Another minor update

Here's a picture of how the Cape Cod socks are looking - one is ready to be bound off and I'm catching the other up - this time I'm determined to really knit until I run out of yarn, rather than until I run out of patience. I think they're going to be quite long.

Here's the Bearfoot sock - the colors are a bit washed out from the sun, it's more intense in real life and the brown foot doesn't stand out quite as much.

I'm currently mulling over what to cast-on next, and I think I've decided on Great Adirondack Yarn's Soxie in Tropicana (the bright blue and rainbow-y one from my pictures) with black toes and heels, but I might do something plain instead. Whatever appeals to my ADD knitting brain at the time.

I lied by omission on the yarn purchase...

there was more. It just felt like an embarassment of riches. But last night I sat down to pet and re-organize and contemplate my box of Project Spectrum yarn (I have it divided and bagged up by the color groups, with combinations and projects in mind for most of it) and I just want to share. Plus it's a low-effort blog post - I'm still feeling pretty miserable. But I think the end is in sight (and it's not a "I'm laying down to die" sort of end).

Did I say "mixed bag"?

Okay, maybe yesterday I could, despite being sick, still enjoy the fact that I was home and had free time.

Today I'm so sick that I don't care. I'm still knitting and watching tv, but I'm not having any fun doing it. Bleagh. Plus, Sweetie made me eat half a lemon. I might forgive him in a year or two, but not less, especially since it didn't even make me feel any better.

A Mixed Bag

I'm home sick today, I think with the flu. I'm imagining it as a cat: it's been stalking me for a week, following me around, occasionally batting me with a paw - and then last night it chomped my head. (Ironically, just yesterday I was telling the 5th graders about the 1918 Spanish flu, and explaining the immune system to the 3rd grade.)

But that does mean knitting time, and also being home when there is good light. I also found a solution to not wanting to take my knitting downstairs and outside in full view of my sometimes-judgemental neighbors: I have a fire escape! (Note that I put the knitting on a tray - the drama of finding the camera and opening that window were plenty while my head is being chomped by the flu. I didn't want the added drama of losing a dpn five stories down.)
So here are my Mountain Bearfoot Wild Raspberry sock, newly cast-on with a brown contrast toe and future, imagined heel (I'm doing them one at a time, since I have one mongo yarn cake which I don't want to un- and/or re-wind to turn it into two) and my Cape Cod socks, which I took off of the circular needles. After I turn the heel I know everything's identical, and it's a straight shot up the leg, and going around and around two at a time with the circular needles starts to feel like it's getting in the way, with all the double lengths of foot and the heels and what-not flopping around too.






So that'll be my day - knitting and tarhana soup with plenty of red pepper, perfect for stuffy icky head-sicknesses.

I'm so scientific!

Using a triple-beam balance to weigh cakes of yarn. I wonder what the science teacher thought I was going to use it for? Interestingly, the Opal Sock Magic that was supposed to be 100 grams was only 94. The other two were both above-weight.
I've turned the heels on the Cape Cod socks, and I think I'm going to cast on that Bearfoot Wild Raspberry (the one being weighed in the picture, not that you can tell) today if I have time, thus today's weighing.

A little advice...

Don't go yarn shopping when you're bored of your knitting plans the way I just said I was... I'm "relaxing" in Hartford with my sister, and went to a real live yarn store for the first time. Now, I'm really happy with my purchase - but it's a lot of yarn, and a lot of money. (I took good pictures, too.) I'm crazy about every bit that I bought. But it's a lot. My sock marathon mileage is up to 7.13 - good thing they're extending the marathon 3 more months!

I bought some fabric too - I got a sewing machine in November and have been practicing a little, but it's time for some more intensive stuff. I'm really excited to get back home and start knitting and sewing all this. Maybe that'll alleviate the fact that going home also means going back to work...

Title? What's that?

Thinking of titles always was my weak point. Anyway, I figured I might as well post the progress on my sock, since there is a little and also, since I got a site meter I've realized that way more people than I ever thought are actually reading this - or at least glancing at it briefly - even though I haven't been getting comments. It's actually kind of freaking me out - people from Switzerland and Chile and Beijing? Wow. The site meter thing is really neat, I recommend it. Back to my original point: if there are people actually looking at this, I might as well give them something to look at.

The socks're moving along well, and I'm trying to decide what else to cast on. I think I want something bright, and I'm considering bright green. Knitting has made me realize I have some ADD tendencies, and to be honest although I'm really enjoying Project Spectrum, the 2-month thing is driving me nuts. Maybe once we get into a color combination where I like more than one of the colors it won't seem so limiting, but I have all my sock yarns divided by color groups and I really want to "keep" them until it's "time"...but I'm bored! And it won't be "time" for green for more than a month!

Anyway, here are the (not-stellar) pictures (my apartment gets daylight strong enough for really nice pictures for about an hour, and that's on sunny days. I could go outside to take pictures of partially completed socks but the elderly Russians in my building who have nothing to do but observe their neighbors might change their minds about me and my husband being a cute young couple, and decide that we are hooligans instead - people have actually been driven out of the building after similar decisions. Of course, they would probably approve of knitting socks... perhaps someday I'll risk it.)





(Oh, and the background in those pictures is my sleeping husband. The bedroom has the best lighting, and then I thought the white background of his t-shirt might help. Does it say a lot about me as a wife that when he wakes up to find partially knitted socks on him, the camera pointed at him and me saying "Don't move" he doesn't even question it? Even though he can probably infer that the picture is then going on the internet? I think we may have the perfect marriage. Now do me a favor and repeat a quick supplication that the evil eye not touch us for that! Thanks. I probably shouldn't blog late at night...)

Moving on

Here are my new socks - not a super great picture, I had to use the flash, but I'm really happy with them so far.

The toe is Knitpicks Essential, and interestingly enough it's been much rougher and also shinier than my previous experience with Essential. I'm curious to see if it plumps up and softens after blocking. Anyway, I wasn't sure about the colors when I started but now that I'm a little into the body of the sock I'm very pleased by how the colors work together. I think the more I get the little bits of beige in the body of the sock as I keep going the more I'm going to like it.

Sock Marathon update

I decided to count my Me Socks, since they were knit in January after all. So I had a total of 6 miles of sock yarn, and in the meantime I've acquired 750 more yards (forgive me for not converting that) and knit 880 (the Me socks and Sweetie socks), which is about half a mile. So I've knit more than I acquired, and I should be somewhere around 5.5 miles. Not bad... even if the distance I've knit is actually a distance I think I could maybe run in real life, i.e. pathetic. (I may be overestimating the distance I could run, though - in college I ran 30 minutes a day and in my head I'm still there.) But what was all that talk of 5 miles in three months? Seems insane to me... maybe if I didn't have a job, but as it is I knit at my job, probably a lot more than I should. Better to get off of the computer and go knit the socks I cast on within ten minutes of finishing the last pair!

They're done!

Sweetie's socks.

Knitpicks Memories in Yukon, knit on 80 stitches with size 0 Knitpicks circular. Stockinette with short-row toes and heels. Nice and simple! And done!

I've been enjoying my break - I've finished two books so far (Teacher Man and Stiff, which I couldn't put down even when I was eating, even though it was disturbing and I wasn't even sure that I wanted to be reading it at all). I got my copy of Sensational Knitted Socks, but I'm going to wait to do anything from them because I decided to use my Memories Cape Cod colorway for a pair of stockinette socks, with beige toes, heels and cuffs. So now I'm off to cast them on! And this time, since I finished my Sock-a-Month pair, there's no time pressure and I might even cast on for more than one pair at a time!

Wouldn't you just know

Of course the day vacation starts I'm up at 5 am! That's okay, I wouldn't want to waste all the free time. Sweetie wants 3 more inches of sock, and I'm dreaming of what to cast on next. I'm thinking of blatantly copying these socks (I saw them on the Project Spectrum flickr group, and then google-stalked them) but I haven't decided yet. I did want to do plain stockinette socks... but I have so many pairs of socks in my future at the moment that no matter what I'll get to those anyway.

I've decided I need to get myself a sock book - either Knitting Vintage Socks or Sensational Knitted Socks (it seems like every time I stalk a pattern I love lately, it turns out to be from that book). If one of my friends is up for it I'm planning a trip to Barnes and Noble today - I've made a vow to not internet-shop for six months, so I'll have to see what I can find in real life (the horror!). One of my goals for my knitting year was to experiment with various toes and heels, and I think it's time to read up on them. If anyone has a book recommendation I'd love to hear it!

Minor Update

Sweetie's socks are nearing completion - I've turned the heel, and the legs seem to be going quickly as they're straight stockinette. Somehow I got one sock turned around on the needles (I told you I was bad at spatial stuff), so in the picture you're seeing the back of one and the front of the other. I like this stockinette-sock deal so much I'm going to make myself a pair next...I just have to decide which yarn to use.

Yarn! Yarn! Yarn!

Well, I was hoping to get good light today, but the storm is thwarting me so I had to use a flash and my pictures aren't that good. But the important thing is that I have new yarn! [Edit: I got better light, so I switched out the pictures]

First is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Wild Raspberry - my skein seems to have more blue, green and rust in the mix than others I've seen online, and I love it! In real life the burgundy color is much more intense.

Then there's Hill Country Yarns' Sweet Feet Sock Yarn (love the name) in Chocolate Covered Kisses.

Now I just have to decide whether to wait until their colors come along in Project Spectrum, or to "cheat" on PS - I doubt I have the self control to wait long, so that only leaves a decision about which one to use first....

Praise be!

I've been making dark threats about what I'm going to do if this week were to be as bad as the last two, but finally the streak has broken! Today many, many wonderful things happened; I think I need a list.

1. I got a Valentine's present, and it is jewelry.
2. I got another Valentine's present, and it's yarn. Two skeins of gorgeous sock yarn. (I'll explain about pictures below.)
3. I finally confronted someone who's supposed to share a responsibility with me and has been consistently ditching me, AND I did it fearlessly and cleverly so it was almost a joke but they got the point, and I am so incredibly proud of myself because I'm usually too afraid to confront anyone! Much less cleverly!
4. I have another Valentine coming, and it's also jewelry (I'm 99% sure).
5. The program I was supposed to participate in Valentine's Day evening (!!) is CANCELLED so I can have my date with Sweetie as planned!
6. SCHOOL IS CANCELLED TOMORROW! (Cold weather) Which means I can finish Sweetie's Valentine socks, I can RELAX, I can take pictures of my new yarn in good light, I can do whatever I want!
7. I came home after school to a totally free evening, Interweave Knits and Glamour were in my mailbox, and there's good tv tonight.

So whatever it is I was being punished for by means of the past two weeks... it's over. I hope.

More blue

Those beaded flowers I posted yesterday are from a pair of dollar-store slippers I wear as house shoes - here's a (slightly blurry) picture of the whole thing.

Taking these pictures and knitting helped me calm down considerably yesterday (after cleaning energetically (ie angrily), which also helped quite a bit) after a stressful week. Two weeks. I think I haven't made enough room for creativity in my weekday life.

Project Spectrum Blues

After a very bad day

This is how I killed time until I could just veg and watch Tyra and not think about anything.

Your Hidden Talent

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system. And while this may not seem big, it can be. It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes. You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Fun!

I've been tagged!

Emilee tagged me for the "Five Secrets About Me" meme, and it's my first time! So exciting. So, five things I haven't mentioned here before...

1. I'm American, but I spent 4 of the last seven years abroad, most recently as an aid worker (teacher) in Central Asia (but not Afghanistan - I'm not that brave. I had some really great Afghan refugee students whom I love dearly though).

2. My husband is Turkish, and we met in 1. when he was an expat English teacher at a fancy private school in the same town where I was working. I earned the nickname "Turkish Princess" for how spoiled I got by all of the Turkish food (local food was...not to US tastes), Simpsons in English, and air conditioning he lavished on me. (I was there as part of a group, and the conditions we lived in were local standards and not US. Thus air conditioning was unimaginable luxury for most of us.)

3. When I want to, I shamelessly exploit my headscarf and the fact that people make assumptions to pretend that I don't speak English. Earnest cult member handing out pamphlets? Creepy, chatty guy in line or on the train? I've perfected this blank look that, combined with the scarf, somehow creates a forcefield that protects me from any and all weirdos who want to talk. It's like magic!

4. I used to be vegan, until I became allergic to soy. (I'm running out of ideas, can you tell?)

5. My little sister is taller than me, and the reason I was so crazy about platform shoes in high school wasn't because they were fashionable, it was so people wouldn't notice she was growing more than me.

Okay! I wasn't sure I was going to make it there. Now I have to tag five people... and I'm not sure who even reads. I'm tagging Teal for sure, and pretty much anybody else who's ever left a comment here. That means Knit Nurse, Smug Sheep, Kneesocky, and Lauren. Oh man, I hope you people still read here sometimes. And I think I'll also tag anyone else who happens along - and don't do what I always do and say to yourself "Oh, she doesn't mean me" and continue on your merry way - I do mean you! You're tagged!

And just for interest, although the interest is minimal because it's just longer stockinette than before, here's a picture of my progress on my Sweetie's Project Spectrum sock.



Now, anybody who read this should go write a meme! Seriously!

I wrote

a long and colorful update about my Friday, yesterday, but Blogger ate it (to be fair it was a scheduled maintenance session but I was trying to tempt fate) and I gave up. I'll just say that the movie was postponed, and the home visit involved a building fire, real-life NYC firemen, and taking refuge from the cold and rain at a different student's house. So technically, I visited 4 students in one night, and I wore my handknit socks, and I knitted through most of those events - all of which made me feel extremely productive.

The blue-gray socks are moving along well - I really like using two circulars, it feels much more intuitive than Magic Loop did (I have spatial perception issues). And last night I even had a Project Spectrum dream! I went on a trip to Iran (of all places! Actually, I have a series of dreams about taking trips to Iran - which I've never been to - with various people. Maybe I should do that "weird" meme) with Lolly (that made me feel a bit like a stalker...but oh well), and we were riding around on a bus taking pictures of blue things. Sweetie was there too, and I woke up mad at him for not chasing away a creepy man trying to chat with me on the bus. I always stay mad at him for things that happened in dreams after I wake up, poor guy.

Project Spectrum! (And SAM3)

Yesterday was the first day of both. A day late and a dollar short, I'm casting on some blue-gray socks.

I don't anticipate getting very far today; after school I'm helping another teacher with her very (very very) ambitious plan of taking a group of students to the movies, then immediately after that Sweetie and I are going on a home visit (to one of my students for once!) so I might, might finish one toe today. But this weekend should be fairly low-stress - if it starts to be otherwise I'll make up reasons I am busy, and stay home and knit.

As far as Project Spectrum goes, I anticipate sticking to blue for the first two months. I've never been much into white or gray, and don't have any in my stash.

SAM3 only gives you credit for the first pair of socks you knit in a month, and I'm so glad - it takes some stress off. You only have to knit one pair, but I know I'd plan more and then freak out if I couldn't finish them. And really, a pair a month is the most one should aim for. Otherwise things just get out of control. (Oh, and the Sock Marathon? I'm up past 7 miles of yarn now. I don't even know for sure, and I'm not going to calculate it until I've knit some of it away. I guess this pair is the beginning of my marathon, too. Hooray for multitasking! It makes me feel productive.)

The End is Here!

The picture is awful, but they're done! [I replaced the really bad pic with a better, but still blurry one. And I had a hard time taking one that didn't highlight the thickness of my ankles, thus the 'artistic' close-up.] And I love the tubular bind-off. Now to block them - I want them to "bloom" a little because they stretch a lot right now and I feel like it distorts the striping. Next time I might try stockinette instead of ribbing.

And if The End is here, Next Time is too! And next time is Sweetie's socks. If I can remember to bring a crochet hook for the provisional cast on I'll start them tomorrow - it's definitely time for bed tonight.

The end is in sight, maybe just maybe

The yarn that's left seems ever so slightly smaller, and they're off the Magic Loop and onto dpns because I went up a size for the cuff.

Project Spectrum and SAM3 are both starting tomorrow (sorry I'm not linking those - my class starts in 5 minutes so I'll do it later) and I might possibly just be actually ready! And my latest Knitpicks order with two sets of 0 and 1 circs is scheduled to arrive today, just in time to try socks on two circular needles.

Ooof ya...

I am still not done with those stupid socks! Project Spectrum and SAM 3 start February 1st. I do not anticipate having whole evenings to while away knitting before then... I do hope I'm wrong. But I'm so annoyed that I haven't finished yet! (Um, actually I'm annoyed at what I had to spend my weekend on instead. But we won't go there, not in this supposedly public forum (like anybody reads) at least.)
At least the right front of the baby hoodie is done, and I'm plugging away at the back. But there's a slight stain on it - I think it might be chalk from my hands, from knitting at school. Hopefully nothing that won't come out with a quick wash!

Do you see a difference?

In the size of the yarn to-be-knit, compared to Monday? Because I can't. I knit and knit (well, not that much because I have one new project) and it just doesn't diminish. It's the never-ending ball of yarn.

Here's the new project - a baby sweater for a friend. I'm using a free Lion Brand baby hoodie pattern and Bernat Cottontots.

Six miles

Yeah... and the Me Socks STILL aren't done.

It just won't end!

I guess that's a good thing. I could just bind off now, which is what I ended up doing on my mom's socks out of sheer impatience, but I'm forcing myself to keep going until I run out of yarn. I mean, that's the whole point of toe-up socks!
I had been planning on knitting another pair before Project Spectrum starts, but it looks like that isn't going to happen. Assuming I actually finish these within a week and a half (I can't BELIEVE how long it's dragging out) I guess I'll have to pick up a UFO...

Scratch that

I'm up to 5.73 miles. Does it count if it hasn't been shipped to me yet? I think it does.

Leaving me to ponder whether it's the various KALs/group projects enabling me (some of that extra mileage will be just PERFECT for the March/April Project Spectrum colors! And it's sock yarn so it'll work for the Sock Marathon AND the Sock-a-Month thing I just signed up for!) or whether I would have bought it anyway, left in my personal knitting vacuum as it were. What is the sound of one hand clapping? If a tree falls in the forest... you get the picture.

I'm home sick today and a little punchy. Time to watch Tyra and knit on my Me Socks - it's the home stretch now, working up the legs. I haven't had as much time as I'd like to work on them, so today's the perfect opportunity.
-----------------------------------------------
Eta: So I see here that the yarn marathon is a 3-month challenge... I'm assuming that starts when one casts on for one's first item. Alright, after my Me Socks I'll start my marathon. I just have to decide which yarn is next - poor Sweetie, I'm putting his socks off because they're just too perfect for Project Spectrum. He has 2 more weeks to wait - I'll probably do some Me Two socks after I finish these. (Oh, and I was happy to see that apparently "anything less than 15 miles doesn't qualify as a problem!")

5.42 miles!

After seeing this post, I was inspired to add up my own mileage. It was easy since I have a lot of multiple colorways of the same yarns, so for a lot of them I just had to multiply. I have 9539 yards, or 5.42 miles of sock yarn. That's not counting what's on the needles, or the little bits leftover from socks I've knit, unless it's both a substantial and an estimatable bit.

Wow. So should I join the marathon?

One (almost all the way) down...

One heel is (almost) turned. I have some thoughts about heels and variegated sock yarn...I don't like the thicker striping on the short-row heels and toes, but I DO like how the consistent number of stitches keeps the color patterning the same on yarns with consistent color repeats. Heel flaps would look nicer on the heel bit, but the gussets would mess up my pleasingly consistent stripes. Is there a happy medium? I don't know much about heel variations, unfortunately.

Anyway, I'm (possibly unduly) extremely excited about these socks because they're FOR ME! When they're done I can wear them! Don't laugh...giving away my first three pairs didn't seem hard, but now I think I was repressing the psychic pain. Here's hoping I'm done with them soon... although my plan is to take them as high up the leg as I can get them. I had quite decent amounts of yarn left from my other Knitpicks Memories socks, so we'll see.

Guess what I got in the mail today!

No, not yarn. An ad for tractors. Because I subscribe to the Mother Earth News, despite the fact that I live in the city, in a little apartment, and don't even have a yard. I opened my mailbox, took one look, and started laughing; this is when you know you want to move. (Yesterday Sweetie was asking if we might want to move next year and I immediately said YES - no hesitation.)

The hat may have manliness issues. And it's a bit short over the ears, but adding length will make it too long over the eyes, and Sweetie strenuously objects to earflaps - apparently they are childish (but a bobble on top isn't! He has no objections to that). I do have to admit it isn't the most manly hat I've ever seen, but I'm not sure how to fix that. Maybe get rid of the bobble.

Finished!

I wanted to post a progress pic, and instead managed to post it as an FO. I knit this in slightly over 24 hours - it's currently blocking on an upside-down bowl on top of an upside-down jar. It's knit out of (juuuuust over one ball of) Knitpicks Ambrosia (which is AMAZING) in Night Sky, with the basketweave stripe in Lion Brand's cashmere left over from Sweetie's scarf. When it's done blocking I'll post a modeled pick with the scarf.

It may be a bit short, in which case I'll add earflaps with the barely touched other skein, but I'm hoping blocking will take care of that. Although earflaps would be so adorable that I may just have to add them anyway - I want to put a bobble on the top, too, if Sweetie doesn't object.

I knit it on size 2's - an Addi Turbo, and then bamboo dpns towards the top.

Me Socks, coming soon

I've made decent progress on them since yesterday's picture. I'm also swatching for Sweetie's hat... maybe tomorrow I can get a progress pic on that!

Oh, I probably should've tried to keep my dinner (the lemon and soup on newspaper...yes, I have a table...I just don't want to use it) out of the picture but oh well.

Knitting is boring.

That's what a fourth-grade girl in my knitting club said. Very pensively, while knitting on her "horse" (which is still a swatch - I asked her to show me how she was going to make it a horse and she cheerfully said she didn't know) and swinging her legs.
This post reminded me of my reaction to that girl - I just started laughing - if knitting is boring, I wish I had more time in my life for boring things.

Now I have some pictures

of what I've been doing. I couldn't get any good light, so they're a little dark. Dad's socks, still unblocked and the ends not woven in.


And my socks, still not that far along.I still have problems with picture layout, too, but I'm not feeling up to dealing with that right now.

Minor Progress...

Dad's socks are done! (Well, the ends aren't weaved in yet, but.) I bound off while teaching an ESL lesson late last night - talk about multi-tasking. No picture because I took them out of my overfull knitting bag this morning.

Now I'm looking for a suitable hat pattern for Sweetie, and worried that I don't have enough yarn. I have two balls of Knitpicks Ambrosia, based on nothing but my random assumption that that was how much I needed. Oh, and a little ball of Lion Brand Cashmere leftover from a scarf someone else knit for a stripe. He apparently wants a roll-brim with a little bobble on top (too cute!) but the scarf I'm matching it to is basketweave (I think? The one that looks like a checkerboard. Like my Dad socks) so I'm still tossing ideas around and would love suggestions.

I also got a pattern that I LOVE in my e-mail and wondering what from Knitpicks I could substitute without it costing more than 40$. It's looking like nothing, sadly.

So I'm still working on my Me Socks, and next in line to get cast on is Sweetie's Hat. Then I'm thinking Sweetie's socks for Valentine's Day AND Project Spectrum (multitasking again!) and after that I'll be done with all of this planning, and open to personal whims and suggestion.

The path to hell!

I had every intention of posting an FO - Dad's socks - today. But instead, last night I feel asleep at 8 pm (even my favorite tv show couldn't keep me up) so I have nothing finished. Maybe tonight, and then I can get cracking on my own socks. And sweetie keeps asking about his hat, now that the weather got cold again...

Oh, and no development on the knitted horse - she forgot to bring her knitting stuff on Tuesday. Maybe today.

Am I paving my own path to hell with all these "maybe today"s? I haven't finished correcting the 6th grade's Ancient India tests either. But for that I at least have the excuse that they couldn't possibly be handed back anyway, since some kids haven't even taken the test yet. For the knitting, there's no excuse.

Turning the heel on Dad's second sock. The first one went really quickly after I turned the heel - but I'm also becoming a much faster sock knitter. Practice makes perfect I guess - good thing, since my sock knitting needs to catch up to my sock yarn buying.

My Not-a-gift socks are stalled - I started feeling guilty about not having finished Dad's.

Tomorrow I teach "knitting club" at school, and I'm curious to see what one girl's been working on. She's informed me that she's knitting a horse - so far it looks like a rectangle, which is all my most advanced students can knit. (All the average ones can produce is wads of tangled yarn.) I really want to see how she's going to form a glorified swatch into a horse - I'm sure she'll come up with something creative I never would have thought of. Kids are great.

Progress

Dad's socks are proceeding an eensy bit slower than they had been, as a result of my knitting ADD. I cast on for my own socks a little earlier than I'd planned - Dad's socks were the only current project I had going and I got bored.

The new socks are Knitpicks Memories in Morning Glory, and while yellow and purple aren't usually my favorite colors, I LOVE this colorway and how the different colors mix into each other. I'm knitting them Magic Loop, succumbing to the temptation of getting both done simultaneously and being sure they're identical. And of course I'm loving that they're actually for me!

I got started

on some of those plans - I ended up signing up for that "It's NOT a Gift!" KAL after all, AND for Project Spectrum. If it hadn't been for the fact that I just ordered some bright green and yellow Trekking last night, and it'll be perfect for the April/May green and yellow theme, I probably wouldn't have signed up for it, but the idea of knitting those socks for the project entranced me, and it seemed like fate. Now I have to start mulling over blue/white/gray so I'll be ready for February. The Knitpicks Yukon from my stash seems like a likely candidate - the timing will probably end up right for the Husband Socks I was planning anyway!

I stand corrected,

not about being a genius, but about Dad's socks being HUGE...because once they were off the needles, I tried them on...and they fit ME. Are a little tight, even. So I have giant freakish Sasquatch feet...argh.

One Dad sock is done, and I'm on the toe of the other. The Sister's Boyfriend socks are blocked and now I have to weave in the ends and send them. Hopefully that won't take longer than knitting them did, although with me it easily could.

I made myself a list of things I'd like to try in 2007 (knitting things, I mean):

*Try out non-Knitpicks sock yarn, especially: Trekking, Lorna's Laces, Koigu. I may be missing one or two here. Basically anything that IS NOT KNITPICKS! I love Knitpicks but I need to branch out.

*Cables! Still haven't done them, ever.

*More socks, and experiment with toes and heels besides short-row. I don't always like the appearance of heel-flaps, but I'm sure they have some advantages (um, anyone know what those might be?) and I should at least know how to do them.

*Dyeing my own (sock) yarn.

*Do some KALs and somewhat social things (even if they only exist in cyberspace - that's close enough, and possibly too close, for socially awkward me).

*Try Magic Loop on two circulars instead of one

*Elizabeth Zimmerman Moccasin socks. I have some pretty yarn that I've heard can felt on the soles, so these seem like the perfect solution.

*I have another sock idea I must try, but I'm keeping that secret until I see if it works!

Sometimes it's hard

being a genius. I was just staring at the pictures on here, wondering why they all get blurry in the middle so consistently. Then I realized the lens on my phone has a fingerprint on it.

This...

is an almost-finished sock for Dad! I'm on the cuff. Although it's HUGE, it didn't really take that long, considering how much time I really put into it and not someone else's socks (Mom and sister's boyfriend). I'm also impressed at how large of a sock I was able to get out of one skein of the Knitpicks Memories - right now I have a ball about 1-1.5" in diameter. Not bad!

The Promised Pictures

These are (bad, I'm sorry - my husband has the camera and I had to use my cell phone) pictures of my sock kit! The colors are a bit more muted than real life, and the yarn ends up blurry no matter what I do, but you get the idea.

The Sister's Boyfriend Socks Are Done!

Just in time to claim them as 2006 FOs and not 2007. And it does indeed look like blocking will take care of the identical-everything-not-matching problem, yay!

And I FINALLY got my very own Very Best Sock Kit and I love it. The yarn is Rosie, and the bag is a very pretty bright red/pink abstract swirly wave pattern with shimmery gold highlights. Maybe tomorrow (ie today in the morning) I'll try to post a picture. (I say I finally got it because the shipping ended up taking forever due to the big snowstorm in Colorado, then when it did finally arrive (at my workplace) I was on vacation and the office was closed anyway. But today there was a community event in the school gym and I managed to sneak into the teachers' room and *yoink* my package.)

My Rosie looks much less pink/red and more cream, green and blue than the picture I linked to...but I like it better this way. How it knits up remains to be seen, but it sure is pretty!

FO Number Two!

The Sister's Boyfriend's first sock. It seems to fit pretty well, judging by looks at least. And he was able to guess what was nerdy about them, when prodded... now to finish the other one.

Oh, and it's also Knitty's Universal Pattern, in 3x3 rib. Knitpicks again, only Essential. I'm now wishing I hadn't blocked the one sock, because the yarn bloomed and I didn't have a blocked swatch to measure for before-and-after comparison, and the sizing on my second one now seems off (even though I'm matching rows, this worries me) but I'm telling myself the blooming will take care of it, BUT I'm not totally reassured by that. That was a little confusing. It seems both narrow and short, although it's the same number of stitches every possible way. Blocking will take care of this, right?

FO Number One!

Pattern: Knitty's Universal Sock Pattern, with ribbing - 2x2? Actually, it may be randomized ribbing...
Yarn: Knitpicks Sock Memories in Hawaii
Knit Magic Loop on a size 2 Addi

I really like how the ribbing breaks up the stripes and colors - I bought enough yarn in the first place for two pairs of socks, and I'm glad because I'm going to want my own.

I'm back

and the socks went well. I got my sister The Very Best Sock Kit from Tangle (I want to put in a link but I don't have the "edit html" thingy - maybe because I'm on a Mac? I'll edit it later. Okay, that should be fixed now...) instead of actual socks, and my sister's boyfriend's socks were only half done and my dad's a little more than a quarter. But the boyfriend sock fit, and I'm turning the heel on the second one RIGHT NOW. Then to finish my dad's socks... then knit a hat for my sweetie that matches the scarf my mom knit him, then to knit Best Friend socks, then Sweetie socks, and then finally I'll knit myself some socks. Ironic that I haven't done that yet. There's an "It's Not a Gift" knitalong (scroll down, it's at the end of her post) and I'd love to participate but I don't think I'll be done with all these gifts in time.

Anyway I got a swift and ball winder, and they're so much fun! I'll try to get some pictures up soon, but wanted to update regardless.

He's dead...

and I have no idea what to think about it. Oddly, I almost want to mourn him, but how does one mourn a monster? Or was he one? After the first year there I never was sure. But at the very least he is a "father" who was crippling and deforming his own children's lives, whether knowingly or by his own inaction.

And yet...what will come after? In 5 years we may well wish we had him back.

I want to call, call all the people I've had no contact with for fear of putting them in danger. When I was there I was constantly aware of the attention from, let's say, unwanted third parties. I knew that some of my friends informed on me. There was a faceless, alien presence everywhere I went and no matter what I was doing I didn't forget that. So when I left... I was afraid for all those friends. The stories coming out since I'd left were getting more and more horrific and it's impossible to know the truth even when you're there. But I'm almost more afraid to call them now. Because no one knows what will come next.

Anyone know?

I'm considering trying 2 circulars instead of dpns, but it seems
Knitpicks don't come any shorter than 16". Would that get in my way using 2 circs? I seem to remember my sister using fairly short ones. Hmm, maybe I'll have to suck it up and actually visit a real yarn store for once...

CRAP

CRAP
Originally uploaded by rahime.

I'm psychic...looks like the sock will probably fit though (didn't get it all the way onto my foot before I heard the *crack*). Well, somewhere I have a set of metal dpns...maybe I'll pull them out.

Stash II

Okay, experimenting with that pixelly-ness. This is the rest of my Sock Memories stash (well, okay, half of it - I have two skeins of each colorway, of course!).
From left to right: Fly Fishing, Peony, Hawaii, Geranium, Cape Cod.

Sock Memories is really addictive - the pictures on Knitpicks' website don't show the colorways well, and once you see the real thing it's hard not to like any of them.

Stash I

Well, I'm procrastinating and it seemed like a good idea to post some stash pics. Sock yarn only - and I realized it's all from Knitpicks - I need to branch out.

First up is Sock Memories in Yukon - intended for socks for my sweetie, who's been sulking a little that I've been knitting for everybody else but him.


Next is yarn for Best Friend Socks - Sock Memories in Morning Glory.

Hmm, my pictures are kind of pixelly. I guess I'll have to tinker with that - posting the rest of my embarassingly large Knitpicks sock yarn stash will be good practice...

Still-life with sock

Here's a blurry picture of the progress on Sister's Boyfriend's sock. (Camera phone again... I guess I'm procrastinating on work, but I get these sudden urges to blog stuff when I have a planning period at school....)

I want to show it on a foot, but every time I try it on I give up because I'm afraid my massively wide feet will snap those dpns like the little twigs they are. That was one of the best things about Magic Loop. I wish I could find a size 0 40" Addi - Knitpicks' biggest size seems to be 32" and maybe I'm doing something weird, but I find I pull a little much on the joins even with 40" needles.

Anyway I need to find out how high up the leg he wanted these to go. I'm also afraid they're a little long in the foot, but hopefully I'm just being paranoid because of the long-and-skinny effect that the ribbing pulling in gives it.

After days of playing tag

the flu has caught me. I avoided it for quite awhile...drinking Airborne, sleeping extra. My poor sweetie was sick for days before I got it. But finally I ended up with a splitting headache, raging fever, and sore throat - I got up to go to work and he sent me back to bed and called in sick for me (Do I hear a chorus of 'awwww'?). And I proceeded to sleep until 3.

Now I think I'm feeling better... but that could just be the two straight days of X-files dvds and knitting. Although I didn't pick up the knitting until the second day - I'm turning the heel on my sister's boyfriend's sock and really I should be quite a bit further. It's already Hanukkah - so I have less than a week to finish them (and mail them!) if I want to acheive any semblance of being on time. I might settle for being fashionably late. Or I could mail one on time and send the other on later! Only I'll probably need it for stripe matching reference... beh.

The most excruciating,

boring day ever! Jury duty! I was excited to go but reality didn't exactly match up. And I couldn't knit - although I bet I could have gotten bamboo dpns through.

But now it's over - for the next 6 years.

Just for the heck of it...

dadssock
Originally uploaded by rahime.

Here's the sock I'm knitting for my dad - I'm juuuust ready to turn the heel. It seems freakishly long, but again, I'm following a pattern where I plugged in his foot measurements, and again, he has big feet. The pattern worked for my mom, so I'm hopeful.

A picture!!! A sock!!!

sock
Originally uploaded by rahime.

Sorry for the pixelly, blurry, color-distorted picture but I had free time at work and just had to post, which meant using my cell phone cam. The red is much less orange and much more burgundy in real life. I'm liking the stripes so far, but leaning towards maintaining thinner stripes rather than continuing the Fibonacci increases. But my sister assures me the recipient will appreciate the mathiness of the stripes...I'm reserving judgement and continuing the increases for now.

Double yay

The Fibonacci stripes are looking really cute - and seem to be moving along a lot faster than my dad's purple checkerboards. That's good because I've got about 2 weeks!

Yayyyy...

I knitted today! Finished the toe and moving on up the foot of my sister's boyfriend's sock. I've decided (with her advice) to do fibonacci stripes, since she said he'd like geeky, mathy things. Now I just have to not get lazy and actually finish knitting something for once...

An eensy bit of progress, thank God

My dad's sock is moving along - almost ready to turn the heel. I think I'm going to have to add in some stripes - he has big feet and wants tall socks, and I've definitely gone through most of one ball of yarn. It's Knitpick Memories in Rocky Mountain Dusk, which I have 3 skeins of, and I do have some plain purple, so I guess I'll do the heels in purple and then think about seeing what stripes look like if it still seems like I need them.

I'm also in the process of starting my sister's boyfriend's socks. I finally decided on burgundy and cocoa brown stripes, after much dithering. He tends to be a bit staid (and also picky) but surprisingly, requested funky, interesting socks so I had a bit of a dilemma. These seem staid to me but I guess the tastes of the general public vary substantially from my own and stripey socks in themselves may be a bit out there for most people. In any case, there's no time for more dithering, I have to get cracking!

I guess I have to stop whining

about other people not updating their blogs, if I don't either.

Haven't been knitting hardly at all - I want to kick myself in the butt, I don't know WHY, but I just can't seem to do it. However, I have cleaned up and organized my living room and it is much, much improved and makes me feel all calm and happy when I look at it. Now for the bedroom and kitchen, and life will be goooood.

I'm supposed to be working on lesson plans, and also just can't seem to do it. I'm browsing various websites instead. But, but, my house is clean! Kind of! So I am a virtuous person! Who will be whiny and grouchy when she realizes, later tonight, that she is in no way ready for Monday. Sigh.

I also had my first real shopping Black Friday. We FINALLY got a wireless router, and a navigation system (for less than half of what we'd budgeted! We have $70 left over from what we had saved up for it), and a wireless headset for my husband's phone when he drives, and, AND - I got a sewing machine! Completely unexpectedly. I'd been tossing around the idea in my head, because it makes a lot of sense, but I was afraid I'd buy it and then never use it. But I walked past one on sale, deeply discounted, and decided to go for it. I got some clearance fabric, a pattern and some remnants and now I'm really really thinking about opening it up and trying it out (instead of doing the aforementioned lesson plans, of course) but the thought of those same aforementioned lesson plans is stopping me.

Someday I'll be one of those people who wakes up early and jumps right into their to-do list...right? How do I go about that? It's like a secret club I don't know how to join.

The demise of my knitting funk has been greatly exaggerated...

Blah. My mom's socks fit her, so maybe I'll finish up the cuff, teach myself 3-needle bind-off and be done with something.

Started my friend's sweater over, but in seed stitch and I can't keep track of whether I'm supposed to knit or purl and keep ending up with ribbing. Beh.

No progress on anything else...and I don't feel good about it. I just got an ipod so maybe I'll do a quick knit or - ooh!- crocheted ipod cover to get my groove back...