Just a Minute

Yet another quickie today, folks!

I finished another pair of socks! And better yet, it's with yarn I bought at Stitches. THIS Stitches, even. I'm so impressed with myself.

Limeade Socks, TOFUtsies sock yarn, 247 yards

I adjusted my plain vanilla sock pattern yet again. Every time I make an adjustment, the socks get smaller and smaller; I guess I just like form-fitting footwear. I've also made some pretty significant changes to the original pattern by Cat Bordhi, so I'll write it up one of these days and see what you, my dear readers, think.

I've been clicking away at projects. I re-started my Girasole on size 4 needles, and it's so much better! The whole thing is fairly flying along, and I've had to exercise great restraint to work on anything else. It occurs to me that there is no real reason for restraint beyond wanting to savor the pattern for as long as possible, but you know how I feel about finishing big projects. And if you don't, let me tell you. I don't like it one little bit, for reasons I have yet to understand. I have no trouble finishing socks or baby garments, but for some reason the bigger pieces get to about 95% and just languish there. Maybe I'm afraid they won't be perfect, or won't fit, or will spontaneously combust the moment I finish sewing in the final end, causing both me and the completed garment to end up as a pile of ash. I have no idea. But here she is, the Girasole:

I'm Still. Big. Red.

Frog Tree sport-weight alpaca

This week I've been trying out a new system. I have a bunch of projects I'd like to finish at some point - spontaneous combustion be damned - so every day I've tossed a different project into my purse. Low and behold, progress has been made!

Scarf #21, endcap #1.

The possibilities of this system are myriad, and since I seem to work best under a loose set of rules, I think I'll just cruise along for a bit with the daily switching. Everything I'm working on right now has a chart, so the changing of projects isn't entirely jarring.

Mysterious Mirror socks

Well, I say everything, but I mean everything except the EZ Yoke Sweater. I found a stranded pattern that I like, but the body of the sweater is red; a color which likes to bleed. So the sweater itself has been on hold while I find the time to soak it in vinegar and test the colorfastness of the yarn. This weekend, I took my opportunity and discovered that I needn't have worried. The water was perfectly clear, and all I got for my pains was a vinegar-scented partial sweater and peace of mind. Which isn't an insignificant outcome, I must say.

Taking the sweater off the needles also gave me the opportunity to try it on, and while it fits well, it's still a few inches shy of where the yoke should start. Queue the miles of plain knitting! It's currently parked on the bookshelf behind my spinning wheel; I've been working on it while blazing through discs of Gossip Girl, season 1 from Netflix. That show is a total guilty pleasure, and has the added benefit of reinforcing my attraction to horribly inappropriate movie men.

Until next time, XOXO!

Stitches West '09: An Exercise in Trading Plastic for Yarn

Tess Designer Yarns Superwash Merino Worsted, "Marine"

Well, the Social Pressure Experiment is over. I have to admit I didn't do too well toward the end. I hit a few snags when I found out that a Love Affair Yarn was discontinued, and bought a whole mess of it to dye and love and roll in. Then I got some stunningly gorgeous Cashsoft Aran for - are you ready for this? $24.50 per bag. Yes, per bag. Jasmin and I agreed that while it was outside of the Experiment's parameters, it was also a short-time deal and shouldn't be passed up. So I didn't.

And then Malia announced her candidacy to be a mom in July, and I recognized the dearth of baby-weight superwash wool in my stash. So there was that.

Pigeonroof Studios 80/20 Merino/Silk, "Grape Myrtle"

But all in all, the real point of the Experiment was, if you recall, to encourage Jasmin and I to change our spending habits and think more carefully about when, where and why we were buying yarn. And overall, I have to say that in that respect, it was a success. My desire to salve (not solve) problems by buying something new isn't unique, but it is something I try to be aware of and master. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I end up looking at something I now own with a twinge of regret. The yarn I bought in bulk? Definitely a satisfactory purchase. Every time I look at it, I wriggle with anticipatory joy.

And speaking of shopping. Oy. It's a lot of work to shop all day!

Malabrigo Sock Yarn, "Velvet Grapes"

Final Count:

Sock Yarn: 22

Sweater Yarn: 4 skeins, 2 sweaters-worth

Lace Yarn: 2

Roving: 16 oz.

Patterns: 3?

Apparently Stitches this year was all about the sock yarn, which was CLEARLY the weight of yarn I needed...

Lisa Souza Dyeworks 4 oz. Sock Batt, "Petroglyph"

I'm slowly developing a theory about why sock yarn is addictive. Stay tuned for more. I do tend to gravitate to the finer-weight yarns, partly because I feel like I get more bang for my buck, but also because I enjoy knitting with them more than the heavier gauges.

Windy Valley Musk Ox 15/80/5 qiviuk/merino/silk

I have been working steadily on my Scarf #21 for the KAL with Brie. I'm nearly finished with the first edging, and have come to the conclusion that it will be not so much a scarf as a stole. The damn thing is about 15" across right now unblocked and it'll get bigger still before I head into the actual lengthening part of the center. Therefore, I've made a strategic decision. I'm going to knit this first edging, then bind off and knit the second one, which I will then rotate the requisite 90 degrees and commence the center panel. When I get close to running out of yarn, I'll graft the second edging onto the end and be done. It's not the official way to do it, but it will ensure that I don't run out of yarn halfway through the second edging.

Lisa Souza Hardtwist Merino Petite, "Printempo"

The Girasole is in time out. I need to re-start it due to some user errors, but I've been working on other things because I can sense the overwhelming gravitational pull of Jared's gorgeous shawl. The Ravelry comments on this one are littered with "I started and finished it in a week..." and "so addictive!" I think I'll give Scarf #21 a few more days' head start before I dive headlong into Big Red.

Hazel Knits Artisan Sock, "Cami Chic"

I also started one of the yarns from this year's Stitches! Yesterday I cast on the Limeade TOFUtsies yarn I got to complement the Berries 'n' Cream socks. I'm making some modifications to my vanilla pattern, so hopefully these will fine-tune the fit to a place I'm not just happy with, but thrilled with. If it's different enough, maybe I'll write it up!

Tess Designer Yarns Super Sock and Baby, "Teal!"

The rest of my Stitches purchases are already catalogued and posted on the internets. The Ravelry link is here, and the press-pass pictures I took of both my yarn and Stitches-as-a-whole (not to mention Erin's swank and classy party at her shop) are here.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts mill ends

Don't Call It a Preview

Yesterday, my plan for the beginning of Stitches weekend looked like this:

Thursday:
5:30 - get off work and head to Stitches Preview
6-8 - calmly stroll the market, making notes of things I would buy on Saturday. Also take some photos using my Press pass. Make friends with famous knitting people like Lily Chin and Lucy Neatby. Be handed a fabulous job as the new editor of a popular knitting publication such as Knitscene or Vogue Knitting because clearly I deserve it.
8-10+ - dinner with the girls. Possibly margaritas involved because of the lack of work on Friday AM.
10-ish - Get home, dye hair, shower, bed.

Friday:

9:30-ish - Get up, caffeinate, read internet
10:30 - head to Stitches, where I would calmly walk the floor again, prudently pruning my list and possibly adding things
1:30-6 - work at R-N's
7+ - have dinner with Mom and friends, possibly margaritas involved


Then I got the call. The Younger R-N has a fever and wasn't at school on Thursday, nor is he likely to be at school on Friday. Did I have plans for Friday morning? Could I possibly take care of a sick child all day? Of course I can; these people are wonderful and nice to me, and I already bailed on them for Saturday night in favor of the party at Bobbin's Nest Studio - where there will be champagne and possibly margaritas involved. So I bailed on my plan for Friday morning (sorry Aija! Have fun!) and also the margaritas from Thursday night. Don't worry, I'll make up for it on Saturday.

Despite my tendency toward impetuousness, I don't deal well with change I haven't initiated myself. This is a somewhat hypocritical attitude, I know; however, all the things I do impetuously are amazing and the things everyone else does are obviously less so. Such as needing me to nanny a feverish 8-year-old instead of schmoozing with knitting celebrities.

Anyway, let's talk about Stitches. I arrived on Thursday and got my press pass from Jasmin - the one that lets me in the door of the market on preview night. Wait - stop. Consider the word "preview" for a moment. For example, Cookie A's book was available to PREVIEW at one of the booths, but not to buy. However, everything else was for sale... which did a bit of damage to my "calmly walk the floor and write down items for Saturday" plan, especially in light of the "not going to the market on Friday morning" change. So I gave up on that and bought the things I didn't think would last through until Saturday, while also trying to stick to my mental shopping list.

See Flickr page for notes

Looking at the photo, I can see that I have once again shot the rainbow in color choices. Go me!

There are a couple of things I didn't get to last night, namely: A sweater's worth from Tess Yarns, more Pagewood Farm Denali, and a ball of TOFUtsies that coordinates with the Berries and Cream socks. There may also be some Malabrigo sock yarn in my future, but it'll depend on the color selection.

Chloe got some Lisa Souza batts!

I've altered my plan a little - okay a lot - for today. Instead of spending money this morning, I'm sitting at my computer tapping out a lovely, witty little blog post for you all (see how much I love you?). I also threw more projects than I can possibly finish/start/work on into my bag today. A second Coraline glove, Scarf #21 (re-started and up to row 12 this time!), Girasole, and a mending project for which I forgot the appropriate needles.

Yesterday I finished two things!

Dishcloth #1 (of a projected 10), 85 yards

Mismatched Elder R-N socks, 302 yds.

That's right, those socks are finally done! I decided a few weeks ago that the first sock I finished on the Mexico '08 trip was too big and also ugly, so I pulled out the bind-off and just re-knitted the thing directly from the original sock. It earned me a few stares and a couple of comments about Sisyphus, but it was quicker and easier than re-skeining, washing and winding back up. And now they're ready to block! Hurrah!

All right, I'm out of tea and itching to start all this knitting that I've promised myself. After all, there's a whole market full of gorgeous yarn that I haven't even imagined, just waiting for me!