Conquering the Socks Demon

May 152012
 

Some are dedicated knitters of socks. They will tell you, “oh, I’m a sock knitter”.

What they ought to say is that they are SockS knitters. Because I am most definitely a sock knitter. I have knit many a sock. When it comes to sockS though, I seem not to be able to finish very often.

Second Sock Syndrome seems to be a well documented ailment among people like me. It has inspired many “solutions”, Two at a Time Cuff Down, Two at a Time Toe Up…and each time, I eagerly try. Because these new techniques are going to get rid of my Demon.

As it happens, apparently I’m not a big fan of Two at a Time. I think it’s because there the extra step of winding two balls of yarn, weighing carefully as you go to make sure you get 2 equal balls of yarn. And if there’s one thing I dislike more than knitting that second sock, it is winding yarn. (That deserves a post all on its own.)

And then, you have to knit the socks on either two circulars or magic loop. I use both methods all the time. Sleeves (I don’t like those either), mittens, tops of hats…But when it comes to socks, I can’t seem to do it.

Alright. I can do it. I just don’t like it.

You may say…”Don’t knit any socks!!” There’s a problem. My toes love hand knitted socks. To me, it’s such a huge luxury! I want a drawer full of hand knitted socks. (That’s Cookie A’s Monkey out of Wollmeise 80/20 in Clementine on my left foot, and a plain vanilla sock out of Sanguine Gryphon Eidos in Nuit on my right.) If you’ve never worn hand knitted socks, you are denying your feet a big treat.

So, I decided to face my Socks Demon head on this year. I took a full day class at Vogue Knitting Live in January with Cookie A. (She’s a great teacher, by the way.) I joined Cookie A.’s Sock Club. Because, I reasoned, if anyone can knock the Socks Demon out of me, it would be Cookie A!!!

She even had a suggestion for me. “Why don’t you knit one sock of each pattern (the Club comes with 2 patterns)? It’ll be fine if you are knitting it out of the same yarn!” (It’s a great idea, by the way, for others suffering from Socks Demon!)

Oh but I had other ambitions. My plans were big. I wanted to knit all twelve PAIRS of the socks that were coming to me in 2012.

I’m starting late (yes, I’m aware that we are almost half way done with 2012), but I’ve taken a big step. For my O.W.L. project for Harry Potter House Cup, I am knitting 3 pairs of socks. I’m on sock 1 right now, Wayward from the February shipment. I’m using Hedgehog Fibres Sock in Slytherin Jade. So far, so good. And maybe — just maybe — I can trick myself into thinking that the second sock is a different sock because the cables travel in the opposite direction!

Do you have socks on your needles right now!?

 

~Twisted

Popularity: 8% [?]

Slytherin Homework

May 132012
 

It looks like Maryland was a huge success! I’m glad you had a blast and can’t wait for my bundle of stink to arrive! I do wish you had come home with a wheel…..maybe someday I’ll drag you to the dark side!

School is in session and I’ve been working on my Harry Potter projects – two in particular. I’m determined to do what I can to add to Sytherin’s chances of reclaiming the House Cup. Remember my UnEvenstar? I’m using Cephalopod’s Nautilace in Hump Headed Spade Fish. After discovering my uneven star, I frogged way back to nearly the beginning of the first chart and now it’s coming along swimmingly. I’m on the 19th row of Chart 2, which according to seakame’s spreadsheet is a little over 13% done.  She did an Evenstar for her Owl last year, and had determined that one needs to do 1200 stitches a day in order to get it done in time. Even with the frogging and reknitting, I’m just behind two days, and so far, I’m not worried. Yes, Rams and Yowes, I hear you snickering, and I’m not amused…

I’m submitting Cloud’s Illusions by BooKnits for Herbology this month. I followed Bev’s suggestions for using up as much DyeForYarn Tussah Silk Lace as possible, and am just about to begin the lace border with the beads. My plan is to use some silver lined AB crystal like she did, and I’ll see how the silk holds up to them. If not, I’ve got other options. I just need to finish this up before I go on to my other projects I have planned.

I am aware that both of these projects look a bit washed out on screen, so to inject a little color, let me show you what I’ve been spinning! AllSpunUp’s 50/50 Silk Merino in Millefiori. I had tried spinning this earlier, and had varying success, as the silk wanted to be spun with a high twist, and I was just getting used to the double drive on my Matchless. I ended up throwing the curled mess away. I gave it another go this weekend, and I’m happier with the result. My plan is to Navajo ply it to make the colors pop. They are just spectacular.

I’m also trying to finish up my Mother’s Day Shawl – and have until the end of the month to do so. Though I’m rethinking whether or not Mom will wear a triangular shawl – she’s more of the wrap type. Muir, anyone?

~Purled

Popularity: 7% [?]

SO MUCH TO WRITE, Part 3: In Which I Declare That I Hate Lace.

May 102012
 

I have been knitting lace left and right. Or it seems to me, since March, when I went into panic shawl knitting mode. Since then, some test knits kicked in (no fault other than my own), and I had loaded up my needles with shawls….so it was as if all I was knitting was lace.

So I did a couple of things. I cast on a garter stitch project. A moebius!!! It’s in DK (it feels so….THICK), orange (I’ve been in a goth red color palate for some time now), and cashmere.

And I pulled out a WIP….the stockinette sweater of doom, the Vitamin D. Why is it, that I can knock out a big shawl in a week, that it takes me months to do a single sleeve!?!?!?

Working on these things definitely cured my Lace Hate. These are some of the things that are currently on my needles…

A Mother’s Day present (dinner on Saturday night. I have to finish knitting this like right now)….Romi Hill’s Meadowgold in Saffron Dyeworks Heaven…I mean Odara in Blue Greyonyx:

I finally got to the lace section of Flukra by Gudrun Johnston, and this is out of Hedgehog Fibres Silk Merino Lace in Grit (club colorway. So pretty.)

And then I knocked out a few Harry Potter projects…a lacy hat that will be match with my garter moebius (if you do not have the book Weekend Hats, I highly recommend it!!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Ictis, by BooKnits our of Tosh Merino Light in Winter Wheat for MadMay. And yes, the shawl is draped on a dog crate.

Oh, and I started on my OWL project — for which I am knitting three pairs of socks — Wayward by Cookie A. in Hedgehog sock in Slytherin Green!

 

What are you working on?

Popularity: 8% [?]

SO MUCH TO WRITE, Part 2: MDSW – In Which The New York City Girl Becomes an Assistant Sheep Fitter and a Booth Babe

May 092012
 

I’ve a good friend who lives next-door to a very serious fiber junkie. She’s a total spinner gone rogue — and raises sheep for fleece. I’ve met her before, and this year, decided that I should go help her prepare and show at Maryland Sheep and Wool.

You must be thinking….what does a Tokyo born, New York City living financier know about sheep? Remember? This City Slicker has BORDER COLLIES, and used to work livestock (for fun) with them. I’ve touched on sheep, I’ve wormed sheep, I’ve trimmed feet, I’ve vaccinated and I’ve weathered.

So… I went down to Comus, MD last week, to moonlight as a sheep helper at Shepherd’s Hey Farm. Armed with Clara Parkes’ Knitter’s Book of Wool, I figured that  at the very least I would learn something about fleece, and different breeds of sheep. And figured that the absolute worst that could happen is that I would come home determined to spin.

It was AWESOME. Not only did Shepherd’s Hey Farm do amazingly well in the sheep ring in the natural colored long wool category, Lee Langstaff was a fantastic wealth of information and since she was on the festival committee for fleece…I volunteered for the fleece sale and got to see and touch all kinds of fleece. (And ask a lot of questions, but I’m an analyst by trade and training so what can I do?)

One thing is for certain. I love fleece. It’s so interesting to see all the different breeds.

And no, I did not come home with a spinning wheel, but I now know that you can buy a fleece and get them processed and spun into yarn!!! (I always thought you had to have big volume but there are places that do small quantities.)

And boy did I pick up a fleece for you. Here she is in all her glory. I was kind of surprised when this fleece didn’t sell on Saturday, especially after this girlie won a blue ribbon for best yearling ewe in the show ring. I grabbed it. Meet Plover, who was born on 2/8/11. She’s 50% Romney, 31.3% Border Leicester, 12.5% Lincoln, and 6.3% Corriedale. Her fiber diameter is 33.3 microns, and she is gorgeous. Even off the hoof. Check her out:

I will send her to you as soon as I find a box big enough and when it stops raining. Unless Finn and Lucy convince me to keep it. You better hope for sunshine soon because I am falling more and more in love with her!!!!

I have not seen any photographic evidence of me helping Lee fitting sheep (trimming up for the show ring). Needless to say, I was filthy, and smelled of sheep, and covered in lanolin and fluffs of fleece. So much so that I think I scared the folks at the Mid Atlantic Border Collie Rescue booth at the festival. I showed them how the convertible leash works (it’s an amazing leash in gorgeous leather, but one for all your dog friends for Christmas from the MABCR store!), bought a T-shirt for my friend Jennie, helped a few folks with toys, and then left. (My Finn and Lucy both came from MABCR — here’s a gratuitous photo of me helping out at the MABCR farm):

When I wasn’t scaring the border collie people with my sheepy odors and getting covered by sheepy remnants, I took on another duty.

I was Jennie The Potter’s boothbabe.

I went there, intending to sit with Jennie and Amy Detjen, chat and knit. I started off as a Ben (Jennie’s cute little baby boy who was born right before Rhinebeck) Holder. After he gave me a new hairdo, I think I knit 2 inches (not vertically — I am talking 2 inches horizontally) before I was wrapping wares. And then selling. Her booth was busy! I should mention that I had on a PURPLE shirt. People, I hate purple. But what can I do? It was better than a bra top. And Jennie gave me a T-Rex Medal for Best Boothbabedom!

Oh and I’m sorry I did not get you the MDSW special mug. I didn’t even know there was such a thing until Amy gave me one — she had bought one for me. She hand it to me as she announced that she was coming to stay with me for 6 weeks instead of 2 days in a couple of weeks (She is teaching at the Big Apple Knitting Guild retreat). I better go hide my purple yarn!!!! Oh yeah, I don’t have any!!!!

Stay tuned for Part 3, wherein I proclaim that I Hate Lace.

~Twisted.

 

Popularity: 9% [?]

SO MUCH to Write, Part I — Test Knits (Maidenbklyn and BooKnits)

May 082012
 

I have so much to write about. This is going to have to be a three part post.

First of all, the test knits. Because I actually finished these BEFORE(-ish) Maryland Sheep and Wool.

Sweet Dreams. Yes, another test knit for BooKnits. I am so NOT a beaded, lacy shawl person, but when it comes to Bev’s designs, I cannot help myself. Sweet Dreams is a crescent shaped, lacy, beaded shawl with a picot bind off edge….which I think at this point is definitely a BooKnits signature style. I absolutely love the lace pattern on this shawl, and it is beaded throughout. I usually bead more than called for, but I didn’t have to with this one! My shawl was knit out of Verdant Gryphon Mithril in American Gothic. American Gothic is the equivalent of the Peacock Butterfly colorway in Bugga!, which was one of the Valentine BonBon colors for 2012. It is a purply, goth red and it is absolutely gorgeous. I knew, as soon as I saw the inspiration images for Sweet Dreams that this was the right yarn, and I needed to bead it in black. I didn’t want to overwhelm the yarn though, so I used #8/0 jet round beads. I’m definitely making a fingering version of this shawl, and have been eying my custom dyed Lichtfaden tussah silk…and I am thinking about really blinging out the shawl with faceted beads (hex beads most likely, although I am intrigued by the triangular beads that Bev uses). I can’t wait for my next test knit assignment — although both Bev and I are busy with the MadMay KAL for BooKnits this month! (I’m knitting a modified — of course — Ictis, and I am making a two colored New Beginnings).

Forbidden Flowers. I adored the intricate lace border on this shawl as soon as I laid eyes on it. I got friendly with Marisa Hernandez/Maidenbklyn when I made her Shady Lady shawl, and was delighted when she wanted me to test knit this one for her. Marisa worked so hard to make that lace pattern fit within the shawl…you can tell how much she worked it by just looking at her project page. She must have that shawl in every shade of blue and purple! I love her designs because they are not taken straight out of a stitch pattern book. Her shawls are so quick to do that they are great to have in your back pocket for a quick (but not quick looking) gift. It didn’t even take a full skein of Cephalopod Yarns Skinny Bugga! that I used for this shawl. Was this your first test knit? (I went artsy with the photo here since your photo from the last post is a gorgeous sample of the lace!)

Other knitting news will be in Part 3 of the posts I will be putting up. (No witty title yet.)

Next up, Part 2: In Which The New York City Girl Becomes an Assistant Sheep Fitter and a Booth Babe.

Stay tuned!!!

~ Twisted.

 

Popularity: 13% [?]

Pride Goeth Before…

May 062012
 

I hope you’re enjoying Maryland Sheep & Wool! I’ve been knitting…

First off, I finished a test knit for Marisa Hernandez, aka Maiden Brooklyn. Forbidden Flowers was released this week. I used Wollmeise 100% in the Moses Colorway. I adored the lace border and edging. This shawl is not your run-of-the-mill garter crescent with a lace pattern thrown on the edge. Rather, it’s well thought out, with interest throughout the body of the shawl, ending with a lace edging that is simply stunning. Marissa does some beautiful work, and her both her creative talent and grasp of the elements of lace really shine in this piece. It’s a winner.

Speaking of talented lace knitters, I’ve started my Cloud Illusions shawl that I intend to submit to Harry Potter House Cup and will give to my niece for graduation at the end of the month. It’s the first time I’ve used DyeForYarn Tussah Silk and I’m enjoying both the color and the way it’s knitting up. Bev suggests using a different sort of yarn over for the edges of the shawl where you come over the top of the needle with the yarn then bring it behind to knit the next stitch. I completed the garter portion of the shawl and just wasn’t happy with how uneven the yarn overs looked doing this way, so I frogged all the way back and began again. The silk is holding up just fine the second time around, and I’m about to start the lace portion. For those of you who are using the same Tussah Silk I am, which comes in a 760 yard skein, and want to get the most bang from your buck by using it all up, Bev, the designer, suggests knitting the smaller shawl body and then goes on to write:

…I don’t think you will get two complete lace bodies out of the skein but if you knit to (and including) Row 44 (all of the small lace body and almost half of the large lace section) then leap to Row 65, Row 66 and then the Lace Border Pattern for the large body. That way you get one and a half lace sections and all your stitches will fall correctly and you will have enough yarn for the picot edge.

Speaking of all things lace, things were going swimmingly, or so I thought, with my Evenstar. I had done a good amount of reading in the forums on Ravelry, watching for any potential pitfalls and errata. When I knit my swatch up, I was a wee bit bugged by how the stitches weren’t entirely symmetrical. Take a look:

The three stemmed thing in the circle begins with several stitches knitted into the front and back of the stitch. However, once those stitches are divided into 3 separate points, the point on the left still leans to the right. They don’t all fan out from the center evenly. I was going to live with it, until I found a two year old post by dejaytigre who is admittedly a symmetry freak like myself. He did some experiementing and posted suggestions in the forums how to get the lace to look more even – details can be found here. Once he was done, his corrected swatch looks like this:

Much more evenly lined up, don’t you think? When I was knitting Juneberry for you, it really bugged me that the shawl was not mirrored. I thought MIKBF was more exacting than that, but maybe he has better things to do with his time other than mulling over swatch symmetry. However, these are the things I think about while falling asleep at night. Another reason to be glad you’re not me.

Armed with a wee smile of smug satisfaction, I began on chart One, substituting more perfectly symmetrical stitches for the original. I was sailing along, and moved up to a circular needle and um….Uh Oh.

That sucker in the circle belongs about three stitches to the right.

Note to self..when feeling all virtuous because you’ve decided to make the perfectly symmetrical Evenstar, it’s important to follow the pattern sequence. Otherwise you end up with an UnEvenstar.

~Purled

Popularity: 13% [?]

Everyone Needs a Hump Headed Spadefish

May 042012
 

It’s been a busy week after being sorted into Slytherin for the Harry Potter House Cup. Along with my non knitting life being full, I wanted to hit the ground running as soon as the classes were posted!

Let’s talk about last term – I never did finish my Owl. I just lost steam on it, perhaps dissuaded by the fact that steeking was supposed to happen. I also had become enchanted with my Katanya, which I finally blocked this past week. It turned out even better than I had hoped. Using Wollmeise 100% in Vamp rather than lace gave it a luxurious drape and feel. I ended up using 2.2 skeins – 1265 yards. I couldn’t be happier with it.

But back to Owls – this term when trying to decide what to submit, I decided on a project that I have long been wanting to make, but feeling that I would require the structure of a deadline in order to keep going with it. Add to that the fact that in being sorted into a House gives me even more motivation to finish it – hopes are high in Slytherin to win the Cup this term, and I want to be able to contribute to that!

I chose Evenstar, by Susan Pandorf. It’s sort of a right of passage as far as beaded circular shawls are concerned. It’s a magnificent design, and luckily some magnificent yarn landed in Nantucket this week: Nautilace from Cephalopod Yarns! Four skeins of Hump Headed Spadefish made up of 40% baby camel down, 60% silk were enough to convince me that-

Gaia Lace is so 2011. Nautilace is where it’s at.

~Purled

Popularity: 14% [?]

A Short One…Harry Potter House Cup (HPKCHC) Sorting!

Apr 272012
 

Your Meadowgold (Romi Hill) is looking great! My shawl, in Saffron Dyeworks Odara, is coming along as well but I am currently up to my eyeballs in my non-knitting life and am barely managing to steal an hour or so of knitting a day.

I love the bell flower lace pattern that goes down the spine of the shawl, and have beaded that for another project that is languishing in my UFO pile. The Odara version of the shawl is for Mother’s Day, and I want to do a pretty lemon yellow version in lace for me (at some point). In this yarn:

I have been talking with Andrea of At Bullard Farms about yarn colors for a little bit. She does amazingly clear colors on great bases, so I had asked her to dye some yarn for me. I was relatively specific in my wishes, and when she recounted a story about how her version of a certain color was not one of her customer’s version of the color…I decided that I needed to at least look at some Pantone chips and be specific. MY MISTAKE. I received an incredible package from her, and all the colors were SO on point!!! And if I didn’t think keeping all the yarn was hoarder-ish, I would. Don’t get me wrong, I am keeping way more than I should. I will talk about her yarns in a lot more detail so consider the above photo a teaser! I will certainly be casting on projects with her yarn very soon!

As for other knitting news, I will be going to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival next week. I am going mainly to help a friend with showing her gorgeous sheep (she’s got 8 entered), which gets shown (like dogs!) on Thursday, and am helping with the fleece sale on Friday. I GUESS I will have to check out some yarn on Saturday/Sunday!!!! Maybe I will do a “hot yarns” post in a couple of weeks?

The other event is that the Harry Potter Knitting & Crochet House Cup had the spring term sorting a couple of days ago. Apparently, nearly 700 students were sorted into their respective houses!!! I am a SSSSSSSlytherin….as expected and as I wanted, and am in a “nest” with my Knitting Group friends. There is already much plotting for Cup Domination and the competitive fire under everyone in my nest is LIT. I think it was a blow that they did not win The Cup last term, and there are some people who are talking about very very massive goals this term!!!!

You got sorted into Slytherin too, YAY! Have you plotted out some of the advanced studies projects yet?

 

~Twisted

Popularity: 14% [?]

Spring Fever with a Spoiler!

Apr 222012
 

Spoiler Alert! Pics of the new Romi Hill Pins and Lace Pattern ahead!

I’ve got spring fever…

I’ve breathed new life into my Wollmeise Rock Island, and began picking up stitches. The nice thing about this pattern is that the long rows are in the beginning and get shorter as you go on. The not so nice thing is that I’m finding the beginning of the Rock Island chart a little fiddly, so frogged back several rows to the garter to begin again. I took a little break, which will be much shorter than my last year long break, and will take another whack at it soon. My plan was to have this done for my sister’s birthday – which oddly is the same as your deadline, May 7. However, I’m planning on seeing her face to face at my niece’s graduation at the end of May, so that may have to do. (Speaking of which, I can imagine my niece all dolled up in a Booknits bejewled shawl…it could be just the thing!)

Speaking of gifties, Romi Hill released the second pattern of her Pins and Lace Club and I’m pretty excited about it! Next go round with the club, I’ll opt for the yarn option as well as pattern and pin. As soon as I got the pattern, I ran out to Flock, my LYS, to try and choose the perfect yarn. As much as I hate to admit it, your yarn and pattern matching choices are usually flawless, so there was no way I was going to leave such a gorgeous pattern to chance! I brought my iPhone and superior texting abilities with me, and here’s how it went:

You: Get some Tosh Merino Light for it. What do they have?

Me: As pastels go, here are two choices: 

 

 

You: How about Tosh Sock?

Me: Here’s what they have for Tosh Sock:

 

 

You: Nope…What about Squishy? Do they have Squishy?

Me: Yup – how about any of these?

 

 

You: Nope. I think it has to be yellow though. A butter yellow.

Me: Here’s some yellows. I’m not crazy about them for this pattern though.

About an hour and 40 texts later:

You: Okay, what else do they have?

Me: Dude! It’s a yarn shop 30 miles out to sea, not Manhattan! There’s cashmere…I want one of these.

You: The one on the left is two ply – too small. Hey wait a minute, the other choice listed on the pattern is a laceweight. 

Me: Oh good! *Looking around the shop starting to feel a little dizzy as a plethora of new possibilities emerge*

You: Hey look, it’s been about two hours now and I have to get some things done here.

Me: Geesh! I was high on yarn fumes and lost track of the time! Has it really been that long? I’ll pick something! Thanks!

And much later:

You: What did you pick?:

Me:  

I brought home the Jade Sapphire 2 ply Cashmere Silk laceweight, and cast on last night. Thanks for the help with the fiddly start! I’m happy with how it’s turning out and love, love, love the pattern!

How’s yours coming along?

~Purled

Popularity: 26% [?]

And The Wollmeise Winner Is….

Apr 212012
 

Thanks so much to all of you who entered! The winning comment was number 2 – Trish. I’ll be contacting her and asking for her address. There were a total of 44 comments, minus the 5 that Twisted and I made. (If those comments had been selected, we would have used the RNG again).

This was way fun, so we’ll be doing another giveway/contest very soon.

Happy knitting!

~Purled

Popularity: 18% [?]

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