Frogs, FOs and Yarn

I just returned from a quick trip to the US.  On the long flight there, I ran out of yarn at the start of the 13 hour flight!  The skein looked so full but it was deceiving me.  As a result, I was left with 2 rows to complete on my shawl.  Fortunately, BeYaGi had another skein from the same dye lot.  Now all I need to do is wash and block it. I’ll be glad of my blocking wires on this one.

I learned a bunch doing this shawl. It is a great first shawl project. Now maybe I am ready to tackle a lace weight shawl in my Zephyr wool/silk laceweight yarn. I have it in many colors but haven’t knit anything out of it.

I made progress on my first pair of toe up socks.  I stopped working on them because I hadn’t brought the pattern with me and I will soon need to start the gusset. Louise says she tells her students to start the gusset when they are even with the ankle bone.  That is helpful because it says to knit to 3 inches from end of foot, but that wasn’t looking correct.

I started a baby blanket. It was a nice pattern I found online.  I’m not certain about the  yarn. It is hand washable.  Not sure I want to give a baby something that has to be hand washed, especially since I’m not knitting an heirloom pattern.  However, I think the color will look good since it would look good on either of her parents.

On my flight home, I frogged it.  The pattern wasn’t right for the needle size. Since that was the only needle I had with me, I switched patterns so I’d have something to work on during the long flights back to Singapore.  I am now knitting a free pattern from Lion Brand. It is the Baby Love Diagonal Baby Blanket.  Basically, it is a giant dish cloth.

I am pleased so far, but wish my gauge were more even since cotton isn’t nearly as forgiving about that as wool is.  Had to rip back about 15 rows to fix mistakes. I kept falling asleep and as I’d doze off, I’d split a stitch or make the gauge wonky.

While I was home, I was finally able to see the lovely Dream in Color yarn I had ordered through DNBY.  They sell discontinued yarns at good prices. This is Dream in Colors Stardust line. It was an experiment on their part to make a yarn with a bit of sparkle.  In the correct light you can see the sparkles. Otherwise you can’t which is why this experimental yarn was discontinued before making it into stores.  Except for the black one, all of these yarns look lighter in the photos than in real life. Without the flash they didn’t look like anything and with the flash the colors are too light.  Oh well.

Coal Dust.

Persimmon

Marooned

Midnight Madness

I picked up three skeins of Cascade Fixation to make baby booties.

I also scored this lovely yarn. I think it is Pagewood Farm Denali Hand Dyed in the Mardi Gras colorway.  Adrienne had purchased it for herself and decided she wouldn’t use it.

Even though it was after 12:30 am when I reached home, the furkids were there to greet me.  Here is Kapas doing a happy dance and rubbing against my backpack.

Toe Up

Last night I broke the Panda Silk out of stash and started my first pair of toe up socks.

First I need to learn Judy’s Magic Cast-On.  I watched the Cat Bordhi’s  video on YouTube to learn how. Soon there was a big needle bird flapping across my lap and biting the vine. Then their was a strange tick-tock clock helping me remember the sequence for wrapping the stitches. (Watch the video and all will be explained.)

I wanted to knit the socks in Magic Loop style, but I figured for my first attempt at the cast on I should at least start the socks separately.  From my first attempt, this cast on worked well.  However, then I couldn’t quite figure out how to get both socks onto the one long needle, so I frogged and started again on the magic loop needle.  That went well and moved along quickly until I realized that I had only cast on 8 stitches per sock instead of 16.  It looked like I was knitting little toy bear ears.  I frogged and started again.

The next attempt was fraught with cat interruptions. Miss Kapas decided she really needed to be pet a whole bunch right then.  I must have picked the socks up backwards because soon I  had a purl row on both sides of the sock.  I frogged again.

My next attempt was good but now it was late at night.  This morning I went back to work on them and finished the toes.  I have to say it is much nicer to cast on 16 stitches per sock instead of the usual 64.  And the magic cast on looks nicer than my Kitchener stitch usually does even though they should look the same.

Next time I knit, I’ll start the pattern. It is the Ribbed Lace sock from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. I chose it for a number of reasons.

1. It is written as a toe up pattern.
2. It has a regular toe, not a short row one.
3. It has a heel flap.
4. It has a flap and gusset in the “correct” place. Some toe up socks have it in a place that doesn’t seem as comfortable.
5. It makes a very stretchy fabric to compensate for the lack of memory in the Panda Silk yarn.

I figured that for my first toe up attempt, I wanted a pattern that had it all written out.  I know it isn’t difficult to substitute a different type of toe or heel, but I wanted my first attempt to be one where I can follow along without making any changes.

I’m knitting the socks on 40″ size #00 needles.  The yarn is quite fine for fingering weight.

Have you knit with Panda Silk?  How did it hold up?  If you made socks, did they stay up?

Gratuitous Pictures of Stash

Long time without an update and not much to report.  I finished my mother’s diagonal rib socks in the gorgeous Smooshy yarn. I finished them the day before I left Minnesota to return to Singapore.  I’ll try to get a photo of them when I am home for Christmas.

I frogged my Vog On socks. I like them but the pattern was lost in the dark, busy yarn so I’ll save that pattern for a different yarn.

I have one more pattern repeat and then the easy edge on my Sumac Leaf Shawl.  I won’t repost it since it looks remarkably a lot like it did before, only bigger.

My Monkey socks are slowly growing. Not much time to knit these first weeks of school.  I’ve done most of it while waiting at the vet with a sick cat who is happily feeling better now.

Since I haven’t WIP or FO photos for you, I’ll show you some of my new stash instead.

How about this Heritage Hand Painted from Cascade?

This one is new to me. It is Soxx Appeal from Knit One Crochet Too. It is a cotton/elastic blend.  It should be comfortable here in Singapore.

Here is my first Panda Silk. I’ve heard from Louisecat that it doesn’t have much memory so I’ll need to knit it into a ribbed pattern.

Louisecat also told me she likes how this yarn knits up into socks. I, of course, loved the blues and greens.

I’m missing some of this. I should have two balls of it so I can hold it double. I’m hoping for a sport weight since it is such a terribly thin fingering weight. It feels like it will make a nice fabric. It has bamboo in it.

And finally, Smooshy. It’s the In Vino Veritas colorway.

There. I hope you enjoyed that bit of stash diving.
What’s new in your stash?

Attempting to add an attachment

Everyday Math Online Family Letter

We are trying to figure out how to attach documents to a WordPress blog.  Hopefully there is an attachment on this one.

FOs and WIPs

The week after school let out, Kent and I went to Ubud, Bali. We stayed at Ketut’s Place. Our room had a huge lovely balcony that reached out over a steep ravine and a rushing river. I spent each morning out there knitting. It was bliss.

On that balcony, I finished my purple Lacy Mock Cable socks.

They are knit in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids in the amethyst colorway. I made them longer than usual because instead of knitting a gauge swatch, I just jumped in.

After a few inches I decided I wanted to go down a needle size but rather than frog it, I decided to let the bigger needle part act as shaping. The socks fit really well. In part that is because I finally realized that if I pick up extra gusset stitches, the foot part will be too loose. It also helped that this stitch pattern is stretchy. It made a good traveling sock

I also finished my Pretty Comfy socks.

The yarn is Cascade Fixation. I don’t remember which colorway, but I like it.

I tried a rounded toe but my formula wasn’t right and after 3 tries I gave up and knit my standard wedge toe. Thanks to the way the pattern dissolves into the stockinette toes, it makes a pretty toes. I tried three times to kitchner the toes closed and couldn’t do it so I gave up. The next day, I finished both toes in 15 minutes. Go figure.

As on the Lacy Mock Cable socks, my only mods were to use a heel-flap instead of a short row heel. I know they aren’t as pretty but they fit so well and are so comfortable.

In any case, these turned out lovely and I may have to make a pair for me.

On that same day, I cast on for Cookie A.’s Monkey.

I’m using my Pagewood Farms Yukon which is a merino, bamboo, nylon mixtures. It feels buttery. I wanted to cast on before I was on the plane back to Singapore.

I’m not as far as I expected to be because although I brought them on the long flight to the US, I actually slept a bit which is rare for me on flights. As a result, I’m only this far.

I did bring them to run errands, and made lots of mistakes because I don’t know the pattern well enough, so I cast on for a pair of ‘Vog on socks using Plymouth Happy Feet yarn. (Color is more accurate in first photo.)

I’m not certain this was a good call for this yarn. I’d thought the yarn was solid enough, but between the variegation and the darkness of the color, the pattern is being lost, and although it is a simple pattern, I have to look at it so it isn’t good when I am with other people.

Then I decided to knit my mom a pair of socks. She picked out a truly lovely yarn. It is Dream in Color Smooshy in the Bermuda Teal colorway.

I’m using Ann Budd’s Diagonal Ribbed sock pattern. It is an easy to memorize pattern but I also need to watch the stitches I’m knitting. It is a real bugger to rip out due to the diagonal stitches.

And as long as I’m knitting patterns that require me to watch what I’m knitting, I cast on for the Sumac Leaf Shawl.

It is a worsted weight shawl and I’m really enjoying it so far. I’m using Lamb’s Pride worsted. I just started the fourth repeat.

It is beyond good to be home visiting my family. I haven’t seen any friends yet. I need to rectify that next week. The only bad part about being here is being away from the cats. Here is Kapas in her favorite place for an evening nap.

That cubby is on the bottom shelf of our bookcase. That puts her near to us on the sofa.

Speedier Socks

During the Ides of May I finshed two socks.  The first pair was Kent’s Kyoto socks.  I knit them quickly to see if I liked the  yarn. He’s only worn them once so I think they were not a success.  His garter rib socks done in Chameleon Colorworks’ Bambino yarn seem to be his favorite.   No finished photo yet.

The other pair is my Northshore Socks done in Regia using the Groovy Stripes pattern.  They are too big in the foot. I now understand that is because I picked up too many gusset stitches.  This is a good take along pattern because it is a two row repeat, and one of those two is stockinette.  I still managed to muck it up often, but really should not have done so.

I cast off the Northshore socks one night and cast on these Lacy Mock Cables the next night. I’m calling them my Purple Kosong socks since they look like lots of zeroes. Could also be hugs and kisses. It is my first time using the Cherry Tree Hill yarn that I stashed.  Very soft. It is the first all wool sock  yarn I’ve used. I hope it hold up well.

This is a test. Or rather, it’s a poll.

I’m trying to figure out how the integrated poll feature works in WordPress.  I’ve made a poll. Now let’s see if it appears here for you to take it.

Progress Report

I am in love with my Pretty Comfy socks.  I’ve finished the gusset decreases .  I am worried they are going to be a bit small.  Given that this Fixation yarn has cotton and elastic in it, I don’t think they will be blockable.  They will progress faster if I can figure out where I’ve set the pattern. It’s around here somewhere.

I am making good progress on this pair for Kent. They are my first attempt at Magic Loop and I’m liking that technique. Less time spent repositioning and no loose needle flopping around. I’m knitting two-at-a-time. The color is perfect for Kent. Jury is still out on this Knit Picks Risata yarn. It is splitty and likes to unwind. However, it feels like the final fabric will be quite cool to wear. The pattern is just made up. I’m using the rounder heel turn I found online and am very pleased. It looks like Kent’s heel.

I’ve turn the heel and picked up the gusset stitches on my Groovy Stripe socks.  I think of them as my North Shore socks because the colors make me think of the area long the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. I am realizing I like the stripes best when viewed upside down, but that isn’t a problem since when I’m wearing them and look down, that is how they will be.

The Regia yarn is very splitty, but I am liking the fabric very much. The pattern is an easy two row repeat, but I still keep mucking it up anyhow. Feeling very proud of myself that I was able to fix a major error. I didn’t want to tink because I was a few rows past picking up the gusset stitches. It would be messy to tink back.

Instead, I ripped out those stitches and after two hours, I finally had it all right. And I learned a bunch. This is the first time I’ve successfully ripped back and reknit lace. Very satisfying.

I decreased two stitches before starting the heel flap because on my Smooshy Garter Rib socks, the heel flap has too much fabric. When I put my foot into a shoe, the extra fabric is problematic.

The Smooshy Garter Ribs have other problems as well. I knit the soles in ribbing to make it thicker and more comfortable. That didn’t work so well. The ribbing s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s. As a result, the socks are big, and the sole is not that comfortable to walk on. Fortunately, the color is so delicious that I don’t care. Wearing them makes me smile.

And sometimes when you try to photograph a sock, you get a cat instead.

Update on Blue Projects

Before I went to New Zealand in December I cast on a pair of socks but then ended up knitting other projects so I’m finally getting to these now.

The yarn was a birthday gift from my sister. It is a Regia wool yarn. The colorway was designed by Kaffe Fasset. I was of two minds about it before this project. I liked all the colors but one, but I was thinking it would make rather bold socks. I wasn’t sure I wanted bold socks.

I decided I did not want to knit them plain, but I figured most patterns would be obscured by the stripes.  I spent a long time on Ravelry trying to find the right pattern. I considered many different patterns from Jaywalker to Ann Budd’s chevron pattern, to Charlene Schurch’s chevron pattern, to someone else’s chevron. However, so many of those patterns had two strikes again them for me. First, they required some form of knitting three stitches together. That would be a challenge since I tend to knit tight. (How can I have a loose gauge and knit tightly? That mystifies me.) Second, chevron patterns tend to have very little stretch; many knitters on Ravelry complained that they couldn’t get the socks over their heels.

Therefore, I was delighted to find the Groovy Socks pattern by Sock Pixie. It is a more subtle than many of the chevron patterns and it is more stretchy.  It is only a two row repeat, with one row being stockinette, so I hoped  I could travel with it as long as I used stitch markers.

It is a top down pattern and I am halfway down the leg.  Although I keep making mistakes, the pattern is easy and fun.  Like so many lace patterns, it seems to race along.  To my delight, the waves produced by the pattern are giving the stripes  a watercolored or Impressionistic affect.  It is soft and rich.  I am enchanted.  And it is a lace pattern that looks even better on than off; I often find that patterns I like on the needle don’t look as nice on the foot. (I’ll post a more current photo when I get home. This early shot doesn’t show the effects.)

To add to my delight, I’ve been able to knit much more this week than usual.  On Wednesday I was at a meeting all day and it wasn’t my turn to take minutes.  It was a discussion-type of meeting and knitting during it helped me keep focused.  I was an active participant throughout.  Thursday afternoon I flew out to Ho Chi Minh City for a two day workshop, so I was able to do lots of travel knitting.  Then today (and hopefully tomorrow) I was able to knit during the lecture portions of the workshop. Sunday, I will travel knit myself home.

On other fronts, I knit three premmie caps. I’m trying to find a local premmie ward that will take them.

I am working down the foot on my Pretty Comfy socks. They are still a very fun knit.

Life is Good.

Return of Service Notice

Dear World,

We, the United States of America, your top-quality supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption in service.

The technical fault that led to this eight-year service outage has been located and the software responsible was replaced on November 4, 2008.

Early tests of the newly-installed program indicate we are now operating correctly and are fully-functional as of January 20, 2009.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage. We look forward to providing full service and hope to improve in years to come. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

The United States Of America

(A friend sent this to me. I haven’t yet found its source.  If you know it, please let me know.)