another knitting blog

Socktober 31st

As Socktober draws to a close, lets take a look at the stats.

Socks started: 4
Socks completed: 4
Pairs completed: 2
Socks started and completed: 2
Pairs started and completed: 0

Not as many as I would have thought, especially given that I've started taking my knitting to work.

I think I'm going to have to keep bringing my knitting to work. When I started, I said I didn't like it and that it made knitting feel like work. Now, I've become attached to it.

Besides about a half an hour of straight knitting at lunch, I've taken to knitting little bits during the day. We've been revising a manuscript, so I've been doing a lot of reading and writing the past couple of weeks. I'll pause and knit a few stitches while I'm mulling over something I've just read or trying to come up with the right word. Mostly, I just hold the yarn in my lap like a security blanket. [I am so lucky to have an office with a door I can close].

Hey, look what I wore today.

The leaves are more yellow.

I may have had one more sock in the completed category, but the Bambino's curse has been transferred to my red socks. I had to reknit the toe twice last night on the first sock, only to decide that the foot needed to be about three rows longer. [ARGH!] I hate to do it, but this is going to have to be fixed; socks that are too short in the foot will only wear out faster at the toe and heel.

I couldn't stand to reknit the same toe three times in one night though, so I started the second red sock. I also managed to use the Grip of Death to break one of my bamboo needles.

[See, this is why I need so many sets. In my hands they don't last forever and I'm not always going to have easy access to more 6" bamboos].

Tomorrow starts a new month and a new monthly knit blog assignment.

Kitties fur Kerry

When I saw that Mary's pups, Spencer and Katy, had announced their support of 'Canines for Kerry', I offered Molly up as the official spokescat for, 'Kitties for Kerry'. [not an actual organization, but we know that cats have opinions about everything, including the elections].

Mary came through with this great graphic. Molly and I love it.

Actually, Molly is very concerned about issues of voting rights and disenfranchisement in general.

Molly says, "Even though I am 18 years old, I am still not allowed to vote. So, think of me; and, no matter where you live or who you vote for, don't miss your chance to exercise your precious right as a citizen. Vote dammit!"

[ETA: Good boy, Spence. Rest well].

Red Socks

Actually, red sock...almost.

These are not in honor of the new World Series champions, nor do they reflect my political alignment. I just wanted a pair of red wool socks.

These are going to be my boot socks to wear over my nylon dress socks during my commute once the snow flies.

I've really hit my stride with sock knitting now, but these are taking longer because I've decided to tweak my usual recipe a bit. Something was different with this yarn [maybe a bit firmer than I'm used to] and the heel wasn't fitting quite right; so, I ripped it out and tried something else.

I wish I could tell you that the something else worked, but it didn't, so I had to rip that out too. However, I think I've found success with my next attempt.

I knit the short row heel on 30 stitches instead of 40 and decreased down to 12 instead of 16 stitches.

[Click to embiggen].

I like how they are turning out.

Sights of the Season

[Click for the bigger views].

Changing leaves...

pumpkins...

and red berries.

I've been sick a lot lately

I've missed my last two yoga classes and one two weeks before that. My excuse is that I've been sick a lot lately.

That's the excuse I've used for missing a lot of things the past couple of months; and for the most part, it's true. I've been tired and sneezy and generally ooky feeling. I've absolved myself for all manner of bad behavior because I just didn't feel I had the energy to 'be good'.

I don't want to go to yoga tonight. It's going to be hard and it's going to hurt tomorrow and I would much rather sit here all night with the cat on my lap.

I don't want to give up though either.

I don't know any more whether I am sick or whether I only feel sick.

[I finished knitting the other Fortissima sock. Now, I have four toes to finish].

Why do Sundays hate me?

For the second week in a row, Sunday has knocked me on my butt.

Last week, it was an allergy attack that wouldn't stop; this week, it's a headache that made me consider drilling a hole in my skull to let the bad spirits out.

I can hold my head up now, but fast movements are a bad idea. So are long periods of concentration. Sock toes are not likely today, although socks themselves are still a possibility.

I made a lot of progress on second Fortissima sock yesterday. I'm already past the heel.

Socktober 22nd

I can knit a sock in a week. I started the sock on the left last Thursday and finished it Wednesday night; and, that was even with not knitting at all on Sunday because of a massive allergy attack. [After that completely miserable experience, I got some different antihistamines and some stuff I squirt up my nose four times a day. I've been doing much better].

The other thing to notice is that these two socks were knit from the same ball of yarn, the only difference being the starting point. These are definitely not matching socks.

I call these my autumn leaf socks because that's what the colors remind me of, although you can't really tell it from this photo. I'm having a hard time getting the color right. They are much more subtle that they appear here.

My last photo of these socks messed up the color too. Melissa said that on her monitor they appeared 'dark magenta and blue'.

No, that would be these socks.

This is the other pair I will probably finish this month. These are knit from Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Colori / Socka Color in color #2420. I started the sock on the left on Thursday. I don't think I'll have any trouble finishing it by next Thursday.

This is a comparison of the colors of the two pairs. Now, leaf socks are truer, but the Fortissima socks are still off.

These are pictures of these yarns taken previously under better lighting conditions. Different again.

Did you notice? I have three toes to Kitchener. That's weekend work.

the couch is calling me

I had planned to write a nice post tonight with photos of my sock knitting progress. That was before I ended up spending 12 hours at work today. Tonight is now for sitting on the couch with the cat and going to bed early.

Boo! Ya!

Last year, I reached into the swirling abyss of my stash and pulled out a set of Spooky Stash Tales about all the unfinished monstrosities that lurked there. This year, I still have much unfinished business, but no new demons to exorcise.

So, instead, I offer some non-knitting related links for the season.

How to Make Glowing Balloon Monsters! from X-Entertainment. Neato! There's a whole Halloween Countdown here with new links every day.

Pixel Horror - 32 tiny pixel-drawn nasties.

My Pet Skeleton - Intriguing and spooky art and a game of ravens versus scarecrows.

Excuses

For a while, I was going to be responsible and reply to as many of my comments as I could. I made a folder for all the messages I intended to answer.

I did a pretty good job for a few weeks. Looks like I stopped keeping up the first week in July. There are still six messages in that folder, waiting.

Now, I don't know whether to trash them and start over, or to answer them three months late.

I'm sorry if you've left a comment or written me and expected a reply that never came. I'm not very good at things like that.

Ponchos

The hideous new trend afflicting America

Yup, that just about sums it up.

Unless you are Lara, in which case you look fabulous. Then again, if you are Lara, you look fabulous all the time and you can't hide it under a poncho.

Socktober 11th

Socktober, eh? So, where are all the socks?

I said things may get a little dull. Let's see where we are.

[My blood is now one half allergen and one half antihistamine. It's a terrible bother to have to do without hemoglobin, but we must make sacrifices].

I started a new sock journal. The sock journal is the place where I make a little tick for ever row of every sock I make. No, really, every single row.

Also, this is where I keep my crib notes for Kitchener and notes on how many rows for each sock yarn. No, really.

For instance, Koigu is 80-7-50-10-16-60-20. Socka is 80-7-55-10-16-65-20. It's quite simple*.

[I crave horseradish and fried chicken, 'though not together].

This is a Koigu sock in color #0000, cream. This sock is ironic.

This is the brown sock for which I had to reknit the heel three times. This sock is dull.

[My newest hobby is reading digital cameras reviews].

This sock is knit from Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Cabin Fever. The colors in this photo are off.

I have another sock that I'm working on, but the batteries gave out.

This last one is from Sunday's Farmer's Market. [Click for the big version].

[*Cast on 80. Rib for 6. 50 rows for the ankle. 10 for the heel set up. Short row down to 16 for the heel. 60 rows for the foot. Short row to 20 for the toe].

untitled post #4

I'm such a creature of habit; it takes quite a bit of prodding to get me to do anything different.

Lately, in a attempt to 'get out more' I've taken to walking over to hang out at the Savory. I'm there all the time to get lattes and something to eat, but I usually take my purchase and scurry home to enjoy it unobserved.

Now, I pack a bag of provisions [my sketchbook, a journal, a book to read, and my knitting (currently socks, of course)]. I camp out where I can watch the customers ordering and the cook and barista working. I can then spend an hour or more watching people and listening in on their conversations.

Pretty soon, I'm going to need to start branching out and find some alternate hangout spots. I don't want to become a 'regular'. I'm not interested in being recognized or noticed. I would choose invisibility as my superpower every time.

Still, even I get restless at the thought of spending an entire three-day weekend cooped up inside. So, there I am eavesdropping and people watching, wishing I could disappear.

[I hesitate to post this. I don't want anyone to mistake my intention. I'm not sad. I don't need to cheer up. This is just a sliver of me; take it or leave it].

vote vote vote

Vote, vote, vote,
vote, vote, vote;
unless you are a goat,
'cause goats can't vote.

Vote, vote, vote,
vote, vote, vote;
unless you are a candied yam,
'cause candied yams can't vote.

Quite a timely episode at Making Fiends this month.

Will the candidate nominated by Charlotte or Vendetta win the class president election?

Vote, vote, vote,
vote, vote, vote;
unless you are a felon,
'cause felons can't vote.

Vote, vote, vote,
vote, vote, vote;
unless you are a can of ham,
'cause cans of ham can't vote.

[You know I'm going to have that song stuck in my head all month].

And look, I've added a Making Fiends button and a subscribe to Bloglines button to my sidebar.

How Long to Knit a Sock?

In an effort to finish as many socks as I can this month, I've started doing something I've never really done before--I'm bringing my knitting to work. Knitting at work is never as enjoyable for me as knitting almost anywhere else. I just can't getting settled in. Somehow, knitting while at work makes it seem like work. Nevertheless, it's a way to get in a few extra rows everyday.

And every extra row is going to count. I realized this on Sunday when a neighbor saw me knitting outside and came up to see what I was doing. He seem quite impressed when he saw I was knitting a sock. "How long does it take to knit a pair?" he asked.

Hmm, do I tell him the truth? "Oh, anywhere from one to three years."

No, that's being a bit too truthful. It only takes that long because I'm easily distracted and prone to be unfaithful to my knitting.

Instead, I did a quick calculation in my head, editing out all the intervening months when I ignore the socks and totalling all the time when I am actually knitting. "Oh, I can knit about a sock a week," I heard myself say.

Wait a minute. Is that true? Only a sock a week? Are you telling me that the great and grand total of socks that you will complete in the entire month of Socktober is four? Four!? Is it really necessary to rename an entire month for the sake of four socks?

Well, since I already have a number of socks in progress, it's likely that even if I only complete a sock's worth of knitting every week that I will complete more than four socks this month. However, I would still like to push things along a little; hence, the knitting at work. Every row counts.

Takoma Park Street Festival

This was the scene at the end of my sidewalk this morning. The Takoma Park Street Festival happened right outside my apartment building today.

Although I took lots of pictures, these are the only ones I'm happy with. [Click for the big views].

All my best pictures are of things, not people. I'm so camera sensitive myself that it's almost unimaginable to me that there are people who actually like to have their pictures taken. As a result, I'll rarely take a picture when people are looking at me. I have many pictures of people's backs.

How Not to Knit a Sock

Or, 'How to Not Knit a Sock', or, How to Knit a Sock. Not!'

[I wasn't going to post tonight (because I don't have to anymore), but it's a habit now].

Socktober is getting off to a slow start. It's been about a year since I was last knitting socks regularly and I've gotten a bit rusty at it. So far, I've ripped out as much as I've knit.

Case #1: One Needle Short I have a sock that I brought with me to Cirque du Soleil to knit on the Metro. I forgot to grab a fifth needle and tried to make due with four. A big mistake resulting in sloppy knitting. Rip that one out and try again.

Case #2: The Troubled Heel: I will be knitting the heel on another sock for the fourth time. The first two attempts were failures because the yarn is a cotton/wool blend and the short-row wraps toward the purl side are especially difficult to make tight enough. That can leave big holes on the right side of the heel. Because this is the second sock of the pair, I know that getting the wraps tight enough is possible--I've done it before.

I'm glad that I bothered to write up my sock recipe in painful detail. It was helpful to refer back to it when I realized that my third attempt at this heel failed because of bad memory and overconfidence. I thought I remembered how to start the heel and was sure I didn't need to refer back to my notes. No and no.

Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow.

SOCKTOBER!!

I declare this month Socktober.

What exactly does that mean? Heck, I don't know. I think it means that I will be finishing up as many of those shameful unfinished socks as I can in the next 31 days. That's 16 socks needed to finish 9 pairs. There's no way they will all get done. Let's see how many I can get through.

This may get a little dull for you, me, or both of us; because, unlike Nanette, who knits a multitude of socks of astounding variety, I only knit one kind of sock...over and over again. ["Monotonous, isn't it?"]

[The verdict on Cirque du Soleil: so worth it!]

[From the Department of TMI: Honey, you know you aren't getting any younger when you get referred for your baseline mammogram].