The socks ate me

Carrie K pointed out (not directly, of course, but I know what she meant ;) that there aren't a whole lot of photos being splashed around here these days. It's quite true, and I'm very sorry about that, especially since there absolutely zero photos in today's post to make it up to you with. But I've been doing a lot of designing (or finalizing designs) lately, and it's all stuff that I want to be published commercially, so I have to maintain a hush-hush factor. It's pretty exciting for me whenever I have patterns I hope to share with a wider audience, but yeah, it makes for more boring visuals for you guys. I hope you'll bear with me anyway.

Mind you, I suppose that if you're still reading this blog after all my long stretches of absence, you're probably going to bear with me even without pictures. Thank you for continuing to 'tune in'. I keep telling myself that I must get better at blogging frequently, but I also want to be so thorough when I describe what I'm doing with my projects (both for my own recordkeeping and any edification that readers may get out of such details...oh, and plus, I don't know when to shut up). With everything else I have to do in my life, the non-essentials often fall by the wayside and the result is that you get weeks without a peep from me.

(I am hanging my head right now.)

I will just have to try to be more brief, that's all. Maybe not be completely detailed most of the time, and every now and then do a really big post that contains all the gories? I dunno. But I shall try.

At any rate, as you would expect with an over-three-week span of bloglessness, there's been a LOT going on with me, knitting-wise.

Firstly, if you're on Ravelry, you'll probably have heard of "Ravelympics 2008". This was kind of like the winter Olympics thing that the Yarn Harlot did, but it was Ravelry-based, and there were teams and events and other different stuff. Aaaand...someone pledged to do my Around the Block pattern as their Ravelympics project! This of course was very exciting for me (although the blanket is so huge that I did question her sanity just a little bit). But even more exciting is what she wrote on Ravelry in the comments section of my pattern:

"This is a great pattern. The charts are comprehensive and detailed, the instructions are straighforward and the photographs describing the grafting are very easy to follow and a massive help.
The blanket itself it lovely and is so much more interesting to construct that a straightforward back-and-forth square.
Completely recommend this."

Isn't that fantastic? I got all giggly and squee-y when I read that, I don't mind admitting. Hands may even have been clapped girlishly. She didn't actually finish it in time, but is still working on the project and is still keen about it. Of course, what I'm really terrified of is that my yarn usage is way more efficient than other people's, and therefore she'll run out of yarn before she finishes the blanket and will curse me into oblivion and I will feel like scum. But I guess we'll fall off that bridge when we come to it.

She's "Lolli" on Ravelry, where she's posted pictures of the blanket in progress. You can also check out her blog.

And speaking of people doing my patterns, according to Ravelry, another poor sap intrepid soul has started my Reversible Celtic Patterns Blanket pattern. She is the third person to do so (not including me). However, I should point out that the other two people ended up not merely frogging their projects, but actually deleting them COMPLETELY off of Ravelry (as opposed to merely marking them "frogged"). I must assume they did this in an attempt to wipe out all evidence that they'd ever even heard of the pattern and thus block the pain and suffering from their memory. :) I do honestly feel a little sorry for people who try to take that one on. I really only published it for the purposes of education and inspiration of other knitters, not because I actually expected anyone else would be masochistic enough to do it! :) But y'know, it takes all kinds. I guess there are actually some people out there who are as crazy as I am!

Stranded vest for moi

On Monday evening, I finished it.

And I. LOVE. It.

I am thrilled. Seriously, seriously pleased with how it looks. Mind you, it is a bit wide, it comes right out to the tips of my shoulders, which I think is too much. When I write up the final version of the pattern I will make the armholes deeper. But I still love it, and wore it yesterday, and felt like a million bucks. DH took some photos, and now all I have to do is print them off on some photo paper, do up a swatch, write up the proposal, and shoot it off to a pattern magazine. Whee!

There is just one downer here. The Sockina Colori yarn which I'm using as one of the two colours - the yarn which is key to achieving the awesome visual effect that makes the whole piece - is now discontinued. Words cannot express my frustration. I mean, seriously! This is the second time I've started designing something with a Schoeller & Stahl yarn and had the rug pulled out from under me partway through the process because the yarn got discontinued. I'm pretty POed, I don't mind saying, and I hereby swear that I shall never use another Schoeller & Stahl yarn in any of my design prototypes again. I just can't trust them. I'm going to submit the design anyway, though, because it's too good not to, and anyway, maybe there's an adequate substitute yarn out there...somewhere. Anyone know of a 3-ply sock yarn where one ply is black, another white, and the third variegating in rainbow colours? Anyone? Bueller?

Really Christmas socks for Dad

Also done!

Well, sort of. The first sock is too short in the foot. I'm going to have to lengthen it before I can give the socks to my dad. Curses.

Foot-pampering socks for moi

I've really been on fire, because this is also done! I'm really pleased with how they look, fit and feel, so hooray!

The completion of these socks means something else really good. It means that I now have socks from my pattern done up in large baby, child, woman and man sizes, which means that I can take a family photo of the socks on four different sizes of foot (the specific feet to be photographed of course belonging to me, my husband and my two girls). This will bring me one step closer to being able to send off the final version of the pattern. DH is working tonight, but maybe we can get everyone's socks on them on Thursday when we all get home.

Anouk for baby Mendez

This is coming along very nicely, considering that I only work on it in front of the computer. This is because I started the project when I had a laptop right next to me on the couch, so I was able to knit it without needing to print out a copy. At first, only working from the online instructions was just a well-the-laptop's-right-here-why-not thing, but now it's turned into a bit of a refusal-to-give-in, save-the-trees kind of deal.

But this hasn't hampered my progress so far - both sides and pockets are finished. I decided to duplicate stitch the flower motifs onto the pockets after the fact rather than go through the hassle of knitting intarsia with cotton as I go. (Ick.)

It's turning out really adorably, and is such a cute and fast knit. My only complaint so far has been that the shoulder instructions are completely mixed up and thus rather incomprehensible. Left, right, back and front labels seem to have been assigned randomly, so it took me a good deal of back-and-forthing between the instructions and the garment to figure out which instructions should probably be applied to which shoulder sections.

Itsy-bitsy baby socks

So after I finished the whole socks-for-the-family marathon, I decided to see what other sizes would turn out to look like, so I cast on for the wee baby size using the leftover Trekking XXL from my daughter's leggings. Result: very wee and very cute. I'm only about two-thirds done the first sock, but it's really sweet. And FAST, holy cow! (This shouldn't surprise me, given the size of the feet the socks are being made for, but it does.)

Stretchy socks for Mom

And the sock jag continues. I decided I wanted to use my own pattern for these socks instead of the toe-up thing I had going before, so I ripped it out. However, I've started the cast-on about twice and it's not tight enough, so I'm going to have to do it again with smaller needles and then switch to bigger ones once I have the stitches all set up. (Insert grumbling here.)

Double-faced bib

And finally...this project. Amazingly, it's not socks. :) I got back into it because I really want to finish it up, and also because nothing else in my list of current projects appeals right now. It's coming along very nicely, and I'm just one row away from starting to divide for the neckhole.

The other hobby

Many things have conspired to keep me from blogging these past weeks, but the biggest one has been my genealogy obsession. This crops up every now and then, but seems to be sticking around for a while this time. Probably because I've found out how to access some excellent Internet resources and have been connecting up new generations on my husband's paternal grandfather's side like crazy. There's nothing like the thrill of the hunt! (I am such a geek.) So far I've been able to get into the 17th century in some spots (albeit with some shaky documentation), which is pretty damn cool. I've even found a fifth cousin of my daughter's in Yorkshire whom I'm now working with to get further back on our shared side of the family. It's extremely cool to combine research and ideas, and to be able to tell someone something like, "Hey, while you're taking that day trip into Hornsea, d'you mind checking out the churchyard for so-and-so's grave?" Awesome stuff.

There has, of COURSE, been knitting...lots and lots and lots of knitting, on numerous projects. This is another reason for the lack of blogging - it's a bit intimidating to look at everything you have to talk about and then write it all down without worrying that you're missing anything. But I shall give it a shot...

Snood for DD1

Last weekend, we packed up the kids and headed out to our first SCA event in quite a long time. Actually, I think the last event we'd gotten to was the same one the previous year! So it was lovely to see everyone and the weather was fortunately mostly good.

While there, my older daughter found out about snoods (one of her friends wore one with her court garb), and of course wanted one for herself. For some time, I've been thinking about how cool it would be to knit a lace doily and convert that to a snood, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity. I spent some time with DD1 on Ravelry, showing her pictures of doilies. She picked one that she liked, and decided she wanted it in red.

Friday night I got going on it, but by the next morning it was pretty obvious that not only had I screwed up (don't get me going on the accuracy of the chart), but it was not going to be big enough for a snood - not even a child-size snood. So I ripped it all out and re-started on Saturday with 4.5mm needles instead of 2.75mms.



I'm just finishing it up now and I'm still rather worried about its size, but I'll block it and see if that improves things any. If not, the kid will just have to choose a different doily pattern.

After I'm done this, I'd like to make another one for her out of cream yarn in a more impressively intricate pattern, to match her fanciest garb.

Fistula armband

Attempt #3 was handed off to my brother, and guess what? It wasn't too big!

It was, however, too small. (Like you couldn't see that coming.)

I was all set to give it a fourth try, but then my brother called me and said that he'd found an alternative that he really liked. There's apparently a basketball star named Allen Iverson who wears some kind of armwarming sleeve on his right arm when he plays. (Rumour has it that this is to cover up obscene tattoos, but opinion seems to be divided on that.) These sleeves are available from sporting goods stores - they're obviously able to breathe, aren't too tight, and look pretty fashionable. My brother loves his. It cost about $30, but he's very happy with it. So I have officially given up on this project.

Sweetness for baby Ella

A few weeks ago, I found out to my surprise (thanks to Facebook profiles) that one of my husband's cousins is going to become a grandmother in August! Total surprise to me, but of course there should be some knitting happeneing there. Apparently the baby is a girl, so, hmm, what could I possibly make that's cute and fast? :)

Actually, I've been kind of looking for an excuse to make Sweetness again. Right now there are 12 projects using it on Ravelry, and about 8 of them have photos. And there's some real creativity with the colours happening! One person used three colours, using a different background colour in the centre rows of the main stranded motif. Several people used the contrast colour in new places, like the garter ridges at the top and the bottom, or the i-cord straps. So I was inspired to change things up a little, too. I once again used white as the main colour, but I found some odds and ends in the stash from a cardigan project for my older daughter that looked like they'd blend really well. I made it a little more fair isle by changing the pattern colour in the centre of the main motif, used the contrast colours for the thicker sections of garter stitch and the straps, and - tadah!



I am completely in love with it. Thank you to everyone who changed up the colours and showed me what else I could do with my own pattern!

Skirt for DD1

I finally got into the LYS and picked up a 4mm circular so I could keep going with this project.

The problem is, I can no longer remember what the heck my pattern adaptations were. I think I have notes kicking around somewhere, but I'm pretty sure they're very sparse. Sigh. I may have to re-calculate and re-start.

Wild socks for DD1

I tried the first sock on DD1, and not only was the foot waaaay too long, but it was also too tight. It was almost impossible to actually pull it on. So I ripped it all out and started again, re-jigging my pattern instructions for the 'small child' size. I finished the second version of the sock, but I can't remember how it fit...actually, I can't remember if I even tried it on her at all! Although I think I might have not even bothered because the foot was too short. Hm.

The neat thing about this pair is that the yarn colours stripe in a very cool way. I'll be sure to post pictures once the pattern is published.

Double-faced bib

I've finished a few rows here and there. Nothing to scream about.

Really Christmas socks for Dad

These have been started - I'm using sock yarn from the stash and my own sock pattern. So far I've finished one sock, and I'm about to start the leg on the second one.

Eleanor of Toledo socks

Here's another project that's seen a few rows here and there, but nothing more than that. However, it's still affecting me rather profoundly because when I put it in the bag with my other projects to take to work, it tangles up among everything like CRAZY. So annoying! So I've stopped taking it with me.

Tangling aside, though, it's nice.

Socks for DD2

What better way to use up sock yarn leftovers and test out more sizes with my sock pattern than to make socks for my baby girl? I've finished one already and it's sooo cute.

Sweater with patterned arms

I've been meaning to blog about this one for some time but keep forgetting. Some time ago, I mentioned that I'd been inspired by a co-worker's sweater to design something really cool. I had in mind strips of intricate stranded motifs down the sleeves, and cool texture patterns on the body. It was a great idea and I figured it would be a great success.

Until, shortly after joining Ravelry, I was cruising through patterns, and found the Rannoch Dress (you'll need Ravelry access to get to that link), by Marie Wallin, from Rowan 42. It's gorgeous and almost exactly what I'd envisioned, in dress form, so I've given up on this design project. :) (If it's already gorgeous, why design another one?)

U hrair

Didja notice the new graphic on my sidebar, under 'Bandwagons'? Yes! YES! I'm one of The Thousand!

Last Saturday for World Wide Knit in Public Day I headed down to Lettuce Knit (unfortunately abandoning my own LYS for most of the day, although I did pop in on my way back home), where Stephanie was celebrating her 40th birthday by flying Mr. Franklin Habit His Very Own Self in from Chicago for a photo shoot for the "1,000 Knitters" project. I showed up around 10:30; knitted while waiting for my turn; sat for Franklin; and then hung around with everybody until about 2pm.

And what a glorious time I had. First of all, I'm not sure how we managed to luck out like this, but the weather was PERFECT. Seriously, could not have been better. It was deliciously warm, not too hot, not cold at all, and no rain (which was quite a feat, given the weather lately). I got to hang out with many wonderful knitters, and give out various presents. For Megan, the owner of the shop - who is going to have a baby very soon - I gave this little hat. As a birthday present, I gave Stephanie a copy of my KWB/TSF Hat pattern. And for Franklin...well. I knew nothing could top the stunning gift of customized M&Ms, but I did figure he would like some home-made Arabic food. I imposed upon my mom for some of her hummus and taboolee (which I can make myself, but I never have the ingredients for it at home) and brought it along.

As luck would have it, it was my turn to sit for him just as he got peckish. He seemed quite thrilled when I told him about the food I'd brought, and then we had a lovely four minutes or so gabbing about my ethnic background (Mom's an Arab, Dad's a Jew - yes, they CAN get along!) and the futility of trying to find good Arabic food in Chicago. I think I did a very good job at keeping my inner screaming teenfan ("OMG! It's FRANKLIN!!!!!") ruthlessly supressed, and for anyone who's wondering, the man is lovely. Just lovely. I know it probably sounds like I'm damning with faint praise when I describe the entire experience as 'pleasant', but it is actually a seriously good compliment. Never underestimate the loveliness and serenity of pure pleasantness. I only wish I could have stayed all day and hung out with people into the evening. I did get to meet Patrick, with whom I'd corresponded a bit on Ravelry some months ago, so that was very nice.

(And I hope very much that the food was to Franklin's liking.)

(Oh, also, I won a mug!)

Another wonderful thing that happened there was that Amy confirmed the acceptibility of my latest pattern submission for Knitty!!! (At least, it sure seemed like she did.) Naturally, this is pretty damn thrilling, but of course there will be quite a long wait until it comes out...so I still can't show any pictures or give any details.

Also, I've tightened up my essay for Cast On and have sent it off to Brenda for her review and (hopefully!) approval. Carrie K asked if I'd let you guys know when it's going to air - of course! You won't be able to get me to shut up about it! :)

On the knitting projects front, there is tons to tell, although very little in the way of photography again, sorry.

Wild socks for DD1

I originally started these socks for DD1 as a toe-up pattern, and then stalled out for a while. Since coming up with my new sock pattern, I've been thinking about re-starting this project with the new pattern, so that I could test-drive the instructions for a child's size. So this week, I did. I haven't tried them on DD1's feet yet...I'm a little worried that they're a touch small girthwise and too long in the foot, so I really must remember to get her to try them on tonight.

Double-faced bib

Stunningly, I actually started work on something on The Schedule! This is a pattern of my own design that I've done before, but I needed to finalise the instructions and have a sample to photograph (I gave away the previous one as a gift). So I got it started. I'm working with a cotton/acrylic blend, which is great for bibs (absorbent and machine washable), and the pattern is coming out really nicely so far.

Christmas socks for Dad

It hit me last weekend that I had nothing to give my dad for Father's Day. (Brilliant.) So I washed these socks, wrapped 'em up and gave them to him when we went to their place for dinner. They fit perfectly and he really likes them. Yay!

Of course, this leaves me with no socks ready to give him for Christmas! So I'll have to whip up another pair sometime between now and December. Hm. This could be a good excuse to go buy more sock yarn...

Comfy angel's nest

Buttons were mooched, and then sewn on. It's finished!


left open


tied closed

Eleanor of Toledo stockings

All the talk about this project (thanks very much, Keja - hi! - for your helpful comments and errata warnings) got me interested in knitting it again. I went back and found it - I still have the unfinished sock out of the original cotton yarn (unfortunately the picture I took of it came out really badly, I'll have to try again), plus there was the barely-started latest attempt in the silk. Wanting to start with a clean slate, I frogged the silk version and re-started. Haven't gotten very far yet, and it's pretty tricky and fiddly, but it's coming along.

Fistula-covering armband

So I ripped it back and cast on again. This time with only 36 stitches. I can't believe it'll go on his arm, but hey, desperate times, right? I increased two stitches every four rows until I hit 46 stitches, and then kept going without shaping until the thing was long enough. Version #3 is now complete. I haven't handed it off to my brother yet, though, so I don't know if it's the right size. Probably when my mom delivers the cupcakes for DD1's upcoming birthday party, I'll give it to her to hand off to him, and then I'll wait on tenterhooks (again) for the verdict.

Cotton wool socks for Mom

Sock #1 is complete; sock #2 is started. I think I'm on the foot...can't remember though, it's been a few days since I picked it up.

Father's Day socks for DH

These were completed in plenty of time and received with great delight. Unfortunately, they are too long in the feet and too loose at the cast-on. Grrr. I'll have to do some fixing.

Skirt for DD1

DD1's been asking for me to knit her a skirt, and she wanted it out of the Marble yarn in the "Denim" colourway. Unfortunately I didn't have enough left over from my various KWB/TSF hats for a skirt, so I bought another ball last Saturday when I dropped into Knitters Attic on my way home.

As the basis for the project, I'm using the Caiden's skirt pattern, but have re-jigged the math to fit DD1, and modified it so that I'm knitting in the round instead of knitting the front and back flat and separately.

I was doing very well on this for about a day...until the cable needle snapped. CURSES! And I can't find another 4mm circular in the house. I know I have at least one...just can't find any of them, except one that's stuck in another project (and I know that if I replace that with something else to free up the 4mm circular, I will never remember that I should be using a 4mm when I return to the project).