stash, knit, repeat

(Edited to add: I think I’m going to do my inbox a one-time favor and just publicly say thank you SO MUCH to everyone who commented on the Cleopatra Wrap. All of the wonderful compliments and well-wishes really meant a lot to me during these past gross weeks.)

Well! That was longer, more stressful, and more lacking in the internet department than we expected. Fortunately, we’re all here safe and sound. The boxes are far from gone, but I kind of have a craft room now!

Jacob is all settled for summer camp and preschool in the fall, I continue my part time work tomorrow after a nearly 1-month hiatus (thank goodness), and someday my stash will even have a home. Things are still hectic and disorganized, but hoo boy are they getting better rapidly.

Including my knitting! I’ve had a terrible time knitting-wise, these last few weeks. I’ve started and ripped no fewer than 4 different socks. Frustrated by pooling semi-solid/shaded/whatever you want to call it sock yarn, I bought some Cascade Heritage in a beautiful solid blue-gray for another try at Rivendell. I think I have a winner, this time.

Keep your fingers crossed for me?

Let’s just say that I’m not the world’s most patient person, generally.

Then there’s the pregnancy (officially reached: the bloated cranky stage), the upcoming move (omg omg 2.5 weeks omg omg), nervousness about a thousand things big and small that aren’t done yet (eek preschool waiting lists for crying out loud)…

…well, to nobody’s surprise, these things aren’t magically combining into a relaxed, summery, stress-free mood around here. It’s even starting to affect my knitting.

To be fair, it’s not only the stress that’s making me obsessively check my progress on the little kitchen scale. (40% done.) (Not that I’ve checked within the last hour of knitting time.) (Twice.) The stress plays a part, I’m sure, but so does the fabric slowwwly coming from my needles. In a perfect world, lace would not look like fiber vomit right up until the moment it’s pinned out. Since this world isn’t perfect, I occasionally get glimpses of texture that make me long for an FO.

The rest of the time, this gorgeous yarn looks like total crap. Seriously. I don’t know how it’s possible, either.

The knitting is going well, though. Now that I’m past the edging, the lace is so easy I can do it anywhere: Next to Jacob while he builds yet another train track, in front of the tv at night, talking with other knitters. It’s really nice to know that I can just knit and knit and knit, basically until I run out of yarn, without a care. Like toe-up socks on a larger scale. As a reminder, this is the construction allowing that:

Knit edging 1, knit edging 2 and then the body of the stole, graft. Also, remember what I said about the pinning giving the lace grace and fluidity? This is what I meant by that–the bottom edging isn’t pinned out at all–it’s what the stole looks like hanging from the needles. (More or less, anyway.) Oh, and the size difference there is lying more than a bit–the spare needle I have the first edging on is quite a bit longer and gives the stole more space to spread out.

Relaxing knitting though it is, and as impatient as I am to get the shawl done, I still feel like I need something else on the needles. Preferably socks.

I might make faster progress if I could make up my mind about the pattern. Or the yarn. At least I’ve narrowed the latter down to a particular brand?

Since neither of these projects took a full week to complete, it feels a little strange to do two separate FO posts. Thus!

Pattern: “Beret and Socks” from Debbie Bliss’ Baby Cashmerino 3 booklet

Yarn: Baby Cashmerino, in the recommended colors.

Time Elapsed: Something like 5 days? Ridiculously little.

Notes/Modifications: I wrote about the completely bizarre construction of these socks here, so I won’t repeat the whole saga for you. The conclusion is that unless you’re deathly afraid of dpns, I’d strongly recommend just knitting these socks in the usual way. Either way, the end product is likely to be darling.

I think I would recommend knitting the beret flat as written, just because the whole darn thing is garter stitch, which I find easier flat, and if you knit it flat you get to choose which side to make the RS. I preferred the subtler stripes of the “WS” of the work, but others may like their color changes more bold. Any way you do it, this is a super-quick, super-cute gift set. Four thumbs up!

*****

Of course, the entire time I was knitting the baby socks, Jacob asked if they were for him. It’s not like the kid has been shy about his love for hand-knit socks–he always gets a day or two with any pair I knit myself. What kind of a bad mother am I, not to have realized he wanted his own?

Pattern: Generic sock construction over 48 stitches.

Yarn: Leftover Lorna’s Laces from some socks I knit one of my mother-in-laws. I think the color was called Ravens-something-or-other?

Time Elapsed: Far too little for this to be my first pair for him

Notes/Modifications: Not much to say, here, since I wasn’t exactly following a pattern. I did 1×1 rib at the top, then 3×1 rib for most of the body of the sock.

I knit the heel until it looked right, and decreased the toe until it looked right, too. They’re a smidge long for him, maybe 1/8″, but since his feet are growing at such a crazy pace I decided to just leave it instead of ripping out and re-doing the toe shorter. Not that I’d be able to get them off his feet anyway–he’s worn them non-stop since I finished them. He even demanded that he wear them again today, to show his pre-school teacher. “With sandals, Mommy, so Miss Auburn can see them.”

You’d think, with all of that wearing, I’d have some good FO shots. Sadly, a toddler in motion remains in motion, so most of them are a variation on this:

(At least his feet are warm?)

Concluding the short parade of sweet little girl knits, I finished the baby beret/socks set for my colorist’s new little girl recently. I’ll do a separate FO post to keep my notes in one place, but I had to tell you about the way these little socks are constructed. Strangest. Things. Ever.

When finished, they look like normal socks. But they’re knit flat. (Recommendation to anyone doing these in the future? Just do them in the round. But my visualization skills are poor enough that I couldn’t get that from the pattern.)

After knitting down to where one would usually begin the heel flap, you begin half of the heel flap, and then turn half of the heel.

Knit back, and do the other half of the heel.

Pick up the gusset stitches as you usually would, except, you know, not in the round.

Knit flat, decreasing those gusset stitches, until you get to the toe decreases.

Weave the yarn through the remaining stitches and then seam up the back.

Now, these are for a 3-month old, so the seam inside isn’t as huge a deal, I guess, but I had to wonder while I was going through this little puzzle: Why on earth wouldn’t one just knit the sock in the round? It’s not like size 3 dpns are that unweidly. It’s a mystery, like picking up the picot cast-off stitches on the matinee coat. Next time, though, I’d just knit the socks in the usual way and save the seaming.

Of course, the whole 2 days I was knitting these socks Jacob was constantly asking if they were for him. I realized that while I’ve done sweaters and that one scarf for him and some booties when he was totally wee, I’ve never knit the kid a pair of socks. How terrible is that?!

Well, needless to say we went right up to the sock yarn leftovers bag and he picked something out that he really liked. Hence, April’s installment in the year of socks will be a much-overdue pair for a very impatient 2-year-old.

Though the blog posting is very late, my March installment of the year of socks was done pretty much on time.

Pattern: Anastasia socks, from the incomparable MintyFresh

Yarn: Sunshine Soft Sock Yarn, in colorway “Emerald Isle”

Time Elapsed: A couple of weeks, including a major rip-out. Pregnancy brain strikes–these are actually very quick.

Notes/Modifications: Given the colorway of these socks, and the fact that I started them at an Irish pub, I have been calling them my St. Patrick’s Day socks. It’s fitting, don’t you think?

About the only major modification I made to the pattern was to use Wendy’s fantastic toe-up gusset pattern for the heel.

I suspect I could have gotten away with doing even more increases, but these are SO comfortable, and my ankles are so swollen already, I can’t be too sure. Wendy’s pattern is saving toe-up socks for me–only with the comparison did I realize how poorly short-row heels fit my foot.

I also added a few stitches to the pattern, going to 66 from 60 since I have a wide foot. This was trivial to do–I just added a stitch or two between the spiraled eyelets. And that’s it for modifications. The pattern is just fantastic–I love the way the eyelets add interest without interfering with the yarn’s variegation. I’m likely to use it again.

The yarn is also gorgeous and soft, and beautifully dyed. Dani is really a wonder woman, because I’m about the hardest possible person to please in terms of variegation. But this yarn was perfect: evenly blended color that was so resistant to pooling I could even get through the gussets without splotches. The only thing I’d do differently next time is knit the yarn on size 0 needles instead of size 1, but your mileage may vary since I like a really firm fabric for my socks. (I find that the firmer the fabric, the longer the sock life.)

There were some predictable troubles with carrying out our photo shoot:

Jacob likes to play around with all of my socks, but these seem to be a particular favorite. Probably because they’re softer than clouds made of concentrated kitten fluff? (Seriously, I can’t think of any sock yarn I’ve used that feels more wonderful against my feet. I’ll let you know how it wears, as time goes on.)

There were also a bevy of unpredicted troubles with the photo shoot. Well, one problem, really, manifested in several different ways.

I wonder how long it will be before I need to enlist assistance?

Usually I like to finish one thing before starting another. Not true at the moment, apparently. Exhibit A:

Anastasia socks in Sunshine Yarns, “Emerald Isle”, cast on for St. Patty’s Day. These will be my March socks. They are wicked fun to knit, and toe-up gussets are the coolest things EVER, and I can’t wait to wear them.

Exhibit B:

A nearly-finished Matinee Coat (Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino booklet), for our babysitter’s new baby. This one just needs seaming, ribbon, and a picot hem. Probably a few hours of work, tops. And so cute! But, Exhibit C:

Instead of finishing either one of these worthy projects, neither of which will take much time at all, I cast on for a baby vest that I have no hope of finishing by the time I see the recipient tomorrow. Why? Who knows! It’s cute, though.

(Cable Tank Top from the Baby Cashmerino 3 booklet, smallest size.)

At least finishing all 3 of these up by the end of March is highly likely?

It’s not the right season, necessarily… but Jacob is more than pleased with the latest sock addition, anyway.

(I think he likes socks that match his hair the best of all.)

Pattern: Conwy from Nancy Bush’s “Knitting on the Road”

Yarn: Sundara sock yarn, color “Bronzed Sienna”

Time Elapsed: A couple of weeks, ish?

Modifications/Notes: I made two major modifications. First, I shortened the leg of the sock considerably (2.5 inches, I think, in all) to support slightly lower yardage and my own sock preferences. These are about 6.5 inches long from the cuff to the top of the heel flap.

I also omitted 6 stitches of decrease, resulting in a 66-stitch sock instead of a 60-stitch sock. (You start with 72 and then decrease down.) I also also didn’t like the look of the charted decreases–they seemed like they’d produce a big ol’ stockinette portion on the back of my sock. Not the look I was going for. So I fiddled some and did the decreases thusly:

You can pretty much figure out what I did from the picture, but it might help to know that I started on round 1, decreased two stitches per decrease round, and did 7 rows in between decrease rows. I don’t really remember where I started the decreases, except that it was way after Bush called for them.

It was a star toe, I think, a new one for me. It doesn’t have a kitchener at the front–you just decrease down to 8 stitches and then pull the yarn through. I don’t mind kitchener, but it was fun to try a different toe for a change.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t gush about this yarn for a little while. The Sundara colors are incredibly fabulous, saturated, and rich, without question. But on top of that, the yarn is soft as can be, seems very sturdy, and provides fantastic stitch definition. There really isn’t much more one could want in a sock yarn.

Plus, the color makes you want to bake pumpkin muffins. And that’s never a bad thing.

Thank you all so, so very much for your well-wishes and shared stories. They really warmed my heart.

I did something totally crazy yesterday: I ripped out the Torgeir sweater I was having so much trouble with. The Silky Wool is now back in the closet, and I feel so much better for it. My wips are cleared out (only the Cleopatra Wrap remains as a long-term project), my knitting feels new again.

And I finished the Conwy socks, too, but a FO post will have to wait for blocking and daylight to happen.

So my February installment of the Year of Socks is a little late, but only by a few days. I think this month is going to be all about small projects–another pair of socks, certainly. Some progress on Cleopatra but I don’t expect to finish it this month. Mostly because it seems like every woman I know is having babies, these days. There’s only one logical reaction, I think…

…run to my lys and buy a ton of machine-washable baby wool.

I wouldn’t have thought there was any such thing. But as it turns out, there is. I present to you the sum total of my knitting in the last 11 days.

Oh, yeah. That hurts. Especially since almost all of the progress you see was from this weekend, when I finally started to feel a little better. When awake and conscious, I’ve been reading instead. It provides a much better escape from reality for me than knitting. And on the bright side, the Jhereg series (Brust) and David McCullough’s “Truman” were all pretty good reads. But lordy, am I ready to be knitting again. February’s sock plan seems somewhat derailed, but hopefully I can catch up by the end of March. Assuming I can stay well!

The sock is “Conwy” from “Knitting on the Road”, and it’s in Sundara sock yarn from the Seasons Club. My latest installment in the club arrived this weekend, and it got me thinking about whether or not I want to re-subscribe.

(Fingering silky merino, “Autumn Rose”)

I was admittedly nervous about signing up for a club where I couldn’t approve the colors of the yarn beforehand. The ability to pick a season eventually won me over–with her descriptions, I was sure that autumn would provide me with a nice, warm, deep set of fall colors. Without any pink or yellow, which I have a lot of difficulty wearing. Here’s the collection so far, at 4 months out of 6:

Now, let’s make no bones about this: Sundara is a genius with color, the yarn itself is incredibly high quality, and I’m sure I will knit something I love out of all 4 yarns. That said…

I don’t really think that either the autumn rose silky merino or the “copper over bamboo” silk lace are fall colors. In fact, maybe it’s just my hank, but I don’t see the copper at all in the silk lace. I’m currently knitting the cleopatra wrap out of it, and I’m sure it’ll be stunning. And I can think of several people who would look great in a scarf out of the silky merino (which is way too pale for me to be able to wear). But do I really want to sign up for more of this? I’m okay with the occasional stretch color, but I don’t think I’d be okay if I signed up for another year of this club and fully half of the yarn was in a color so outside what I consider to be seasonally appropriate.

(By the way, the description of the autumn on Sundara’s website is this: “warm, fall colors with some complexity, an emphasis on browns, greens, reds and oranges”)

Again, I don’t want anyone to read this as a bash on Sundara. She’s really incredible, and at least as far as the ravelry group is concerned I’m in the vast minority. Several autumn subscribers have listed the silky merino as their favorite colorway yet. And like I said, the yarn is scrumptious, and since I’m just not the type to browse to a website to buy yarn, I wouldn’t be very likely to knit with it unless I resubscribe to the club.

Ugh. Can you tell I’m conflicted? So tell me: What do you think? Are these fall colors? Am I crazy? What would you do, if you were in my shoes?

Faced with two larger projects that seem to be dragging on forever, I decided I needed something simple.

Conwy sock, in Sundara sock yarn, color “bronzed sienna”. My second project on the needles right now with the Seasons Club yarn, and boy is it ever luxurious. The pattern is simple enough to knit while reading or watching television, and I’m really enjoying it.

But the title of this post refers to a gift from the very talented spinner/knitter Kate from my local knitting group.

People. She gave me some of her own handspun silk. Because she said that everyone needed to knit with handspun at some point in their knitting career. Would you just look at this?!

Now, I’ve gotten some amazing yarn as gifts before. I am lucky enough to have a husband who is totally supportive of my hobby and enjoys giving me hand-painted silk, the yarn to do a special sweater I’ve been eyeing, etc. But this… I’m completely overwhelmed, can’t say “thank you” to Kate enough times. I might have an inkling, now, how people must feel when I give them a sweater or a shawl. I’d love to hear your own stories: On this manufactured holiday of gift-giving, what’s the best fiber-related gift you’ve ever received?