More Socks

I am in a sock knitting frenzy. The only thing my hands want to knit is socks, on size 2 needles. For some reason size 2 makes the stretchiest, and fastest knitting sock.

These socks were knit on size 1s. Size 1 needles are 2.25 mm wide (about the width of pencil lead).



I used 2x2 ribbing the whole way, so they stretch wider than they look. The cuffs are 64 stitches around.

Yummy can't pull them over his heels. Someday I might post about the unfortunate foot genetics my (and the Businessman's) children have inherited, but not today. Vish (my younger, smaller heeled child) ended up with a new pair of socks.

These socks...



...use the same yarn but are knit on size 2s, which are 2.75mm wide. I used 48 stitches. Not only did it take me about a day and a half to knit these, but they are stretchy enough to go over Yummy's heels. I didn't have enough yarn to make them long enough for his feet (refer back to the threat potential post I mentioned earlier), so they went to Vish. Again.

There you have it. The universal laws of science rarely pertain to knitters. Decreasing stitches results in stretchier socks.

And if nothing else demanded my attention, I could knit 100 pairs of socks in a year. Stretchy ones that I could pull over my mutant heels.

But who needs 100 pairs of socks?

My own sock recipes
ONLine Supersock 100, wool and nylon I think.

Hungry Bees Socks

My ungrateful son, Yummy, had asked for socks with a dragonfly on them last summer. I barely accommodated by squiggling some yarn in a sock I was knitting and he was satisfied.

More recently I was browsing Ravelry and stumbled upon these Hungry Bee socks. I grabbed some random sock yarn I had lying around (does sock yarn breed? I swear I didn't know I had that much.) and cast on.

By the end of the day I was covered in hives.

Bee socks. Hives. Funny.

I was slightly feverish and I may have convinced myself that the only way I was going to get rid of the itch was to finish the socks. I may also have eaten copious amounts of honey, ran through the house in figure eight formations shaking my ass, and/or wore a crown on my head while speaking in a weird buzzing language.

It would explain why my family avoided me for five days. Then again, maybe no one else wanted to be sick.

I did make bees.



The day I finished, Yummy had a new pair of socks.



And I could finally walk across carpet without actively trying to scratch the bottoms of my ridiculously ticklish feet.

A good trade-off, but I won't be knitting these* anytime soon.

*Because I hate snakes. I'm sure the pattern is lovely.

Steeks

I'm taking a hiatus from bread today. My kiddo is sick, it's hot outside and, most importantly, I just finished cleaning my kitchen.

I finished this part of my Norwegian sweater last night:



One of you asked what this is, because it looks a little blobby. It's blobby because I have steeks in it.

What are steeks?

Steeks are place markers to show you where to later cut your knitting.

Go ahead and hyperventilate a little. I'll wait.

Steeks are most valuable in colorwork. It's much, much easier to knit colorwork from the right side (as opposed to the wrong side, not the left side) so most colorwork patterns are written to be knit in the round, which makes a giant tube.

But, last time I checked, most humans aren't worm shaped. We have arms, shoulders and heads smaller than those shoulders. And that's where steeking comes in.



Instead of shaping for a neck and armholes, and thereby knitting back and forth, I just do a little shaping and add a steek.

Once the knitting is finished, I stabilize the steek a little (via machine sewing, or crochet) and then cut it up the middle:



After cutting, it's nice to lie down in a dark room with a glass of wine.

When you decide to inspect your work, you will find the knitting did not unravel into a pile of ramen noodles, but has exposed your nicely shaped neckline:



Or sleeves, or placket, or pocket opening. I have five steeks in this blob: two sleeves, front neck, back neck, and placket. When they are all cut, the piece will resemble a sweater.

Steeks aren't hard, but they go into the cache of advanced knitting techniques because of the confidence you have to have. But I promise you, even a beginner can slice apart their knitting.

Or a three year old.

Choose My Own Adventure (Again)

Seven months ago, the Businessman booked us a trip to Hawaii. We leave early November.

I might have mentioned to him that nine months seemed a bit too enthusiastic. I mean, technically he could have knocked me up the night he made the reservation and I could have puked every morning for 200 days, created 23 new stretch marks, waddled around with knee, calf, ankle and back pain for 120 days, watched my feet increase another size, writhed for 20 hours to produce a child and then still would be able to slurp lava flows on the beach.

Except I would have been too busy finding a hit man for the urologist.

So much can happen in nine months.

Not that I didn't slurp lava flows last time I was in Hawaii-7 1/2 months pregnant. I just asked them to leave out the liquor--a request I will not be making this time around.

And now I realize I only have two months. Two months to figure out what size I'll be when I board the plane. Two months to realize no one sells swimsuits in November. Two months to clean the house stem to stern so my in-laws don't feel the need to poke around clean while they watch my kids.

Two months to decide which knitting project I should bring.

But, since I'm very much enjoying having my readers choose my projects, I see no reason to stop now.

1. Venezia by Eunny Jang in the harvesty colors I've been teasing you with:


(click pic for Interweave link)

2. A lace shawl. I have two started. One has larger needles but uses beads, the other is on needles thinner than pencil lead.

3. I have a tough time finding knitted hat patterns that don't squash my hair and make me look pea-headed. I'm thinking I need a beret of some sort.

4. It will be my tenth anniversary celebration. Perhaps I will be too busy to knit?

Never mind. I've been married for ten years and really...we already live at a mile-high elevation.

5. Socks. The kids always need socks.

The poll is up on the left. You can vote anonymously.

A Knitting Calamity--You Decide

Now that I've messed around with color schemes (and avoided a trip to the fabric store for a zipper for the Vestes) I'm gauge swatching.

My pattern gauge is 31 stitches and 32 1/2 rows to 4 inches. They suggest a a size 2 needle. When I knit my yarn on that needle, I got a very dense fabric that is 32 stitches to the inch. I went up to a 2 1/2 and got 31 stitches, but 35 rows. So I bumped up to a size three (and here is where the little voice started mumbling because I could only find some size 3 double points) and hit gauge. Whereupon I decided to cast on.

Which meant I needed to locate my 32 inch size 3 needle.

Odd. I just sorted through and organized my needles. It's possible the 3 is hiding in some dark corner somewhere...but more likely it's in use.

So I shuffled through my pile of hibernating knitting projects.

It's a bigger pile than I thought.

Found it! Attached to this:



Oh yeah. I forgot about this.

What should I do?

• Finish knitting the body of this sweater (there's about 6-ish inches left) so I can free the needle to start my colorwork.
• Finish knitting this sweater, body, sleeves and all
• Put this sweater on a stitch holder and start my colorwork

What's that? The baby sweater? Of course I'm still working on it. It's small, portable, and doesn't feel like a huge, hairy, dog is sitting on my lap.

Anyway, you guys get to choose my course of action. In the leftmost column you will see the poll, where you may vote anonymously. And, as always, your comments are appreciated.

My First Kiss

In fifth grade, I started going out with a boy. Going out entailed...well...nothing really. It was fifth grade and we were still mostly innocent. Kids paired off as only kids barely out of cooties can.

But, back to the boy. Over the years, we had your basic cootie-ridden relationship. I crushed on him when he hated me. He liked me when I pretended to ignore him. I bloodied his nose once. You know, the usual childhood memories.


Dale of Norway Baby Ull. Machine washable merino wool.

And in fifth grade it all came together, so we started going out. One day, some of the couples decided to spend recess getting married. Jon McEuen (shameless name drop...sorry) was the officiant--no one thought to check his credentials--and my boy and I exchanged vows.

And we all know a marriage ceremony ends in a kiss.

He broke up with me the next day.



It knocked my self esteem as flat as my chest and I never kissed another boy until I met the Businessman. *snort* Okay, even I can't hold a straight face at that last sentence.

From what I see on Facebook (and we all know how reliable that is) Mr. Boy seems to have grown up and has a baby due in October. He expressed incredulity that I would partake in such an old-fashioned hobby (proving he never really got to know me at all in fifth grade) and so, in retaliation, I am knitting him a baby sweater.


Sized for six months

It's how I work these days.

My other option would have been to avoid kissing knitting altogether until a truly wonderful frog person worth my kissing knitting expertise came along. But knitting for frogs is just not going to happen.

Kissing for sweaters...that has potential.

Estes Vest: The Baby Sweater Detour

So. I'm blocking. I wet the pieces, pinned them to their proper size and shape and now I could twiddle my thumbs while they dry, which will take a day or two, or in the meantime I could knit...

What? Oh come on! I'm allowed to start another project while I wait for this one to be workable again. It's my blog.

...as I was saying...I'll be knitting a baby sweater.

What I Made:

What I'll make is a cabled version of this, which I designed and knit poolside in Hawaii while drinking virgin lava flows (I was 34 weeks pregnant):



I even considered just giving this one, which I knit for my Vicious, who had the audacity to be a ten pound newborn and therefore, too large for his lovely Cashmerino sweater.



Now you know why we call him Vicious. My goodness look at those hands.

As I said, I would give away this sweater, but it's handwash. While I'm a knitter and regularly handwash things, I couldn't do that to a new mom. So new, machine washable sweater it is.

Not that the Vestes hasn't been a great ride and all, but I can't wait to start this.

Vestes Days 10 And 11. Bonus: A Cat Bath

Day 10 of the Vestes: Also note the huge holes in the deck.



I had a rare day of no kiddos. Fortunately it resulted in a decent chunk of knitting. Unfortunately it takes me a good 36 hours before I fully realize the potential that can be had from having no kiddos around.

They were gone 28 hours. I dontated blood. Sat in my quiet house. Played computer games. Took a nap. Pouf. The kids were back. Where did the time go?

I did intend to work out, I really did. But my achiles were having none of it.

Day 11: Look, new boards!



I am at the part of the pattern that says Finishing. Of course, those instructions are about two full magazine columns. You can see I'm working on the pocket linings now.

In other news, I washed the cat.



He spent the night outside and the Businessman said he stank. I have a remedial sense of smell so, rather than assume it was my new deoderant, I gave the kitty a bath.

He's mad at me right now.

The cat, not the Businessman.

The Staghorn Longhorn Cable

Estes Vest, Est Vestes, Vestes; Day 10? I think that's right. This monogamous knitting could drive me batty.

Thank you, voting populace, for not choosing the lace on size 0s.



Not a whole lot of knitting time for Day 10. Mondays are never ideal, even for stay-at-home-moms.

I've been pondering the names of the stitch patterns in this vest.



In the above picture, the leftmost cable is called a Rope cable, no explaination necessary. The cable pattern on the right is called Hexagon. Refer back to geometry if this escapes you.

The final cable is called a Staghorn cable. It took me a while to figure this one out. Then, while taking my promised daily picture, I had the random thought: It sort of looks like a Texas Longhorn.



Or maybe a stag. I'm leaning toward the Longhorns myself.

Good to know, should I ever need to knit for any University of Texas alumni. Hook 'Em Horns and all.

Day 11 was much more productive.

Estes Vest: Days Three And Four

So how do you feel about a knitting blog getting back to its roots?

Estes Vest, day 3



I'm a little past the armhole here. I had a typical amount of knitting time today--a few moments snatched here and there between doing my chores, running errands and maintaining my children at a level of care slightly above reptilian.

And let me tell you, those crocodile moms are a tough act to beat.

Since Ravelry is basically a huge database for knitters, I'm able to search this pattern, look at other people's projects and see what problems they may have had. Regarding this pattern, there were a couple trends I noticed:

1. The vest seemed a little too cropped and
2. The armhole was too tight

Both situations are easily remedied. I added an extra inch to the length of the body (1/2 inch at the waist and 1/2 inch before the armhole decreases).

And on Day 4:



I added an extra inch to the armhole length. And cast on for the left front. Day four was the day of my SnB, so I had a good couple hours of knitting time.

Are you enjoying watching the development of garment? I think I might do the vote thing more often. It's healthy for me to practice monogamy. And stash busting.

And people pleasing.

You Voted, I Cast On. The Estes Vest

It amazes me. With as many posts as I've written about all the garments I've made for myself, you still think I need more. Well, you have spoken and who am I to betray my loyal following? I will make the vest. For myself. And there will be enough yarn left over to make a second one. For someone else.

Oops. Did I just say that?

As for the minority votes, I will make everything on the list eventually. Especially that baby sweater. That baby's not putting himself on hold despite your wishes.



Here's the victim, Lamb's Pride Bulky in pistachio. Per the instructions (Interweave Knits, Fall, 2008) the gauge is 18 stitches to four inches. In my swatch above I have 18 stitches, plus a couple extra on each side for selvage. It's about as close to gauge as it will ever be.

Hitting gauge on the first try is very exciting for a knitter. Sort of like following a tricky recipe and having it work. Or tackling a home project and only needing to go to the hardware store once.

After all the preliminary warm-ups, it's time to cast on and knit.



Day 1. I had lots of extra knitting time today because we took the kids to a local movie theater that shows cartoons on Saturday mornings and serves unlimited bowls of cereal. Also, Vicious decided he needed a two hour nap while the Businessman took Yummy to the hardware store (they're not back yet and it scares me).

A good, strong start to a project.

I should be bored in about four minutes and 23 seconds.

A Lacy Cardigan

My mom recently started a project and asked me to bring over my ball winder/swift so she could get the yarn wound up. As long as I was winding, she decided to pull all her stash out. Among the stash were 13 skeins of green yarn.

Me: Where did you get those?
Mom: Brown Sheep.

I didn't think there was any green yarn left in the store after I was done with it, but here it was, a sweater's worth of yarn, in green, a color my mom rarely if ever wears.

Of course it came home with me. The funny thing was, I had just downloaded a pattern I've had my eye on for a year or so. Interweave published it as a free download this summer. It needed a heavy worsted/chunky yarn and I had none in my stash.

Until 13 skeins of chunky green yarn jumped out of my mom's stash and into mine.



I started this July 3rd. I felt I had to finish it before my mom changed her mind.

Tailored Scallops by Pam Allen
Brown Sheep Prairie Silk in Greenback. 10%silk, 18%mohair, 72%wool

Nothing. Well...Maybe Something

My in-laws abducted my children Thursday, they will be returned in time for fireworks. Unless we forget to pay the ransom--I don't usually carry cash.

I spent the whole day with the Businessman doing nothing.

What I Made:

I made a dent in my summer reading...



...While taking a bath.

I started a project.



The Businessman did the same, except for the knitting and bath. He may have skipped bathing altogether.

But I am missing my kiddos.

Have a safe Independance Day. Regardless of what CNN and the tabloids tell you, it's still a great country.

Limmericks

I'm not sure what happened, but I was inspired to write some lovely limmerick poetry for today's post.

I apologize in advance.


Look, I'll even add pics of Unfinished Objects (UFOs)

A creative we'll call Mountain Mama
Worked with all media, including llama.
Paper, fabrics and lace
Duct tape had it's place
In her world of stay-at-home drama.




The Businessman feels he's in peril.
My diet is making him feral.
Though veggies are healthy
(And don't forget the vasectomy!)
Lack of meat might render him sterile.



The creator of this blog wishes
To call her kids Yummy and Vicious.
They play alternate parts
On the strings of her heart:
Yummy's moody and Vish is delicious!



My kitty cat is quite the honey.
You'll find him in places sunny.
In spite of his age
Our house is a cage.
He escapes to hunt mice, birds, and bunnies.

Beaded Peacock Shawl
Dragonfly Tunic
Seattle Sky Top
Woven Measuring Tape Handbag

An American Summer Top

Some people enjoy a good read about the journey of making a garment. If you're one of those, then by all means read on. If not, just scroll through the pictures.

What I Made:

When I got my VK SP/SU 2009 I eyed this top immediately. I loved the star motif and I immediately thought it would be cute in white and blue. Not that I ever have any big plans for the 4th, but now I have something to wear regardless.

I had a few concerns upon starting this pattern. Mostly stemming from knitting a garment in a circular fashion, making a VK pattern in a larger size, and worrying that it would look slutty once it was finished.



My original yarn, was some leftover Rowan Denim, which looks, feels, and fades exactly like denim jeans. I chose yarn in an antique white and thought, if I wanted to add red detail it would be a dried-blood red. But then I was one ball short of my blue yarn (and later learned I would have been two balls short) so I had to find an alternative. The best blue I could find was a bamboo wool blend, but the blue wasn't rustic anymore.

When I was finished with the knitting, I got even more concerned because the ladies at my SnB wondered what I was going to wear under it. It's not that I object to layers, but it is a sleeveless top, the blue yarn has a little wool, and I didn't want the look to be distracted by a bunch of excess strapage.

One lady also asked me about where the red was going to go. By this point I had decided to skip the red altogether. For one, there is one spot that has just enough contrasty interest:



And for another, I can wear this throughout the summer as is. If I add red, I'm limited to one or two days a year. And as the back turned out so nicely:



There is no concern about slutty-ness anymore. I've tried it with two different bras and all straps are hidden perfectly. The Businessman stated it looked nice on me (high praise from Mr Honesty himself) and I daresay it looks better on me than Violet, as I don't have a two inch crack running down my center.

Star Camisole bt Mari Lynn Patrick
Plymouth Earth Oceanside
RedHeart Eco-Ways Wool Bamboo

Hail To Thee My Alma Mater

I am a CSU Ram. This is vital information if you are going to journey with me through this post.

You also should know I love my Vogue Knitting magazine, gourmet yarn, baths and anything from Trader Joe's. Actually, you don't need to know about my TJ feti$h for this post, but you should remember this if you ever need to send me bribery hush money tokens of appreciation.

As a Ram, CU Buffaloes are my mortal enemies. It's sort of like Twilight's Vampires vs Werewolves subplot, except the whole country knows CU Buffaloes exist and no one, not even the Buffs admit knowledge of CSU. Throughout my college days, my mom and I became quite the Ram activists. If someone was selling a buffalo sculpture, ornament, book, etc. we asked if they had any rams. We were determined to equalize rams and buffaloes, one crafter at a time.

It's a tough job, being such an advocate.

Step it forward a few years, when I am enjoying one of those baths where the water is the perfect temperature and I could stay in there forever. I had my new issue of VK and I was reading the entire thing, including the ads.

Which is when I saw a prominent ad for yarn made out of buffalo hair. My first thought, at seeing this buffalo yarn...

Have you ever had a moment when you thought something so stupid, you were glad you didn't say it out loud?

Usually, I do say it out loud. It figures the one time my mouth was smarter than my brain, I decide to let my typing fingers take over. Of course, if I had spoken, I would have been talking to myself.

..."What?! Buffalo? I wonder if anyone makes yarn from rams?"

*crickets chirping*



Don't worry if ewe don't get it. I may have just pulled the wool over your eyes. Just be a lamb and forget you ever read this.

I know, I know. That was Baaaad.

What I Made:

When I moved back to Ft Collins I wanted to commemorate the occasion of taking a step backwards in my life by making an accessory I could wear to the football games. I hunted around and found a local designer who had designed a pattern for a felted cowboy hat.



So I redesigned the brim and made one. It was perfect. Until the day it had shrunk far too much for my head. I keep meaning to make another one.

Yes, the yarn comes from sheep. Undoubtedly, some of them were rams.

Green and Gold ones.

Felted Cowboy Hat by Pat Feeley
Cascade 220 100% wool

Hide And Seek

I started to knit something earlier but I got about a third of the way into it and was distracted by something shiny...or cashmere. Now, I'm almost done with a different project and thought that rather than weave in ends and finish edges, I'd let it gather some dust and pick up the aforementioned project.

Actually, if you were to warp that above paragraph (more) and add iterations which resulted in about 25 unfinished projects, you would have a fairly accurate description of my life.

Anyway, I needed to find the pattern. Close your eyes, count to 20, and then we'll seek.

This is the shelf where my magazines should live:



Filed loosely by year.

This shelf is an acceptable alternative for those times when I don't have time to file:



These obviously fell during a recent earthquake:



Didn't you hear about that? I'm pretty sure my house is directly on a fault line.

It would explain this:



Oh, those shelves used to be neat and tidy.

Well, the pattern doesn't seem to be living in My Sewing Room. Maybe it's in this bookshelf:



That crocheted monstrocity is a scrap blanket I'm making for whichever kid I like better on the day I finish it. For now, the cat sleeps on it.

Still no pattern. Maybe the shelves behind the couch:



Nope. Maybe in my makeshift end table, on the couch, or under my pretty chair:



Still don't see it. Where could it be?

In my knitting bag?



That's not it. How 'bout my other knitting bag?



No, not there.

Wait a minute...



What's that?



Ah ha! I found you!

Now...

...What did I do with the yarn?