Thursday, May 24, 2007

the yarn stork delivered!

I can see that getting yarn in the mail can be addictive! Thanks Knit Picks!! I'm very excited, but sad because I have to do a wrist warmer at work tonight instead of new yarn things... :-(
I don't really know what to do with the hanks... I know I need to wind them, but drawing straight off the hank is supposed to be a bad idea. Hmmm...
I really like the peruvian wool (in the middle, color: rainforest heather). That is something for me I think. The gloss (bottom, dusk) is for trying out sock patterns and the bare (top) is to dye. Now I just need to be brave and actually dye it!!



Four fetchings right in a row. My personal pair are on the left. I guess they aren't as fuzzy as I had thought, just loved.


I threw some cables into a sock I'm knitting. They are a bit too far down to be artistically pleasing, but I don't think R will mind. With pants no one will see the tops anyways. Now that I can do cables without a needle I love them even more than I already did!! I want to cable everything! Now I must leave all my pretty new yarn at home and go to work2. Poo!!

Nothing at all to do with knitting...

This is my favorite editorial cartoon ever! I even made copies for all the feminist teachers at my school.

Ha!!



It makes me think to myself, "Oh thats right! Take that! God is a she conservative religio-facists! Won't you be surprised when you die! Neener neener neener!"

That said, I do send my condolences to his family. Even if he was a stinker it is very sad and unfortunate to lose a loved one.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

No pics again

I'm almost done with the second fetching for the student at work2. They are the exact same color as the ones I made myself, so I'm ready to be done. I might post a picture of mine vs. the new ones. Mine pilled and got fuzzy really fast.

Hopefully my yarn order will get here soon. I am either going to make my sock pal:
monkey socks or
Anastasia Socks
Maybe. Or I might decide that lace and charted patterns are the devil and go for some good old:
plain socks.
I've never done toe up socks before, but hopefully it won't be too horrible. I'm thinking about some Lorna's Laces for yarn. I feel like I'm late to the party for choosing a pattern and yarn, but I want make sure I can actually do more complicated socks before I have any lofty aspirations.

In other news I used grumperina's tutorial on cabling without a cable needle and I am now cable needle free! Hooray! Someday perhaps (in the far future) I will be able to take on Clessidra from Knitty. Those are the sexiest socks ever!!

And did I mention that I told the students in my 6th period class that I would knit them all wrist bands? There are only five students left at this point, but that is still something I have to keep in mind. I'm going to use the pattern from Stitch N' Bitch, only in the round, with two colors each. Luckily they won't mind acrylic yarn... So five wrist bands are needed by June 14. I wonder if I could do one in about 4 hours? Then I could do one a night at work2. hmmmm.

Also on the to do list are sockapalooza socks (duh), two more One Skein Wonders (one for me, one for another friend), the Two Tone Shrug from "Fitted Knits" if the book ever gets to the library, and some wedding gift socks-gloves-slippers-or-something. Thats for now... of course the list is really much longer than that, and will have some man socks and other things slipped in I'm sure.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

yarn online

I placed my first online yarn order yesterday. I got Knit Picks gloss (merino/silk), a hank of bare superwash fingering to kool aid dye and... some palette (100% peruvian wool). I almost bought some more yarn for man socks, but then realized I'd better get crackin' on socks more difficult than 3x1 rib for sockapalooza practice. So more boy socks will have to wait... besides the pair I'm already knitting. The thing that scares me is... guage. Eek! Rachel is not so good at the swatching and gauging.

I've also finished one fetching done for the work2 student. She brought me a set of Brittany US 6 dpn's the other day, which was very nice of her.

And... I have an job interview tomorrow! It is for a Applied Science/Research place and I'm pretty excited. It would be nice to get a higher paying job that is related to my Psych degree. Wish me luck! With just one job I would have time to do crazy things like... join a knitting group, learn to spin, exercise regularly, ride a bike to work, walk my dog. The mind boggles!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

FO thuja pattern!

I forgot to post a link to this. It is the pattern I used for the grey socks knitted on size 6 needles.
Thuja from Knitty!
I have yet to hear from the new master of these socks, but the weather has been very warm, so I doubt they've gotten a lot of wear. A black pair of dress-ish socks have been requested!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

FO socks!!

Hoorah!!
R says that they "feel funny" like he can "feel the stitches or something". They were knitted on size 6 needles. Perhaps that is why most sock yarn is tiny.
I think they will be fine once they are washed a couple of times.

Friday, May 11, 2007

comment land

I've found the way to get comments one's blog is to join swap things. It is very exciting. Now I feel I just have to stay interesting.
Due to losing my fourth needle in SO's (significant other's) couch for half the day, the socks are not accompanying him to Couer d' Alene. Towards the end he was asking and asking if they would be done... Hopefully he wasn't just being nice :-)
I could have stayed up late last night and maybe finished them, but the 4:30 am appointment with the airport terminal dissuaded me. Now I can block them like a good little knitter.
I hardly ever block things... blocking things that are partially synthetic (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, Encore DK & Worsted) doesn't seem to do a lot of good, but maybe thats just an excuse for me being impatient. Also, laying things out flat is an invitation for animals to lie on it (like the brown armwarmers I blocked).
The second day it was finished I took the hoodie off and put it on the bed to go for a run and when I turned around Ezekiel (the black one) was kneading (!) it and purring at me! So I can imagine leaving things unattended to block..

Thursday, May 10, 2007

socks... again.

I'm kind of sad that the sockapalooza4 blog isn't working quite right. I'm scared of the pligg thing. I might have my tech guy explain it to me.
The second sock is coming along quite nicely. The tension is tighter, so I hope it fits okay. There isn't a mystery hole in this one either which makes me feel oh-so-clever.
I can't wait to get paid so I can buy some sock yarn via the internet.
Miss Diabetic Doggy is doing well. Now I just have to worry about her running herself to a heart attack. She's feeling better and sometimes forgets that she is old. I think I'll have a birthday party for her and invite a bunch of doggy friends.

Monday, May 07, 2007

gratuitous picture of baby squirrel

I helped create this little guy by feeding the parents cracked corn bird food. That's right these little darlings are sleek all because of me...

Oh!
And I have a sock pal! I'm very busy devising all the things I can cram in with socks that will be interesting to someone overseas.
And I am a sock pal! I've heard from my sock pal!
Hi! Don't worry I'm easy to please!

sock the first is ready for take off!!

Sock the first has been completed thus (at work):


It looks great off the foot, but once on I see little bits of skin. My sweetie doesn't have enormous feet by any means and the gauge was right... maybe I knit it too tightly? The top of the sock is a little too loose. So I dunno. I'm just going to knit up the other one the same way(but tighter up top) and he can wear them as not quite so warm spring socks.


He does like it however, obligingly sticking his foot out whenever I take the sock (and a half) out to admire. I've tried it on and it is exceedingly comfortable.
I am also happy with the shape and really like the look of this type of heel. I'm about an inch from the heel of sock the second, but I've run out of yarn. So I must wait until tomorrow. :-P

Things I learned:
How to weave in ends for real, rather than just faking it.
More kitchener stitch. Some problems, but tolerable results.
Not to mention my first pair of socks!!
Hurrah!


Wednesday, May 02, 2007

sock n' dog

I think I'm almost done with sock 1. I need to have Mr. recipient try it on for size.



But someone please tell me what this is?!? And where it came from?

I'm assuming it is a slight mix up during the heel flap making part of the journey. I think it's easily fixed with a little mattress stitching, but it still irks me because I was extra careful but still completely missed the hole until I was far far past fixing it. Oh well, that's why socks are knit in pairs right? There are some other minor hiccups in the moss stitch ribbing, but they are un-noticeable to the untrained (un-anal) eye.

This is the reason I haven't posted for a few days...

Miss Bonny is a brand new canine diabetic. So this weekend was spent freaking out over a severe bladder infection and the past few days have been spent freaking out over the diabetes diagnosis. Really it's fine, except for the fact that she now requires insulin every 10-12 hours. That will make the two job gig very difficult.

I also have received my sockapalooza pal information. It's on ladies and gentlemen!! So much to do between now and August!!