being a diva is great…except for the mostly negative connotation

I’m working on the third pair of detonator socks for Sock Wars and I am definitely losing steam.   War really takes it out of you!  My latest debacle included one of the most finicky aspects of knitting…gauge!  UGH…it struck again.  I was happily knitting along on the second sock and did the s1, k1 heel flap and gusset decreases when I was struck with the feeling that something was wrong.  Well…something was really wrong.  Somehow with the very same needles and yarn only a day apart my gauge changed drastically.  I was now at 7 spi instead of 8 and boy could I tell a difference.  Frogged, working tight (I’m already on 0’s so I didn’t have a smaller needle to switch to) and back in the saddle.  With only 404 out of 1152 warriors down I seriously doubt I’ll make it to the end.  I have no control over how fast my assassin knits but she has been in touch.  My socks will be sent up the line shortly (her death is imminent) and then I’m sure whoever has them next will promptly finish me off. 

In other sock related news…if you happen to listen to the podcast you may remember me listing several clear shoes that can be used to show off your hand knit socks.  One of my favorites, the Converse clear sneaker was sold out at Journey’s for over a year and I feared it had been discontinued since they were selling on ebay for $100+.  I just looked at the Journey’s site again about 6 weeks ago when I was researching them for the show…clear Converse.  Then Joe from SWTC at the Ravelry board mentioned his clear converse.  WHAT?  I said he must’ve gotten them on ebay and he said no, just email him and he’d figure out where they’d gotten them.  Well.  I promptly went to the Journey’s website and there they were!  I’m now a proud owner and I can’t wait to knit some short socks to go with them for the summer.  Be sure to sign up for ebates first so you can get 6% rebate at Journey’s!  Sizes are unisexa and whole sizes only.  I ordered the Men’s 7/ Women’s 9 first and they were too big (I normally wear 8.5-9).  I have the Men’s 6/ Women’s 8 now and they’re perfect.

First, a Sock Wars update.  I just received the sock in progress for kill 3.  In the meantime I worked on…socks!  You’d think I could get a little bit more creative but it appears I am stuck in a rut at the moment.  That will change by the end of this week though when I receive yarn from X yarn company to work on a design proposal.  In my defense, these socks have been on the needles for a while now and needed little work to be finished.  I started them when I went out to Arizona last time as my travel project.  They are plain, spiral toe, koigu 13218, short row heel, toe up, 60 stitch socks.  For those of you that listen to the podcast you may remember me saying that I had it on good authority that Koigu KPPPM is actually superwash.  Well, I’m happy to report it’s true!  It was a little scary but I threw these in the washer and dryer when I was finished and they came out just perfect. 

Now for the Olympics.  After participating in Sock Wars 3, I was inspired to create a similar competition integrating some of the suggestions for play other participants had.  There was much discussion on the SW and Ravelry boards about how the game could be improved.  I have come up with a basic idea and I’d like your help!  If you think you might be interested in participating or can offer suggestions, please sign up for the Sock Olympics group on yahoo to get all the details.  It’s a little like sock wars and a little like the Winter Knitting Olympics in that there is a time component to the competition.  Hope to see you there soon!

I can’t believe I’m not dead yet!  Not only am I not dead, but I got the socks in progress from my target and finished them for kill number two.  My target had started both socks in Knit Picks Essential Peacock Multi, which by the way I don’t like very much. 1  One sock was finished up to the gusset decreases and the other had the ribbing and some cuff.  My target seemed to think she was doing something wrong with the first one so moved on to the second and had planned to rip the shorter one out.  I tried to figure out what the problem was (couldn’t find it…maybe it was the slightly shifting pattern that threw her off?) so I went ahead and continued from there.  Imagine my dismay when after finishing the pair I noticed my target had done a plain stockinette heel instead of the s1, k1 called for in the pattern.  :doh: 

I debated ripping it out then and there, then decided to send them off to the new target so she could choose which heel she likes/fits better.  There was a lot of discussion on Ravelry and in the Sock Wars forum about this since many warriors seemed to miss the asterisk that indicated s1, k1 to end.  Apparently some people actually like a stockinette heel better and it is within the acceptable modifications for the contest.  If only I had seen it before I began knitting in a fury (I still don’t know how I missed it since I even took a picture when they arrived) I could have knit a matching stockinette heel and that would be the end of it. 

When she sends one of the socks back for me to re knit, I have an EXCELLENT plan.  No need to rip the whole sock back to the cuff…I’ll just pick up stitches on the first row after the heel is complete, snip the yarn, rip back the heel, re knit the heel then graft it back to the rest of the foot.  VOILA!  Easy fix.  Much better than redoing the whole thing.  In the meantime, I have been working on…more socks.  Can you believe it?  I didn’t think I’d be touching any other socks during Sock Wars but apparently I am at a loss as to other acceptable travel projects.

I have a bit of a backlog on finished projects to show you (since I have been a really bad blogger since beginning the podcast).  I’m not really sure what possessed me, but a few days before mother’s day I decided I needed to make something for my mother in law.  What should pop into my head?  A doily. :paranoid:   WHAT?  Not only that, but I decided it would be a good idea to crochet it.  :rofl:  Sure, why not?  My crochet skill just barely exists at all so lets knit a doily on a tiny 1.5mm hook with cotton crochet thread!  Sure!  Why not?  Well I’ll tell you why not…tiny cotton cheap crochet thread is a total PITA.  I was only able to stick it out until round 11 before I decided I’d had enough.  At the very least I could have chosen something easier to work with.  But it was there and in the stash so you know how that goes.  It’s actually a lovely, well written pattern (Autumn Reflections, you can see lots of nice ones on Ravelry) and I would totally do it again if someone can recommend a crochet thread that isn’t so cheap, splitty and unforgiving.  It would also help if I could learn to get consistent tension but I’m telling myself that better yarn would totally help with that.  I apologize for the picture quality…Jim had to take pictures of the blocked and starched doily with his camera phone since I completely forgot about it.

1. I think I’m getting spoiled by all the Koigu. [↩]

It’s off to a bit of a bumpy start, but Sock Wars is alive and well.  In the spirit of a warrior, I stayed up all night to knit so I could get my socks in the mail today.  There is so much luck involved with mailing times, etc. that I’m not sure this was the best strategy but it is fun to be able to say I did that (no matter how crazy it may make me seem).  The pattern could be interpreted two ways…as an 8+1 st repeat or a 9+1 st repeat.  I’m hoping that either will be acceptable since it now seem that when getting to the gusset the 9 st repeat people were right.  I was already WAY too far along to rip back so we’ll just have to wait and see.  I got gauge (8 spi on US 1) but the sock was pretty wide (other seem to be having this result too).  I made them slightly shorter so that the lengthwise stretch makes them fit a little better.  On the bright side, this was the first time I have used Tofutsies yarn and I really like it!  It makes a nice fabric that is much more summer appropriate than “traditional” sock yarn (it’s 50% superwash wool, 25% soysilk, 22.5% cotton and 2.5% chitin).  I really hope the pair I end up with is make from Tofutsies too.  Plus I have half the skein left which is plenty for another pair for me.1

I also have the rushing rivulet socks finished.  I did yet another Cat Bordhi sock from new pathways and I had the same trouble as last time…too big.  Fortunately this time I expected it and adjusted the foot accordingly.  I still haven’t figured out what the problem is.  Since the chart adjusts to your own gauge and foot size it should be perfect???  I may just have to do one more to really get a grip on why I seem to be so inept at following her instructions.  On the bright side, I LOVE the yarn (Interlacements Tiny Toes color 203).  I’ll definitely be using that again sometime in the future.

Coming soon:  Maryland Sheep and Wool and the Sahara top!

ETA:  I should have been a little more clear…I actually finished the RR socks BEFORE sock wars began.  I wouldn’t have looked at another sock on the same weekend as that!

1. If I can ever look at socks again once this thing is all over [↩]

My main concern since I announced I am attending the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival was a question of what to wear.  It must be something knitted of course, but Maryland in May?  Not sweater appropriate weather!  No, I need something that will be appropriate for the likelihood of heat and humidity (and now, it seems, rain).  I also felt a need to do something new to mark the occasion, so before I left for Arizona I culled my stash for an appropriate fiber.  My addiction to wool and alpaca left little choice in the matter…I had some skeins of SWTC Twize left from my store inventory.1  Now what to make?  After browsing through Ravelry I settled on a pattern I have wanted to make for a while.  Sahara.  Although the gauge wasn’t quite right I cast on right before we left.

Modifications:  Lots.  I stuck with the same size 6 needle throughout (pattern calls for switching between 2 sizes for the edging).  I chose the XS size since my gauge was much bigger than what the pattern called for.  I did more waist shaping and shortened the overall length.  Some how this still came out looking like the pattern, fits perfect and is super cute to boot! 

So now that you know what I’m wearing, I should be easy to spot.  The fact that I’ll be with a gorgeous redhead and an equally gorgeous brunette (my sisters) should make me easy to find too. Please stop and say hello!  We’ll be stopping by the Ravelry meetup on Saturday too (in the rabbit building May 3, from 11:30 - 1:00 pm).

1. I’m not sure why this yarn never really sold well for me because I really like it.  It has great colors and fabulous drape.  I also used it to make my Coachella. [↩]

 I finished the little design project I kept mentioning and I liked it enough that I did submit it for publication.  Keep your fingers crossed for me! 

After that, it has been a flurry of casting on new projects…one for project sanity  (if you’re reading this and you think you might be on my gift list, don’t bother clicking the project sanity link…just move along and nobody gets hurt) and two for travel (since I be on a plane an laying over many hours tomorrow).  It dawned on me that since I am now confirmed for the Maryland Sheep and wool Festival1 that it might be nice to have a new knitted garment to wear.  Since it’s likely to be warm most of my current knit wardrobe won’t do.  So I cast on for something I’ve been wanting to make for a while…Sahara.  I’m using SWTC Twize which I know from experience is quite drapey so I think it will make a good substitute.  If you’re going I’d love to meet you!  There is a great MS&W group on Ravelry and they have reserved a whole building for a Ravelry fest.

I also cast on for some socks, a travel must in my book.  Doesn’t the swirly toe on the koigu (PPM 113218 on US 1) just make you happy?  And last but not least, Hemlock.  I wasn’t sure about the yarn initially but now that I’m knitting it I really like it.  It still seems very neutral to me despite the orange and yellow.  I’m using Tahki Bunny Print color 74  (great sale at Webs) on US 11 needles.  It goes unbelievably fast at this point.  I know that will not be the case soon enough when I am knitting rounds of hundreds of stitches.  By the way, if you decide to knit the Hemlock Ring afghan, you may want to join the KAL…they have extended charts and a correction to row 35…the row which resulted in my tinking several times and drinking more wine!  I love having my Denise needles at times like this.  There is no way I could have spread that out for the picture without them!

Why I am showing you this again (out of the deep dark past)?  Well, I just frogged it.  The whole dang thing…which took a lot longer than you might think.  It was 29″ wide across the chest.  Yeesh..what was I thinking?!  Jim is tall but thin.  I know I must’ve had him try it on at some point so I’m not sure what went wrong.  I won’t be casting on again until the late summer or fall but I definitely intend to revisit it.  Jim is in love with it…all except for the part where it doesn’t fit him at all. 

If you haven’t already you might want to check out my podcast.  You can listen to it from your PC…no need for an ipod. :happydance:  Obviously, I have been spending some of my time doing that which is why I have had less frequent updates here.  Hopefully I’ll get in a groove at some point where I can manage to have the complement each other even more.

1. Did I tell y’all that already?  I know I mentioned it on the podcast. [↩]

My stash is really mad at Erica.  She sent the most beautiful colors of Koigu for my birthday and the new skeins are talking up all my attention!  The rest of the stash feels neglected.  Thank you for the fabulous gift seester!!!  She also sent Hannah who is growing at an incredibly slow pace.  I just love silly little things like that.  I’ll be sure to share a picture when she’s all grown up.

I’ve been working (slowly) on the design project I started in Arizona but I also found time to sneak in another little amigurumi and a new podcast.  This week I chatted with Amy and Sheldon of knittinghelp.com.  It was great to get all the details of their endeavor after using the site almost daily for a couple of years.

Yet another little amigurumi.  This one is going to live in Jim’s office as soon as I outfit him properly with a scarf and hat.  His soon to be born brother will be going to live with a very special lady whom I’ve never met.

I upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 today and they FINALLY are developing an integrated gallery.  Hopefully once the full release is finished there won’t be a need for me to have a separate gallery like I do now.  I thought I’d test this handy new feature with some pictures of the boys.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow the javascript pop up yet.  Maybe in the final release?  I guess I’ll stick to the gallery plug in for future posts.

I’ve tried to convince myself that I like this bag, but it’s just not happening.  I’m not sure if it’s just the size (too big for a handbag for me) or the overall look.  It doesn’t look like something I’d use in public (because I’m wayyyyyyyy too cool  :rofl: ).  If someone asked me if I made it, I’d be embarrassed to say yes.  Too harsh?  Maybe, but it’s my reality.  It’ll have to be relegated yarn holder or some such menial task.  Grrr…I hate it when a felting experiment goes awry!

On the other hand, I am absolutely enamoured with Fred.  I love him!  It’s the first time I’ve picked up a hook in a couple of years now.  I’ve been getting the toy bug and of course there is no better way to deal with that than crochet amigurumi.  I wanted so start with something very simple just to make sure I still knew what I was doing with only one stick instead of two.  If you’ve been living in a cave and somehow missed the amigurumi craze (it is a craze, isn’t it?) then check out this article:  http://www.crochetme.com/amigurumi  You may also enjoy checking out the picture at this flickr site:  http://flickr.com/photos/samyii/533548255/

Even if you don’t normally listen to podcasts, you may want to check out my latest episode.  I know many of you also read the JenLa blog and my interview this week was with Laura!  We had an absolute blast recording this (at least I did) and she has some interesting things to say plus a little news for you.

I’m always pleased with how quickly a felted bag gets finished.  I’m not 100% happy with the way my bag turned out (I would have preferred a smaller bottom) but it’s cute and I’m still planning to use it as my spring bag.  It’s drying right now.  With the weather we’ve been having that could take quite a while! 1  I’m not sure if there will be much interest but I do plan to write up the pattern.  I mainly used Valley Yarns Bershire and Crystal Palace Icelandic Print from my stash.  Coincidentally, I just got an email from Webs saying that Berkshire is on sale. It felts quickly and they have lots of great colors.  I guess I’ll have to go back to my Bordhi socks now or get cracking on the design project I started in Arizona.  If I don’t finish that soon I won’t even be able to wear it until next fall!

1. Isn’t it supposed to be spring? [↩]