The Good, The Bad, and The...

Have you ever bought cheap yarn that looked OK in the skein? Sure you have! I went to Jawoll in Germany, a discount store with all sorts of bobs and ends, from groceries to... well, yarn. And I saw this. Blues, greens, purples, burgundies... looks OK, right? It was cheap. It was self-striping. How bad could it be?


There are questions to which we do not really want to find out the answer. I cast on a pair of Stripe Tease for the SKA unusual construction challenge. I knit. I frogged. Tip: follow the pattern exactly as written, don't try to think. If you try to think for yourself, you'll mess up. Take my word for it, I did.
Anyhow... yes, I'm procrastinating showing you the next picture. Because it's downright pathetic, my poor, poor ugly sock. I hope it looks better when it's finished, because right now... well, see for yourselves.


The combination of unusual construction and unfortunate yarn choice is making the poor sock look like it's been massacred. So let's move on to happier things, like Blathnat.
Koigu KPM in a happy green, pretty lace, it's going well. I can still knit pretty socks! I sure need that reminder.


And yet again, I cast on for the Geodesic Cardigan. Let's hope it works this time around. The stockinette is curling in spite of the garter stitch edges. Maybe a good blocking will help.


I am off to work on my poor misshapen socks. Hope springs eternal. Maybe my ugly ducklings will turn into a beautiful swan...

Startitis

I have heard much about startitis, the almost pathological urge to cast on new projects, but until the last couple of days, I had never experienced it for myself. Now, I have a bad case of it.
Usually, swatching is a barrier to entry when it comes to sweater knitting. I don't want to do it. The start of a new project is my least favorite part of knitting, if you'll believe it. So you can imagine my surprise when I started swatching. Big swatches, too, not just a scanty inch to figure out if my gauge is anywhere in the ballpark. No, 4+ inches. For multiple projects. In fact, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to swatch for another project before work now.

Socks and... Not Socks!

This is going to be an interesting year in knitting. I have once again signed up for Cookie A's sock club, the rationale being that having some new yarn show up every two months will keep me from buying more at the yarn store. You know how it is. Stash yarn is nice, but every once in a while, you need something new and exciting to knit with.

These were made from stash yarn. See, I am knitting down stash. My feet are small and my ankles are skinny, so I have almost half a skein of the Meilenweit sock yarn left -- I see leftover socks in my future. But these are a simple 2x2 rib, 60 stitches, US 0 needles. Everyday socks that don't need to be washed too carefully because they're superwash.


You may or may not know that I signed up for 11 sweaters in 2011 and finished exactly 0. So I did the only logical thing: signed up to do 12 in 2012. Makes sense, right? Only this time, I want to at least get close. This is a (somewhat blurry) progress pic of my first sweater. It's done except for the sleeves.


That doesn't mean I'm not knitting socks, though. I have a good 5 or 6 sock projects in various states of completion. These are Hex socks, part of the October patterns from Cookie's club. The yarn is String Theory Caper. Love the colors, the stitch definition, the floofy softness. Beautiful yarn.


I have a business trip coming up and expect to have quite a bit of knitting time, so stay tuned for more knitting. Maybe by then blogger will have fixed whatever issue it is that's keeping me from leaving comments on people's blogs. I know I'm not the only one who's knitting away furiously.

Here We Are

2012. A couple of days in, right after the resolutions. Time to check in and see how it's g oing!

So far, so good. I'm knitting on... 5 pairs of socks? Maybe 6? I have a sock WIP for every occasion. The body of my current sweater project is almost done, and I have two shawls that need finishing -- as in, substantial knitting, not just washing and blocking.
The stash is shrinking. Trouble is, most of these don't come from my bedroom stash, which is supposed to shrink. They're coming from main stash.

It's a dilemma: knit what I want to knit even if it comes from main stash? Or stick with knitting from the bedroom stash even if it's not giving me that "want to knit this right now" feeling? Not sure.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, see you on the other side! Let's hope 2012 is a great one. I know so many people who have had a tough time of it in 2011; for us, it was an OK year, a year of healing and picking ourselves back up and being able to appreciate life again. 2011 is definitely going out on a better note than 2010 -- last year at this time, I was in the ER with an IV in my arm. This year, I have a non-working stovetop that emits carbon monoxide when it's on but does no harm when off. In the grand scheme of things, a non-working stove is very minor. A stove can be fixed or replaced more easily than many things in life.

I'm wishing all of you a wonderful 2012.

Geekery and Resolutions

Geeky baking! Yay! I bought cookie cutters for... ninjabread men. They kick, they punch, they taste really good. If I ever find myself with extra time on my hands or some kids to entertain, I'm going to build them a gingerbread dojo. That would be fun.


But it's closer to New Year's Eve than Christmas, so it's time to review last year's resolutions. There were only 3:

• Zero tolerance yarn diet: went well, except for the Swan Island worsted squishiness that happened yesterday. 2 skeins, soft and squishy. And I had to get some yarn from Sanguine Gryphon before they went out of business. Oops. Almost made it...
• Have at least one project in thicker yarn going at all times: well, not at all times, but I've knit several non-sock projects in thicker yarn. I can do better, though.
• Colorwork: Tried, the sock didn't fit. Waaaay too tight to make it over my foot. I'll try again.

So, all in all, it could have been better, but it could have been a lot worse (see yarn diet).

This year's resolution is going to be pretty darn straightforward -- and it's going to be just a single one, though it combines two elements:

• Don't buy yarn or fiber and knit enough to get all the freaking yarn out of the bedroom. It's a bedroom, not a secondary stash room. Get the yarn out!

That's it, really. Should be feasible, right?

Racing the Clock

With only a few days left until 2012, I am trying to get some WIPs out of the way. My wrist was giving me trouble, but now that it's better, I'm knitting away (responsibly, I assure you). And for the first time, I'm caught up on a sock club! This is one of the April offerings from Cookie A's sock club, Orange Pekoe.


Details:
Pattern: Orange Pekoe
Yarn: Hazel Knits sock yarn
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Comments: No changes, knit as written. Love the yarn! Crisp stitch definition, no fuzziness even after I washed it, no bleeding. A dream to work with.

The bad news: the yarn for the last club shipment seems to be MIA -- it hasn't shown up yet. Here's hoping it hasn't gotten lost out there, in the cold, hostile-to-yarn world. Let's hope it had something to do with holiday madness, and that it shows up soon!