What's in a Name?

Last year for Christmas I gifted my friend Heather with some yummy green cashmere yarn, because she's a terrific person and she likes me, I think, rather more than I deserve. A good quality in a friend. Anyways, I said, "I'll design a shawl pattern for it." And she took me up on it.
I decided that I would base the design on...heather (the plant) and I would use heather yarn to knit my test version. (KnitPicks Shadow in either Lost Lake Heather or Oregon Coast Heather. I'm leaning more towards Lost Lake Heather at the moment) because, well using a yarn with "Heather" in the name amuses me. I'm like that. I was initially thinking more "stole" than "shawl", but in an impromptu survey of myself, Celtic Queen and Heather, I found that although I preferred rectangular stoles, CQ liked a round/square shawl, and Heather liked triangular shawls. So a triangle it was. And also, Heather really likes knitted leaves. The yarn is green, so why not a leaf theme to the shawl? Sounds perfect. So, I poured over lace pattern books on my own and with Heather and I think I'm about ready to start swatching. As soon as I order my yarn. But here's the thing. As I was thinking about the shawl...well it's all about Heather and leaves. But I don't want to call it that. Because, if you know her, well, she doesn't really like here all that much. Now, I can so totally understand the need to have something to gripe about. No one's life is perfect, and sometimes you just need to vent a little and complaining about the crummy weather/mean people/lack of decent local wine where you live is not a bad way to go. But as I told her last week, when she says these things it makes me a little afraid she might move away. My weird superstitious-ness makes me think that if I start putting those two words together....So this is just the HEATHER shawl. It has a LEAF theme. Got it?

On the baby knitting front, I've completed the second front of my latest Devan sweater, and cast-on the first sleeve. As you can see, I'm making no effort to match sides here. I like the randomness of the stripe pattern of this yarn. With some effort, I could get this done by next weekend.

We Didn't Start the Fire

Happy Solstice! Is your bonfire lit? I called Celtic Queen (as I do on all the Sabbats I can remember) to ask her if she's having a bonfire in the backyard. I always threaten to come for the dancing and celebrating. I don't know why, but imagining the neighbors' reaction to a solstice celebration in the backyard never gets old for me.

Moving on to knitting stuff. I finished up the white baby set, sewed all the seams, tidied up all the ends, and promptly tossed it aside. It's on to bigger and brighter things for me! Yes, that's another Devan sweater. That makes five! I started at lunch and I've finished the left front an cast-on the right. (Bus and Stargate knitting!) I really do love this pattern, though. This time, puffed up with my success in creating the White Baby pants, I'm going to make matching pants. Stay tuned.

Still Here

I'm still here. I just got off the phone with Celtic Queen and she pointedly asked "Are you going to update your blog?" So I'll take that as mandate from my public. (Hey, take what you can get, right?) I've been crazy busy at work. I've got a big project that I feel I have the responsibility to finish up before I leave, and then there are all the meetings so that we can make sure there are people who can do the things that I do when I'm gone. (There aren't.) So there's that to do too. I've been keeping busy. Mostly watching Stargate Season 4 (Dave's Father's Day gift) with the guys. But I've done a little knitting. I love these little pants. I designed them otf to match the little sweater. You can't see it, but there's a little short row section on the bum to go over the diaper. How cute is that? I put the ruler in so you can see the size of the outfit. It's sized for a 5-8 pound baby, a true newborn size. I'm going to make some booties and a little cap and call it done.

I did a little spinning, too. Sundays are supposed to be for spinning, here at the G household. I have to get on the ball, or the fiber to spin is going to take over the house. I think I have something like 50 pounds of unspun fiber in containers and bags around the house. And at the rate it's coming in...Well, we'll all suffocate within a few years if something doesn't change.

Different Is Good

Well, my big announcement for today is that I'm starting a new job! I received a job offer yesterday that was too good to pass up, and so I gave my notice at my current job today and will start my new job on July 2. I'm frankly surprised, because I really didn't feel the interview for this job went well at all. (Even bad for me, and I'm a horrible interview at the best of times.) But I know a guy...and although he told me he didn't really do anything, I think he made the difference for me. My personal mantra this year has been "Try something different" in everything from menu choices, to housecleaning, to colors, to knitting. This is a great way to shake things up, get out of a rut, and maybe find a better way to do something. Now a new job! And guess what? I'll be working dangerously close to my favorite knitting store and my favorite restaurant. How great is that?

Now to the knitting. The Cotton Striped sock is exactly where it was the last time I pictured it. The Pomatomus socks are still in time-out, but I'm almost done with the body of my first baby sweater.

I want to make some leggings to match, along with some socks, and then a Devan sweater (God, I love that sweater!) or two. Ok, maybe a Trellis too. And how could I be so forgetful? I've got to make a Peapod Sweater! Both Celtic Queen and Heather made one last year and I much admired them. Hmmmm. The shower is Labor Day weekend, we'll see how much I can get knit by then.

And Holly, I'm so with you on the staff at the school. I just want to say "What exactly is it you want me to do?" (I actually did ask that once and it put them off for awhile. Because exactly what they wanted me to do was drug him so he would be more docile. But they couldn't say that.)

Baby Love

First off, the Pomatomus Socks are in an indefinate time out. I do not have enough yarn for the pair, so I'm kinda bummed. Steel City Knitter said she might have another skein, so I've e-mailed her with abject begging. (But if she doesn't, I can live with the frogging. I just need a moment.) Anyways, pictured here is my new current bus knitting. It's a baby sweater for an old friend who e-mailed last week that she just found out she's having a girl. I'm totally, completely enthralled by the making of cute and frilly little girl things as only the mother of two boys can be. So this sweater (which actually is kinda unisex, but has a connection in that long ago she picked this pattern out as one she liked and requested me to make as a gift for another friend of hers.) I'm going to design some pants to go with. I also got Celtic Queen to pick me up Dale #175 (which includes this cute little number.)

And finally, I'm almost at the toe of the Cotton Stripes socks.

Pomp and Circumstance

Tonight was Older Son's graduation. Neither my photography skills or my camera were really up to the occasion. Here's a very blurry shot of OS walking into the gym:

But you know, it's kind of symbolic of how these years seemed to pass, all in a blur, over way too fast.
Here he is getting his 'diploma' (because they don't give you the real one at the ceremony, which seemed to really irk him).
And standing against the wall. Finally one of all of us together.
I was a bit ambivalent about the graduation thing. I don't remember my mother going to my graduation. I went with friends and my twin sister didn't go at all (she'd just delivered my niece that morning. Hmmm, maybe that could be why my mom didn't go). Anyways, for various reasons I have mixed feelings about graduation. But we went out and got ice cream after so I'm somewhat mollified. (Doesn't ice cream just make everything better?)

A Few Minutes

While waiting today for appointments, I had the opportunity to really think about knitting. Isn't it wonderful to have something to pick up and accomplish something in just a few minutes? Would that everything worked that way. Think how much more productive we could all be. This is one of the things I really love about knitting. I also discovered that you really can't knit while stuck in traffic (well, not if you're the driver). I had a horrible experience trying to get to an appointment where I ended up stuck in traffic for almost 45 minutes, thereby making myself over a half an hour late. The drive there (which should have only been a 40 minute drive) took me over an hour and a half, I was there 30 minutes, and then the drive home took me over two hours! Over 4 hours for someone to basically tell me there was nothing they could do for me. Wonderful. Oh yeah, and everytime I play the song "Bad Day" in the car I get lost. Weird.


So anyways, on to the knitting. I turned the heel on my Striped Cotton Sock and am working on the gusset. Yippee! And I will leave you with a couple of links:
Nona's Sidewinders -- these might be my next socks.
Also, have you seen Celtic Queen's Vesper Sock Yarn? It's a custom dye named for her -- Celtic Queen! How cool is that? Order some, we want it to become a 'regular' color!! And I started thinking about what would be my personal colorway. Hmmmm. My favorite color is white (really!) but otherwise I'm pretty fickle about the colors I like. I wear alot of black (so much so that a few years back my sister-in-law started referring to me as the "Widow G".) But that's just because Hello! I work in an office! Need to be conservative and also mix and match! Black is the only color you can count on from season to season, year after year. We all know how I am with the screaming brights and tonal neutrals...I'm a woman of extremes. There's no middle ground for me it's all...and here we are back to black and white...

Stripes

As I mentioned, the latest incarnation of the Cotton Socks have stripes--These are the "Big Guy" size, for Dave. He says he'll wear them, although I think he would prefer all black. Every time I ask him what color of socks he would like me to knit him, he says "Black. Just plain black." I'm knitting the gusset on my Pomatomus sock, which continues to garner much admiration from the other bus patrons. The color of this yarn is really fantastic, none of the pictures so far have really done it justice. Thanks again, Steel City Knitter! I think the yarn will be just enough for a pair (at least I'm hoping.)

Not much else going on here. I'm feeling kind of under the weather. Maybe I just need to take a day off to rest. Hmmm. We just got Seasons 1-5 of Babylon 5.

Cotton Socks

Size: Woman or Large Youth/Big Guy*
Materials: Yarn: 8/2 cotton (unmercerized), held double**
Needles: Size 1 US set of double pointed needles (or size to obtain gauge).
Gauge: 8 sts/inch in stockinette stitch/12 sts/inch in K2, P2 ribbing***

Pattern
Cast on 68/80 stitches. Distribute evenly over 4 needles and join, being careful not to twist. Mark/note beginning of round. Knit 1 *Purl 2, Knit 2 repeat from * around, ending Knit 1 (K2, P2 ribbing). Continue in ribbing until sock is approximately 6" from beginning.
Begin heel flap: At beginning of round, knit across 16/20 stitches (move remaining stitches if any to next needle). Turn. Slip first stitch, purl across 32/40 stitches (move remaining stitches, if any to next needle). Turn. You will work the heel on these 32/40 stitches. Hold remaining stitches for the instep.
Row 1: Slip (sl) first stitch, (K 1, sl 1) across.
Row 2: Slip 1st stitch, purl across.
Repeat rows 1 & 2 until heel flap is approximately square or 15/17 more times if you're counting. Work Row 1 once.
Turn heel: Sl 1, purl 16/20, purl 2 together (P2 Tog), purl 1, turn.
Row 1: Sl 1, knit 3, ssk (slip one stitch as if to knit, slip another stitch as if to knit, move both stitches back to the left needle and knit them together through the back loops), knit 1, turn.
Row 2: Sl 1, purl 4, P2 Tog, purl 1, turn.
Continue to work rows 1 & 2, working one more stitch before the SSK or P2 Tog (these will be the stitches on either side of the turning gap "Mind the Gap" hee hee) until you have worked all the stitches. End with a knit row. Do not turn!
Pick up 16/18 stitches along the side of the heel flap. (Don't worry if you're off a stitch or two either way. Just remember the number and be sure to pick up the same number on the other side of the heel flap.) Pick up one stitch between the heel stitches and the instep stitches, then work the instep stitches in the established ribbing pattern.**** Pick up a second stitch between the instep stitches and the other side of the heel. Then pick up and knit 16/18 stitches along the side of the heel. Work 1/2 the stitches remaining from the heel. Your beginning of round should be back where it was before you started your heel. You will have 38/42 stitches for your instep (needles 2 and 3, or just 2 if you're working with 4 needles) and the same number of stitches on each of the other two needles. Knit the stitches on needle one, K2 Tog on the next needle (beginning of instep), work to the last two instep stitches, SSK. (You have 36/40 instep stiches. These extra picked up stitches at the heel/instep juncture neaten up the join so there're no gappy holes there.)
Decrease Gusset Stitches: Round 1: Knit to last 3 stitches on Needle 1, K2 Tog, K 1. Work across instep stitches in established pattern, on Last Needle K1, SSK, knit to end.
Round 2: Knit all stitches Needle 1, work instep stitches in established pattern, knit all stitches on Last Needle.
Repeat these two rows until there are the same number of stitches you started with -- 68/80. Continue working even until sock is about 2" shorter than desired length.
Toe Shaping Note: I'm kind of picky about my toe shaping. If you can do something nifty fairly easily, why not? I shape my toes for the right/left foot. You can certainly ignore this and choose one or the other to work on both feet if you like. Knitter's choice.
Right Foot Toe Shaping: Work to the last 2 sts on Needle 1, K2 Tog. Knit to 2 stitches less than 1/2 of instep stitches (this is where working with 5 needles is handy) K2 Tog, work to last 2 sts on needle, K2 Tog, work to last 2 sts on Last Needle, K2 Tog.
Next round: Knit around even.
Repeat these two rounds until 10/12 stitches remain in each quadrant (40/48 stitches total), then work decrease (first) round every round until 8 sts total remain. Cut yarn, and thread through these 8 stitches, pull tight and secure to finish off.
Left Foot Toe Shaping: SSK, knit to end of Needle 1, SSK, work remaining half of instep stitches, SSK, knit to end of instep stitches, on Last needle SSK, knit to end of round.
Next Round: Knit around.
Repeat these two rounds until 10/12 stitches remain in each quadrant (40/48 stitches total), then work decrease (first) round every round until 8 sts total remain. Cut yarn, and thread through these 8 stitches, pull tight and secure to finish off.

*You can size these up or down by increasing/decreasing by a multiple of 4. Use the closest multiple of 4 to half your stitch count for the heel flap -- round down to get it if you need to. The stockinette for the flap and bottom of the foot will pull in less, and the fit won't be compromised. That's why the smaller size above uses 32 sts for the heel instead of 34 (half).

**This is a weaving yarn and is available through weaving supply retailers. Try Here or Here. You can substitute any other 8/2 yarn (Bamboo! Cotton/linen! Tencel! Silk!) but they'll be more expensive. You can also use a 5/2 mercerized cotton by itself, but this is also more expensive, and you will need to swatch for gauge. See first note for re-sizing. The 8/2 cotton is pretty inexpensive, ranging from $6 to $14 a pound which is alot of yarn. (Some places will sell you a half pound, but I've not really seen it sold less than that.) That's why I don't list an amount. You'll have more than enough for a pair. And it comes in like a million colors. See if you can get a friend or two to split it with you. If all else fails you can always e-mail me, I love the socks I knit.

***My test socks shrank about 10% both length and width-wise when put through the washer and dryer. But when tried on, they stretched easily back to their original size. Make your socks to fit exactly (no ease) and they should be fine. Oh yeah, did I mention washer and dryer? With your jeans? Easy care.

****This is why you started the ribbing with a single knit stitch. It ends up centering the ribbing on the instep. Cool, huh? It's not crucial, but purls at the ends of needles tend to be looser than otherwise. (Even if you pull tight, it's a spatial thing.) This eliminates that.

Take My Word on It

I had a long and busy day today and met up with other local knitters, bloggers and not. But I forgot my camera (after reminding myself to put it in my bag last night) so you'll have to imagine and take my word that I actually saw them. First, Heather and her boys came and met me for lunch at the Arts Festival. Lunch was good, there was some good music, we got to see some cool artists' wares (the boys were intrigued by the didgeridoos) and we bumped into Janice, another (blogless) knitter from our Friday night knitting group. We knitters are everywhere! We also stopped by Ewe Can Knit, where Heather showed great restraint for someone not committed to knitting from her stash. (If they had still had some Trekking yarn I think things might have gone differently, though.)

After work I headed off to the Beehive for a Fiber Fest planning meeting and met up with Zeeppo and his brigade, along with DDancer and Carla (no current blog) and I think I met the Mystery Male Knitter! How exciting is that? I stayed and knit for a bit, but had to come home to the guys and laundry. (I was tired and hungry.) All of that in one day! But no pictures.

But I do have one picture for you. Here's my newest commuter knitting, it's Pomatomus. I won the yarn from Steel City Knitter. It looks just like tropical water. They make me think of my sister who love these colors and tropical waters. I've also started more Cotton Socks (NEW! With STRIPES!) for home knitting. I'm wondering how long it will take me to knit up all that yarn...

Another Day

Another pair of socks knitted. Yep, it's another completed project every day here at Still My Life, With Knitting. These are the Cotton Socks. Pattern coming Tomorrow! (Or thereabouts) But here are the highlights. Yarn, 8/2 cotton (unmercerized) held double -- two colors here, grey and black. Size 1 needles. Notice the toes on these -- much better, IMHO, than the blocky grafted toes on the Jaywalkers from yesterday. And the ribbing, a good way to make a nice comfortable, stretchy sock from an inelastic yarn. I'm going to wash these up over the weekend, we'll see what a trip through the washer and dryer does for them.

I'm excited for Knitting Knite tomorrow. Hopefully Heather will be able to make it. We haven't seen her in weeks. Something about not wanting to leave the kids home alone. Whatever. They were sleeping anyways. (Personally, I would have just brought my kids and made them sleep at B&N. But that's just me. My kids were the ones trying to lie down and sleep on a sidewalk in London.) I know CQ will be there, because I'm driving her. And Carly says she's coming with her new knitting friend, and hopefully we'll see Zeepo and his wife, so we should have a good crowd. Knitting, conversation, a good excuse not to be working...what more could you ask for? I know, coffee, but they have that over in the cafe.

Once in a Blue Moon

I will have once again finished two socks this week. This time they will both make a pair.
First up, the second Jaywalker. I'm very pleased with the pair, they fit great (I made the larger size) and the color really is awesome. It looks so much better knitted up than it did in the skein. Warm wool socks! Just in time for the 90 degree weather!
Next up my first pair of cotton socks. They match my laptop so well, don't they? I only have 8 more (increasingly smaller) rounds to finish these up, so they should get done tomorrow. Two pairs of socks in a week. How often does that happen?

In other stuff, I'm beginning planning and preparation for a graduation party for Older Son. I should have done some work towards it tonight, but exhaustion and pain got the better of me and I got sucked into watching too many episodes of Stargate SG-1 with the guys. (Season 3 was OS's birthday gift.) Family bonding and getting to sit on my butt or lots of hard work and sweating. Hmmmm, how's that one going to fall out?? But I really have to focus on getting the work done.

And finally, from my last post, Holly -- Kathy Sierra is/was a tech blogger who was subjected to death threats and threats of sexual violence both in the comments of her own blog and in other blogs. This included graphic (photoshopped) photos of her and posting her personal information (name, address, social security number). CNN and the New York Times picked up the story last month. She has closed down her blog and cancelled public speaking engagements because of safety concerns. The owners of the blogs in question claim they don't know who made the posts, but it was someone with author rights (which they had to have granted). Everyone involved seems to be saying that this kind of behavior is unacceptable and we can't just brush it off because it's "only on-line".

Progress

My neighbors are setting off firecrackers as I type, and let me tell you, that's how I feel about the upcoming long weekend. Here's the latest on the Jaywalker progress. I have shaped the heel and am starting on the gusset. I love me a good heel gusset. This sock will be put away until Monday when I go to my MiL's for the family Memorial Day cookout. I'll be working on the Cotton Socks until then. (And catching up on the TiVo watching. And maybe some Star Wars movies) Maybe I'll get both these socks done this weekend. And then what? I'm thinking some baby things, maybe.

I've been commissioned to repair an heirloom crocheted blanket that was eaten by a dog. I have not as yet seen the damaged article, nor accepted the commission. I simply said I would take a look and give my opinion. But I hear that the blanket is made up of crocheted squares and the damaged/missing portion is at the seam/edge of a square(s), so it may be fix-able. We'll see.

Finally, coming late to the party (again) I just read about the whole Kathy Sierra ordeal. I think there's something about an anonymous (or what people believe is anonymous) forum that can bring out the worst in people. And if you believe it "can't happen in the knitting community" let me tell you it can. About 10 years ago when I was just starting out in the on-line community I joined a couple of knitting mailing lists. In one of them (for charity knitting, no less!) I made a casual remark about a national charity. Unbeknownst to me, there was some behind the scenes issues going on between the owner of the list and this charity and I happened to walk into the middle of it. Let me say at the outset that the remark I made was A) True (I did my research!) and B) Complimentary (I said they were doing good work!). Well. SOMEONE at this charity decided that they didn't like what I'd said or (more likely) the forum I'd said it in and called me at my home (!) to threaten me and my family. Think about that a minute. All this guy had was my FIRST name (not even my last!) and the city I lived in so he had to actually put a fair amount of effort into TRACKING ME DOWN. Kinda scary. But it gets worse! I looked up the national headquarters of this charity and contacted them because I thought they should know what some crackpot was doing to their reputation only to be told by the woman I spoke with that yes, they knew who had called me, and that yes, he did work for them and that they stood by the threats he had made. Well, at that point I hung up and contacted the police. (And yes, the charity is still around, still purporting to do "Christian" work. Every time I see it mentioned in a knitting magazine it makes me want to throw something.) I guess my point in all this is that you can never be too careful. Be smart, don't give out too much personal information, and be ready to go to the police if necessary. I agree that when it threatens your life, your livelihood, or your safety (or your family's) it's not "free speech". And just because a forum is anonymous, that doesn't mean it's a free for all.

Best Laid Plains

Because of longer than expected commuting today, I am already at the heel of my second Jaywalker. So what will be my next carry-along project? I'm seeing an end in sight here. I have to make Older Son some graduation socks. There's also the Languishing Lopi-Like sweater (hereafter dubbed the LLL Sweater). And I need baby things. Did you see Yarn Harlot's rainbow baby sweater? $160?? No way, not when I have all that Easter Egg dye and undyed yarn laying around. Which brings me to, what about this long weekend? Sounds ripe for some dyeing to me! I might break out the hemp and maybe a t-shirt and tie one one. (Sounds bad, doesn't it?) And there's Older Son's sweater and vest I have the yarn for, and something for Younger Son, all that Noro I bought at the end of December, the navy yarn I got last summer, lace...the list goes on. And remember, I'm knitting from stash here. I think I could go another year from the stash (but I won't).

Thank You For Your Support

Thank you for the kind words on my latest socks. All I can think of when I look at the picture is...Gosh, I have big feet.
I have been working on my mates, too. Here's the second Jaywalker. I both love this yarn and the pattern. I think I will rework the next pair I make with my new favorite Star Toe shaping. I'm thinking Rainbow Trekking yarn, Celtic Queen. And I think I definately need to get you a skein or two of this yarn colorway for Celting socks. It is so their colors. (I told CQ last Friday, if the Celtings had a national flag, it would be these colors.) I myself am tempted to go out and buy a pair of Crocs to match in order to showcase them to their best advantage.
And the cotton socks. I included the cones with the second sock so you can see how much I have left. Do you think it's enough??? The next pair of these are going to be for Dave. And TKR you could so totally make socks. I'll show you at our next Knit Knite. (Bring sock yarn and size 1 or 2 double points.)

Two Socks

I've completed two socks. They don't however, happen to make a pair. My first Jaywalker and my first Cotton Sock. I'm still really liking this Cotton Sock. I think I'll make this sock pattern my June pattern of the month. (I know, I know, I haven't gotten the May pattern up yet. Still working on it.) And I'm liking the Star Toe for socks, much better than my old standard grafted toe.

In other news, today had been a good day. Work was good, my commute home was exceptionally good, and this evening has gone very well. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Somewhere some poor person is having all my bad luck. Or maybe my bad luck has run out! I've been watching alot of Mary Tyler Moore, maybe that's the secret. The positive attitude is rubbing off on me, like some kind of sit-com magic lamp...

This Could Be a Sign You've Eaten Too Much Birthday Cake

There I was, snarfing down the last of the birthday cake when I got some icing on my hand. I was going to lick it off when I saw this:

Older Son's birthday went well.
I presented him with his socks on his birthday morning, which he wore immediately. We took him out to dinner on Friday. Saturday we went to a movie and lunch, then had cake and ice cream with my dad.
Older Son is getting set to blow out his candles. Yeah, there's a cake and a big cookie there. OS doesn't like cake (No one who knows me and my predilection for cake can believe this. I think it was when Dave dropped him on his head when he was a baby.) Yesterday we finally got around to giving him his gift and he asked "Where are we going out to celebrate my birthday today?" Yeah, it's not just a birthday, it's a week-long birthday extravaganza around here.


On to the knitting content. By stint of carrying it with me virtually everywhere and knitting on it almost all the time, I have gotten this far on my first Jaywalker sock. I also finished the first of the cotton socks (not pictured) which fits me and which I really like.
And finally, I won a contest over at Steel City Knitter's and got this fabulous sock yarn. I love the colors. Although I'm tempted by more Socks in Socks, I'm thinking I'll use this yarn to make Pomatomus. I've been wanting to make it for a long time, but didn't have the perfect yarn. This yarn reminds me of tropical water and the pattern makes me think of ripples on water. A perfect match, I'd say. Thanks again, SCK!!

Miss Me?

I fell asleep last night before I could blog, which is a Good Thing. I've been having trouble sleeping lately, so I'm happy and feel pretty good considering it's a Thursday. However. I finished the knitting on the Socks in Socks and was going to show you my amazing finishing off of the toes and the dramatic reveal of the completed pair. Well. I completed the knitting on the bus ride to work -- then looked up and spied my friend and fellow fiber enthusiast Beverly (I'd been so engrossed in the knitting I hadn't spotted her until then) and proceeded to have an animated discussion about knitting and crocheting over the girl sitting between us (who did not seem entirely thrilled about it) until it was time to get off the bus. I told myself the weaving in and out of ends was too fiddly for the bus, anyways.
Then I started a NEW Project at work (when I should have been doing other things like paying bills and returning phone calls) because well, that weaving of toes WAS very fiddly, and I needed something to work on on the T and bus ride to my dad's and back after work. (Jaywalkers with Trekking XXL). So when I finally got around to the poor neglected Socks in Socks I pulled them out of the knitting bag and lost a needle. After much cursing and frustration (did I mention what a B&*%$ it is to pick up dropped stitches with this technique? No room at all between the needles) I just ripped out all the needles and separated the two. Here's the Inner Sock all done.
The Outer Sock...Well, as you can see it's still a work in progress. I had to rip back quite a way to get all the stitches straightened out. But I did, and it's progressing nicely enough in it's backwards way (purling on the far needle in the round, because of the inside out construction.) I will either finish up tonight or tomorrow morning early and present to the Birthday Boy (who will be 18 at 1:17 AM precisely) first thing in the morning.

Spritzy Yarn Seeks Perfect Soul Mate

I am knitting the toe decreases on the latest and greatest Socks in Socks. There should be no problem in getting these done for the big day on Friday. We will have a small celebration on the day, and our main family celebration on Saturday when we will go see Spiderman III (Older Son's choice) and have lunch. It has become a family tradition to celebrate birthdays by going to see a movie first thing on the Saturday closest to the birthday and then lunch at the birthday celebre's choice of eating establishment. I think it will be Pizza Hut. Can you believe I'm the mother of an 18 year old? I told a friend it doesn't seem like it's been 18 years, but it does feel like I've had 18 years sucked out of me... I will be happy to be done with these socks, though. Because of the small needle size (0s) the knitting is tight, and I'm feeling it in my hands. And quite frankly I'm tired of the murky man colors. Good thing I can look up and see this
waiting for a project to do it justice. This is my spritzer yarn, and the more I look at it the more I like it. Here's another shot. (Blurry, but you can see the color blending)
I have two skeins and am in search of the perfect project for them.

Weekend Knitting

My weekend knitting was spent working on my cotton socks (at home). I've turned the heel, and I am still really liking this knitting with the two strands of cotton yarn. It's a tiny bit stiff, and a little sleazy* for my taste; but I think that when I'm done and throw them in the washer and dryer they will both shrink and soften right up and be the perfect cotton socks! I'm not sure who these are destined for, final dispensation will be determined by shrinkage. Once I have that figured out I'll be able to size future pairs appropriately to the recipient.

We spent Mother's Day at my Mother in Law's. Everyone goes over for a work day, doing chores for her that she's unable to do for herself. Since I'm a mother too, my chore was to sit on the couch and knit. So I worked on my Socks in Socks. They are ready for me to start the toe shaping tomorrow. Which is good, because they are meant to be Birthday Socks for Older Son and the big day is Friday.

*I was explaining to Heather last week that this word is used in its correct context here, that being a too open, loosely constructed (flimsy) fabric or yarn.

Greener Me

If you've been following along, you may remember that I've been taking public transportation not only to and from work this month, but also to and from my dad's. This involves two T trips and a bus to get from my dad's house to mine. The trip from home to work is one bus ride, and from work to my dad's one T ride. But because of construction and timing, the same leg of the trip that would take one T ride from my dad's normally now takes two (and will until November). But amazingly (and I may be the only person in Pittsburgh affected this way) the construction has actually helped me get home in that every bus I could possibly take home stops at the stop I'm waiting at, not just the most frequent but takes longer to get me home bus. Also, surprisingly, time wise it's a wash. I could take the bus home and drive to my dad's every day and then drive home, but I'd still get home for good at the same time. This way I save money, and I'm burning less fossil fuels. Also, I get to knit! For about an extra hour to an hour and a half a day! But it's not all good, I really miss Kai Ryssdal (Whew, I just saw his pic for the first time. I'm glad he's not butt ugly, he has such a hunky voice. This is why I don't like to see radio people.) I think this means I have to get an ipod and download the podcast to listen to on the T. But anyways, I'm feeling super virtuous and all "Earth Goddess-y" now because I'm not driving around polluting. Just don't ask me to give up the air conditioner this summer and no one gets hurt. Hey--it's not like it's whole house air conditioning, it's just my bedroom. The boys can deal with the heat, they're young.
So in that same vein, I present to you the dye I bought at MDS&W to dye all that hemp/cotton yarn I bought a couple years ago for 50 cents a skein. It's hemp! It's renewable! Yea! Soon it will be dyed red, yellow, blue, and some funky variations in between. Could be spotty! And we could do some tye-dyeing of t-shirts, too. And to end on a colorful note, here's the multi cotton I got to make socks for me. Two cones, seems perfect to me. These are manageable enough that I may make them bus knitting.

Fast Forward to Summer

It appears that we have moved right into summer after only two and a half weeks of spring. Temps in the mid-80s today. With all due respect to you beach babies, I'm feeling kinda miserable. The transition was a little too quick, I think. Not enough time for my blood to thin out. Here is the current Sock in a Sock project. As you can see, I've turned the heel, finished the gusset and am on the long back stretch to the toe. I see CQ is trying to finagle Julia to sell her yarn to make her own Sock in a Sock socks (it works best with self striping yarn.) Speaking of which, take a look at the socks above. I wanted stripes that didn't match up. No prob, I never ever take the time to match my stripes for socks, just pull out the end of the skein and start knitting. So when I really want the mismatched stripes, what happens? For the first time in my life, two skeins are exactly matched in their striping sequence at the beginning of the skeins. Yeah, that's my luck.

Where Are They??

I'm still trying to hold on to the fibery feelings from the weekend. But it's tough. I worked ten hours yesterday, and what with the public transportationing to my dad's and all, I didn't get home until 9:45. I was a little tired. And everywhere I went I was surrounded by people with mucous issues. Snork, hawk, spit, over and over and over. Ewww. Tonight it worked better -- I figure it's only about 20 minutes longer doing it this way, and I'm being productive by knitting. I'm now past the gusset in the Socks in Socks. I'm trying to sort out my decreases. I think I might have the pattern perfected on the next pair. Part of the problem, of course, is that you can't see the socks, not really. Just the inside of them. And too, there's very little room to work between the two socks. A dropped stitch is a nightmare to pick up.
Anyways. Here are my Cotton Socks. I try to knit a round on them every day (in the morning while I watch the news). It's about all I have time for.

But back to trying to hold on to the fibery goodness. What sticks with me are the people, and how great it was to be surrounded by so many other people who get it. I really believed the woman who said she made enough money from her spinning wheel to pay her utilities, and I really want to believe Carol Leigh, that I would recoup the price of my tri-loom if I sold 2 shawls. (But really, the thing cost almost $300.) Where the heck are these people who are willing to pay over $150 for a shawl? Or even to buy my handspun? I really need to find them, because I want that fiberful kind of existence.

Back to Reality

Well, after a lovely weekend in Maryland, it was back to work today. Maryland was great! Celtic Queen and I were there both Saturday and Sunday. Here are some highlights:

This is the line(s) for Socks That Rock. CQ waited in it, and ended up with 2 skeins. Note there are 2 lines there, one to get into the booth to see the yarn, and another one to actually pay for the yarn. I was not purchasing any STR. (They didn't have any of the colorways I wanted anyways.)
Here is the line to purchase T-shirts. I was going to wait in it while CQ was purchasing her STR, but when I saw how long it was I opted for sitting on a bench and knitting. I ended up getting alot of natural/white yarn at Little Barn with some dyeing experiments in mind. I also got some silk caps to spin and some more 8/2 cotton for making socks (it was only $6.50 a pound!!) I got some navy and gold (blue and gold are Older Son's college colors, so guess what he's getting for his graduation gift?) Also some dark green, rust, and some bright candy variegated just for me. Hmmmm, what else? Oh yeah, a 7' Tri-loom! I've been looking at them for 10 years now and finally decided to go for it. But I did not get the Schacht wheel, even though I tried one and it spins like a champ! I was sorely tempted!!
After shopping all day CQ and I were pretty tired, so we stopped and knit on some Red Scarves and relaxed.

Here's all our loot in the back of the van:


And the trip was even better because I got to see my sister and we got to stay with my best friend from high school who runs the greatest four star flop house within striking distance of MDS&W. We're already planning for next year.

Saved by the Library

I forgot my knitting today. No knitting on my extra-long commute. I was saved in the morning by sitting and chatting with my friend Janice. I was sorely tempted to go to the yarn store at lunch and get some yarn and needles for my extra-long commute home. But then a flash of brilliance struck and I went to the library and checked out the book I'm reading at home (and my luck was in -- they had a copy). So I read and my stash resolution is saved.
But no knitting today. My socks in Socks are at the heel flap.
Look! you can see right through. And because I have to push for more (we can make it better, stronger, faster) I am working this heel in my usual slip stitch pattern (I just did straight stockinette on the first one.)

Otherwise, I'm struggling to get the excitement up for MDS&W. I promised CQ I'd go, so I'm going. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably just skip this weekend. Too much to do -- the lawn is about as high as an elephant's eye and no one else here feels compelled to do anything about it. And I have to find stuff. Stuff I was told was one place but that I find now when I need it that it is not. And OF COURSE no one knows where it really is. So that means a major search, and since I'm really the only one impacted here....Well. This could take months.

New! And Improved!

I'm trying out new things this month. First off my blog. In an effort to generate more blog traffic (and, I have to sheepishly admit, to fan my fantasies about garnering a book deal), I've decided to post a monthly free pattern here. At least for the next year (maybe longer, we'll see how it goes), I'll put up a free pattern here at the blog every month. This month's selection is the Fleur de Lis Scarf. A perfect introduction to the Fairisle knitting technique and the answer to the common knitting dilemma of "I want my scarf to have vertical stripes, but I don't want a million stitches in a row." I will try to style it a bit more for the pattern photo. Here's how I see it, I'll publish the patterns as .pdf files, and store them on my webpage, with thumbnails here if I can work it out. I've got some things to set up, so have a little patience with me.

My other change is my evening routine. I've decided to cut down on my carbon emissions (no, I'm not cutting beans from our diets) by utilizing more public transportation. So starting today I took the T to my dad's and then walked over a mile to catch the bus that takes me almost home, then caught another bus to take me the rest of the way home. I'm undecided. The whole trip took the better part of an hour and a half to make what is normally a 25 minute car trip. Most of this extra time was spent walking to the bus stop/home (25 minutes and 10 minutes) and waiting for buses (15 and 10 minutes), so my actual riding time was the same. And I do need the exercise. Tomorrow I will see if taking the T back to town and then catching the bus home is more efficient time-wise. I'm kind of hoping it's not too far off because I think the bus I caught may be about to be eliminated. (That's the way my luck runs.)