue--not to mention I didn't have much more spit-slicing left in me--and I switched balls of yarn. This means that if I finish up the current ball of yarn and don't try to employ the breaking ball of yarn, my project may come up some inches short. The final length should be 70", but I'm hoping to at least make it to 65" with what I have. I also hope the rounds knitted with the breaking yarn don't break further. Usually it seemed to be a weakness in one of the two plies.

In other news, my Jingle Spells CD arrived yesterday, but I only saw it this morning. It's pretty cute! It has already been loaded onto the kids' mp3 players, so they can enjoy it lots and lots, but the parents don't have to hear it over and over. That's one blessing of this modern technology. :)

candle flame burning bright

I may well drive myself totally insane. My fear of knitting nothing but shawl for the rest of 2007 has driven me to sandwich in knitting when I shouldn't be knitting, and to articulate some lofty but achievable goals. At this point I'm trying to do 2 repeats a weekend, and 2 repeats a week. I'm right on schedule, at 5 repeats complete: 2 from last weekend, and 1 of 2 for this week.

I seriously am getting a little manic about this. I've noticed it takes me about 5 minutes per row, valuable information for when I'm knitting on a break at work. It helps me know when I have time to complete another row, and when I should just close up shop now. So last night I calculated that with 36 rows per repeat, that's 3 hours per repeat. Today I'm home with a sick grrlee, and while she rested, I was knitting against the clock. I time myself in pairs of rows, since the wrong side usually is faster. I started at 10 minutes per pair, but then got 8 minutes, and once even 6 minutes! After that, I evened out at 8 minutes per pair. At that speed I can save myself, oh, 36 minutes per repeat!

Okay, enough of this. I'm off to see if the grrlee can eat, then do some homework.

Stash busting

I started with 4 balls of yarn of Knitpicks Essentials. 2 pumpkin and 2 pine. From these 2 balls I got one pair of mosaic socks, one pair of Desert Hiiumaas, and look how much yarn is left over! SIGH. Now I need another project to get this yarn out of my life!

Silver Lining

A day that starts out with an unexpected ocular event is not all bad. While I had planned to go to water aerobics rather than spend my midday in optical triage, I got 3 happy hours away from work, which included a great deal of knitting time. Sometimes fuzzy, blurry knitting while my pupils slowly dilated, but I wasn't complaining. Enough that I was able to finish the Hiiumaas tonight. I was running low on yarn, and was watching the yarn as I decreased, thinking I still might make it to the end of the sock. Turns out I had to attach another ball when I had only 21 stitches left on the needle. Oh well! And for now my vision is fine, and I will be in to see a specialist as soon as possible to see if there are any lingering problems.

off the road again

Back home, and this is what I have to show for the weekend of traveling. Wheee.

Traveling albums:

• English Beat's Special Beat Service (also digitised from vinyl)
  
• Pogues' If I Should Fall From Grace With God
  
• Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow
  

on the road again...

220 some miles, 3 albums, 2 potty stops, 1 Subway stop, and a pack of gum later, I have this:

Road trip albums were:

• Jack Johnson's Brushfire Fairytales
  
• English Beat's I Just Can't Stop It (Digitised from our vinyl)
  
• Joyce's Astronauta: Songs of Elis
  

Desert Hiiumaa #1

For many years, my socks have been toe up, knitted simultaneously. Thus it is odd that all socks this month have been cuff-down, and some knitted one at a time. Desert Hiiumaa #1 is finished, I do not know when I'll make time to cast on #2.

Desert knitting

When I first received Knitting on the Road, I went through all the patterns, identifying which patterns I could knit from stash yarn. I was able to select several, including the Hiiumaa mismatched mates, which would be perfect for those half-skeins of pumpkin and evergreen Knitpicks Essential.

When the KOTR knitalong selected Hiiumaa for the June/July selection, I was excited, fully intending to knit these socks sometime during the available months. However, these socks were not originally on the must-pack list for my weekend desert trip. I had all my projects packed, when I thought, "Road trip, better take Knitting on the Road." So it was a last-minute thing, grabbing the KOTR book and the pumpkin and evergreen yarn. I started the first sock--on double points, no less!--immediately after finishing the Lithuanian Amber socks from the Folk Socks knitalong.

It wasn't until I was sitting in this swing, early in the morning,

gazing admiringly at this view,

while knitting these socks,

that I noticed that the socks were a perfect tribute to the desert. Just looking up at the cliff walls, I could see the exact colours of my yarn there, looming above me.


PS When I was ordering my Comfort Zone double points, I selected orange for my size 1 needles, and never really expected to actually be knitting some socks that would hardly show on the needles. Guess there's been a lot of orange in my knitting lately...

Stupid Needles

I'm afraid it's true. Knit Picks circular needles hypnotize me into stupidity. I've spent more time correcting errors than I have knitting since transferring those socks onto the new KP needle. Stupid errors, careless errors, and weird errors that make no sense, like a the 1st stitch of the ssk showing up 3 stitches later, also, as an extra purl. Huh?

Just Arrived!

With the demise of my only good size one needles, it was time at last to submit that Knit Picks order that's been slowly building. In fact, it's been building for so long that I no longer recall why I ordered those colours of Essential. But no worries, I'll figure it out! The key purchase here, above all that yummy yarn, was my first Knit Picks circular needles. I've heard all about them, now it was my turn to try them out.

I immediately transferred my Regia Color Surf socks onto the new needles and started to knit. The ease of the transition, the slide of these needle tips, the flexibility of the cable, all conspired to hypnotize me into stupidity. Instead of knitting in pattern, I plain knit the entire row, even the purl stitches! Once I got my head straight and redid the row properly, I could see what everybody loves about these needles. These are the first size one needles I've had that slide so smoothly from cable to needle. Yeehaw! I'm back in the sock-knitting business.