Productive

I've been productive!  Now that I'm not taking classes, I have more time to knit.  And I'm finishing stuff!  These are Capitola socks, which I meant to knit two years ago and finally got done in November.  The yarn is Sunshine Yarns sock yarn, which is lovely.  The colors are beautiful, and it's soft.  Capitola may be my new go-to sock pattern, the fit is excellent.

Here they are on my feet.  I'm coming to the conclusion that ribbed patterns are the only thing that stays up on my legs.  Everything else slouches down, no matter how much negative ease.

The other thing I'd been meaning to do for a while is practice my colorwork.  These are Crystal Socklets from knitty, made out of bunches of leftovers.  They're still wet.  Action shot to follow.   Comment on the Crystal Heel: if you have a very slender, short heel, you may need more than .5" of negative ease.  My heel doesn't quite fill out the Crystal heel.  Or, as an alternative, you could leave out a couple of rows between decreases.

On the whole, these were fun.  I know they're all socks, but... I'm also knitting sweaters!  I know, me, sweaters.  They're not socks, but I'm enjoying the experience anyway.

Knitting, More Knitting, and BATS!

 I've been knitting leftover socks.  When you have small feet like me, there are tons of leftovers.  I've wanted to work on my colorwork, so I picked out the Crystal Socks pattern from knitty, dug up my bag of leftovers, and got started.  Here's the sock so far.  Notice the little yarn balls below?  That's a set of stitch markers I unwrapped from a yarn ball full of little packages, courtesy of my partner in a ravelry swap.  The green thing is a container you can squeeze together and use to store the markers.

I also finished another shawl.  For some reason, I was scared of shawls, and then, I wasn't.  Now, I can't stop cranking them out.  This is Birch Dreaming Deep by Janel Laidman, knit in Dream in Color Starry.  I wish you could see the sparkles.  This yarn is seriously pretty.

The whole shawl:

 

BATS!

Christmas Bats, with sprinkles.  They are a tradition at our house, and they were very yummy.

Happy New Year!

This year, I did not post any resolutions.  This year, I want to focus less on must-dos and need-to-dos and do-by-whens.  I am not a sponataneous person, and I do not expect to start living a completely unscheduled life.  But schedules get in the way of doing things because we want to be doing them, because it's what makes us happy at that moment.  I'm hoping to create more space for such moments.

In that sense, I hope you find 2013 to be full of joyful moments.  I hope it treats you kindly and brings you more happiness than pain.  Happy New Year!

Christmas at Casa Batty

After much working and studying, we finally have some time off.  Time to knit, time to snuggle in front of the fireplace, and time to watch the cats go nuts in the tree.

I participated in a Christmas swap with some people on ravelry, and I received this lovely hand-dyed yarn.  It had little surprises wrapped up in it, and I don't know if it's the packages or the pattern that kept me knitting.  Either way, it was hard to stop.  This is Stephen West's Pogona, knit on US #6 needles.  It's blocking, action shots to follow.

We got a white Christmas!  This is what I saw this mroning. Beautiful, isn't it?  We took a walk in the snow, stopped for coffee, then had waffles and little turkey sausages for breakfast.

When we unwrapped our gifts, I found these hand-made bat ornaments.  My Mother-in-Law made them for me, and I immediately hung them up.  Yay, bats!

The tree is fake, but if you think that keeps the cats from chomping... well, you probably don't have cats, or you don't have cats with an oral fixation bad enough to make Freud exclaim, "Now zis is a prime example of failure to resolve conflict during ze oral stage of development!  Zese cats vill never be right because zey cannot do ze talk terapy."  And he would be right.

Now that my class is over, I have more time to knit.  The knitting mojo is back!  I'll try to post more regularly and share some of the FOs that have been piling up unphotographed.  In the meantime, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.  I'm going to enjoy some quality flopping time, and then, the pie crust gets rolled out.  I may have overworked it.  We'll see.

All Moved In

It has been several months, and much has happened.  We have sold a condo, moved into rental housing for the transition, moved out of rental housing, and into our new place.  What a whirlwind the past few months have been!
I have a new computer.  My old blogroll is gone, I'll have to reassemble it little by little.  It will take time.  But I'm knitting again, spinning again, finally relaxed enough for some yarny pursuits.
And I have some catching up to do!

I knit some socks for my Dad.  Started last year, finished this year.  String Theory Caper Sock, one of my favorite sock yarns.  So squooshy, and the stitch definition is dreamy.

The pattern is Hex, which I got through the Cookie A sock club.  I forget if it was last year's or this year's, but I really enjoyed it.

These were knit in Merlin the Cat sock yarn in the Zombie colorway.  Happy zombies if ever I've seen them.  These socks make me happy.

Next up: some non-sock projects.  There is also some secret knitting going on, what with the holidays approaching.  But I can't share those quite yet, sorry.

This Blog is Not Dead

No, it isn't, even though I haven't posted in a month.  We are putting our condo on the market and hoping to move soon.  Getting ready for an open house is so much work, particularly when you have to pack most of your belongings to make the space look hip and minimalist.
And don't even mention the yarn.  Space bags, yarn, hours of sorting through stash and preparing it to go into storage.  That's right, my stash is in storage.  Protected from moths, I hope, and ready to come back out once we have sold this place and found a new one.
I have one bin of yarn, some fiber and my spinning wheel.  Let's see if I can knit/spin that down before we move.

Whew.

I am baaaaack!
It's been a long couple of weeks, work-wise, but I have made it through preparation for business travel, a trip that involved being fed information via the garden hose method while sick and trying to get a prescription for antibiotics to Ohio (not easy when your doctor is in MA!). But now, I'm home, caught up on work, and I have time to knit.

I still haven't taken pictures of the sweater that's been finished for months, it's been unseasonably warm and I haven't wanted to put it on. I have some finished socks, however.

This is the closest to what the color looks like in person. Except it's even brighter. In your face green!


This is what they look like on the foot.


And they've got a fancy heel too.


Details:
Pattern: Blathnat
Yarn: Koigu sock yarn
Needles: US #0
Comments: The color of the yarn is gorgeous, but there were quite a few inconsistencies in the spinning. Some spots looked really frayed, some looked underspun, and some were waaaay too thick. It worked out fine, but there were issues.

Oh, the cats say I need to post cat pictures. Well, here you go, cat picture.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Cosby Socks

It's busy season at work, but I had to stop by and share them, my finished Cosby socks. Thanks so much for noticing the resemblance! Mr. Batty and I couldn't quite place where we'd seen the pattern before, we figured it was retro and strangely familiar, but why? And then, you told me! Knitters know everything.


Pattern: Stripe Tease
Yarn: Cheap German sock yarn from Lidl
Needles: US #0
Size: 60 stitches total
Comments: Fun pattern, couldn't stop knitting it. I highly recommend the pattern. As for the yarn... there's a reason it was cheap.

SIP Sunday

It's Sunday, the perfect day for socks and sweaters in progress. I have been suffering from startitis, so I will restrict myself to projects I've worked on this weekend. Remember the ugly sock? It... hasn't turned out as swan-like as I would have liked. It looks more unusual than attractive. I almost didn't knit a second sock. But that would be cruel. Being an ugly sock is bad enough. Being an ugly sock that's all alone in the world would be horrible.


Not yet recognizable as much of anything is the neck of Rosamund's Cardigan. I said I'd be knitting sweaters in 2012. See? I am.


One of my Blathnat socks now has a heel. I'm loving the bright green. It's slightly variegated, just the tiniest bit. Very pretty yarn. Very pretty pattern.


There are several other socks in progress, at least one other sweater, and I've been eyeing some yarn/pattern combos for caston potential. Startitis... I've got it bad.

Spooky Things

It's the end of the month and I was going to do a big knitting progress post, but I'm currently serving as a cat recliner. This is a very important job, and one I take very seriously.

Instead of going upstairs to take pictures of my knitting, I'll share this little cross-stitch FO. Bats! And a little pillow you slip them into -- no finishing! Did I mention it has bats on it?


Now for the reason of the lack of knitting content. This is a closeup of the situation on my lap.


Yeah. I need to take pictures of my knitting soon. Once the cat leaves. If she leaves. This one has staying power.

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!

Merry Christmas!

Cats love Christmas. It's the day they get to play in brand-new boxes, surf on crinkly paper, and generally zoom around the house at high speed.


There are interesting new things to explore, their environment changes, and their humans are happy.


I got some great kitchen stuff, some fabulous librarian swag, a bunch of bat stuff... and I bought myself a gift too. Bat spindle, custom-painted for me by Yorkieslave on etsy. I love her work and her spindles spin like a dream.


Wishing a wonderful Christmas to all who celebrate, and to everyone else, a nice warm weekend!

End of Semester

I have made it to the end of the semester. Working full-time and taking classes is so much more complicated than being a full-time student. Neither is easy, but working and studying takes some serious changes in perspective -- and the ability to sacrifice free time.

But I did it. The final is turned in, the semester is over, I can get back to knitting and baking and having a social life. Yay!

On a Roll

I have a paper due tomorrow. So what do I do? Finish a pair of socks, of course! These were originally for my sister, but Mr. Batty pointed out that these colors might not be universally pleasing. So she's getting a different pair of socks and these are mine.


They twist in interesting ways. I had a lot of fun with them. Another great pattern from Cookie A's sock club!


The Details:
Pattern: Slide
Yarn: Opal 4-ply Regenwald in Schlange
Needles: US #1, 2.25 mm
Mods: I had to make steeper gusset decreases because my feet are tiny. Otherwise, knit as written.

And this is my brand new project bag. The colorful thing next to the cat. It has happy colorful kitties on it, which is not as attractive as the black cat. According to the black cat, at least.


Love this bag. Got it from Zoey's Boutique on etsy. Very well-made and lined so the yarn just glides out of it. I'm very happy with it.