Okay, maybe I was wrong…

well, they actually were socks, (see this post) and they look kinda like socks, but boy were they a learning experience! Like I said in the first post about these socks, I was doing an afterthought heel and an afterthought toe (I did a provisional cast-on) in case I didn’t have enough yarn. Well, it turns out that I really didn’t even have enough yarn to have even thought about this project. I had so little yarn, that I had to make ankle socks. Then I went to one of my LYSs and bought some complimentary purple yarn to finish the toes and heels. I took out my provisional cast on, and started the toe, but forgot to knit a little extra before I started decreasing – oops! Then I did the afterthought heel described in this pattern and while they look okay, they really don’t fit my DD well at all. They were a hair too short (due to the mess up with the toes) and the heel just doesn’t seem to flow as well as I would like it too, nor does it seem to fit as well as the other heels I have tried – traditional heel flap, and the short row heel fromWendy of Wendy Knits. They keep scooching down her feet, and no matter how many times I re-did the bind off, it is too tight.

So, I guess these are going to go into the lessons learned pile, and maybe someday I will find a use for them. Hmmm, maybe I can stuff them with catnip and give them to my feline siblings (between my Dad and stepmother, and my Mom and stepfather, I have either 7 or 8 feline siblings).

I have been doing a little sock stash accumulation and I’m sure I can find something I am willing to part with. The only problem is that such little feet only require one ball, and I have two of everything. Maybe I’ll have to go out an just purchase a couple of single balls of sock yarn just for her – oohh! an excuse to go yarn shopping!

I got my new Winter 2006 issue of Interweave Knits today, and while preparing dinner (waffles – I wasn’t very inspired, combined with serious PMS) I paged through about 1/3 of it. I already have pages turned down for about 3 sweaters that I would love to knit – someday. I figure when my subscription runs out, I’ll be okay, because the patterns I am in love with will keep me for a year or too at my pace! Maybe once the youngest child gets into school things will change, but then I will have to go back to work, and oh well…

Wow, September has flown by

I just realized I didn’t post anything for the whole of September. I finished my Icarus and then got caught up with the kids going to school – I now have 5 hours a week when I have all 3 in school, and I still haven’t gotten much done.

I did finish up a pair of socks for my daughter using the Cherry Tree Hill yarn in Brights. They turned out nicely, but were as much work as making a pair for myself. I thought that making socks for my kids would go faster, but my just barely 8 DD has Size 7 Womens feet. When I bought her new sneaks for school in August, I about fell over when I had to buy her size 7s. I wear a 10, but I didn’t get to that size until near high school. I think this kid will be in 10s by 5th grade at the rate she is going!

I have been having to deal with the fact that my husband feels I should be spending the 5 hours a week I have to myself working on improving the appearance of my house, or getting laundry put away (Hey, I get it washed and folded!), and NOT on knitting. I have to figure out how to get the house stuff done while the kids are around, and save that 5 hours for knitting! In hopes that I accomplish this feat, I have signed up for Soctoberfest 2006.

My mom is coming to visit on the 4th and she is bringing me a bunch of circular needles. She won an Ebay auction for Clover circulars, with all bunches of sizes. She is losing her vision, so the bigger needles are more what she needs, and she is willing to give me the littler sizes. I seem to add more needles to my collection than I do yarn. I have a hard time buying yarn without a specific project in mind, and a knowledge of how much I will need, so my yarn stash is pretty small.

I am working on a pair of socks for my DS (6yo) in a self striping camo colorway from Jawoll. I made one sock, and when he tried it on he complained that it didn’t go up the leg enough, and the foot was too small. So, I started another sock, made the leg part longer, and made the foot part longer – it fits perfectly, and then I ripped out the first one, and am re-knitting that! I am just doing a basic stickinette stitch for these. I thought about doing a 2×2 ribbing down the leg, but bagged on that idea. This pic gives a pretty good idea of the socks. Pardon the flash reflection. I like the appearance againgst the wood, but the reflection is a PIMA.

I have started using the Socks Soar method of two circular needles that Cat Bordhi uses in her book. I love this method, and have started to soar. The second sock was so quick to do. I plan on finishing the second (or is it the first/third?) soon – maybe Monday during my 2.5 hours at gymnastics while two of mine do their stuff.Okay, enough boring stuff. I am off to knit on a very boring baby blanket in not so nice acrylic, that I need to get out of the way before I start my next non-portable project.

I’m hooked

Okay, my first pair of socks has been completed. I put them on before washing them, and said to myself – “They’re a little itchy, I don’t know if this will work.” Then I washed them, and put them on and…I was hooked. I love my socks! They felt wonderful.

But then, at the end of the day, I took them off, and they were about twice the size as when I put them on. I was sooo bummed. But, I gave them another chance, washed them again, and voila, they look like new.
I was eyeing the elastic that you can use with yarn to make them more stetchy, and don’t know if it is worth it.

I have been spending some time with my two older kids, teaching them to knit. My 8yoDD already has two projects on the needles: a “purse” and a hat for a baby cousin due in Sept.

My 6yo DS has also created “something.” I cast on 10 stitches for him, and knit the first row so he wouldn’t have to deal with the tension issues of a cast on row. Then I taught him (I thought) how to do the knit stitch. He sat beside me knitting for a couple of rows, and then I let him take off on his own. A couple of days (and about 4 rows) later I took a look, and he somehow had about 18 stitches on his needle. I did some k2tog to reduce it to about 12 sts, and handed it back, with the reminder to only wrap the yarn one time, and to make sure he took the needle out of the stitch and slipped it off the left needle. Well, I think by the time he finished, I cast off about 20 stitches (I was afraid to count). And this is his “square” as he calls it. I am impressed – it was his first attempt, and he only just turned 6 last week. He managed to drop a stitch or two, and at one time I had to tink back where he had used the long tail from the cast on, but overall, not bad.

Since then, there have been a number of false starts, but today we cast on again with some yarn that he picked out at the LYS for $2. So, we might get a scarf yet!

I also got some stuff at the LYS today, but I spent a bit more than $2. But I got my first set of Addi Turbo circulars (size 1 for socks) and I am in love with them. My sock really seems to be cruising along (using the magic loop method). I wanted to get two sets, but they only had one, and since the store is going out of business, I will have to look elsewhere for my other set. I also got some Baby Night yarn from Crystal Palace Yarns that is so soft, and I got some angora for a sweater I decided to make for myself (maybe when I finish my husband’s sweater). I have no pictures of my haul because I had to hide it away before my husband saw it – although my oldest DD ratted me out!

 

Finished Icarus photos

I have finished Icarus! I am so amazed at what the blocking does for the whole process. So is my husband – he just couldn’t see how my big lump of knitting was going to look anything like the photo in the magazine.

I made this for my mom’s birthday, which is today, and I completed it Tues, blocked it Tues, and got it in the mail overnight to her yesterday.

Here is the shawl (no it isn’t huge – it is being modeled by my 8YO DD). I added beads to the edging, like many other people – Thanks Miriam for the directions on how to do this!

I started this project on June 26, and finished on Aug 15. I have to admit I neglected my family as much as they would let me during this last week, and I definitely neglected my house. I used a 80/20 Mohair/Nylon yarn by Filatura Di Crosa in a dark red. It turned out to look great, but was very hard to fix problems because it was so fuzzy and didn’t frog very well.

I am hoping someday to make another one of these for myself. Someday…

I started working on the epic that is my husband’s sweater, I knit about three rows, then decided to measure guage, and boy was it off. So I frogged the 10 or so inches that I had knit of the back. …A little back ground…I made this sweater for my husband 3.5 years ago (at his request), and it was huge. I don’t know if my guage was off, or if he just chose the wrong size, or both (most likely) but it would maybe have fit a 300 lb man, and my husband is only 200 lbs. I spent a year working on this sweater, spent $100 in yarn.

My husband tried to wear it, but finally gave up with instructions to either give it away, or throw it out. I couldn’t do this, so I tried washing it in hot and drying it. I did not know about felting at this point, and the yarn must be superwash, because it didn’t felt. So I frogged the whole thing – I think it was about 23 balls of yarn originally. I started again. I used the same needles, assuming I had guage, because I had the first time (supposedly). Obviously I didn’t.

I now need to decide what to do. The yarn has all the squiggles in it from having remained in a knitted state for so long, and through a wash and dry. I can’t decide whether to wind it into skeins, wet it and dry it with weights so the squiggles will go out, or just to junk the whole thing. I talked to DH last night about it, and he just said “Forget It”. I think he has given up on me and the sweater. Oh well, I’m going to knit a baby blanket in the mean time and stew on this issue.

Icarus is DONE!!!

I have finished Icarus. She/he(?) is blocking right now.

I know the center line is crooked, I fixed it just after I took the photo.

This is for my mom, whose birthday is in two days. I hope that I can get it dry and into the mail (overnight) tomorrow. Otherwise, it will be a day or two late.

I stayed up until 1:30 last night working on this. I finally went to bed when I was halfway done casting off. Then I picked it back up this morning – the casting off went so much faster when I was awake and could focus!

I was really unsure of whether the mohair would look good in this pattern, since it is so fuzzy. But it does. I am still in awe that I was able to create this shawl. I had never knit lace before, and now I am hooked. I am even more in awe of Miriam who designed this shawl! It is an amazing creation.

I have gotten about 4 books from the library on knitting lace and I can’t wait to do more. I plan to do a pair of socks for my oldest DD that will incorporate some lace next.