I moved!

I have a real problem sticking with one blogging platform for any amount of time at all. Also I'm not that into Blogger. Thus, I have moved.

Further updates will be here.

Scarves! And buying things!

A little more than 24 hours after ordering sweater yarn from Knit Picks, I ordered yet another package - 8 skeins of Main Line in Blueberry, some size 7 needle tips, and a copy of Sensational Knitted Socks. The yarn and needles are because I'm going to knit the "hooded scarf" on this page for Jeffrey. He wanted a combination hat and scarf (actually he wanted a combination hat/scarf/mittens, but I told him he couldn't have that), and this one is extra nice because of the vague Lord of the Rings feeling it evokes. I'm not totally sure about this whole "knitting both ends of the scarf at once on circular needles" business, though. Whatever. It'll work out.

The book is because... well, with a $45 order you get free shipping. And our order was only $31. And I love free shipping. Any company that does this is genius. I can't tell you how much money I've spent on Amazon just so I could get to the magical $25 free shipping threshold. I'm hoping that these freely shipped boxes arrive before sprink break, which begins a week from Friday. I am going on a delightful trip to Texas (more specifically, to the home of the aforementioned Jeffrey) and would like to start work on the scarf while there.

In my scarf browsing last night I came across a DNA SCARF. And my heart stopped. And I WILL make it. It is not a choice. It is an obligation. I must have it. I think I'll do one long DNA strand, though, instead of whatever weird neck ribbing that is in the pattern.

The Most Beautiful Sock I've Ever Knit is getting larger. I should be done with it tomorrow. Possibly tonight, but that's unlikely.

Progress, Sock-wise and (sort of) Sweater-wise

The Most Beautiful Socks I've Ever Knit are coming along nicely. I'm past the heel gusset on the first one:


Sorry for the poor picture quality. I keep forgetting to take pictures during the day and can't quite work out how to take nice, clear ones at night.

The only problem I'm having is that the yarn keeps getting twisted, like so:

I have to keep dangling it so it can unspin itself. I haven't had this problem since I first started knitting, I'm not sure why it's happening now. Maybe something to do with the yarn?

Finally, after many hours of searching for free sweater patterns on the internet, I decided to knit Bristow for my mother. I bought the yarn tonight. For the first time ever I'm actually using the yarn suggested by the pattern - Knit Picks Andean Silk in Olive. It'll definitely be the most difficult thing I've done, but it's a Christmas present, so I have time to mess up once or twice.

I also started a Knit Picks Options collection. Lately I've been thinking a lot about the absolutely ridiculous number of needles you need to have around - in every size you can have various lengths of circulars, two lengths of straights, DPN's... there are just so many. If I like the Options needles I ordered and find that I can knit straight things well with cable needles, I'm going to start just buying new Options tips when I need more needle sizes. Then the only other thing I'll need will be DPN's, which I already have a nice collection of.

I know that a lot of people are loyal to one type or needle or another (bamboo, wood, nickel, aluminum...). I've decided I'm definitely a metal girl. The only other thing I've ever used has been bamboo, and it drives me crazy. Much too sticky. I love the aluminum DPN's I have, and am excited about the nickel-plated Options needles.

Roll-Brim Hat

Yarn: Mango Moon recycled silk
Needles: 8
Pattern: Cast on 96, join in round, stockinette for 6 inches. Decrease: xth rnd: *k(11-x), k2tog, repeat around from *
When you have less than 10 stitches left, cut yarn, draw through, blah blah blah.
Notes: This is Claire's hat. She chose the yarn because it gives health care to Nepalese women and doesn't hurt the animals. Also, it is fuzzy and a pretty color. It came out a little bigger around than I'd hoped - it doesn't stretch at all when put on, it just sits on your head. It's heavy enough that it feels secure, though.

Now I'm doing these socks with some the amazing, amazing yarn I bought last friday (Lana Gross Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch. I was winding it into a ball while sitting around with some friends last night, and I had to keep showing them how amazong the colors in the yarn were, and how delightfully they changed. I don't think they cared. Whatever, yarn is amazing.



The recycled silk was pretty, but it was really annoying. Completely not stretchy and with random fibers everywhere. This is beautiful . It feels to good to be able to be gentle with the yarn. And I finally understand the deal with wool. I get why it's wonderful. It's enjoyable to work with and the ribbing is really good about coming together. That's why the ribbing sucked in my other socks, because I was making them out of acrylic and cotton. Acrylic and cotton are lame. Wool is awesome.

You have no idea how beautiful these socks are going to be.

Yaaarn. Mmmmm.

I'm afraid that I am fast becoming a yarn addict. I have this, that I bought at home:



Please note that it isn't actually half Lion Brand Suede. It just looks like it is.

Last Friday, at The Yarn Garden, I purchased this:


I also have six 100g skeins of sage green Galway wool waiting for me in the post office. And today I had to try very, very hard to restrain myself from buying nearly everything here. Especially this gorgeous purply-orange variegated worsted weight wool... it was amazing. And, if you bought the lot of ten, it was $2.50 per skein. The lace weight wool was also mesmerizing. But I've spent something like $110.00 on yarn and needles in the last couple weeks, so I have to stop now. For a while, at least. I know that this is only the beginning of a real stash, but I am a poor college student and do not have money to spend on lots and lots of yarn. But I wish I did.

I've also become kind of a yarn snob. I bought a bunch of acrylic and polyester stuff (see the note above on Lion Brand Suede) when I first started knitting because it was on sale at Ocean State Job Lot, and now I don't even want to use it. Ick.

Right now I am knitting Claire a hat with recycled silk. It's just a plain stockinette roll-brim deal because the yarn is so interesting on its own.

Simple Ribbed Hat

[Picture forthcoming]

Yarn: Cascade Yarns - Peruvian Wool (#9405), ~.5 skeins
Needles: 8
Pattern: Cast on 92 stitches. 8 inches of k2p2 ribbing followed by decrease in the manner of the Skater Beanie in Not Just Socks.
Notes: This hat is for Thom because he drove me to the beautiful yarn store and is generally awesome. It was pretty quick to make (I did it in a little more than 24 hours), but that's mostly because I spent my Saturday night knitting.

Fuzzy Mittens

Yarn: Patons - Mosaic (Bottle Green), ~1.5 skeins
Needles: 8
Pattern: This one, but in one color with the bottom 15 rows done in k2p2 ribbing. Also I made the second one a little thinner and a little shorter than the first. It bothers me that they are different sizes, but I guess it's better to have one well-fitting mitten than none.
Notes: For Mad, because she was delighted by the yarn. It's fuzzy and colorful!

Blue Speckly Socks

Okay, first let me say that I have not been slacking. The reason this has not been updated is that I have been knitting things that come in pairs, and don't want to post projects that are half complete. Remember I mentioned that I was going to make blue socks? Well, I did. In the first one, I paid little attention to gauge and tried out a bulls-eye heel (you do the heel just like the toe). Consequently, my sock was huge and had large holes at the edges of the heel. I decided to start over and knit a second sock, this one with tighter gauge and a regular heel. And I did. By that point I was very, very sick of knitting socks with speckly blue yarn and had just acquired some new, fancy yarn. It should be noted that the two aforementioned socks were largely knit, and the new yarn was bought, at Arisia. Just as I started on a swirly sort of gauntlet, it was time to go back to school. This slowed my productivity, as it was no longer possible to knit for hours and hours every single night. Thus, it took me a bit to finish the first gauntlet. And then I did the second sock, pictured below. So that's what I've been up to, and that's why there have been no updates for the past few weeks.


Yarn: Schloeller Esslinger - Fortissima Cotton Colori (color 05)
Needles: 2
Pattern: Regular 64-stitch socks, like last time. About an inch of ribbing, about three inches of leg.

Currently I'm working on a very soft and fuzzy pair of mittens for the lovely Madeline, who will also get the gauntlets once I have finished the second one because she loves the colors so much (and is, by far, the best of my friends at pretending to care about knitting). Also on my to do list is a hat for Thom (because he agreed to drive me to the yarn store), a hat for Claire, a new hat for myself (hats everywhere!), and a sweater for my mother. I'm very excited about the sweater. Don't tell her!

Cream Ankle Socks (my first pair!)

Begun: January 3, 2007
Finished: January 6, 2007
Yarn: Lion Brand - Microspun (French Vanilla #098), 1 skein
Needles: 4
Pattern: I took Silver's Sock Class. I did about an inch of ribbing, then 1.25-1.5 inches of stockinette above the heel.
Notes: Though this yarn is very soft and appealing, it turns out it isn't so good for socks. It's 100% acrylic, which makes the finished product feel synthetic and little plasticky. It's also pretty difficult to work with. The strands separate easily, and there are more little pulled loops than I would like on the socks. Note to self: TRUST THE PATTERN. I didn't on the first sock, and it came out a little too short. The second one seems too long, but fits perfectly. Also, the ribbing on both socks is pretty loose - not sure why that is. I thought ribbing was supposed to be tighter...? My next project is another pair of socks, knit from real sock yarn with a different kind of heel. They will take much longer.

Alison's Beginner's Cap for Mitch

Begun: December 30, 2006
Finished: December 31, 2006
Yarn: Lion Brand - Wool-Ease (Mink Brown #127), ~.5 skeins (quite a bit less than one, anyway)
Needles: 8
Pattern: Another Alison's Beginner's Cap. Again, I made it a little shorter than instructed. I think I made the straight part about 5.5 inches.
Notes: This yarn is a beautiful color. The red and green undertones don't really come through in the picture.