I didn't think I'd do it...

But I want to make Monkey socks. Everyone's been raving about them for months. Acutally, that fervor has died down somewhat--I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes. I thought they looked nice, but it wasn't really calling my name. Maybe it was the colors in the original pattern--the yellows and greens and oranges aren't exactly my color, they kind of remind me of jars of baby food (no offense intended to those who like yellows and greens and oranges--I like them too, just not all together). But then my secret pal spoilee, Emily, showed a photograph of some RED ones that she made from her own handspun (gasp!) and well, you know what they say about rest and history. I want to get back to my wheel and spin!


But not yet. I'm busy working on the Mystery Stole 3. As of tonight, I've completed through row 190 (10 rows left of Clue 3). Clue 4 will be posted on Friday, and I'll have 2 weeks to work on it. I can't believe that I'm actually keeping up with this project. I don't consider myself a fast knitter at all.


I've also been working on Scheherezade and some stripey cotton socks from yarn my secret pal sent me. I decided this week that I'd send them to someone rather than keep them for myself. But they're coming along rather nicely. They're just plain and simple, perfect for stuffing into my purse to take to work for lunchtime knitting.

This is the first sock, which has long since been completed. I have about an inch and a half done one the second one, but no current photos.

Must. Buy. Blocking Wires.

So I thought I'd save myself some money (and avoid the wait of ordering by mail--I'm impatient) by making my own blocking wires. I went to Lowe's and Home Depot and couldn't find any of the welding wire I'd seen recommended. So I bought the thinnest wooden dowels I could find and some sandpaper and went to work.

I used a pencil sharpener to make some pointy tips and sanded down the entire length of the dowel. They're still a little too rough (I told you I am impatient!) and not thin enough, I don't think. I guess I'll break down and pick some up from eBay or KnitPicks. They're the same brand, but the ones on eBay are a little cheaper (the price of the wires+shipping is the same price that KnitPicks offers for the wires alone).

Mystery knitting

I started knitting on the Mystery Stole 3 yesterday. So far, it's gone pretty smoothly, except I think that the beading might be a little TOO subtle. (You couldn't even tell the beads were there, could you!) The first two were a little bit challenging to put on, but once I figured out how to hold both needles and the crochet hook while putting the bead on, it went smoothly. I bought some other beads that were clear except for the hole was lined in silver. I think they'd pop out just a bit more, but I don't know if that would really look good with this color wool. It's kind of light brownish--well, an oatmeal color (imagine that!)--and I'm not sure how it looks with the silver of the bead. I don't know if the beads will stand out better once it's blocked or not. I think I might put it on a holder and start again from the other end with the other beads and see which I like better.

I really like this yarn--it's very soft. It's Lane Borgoseia Cashwool in the Oatmeal Colorway that I bought from The Loopy Ewe several weeks ago.

Nothing productive accomplished today

Because I'm IN!

I got an invitation to Ravelry today!!! What fun! I've wasted a whole lot of time playing around and entering in the patterns I'm working on, what I want to do, looking at others' postings about the projects I'm doing or the ones in my queue. I haven't even started to think about uploading information on my stash or my needles yet. I don't have that much stash, I don't think. One tote-full under my bed. And I don't have many needles, either. But this will probably take me quite a while to figure out.

I finished the first chart on the second half of Scheherezade today. I haven't worked on it for a while, but I decided to pull it out today and see what I could get done. I think it will probably go back into the tote on Friday, when the first clue for Mystery Stole 3 comes out. But we'll see. Maybe I'll just keep Scheherezade around and remain constantly one year behind.

Time to knit.

I had LOTS and LOTS of knitting time this past week. I had a lot of reading for a class to do by Saturday (which sadly didn't get done on time) but I can do simple straight stockinette while reading. I'm looking forward to school starting this fall if reading time = knitting time!

My car was in the shop on Wednesday and Thursday, so I rode the bus to and from work. Waiting for the bus to come and sitting on the bus = knitting time!

I had a wedding/family reunion this weekend in Nauvoo, Illinois. It's a little town now, about 1100 residents, but back in its heyday in the 1840's it rivaled Chicago in population. There's some houses and other buildings that have been restored and preserved and there are wagon rides and other things to see. It was fun. The first place I went to was the Family Living center, where they demonstrate things like how they made candles and bread and rope and barrels and so forth. There are also demonstrations of weaving and rag rugs and so forth. I've been there before and I remembered the looms and the rope-making, but I didn't remember seeing any spinning wheels. So this time, I went looking for them. They had them there, with signs all over saying "Do Not Touch" It was so hard to keep my hands off as I tried to explain what the things were to my family and how they worked. The guide that came over to see if we had any questions acted really impressed that I knew so much about how it worked.

So, anyway, there was lots of time standing in lines and waiting for rides and waiting for my family to figure out what we were going to do next. Standing in line = knitting time!

By the way, if you EVER EVER in your life get a chance to see the Brigham Young University Ballroom Dance Company perform, you should take it without a second thought. We went to a show on Friday night and it was FABULOUS. Energetic, fun, and very entertaining. There was a song about a scientist that looked like Einstein that created the perfect Dance Partner and the "robot" costumes were awesome. Hot pink suits with a row of fringes every few inches. You'd NEVER catch anyone wearing it anywhere else, but it was perfect as the dancers Cha-cha'd across the stage. There was another dance where they turned off all the stage lights except for some black lights and did dances with giant sticks and part of their costumes were black and other parts were wild colors that showed up in the black light. The show was incredible. Needless to say, I was NOT knitting at that time. :)

With all that knitting, I'm just about done with a sock. This sock may just well become a knee sock. I've started to add some increases in the back of the sock for calf shaping. I've never done this before, and I'm not sure I'm adding increases at the right rate, but we'll see.

Look! Look! I'm finished!! Say it with me--woo-hoo!!!



I don't know exactly what I'm going to start on next. I've joined up with Mystery Stole 3 and received my yarn on Wednesday or Thursday--one skein of oatmeal-colored Lane Borgosesia merino laceweight. It was my first order ever from The Loopy Ewe. (My parents are talking about moving to St Louis--if they do, I'll definitely have to arrange to visit the Loopy place!) I have no idea what size needles to use for this yarn. I think I want to try some of those KnitPicks needles or the Addi Turbo Lace needles--something with a sharper point. Just starting to do a swatch on that fine yarn was kind of difficult.

I think I'll also start another sock. I've got several colors to choose from: some Brown and Pink Koigu my first Secret Pal gave me, some red Cherry Tree Hill I purchased a few months ago, or some cotton that my current Secret Pal sent me. I think I'm going to just do a plain sock because I want to train myself how to knit and read things at the same time. I'm starting school again in the fall, and I can't give up my fiber!

Halfway

I finished the first Sockapalooza 4 Sock today. I'm a little nervous about it. I'm afraid that it won't be able to stretch wide enough. The first draft was too wide, so I ripped it back. People kept asking if it were a baby hat, and I realized that I hadn't built any negative ease into the sock. I'm not sure what my pal will like, but I personally prefer my socks to be kind of tight on the foot. But I'm worried that these are too tight in the ankle. I need to find someone who has the same size foot to give it a try.

(yes, I'm well aware that my legs are blindingly white. That's just the flavor I come in--plain vanilla!)

I LOVE the bind off. It's SO easy and REALLY stretchy. It's P2 tog, make the stitch you just created on the right needle very loose (or just use a needle a couple of sizes bigger than what you've been using), slip it back to the left needle, and repeat. Easy-peasy!

Checking In

I've been busy working on my Sockapalooza 4 Socks. I've turned the heel on the first sock and I only have 15 grams of yarn left. I wasn't sure how much yarn the sock was going to need, so I bought three skeins. I guess I should knit a repeat and weigh the yarn a la Grumperina and get an idea of how long these socks will be if I make them only from one skein apiece.

I've been sewing.

My little sister made me a bag to carry my socks-in-progress around in my purse, but it was slightly too small. So I found a pattern on the internet and whipped this little bag up. I really like it. Especially because it's red, which seems to be my color of choice this year. Does anyone else go through phases where they buy everything in one color? A few years ago, it was light pink. This year, it's red. Dark burgundy-red.

I also made myself a pretty bag for my books for church. The messenger-style means it's also come in handy last week when I was a really good girl and rode my bike to work EVERY DAY. I still want that Biria bike, but I can't justify the cost right now.
My little brother got married this past weekend. Hooray for him! But you know, it's really really weird to think that my little brother is all grown up and MARRIED. Does that mean I'm a grown-up too? Here he is with his bride and my grandpa. Don't they all look cute?

Look what came in the Mail!

This was on my doorstep when I left to go back to work on Thursday. (I may or may not have been a leeetle late getting back to work...)

This was inside (you can't see it all in this photo, but I can't upload photos of everything that was in there in one post).

Thank you, Thank you, Secret Pal!!!

I can't believe how much was in this box: a book called "One Skein Wonders," two balls of alpaca yarn , some wool/silk yarn, cotton sock yarn, ribbon yarn, a container of wool wash, and a little container of something called Wool Wax. It's a lanolin cream and I LOVE it. There were also six balls of roving (two light pink balls of merino and the pink and grey and the other two pink balls are Corriedale). Enough for a sweater, I think. My secret pal gave me some ideas of where to find more if I want to make a solid pink sweater, but I may use the grey/pink for a stripe or a yoke or something. I guess we'll see how it spins up.

What I want to know is how did she know that I really wanted to make a pink sweater? Did I say something about that somewhere?

My little sister made this bag for my socks to go into while they're in my purse. It's made of an old silk shirt that I used to wear and lined with some fabric that she bought to make a quilt. I really like the bag, but I may ask her if I can have her make another one just a bit bigger. I don't know if a brand new, just-wound ball of sock yarn will fit in this one. Maybe she will if I offer to make her another pair of socks in exchange...
I went to a friend's house this weekend, and she wears the same size shoe as my sockapalooza spoilee. As I feared, the sock was too big. WAY too big. As in about two pattern repeats too big. So RIIIIIP! It's going much faster now that there are fewer stitches in each row. I didn't have any scrap yarn with me this weekend, so I learned how to do the figure-8 cast on using the magic loop. Now I'm slightly paranoid that they're too small, but I'd personally rather have my socks a little too small than a little too big. Negative ease, I think they call it! :-)

All play and no work

I had the day off work today to go to my roommate's (well, now it's ex-roommate's) wedding. It was a nice time. The ceremony was very simple and sweet, and it was good to sit around at the reception and talk to old friends. Here they are coming out of the temple after their wedding. He's pretending to be surprised at all the people there taking pictures. She's just happy. They look fabulous. I've been working away on my sockapalooza sock. I keep worrying about it. Is the toe too pointy? Is it going to fit? Will my pal like the colors and the design? I sure hope so!

So far, I like this magic loop method. I like that you can knit half a row before you change needles. I think I might start the second sock and try to do them both at once, that way I get them the same length. That's always a plus, right?

Edited to add: A Title

Lots of news this week.

On Saturday, I finished the second Pink sock. I like them! Unfortunately, now that summer is here, it's too hot to wear boots to work, so only black sensible socks for me for a few months. We have a dress code at work and my manager has specifically mandated (for my benefit) "NO FUNKY SOCKS". Only black socks are allowed. In a fit of rebellion, I bought some nice black boots to wear so no one can see if my socks are blue or purple or orange or pink. I'll just have to stockpile a stash of "funky socks" to wear once the weather cools down again.Isn't my Jamison cute? I'm going to have to take some good pictures of Mattie to post or she'll be jealous.

I had two skeins of Cascade 220 left over from Eris, so I went to the yarn store and bought a skein of brown yarn and the pattern for Fiber Trend's Felted Clogs. I whipped the first one up on Saturday and haven't started the second one yet. I may do that this week and wash them when I go home over Mother's Day weekend. Someday I will have a house with my OWN washer and dryer.

On Tuesday I went shopping for yarn for my Sockapalooza socks. It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Tahoe Colorway. I think I'll be knitting these toe up and using Melanie's Twisted Stitch pattern. I decided to try out the Magic Loop method and bought a very long 2mm (0) needle. I keep casting on the wrong amount of stitches, though. I can't count very well, apparently! I'll have pictures of that next time.

And finally, I got an e-mail today saying that I've been accepted into the University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Sciences Graduate Program! Whoo-hoo! I didn't think I'd get in. It'll be a long haul, though. I'm trying to avoid debt as much as I can, and I don't want to give up the full-time benefits of my job. So it'll be a night class here and there for several years, I think. I'm still in shock.

Startits

It's not the kind of startitis you think it is. I can't seem to finish a blog post. I've begun one every day since Friday!

I did have a lot of knitting time this weekend. On Friday night, I had an overnight-meeting and I worked on the pink sock during the down time. Just as the first session ended, and before any down time began, one of the women in charge at the meeting laughingly commented that she ought to keep a sock in her purse so that she could stuff it in her mouth to keep from saying something stupid. I thought it was rather amusing that I DO have a sock in my purse at all times--but not for my mouth!

On Saturday, there was a book fair here in Lexington. I had a great time. The Yarn Harlot was here!

It was fun. Stephanie is as much fun in person as she is in print (naturally). It's fun to read back through her side of the visit--I'm in the first crowd picture, right in the middle. And I met some of the people in the other pictures. Needless to say, I had lots of knitting time on Saturday: pretty much four hours straight from one to five. And then I went home and knit some more. My poor little brother who's a missionary in Hungary (not the same one who came home from a mission in Brazil last year) doesn't hear from me nearly as much as he ought to. This is probably not a healthy obsession!

I'm learning how to knit continental style. It's a long process--I'm not patient enough. I can knit quickly in the English Style, but the continental style seems so much more efficient. But it takes longer because I'm not good at it yet What I need is a project like a sweater with lots of stockinette that I can practice on.

I have one FO to report for this weekend: a hat. After Stephanie finished speaking, many of us sat around and knit. Jane and Diane of Magpie Yarns were collecting hats to be donated, so I brought some bulky-weight yarn out of my stash to use up and give away. I worked on it on Saturday and finished it yesterday. There was a generic pattern there but not for the weight of yarn I was using. I decided to just cast on and knit until it looked good--it will fit someone, right? I think it turned out kind of cute and I don't know how I did it.

SOCKAPAL-WOOOOOO-HOOOOOO-ZA!

Sign ups started today for Sockapalooza 4. Yippee! I've been at my computer all evening stalking the Blue Blog watching a movie and knitting and I signed up as soon as I could. I've read as people posted about Sockapalooza before and I always thought it sounded like fun. I'm really excited to take part now.

I didn't realize that I hadn't posted for so long. I've been tinkering with the blog format quite a bit over the past couple of weeks, so I didn't really notice that I hadn't actually SAID anything. I've added a stat counter (I always wondered how people knew what Google searches had led to hits on their blogs!) and have been playing with buttons and so forth. I'm also trying to figure out to make those progress bars that show graphically how much you've got left of this project or that. The new blogger made it a bit easier to organize my sidebar, but it's not sophisticated enough to do what I want it to. I don't understand html code very well, but it looks like I'm going to have to learn it to get my blog to look the way I want it.

I went to the Spinning Guild meeting on Friday night. I didn't bring my wheel with me as I was coming pretty much straight from work, so I worked on my current purse socks: Elongated Corded Rib socks from the Sensational Knitted Socks book in cotton candy pink Cascade Fixation.
I'm about two inches farther than this picture shows. I've finished the gusset decreases and now it's just straight knitting in the pattern until I get to the toe decreases. I found the second ball of yarn (one of the cats had batted it under the couch and I hadn't seen it in days). I'm a little concerned that I won't have enough to finish the sock. I only bought two balls and I've got six inches or so left to go and only 15 grams of yarn. I'd rather not have to try to track down another ball in this same dye lot.

I came home from the guild meeting on Friday with this:

Over 100 grams of Alpaca roving in a fabulous colorway: Mostly lavender/lilac colored, but with occasional bright sections of a limey-green-yellow. Lovely! It's fun to spin up. The Romney I've been working on is currently on hold while I play with the softer stuff.

Like the rest of the country, we had a cold Easter weekend. It snowed here on Friday, although we only got about an inch. I'm glad that my plants are in containers that can be moved inside from the patio!

Under Construction

You may not have noticed if you haven't looked at my blog in the past few days, but I'm working on updating things around here. I switched over to the new Blogger, and so I've been working on getting my template back to the way I like it (I LOVE my berry background, but it took me about three days to remember how to get it working!) I need to add some buttons, and I read a LOT more blogs than the list shows. I also want to make a link of things I'm working on and things I've completed, so that will take some doing.


In the meantime, I've been spinning a lot more than I've been knitting. I finished my mom's socks and immediately cast on for a new pair of socks. I've started keeping a sock-in-progress in my purse, and I don't know why I never did this before. For a year now I've been saying to myself, "I need to start bringing a lunch with me to work rather than drive home" and it's a lot easier to do when I have a sock in my purse. I have an hour for lunch, and it only takes me fifteen minutes to eat, so now I can knit.

This is the new sock, made out of Cascade Fixation. I don't have the ball band nearby, so I can't say what color it is, but I like it. I'm using the Elongated Corded Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. It's easy to memorize but still rather interesting (at least so far--I've only done about a repeat and a half of the pattern). Somday I want to be like Wendy had have drawers full of handknitted socks.


I've plied up all the singles that I had spun up. The big red skein is two-ply and so is some of the smaller red skein. When I ran out of one bobbin on the second red skein, I started Navajo plying it. I like that method MUCH better. I like that it produces a rounder, more evenly plied yarn, and it's easier for me to get into a rhythm with the Navajo plying than the two plying. Don't ask me why, that's just the way I spin.

So the colors really aren't this bright; I'm still learning how to use the camera settings.

I haven't touched the Bristow cardigan for a couple of days.

of Bikes and WIPs

I've had a good week. The weather was GLORIOUS on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. I actually broke out my bicycle and rode it to work on Tuesday. It felt so good! I really like my bicycle. It's an older bike that I found in my Grandpa's garage. He had been storing the mountain bike I'd had since I was a kid while I was serving a mission in the Netherlands and Belgium for the Church I belong to. While I was there, I got hooked on the biking and the high quality of Dutch Bikes--like this one.

Gazelle Impala

So when I came home and found this bike in my Grandpa's garage, I asked him if I could trade. He tends to have a lot of stuff in his garage that people donate to be sold in yard sale fundraisers for their local boy scout troop. It probably would have been easier to sell the mountain bike, anyway, even if it wasn't new or top of the line. I liked this bike because it had the fenders and the lower frame (not quite a U-frame) that is easier to climb on and off, and the handlebars bent back so that you can sit up straight. It's a one-speed bike, with coaster brakes. I rode it all over campus at college and rode it to work quite a bit the first summer I moved here. But Kentucky isn't quite as flat as Holland is, and I think I'd like something nicer. My single speed is okay for climbing up the hills here in town (although my LUNG CAPACITY could use some development) but it's not really adequate for long stretches of downhill or flat ground. The wheels get going faster than I can pedal to keep up. So, we'll see what happens.

Breezer Uptown 8

Biria TC-Superlight 8 Touring City

On the knitting front, I've made lots of progress. I've turned the heel on my mom's second sock and am about an inch away from starting the toe decreases. The end is in sight! I had a lot of time to work on it this week.

I've also picked up my Bristow cardigan for work again over the past couple of weeks. I've done about twelve inches of the second front piece. I'm glad that I made notes of how many rows to do for each step when I made the other front piece--I only hope that my gauge is still the same!

Almost done

Just one last end to weave in, and then a good block and a zipper, and Eris will be done! I went looking for a zipper today. I found one that would match well and almost bought it. Luckily I realized before I plunked down money that a dress zipper will not work for a cardigan--I need something that will open all the way up. It's slightly easier that way.

I may have to try to find one online. None of the stores here have a zipper in the right size and the right color for this project. So it will probably be a while before I can put this in the FO category. But that's not going to stop me from wearing it!

SP10 Questionnaire

My answers to the SP10 Questionnaire are up and over at my "100 Things about me" page!

All gone!

My money, that is!

There was indeed a lady in the knitting and spinning guild who had a wheel she didn't need anymore. I picked it up on Wednesday at one of our LYS's here in town (she's one of the owners). It's an Ashford Traditional double drive. It came with extra bobbins, a lazy kate, and an high-speed flyer kit, for $250.


Now I need to buy some more roving (I've spun up just about all that she gave me) and a niddy noddy.

In other news, I've also found some living room furniture (the red sofa and loveseat). The futon and coffee and end tables will be moving out in May. Until then I'm really pleased with how my living room looks! It's starting to look like a real home, instead of a student apartment. Now all I need are people to come over and visit and sit on the couches and just talk!

Merci beaucoup

I was so excited about my spinning last night that I forgot to say THANK YOU to my fabulousa Secret Pal, Viv. Thank YOU! I've had a lot of fun this go-round and I'm already signed up for SP10.

Here's a recap:

By the way, do you see that soap up in the first picture? It's gardenia soap and smells wonderful. I thought you might like to know that I gave in, despite my misgivings, and bought a gardenia plant.

I'd been looking for something green to put on my end table, and it was very pretty. It has lots of buds on it, hopefully it will bloom!

Thanks again, Viv. You've been a wonderful secret pal!

I've slipped!!

I went to the Knitting & Spinning guild meeting tonight, and had a great time! I worked on Eris and finished attaching the hem to the front. All I have left of the hem is the back.

Then the lady who hosts the meetings brought out an Ashford Traditional wheel and I started down the slippery slope. I spun nearly a whole bobbin and really enjoyed it. I want a wheel! But I have a lot of other things that I probably ought to buy first. My roommate is getting married in May, and the livingroom furniture will be moving out when she does. So I'm saving up for a couch and a coffee table and probably a loveseat. I told that to the ladies at the Guild tonight, and they laughingly said, "Why save up for all that furniture? All you need for a wheel is a chair!"

I'm tempted. Very tempted. But a wheel costs so much money! I might ask if anyone at the guild has a used one they want to sell. In the meantime, I would like to make sure that this isn't just a whim.

Here's the fruits of my first foray into wheel spinning. Sorry about the shoddy photos...all I had with me was the camera phone.

I'm pretty proud of myself. Spinning just clicked with me. I very quickly figured out how to put the movement of my foot pretty much on autopilot, and was able to focus on drafting. Of course, I still have thick and thin spots, but that's normal. Linda, the hostess, told me that it was not regular "beginner yarn".

Next month I'll go back and see if I can learn about plying and see if I can make a little skein of yarn to keep. I wonder how much I'll have to spin in order to make a hat...