Knitting Musings

Any Time You're Ready, Little Monster...

I have a few more items on my "to-do" list, but mostly I'm just biding my time until the Little Monster decides to come. So I'm chugging along on all of those "it would be nice to finish this up" items on the list.

So that explains why I finally pulled out my long-neglected Alpine Lace Scarf, which has sat in "I'm bored" time-out for probably the better part of a year. After a few false starts while trying to figure out where I was in the pattern, I'm moving right along - I have a couple more repeats of the center motif, and then the bottom border. Who knows - maybe I'll manage to get this cast off before the Little Monster puts it into another extended hiatus!

I also spent some time this weekend preparing some undyed yarn for the dye pot... I had some expert help with the skein-winding process.

But despite the over-enthusiastic helper, I did manage to get all of the yarn wound... that's a bunch of Blue Faced Leicester worsted weight that may become a February Lady, or may become a basic raglan (depending on the results of my over-dye job today), and sock yarn for 5 pairs of socks for S, who has been wearing out his older socks at an alarming rate. I guess they all reached their expiration date about the same time!

I took advantage of the 66 degree weather yesterday and was able to set up the drying rack outside. I was also able to dye on the screen porch with plenty of ventilation, and only used the liquid dye stocks I had made up previously, so there was very little danger of me inhaling any particles. Plus, between the mask, the glasses, the gloves, and the apron, I was pretty well covered!

I had intended to do the dyeing this weekend, but I had an unexpectedly long lunch with a few friends on Saturday... lunch that turned into a surprise baby shower! They are VERY VERY sneaky and totally surprised me, even though EVERYONE knew, including my parents and S! It was a blast, and there were even some sneaky knitters in attendance... so now the Little Monster has a Baby Surprise in luscious koigu thanks to the lovely Elspeth! It may suck for the Little Monster to have a birthday right around Christmas, but it is PERFECT timing for all of the extra-cute teensy-tiny little handknits!

I also finished a second little ribbed hat, modeled here by a member of the Little Monster's personal sheep herd (complete with a border collie to keep everything in order!) And see the sheepie on the far left? That was hand-knit by the lovely (and very sneaky) Kati who flew down from Boston to help pull off the entire shower surprise. She thinks the ears are kinda "wonky," but I think they are perfect.

Meanwhile, Cricket has discovered that there are certain advantages to all of this "baby stuff" that keeps getting brought into the house. For example, she got to thoroughly test the warmth of both the blanket I made for the Little Monster out of flannel and fleece, AND the cushioning provided by the changing table pad. Somehow, I doubt she's going to be spending much time in that particular spot once it begins being used for its intended purpose...

Abby, meanwhile, spent the weekend supervising S, chasing squirrels away from the bird feeders, and barking at the various delivery people who keep driving past the house on their way to deliver holiday packages. All of that work makes for a VERY tired doggy who wishes we would turn off that stupid light and let her go to sleep already!

Labels: Alpine Lace, Baby, Dyeing

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So... Hot....

I have several finished objects to photograph, but it was 102 degrees today, with a heat index of 2,345 degrees. It was so hot that even Abby wouldn't go outside... poor doggy! So consequently, the idea of wrapping myself in knitted objects for creative photographs just really didn't do it for me.

Henry, for example, categorically refused to come out of his bag until the "infernal furnace" cooled off. I personally think he's still sulking because his marriage proposals keep getting refused, but he insists that he'll feel much better once he has a turkey leg or two. (Is it wrong that I imagine old Henry VIII as Cartman?)

See, Henry has gotten to his, ummmm, "more meaty" stage.

All steeked up and nowhere to go!!

Henry gets a taste of the ~~executioner's axe~~ scissors...

So Henry is fully steeked, and is ready for the final finishing. I've done one of his arms, but it was WAY TOO HOT to work on, so I'm letting him hang out for a bit.

Speaking of hanging out, Elspeth came over on Monday for a dyeing day, and helped me pin out my newly-dyed Print O' The Wave.... I am in mad love with this stole. The dyeing came out perfectly - navy with the turquoise peeking through and making the whole thing shimmer. As soon as the temperature dips below inferno, I'll try to take some proper pictures!

Cricket, as you can see, was extremely helpful with the whole blocking process...

She promised to let us know as soon as it was dry.

I also dyed up a mess of sportweight merino-acrylic for the Tangled Yoke cardigan from the latest Interweave... as soon as I finish the Tilted Duster (also from Interweave) that I started on Saturday, I'm casting on for this puppy. I was aiming for a darker reddish brown, but ended up LOVING the soft coral color that I ended up with. I can't wait to see how this turns out!!

And finally, speaking of "how things turn out," this is a cautionary tale. If you go to Ross, and you buy at least 2 king-sized comforter sets and a whole mess of other things, you should NOT take the convertible sports car.

It took the driver quite a lot of stuffing to have enough room to get in.

Labels: Dyeing, Henry VIII, print of the wave, tangled yoke

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I Should Be Studying

But I'm not. SIGH. In my defense, I did take a final this morning...

So anyway, I'm going to pretend that I don't still have 2 finals to take (lah lah lah lah lah), and instead I'm going to distract myself with new yarn, some knitting, plants, and some cute animals. Probably in that order.

First, new yarn - 5 skeins each of the superwash tweedy sock yarn and the superwash non-tweedy sock yarn from KnitPicks. Why the superwash? Let's just say that, despite S' very careful washing and line-drying of his multiple pairs of hand-knit socks, at least one of them has now felted enough that they fit me. And my feet are considerably smaller than his. Luckily, they fit me really well, and are SUPER comfy for keeping my feet warm while I pad around the house. So although the knitting wasn't wasted, I'd love it if S' socks lasted more than 2 months... hence the superwash. My first impression of the superwash is very favorable - it is REALLY soft. I'm not sure about the tweedy bits - they seem awfully bright - but I'm hoping they'll look neat after a trip through the dye-pot. I'll probably do a dye-pot adventure in a few weeks, so I'll keep you posted!!

And in other knitting excitement, I cast-off my black Picovoli last night. And then tried it on, realized that I really did need to add a few more inches even though I had already added a few more inches, and so I had to rip out the cast off, rip out the 7 rounds of 1x1 rib I had done on the cuff, rip out the purl turning row, and put the whole slippery, black mess back on the needles. SIGH. (Not that this compares with the stitch-ripping insanity of SOME PEOPLE...)

So currently I'm in the process of lengthening the bottom and then I'll re-knit the cuff. I know - WHEEE. But I think this sweater will be useful in 2 very important ways - (1) using up yarn that I've had in stash for way too long, and (2) providing me with something cute to wear to the office under a blazer or something. I always do appreciate the hand-knits I can actually wear!!

See these daffodils? I love daffodils. Lots. S, knowing this, bought me some at TJ's and then planted them for me so I would see them when I came home from studying. Of course, he had to drag me back outside and point at them so I'd notice them because I'm dense like that, but you can see them from the dining room table, and they make me so happy! Plus, we can get all excited next year if they re-appear. When we buy Abby and Cricket's house, we're going to plant ridiculous numbers of daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths.

And remember how helpful Cricket was when I was re-potting the herbs? Here's the result - I need to buy another pot (or maybe 2) because I had to split the sage into 2 pots - there was literally no soil left- just roots, poor plants! And since my MDS&W list includes 4 basil plants and a thyme plant, I'm not sure where they'll fit. ALTHOUGH - (genius grant please), maybe I can plant the basil straight into the ground (since it'll die at the end of the season anyway), and use my pot for the thyme. HMMMMMMMMMMMM. The oregano and mint are very VERY small parts of the old plants - both grow like crazy, so I thought I would try to fit a little more soil in the pot by just replanting a tiny part of the old plant. I'm crossing my fingers that I don't have to buy another oregano or mint plant (but really, is it even possible to kill mint?)

Today, it's another hot one - temps in the 80s. It's really lovely, but a bit hot for the furry princesses...

Abby's been really tired (plus, we gave her a bath last night, and it's really traumatic to suddenly lose like 2 pounds of dirt from your fur!)...

... and Cricket has been alternating between going out on the front steps and rolling in pollen, and sitting in the bedroom window looking pretty. Seriously - when she saw me with the camera, she posed. Such a ham...

Right. Maybe I'll continue to study by making another pitcher of mango iced tea. Because that's sure to show up on my upcoming Computer Crimes final.

Labels: Dyeing

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A Little Knitting News, But Mostly Abby Pictures

I'm plugging away on a few projects - and I've been doing a little "clean-up" work on my blog. I finally updated my "works in progress" list, and I also redesigned my finished object galleries. I'm also looking forward to having much more free time as most of the law review work that has eaten up my time in the last year is now being done by my replacement - I mostly just have to forward emails and answer questions, rather than making all of the decisions and having all of the responsibility. WHEW!!!

So in celebration, I kinda sorta maybe cast on just a little bit for the refined raglan from W2006 Interweave. I may have also kinda sorta just a little bit dyed all of my cormo a beautiful cantaloupe color specifically for this sweater. :) Oh cormo - I love you with a passion that should probably only be reserved for my fiance...

I will say, however, that this "sportweight" yarn is actually a heavy worsted. I think the shepherd underestimated the bloom of cormo - I still love it, but my quest for a true sportweight cormo yarn continues. Luckily, I have a few leads for my next cormo purchase - you know, strictly for science. Or something.

And remember how I described S' sock-abuse? Here is his latest sock - after exactly 12 hours of wear, during most of which he was parked at his desk at work. That, my friends, is what his feet do to the heel of 100% merino sock yarn in ONE DAY.

All I can say is that it is a REALLY good thing that he is so unbelievably cute and excited whenever he gets a new pair of socks that it's still worth it to make them for him!

And speaking of making things - here's dinner from this past weekend - crock-pot white chili with salsa, avocados, cumin-sour cream, cilantro, cornbread muffins, and (of course), a nice cold Smithwicks. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! Definitely a perfect meal for curling up with a nice movie for a stay-home-date-night.

On a completely unrelated note, check out the cool book that S got me - I've been on the lookout for a "so you want to take non-crappy pictures" digital photography book, but most of them are mostly about image editing and software rather than photography techniques. Admittedly, I haven't gotten very far in this one yet, but so far, it looks very promising!

Right. Enough with the so-called "content" - onto the cute doggy pictures!

Ever seen a 3-legged doggy dig a hole? It's amazingly cute...

And with temperatures climbing into the mid- and upper- 70's, we had to help poor Abbers out... see the fur around her collar? That fur is approximately 3 inches long, and she doesn't shed that until later in the season when it's already ridiculously hot. So we bought a set of clippers from Target and thought we'd give her a quick buzz-cut around the neck.

Unfortunately, poor Abby got completely freaked out by the clippers, and struggled and thrashed so much that there was absolutely no way to get close enough to trim her. Luckily, she didn't mind the scissors, and doesn't seem to mind the somewhat-choppy cut that resulted.

But look how much cooler she looks! :)

And I know that this is quite late to the "show cute feet on your blog" party, but isn't this adorable? I swear I didn't stage this... she actually sleeps like this!

In honor of the Ides of March (happy birthday, Dad!), listen to 99 bottles of beer on the wall .... Roman style.

Labels: Dyeing, Socks

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Odds and Ends Before the End of Vacation

This past week, I've been thoroughly enjoying my spring break. I went to New Mexico for a few days, took the always fun standardized law test (MPRE if anyone is keeping track!), and have been tying up a few loose ends for the wedding.

I've also been finishing up some knitting - 2 pairs of socks - first one for S (he's already worn them, and nearly felted the heels in just 1 wearing!)

...and the super-long arm-monster socks for Jesse, which are even now USPS-ing their way to California. I really hope they fit!

And finally, I had a dyeing day on Thursday - see, Chaos, May, and Chris had ordered some purple sock yarn, which I then discovered I had GASP already gifted and forgotten to take off of my "for sale" site. Luckily, C, M, and C were VERY understanding, so I dyed up a new skein (which will be in the mail on Monday!)... and I also dyed up a few other things. That orangie-brown yarn? That is, in fact, cormo. I went with the orange and dyed 5 more skeins - but more on that later!

Here's the purple sock yarn I dyed up - hopefully the Black Kitty Brigade (and Chris) will like it!

And here's my attempt at dyeing my laceweight to match. Yeah - not so much. But I think with a nice dark blue overdye, it will be beautiful.

Right - enough with the knitting! So I spent last weekend in beautiful New Mexico - where we even found a waterfall on our hike!

But don't let the "hiking" fool you - most of my time was spent snuggling up with Smidgen. Smidgen is all of 8 months old, so still has what you might call "energy."

Smidgen was found, half starving, under a trailer as a kitten. She's fattening up nicely now - and has determined that the Q-tip is her natural prey.

While I was there, she also discovered that knitting is a VERY entertaining hobby...

... and back at home, there were more cute pets practicing for the sunny-spot Olympics...

Right - I should probably go attempt to clean up the mess I made dyeing before my poor roommate comes home tomorrow - but as soon as it finishes uploading, I'll be posting a video of the most fun you can possibly have in New Mexico, so stay tuned!!!

Labels: Dyeing, print of the wave, Socks

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The Scale Doesn't Lie

The lace is currently sitting in a corner, thinking about what it's done. I'll explain in a minute.

But first, happier news... I finally took the other pics of my latest attempts at boy sock yarn.

S is still "on the fence" about this one. It's purple and black, overdyed with gray. I think it's muted enough for boy socks, but we're still deciding. Obviously, he wouldn't wear these with a suit, but I thought with a pair of jeans, they'd look fine.

This one was much more successful - navy and green overdyed with gray. As I complained last night, it's BORING - but S loves it! I just cast on with it last night.

Tonight, I'm jetting off to the International Sunport (and environs) for a mini Spring Break, and the only knitting I can pack is my current sock in progress because both of my other projects are waiting for next Wednesday's date with the dye-pot. Specifically, the cormo needs a bath in a light orange, and I need to dye some laceweight.

The talented and loverly Elspeth suggested that I knit up a repeat of the edging, weigh it, and see if I have enough yarn. Here's 1 repeat on the scale... the scale isn't registering anything because 1 repeat in laceweight apparently doesn't weigh anything.

So I unravelled my repeat and I measured out double the yarn to see if 2 repeats would weigh something.

So it took about 1 gram for 2 repeats. I have 84 repeats total, with 72 repeats remaining to do.
72 * 0.5 = need an additional 36 grams to finish.

I have (duh duh duuuuuuuuuuh....)

3 grams.

Dude, so not even CLOSE to close. Luckily, I have like 44 grams of undyed (plus more light blue that I could overdye) - so I'll have to attempt to match my random dye process to get something that looks even remotely close. I'm thinking that if all else fails I'll overdye the whole thing with a coat of darker blue just to match everything up.

I went ahead and skeined up my precious remaining yarn to be ready for dye-day, because if this project stays in the corner much longer, the whole "finishing this up" plan may be in jeopardy.