Christmas stuff and more

Here's what I'm working on now, my first picot edge sock with short-row heels. I've done short-row heels on cotton socks I gave away but never on wool and never for myself. There are heel gaps, but I think I can ignore them.

My knitting gifts were great: a Clapotis-style scarf, some LL sock yarn, and the Yarn Harlot's book. Also pictured (not a knitting gift) is a cute matchbook notepad with a squirrel on it that will be much better than the receipts I usually use when I'm out and want to jot something down.

These socks went to Virginia a while ago. Still love that pattern.

Busy busy

Busy knitting.
One of the Mason-Dixon washcloth patterns is available free (PDF from the pattern author, I think, which makes it OK) on the Internet! I don't have to track down the book now. (Update: That pattern drove me nuts so I didn't make it.)

I started the heel on the recovery socks yesterday and hope to mail them Wednesday at the latest--that's the surgery date!

Gifts

I gave this pair of fingerless gloves to my mom. Man, I have a bony wrist.

I started the green diagonal ribs last night, and sock 1 is going well.

Feedback requested

I've decided to use Knit Picks Essential in grass for an urgent project: recovery socks for someone who is scheduled for surgery later this month. In my head, this yarn was slated for Embossed Leaves (IK Winter 2005), and that's one of my potential patterns for these recovery socks.

Look! These Embossed Leaves are even knit in the grass color. I'm not sure lacy socks are what I had in mind for recovery socks, though. I haven't knit this pattern before. Resizing instructions from the author mean the socks weren't the right size for a lot of people. I doubt that's an issue for me, though.

Other possibilities are

Retro Ribs (IK Winter 2004). I haven't knit these before.

"Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern Fancy Knit Stripe" (sounds a bit like "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"; from "Knitting Vintage Socks" by Nancy Bush). These seem just right for staying in bed. They are supposedly stretchy, so the fit would be easy to get. Gauge, however, I'm not so sure I'd get on the first try. The ribbing continues to the bottom of the foot, making these socks potentially unwearable with shoes, which may or may not be a drawback. Not too many people have taken photos of these socks. I think I only found one photo of someone wearing the sock, which looks very different on than off the foot.

As I write this, the Interweave site is down. "Knitting Vintage Socks" has corrections I need to check out.

Diagonal Ribs by Ann Budd (Interweave's website)
I've knit two pairs and like the pattern a lot. I could do these again with no problem.

So, let me know what you think.

Fiber everywhere

There's cotton in deodorant now. I'll give it a shot, but I'm skeptical.

I ripped out the Fleece Artist sock, made a much nicer picot edge, and tried to spice up the sock with Mata Hari again. But I don't like it. I'm going to rip it back and go with plain stockinette stitch.

One is not enough

One ball of Sugar 'n Cream is not enough for a baby genius burp cloth.

Knitting, no kneading

I have completed one Fleece Artist sock but feel it's a little small. I can't decide if I want to just fix the toe or redo the whole thing. I kind of had a hard time finding the right needle size/cast-on number combo for this yarn. I did 60 stitches on a size 1. I also think I made it too long . It's a bit tight at the top (which is picot, can you tell?).I made the same bread everyone else in America is making (Bittman's no-knead bread). It was not without its troubles (sticking and requiring a baking vessel I do not have a perfect match for), but it's good, and I'm sure I'll make it again.

The crust is crunchy, which is one of its selling points, but my mouth can't handle a lot of that. Plus it's messy to cut (see crumbs above).

One college student's writing

My husband is grading lab reports. It's depressing how bad some of them are. Here are some gems from one student's paper.

When a muscle has t fire not only dose it…whe3n....

This excrement was done….

Yes there was the closer the weight was brought to the elbow also know as the fulcrum the easier it was for the muscle.

Please note there was no excrement involved in the experiment, which is what we think she meant.

Swatch for washing

The Fleece Artist skein label says hand wash only, but a little insert in the skein says it's machine washable. So I made a swatch to wash. The colors match my PJ pants nicely, huh? I was dressed earlier today, but I got my pants dirty when I cleaned the leaves off our porch. My little pile of leaves in the street looks pathetic next to everyone else's large piles.

Giant Smarties?

No, it's not a giant Smartie. It's one of those Sudacare shower tablets. I got a box for free after a rebate. It was OK. I wouldn't pay for them, though.

Tea

I don't really like to knit when I'm sick.

A link among the days, to knit
The generations each with each

From a tablet at William and Mary

Jack-o'-lanterns

Mine, from a pattern:My husband's, from his own hand!

Short-row heels

Lolly, head of Socktoberfest, has linked to two short-row heel tutorials, both of which use wraps. I've never done it that way. I've used YO's a la the "Better than Booties Baby Socks" pattern (PDF). I tried to post a comment to her post with this link but it didn't take, so I'm posting it here, where no one will see it. Here are my first short-row heels. Yes, there's a hole in the right sock, but it was my first time, and I sometimes get holes on my flap heels, too. They don't bother me too much.

I got my camera's batteries back. I think I may have to block the above sock but am not sure how well my homemade blocker will work for reasons I can't articulate.
View from below my too-thick wisteria

Yum

The batteries for my camera are out in my husband's bike light, so I cannot take any new photos. Enjoy last night's cake.

Just thought you'd like to know

I have 31 sock patterns saved on my computer. And who knows how many bookmarked in my browser.

This just isn't as pretty as the original. I'm going to complete the pair, though.

Goodies in the mail

So I got my birthday present in the mail yesterday from Melissa. I shook the box and wondered what the metal clinking sound was. I decided to open the box and if the present was wrapped, I wasn't going to open it until my birthday. But it wasn't wrapped. Oh well! :) I got very pretty Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the color Bucks Bar. Very yummy. I also got a sheet of Muppet stamps because I had used all of mine and my post office does not sell fun stamps (Muppets, quilts, children's book animals). Also in the box were Scrabble stitch markers and Gryffindor self-striping sock yarn, which Melissa said I could decide which one of us it was for after knitting it into socks. Um.... No, I really will consider giving it back, I swear. The clinking sound was from needles that came free with the Gryffindor sock yarn.

Extreme knitting is right!

I am guilty of sometimes reading only the patterns at Knitty, but in this most recent issue I read about knitting two socks at once. And I've decided that I could do it if I wanted to (I did knit a reversible double-knit hat for my mother), but I don't think I'll ever want to. It is crazy. I don't usually have a problem making a second sock, and I either don't care if they match exactly or manage to match them up pretty well separately. The progress when you're double knitting is slow, and I like to see as fast as possible how a new yarn or pattern is knitting up. When I knit the hat I used two different colors, but socks would use the same color, and that would make it very easy to confuse the two strands, which would just lead to unnecessary frustration. The article also mentions that guage loosens a bit when double knitting, and going down a needle size might be necessary. I already knit a lot of socks on size 1's and I don't own any 0's, and I don't think I want to. So it's been interesting to see what people can come up with, but I think I'll stick to one sock at a time for now.

Someone else's socks

These socks are beautiful. At the moment I have no plans to make a pair myself because they seem a little too complicated for me, but I'll probably give in to their beauty someday.

Socktoberfest questions

Lolly has posted some questions for Socktoberfest participants to answer, and because I have no knitting progress to share, I'll answer them.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I knit my first pair of socks in the summer of 2004, and I can't believe it's only been a little over two years. It seems like I've been knitting socks forever. I taught myself. I made some practice socks with a miniature stocking pattern in this book (with help from Terri's Socks 101) and then felt ready to tackle an actual sock. Here are my practice socks: What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
I used Marks and Kattens Clown sock yarn and a combination of Chic Knits Sock Love and Terri's sock formula. They're doing fine.
What would you have done differently?
Nothing.
What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I like several, but a couple you may not have heard of are Lang Jawoll Solids and Steinbach Wolle Strapaz, a DK-weight sock yarn. I prefer the tweedy colors of the Strapaz, as seen here, here (the blue sock on the right), and here (in the form of a mini-Weasley).
Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I cannot crochet more than a single chain. I have knit socks only on DPNs. I would like to try the 2-circulars and 1-circular methods but do not want to invest in needles I'll never use if I end up preferring DPNs. I plan on trying out the 2-circs method with larger needles I already own to see if I like it.
Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I can do both, but I prefer the flap for most socks. Short rows are better for stretchy cotton socks, I think.
How many pairs have you made?
I have not kept count and I'm not sure I want to know. A lot, including many for friends and family.

Knitting? Not.

I don't think I've knit a stitch since my husband returned last weekend from a trip. The lacy sock requires too much concentration and I'm making ankle socks I'm just not sure about. For some reason I think ankle socks look funny unless they're all white, and these aren't.

You may have noticed I've joined "Socktoberfest." Apparently if you even think about handknit socks in October you will satisfy the requirements for participation. And there are prizes, so I'm in.

Where'd you go for coffee?

My husband brought me a latte in a cup I didn't recognize. Turns out it was a Starbucks cup featuring the original logo. I'd heard about it but never seen it. The company is only doing this for a couple of months in its Washington and Oregon stores to celebrate its 35th anniversary. A Washington school principal (pictured here/kidding) is not allowing these cups in her school without a coverup sleeve. This principal should not seek a job in Virginia, I guess. You can read about the evolution of the logo here and here.

Picot

I've seen lots of pretty socks out there that have picot cuffs so I wanted to give it a try. I'm not ready to cast on a new pair of socks so I just did a little swatch cuff. I followed the directions here except I did not use a crochet chain of waste yarn. I just used the "open cast-on" from Vogue Knitting. It was a lot more work than a normal ribbed cuff, but it's pretty. The drawbacks of the picot cuff are that it's thicker (there are two layers of yarn for a few rows), inelastic, and can flare out from the leg a bit. All of these mean that the socks could be slouchy.

Don't think so much

Turns out I was doing nothing wrong. I'm supposed to have two fewer stitches after that round; they reappear later. So I'm back on track.

I've never really seen the need for sock blockers. But I made a one anyway from these instructions. If nothing else, they are useful for photographing socks.

It's not you, it's me (I think)

You can see the lacy holes straight on, but they disappear easily. And this lacy sock was going fine until row 13, when I would *lose a stitch somewhere, unknit it, try again.* Repeat from * to * approximately a dozen times. Nevermind that row 13 is the same as row 3, and that went fine. Argh.

Rain!

It's raining again. For the first time since June. And it's sunny while it rains, very common here at certain times of the year. Our gutter at that corner doesn't work so well. Hope it will be an easy fix. Don't you love our lawn? It will get green again soon (from the rain). Here are some grey socks to match the grey skies.
I have no memory of knitting the second one; I honestly thought I'd succumbed to second sock syndrome. They're for my husband.

Not working

I started Mata Hari socks with my Blue Moon Sock Candy yarn, but it's just not working. It looks OK here but looks worse when I put it on my leg. So I guess I'll rip it and do something else with the yarn (plain socks). The yarn (cotton/"elite" and much less elastic than other cotton sock yarns I've used) does not hold up well to reworking.

Gift Socks

I made socks for my friend Tasha after this yarn caught my eye. I thought it was perfect for her because it's cotton and brown and blue, the colors her wedding party wore one year ago this coming Sunday.

Completed Jaywalkers

I finally felt ready to tackle the Jaywalkers over Labor Day weekend. I hadn't touched them in months because I'd discovered a second mistake I'd made, one I wasn't willing to live with. I was afraid I'd have to start the sock all over but actually managed to rip it back to the scene of the first mistake, which was in the gusset, and put it back on the needles. The sock flew from then on and I love the way the yarn (Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Icehouse) patterned. I used size 1 needles and the larger (84 stitch CO) size. They're not all that easy to slip on, but they fit well once I get them over the heel.

Closeup photo, not so true coloring:

How very Charlie Brown Christmas

Go read about this piece of sidewalk art in Seattle. I love that there are so many updates for concerned fans.

I got nothin'

Not much knitting going on. Here's a pair of socks I was working on last year around this time, to give away in a sock exchange. (There's a dragonfly on the left sock.)

I'm embarrassed to say how long these have been almost finished. I pretty much only had one toe to knit for a couple of months, and I finally did it last night while watching an episode of Midsomer Murders that's overdue at the library. I was planning on grafting the toes instead of doing the visible zig-zag close seen here, but I hate grafting when it's just a few stitches. This would be 144 stitches. I'm wondering if these are too small, but they're stretchy so I think they'll be OK. And I so don't feel like making them longer.

New colors

Our neighbors had their house painted. It was dark brown. Now it's two-tone turquoise-y. We're not huge fans. See?See also the painter's next victim in the background?

Snakes in a Drain

I watched snakes in a drain the past couple of days. And now I'll finally be able to take a shower without standing in inches of water. The plumber had to be called because my husband is no Samuel L. Jackson when it comes to snakes.

Scraps and scrapped

My castoff edges used to be a little tight. Now it seems I've overcompensated.

I didn't really like the purple and white burp cloth (seen on top of the back of the blue and white one), and I didn't have enough purple to complete it anyway, so I frogged it and started a Fibonacci-type bib, seen below before finishing.
I think I'll stick to one or two-color bibs to reduce the potential for unravelling. All those ends make me nervous.

I have lots of work again this week so I probably won't knit much.

Just thinking.

Observe these two photos and then answer the poll.

Do you like this clapotis for me? Yes. Yes, but make it less stripey. No, I would prefer some other color. No, I don't like any clapotis. Free polls from Pollhost.com

As promised

I do plan on making several bibs but wanted to switch to the more interesting burp cloth for a change.

And I just took more photos but they are not showing up at all on my computer. Hm.

Finally knitting again

I finally finished the bib, and I started the burp cloth. Close-up photo of the burp cloth to come!

A trip to the library

I returned the horribly overdue Mason-Dixon Knitting and picked up these three knitting books on hold for me.
Spider webs were on the lawn yesterday. Weird.

Huh?

Spider webs? A fungus? I don't know!

Got nothing to say. It's been too hot to do anything. I will be busy all week so this is probably it until the weekend.