Posts from — September 2008

Well the knitting mojo does actually seem to be back!  I’m making great progress on Ariann.  I think the fact that it is officially fall has made me realize that I should get cranking if I expect to finish all of the Christmas projects I had planned.  I also decided that my travel knitting this time will not be socks.  I’ve had the Annie Modesitt corset pattern forever now and that will be my vacation knit along with finishing Ariann.  Not the most portable project, but for my sanity, I think I need to work on something besides socks (although there will probably still be sock yarn in my bag…you never know).

I ordered some mulberry silk that was on closeout from Webs last week and swatched on Tuesday.  The pattern calls for 5.5 spi on size 6 and the sale slik says 5.5 on size 7/8 so it seemed like a good match.  Seemed.  I know I usually have to size down to get gauge but this is ridiculous!  I cast on with size 5 and after blocking (silk stretches…especially for this pattern…just ask Stephanie) I was getting FOUR spi.  So I need probably a 3 or 4…no WAY I am going down to a 2 for this.  The only problem is, in the vast empire that is Diva Knitting I have no size 3 or 4 circulars.  I KNOW.  I couldn’t believe it either.  I use my Denise interchangeables almost exclusively except for socks for which I use 0-2 Addis.  Unfortunately, the smallest Denise needle is a 5.  Even when I get my most fabulous Addi Interchangeable set (which is on pre-order, YAY) it only goes down to a 4.  Fortunately I had to drive Jim to work today (that is a whole other story) which put me in the vicinity of a local yarn store.  I am now ready to cast on again with some nice new Addi Turbos.  Here’s hoping for the best.

Back to socks.  This pair of Koigu “somewhat Baudelaire’s”1 has been languishing for quite some time now.  I’m not sure exactly when I cast them on since I forgot to put it in Ravelry (WHAT????) but I’m thinking maybe May?  Not only did the sock wars fiasco slow my progress on these but it’s time to admit so myself that they are TOO.  DAMN.  NARROW.  I thought I could deal with it.  I added a couple of stitches at the ankle to make them easier to get on.  I’m starting to realize though that even if I do ever finish these, the chances of me wearing them on a regular basis are slim to none.  Why would I fight with these to put them on when I can just slip on any other of my hand knit socks without a crowbar?  So now the dilemma…to frog?  It seems a shame since they are so close to being finished.  Maybe there is a knitter out there with narrow size 8-9ish feet?  The sock with the finished foot is is 8.5 inches long and 3″ wide, unstretched.  My foot is 9″ around just behind the toes at the widest point.  I CAN get them on (don’t ask me how it came to this in the first place…yeesh, it’s not like I haven’t knit 7, 653 pair of socks for myself!) but it’s difficult.  So if you have a narrow foot and ankle about this size let me know and I’ll send the socks to you to finish.  If I don’t find anyone, it’s off to the frog pond for these.

1. I thought I had come up with a brilliant new pattern based on a lace pattern in the Knitter’s Bible.  Turns out it is practically Baudelaire minus a plain row. [↩]

I know you’re shocked.  I am too…but I really do want to get back to regular blogging.  I think part of the problem is that I have been in kind of a funk lately (both knitting and otherwise).  I can trace the beginning of the knitting funk to Sock Wars.  Once it began I knit like a madwoman, even staying up the whole first night to finish my first pair.  As the game went on and the problems and discontent began, I found myself stuck in a place where I had to knit a pattern I was sick of (made 3 pair) for people I didn’t know and then didn’t even end up with a pair of socks for myself once it all ended.  It just wasn’t a fun experience.  Lesson learned but the damage was done.  I had already signed up for Socks of Death hoping it would go better and be more enjoyable.  I did end up with a lovely pair of socks that time but was still burnt out.  Add to that working on a pair of travel socks that should probably be frogged and some short socks for my sister’s birthday, I’d had it.  I wasn’t knitting nearly as much the entire summer all due to Sock Wars.

I seem to be emerging from at least the knitting funk at the moment, apparently spurred on by the fact that there are only 98 days left for Christmas knitting (and that I wanted to get a submission in for the winter Knitty).  Somehow that whole Project Sanity thing just didn’t stick with me like I’d hoped. 

I’m working on Ariann as a Christmas gift.  So far it’s a great television knitting project.  Some yarnovers and decreases to keep it interesting but in a pattern that is super easy to follow with hardly any counting.  Now I just have to figure out a good travel project for next week…new socks?  Can I handle it?  Can I get the socky love going again?