Socks, socks, socks....

I should be working on my jaywalkers. They are calling me..."finish us! finish us!" But no, I just HAD to cast on a new pair of socks. I started the Toe Up Traveling Cable House Socks that I found on Craftster. (Which, btw.. is currently down for maintenance, so I can't link to the pattern right now!)


I am loving this pattern. Quick, easy. The only gripe I have is that I downloaded the original pattern when it first appeared on Craftster. I cast on, started knitting following the pattern and couldn't help but notice that my cables looked mushy. They didn't look like the picture. Come to find out there's an error in the pattern. I hate, hate, hate frogging and starting over. So, I just kept going and made the correction to the cables as I went.

Mushy cables

Not mushy cables!


Knit in Cascade 220 color 7814 on size 5 circs using Magic Loop.

I should be finished with this sock today or tomorrow and I swear to myself that I am going to cast on the second one immediately. No Second Sock Syndrome!

In sad news... I got an email from Paradise Fibers today that said:
Hi,
I'm sorry but we haven't been able to get more of the 3001 sock yarn you want. Thanks for your interest. I hope we can help you with something else.

I haven't had the energy to continue my search just yet, but I'll get on it soon. Now that I know the correct name for the yarn, hopefully it will be a little easier.

In happier news, my knitting meetup group is coming to Columbia! Yay! I won't have to drive all the way to them, they are coming to me! We are taking a "field trip" to my LYS and then going out for coffee. All of this will be occuring sooo close to my house!

Something terrible happened....

I am not having a good time with my white sock. First of all, I feel like it's taking freaking forever to complete. Second, my stitch count is all off. Something funky happened when I turned the heel, and I lost a stitch somewhere. I can't find a hole or anything, so I just kept going. Also, I think I knit a few too many rows on the heel because I had to pick up 18 stitches instead of just 16. I'm being really stubborn and I refuse to frog anything. I'm just going to keep going and see what happens. The big problem of course, is that there are TWO of them. TWO socks that should, in theory, match!

I'm trying to mentally chalk this up to learning how to knit a sock on circulars..

The green and blue sock is at a standstill until the yarn comes. And I know I'm going to have to order one more skein. This could be an interesting dye lot lesson!

So, after my matinee today, I headed over to Michaels. They were having a "Yarn Event." It was the lamest thing ever. Now, to be fair, I got there at 4 and it was ending at 5, so I may have missed the exciting part. (whatever that was!) But when I got there, there were two very cranky old ladies sitting behind a table. One was knitting and one was crocheting. There was no indication of what they were doing... were they teaching knitting and crocheting? Were they trying to sell the yarn that was lying on the table? Did they just stumble in from the street and decide to play with yarn?

I greeted them both and asked if they knew if there were any knitting groups in the area. (I joined a knitting group in Baltimore, but it's a bit of a hike for me. I really like the people there though, so it's worth the drive. However, I keep looking for a group closer by) The one woman looked at me like I had just asked her where the nearest strip club was. I had to explain - "knitting group... ya know... when people get together and sit around and chat and knit and maybe drink some coffee or something?"

They were completely unhelpful. And CRANKY. One woman finally said that they get together at the store to make squares for blankets for homeless people. A noble pasttime, and one that I would definitely participate in, but not if I have to sit with a bunch of CRANKY old ladies.

Sleeeeeeeepy

I should sooo be going to bed right now. I counted today and realized that in 5 days, I did 11 shows and 3 wait shifts. I'm a little tired!

But here I am, at 12:35 a.m. endlessly clicking through knitting blogs. I can't help it. I love seeing what other people are knitting. I have about 5 or 6 blogs that I read on a daily basis. But each of them has links to 100's of other knitting blogs. So I read and click, read and click. I found a jaywalker KAL somewhere that has over 250 people involved. And most of them have blogs. That's a LOT of knitting blogs! I keep having to tell myself that I cannot possibly read ALL of them!

I worked on the white striped jaywalker during the show tonight. I'm on the heel. Unfortunately, I've somehow managed to add a stitch somewhere, so I'm carefully trying to pull out the stitches to find the extra one. I'm still on the circs, and while it's a little fidgety getting the cable in the right place, I'm managing ok.

Ok, seriously, I'm going to bed now!

It has become painfully obvious to me that I'm not going to be able to finish the green/blue striped jaywalkers with just 2 skeins of yarn. I'm gonna need a third skein. When I ordered the 2nd skein, I thought "you really should buy two more. Nah, it'll be fine, I'll just get one." Of course that's not going to work out!
I'm determined to finish these socks!! Come hell or high water or lack of yarn!

In an effort to show that I can actually finish something, I thought I'd post a few FO's.

Here is a small sampling of the many, many, many scarves I have produced.

From left to right...

1. My first attempt at stranded knitting (kinda fair isle?) I love this scarf but unfortunately it rolls up something awful. I've blocked it and blocked it and it's still a giant tootsie roll. I hardly ever wear it due to this problem. But I love the yarn (can't remember what kind it is, but it's really soft and the colors are beautiful, even if you can't tell from the pic!)

2. This is one of my first knitted scarves. It was a bitch to knit. It was knitted length-wise and has kind of a woven pattern to it. Also, my cast off was WAY too tight so it has this strange curve to it. But I wear it all the time. It's really long.

3. Crocheted ugly scarf. I think this thing is hideous but it is so warm. It's my dog walking scarf. I wrap it around my head and neck and it keeps me toasty.

4. Fun cross over scarf. I got the pattern for this from the TV show Knitty Gritty. It was so fun to knit. The pattern doesn't show up too well in this pic, but the long dropped stitches were so fun to do.

5. Funky confetti yarn held with cheapy black acrylic. This is a fun colorful scarf, but it is really stretched out. You know how the center of the scarf gets really thin and the ends get really wide? I hate that. I think I should have used smaller needles for this.

6. You can't really see #6 in this picture, but it is crocheted lengthwise out of leftover chenille in many different colors. I was really surprised at how nice it came out as it really was just a way to use up my chenille. I ended up making a bunch of these and selling them to friends.

A few hats...

Top one is a simple roll brim made from left over Noro. I love the colors in this hat, but it's a bit itchy.

Left - Crocheted Homespun. Warm and soft. (I actually forgot I owned this!)

Right - The ever popular Kittyville hat from SnB. I have had people stop me on the street and ask me where I got it. Love it!

This is one of my favorite things I have ever made. I LOVE this bag. It's a Noro Kureyon Booga Bag. My very first felted object. Very very easy to knit. And Noro Kureyon has the most amazing colors, which got brighter and better with felting. On the down side... this bag has so many pills and yarn balls. I have one of those little battery operated de-fuzzers, but it really doesn't accomplish much.

I'm sure I will make more of these despite the pilling problem. The whole thing start to finish was very fun.

I hate Wednesdays.

Wednesdays are impossibly LONG for me. I was at the theatre from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. yesterday. I still haven't recovered. I work in dinner theatre (not nearly as painful as it sounds, we actually do really great work.) So, in order to support my theatre habit, I wait tables. I firmly believe that if you want to see how rude, hateful, and cheap the human race can be - just be a waitress. We had two shows yesterday, and I waited for both shifts. LONG LONG day. The matinee was all old people. Forget the myth of the sweet little old ladies. These were demon women who poke you in the butt with their walkers and canes and demand "DECAF" immediately.

But I digress from knitting... I'll bring this back around, I promise!

The good thing about my job as a lighting goddess is that I can knit while I run lights! Granted, I have gotten yelled at a few times for knitting during the show, but generally - as long as I don't screw up the lighting cues, they leave me alone about the knitting. Honestly, I find that knitting helps me stay focused on the show. If I don't have anything to knit, I tend to zone out and miss cues.

So, two shows yesterday, I got a little done on the lone jaywalker sock that is awaiting the second skein of yarn.



Look! It has a heel! I did some work on this earlier today, so I'm a little further along than this picture shows.

I also did a few rounds of the white striped version.



I'm starting to have a little anxiety about this one. I'm so new to knitting socks, I'm concerned I won't be able to translate the pattern so it works on the Magic Loop. But I'm just going to keep trudging along and see what happens. If I can't handle it, I can always transfer the stitches to the dpns and finish the sock that way. I really like this yarn. It's light weight and I like that the stripe colors are randomly patterned.

Well, I'm off to do a little more knitting before I have to force myself back to the theatre so I can sling coffee at old people again.

YAY!!!!

Many many thanks to my new best friend Stephanie who very kindly found the yarn I was looking for! It has already been ordered and hopefully will be here very soon! I still can't believe she found it. I couldn't find it anywhere. She directed me to this site... Paradise Fibers.

Paradise Fibers has the color listed as Missoni 3001. I think that was a large part of my searching problem. No where on the original label does it say Missoni.

Oh well, problem solved!!! I'm not even remotely concerned about dye lot. If the socks are slightly off in color, it won't matter to me. I'm just so pleased that I will be able to finish both socks.

So, after my kid show this morning, I went off to Woolworks. What a great little shop! I loved it. Thank goodness it's a bit of a hike for me to get there or I'd be in there all the time! They have an amazing selection and the lady who waited on me was very sweet.

Here's what I bought...

Sock yarn!! (yes, I bought more yarn.)

And two skeins each! And I already casted on with the white.

Look at me doing the little Magic Loop! I'm going to try the Jaywalker using this method. I had intended on getting another Addi Turbo circular to try and do the two socks at the same time thing, but unfortunately, Woolworks didn't have a 40" circ. So, I'm going do one at a time for now and try to pick up another 40" circ. at All About Yarn, next time I'm there.

Oh, and I tried a little tip I had read about somewhere. I soaked the cable of my circ. in hot water for a few minutes to soften it up. WOW, what a difference. It's so much more pliable and easier to work with. I fully intend to dunk all of my circs. soon.

I could cry at any minute....

Sad, sad, sad. So, I went to my LYS today to get a second skein of the great stripey sock yarn I'm using for my Jaywalker and THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY MORE IN STOCK!!!!! It's my own dumb fault. When I bought the first skein the woman said "if you're going to make socks out of that, you're going to need a second skein." And stupid stupid me, I said "oh, I only want one right now, I just like the yarn, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it." I'm such an idiot.

So, after I got scolded by the yarn shop lady, she very nicely took down my name and number and promised to call me when(if??) they get anymore in. I went home and did an internet search for it and can't find it anywhere. It is Fortissima Colori Socka Color in color number 3001. I couldn't even find ANY Colori Socka yarn whose color number even began with a 3. I went to the manufacturer's site and it wasn't listed there. Apparantly, I have the one and only skein of 3001 ever in existence. Yes, I could cry at any minute.

So now what? Do I finish my lonely sock and pray that the yarn shop lady calls me.... someday....? I was really excited about how that sock was turning out. I was committed to making a second one. THIS SUCKS and it's my own fault!!!

In a small effort to console myself, I bought these...




I've already started playing with it and it's pretty damn easy! I could get used to this. Now I need to invest in a second addi turbo circular and learn how to do two socks at once.

I had looked up the Magic Loop method on the internet and I thought I had seen something about having to do some wonky figure 8 cast-on, but this booklet said to cast-on however I wanted to. Maybe the figure 8 thing was for the two at once method... I'll have to go check that out again.
I'm contemplating going out to Woolstock tomorrow. I've never been there and I hear it's a good store. I want more sock yarn. (despite what I said the other day about how I shouldn't be allowed to buy any more yarn)

Kate and Ellie checking out the Jaywalker progress.

I'm taking a brief break from the sweater to work on Grumperina's Jaywalker socks. I really love this pattern, and I couldn't have picked a better yarn to show off the great zig zags, but these needles are killing my fingers. I keep having to remind myself to loosen my grip!

I really need to take the time and learn how to make socks using the Magic Loop method. I really like the idea of being able to work on two socks at the same time. And it seems much easier to hold onto two circulars then 5 DPNS. I've pretty much got the hang of the DPNS, but that's not to say I really like using them!

I need to go to my LYS and get another skein of this yarn. I had this skein sitting around for months. I shouldn't be allowed to buy any more yarn. I have SO much in my stash, it's just silly. Unfortunately, most of it is from my crochet days when I didn't care that it was icky acrylic!

I have to go back to work tonight, and I really don't want to. I would much rather stay home and knit.

So, it's a knitting blog... Shouldn't I post some pictures of what I'm knitting? I am currently working on my very first sweater. For Christmas, my mom gave me a book called Hip Knits. It has some fun patterns in it. The sweater I chose to make is modeled by a guy in the book, but I am making it for ME. I really love doing cables and have late night fantasies about making a rediculously complicated Aran sweater, but for now - I am starting with this simple one. I love love love the color. It's Cascade 220 in color number 9467.


Cabled Sweater WIP


Cable detail

The first picture is oddly blurry. It looked fine when I first uploaded it. hmmm... may have to try that again.

Sheep!

Look! It's a Prize Winning Sheep! And she's sitting on my light board!

So, to continue my yarn addiction story...
How did I go from crocheting to knitting? Well, basically I got bored. I would look at magazines and drool over the knitted fun. I had learned to knit AGES ago but hadn't knit in years. So, I went to my friendly neighborhood Michaels and bought some crappy yarn, some cheap knitting needles and the book Knitting for Dummies and off I went into the world of knitting. A few icky scarves later, and I was obsessed.

I've decided to finally create my own knitting blog. I've been reading lots of other knitting blogs and it's time I had my own! I have been trying to post a picture, and so far, it's not working. This kind of kills my plan to show off my handiwork!

So, for now, a little about me... I'm 38 years old, live in a Washington, DC suburb and am a self confessed yarn addict. It started with crochet. I learned to crochet from some friends at the theatre (Oh, by the way, I'm a theatre lighting electrician). It quickly turned into an obsession. I was making scarves for everyone I know. I even sucessfully sold a few of my scarves. I got bored with scarves and started making hats and afgans. (Granny Squares - antiquated but so simple!) Then I discovered crocheting magazines. I poured over them, longingly wishing I had the focus and determination to make something a little more complicated than my simple little projects.

I found a pattern for a crocheted sheep toy and decided to dive in. It became my standard baby gift. New baby? you get a sheep! Then last summer, I entered my crocheted sheep in the County Fair - and won second place! (Ok, I think it was more like last place, because I never did figure out what the other enteries were!) Then I entered the sheep in the Maryland State Fair and won second place again! (may have been last place again... I admit it! But I do have two pretty red ribbons now!)


Ribbons