Sock-knitting, again

My recent visit to LACMA and Tim Burton's exhibit didn't just inspire me to get skectching again; I also brought out the tiny double pointed knitting needles. Project: knee highs begins!

I'd picked up this skein of Noro Kureyon sock yarn (color 192)  back when it debuted (ages ago!), but never got around to using it. The black mixed in with the rainbow colors just kinda killed it for me.  But with an eye to some of Tim Burton's drawings (long and skinny and stripey), I thought to break up the color gradations by creating stripes with an alternating solid color (Cascade Heritage in a rich, dark brown). Here's an initial attempt:

This was before I changed my mind and decided to make the toes in multicolor instead of dark brown. I'd also decided to decrease from a 64-stitch round to 60. It set me back a week, but will be worth it in the end when I'm happy with the final product.

These socks are being knit from the toe up so as to use as much yarn as possible. I like a rounded toe; here's how I do it:

1. Figure-eight cast-on for 10 stitches: 10 figure eights = 20 sts total


2. Increase at the beginning and end of every "row" for five rows; split stitches onto four dpns: 10 stitches on each dpn; 40 sts total


3. Increase every other round for another 10 rounds: 15 stitches on each dpn; 60 sts total

A 60-stitch circumference provides a comfortable, snuggly fit for my Size 7 feet; I'm using Size US1 needles. My stripes are three rows of each color -- not a perfect split when I got to the heel, but neither four rows nor two rows quite matched the image I had in mind. I like watching the colors gradually change, and knitting in a regular interval of colors sure makes counting rows easier! I prefer to knit both socks at once to ensure that my tension is equal and to save myself from "second sock syndrome," that feeling of having to start all over with the second sock before the project can really be complete. Here's where I am now, almost a month after the cast-on (please forgive my bleh grey berber rental carpet):

It'll soon be time to begin some calf increases.  I'm going to knit those on the fly: wishmeluck!

Bus knitting

It having become down-right impossible to knit Swallowtail on the bus--keeping the chart out, plus trying to do a p5tog while the bus is stopping and going, and bumping all the while--I went back to garter stitch and yet another Baktus.

This is one of my favorite color combos: some beachy tones (leftover Regia) plus off white (Elann baby cashmere).   A good pop of color amidst the monochromatic darks of my fall/winter wardrobe; and light enough (in color and weight) to continue wearing into the spring. 

But who says this is for me?!

Scrunched-up Swallowtail

It wasn't until I was nearly a week into the knitting that the idea came to document my progress day by day.  By then I'd gotten to the 6th of 14 pattern repeats.  And I found that at 7, 8, and 12 repeats, the Swallowtail Shawl looked about the same on my needles, something like this:

Since then I've just about finished all 14 repeats of the second chart and moved the stitches onto a longer circular needle.  It's easier to see the shawl's growth, but it still kinda looks the same, something like this:

It's been two weeks since I've cast on, and although I was making killer (for me) progress, my bus knitting has come to a halt in the past few days in favor of naps (yes, the kind in which one's head embarassingly bobs up and down). 

This week is the dash of last-minute shopping and crafting for the weekend's Family Fiesta (a.k.a. the un-baby shower, un-wedding reception, and un-housewarming party all rolled into one), so I may or may not make any more progress.  The goal is to finish by the end of the month though, so do expect an FO post by then!

Roadtrippin': Sac-town

This was our second road trip to Northern California for a wedding (DC's grad school friend); first wedding on a week-day.  In addition to taking Friday off, I made arrangements to leave an hour early on Thursday.  DC picked me up from the office, which meant leaving two hours before we would've if I'd worked a regular day and then taken the bus home.  It shifted traffic conditions in our favor, and it was still light before we got to Fresno, where we spent the night (so nice to be able to break our time on the road in half!).

[one minute: cornfields aplenty!]

[next minute: deserts]

I brought my current knitting project, the Whisper Cardigan from Interweave Knits, Spring 2009.  Stockinette stitch is perfect for roadtrips!

[Why so many safeties? Very rudimentary counting ability...]

We awoke on Friday morning entirely refreshed, and after a quick breakfast, were on the road again by mid-morning.  It only took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Sacramento.  Our destination: along the Sacramento River, just outside of city center.  A quick lunch, an afternoon siesta, and a quick change, and we were all set. 

The couple is techinically already married; that's why you don't see any chairs set up for a ceremony.  In fact, they live abroad, and their summer vacation is actually three weeks on tour to have various celebrations with their friends and family who are in the U.S.  The weather couldn't be better: a sort of cold-snap had Sac-town and its surrounds about 20+ degrees cooler than they usually are this time of year.  Lucky us!

[open bar + hors d'oeuvres -- yes please!]

[dance floor?! boo yah!]

Our friends are Muslim, and had an Arabic-style celebration.  Samosas, skewers, lamb chops -- yum.  Ladies in beautiful, glittery, sheer, floaty saris and dresses -- beautiful.  Arabic music, clapping, cheering -- interesting, and fun!  Bon Jovi and ice cream -- typical of the groom.  Table names of cities with significance to the couple and their courtship -- educational.  Congrats, N+N!

Being so close to the capital, I had to stop by and see it (I hadn't been since the 6th grade California History field trip)!  Unfortunately, deterred by large crowds of (loud) Asian tourists, we didn't stay too long.  But I still managed to take a few cool shots. 

  

   

All this in 20 minutes -- justapeek indeed!  We spent more time and were at greater leisure at our next stop.  And it was just Saturday morning!  More (pictures, mostly) later!

No idle hands

Or, in other words, explainin' where I been...

DC came home last week, after having spent a fortnight in Africa (+ nearly 2 days' travel each way).  Just in time to celebrate the 4th of July.  Which is also our Y1 anniversary.  Luckily, he broke me in to his summer rovings by taking a monthlong trip to Europe when we first started dating last summer, so two weeks really was nothing.  It gave me some time to do stuff around the apartment (rearrange, again) and work on my gift.

The idea that We. Must. Have. A. Logo. got into my head a while ago, and stuck.  So, with the idea of getting the image in my head down on paper and framing it, I sat down with Microsoft Word and my extremely mediocre design skills.  I wanted something plain and graphic, and was going to put it over layers of security-lined envelopes of different patterns.  After nearly an hour of making text boxes, scaling, and aligning, I got it the way I wanted, and hit Print. 

Then I decided that it'd be better to print on the laser printer at work (shhh!), so I saved it to a thumb drive. 

Then I decided to print on my cotton blank postcard stock, so I dove through my stationery stash to find it. 

Then the idea came to me to do a cutout, so I traced the logo onto the blank card, and got out my knife and ruler.

Then I decided to make the cutout circle of the "d" into a heart.

Then I decided to do another "frame" of the security envelope pattern around the outside of the logo.

Then I chose the background color (chose the black over baby blue, to highlight the heart).

Here's what the final product looks like:

Not what I had in mind at the beginning, and certainly not perfect, but organic and spontaneous -- which reflects us.  The second part of the gift is the requirement to take a picture with it every July 4th!  I'm thinking of making a smaller version that we can take along on our trips, too (he doesn't know this yet, but will be happy to oblige, I'm sure!).

* * *

Whenever DC is away, I take out his letters and read through them again.  Not only does he write beautifully -- both in penmanship and content -- he shows his creativity, too.  Here's an example, which I'd been meaning to frame for a while but just got to recently:

[with new succulents!]

It's a little puzzle he made for me, using a coffee cup sleeve!  Cute, no?  I used another security lined envelope innard for the background, it's a subtle gray color that adds the right amount of texture.

For my Y1 gift, though, DC completely surprised me with:

[lovely! green!]

After exchanging gifts, we headed out to meet our parents for brunch.  Interesting way to spend our Y1 anniversary, don'tcha think?!  We celebrated in the evening -- just us two -- with wine and sparklers. 

* * *

In my last post I mentioned that I was already putting the Kacha-Kacha Counter to good use.  I got to over 100 rows much faster than I had time to take a picture, and then got to the point where I don't need the counter anymore!  This morning I finally snapped a couple of shots before heading out the door.

This is Forecast, by Stephanie Japel for Knitty W05.  Yes, I have wanted to knit it for that long.  But I was daunted by something sweater-sized and held off.  For a long time.  During which I knit shawls and socks and other little things.  One day, a couple weeks ago, I decided to cast on, and from there I kept going.  And now I'm almost done!  I got some knitting done during lunch, and am over halfway done with the ribbing on this (second) sleeve.  If I don't have to stand on the bus ride home, I think I can finish by the time I get home today!  So I can start picking up stitches for the button band.  Which shouldn't take long.  Which means I will have an FO to show you shortly!

The full story when the time is right.

Happy belated 4th of July!  I hope yours was good, too!

Hit-and-miss knitting

Remember the yarn that I got for myself on my birthday?  It's been through several iterations of summery shawls, all without success.  For some reason, I just can't seem to find a pattern that matches the colors of the yarn.  So sad.

I'd settled on making a long, rectangular scarf, and after a Ravelry search, decided on the One Skein Stole (Rav link).  But it ended up too airy for me.

Next, I discovered AeRang, and thought that the geometric pattern would be really neat.  I didn't want the stockinette triangles on the borders of the shawl, but for the life of me could not figure out how to continue the pattern and maintain the proper stitch count.  Saved by Ravelry again: someone else knit the shawl without the stockinette triangles!  In contacting that person, I made a new friend who very generously shared with me the chart she made to reflect her modifications.

By the third repeat, I was getting the hang of the pattern but losing my initial passion for it.  The geometric pattern seemed entirely obscured by the color variegations, and I felt that it would be a more worthwhile venture in a solid color.  I was getting frustrated by frogging and rewinding the yarn...



...but I frogged nevertheless.  And then started the now-ubiquitous Baktus scarf.  But (again) right after I started knitting it, I realized my poor matchup of yarn and project: this scarf is really best suited for stashbusting, and I wanted to preserve my pristine skein of yarn for something special -- as well as something I knew I'd use.

I didn't have the heart or energy to tink even this little bit, so it sits on my shelf as you see here, patiently awaiting its next incarnation.

Another jaunt on Ravelry (Obsessive? Me?  No way.) and I've got my eye on the Maja shawl as a possible contender.  I'm pretty hopeful, but, honestly, after so many misses my color confidence is a bit shot I'm hesitant to cast on.  Anybody out there have any suggestions?  Lemme know -- I'm all ears!



In the meantime, I dove into my stash of leftover sock yarns to cast on for Baktus.  I grabbed the remainders of the Lorna's Laces Camouflage from my dad's recent socks, and the ShiBui Knits yarn left over from a pair of gloves I'd made for DC last winter.  I'm alternating every two rows; the green of the ShiBui yarn is more semisolid so you don't see a distinct striping, but I quite like it.

At this sitting I'm already done with the scarf (garter stitch = perfect brainless bus knitting).  Instead of doing the decreases at the end of the row, I did them at the beginning, resulting in a parallelogram-shaped scarf.  (Weird to explain, I'll snap a pic soon.)  It looks neat, and will be a nice gift for someone.  I know, I know.  But it's too masculine to be a Knitting For Me FO...



Of course I have some softer and more feminine-colored sock yarns just itching to get on the needles.  What's pictured here isn't even all of it, but it's a good start. (Did I really make that many socks?  Sorting all the colors has been a nice trip down memory lane!)  I'm so glad to have discovered this pattern; looks like it's gonna be a garter stitch summer.  Well, it's back to Baktus-ing for me!

Bus knitting

I have made some progress on the second Pomatomus sock that I started on the bus last week.  In keeping with the theme, I snapped another shot before I got off this morning.  Voila:

Here I am on the second repeat.  Knitting this part is generally pretty quick for me.  On the 30-minute ride into downtown today I put in about a dozen rows.  Good thing the pattern is easy to memorize!  One and a half more repeats to go until the heel flap...

...which is where I always get stuck.  Well, the flap itself is pretty quick, knit back and forth on only half the number of stitches.  Turning the heel doesn't take that long, either.  But man, when I get to the gusset, it seems that thing never wants to get done--even as I'm doing decreases!  For the first sock, I was done with the cuff after our week in D.C.  But it took an additional three weeks for me to get through the gusset and sole.

I hope it doesn't take me so long for this sock; I'd like to have ends woven in next week (even though I'm not going to gift it until October, for the recipient's birthday) so that I can continue with Knitting For Me!

4 p.m. - 10 a.m.

Before regular sleeping hours, on a free evening, one can:

• balance a checkbook (even after years of not looking at a register)


• draw a rudimentary but fairly accurate floor plan of one's new apartment

• reorganize one's kitchen a bit better

• cook a just-what's-in-the-fridge dinner (egg noodles and bok choy stir-fry)


• wash the dishes (doesn't always happen the same night, don't tell my mom)


• overturn a pot of succulents and break them all (but replant tips and keep fingers crossed)


• wash a skein of newly acquired secondhand yarn

• paint one's toenails; and


• fix and restore photos to previous blog posts.

Then, when a bout of insomnia has one tossing at 3 a.m., one may decide to get out of bed at 3:30 and:

• organize mail, coupons, and receipts


• wind leftover and stray yarn into balls


• clean off the coffee table


• finish a sock; and

• still get two hours of sleep.

After waking up and getting ready, one may even have time to take photos of some accomplishments before leaving for work. This may cause one to miss breakfast and be 10 minutes late, but, in any case, one may start the second sock on the bus.

And, if one, is lucky, one may find a trail bar in one's desk drawer, and be blessed by coffee and strawberries from a coworker.

What an incredible 18 hours for one!

Twice trippin'

Two road trips in as many weeks will leave one with a lot to tell, I declare!  In a nutshell: many miles traversed, many laughs, and much food and wine consumed.

My first trip to Fresno proved successul on many accounts.  Like I said, I got to see my DC's hometown, including the old elementary and high schools, houses lived in, and even the hospital in which he was born (and where his mother still works)!  And I must have done something right, because the folks dug up old footage of the violin- and viola-playing (and contest-winning) days.  It was adorable!  DC's dad seemed to have more of a tickle as we watched, laughing over bygone fashion and hairstyles.  Then came karaoke--which allowed me to score a few bonus points (thanks to those years living in Japan).  One of the best parts of the trip was Sunday morning brunch.  I'd sung the praises of brunch and the self-serve waffle bar of college days, and then awoke to find that DC's mother had pulled out their old waffle machine and run to the store for batter mix and fresh berries.  It was such a treat, and I felt truly, truly blessed.  As if that couldn't be beat, the folks presented me with an early birthday present, since they won't be down when my actual birthday comes.  It was, really, the sweetest thing.



Don't think I left the agricutural heartland without any homegrown goodness.  We stopped by a local specialty shop to stock up on goodies for me to take back to fam and friends.  The Sierra Nut House is such a cool place!  I chose Jordan Almonds for my dad (his favorite), ginger candy for mom, cantaloupe candy, mixed nuts and berries, and dried cranberries for myself, a treat to sprinkle onto salads (and a substantial difference in freshness compared to what you can get at the supermarket).  Yum!

In addition to that, the entire family called, searched, and brought me to a local yarn store!  Janna's Needle Art was a great store, full of a variety of yarn, a table full of laughing ladies, and a very cute poodle.  Of course I had to get something.  After a lot of ogling I chose a skein of sock yarn in a purply color that I don't have much of in stash--and that DC's mother liked.  I'm going to knit her a pair of socks.  I later found out from the proprietess that it was dyed by a friend of hers.  So I am glad I chose something unique and local.

   

Neither of the photos above shows the beauty and depth of the yarn's variegatedness, but I'm including both as examples of the effects of light and background on photography (something I'd like to learn about properly).  The one on the left was taken in natural morning light; the one on the right was taken at night by (harsh) flourescent light.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to share some of the more interesting photos I took of on-the-road scenery because the files are way too big.  It was a bit of a gray weekend, but I had some cool shots of the ribbonlike car lights along the grapevine, fruit orchards in bloom, and snow on nearby hills (it's been chilly!).



I remembered to change the camera settings for last weekend's road trip to Phoenix, but ended up not taking so many photos.  I also brought along some knitting, but hardly got to it, despite six hours on the road each way.  DC and I hardly even had any music on; we just talked and enjoyed each other's company.  I managed one photo shoot for the socks, though.  The camouflage blends right in with the desert scene!

In Phoenix we stayed with DC's friends and had dinner with each of their parents the two nights we were there.  On Saturday afternoon we went to visit an old college friend of mine, who I hadn't seen in years.  I finally got to meet her husband and her younger son, who is now two!  He and his older brother (now a very precocious five-year-old) are the cutest!  It was the greatest type of weekend--full of friends and families.

This was the first real roadtrip for DC and me (he says Fresno doesn't count); and it really solidified that we are good travellers and good companions.  Which is great news.  I'm looking forward more and more to our upcoming trip to Washington, D.C.  And we're planning another roadtrip to the Bay Area for later in the summer.  It's nice not to always travel alone!



A couple days of focused knitting on the bus and I am already further along than this picture, snapped yesterday morning.  One great thing about the pattern is that it lends to ease of row-counting.  I go by "section" as my ribbing shifts back and forth, so the going along is quick.  Huzzah!  I've finished both short-row heels and have moved on to the leg cuffs, which means these babies will be done, blocked, and ready to give well in advance of my dad's birthday.

Two road trips in as many weekends is as much as a girl can handle.  We did indeed have a good time, but I like that we will be at home the next few weekends.  There's much going on and much to be done before we take off again.  I'll come up for air here every now and again to keep you posted!

Mini-trip

The week has gone by quicklier than usual on account of the Presidents Day holiday and being out of the office all day on Wednesday.  It's also been quieter because a VIP visitor we were expecting (and had been planning for madly) had to cancel.  Suddenly the weekend is here, I'm going up to Fresno, and I haven't even packed yet.

Thankfully it's just three hours away, we're only going for a couple of days, and I've already decided what knitting project to bring.  All that remains is to do a quick search on any knitting shops in the area.  (Priorities: got mine straight!)

The only things I'm bringing are the socks and Shetland Shorty--which I started long ago and only last week picked up again, only to discover a pretty huge mistake I'd made, which meant  I had to frog it pretty much to the beginning and basically knit it all over.  But that process has shown me that this is a project I want to and can finish, and one that I will definitely wear.  I'm just worried that I won't have enough yarn (it calls for 490 yards for the smallest size, and the Handmaiden Sea Silk I'm using only has 435).  But I will knit onwards anyway, fingers crossed.

I'm excited for this weekend trip: Fresno is not only the Raisin Capital of the World and the Gateway to Yosemite, it is DC's hometown. I'm looking forward to seeing the house he grew up in, baby pics, and -- maybe, if I'm lucky -- old videos of his orchestra and sports team days.  His folks have the karaoke machine at the ready, too.  Nice.

Last week I found the battery charger for my digital SLR, so I'll be bringing that up with me.  Here's to a great weekend of family, fun, inspiration, and simply getting away!

Socks (again)

I took advantage of last weekend's rainy-day light and took pictures of my current WIP:  a simple pair of socks in Lorna's Laces Camouflage.  This time I am using US0 dpns so increased my stitch count to 68.  I am doing toe-ups as I normally do, with short row heel.  I always play around with the toe shaping because I don't want it too pointy, and I think I'm happy with the way this one turned out.

Here's what I did:

Figure-8 cast on over 12 sts; K to establish first row and divide evenly onto 4 dpns (6 sts each). 

Increase at beginning of Needles 1 and 3 and at the end of Needles 2 and 4 for 4 rows: 10 sts on each needle. (I do a KFB.) 

[Increase row, then K 1 row] 3 times = six rows, 13 sts on each needle. 

[Increase row, then K 2 rows] 4 times = eight rows, 17 sts on each needle. K 2 more rows before beginning stitch pattern.

I actually started knitting a pair of socks from leftovers, but was not very confident at all over (1) my chosen comination of yarns, (2) the sufficiency of the amount of yarn I had, and (3) the jog created when I switched colors. . . So, I gave up.  The whole mess is still on my table, a tangle of eight or so mini balls of yarn and at least as many dpns.

The current Camouflage socks are a sort of impulse project, because I had nothing lined up to knit upon completing my brother's convertible mitts (which he loved, by the way!  I got mad props and a huge hug!) and I like to always have knitting in my bag for my bus commutes.  The truth is, I hardly wear the three pairs of socks I've knit for myself over the years, and though I love the idea of knee highs in the alternating rib stitch pattern I chose, I just don't think I'm going to wear these all that much.  Maybe it's the colorway--which was at first selected for my brother's mitts, but rejected by him in favor of something more plain.  I've never been a girly-girl, but "Camouflage" may be an over-the-top colorscheme even for me.

So I decided: I'm going to finish these socks (already much further along than in the photo), but not make them into knee highs (which means I will have pretty substantial leftovers, as usual), and I'm going to give them to my dad for his birthday in April.  I've knit two pairs for him already, and he always appreciates them. 

And this is why the Knitting For Myself resolution is going to be difficult.  Wishmeluck!

What cold spell?

Last December we experienced a few weeks of cold weather that brought early (and awesome, according to my snowboarding brothers) snow, killed by little basil plant, and had us Californians digging out and grasping for cold weather accoutrements--coats, scarves, hats, gloves--like nobody's business.

As I scrambled around, I discovered that I have nary a knitted item of my own with which to keep warm!  Just a Clapotis scarf from October 2005; and a pair of fingerless mittens in garter stitch, from my first *real* knitting book (M. Falick's Weekend Knitting)--although, unfortunately--knitted in acrylic yarn (before I realized Michael's was not the sole source of knitting materials).  Sad, huh?

I pondered this while working on my first cast-on project of 2009: a pair of convertile mittens for my older brother.  They're pictured here basking in a moment of sweet sunshine during which I scampered downstairs to have lunch outside.

And then I decided.  2009, instead of being a year of finishing up any WIPs (there are loads!), will be a year of Knitting For Me.  To that end, it's my goal to get set up properly on Ravelry (though I can't make a full commitment to that as I'm still learning how to blog!).  Which shouldn't be too hard, since I reorganized my stash a few months ago.  Though it may entail learning how to make a light box for the photo shoots.  [Suddenly, it's a huge project...]

I'm already always caught up in the wealth of information available on Ravelry.  I'd really like to knit (instead of dream or talk about):  a sweater (Sideways-knit Cable Sweater, Urban Aran, Forecast?  Or maybe I'll frog and re-knit my two failed attempts (Apricot Jacke & Spring Fling)); knee-high socks; Chevalier Mittens; and a hat (Felicity [pdf], Urchin, Morgan, Trinity Stitch Beret, Selbu Modern[pdf]?).

But in the midst of my reveling and researching, and despite having opened up my email to headlines of a frigid wave sweeping the northern Midwest states to New England, and as far south as th Gulf Coast, we here in California have been hit with a spurt of record highs!

Off are the stockings, sleeves, and sportcoats!  This is the scene from today's lunch: clear blue skies and people enjoying things "back to normal."

Me?  I will persevere in my knitting nevertheless.  The convertible mittens are almost done, and I'm setting my sights on the next project.  Onwards, and happy knitting!