Starteritis

This is what starteritis looks like. Last week, I hit a bit of a knitting funk and my mojo seemed like it was taking a summer holiday.

It took me a couple of days but I dug deep.

I went through my Ravelry "Favorites" list. In the past few months, I have been militant/dilligent about going through my library of magazines and books and adding projects to my "Favorites" that I want to knit or crochet. I also went through and tagged each and every item in my "Favorites." This was no small feat. I have over 800 items in my favorites. This has really paid off, though. I can easily search the list and find items that might suit my fancy.

I wanted to do some lace - it is summer and I wanted something light and airy on the needles. Socks are always on the needles but it did really take some time to narrow down my options to a couple of sock patterns. Even still, I don't feel the sock patterns - not really. I am just kind of "meh" about them.

In the photo above, there is evidence of *EIGHT* new projects. Of course I will blog about these new projects over the coming weeks.

But yes, this is what starteritis looks like. My mojo has come back from holiday, ready to work and get things done.

ON THE NEEDLES: Hanami, Srping Forward Socks and Clapotis
ON THE BOOKSHELF: Across the Nightingale Floor
ON THE iPOD: Electric Sheep podcast
ON THE TABLE: Pasta with meat sauce - Italian sausage and cauliflower for me!

Socks with Socrates!

I bought this yarn on a bit of an impulse on the way out the door at my local yarn store, A Stitch in Time. I do not regret it one bit. What I *do* regret is not buying more of this yarn.

Socrates yarn from Alpaca with a Twist, Wednesday Night Green

This yarn is absolutely amazing. The singles are a bit heathered. In this case, the main color is the bright green but there is a bit of yellow heathered in. This provides the most amazing color.

I searched high and low for a sock pattern I liked. After looking at 5o or so sock patterns, I settled on Spring Forward from Knitty. My only reservation about the pattern was the slouch in the leg of the sock.

I am working the instep on the first sock. I love the pattern, it is easy to memorize and great commuter knitting (or TV knitting). I am knitting the sock on 1 1/2 DPN's. The leg is a good bit more slouchy than I would like - and I will be seriously disappointed if the leg ends up overly baggy. Every row or so (or even when I have completed knitting the stitches on a single needle) I pet the yarn. And pet the yarn. And look at my progress. And pet the yarn. And wonder how it would go if I asked the people on the bus to pet my yarn.

The pattern is only obvious when stretched. See?

(Relaxed)

(Stretched)

Do YOU want to pet my socks?

ON THE NEEDLES: Spring Forward Socks and Hanami
ON THE BOOKSHELF: Across the Nightingale Floor
ON THE iPOD: Splendid Table podcast
ON THE TABLE: BBQ meat salads

Hanami Progress

I love this stole. I love love love it. As I have said previously, this is an amazingly well written pattern and the fabric that is created is astounding.

I am about 1/3 done. I knit 4 rows every morning after I do yoga and this practice has led to a lot of progress. It is the lack of progress/slow progress that often goes with lace that disenchants me so this has made me a fan of lace again.

I am so excited! There will definitely be more lace work done in fingering/sock weight in the future!

ON THE NEEDLES: Hanami and Circle Socks
ON THE BOOKSHELF: Across the Nightingale Floor
ON THE iPOD: Kings of Leon and Tool
ON THE TABLE: Omelettes

Blasphemy!

There are a couple of things you should know about me before you read this post:

1. I am a die-hard sock knitter.

2. I am a die-hard sock knitter who loves to use wooden DPNs to knit my socks. I love how they feel in my hand and, like the Yarn Harlot said once - they look pretty impressive to the uninitiated.

3. I secretly mock people who knit socks from the toe up the same way some knitters secretly mock people who crochet.

4. I hate change.

Moving on to the post:

See that book in the front of the pile? Yep. The book on knitting socks from the toe up. I am about to commit blasphemy against my personal sock philosophy. Chrissy the Great of the Manic Purl podcast recently reviewed this book and I had to buy it.

Everyone: please note this historical event. Refer to items 3 and 4 above.

Some might chalk this up to personal growth but I know better. I am just stubborn. There are a few sock patterns that I really want to knit but the toe up thing is holding me back. Trust me - change is still bad and I will bitch the entire time. I will lose sleep over it. But in the end, I am mighty mighty and toe up socks will not control me.

I hate change.

ON THE NEEDLES: Testing toes for toe up socks and Hanami
ON THE BOOKSHELF: Across the Nightingale Floor
ON THE iPOD: Silk Code podaudio book
ON THE TALBE: Sliced turkey sandwiches (crockpot turkey breast!)

Baby Daddy Has Cold Feet

Baby Daddy loved his socks. Yes, yes - the above picture is not a completed sock. Take my word for it...he has a pair of completed socks. It was nice to surprise him with them. I normally cannot keep a secret about a present for the life of me....but this time I could. I must be maturing. *grin*

These socks are perfect as a man's dress sock. The yarn, from Sugarbee (of course), is in shades of grey, cream and brown which match Baby Daddy's professional wardrobe perfectly. I have long tried to get him into funky socks and/or ties but it was not happening - he is just too conservative in his work clothes.

The pattern is "Double Fleck" from More Sensational Socks. It is a six stitch, four row repeat that is easily memorized. It is perfect for a man's sock because it has textural interest without being too fussy. It was also a great knit because the pattern kept me engaged enough and produced gorgeous results without a lot of fancy knitting.

ON THE NEEDLES: Rick from Cookie A and the Hanami
ON THE iPOD: Splendid Table
ON THE BOOKSHELF: Hooked on Murder by Hechtman
ON THE TABLE: Whole lotta nothing - too hot to cook

Betty Bangs - Jaywalkers

If you are a knitter who knits socks, then you probably have a "go to" pattern - a pattern that you have knit more than once, is easy to remember and gives a really cool finished pair of socks.

My "go to" pattern is Jaywalker. Apparently I am not the only one: Ravelry stats show almost 6,300 pairs of Jaywalkers either in progress or finished (at the time of this writing).

I have a lot of variegated yarns that do not translate well into lacy, cabled or intricate sock patterns (such as those from Cookie A). Jaywalker, due to its increases and decreases, is the perfect pattern for such yarns because it avoids pooling and displays a yarn to its best potential whether long or short color repeats are present.

When I say I have a lot of variegated yarns, I am not kidding. I have 43 hanks of variegated sock yarn. This does not include the 3 or 4 pairs on the needles right now.

I knit may 6 or 7 pairs of socks a year. I buy maybe 10 or 12 hanks of sock yarn a year. I may be really bad at math but I know this is not an equal ratio of input and output. That said, I am also OK with this discrepancy. One podcaster pointed out that if knitting has various phases of popularity (such as fun fur, lace, Zimmermann-mania, sock knitting and spinning, for example), then it is important to "stock up" on sock yarns. All the wonderful indy sock dyers may become a thing of the past. 6 years ago, the variety and availability of interesting, colorful, and inspiring sock yarns were just simply not there. This lends merit to the idea that we should stock up while the getting is good.

Currently on the needles are my Betty Bangs Jaywalkers. Sugarbee Studios (who else?) came up with a gorgeous sock yarn inspired by Betty Page. I immediately cast on a pair of Jaywalkers with it. I am currently on the second sock (almost down to the heel).

The tag is realllly cool. I am a huge fan of Betty Page for a variety of reasons but, of course, that is for another post.

The yarn is a fantastic mix of shades of purple, grays, and black.

The resulting Jaywalker is a great fabric to show off the colors without pooling. I really dislike pooling but can live with it if necessary.

I will be keeping this pair of socks for myself.

ON THE NEEDLES: Betty Bangs and Hanami
ON THE BOOKSHELF: The Graveyard Book by Gaiman
ON THE iPOD: Deconstructing Dinner (a food ethics podcast out of Canada)
ON THE TABLE: Chicken salad leftove from crockpot Maui Chicken

Well....crap!

There are a couple of things that you need to know about me before moving forward....

1. I am heinously bad at math, so bad. If Baby Daddy was not a genius, my teenager would be up the creek with regard to help in math, especially given that she is enrolled in college level calculus (while in high school) and I never made it out of Algebra - in COLLEGE.

2. I am freakishly obsessive about numbers and amounts. Not like I can dump a box of toothpicks on the floor and figure out how many there are but just obsessive. I think about numbers and amounts in the middle of the night, when all good mommies should be sleeping. I think about things like how much yarn I have for a project or how far along I am in a project or if I complete 4 rows a day, I will be done by Labor Day. Not only do I focus on these types of issues when I should be sleeping, I oftentimes dream about them as well. And I talk to Baby Daddy about them when he comes to bed and I am half-awake. Poor man. (Don't lie...some of you do these things as well.) I do not try not to read knitting, spinning, felting, crafting or cooking books before bed. Doing so is like a firestarter for my brain.

3. I tend to not move forward with something half-cocked. I plan. I plan a lot. Sugarbee says I am her only friend that plans what to write in her diary (blog). It is true. Comical but true.

4. I get up at 5 a.m. (we leave at 8 a.m. for school and work) - I do yoga and I set aside half an hour to knit on a long term project - this month it is the Hanami Stole.

5. I am six feet tall with a proper Irish potato farmer build. Dainty knitting projects look simply ridiculous on me.

Moving on....forthwith....

I had recently re-organized my Ravelry queue for the twenty-billionith time and was in the process of matching up favorited projects with yarn in my stash. My goal was to establish a more realistic queue of future knitting goals rather than a 17 page queue (with 20 projects on each page). One's queue should not be more than one can knit in a lifetime. I came across this KnitPicks Palette that I have had for years. I love the color and I love the ply of the yarn - it is really lovely. I just knew the yarn and its color would be a great match for the Hanami. As such, I started the Hanami Stole in March 2009.

I have been enamoured with the Hanami Stole since its release in February 2007. On Ravelry, there are almost 700 projects listed, 340 of which are finished! See link below for a gallery of all Hanami Stoles listed in Ravelry. This completion ratio is impressive for a lace stole. For example, one of the best loved lace projects, EZ's Pi Shawl, has a 50% completion rate. In contrast, many of the other stoles and lace projects which were so popular in 2007 do not have such a high completion rate.

The range of colors that work with the pattern is astounding. I actually love the soft pink that the pattern was designed in but I did not have any pink lace yarn. I did consider doing a black lace version but decided against this because it would be super hard on my eyes. The black lace weight will sit it out this round.

(Black lace weight Alpaca Cloud from KnitPicks.
Gorgeous - black with flecks of green but killer on the eyes.)

Although the Palette yarn is not lace weight, I assumed I would have enough yarn as the pattern calls for 900 yards and I have about 1,400 yards of the Palette. My plan was to increase the size of the Stole based on the designer's suggestions for additional repeats of certain charts. The designer provides clear instruction on how to lengthen the Stole within proper proportions. This is brilliant. But....then....I started to overthink things - which is totally in keeping with my freakish obsessive nature. (See things you should know about me #2 above.)

First (refer to things you should know about me #1 above): I wanted to know how many rows the Stole would require so I could have a map of my progress throughout the project. Don't ask me why I couldn't simply use the progression through the charts as a litmus (i.e. 4 out of 15 total chart repeats). I needed/wanted row counts. After a number of calculations (again in keeping with #1 above), I came up with 814 (including additional charts/rows for a longer Stole).

I began knitting on the Stole in earnest during May (refer to things you should know about me #4 above). The worry set in when I started my second ball (of six) because I was only about an eighth of the way into the project. Even to a math idiot, there is obviously a problem. This kind of worry eats at me. (refer to thing you should know about me #2 above).

So, this morning, when I got up at 5 a.m., I started to calculate. Now, if I had been PicnicKnits, I would have been done in 5 seconds. However, because I am me (again, see #1 above), it took me 4 different times, using 2 different weights (ounces and grams) to figure the simple math of whether I would have enough yarn for the longest version.

The pattern (regular 70" length is basically broken down into 15 sections of chart, each of which are 32 rows apiece. I have completed 4 of the 15 repeats.

I weighed the Stole (with needles): 75 grams.
I weighed a pair of Addis: 10 grams.

4 repeats: 65 grams.

Each repeat will take 16.25 grams.
Therefore, the Stole will require 243.75 grams for the basic 70" version.

OK...good, I have 300 grams.

I then figured that to upsize the pattern a bit, I would need enough for 2 more repeats: an additional 32.50 grams which means 276.25 grams total.

OK....good, I have 300 grams.

You do not want to know how long it took me to get to these numbers. I am truly ashamed.

I need the Stole to be longer than the 70"(refer to thing syou should know about me #5 above). I am relieved glad that I can do SOME lengthening. But how much length will I end up with? Well, crap, that is an additional set of numbers I need to work, too. I am not really worried about that number as much because I can block it to death if I want (or not....).

This is one time that my worrying and planning have paid off. If I had gotten much farther in the pattern, I would have run out of yarn and then be faced with ripping back a project that I had spent an inordinate amount of time on.

Let's talk about the gorgeousness of this pattern. I am currently working the first chart which is a basketweave pattern. Do you see the lovely way the decreases lie on the fabric giving it texture and direction? I love that. The designer uses a left leaning decrease that I do not typically use (slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over) but this stitch gives a really clean and delineated decrease as seen above. I am having some difficulty establishing muscle memory in working this decrease - but it will come. I have 700+ rows to do so. There are a couple of rows in the basketweave chart that are a bit fussy (you have to move markers, etc.) but the end result is worth it. Another bit of praise of the designer: she gives the knitter notice of these shifts in the introduction. This way, when the stitch counts don't match up, there is no panic. OK, there is some panic and then I remember.

I also really like knitting with fingering weight for the Stole in place of lace weight (although I love working with lace weight). The knitting is easier because the stitches are more obvious. The knitted fabric seems more substantial. The color and hue are awesome but as mentioned above, I have not seen a project or FO which did not work. I can see the Stole in a deep mandarin orange. Oh. Oh my. Well, crap.

ON THE NEEDLES: Clapotis and Hanami
ON THE BOOKSHELF: The Graveyard Book by Gaiman
ON THE iPOD: NPR - Talk of the Nation podcast
ON THE TABLE: Leftover pizza

Rainbow Tricorn

I purchased an amazing fiber set from Sugarbee of Politically Incorrect Fibers last year. The batts were absolutely breathtaking - a wide rainbow of color in a wool mix with some Angelina tossed in for good measure.

I prepped the fiber into thin strips of color and spun the prepped fiber in random order. Some barberpoling occurred but I really like this effect in these singles.

Because I was/am a fairly new spinner (one year under my belt), I still have somewhat of a disconnect going. I see the batts and I can visualize the end product yarn I want but I have not mastered the steps the flowchart of steps to get from "batt" to "my vision."

I plied the first singles and created a yarn - but I was not crazy about it. I didn't like the barberpole effect in the plied yarn, although I loved it in the singles. To be honest, I was disappointed. It was the first tangible reckoning that I lacked some serious knowledge.

I didn't love the yarn but still wanted to knit SOMETHING with it. I made it and I wanted to use it. I remembered a hat pattern that I have wanted to use forever (from an old book for Cascade 220 book which is out of print - sorry, guys!). The handspun was the perfect yarn for the hat.

As you can tell, my daughter looks awesome in it and the hat is not bad either (although she complains about it being itchy which we don't take seriously - she complains a lot about odd things....)



Moving back to the singles, though...

A lovely friend, MamaKnitter, taught us how to Navajo ply. I plied up some of the singles I had left and created a lovely yarn (albeit a bit overspun) but still...it was more of my vision that the plied singles.

Here are examples of the yarns:

(plied)

(Navajo plied)

(singles)

I am considering using these three in some sort of project - scarf, something - which will show off the diffent end products and showcase them all.

ON THE NEEDLES: Betty Bangs Jaywalkers (made with more Sugarbee sock club yarn!) and Hanami
ON THE iPOD: Living La Vida Low Carb podcast
ON THE BOOKSHELF: Organize Your Corpses
ON THE TABLE: Wheaty Rolls for the family