AmphibiaKnits

Progress

I got so caught up with that wretched bit of knitting that I ended up not finishing the blog post.  So now I have way more things to add, so this will be a new blog post.  Or perhaps I’ll break it up into several blog posts.

Under the category of Random Things I Notice on My Travels we have the uber-safety conscious esteemed institution of higher learning’s half-hearted compliance with the Fire Safety Act regulations and the Fire Code of Canada.

I finished the Roger Socks (Roger That) in the November Nudibranch Bugga for Princess.  64 stitches.  One sole was a double gusset decrease, and the other was a single gusset decrease every 3 stitches.  I like the original way better.  But they’re done.

I had ordered some DK Lively from Hazel Knits in earthy colours for mitten / hat colourwork stuff.  I am going to do Adrian Bazilia’s Squirrel Sampler Mittens, and I thought the Arroyo would be a good acorn / squirrel colour – either with the Nekkid or maybe with the Cephalopod orange. 

And yes, that’s an 11” circular needle you see on the side.  I was reading one of the Robyn Gallimore designs, and she suggests doing colourwork socks on a 12” circular needle.

Preposterous, thought I.

Then when I was on my trek to LK yarns several Saturdays ago, I saw that they had a 9” Chiaogoo Red Cord 2.0 mm needle, and I decided to try it.  It has quite short stems (stalks?) and took a bit of getting used to, but I did cast on a sock with it.  The problem is that the Chiaogoo needles don’t have a very sharp point, and I was attempting to do a pattern with twisted stitches.  (Yes, that falls in the category of DUH what was I thinking…)

So I ended up ripping it out after about 3 inches.  And I had a panicked thought wondering about how to do the heel – do I need to do an afterthought heel, or would a heel flap and gusset work?  Hmm…. So then I frogged it because my mind was spinning. And 9 inches is a wee bit small.

When I was looking at the HK site, I saw that she had 11” Hiya Hiya stainless steel circs in 2.75 mm and so I ordered one.  Haven’t cast on with it yet, but I think I shall do an experimental sock.

I had ordered another 3 skeins of Cepahlopod yarns.  They are Ghost Moth (love), Rhinoceros Beetle (for colourwork) and Eurota Purple Wing.  When I opened the package it was at night, and the Eurota Purple Wing looked almost exactly like the Charaxes Tiridate, so I was a little disappointed.  It’s better under natural light, but it’s still not quite as violet as I was hoping.  But I still love it, so there’s nothing bad here.

What is bad is poor Sarah’s struggles.  You should read her latest blog post – A Smaller Life.  I am pretty sure I have encountered no one who has worse luck than Sarah, and yet she always manages to come up with an air of calm acceptance even if she isn’t exactly smiling. So if any of you have cosmic connections, try to throw a little good luck and good wishes her way.

Remember the bags of yarn barf?

I have been patiently undoing the various Gordian knots and winding things back into balls.  I was not going to be defeated, dammit.  I love my Sokkusu and my STR too much for that.

I have managed to rescue 6 balls so far.  The STR Seastone (with the partially knitted sock), the Dream In Color Smooshy with Cashmere, and the Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in Gem are still an unholy mess, but I’m 66% of the way there.

When I read Mapleweave’s blog which showed her 40 pairs of socks all in nice boxes, I decided I had to hurry up and finish the second socks for all the ones I have lying around.  So I did a round-up of all the single socks, and decided that I have to finish off a second sock before starting a brand new pattern.

So I finished the Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label Prism sock.  It’s funny – this one looks more vibrant than the first, but it’s the same skein of yarn.  I did the double gusset decrease for sock #2.   I love the way this particular pattern (which I’ve now done 4 times, I believe) doesn’t end up pooling or flashing.

But look what I discovered on the first sock -- a dropped stitch.  EEEEEeeeeeeeekkkk! 

I did a standard gusset decrease on the first sock.  You can tell because it has that little column of knit stitches which then disappear into nothingness. 

I did Turtlegirl76's Double Bottom Gusset Decrease on the second sock.  I think it's a tidier looking sock that way. The double gusset decrease also hugs the heel nicely. 

So I’m pretty pleased with this.  I have to finish the second Crocus sock in the Yarn Love base, but since it’s the identical pattern (with maybe a difference in where the knits and yarnovers go), I decided to take a break.

So I cast on for the second Papaver Sock in the HK Entice in Spanish Wine.  I got 4 rows done before deciding to cast on for the Wollmeise Guide to Galaxy which Christy had given me.

I haven’t actually knit with Wollmeise yet.  This is 100% merino, and it has 8 splitty plies. I’m using my Knit Picks Nickel DPNs because they’re a little more slick and a little less pointy than my Signatures.

I was originally thinking of doing the Om Shanti pattern from Alice Yu.  Then I thought that the Mad Color Weave would be good.  So I started that and then discovered that the yarn is way too stripey and the little slipped stitches are getting lost. So I frogged.  I’ve started again with Fences by JC Briar from last year’s Rockin’ Sock Club.  We’ll see how that goes.  I’m on the first row of ribbing….

And the other thing which arrived was the January installment from the Yarn Love Sock Club.  The yarn is Amy March which is a 2-ply 100% superwash merino in that kind of pebbled twist which I don’t love.  The colour is called Ice Princess, which I do love.  The February installment will be purple.  It’s like the Yarnista Sock Club in that you get to choose one of two colourways every month. 

I was sick as a dog last week and am still not fully recovered.  I’m not managing to get to sleep, and I still have the nasty end of the flu / chest thing. 

 

The February 23 Post

This is what happens when I don’t blog for a couple of weeks – things get out of hand and then I have an epic post.

My blogging is largely dictated by the photos in my camera, so stuff is in no real order.

First off, in the category of Oddities, remember the pictures I posted of the spooky mannequin people in the empty lot downtown?  I passed it during the day and took some more photos.  In the day it’s less spooky and more bizarre.  They don’t all show up perfectly in here, as it had snowed, and the mannequin people are white and wear white shirts.  But they’re odd nonetheless.  This is apparently an art installation for which the city paid several thousand dollars.  I assumed it was some kind of renegade and amusing stealth project, but it’s a commissioned work.  That’s perhaps even more disturbing.

Then we have the recent acquisitions.  In my newfound love of mittens and hats, I decided I need to augment my DK yarn stash.  I ordered 3 skeins of Traveller from Cepahalopod yarns, and a skein of Skinny Bugga.  I think when I ordered there were no skeins of Bugga in the shop.  But since I actually prefer thinner yarns, Skinny Bugga is better for me.  So I ordered a blue (Charaxes Tiridae) in the Skinny Bugga.  I’m on a blue kick right now, believe it or not.

Then my first Cookie A sock club package arrived.  The yarn is a beautiful bright red from a dyer I’ve never heard of before. 

They’re building more houses across the street from us.  When we moved in, there was one house on the opposite side of the street.  Now they have completed another three, and are working on the foundations for several more.  It’s a fascinating process.  I love house building.

My penultimate Nudibranch club offering arrived.  The only thing which irritates me is that the value on the box said $32.  And Canada Post or customs or whoever decided that I needed to pay an extra $13 in duty.  It’s the first time I’ve ever been charged extra for delivery of a sock club.  I think it’s because it was a box rather than an envelope.  Grrrr.

This month’s colour is a blue with some peach and lavender.  It’s not bad, but I won’t be using it for a garment for me.  There’s also a shot glass with a Nudibranch on it.  If you check out the thread on Ravelry, you can see how many people actually thought it was a va-jay-jay on the glass.  Of course I didn’t take a decent photo of the image on the glass, so you’ll have to check it out elsewhere. 

I also received the first Art for Your Feet Tsock Club offering.  It’s called Love in Idleness and is based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Tsock Tsarina has changed yarn suppliers. She used to work with Holiday Yarns and used a 4-ply tight twist wool/nylong yarn.  Now she is using Moose Manor Hand Paints and the yarn is called Tsilk Tstocking.  It’s 65% wool and 35% silk.  It is a bit rough to the touch and has an odd sheen.  I’m reserving judgment.

The Tsarina has a brain like Cat Bordhi, but more complicated if possible.  I am utterly unable to follow her directions, because my brain isn’t big enough.  So I decided I’d modify this and do it cuff-down rather than toe-up.  This particular pattern is based on a leaf motif for most of the leg, and then there is a flower on the back of the heel flap and a fairy queen on the front of the leg.  Overlaid at the top in a cobweb laceweight (with beads) is an Estonian flower design.  It’s all very interesting, but hard for me to do the mental math.

So I sat down with graph paper and pencil to see if I could convert it to cuff down.  The pattern is 60 stitches for the medium and 68 stitches for the Large, and calls for the sock proper to be knit on 2.25 mm needles.  I decided to bump it up to 66 stitches (because the majority of the leg is a 6-stitch lace pattern repeat) and 2.50 mm needles.  If I ever finish and have a hope of getting it over my foot, I need more space there than provided. 

So I started with a provisional cast on at the top.  I’m going to have to go back and join in the overlay of the flower lace, and I’m going to have to knit up and finish the leaf edging at the top.  So I thought a provisional cast-on would be the smartest thing for me to do.  I gave myself a little pat on the back for figuring this out.

Then I did 6 12-row repeats of the leaf mesh lace pattern down the leg.  The original pattern calls for a short row heel, but you know how I despise toe-up and short rows, so I decided to do just a plain stockinette heel flap.  I’m stuck at the Cupid’s flower, however.

In order to translate the stitch patterns from toe-up to cuff-down, I’ve turned them upside down.  I have even made allowance for the row where you have to do extra yarnovers in order to have sufficient play for the stitches in the next row.

But I admit that I’m flummoxed by the cable direction things.  The pattern calls for 3 over 2 right leaning, 3 over 2 4 left leaning, and 9 over 7 centred. This doesn’t look like normal cablespeak to me, so I think it’s something different.

I checked the little instruction book that came with the kit, and it has a section on Estonian stitches.  It says the first number represents the number of stitches produced, and the second represents the number of base stitches.  Thus, 11/5 means you gather 5 base stitches together and work k1 (yo, k1) 5 times through the gathered base.   Okay, that makes sense.  It’s one of those odd Estonian things.

Then the next thing says # over #, Right leaning.  In preparation for working the figure (what figure?  The flower figure?), gather base stitches together as if working for a right-leaning decrease.  – So does that mean that if I’m supposed to be doing a 3 / 2 right leaning, that I gather 2 stitches and slip them knitwise onto the needle?  Then do I slide them back to the right needle, and do k1, yo, k1?  Or do I do that while keeping the 2 base stitches together?  This is the hard part for me.  I just don’t get it.

Okay, I think I might get it.  I just tried it.  Good thing I’m using Signature Needle Arts needles.  There is no way on the green earth that I’d ever be able to do that without these stiletto tips.

But the instructions says slip the right needle through the base stitches from right to left.  So I assume that means I knit them through the back loop for the right-leaning things?  I’d have to, because otherwise I couldn’t be slipping the needle through the stitches from right to left.  Fine. 

But what about the left-leaning ones? It says, to work 3-3L, slip each base stitch knitwise to the working needle, then insert the working needle through the base stitches from right to left, so they end up in the same configuration as the s1 s1 k1 p2sso decrease.

Huh?

All I take from this is that if I’m inserting the working needle from right to left, I have to be doing the knit stitch through the back loop.  You can’t insert the needle from right to left in front and then knit the stitches.

This is why I’m a dolt.

Frig, I just realized I forgot to slip the first stitch of the row, so I have to undo the whole thing.  I’ll try this again.

The other issue that I’m having with this is that because I’m doing a heel flap, the fancy flower stitch has some rows which are purl, so I have to figure out the equivalent of the k2tog and ssk.  Are they p2tog and ssp?  Or is it ssp which is the equivalent of k2tog and p2tog which is the equivalent of ssk?

I am utterly unable to find this information anywhere.  It’s very frustrating.  Even in the stitches section of Knitting Estonian Lace.

Okay, this flower might possibly be the most complicated thing I’ve ever done.  And I’ve just had to rip it out because I realized that after my herculean effort, I ended up with 11/7 rather than 9/7.  And since I end up placing the beads on purl rows, they’re facing the inside of the sock.

So my third plan is to try knitting backwards rather than turning the work and purling.  How effing complicated is this ????

Okay, the backwards knitting thing worked.  The heel flap is done and the beaded flower is done.  So that’s two brand new things for me in one day:  backwards knitting and beaded knitting.

I have too many stitches on the needles to be able to photograph the sock in progress.  I’ll have to wait for a bit.  Besides, I have other things on the go ….

 

 

 

Mommy Needs Cashmere

I’ve had a crappy couple of weeks.  So when I had to be in the valley for a matter earlier this week, I stopped at Gaspereau Valley Fibers on my way back. 

It’s a great LYS if you live in the valley – but a little far to go in ordinary circumstances.

Since I’m now on a mitten / hat and colourwork kick, I decided to see what they had in the way of Fleece Artist / Hand Maiden offerings.  Their stock always changes. I saw some yarns I hadn’t seen before, including Spud & Chloe Sweater.  I’ve heard of it but never seen it around here.

When I was in there, I noticed they had Handmaiden 4-ply cashmere. It looks to me like it’s a DK weight. I already had another Fiddlehead Mittens kit with Tanis Fiber Arts DK yarns.  The second kit is in the greens colourway.  Unfortunately, my brain occasionally runs slower than the rest of me, so I focused on the natural undyed cashmere rather than on the skeins of dyed yarns.  I remember they had a couple of dark purple skeins, a couple of lighter blue / yellow / green skeins, and some darker variegated green skeins of the HandMaiden cashmere. 

I thought that what I might do is use the cashmere for the inner lining of my Fiddlehead mittens kits. Because I’m worth it.  Mommy needs cashmere.  So I picked up two skeins of the undyed cashmere (which was $6 cheaper than the dyed stuff).

And I noticed a huge bookcase full of Lanica yarn.  It’s a 100% wool (unidentified sheep) in a worsted weight.  It looks to my untrained eye as though it’s a single ply and it’s not overly tightly spun.  They had the natural light yarn and a bunch of lovely colours in the variegated stuff.  I thought I might need to make some colourwork hats, so I got two skeins of the natural, and two skeins of the coloured stuff.  And I felt virtuous because they were 50% off.

 

 I don't see it listed on the Fleece Artist website. Maybe it's being discontinued?

(Look at me go -- a month ago I had no idea what DK and worsted weight are.  Well, I know that Cascade 220 is worsted, and that it's used for hats and felted clogs, but that's about the extent of my prior knowledge of anything larger than sport weight).

I almost made it out of Gaspereau Valley Fibers without a skein of fingering weight.  Then I noticed the brand spanking new pile of Casbah on the table.  So I grabbed a skein of Teal.  It’s lovely.  Mommy needs cashmere. The colour is actually brighter and more lovely than this. I didn't get it photographed earlier in good light.

Upon reflection, I later realized that if I were smart (which I have never claimed to be), I would have grabbed some of the variegated 4-ply cashmere and made myself a pair of Fiddlehead mittens entirely out of cashmere.  It seems decadent but I’m worth it. Mommy deserves cashmere.

So my plan of attack today after the gym (where your absence is still noted, Magda, ahem) was to go to work to get my headphones, then to go to LK Yarns to see if they happened to have any HandMaiden cashmere, and then to the grocery store.

LK Yarns is a delightful place and the only LYS in the city worth going to. I picked up yet another Fiddlehead Mittens kit – this one in blues.  Tanis is no longer doing the kits (other than the Baby Shane blanket, I think and maybe her hats), so I pounce on them when I find them. I also did get a single skein of mostly blue variegated HandMaiden 4-ply cashmere.  (Photo shows the 2 skeins of natural from Gaspereau Valley and the skein of the variegated from LK Yarns).

 

And they had some Bess, so I snagged two skeins in what I think is called Forest Fairie. Or maybe it's Nymph. Or possibly Nightshade.  Mommy needs cashmere.

 

I am forever losing my cable needles, so I picked up a set of Lantern Moon ebony cable needles. Or maybe they’re rosewood – I can’t remember.  They are essentially the same as Knitter’s Pride Dreamz needles, but the cheaper KP Dreamz are in laminated birch.  So I feel virtuous supporting the workers in Vietnam.

On my way out the door, I noticed a basket of Woolyie Silk which was on sale.  They had three skeins in what I think may be the Maple colourway. Iwas tempted to get some, but had already done sufficient damage that I didn't think I could justify it.

Speaking of Fleece Artist yarns, has anyone ever knit Kidazzle? I'm intrigued by it and think I may want to get a skein.  I just have no idea what the properties of the kid are, and I don't want something that's going to fuzz up and get a halo.

I started a Latvian Wedding sock yesterday night after work.  I have long admired that
particular pattern and decided to start on it. I’m using the Bijou Basin Ranch Bison Spun yarn in the natural cream and the skein of the variegated Parsifal.  It’s turning out beautifully.  I am using it
as an excuse to continue developing my colourwork skills.  Now that I am using the left hand for the continental knitting and have finally settled on a method of tensioning which works adequately, I am embracing the idea of colourwork whole heartedly.  It’s all a lead-up for my Leo Scarf.

The Latvian Wedding sock starts with some double braiding.  I absolutely could not understand the instructions on the pattern, so I YouTubed it, and found a great video from Knitwhits.  Mine don’t look perfect, but they’ll do for now.  I did notice that in one spot I ended up only doing ¾  of the row for the second row (the under and pearl with the strand around the left of the needle from below), but I don’t care.  I am doing the pattern which ends up being 72 stitches and I’m using 2.75 mm needles.  Given my previous experience with the sock I designed, I don’t want to end up with the same problem of not being able to get the sock over my heel.

 

 

Heck.  If I have to, I’ll use 3.0 mm needles for colourwork. 

So I have lots of things to keep me going in terms of projects, and most of them involve colourwork right now.

I am trying to catch up on old episodes of Round the Twist with Carin. I think I am now in January 2011. Her videocast is excellent.  I enjoyed her when she was part of Lime & Violet, and I really enjoy her own podcast.  She has been my companion lately while knitting.

I haven’t re-joined the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin’ Sock Club this year.  I may do so before the
end of March, or I may try to use what I have.  The January colour is beautiful, so I’m living vicariously through other people.

But for now I’m focusing on colourwork.  I have some beautiful mitten patterns from Carol Sunday. I also have some great mitten and hat patterns from Born to Knit.  And it is so darned cold here that I need more hats and mittens.

Speaking of hats and mittens, I finally have some FO shots. 

I had done the Dembow hat for Quinn using the Three Irish Girls Springvale Sport from one of the sock club offerings a couple of years ago.  I’m not entirely convinced that it’s really a sport weight.  Either that, or the pattern is written for pygmies.

 

 

 

I did the hat and it’s too small for Quinn.  Even Samuel complains that it’s a little tight.  So I came up with a brilliant idea and told Princess to give it to the three-year old son of her best friend. 

Since the Dembow was too small for the Lad, I knit him a Claudia in a skein of Sanguine Gryphon Free Range which came in one of my mystery grab bags.  According to the label, it’s WRM QED Blue Point Mutation. It’s kind of a bread mould colour, but in a good way. The hat is much
bigger than Dembow, but the Lad still hasn’t worn it.  Samuel says it keeps his ears warm.

 

 

 

I also finished the Fiddlehead mitts for Princess.  They are so far from perfect, but I'm tickled because they're my first full colourwork project. 

Yesterday I received the January Socktopus sock club yarn.  The colour is called Thunder and

Blazes (or is it Blazes and Thunder?), and it’s two of my favourite colours – orange and purple.  I can’t wait to see what Alice comes up with for a pattern. Ling did a fabulous job with the colourway. It’s divine.

 

I had a wee slip-up in terms of my self-imposed yarn moratorium.  I bought three skeins of Traveller from Cephalopod yarns, and a skein of Skinny Bugga in Charaxes Tiridae.  I got a shipping confirmation and was all excited on Thursday when I went to get the mail.  There was a parcel which was the right size and squishiness.  When I brought it in and snuck it upstairs, I discovered it was lingerie for Princess from LaSenza. 

You can’t win them all.

I am also going to do a little more rearranging in the knitting room so that everything is out of reach of the phoque tards. 

By the way, welcome Roobeedoo.  I think you are my 5^th reader.  My stash is not really in jeopardy, but it just irritates me that the beasts have actually learned to get up higher than before.  They snatched a loaf of Italian bread from the kitchen counter the other day when our backs
were turned. All that I found later was the bag. So they’re now spending a LOT of time in their crates.

This is the result of their recent handiwork.

 

 

 

BTW, have you seen the newly organized pattern feature in Library in Ravelry?  That Casey is a genius.  I love Ravelry more and more every day. I check Rav like my kids check Facebook.

PS I got smart and wrote the post in Word so that I could copy and paste rather than risking abject Typepad failure.

PPS  - I totally forgot to photograph my other new WIP.  I'm doing Roger by Anne Hanson in the November Nudibranch yarn.  It's mindless, but I wanted Princess to have a pair of cashmere socks too.  Princess needs cashmere.

 

 

Remember this?

I did a whole whack of winding in anticipation of lots of knitting of my favourite yarns in 2012. Look how many skeins were on the monkey plate.  And then there was a nice tower of yarn on the fish platter.

The dogs got into them.  I now have none of the cakes from the plate, and my Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Opal Slush is also history.

They decided to play Christo and wrap the yarn all around the house.  I kid you not.  Living room, dining room, family room, front hall, kitchen, and upstairs.  The skeins are all hopelessly intertwined. 

The dogs are pretty much on death row.

Two of my favourite and precious skeins of Sokkusu are toast, one of which was the Sokkusu Extra with cashmere (in Coraline). 

I can't think about it much.

I've knit two hats and finished  a pair of mittens.  And I'm working on a new sock.

More of that later when I have some daylight for photos.