Knitting Sutra

Summer Knitting Goals: September Outlook

Schedule Movers. Check.

Book flights. Check.

Needle the customs office at Dulles about transporting pets. Check.

Throw out miscellaneous junk in the bathroom. Check.

Organize yoga teaching gigs for Fall session. Check.

Organize freelance Web work so we can afford DC-area rent. Check.

Photograph electrical appliances that we can't use in the US. Check

Post classified ad for TV. Check.

As you can see, I've been a busy little beaver this week organizing our little hovel to get ready for the move. We touch down in Dulles on September 18. And I'll tell you this much, I'll be hitting the ground running.

I Knit?

You can probably guess that I haven't been knitting too much this week. In fact, I didn't tell you that we snuck off to the South of England last weekend to visit some friends one last time. Late night marathons of Monopoly (I won, yeah!) and Canasta (Team Ginger Hair spanked The Brunettes, yeah!) kept me from knitting there as well.

I've managed an additional inch or two on my step-mother-in-law's socks while catching up on the Daily Show, but they look basically the same as the last time you saw them. I'm setting aside some time to work on the Ogee Skirt today because of all the things I really want to finish before I go, that's the one.

About Those Summer Plans

At the beginning of the Summer, Ali dangled great prizes in front of us so we'd organize our Summer Knitting Goals. I've actually done OK, considering that I added things to the list. But the adding of such things (I'm looking at you Jemima and Ogee, you scamps) means that the items I really should have finished got pushed to the side.

I won't make another such list for the Fall. I'd rather just knit what I feel like knitting when I feel like knitting. My life, especially the life I'll pick back up in DC, is pretty scheduled. I'd like to keep the knitting more freeform.

Let's take a look at how I'm doing. All is not lost on a couple of these projects, but yeah... you know.

1. X Knit at least one pair of socks per month for Socktopia and Summer of Socks 2007. I didn't finish any socks in June, and copped out a bit in July. Yet, I did manage to complete a pair in August, so maybe that's not so bad after all.
2. DONE! Start and finish no-wool socks for my mom. Woohoo!
3. DONE! Finish B's flapjack socks before I go crazy or get repetitive stress syndrome.
4. Finish B's sweater. The back is done! Woohoo! But there's no chance I'll finish this during what could technically be called "Summer."
5. Finish Daisy Scarf . Daisy what?
6. DONE! Start Cabled V Neck Sweater. I swatched. I feel OK about this.
7. DONE! Knit and felt my first bag.
8. DONE! Find a project for the umpteen skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino 501 that were a sweater. I chose Wicked, and I confirmed I have enough yarn.
9. DONE! Decide if I will actually knit the Hanami Stole for my mother-in-law or for my mom or both for Christmas. I'm not going to. I have something else in mind instead, and I have the yarn for it already.
10. DONE! Finish Jemima.

11. Make three peace cranes (one for me, two for friends). Now that we're moving in September, there's no chance these are going to happen.
12. Make the Ogee Lace Skirt from Interweave Knits, Summer 2007 to wear over yoga pants. In progress... I really want to finish this before I go because I start teaching right away. No one needs to see my horribly out of shape lump of a rump in my yoga pants.

BTW, I took those photos last weekend near Poole, England. It was a bit strange to see a lamb so late in the season.

Road Trip 2007: Bavaria, Austria, Luxembourg (Part 1)

As promised, here's part one of my Bavaria (and then some) trip report. You can view all 100+ photos in my Flickr Photostream here if you're so inclined.

The Plan

Day 1: Drive to Würzburg
Day 2: Tool around the "Romantic Road" down to Füssen, then cut over to Mittenwald (near Garmisch) to set up camp.
Days 3-7: Hiking in the Altspitz Mountains and Castle Gawking
Days 7-11: Camping in Austria, hiking in Berechtesgaden (Germany), Salzberg
Day 12: Drive home

Alas, it rained a lot. As in most of the time. Still, we managed to get in an afternoon wander through a gorge near Mittenwald and a big hike down an Alp. Austria ended up being a bit of a bust, especially since we took our one really nice day to hang out at the camp. So, we decided to head home a bit early and add a day at Luxembourg instead.

So our real itinerary went something like this:

The Romantic Road

We made it to Würzburg on time. According to plan, we spent the first part of the day checking out the local "schloss" or castle. In the case of Würzburg, the palace is actually an old Bishop's residence, but don't let that fool you. The Residenz rivals most fancy chateaux you'll ever see.

From there, we meandered (read: got lost a lot) South on the Romantic Road to Rothenburg ob de Tauber, which is possibly Germany's most famous town. Rothenburg is to Germany as Brugge is to Belgium or Dinan is to France. It's pretty good as far as medieval towns go.

After spending too much time in Rothenburg, we decided to ditch the slow Romantic Road for the highway. We made it to Füssen around sunset, when we realized that there's no way we were making it to Mittenwald that night AND set up camp.

After unsuccessfully finding a place to sleep around Füssen (and getting lost some more), we headed on to Mittenwald, hoping to find a guest house along the way. We found one near Lermoos, Austria. Horray for random guest houses!

Mittenwald: Hiking, Castles, Bozners. Oh My!

I highly recommend Mittenwald as a base around the Garmisch area. The little resort town, while catering to tourists, manages not to be touristy. I think it helps that most of the visitors are German and are there for the hiking or mountain biking.

We happened to be in Mittenwald for the last weekend of their Bozner Markt, a festival hosted only once every five years. The original market dates back to the 1400s, and was a place for local Mittenwalders to sell their wares. Today's festival showcases a more traditional way of life.

Highlights include a spinner and hand felting (old and new skool) as well as lots of drinking.

I also picked up some yarn in a local woolen goods store. You knew I would! Though I swear I didn't intentionally go looking for it. In fact the only reason we went there was to get B a felt hat.

What you see is Frankengarn Merino, a German brand that specializes in natural products. I picked up some worsted weight to make a matching hat and scarf set as well as some sock yarn. Expect to catch me trying to knit up some traditional-style German socks sometime in the future.

After our brief run through the Bozner Markt, we hit the trail for a short walk through the Leutasch Gorge. The trail meanders 800 meters along the edge of the gorge, literally, on man-made walkways. The remaining bits of trail wander through cool, alpine forest.

A key feature of hiking in Germany, and Europe in general, is that you often find huts or guesthouses along the trails. I'd like to go back someday and do some through-walks, stopping in different villages along the way.

Of course the next day was castle gawking day. In the vicinity of Oberammergau is Schloss Linderhof, one of Ludwig II's mountain get-aways. If you don't know much about King Ludwig II of Bavaria, I highly recommend that you look him up. He's famous for his spending sprees, but erecting ridiculous castles seems to have been his particular passion.

Linderhof, interestingly, is the only castle that was finished (you'd die young if you lived a life of excess too), and is Ludwig's homage to Versailles. Unfortunately, you can't photograph the interior, but honestly I think it might actually rival Versailles in shear over-the-topness and absence of taste. I mean that in the best possible and most entertaining way. The Venus Grotto (where none of my photos turned out) is worth the admission fee alone.

The grounds are free and photographable, so I give you a montage of German Tax Euros at work.

The last two shots are of Oberammergau. We pretty much nipped in to see what all the fuss was about. It's traditional house paintings are some of the best in Bavaria, especially if you're into scary religious art. I don't have anything against religious art, but wait until I show you what looked upon us while we ate a snack in Weis a few days later.

The One Big Hike

The following are a few shots of our hike down the Alpsptize. We took a cable car from Garmisch to the Höllentorköpf station. From there we hiked down into the Höllentorlanger (Hell's Valley), stopping for a bite at the climber's hut. Then we headed into the Höllenterklamm (Hell's Valley Gorge), where the trail follows old routes used by workers on a now-defunct hydroelectric project. In fact, some of the trail dates back to the turn of the last century. The route finishes up in Hammersbach, where you can either walk back to the cable car parking lot or take the train. We found out the hard way that the last train runs around 5pm.

FO: Lemon-Lime Socks

Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Catania Color, #0076
Pattern: Swirl Socks by sulafaye
Size: Women's Medium, 64 stitches
Needles: Addi 3 mm
Mods: I used sport-weight yarn, a gusset heel, and worked ribbing at the cuff.

You'll see that I'm not really showing you what these look like, though any of you in Ravelry can have a gander. I want Mom (who reads the ole blog now) to be a bit surprised (or at least not dread having to tell me she likes them when she doesn't).

I'm not super happy with how these turned out mainly because I have deep anxiety that they're too big. My feet are so small that even normal-sized feet seem like giant paws. I have no frame of reference as to whether these are the right size or not. They measure OK, but are they too loose because there doesn't appear to be any negative ease??

Also, I added ribbing instead of the picot cuff b/c I was worried that the lack of negative ease would mean that they won't stay up. But, I also know that mom likes to turn her cuffs down, which makes more sense with ribbing. However, the cotton doesn't draw in like wool does, so I'm not sure if the ribbing is going to help anyway. I might have gone down a needle size, but since she can't try them on I hesitated on that.

*inhale*

In retrospect, I should have gone with a short-row heel to keep the swirls lined up. I was so obsessed with my heel that I didn't factor whether it would look nice. I didn't really have a look until I was just about to bind off.

All in all, this project illustrates my new-found anxiety of knitting fitted objects for people who can't try them on. I can't see myself ever joining a sock swap. Too stressful. I'd feel differently if I had normal-sized feet, but I don't so oh well.

Rather than frog them, I've decided to send them to Mom anyway. I trust she'll love them even if they're just house socks. But mainly, I just need to learn something useful from this experience. Even if she never wears them again, I want her to try them on and then give me some feedback on the fit.

Sorry they're not the best present, Mom. I'm sending along some other items to sweeten the deal a bit. :)

Summer of Socks Prize and Idiocy

My Summer of Socks 2007 stitch markers arrived! They're handmade by Jessica from Alabama Fiber Dreams. They're just so cute. I love them. As soon as I ever have the time to concentrate on the Ogee Skirt, I'll swap them in for the homely Clover markers.

In addition to just winning something, I'm thrilled about these because I've been reading Jessica's blog this summer, and I just love her easy-going, Southern nature. And she's really funny. I feel certain we'd get along famously, especially since it sounds like she lives near where I grew up.

So these are like a present from two friends. Many thanks to Zarzuela for organizing Summer of Socks 2007! Many thanks to Alabama Fiber Dreams for donating prizes!

And in other, completely remedial, Summer of Socks 2007 news, I have a shamefully stupid and embarrassing thing to tell you. For all my hoarding of traveling socks photos, I missed the deadline to submit photos for the contest!

Baaaaah! I knew that the deadline was before the end of the event, but I didn't realize it was in August. Bugger!!

I'll post a retrospective of my socks' European jaunts next week or so. Maybe I'll have you vote on which photo you like, and then give myself a prize anyway. heh

New on the Needles

Just before heading to Bavaria, I cast on some Wollmeise for my step-mother-in-law's socks. She selected the Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. So far it's going well, if I'm to trust Charlene's formula for figuring out stitch count. My SMIL has big feet, so much so that I think B might be able to try them on for me. At least I have that.

I'll post about Bavaria soon. I've got an OCD thing going on where I must put the photos in Flickr first, annotate them, and only then can I post them on the blog. Don't ask. Just go with it. There is yarn and knitting content in there, so I promise it won't just be a boring slide show.

Oh and one other thing. B got his Green Card yesterday! Sing it, Neil, baby! "We're coming to America!." I used to be such a europhile, and now I'm pretty sure I've become the worst kind of jingoist. I might need one of those Ralph Lauren flag afghans or something. Smack me.

I'm Back & I'm Swamped

Hey ya'll, I'm back! But I'm teetering under the pressure of too much to do. From drying out tent gear to organizing paperwork for B's meeting at the consulate this morning to cleaning the apartment for the mover dudes who are coming in this week to give us quotes, I have no time to blog just yet.

I hate cleaning when I just come back from vacation! Suffice to say, we had a good time and I'll post more info and photos in the coming days. In spite of all the car knitting, progress was slow - no finished objects! Can you believe it??? I've declared myself the slowest knitter there ever was. Nevertheless, I turned the heels of my mom's socks last night, and will hopefully drop those in the mail soon.

I'm a Winner!

With the frenzy leading up to our departure for Bavaria, I didn't get to tell you about the contests I won. Meghann from Radiant Twist, dyer extraordinaire, asked her readers for their thoughts on sock patterns. I'm not shy with my opinions, so I barely even considered that my comments could lead to free sock yarn.

I won a skein of her hand dyed sock yarn in the Iced Mocha colorway! I can't tell you how apropos that is. I love, love, love iced mochas. It's my most favorite coffee drink, and since my barista days I can make a mean one.

I asked Meghann to send the skein to my parents in Texas so it doesn't end up on the slow boat back to the Port of Baltimore. I know exactly how I'll compose my yarn porn photos as soon as I'm back in the DC area. :)

Most of you already know that a few weeks back I won the Summer of Socks 2007 Weekly Link Contest. I can't tell you how earnestly I tried to win that sucker. I was a link submitting fool, but I kept getting knocked down by other people winning with links I was going to send in the next time. I was over the moon when Jessica emailed me to say I won. My stitch markers are on their way, and they're so cute. I can't wait to post photos.

More Chances to Win Great Stuff

I love winning stuff, I mean really who doesn't? And guess what, you can help me win more goodies. I'm sure that's what you've always wanted to do, no?

Jean, who is indeed a Golden Purl, is giving away not one, not two, not three, but four - FOUR!!! - spectacular prizes in honor of a couple milestone dates: her six month blogiversary and her four year wedding anniversary. And you thought my contest was good... I got nuthin' on Jean. Send her your special dates and she'll enter you to win. Post about the contest on your blog, and she'll enter you again.

And don't forget to tell her I, Akaijen of the Knitting Sutra, gave you the tip off so that I get another chance to win. Heather, you are not the most shameless, let me tell you. I realize that this is not the most yogic attitude to have. I obviously need to work on non-coveting.

lolNigel

More news in the coming days! Send us some warm fuzzies around 7:30AM (EST) if you happen to get to it. After the interview, I'll tell you how we almost couldn't find our marriage license last night... I've seen the deep, dark pit of despair, people, and I can tell you it ain't pretty.

I leave you with a shot of Nigel, roosting atop B's day pack in the car. After we shooed him off the pack, he crawled up on top of the hatchback cover. He thinks he's boss.

Yeah yeah, those are wet things drying on the back of the car seat. Always with the wet things drying.

Gone Walkin'

So a couple months ago I mentioned that we might be going to the Baltics for our Summer vacation. Turns out that you have to book kennels far, far in advance of August to secure spots for your pooches and kitties. So, instead we're going camping and hiking in the Bavarian Alps. We'll be sure to catch a few castles here and there, and you can bet we'll log more than a few hours in some beer gardens. But, mainly we're going to relax, breathe fresh air, and get some much needed exercise.

I've spent the better part of the past couple of days organizing our neglected camping gear. Sleeping bags, Thermarests, cook stove, all of it is lying all over our floor waiting to go in the rental car. Clumps of dirt are falling off my trail shoes, dirt that probably comes from West Virginia. Poor, old forgotten hiking shoes.

I can't WAIT to see hills and mountains again. Streams, lakes, gorges and waterfalls will be icing on the cake, Black Forest cake of course. Euro camping isn't anything like what we're used to in the US - we'll be sharing our vistas with lots and lots of RVs - but it'll do. I love sleeping outside, and that's all that matters. Nigel especially loves snuggling with us in the tent.

I'm bringing my WIPs with me, but we're not going to go out of our way to visit any yarn shops. The last thing I need is more yarn anyway. I think I'm in much more danger of taking home some useless lederhosen. I do hope to be inspired, though. Bavaria is Sock Country after all. If I don't see at least a few knobby knees poking out of elaborate knee highs I will be disappointed.

See ya'll in a week or so.

Swatch Sunday

I seem to be starting a new tradition: Swatch Sunday.

I finally dug out the skein of Bergère de France Berlaine to swatch for the Cabled V-Neck Sweater. This wasn't easy since the pattern didn't really tell me what to knit. All it offers is a grid that says that each swatch should be 31 stitches and 31 rows in a 4inch square using size 3.5mm needles for all cable patterns.

My question: what exactly do I put on those squares?

Back when I was considering making a yarn substitution, I posted for help on the Knitty Board. Kristina took pity on me, and helped me sort out precisely what to knit to make my swatches. Kristina, thank you thank you thank you for your help!

So, I started with the "wide cable" that runs down the middle of the sweater. Working from the center, I figured out which 31 stitches I'd need, and then I knit the first swatch. The other two cables are near each other in the pattern, and they fit on the second swatch easily.

Using the recommended needles and yarn, I think I've got the right gauge. Hopefully. I didn't have to tug or smoosh the swatches to make the 4inch square, so seems good to me.

The Berlaine

Since I'd never seen or touched Berlaine before, you'll recall that I bought the skein to try it out. I was worried that the 100% wool yarn would be too old school, you know coarse and itchy. It is coarser than all the froo froo yarns we're spoiled with these days. Of course, it's also less expensive by about half.

Many of you suggested that the Berlaine might soften after washing. It did, but not a lot. Still, I really like the stitch definition, especially for the cables. Perhaps there's a trade off to be made here: cables that pop verses smooshy cables that flatten out. So, I checked out my two store-bought cabled sweaters and sure enough, the yarn's a bit rough.

So, I'm going to go for it, but I'm on the fence about the color. Traditional aran sweaters are cream colored, but I cannot be trusted with whites, and they wash me out anyway. I didn't even wear a white or cream wedding dress because I looked like a corpse in everything I tried on.

I definitely don't like the steely purple for me, and I'm wondering if dark colors would swallow the pattern. Then again, a charcoal could be nice, but Berlaine only comes in true black. B suggested a nice dark blue, but I have trouble pairing dark blue tops with skirts or pants. My brain only sees that color with jeans, something I don't wear too much. Berlaine also comes in a nice dark brown. That might go with a lot of my clothes.

What do you think of a light blue that's only just a step away from grey? Will that be too precious? Aaaah I can't decide!

Must Practice. Get Better.

I've decided that I need to work on my ribbing before I start this sweater. I didn't bother to take a photo of the ribbed swatch, partly because it's just rib and partly because it's particularly malformed. Trust me, my ribs are nothing short of spastic.

I could probably stand to work on my cable skills too. So expect some sort of cabled scarf from me this Fall as I attempt to clean up my technique. When I've mastered the scarf only then will I knit the Cabled V. I just can't display so many wonky stitches on the front of my body. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Whateva! I knit what I want!

Comedy Central came to Holland this Summer. Now we're treated to daily reruns of "Scrubs" and "That 70's Show" as well as a weekly local show called "Badly Dubbed Porn," which we don't watch. You know, because it's in Dutch. ;)

We're also catching up on a couple years' worth of "South Park," which I fell out of the habit of watching in, oh, about 2000. I'm amazed at how strong the show still is. Case in point: the episode about the smug engulfing South Park is high art. We laugh our butts off, and it's good to laugh your butt off.

This week we caught the one where Cartman goes on Maury Povich dressed like a teenaged girl. Trying to outdo the other out-of-control kids on the show, Cartman's ranting and ranting, "Whateva! I do what I want!" And I'm all pointing my finger at B, "Whateva! I do what I want!" And then I'm pointing at my knitting, "Whateva! I do what I want!"

The following clip contains shocking content and rude language.

Whateva!

Right now. Right this second, I'm socked out. I don't want to knit socks. These gift socks are stressing me out over things that wouldn't bother me if I was knitting for me or B. What if they don't fit??? is my biggest worry. But I also worry that the recipients think I'm a big flake because I'm not finished yet. I have very good and legitimate reasons why I only have the tippy-toes of one pair of socks on the needles at the moment. Still, it's weighing on me.

I'll knit what I want!

I put the sock needles down this week. I spent just about all day last Sunday trying to figure out what pattern to knit for my Mom, and that was plenty. Instead, I've been working on B's sweater. After hundreds and hundreds of stitches, I've completed the back.

The photo is not my best. For some reason my camera will not capture the dark green of the wool. What you see is all doctored in Photoshop, and it's still not very accurate.

Yet, I like this shot because it looks like the sweater goes on for miles. It sure felt like miles. Betcha five bucks B doesn't notice the small column of wonky bits.

Don't worry. I will finish the gift socks. Mom's new socks are on the needles, and I'm waiting for 2mm circs for my step-mother-in-law's Wollmeise. But, I'll finish them when I want to finish them. M'kay?

Contest: The Winner Is...

Wow guys!  You are truly amazing!  The response to the contest was just about overwhelming.  Keeping everyone straight very nearly became a full time job.  But it was so, so worth it.  I learned a lot.  A lot, a lot.  I just about get what's going on with variegated yarns and the patterns that pool them. From where I stand, it was all a resounding success!  Cheers!

Without Further Ado

At the stroke of 00:08ish Central European Time (CET), I woke B so he could stick his hand in our wine chiller to draw a name.  It was dark, his glasses were off, and he barely knew what he was doing.  It was a quadruple blind drawing, as fair as can be.

Gladys of Yarn Floozies is the lucky winner!!!
Congratulations, Gladys!

So many of you entered the contest, and I feel bad for only awarding one prize.  So, I went back through the entries and had a peek at my traffic report.  I've decided to give a little somethin' somethin' to The A.D.D. Knitter, at risk of fueling her greed. ;)  More of you found me via her blog than any other.  My contest wouldn't have been the same without her.  Thanks, dude! 

Heather, you once mentioned that you'd be keen for Dutch yarn, so I'll send you some.  Drop me a line to coordinate.

The List

Many of you asked if I was going to post a list of my findings.  Indeed, I did.  Check out my opinionated, yet objective look at the pool-defying powers of some of the 'net's favorite sock patterns. 

There are a couple of things to note about the list.

1. I disagreed with some of your assessments about how well some patterns combat color pooling.  I made my decision based on the overwhelming evidence in Ravelry and Flickr.  That's not to say that they aren't great patterns, they just don't do much to stop pooling.  Please don't hate me.  Understanding what doesn't work is part of understanding what does, so the duds were useful too!  If you submitted one I rejected, you were still entered into the contest.  Don't worry.
2. I left a couple of entries off the list mainly b/c they aren't really available (ie, personal patterns, exclusive patterns for -alongs that happened last year, etc).  Not too worry.  You were still entered in the contest.
3. I managed to keep track of all of you for the purpose of making sure you were entered into the drawing; I added your names as the emails came in.  However, I got a late start at compiling the list.  So, if your pattern isn't there, it doesn't mean you weren't entered.  I promise you were entered.
4. 'cuz it's really bothering me, just know that I'm not happy about the formatting of the list.  It was all good until I put it in Typepad.  blah.

Now What?

Some of you may be wondering what I'm going to do with my offensive yarn.  As I was walking Nigel this morning in 48F (seriously!), I considered making a beret.  I've seen this pattern around in Colinette Jitterbug, and the longer rows should fight the pool. 

However, a bit later this morning I took a closer look at Gigi Silva's Bellatrix, and I think I might knit that (thanks for the suggestion Julie!).  I'm not sure it will combat the pool in my skein, but I think this is one of those times when the yarn (naughty red and black) and the pattern (named for a Harry Potter baddie) will work well together.  It's all very punk rawk. Grrr.  If it pools, I still think it'll work. 

So there ya go.  After all of this, I'm embracing the pool on this one.   I told you I learned something!