Sock and Squirrel

I'm over the blahs! After frogging twice, I've made some progress on my sock pal socks. I'm using the CTH yarn because you couldn't see the cables in the LL. This is a crummy picture, but the sock is beautiful, if I say so myself!


At first, I wasn't sure about ML, but I'm getting the hang of it. and I love it.

And now, look what I saw through my kitchen window yesterday morning: this cute squirrel sitting on our neighbor's back porch. He would sit there, then stretch his little body all the way, with his feet on the porch and his little hands on the feeder, which would swing back and stretch him even further. I had a hard time taking pictures because he'd stretch, grab, sit back, stuff his face, then stretch again. Fast.


Here is the little guy in action. He stretched much further than this!

Frog Pond

This is so depressing. I was almost done with one sock pal sock when I realized the following facts:
1. I'd dropped part of a cable near the cuff.
2. In the Amethyst Stripe yarn, the cables are pretty much invisible.

So I frogged. The socks are 'due' soon, but I just couldn't see myself sending out something I wouldn't be happy to receive in the mail. Tonight, I'll rest, tomorrow, I'll swatch in the other purple to evaluate how things will look, then make up my mind. Ugh!

I got Valentine's Day!

In a box, from Libi! She sent me a wonderful box of chocolates, and this:


A hand-knit lace scarf! I'm simply blown away. The picture isn't the best because I took it myself, with only the bathroom mirror for reference. But it's lovely. In an orange that actually looks good on me (unlike the overgrown bangs...). It's soft. It's long. It's cushy. I can't stop petting it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I feel loved. A lot.

A Mystery Package

The mystery: Who is BlueHen?

I have no idea, but she sends awesome packages! She's my upstream knitty SP for round 8 of, and... look at all that yarn! I was floored when I saw the sheer amount of yarnyness. That's a beautiful skein of deep brown Alpaca, 2 skeins of wonderful blue yarn, and karaoke, which I've always wanted to try but never got around to buying. The colors are so vivid, exactly the kind of thing I would have picked out for myself!


Also in the picture: some chocolate-covered toffees that probably won't make it through the night, some tea with cardamon (yum!), and heart-shaped pasta for Valentine's Day.

Thanks for the amazing package, BlueHen -- whoever you may be!

The ML Experience

I'm using Magic Loop to knit my sock pal's socks -- one at a time, because it's my first time using this technique. My impressions so far:
It's easy. If you really know how a sock works, you don't have any trouble figuring out which needle to use when or which needle to pull out.
It's handy because you only have one long needle, not 5 out of which 1 invariably gets lost.
It's supposedly better for the join because you don't have gaps between needles. So far, I'm still getting gaps between needles, and worse than with DPNs. But maybe that'll get better with experience.
Once I figured out how to make the cable hang down instead of sticking up and getting in the way, things got a lot easier.
This is still a bit slow for me, but the longer I do it, the faster I'll get. Practice, practice, practice!
Next up: pictures of socks. I really need to hurry up to get them done in time for the deadline!

Blah

I've been feeling too blah to knit much of anything. This is making me feel particularly bad because I should be working on the socks for my sock pal. She deserves wonderful socks, and it isn't her fault that I'm feeling blah.
On the bright side, I got gauge! Don't know what happened, but I've gone from being a tight knitter to being a loose knitter. At least some of the time. With these socks, I had to go down a needle size. Now I'm using size 0 Addi Turbos. Yes, I'm doing Magic Loop! This is exciting. Not only are these my very first 'real' size 0 needle socks, they are also my very first ML project ever. I guess I'm ambitious.

The other interesting thing I have discovered is that when I feel too blah to do any knitting, I get the urge to spin. For some reason, spinning is even more soothing than knitting. Perhaps because it doesn't require me to concentrate on a pattern. All I have to do is sit there, spin the spindle, and let the yarn slip through my fingers. It's very restful.

Now I want a wheel.

First yarn

Ladies and gents, I present to you, hand-spun, Kool-Aid dyed and skeined, my very first yarn! Roving and drink mix were kindly provided by AKknitter, my SP from the fall/spooky SP round on knitty.


I've learned a lot from this skein. There's some roving left, but I couldn't wait to see the finished results. Yes, the dye job is uneven, but now I know to set the twist before dyeing. Scrunched-up parts don't soak up dye. Duh!
This little skein actually had to be soaked twice. The first time around, I forgot that you need to add weight to the bottom to set the twist. I got it wet again and put a large towel through the bottom. Et voila, she is done!

Midwest Moonlight (Red Scarf Project)

Unisex. Ahem. Well, the geometric lace pattern is kind of unisex, right? I can see a guy wearing this scarf, but then again, I've also seen the occasional guy who looked darn good in a man skirt. So maybe I'm not the best judge of what a regular guy would wear.

But I'm sending this scarf anyway!

Closeup of it blocking (the even squares on the side will revert back to being tilted once I take out the blocking wires):


Pattern Details:
Pattern: Midwest Moonlight from Scarf Style
Yar: Caron Simply Soft
Needles: US #8
Dimensions: Length was about 62" unblocked, it's probably grown an inch or two since. Sorry, I
feel too lazy to crawl around and measure the width!

Talk about procrastiknitting! I'm sending this off tomorrow morning. I hope it gets in by the 31st.

And now, I have nothing on the needles. Time to start Jespere's socks and Mr. Batty's sweater!

Saturday Spinning

I was going to go to the gym today. Just a couple of minutes of spinning first... ahem. About an hour is more like it. The 'top layer' and the yarn near the whorl are my latest attempt. The thick, slubby part is the stuff I produced during earlier attempts.


Clearly, this is a very diverse yarn. It goes all the way from slubby super bulky to fairly even fingering weight with the occasional little slub. What can I do with this? Any suggestions? I want to turn it into something other than a hank of handspun that just sits there!

Oh, and all of you fleece/wheel/spinning enablers: I guess I'm officially addicted to this. Once I get better at hand spinning, it'll be time for a wheel of my own!

Tomorrow: finished red scarf. It's a little late. I'll have to mail it myself.

Spinning interlude

I had a plan: finish my red scarf on Tuesday at a local SnB, then get started on Jespere's socks and the husband's sweater. It didn't happen. Why?

One of the ladies at the SnB brought in her portable spinning wheel! It was my first time ever trying to use a wheel, and I spent over 2 hours learning how to get it to go in the right direction (not at all easy), how fast to draft and treadle, and what to do when the wheel sucked all the yarn through the little gizmo with the hole in it (I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know what it is).
It was amazing. When I wasn't overthinking it, I actually managed to just sit and spin for a few minutes at a time! Then, of course, I'd notice, and there went the yarn. But I can tell it's addictive.

So today and tomorrow, I'll be knitting the red scarf like a crazy person. It's getting dropped off sometime tomorrow or Saturday, and then on to socks.

And dreams of owning a spinning wheel. That was fun!

Pr0n for Jespere

Le yarn est arrivee!

Now that there are options, which yarn will it be?

1. Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, a purple variegate with bits of... not sure what that color is, but it looks nice.


2. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in a blue-ish colorway with a small part that has a greenish tinge.


3. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in a lighter and darker pastel purple.


The colors in the pictures are pretty close to nature. Yay for sock yarn choices! Let me know which one you like, I'll start swatching right away!

WIP: Red Scarf Project scarf

Right now, this is the only thing I have on the needles. It's a scarf for the Red Scarf Project, and I'm hoping that it'll be done by tonight. It's a simple lace pattern, Midwest Moonlight from Scarf Style. I'm using Caron Simply Soft, which is very soft and has such a pretty sheen for a cheap yarn. I think Simply Soft is my new cheap yarn love!

FO: Samantha

This week, I'm having trouble with the knitty blog stalking theme because we're supposed to take a picture of our WIP's. The problem? They're all getting done!
Here is Samantha, the baby sweater dress I finished knitting in October. We've had a rocky relationship because seaming is not difficult, but hemming is a pain in the backside. I sewed on the last button just as our friend, the baby's father, was coming through the door. It's now on its way to baby Lilly.

Front of sweater:


Back of sweater:


Closeup of front with adorable flower buttons (the middle of each button is green). They were picked out with the help of several knittyheads when we took the big trip to WEBS last year.


Pattern: Samantha by Kate Gilbert (the old version, she has revised the pattern since)
Yarn: Aurora 4 in color 16, about 3.5 skeins
Size: A bit larger than the 12 month size
Needles: I don't quite remember, but I think they were US #4. I did go down a needle size for the hems on the sleeves but forgot to for the hems on the bottom.

The curling and unevenness is due to the fact that I hurried when I was taking pictures and didn't have time to lay everything out completely flat. The seams don't actually flare. I'm very happy with the outcome, and Lilly's dad liked it too.

Lace Blanket of Doom

It's done, the Lace Blanket of Doom! It's blocking upstairs. This wouldn't be possible without the blockers the husband bought me for Christmas.


And a closeup:


Pattern: Lace Leaf Throw by Fibertrends
Yarn: Lionbrand WoolEase Bulky
Needles: US 11, 32" Addi Turbo circs
Dimensions: h= 56", w= 64"

I thought it would never end, but now it's done!

It's starting to look like yarn!

Thanks to the wonderful advice I have received at knitty.com, here's my spinning improvement. We just got back from a 3 day trip, and I thought I'd give this another try. It's my second spinning attempt. I'm so happy because...
It's starting to look like yarn!

Here it is, all wound up on my spindle. The tufts are the much thicker, much more irregular results of my first spinning attempt, not entirely hidden by the much thinner layer of new... yarn! I still can't get over the fact that I just made something that is beginning to look like yarn.

Next: Pictures of my knitting WIPs for the knitty blog stalkers. Maybe even a FO, the Lace Blanket of Doom is nearing completion.

I made yarn!!!!

Ahem. Sorry. Just had to say it one more time.

Wiped out + Spinning HELP!

I was going to post pictures of the 8/10 finished blankie and of my Red Scarf Project scarf. But I went to the gym today, and it totally wiped me out. Getting back in shape after Lyme disease AND Parvo virus is hard. It's like starting from way below zero. But I'm going to do this. I'm going to be fit in time for one of this year's breast cancer walks.

Edit: Instead of eating and sleeping, I decided to try spinning for the very first time. After having a brain fart and dumping nearly an entire clove of chopped garlic directly into my pasta without sauteeing it first (thereby completely clearing my sinuses, killing any germs in my stomach, and acquiring rancid garlic breath), I should have known better. Instead, I produced this:

Somebody please help me! I don't expect my first handspun to be perfect, but this?
Why is it so tufty? Why are there over-twisted kinks at the bottom, near the hook (this is a top whorl spindle) that won't travel up the roving? What am I doing wrong?
Help!

Knitting, knitting, knitting

I've been knitting like a crazy fool! The Lace Blanket of Doom is almost done, I expect it will be finished before Friday. The sleeves of the baby sweater still need hemming. I did one, messed up the hem, will have to redo. Then, it'll be ready to block and seam... Maybe it'll get done while the recipient is still a baby? Let's hope for the best!
I also just started a red scarf for the red scarf project.
That's a lot of knitting.


My sock yarn still hasn't come in. I hope the nice e-Bay lady sent it out, I can hardly wait! One of the skeins is rainbow-colored yarn for my horrible bobble socks.

First FO of 2007: Turbulence

First FO of the new year: Turbulence from Knitting Nature. Another first: my first set in sleeves. They fit! I was nervous because I had to fudge things a bit because somehow, I was a couple of stitches off somewhere. But they're in. They don't bulge or pucker. And, best of all, the sweater is almost falling off my shoulders. This means that it should fit my sister just fine.

This is me wearing it.

The yarn is really difficult to photograph. Berrocco Softwist is very beautiful. It's a light wool with a strand of something shiny spun throughout. Unfortunately, the shine also reflects the light from my flash. Here's a picture with flash:

And here's one without. Didn't help much, did it?

Pattern details: Turbulence U-neck sweater from Knitting Nature by Nora Gaughan.
Needles: US4 for the ribbing, US6 for the stockinette and cables
Size: Small (36 inch bust)

Why this sweater: In her introduction to the pattern, Nora writes that the cables imitate the way river water flows around stones. Last year, my sister managed to overcome a great many obstacles, including a learning disability, and become a physical therapist. It seemed very appropriate that she should have this sweater.
As I was knitting and putting the pieces together, I thought about life with my sister in general. It is, I think, fair to say that it's always been very turbulent -- there's always something going on, there are always people around her, she's always doing something. We are very different that way. I'm an introvert, she's an extrovert. Even when we were growing up, no toy was any good unless there were other children to share it with. I was happy being by myself, but she was always off with someone, doing something, getting herself in trouble while somehow still believing that "somehow, it'll all turn out OK."
She loves people, and they love her in return. She loves a good party, but she has dedicated her life to making those who are in pain feel better. She has grown a lot, from a wild party girl to a (still occasionally wild) responsible adult.

Life with my sister may be turbulent, but it's never boring.

New Year's Resolutions

Not all of these are knitting-related.

1. I will finish my cross-stitch UFO. It has been sitting there for 7 years, that's enough.

2. I will try Fair Isle knitting. This one is left over from last year. What can I say, I'm a coward when it comes to colorwork.

3. Start holiday gifts in time to actually finish.

4. Knit more socks.

5. Knit a lace garment that has shaping in the lace part, not just the stockinette section.

6. Learn to crochet properly. By that, I mean learn to crochet something other than a dishcloth.

7. Get in shape. Not moving makes my inflammatory arthritis worse. Also, I need to get in shape so I can

8. do the breast cancer walk. It's in May, so I better get cracking.

9. Stop being a coward when it comes to applying for jobs. I mean, why?

10. Eat healthy. Junk food makes the hormones unhappy. Unhappy hormones make me unhappy. It's not a good thing.

And here's one that needs to get done before the New Year: Finish at least one of my knitting UFOs! 2 of them need assembling. At least one of them should be finishable by tomorrow!

Happy New Year, and I'll post pictures of the new FO if I succeed with that last bit!

Egg Nog!

Today, I've been feeling well enough to make Egg Nog. The end product is most yummy and not Salmonella-inducing, as the eggs are cooked for a good 7 minutes or so. Also, milk can be substituted for the alcohol if kids are present -- or if you just don't drink alcohol.

Here's a picture of the ingredients:


Heat 3 cups of whole milk in a heavy saucepan until it's just barely boiling. In the meantime, whisk together 7 eggs and 3/4 cup of sugar in a large bowl. The recipe says to then pour the milk into the eggs, but if you do that, you're likely to get scrambled eggs and milk, yuck.
So instead, I carefully whisk in milk by the 1/4 cup, pouring slowly with a cup measure and whisking vigorously all the while. The slow rise in temperature keeps things from curdling. No scrambled egg nog, yay!
After the first 3/4 cup or whole cup of milk whisked into the eggs, you can slowly pour in the rest of the milk -- while whisking!

Then, pour the milk/egg/sugar mixture back into the pot and cook on medium low until a thermometer registers 170 degrees (F, not Centigrade!). Pour custard-like mixture into a clean bowl. The recipe says to pour through a fine-meshed sieve, but I've never had to do that. It turns out perfectly smooth every time.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups of heavy cream, 1/4 cup cognac and 1/4 cup of bourbon or brandy. The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of both kinds of liquor, for a total of 2/3 of a cup of booze. I like to taste something besides booze. And I don't want to end up under the table after just 1 glass of egg nog!

Here's what the end result looks like:


Yum!

Let cool on the counter, then cover and refrigerate. It tastes even better the next day, after the booze has had some time to mellow.

Enjoy!