Where Have I Been?

So, inquiring readers want to know -- how have I been spending my leisure time lately since I clearly have not been blogging? Well, on a whim I signed up to be a volunteer proofreader at Project Gutenberg and the time just flew by. It's actually kind of addicting. That's the project where they are converting old books with expired copyrights into eBooks you can download. So you can read Shakespeare (or some obscure history books) online for free. Worthwhile use of my time? Hmmm.... Well, I think so. Information for the Masses, that's my motto.

I know you're all waiting for the pictures of my finished Lady E. Well, sorry. Still haven't blocked it. I know -- I'm a Slowski.

Instead I finished some Red Sox socks for Uncool Guy. These are the second pair of Red Sox themed socks I've made for him (you can see the first pair in my gallery). Those were on US 0's and took forever. These were on US 4's with worsted weight yarn and were quick, quick, quick. Here are the specs:

Pattern:

My own

Yarn:

Accessories Unlimited Yarn for Sox [80% wool, 20% nylon],
color: Red Mix (just slightly over 1 skein), and Ecru (about 1/4 of a skein?)

Needles:

US 4 circs

Gauge:

5.25 sts and 7.75 rows = 1"

Size:

Sized to fit a man's size 8.5 feet

Comments:

This yarn is a little rough, but I think it will soften up with washing. I bought this yarn a year or two ago because it was the only worsted weight yarn made specifically for socks that I had seen. It certainly makes thick socks (which I've made just in time for spring -- sigh).
I really like this heathery red color. It's much darker in person than it appears in the online picture at WEBS.

---

I've also been playing around with crochet some more. I tried making one of the dishcloths at Crochet Pattern Central (thanks for the link, Auntie Amanda). I think it was this one. However, I kept coming out with the wrong nbr of stitches. I decided to take a step back and just try some of the stitch patterns out of the Happy Hooker book where they are described in detail for beginners. I made another dishcloth out of the V-stitch pattern using some more kitchen cotton (no picture). That came out well, so I decided to do another with a finer cotton as a facecloth. Here's a closeup:

V-Stitch Pattern in Crochet

This was made with Mandarin Petit cotton yarn using a F/5 (3.75mm) crochet hook. I really like this yarn for knitted facecloths, but it doesn't seem work as well for crochet. It splits like crazy with crochet (not with knitting) so I had to use a pattern in which you mostly crochet into a space (not a stitch).

I think I now prefer crocheted dishcloths to knitted ones; the crocheted texture provides better "scrubbing action". However, when it comes to facecloths, I prefer a softer knitted texture. Here are some of my favorites that I made using the same cotton yarn. And, because I'm a geek who loves to chart things, I have worked out charts for both of these stitch pattern and have shared them with you below. Enjoy.

Bee Stitch

---

Double Brioche Stitch
(aka Double English Brioche or Three Dimensional Honeycomb)

Notes for Double Brioche Stitch:

Start with pattern with an EVEN nbr of stitches, plus 2 edge stitches. Each set of 2 sts (other than the edge sts) will be increased to 3 during the two setup rows.

This stitch pattern does not need to be done with edge stitches, but I think they make the pattern easier to knit, because you don't have to worry about yarn-overs at the beginning/end of a row. Also, I think the edges actually look better with the edge stitches.

When you go to bind off this stitch pattern, just knit together each yarnover with the next stitch (so you end up with as many stitches as you started with).

New, Improved Persnicketiness -- Now With Crochet, Too

Crochet News

OK, here's what I'm sure you were all waiting for with bated breath -- my first crocheted item. It's a lovely dishcloth:

Ooooh, aaaah. Look at that nasty pastel-colored kitchen cotton. I don't know how that got in my stash. Not my colors at all. Well, it's used up now, and that's a good thing.

In typical "first finished item" form, this dishcloth is not without several mistakes. I somehow lost a stitch going from single crochet to double crochet, and then I lost another when switching back to single crochet at the end. Oh well, I tried it again and I think I've figured out my mistake. I'm slowly getting the hang of differentiating and counting the crochet stitches, which mostly just look like a bunch of knots to me.

Now that the obligatory ugly dishcloth has been completed, I can move on to bigger and better things. Like this:

It's the Garden Scarf by Michelle Ameron from The Happy Hooker. I'm using Cascade 220 from my stash. Not sure what I'm going to do with this, since I don't wear flowery things, but it looked like fun to make. I'm sure I'll find someone to dump it on.

I like making the flowers, but joining them with the inserting-the-hook-around-the-post thing is a little awkward for me. It took me many, many attempts to even figure out the directions. I think I get it now, although it's kind of lumpier than I would like.

Here's the photo in the book of the scarf. Mine's coming out much smaller, which is fine with me since these flowers are kind of giganto.

I think The Happy Hooker is a great book for learning crochet. Debbie Stoller describes several ways to do various things (hold your yarn, crochet into the chain, etc. - I'm not really up with the crochet lingo yet), all in a very conversational tone with her personal recommendations. I like it. The drawings could maybe be a touch better, but they get the idea across well enough. They are certainly better than the ones in some craptastic old Teach Yourself Crochet book I just found in my bookcase. The Happy Hooker has by far the better instructions -- they are much more complete.

Since I'm now a newbie crocheter, I've started listening to Crochet Cast. There are only 2 episodes so far, but I think it shows a lot of promise. I've also found some interesting crochet links, like Crochet Me, an online magazine which has some interesting patterns and tutorials.

Don't worry, I'm not going to get all crochet on your butt and turn this blog into the Persnickety Crocheter or anything like that. Just bear with my sudden infatuation, will you? You know it probably won't last long. ;)

Knitting News

I'm still working on the Lady E stole. Progress has been slowed (but not halted) by the sudden impulse to learn crochet. I got some great tips from Anne of Knitspot on how to overdye the lavender bits. I think I will finish the stole and live with it for a while before I decide whether to take that drastic step though.

Speaking of Anne, she has contributed an audio essay to The Mosh Knit podcast. It's in the latest episode (#4). Go check it out. Her essay is about the definitition of "subversive knitting" and what it means to her. I needed to listen a couple times to thoroughly absorb all of her points, but I think it's very thought-provoking. It's got me pondering about what subversive knitting really means to me -- hmmmm.

Well, I'm off to a Japanese Knitting Techniques class at WEBS tomorrow. Oops, I just realized I haven't yet done my homework for the class. Might have to do that during the two-hour drive to WEBS. Don't worry, I won't be the one driving ;)

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.