Golden Apples

3 More Inches of Knitting Done

2012-01-28T12:35:00.000-05:00

(big deal)

200+ Stitches of hem grafted. BIG DEAL!

And now the body is done—well done,but not finished. The hem and front band clearly need a bit ofblocking before they are going to look and behave as they should. The front band (a scant 4 stitches) was fine, and enough on theyoke—working with a stable stitch like the garter background—butI really should have made it wider –at least 2 stitches wider (upped to a total of 6) or even doubled the width(8 stitches) for the endless stockingknit that is the body.

And while blocking will help, as willthe simple weight of the metal hooks and eyes, the front band isreally too narrow. Be that as it may, I am loving my leafy sweatervest!

My stocking knit is pretty good—Nomajor rowing out, or other defects, but it too, will be improved bysome blocking.

Next up, the collar. The provisionalcast on has been unzipped, and the neck line is now on needles, readyto be worked on. (but I haven't knit a row yet!)

I have a full skein, and a little bitleft of the partial skein I used to work the last few inches of thebody— Which will be plenty for a nice deep collar—even withworking the collar on a smaller needle (size 7/4.5) and in ribbing. After that, there are still 2 more full skeins—to add as much (oras little) of a sleeve as I want.

Done, I will have 1) used up someof my humongous stash, and 2) added a much needed bit of warmth to mywardrobe!

In a little while, I am off to pick upmy car—A new starter motor (that was the culprit) and fresh oil,and a working signal—and it's ready to go! (Well, that is, if Ifork over $400, youch!) While I am out, I'll look for the leafyhooks and eyes, and who knows, maybe I'll get lucky.

Some Times, Life Interferes...

2012-01-27T11:50:00.000-05:00

Sometimes?! Always!

My plans for yesterdays were simple—aquick trip to the grocery store to pick up some yogurt, and a fewother things (like some frozen vegetable) , and then on the way home,a stop a the green grocer, to stock up on salad and soup greens. Once home , put the groceries away, cooking some (a quick vegetablesoup), and in the evening, some knitting.

Mission accomplish—Except for thepart about getting home after the shopping. My car died. Somethingshorted or failed between the ignition key and starter motor. Turningthe key got me the radio and other electrical stuff (battery is new,and fine) and a clicking noise (some sort of switch or solenoid) butno crank of the starter.

So yesterday's quick trip to the markettook all day (what with waiting for the tow, getting to my garage (bythat time the tow truck came, rush hour –which really is rushHOURS—had already started) and getting home again. The weather wasmild—but it was raining all day, and the roads were slick—heavytraffic was made slower by a few minor accidents along the way.

All in all, it was nothing physicalreally –well actually getting into the tow truck (a million feetup) up was. The truck didn't have a handy step up, and there wasn'teven the 6 inches the curb would normally provide—so was a bit ofstruggle--(and solved inelegantly by climbing up on my knees!) butthe stress of the whole thing left me exhausted. Igot the groceries put away, but no soup got cooked (I ate canned soupand big salad for dinner) and no knitting got done.

I had planned –in the back of mymind—a trip to the garage planned some time SOON. One of my signallight just failed this week (the FRONT drivers side—but the side(front) and side(rear) and rear all worked, and I needed an oilchange, so getting to the garage was a must do, but not a must doNOW. But not being able to start--(and being parked in a space thatwas legal for the moment—but not for long term (alternate side ofthe street parking regulations would have kicked in at 8 AM today)was a do NOW situation.

So the only thing that got done on theLeafy Sweater/Vest was I unearthed a few sets of hooks and eyes. Ifound one set of 7— and another set of 5. I like the set of 5 (asort of leaf motif) better—both for the style, and the size--andI'll look and see if the style is still available--(and just buy 2more).

But if I don't have success, I'll use the simple ones. Ias counted, I remembered my cherry red acrylic vest-- on which I hadused the leaf motif hooks—had a V neck –and needed few hooks andeyes than this slightly lowered neck vest will.

Another Skein, Done and Gone

2012-01-26T08:57:00.000-05:00

But just... Only a single row has beenknit with the next skein. Another 2 inches added to the body—andthat's about it.

I just got busy yesterday –(It was abeautiful day and I got to walking) and knitting just wasn't mynumber 1 priority.

Still—I've made some progress in theweek I have been knitting—and it is just a week since I startedthis sweater vest-- And while progress has slowed, I am still makingprogress.

I am now I am close enough to finishingthe body of the sweater vest, that I want to finish it—so I cantry it on--with out worrying about dropping a stitch—and to reallysee how it fits-- and to start on the collar –the next bigpiece to knit. Since my plan was always for a vest— if I do addsleeves, they won't be full length ones—Even if it ends up that Ihave enough yarn. So it won't be long till it is finished!

But—I know me—My tension starts toslip when I get tired—and while I don't Row out- for a whole row—Ido find loose bunches of stitches here and there. So last night whenI was tired, what I did, instead of knitting, was to weave in a bunchof ends. So now every loose end (except the provisional cast onends) has been woven in. I love getting the ends woven in as I go!

Latter today, I will go look for thehook and eye closures—I have a couple of different ones—but Idon't remember how many sets of any one design. Like many who collectbuttons, I also collect and re-use fancy hooks and eyes.

I think I want a full closure –notjust a few at the top of the sweater vest—but all the way down thefront. AND I think I have at least one set of 6—recycled from abright cherry pink sweater vest –an acrylic one—that suffered amishap in the dryer.

If I don't—I might need to goshopping—Not today... but soon!

More Than Half, but Not A Whole Skein

2012-01-25T10:45:00.000-05:00

Worth of knitting. I was busy yesterday, and otheractivities limited my knitting time... But over 3 more inches havebeen added to the leafy sweater vest. I did enough knitting, that you can seethe difference--

Now the length of the vest (centerback) is 16.75, --at the under arm, 8.25 inches. I also added theslightest of waist shaping (just 4 decrease on each side). It'shardly noticeable—but its something.

(I have thought about more waistshaping, or even a casing (for a drawstring) or just some eyelets toweave a drawstring so I could cinch the waist (I am smaller than Iwas last year, but by next year I hope to be smaller still.. and Iwant to be able to wear this vest then, too!)

I might add a casing later (as afinishing touch)--or maybe I'll think of something else..

I have the live arm hole stitches oncircular needles (as stitch holders) and this allows me to actuallytry on the vest as I go—and I get a good feel for how the vestfits—but for a casing, I would want to have the sweater finished..(and get the casing in just the right place!)

At this point, its just about waistlength--which makes perfect sense--My neck to waist measurement is 18 inches, and this sweater vest started with a slightly lower neck line--so almost 17 inches at the center back is "right". In a few more rows, I will restore the 8 stitches Idecreased (and maybe even 4 more!) to flare the hem of the sweaterout.

While I have decided I want ribbing forthe collar, I am pretty sure I don't want ribbing for the loweredge—I think a hem is the way to go . This is a PITA way to finishoff over 200 stitches, because I like to graft the hem to theknitting for a smooth seam—but I think it will be worth the work.

I haven't touched the sock at all..Likely these January socks will be a bit late—just as December'ssocks were late—On the other hand, I have knit 1 secret pair ofsocks already this month—so its not as if I am being a totalslacker!

1 Skein Equals:

2012-01-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

158 yards--or almost 5 inches ofknitting.

I started yesterday a few rows into the3^rd skein of wool, I ended last night half a row into thenew skein.

Measured from the cast on stitches atthe under arm, I am 1 row short of having 5 inches. I actuallystarted the skein a little bit before that row, but not so much morethat it counts for much.

This marks skein 3 on this vest--(of 7.75 skeins that were in my stash).. Right now, measured from the slightly lowered neck line, the center back length is 13.75 inches(let's say 14 inches!)

If I were to try and model it on Missythe dress form—well, her neck to back length is a just 13inches—and it would look done. But my neck to back length is 18!(I am very long waisted!)--Still 14 inches (using 3 skeins) is goodprogress—and it certainly means I'll have enough yarn—Plus it'sfar enough along that I won't find my energy or enthusiasm forknitting it fading—1 more skein (the one in play now) will addanother 5 inches--(18 inches!) With another half skein, the vestwill be nice comfortable top of the hip length. Even if my paceslows (and it will) that just 2 days worth of knitting.

The remaining half skein, and thepartial skein will be enough yarn to make a generous collar--(thestitch count at the neck line is half the stitch count in the body)-1 full skein would yield almost 10 inches—or really, little less,since I think the collar is going to be ribbed, and ribbing eat upyarn at a faster rate than stocking knit. The ribbing will bring the neck snugger (but not too snug) as it add length to the sweater vest as well --which is why I think I will need at least a 10 inch collar (enough to go up, fold over and come back down!)

After the body and collar, I will stillhave 2 more skeins of yarn! More than enough to add sleeves-maybenot long sleeves—but then I don't much like long sleeves anyway!

It's mild today, --and the forecast isfor continued mild weather—but February is usually the coldestmonth in NYC winters—and at this rate, when the next cold snaparrives (next month is just next week!), I'll have another warmsweater/sweater vest to wrap myself in to keep warm!

Given that I added 4.5 inches in lengthto my vest—it's should be very clear that no progress at all hasbeen made on the socks!

Separated, and Together Again.

2012-01-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

The yoke was finished before it waslong enough. So a dozen rows were added to front right, then centerback, and finally front left. Then a few stitches cast on for underthe arms, and now a few rows of the body have been knit. I'll finishthe armhole edges when I finish the sleeves which are for now, just acap sleeve (and each is on a spare circ as a stitch holder) I wantedto be able to try on, and check the fit.. (its perfect!)

On Missy (the dress form) the yoke endsat the top of the bust, and the stocking knit look like it's below—Onme, the neck is higher—and the yoke ends well before the top of thebust—I am just about at the top of the bust now with a few inchesof stocking knit.

It's on its way to being something. This is now the long slog.. rows and rows of stocking knit.

I started with skein 3 in the last rowof the last segment (front left)--so I will by the end of this skeinhave a good idea of how long I can make the vest—And I foundanother partial skein--It's a different dye lot, but under the ottlight, (and other light) it's a very good match—It could easily beused (with just a bit of weaving 2 skeins) on the hem, or collar, andwould be unnoticeable.

Nothing more has been done on thesocks—I was out all day Sunday at a family gathering—and camehome to tired to do anything—ramen noodle for supper (with a fewextra veggies thrown in) because I was to tired to even reallyeat—let along cook. I had planned to heat up some rice andpackaged mixed curried vegetables—but that was to much effort!

Today I need to clean out the fridge(of left overs that, I know, I am just not going to eat) and stock upon some fresh veggies—I am down to half a fresh pepper, no lettuce,and no broccoli—Until I shop, cole slaw is only salad option--(Ilike cole slaw, but its a bit gassy!--this from a person whoregularly dines on both onions and broccoli!)--I am not so low onveggies that I am out of onions or carrots- and I have some (lowthere too) frozen vegetables—but that's another place to stock up.

Last week I had a mishap at the grocerystore-(lost my keys!) and ended up not shopping—yesterday, was outat the party—also no shopping... So while I have lots of food(meats, soups, rice & other grains) —fresh healthy fruits andveggies (and frozen ones) are in a short supply.

Todays forecast is for rain all day—somaybe tomorrow I'll hike over to the REALLY BIG vegetable store andcart home a collection—Kill two birds with one stone—get a bit ofexercise and shop at the same time!(I have, easily, a half dozencompeting green grocers in a 5 block radius—the closest is one ofthe smaller (and while only pennies difference, one of the moreexpensive ones) The furthest is the biggest—a 40 X 100 space (thatspills out onto the sidewalk) with a huge selection of vegetables.)

Weight was stalled for days, (evenbackslide a pound) but now am heading downward again. The loss of thelast pound (to make a round 25!) is elusive--and I know its only going to get harder as time goes by.

Yesterday—No Connections.

2012-01-21T11:59:00.001-05:00

Plenty of time, even plenty of space (anice (if too high) desk, a comfortable chair), light and anoutlet—the promise of an internet connection—but with out thedrivers and permission—no connection!

I wrote a post—but in re-reading it..I scrapped it.

So... starting again. Iknit—LOOK—Black and White cookie socks have 5 inches of the legknit! That's real visible progress from when last seen. If I had continued knitting an inch or so a day, the leg portion of the sock would be complete by now. The knitting is pinned because, d'oh, stocking knit curls. Once the back seam gets sewn up, that won't be a problem.

And Leafy Vest? It, too, is comingalong. Now there are 2 tiers of leaves—And soon I will put somestitches aside for the sleeves--(will there be sleeves.. Yes, Ithink so, even if just short ones) and will soon start on the bodyof the vest. (Remember, my dressmakers form is a size small (about ajr's size 3—and I am not! The yoke looks near done onform—but....) The stitch count has more than doubled at this point--and there are still more increases to be made!

Thursday, Just a Though asked if therewas a pattern, or if I was making it up as I go..

the answers is YES— and NO.

The basic (underlying) pattern is a topdown, seamless raglan style. There are hundreds of free patterns forthis type sweater, (and sites that will generate free patterns tosize).

To this basic design/pattern I madesome changes:

1-- a provisional cast on (the neckwill be finished last, and will be (hopefully) a nice deep collar.

2—Instead of 8 neatly lined upincreases (that create the strong lines of a raglan style sweater) Iam increasing 16 times every 4^th round, and NOTconsistently lining them up, (so they are not creating strong visiblelines) for a rounder shape to the top of the sweater.

3—I plopped in a raised leafpattern--(8 of them! Twice!) the leaf motifs have increases anddecreases—but these increases and decreases are independent of theones for shaping. I could have plopped in another pattern—but Ilike this one! (Leaf motifs are ones I come back to, time and time again!)

4—There is front band—but the vestwill have hook and eyes for closures, not buttons. So A, the band isnarrow, and B, I don't have to figure out buttonholes—Which makesdesigning a bit easier!

So YES, the pattern is made up as Igo... but NO, its not amazing—I am working with a known formula,and just adding some bells and whistles.

After the yoke of the sweater iscomplete, I will change from garter (which is especially effectivefor making the raised leaf motif “POP”) and work the body of thesweater/vest in stocking knit.

Garter works effectively in theyoke—but I think a smooth body is more attractive—and besides,stocking knit is LONGER (in effect) than garter, so getting a longbody (which I want) will be faster to knit in stocking knit.

I haven't decided yet on bottom edge—Itmight be ribbing, or it might be hemmed.

It really depends on how well theyardage goes. I am on my second skein—and feeling more confident Ihave enough wool—but it's still early days!

Starteitis

2012-01-19T12:49:00.001-05:00

I have it! No sooner did I write thatI needed warm woolly vest and sweaters, than I was struck.

Off to the stash—and on to theneedles went this. The first few rounds of short sleeved vest –ormaybe not—I might have enough yarn for ½ sleeves or maybeeven ¾ sleeves--or I might not even have enough for a simplevest! (The yarn is Lion Brand Wool—the skeins are only 158 yards)

It might not look like it—since Ididn't use contrasting yarn, but it has a provisional caston--before I knit any sleeves, I want a nice deep collar. I have 7skeins of this wool—and I think that is more than enough—but Iget anxious-- better to start with a provisional cast on, knit thebody, and then the collar, and then add what ever is left to thesleeves.

It's a top down (D'OH!) simplething—not a raglan—but almost the same math—I am doing 16increases every 4^th round, (vs 8 every other round) andthen just adding the raised leaves for interest.

There are going to be a second set ofleaves to follow, (between the already knit leaves) to make the yokeinteresting to look at and to knit. Of course the leaves are aproblem—One issue I have with top down sweaters is, every row getslonger and longer. The leaves exacerbates this—they are raised(and not flat) because of 2 factors:

1—they leaves are stocking knit (notgarter like the background) and are longer than the back groundknitting.

2—the leaves have a bunch of increasein the beginning (the lacy YO) that put extra stitches into the work. The second half of the leaf, with the decreases, actually changes(decreases) the over all stitch count for a row or two. But bythen, by the last row of the leaf, the other increases have made theover all yoke bigger—so no matter—there are always more stitchesper row!

Should I feel like I am running out ofyarn—I can always add some stripes or a change of color for thelower edge —grey is a nice neutral—almost any color will go withit. And I have a number of colors of this wool (including severalwhite skeins that could become any color I want!) Since the collar isyet to come, stripes—or even a single contrasting color could beadded at the hem, and again at the collar-to make it look like Iplanned it that way—which, in a way, I have!

I could go with yellow (I don't thinkso)--I do have some grey and yellow socks, and some green and yellowclothing.

I could go with a deep cherry pink (Ilike the idea better, but I don't really have any deep cherry pinkclothing) –though I do have grey and pink socks.

I could go with a blue—I have lots ofblue clothing—but—Boring! Still blue might be the most functionalcolor to add.

I even have a nice dark green-- Well Idon't have decide now!

Tomorrow is a busy day (I will be outmost of the day) but I might have down time—I could end upposting—or I could end up being too busy. I am bringing my antiquelap top with me, and my camera-and I'll see how things develop. For sure I have time for knitting--so by the next post there should be more of the vest--and maybe even more of the Black & Whites socks.

Now—it's back to laundry (I missedgetting it done last week when I had my cold) and its down to thebasement—and drudgery! (by the time I was ready to post this, the laundry done (ie, washed and dried) but itstill needs to be put away!)

Sunday 1, Monday 2, Tuesday 3

2012-01-18T12:19:00.001-05:00

And today I am working on completinginch 4 (and maybe 5) of the Black & White cookie socks.

(no photo--they have come to the point of needing the yarns to be untangled)

And I am itching to knit somethingbesides socks! Decembers socks took forever, and 2 pairs of secretssocks have also been knit, and now Black & Whites—That'snothing but socks—for a long time!

And there are more socks on my mind—andscarves, and sweaters. I have become, some how, an old lady—thatis, I am always cold, and always looking to warm up! My hand andfingers are cold, and endless cups of coffee (de-caf) serve ashand-warmer as much as beverage. But normal woolen socks oftenaren't quite warm enough to keep my toes cozy. I am thinking of apair of “Toe Ovens”--as Yarn Harlot calls them—simple socksknit from alpaca—a pain to hand wash—but much warmer than basicwool socks.

And my small selection of sweaters aregetting a work out these days, too. I need, suddenly, to knit somemore sweaters and vest, and little capelets to keep my neck andshoulders warm. I am wearing one now-(I KNOW I blogged about—butsome how failed to add to Ravelry!--) It's surprising how a littlecollar round my neck can make all of me feel so much warmer! It's not even wool --but silk and bamboo.

Goodness knows—I have enough smallodd balls of yarn to knit a dozen little collars like this, andskeins and skeins of yarn to knit little (or medium, or even large!)shawls. And plenty of yarn for sweaters—or if not enough for asweater, easily enough for a vest, (or 2 or 3 or a dozen!)

My collection of hats it getting a workout, too—This winter has been relatively mild—but I find myselfwearing a hat of some sort even on mild days. And while it has beenmild—there have been a few cold snaps that have me hauling outevery bit of woolens that I own---suddenly the idea of a thin woolencamisole, that cover me from shoulder to below the hips seems like agood idea! I think I'll wait till I have lost more weight (I am once again stuck--and while I haven't re-gained any weight-I am not showing any loss either) before I take on a such a large garment in a fine gauge (and expensive soft wool)

I need to knit more and document more(and spend less time goofing around on the computer) –Winter willbe over soon—I and know I will have no interest in knitting a heavywool sweater in the warmer months (and will rue that again nextwinter!)

OH, to be young again—when I neverfelt the cold!

I Am The World Worst

2012-01-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

When it comes to selecting sock yarn. Half the time, I end up with colors I love, (but match almost nothingin my wardrobe)--the other half of the time, I buy sock yarn on sale, in colors that don't really send me. Then I don't notice till thesocks are knit—how well they match this, and that, and so manythings I own.

Take the secret sock(just finished) Ididn't realize till they were done, that the yarn is a perfect matchfor a print skirt that I own. Really, if I had the yarn custom dyedto match, it couldn't have been a better match.

Now I am thinking about knitting a second version of the secret socks design, in a different yarn, and adding these socks to my personal stock pile!

I should look and see if there is moreof this yarn available--(There is–in the Smiley's on line store-attwice the price) ... A small scarf would be just the thing—pairedwith a solid top, it would be gorgeous—except the skirt is gettingloose, and do I want to alter it? (And do I want to plan to knit yetanother scarf?!) Savvy shoppers might know that Filatura Lanarota isa name Plymouth Yarns uses discounted yarns--(Fashion Toes= HappyFeet)--even the color numbers are the same--the secret socks are color 11.

I bought the yarn, well, to have somevariety—not because I particularly liked the colors ( I thoughtthey were OK, but nothing special) AND because the price was right.When I bought it, (at a Smiley's super sale some years ago), bothskeins were $4 (a price based on a must buy 10 skeins—for $20)

Given that I had to buy 10 skeins, itmade sense to buy 2 of each color—whether or not I really liked thecolors. (I actually bought more—and shared some skeins purchasedwith a friend, so I ended up with some extras--3 skeins of color10 became my Leafy Vine scarf)-Plus I still have 2 more skeins for a pair of socks someday.

It happens all the time—I find (andbuy) beautiful sock yarn—in PINK (I have so much pink sock yarnfrom bright pinks to soft pastels, in solids and in prints) andvirtually no pink clothing. In CORAL ( I LOVE coral!) Too bad whatlittle clothing I have in that color is summer wear and rarely wearsocks in the summer.

I have –already—a pair of orangesocks—a good six year old and never worn yet.. I have NOTHING inorange to wear with them. But somehow, in addition to the alreadyknit socks, I also have 3 full skeins of orange sock yarn in mystash—OK--so one skein was remaindered, and only $0.50--(and Icouldn't pass it up!) but really, more orange?

I have several pairs of sock that havesome orange in them, too--Like the ROY G BIV socks, or my Mast Socks, or (the list is long! just look at my sock collection on Ravelry!) —So should I everbuy anything orange, I do have socks to match. Not to mention, I haveskeins of both the Toffee and Taffy color ways of Sock Ease, both ofwhich have some orange highlights.

I am going to have to re-think some ofmy choices for socks for the coming year. I like having sock thatmatch my clothes—And I already have lots of wild and crazy socks in beautifulcolors--but I hardly ever wear them! Even now, while I am excitedabout my black eyed suzy socks, I have to admit, if it weren't forthe green—the sock would match nothing!

OK, so this years sock plans included apair of leafy lace socks in Lion Brand Sock Ease—color green apple—a color Iam not really enamored with. It's more a dark olive than a apple green--but green? My wardrobe is full ofgreens; both muted and multi color greens prints outfits that will go withthis yarn. Why do I like green for clothing andthink it ho-hum for socks?

I also have a lot of blue socks—but notnearly enough to match all the denim that I own—I have blue anddenim fabric too, so my new wardrobe will have a lot of blue too, (some green, too, now that I think about it) Ihave a some blue yarns, too, but some how, it never catches myfancy—Not the way other colors do.

The just emptied sock kit bag (thatheld the secret socks) is going to be stuffed with this yarn. Ihaven't planned what sort of socks I will knit with this yarn(Reynold's Swizzle/discontinued) but at least I know, cobalt blue will end up being useful socks that go with clothes I own and wear!

Come to think of it.. I have two moreskeins of Swizzle—one in a neutral light grey, and one in afunctional forest green... guess I don't always buy the wrong colorsock yarn.

Oh, yeah, the Black & White cookie socks? Well they are now 2 inches along (vs yesterday's 1 inch) Not so much different...I photograph them again in a day or two, when the progress is more dramatic.

7 Days Later,

2012-01-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

Like a proper cold, it's all gone. Nomore sneezing, headaches, muscle aches or fever. Slept through thenight with no medication.

And, as I began to feel better onSaturday—I started my January socks—Black & White cookies.

I still haven't finished the secretsocks (they are sans toes) but I can work on both at once.

Here in NYC Black & White cookiesare, well , The bakery treat. They are large (6 to 7 inches across)cake-like cookies, with very dark chocolate and vanilla fondantfrosting. One recipe I have for making them calls for a box ofvanilla (yellow) cake mix—made by reducing the water by half (ifthe mix calls for 1.1/3 cups of water, add 2/3 of cup, instead) andall the other called for ingredients. The stiff dough is baked by they half cupful, on greased sheet, cooled and the flat side frosted.

But I have never found a recipe for thefrosting that is like the bakery ones. I am not, (never have been) abig fan of Black & White cookies. But that hasn't stopped me fromeating many of them over the years!

So, the socks—Black and White—andbecause they are intarsia –the simplest possible intarisa—(straightline!) I am knitting them flat to begin with—it's just easier thatway.

And because they are socks, notcookies, I am taking the liberty of making a fancy zig-zag seam—asimple set of twisted stitches—rather than the perfectly straightline of the cookies. They are hard to photograph—the Boyle needlejust doesn't want to be pulled straight. They are mirror image, too,which make it a bit easier to knit.

I started with a long tail cast on—and2 extra stitches (for the seam) and worked a few rows of stockingknit and reverse stocking knit for cuff. And now I am knitting away(gleefully twisting the yarns and stopping to undo them (twicealready) every so often.

The intarsia will be center front, theseam, center back. The black and white motif will continue to theheel and then the foot will be a solid black. There will be lots ofleft over white yarn--(I am working with 2 50g skeins)When done, theremaining white will likely be dyed and re-purposed. I have 1 fulland several partial balls of the black—enough. (Too much!) Ireally dislike working with the black yarn—Kroy make a very deep,dark black—In French they call it carbon –and coal black it is!

Working flat, I have to take care withthe purl rows—If I let myself get careless, I can row out. Not aproblem yet—but I know myself and my knitting.

It's been a long time since I've knit asock with a flat knit top—the change up to construction is fun.

More Secret Knitting

2012-01-13T10:36:00.000-05:00

Sock, always socks. It's going to bedifficult to knit 12 pairs of socks and not say anything about them.

At least I can mention—there has beenno visible knitting on this blog because all the knitting that isgoing on (not that there has been much) is secret. I'll be finished soon, and then publiclyknititng January's socks—and will have something to share—but Ihaven't decided which of my 7 little bags of sock kits in January's!

I have decided, IT IS NOT Black EyedSuzy's—but just about everything thing else is up in the air.

I am leaning toward black and whitecookie socks—Its #1 on my list of ideas, and its not toocomplicated, (and black and white are good practical colors that gowith clothes currently, and planned for my wardrobe) –so they mightjust be the ones.

But at some point I have to stopknitting, and start sewing (tomorrow? Saturday is supposed to be forsewing) since I am, still shrinking. Another 3 pounds less of me. Iam not losing the weight as fast as I did 2 months ago; I know itspretty normal to slow down. But so long as I keep steady, and loseslowly I am OK.

I am going to have to get with it, andget involved in some sort of more aggressive exercise program, too. Exercise builds muscle (and often make it harder to loose) but italso works to tighten up the skin, and I am getting lots of looseflabby skin—that I need to get rid of.

I am just about over the cold (just intime, the weather has turned to real winter—with cold winds) allthat remains is a headache.

Not Knitting?

2012-01-12T13:04:00.000-05:00

Well then fill the dye pot!

Which is exactly what I did. Theresult is a nice semi solid green for the Black Eyed Suzy socks.

This skein will be balled up today--and maybe while I am sitting there, a few other skeins will find themselves on the swift and be balled up too. That's not knitting either,but it is still fiber related.

I have absolutely no plans to start theBlack Eyed Suzy socks now—I think my next pair of socks are goingto be something simple and straight forward—maybe a simple selfstriping yarn—that will be an easy and fun to do sock. A perfectlyboring sock--December socks were different enough to make boringsocks something to look forward to.

But I have been planning the Black EyedSuzy socks... A multicolor ruffled edge, plain ribbing, then severalbands of floral patters, The heel will be turned, with the gussetson the sole of the foot, and the sole instep will be a leaf pattern--the sole itself, a simple seeding pattern.

I've found patterns, and have beengraphing them on graph paper index cards—so when the time comes,everything is all ready to go!

And my empty sock bag? It's beenfilled—a blue/teal self striping yarn, and coordinating green forthe Dragon fractal—My first thoughts had been black socks with reddesigns—but..black is so horrid to knit with—and then when I readthere are further refinements of the Asian zodiac, and there areyears of Water dragons, (vs earth or air) I was set. Blue is muchmore practical color, and so much easier to knit with.

I am feeling a bit better—no doubtbecause last night I ran a very small errand for a friend (I hoppedin my car, bought a single item, delivered it, and returned my car tothe garage) –hardly an effort—but it left me tired enough tosleep 9 hours straight! (OK old lady like, I did get up once in themiddle of the night, but I went right back to sleep!)

A Lull in Knitting

2012-01-11T11:12:00.001-05:00

I finished up Decembers socks—all theends (not many but a few) have been woven in, and then promptlycaught a cold.

It's just a head cold, not serious. Ifeel tired more than sick—I am stuffy, and congested, and persistin thinking its nothing—and go about my normal day—and thenZonk—as soon as I sit down, I am out cold for few hours! I don'treally feel that sick—but I have no stamina and no energy.

I feel a bit better today –because Itook the night time cold remedy that promises a good nightssleep—It's a take one dose every 6 hours, but once asleep, I sleepthrough for a good 8 hours. Now up and about, I for a few hours, Iam ready for a nap! I am stuffed up, but don't really feel thatsick, just tired.

I try to avoid medications—so I won'tbother with day time relief capsules—and will muddle throughnapping and drinking fluids, and being a bit lazy till I feel better.

I am thinking about socks—and nowthat Decembers socks are done, I have another little clear plasticcase to fill with a sock kit... Which one?

Problem is—sock ideas don't live in avacuum—they need to be paired with sock yarns.

Take the idea of another pair of puffysocks –The first time round, Red, white, and shade of grey going toblack. I like the look, I like the results, and I think it would begood to do another pair.

Blue—then? The same white, and shadesof grey going to black? Or blue and white and shade of blue fading tonavy? I have a nice bright blue, I have white, and I have navy. What I don't have is three shade of intermediate blue, (sky, medium,and dark, but lighter than navy)

Or how about bright yellow, thenwhite, then shade of brown? No way, I don't have shades of brown.

OK then, bright yellow, then white,then marigold yellow, and then deeper yellow orange, then rustyorange, then brown. I think I could manage those colors.. but do Ihave a need for socks in these colors?

I have a huge stash of self patterning(stripes and mock stranded color work) –and a semi huge stash orsemi solids--(mostly solid with intermittent colors) and I love theseyarns for basic generic socks.

But I often want to knit more excitingsocks—and multi color socks yarns are best suited to simplersocks--Where as complex socks are better in simpler yarns—Notnecessarily solid, but not to busy a yarn—I don't like when theyarn and stitch pattern compete.

And then there are socks I want todesign, knit and document for a book on socks—What yarns for thesesocks? What designs? When to knit them?

I end up playing with my stash—thinkingabout what to do (and doing nothing)

Well, I should be feeling better in afew days...maybe I will be thinking clearer and have some idea ofwhat to do next.

Finally—They are Socks!

2012-01-08T09:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday is supposed to be for sewing(and I do need to get some done—I've stalled again on the scale,but things are shifting and clothes are looser than ever) butinstead, a nice walk (it was spring-like out yesterday!) and someknitting.

The finished socks are the strangestlooking things—they don't look like any sort of normal sock butthey fit fine—better than fine. The fabric hugs the underside ofmy foot, and the back of my ankle. There is plenty of ease at theinstep—with out any part of the sock being baggy—even though theylook a bit baggy on LEGS.

This idea (and it's not my originalidea—I know of at least 4 other patterns for socks that start atthe heel) works. It has a totally different rhythm than toe up ortop down socks. I learned a lot knitting this first pair.

When(and, really the fit so comfortable, it is a WHEN) I get around toknitting a sock like this again—there will be several improvements:

--More stitches to start (the heel is abit pointy—not enough to be uncomfortable—but I don't like thelook)

--More clearly marked quadrants—Iused 2 stitches, 4 would be better—maybe even 6 for the instep (butnot the center back and center sole)I think a strong line wouldimprove the look and feel of the sock.

--The top of the instep will begrafted--(it gapes on these socks)

--The shaping will be more like the leg(starting a wedge immediately) rather than like the foot

--And the yarn will be a yummysemi-solid—some wonderful color that sings! These socks look therebest when displayed and lit with the Ott (type) light—and I supposewill look good on bright sunny days (outdoors) but the rest of thetime, they are too drab for my taste.

Today I am off to a wedding show casewith my daughter—I am a very laid back mother of the bride—butshe invited me—so all is good. My daughter has very stronglydefined taste—but she also has an open mind—so it will be fun tosee what catches her fancy—if anything!

More—But Not Yet Done

2012-01-06T09:51:00.000-05:00

The leg is inching upward—but stillhas a ways to go.

The top edge is still very biased—ascan be seen on both LEGS and on the sock blocker

The image below and to the left shows the lop sidedprogress—The gauge is about parallel with the stitches before Istarted the leg portion of the sock—and as you see, about 1 inch ofknitting has been added to the back of the leg—but almost 4 incheshave been added to the center front of the sock!

What is less evident (the bias stitcheshide it to some degree—is the stitch count went from 164 to 64—100stitches decreased--in the same 4 inches. That is the work of a wholebunch of short rows!

I wish I could say I was out of sockyarn (or running out soon) and would just have to live with socksthat were taller in back than in front—but I have lots of yarnleft—and lots of knitting to do too.

I like the fit—I like how the biasfabric hugs my arch and the back of my heel, (yes, I know its looseand baggy looking on LEGS—but my feet and legs are bigger) and Ieven sort of like the V wedge in front—and I like how there is nopooling of colors--not anywhere! A pretty interesting thing—especialsince the number of stitches in the wedge, or round are changing allthe time.

Now they are almost finished—and thatwhat I want most—to be done. Maybe tonight—I know I am going totry!

Plodding Away

2012-01-05T11:34:00.000-05:00

Dreary. The saving grace is: the endis in sight! It's only an inch, an inch and half but its finally thehome stretch. The socks look (and are) loose on LEGs, but they fitme fine (the back is still much taller than the front, but it rolls(as stocking knit does) making that less evident.

These socks have no symmetry, no grace. They are slightly less than a chore to knit.

Yesterday, Judy asked: would they havebeen better in some other yarn—a solid or perhaps a self stripe?

Ithink yes--Partly because I find this yarn so uninspiring. I think asolid would do nicely—I am not so sure about a stripe. Beforebreaking for the foot, I had over 320 stitches in a round (vs themore common 60 to 64—5 times as many stitches!) Many self striping yarns wouldn't stripe nicely with that number of stitches.. and the stripewould vary (I cast on 8, and worked up to 320!)--this random handpainted yarn is better choice. (even if I don't much like it!)

I don't know why I don't like it. It'sbehaved remarkably—It held up to knitting and frogging and knittingand frogging (2 previous starts at socks) and more knitting andfrogging (while working this sock) and kept looking good. It's alsofailed to pool—even the short rows are noticeable lacking puddleblocks of color.

I even like the look of the color underthe pure white light of my non--Ott brand light. I tend to keep thelight by my photo station, and only rarely move it for knitting –butmy main knitting seat also has a Ott type (but not Ott brand) whitelight. But I don't focus the light on my work, but instead use thelight for general lighting. But the color, while nice, is not WOW!

So here they are again—Both socks(now positioned on the needles that allow for both socks to be displayed)with a wedge of short rows growing the center front of the sockfaster than the center back.

I am still increasing in the centerback (as I did on the center bottom of the sole) to keep the biasfabric, but I am working short rows in the wedge—every round! Onthe first pass I decrease (outside of wedge) and increase(center)--for zero gain/loss, then I work the wedge stitches again,and decrease the out side edge, but don't increase in the center—andcreated a 2 stitch decrease.

When I increase center back, (every 3^rdround) I work a full round (no short rows) and work correspondingdecreases on the center front wedge.

Its not as complicated as it sound—butthere are all sort of minor adjustments going on—every round.

Including-- repositioning stitches fromthe back (where the stitch count increases) to the front, where thestitch count decreases. It takes a bit of finessing to do that whenworking socks 2 at time on 2 circ's!

And as I try them on (to confirm all isgoing well) I have to admit, I really like the fit of foot with allthe bias fabric. Who knows, inspite of all my moaning and groaningabout these socks, I might do another (improved!) somewhere down theline! There are lots of little things I'd do to improve the pattern--(and I'd want to document it at the same time!)

Finally—A foot

2012-01-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

Or rather 2, since both the socks havefinished toes.--Though the way the unworked stitches are saved on thestitch holders make its impossible to show both socks at one time

And the socks are closer to being done. They look a bit weird on LEG—and a somewhat better on the sockblocker. (And better still on my foot! I actually like how the bias fabric hugs my foot.)

I didn't get much knitting done lastnight—and none this morning. Instead I balled up the Skinny Bugga,and the green home spun, and then went on to ball up some sock yarns,and another 100 g. skein of some pretty coral/orange/yellow fingeringweight yarn that I can't remember where it came from or what is was intended for! (for a shawl? Another shawl/scarf?!)

Anything instead of working on these socks! I don't know why. I like the colors—individually—but the overall effect of thisyarn is just so-so. I like the yarn—its lovely and soft...but itdoesn't inspire me. I like knitting novelty designs—but this onejust doesn't impress me. I usually enjoy knitting-I look forward tofinishing a row, a round, a pattern element. But not with thesesocks.

I only went back to knitting thembecause I want them done. I have invested too much time alreadyknitting them—I am not going to frog them back to nothing—I'vedone that twice already. I am not going to abandon them. But...

I am sure, once done, I will wear them. I don't hate them. I am just not enjoying making them.

It happens—I have half a dozen littlebags of sock yarn sitting waiting for me.. and all of them make mehappy. What can is say?

Knit. Frog.

2012-01-03T12:26:00.000-05:00

(Repeat.)

I could have done it athird time, and gotten the solution perfect—but I just don't careenough! Frogging the work twice was 2 more times than I wanted!

The sole is over 6 inches long (andnormally I would start toe shaping at 7—7.25 inches) and the instepis growing longer faster. The foot is taking shape--A normal footshape—vs the lumpy messes the first few tries.

The stitch count is where it should be(64 stitches)--which is 4 more than I normal would use—but a biasfabric needs more ease. I am still increasing 2 times every thirdround, and now decreasing at the same rate—and in addition workingshaping on the alternate rounds. The shaping is paired increase(center) with paired decreases, that create an ever widen V on thetop of the sock.

This will (eventually) creating the same upwardshaping on the instep as is found on the sole. There is theoccasional short row, too, to help the instep along.

The toe shaping will be minimal—I amgoing to partially rely on the natural pointed shape that theincreases provide to form a rounded toe tip.

As part and parcel of the frogging, the stitches were repositioned on theneedles—that helps a good deal with final solution (but it was aroyal PITA!)

Fibery Goodness

2012-01-02T18:58:00.000-05:00

That's what its all about, isn't it? Every knitter (or crocheter, or weaver, or fiber artist) is all aboutthe fiber—We love to hold and cuddle it, we love to work with it,we love to wear it.

We might (I think we do!) have a higherneed than the average person for certain tactile sensations. Wewere the picky kids, who had favorite clothes that had the righttactile sensations--(and sometime scratchy was what we wanted—andlove certain clothes or blankets because they were just the rightamount of scratchy). And now as adults, we love certain fibers.

Kimberly (aka Boss, even though shehasn't been for the better part of the year) is especially drawn toyarns for the tactile sensations. For her, smooth and silky is amust. (Me, I don't mind—even right next to my skin--some woolsother define as scratchy. For me, color is as important as touch) Herstash is top heavy with Malabrigo, and one of her favorite yarns isSanguine Gryphon's Skinny Bugga— 80/10/10—a blend of wool,cashmere and nylon. I can't fault her taste—it is a lovely softyarn, bouncy and smooth, soft and strong.

For Christmas—She bought me some! Alovely little cone—I don't know how many yards—but a lot-- sinceits over 4(4.2) ounces of fingering weight—Somewhere in theneighborhood of 500 yards I am guessing. (A standard hank, (3.99ounces=450 yards))

It came to me in a natural white—buttoday it was transformed into a peacock blue—a near solid. (My motto, if you can't make an effortto knit yarn, dye some!) There were a few places the dye justdidn't take up evenly—but no matter—it's just beautiful and acolor that is sorely lacking in my stash of shawlette/scarf yarns.

While I was in a dying mood—I alsodyed some skeins of hand spun. This yarn is closer to a worstedweight. I started with a dye labeled celedon (which to me is agreen—a light green, a grey green--but green) that was, to my eye, much too turquoise, and way too dark. It was a lovelyturquoise--but since I had just dyed a skein in peacock blue (andwhat is peacock blue but a shade of turquoise?) I wanted somethingdifferent. I add a bit more green until I ended up with this—whichalso isn't celedon, but is a lovely green, (a slightly bluish green)–close to a Nile green I think—but never having seen the Nile, Icould be wrong!

My collection of yarns for scarves andshawls is huge--(I have them bundled in a 3 gallon zip lock bag)–with a range of colors—reds and pinks, browns and blues and nowturquoise and green. There is another skein of natural white ( large 200gskein skein) of DK waiting to decide what color it wants to be—itswhispering purple—and I might listen to it. But it's in a cake,and needs to be skeined before it can be dyed, so its going to haveto be a bit more insistent before anything happens.

The peacock will be a lacy triangle--of some sort. My daughter's wedding will be in October (which soundslike months from now, but will be here in a flash!) and her requestfor the mothers dresses is for jewel tones/peacock colors. I haven'teven thought of looking for a dress yet—I am once again stuck –andnot showing any weight lose, but that won't be for long— I havebeen making progress (and I know, over time, the progress will slow)The plan is for there to be a lot less of me (inspite of this drearyreport)—So dress shopping will be put off till the summer (if notlater) But I can get to work on a small shawl. (even if I don't end up wearing it for the wedding. )

The green? Who knows--It's a lovely color, (and one that suits me)--but it's not a super soft snuggle up to yarn. Still it might be soft enough for a scarf. (Only haven't I claimed that I am never going to knit another scarf?! Ha--who am I fooling!)

But I can knit NOW.

Well that is, in theory I can knit. I'min the doldrums and find it an effort--My December socks have 2inches of instep knit, but they are far from being done. They justdon't send me. Not the yarn, not the color, not the design. Ithappens—good ideas that aren't good at all. Lovely yarn that-- justisn't right when taken in hand. I think a good deal of the knitting doldrums are because of these socks. I just don't care for them or about them (and this is the third time I tried to knit socks with this yarn!)

January socks—when I get to them--are going to be dead simple: practical, generic socks. With noexpectations, they won't disappoint.

Hey ho, What's Afoot?

2011-12-31T12:24:00.000-05:00

A foot! 2 of them actually!

Finally the central portion of the sockis done! The stitches have been divided, (and everything is all abit awkward right now) and work has begun on the foot portion of thesock.

At this point the center bottom of thesole is 5 inches long, and the instep is 0 inches long (OK, maybe0.25 inches)--The sole needs to be 9 inches (4 more inches) and theinstep needs to be 7 inches. At the same time, the 80 stitches Istarted the foot with need to be decrease—to something closer to 66 or 68- sothere is going to be some shaping going on—short row shaping.

To the left of the image are thestitches (on holders) for the leg; to the right the stitches for thefoot. (By the stitch marker, a few stitches on the top instep)

The foot portion (and the leg portion)started out with 80 stitches each. So step one is decreasing—whichwill be done on the center top of the sock. The first few rounds(that 0.25^th's of an inch) were all decrease rounds Thefirst 3 rounds after joining the top of the foot were worked with 2decreases per round (80 minus 6) and one set of increases--(the soleportion of the foot has been increasing 2 stitches every 3^rdround for several inches now, and I want to keep that up (and keepthe bias fabric in place.) But decreasing every round is too steep aslope. So now the decrease will proceed at 2 every other row.

BUT—If I am going to continue thebias patterning—with every 3^rd round, there will need tobe a set of increase on the sole. So I will be both decreasing (onthe instep) and increasing (on the sole)--but at different rates.

Taken over 12 rounds, there will be 4sets of 2 increase (8 increases in 12 rounds) on the sole, and 6 setsof decreases on the instep (12 decreases in 12 round) or a net of 4stitch decrease—which is not enough.

So I will sneak in a few short rows,and after 12 full rounds, and 2 sets of short rows, the will be 8increases on the sole, and 16 decreases on the instep-- a net of 8decreases

The count now is 76 stitches, which will become first 68 stitches. This will add about 3 inches to the top of the sock (the instep) but only add 2.5 inches ofsole) –Then...

Well I am not exactly sure! 68 stitches is morethan average--(for me, by about 8 stitches) but with a bias knitfabric, more stitches are needed. The stitch count will be close toright. I can always omit a short row, or more likely, addone—depending on how the socks fit.

I will still need 4 more inches ofinstep—but only another 2 inches or so on the sole—So a moreintricate set of short rows will be needed for the toe final fewinches and toe shaping!

But the bulk of the foot will becompleted in 12 full rounds—and what lovely rounds they will be. Rounds that grow smaller and small--(not larger and larger!) androunds that will make the socks look like socks (and not like somesort of strange skull cap!)

It's not likely I will finish the sockstoday. I might not even finish the foot part of the sock today—sothese socks are going to be late and not finished until next year.(NEXT YEAR IS TOMORROW!)

But I can live with that—they areonly socks after all!

More—But Not Enough

2011-12-30T10:20:00.002-05:00

Yet. I wonder if there will ever beenough! I haven't moved the stitch markers since yesterday—you cansee, more than a half inch of knitting has been added; And stillmore is required--not much, BUT!

Will this heel ever be done?!

I realized last night-I am going toneed a third needle (or to transfer half the stitches on to a stitchholder) when I finally finish this section and begin to work on thefoot.

I think this is the time to make useof my Boye Interchangeable needle set, and to knit the final row ontoa cord, remove the needle tips and cap the cord.

I actually have 3 Boye sets—I wentout and bought one some years ago—after procrastinating forever.And then, less than 6 months later—I inherited one with stash—andthen, a year after that, with a second inheritance (another SABLEthat came my way) a third one. The last set came in pieces—I hadto go hunting among a bunch of UFO's to find all the pieces—butthey were all there.

I know I have supported Boye needlesand the interchangeable sets in the past –(and I still do). Havinglearned to knit with the old fashioned circulars that had piano wiretype cables, even Boye's stiff cords are a pleasure—but bothstashes came with LOTS of needles—not just the Boye sets; and Ihad lots of needles to start with—so they are over kill, and rarelyused. When you have a choice of super flexible cables, or stifferones—well, the super flexible ones win out every time.

But the interchangeable sets still havethere uses—and these socks will will make use of them! It's so mucheasier to knit stitches on to a holder than transfer them--(and thesame goes double when it come time to take them off the holder!)

Since I finished my secret socks—Ihad freed up another small clear plastic purse (and a set of sockneedles) —and wanted to stock it with another sock kit for mypersonal club socks—

So first I had do dye up some yarn.

Here is the black eyed-Suziesyarn--(for a pair of color work socks) –the yellow is too orange,the red, too pinkish-purple, the brown, too light. The colors are allwrong—but I love them! The result is too beautiful for words! Ithink the results will be beautiful—if not a perfect match to themost common Black Eyed-Suzies. Thank goodness flowers come in allsorts of colors!

I have to ball it up and to divide itstill-- And to divide a skein of green, too, for the second color (aplain simple green) While I have some ideas of the stitch patterns Iwant to use—I haven't settled on any ones yet.. So the sock kitwill hold some graph paper index cards (and some colored markers) .

(and I am sure I will end up consultingbooks, too, before I settle on the stitch pattern I want)

That will makes 7 kits set up. That'smore pairs of socks than in many clubs!

So far I have:

1—The Black and White Cookie sock(black and white cookies are NYC favorites—and sold elsewhere I amguessing)

2—A simple sock in Fashion Toes (akaPlymouth Happy Feet) sock yarn—a not quite plain vanilla sock—butalmost—just a bit of texture in the stitching to break up thecolors. (The hard to see balled up color way!)

3—White topped brown socks—Plainwhite giving way to some color work, then changing over to solidbrown (for the foot)--maybe a bit more of patterning just before thetoe shaping. Inspired by Katherine Misegades design—but not quitethe same.

4—Solid green for a leaf design—alacy, leafy cross band border, and a leaf motif in the leg, too.

5—A spiral rib in stripes—a solidpumpkin with a striped pumpkin--the stripes will be narrow enough to carry the yarn (no cut ends to weave in!)

6-- A plain vanilla pair of sock inKroy fx –color way clover.

The Black eyed-Suzies will be kit 7.

A nice mix of colors, techniques,stitches.

Some of the other ideas for socks in 2012 are:

1—Spats (aka saddle socks) a two tonepair of sock that look like spats.

2—A Pastel spiral (helix) sock.

3—Dragon Socks—In red and black(2012 is the year of the dragon!)-- But since its also a wateryear—I have been thinking--maybe the sock won't be red and black—but will be blues andgreen dragons!

4—Another pair of beadedsocks—Prussian blue, with silver bead work.

5—Another pair of puffy socks—butin a different color way—tentively, Yellow, going to marigold, to orange torust to brown (there will extra brown left over from the brown andwhite socks!) And at some point, there will be a pair of puffy socksin shades of blues and greys.

6—PINK! Maybe to keep, maybe for afund raiser, maybe for a gift. (Goodness knows I have a lot of pinksock yarn!)

That's 13 pairs of socks alreadythought out and planned—and there will be secret socks, too, andother knitting... A pretty ambitious plan for next year! Especiallyconsidering, I still haven't finished Decembers sock (but I did knittwo secret socks this year (one in the summer, and the pair justfinished)) so I have already knit a bakers dozen!--Decembers sockwill be the 14^th pair for the year.

As an aside--all this sock knitting is still not enough to make a serious dent in my sock yarns stash--and sales and yarn companies are likely going to try to entise me to buy more sock yarn. Knitting up all my sock yarn is a Sisyphean task.

Spreading Myself Too Thin

2011-12-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

Not that I am think yet—but I am 20pounds light—A nice start to even less of me! Losing weight(planning meals, eating healthy (shopping for fresh vegetables)getting exercise has been a real priority. It's showing.

Sewing is soon going to become a higherpriority than knitting, too, since a 20 pounds lose is enough that alot of clothes don't fit! I can sew some elastic into some waistbands—and get some more wear out of some of the clothes—and somecan be altered, (easily) but I really need some new clothes, too.

I still haven't sewn up the fabric Ibought last year for skirts—and instead went out and got morefabric (60 inches wide and only $2 a yard!) and a pattern for aJumper*. (Simplicity pattern no.9890--I can't find it on the web site) Skirts are more fitted and harder to alter—and either fitor don't. Jumpers can be altered a bit more easily--long darts frontand back can make them more fitted in a flash! And since they hangfrom the shoulder –losing an inch or two from the waist doesn't make them unwearable.

–(*Note here—an american-englishjumper--a sleeveless one-piece dress, that pulls over the head (nozippers required)that can be worn as is, or with a thin (cottont-shirt) shirt under it. )The pattern also includes a top—a campshirt like jacket to be worn over the jumper.

Some of my fitted skirts are so loosethat they fall over my hips now—while the waist band is stillbuttoned, and the zipper is still unzipped! Sure I can add a belt—butthe bunched up look when is not very attractive (and hides my weightloss too!) Even the elastic waist skirts are too loose.

I have been making all sort of effortsin all directions— beside weight loss—I continue to clean—andorganize (and cull!) stuff, and while knitting and blogging aboutknitting has fallen short, am working on pattern ideas, and gettingsome basic outlines of patterns written (and finishing up on patterndocumentation I've started and never completed.) Culling old filesand backing up the keepers goes on, too.

Since I haven't been knittingmuch--(and since normally I am so abnormally obsessive about it!)Ihaven't much to say.

1—The secret socks got finished—andare even longer by a few rows (a half inch or so) than average socks. (They got photographed this AM)--I am happy with the final results,too!

2—Decembers socks? Well maybe I'llhave them finished by the end of the month/year—but... just.

I've worked a few more rounds (and thesocks now have 36 stitches per sections—4 sections per sock or 144stitches—and I still need more rounds, more increases, more damnknitting before I can start decreasing and shaping the foot. Andevery round is so damn long! These socks are going to be one ofkind—I can't imagine knitting them again!

I really want to get there (have thisportion done) —I obsessively try on the sock—hoping (though Iknow in my heart of hearts it still not there yet) it's big enough. The (hard to see) white wire is one of my wire coat hanger sock blockers--and clearly the heel section is still short of reaching the top of the instep! On the other hand, the sock has a good part of the bottom of the foot and the back of the leg knit... I am counting on this to make both the foot and cuff portion of the sock a bit faster (once I get to them!) to knit.

It's clear that I am still some (too many!) rows short of being ready tobreak off and start the foot. (The cuff end will be last—I am sureI have enough yarn—but...)

I Got Garbage for Christmas.

2011-12-26T12:01:00.000-05:00

And I couldn't be happier!--Wait let meexplain. Since I was teen ager, I've been the person who hascollected box top or labels and sent away for promotional products(and unlike Ralphie, I never ended up with a decoder ring and beendisappointed). I've been a coupon queen—once (back in the lat1970's) buying a full cart of groceries (over $100 worth) for just afew ($2? $3)--including meat, potatoes and fresh vegetables. Promotions have changed over the year, and many now can be done oncomputer, with nothing to mail in. And while I do fewer, and I amless compulsive about it, I still participate.

Since they started, I have been one ofthe people participating in MyCoke rewards program. On disadvantageto this promotional scheme (to all promotional schemes!) is thequantities required to get anything-- Along the way I have learnedtricks to extend my ability to garner points.

NY State is one with a bottle recyclingprogram—and the recycling machines used often kick out the bottle caps—slipon a disposable glove, and you can sort through a bunch of caps andfind some from CokeCola products—and add some points (with out morepurchases.) I confess, I do this all the time.

Yesterday—while shopping for a Sundaypaper—I checked the bottle machines—and found myself 9 caps--(Itwould take me a month to drink that much soda!) a bonus!

Each cap is worth 3 points—and mayrewards take 300 (or more!) points—It's not a very generous rewardsprogram—so scrounging for caps is, well, one aspect of my compulsivebehavior.

A gentleman (I was going to sayelderly—but chance are, he was just older (by some 10 years) thanme, and I sure don't want to be called elderly!)--saw me, and said,“You collect caps? Here I have some...”

He had a nice car (much new than mine)and his trunk was filled with bottled for recycling—(it's amazingthe number and sort of people who collect cans and bottles and add totheir income a nickel at a time) Here and there in piles, were caps. I held out a bag, he rummaged.. and rather quickly filled the bag—alovely Christmasy collection of red, green, and white caps. (OK thereare a few silver ones, and black one or two, —but mostly reds and whites and greens!)

At home I washed them (in hot water anda little bleach) and dried them, and counted them.

71 caps! With my measly 9, that's 80 inall. And 80 times 3 is 240—a substantial number of points!

Already, it's enough to reward my selfwith a coupon for a 12 can pack (or rather a coupon for one)

I don't usually drink cans of soda—butevery once in a while its nice to have a small controlled portion. (Iused to love these coupons when I worked—I could carry a coupon toManhattan, and buy a 12 can pack a the local drug store—so mucheasier than lugging all 12 cans from Queens!(up and down subwaystairs—and a few block of walking too!) Then, when I worked late, Ienjoyed treating my self to a can of soda (I tend to drink soda after4PM—and more after dinner..and not that much ever.) It made longhours more enjoyable—but since I am not working, I don't think so.

240 points is just about half thenumber needed to purchase a free movie ticket voucher--

What do movies cost around your way?Here in NYC--$11 to $13 (and sometimes even $15!) is the normalcharge. There are some promotional deal like $5 Tuesdays--(earlymatinee's only) but for the most part, the experience of going out toa movie is a luxury I just can't afford. (I just cashed in a year'sworth of points for just such a voucher.)

They also have rewards for free movierentals (cheaper than a movie ticket) and for a lot of promotionalclothing (I have no interest in wearing CokeCola T shirts, or hat, orcarrying a lunch bag with a promo, or a key chain, or ...) and otherstuff—lot of free subscriptions to magazines (none that I generallyread, but..) and photo products, and.. well other things I am notinterested in.

Still, in all, Free stuff! Isn't that what we dreamabout? I especially like free stuff that is intangible—a freemovie ticket/experience take up absolution no space! It's clutterfree! And for me, a bit of a luxury.

I got a lot of other nice stuff forChristmas—I am blessed with generous loving family and friends—andit warms the cockles of my heart, that I got some garbage, too!

Inching Along

2011-12-21T19:25:00.000-05:00

A little bit here, a little bit there,and eventually, I will have something. But right now—it seems likenothing is getting done!

The endless heel and ankle onDecember's sock still haven't been finished. The dull boring partof the secret socks are incomplete, too.

Hours of frustration areslowly giving way to a new web page—right now it looks crude butslowly oh, so slowly, the backbone is being built, the pages arebeing fleshed out.

Drag and drop page builders areconvenient—but I want more than they offer, and each page needs tobe tweaked. And while I know there are certain bell and whistle Ican and to make things better—I haven't done much with HTML in thethe past few years, and I am repeated forced to look up the codedetails.

Not to mention the getting the domain host and the page host on speaking terms!

The new web page won't make its debuttill sometime in the new year—But it is something I am working onevery day—As well as culling old files (13Gigs of old filesdisappeared today!) and backing up the remaining files.

I'm doing real cleaning up. too—muchof it, too long neglected—every day something gets put up, or putaway, or thrown away. Sometimes it's just the smallest of thing—Oreven just everyday things (tomorrow: laundry—just 2 load—Notletting it pile up! (and become overwhelming!) But I am working at it.

There is shopping, too, (fresh fruitsand vegetable get eaten up on a regular basis and need to bereplenished!) and there are new foods—Since all rice is not thesame—and new condiments for the same old food—to make them moreappetizing—and more cooking and cleaning up! Simple meals of astarch and protein have been replaced with stir fried veggies, orroast veggies, or steamed veggies with almost no starch, and a lotless protein. And all those veggies need to be cut up, cleaned or peeled, before being cooked. OK, the occasional baked sweet potato doesn't require much effort--but chopping up a mountain of veggies for a stir fry dinner is more effort than boiling water (and making a meal of pasta)

On the calendar is a reminder to signup for a water aerobic program—Since more exersize is another itemon the agenda.

I am still procrastinating on buyingspeakers—but they are on the too list, too And sewing is going tohave to move to front and center, soon, too. The good news is awhole lot of clothes are becoming too loose—and either need to betaken in, or thrown out. The bad new is: New clothes are quickly becoming needed.

For now, I am just going to do somefast and dirty altering --adding elastic to the inside of waistbands, or some darts to dress, but I don't have many smaller sizedclothes—and will be needing some (including a new swimsuit forwater aerobics!)

Secret Socks--

2011-12-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

Are almost done –they are ankletsnow—but won't be finished till they are taller, mid calf lengthsocks.

And they are, oh so boring, now toknit! I got a good two inches done yesterday--(and half of theSunday NYTimes crossword puzzle). I could have done more Isuppose—but...

Most of yesterday was spend in NYC HHC(Health & Hospial Corp) Primary Health Care—a service I didn'tknow about—but that now serves as my health care center. I can'tcomplain about the quality of the care—the doctors, the nurses, theservice available are all top notch—but SLOW? Incredible slow. Hours are spent—The first 2 hours weren't too bad—A lot got done. Butthen there was a wait for more stuff--and after 4 hour hour wait, I decide I couldwait a while longer for some of the services offered—and gave upand went home.

By then, I was already re-acting to thePneumonia and flu vaccinations--(the pneumonia one more) my arm wasachy, and tender, and by the time I got home (a 30 minute commute) Ihad a low grade fever.

In the first 2 hours, I had seen a care nurse who check myblood pressure, weight, temp and respirations, I had seen a doctor did a complete exam (including checking on my now nearly healed leg) and who scheduled a ton of tests and some meds. I had seen a RN forthe afore mentioned vaccinations, and a pre-care instructions for acolonoscopy (scheduled), and an optical technician who checked myeyes.

So knitting was done for the day—andso was I. No blog, no photos, nothing else done, either!

My not secret socks? Progress is slow..each sock now has over 120 stitches—and will like have 150 (or maybe even more) before Ichange—The socks (if you haven't guessed) are being knit startingfrom the base of the heel. The center markers mark divides footstitches from leg stitches. (the single side marker is BoR marker)

There are 4 sets of increases—1Center of the sole, 1 center of back , and 2 that run up on adiagonal to the top of the instep. Once I get to the top of theinstep, I'll break—and begin to knit only the foot.

At that point the foot will have halfthe stitches (or about 74 )and they will be decreases (creating ineffect a gusset) until there are circa 60 stitches. I'll continue toincrease on the sole, (and do double decreases on the top of theinstep) and will have a diagonally knit foot. At some point, thesole shaping will end, the rows will even out.. and a toe willworked.

Then I'll go back to the other 74stitches, and work the leg portion of the sock. It too will beshaped by decreases--(and perhaps a central motif)

I already have almost 4 inches of thecenter seam of the sole of foot (the edge with the BoR marker)andcenter seam of the back of leg-- so by the time I get to knitting thefoot and the leg, there will be a nice bit of progress on each—butnow? Every round (and I am still increasing every 3^rdround!) is twice the number of stitches found in a conventionalsock—So progress is slow. 6 rounds since last photo? On a normalsock, the same number of stitches worked would be over an inch-- nota pittiful 3/8^th of an inch!

The other good news? I've droppedanother pound. So progress is being made on that front, too.

6 Sock Kits Put Together--

2011-12-17T12:59:00.000-05:00

and Oh my!

What a mistake it is torummage round in the sock yarn stash—The idea come flying out, andso does yarn I've totally forgotten about—

Where did this pair ofKnit Pick sock yarn come from? --it lovely—but I have severalother skeins in almost the same color.

Why do I have so much PINK?
Oh, look atthis green—its hideous. What was I thinking buying it?

And then there was the culling ofphoto—and organizing them. The theory being I shouldn't back upthe blurred ones, or the dull ones. A thousand (well maybe just ahundred but it seemed like a thousand) folders are now condensed intomonthly ones (some dating from 2009)—and 3 folders have been culledof unwanted images. Only 20 or so more to go.

And that opens up another can ofworms—Look at this yarn! (A skein of woodland rose (colorway) in aworsted weigh yarn.) I found this picture, and I remember buying it. But--Where did I stash it? It's so pretty—And whatcan I do with a single skein?

Knitting?
Well a few more round havebeen added to sock—not so much as you'd really notice.. But the endis in sight for this first part! Soon (not soon enough, but soon!)I'll be ready to go to work on the foot--(and actually a good 3inches—and by the time I finish, 4 inches of the sole will havebeen knit. Not so much of the instep.. but still all this knitting isdoing something--its just taking a long time to look like a sock.

A lot of work is getting done—in lotsof different places.. Its just there is not much to show forit—anywhere!

Every Year, I Swear:

2011-12-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Next year, I am going to be neater and more organized. And while some progress is made, by the end of the year, it' s pretty clear, I am far from being neat and well organized!

As the year comes to a close, I am once again cleaning up and sorting through piles of UFO's—and clutter. And once again, I am making an effort to make sense of my plans, my stash, my life.

Yesterday morning— I spent a good hour untangling and winding up 6.5 oz of some lovely merino homespun—Next I will skein it up—and think about dying it--(What Color?!) And then what? A hat? A lacy scarf? Something else? It's not super wash, so some things are out of the running-no slippers or bed socks --they become by default slipper for a short while between getting up and getting showered-- and need to be washed way too often for hand washing. On the other hand, 6 oz of DK/light worsted weight yarn is a lot of yards—easily enough for a nice sized scarf or medium sized shawl.

And its not the only yarn that been handled. A whole bunch of partial skeins have been neatened up and made into lovely little cakes on the ball winder. A bunch of jumbo (2.5 gallon) zip lock bags have been washed—and a dozen more purchased—I love storing fiber in these clear bags and finished stuff, too. I know that when yarn is in sight, it is half way to knitting it!

The first few (5) sock kits have been put together—with yarn, and needles, and pattern—The yarn divided (when needed) into 2 cakes, and a index card with the general plan for the socks –or specific information (intended stitch pattern—and the book and page the stitch pattern can be found) added too.

I've been making lists, too. Sweaters—and vests, and other things to knit, hats to knit, and patterns to write. I already have 3 scarf/shawl things on the list—Do I add another? And the list doesn't even have a full sized shawl on it—but my Daughter is getting married in October—perfect weather for wedding shawl—And maybe one for me, too? I have the yarn—Miles and miles of cob web weight merino--(I haven't balled that up yet!)--but I also have mile of silk merino, (lace but not cob web weight) and not too shabby a collection of silk, too. (a pastel color way, with a butter yellow predominating, or a huge skein of a dry crisp raw silk in shades of blue, and finally some dusty pink/mauve silk) There is also a beautiful blue angora/silk/merino blend (about 400 yards) or the dark teal blue Zepher--(silk/merino).

For some one who swears every year I am never going to make another scarf/shawl—I have an awful lot of yarn for just that purpose!

I even got a little knitting done. The secret socks have heels and an inch or so of leg—they will soon be complete. The public socks has had a measly 3 new rounds added by yesterday—but a few more rounds added last night. They look the same (just a little bigger) and this part of the sock isn't even half done.. so they won't look much different the next time they are seen!

The Girl with Dragon Tattoo has been re-read, slowly and carefully, and now I am started on re-reading book 2 of the trilogy.

There is a new calendar hanging on the wall next to my desk—and the console table in living room is just about cleared—this week end I will do the meager bit of decorating I do for the holiday. I have a lovely collection of glass tree's—all stylistically ever green--(some are even green glass) that I like to display—and I usually add a 6 foot tall conical tree of lights –on my terrace—but I don't hold out hopes that it will be open and ready for use before the new year –so there will be less than usually decorating.

I am not a big fan of Christmas—and don't do much in the way to celebrate it. Much of the holiday is so commercial and meaningless, the religious part is almost lost. And I am not very religious—well not in an organized way. I have a strong spiritual life—but I don't go to church—and liturgically, (in the RC I was raised in) Christmas isn't really that big a holiday. It's become bigger as its become a more secular holiday—It can be fun for the children—but it can also be just about the gimmes, too. But maybe that is just my own negativity showing.

And speaking of negativity—I am a bit annoyed that I haven't lost any weight in the past week! I feel like every meal is a big bowl of salad, and there have been no cookies, no snacks, no potato chip or ice cream (and no movement on the scale!) My leg is just about healed (the scab is gone—and there is tender pink skin in its place) and come the new year I will join the local pool and get involved in some water aerobic classes—I need not just to reduce calories—but to exercise more!

Clean Out the Old, Bring In the New

2011-12-12T10:19:00.003-05:00

Six little clear plastic purses (I wish I had a dozen!) have been cleaned out-the left over sock yarn stashed—the miscellaneous junk (pens, packs of tissues, business cards, etc) that crept into the bags, put away or discarded.

Next, these bags will be packed up with new sock yarn—and pattern idea's—and in some cases, needles, (When I inherited stashes, I also inherited needles—I have LOTS of needles, and other knitting notions), a tape measure, a few stitch markers, and what ever else might be needed. What ever I don't have and will need, I add to the note with the pattern ideas.

These sock kits will be my personal sock club—a handy way to plan my socks for the year.

It very effective! I had misplaced my notebook with pattern ideas, and then retrieved it this weekend—I had 4 new ideas to add to sock list-- When I review it, I realized I had forgotten half the ideas I had written down just a few months ago! I know with out the list and the sock kit all packaged up, I would forget even more!

The 4 new ideas brings my total list of ideas up to 16—Plus there is a list of another dozen ideas for my secret sock project. OK, some of them over lap, and some of the secret project socks are pretty generic--certainly the secret socks I am working on now are. The secret socks are about half done—With every step documented (and corrected!) and photographed along the way.

Some (not a lot, but some) progress has also been made on December's socks—they still don't look much like socks—and with each round they will look less and less like any sort of sock you might know. But in the end, they will be just another pair of socks.

One thing I love about Ravelry is how it reminds me what I have accomplished every year.

This time of the year, I feel like I have knit nothing—Or, OK, a hat or two, or some sock socks, but nothing to speak of, nothing much.

But then I look at my projects—all lined up, and suddenly, I see, 14 pairs of socks (Ok 2 are secret projects and not there) Plus one pair is still on needles, and won't be posted for another week or so. But
still, there they are, all those socks.

And it's not just socks—there is a shrug, and 2 vests, a dozen hats, (6 summer lace hats, 5 warm wooly ones + a baby hat). There scarves and cowls, and simple squares,(for Robyn's art project), some fingerless gloves.

Did I really knit all that in the past year? Maybe my knit list for the coming year isn't so ambitious after all!

Some times I feel like such a slacker—I wish I had a db like Ravelry for everything... Maybe I do more than I give myself credit for—and need a reminder! I suppose this blog serves as one –but I don't often go back and re-read it... But then again, just looking at the number of posts--236, so far this year--(I've made a real effort this year to post 5 days or so a week)--I haven't done too bad. And there is all the work I have done on my web page--(and so much more work in the pipeline!)

3 inches Of Knitting, Done

2011-12-10T17:04:00.001-05:00

But nothing to show—It was all done on the pattern in progress. I am on a stretch of “work in established pattern” and want to get to the point of change—and take some photo's.

I've been reading a lot, too. Which also cut into knitting time. Another thing is, I am on a medication that has very few side effects—and general mild ones, at that, but one side effect is I feel chilly—it doesn't last. Well maybe an hour or two—but for that hour or two I huddle under sweaters and comfors, and still, my hands and finger are uncomfortable cold. The chills pass as fast as they come on—but by then 2 hours of prime knitting time have passed!

I spend the whole time thinking about the sweaters I could be knitting. The chills are so strange—I have always been the warm—or comfortable when everyone else is cold. I've worn short sleeved cotton t-shirts all winter long—not out, but indoors. And my apartment is usually like an oven—so for me to feel chilled—It's so out of place!

Tomorrow, I am going to be joining others down at the Lion Brand Studio—They are having a Warm Up America Party—a bunch of us are going to be sewing together all the blocks that all of you (you know you are!) have knit and donated to the collection bins all over—Locally, Michaels has been one collection point—but there are other LYS that have participated as well.

Joining blocks can be tedious—but done together—it will be fun. It will be so good to see a pile of squares turn into a finished blanket.

Normally on Sunday, you'll find me a Panera's (my local Panera's in the new Rego Park Mall) but right now? The place is packed. It's too close and convenient to the stores! And, really even before the Christmas shopping season, it was a busy place and often hard to find a seat—Now it is impossible!

My friend D will be joining me—so even the commute (the subway) will be a fun time. Plus—D is a new knitter (well just over a year of knitting now, and on her 2nd pair of socks) and hasn't ever been to the Lion Brand Studios—She's in for a real treat.

I'll bring my camera—and since I haven't had much to show in the way of my knitting, I'll take some photos of others knitting (and of finished blankets)

A Little Bit of Knitting

2011-12-09T14:01:00.003-05:00

A sock (what else is new?)--Not the toe, and clearly not the cuff, but the beginning of a sock none the less. I had planned (at one point) to use this yarn for a pair of “Skew” socks—but I lost interest in that pattern. Now, I am doing a different pattern (sort of...I am making some adjustments to a pattern I say, and customizing it.)--it's a trendy thing.

I am pausing (--read stopping with out quite being finished) on the desk for now. I'll buy some new speakers at some point soon—and finish clearing off the paper work that is just out of sight, (the left side of the desk) in the images. Every day the pile is smaller, soon it will be gone. The speakers are the only real priority—I miss sound! (The image of the right side of the desk shows--there still isn't a phone base there yet--(the CPU tower is under the half circle leaf.))

Meanwhile, I've printing out some things that I wanted hard copies of, and editing them. I started out last year with my web page—and while I have added a lot to it, there is more I want to add—and a good percentage is stuff that is 90% done—and just needs some final editing. I want to make a new start in the new year and improve what I have—Especial since,come the new year, the web page will be moving to its own domain. (don't worry there will be fanfare the day it happens!)

I want the to start off with a new improved web page offering more goodies, (patterns, links, videos, and tutorials!)

I've completed the first draft of one pattern—but I am still knitting the sample—I need to stop and take photographs of the progress and that's slowing me down.

And there are 3 other patterns that are awaiting “tweaks” to make them perfect, some are hats, some are socks, some are others projects. There are over half a dozen patterns in the pipeline—Just waiting for me to finish them.

I am moving in so many directions at once—Changing my eating habits, losing weight—(well not this week—the scale is being very unfriendly—I haven't gained back anything—but I am stuck for the moment), cleaning and re-organizing my living space, writing patterns and tutorials, reading... Knitting (actually pick up yarn and making stitches) has fallen to the wayside for the moment.

It happens, but don't worry, the knitting content of this blog will resume!

As Always, It Took Longer Than Expected

2011-12-08T11:19:00.001-05:00

One delay was a mistake on my part (the required me dismantling everything all over again!)--It's what comes of buying parts (with almost no instructions) and missing a key piece of the work.

And—in a bit of planned obsolescence, nothing could be salvaged from my old computer—New plugs, new sizes, new hardware—and the old is scrap.

The second delay (well, it was my fault, too) came as I went to install the half round leaf extension of the desk. I spent an hour looking for a small piece of plastic (a spacer) and finally gave up. I figured I could improvise some sort of spacer. It was really annoying because I knew I had seen the space just a day or two ago, and could not think were I had put it as I was cleaning up-- and its been hanging around for almost 2 years waiting for me to put the leaf in place.

The answer was—I screwed it into place—and as soon as I attempted to do the install (with the improvised spacer)—I found what I had just spent a long hour looking for!

The leaf isn't very sturdy—I wouldn't want to put the printer on it (even though it would be very convenient to have it to my right, and not behind the monitor.) But it will be fine to hold the cordless phone base (Yet another piece of this project—moving the phone)

As soon as I finish one piece, another one suggests its self! And there are (ever!) details. I still need to hang a new calender (I keep my calendar on my computer—but I like a pretty picture one to hang on the wall and look at!)

And—while I have got the video cam working (with out crashing the internet) I still can't get sound out of my speakers. When I check the sound icon on the task bar, it indicated things are working (previously it didn't which is what led me to replace the sound card (vs the speakers)) I think it might be time for new speakers as well. This project is endless!

Today, it's clean up time, there are piles of things to throw out (old computer for 1, boxes for 2, shredded paper for 3, (do I need to go on?)) and stuff to put away (the drill, and other tools) and some stuff to organize (CD's—including all the new drivers from the new equipment)

This new arrangement makes better use of the space. The BEST use of the space would involve turning the desk, and working facing the wall. But I've rejected that—I want to be able to just turn my head (and not my whole body) and be able to look out of the living room window—Yesterday was rainy and foggy, and there is nothing to see, but on clear days, like today, I have a wonderful view.

(This very moment the view is workmen installing the new railing—or rather the railing frame. The glass inserts for the railing come later.)

It's going on two weeks now that I have been working on this project—and I would be so over it by now—except, it really looks good. I spend a lot of time at my computer desk—I like having it an inviting work space.

During the breaks—I have been skeining up (and making up skeins) of yarn.

Some 100gm balls of sock yarn got divided and balled up, and 1 ball of white became a skein—It will be hand painted--a Rudbeckia color way—deep yellow, crimson red and brown, one day soon. It will be divided, too, when it come time to make up balls. I think I will pair the hand painted yarn with a green and do star/flower like motifs in color work—It looks great in my mind eye—we'll see how it really works sometime next year!

It's not knitting--but it is fiber related!

Not Much Knitting--

2011-12-07T11:09:00.002-05:00

But a little bit.

What else? Tech writing. The little bit of knitting I am doing isn't ready for public consumption—it's a sample pattern that I am knitting, photographing, and documenting. It's the first of 12 patterns I hope to write in the next 6 months.

So for now, I am doing as much writing (and re-writing) as I am knitting. Maybe even more writing than knitting if the truth be told. The pattern is being written to be needle neutral (or more accurately 3 times, once for DPN's, once for magic loop, and once for 2 at a time on 2 circ's. A good 90% of the time, it's cut and paste--but there are one or two places where there are differences. The 10% difference make up 90% of the work!

My desk top is about 98% complete--(there are still papers to be shredded, and piles of new manuals and soft ware to be filed away)—but the end is in sight. Even the keyboard got cleaned—all the dust (so much!) blown out with a can of air—and all the keys wiped clean with alcohol pads.

The new color printer is up and operational. I have already printed up some business cards. Still to come, some photo's to frame and hang. And I cleaned the wall and attached the new velcro on the wall and power strip (it needs to cure for 24 hours--half way there already)

Inch by inch things are getting done.

Last night I picked up a new sound card—today I take apart all my neatly bundled wires (well just the tail end) and take my computer apart and restore sound. All should go well. But if you don't hear from me in a while, you'll know something went wrong!

Knitting? Nada.

2011-12-05T12:13:00.002-05:00

Well a few stitches(under 100). None of them photo worthy.

Bits and pieces of other stuff done --Friday's clean laundry finally got put away Sunday AM. Mountains (well maybe not mountains, but a lot) of stuff that I had been saving “in case” got deemed worthless, and tossed. I confess to be border line hoarder—and I am always packing away stuff that might be useful someday—But every once in a while, I go on a cleaning binge and throw out mountains of stuff that I recognize is hopelessly out of date or just useless, or that just won't ever be fixed or made into something, or... And right now I am on a bit of a clean out and discarding binge.

My next cleaning binge (I hope!) will involve clothing—Already a bunch of clothes are loose—and some are getting way to loose and just don't fit—In the most wonderful way.

In the 8 weeks of recovery from my little bit of surgery, I have lost 15 pounds. I am not losing weight as fast—I knew I wouldn't be able to keep losing 2 pounds a week—but was a nice way to jump start weight loss.

I had lost some weight last year (I dunno, maybe 10 pounds? Maybe more.) and some of my clothes were already a bit loose—I had to buy (well buy the makings of, and made) a few belts.

Now those clothes are so loose that they slide off me (unbelted, a skirt with its waist band fastened falls easily over my hips) So I see the difference not just on the scale, but everywhere.

Now I need to get out and exercise more—come the new year, I will make a point of getting to the pool and sign up for the water aerobic classes and go to them. I can't just yet—my wound is finally almost healed—the incision has moved from being a deep ugly crater, to now being a 99% scabbed (“granulated” in medial speak) little (well not that little but way smaller) injury.

I don't want to be spending time in the pool to the whole thing is healed (and new pink skin (vs a scab) is all that is left.

What I did most this week end is read—I can't say enough of how much I am enjoying the Stieg Larson's trilogy—I am racing through them—and then, once I know the story, I'll re read and savor all the details.

Entering the Home Stretch

2011-12-02T10:24:00.004-05:00

So starting back on Monday:
Bought a bunch of computer hardware
Installed Wifi network
Labeled and Re-routed wires
Set up new Monitor
Added a Printer

I didn't bother with the fax set up—I'll keep it as an option—I do occationally have a need for a fax machine (but less and less)). Nor bad for a week. (I know, I could have had it all done in a day--in theory--but everything took longer than expected!)

Still to do? A second hole and chase for wires—It's a pain to drill in the compress strand board with Birch veneer desk top—The first one took 2 charges of the cordless drill—But I think its worth the effort.

And a heavy duty velcro mount for the power strip is needed too. (My apartment is considered fireproof—the walls are plaster coated concrete. Great for safety but mounting most anything is a real PITA! You can't nail anything—you have to drill a hole (with a masonary bit) put in a plug and screw up everything. I am a big fan of 3M mounting strips for most of my art/wall decoration (the Command adhesive ones). But good as they are—even the big (which aren't very big) velcro strips won't hold up a power strip—Well-- they will if I never plug or unplug anything-but I unplug things (cel phone charger for one) all the time.

The last thing to do is to reinstall my web cam—again, not for me a high priority—but I have it, so I should get around to connecting it. The first time I tried to install it—there was a conflict—It interfered with my modem/internet connection—But I've already swapped the USB ports—so maybe that's all I needed to do. (We'll see)

Then sometime in the future—I'll pick up a new sound board—and take the CPU apart and replace it.

While I am at it, I'll slave in a second R/W CD—I salvaged one from my last computer—and its nice thing to have (it makes copying a CD super easy). I don't need to copy a CD, (or burn 2) very often—but why not? I haven't bothered to make the effort—but if I am taking unplugging everything (all the lovely, labeled everything's!) and taking the cover off anyway...

But before that—a full back up of all my files-(I have back ups of MOST of them)--and everything is backed up in 2 places on the hard drive..But, no sense in being stupid—I know I should do monthy-(I don't--lots of stuff is backed up--but not everything)

Knitting? Haven't done any! But Look-- a bonus package of yarn—mostly acrylic (some of it looks like Red Heart--(just when I though I had used up all of my Red Heart!)) but some is wool (and/or a wool blend. 2 Needles too, as set of Boye short straights, (US size 5(3.75mm)) and one a 29 inch circular—size 10.5(6.5mm)

These yarns are bonuses from my sister—who haunts thrift shops (in Japan) and finds some wonderful stuff—Lovely wools, often, and some other interesting yarns. These aren't the best she's sent me.. but Oh, how wonderful to open the door to an unexpected package!

(OH, and I am off now to get my washed and dried laundry!)

What got done?

2011-12-01T12:53:00.004-05:00

Quite a bit--not everything I planned--but...

The forstner bit eventually worked it way through the desk top- ONCE. I think its going to have to do it again before I am finished. The mouse and keyboard cable still snake across the top of the desk top, and some power cords are being pulled up at the wall side edge of the table –I think they would be neater routed through a chase. The kit (signum, from Ikea) came with the bit and 3 plastic liners and snap on covers—so drilling a second will time and effort –but I can do it.

The first hole (chase) is at the back of the desk, and it has a over half a dozen wires being fed into it. The modem cord is so long, it starts at top (in a power strip outlet, goes into the chase, down to floor (and transformer) and then comes back up as a light weight cord and jack to be connected to the modem. The modem cable goes down, too (and comes up at the far edge of the desk to be connected to wireless router.)

So far there are 2 power cords being pulled up to the front power strip --the CPU and the new monitor but before I am finished, the printer power cord will join. I have one of those energy saving power strips—with a Master/slave control. When the CPU goes to 'sleep' there are up to 4 outlets that are slaves. Power to these slaves get shut off—entirely. Power up the CPU, and power is automatically restored to the slaves. It's very convenient—you get to save power, with out having to turn everything off (and on) –again and again—and it does it for you if you forget!

Right now only the new monitor is a slave—but the printer will become a slave, too. There are 2 other outlets in the strip that aren't slaves—and powered all the time--like the wireless phone—and the wi-fi router—I don't want these to turn off when ever the computer does! The back power strip is for the modem, speakers, my camera docking station, a swing arm desk lamp and the new shredder. A lot of things plugged in—but most don't draw much power. (That power strip has a single outlet free (its on of those big bulky ones--specially designed with outlets far apart to that its easy to plug in a bunch of transformers)

I am still not finished, but already, most of the mess of wire have been tamed –put into split tubes, labeled and routed under the desk (instead on top). I am going to wait till the last minute to tie wrap them to the table frame—In case some thing need to be re-routed-- but already it's so much neater!

There more space, too without a rat's nest of wires snaking across the desk top. And it will be easier to keep clean.

Still to come—hooking up the new monitor (which means moving the CPU)--but by the time I was finished drilling, and climbing under (and out from under the desk) a half dozen times—organizing the wires-- it was enough for the day.

And I am likely going to have more work--my sound card conked out. Just as I am about to finish up the install of a nice big 19 inch monitor (and possible be able to watch a movie)-no sound!

But Look--on a happier note! Socks—once again, in under the wire and finished in the same month they were started.

I got some reading done, too.* But not the laundry—but it did get taken from the hamper, sorted, and made ready to go—the first thing I did this morning was to head down to the laundry room—only to find, it's closed (yet again!) for repairs—with no notice going up about it either! How annoying!

*Lizbeth, (The Girl who Played with Fire)—she bought furniture for her new apartment—and bought the same desk (galant) that I have—I smiled at that!

A Progress Report

2011-11-30T10:30:00.003-05:00

Wifi? Yes
Monitor? Hardware (mounting bracket) Installed, and monitor mounted, but no connections/wiring done.
Woodwork? (drilling hole for wire routing) on today's schedule.
Labeling and re routing wires? Also on today schedule.
Printer? Still in the box.
Paper work cleaned up—in progress. (Filled the shredder bin once already!)
Next 2 loads of wash? Also on today's schedule—The four loads washed and folded on Saturday didn't get all hung up and put away till Monday (with a few left over pieces yesterday)
Knitting? Remember Knitting? The sock is almost complete—just the cuff(s) are needed for completion. (Today!)There should be photo's of the finished socks tomorrow.
Reading? Finished (loved!) Girl with Dragon Tattoo, about to start 2nd book in series, The Girl who played with Fire. (The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest is also in my possession, and these two books will cut into my knitting time no doubt.)

As always thing get worse before they get better-Right now desk has two monitors—One (on mounted on a swing arm bracket is swung out of the way (but .. it's still visually taking up space!) and one (the old CRT monitor) is still sitting where it always sat, waiting to become obsolete.

And the cleaned desktop is now in need of cleaning again (saw dust)--but there will be more before I am finished. And there is small but ever growing pile of tools hanging about--the drill (and charger), the box of drill bits, the screw driver (and box of interchangeable bits )--I could use the drill but its just as easy to screw most things in by hand and the set of allen wrenches--(for adjusting the bracket) –Oh, and the label maker, too for labeling the cords.

The final step will be mounting the power strips-- and relocating the phone (it's close, but just inconveniently out of reach!)

There are some other details—moving the calendar, and hanging up magnetic white board—and getting rid of the old printer stand (It served well for a while, but it is (always was) way too big) And maybe, buying of of those neat little charger stations—the kind with 3 or 4 short extension cords –( transformers take up so much space—and block outlets!) and an on/off switch; so I can leave transforms plugged in (convenient) but turned off (and not waste energy).

The new monitor has 2 built in USB ports—so I can get rid of one transformer (the USB expansion box) but the wireless router has added one, and the cordless phone (if moved) will be another, Plus the one for the cell phone, And.... What a world we live in! All this work—and in another year or two, some other pieces (like the computer/cpu—now 2.5 years old) will be obsolete and so much will have to be redone.

I feel like I have spent half my life setting up and then improving (and then setting up again!) desks and work tables for computers--and then upgrading them and having to do more work and re-arranging things. (and come to think of it--it has almost been half my life--I got my first computer in 1982--almost 30 years ago!)

Simple is Never Simple

2011-11-28T13:44:00.002-05:00

A wireless network—simple really, buy a router, connect to modem, install CD, run set up, set up security, done.

Ok buy router, done.
Connect to modem. Wait. My crappy cable modem provide by cable company? No port to connect wireless modem.

So I could wait a week,and pay $ (a little every month for a rental fee) or go out today and spend $$ (not too much) and own my modem (and it will pay for itself in saved rental fees in less than a year) OK time to buy a modem.

Well let's up grade the monitor— I have a flat screen on, and mounting hardware,just waiting for me to instal it. This will free up space for the new printer (which has a much bigger foot print) So it really has to be done first.

OK, easy enough, I have the power cable and the USB cable for the new (not really new, just new to me) monitor. I can disconnect power cord and monitor cable from old monitor, and get that done.

No I can't! The monitor cable is hard wired into the old monitor, and I went through my bag of goodies—and found –lots of stuff (even a old scusi cable) but a monitor cable? No. So I am 2 for 2 for failing!

Still, I did crawl under the desk, and clean out 2 years worth of dust bunnies in the corners were they hid escaping the swiffer. At the same time, I washed the floor, and cleaned out and got rid of stuff I really just don't need...

So the desk is clearer—and a bunch of paperwork that was on hold has been shredded—Thankfully the shredder is really plug and play! (unlike the modem and monitor!)

Fortunately Staples is near by—and I can pick the cable and cable modem up later today.

I still have to drill a hole in the desk top for the bracket to mount the monitor, and I will (I think) also drill a BIG hole to route the wires more neatly—or if not neat, out of sight!) I have the drill bit even and a plastic cap to plug the hole, and and all the split flex tubing I need. and baggie full of try wraps--everything I need to to do the job-- but it's the last step--not the first one!

So for now, the desk top (and underneath!) is neater and cleaner—but its all the same old stuff.

It's so simple to upgrade—except when it's not!

While I am working at this upgrade, I hope to get my web cam working too. I tried installing it a few months ago--but there was conflict--I could chose between a web cam that worked, or an internet connection that worked. (Guess which one I went with!?)

The Envelop, Please.

2011-11-27T08:59:00.005-05:00

So I was talked into waiting on buying a wireless router—but time is up! I've wanted a to go wireless for awhile—and now have an extra incentive. I am moving—belatedly—but better late than never-- into the new, wifi always on line world.

Just another thing to be thankful for!

I now have a tablet--it's an off brand-- and the battery life is way too short—but it's Android powered—and bigger than the 2 X 2 inch screen of my not-so-smart phone. (And I should not be looking gift horses in the mouth. It's Great!)

And since Saturday is for sewing—yesterday it got itself a nice little envelope to hold it. Inside (between the layer) there is plush iron in interfacing—giving the envelop a bit of padded protection. A small Velcro dot holds it closed— enough I think. A pocket on back will allow me to carry the charger, too—since with only 6 hours of battery life-it need to be fed often. And while it doesn't really fit, I will the manual tucked into the envelop, too. (The manual has bigger exterior dimensions than the tablet-but barely 20 pages thick, so it can be crammed into the envelop and folded over a bit)--I don't plan on carrying the manual long term--and decided that the envelop should fit the tablet--not the manual.

For now, I still need the manual handy to reference some paths—but already in 24 of playing with it—I feel like I know my way around.

It will get a try out this afternoon—Sunday means knitting at Panera's—and Panera's will have wifi. I think I am going to need to find some sort of Droid manual too--I have figure out how to connect it to my computer in the most basic way. But not how to communicate with it.

It seems like it should be able to talk to my Google account and let me exchange and sync info with a hard wired connection (but I haven't found out how yet!) I am sure there are thousand of other users who will show me around.

Another system to learn! My first hand held computer was a 8086/dos based Psion (circa 1995) then a Palm Pilot, (and an upgraded Palm) and then for the past few years, nothing. For now, a low grade tablet—and for Christmas (I have been a good girl) a new smart phone--(also android based!) —by then, I should be, if not a wiz at Android –at least proficient--a full fledged member of this century's technology--(and not a dinosaur left in the last one).

A History in Knitting

2011-11-26T10:25:00.002-05:00

I love to knit—it satisfies, to some degree, my need to be creative and productive
I love to knit—its helps me calm down and center my self, instead of wildly spinning out of control
I love to knit—my knitting is a reminder, that: this too, shall pass.

These socks (LOOK, progress has been made while I haven't been blogging about it!) are all three.

I started them earlier this month when some health issues were not going well—and they served, one Monday a few weeks ago, as a tool to keep me from emotionally falling apart--there were cracks at the seams--but in the end, I held together.

And they remain mute evidence to my precarious state of well being.

I had an idea (originally they were going to be a floral lace—but that idea was pushed aside for a simpler pattern of twisted, (each knit stitch is twisted) cabled pairs.

I figured out the grouping of stitches on a scrap of waste paper (actually a bit of light cardboard as found in magazines for subscriptions—exactly that!) and set to work.

The first pattern repeat? Well, its really patternless. I had an idea, but I couldn't think straight—and there really is no design. Just a mismash of some simple cables.

But the act of knitting did its magic and by the time it came to do a second repeat, a real organized pattern emerged—gone were the chaotic, disorganized thoughts, and gone were the chaotic disorganized stitches.

The two repeats since then are just as organized—but a secondary problem(?)--well not so much a problem, but an after effect—the pattern I worked out for the instep works fine—but well I didn't want a full repeat on the back of the sock (because then there would be two sets of lace with out any purl ditches between them at the side (seam)) and there were too many stitches to drop one column of the lace and too few to have 2 sets of the cable element.

Poor Planning on my part!

So the back is plain. Not the best choice—but it's OK. I normally would plan better—but on the day I planned these socks I wasn't thinking well enough to do a better job. And they are not so bad that I would even think to frog them.

No, they will be as they are, patterned on front, plain and back. A bit of history. A knit reminder to myself. The socks could be better—but it doesn't matter that they aren't—I AM.

Now back to the laundry that I have talked about doing for 2 weeks now (early this week the laundry room was closed 2 days for repairs—so the delay is not just procrastination on my part!) There are 4 load washing--1 complete load is nothing but socks! Soon all the load will be drying. Then for next week, 2 more loads of stuff to do (still left in the hamper)! I have this bad habit of wearing clean clothes every day—and using towels and sheets, and Oh how the laundry piles up!

A Day of Thanks

2011-11-24T07:54:00.000-05:00

And I have so much to be thankful for—not the least of which is all of you my readers.

I am grateful for each and every one of you.

Footsies and Hardware

2011-11-21T12:44:00.002-05:00

The heels are completed—but I haven't yet begun to knitting in the round again.

Nor have I gotten laundry done (today!) or started on the gloves, or done any sewing.

But I've lost another pound and half in the past week—SO some progress has been made, somewhere.

Today I am going shopping.. a new printer (I've been without for months!), finally, too, a wireless router and for good measure, a paper shredder—some basic upgrades that have long been needed.

The printer I am eying isn't just a printer—it's a color scanner and copier, too. Goodness knows, I have a back look of things I want to print out—and a second back log of copies to be made. I've never felt the need to have a scanner--but I suspect once I have one, I will find a use for it.

And while I am doing this upgrade—I will also get my web cam connected—last time I tried, there was an I/O conflict—and my Internet connection failed. Needless to say the cam quickly got uninstalled!

There are other details to work on too. Like (better) mounting the power strips, and finishing labeling all the cords—Life is so much easier with things labeled—starting with the circuit breaker, and down to the plugs. This is another place (knitting is one, too) where being a bit obsessive is an asset!

A 7 inch Foot

2011-11-18T16:47:00.004-05:00

Is just about the right size for me, sans the heel. In a round or two it will time to start the heel--a short row heel--which will add about another 2 inches—and I'll have the 9 inches of sock I need to fit.

I am going to momentarily pause work on these socks then. My friend Debbie is working on her 2nd pair of socks—and I want her to see a short row in progress. She is a very visual learner. She's now started on her second pair of socks—and will be doing a short row heel in a few weeks.

She finally finished her first pair of socks last week—Not quite 6 months in the making—and while they are not perfect(far from it!) She is pleased as punch with them and has already worn them. I'll nag her a bit, and make her take a photo—but, already, her second pair are looking so much better!

I'll see her Sunday, at Panera's—and I want to be mid heel at then. Then she can see a few short rows being work, and also see how to pick up and do the second half the the heel.

So a few more rounds, and I'll start the heel, then, pause before finishing the first half.

But—before that—as promised, here are the socks stretch out and semi blocked—Now you can see the center pattern of twisted stitches that cable back and forth to make intersecting diamonds—do you sense a recurring theme here? It could be! The gloves are likely to have yet another iteration of a diamond pattern –one done in knits and purls.

(Look closely, (double click the image to enlarge) and you can see the first "pattern" repeat is not as well done--but I don't care!--The knitting got me through a bad day- and will be hidden inside my shoes.)

I find I often repeat a design element over and over (till I grow bored with it)--This month its Diamonds—who know what will be next!

So in the mean while, I'll cast on the fingers of my gloves—and start to work on them. I have the yarn and needle ready--and I need to finish them before the Christmas holidays anyway--so it's not too soon to get started.

Viola!

2011-11-17T11:18:00.003-05:00

Dry and unpinned from the blocking board, the Red Diamond's scarf is more like a small shawl than a scarf! I am pleased as punch with FO. It was qick to knit, (I finished long before I was bored), it's as soft as all get out, and now, finished, it's bigger and prettier than I expected.

As for the socks—working well rested, and with no anexity, it's much easier to formulate a pretty, but simple pattern for the twisted pairs of knits and purls. The pattern takes a bit of time—but I think its worth it—see—the are beginning to look quite pretty.

Next time I photograph them, I'll stretch them (or put them on LEGS), so the pattern is easier to see. The yarn is also merino--home dyed to create a hand painted effect--there are at places, (not this part of the skein) more blues in the mix--but all in all I like the look.

OK, that's it—I have done a ton of stuff already this morning, and have a ton more to do—So I am off!

Blocking!

2011-11-16T15:23:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, I finally got around to buying some Styrofoam insulation panels—a set of 6, each 15 inches by 46 inches with tongue and groove edges—so they can snap together for larger panels.--I can get long and narrow shapes for long scarves, and square shapes for sweaters, and even giant stepped triangles for shawls..

I have a ton of knitting that needed something longer than my couch, and more convenient than my bed—so these panels (each about 1 inch thick) are, for me, the perfect solution--they store readily, out of the way under the couch. (I didn't actually remove the plastic overwrap this first time—the plastic is the source of the reflected glare!). The price was right, too--the set of 6 cost less than $10.

The color in this image is pretty true—or it is at least on my monitor--it's a little darker, now, damp, than it is dry, but its just about right.

Today is the first time I am using them—with very little tension, the scarf is being block to a full 46 inches! I didn't thread the blocking wire in the chevron ribbed center back—I want that part of the knitting to fold up accordion style—seeing it 'scooped in' at the neck looks perfect!

I can't readily get the whole scarf in a single image--well maybe from 10 feet away I could, but then the light wouldn't be as good, and the details would be lost. No matter really--since each end is a mirror image, seeing one end is the same as seeing the other!

Tomorrow AM is yet another Dr's appointment--(but it should be a quick in and out!); when I return, (before noon with any luck at all!) it should be dry and ready to unpin. Then, I'll drape it on my dress form again for a finished photo.

Knit and Grafted

2011-11-16T09:38:00.003-05:00

This was yesterdays post—that never got photos or posted.

But not quite finished (still ends to weave in) and not blocked. But it looks good—and unblocked its 34 inches long—not bad, not bad at all. Blocking will add a few inches—but not to much since I don't plan to hard block it.

Maybe today--(Tuesday)

Yesterday (Monday) was a lost day—I got a lot things done, that needed to be done—but it took hours, (boring, and TMI health stuff)—Fortunately, I had knitting with me. I was able to while away a few of the many hours involved, knitting.

Socks that were nothing more than a cast on and a round are now looking like this—the pattern is going to be problematic—this first repeat is free hand—and I'll have to think about what I did, and when to repeat it.. Or come up with something similar and chart it! (I am not obsessive) –I can have a pattern break and be different –especially if its going to be hidden in the toe of most of my shoes!

I could have even knit more—but I need to rest my hands and take a break—still it's a nice start to a pair of socks!

But knitting is going to take a hit—ever behind the curve when it comes to fiction reading, I just got The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—and well, this book (and the next two in the series !) are seriously going to cut into my knitting time.

Since yesterday, all I did was add a few (6? maybe, if that) to the socks—I still haven't finished the scarf or blocked it. But I did get photo's taken--and this bit posted!

While I am Generally Feeling Better

2011-11-12T09:51:00.002-05:00

Every day—I am not quite as recovered as I think. Thursday I was addled, and tired, and yesterday I felt fine—till I took out some garbage—and got chilled to the bone. A hot drink (decaf coffee) didn't help—instead I crawled under a pile of warm blankets, and took a nap.

That did help—no laundry got done--(there are worse things) but after my nap, (and dinner) some knitting did get done—There is just a bit over 6 inches of lacy ribbing now—and just a little bit of yarn left—2 inches worth? 3 inches worth? (I hope so, but I doubt it)--what ever the measure, the end is in sight for this scarf.

2 pieces of lace –each about 14 inches equals 28 inches, plus another 8 (maybe 9?) inches of ribbing at the back of neck—that's 36 inches in total. Not bad—Just about right for an inside the coat/jacket scarf. And it's so pretty, and so soft—and even with the set backs—so fast to knit!

Today is Saturday, so the first order of business will be finishing the skirt (Saturday is for sewing!) but come the evening, I'll be knitting—and will finish the knitting--I might not finish the scarf—I could end up grafting tomorrow at Panera's on Sunday. And even after I finish it (weave in the ends!) I will still have to block it. So it's really still has a good deal of work to be done before is really all done.

Then it's glove (and sock!) time—I think I will work the two projects at the same time. One thing about socks—there are almost never ends to weave in—and they are knit and go—no blocking required not even for this next pair-- which will be lacy.

Progress—But Nothing Finished.

2011-11-11T11:25:00.001-05:00

Almost nothing knit on the scarf--Well actual a number of rows knit—and frogged, and re knit again,and frogged again—with a net gain of just a half a dozen rows!

I was was tired—more tired than I realized (fell asleep before the evening news!) and kept making stupid mistakes--like forgetting to decrease, or knitting the purls or purling the knits!-I should have realized I was too tired to knit!

And while progress was made on the skirt yesterday afternoon, —the bits and pieces had edges bound, the pockets got sewn in (side) and on (back)--and top stitching details were added, the zipper got put in and the waist band started, (but not finished). All in all, a lot of work got done--but it's not quite finished, yet.

Left to sew is the inside waist band, and the hem, plus details like the hook and eye closure for the waist band. Maybe an hours worth of work—that I can easily complete tomorrow and have the skirt ready for Sunday. I think I'll leave it for Saturday sewing.

I have some other projects to sew up tomorrow—little ones—and maybe I'll get another skirt (a smaller sized one!) cut and ready to sew.

I am itching to start my November socks, too. And I need to start on the gloves—in theory they shouldn't take much longer to knit than a pair of socks, but...

For 1, the yarn is finer, (superfine lace weight cashmere) and the gauge will be finer—I knit most of my socks on size 2 needles—but the gloves are going to be knit on size 1's (2.25 vs 2.75mm)

This afternoon I need to do laundry—Again! It's this habit I have—every day I shower and get dressed in fresh clean clothes (well fresh clean underwear and socks—I frequently wear a skirt several times before I feel the need to wash it!) and I use towels, hand towels, and bath towels, and kitchen towels-and sheets, and other miscellaneous stuff ends up in the hamper--(the table cloth from last weeks change the light bulb and a whole bunch of other stuff at the same time!)

Most of the summer clothes have been put away—except for short sleeved T-shirts—I find I wear them all winter—sometimes as an undershirt (for warmth!) sometimes as a top shirt (my apartment can get so hot!)

So that's it.. Simple stuff. Work done, but not really much of anything!

From Diamonds to Chevrons--

2011-11-10T12:46:00.002-05:00

The switch has been made. I've changed over from one lace pattern to another. Now I am working a lacy chevron rib—about 3 inches so far. I am only working one end—the chevron is a one way pattern—so I can't work both ends at once—but it will be easy to graft—I worked a plain row on the end I am working—and will the grafted row will mirror that--(not that I think anyone would notice if there was one rows difference in the two sides!)

The half scarf is too long now to fit entirely on my improvised blocking wires (a pair of 14 inch long, US size 4 (3.5mm))knitting needles—and stretched out like this the ribbing looses all of its natural tendency to corrugate--but it does, and when it does eventually get block, the ribbed portion won't be blocked at all--and will naturally scrunch up.

This style of scarf is in the air—Evelyn (aka Lost the Thread--Oct 10th entry) has just completed a very similar scarf—a different lace pattern (but it's sort of diamonds) a different rib pattern at the back of the neck (but its still ribbing) different yarn (but a super soft one!), different color (how pretty it looks in white!) --everything is different—but its also very clearly the same sort of scarf!

I'll do some more work on this scarf later today (well, this evening) but this afternoon I am going to do some work on my skirt—I want to have it finished (and ready to wear!) this weekend. I'll wear my new Ragg Effect socks at the same time—a treat to myself for doing so well with my weight lose. I have everything I need—a zipper, some skirt hooks for the closure—all I need to do is sit down and finish it.

And I've had a great idea that is going to have me working double time—for now a bit of secret project--(a big one!) but I can do it. It involves a lot of extra knitting—and even more time consuming—lots of extra documentation! But I am committed.

I don't think I'll finish the scarf tonight—but it will be done this week—this has been a fast project!

Getting Better—Day by Day

2011-11-09T10:56:00.003-05:00

I look at my wound every day, and see, every day, that is getting smaller and healthier looking—but yesterday I had proof that I (as a total person!) am getting better. Yesterday was a frustrating waste of time, money (OK, just $10 or so, but $1o is a lot of money when you are out of work!) and energy—and while I was annoyed—I wasn't done in.

A few weeks ago–3 to be precise—a day like yesterday would have had me in tears—not for long—but I would (I did!) find I had no reserve of patience to deal with even minor set backs. Now, they piss me off, but I take them in stride. And I can even find joy in little things, and be happy in the evening after a rotten start to the day.

I started off noticing—I had messed up (in a very minor way) my lace scarf. Instead of working both halves every row—I found I was half a pattern repeat (6 rows!) out of sync!--An easy fix—but really, where was my head at!?

Each end is a bit over 12 inches long now—and while the smaller of the two balls is pretty limp, I think I still have enough yarn to do yet one more pattern repeat, before starting the lacy rib pattern for the back of the neck.

This is going to be a nice size scarf—which makes me happy! I am still not sure I like the color—It's a lovely cranberry red, but cranberry red is just not a color that sends me. But I love the yarn, and I love the how the pattern is working out—and I love how the overall length is going to work out too!

Tuesday night knitting was sparse—just 3 of us—and it ended early (which I really didn't mind, because I was tired and planning to leave early anyway, though not quite as early as I did!) I am off in a short while to deliver my DD's CSA veggies—and I got a veggie of my own (with out stealing any from her selection)—a wonderful sweet dumpling winter squash. (This mini squash is single serving)

I love winter squash—just about all of them—but unless you go to the farmers market—the selection of choices is often pretty sparse—you have your acorn and your butternut—and that's about it. The best fruit and veggie stand (which is also 6 blocks away and the other side of Queens Blvd (aka boulavard of death!)) some times has some other squashes—but last time I went there—looking for a spaghetti squash—I came home empty handed.

Well, no, not really empty handed-- I came home with several pounds of fruits and veggies (that grew heavier and heavier with each passing block )--just with out the one thing I wanted to buy! I'll try again tomorrow-- I still want a spaghetti squash!--and maybe I'll find some thing else interesting.

Busy Day!

2011-11-08T08:01:00.001-05:00

Heading out in a few minutes—will be gone all morning and a bit of the afternoon.

Then later, in the late afternoon, it's out east (just 5 miles—but thousands and thousands others will be doing the same on the LIE!) to pick up my daughters CSA (and maybe even steal a veggie or two for my effort!)

After that, turn round, and head west—and go from one end of Queens to the other (from 230th Street (apx) in eastern queens to 11th Street in western Queens—thankfully, while there are some who reverse commute—traffic will be heavy—there aren't so many—so it will be moving.

Evening will find me at Tuesday night knitting. I am going to pass on delivering the CSA veggies till Wednesday morning. My daughter won't be home (to come down to the car and get them) –and road work makes it impossible to park at night. It will be cool (in the 40°'s)enough that the veggies (likely to be a bunch of root stock!) and they will be fine in the car trunk over night.

In between all this running around I have to find time to eat well—I know me—if I skip a meal, I get so hungry I am likely to make poor choices—and pig out out something yummy (but not very healthy!) and I don't want to do that—not when yesterday foot on the scale found me down another 2 pounds—that 9 now for the month—a good start to my goal of 50--(maybe 50 lbs is too small a goal? Maybe I should aim for even less of me?)

Well I got some knitting done yesterday –(not much, but some) and will, get some done this AM, and some more this PM, and should have something to show tomorrow.

Growing Like A Weed

2011-11-07T11:23:00.003-05:00

Now there are 9 inches of lace (and the once plump balls of yarn are hollowing out)—I can do another inch or two before I begin to get nervous—then I'll change the stitch pattern to a simpler, open lace (a much more open lace) for the back of the neck—All the fancy lace up front—and something easy to bunch up for the back of the neck.

The result will end up being an ascot style scarf—with soft open lace in the back will scrunch up nicely (who needs 12 inches of fabric at the back of the neck?) Front ends--the diamond lace-- will fall flatter, across the front of the neck upper chest-- Nicely filling in the opening of coat neck line.

A showy front, and simpler back.

This photo shows the variations of color that exist in the wool—but the previous photo's are closer to the actual color (this image was lit with a Ott type light) Amazingly-- the light to dark and dark to light gradiations are very similar on each piece—Not perfectly matched.. but balanced.

This has really been a quick knitting scarf—I think I'll be done before I have a chance to get bored!

PS--D finished up her socks, and I grafted the toes of mine too!

Saturday is for Sewing

2011-11-06T10:11:00.006-05:00

That's what I decided last week... Then, last Saturday, in the snow, I was out all day, up to Westchester, and didn't get any sewing done!

But that's not the case this week. I didn't get anything finished, but...

Friday I cut out the makings of a denim skirt—a cute 8 gore one with a kicky little ruffled hem—not too full a ruffle—just a bit of interesting edge. What was I thinking?

Denim, as everyone—even non sewers-- knows—Ravels.. (or does it unravel?) The raveling property of the fabric is what makes cut off's, and other unfinished edges look—interesting.

Commercial clothing made from denim has flat felled seams—again you don't have to know much about sewing to recognize the special seam found on jeans –even if you never knew the name for that kind of a seam.

Flat felled seams encase the edges and keep the denim from unraveling. But they are a real PITA to do at home. And I just don't do them.

But—I needed to do something—or the inside of my denim skirt would unravel until the seams opened! So— I did what classicly is done (in home sewing) —I zig-zagged over the edges before sewing the seams. Now remember the part where I says 8 gores? That's 16 edges to over sew. Remember the part where I said it had a kicky little ruffle? Another 16 edges to sew.. plus another 16 top and bottom edges on the gores, and another 16 top and bottom edges on the ruffles.

That's is a whole bunch of sewing—with out putting any of the parts together! I used an entire spool of thread (and the skirt still isn't all together!)--I still have a waist band to edge, and pockets to edge, (2 front ones, and 2 back ones)and side seams to sew up and zipper to put in!

So while I spend several hours sewing yesterday, I don't have a skirt—yet! The bare bones are there (there is a front of 4 gores, and a back of 4 more gores—each with a bit of fancy top stitching)—but there aren't pockets (they haven't even been edged!) or side seams —and there is no waist band and no zipper, no belt loops, or tabs.

The few seams that did get sewn, did get pressed. Lot's of sewing got done—but there isn't a skirt! I don't think I am going to wait till next Saturday to finish the skirt--but not I won't be working on it today.

After dinner, I went back to knitting my scarf—and LOOK—another row (or two!) of diamonds. It's now 7 inches long (14—total!) It's not a scarf yet either, but something got done—even if I don't have anything finished!

Started

2011-11-05T10:12:00.002-04:00

A bit of lace. And made some progress, too A bit of a hem is a garter stitch chevron, morphing into a diamond (or is it a zig-zag?) lace. Not much progress.. but enough to see the pattern—and since I am working with 2 balls of yarn and 2 halves at once, I've actually made twice the progress! It's about 12 inches wide, (stretched/semi blocked) and so far, just a bit over 3 inches (in each half)

The yarn is super soft and squishy—it's a dream to knit, and the scarf will be a joy to wear. I have no idea how big it will end up being (before blocking or after!) but 300 or so yards is enough to make a decent length. Scarves are pretty flexable when it comes to length! I have no need for another scarf, needless to say—but then again—I have no need for more socks, but I plan to continue knitting them too!

I got some sewing done, too. I finished up a skirt that I started last year (that was too tight in the waist—but now fits!) and got some small projects cut and interfaced, and even got a second skirt cut—another denim one—not one of the 4 colored ones I planned last January. And, in a fit of optimism, I even bought a remnant—a lovely piece of a black linen like cloth--(not real linen, but...) and will be able to add a black skirt to the mix. NY'ers have a reputation for always wearing black—but I only have 3 black skirts (and one is over 20 years old, and faded from a real dark black to a pale imitation of black). So adding an other black skirt isn't really overwhelming.

The denim skirt is going to be semi fitted—but also have an elastic waist--(and a drawstring!) so the it will fit as I lose weight. I am am sort of putting off the other skirts—I don't want to make them them and have them not fit 6 months from now Though, actually I will be very happy if I have to make some clothes because nothing fits 6 months from now!--I just don't want to make a bunch of “fit now” skirts when I am (and really planning to) losing weight.

Well I have a skirt or two that needs some mending—I'll mend and add some new elastic to some stuff, and hold off till next year to make some new stuff.

Socks—Done!

2011-11-04T09:46:00.002-04:00

Not Done!—The thing is they are all knit (done!) but they are not done because they are still on the needles—and will remain there for a few days.

They are really wonderful though --(I have, of course, tried them on!) The rib pattern is so soft and cushy—and the the fit-- perfect. The ridges in the rib pattern make the feel so warm and cozy! I think I like how the the stripes look on the sole (the plain stocking knit) better than how they look in the ribbed pattern—but, OH, I LOVE how the rib feels!

The reason they are still on the needle and haven't had the last few stitches grafted is: My friend D. is completing her first pair of socks--(she started them in July and has been struggling with them—but not ever giving up) and the last lesson she needs is how to graft. SO... I'm holding off till the weekend—and then I'll demo grafting on my socks, and let her try it out on her socks.

What Next?--I don't know! Gloves—from the fingers down—are high on my list, and November's socks are already on my mind (these are easy—a pair of lacy socks in shade of lavender!) And last night I balled up some 300 yards of home spun merino is a lovely soft red..its about DK weight—and would make a lovely scarf--(the merino is so soft!) --and I have an idea of what I want to do.

An other rectangular scarf—with broad lacy ends that taper to a simple lace—for most of the scarf. The homespun is in two slightly mis-matched (yardage wise) balls.. It makes sense to start both ends and work them together, and then graft the two halves together—But.. Grand as this sounds—I have at least 3 books that feature scarf patterns (alone!) and another half dozen book with lace patterns—and I am going to at least thumb through them and see if any of the scarves or lace pattens in them jump out and say—ME! You want to knit ME!

The paragraphs below might be TMI—so skip them if you are squeamish.

My leg is healing nicely—It went from really ugly “raw meat”--a deep open wound (one big enough to fit half a walnut (shell!) in, to a pink edged crater--(as it drained for 3 weeks)

Each day the crater shrunk in size—getting narrower and shallower. Tuesday (this week) I saw the surgeon again—and we've entered phase 2—Now I just cover the open wound (it is still draining a bit) but I don't have to “pack” (that is, stuff gauze into the wound) and it's beginning to “granulate” (that is, dry out and form a scab--(why don't they just say that?)

In some ways this is the worst! Scabs—work by 'shrinking'--they pull the edges of a wound together (and close it) as they protect the process of skin's growth.

The shrinking (and pulling) is an annoying discomfort—It's not so much pain—as irritating.. It's like having a bandage pulling--(you want to rip it off and replace with a more comfortable one!) and it's itchy--(so damn itchy!) too.

And its going to take weeks (about 3!) to fully scab up and be a closed wound—Until then, it's dressing (gauze pads) and outer bandage (an ace bandage) to hold the gauze in place and provide some compression (to help the edged come together.) And annoying itch!

Knitting

2011-11-03T08:50:00.001-04:00

Not much, but...
Yesterday saw the socks with the gussets finished—and a few rows of the foot done.

I was just starting the pale green stripe. Its complete, as is the golden brown and the red..(which finished one 'color collections”--red was the first stripe after the turn.

I will need (judging by the leg) 2 full repeats of the colorway—and a bit more (about half) to finish the foot. The toe will be started somewhere near the next stripe. But there is still a ways to go.

Still some progress is better than none—I just can't get my knitting mojo on the right track—I knit, but I dawdle, I knit but..

I'll keep at it—and will have a finished pair one day soon (I hope!)

Gussets? Done. Socks? No.

2011-11-02T14:00:00.003-04:00

Sunday's NYTimes crossword puzzle 95% done though! (one corner and 6 words elude me!)
The gussets (and a bit) are done—but Octobers socks lingers into November.

It's at the easy part now—with plain stocking knit on half the stitches, (and the rib pattern only continuing on the instep) each round is faster and easier to knit. I just have to do it! It's not like I don't like these socks—I do, I do! But—there have been distractions—

Like light bulbs! I moved into my apartment almost 10 years ago—and most of my every day lighting (I have some specialty/mood lighting) is CFB—which have about a 10 year life—and this month—a whole bunch failed! So it's move some furniture to get to the wall sconces, and trek out to Ikea to get some 10 watt halogen bulbs for the under counter light fixtures, and finding the step ladder for the ceiling fixture. I also made a bunch of labels for all the cords—It's one of those obsessive things I like to do—(label each cord)—so if I want to move something—I can easily find the cord/plug I want.

None of these are really big tasks—but each takes a bit of time and effort.. And each has side effects--

To get to the wall sconce I needed to move the end table.. and while I was at it, I changed the table cloth, and really washed (as apposed to just wiping it clean) the glass top. And there where the dust bunny's that eluded the vacuum, and the odd thing or two that had rolled into a corner and been left behind. And I gave the floor a good wash, too,--cleaning up the grime that circled the table legs.

I needed the step stool too, to reach the bulb and fixture (so much dust had collected in the half bowl of the wall sconces!) and now that I was close to the ceiling, I could see all those cob webs up in the corner...So out came the duster with the long wand.

So-- changing the bulb is a bit more than simple screwing out one bulb and in another. And while I have changed now, 3 different bulbs, in the living room (and 4 more in the kitchen) I know that 3 more are going to fail soon--(since they were all put in at the same time 10 years ago) and all this will be be going on for the next few months!

I treated myself to 2 Ott type (ie pure white) CFB for the sconces—which provide the general lighting—the pure white light is so much nicer. I have a pure white (one of my few incandescent bulbs) in one table light for task lighting –most of the other general lighting (and about half of the mood lighting) are CFB—but I do have some low voltage (12Volts/3 10 watt halogen) fixtures, for general lighting, too. I even have a few super flat LED accent lights (that gently spot light works of art)--A real mix of light types—but all low voltage/low wattage. The Ott type (but not Ott brand) white light CFB's are twice the price of the general purpose CFB's—but worth it—at least in a few key fixtures.

I know someone who always has the TV on (as background noise)--it makes him feel less alone—for me it's having a light on—I hate to come home to a dark house. I love the 7 watt (night light wattage) CFB—they give off about the same lumins as a 60 bulb—enough light to be bright and cheery. Not always the warmest most pleasant light—but still welcoming—all for pennies.

Electricity is bought by the kilowatt (1000 watts) A 8 watt bulb is 5kw a month—vs 42 for a 60 watt bulb. Here in NYC, a KW cost a bit over 20 cents--(yes! One of the highest rates in the nation!) or $1 a month vs. $8! (those numbers are based on 24 hours of usage—something I tend to avoid!--but I do leave a single light on all day and night.)

CFB are a real savings. The bulbs seem expensive--but they last only cost twice as much as incandescants--but last 10 times longer. (Of course the disadvantages is no cleaning the bowl of the wall sconce ever year or so--and instead cleaning out 10 years worth of dust!)

Most of all, it's nice to have bright, white lights as the days get shorter and there is less sun light! CFB—like all fluorescents, tend to dim before they fail. Things have been darker—and now they are brighter. (The black safety netting for the terrace work is no help either—it cuts down on day light significantly!)

Oh and more good news—there is less of me—5lbs (or about 2.2K)less in the past 2 weeks. It's just 10% of what I hope to loose in the next year—and it's unlikely I will keep up this pace (2.5 lb/1 K(apx.) a week—but it's a nice start. There is nothing worse than dieting and not seeing results!

Well, They Aren't Socks Yet

2011-10-31T13:02:00.000-04:00

Don't even have a full gusset yet. But.. well does it really matter?

Saturday was the baby shower—and as luck would have it the sweater and hat became part of a set...
The stroller was brown and green, the matching blanket, green and white.. And there were other green and brown, and taupe gifts. What can I say? Great minds think alike!

The down side to the shower was the weather—Friday night, the weather reports said snow in norther suburbs, and a dusting in NYC by 9 PM—but as almost every knows.. It was rain and snow (and flooded streets) in Queens by 2 PM—and enough snow that I had to scrap the windows after about 5 miles (from my house to my daughters) –then off to Manhattan to pick up Matt—and northern Manhattan was a paved with broken branches—None blocked the roads completely—but it was a taste of what was to come. The Saw Mill Parkway—a lovely road where the trees form a bowery—was reduced to 2 lanes in each direction—every quarter of mile, yet another broken tree or branch on the road. Bigger more traveled roads (the Cross County Parkway) were a bit better, but eventually we had to get off and were once again on local tree lined (and tree branch strewn) roads

And all the while the snow is coming down—so fast that the roads were slushy.

I left early—but not early enough—The roads were better--(the worst of tree limbs were pulled to side) but visibility was bad—and the heavy wet snow covered everything—road signs were unreadable. I ended up taking a detour of a few miles to find the entrance to the highway.

The best was the roads got better as I once again headed south. Scarsdale ended up, all said and done with 10 inches of heavy wet snow—Queens had under 2—90% of which was melted –since Queens was a bit warmer (we never fell below 33°--and 1 degree is enough! Things melted (albeit slowly) and roadways were wet, but not slushy. The sidewalks were slushy—but (knock wood) I didn't even slip!

So what little knitting I got done—got done yesterday at Panera's—I was busy in the AM—and afterwards visited a bit with a friend—so it was almost 8 by the time I got home. I just didn't get any knitting done after dinner, either.

A busy weekend, but not much to show for it!

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

2011-10-29T12:33:00.002-04:00

and me--were over turned yesterday--
The post below was ready to go yesterday—all I needed was the photo's—and when I went to take them— I discovered the men cleaning the ceiling of the terrace (as part of the painting prep work) hadn't protected the the window/door frame to the terrace and the high powered stream of water had leaked –and my floor was wet—so instead of taking photos, I was busy mopping and moving things.
The “baker's rack” that I use as a plant stand is up close to the window (d'oh!) - and covered with stuff (planters, cache pots for plants, the outdoor clock/thermometer, and other stuff (trowels, water cans)--So moving it is a big deal (I can't just drag it across my wooden floors the way I do across the contrete floor of the terrace!)

By the time I was done--I was out of time--and later--out of lightl

Flapped and Turned

But not yet gusseted! And, of course, as is the way with flapped/turned/gusseted heels, the stripe pattern on the instep is “broken” No matter.

The flap (as I like them) is a few rows deeper than convention (these socks are 64 stitches—a good number for a 4 stitch rib pattern to work symmetrically) and the flap should be 32 rows long (16 chains on each side and 16 (+1) pick ups on each side for the gusset.. but my flap is 34 rows deep, and 18 (+1) stitches picked up. 19 + 19. This will make the gussets an extra 3 rounds long.

It always seems forever to knit the gussets—all those extra stitches in every round—but because its also longer-- When I am done with the gussets a good part of the foot is also knit. I have the weekend and Monday to finish these—I think they will come in right at the wire.

(Does it matter? Sure they are October's socks—and I would like them to be knit in the month of October—but a day late? Who cares!)

Oh—and the hat—all done—knit and finished. Today I'll buy some ribbon and wrapping paper to get it all packed up and ready for the shower tomorrow.

It's Not a Hat--

2011-10-27T12:32:00.002-04:00

Yet. But the complex border is done and nicely, (not perfectly, but nicely) grafted.
The rest of the hat will be ribbing—to create the maximum of wear. Baby's heads (well, normal baby's) start out small (my baby's had big heads from the get-go) and grow—FAST! Ribbing will let a hat fit (unstretched) on a new born, and then stretch out to fit 3months later. (There is about 1 inch of unseen ribbing behind the leafy border) The hat easily stretches onto Head--(about 19 inches)--so it should fit for a few months.

I'll finish it today—and get back to the heel flap and get the heel of the Rag Effects socks done, too. And once the heel is done—it seems no time at all till the sock is finished!

Not today—well, not finished with the socks today) but the hat will be finished.

Legs Done

2011-10-26T14:25:00.003-04:00

And half a heel flap too. I also wove in the cast on tail (and the beginning of the round is now marked with a stitch marker--but soon it will be a moot point. I always make the sole at the beginning of the round (and the instep as second half.)

So I have made some real progress—But I have to stop—well for a day. This Saturday is Jennifer and Guy's baby shower—I have the little leafy sprout sweater—But I want to have the matching hat, too.

There will be more hats, and a few bibs later on—but to start—a sweater and hat set. The baby's due in January—and there are lots of cool months and plenty of sweater wearing time –and plenty of months for warm hats, too.

So tomorrow, (I hope) a hat to show—and then back to the socks--I've already done about half of the leaf border--and that's the part that takes the most time.

--And I have been working on some new video's, too--mostly specialty cast ons--specifically some choices for double knitting--but they take forever to edit and upload--so it will be a few days before they become available.

I Promise

2011-10-25T11:07:00.002-04:00

I'll get some knitting done today—If for no other reason than I want to finish theses socks this month! And time is quickly running out!

Reading and cleaning, and cooking (and this morning, already, shopping) have eaten into my knitting time. Yesterday—NOTHING! Not a single stitch of sock was knit.

But—my refrigerator is clean, and dishes were loaded into the dishwasher, and the same put away later, clean!

This AM I went out to breakfast—and afterwards-- a quick stop at Trader Joe's—where I stocked up on oatmeal. The price has gone up (isn't that true of everything?!)But at $3.29 for a 30 ounce canister, they are half the price of all the competitors. (I bought 2 canisters. It's not quite a 2 month supply—my local Trader Joe's has such a horrid parking lot I tend to avoid going--but enough to keep me in oatmeal (irish/steel cut style) for a while.

It's noisy today—the terrace ceilings are being power sanded—the last steps of refinishing them will be clean up and painting—Both the ceiling and the floor. Then the new railing go in—all this (hopefully) before the weather turns too cold and wet to be doing outdoor work. Already its been rainy enough that the work is behind schedule—and quiet rainy week days are punctuated by noisy “catch up' week ends. Tomorrow—more rain. It's already been the wettest year on record (or near to) and there is still 3 months of the year to go. I hope there are more cold, wet, windy days (as predicted for tomorrow)--which bad as they are, are better than mountains of snow!

Monday—Again!

2011-10-24T12:44:00.001-04:00

And not much to show for it. A few more stripes have been added to the sock—but its not quite a full color set repeat. --You'll have to wait to tomorrow to see it.

I didn't get much knitting done yesterday--(mostly because I was running my mouth!) but even thought it was just 3 of us,(Debbie, Lynn and me) I was happy—it takes a while to start up a *knitting group—and for people to get it in there schedule (and memory)

I hope the group grows—but I am almost afraid—the Panera's at the new Rego Park Mall is beautiful, and well run—but its always packed! And fitting in a big group on sunday afternoons might not be possible. Well, I will worry about that when the group grows—and then we can all collectively decide when to meet.

The other thing that's been keeping me engaged is eating—Healthier eating. A contributing factor to my infection (and healing) is my weight—I have never been thin, but in recent years, I have been heavier that I was 20 years ago (when I was still overweight) and heavier than I was 30 years ago, (when I was also overweight) I need to lose weight—in serious way (and I have been!)

I have been very conscious of my eating—and eating better (and the results are already showing) but it takes more time; and thought and effort.

It's something I need to do for my health, and to do for my vanity. My DD became engaged last month—and while the wedding is about a year a way (they still haven't actually settled on a date—but September 2012 is the month.) I have a lot of weight to lose—and slow and steady is the way to do it..a pound a week is over 50 pound in a year—and that's a very do-able amount to set as a goal—And 50 pound will make a very big difference healthwise. I am already ahead –but I recognize its always easier to start a diet—and weight comes off a bit easier in the beginning—but long term dieting includes set backs and plateaus—and “planning” on 2 pounds a week can lead to disappointment (and failure)--Right now I am averaging 2 pounds a week—but this is a long term project.

I likely won't be thin come the wedding next year, but I will be a lot thinner and healthier than I am now.

*Are you in Queens? Would you like to join the Sunday Knitting group? We meet at the panera's/Rego Park Mall—the at Junction Blvd. 2 PM, every Sunday. Come on by and join us!

Knitting Content!

2011-10-22T11:38:00.001-04:00

Once again, knitting content! Finished the cuff, and started the leg—I went with ribbing—a variation—that has a name—(or perhaps several) but I can't think of any of them.
It's a 4 stitch pattern (R1: K3, P1; R2:P3, K1—sort of)--those directions aren't quite right, because of an offset --
Its column 1: knits, column 2: garter, column 3: purls, column 4: garter—a pattern that creates a deeply ridged ribbing.

I've completed one full set (and then some) of the stripe set, dr. blue, lt. Blue, green, (very pale), golden brown, and red. And already the stripes are a full row out of synq—Oh well.

The pattern I just enough to be interesting, the stripes are encouraging—though I think I'd like them better if they were all solid (like the blues and the red) or all soft tweedy colors like the green and brown. But in the end, they are what they are, and they are fine. Maybe I'll like them better by repeat 2 or 3.

I've gotten off to a late start—and won't get half of what I hoped to accomplish done today—but I'll do what I can and leave the rest for another day.

Blue Sky's and Sunny Day's

2011-10-21T09:21:00.003-04:00

--it there any better cure for the blues? (Well, to be technically correct yes, but...)

Crazy 8's put aside and new simple socks started—Patons Ragg Effects—in a simple stripe pattern.

Nothing done but the cast on and a few rounds (not even a half inch!) but this is the perfect yarn—every few rounds (before I get bored or distracted) a new color—The grey is a bluish grey (the color of very faded denim) the other colors (red, dr. blue, lt. blue, gold, green) are nice enough. This will be a basic go with almost anything sock. A simple no brainer, generic sock.

I still haven't decided on a stitch pattern—I am thinking about a rib—3 X 1—but I've done that before. Maybe a broken rib, or deeply textured rib. I have time to decide--I tend to like a nice deep (1.5 inch) cuff—and I have a number of rounds to do before I have to decide.

Later today I MUST catch up on laundry—every day I have used a fresh clean towel as a 'drape'/work cloth for cleaning and dressing the wound—10 days later, I have a full load of towels alone to wash!

Plus there are clothes—this time of the year is the worst—2 week ago there were 80° (and warmer) days—now day time temps are in the 60° (about 16° to 18°C.). I think it's finally time to move the sleeveless tops and dresses to the back closet, and bring out the long sleeves tops (and light jackets)--and soon enough, winter blankets, too.

Short sleeve T's never go away—I like to layer them under long sleeved shirts--(then I can open the neck and roll up the sleeves if I get to warm)

And I have resolved—Saturday is for SEWING! I want to get some skirts made—I have the fabric (denim, and twills—Since January!) and I have a pattern, and I always have thread, and other notions. All that is needed is the gumption and drive to turn the fabric into new clothes.

Recovery

2011-10-20T10:53:00.001-04:00

Is slow(too slow!) but steady—Doctors appointments—and anxiety about them (2—one Tuesday, one Wednesday) is past. The lanced infection is still an open draining wound—and will continue to be for a while. There is, still the new daily routine of cleaning and dressing. There is marked improvement--(and one sure sign—itchness!)in appearance. The next follow up is in 2 week.

Nothing has been done on the crazy 8 socks—they might be put aside till next month—I think they are just to much to cope with now—There are just too many changes going on in my life right now—if I were angry (or scared—or very scared) complex knitting would be a good distraction. But I am just a bit overwhelmed—and complex knitting is just another chore.

I have lots of self striping yarns—I think its time for something dead simple—something to just knit and not think about for a while.

Even reading is going slow—I am only about half finished a book I started a week ago—and that's slow for me.

With all my introsection, and self centered concern about my health (and continued health with out insurance!) I don't feel I have anything to write about—and nothing to show either.

Maybe tomorrow will be different! --Actually I know it will be—I just hope in a more visible positive way!

Crazy!

2011-10-18T11:09:00.002-04:00

Times 8! A black sock—with 8 raised I-cords—that will twist and turn and make raised cable like 8's.

Right now, it looks a mess—with 16 mini balls (8 per sock) of the various colors, PLUS the base yarn, with ends still not woven in—its all a bit chaotic.

And if history serves, it remains a bit chaotic—I ~~might~~ WILL switch to some zip lock bags—each skein in a mini one, a set of 8 (one socks worth) in a quart sized one. Or I ~~might~~ will likely still have to stopping every once in a while to untangle.

(By Round 2, It was a mess! my tentative post was edited to reflect that!) So I am off to organize –mini plastic bags, in side of medium ones—I'll see how that works.

The sock is a bit loose (64 stitches + the 8 I-cords) but the cabling will pull it in a bit.

A simple twisted cast on, and a few rounds of garter for the cuff. I have no idea how long I'll make the leg--(but I suspect I will aim for my usually 7 to 9 inches (7 inches before I start the heel flap, which will make up the last of 2 inches of the leg.)

These socks will take some time to knit—but I think they will be just wonderful when done!

This PM I go for my surgical follow up visit—I suspect it will be a long wait—but I have knitting—and after I'll head out to Tuesday night knitting—at least for a little while.

No News

2011-10-15T11:01:00.001-04:00

Is good news? Well, it's boring. I picked up the bag of yarns I've collected for the Crazy 8 socks—but I didn't actually do anything. Maybe today.

Health-wise, my infection/wound is healing up nicely—though antibiotic are playing havoc with my digestion—Some probiotics are the next order of business—I need to replenish all the good bugs that normally live in my digestive track, and I don't think there is enough yogurt in world to do that!

SO, since I have nothing to write about—I'll send you off to a blog post that does--

My DIL-Sonya—is a fiber artist—and she has a collective project going on—A simple one—quick and easy to knit—it only needs a few yards of yarn. All the details can be found on this blog—and you can also follow her on FaceBook or on Ravelry (her group) Why don't you join in? I will be—I have a few yards of a lovely shell pink-too much yarn to discard—but too little to do almost anything else with.

The Rhythms of My Life

2011-10-14T11:57:00.004-04:00

Have changed! I still haven't gotten back to my normal routine (it's day three!)And in reality, I never will. But I am on my way to getting some new routines in place.

Number 1 priority (that's being met!) is oral antibiotics-4 times a day (as near as to every 6 hours as I can manage!--so for I've never been more than 20 minutes late)--and next priority is changing the dressing on the 'wound'--The good news is: every day is less ugly looking—it's changing, slowly but surely, becoming pink and healthy looking (and I am getting better at doing it!) There are other medical priorities; scheduling a follow up to surgery, and other stuff.

Like getting some tape—I came home with 99% of the supplies needed to change the dressing—everything but tape! I've been to the local drug store twice now and forgotten to get tape twice!--I have a few inches left—but I can't forget again today!

On the knitting front—well I have, in the back of my mind, socks—1 pair for me (the Crazy 8's) and one pair as a gift. (A thank you gift) But I haven't done anything so there is nothing to show! And I need to get the hat (to match the baby sweater) knit, and... (well the list of things I want to knit is endless!)

A distraction to knitting is a book—I can't manage to read and knit at the same time.

And then there is the “bad news comes in 3's”--I am on the mend—but 2 good friends have been ill at the same time –One painfully so—A cracked molar (and emergency root canal) and one seriously so—with cardiac and kidney problems (both high blood pressure related). Prayer (good) and worry (bad) about both of them is distracting me, too.

So.... Let's change the subject!

When I was in the hospital—my daughter put together a small goodies bag—a hair brush (vital!) some hand cream (not really needed), and other toiletries. The best was she tucked in one of these –something totally new to me—Sally Hanson's Salon Effects--a Peel, Place and Press on NAIL Polish!

I was a bit incredulous—but now, I am a believer! It's not cheap –each box is a single use application and cost about $10—but I was able to give my self the of the best manicures ever!

Still it's cheaper than a salon manicure.

First, it's almost odorless—a major plus. Second, it's not that hard to get smooth and even. It's a bit tricky—but I managed to do it in a hospital bed, with an IV line in my wrist (which limited my hand mobility)--and got the left hand done (easy! I am right handed) first—but also got the right hand done—Not perfectly—but infinitely better than I have ever been able to with liquid polish. Thirdly--no drying time--it goes on dry!

No spills, no unevenness, no smell--these alone make it a good product, But! here it is 4 days later—looking pretty damn good!--So it's durable too! So far, no chips, no peeled edges; It's holding up way better than average.

So, while I forgot tape (that I needed!) I did manage to find another pack of the press on polish--(and since it was on 50% sale, bought 2!) One the metalic beige (a sort of champaign color) and one in a pink camouflage. But there are lace and butterfly and floral patterns, and solids --including one that looks like blue denim (a woven look!)

I know I am not the last person to have discovered this product--and that to many this will be old news. I don't often use my blog to do product plugs (especially free one!) but this is a product that impressed me.

A FO (almost!)

2011-10-12T12:09:00.003-04:00

FYI--this post might contain TMI for the squeemish!

Just 4 rounds of ribbing on one armhole, and then 2 ends to weave in.

It's MOSTLY back—and collar—and just a bit of fullness at the breast—where, eventually, a small shawl pin will hold it together. On the mannikin's, it looks pretty shapeless (and, it is) but stretched out over my body, it has a shaped front that is a cutaway. Just 4 skeins of Lion Brand Amazing yarn—in the Mauna Lua color way. One more skein (and a bit more) will become the LONG sleeved fingerless gloves I want.

I started this when I first got the infection--(Monday Oct 3rd) and finished the back before I ended up in the hospital, working collar and the front/back waist band while I was in the ER—mostly before I got admitted to the hospital.

I didn't get to much done as I slowly got better—I ended up with IV lines (first in back of right hand, then in back of left, and then in right wrist--) the first 2 became pain full (really painful!) in a few hours, the last, lasted 3 days—(72 hour!) The IV meds were so painful going in—one Vancomyisin—came from the refrigerator--(and was physically cold to the touch) —but felt like it was a 120° when the started dripping into a vein!--Yowza!

Curious? Last –make the 2 weeks ago, I was leaning in to get something off the back seat of my car. (2 POS(piece of ....) 2 door) and the “hinge lock” slipped and the door fell closed on my leg.
Hurt! I ended up with a “egg” (not a surface bruise) and well its seemed to be getting better.. but I didn't, keep my leg elevated or compressed (enough) and went about doing a bunch of stuff.

Sunday—a fun long day (Oct 2)--I got the first hint it was getting worse, not better. (Here is were I engaged in some magical thinking too) Sunday night it showed the classic signs of an infection--
Galen (? I think it was Galen, a Roman Physician) 3000 years ago quantified an infection—Dolar, solar, molar, cholar—or Pain(dolar), Heat (solar), Swelling (molar) and Redness(cholar)--

Monday it was worse—but I refused to stop my magical thinking (“It will get better on it's own”) until the time pain, redness (and then, a ugly 'bruised looking boil) swelling were so bad—I knew I needed treatment.

I started at a walk in care center—and they were kind—but said—Oh, no, beyond our scope.

So off to the local hospital ER. (the day in the ER is worth a post of its own!)--IV antibiotics—to start—a few day worth—and Saturday—a “procedure”--The Surgeon—one Dr. Hassain—lanced and drained the egg (or as they say in doctor talk “hematoma” )

A few days of intense bed rest, LOTS more IV antibiotics, and finally yesterday I was sent home.

Getting home was exhausting (I hadn't really moved much in 4 days—between a open (draining) wound on my leg, and IV lines in my arm-) I spend most of the time in bed. Technically I was ambulatory--(I got up to go to the bathroom and to shower) but I didn't move much.

Then it was up and get dressed, check in at the admitting office, stop in at the drug store--(I am now on oral antibiotics) schlepping a big bag of “goodies” to dress the wound--(the wound needs daily dressing and I am going to be changing it my self for the next week) and other stuff—well all in all it took 2 hours from the time I left the bed, till I walked in the door. Most of that time was 'sitting' not standing (which hurts) or walking (more comfortable than standing) –but it was for sure more activity than I had in the past week!

So much more to catch up on—but duty (more doctors appointments!) call! I've got to go!

2011-10-11T19:33:00.002-04:00

Thank you all for you're good wishes (they came to pass!)

Last week I thought I was on the mend--but Friday ended up in hospital --and just got discharged today. One pesky little bruise, became a hematoma, and then got infected (an nasty looking!) its still looks pretty nasty (but in a totally different way--I might do a post tomorrow with details (and semi hide them--for some it might be TMI!))

4 days of IV antibiotics and minor surgical procedure (lancing and draining the infection) and now i am home. Still on antibiotics, and all sort of other stuff.

But I got some knitting done--tomorrow a photo of a FO!

Thank's again for you kind thoughts.

2011-10-06T10:02:00.002-04:00

Laid low with an infections... Hopefully on the mend, and will be back to blogging soon..

Getting There

2011-10-01T12:15:00.003-04:00

Sleeves, knit, edge (and elsewhere) finished, front panel of leaves knit (and finished too!)

Now just two little leaves to sew onto the fold back cuffs of the sleeve, and the sweater is done. Well there is still the hat—but that will be quick! And there is the small snaps to buy and sew on-That will be done tonight. Well the sewing tonight—I will have to run out today and buy the snaps!

I especially like how the double leaf pattern distorts the knitting in just the right way—make a shaped front to the neck—the end—with the full leaves are not part of the pattern—but work out perfectly. A perfect little organic growing thing!

I think I will put off starting Crazy Eights till tomorrow—After the Sunday knitting group—so far there will be maybe 5 or 6 knitter—small. But it will grow.

It's hard to start a group—But a good meeting place is must. One group I started to attend? Every week, a new place.. and none of them were well suited. They were too small or too inconvenient—A good meeting place needs to be near public transport & to have good (or at least some) parking. Better yet if it is an easy to find place (the Rego Park mall has red roof.. that can be seen from outer space!) And Panera's offer good food—not to expensive—and not junky (fries, greasy burgers) but salads and lean sandwiches. OK, they have cookies and pastries, too. But.

If you are in Kew Gardens, or Middle Villiage, or Elmhurts, or any near by neighborhood.. come on by! I look forward to seeing you tomorror at 2PM.

Now, with A Leafy Hem

2011-09-30T11:32:00.003-04:00

Next, the sleeves, ending in a leafy mitt, then leafy center panel—in the dark green. Ending with a hat with a leafy border.

Next month—another hat—Sweet Baby—in some pretty colorful self striping sock yarn (I am sure I have some odd (single skeins)) It will be just a matter of choosing one.

The border worked out perfectly (I didn't actually count or plan!) and meets mid back at the first/last row of the pattern. The 6 stitches (now on stitch marker/holders) will be grafted and create a seamless finish. The Center panel will be knit from the top down with a slightly shaped (scooped out) top edge, and will end in leaf tips.

Baby sweaters are such fun to knit—so fast! And so simple. I didn't bother with short row in the sweater back –baby's sweaters really don't need them. The front panel will be an easy one—I plan to use snaps, not buttons to close it.

Tomorrow begins October—and I hope by Sunday—the 2nd, to be starting Crazy Eights socks. I need to review my UFO's (so many!) and decide if they are going to become FO's—or Frogged. I need to plan what I will be knitting (besides baby hats). I have lists--gloves (real) gloves (fingerless) scarves (lacy), shawls, sweaters, vests, shrugs...

I want to knit a huge shawl—I have lovely hank of lace (almost cobweb weight) merino in white—over a mile of yarn—and I have a newly engaged to be married daughter—and almost a year to complete the project... BUT (and its a real big BUT) I don't think she wants a shawl. Even though she is planning a fall wedding and might really need one. I WANT to knit one. But I don't need a white one. I could, I suppose, knit it and dye it when its done. Merino Wool takes dye readily.

There are a few details my daughter has decided upon—RED is one. Maybe a pair of long lacy gloves instead of shawl—I could make red ones (I have a lot of very fine red cashmere) or white ones.. Problem is: Red is such a broad name for so many different colors/shades—I think she wants a true red (neither tomato (orange) or cherry(blue)) one. But....

It's a bit selfish—It's about me and what I want, not about what my daughter wants—and she's grown up enough to know exactly what she wants—and doesn't need me trying to impose my will. I suppose I could always make a shawl for me. As mother of the bride, I could could pull off a simple dress and an elegant shawl.

Yes, I HAVE Been Knitting.

2011-09-29T17:46:00.003-04:00

And cleaning and cooking..

I really hardly cleaned at all—all summer. I started out cleaning the terrace and doing some re-arranging to make room for all the chairs and planters from the terrace to indoors. The work out there is progressing—or so I am told.

All the railings have been removed, but they need to clean and then paint (with special water proofing paint) the terrace floor, and ceilings (actually, ceilings first) and then finally install the new railing. The jack-hammering is for the most part has ended --there is still noise—but not so much.

Then there is scaffolding and construction cloth—the whole process has been dusty. The terrace windows have been shut—but the dust travels. By the end of the summer, every room was coated with gritty dust. Slowly but surely, shiny surfaces are re-appearing.

And I have been cooking. I hate cooking for one—so I try to pre-cook in bulk and freeze. Then dinner is easier--quick reheats in the micro wave--with microwaved steamed veggies--and hardly a pot to wash for fancy bit of food.

When it goes on sale (last week) I buy the family packs of skinless boneless chicken breasts. Some get grilled, some get cut up and made into 'plain' chunks--(that can be reheated in fajitas sauce say, for fajitas, or mixed with kung poo noodles mix for Chinese food) other chunks are marinated in soy sauce and 'breaded' with corn starch and fried—these become General Tso's chicken, or sesame chicken, or chicken with orange sauce —the chunks can be re-heated in the oven (or sometimes the microwave) and along with steamed broccoli, or other veggies—to make a dinner faster than the rice can cook. (I always make double rice, and freeze the extra portion--so that the next time, I can zap the rice too!)

I made some chicken curry too--(did I mention, I eat chicken 4 to 5 days of the week?)

This week there is also some red meat—low fat ground beef—again family pack size on sale—1lb. became mini meat balls, the other 2 lbs. became 'crumble'--cooked and drained beef the will quickly morph into tacos, or simple stroganoff, or a quick chili (add canned beans, canned salsa style tomatoes, and a bit of chili powder—simmer 5 minutes) Enough for chili today--and enough left over for day two.

Come the winter, I'll make real chili--but quick chili is still better than the canned stuff. Chili, almost always--is served with corn bread--I always have a few boxes of Jiffy corn bread mix--I've had better corn bread--but not often. The Jiffy stuff is top notch.

I try to eat fresh fish once a week—salmon sometimes--(but I really don't like salmon) tuna as infrequently as salmon—My favorite is cod--(and every spring a pound or two of dried salt cod finds it way into my pantry) I don't much like herring either--but that's it--I'll eat just about every other variety of fish, and almost every other sort of sea food--it really depends on whats available (and on sale) About once a week/every other week, there is an all vegetarian dinner—or one with eggs or cheese.

Does anyone but me remember peppers and eggs Italian style (with a red sauce)? Chunks of peppers and onions in a tomato sauce, and an egg poached in the sauce as well. I like spaghetti with oil and garlic too—some times with a dusting of fresh grated cheese—or sometime home style with breadcrumbs.

It's still a bit to warm to be making soup--but that's up next-- I want some spicy soups this year--some mukkugatawny, or some ginger/lemon grass ones. Lately, I just crave spicy foods!

Oh, have I made you hungry? Well it's been aromatic around here! My freezer is once again packed with prepared ingredients for quick entree's!--I love having a larder full of good to eat food.

And then there is this—A little sweater.. Since it was photographed, half the lower edging is finished—a leafy border in green. The sleeves with have leafy mitts and the center front panel will be more green leaves—all for a little sprout. There will be a matching hat, too. All this for Jennifer and Guy's new one--(there will be more!) All in a machine washable wool.

I want to get it finished up—Saturday is a new month—and time for new socks! I have to pace myself, or it would be all socks, all the time!

Sunday is going to be a new knitting group—one at the Rego Park Shopping Center Panera's—starting at 2 PM—and going to—when ever we want! You can come too!

I've Been Negligent

2011-09-27T10:06:00.003-04:00

and remiss.

I haven't told you about the blog contest I won!
First off—I pass on many—I really feel lucky to have had a good stash to start, and to have inherited parts of two others—and I know there are many who might be earning more than me—but are just starting out—and doing so loaded with educational debt—and need to win more than I do.

But this was a great contest—with 3 first prizes. I know, because I won the third prize and WOW.

The contest was run by Susan—aka Jellidonut—on her Jellidonut blog. Susan and I have been cyber friends since she test knit my Rib Off hat pattern (almost 2 years ago!)

First the ~~wool~~—Fiber—because a blend of 60% suri alpaca and 40% wool, is most alpaca --and more correctly called fiber. Look at this skein—over 600 yards of yumminess. The color name is red clove and it's spot on. I had a lace scarf in my mental queue, now I have to add a real shawl!

And as wonderful as the fiber is—there is this—Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas.
This book has 2 main parts, the lace patterns, most simple scarves and tubular hoods, (even the moibus is done scarf style, twist and seam) but there are some lovely new lace patterns—and really, after 50 years of knitting, finding new lace patterns is a joy.

But it's the first half of the book that hold the most interest. What I know about our 49th state could writing on one side of a post card. Kodiak Bears –(they have been residents at the Bronx Zoo since I was a child) & Tlinget Boats –(Every one in NYC know about the Tlingets—meeting at the 79th street entrance of the Museum of Natural History --“we can meet at the boat” is about as NY as it gets) –make up 90% of what I know. (Oh, Yeah, it's BIG!)

Behind the boat, is the hall of Pacific Northwest People—which cover from Oregon to Alaskan Pan handle—and not much more. The Museum of the American Indian --1 of 2 parts of the Smithsonian museum found in NYC--(In the customs house, on lower Broadway) has some more info on our norther most state—but not much.

This book has information about arctic Alaska—about individuals, towns, groups. It explains how the designs came to chosen, and other details. I don't care that the focus is on fiber arts (some of the lace designs mimic designs sewn into fur parkas, others mimic designs found on bowls woven from grass) –I am perfectly OK with having parochial knowledge of Alaska to start!

Knit-- But Not Finished

2011-09-26T14:28:00.002-04:00

The next time I am short of yarn, I am knitting fingerless gloves in reverse—from the knuckles to the wrist. I have a very small amount of yarn left (enough for perhaps 2 rounds). Two rounds really wouldn't have made much of a difference—the gloves would still be short—but I do hate wasting the small scraps of yarn!

One glove (the right one) is finished—the left needs a half dozen ends woven in—quick work. And then there is the baby sweater to knit. I haven't even looked through my stash of washable wools.. but I know I have some brown, and white, and light teal blue. But once I look, who knows, I might find something I've forgotten about.

I think some of my stash of sock yarn is going to be used for a baby hat—my syncopated rhythm ribbed and cabled one. With a doubled brim, that a nice warm hat—a good choice for a winter baby. And the ribbing makes one size fits all—Jennifer is tall, and has a big head—she might not have a baby with a bowling ball head—but... Besides, baby's heads grow quickly.

OK—enough for now. (It's late, and I still haven't had breakfast! There is a banana and some yogurt calling my name! )Back much latter than I thought—my camera didn't want to work.

Look At That! A Hat

2011-09-24T10:58:00.003-04:00

Subtly is lost on me. I like my colors and patterns bright and clear,with lots of contrast. But you knew that already, right?

Not a very traditional Fair Isle Tam—and while it looks way to big on the scant 19 inch HEAD, it look much better on me with my bowling ball sized 22 inch head

And look, fingerless gloves started (and all too soon to be finished). I had some sort of brain fart—and imagined I could make long sleeved fingerless gloves from the skein of tweedy/multi-color yarn.

But how could I? It was a single 50gm skein—a scant 100 yards; divided, 50 years per glove. Nothing to knit with!

Oh, I know, I could have added stripes of the colors I used in the cuff (and will use again at the knuckle end of the glove) and made them longer, but I really didn't want stripes. I could have made them snugger and gotten another round or two in length... But really nothing I could do would make long sleeve fingerless gloves out of 50 yards/25 gm of yarn.

It's OK—there are plenty of other yarns in the world (and a good percentage of them live in my stash!) and fingerless gloves are fast to knit. So these are another short length pair—they are pretty aren't they?

Can you see the head of a safety pin like stitch marker (in the space between them)--That a large stitch marker acting as a stitch holder for the thumb gusset stitches. Today I'll finish the matching garter border, and weave in the second set of ends –(Yes the first half are already woven in!) and these will be finished. I still have a pompom to make for the hat.

But there is no rush—it's been dreary and grey and rainy round these parts—but its also been 80°(f) (somewhere in the 20's° c) The rain is moving on (a good thing—there has been way too much of it! If I had my way, some would have been shifted to Texas and points south).

Next up is going to be a quick little baby sweater—for Jennifer and Guy—My DD's best friend and her husband who are expecting their first in January. Something simple—and made from machine washable wool, and unisex—she is expecting a boy—but who knows, there might be a second child in the future. There will baby hats knit too, in the next few months—January is mid winter, lots of warm hats are a must—besides baby's hats are so fun to knit.. little elf hats, or sweet baby hats, or fruity hats, or vegetable hats... Baby's have no choice—all you have to do is make something adorable, and mom will pop it on baby's head!

I've Been Knitting.

2011-09-23T10:07:00.002-04:00

OK, so the hat's not done--though if I paid more attention, and didn't make stupid mistakes (and frog2 or 3 rounds, 2 or 3 times!) it might have been.

First—the cast on and ribbing? They were done—months ago. So my progress overnight can be measured by the color work (and it is pretty colorful, isn't it!?)

The wools are all Patons Classic Wool—the dark purple is old enough to be merino—in Purple, Wisteria, Lemongrass, Current (the dark salmon) and Ginger (the light salmon—though it is sort of the color of picked ginger, I will admit.)

The center of the crown will be more of the Current(dark peach) and with some of the Ginger. bring the the Current back to the top of the hat.

The Current and Ginger are left overs from Peachy--(I have some other partial skeins of these colors-plenty to finish the hat and long sleeved fingerless gloves.)

The dark purple is left over from Lady February. The Lemongrass and Wisteria—just odd skeins I've picked up at sales. The Lemon grass was very cheap because it was missing a label. It's a pretty intense color—a little goes a long way!

The stitch patterns—just ones that grabbed my fancy—and fit the stitch count—which is, (lazy!) always based on 10 (well not quite true—the cast on was 96—but it quickly became 100), then 110, and eventually up to 130, before I started the decreases—which like the increases, are based on units of 10 –a few rounds of no decreases--(pattern work) followed by a round of doubles (20 decreases in a single round.) 10 is a number I know that works for me--it creates a flat disk--almost perfectly. And that's how I like my berets!

I added the very non traditional picot to the fold line-- I like the sawtooth picot edge.

Finally there is this multi color skein (another odd ball!)--which goes well with the purples and peaches-I haven't decided if I am going to use all 5 colors, or just 2 +1--(one each of the purple and peach—and the multi) And after all is said and done—the last bits of the solid colors will be made into a huge pompom for the hat. Its a big hat (over 10 inches across) and I don't have too many hats with pompoms—so it will be good.

So that is—a bit of knitting done—and off to do more!

Pie, Any One?

2011-09-22T10:46:00.003-04:00

A love 'slice” of pumpkin pie (or rather 2 slices!) are being served up!

They barely fit LEGS--(you can't see the crust at all at the tip of the toe) –but the idea works—The side view shows clearly how the gusset looks like the slope of the pie plate—and the smooth stocking knit looks like a creamy custard. The side seam has just a thin exposed edge of crust--just perfect!

I think I will end up making some more pies--maybe a lemon meringue, or a key lime, or a mississippi mud pie--or some other flavor. I like the idea of these socks--even if this pair doesn't fit!

I didn't do any work on the beret—except to double check the stitch count and look through Alice Starmore's book on Fair Isle to find some perie stitch patterns--this was done with a pencil in hand—counting the stitch repeats. She sorts pattern by the number of rows each pattern uses-- I care about repeat count—since I am not interested in frogging the 3 inches of brim I've knit twice for 3rd time! I need a stitch pattern that fits my stitch count!

I'll take a photo of my color scheme, and the under brim tomorrow—Who knows, I might even have a few round of the top done, too, by then. And I'll take a photo of the co-ordinating yarns for the finger gloves—which will be LONG—knuckles to elbow—long enough to make a snug 'sleeve' to wear with Peachy or Lady February. Both of which are warm enough to worn on cool fall evenings—but since they will likely be worn with short sleeve T-shirts or camp shirts—I do sort of, sometimes need something for my lower arms as well.

I have 8 days to finish the hat and fingerless gloves—then come October—Crazy time! Crazy 8's to start—Black yarn as the base—before I bought my Ott bulb for a lamp, I wasn't sure what color yarn I was going to use as my base—I've knit with Kroy black, (Coal/Carbon) and it's a very black black (like the Monty Python skit about black pudding, it a very dark even black—even the white bits are black) Black is a hard color to knit with—the stitches disappear! It's the perfect base for a colorful sock—offering a great background that will make all the other colors POP. And I do have a fair bit of black in wardrobe—and with 8 other colors—these socks will go with anything! With good light, black won't to to difficult to work with—I hope.

What else will I knit in October?—So many ideas, so much yarn, so difficult to chose!

My kitchen is returning to a semblance of order—all the things I took out during the summer—and failed to put away when I was done with them—have been returned to their proper homes. Now, low and behold—counter space is once again available! I don't have much to begin with—my kitchen is, like many in NYC—postage stamp sized--how small? I can fill a pasta pot with water when it's sitting on the stove—the stove is close enough to the sink, the spray arm can reach it. And I can't open the dishwasher and refrigerator at the same time (the doors share a space) –plus the dishwasher is not a standard 24 inch one—but just an 18inch one—plenty big enough for a family of one—but smaller than the average dishwasher.

Toes!

2011-09-21T13:05:00.002-04:00

Well, crust toes! Now a few rows of pumpkin custard, and the socks will be done!

I think when finished, the socks will actually be too small for LEGS—but that's OK—my granddaughter has small feet (it must be her mother's side of the family!) she a bit petite in general. Or perhaps just normal—both of my children were always ahead of the curve when it came to height—age 12 (my granddaughter age) my daughter was –at the beginning of the school year over 5 foot tall—and by the end of the year almost as tall as me (5'5”!) and the third tallest girl in the class.

My granddaughter is about 4'8”--but if she has a similar growth spurt—she'll end up 5'2” by the end of the school year—and with many more years to grow—she could end up as tall as me (nice) or even as tall as her mother (5”7”--Very nice, indeed!)

So I should finish up the socks today—and get started on the fair isle hat tomorrow—or maybe even late tonight. After that, MORE socks—cause—well every month brings more socks! A vest, too, is on the agenda for October.

I started looking last night for pattern—and found 2 I sort of like—but neither was exactly right—but one inspired a design—a weirdly shaped single piece that is mostly back—but also forms an arm hole and a bit of front shaping. The rest of the shaping will be a circular band.

The yarn? A multi color one—Lion Brand's Amazing—I love the shrug I made with this yarn, last year. Love the color, love the fit—but –and this is an odd complaint—it's a bit too warm! I am sure there will be cold days, or days when fatigue or illness leave me chilled to the bone, and I'll love the cozy warmth. But more often than not—it will be too warm. But a sleeveless vest? Perfect—enough to warm the core of my body. Enough to wear under a light jacket—or to wear alone in the car. I really hate driving in heavy coats or jackets—but I often want more than just a shirt or T-shirt.

I have the noro vest—but—pretty as the colors are, I don't like this vest much—I know, I know, Noro changes on its on schedule, and trying to make matches with Noro is like trying to herd cats—but I really don't like the lack of matching fronts. Oh, I'll wear it, but it's not something I really like-it will end up a house sweater—rarely worn out.

I've been working on a 'wish list' of things to knit for the winter and coming year. The sock list already has 14 ideas—7 simple easy ones, and 7 fancy, complex ones. 2 are left over from the list I made last January, and I expect by the end of next year, there will be some left over again.

It's Been Days and Days

2011-09-20T09:53:00.003-04:00

And now, 1 more day--since I wrote this blog post yesterday and never uploaded it...

You'd think there would be a pile (or at least 1!) FO to show for it.

But no.. Not much knitting, and no photos –well maybe 1 short silly video.

So just what have I been doing? When to breakfast and to the park –with my grandchildren and son, Did laundry (the whole nine yards! Washed, dried, folded and put away all 4 loads!)

Went shopping—odd and end, and grocery shopping too.

Went to the Maker's Fair, and taught knitting and bit of needle point too. Totally forgot to take any photos! --But my DIL Sonya, received a Blue Ribbon (editors choice!) for her display.

Went to Dinner—Son, and family, Daughter and her financé, Matt—Just getting to the restaurant all at the same time was a slight marvel of engineering. And even though it was late, the kids were reasonably well behaved, and the food was great (Korean)

Got up early, stayed up late, (napped, to when it all caught up with me!)

I planned some knitting... Of course I first have to finish the pumpkin pie socks--(they are going to go to my granddaughter). Then a fair isle hat—One is started, and frogged, and started and frogged, and started again--(and never got to color work, just a bit of ribbing) and a pair of fingerless gloves to go with the hat—not fair isle, but a multi color (short lengths of color)yarn that matches well. The hat will also match my Lady February Sweater and the Peachy Sweater--I know it doesn't seem possible--but wait, you'll see!

It will be simple fair isle—a bunch of perie type patterns, --with a plain (decrease round) or two between each perie pattern.

Well there are a bunch of promises.. I hope I keep them!

First the Video--this is the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir--well no video--1 hour + and it still hadn't loaded.. see it here

Visible Progress

2011-09-14T09:19:00.003-04:00

They are looking like a socks—and at the same time, it's looking like a piece of pie. I like it!

I suppose if I knit the sole separately, it would be finish by now. But I am glad that I chose to work the instep and sole simultaneously. Because I would have gotten it wrong.

This is the first time I've knit a sock too small. And it is definitely to small for my gunboat feet. There is plenty of stretch in the cast on edge, and I can pull the socks onto my feet, but I don't like how they look. They look good on LEGS—they fit LEGS—They even have to be stretched a bit to get on LEGS. But stretched out, to fit my feet they are less attractive. The knitting opens up too much, the smooth stocking knit stretches out and doesn't look attractive. The side 'seams' open up too. It's not a good look.

Well the good news is: My granddaughter is coming to visit—and she is age 12, and has smaller legs and smaller feet. They might be a bit loose on her (especially the leg part of the sock) but the foot is even narrower than the leg, (finished, less than 7.5 inches) –and should fit her about as well as they fit LEGS.

One nice aspect of the socks is that inside a shoe, the contrasting “crust” won't show. They will just look like normal socks. She might or might not like the idea of pumpkin pie socks—but since it won't be evident—its won't matter.

Living in SF, she doesn't have much of a need for wool socks—But my son and family camp—in the mountains—on a regular basis. Wool socks are perfect for camping and hiking. She'll be able to use them then, if no other time.

Well I Did My Bit

2011-09-13T11:32:00.001-04:00

for democracy—I voted this morning (after breakfast, before errands) Pretty sad, too.

I live in a 6 building co-op, there are several other co-ops in the area (4 building, and 5 building ones) All built around the same time, they are almost identical in size (building size) and lay out. Each building in the respective co-ops has 14 apartments per floor (A to N) and 14 floors (all skip floor 13, and end with 15. ) over 1100 units in my co-op in groups of 6 buildings; just under a 100 in the building group of 5. A lot of people in a very small area. Even if you presume 1 voter per apartment (and since some apartments are 2 and 3 bedroom ones, that is a low average, AND presume, that 40% of the people can't vote (the neighborhood has a high percentage if immigrants) that still leaves thousands of voters in my district.

But when I went to vote? I was number 26. At 10 AM in the morning. The early voters—I used to be one—vote on their way to work. The stay at home mothers with children to get to school, would have (if they were going to) walked their children to school and cast their vote then.

But 26 voters? Turn out is (as in all special elections, and primaries) low—very low.

Goodness knows a ton of money has been spent on the candidates—the local airways have been filled with ads-- and the robo-dialers—endless. I think I got 12 calls yesterday alone--(and the calls have been going on for days!)

Allegedly, it's a test-—Will the district remain democratic, or will Tea Party candidate Turner win.

Truthfully, while he was stupid--(at least in how he conducted his personal life) If Anthony Weiner were on the ballot, I would have voted for him again. I would much rather a stupid but harmless Weiner than any tea party candidate—who want to be elected to government, and then proof government is ineffective by blocking all action (and making it ineffective!)

But enough politics.. I got a scant 8 rows of my sock done.. the sole is less than an inch longer, as is the instep. I better get to work—The month is rapidly going away—if I don't get cracking—it will have gone by with nothing to show for it except a single pair of socks!

Gusset Done? Check!

2011-09-12T14:46:00.002-04:00

Is a bit slow going—but it should get faster now—The gussets are done, and the instep 'custard' is following behind—looking all smooth and even.

Vanity, vanity, but I am vain about my knitting. No rowing out, no change in gauge as I went from knitting in the round to knitting flat. These socks are going to be slightly longer than average to complete—the sock yarn looks think and plush--(and it is soft in hand!) but it knits up tighter than I realized.

Look how nice the sock looks on LEGS—no bagginess, no excess ease.. Trouble is, they shouldn't! LEGS are way smaller than my real legs—these sock have more negative ease than average—the good thing is, knitting stretches! I can compensate for less width by increasing the length and slightly distorting the gauge when I wear them.

I would (coulda, woulda, shoulda) got more knitting done—but instead, I did some mending. And minor sewing –one more canvas shopping tote sewn up—and two torn ones repaired. I have about 8 cloth ones (and 3 plastic ones). They live in my car –that way they are always handy when I want them. Ever week or so, one come 'home' and gets dumped in the wash. And at the same time checked out for wear and tear.

I still have a pile more of mending (and ironing) to do-I'll get to it one of these days—and then, do what I've promised myself since the beginning of the year—make some skirts! But when? I don't know.

This week will be busy with family and the Maker's Faire-- Tomorrow I have to get out to vote—a special election to replace Mr Weiner (yeah, he was my representative!) I have a bunch of things to print up, too, and the ever present cleaning.

Truth be told, I hardly did any this summer, and there is clutter all over! Not helped by having all my terrace chairs and plant racks and planters (the previously hanging planters) stacked up in corners of the living room.

Some sock yarn and some mohair became neat cakes-- the former just because it was there, the latter for some elegant shawl-like scarves I have planned. Planned—how I wish I could just plan and have things done! I am so good at planning.. (not so good at getting all I have planned done!)

Ten Years Ago

2011-09-11T09:54:00.002-04:00

I was working downtown. Both before and after the WTC collaspes. Close enough, that I frequently walked to the subway station (E termimal) in the WTC. It was a longer walk than the closest station, but a faster express train.

In the long dark months after the collapse, I wrote this. The “pit” as it was called, burned not for days, but for months. Till the beginning of December—and everyday, there was smoke and dust, and the smell.

--One word has been editted—at first the totals were thought to be higher, and five (thousand) has been corrected to 3 (thousand).

Memorial

I am nothing more than star dust.

Long, I held myself to be,

Just, collected, the scattered dust,

from some past eternity

How random --how beautiful

Majesty, in such a simple form

humbled and at the same time, blessed,

From such stuff to be born.

But these days the dust I breathe

The dust I have become,

Is the dust of three thousand souls

And more, in me, as one

My city is a charnel house.

It sears me to the core

Now I am the dust of human souls

Of stardust, I am no more.

A Smidgen of Progress

2011-09-10T10:09:00.001-04:00

The Heel is the worst! All those extra stitches in the gusset,and decreases. And–as soon as its done, I feel like the sock is almost finished.

I don't feel that way yet. The remaining gusset stitches got picked up, and I am now decreasing my way back to the original stitch count—slowly, So SLOWLY! A dozen rows of the gusset done—and a dozen more to do. I do like deep insteps, and long gussets PITA that they are, are a must!

And at the same time, I am working the instep- First 8 rows of the gusset, then 4 rows on the instep, then 4 more on gusset, and 4 more on the instep. It's following along, slightly behind.

By Monday, I should have enough progress made that I can put the socks on to LEGS—and let you see. Right now there isn't enough of a foot(sole) or instep to hold the socks in place at the LEGS heel.

That's it!

And Now for the Fun Part

2011-09-09T11:26:00.002-04:00

6 inches of deep pumpkin knit, plus an inch of crimped upper crust. The leg portion of the sock is done. Now for the fun part.

Last night I started the heel flaps—finish them both this morning, and the turning Even got the first of 4 sets of gussets picked up. The turning has a first time change—I am doing a reverse sole—Purl side out, and smooth stocking knit against my skin. I don't think it will make much difference—I never find the purl bumps uncomfortable—or so I think. Who knows, I might just notice the difference with a reversed sole.

I'll work the first 2 stitches (the knit one, and the k2tog) of the gusset in knits, and the rest of the stitches in reverse stocking knit.. at least till the gusset is finished. I think the joining of the upper and lower foot of the sock will be easier working knits to knits.

And I think I am going to alternate between the sole and instep. Working a few round on the sole, and then turning the sock and working a few row (to catch up) on the instep.

I'll see how that goes—if its too complicated, I won't continue—but I think it will work out fine. I might even alternated row by row, and interlock the yarns intarsia style as I go.

EZ worked out one solution, I think I can work out my own.

Deep Dish Delight!

2011-09-08T11:32:00.002-04:00

Almost 4 inches of “custard” now. The custard part of these socks in Knit Pick's Essentials. It's the first time I am knitting with this yarn, and it's very nice. It LOOKS like a heavy weight sock yarn in the skein, but it's so soft and plushy. Work it in a tight gauge, and in condenses nicely, and still retains all of its softness (though less plush!)

I like how the socks look, with the crimped crust top—but thinking about it, the 'crimped crust' is totally disconnected from the (still to come) crust on the heel and sole.

What if.... I started with a mostly white (the whitest white I can find) and then hand painted just small amounts of beige in the white? Then I could have a top cuff of “browned” meringue! Followed by a lemony yellow, and the same toasty beige sole, I could have a lemon meringue pie sock!

Or plain white on top, and lime green, it would be a key lime pie with a whipped cream topping, or white and 2 shades of brown, and I could be knitting up a Mississippi mud pie, Add some texture –via a stitch pattern, and use a semi solid medium brown—Pecan Pie! An impractical white sock—made with a with a beige sole? Why coconut custard!

I could knit up a collection of pies. And since I have plans for a cookie sock (no more details yet!) I could do a whole bakery collections.. Hamantashen pastries as a fancy cuff, or maybe curled up ruggalahs or bear claws—so many choices!

Why not? If I can knit Italian ice socks, why not a half dozen pairs of socks inspired by bakery shelves?

And why stop at custard pies? With stitch patterns, and I-cord lattice—I could make make a bunch of open topped fruit pies. --Dark blue blueberry pies, and purple-y blue blackberry ones, or deep red cherry pies, or a golden orange peach pie. (Is there anything better than peach pie?!)

I could make a new pair of pie socks every year for the next 10—and still have ideas left over! A pie shop collection!

Another inch of pumpkin "custard", and I'll be starting the heel and sole of the toasty brown crust—and who knows, maybe I will break the plan, and add a few more pies to my sock collection before continuing! Yummy—and calorie free too!

Seasons

2011-09-07T10:48:00.004-04:00

I live in the north east of North America—so I have (and tend to think of the year) in 4 seasons—Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.

Fall is always the beginning of the year. It started being so when I was a child—Fall was the start of school-- New grade, a new teacher, a new start. I married young, right out of school, and I married a teacher—the school schedule continued to dominate my life for the next 20 years. And now, 20 more years latter, it still does.

I love all the seasons, the changes, the special things I associate with each season, but as the growing season comes to end, it's time for a new year to start.

Certainly, fall is knitting season—and this fall is full! There is Stitch 'n Pitch (I think I am going) on September 13th—this year the knitters are yarn bombing Citifield (I have to stop and think—what I want to type is 'Shea') –followed by (the same week really) Maker's Fair (less than a half mile away!) in Flushing Meadow Park, on September 17th and 18, October starts with Rhinebeck, (I want to go, but I don't think so), immediately followed by Stitches East (in CT) -I am not going-- and there are two breast cancer walks (I am doing one) in there too.

More about the breast cancer walk later this week.

November? Its time to get serious about holiday gifts.. and December is crunch time. But truth be told, I don't do a lot of holiday knitting.

Then there is ME knitting time. The dark days of winter are the perfect time to hunker down with wool and knit.

I've already make plans and some lists--(I always make plans and lists—I frequently ignore them, I do make them!) I have a list of 14 sock ideas (2 are roll overs from last years plans—both generic socks involving self striping yarns) –and more new ideas have sprung up since I started the list.

There I sort of things I want to Knit, starting with a nice, warm winter sweater jacket. I like sweater jackets.. (I don't know if I I like knitting them, but...)I want it to be Big—with long sleeves--and turned back cuffs, and pockets, and a deep collar. Some cables, too, (but not too many), loose enough to be an outerwear jacket, and densely knit too.

I know I will make good use of my disappointing (but warm) Noro vest from last year, and my Lion Brand Amazing shrug (finished at point when it really wasn't needed anymore, last year.) I want some more vests—I've had the idea to do a fine, (light weight) color work vest—a major undertaking really since there is a lot of me. Plus a simpler, worsted weight lace vest, to replace one from a few years ago (it was made from acrylic, and it had a bad experience in the clothes dryer)

There are hats to re-knit (and completely document) and new hats itching to be knit, and scarves (How many times have I said, “That's it, I am never knitting another scarf!”--and yet I have plans for 2 already—one, soft and light lace—more an accessory than a thing of warmth, and one with interesting techniques.. and I have plans for gloves (real, fingered gloves) and some of the fingerless variety, (and just how long go I think winter is?!)

I KNOW I won't get everything on my list knit And that as full as the list is, more things will get added to it, and some of those new additions will jump to the top of the list.

Meanwhile, my pumpkin pie socks got started, ignored, frogged and restarted (a lot of changes in 6 days!) and now are on their way. So far, just a crimped crust of toasty brown, and a smidgen of dark, spicy custard—But on the way.

The crimps in the crust caused the problem—I wanted something different than the Crowning Achievement sock top—and it took a few tries to get the crust right. Textured, and undulating, but not pointed. I used the same channel island cast on (it's a super stretch one as well as being attractive) but worked the cuff in garter, and rounder ripples for nice effect.

For the next day or two, its easy going, just plain stocking knit.. But the starting at the heel, the sole will be 'crust' (brown) and the instep custard (pumpkin) Very Pie like indeed!

Hey, It's September!

2011-09-02T10:59:00.004-04:00

I got my 4^th blocks done—and momentarily, I am just about out of Red Heart yarn—not enough of any single color to make another block. (Well there is the Red Heart half skein of purple, and some partial skeins of grey and black that are effectively hiding, somewhere)

Block 4—the 2 shade of red one—is done. Interestingly, for square 3, I cast on 65 stitches, and used a size 9 (5.25) needle—and got 20 inches perfectly. Block 2, with 70 stitches is actually 21 inches across—but I am sure there are one or two of the tree's that are a bit bigger than the average--(and its easier to slightly overlap—than to stretch out a too small square)

So once again, for block 4, I cast on 65 as I did for block 3—and ended up with a 19 inch block!

In some ways it was a good thing—I ended the last rust red stripe with 4 inches of yarn left over. IF I had just a few more (2!) stitches in each row, I would have run out of the rust yarn.

I did in fact run out of rust red when the block was just short of 19 inches. So I did have a square--just not a 20 X 20 one! To make my 19 X 19 square into a 20 by 20 one, I picked up stitches and knit a border on all 4 sides. (and was left with just a few yards of the bright red!)

The stripes are much more evident in this image--(well lit with an Ott type light) but the stripes are almost invisible from a short (6 foot or so) distance—and will be even less visible from 20 feet (the distance, I am guessing from a car to the side of the road) and even less so at 20 to 30 mph.

Today or tomorrow, I will put the squares in a bag, and run them over to Robyn—the deadline is Sunday the 5th –So time is just about up, too.

But it's September—and I have been itching to start my Pumpkin Pie socks--and I can!

These socks will be pretty simple (mostly stocking knit)--but will be a new technique for me—Soles knit in one yarn, insteps in another. I've seen (and read in the past) EZ technique for doing this (she mended socks, and like being able to just unravel the sole part of the sock) And I understand the general principle—so I am just going to wing it. I know how to knit up seams as I go- I'll start at the crimped “crust” knit the leg, and then add more 'crust' at the heel and down the sole.

And I already have plans for another pair of 'pastry' socks using the same technique for next year--my Cookie socks.

Either I will get it right the first time, and do a repeat—or I will fall short of perfection, --with the pie socks, (or as near to perfection as I aim) and do my 'cookie' sock better.

The Cookie Sock, are one of half dozen ideas I've written down for NEXT years dozen, bakers dozen, along with Dragon sock, too (Next year is the year of the dragon in the Asian calendar--did i mention that I was born in the year of the Dragon? )

Naturally, Dragon socks will feature a lot of red! Hey—I have red yarn that was planned for this year (and won't be knit up this year)—other sock ideas were subbed--like the home dyed purple stuff I will be knitting up at the end of the year.

I buy sock yarn all the time—but the idea of a years plan is come up with interesting ideas for the sock yarn I already own! (Actually, it's been close to 4 months since I bought any sock yarn.)

Car problems and pool have keep me from shopping--and It's true--If I don't see any yarns, I don't buy any! No matter how good the sale or the coupon, if I am in the pool, I am not out and about, and just stopping into a store to see what's new--and walking out with more sock yarn!

So far the line up for 2012 includes, Cookies, and Dragons, and another pair of beaded socks, the multi color Swirl socks (these may end up being December's socks) and some other solid, and patterned socks, and some colorwork socks.. (I've already forgotten all the details of the list!) but about 8 pairs with patterns and 4 plain (self striping/patterning) pairs--Including, now that I think about it an other version of the Puffy socks--Yellow I think, followed by cream, and then 4 shades of brown, ending in chocolate.

Good thing I wrote the ideas down (the list in in another room). Some time in January, I wrotet up this years plain. So far, I done most of the socks I planned in January. I've done the granite socks, and the denim, and the repeat (in blue) of the raspberry swirl. Italian ices, check, puffy sock, ditto. Pumpkin pie (on deck), crazy 8's ready to go next month. I've done some different 'plain socks'--(generic socks for the most part, that rely on self striping yarns for a pattern)--but really does it matter that I did a steel and dove grey sock vs one of white and pastel colors?

And never seen, a pair I designed on spec, and another pair --as a teaching set--but this last pair are mini's (6 inches for end to end!) A baker's dozen of full size socks for this year easy. And a total of.. (I've stopped counting!)

Another One, Half Done

2011-09-01T11:48:00.003-04:00

A little less than half done when I took the photo (8.25 inches) but since then, a few more rows were added, and now it's a bit more more than half done (11 inches).

The stripes are a more evident when the knitting is in hand, but the hues of the two reds are close in value and from a 10 feet away (or half that distance with my eye glasses off) they do look as soft and subtle as they do in the photo-- Partially because the colors are close, partial because the stripe have blurred lines.

It's a simple pattern—
R1: Change color--*K1, P1 (repeat)
R2: Knit
R3: Purl
R4: Knit

Just enough of a pattern to be interesting. Not quite enough to keep the fabric flat—but close. I did some similar stripe blocks last year for the Maker's Faire Project. Which reminds me (as did Sonya) on her face book post-less than 3 weeks till Maker's Faire!

I didn't much knitting done yesterday –I went to the pool and afterwards, Panera's for a few minutes. August has been cool, and Irene busted a weekend and then some. This the last week of the pool. Some of the petty problems became slightly bigger ones. There are some parents who let their children run wild and unsupervised.

Yesterday a water gun fight, involving a bunch of the wild ones, escalated to a fight that involved throwing buckets of water. The buckets, (all really pool equipment) ranged from a small child's toy, to 3 and 5 gallon containers (previously filled with pool chemicals)--the kids from age 6 to 11 were running (a violation) and throwing as much water as they could. The mock war was on the pool deck and below in a large open room (the men's and lady's rooms are off this room) The lifeguards got involved trying to put an end to it. The parents of the various kids were indifferent. Water went everywhere. On the deck, on the stair case, on the floor of the common room (out side of the lady's and men's rooms down stairs.)

Then disaster. A young girl (a teen—14? 15?) slipped on the unexpected wet and slipping stairs (a bucket of water that missed it intended target resulted in steps in the middle of the stair case being puddled with water. The top steps were dry, and so were the bottom ones.. Only few steps in the middle of stair case were wet. --Just the point when the stairs descend into the murky darkness --not really dark at all but shadowed--and no longer in full daylight (which at 7PM was fast fading)

I suppose the good new was—she slipped onto her backside (and didn't tumble head first). She righted her self and insisted she was OK. No one saw her fall, but I heard it (I was downstairs and out of sight of the stair case, others were upstairs, approaching the staircase.)

I think that the young woman is basically OK—a bit bruised--But not broken. But her grandmother/guardian was very upset.. partly because no one at the pool knew anything about it. There was no one downstairs (in charge) and no one on the deck realized what had happened.

One of the set of kids involved—boys aged 5 and 6 totally denied any involvement(but I had seen one of the kids definitely running away from a lifeguards (who was ordering him to stop running) bucket in hand (near the staircase) and the other kid downstairs laying in wait to “attack” (superslooper type water gun in hand (and the floors were dry). When I came out from the lady's room, the kids were gone from downstairs, and the floor was wet. These kids are generally nice kids-considering that they run wild, and are virtually un-supervised by there mother. The kids are constantly breaking the rules—they run, they sit on and 'tightrope walk' the pool ropes, they help themselves to any toy at the pool (more than once taking my noodle to “play with” with out permission). Mother sits on the deck, talking on her cell phone, or gossiping. In 3 years, I have never once heard her reprimand her kids for breaking the rules.

Again she is nice enough—but it's a pattern. Yesterday the pattern ended up with a problem.

It began to get dramatic—but I left (as did the mother of the two boys—only the grandmother/guardian of the teen remained, venting anger at the situation to the pool management (she wanted an incident report).

At Panera's, were saw Doreen Lynn Saunders—I've posted about her before (but I realize after, I had her web page URL wrong) her web page is The Americana Stars Memorial. Doreen is doing a huge project to honor all those who died in the world trade disaster on September 11, 2001.

I am glad to have seen her again—and I love her project. There are so many projects, so many things demanding our time, our attention, our MONEY, but here project is one I think deserves more of of all three!

Putzing Around

2011-08-31T10:17:00.001-04:00

Doing lots of little things, doing nothing.

Nothing to show you on Square 4—cause nothing got done (I will be casting on as soon as I finish this post) Did some swatching, wrote down another half dozen ideas for socks—I have more than a years worth--(and 5 years worth of yarn!) other vaguely knitting stuff (turned some skeins into balls.)

Got a little sewing done—a single medium sized tote bag. I use a lot of tote bags (Well a lot of the cotton canvas ones) It's been years since I've had groceries packed in “paper or plastic” I feel like I can't have too many—every once in a while I clean out the car, (where they are stored) and wash them all--Though sometimes an odd bag or two, sitting around waiting to be returned to the car gets tossed into a load of wash.

Keeping all but one or two of my shopping totes in the car means I have them handy when I need them. I can't tell you how many times in the past, I'd forget to take them when I stored them by the door.
Now they are stored (neatly folded) in a Master bag, in the trunk—and ready when ever I need them.

I actually got laundry done. Instead of just talking about doing a load of wash (as I have twice in the past month) I actually did 4—2 loads just of sheets and towels—and I still have a hamper full, and about 3 more loads to do.1 Full load of denim's (skirts, not jeans) and another load of linens—sheets and kitchen towels and a third of T-Shirts and tops. That's what comes of not doing laundry for 4 weeks!

A dull life, isn't it? But in light of all the local and not so local disasters caused by Irene—a dull life is a good thing.

Not Too Bad

2011-08-30T09:54:00.002-04:00

Here's square 3—a knit up in a single day. And definitely, there will be a square 4. Not a solid, but a narrow (2 row? 3 row? ) stripe of the rusty red and a brighter red. I don't have enough of either color for a full square, but narrow stripes--especially if they the don't have straight lines, (and they won't) blur into a single color in just a few feet's distance.

This one is done in seed stitch (red) and ribbing (rust). And it's the first (knit) one that is 20 X 20 (not 20 X 21 or 20 X 22 (as the miter corner one was before it got frogged)

I have errands and chore to do today that will cut into my knitting time, so I doubt I will finish square 4 by tomorrow—but I should make good progress.

And that's it. Nothing else to say!

Art and Charity.

2011-08-29T11:37:00.003-04:00

I frogged and re-knit the second square for the Avenue of Tree's project. That makes 2 squares—I have some time left before Robyn returns to NYC, and a few more days before the deadline becomes hard—I've already cast on for block 3. (My mental deadline is Labor Day—a week from now) Who knows, maybe I will really be productive and make a 4th.

I have a bit of Red Heart still in my stash—and Red Heart just seems to appear out of no where. I haven't bought any in years –but skeins get foisted on me. I accept them, because there are always request for 'charity' knitting.

I am not much for charity knitting—I am poor enough, almost to be needing charity of my own, and yet I give—to so many organizations. I've given knitting, too. Hand knit socks (for a raffle), cash donations, time—and always, hats. It's been said, “the poor are always with us”. Giving more doesn't change that.

And even though I have headed up a project for knitting hats, I am not all that sure it works. Love and appreciation of hand knits comes with valuing them. I don't think hand knits are valued—in general, and especially by kids who want nothing more than to be and look like the images they see on TV and media. They want name brand baseball style caps. They aren't warm, they are very expensive, but they are worn by people they idolize.

I want to see big rap artist wearing no name jeans from Walmart, and cheap sneakers, and hand knit hats—and setting an example of “It's OK” (or even, It's Cool) -and not wearing designer jeans, and custom made footwear, and expensive baseball type hats. The standards of fashion set by performing artist are expensive ones, and the desire to emulate these fashions is incidious.

Today, Annie Modesitt has a link (its here) and a blog post about charity knitting. Again. And what she says, what Tony Sleep says, needs to be said again, and again.

I am so much happier to knit for art—for beauty, for pleasure, and for enjoyment than I am for charity (though Robyn notes, about $5 is being contributed to UNICEF for every donation to the Avenues project.) I didn't know that when I started, and it doesn't really change my mind about knitting squares for her.

Meanwhile, I like 99% of the citizens of NYC survived the hurricane. Not a bit of damage, not a problem in the world. Not even a lot of damage to the local trees.

The Red Heart Yarn

2011-08-26T10:11:00.002-04:00

Is still hiding—I am of half a mind to start knitting a different –(less yarn hogging than garter) square from the tail—frogging one square as I knit the other. I am quite sure that the errant skein will show up September 1st—moments after Robyn has stepped on to the plain taking her to Korea!

But I did do something.. Look 3 Sock Club Kit bags.

First—pumpkin pie—the toasty brown 'crust yarn' has been divide into 2 mini skeins—Undived, it wasn't quite a full 50gms—but I am sure its enough to make a crimped edge cuff, and to turn a heel and make a bottom (sole) crust too. Pumpkin Pie socks are next up in the line up.

Then, some lacy lavender socks. This is a home dyed yarn a semi-solid of blue violet, violet, and red violet—not really lavender at all! I haven't decided on the lace pattern yet—but something small, delicate and simple.

Finally—a big (1 gallon zip lock bag!)--a rainbow (and then some!) of colors. I haven't even tucked in the black skeins that will be the background to this array, and the bag is full. But –truth be told—Crazy 8's will use 8 colors—but not very much of any one color. I'll have lots of this yarn left when I am done. (and some black as well!)

But not to worry—I have plans for the left over black.

I'd tell you more—but the jackhammering that is going on is unbearable—Some residents (like my upstairs neighbor) illegally put down ceramic tiles on their terrace (instead of the default painted grey concrete.)

Any installed flooring is being removed as part of the over all improvement project . The terraces are in pairs or 3 some's, and are a pitched to a single drain (my side of the pair has the drain) Tiles and other flooring interfere with the draining—and standing water (and in the winter, sheet of ice) are not good for the concrete-(and really not neighborly at all!)

The owner's with illegal flooring are being fined; and in effect paying to have the floors broken up and removed—but we all have to suffer with the noise! The steel structure transmits the noise like a bad tunning fork. I KNOW the work is being done on the terrace above me—but in ever room it sounds like they are right above me—in the living room, in the dining room, in the computer annex (a not quite a room area) in the kitchen, in the bath, in the bedroom! Everywhere! There is no escaping.. Oh wait, I could head down stairs and do laundry—There's a plan.