Socks, Summer Cottages, and a Day to Rant

Howdy, I'm back from Rhode Island and ready to blog. First of all, let me just say that the yarn store in Newport was kind of a disappointment. Rachel, be glad you didn't put down that Corona. You didn't miss anything. No exciting yarns, no interesting supplies, and a musty smell. Bah, barely worth the walk down Thames Street. I did buy two balls of something or other that was on sale, but it's not worthy of a picture. Well, at least my fellow travellers were glad that I didn't make them wait long.

We had a great time in Newport -- there was much eating, drinking, shopping, knitting, and general relaxing. Didn't take many pictures, just this one:

Requisite tourist photo of dork standing in front of giant mansion.
[Uncool Guy gamely agreed to be said 'dork'.]

That's The Breakers, the 70-room summer "cottage" built by the Vanderbilts. Too bad they don't let you take pics inside, some of the rooms were quite resplendent.

I got some knitting done on the trip, but it was mostly swatching really. I am between projects and I'm having a hard time deciding what to make next. I started a couple projects. More on those next time.

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Before I forget, I need to talk about the upcoming Yarn Rant Day that Anne of knitspot is organizing. It's designed to be a day on which knitters around the world send emails to yarn companies that make poor quality yarn. Join us on June 1st, and write an email (or two or three) complaining about excessive knots in yarn (can you say "Noro"?), strange twigs and burrs in yarn (ummm, Noro again), yarns that pill excessively, colors that fade dramatically on first washing, or whatever other major yarn-related annoyances you have encountered.

The idea is to let the yarn companies know that we're mad as heck and we won't buy bad yarn anymore. Anne is hoping that the yarn manufacturers will pay more attention if a whole bunch of complaint emails are delivered on the same day. Ahhhh, we can dream, right? Download Anne's PDF flyer to read more about it.

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Speaking of Anne, I have finally finished the socks I was making from the handspun yarn she sent me. I was originally thinking of making socks with a lacy pattern or maybe some cables, but then I decided that I would rather just knit a plain stockinette pair. The color transitions are the focus of this yarn, and I didn't want to obscure that with a 'busy' pattern. So I went with boring old stockinette, but I don't think they came out boring at all. I love them.

Pattern:

Plain stockinette socks, with an eye-of-partridge heel, and my shaped toes.

Yarn:

Wool yarn that was spun and dyed by Anne of knitspot

Needles:

Addi 2.5mm

Gauge:

8.5 sts/inch

Comments:

I love the colors of this yarn and the way it blends from one shade to the next. There did not seem to be any real color repeat here, so it's a good thing I like nonmatching socks. ;-)

Left Sock

Right Sock

I knit these socks top-down, and things were a little tense for me as I was finishing up the second sock. See if you can guess why by looking at the photo below.

I was totally running on fumes at the end of these socks. I had less than 3yds of yarn left -- a little too close for comfort. I guess I can now appreciate the need for toe-up socks in certain circumstances.

A million freaking knots

Want to know what I did until 3:30AM last night? No, I was not dancing the night away. Nor was I watching an exciting trilogy on DVD, or reading an engrossing novel. Nope, I was making a million little knots in this darn thing.

Knotted fringe takes FOR-EV-ER.

Making 8 rows of knots on each end of my Lady Eleanor Stole took me about 6 hours! And that doesn't include time spent crocheting the edges (then ripping it out and doing it over, and over, and over yet again). Granted, I did make an extra row of knots (can you say "masochist"?). And I did waaaaaaay more strands of fringe than stated in the pattern (but my yarn is thinner and it looked too wispy when spaced wider). But still, making knotted fringe is a slow business. I knew there was a reason I was putting it off.

I just have weave in some more ends and trim the fringe, and then I'll do the final photo shoot. Maybe I'll even have an opportunity to wear it in a couple of days on our child-free weekend getaway to Newport, Rhode Island this weekend. Hey, does anybody know of any good yarn stores in that area?

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Oh, and here is a preview of the socks I am making with the handspun yarn I won in Anne's mystery cable contest. I LOVE the way the colors are blending. So very lovely. And not a knot to be found ;)

I'm almost done with these socks, so more pics soon. [Yeah, right. I always say that and then I take forever. Sigh.]

I'm a Winner and a Ranter

So, as some of you know, this has been a good week for me in blogland. I was randomly chosen as the March winner of the Sock-a-Month Knitalong. I won some sock yarn, which I haven't received yet, but here's a picture of it that I stole from Knittin' Mom's site.

Yeah, you've seen my stash and you're thinking, "What does she need with more yarn?" Well, shush. A girl can't have too much yarn. Even Brooklynne of The Mosh Knit now agrees -- go listen to her essay on stash in her latest podcast.

And, as if one prize wasn't enough, I also won the Mystery Cable contest that Anne was holding at knitspot. I finally identified the cable after much scouring of stitch pattern books (and desperate consultations with others who have bigger book collections than I). Anne said she's sending me some handspun and one of her patterns as my prize. I've never knit with handspun before so I'm excited. Plus, I can't wait to see one of her patterns.

Warning: Rant Ahead

OK, that was the happy news. Now it's time for a nice long rant. [I hope Robot Lady can pull off an authentic ticked-off tone of voice. Wouldn't that be cool if you could use tags to tell Talkr what tone of voice you want things read in? Ahh, but I digress. Back to the rant... ]

So, I've still been cranking away on the Lady Eleanor Stole -- on and off, but it's still actively in progress. Anyway, I continue to be annoyed by the knots I keep encountering in this Noro Silk Garden yarn. Not only are the knots annoying, but they always introduce a completely different color that is totally out of sequence. Every time I hit one of these knots (which has been in about half of the balls I've used so far) I have to rip back to the beginning of the little entrelac square so I can change the color discretely (see the picture of the stole in this post, if you don't know what I'm talking about). Then I have to figure out where I am in the color sequence and try to find another ball that starts somewhere close to the right place, so I don't end up with a huge glob of lavender in one spot and thus destroy the whole balance of the thing. Sigh.

I didn't rip back the first time I encountered a knot (which happened in the second row of squares) and now I regret it. It's in the lower corner of the stole, in a spot I hope is not too noticeable, but it looks crappy too me so I learned my lesson. I would have ripped back, but I didn't see how noticeable it was until I got into better light, at which point I was too many rows of squares away.

Anyway, after the millionth time that I encountered a knot I decided I would rewind my remaining balls to find all those hidden little annoyances ahead of time. That way I could make a separate ball whenever I encountered a knot and I would be better able to match up the color sequence. And, boy, am I glad I did because here is a picture of the very next ball:

Stupid, Annoying Noro Silk Garden with a Millon Knots

There were FOUR STINKING KNOTS in this one ball! What did I get -- the crappy leftovers ball? And even more annoying, it's missing half the colors. Compare the picture above with all the colors shown in this nice ball:

Nice Ball of Noro

OK, so I complain a bit to myself and to Uncool Guy (even he could understand my annoyance -- and that's not a frequent occurance, people) and I move on to rewind the next ball and what do I find but this:

Look in the circle. Do not be distracted by the pretty colors.

"What is that in the little circle?" you ask. Why it's another freaking KNOT! And it's right there sticking out of the end of the skein. What are they doing -- ADVERTISING that their yarn has more knots than you thought were possible in one skein of yarn? Is the company that anal about yardage that they couldn't just cut off that extra two inches to avoid a knot hanging there right at the end? I guess it just shows that they don't care where their knots fall or how many of them there are. Yeah, I know they need to make a profit but really, a little quality control would be nice.

So, for future reference, can anyone recommend another brand of yarn that has colors like Noro without the irritations of Noro? Anyone?

Knitting Mojo

So, it’s the end of the Olympics and you may be wondering where my Rogue cardigan is. Well, it’s lying uncompleted in a heap in the corner of my couch, where I tossed it in annoyance a week ago. It needed a time out (or maybe I did).

I was going to write about how the pockets weren't lining up smoothly with the body, how the pocket join was bulging, how the pockets seemed too way too small, how the whole cardigan seemed like it was not going to fit. However, when I uncrumpled the sweater to take a picture of these problem areas, I discovered that it wasn't as bad as I had previously thought. The 'time out' may have worked its magic -- I am actually considering working on it again soon. However, because of my displeasure with this Bartlett yarn, I will be taking it slow and easy, to avoid another fit of annoyance.

My so-called participation in this Knitting Olympics thing has made me realize something important though - I am a rebel knitter. I do not like to knit whatever I am ‘supposed’ to be knitting. Before the Olympics, I could barely restrain myself from starting Rogue; during the Olympics it felt like a chore to work on it. I am continually promising people knitted items and then losing all interest in finishing them (or sometimes, even starting them), to wit: my dad’s argyle socks, the Trixi Cardigan for Daughter#1, socks for Niece#2, the tank top I started as a knit-along with my neighbor (Hi, Maria!). The list goes on and on.

I don’t think it is just a matter of being an ADD Knitter – I really do like to finish things. I especially like to finish things that are gifts for people, but only when they have no idea I am making them. Then I knit like a trooper to get stuff done (I finished 12 knitted gifts this Christmas, as my gallery can attest.). But when the recipient knows about the gift – then, I lose all interest.

All this promising and not delivering has caused me much knitting guilt. And guilt is bad. It takes away from my knitting mojo. And we can’t have that, since knitting is my only source of mojo lately ;).

With that in mind, here is

My New Knitting Credo

I will knit what I want, when I want, for whomever I want,
regardless of whatever knit-alongs or other crap I sign up for.

And I won’t feel bad about it either.

So relatives, take heed: if I promise you a knitted item, be aware this really means that I may eventually knit something for you. But don’t hold your breath. Sorry, but I gotta protect the mojo.

In Need of a Stockinette Fix

Olympic Knitting Update: Two sleeves of my Rogue cardigan completed, body started, currently knitting the pocket area.

It took me a whole evening to cast on for the body and make the hem with my stupid new method. What a drag that was. This yarn is kind of fragile when split and therefore it broke a couple times while picking up all those hem stitches. Also, I am no longer convinced that this hem is deep enough to keep the edge from flipping up. Well, at least the hem is finished and I won't have to sew it up later.

Last night I knit the pocket area, which was mildly confusing with the cardigan modifications. You can see the pockets sticking up from each end of the needle in the pic above.

I have to say, I am not enjoying knitting with this yarn. It's kind of rough (almost crunchy?) and doesn't run through your fingers smoothly. It has a lot of natural oils left in it and after knitting for a few hours my hands smell sheepy and feel gross -- like I've been touching someone's greasy hair. Ick. But the color -- I'm still loving that. And my washed swatch did feel nice, so I'm not giving up hope yet.

However, the roughness of this yarn, combined with all the cables and stitch picking-up and whatnot, is wreaking havoc on my hands. Last night I started getting wrist pain so I decided it was time to give this project a rest for a couple days.

Instead, I was craving a simple knit. . . Something with soft yarn. Something knit in the round, in all stockette. Hmmmm . . . I know, those stupid argyle socks!

Well, I dug them out and I've been cranking along on them quite happily. I've decided I need to keep one easy stockinette project going as a way to rest my hands (cuz you know I can't just not knit). I'm hoping to finish sock number one tonight. That will make my dad happy since I promised these socks to him almost a year ago (pathetic, I know).

Hey, guess what today is?

Why it's my knittiversary. Three years ago today, I was taught to knit by my mother-in-law. I was hooked immediately. In fact we went to the craft store that day and I bought some cotton yarn and a book of knitted dishcloth patterns. I was so excited that I cast on for my first project right away. I knit during the entire two-hour ride home from my in-laws' house. And I created..... THIS:

My first knitted object -- isn't it lovely?
Ummm, no.

It used to be yellow, blue, and white but is now dingy from use. Still, you can see the hallmarks of a beginner's knit: the cast-off that is much tighter than the cast-on, the basket-weave pattern that gets accidentally reversed 2/3 of the way up the dishcloth, the crappy weaving-in of the ends. This dishcloth needs to be put out of its misery.

Anyhow, thank you, Marcia, for introducing me to the wide and exciting world of knitting. I am eternally grateful.

More technical difficulties

I just realized last night that my attempt at a 3-column template looked totally awful at 800x600 resolution (big sigh...). The middle column got shoved to the bottom and it generally was a hard-to-read mess. My display is set to 1280x1024 so it was quite a shock to see how nothing fit in the lower resolutions.

Well, I think I have fixed it now (fingers crossed). MOST pages/posts should now appear in the 3-column format. However, some of my older posts have pictures that are too big to display in that format -- they should show up with the far right column shoved to the bottom.

By the way, has anyone else noticed how totally CRAPTACULAR blogger's template preview mode is? What a piece of junk. Not sure why I bother using it, considering everything looks totally different once it is published.

On a brighter note, what do you think of the new color scheme and the new banner? It's a close-up of that Noro hat I made. Try to ignore the weird little characters on the far right side of the banner. I'm still working on getting that to display properly. Geez, who knew there was so much involved in setting up a template...I'm exhausted. I spent so much time on this I didn't even get to knit today -- bummer.

I found this the other day: Personality Project

It's an online personality test, supposedly being conducted by Northwestern University. It was kind of fun. Anyway, here are my results:

Check out my personality profile!

Stupid 3-column template

Uuuuuuuuggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh! I am annoyed. Can't seem to get this 3-column template to work properly. It appears fine in the preview, but not once it is published. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I have wasted FAR too much time trying to fix this. I give up for tonight. I need to go knit and de-stress.

Blocking Pin Review & Candy Cane Hats

The new issue of MagKnits is up and I'm a little bummed that it is mostly stuff for babies, since I have no babies for whom to knit (kids, yes; babies, no). I do really like this Medusa hat though. I'll have to find some relative who wants one, as I am not really a hat-wearing person.

I finished knitting the red scarf today. I knit it in two halves and will be grafting the halves together tomorrow hopefully. It's blocking now. Pics tomorrow.

Speaking of blocking, I got to use my new blocking pins that Santa brought me in my stocking. They are the Clover ones with the double pins and the pink and blue tops. I think these are the overpriced ones they were selling in that store that had never heard of blocking your knitting. [Price is no object to Santa, apparently.]

Well, I'm sorry to report that these pins suck royally. Or, at least, they do with my blocking board (which is the big gray one they sell at Patternworks). These Clover pins bend way too easily and are hard to push in. I finally got myself to AC Moore this evening and purchased some good old T-pins (40 for a whole $2.59 -- whatta bargain). Why did I not think of looking in the sewing aisle earlier? Especially when certain people even suggested I go to a fabric store. Must have been my unnatural fear of fabric stores. That and the fact that I don't know where any are. Anyway, I'm happy now -- I bought three boxes of pins. So now I can go super-anal and pin every inch of whatever I block. [You know I will.]

Went to see King Kong today -- great movie. Tried knitting while watching, but that was kind of a bust. Got about two inches of the wrist warmers I'm working on done, but then I got all messed up and there were too many dark scenes to sort it out. Anyway, there was a lot of action that needed to be concentrated upon -- not a good knitting movie.

Well, I will leave you with a picture of a hat I made as a Christmas gift for my niece. Here are the details:

Pattern: Candy Cane Hat from Handknit Holidays (love that book)

Yarn: Cascade 220

Needles: US 7

Mods: I only did a nubbin at the top, instead of the long knotted umbilical cord sort of thing in the pattern. My 16-yr-old half brother commented that this made it look like a breast, but he is a perv, so I am ignoring him. I think it's cute. I also added the braid sort of thing at the bottom of the stripes. This is done by purling while alternating colors and stranding the unused color on the right side so it forms little slanting lines. I can't find my notes, but it looks like I did two rows of this, stranding the colors the opposite way in the 2nd row. This is a cool technique I learned at a great Annie Modesitt class at Webs a couple of months ago.

Notes: This hat was fun to make and I love the way it came out. If any friend/relative wants one, let me know -- I'd be glad to make another.

In fact, I liked it so much I already have made a variation of it for my daughter. Here I used up some old Cascade 220 remnants I had lying around. I ran out of the navy blue yarn halfway through and had to switch to gray for the top of the hat. This didn't turn out so great because the gray doesn't have enough contrast with the heathery blue so you can't really see the swirl on the top. But, hey, I used up leftover yarn, and that was the goal. I also added a little checkerboard strip to the bottom, surrounded by more of those braid things.

This was the very first pompom I have ever made. Not sure I enjoy making those. I did learn that more yarn is better when it comes to pompoms.

My own private block party

I finished the Lopi Lace Scarf this morning, and then I went crazy blocking all the knitted Christmas gifts that have been sitting around - 2 hats, 1 bag, 2 scarves. Should have some good pics tomorrow. I ran out of blocking pins so I couldn't block the Backyard Leaves scarf. I've been putting that one off because after I block it I will have to seam it together, and it looks like that will be very UN-fun due to the lumpy edge.

I looked for blocking pins at the LYS yesterday, but they only had some ridiculously expensive ones (10 pins for like $8.50 -- geez, those must be nice pins). Anyway, I asked if they had any others and the two older women behind the counter looked at me like I was insane. They said they had "never HEARD of using pins to block your knitting." What??!!?? Then they were all in my face asking me what I was making, etc. I told them I was going to use the pins to block lace -- to open it out more. They just did NOT get that. They insisted that was unnecessary, that it would probably HARM my knitting (how???), blah, blah, blah. Why do I bother talking to these people -- it's just not worth it.

Anyway, I bought a bunch of Cascade 220 to continue my Christmas knitting extravaganza. Enough to make another alien scarf (1st one is currently blocking), another knitted bag (1st one also blocking), and then some to enhance the stash (you know, cuz it was getting low... ;)

This is kind of cute: Make an avatar of yourself!

Oh, and I fixed the problem with the comments. So, feel free to comment away.