Sheepspyjamas

Sheepless Nights

2011-03-13T18:22:00.000-05:00

My little girl has a blog of her own -- see her here: http://4joylove.blogspot.com/. I'm guessing this means I'll have to start up again, just to have a place for her to comment (it's only fair, if I get to bombard the Smidgereen's place with comments, she'll need something to comment on here as well, hmm?).

Lots has happened since I've last written, life changes, major adjustments; it's mind-boggling to me when I think about it, and I'm working on making some more big changes even still. I'm thinking that maybe it'll be better to add them in slowly and play catch up gradually. At any rate, nutshell version, Smidge and the Boy live elsewhere now and are heartily and heartbreakingly missed (until the summer, they come back for the summer!), I live elsewhere as well, with a wonderful elseone (a perfect knight for sheepy nights and days as well?) and am learning a lot about basilisks and stuff you might not expected to be relatively related. Are you confuzzled yet?

Oh, and it's March. March is full of mind-blowingly important dates, a Smidgen birthday and two related anniversaries. And a rush to complete a pair of socks, March's Madness lives through socks in these parts, and the first heat is up to just past the second heel. Must be finished by Friday. More to come, dates and data and dabbles, oh my...

You'd Think...

2008-03-27T17:37:00.004-05:00

That having a collection of FO’s would offer sweet incentive to write a chattily witty post declaring them. You’d think… I’m not totally sure about the chatty (ask me again at the end of the post), but I’m pretty sure you’ll have to forego any inspired wittiness. There is a post – that’s one of the factors at least, right?

In no particular order:

Tall Tibetan Socks ala Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways For Sock Knitters -- second sock complete (finally!) Sadly, they still need blocking, so I’ve plugged the photos of sock 1 in for my FO shot (I promise, the second sock looks nearly identical to the first, with the exception that the spiral spirals in the opposite direction):

Kureyon Kozies: I wanted to make Knitty’s Kureyon Kozy for my MIL, but she keeps her house fairly cool and was concerned that the open spout would let her tea cool too quickly. We both agreed, though, that the sleeker Knitty cozy was quite the thing (doesn’t it sound more like I’m describing a racecar – really, when did I decide that a teapot cozy needed to be sleek?) and so compromised (Compromise? Waitaminit here…). I give you the Kureyon Kozy and the accompanying Kozy Cap. (For all my kvetching – MIL loves knit gifts, but has yet to accept one that she didn’t first redesign – the cozies were pleasantly quick and easy knits, quite enjoyed, and MIL is hip-hip-happy with them)

FlickaDot’s birthday socks – Lykkefanten’s Go Gryffindor Socks. They’ve been done for a while, but I was afraid to post them earlier as Dumpling still drops in here occasionally. Her birthday party was last Sunday (how many girls can boast that the Easter bunny visited them especially, for their birthday, and that their main party game was an Easter egg hunt?) and she’s already got them, so no secrecy needed anymore. And, yes, she loves them, and I believe she was saving them to wear to school today (hope she didn’t forget)…

Lykkefanten has also just released the Such A Slytherin version, yarn for which I’m currently hunting. I’d love Slytherin/Snape stuff even if only to hear how vehemently Flicka shrieks “But Maaaahm, how can you – he’s mean to Harry!” Boys are still icky, it’s not quite a Potteresque crush yet, but close – after all she’s a totally grown up nine years old now!...

Plain old no pattern traveling rib black scarf. I’m always griping about short scarves, so I finally got myself in gear and fixed the problem… It aimed to be 6’ long, grew a little more, and wraps and drapes and ties, you name it, all happily at the same time. And winter even hung around long enough for me to actually use it this year!

‘Nother plain old no pattern basic boy mittens. He needed them in a hurry, and there was some bulky handspun, but it was white. White for a little boy’s mitten set – I don’t think so. Carry along a strand of thin brownish stuff and voila!

One other… My first “Baby Surprise Jacket”. Teaser picture only as it’s a gift for a friend that stops in here sometimes and though it’s not a surprise, I’d like her to see it in her own hands first… Picture to follow eventually…

That’s all for now… The wait is on for Sock Madness 2 Round 2 and I’m having difficulty focusing on other things (I know, I did say it wouldn’t be all-consuming this year, and it totally isn’t, honest, truly!... Just, well, I need to swatch for the lace pattern, and I’m thinking about yarn, and I can’t wait to see the pattern for next round to pick the best match, and… Is it Tuesday yet? Should I start checking my In-Box?).

TTFN………………………………..

Z is for Z-Z-Z-Z-Zombie!

2008-03-21T16:33:00.005-05:00

Sock Madness has begun again, so you’ll maybe understand and forgive any upcoming fits of babbling incoherence. I’ve promised myself I’d take it easier this year and knit for fun rather than for the sake of franticness, but, hmm… It feels much like we’ve picked up right where things paused last year (a lot of the same folks came back for more of the punishment… er… comeraderie… that is…) and I can already feel the adrenalin rush (even though the first round has been much more relaxed than what I remember from later on…)

Anyway, here are my Zombie Socks (a fab design, quite a fun knit) by blogless Emm1e (Ravelry link) as of March 14th bedtime:

And here they are at noon, March 17th:

Made it through Round 1 – phew!!!

Zombie also works for my other semi-along. 5 Element Knitter is hosting an Alphabet Soup Challenge, after proving on her own blog that it can be done... The goal is to title blog entries successively from A-Z without any miscellaneous in-between entries. She’s got prizes and all for the first to finish, but mainly I figure it’ll be a good way to get myself blogging regularly again, having the next letter as a challenge to figure in.

Me being me, inside out, left to right, and backwards, I’m starting from Z and working to A instead. I was debating doing it this way, just because, when the Zombie pattern was announced and “Z for Zombie” clinched ti. Not sure if my wrong-way-ed-ness will put me out of the contest, but it’ll be a fun challenge even if it does…

TTFN and TTTL…

Out of Hiding

2008-02-14T10:22:00.003-05:00

I can’t quite figure how it’s been since August since I last posted. Ravelry happened (hey, it’s me, Sheepspyjamas there too), but I haven’t been all that active there either. There are a few projects and all, but I haven’t been writing here, there, anywhere. Burnout or some such – I love having posts to blog, but the writing isn’t as easy as it seems like it ought to be and I do have difficulty starting things that appear like they might be involved or discouraging of late (as anyone who has seen the state of my house and housework, or lack of, can totally attest to…)

Anyway, here’s another bit of ketchup (watch out, don’t get any on your clothes), and I’ll try to do better, promise:

Recently finished:

(Honestly, I did finish this for true, just needs a photo, but since Boy has already borrowed them from me, well...)

In the Works:

(I’m working my way through Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters, aiming to complete at least one of each “type”).

(Stalled Knitty's Hey Mickey... This will probably surface again when the dash to knit keep me warm stuff gives way to short skirt weather again...)

(His and hers, both semi-stalled...)

(All but finished, blog later...)

And, pictureless, a simple ribbed black scarf for me, mindless project, in between the mad dash to mitten the kids.

Time, also for a little virtual housecleaning; I suspect I’ve broken many of my previous links/pictures. Please bear with me as I revamp the sidebar and do some “darning” in previous posts…

‘Nuff blather… it’s good to be back!

Ketchup

2007-08-10T08:52:00.001-05:00

Updates from yesterday...

Socks, completed version:

Forgotten bag, completed version:

The bag works out to be the perfect size to hold a ball of yarn while wandering -- I'm so pleased with it!
Pattern: Mine Own
Yarn: My Handspun
I plan to have the pattern ready to offer soon -- as with the socks, I want to try it out one more time, just because...

Forgotten project, in forgotten bag:
Knitty's Hey Mickey! child's skirt (not that you can tell much about it from the pictures)...

And, not leastly, Knitty's Prickly Girl child's tank, now all but completed:

Is it me, or are armholes longer than the overall garment length perhaps a tad excessive? Has anyone else read this pattern and interpreted it differently than I? I ended up with 15" straps on the front and 15" straps on the back that were supposed to be grafted together to complete the armhole. I'll be tying them together to accommodate a somewhat shorter length. I'm also waiting for a girly try-on before I "frill" the neckline and bottom edge a bit, just in case I need to firm up any gapping or somesuch. Almost fini... And even with my armhole concerns, I adore how it's worked out so far...

More later, I'm off to write a prize email I managed to neglect last night.

Second Wind

2007-08-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

What happened? Work happened (expanded job, learning curve, less downtime). Fish happened (sick seahorses, water changes, constant water testing = no evening me time). Hunny happened (his seahorses). Knit happened (I've been swatching, planning, ekeing out what little knitting time I can). Blog sorta got gypped along the way -- I'm sorry.

So I'm badgering Hunny for a notebook (I never knit in bed, but I sure could blog before bed) -- everybody say it winsomely together: "Hunny, a notebook for PJ, please?!". And I've been trying to figure out how to put a little more me time into the mix before the kids come back from camp and make all of this even more complicated. Me time is healthy, they tell me, right?

In the meantime (ha! Me time in the meantime...), here's what I have been doing, at least:

Green Socks:
Somehow I managed not to have the pictures I know I took of these on the sock blockers. They're done, but all I have to show for it is pictures from the past:

Take my word, though, they are among the "what little I've finished" set, and I'll manage pictures soon, promise. I even have another actual WIP version going, since I figured to offer the pattern to the BlogGods and wanted to make sure it actually worked first.

The "This Bag Was Made For Walking" [and knitting] Bag, made from the same handspun green as the socks. I managed to forget both the bag and the next project in line at home this morning, so they're both pictureless as well.

Knitty's Hey Mickey! skirt for Flicka-Dot. In progress, again, picture forthcoming.

Knitty's Prickly Girl tank, also for Flicka-Dot (first day of school, maybe?), blocked and ready to be joined to itself.

And a mystery shawl (no, not the mystery stole, a mystery shawl), to be discussed in more detail another day.

I've given up on Knews for now -- I just didn't find enough time, info, links (mostly time), and I'd rather not stress about whether or not I have something to offer today (online performance anxiety?), vicious cycle and all that. I do want to thank #1 Roving Reporter (get it? get it? Roving reporter?! Tee!) Golden Purl who singlehandedly came up with most of the links that did show. Bet she didn't even consider it a contest along the way, but there you have it. (Jean, I'll email you tonight and we'll see if I just perhaps can aid in your stash enhancement.) And, by the way, if you haven't already, hop on over to Golden Purl's blog -- she's having a contest of her own!

Ta for now, as I'd actually, finally, like to get this posted. Geez Loueeze, I missed you!...

On Your Marks...

2007-06-22T14:48:00.000-05:00

Get set...

Waitaminnit... This feels dejavu-ish, somehow...

Today begins another pair -- Socktopia Clementine socks for one last sock-sprint, Knit Off Competition (@wave, @cheer to all the other Team Koigu members). I seem to recall promising myself no more sock races for a ...looong... time, yet somehow.....

Ready...

2007-06-21T19:35:00.000-05:00

Set...

Go...

Happy Summer (of Socks) Solstice, everyone!

Bear With Me

2007-06-20T09:05:00.000-05:00

Not a heavy picture day (read that none, in fact) -- everything I'd want to photo is home and I'm stuck here (everything I'm wanting to swatch is there too... I so miss the days when I'd just run to the LYS for a quick fix...)...

I'm still trying to figure out what pattern to use for the SOS knitalong's beautiful beginnings project. I've determined that the yarn will be the green handspun from the SpinASockAlong project, but I've yet to come up with the perfect pattern for this particular yarn. More specifics tomorrow -- I'm planning on winding and measuring the yarn tonight, and I'm playing with pattern possibilities that may actually be photo-able by then.

My other busily current ~along has started collecting cards for folks to plan Vacation Bingo -- we're to pick out locations of other blogging vacationers and list them on a Bingo card, and our charming "tour guides" will call out places we're "passing" for us to mark off on our Bingo cards. Confused yet? It's really not as complicated as I've made it sound, and I can't wait to get started... I'm guessing this summer's vacations are going to be a blast!

Other non-along... I'm still fretting over the wedding shawl I mentioned and then sort of lost in the flow a while ago. My sister-in-law is getting married in a year (I can say this now as I've already chatted with her a bit about it) and I want to do some sort of lace shawl for her. She's planning on two ceremonies, one in Shanghai (where she and her fiancee live) and another in New York (she comes from Massachusetts, and that's close enough for most of the stateside friends and family), so I'll need to come up with something that will do double duty. I have some quite fine laceweight cashmere/silk blend in white that I'm hoping to use -- my swatch came out quite soft and I loved it right up to the point where I miscounted and dropped a bunch of stitches and managed to flummox the whole thing all at once (note to self: this is definitely a heavy-duty lifeline project!). The thing, though, is that I started thinking about this so long ago and just finally go the go-ahead, and now I'm not as excited as I was at the beginning. It's such a big project, and I still have to plan it out (we're thinking a combination of cultures, blended into the one shawl, possibly a Faroe style shawl with some Scandinavian and some Chinese styling...), and I'm not sure how to motivate myself to actually get going. I do still love the idea, and I'm hoping it'll pick up for me once I actually get it started......................... Also, if I do Faroe style shaping and the final fits through a wedding ring, does it still count as a ring shawl, does anybody know, or would it have to be a square or round shawl to qualify (silly detail, but it actually has some bearing...)?

Green Sheep, Green Sheep,

2007-06-14T12:27:00.000-05:00

Have you any wool?
Yes indeed, and my bobbin's full!

Singles to be Navajo-plied for the SpinASockAlong -- I'm thinking, perhaps to tie a few non-fiber "ends" together and call this a mult-along project. I'm working on a pair of socks (see below) of my own devising. I'm anticipating reworking the first set and tweaking the pattern a bit -- and I wanted something special for the first pair of "Summer of Socks", so, mine own yarn, mine own pattern, and two ~alongs for the price of one!

Knewsworthy for today:

Probably ya'll already know about it, but Knitty's summer issue is now available;

January One is hosting a "guess how many" contest;

And The Panopticon has announced an endeavor to begin "collecting" knitters to be photographed for his 1000 Knitters project, beginning on Saturday, July 14th in Chicago. Somehow, I'd expect Franklin will probably have more knitters than he can handle, but this is to be an ongoing project and, well, there you have it...

Knewslink: Hot Off The Press

2007-06-11T13:30:00.001-05:00

and all that!

Melanie at Pink Lemon Twist has opened up signups for her current mystery lace project: Mystery Stole 3, complete with the tantalizing question mark of beads in her button. I've knit the first mystery, sadly got sidetracked on the second (I did knit the socks), and I can attest that Melanie's patterns are well written and quite lovely. And yes, I've already joined up, and no, I'm not in anyway affiliated...

According to her blog desc, the first "clue" set of instructions will go out on Friday, June 29th, and subsequent clues will be available on Fridays thereafter. Supply requirements are posted in a file on the Yahoo Mystery Stole 3 page. At the very least, take a look!

Vacation Questionnaire

2007-06-11T11:32:00.000-05:00

(for the Knitters' Virtual Vacation Swap):

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why?
Alaska, hands down...Hmm... quiviut, traditional knitting, unspoiled nature, and did I mention quiviut?

2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why?
Sweden or Australia, it'd be difficult to decide...
As for Sweden, my ancestry is Swedish and I've particularly been drawn to Nordic knitting styles. I'd love to visit my "roots" and see what modern Swedish life and knitting is like now; to hopefully visit some of the past in person, rather than strictly through my book collection; and maybe be able to spend some time out and about in the other Nordic countries as well (if you're gonna travel that far, how could you not?)
As you may have gathered from #1, fiber is a necessity for any vacation I plan... I am also a once was diver, and love the marine life, and somehow Australia has always been up there among places I'd like to visit, even before I was fixated on fish and fiber...

3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries?
Yes, I've been on several cross-northern-US trips, driving from Massachusetts to Seattle and/or back. The last time, we drove to Seattle and took Amtrak back -- a highly recommended way to travel (particularly for a knitter!).

4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it?
No, I haven't. I'd consider Hawaii or Bali-Bali or the like to be traditionally exotic, but I suspect I'd enjoy something with a bit more of a knitterly focus a bit more...

5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why?
It would have to have been the trip to Seattle and Amtrak back. I've never been on any other official "vacation", really, so that was special in and of itself. I did discover that some of the family we were visiting in Seattle also knit and we did a mini-touristy-yarn crawl. I didn't know about the Swedish/Nordic heritage museum in Seattle at the time, so if I ever go back...

6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain.
Not really, not in Massachusetts. I did a bit of that when I lived in New York (school trips, etc.) and after I moved to Massachusetts I visited NY with a friend of mine and we played tourist a bit together (went to the top of the WTC, dinner out, etc.), but I've never really done that here. I'm quite looking forward to it now!

7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comber or an amusement seeker?
Some of each. I tend toward museums with a focus -- I've enjoyed the Childrens' Museum and Science Museum, and I'd plan to visit museums that focused on my interests, but I'm not much into artsy stuff or the like.

8. What's your favorite type of yarn?
Anything wool -- I knit mainly lace and socks, so I tend to stick with those weights if I'm not picking yarn for a particular project.

9. What's your least favorite type of yarn?
I'm afraid I'm one of the can't stand acrylic snobs (though I have occasionally found a specialty acrylic that I'd maybe knit with, I tend to "hands off" acrylic in general.

10. What items do you like to knit/crochet?
Socks and lace items. I also like cabled work -- variety, I love trying new things, and whatever I'm working on now will likely be the opposite end of the spectrum from what I was working on last. There's almost always at least one pair of socks on the needles. I know how, but I rarely crochet.

11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation?
Socks, what else? :*) I'll often also pack a lace project, for long stretches when I can focus, especially since a big project can compact into such a small space.

12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet?
I'm also an avid spinner; I spin a lot of my own yarn. I've been trying not to pick up any new... er... habits... as I've barely time for the ones I've already committed to...

13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise)
Not as far as I know.

14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite?
Favorite color is red; least would be tan, I guess. As Elmo is fond of saying, I love all colors, though I admit I tend to choose brights rather than pastels more often than not.

15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)?
Savory, indeed.

16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know?
Can't think of anything...
Thanks!

The Search for Thirst

2007-06-06T09:43:00.000-05:00

Rather than repeat an already wonderfully put post, I'll direct you to Golden Purl's "A Good Cause" page -- though the post may be a bit poignant, the cause is dear and the goal is hopefully easily reachable. Here's hoping we can surpass the goal, as Purl suggests, "stitch" by "stitch"....

Similar and different, all at once, it's time for Claudia's yearly 150 mile! Knitters Against MS ride. Similar, a worthwhile cause, an important cause; different in that this fits the contest category as well -- the prizelist is impressive; I'll refer you directly to Claudia's site for a listing.

And wait, there's more still -- along ~Alongs, Nona Knits is rather enforcing the ~along concept by offering the pattern for her new "Sidewinders: A PerpenSOCKular Pattern" (a sideways sock pattern that looks to work and fit well, note to all the SockManiacs that might recall a related thread during the competition)... where was I?... oh, offering the pattern in installments so we can all knit along separately together :*) The sock is quite pretty, and I fully plan to be amongst the ~alongers...

I actually have some blogstuff to post as well, so I may be back again later (depending upon how much work-type-work I actually get done today -- you think my thus far prudently unnamed employer might appreciate it if I came into the office to actually do some work along the way?).

Before I go, though, public thanks to Golden Purl, our reporter in the field, for being the first to offer much appreciated KnitKnews suggestions. If there are other links you'd like to see, please don't be shy to say so!

Tatatillthen...

4'10", Otherwise Known as Shorty

2007-06-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

Quick update today... You'll have noticed the links above this post, I hope -- my plan is that they'll stay available until they naturally "expire", making it easy to get from here to there until there is no longer knewslinky... Suggestions welcomed, and hopefully the list will lengthen...

New for today, or recent for today, as the case may be... The Girl on the Rocks contest asks folks for opinions relating to drum carders and/or crafting materials...

Also, just in case you hadn't read about it on one of the other numerous blogs planning for the weekend, this Saturday is the official Worldwide Knit in Public Day and there's lots going on. For those in my home Boston area, Guido of It's a Purl Man podcast fame will be hosting a KIP get together at Copley Plaza from 12:00 through 4:00. For those whose response is "Copley what?", the KIP main page lists a lot of other events by city / state / country that may sound more familiar or accessible.

Just Two KnewsFlashes Today --

2007-06-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

can you guess what this:

has to do with this? See, I knew it, you're so smart! I've been knitting since I was three (well, attempting to at three, I admit, but it did ultimately develop into what I call knitting today... -- and no, I have no intention of offering how many years ago that was, other than many...) and I've been knitting socks for years now. One of the reasons I tend to prefer toe up is that I have an invisible cast on that works to start off a round, seamless toe, and, well, grafting is Grafting. It sounds easy, and I've seen folks do it and make it look easy, but when I try, I quickly remember why I prefer toe up socks *insert rueful grin*. Apparently I'm not alone... Anyway, when I read Nona's Epiphany, I kinda felt like "here we go again", but I was at the toes of these:

so what did I have to lose? You know what? Epiphany! Hope it works for you too if you aren't already an accomplished grafter (or committed to toe up socks ;`) that is...

Oh, and you've probably figured from above, Horcrux are finished. I may have had too much yarn for the first pair out of this yarn, but there definitely wasn't too much yarn for the second, as evidenced by the interesting toe combo (which doesn't look quite as abrupt in person). Specs:
Yarn: Schaeffer Lola, left over from Sock Madness Mad-Tini socks
Needles: Addi Turbo Circulars, US1
Pattern: Horcrux Socks

KnewsFlash the Second is heavy on the Flash, light on the Knews (aka, more like a teaser than any actual info...). To put it into a thousand words or less:

Hubby is helping out techwise and the (hopefully imminent) goal will be to move here to there, there being sheepspyjamas.com, and I'm hesitating to do too much implementation (doesn't that sound like I almost know what I'm doing here? -- read that bribing folks to link to me and send Knewsbits in) before we move. But I'm committed (or will be, one way or the other) and excited and having fun making plans, and just not very good at being patient, so....................................

Item last: Here's my SpinASock to date...

I've been laundrying, and spinning, and laundrying and spinning (and spinning), and laundrying, and spinning (and prepping fiber, and spinning) (and spinning), and you get the picture, yes? Two bobbins, as I started off on one wheel and moved to one near the laundrymess afterwards. But there'll be enough to need two bobbins, anyway, I figure, and there's only so much laundrymess I can lay claim to. Ultimately, the plan is to Navajo-ply* the singles into a three ply and knit socks, pattern yet undecided. Oh, and please forgive the flash-ed photos; I did try to take a set without flash, but they were blurry, and by the time I got them onto my Mac to choose, well, this seemed the least offensive of the bunch.

* I'm told that Navajo-plying is no longer considered the appropriate term, as it's questionable whether "chained three ply-ing" actually originated from Navajo spinners. That said, it was certainly made known to me as Navajo-plying, and I do admit to still using Band Aids and Scotch tape, so I guess I'll just have to be questionable for now...

Happy weekend, all!

KnitKnews the First

2007-05-31T15:15:00.000-05:00

Otherwise known as an Attempt
To organize a Scatterblog...

Diva Knitting is having a contest in which she requests folks to comment on what makes a good blog for them, what, in particular, about a blog makes one want to return again. Hmm.... Intriguing... What makes me want to return? Humor, stories, pictures, FOs, all the usual... But if I had to figure one all-encompassing point, it would definitely be the humanity, the knowing of someone through their humor, stories, pictures, FOs... A sense of kinship, if you will. Which brings me to my blog, written by shyer than I may come across me, the me that has difficulty fostering a sense of kinship even with folks I'm close to RL... In thinking about this, it occurs that this may be behind the writing block I've had recently -- it's not so much that I'm unwilling to share, it's moreso that I can't imagine how you, gentle reader, might possibly be interested in the mundane that is my daily life.

So the crux of the issue: writing is difficult because I'm afraid y'all will be bored by the same things that attract me the most to other folks' blogs. What to do, what to do. I could try to be funny, but I'm not really, truly... I can give you stories, but eventually they'll have to be contrived... I can, however, offer news, pertinencies, a collection of the mundane and the not, blurb by blurb, catalogued to help weed through it (I've added librarian to my collection of must have been past lives -- gotta love making lists of stuff!).

Today I offer Knit Knews...

ContestKnews:
... The contest that sparked this all off: Diva Knitting's blogiversary contest. Leave a comment by midnight tonight telling the Diva what makes for a good knit blog...

... MimKnits Three Questions contest... Fairly self-explanatory -- note that MimKnits is not accepting responses via comments, she requests that you email her instead. Contest ends at 12:27 AM Mountain Time on Friday, June 1st (interesting choice of timing explained in the contest notes)...

For both the get me started links to these contests and the idea of Knit Knews "Contest Central", I must credit Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos. I've long visited her site for the quick up low down on who is having which contests where, and I expect she'll continue to provide info in a much more exciting fashion than I'll manage. Hopefully my lists will offer a variety of other blips and blurbs as well and I won't end up stepping on her toes or whatnot -- and I totally encourage you to stop by her place to see what else I've missed...

~AlongKnews:
To start, I'm pretty much offering detail on a few of my sidebar items...
... Firstly, the Knitters' Virtual Vacation Swap is now "open for business", first stop Kiritimati, Christmas Islands (Christmas in June, would that be then, almost?)... The whole Virtual Vacation thing sounds like a blast to me -- why'ncha stop by and have a look? They're limiting themselves to 150 tourists, so hurry on by -- be there or be mitered!

... New to me, as I wasn't part of Socktopia during the first Knit Off, but they're planning a Rematch for sometime soon (June, possibly, exact date not yet specified). If you're interested, I'd imagine that joining Socktopia would be a good place to start...

... Small stuff, comparitively, but the Anonymous ...er... SockLady? Socker-Person? SockAlongIst? ...um... SheWhoBlogs at Socks Anonymous and I are starting our SpinASockAlong as of today. Really, it's just the two of us so far; we both got a set o' socks worth ball of the same wool in the same color at the same fair, and we'll both be spinning for socks, knitting for socks, and seeing just how the two pairs compare. Should be a cool-ish experiment, with maybe a laugh or two along the way. We're not, though, committed to being exclusive, so if you want to sit down and SpinASock along with us, give us a hey-hey, please do. (I know there was at least one tentative nibble on the virtual fishing line, but I've managed to lose the comment/info, I'm so sorry -- please, give me another head's up if you'd still like to play along?)

WhoKnewsWho:
I've had a rotating linklist in my sidebar for almost as long as I've had a blog. I like this idea, and I'd like to expand it into a composite of knitblogs (hopefully eventually to be randomized with each reload; working on that, not quite as easy as you, or at least *I'd* imagine...). If you've a knitblog and you'd like to be linked, please give me a shout out -- merrier is more and all that!

And, you guessed, have you guessed, I'd love to hear more about Contests, SheepAlongs, and any little Knitbits you'd like to have broadcasted... I'll be watching for you at blogthis at pulselabs dot com (you know the routine with the @ and the . doncha?) and hopefully we'll keep the Knews hopping. At the very least, I'll know where to find my links; hopefully you'll be able to find yours here as well... (And dare I mention that perhaps, if this works, there might be ~~shhh~~ goodies ~~shhh~~ here and there? Randomness, pure randomness, but anyone who knows me knows that there might be an item or two in my stash that I could afford to share, just maybe...) So drop me a line, tell me about your contest, your party, your online eventalong!

Camera No Here

2007-05-25T11:49:00.000-05:00

Socks, no picture. Madness socks are finished, and worn, even. I'm happy to say that the sparklies are okay on the feet (the socks are kinda squishy, even), and exciting to the eye. The pattern even shows, at least a little.

Horcrux are getting there; heels are turned, today we're aiming toward the toes. Modded to lose the ribbing below the zigzag pattern and on the top of the foot so that the socks hopefully won't look quite so much like they're carrying the bubble of a water tower inside them when they're idle (yes, I realize that it would have been fine once they're on a pair of feet, but...)

Rest of everything, well, I'm still a bit bleh and feeling rather uninteresting. I have some pretty stash to flash, but again, see the title. Well, actually, camera no here, stash no here, so double whammy and all that. Hopefully next week will be a bit brighter and I'll actually have an offering worth relaying...

For now, I'll stick with the two new links on the sidebar -- if you're into the sock thing, please have a look at Summer of Socks. I know there are a bunch of folk from Sock Madness signed up, which all by itself should make for a funalong; I have high hopes for this summer's knitting.

Also new, the Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap. Signups haven't actually started yet, but I plan on joining as soon as they do. Dunno if there'll be an actual vacation in our plans this summer, but I can think of a bunch of places I'd like to visit with a fellow knitter as tourguide, and I can't think of many things more fun to do than plan a Boston area itinerary for a knitter friend of mine own... This could be exciting!

Yes, I Do Still Live Here...

2007-05-21T12:54:00.000-05:00

It feels like quite a long time since I've stopped by; I've been a bit distracted (now the folks at work really think I'm nuts -- not only am I compulsive about knitting but, "Christene, it is just a fish!" I have learned an awful lot about "just fishes" in the past week or so; that's got to be good for ye ol' synapses at the very least.

But, lemme see, you come here for knitting content, don't you?

There has been some -- I'm still knitting away on the last Madness pattern (Madness is over, long live the Madness!). My purple-ish-black-glittery stuff was probably not the yarn to show the pattern stitch off in full glory, but I like the socks and I'm quite happy with how they look once they get a leg in them. And this was my last chance -- I was determined to use handspun for one pair of socks and I finished plying this stuff just in time.

Sock One, meet Sock Two. More soon when they're done.

What else is on the needles? Hmm.. the short memory test list:

1. Horcrux Socks for Flicka out of left over Madness yarn.
2. Round Six Madness socks in a yellow and heathery grey I'm not terribly mad about.
3. Socks of the unknown pattern that I'll probably be ripping and reapplying.
4. Shawl edging, soon to be picked up again (got left behind in sheer.. er.. Madness).
5. Shawl design, though I've sorta lost the umph for a bit. It'll come back, right, please say yes?
6. Another lace project yet to be plotted out. This one's been simmering a while, lost the umph, and is starting to give me some little nudges. So the question is, are we compulsive or flighty, or can the two coexist?

Not too bad; I've had more going at once, and socks number (2) are on the homestretch (are nearly finished socks like broken cookies, do they not count toward the total?)

Of course, that's not to say I won't be sampling a new, whole cookie or so while I'm there... This is courtesy of Alabama Fiber Dreams and a contest that I (who woulda thunk?) won! I've never tried Tiny Toes, and now that I have some, I'm finding the colors quite hard to resist... and I'm thinking that the current Socktopia Pattern -- Carolina -- might be a good match for it too...

Interlacements Tiny Toes (originally scheduled to debut last Friday for Flash Friday), 100% Superwash Merino, Color 210. Thank you so much, Bubblesknits, you have no idea how timely your package was to this emaciatedly yarn-fasting knitter!

S'all for now, not too chatty today, I'm afraid -- can somebody pass me two aspirin and some inspiration to swallow it with? Please?...

What were you thinking?

2007-05-10T11:48:00.000-05:00

He relaxed, and said simply, "O Duck Spit!"

That's my story, and I'm sticking with it, and you can't make me say different. And, just to prove the point, the next time things are headed downhill for me, I'm determined to remember, I'm gonna add character and use my very own ODS expletive!

Puffer story is not all that exciting, but, continuation...
I spent my summers working at protecting a local salt marsh, heading out on the school's boat (actually, it kinda looked like a piece of a dock broke off and someone stuck a motor on it, but it was quite functional for all that), and generally pretending to monitor water conditions, learn stuff and earn some extra credit at school while actually accomplishing little more than attaining what seemed to be a never ending level of sunburn. (Yup, I know, but I still manage to burn no matter what, high SPF's just make the redness fade faster.) Anyway, scene set.

Late-ish summer, the Gulf Stream heads through the particular area of New York where we were working, and we'd be out pulling a seine net from as deep as we could stand to where we could actually see what kind of rocks and cans we'd managed to snare, because the Gulf Stream brought all kinds of special rocks and cans you didn't normally see in NY through with it -- you knew that already, no? Seriously, though, it was quite memorable. You could literally feel the abrupt change in temperature like a wind blowing through the water... Your ankle would be cold, your hips would be cold, but the water passing your knee was gloriously warm. Totally amazing! And it did bring fish you didn't normally see. This particular day we were hoping to catch some eels as we thought we might be able to get them into one of the tanks at school and keep it going there. (Not the smartest idea we ever had, though we did ultimately manage to get a few into a bucket without getting bitten. Don't recall the final disposition of said eels, though I also don't recall ever seeing them in a tank.)

But you're not here to hear that -- you're here to hear how, in this net with huge holes, this tiny, adorable little fish managed to find its way into my hands cupped with water. I picked it up, and it promptly threw up in my hands (water cupped therein, I'm happy to say -- it's not good for puffers to puff in the air), or at least it looked that way to me. Then it pulled itself together, jumped out of my hands and swam away. I never did manage to identify it, beyond, of course, it being a puffer that definitely didn't belong where it was. But I've been smitten ever since, and it really does feel like Bertie is finally my puffer come home!

Long way to go for not a ton of story, hope it was at least entertaining... Catch up with you again soon!

A Poet She Ain't

2007-05-09T12:18:00.000-05:00

There once was a lad from Nantucket
Who caught his foot inside a bucket.
When he fell down some stairs
He gave up on his cares;
He relaxed and said simply, "O ..."

I tried to resist, truly I did, but I seem to be caught inside a bucket... er... fishbowl... er... tank... well, the water's salty, anyway. Don't recall if I mentioned, but Flicka-Dot got a tank for her birthday which has been cycled and set up with some mini reef denizens, all in plans of adding, of course, what else, Nemo. Fishtanks seem to have spawned, though, in my home. First there was Flicka's, then there needed to be an isolation tank, of course, and then there was suddenly a tank set up to keep the extra live rock going and prime filters, and then there is a tank that may be a breeding set up for some as yet mysterious breed. And then hubby decided that the tank he's planning on building isn't exactly the right size, so he'll build that and then start in on the new perfect waterhome. Doesn't all this sound suspiciously like what happens when we walk into a yarn store -- maybe we don't .really. need it, but... well, it is the perfect color, or just the right texture, and it would go so well with.......

Now when all this started, I recapped my marine history (marine science major, 8 years of marine science, summers, 4 years of the usual sciences, worked at the aquarium, was a diver for a while, ha, thought you knew me, didn't you? This was all back in the stone age, though...) and stated something to the effect of: "Happy to have the fish around, but don't expect me to get involved. I've done my penance, and besides, I definitely don't need another time consuming hobby." But all this has also led to a multitude of trips to all of the semi-local LFS's (yes, they are called that, imagine!), and I suppose it was inevitable.

I have a soft spot in my heart for pufferfish (story for another day, remind me, willya?), and there it was (I think it's a she, but I'm not sure, totally, how to tell and she is a juvenile, so... Let's just refer to her as "she" to make me happy, hmm, and revise it later if we need to.). Her name is Bertie (see, it'd be okay if we have to "revise"), she picked it herself, just like my wheels all picked their names. She's a Valentini's Sharpnosed Puffer (actually, Canthigaster valentini, to be specific), she's adorable, and she's won my heart. So much so that you haven't heard from me in a bit because I'm researching every word I can find about puffers and Valentini's. Oh, and she's a Mother's Day present from the Dot and her Daddy. (And the not quite perfect sized in-progress tank should be perfect sized for her, once, of course, it's built and prepped and she's clear of isolation...)

I do have some knitting to recap -- I've finished the first of the Sock Madness Mad for Fair Isle Batik Socks of last round, well, almost, and with some slight amendments. I plan on using the two patterns as alternates for the top of the feet and used a plain 1x1 checkerboard for the sole (I just couldn't bear to walk on such pretty patterns!) and I repeated the leg pattern an additional time and extended the ribbing a bit for a slightly longer leg. I also left a waste yarn row in place of knitting the heel in and will add the heel after I knit the second sock, mainly to stretch a bit and try out a heel I've never done before. Anyway, here you go:

And, with that, back to the books! (Oh, and I hope you don't mind the duality -- I'll be starting a technical-ish journal, but, just because, I'd expect there'll be a fair bit of Bertie showing up here as well... Knitting and Spinning and Fish, oh my! indeed...)

FlashFriday

2007-05-04T09:59:00.000-05:00

Socks Anonymous mentioned in her Gore Place post that we’re planning a SpinASockAlong (anyone else out there feel like joining us? Strictly voluntarily unofficial and all that, though I suppose it could develop into buttons and more, all depending...) er... Using some neon green wool that we both just happen to have in traditional "pair of socks portion" (happy coincidence that, no? @grin). So what better stash to FlashFriday than that? Goggles, anyone? Watch out for your eyes…

Also, the final sheepy S.A. picture, augmented by one she didn’t use...

(photos courtesy of Socks Anonymous)
These were some small sheep – medium dog sized, to be exact, and that’s sizing for the adults. I know Shetlands are smallish, but they didn’t look like the picture of Shetlands that I carry in my head (which could very well be "out of focus" – no shepherd, I). Anyone recognize the type of sheep – inquiring minds and all that. If it helps, the sheep were penned in the Rabbit Habit tent, though no one there seemed to know anything about them.

Brigid (I think Thumb Gusset is you, yes?), you asked about the ultimate purpose of my lace swatches. Would you accept an "I haven’t the foggiest clue?" Sean suggests that I’m a process knitter, so that’s okay, but actually I started off swatching possibilities for a wedding shawl. I have since been told that a shawl may not be the best choice for the particular recipient (particular recipient, no promises, but please do let me know if you happen to read this and I’ve been told wrongly). All worked out nicely as one of the swatches I didn’t show (didn’t get blocked with the rest of 'em) ended up being perfect for a triangular center that’s been waiting for a border for almost a year now, so that project has come out of detention at long last. And that I’ll have to get around to photoing soon – difficult as it’s not very easy to stretch out, size wise – if only so y’all can see all the lifeline/stitch markers embedded in it. I think even Sean was surprised, and I’d’ve bet he’d seen most everything... No notes on this one, though, just markers, but the same effect, easier to count and make sure I get both sides to actually match and all that.

S’all for now, I guess. Madness starts again tonight. I’m sidelining it, but I do plan on knitting along. Yay, more stash to flash..

Haven’t quite decided which combo to go with yet.

Also, I’m having a bit of difficulty deciding which actual participant to root for… Yarnatic is matched with Knitter473 and blogless Joy with Stitchinwench and, what to do, I want them all to win! G’luck, ladies, I wish you all the best!

Swatch This Space

2007-05-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

I'm going to have to move on from swatches very soon -- I'm running out of nifty titles for posts...

This weekend Kat (you remember her, Socks Anonymous) and Pojke-Dot and I headed off to a sheep shearing at Gore Place (Flicka had her own busy day type stuff to do). The boy was rather nonplussed about the shearing itself, but he did seem to enjoy the herding demonstration, and he wooted a bit about all the wooden toys (you know, the ones I wouldn't buy for him *grimace*), and he's been petting the stuffed llama I did buy for him ever since while spouting about how he saw a real one. I'd say success... There are pictures, however it was a joint effort between my camera and Kat's skills, so you'll have to find them on her blog (I'm given to understand that she's hoping to cover the full discourse maybe later today...)

For today, I have, yuppa, you guessed, more lace swatches. Different project, still fermenting and all, possibly a wedding shawl, possibly something totally different, much depends on details and all. Here goes:

Kidsilk Haze; KnitPicks US3 needles
Pattern: There's a pattern? Well, there was a design, but it didn't work out quite as I'd envisioned. Still, it is kinda nice in its irregularity; there may yet be a place for it somewhere someday.

Kidsilk Haze; KnitPicks US3 needles again
Edging; what more is there to say. This one goes into the holding cell...

Kidsilk Night; AddiLace US3 needles.
This is an adaptation of a pattern from Gossamer Webs by Galina Khmeleva. I'll dig up more specifics if someone asks or if I actually use it for something...

Laceweight 100% mohair, specifics I don't recall; AddiLace US3 needles.
This one I'll have to look up. It's an adaptation of a multicolor pattern called Marriage Tracks, converted by me, from a not so common book whose name I don't recall. Again, ask if you want specifics, and I'll make sure to have more detail if this ever shows up here again. This one, though, is a contender.

I'll drop in again and give a head's up when it's time for us to head over to Kat's place. S'all for now...

Saturday, In the Park...

2007-04-23T12:18:00.000-05:00

Rarely do I have funnish weekend stuff to report, other than laundry and my pitiful attempts to rein in the disaster that is my normal household condition, but funnish Saturday was. Socks Anonymous' Kat traveled to my neck of the woods and visited with my darling Dots and I. Fortunately, she visited us at a nearby park (convenient to Panera's lunch, how happy is that?), so the Dots found a few other distractions and only demanded her undivided attention about half the time. I may have tried to compete with them, but even without a touch of laryngitis, my kids manage decible levels I can only dream of, and they tend to be much cuter, determined, persuasive (or some combination of the three). We did manage some knitting anyway, didn't we Kat?, and being able to sit, soak in the sun (Yes, Sun! Finally!) and just be for a bit was quite wonderful.

Bad blogger, brought the camera but no pictures :*( Slap my wrists and all that, but I tell you, I was blissfully not thinking... And admiring... If you've not been over to Socks Anonymous, go wave hello and ask for some more pictures -- she's an incredible knitter (and has knitting .calluses., can you believe?!!) and manages to make it all look quite easy (lace in the park, distractions and all!). Oh, and Pojke Dot points out that she's also quite talented at "swinging him higherer and fasterer", don't forget that!

So, for today, for me, I've been swatching and swatching for a lace project (two lace projects, actually) that I'm not sure enough about to commit to blogwise yet. I submit, then, pictures of the first set of swatches. More to come after blocking, not to mention more to come after, well, knitting, and charting, and can you say, "Starting at the beginning of the beginning, we are?" These two are slightly different, any preferences? (And yes, they were blocked, but unfortunately not photoed immediately after, and they slept all folded up for a few days in-between...)

End the Madness!

2007-04-19T14:15:00.000-05:00

Well, not actually, but end the competition for me at least... Kristi R. (whose blog, I understand, may or may not work for you; apparently her site has been victim to one of those upgrade related "disabilities") kicked my butt; I thought I was a fast knitter, but I gotta say, Kristi, you were scorching! I'll be watching and cheering for you next round...

I got to decreasing for the second sock's toe on Sunday morning at about 3:00A, and then I discovered that Kristi had already finished. The socks languished a bit afterwards, I admit; as close as they were to being done, I didn't actually touch them again until Monday morning. And then it took until today to photo them for your viewing pleasure.

Now that I no longer have to ~~stress about~~ er... enjoy the fierce competition, I've been free to obsess (doesn't "obsess" look like it's spelled wrong? I looked it up at Dictionary.com and everything!) er... free to obsess about other projects. I've been contemplating a rather involved lacey undertaking (read that swatching stitch patterns -- anyone know of an overall suitable lace stitch pattern that would appear similar to small rings, offhand?), and, in between, replacing my mad socks with themed socks. One of Socktopia's April themes is "April Showers". I first started plotting umbrellas and raindrops, then dropped Socktopia's submission entirely to start thinking about a baby gift for a friend. (Okay, so when I'm not being obsessive, I admit to a bit of flightiness...) Bam, hit me like a ton of rocks. May I present:

April's Shower... April's Shower socklets will be augmented with some other small person paraphernalia -- fortunately for me, April's shower isn't actually occurring in April...

Catch up with you again soon!....

Buttons Galore

2007-04-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

Greedy Gus: These are mine, all mine, Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine!

Feel free to grab one for You You You You You...
(You know the drill, please save to your own server and all that.)

Tomorrow we start again; I'm a bit concerned whether I'll be able to add that Round 4 trophy afterwards. I suspect the temperature is rising a bit for the Sweet Sixteen-ers, as we've been dubbed (there are sixteen Sock Madness-ees going into Round 4), and, you know what, it might not be a bad thing not to have to scramble quite so much with each round. Doesn't mean I won't be giving Kristi R. a run for her money, though... Where's that pattern? Lemme at it!

Sock Mechanics 101-1/2

2007-04-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

...or all the disjointed little nothings Grandma let me figure out on my own (most often some "I'm not admitting to" years later...)...

Warning: Long and rambling post today.

Wanna follow a pattern? e-valu-ate it (isn't that a tacky way to remind oneself?)! I often simply work with my own basic sock mechanics as I go, but you can't say it often enough, and everyone skimps on it anyway (and no, I'm not going to say "swatch" -- my theory is that socks are swatch sized and good for swatching out pattern stitches in and of themselves)... Read the pattern first! Then, unless you're participating in Sock Madness and need to follow the pattern to the letter, merge the pattern with your own basic sock mechanics, and you're set to go.

Note tags, or "We Don't Need No Stinking Pattern!" When I'm working with my "own basic sock mechanics" style socks, I use little note tags pinned to the pattern (or knitted right in, more often than not) to make sure I can duplicate my steps. Then I can tape all the little tags to a sheet of paper and, Voila!, instant pattern! When I'm following a "someone else's" pattern, I pin the next step (i.e., 'knit straight to 4"' or 'gusset to 16 sts') for convenience. This can also double as a guide to where the beginning of a round begins, if needed, and it comes in mighty handy when you're trying to pick up where you left off when you get back to this WIP that became preempted by that really luscious colorway, you know, the one that took backseat to that super soft what was that stuff, btw?; that got dropped for the latest round of Sock Madness...

Along the lines of knitting markers in, I most often simply take a scrap of contrasting yarn and knit it along with the stitch I'm trying to mark or slip a loop of contrasting yarn over the stitch. When I'm done, it can be cut or just pulls right out. When I want to add a note, I can tie it on and not worry about losing it. And not that I ever need to frog my work, because I'd never make a mistake you know (@grimace), but if I .were. to frog, the markers would still be where they need to be. And all this has the added bonus of totally perplexing even other sock knitters when they try to figure out why your socks are growing all those circus colored fringes all over the place.

(I am aware that neither of the sample pictures are of socks, but I have surprisingly few in-progress sock pictures. For some reason, I seem to finish them and snip/pluck the fringes before photo-ing... Note to self...)

Most top down socks have about the same number of rows in the heel flap as there are stitches across. Set a marker (here I like to use a more traditional marker, often an animal shaped one, because it pleases the three year old in me, often, particularly, a little silver dolphin that used to be a lone dangly earring once upon a... [is this a run-on parenthetical yet?])... Umm-where-was-I?... Set a marker at the beginning and move it over by two stitches: when the "dolphin swims" all the way across, you're done, no counting.

Wedge toes generally start decreasing for toes at the beginning of the little toe -- which on me happens to be same as from heel of my hand to tip of the middle finger. Speaking of which, measure your body parts! I can measure from 1 inch to 8 inches with one hand and its digits alone (thumb to first joint, 1"; tip of thumb to second joint, 2"; width across hand at knuckles, 3", base of thumb to tip of index finger, 4"; and so on...). Good because, despite having eleventy-million cutesy tape measures, I never have one when I need it...

Do we go on three or count to three and then go? -- Keep track of all the minor decisions you make along the way. Toe decreases: do you decrease every other row to half the number of stitches, then knit one more plain, or do you decrease every other row to half and then begin every row decreases right away? You bind of at half of that number of stitches, but what if half is an odd number? Do you close the toe at half plus one, half minus one (which would have you knit an additional row than half plus one), or do you fudge and decrease in the middle of the last row to end with that odd number? In the grand scheme of things, these are probably insignificant details, but in the toe scheme of things, you might tell the difference, especially if you do it differently between the two socks. Don't assume you'll remember... (These are also, you'll already have guessed, great places for those little scraps of confetti papers you've been knitting in since the first paragraph, yes?)

I'm sure there's more I've forgotten to stutter about -- they'll just have to go into another blogday. But in the meantime, feel free to stucker-sticker me with a large "Kick Me" Post It (aren't Post Its the most wonderful knitting tool?) on my back if you catch me forgetting to not forget any of the above -- this was supposed to be my forever reminder...........

Keep Your Socks On (The Needles, I Mean)!

2007-04-10T10:54:00.000-05:00

I'm having issues with blog-writing today, apologies... No whining, but I've been a bit under the weather this weekend, and so I'm a bit behind and everything I write feels bleh.

However, I've been asked for photos (hi, Sean and Kat -- totally blew me away to get comments on a post I hadn't yet written! :*) of Sock Madness round three (is it a very bad sign when you can't type "three" properly, and then again when you can't manage to spell "spell"? Speel, spele, splee? Fingers just not working right...). So, without further ado...

I did finish in time to continue on to the next round, Weeheeee!

Yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Colorway Yellowstone
Needles: Circular, US0, both socks knit at once
Pattern: Painted Madness by Tricia Weatherston

Also in sock news, I'm planning out a pair of socks for Socktopia's April Showers theme... More on that later, after I see if they work out the way I've pictured them in my wee tiny brain... I'm still at the babblingly excited stage -- I love it when it still seems you can create anything you want and squish it into a pair of shaped tubes and have it all work out! 'Course that usually simply means reality hasn't yet set in, but still, often after you squish you get something that's not quite "anything you want" but still something quite cool... (Or, other times, there's a bomb or two along the way, but that's what frogging's for, hmm?)

And, with that, without further, adieu!

Swatch Your Step

2007-04-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

One fini, two beginni today...

Finished socks for the Pojke-Dot:

There's a wee baby cable hidden in that there ribbing, but otherwise, they're pretty ordinary.

Swatched the Madness Round Three... Requirements were a yarn ("designed with a varigated yarn in mind but a solid would probably work" -- I elected something a bit more sedately variegated than last go-round) that would knit to 7 SPI, 2.5mm needles recommended, yardage a whopping 520 meters recommended (with "plenty left over"). I'm afeared of that "plenty left over" phrase, so I decided to work with a yarn that I had plenty of. Can't you just see me knitting, needles on fire, speeding my way through, rushing toward the finish line, and then... and then... Well, I daren't even say it. If I've enough left over, well, there'll just maybe be another pair of sock in my someday future *grin*.

Specifics:
Mountain Colors Bearfoot, colorway Gold Rush
Needles: Skacel? US0 -- needed to get guage of 7 SPI.
Swatch: Nice hand to the fabric, got guage, has since become a handy-dandy stitch marker container.
Colors are much brighter than they appear in the photo taken on this less than brightish day.

And lastly:

Project, as yet undesigned, dog knows (hopefully, a'cause I don't) if it ever will actually be designed. Said project does have an ultimate goal (obviously lace, obviously shawl-ish) in mind, and said swatches are slightly different in hopes to figure which will work best with said project and said ultimate goal. Which do you prefer visually? There would probably be a fairly large vista of the swatched sections across said-said-said...
Oh, and just so you know, I did block these before I photo-ed them, but there was a bit of a time-lapse in between, I admit...

At Last, Sunilda, of Bus Incident Fame

2007-03-27T11:04:00.000-05:00

It took me a bit of a while, but I figured there wasn't a horrible rush as I expect Pojke-Dot won't be wearing it until it gets cold again anyway, and, as my dear ol' auntie used to say, "Haste makes shyte". (Okay, so she admittedly waxed unpoetical-like. Gotta wonder, too, where the sweet little Swedish battle-axe learned that particular phrasing....)

Refresher for those with memories like mine: Sunilda Childs Version from Elsebeth Lavold's Second Viking Knits.

Speaking of Semi-Finished Objects...

2007-03-26T13:14:00.000-05:00

(it's a heavy-duty picture day)
Yesterday was Flicka-Dot's birthday party... Attending, M., E., V., C., C., L., and, briefly, J. (remind me next year, we should invite more vowels in order to spell something interesting with initials... -- Can Corey Move Lana's Very Jaundiced Eaglet?, Must Vera Cradle Every Jumping Cricket's Launch?). If expression is anything to go by, a funnish time was had by all, the morsels were quite tasty, and the gifts were well received.

Among said gifts, finally:

Double Helix / Galaxy Purl's Callisto Pico child's shawl, perfectly Flicka-Dot sized.

Thank you to everyone that came to the party, and thanks especially to Mom-in-Law for hosting the party -- it was wonderful, but no surprise there, you're always a superb host-friend-relative-chef-grandma (did I miss any; I'm quite sure I did, please remind me!)

'Nother order of the day, congrats to everyone that made it through Sock Madness Round 2; see you all again in Round 3 (though I'm going into this round much less confidently -- there are some .very. fast knitters out there!) And sorry, Omly -- you were quite graceful about it, but it still feels kinda awkward, having to bump a friend to be able to continue on...

Pattern: Mad-Tini by Karen Bole
Yarn: Schaffer Lola
Needles: Addi Turbo US1
Yarn choice could have been better -- the busy-ness of the yarn pretty much obliterated the intricacy of the pattern; luck of the draw, I guess, when you're selecting yarn for an unseen pattern. All in all, though, I'm quite happy with how they turned out -- fabric is nice, color is nice, and I'd totally consider repeating the pattern, albeit with a differently toned yarn.

No Comment

2007-03-22T12:18:00.000-05:00

... Or no comments, as the case may be. Earlier today I installed Haloscan to my Blogger template (Haloscan is a commenting add-on that allows one to see email and blog addresses for commenters, which in this reporter's opinion is a vast improvement over Bloggers comment system). As Golden Purl mentions in her current post, Haloscan is not able to read comments previously posted to the Blogger system and so it appears *sob* that all my comments to date have disappeared. I'm told that they're actually still on Blogger, but that they're simply not accessible to the new "comment collection device". Either way, I can't review anything that was previously posted, and I'm quite sad at the loss; I quite value your comments, and I did reread many of them now and then :*( The up side, though, is that going forward I'll be able to either respond on the blog or email the commenter directly, and I'll be able to see your blog address even if you're not coming from Blogger, so I'll be able to "visit" much better and more often. Still, I miss my comments.............

No new project pix to offer, so here's a bit of fun stuff I've been collecting as random blog fodder:

be sorted @ nimbo.net
Apparently I'd be a bit on the nondescript side even in Hogwarts (not that this is necessarily a bad thing). Where did the sorting hat put you?

The Madness begins again tonight: get set......................

Oh, and one pair of Re: Ducks from yesterday's now absent comment, thanks, Omly, and yes, I too was quite relieved. And, wow, your socks are going to walkabout through Europe? Mad or no, mine will be quite jealous -- I'll be hoping to read about it when you get back, especially as I considered myself quite intrepid to have made it to California and Montreal (ooh, a different country!). Guess I'll read about it before then, but I hope ya's have a blast!

They're Back!

2007-03-21T14:39:00.000-05:00

Yes, after all, I did get the bag, Sunilda pieces, checker sock, book, and even the headphones I'd forgotten were in there -- oh, and sandwich (yes, still sealed) that I'd wished to forget. All safe and sound, thanks, I'm totally certain, to the collective good wishes they received while away. Thank you to everyone that wrote and/or passed the word -- you quite lifted my spirits, and would still have even had I not gotten the bag back. And insert a quick plug for Woolcott and Company here -- the folks there commiserated with me quite nicely and empathetically (one of the reasons that, much as I love the internet, I truly believe on-line can never take the place of a wonderful, cozy, knowledgeable, touch-me, see-me, sniff-me LYS).

No pictures of Sunilda yet (and yes, I'll be much more careful about possible portents in future writing -- lucky I mentioned barring a major unforeseen catastrophe rather than a minor unforeseen catastrophe, hmm?) as I'd said the next photo would be completed and she isn't yet. But I do have some eye candy:

Socks for Flicka's bday (party on Sunday -- good thing she doesn't read the blog, else I'd not be able to post these either!)... Gotta love my oso-fancy cardboard sock-blockers, no? They aren't all that good for sock drying, but in a pinch for a photo, quite the thing.

My mind's a bit scattered and I do have a sweater to try and finish before Sock Madness Round 2 tomorrow, so I'll flee for now. Anyone else that's participating, g'luck... I've been matched with Omly of Omly Crafts -- probably the only person in the whole worldwide Sock Madness pool that I've ever met, what are the odds? At least if she finishes before me, I'll know firsthand that I lost to a first rate knitter... All set, Omly? On your mark...

Quick Update

2007-03-19T13:43:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone that offered / tried to help out, and everyone that's been keeping their fingers crossed for me and my missing knitting, your comments have been truly appreciated. I've not actually got the bag back yet (hopefully tonight) and I'm just superstitious enough not to want to comment on it for fear of jinxing myself (Can anyone tell me when "jinx" became a word meaning "you're not allowed to talk"?), but I'm told the bag is being kept safe (sandwich -- hopefully still sealed -- from Friday's lunch and all) until I manage to pick it up........ More soon........

Heartbreak

2007-03-16T07:42:00.000-05:00

I was on the bus to work this morning and it was one of those, geez, where is my head, should'a done the coffee first mornings (actually, in retrospect, it might've been a good day to stay home entirely). And what a doozie I managed... If any of you happen to be riding the 71 bus between Watertown and Harvard Square and notice a Woolcott and Company shopping bag containing:

A copy of Simply Socks
A ball of quite beautiful worsted weight hand dyed yarn
An in process red and black socks, toe up, boat sized (size 13) sock for my husband (and I just finished the heel and started the ribbing) -- see previous post...
And the prize winner of all the bag contained: All the pieces, blocked and ready for assembly (I was going to work on them at lunch today) to Pojke-Dot's Sunilda sweater -- also see previous posts...

there's a good chance it's mine (what's the likelyhood of two such bags showing up without an Infinite Probability Drive? Hmm... what would you do if someone returned it, but it was ever so slightly different? What if the sweater was finished when you got it back or something? That'd kinda freak me out...) The MBTA says not to give up hope, it still could show up, but they haven't found it and it hasn't been turned in yet. Cross your fingers for me, will you? Oh, and Sean, if you're reading, I could sure use some of your of-late local-area karma (and, just in case someone happens to show up at Woolcott with a bag they found, looking for an owner to match, keep me in mind, would you?).

Now back to your regularly scheduled Friday...

I Have No Middle Name

2007-03-13T13:34:00.000-05:00

I've read that others have been conscientiously working on non-knitting projects while waiting for the next SockMadness round, and you might think that it would be prudent to hold off a bit before starting more socks. No one ever suggested that Prudence was my middle name (or that it might be Patience, for that matter), however...

For what it's worth, the idea for these has been fermenting for a very long time...

Re: Ducks
Thank you, Victoria. Totally non-related, but Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands and the name Victoria crops up in several songs, and every time I read a post from you on Sock Madness, or think a thanks for your comments here, it ends up being a musical "Hello, Victoria..." or "Thank you, Victoria", in James LaBrie's voice... Kind of odd, really, but also pleasant, though it tends to echo through my head until I find another bit of lyric to replace it. So, "Thank you, Victoria" for having such an interesting name, as well...

Amy, thank you, and sorry the first round left you with after-effects. I admit to a bit of soreness after my own marathon, but I was frothing at the bit to get going by the next evening. Not sure if that speaks of resilience, obsession or addition...

Sleep Disorder

2007-03-12T12:23:00.000-05:00

Pertinent Details:
Pattern: Mad Cow from the Sock Madness Competition
Solid Color: Regia 4-ply
Variegated Color: Claudia's Hand Dyed Fingering, 100% merino
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular, US1 (I'd probably do this pattern on US0's were I to repeat it.)
Started: Approximately 8:30AM, Saturday, March 9th
Finished and pictures posted to Flickr: 3:00AM, Sunday March 10th
This was definitely recordbreaking in terms of elapsed time for me, and I was not the first to finish! S'gonna be an interesting few weeks, that is if I manage to keep up with the rest of the group along the way.
Okay, I'll go now, I suspect I'm starting to babble.

My question for those of you that are competing, how many of you finished your Mad Cow socks, rested for a bit, and then picked up some other knitting for the interim, socks or otherwise? I thought I'd be done knitting for a while, thought about spinning, and somehow found myself working on another pair of socks (albeit a bit more slowly) without even realizing.

And how many of you found yourself thinking about different ways to change the pattern while you were working on the Mad Cows? I kept playing with different striping patterns in my head and having to stop and make notes before I could relax back into the pattern as written...

Re: Ducks
Now there's a plan for the Flickr site after the fact -- how many different versions of these socks will evolve into being when the second pair "grows up"? Nice to know I'm not the only one, hubby thinks I must be a bit daft.

Tam, I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties -- I can't even imagine how frustrating to need to hold off on knitting. Glad to hear, though, that you're better after the break and hope the next round is a bit easier on you...

What a Difference a Foot Makes!

2007-03-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

...Otherwise known as "Better Post Post-Blocking". The socks are a wee bit big for Flicka yet, but she's 7 so that's okay; usually we have the reverse problem. Other than length, where I'd rather have a tad extra space, they fit her perfectly, and she likes them, and, gee, does she really have to, yes, she has to, wait for her birthday to actually take possession of them?

Also appropriate for FO Friday:

A somewhat late birthday gift for my Mom-In-Law. And, just in case you're interested, this was felted with one bucket of hot, soapy water, one bucket of frigid clear water, and a bathroom plunger (admittedly, one dedicated to felting), on account'a I'd heard about it and wanted to try, on account'a I'm a bit afeard of hubby's reaction should my felting experiments adversely affect our own dear washie, and on account'a it seemed like it might be easier than schlepping back and forth and hovering over the machine ala "Is it done yet?". And, in actuality, yes, it is easier, and this was the result of about half an hour's plunging, switching, and water replacement therapy! I'm quite pleased...

Pattern: Magknits Sophie Bag
Yarn: My very own handspun, loosly spun sport weight, knit doubled.
Flower: From one of Nicki Epstein's "Knitting Over the Edge" books, but the book is at home and I'm not totally sure which of the KOE books it came from offhand.

S'all for now... If you're gearing up for SockMadness tomorrow, good luck!
Happy weekend!

Re: Ducks
Thank you, Sean... I still don't like flowers, but I admit that, as flowers go, I can live with it (especially since it's not me that will have to live with it). The Epstein book is quite cool -- I didn't realize how much it had to offer besides flowers...

And thank you Shelly, glad you like! If you're going to be doing any felting anytime soon, try it, the plunger works great...

Hi, Wendy, how'd you do? I'm pretty sure I saw your finished socks in Flickr, may have even commented on them there; it's all a blur.... I'll go back and look for yours in a bit, promise...

To Everyone: If I'm a little quiet in upcoming days, please forgive... The Madness has begun!

Crinkle, Crinkle, Little Socks

2007-03-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

Given that the first pair of Sock Madness socks will be (I'm guessing) similarly stranded, I have a not so vague sense of foreboding... Think these will block to flat? And, for those keeping track, these took me five days to complete, with minimal working on other projects in-between (knitters and spinners must sample, you know, so this was my time-test sample). I'm expecting that six days just about lets me out of worrying about anything but the first round -- there are surely folks that will have much more time and concentrat-ability than I. And maybe that's not a bad thing -- I suspect it'll be a lot more fun if I remember that everybody wins all the patterns, and everybody wins at least one pair of socks to wear along the way. So don't mind me... I'll be the one finishing the last round's socks next Christmas; are we okay with that?

Nordic Lights Socks
Started March 2, 2007; finished March 7, 2007
Pattern adjusted to accommodate the anticipation of Flicka-Dot's upcoming birthday and foot sizing appropriate thereto.
Yarn:
Color 1 (CC): Claudia Hand Painted Fingering, 50g / 175 yards, Color: Just Plum
Color 2 (MC): Regia 4-Ply, 50g / 210 meters, Color 1994 (my desc: Dark Fir Green)
I used one skein of each, and just about all of each skein.
Needles: Susan Bates Double Pointed Quicksliver, Size US1

Re: Ducks
To Carole: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like them! The pattern is quite easy to follow and I didn't have any difficulties at all -- I highly recommend your eyeing it with yarn in hand }grin{

In Training...

2007-03-02T17:26:00.000-05:00

But ECF first:

I couldn't bear the thought of another ice picture on such a gray, icky day as this (I believe that's the proper meteorological term), so I've dug through the archives to a sunnier, distant-er, long-ago day. Picture taken from the gondola at Mt. Tremblant in Canada. DearHeart spent the day driving at the Tremblant track and the Dots and I figured to take a ride up to above Tremblant village (amazing how much less crowded the gondolas are in the summer!). Along the way, this happened:

and so our gondola ride turned into 14 circuits. PojkeDot did wake up in time to see the top of the mountain ultimately, though... And FlickaDot got to visit with some friends in Tremblant Village...

and I got a chance to save some summer for now, when I need it most.

So, as I said, in training:

This is the beginning of Spindlicity's Nordic Lights socks, which I'm starting right about now because (a) I can't bear not to have twelve million socks in progress on the needles; (b) I totally can't wait until Sock Madness starts and I must wear out the urge to knit socks before the actual competition begins; and, (c) Sock Madness is probably an entirely appropriate name for a competition including this particular set of SheepishNightwear.

But I'm also just about done with Sunilda:

This is the second sleeve, and it has about 10 rows left to go. Everybody breathe a sigh of relief -- the next picture of this sweater you'll be subjected to will, barring unforseen events of catastrophic proportions, be the completed sweater.

Happy weekend, y'all, and spinn lyckligt!

Oh My Sleeves and Necklines!

2007-02-27T14:40:00.000-05:00

Otherwise known as status update on the Pojke-Dot's sweater (well, technically the neckline is not on the status horizon just yet, but I needed a "Sleeves and" something). Not terribly exciting, but that's all there is. I'd take a photo opp, but I just can't bring myself to post the measly 1 inch wide sleeveworm that currently graces my needles -- promise, you're better off waiting for blocking or something that actually looks like something.

Life in general has been not terribly exciting -- I thought about titling this post "Oh, Fodder, Where Art Thou?"... All the Dots in the household, big and little, have been sick, but that's pretty common news anywhere you go lately. I haven't felt interesting enough to be able to write about my humdrums, and there you have it, sum total.

I did join a new Sheepalong (see the Sock Madness link in the sidebar) though I'm not sure just who the madness refers to -- me for taking an extra crunchtime style challenge, cast and crew for trying to organize the whole thing, or just joyous mayhem in general. How it works: a buncha folks knit the same sock pattern at the same time and those that finish first move on to the next round. I'm trying to convince myself that I won't be concerned if I fall by the wayside even in the first round, but I seem to recall a certain fair isle poncho that someone we know worked frantically on throughout the Olympics. Okay, so I have a bit of a competitive streak, but we're talking socks here, folks, how cutthroat can it get? (And, at the very least, I'll have some socks when I'm done, some new sock patterns, and some impetus to finish them quickly...). I am quite anxious to finish the sweater first, though, and the Madness begins next week, so on your marks, get set, let's start running now!

I've been thinking about Stranded knitting, both the knitting itself and the magazine, a lot lately. Bonnie of the Stranded Newsletter has considered dropping the newsletter due to time constraints. I love her newsletter, the patterns, the history, even the ads, and I think this would be quite a shame to lose. Currently she's considering publishing sporadic issues, to be published when available, and we touched on the idea of starting a newsgroup to give folks a chance to chat about things from the issues, colorwork in general (to cover all colorwork, rather than specifically fair isle, Nordic, etc.), and basically pick up some of what might have been in the in-between issues. Given Bonnie's time constraints, I'm hoping this will be a joint venture -- I'm definitely not ready to pick up where Stranded leaves off on my own, and I definitely don't have the readership to get a chat list set-up going on my own yet, but I'm sure I could handle much of the admin stuff that Bonnie doesn't have time for. And I think it'd be a sin to see Stranded go away without at least giving it a shot.

And, in honor of that, my first Stranded-style contribution, long overdue, I offer:

Stranded "Toe Up" Mittens

The PDF is simply the chart I used while creating my set of mittens, thus there is only one size and some of my personal shorthand-ish notation (though I suspect that most of such notation will be perfectly readable to anyone familiar with basic knitting terms). Also, I've only knit the mittens once, so I can make no accuracy guarantees -- what ya see is what ya get (how ironic is it that I've stopped back in to correct a typo in that very sentence?)! If you need help with the charts or instructions in any way, though, give me a head's up and I'll be happy to sort things through. And, incidentally, the chart was originally laid out for socks, though that's one of my rather long-term WIP by now (one sock done, but I don't remember what yarn or needles I used, so it's likely to stay one sock done, and that sock needs "tweaking"), so there is the someday possibility of matching socks. If you're interested, I could probably be bribed... er... convinced... (chocolate, yarn, needles, praise -- actually, just asking might do it...).

Anyway, enjoy, and spinn lyckligt for now!

It's Spin Crazy Around Here...

2007-02-21T15:27:00.000-05:00

Quick update today; I've been insanely busy trying to get my office work caught up enough to take Friday off so that I can be insanely busy with home stuff. But one must take time to visit with the important stuff along the way, right?

Yes, as you ask, Suzanne, the wheel has named itself. It proclaimed itself "Harriet" somewhere along the way back from Maine. Funny how one might personify a wheel with a (feminine) name, but still refer to it as an "it", you think?

I was almost afraid to mention my other Timbertops wheel (Bob the Beaver, if y'all will recall) when I was buying this one -- they're both double treadle accelerator wheels, they have similar ratios, and they're sort of sister/brother in the Timbertops line. But that's actually what I wanted -- similar wheels, sharing bobbins, whorls, and accessories, so I wouldn't have to schlep one upstairs/downstairs. By all reckonings, it should feel much like spinning on the same wheel -- turning out smooth, fine, fairly tightly twisted worsted spun that sock and lace knitters like me love. But Harriet had other plans... I haven't quite figured out why or how -- Harriet definitely likes it smooth, but softer, more long-draw-ish, for lighter and airier yarns -- hmm, nice for sweaters and snuggly knits, colorwork, you think? Just as knitters like me love? Turns out Harriet wasn't what I expected, but Harriet is exactly what I didn't know I wanted. And, yes, it's definitely a keeper!

So far I've spun two bobbins of Corriedale singles and plied several bobbinsful that were already spun and I'm quite loving it. I've never been very regular with long-draw, but, wow, it does go fast. And I am getting better at it. So you know where I'll be when I've a moment to set aside for myself... For today, I'll leave you with another set of intros:

Bob, meet Harriet,

(would that then make their offspring "Bobbin" or "Bobbette"?)

and my buddy Stass, who finds the whole thing quite tedious...

(and who I'd rather didn't introduce herself to the wheels too terribly personally...)

It's Friday!

2007-02-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

(and, warning, too late, this is a picture heavy post!)

First off, my thanks to everyone that responded to my mini-crisis (anyone that knows me, will already know that mini-crises don't necessarily signify all that much, tend to happen more frequently than perhaps is healthy, and are often allayed quickly -- especially with the application of fiber in whatever form)... Anyway, I actually wasn't really cris-ing over it, but I am concerned that I'm sort of treading roving with my blog, not really sure where I'm going with this (or this, actually, to be honest). Anyway, thanks for the good ideas, hints, and the like. I've noticed that my frequency of commenting on others' blogs has increased since I've been writing here, and I suspect there might a confidence issue or two involved as well... Whatever, I'm gonna try to worry less, blog for me, and hope some of you will still like it here enough to visit. >Now to step down, stop babbling, and hand out some of the bubble-bars from this here soapbox.<

You asked for pix, and today is the day, indeed! Following up on my swatch adventures, I'd totally recommend Cara's cable mending tutorial to everyone! It's simple enough for even "late night after a glass of wine" mending, efficient, and quite effective!

Before (miscrossed cable at upper right):

After (gotta learn to doodle on my photos, but miscrossed upper right no more):

And the back, post recabling:

And, no swatch this, the front is growing!

And, not leastly, as Suzanne requested:

More wheel-spiel to follow in another post.

After All That...

2007-02-15T11:29:00.000-05:00

I haven't forgotten to write, or post, or any of that, I promise! And I have a bunch of pictures, including shots of the new wheel (that happily named itself 'Harriet' on the way home -- hopefully that'll mean it's a keeper...), and a buncha, but I seem to be having some technical difficulties centering particularly around said photos. Hopefully things will work out better for tomorrow and I'll be able to offer a substantial Foto Friday...

Casey Cobalt Cooped a Cache of Cut-Up Cables

2007-02-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

Hint for those of you that might be wondering how to fix instructional difficulties in a given pattern -- there is always the last resort that I ultimately ended up going with regarding Friday's swatch... Rereading the instructions made all the difference... (Though, admittedly, now that I'm using Elsebeth Lavold's step-by-step for increasing at the lower portion of the cable, I've switched to a somewhat different version of decreasing at the top. At least this time I'm doing it intentionally...)
Old:

New: (maybe I should have sacrificed color for flash, sorry it's so dark...)

Overall:

And before you mention it, yes, I know I messed up with the upper right cable -- I'm figuring it will give me a perfect chance to try out Cara's January One in-depth -- so it must have been intentional, yes, that's it, I botched it simply to have the chance to try out fixing it...

And now, We Interrupt This Message...
I'm trying to figure the whole blog philosophy thing (okay, so I admit that many people would have figured out what they intended their blog to be/stand for/focus around before they actually got the whole blog thing up and rolling, but...). So I mentioned to himself that I wasn't quite sure how to attract folks to the blog, and that there didn't seem to be much commenting going on, and I wonder, kinda, whether it's a matter of how long before one develops a readership or a matter of if... Anyway, his reply was something along the lines of "maybe folks got bored and stopped reading..." and that he personally thinks knitters find stories about their foibles and how such foibles affect their family members most amusing. Not to burst bubbles or anything, and I could be wrong, but I tend to suspect I'd get bored with a blog that focused on funnies at the strict expense of knitters somewhat quickly.

So the big question, I guess, is whether I'm willing to blog for the sake of me and hope that someday it might just be interesting to someone else too or whether I need to attempt to write particularly to entertain an audience that may or may not ever show up. I'm guessing that the second choice would, for me, get old mighty fast. Assuming that there's anyone reading this at all, what do you do? Is it okay to write into a black hole? Is it boring to read a blog that someone writes mainly for themself? And how does one attract readers that might not be bored? And, yes, at the end of this all I realize that I've a rather new blog, and it takes a while, and patience, wait and see and all that, but I have to admit there's a bit of thrill when I read that I've actually got a new comment...

My Dog Ate My Eye Candy...

2007-02-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

When I wasn't looking (yeah, right...). I have a particular picture I wanted to post, but I can't find it amongst Himself's photo filing system (hence two photo filing systems and we have involuntary backups of most of our photos). I'll just have to save it for next Friday.

Some photos I do have for today, though:

Revisiting my in progress Sunilda Childs Version, and yes, I swatched, twice even -- first umpteen times for guage (I'm not using the recommended weight yarn as I wanted a denser sweater and had to adjust the needles to approach the recommended guage), and just now to see if the cable pattern worked for me (please forgive the lack of blocking -- I just finished binding off). So, cable pattern -- I admittedly haven't reconsulted the Viking Knits book, but my increases to start the bottom don't much resemble my decreases to close the top of the cable pattern. I much prefer the top of the pattern, so I'm wondering if anyone might suggest a way to increase on the bottom corners that would match...

Ideas?... Anyone?... Anyone?... Bueller?

Mittens Then, Shawl Now

2007-02-08T10:59:00.000-05:00

Last week I finished Double Helix / Galaxy Purl's Callisto Pico child's shawl (as yet unblocked), and a miniature 20" doll version with the leftover yarn. It'll be a while until I can actually give them to Flicka-dot as I'm saving them for her birthday (in March! S'gonna be hard to wait that long...). I expected that the shawl would take longer to finish, but it just flew along, almost on its own it seemed.

I'd highly recommend this pattern. It's well written and quite easy to follow, and it was interesting enough to keep me going without being so intricate that I'd need to set time aside to work on it especially. I might even try the adult version one of these days (isn't it usually the child that gets one to match Mom's rather than the other way around?)...

Not Quick Enough on the Draw

2007-02-07T11:58:00.000-05:00

This would have been the perfect picture-capturing morning, bright, crisp, and sunny (albeit a bit frigid), and I missed it -- the first robin. I'm not sure I believe that groundhogs know what they're about, truly, but I always believe the birds and I've always associated robins with spring. Admittedly, I believe the cardinal family that lives in my backyard sings about the end of snow, and they haven't moved in yet, but still, at this point I'm happy with the hope of spring... How I wish I had been quick enough to photo the robin in the holly bush! (So this is how it happens, you predicted it, I know... She starts wandering around thinking: That would have been perfect for the blog, how could I have missed it?)

Thanks Be For Busy Work

2007-02-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

... 'Cause it's so hard to wait...

I've noticed that wheels that select names for themselves seem to stick around... I've had quite a collection of wheels come and go, and only three so far that have personas -- the Peacock, which became Astrid almost of her own accord, no idea where the name came from, it sorta was just there; Zelda at the office (likewise); and the Beaver, which was sort of aptly named by the Dots as "Bob the Beaver". These three seem to be survivors, and now there's to be an addition. I'm purchasing a Timbertops Chair Wheel, already dubbed "big sister to the Beaver". We're due to pick it up next Sunday, and I'm all week-before-Christmas excited, can't wait-ish about it. Upstairs wheel, downstairs wheel, work wheel and travel wheel, and I'll be settled perfectly. And the Chair Wheel has long been my dream wheel; having the Beaver already makes me confident that it really is the dream and really will spin the way I expect it to.

Of course, along with that goes selling a few wheels of my own, finances, space issues, and all. On the block are my Hitchhiker and the Timbertops Suitcase wheel (Himself told me this morning that the Joy has already been spoken for). Not that I imagine tons of folk are passing through to note them, but just in case you might have an interest, please swing by Himself's eBay vendor site Randoma and have a look see -- I'd love to know they're going to a happy home...

More busy work -- OTN: Sunilda Childs Version from Elsebeth Lavold's Second Viking Knits.
This qualifies as a multi-duty project. From the sidebar, Project Spectrum blue and Stashalong stashbusting (not to mention that I've been hankering to work on a sweater for a while now), but more importantly, I've the second round of gift knitting looming rather imminently. Most knitters have a breather after the year-end holidays, but me, not me. I married into a family of clustered birthdays and, even better, managed to carry on the tradition with the next generation -- within the next three months there will be eight family birthdays (not to mention Himself's, that just passed). Better get a move on, hmm?

DCandH

2007-02-02T10:06:00.000-05:00

When I was little (way back in the Stone Age), one of my grandfather's favorite jokes referred to a law firm with the name "Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe". I remember it quite well -- no matter how many times he told the joke, he would chuckle and find it ever so amusing. Fast forward to much later... I'm wandering around Harvard Square, where I've worked for years now, and I look up, and lo, behold the third story window!:

Obviously it's been there for as long as I've been wandering the neighborhood, but I've never noticed it before. I'm not sure what type of company it actually is, but no matter what, I can just imagine how tickled my grandfather would have been to see his joke in person...

Lemming That I Am

2007-01-30T10:08:00.000-05:00

So far this year I've committed to Stashalong for three months (though I'm expecting to re-up when that's done -- Stash has evolved to the point where it considers itself an entity and demands a moniker of its very own (along the lines of being a "Nessie" rather than a "Loch Ness Monster"). I could simply keep referring to it as Stash (no preceding "my", "the", or "a" involved here), but that somehow seems akin to calling one's child simply "Boy" or "Girl". Hmm... maybe the trick would be to change the names of my kids instead, you think?

I've some more post-Christmas gift pictures to post (all knit from Stash, even) -- two sets of fingerless mitts, a pair of plain vanilla mittens, a pair of stranded mittens and a hat (that "Girl" has informed me must, of course, Mommy, have matching mittens, you are going to make them for me, aren't you?)...

I'm planning on posting the chart for the stranded pair, once I do a bit of formatting and cleanup, and I probably could manage instructions for any of the others as well, if anyone happens to be interested.
Happy Tuesday.......

Weather: Sunny and Pictur-esque

2007-01-26T13:38:00.000-05:00

...(and I don't even care about the cold!)

Okay, maybe I cared about the cold on my way in this morning, but the sun leads to camera leads to pictures, and I think I might be able to place them where they belong now and all, even!

First off, today is Friday, and my candy today is braggingly sweet -- Horse by Flicka-dot... 'Nuff said...

Then, one set of mittens today, shawl tomorrow, or something to that effect, anyway. You can find the pattern here, just in case you're interested. I'll keep it simple for now and just go with one at a time. Other mittens, other patterns will follow shortly...

Ocular Sweets Today

2007-01-19T08:46:00.000-05:00

I finally managed to get pictures functioning, and what better way to begin posting them with a combo of Eye Candy for Friday and a montage of FO's? Individual pictures will be forthcoming, but here's today's teaser...

And a big thank you to my hunny for helping me actually figure out how to post something more interesting than a small box with an "X" in it...

Happy weekend, folks!

Whee, I'm Official!

2007-01-11T16:26:00.000-05:00

My very first comment, on my very first post, even! Thank you, Suzanne!

Still struggling a bit to figure out what to blather about, still pictureless and still clueless as to how to set this place up all personal-like and comfy, but progress is being made, I promise! Dear dumpling (she used to be little dumpling, but she's all second grade grown up now) is even plotting out a PJ'd sheep for me. Who'da thunk she'd shine so quickly -- she's quite the little artist, and, actually, quite good. (I admit it, I thought she'd traced the sheep until I saw her draw another, just like that!) Am I bragging yet? I'm just happy to have a sheep in the works; it's not like I could have drawn one I'd be happy with on my own...

Anyhoo, more soon, here's hoping with crossed fingers...

2007-01-06T19:54:00.000-05:00

Year of the Mitten
I guess most knitters have seen the site documenting the fantastic mittens produced by Latvian knitters and given to the NATO attendees in Latvia this past November. For some reason, this seemed something incredibly wonderful and hopeful to me - partially because of the significance of mittens in the Latvian wedding ceremony (does this make for a marriage of nations, or am I just wishing for some symbolism here?), and perhaps partially because it all surfaced as my Christmas knitting was searching for a collection of quickly finished gifts. So, yuppa, you guessed, this became the Year of the Mitten for me. (I'm still working on mittens for yours truly and hope to complete a few more sets before the novelty is completely gone.)

So far, only one set of these is stranded at all, but, again in the Latvian spirit, they're all different and all original. Pix follow, and I'll post patterns one by one as soon as I get them gussied up.

Helloooooooooo?................

2007-01-03T13:39:00.000-05:00

I'm me, Chris; welcome to my luscious quarters, such as they are. Don't mind me -- I'm not quite finished decorating...

General disclaimer: Posts may sometimes be sporadic, and I cannot guarantee sparkling humor (or bookbookbooks, or imaginary sheep), but I've been hoping for some time for a place to chatter about fiber and share some patterns (mitts from Xmas soon to arrive, as soon as I get around to wrestling with the camera...).

So pleased ta meetcha, sit down for a while, have a cuppa, and above all, don't forget your knitting!