Knitting Sutra

Knitting on the Road

First, let me thank everyone for the nice things you've been saying about my socks.  It is too bad that they don't fit, but they're going to a great home.  Remind me to tell you how cool my mother-in-law is.  Seriously.

Les Vacances

Lucia, The Knitting Fiend, revealed the other day that she and her husband recently drove from Chicago (I think that's where she's from) to Florida.  Florida!  She managed about 36 hours of solid knitting in the car!

It never occurred to me to knit in the car.  I was just going to lug B's sweater down to Normandy to knit at the house.  I mentioned to Lucia that I was going to give car knitting a try, and she passed along some wise advice.  "I recommend trying something easy and in a larger gauge...  I didn't drop stitches often, but the few times I did, picking up was heck!"

I'm knitting B's sweater on US 5 needles with DK weight yarn.  It's a tight knit because the yarn has a tendency to bloom when I wash it, and I'm already having trouble keeping the stitches on the needle.  B's sweater is not car knitting. 

So, I sniffed out a felted bag pattern for that Malabrigo Merino Worsted that I picked up in Germany. I don't think it gets much easer than stockinette and big needles.  I selected the ever popular Booga Bag for several of key reasons:  no seaming, no sewing of handles, no knitting holes for the handles, and no swatching.  The pattern doesn't even specify a gauge.  The Malabrigo (on paper) is very similar in weight and such to the Noro Kureyon that was used in the pattern.  This should all work(ish).

One problem:  I don't have the recommended size US 10 1/2 (6.5mm) circular needles, and I couldn't track any down today.  I went to the strange, little no-named shop up the street, and the old guy even looked at me funny when I asked for 6.5mm needles.  So, I picked up this 6mm circular (I already have 7mm) to see how the fabric turned out.

 

The next time you are at your luxe LYS lamenting their lack of indie sock yarn, consider the high quality items sold in my back yard.  It's online or no line here, man.  These puppies are ancient.  They look slightly tarnished, and the package smells like they've been in someone's basement for years.  These could seriously be some of the first circulars ever produced. 

First thing's first:  wind the skeins.   

Some things about knitting aren't fun or about the process.  They're just what you have to do, especially if you're a swiftless and ball winderless person like me.  Luckily, I tripped over a gem of a "how-to" article today while I was looking for a video on making i-chords.  KnittingHelp.com has videos of just about everything, so why not "How to Wind a Center Pull Ball?"  Becky, this one might help you tackle your tangle woes. 

I think my balls turned out pretty well, eh? 

They're not mouth-watering cakes, but they're not bad for old school. That silver thing is my new scale, by the way, and check out what it told me about one of my skeins.

Yes, that's 8 whole grams short of the labeled 100 grams it should be.  Uhm.  Uh... 8 grams, yo!  Not sure what to do about that.  These were the only two skeins in this color. 

Seems the stars are aligning against this project.  So, instead of justing going gung ho on slightly smaller needles, I decided to make some half-hearted swatchy things.

Sorry for the bad photo.  My camera is terrible without natural light. 

The tension is obviously really different between the two bits of knitting, and I have no clue which one to go with.  I don't know if you want an overall loose bit of fabric before you felt, of if snugger is better (and more of it).  I know the piece will shrink a lot, but, but... I dunno.  I just dunno. 

The top swatchy thing was knit with 6mm needles and the bottom with 7mm needles.  The first swatch is knit to the specs of the bottom of the bag (34sts and 34 rows) and measures about 8"x4".  The second swatches is about 10" wide already.  The bag bottom's post-felting dimensions (in Noro, btw) are 4 1/2" x 7 1/2".  I'm thinking the 6mm swatch is going to be too small. 

What do you think?

FO: ¡Los Monos Locos! - The Crazy Monkeys!

Yarn:  Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino Dream, Fiesta colorway
Pattern:  !Los Monos Locos! (modified Cookie A. Monkey sock pattern).  Check out the pattern page.
Size: Women's Medium
Needles:  1 2.5mm circular, magic loop

These are ¡Los Monos Locos!, which comprise my second Socktopia entry for May.  This time the theme is Fiesta.  These seem pretty festive to me.  Most of you probably know by now that I modified Cookie A.'s awesome Monkey sock pattern.  What started as an effort to just work the pair toe-up on magic loop turned into much more.  Next thing I know I'm incorporating the "no pick-up gusset" heel technique I found on Lara B's Toes & Heels Web site.

This wasn't as easy as it would seem because I needed to start and finish the heel with 32 sts on the first needle.  I frogged the first heel, tinked several times, and made about half a dozen of these little charts that I'm sure only make sense to me.

I liked "my way" so much that I started to write it down, you know so I could recreate the magic again.  Then I was overcome by an urge to share the love, so I've typed it all up, nice and pretty, for you to download.  Go here for more monkey mayhem.

I originally intended to write two versions of my findings:  one straight up pattern, and another annotated version.  Instead I just posted a regular pattern.  I'll re-edit the annotated version (silly me, I wrote that one first) to be a "no pick-up gusset" tutorial, complete with very useful and necessary stitch charts.  Expect that soonish. 

What About the Socks?

I love, love, love the Monkey pattern.   As everyone says, it's fun and easy to memorize.  The lace pattern takes just a tad more attention than stockinette, and it knits up soopah fast.  I didn't like the twisted rib pattern for the cuff, though.  It's a bit fidgety, and my speed knitting slowed to a crawl as soon as I switched from the lace.  It's a nice looking cuff, daintier than ole 2x2 rib, but a bit of a hassle.  I guess you can't have everything.

As I mentioned the other day, even though I got 9sts/inch (instead of 8sts/inch per Cookie A.'s pattern), my socks are still medium-sized.  In other words, they don't fit me.  The pattern is at its best when it stretches, and it does not do this on me, especially around the ankles.  I got positive ease around the ankles, people!  So, I'm gifting these to my mother-in-law (not my own mom b/c she's allergic to wool).

Next time, and there will be a next time for sure, I'll drop down a needle size and see how that goes.  The Celestial Merino Dream yarn is a bit thick and squishy for fingering weight yarn, so I might go for something a bit thinner as well.  The monkeys will be mine some day. 

The Yarn

Much to my disappointment, it turns out that half the skein was quite a lot paler than the other.  The dominant blues are about the same, but all the little extra yellows, reds and greens are different on each sock.  One sock is very vivid, and the other more subdued.  The ultra bright colors are what make this yarn.  I'm not about to knit a sock with two strands, so I probably won't buy another skein of this.  This is really too bad because I had my eye on the Maple Sugar colorway.

On the plus side, it didn't pool much.  If you examine them closely, you can see a bit of like colors congregating here and there, but a bona fide pool only appeared on the bottom of one of the heels.  I'm not even remotely a fan of pooling, but this is OK.

Next Up

B's Sweater.  It's in the bloody 40s today here in the flat lands, so it seems that a new sweater could still be useful.  I usually knit about an inch here and there when the spirit moves me, but now I'm going to focus on it for a bit.  It's pretty uninteresting photo-wise, but I'll get something up as soon as it looks like more than a swatch.  Did I tell you that I frogged about 8 inches b/c of a dropped stitch a while back? 

I'm still waiting for the Panda Cotton I ordered a week and a half ago.  I finally heard back from the shop owner who said she'd run out faster than expected.  When my skeins turn up, I might knit these cuties for my mom, though the size is a bit worrying.  Her feet are bigger than mine, but not by much.  All these one-size only socks are starting to bum me out.  At least with this pattern, I might be able to trim the pattern a bit.

Quick Fix

Hey ya'll.  I've been busy this weekend, but I didn't want that to stop me from letting you know about a few exciting developments - things I can't wait to tell you.

Monkey Madness

The modified Monkey socks are chugging along.  I turned the heels and am working through the cuffs.  I *will* show you finished socks this week, because I intend to offer these up for my May Socktopia socks.  Sadly, they don't really fit me.  I mean, they'll stay on, but the pattern is less pretty when it doesn't stretch across the feet and around the leg.  The unstretched wrinkliness is not flattering on my chicken bone feet. 

I'm not frogging them.  I'm going to send these to my mother-in-law (who I adore).  She's already excited about them.    

I also completed the first draft of the super-deluxe, annotated pattern.  Right now, it's registering in at a whopping six pages because I've added tons of notes on how to customize the pattern to better fit your foot.  I need to let my writing marinate for awhile, so I can go back and edit it with a clear head (it's just too long, and I haven't even added a stitch chart for the heel!).  In the meantime, I'll post the straight-up version of the pattern when I post the FO.

Do you Ravel?

My name finally came up for a Ravelry invitation.  In case you haven't heard, Ravelry is the up-and-coming online knitting and crocheting community.  There's a lot of buzz on the knitting Web about Ravelry, and so far it lives up to the hype.  It's really well designed and user friendly, and I say this wearing my Web designer hat. 

Ravelry is still in beta, but they're regularly adding new members.   I signed up a couple of weeks ago, so hang in there if you're waiting for your name to come up.  If you haven't signed up yet, head on over and put your name on the list.  If you think knitting blogs are fun, wait until you ravel (See that, I'm coining a new verb.  You saw it here first.)

An Idea I'm Sipping

I love coffee.   It's not even the caffeine; it's the taste and the ritual.  I usually only have one cup a day, but I want that coffee (often a latté) to be a priceless work of edible art.   If the coffee's no good, I'll skip it.  I can't drink bad coffee.  It's not just the drink.  I also covet froo froo coffee mugs.  Do any of you do this?   And... how do you feel about sock swaps?  Just curious.  This may not go anywhere, but I'm putting out feelers.

Reader Mail

As I sit here sipping my coffee this morning and checking out my comments, I thought I'd pull a Wendy and respond in a post. 

Becky asked: What (if any) books are you using to guide yourself through the madness?

Becky's referring to yesterday's (unintentionally) cryptic message.  Let me first tell you all what I'm up to.  Since it's a holiday weekend, I'll give you the short version. 

I found a great toe-up heel flap technique for my monkey socks, but I needed to jiggy it to fit my stitch count.  Since no one actually explains how they arrived at the numbers for their heels, I had to figure this out on my own.  The upshot is that I have great new insight into the relationship between number of stitches and decreases, and how to make sure you end up on the correct side if you're using the magic loop.  This last bit is really important actually.

To answer your question:  I'm winging it.  I don't have access to a yarn shop with a good selection of technique books, so I have precious few on my shelf.  I didn't invent this heel method, I just unlocked it's secrets. 

Someone posted a poll on KnittyBoard asking people how they knit their socks.  Very few people said they knit two socks at once, toe-up with magic loop.  This is probably why there are very few patterns for and little information online about this method.  I intend to post my pattern mods to help others like me.   

Heather asked: So, is your hubby a Frenchie;)?

Nah, B's Australian, which is pretty cool in its own right.  I learn new vocabulary nearly every day. ;)  His dad and step-mom are over from Oz touring around France.  So, we're going down to say, g'day.

OK, I'm sufficiently caffeinated now, and can get back to my pattern jiggying.  I had another idea late last night.  With any luck, I'll actually turn the heels today and get back to the regularly scheduled pattern.  With still more luck, I'll be done on Sunday. 

Everyone's Doing It! C'mon!

I just wanted to check in, lest you think I've fallen off the face of the Earth.  I'm still here, but I have my nose deep in monkey modifications.  I've been doing math, researching, and *gasp* even making my own chart thingies.  You'll see.  I'll reveal it all.  I'm afraid that if I set it down too long, I'll lose my train of thought.  So, no photos or nuttin' today.  Sorry guys!  Don't hate me.

Meanwhile... (I always have a meanwhile)

Summer of Socks 2007

Get thyself over to Zarzuela's corner of the information superhighway (heh remember that phrase?), and sign up for Summer of Socks 2007.  It's the easiest knit-a-long there is.  At its most basic, all you do is knit socks and show them off.  C'est tout.  On y va, people.  Let's go! 

Sign-ups end TOMORROW, so go now.  Muy pronto!

Summer Knitting Goals

The other day I mentioned a contest over at Skeins Her Way.  I was looking through the participants list, and I only recognized one name.  I heard about the contest from that one person, so this tells me that none of ya'll signed up.  Dude, it's so easy.  You post your plans for the summer on your blog, you tell Ali, and she adds your name to the kitty. 

The prize is so worth it: a free pattern and enough yarn to knit it in the color of your choice.  Your choice.  Hello?  While you're there, tell Ali I sent you so my name goes in the pot more than once.  From the looks of the referrals, Heather is a shoe in to win.   I'd feel better about my odds if I knew my name was in there at least twice.

The deadline for the contest is "end of May." So I assume that means May 31.  You still have time.

Happy Holidays

Have a great three day weekend for those of you in 'merica.   Monday is a holiday here as well, but B's working b/c we're heading to France next Friday.  Don't get too, too excited.  We're revisiting Normandy (this will be my third time) to hang out with my in-laws.  They're nice people, but it would have been better to see them in, oh I dunno, Provence maybe?

Anyway... I'll post again as soon as I have something to show.  Hopefully this weekend.

Arigato gozaimasu e adeus.

Monkey Mind - It Just Swings Around and Won't Settle Down

*Warning: This post is a stream of consciousness**

You could say I have a short attention span, but that's not quite it.  I think I'm more of a serial learner.  What I like about most things in life is the discovery. I'm a kick-butt researcher.  If you need to know something, just let me know.  I'll find out for you.  So, once I've kinda learned something (note that I did not say "master something"), I tend to just, uhm, drop it and move on. 

Interestingly, I don't do this with yoga, and I didn't do it with ballet either.  I love to knit pick and refine my yoga postures.  I think that might be vanity overtaking my short attention span. 

Monkey Madness   

So, there I am grooving on my monkey socks yesterday when I get to the heels.  I have a few choices.  I could proceed with the short row heel that I know, or I could try something different.  I tell myself that I don't really like the short rows that I've learned because there are holes near the wrapped stitches.  So, I spent half of yesterday poking around for other toe-up heel patterns.  Had I just kept on, or at least settled on a heel, then I might have actually finished those socks yesterday.  Seriously.  Monkey socks are fast.  Fast little monkeys.

But no, because even as I'm looking at those heel patterns, my mind is already thinking about how I'm going to swatch the cable sweater.  So, in the middle of searching, you know while I wait for pages to load, I'm in another browser tab composing a Knitty Board post.  See, I'm at a total loss as to how to measure my tension across a cable pattern.  But I'll get to that another day.   

To Cable or Not To Cable

All the while, I'm starting to get nervous about my cable sweater.  No one could explain to me (in a way that I understand) how to make these cable pattern swatches.  Seriously, on the Knitty Board, I'm getting answers like: "just cast on x number of stitches and go from there."  Go from where?  It's precisely the "where" that I'm having trouble with.  So, maybe I shouldn't compound my tricksyness with a yarn substitution.  I'm no masochist.  I hate pain, and that includes thinking pain - especially math. 

So, then what do I do?  I start researching Bergere de France Berlaine yarn, which is not easy since it's almost only available in France, the UK and far flung European countries.  I want to know if it's nice, because I have never seen it in person. So, do I whip out my French-English dictionary to help slog through French knitting blogs?  I haven't yet, but I might. 

Or, I could just buy a skein and see if I like it.  But it's silly to just buy one skein.  What about all that postage?  Must not order more sock yarn.  Restraint, Jen.  Show some restraint.

But, if I decide to go with the yarn that goes with the pattern, I still find myself with a boatload of Rowan Cashsoft DK that I need to do something with.  Earlier in the week, I was doing some pattern whoring (I get around the free pattern sites, let me tell you) and came across the Jemima Sweater over at My Fashionable Life.  Jemima is not free, but she has really cute free patterns too. Set aside what comes to American minds when you think of Jemima, this is no pancake sweater.  It's very cute, and the wide neck would flatter me.  It also happens to call for Rowan Cashsoft DK.  Should I?  Should I? 

Starting Jemima would change my plans for the summer, but what can I do? I have this weird axiom I try to follow.  With only specific exceptions, I strongly believe that I need to use my yarn in the order in which I got it.  I dunno if this is a relic of the notion I had in my head as a kid where I had to "pay attention" (read: play with) all of my 100s of stuffed animals equally or they might feel lonely or something.   I feel really weird about buying yet another sweater's worth of yarn when I have two frogged sweaters worth of yarn already waiting for a project. 

I'm just going to throw this out there:  Do I like thinking about knitting more than I like actually doing it?  Hmmm.  A question for these over-stimulated times.

Mail Call

My order from Woollyworkshop arrived today - sans Crystal Palace Bamboo Cotton.  Uhm, that was the whole point of the order.  I've emailed, but so far no reply.  Will not assume worst case scenario.  I have never yet been burned by an online purchase.

I had a nice time reading through my fresh, new copy of Interweave Knits Summer 2007 while waiting for an appointment with my Dutch social worker (Don't worry, all non-EU member state foreigners "get" one.  Seriously.).  I won't even start with the patterns I want to knit in there.  I haven't even cracked the VogueKnitting Knit.1 Spring 2007 yet.

Yarn Porn

To add to my mysterious procrastination, I've spent more precious monkey sock time on yarn porn.  I tell myself it's for you, but I like looking at it too.  I'm particularly excited about the Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, not only because it's so.  beautiful.  But did you know it's from South Africa even though the Web site says Harrisonburg, Virginia?  Wonder why that is.  I will not research that right now.  Must go cook dinner.

The light ones are Blue Terra Cotta, but the overall colorway is actually "warmer" than my camera portrays.  The dark ones are Eat Your Veggies.  I'm happy to report that Eat Your Veggies is greener and darker than what most photos show.

FO: Lost at Sea Socks

Done done done done done.  What more can I say?

I dubbed these the "Lost at Sea Socks" for several reasons, but namely because they're as big as paddles.  If I were lost at sea and I could only have one pair of socks, it'd be these bad boys.  The stitches are so small that the socks might even hold water. 

Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Fantasy, 4730 Colorway
Pattern:  Basic Stockinette, toe-up on magic loop.  I used Charlene Schurch's short-row heel from Sensational Knitted Socks.  I used one of The Knitting Fiend's Sock-u-lators (can't remember which one) to figure out the stitch count.
Size: Men's aprox. US size 10 1/2
Needles:  Profi 3mm circular

I finished these around 11pm last night, and haven't had a chance to take any photos of B sporting his new kicks.  However, I can assure you that they fit and fit well. 

One small problem:  Charlene fails to give any advice for casting off toe-up socks.  In the chapter on 5 stitches, she doesn't even bother to tell you to cast off.  I found a later reference that says to "BO loosely."  The first sock is more than a bit tight.  B has some trouble getting it over his massive ankle.  So, I bound the second one off even looser still.  It goes on better, but still tight.

This is the second technique I've tried, and they both produce something that barely has any give.  Would love some expert opinion on binding off at the cuff so that you can still get the socks on.

Holiday Road

Last Thursday was a public holiday here in the Netherlands.  I have no idea why, but who can complain about a day off?  B took Friday off instead, and  we caught the train down to Brugge (Bruges en Français), Belgium to see the "best preserved medieval city in Europe," or something like that. 

Anyone who's taken a trip to the low countries will gush over Brugge.   It does have a huge number of old buildings in its endless historic center.  I think if you were only traveling around Holland and Belgium, then maybe your perspective on Brugge would be pretty great.  However, we've seen some damn, quaint shit here in Europe, and we're not convinced that Brugge deserves all its superlatives.  I mean, the bar is set really high with Dinan, France where we spent New Year's Eve this past season.

Nevertheless we had a nice time, and the weather couldn't have been nicer.  Whenever we go to Belgium, we obligate ourselves to do three things:  eat great food, buy lots of chocolate from indie shops, and stock up on obscure, Belgian beers.  Brugge did not disappoint on all three fronts, especially the chocolate.

Yes, those are stacks of 2" thick bricks of chocolate from around the world.   See the flags?

Brugge's connection with yarn and knitting these days is pretty slim.  However, it was once a bustling hub of the textile trade.  British wool was once shipped to Brugge to be spun and woven into high-quality cloth.   These days, you mainly find kitschy lace shops along with other tourist traps.  Brugge is really just Medieval Disneyland, a sentiment reinforced by the nagging feeling that no one actually lives there.  It's a bit weird.

Almost There; Stay on Target

I knit like crazy each way on the train, and have made mad progress on B's socks.  I'm almost done, so I'll hold off on showing you anymore photos until I can drag him off somewhere for a photo shoot.  We've been pleasantly surprised at how far we're stretching this skein - it will produce proper-sized socks.  Woohoo!

Meanwhile, I placed an order at Woollyworkshop in the UK for some Crystal Palace Panda Cotton for socks for my mom.  Turns out she's got a mighty wool allergy (no wonder she only ever knit acrylic sweaters for me when I was a kid!), so none of the skeins in my stash would work for her.  I hear good things about this cotton/bamboo blend, so it's all good.  Of course I picked up other goodies, but you'll just have to wait and see.

Do it Myself?

We were at the American Book Center on Saturday (after we popped into the M.C. Escher museum, which was as you would expect), where I discovered that they stock the Vogue Stitchionary series.  I've had my eye on the first two (Knit & Purl and Cables) for some time, but didn't want to throw down real cash sight unseen.  In my meager opinion, these books are amazing!  I want.  Could I perhaps design my own socks and sweaters?  I could at least design some fab scarves.  What are the ethics of designing your own garments when you get the stitch pattern from a dictionary?

Anyway, I stuck to my no-book-buying rule until we move back to the States.  Like we need any more big, hardback volumes to amp up the weight of our household goods.  Amazon.com has them for a fraction of the list price anyway.

Last Thing I Swear

B and I are trying to hit up a bunch of European destinations before we leave.  We've decided to go off the beaten path a bit and check out the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in July.   I know very little about traditional knits, but a voice in the back of my head says that at least one or two of these countries should prove interesting from a knitterly perspective.  If you have any info, let me know.

Half-Time Report

Ladies and gentleman, we have heel turns. 

I actually turned three heels, but the first one only proved that the socks were still.  too.  short.  Oi!  The good news is that the pair fits.  I made a couple of decreases near the arch, which turned out to be a good move for his shaped feet.  And by shape, I mean shaped like oars.  Paddles. 

I can't get over how big B's feet are, and in truth they're actually on the small side for a man.  They're just soooo much bigger than my feet, which, for those of you keeping tally at home, are abnormally small. 

I think (read: hope) I have enough yarn to produce a few inches of cuff, but I'm thinking I'll get more mileage out of the yarn if I stick to boring stockinette.  Can anyone testify to the amount of yarn the Waffle Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks sucks up?  Is that going to look lame with this kind of sock yarn anyway?  You can be honest.

Short-Row Holes Heels

By the way... I followed Charlene Schurch's instructions for the toe-up, short-row heel (Sensational Knitted Socks p. 40).  Since taking the above photo I knit a round or two on the leg, and so far there are no giant holes.  It's hard to tell for sure, but I'm hopeful. 

7+ Random Things About Me

Jennie tagged me to post seven "interesting" things about myself.  The deal is that I post these seven things, and then tag seven other people to post about themselves.  I'm new to knitterly blogging, so apologies to those of you who are going to go:  "and you are...?"  I trolled my comments, so you're not 100% random.  ;)

Without further ado:

1. I climb rocks for thrills.  In fact, I met my husband on a rock climbing trip in West Virgina. 
2. I was dark and broody in high school.
3. I have naturally red hair.  According to Tom Robbins, I'm also from another planet.  That sounds about right.
4. I'm a rabid environmentalist. 
5. B and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro for our honeymoon. 
6. I went to college in New Orleans.   
7. I used to be the singer and bass player in an indie band.  John Peel played us on his radio show once.
8. *Bonus*  I did not buy the Rothko for $72m. (What the?!?!)

The following are on deck to post seven things.  As Jennie mentioned, no pressure if you don't wanna play.  I'm a little superstitious is all. 

Becky, Heather, Elinor, Shoeless Val (Val has a seriously cute, new pattern up on Jimmy Beans by the way), Debbie, Ali, and Margene.   

Guy Candy

That's Gee with a hard g.  I don't want to play favorites with my monsters (because I'm sure they read my blog after all), and I still don't have anything interesting to show you with my knitting (I promise I'm working on it).  So, I give you the contemplative "Portrait of a Curmudgeon as a Young Cat." 

Perseverance

I've been inspired by Wendy's miter sweater.  Here I am whining about knitting a few inches of a sock in stockinette and she's over there knitting whole sweaters with fingering weight yarn and 3mm needles.   I'm determined to show you some short row heels tomorrow.  It could happen.