IknowIknowIknow

I've been meaning to do a photoshoot forever, so today I brought my camera to work to take a picture of pink sparkly socks outside (during my lunch break, of course). But, I forgot to bring the memory card...duh. So, here's another photo I've skived off the 'net (is skived a word? if it is, have I applied it properly?).


You may wonder, how is this picture even related to this post? It's not, but it is the purple yarn from which I knit the purple socks. Did I mention that it was not the most enjoyable yarn with which to knit? It was very unbalanced and twisted up all the time. Blargh.

I am finished my first pink sock and have knitted about two inches of cuff #2. I am calling them the fat ankle socks and am planning a slight modification for the second ankle area. I'm pretty sure there will still be a good bit of yarn left even after I'm finished with sock number two, so I'm planning to knit a pair of ankle-length socks from the ball too. Pair number two=gift. Cool and thrifty, huh?

Look at the doggies!

I don’t have a current picture, so I’m posting this one. Those are my dogs. Gummi (pronounced: Goo – mee) is on the left and Gary is on the right. They’re the best!

You know who else has a freaking cute dog, a great shop (go see good handspun yarn and spinning supplies), a cool blog and some great (free!) mitten patterns (there are other patterns too)? Hello Yarn. I think that I’m extra partial to it because once upon a time, my pal, Zab, and I wanted to begin a lunch business called, Hello Lunch!

Anyways, I don’t have pictures of my recent knitting progress yet, but I do have an update. Purple socks – finished! Scarf – coming along! Pink & grey sparkly sock – turning the first heel! Whoo hoo! The knitting is flying along.

The crochet is another matter altogether. I’m not so good at crochet. Hm. More on this subject later. Lates!

Toes

I’m very excited and would like to announce: I will begin shaping the toe of the purple sock the next time I pick it up! I like to finish toes in one sitting, which means that I’ll be finishing my sock the next time I work on it (barring the cropping up of unforeseen events during the toe-knitting session, that is). So, when I finish that toe, I'll be finished with the pair! Now that’s excitement. It’s just as exciting as when I spread my computer desktop across two screens.

Yes, now you know—it takes very little to make me happy. This is a particularly happy time in my life because I’m experiencing all sorts of firsts. I’m trying to list them before I forget, but I’ve already forgotten to list many of them (you know how that whole memory thing is circular?).

O what a sad photo

It was early in the morning when I took this photo and I'm posting from work, so I don't have any way to edit it...

But you can see my two-sided scarf (Rowan Classic Tweed, brown with flecks of gold and blue), my ongoing purple socks and my new pink and grey with sparkly (Fortissima) socks.

My brain is soft today, I'm not sure why. I tried perking it up with lots of candy corn (my favorite are the ones with brown at the bottom—so yummy!), but that didn't work! Huh? I thought that high fructose corn syrup was suffused with magical powers. Hm, apparently not.

It's beginning to smell yummy and comforting here, as it always does in the fall. I love the feeling of chill mornings when the air reminds me of walking to the bus stop in the seventh grade. I feel a pull towards good 'ole home on those days. It's also a good feeling in the evening, when the dusks come earlier. It doesn't matter to me that these days are harbingers of cold weather and dark days. I'll get pissed at the ugly black ice later.

Did I mention that Heather is my muse? Well, she is.

My first lost post

I’ve never had a problem with Blogger before, but now I’m having a hard time getting pictures uploaded and I lost my lunchtime post. Boo.

I am pledging to knit myself the beautiful cover sweater of Fall Knitty. I’m going to treat myself to the specified yarn and I’m going to try to accomplish this within the mid-Atlantic sweater-wearing season (sometime before next summer begins).


Why can’t I just plunk down my ducats and begin immediately? That is one pretty sweater, after all. BECAUSE! I’m totally a finished-object-motivated knitter and I haven’t finished my Knitting Olympics project. It’s been so long since I’ve worked on it that I can’t even find the panel that I did knit before the end-date of the race. Just thinking about that sweater makes me break out in a cringe. I’m NOT allowed to begin another sweater until that one is all blocked and seamed.

However, socks and scarves and mittens are in another category altogether. Hee-hee. I am making serious progress on my purple sock and I’ve begun my sparkly pink pair of socks (photos of both socks tomorrow).

AND I’ve cast on a new scarf. It’s really cool because I’m using a double-sided technique that yields a two-sided stockinette fabric that’s hollow in the middle and lays flat. In other words, it’s like two panels that are bound at the edges (just imagine knitting two pieces and then seaming them along the outside edges). How is this accomplished?

1. Cast on an even number of sts
2. *k1, bring (working) yarn to front, slip 1 st from left needle to right needle as if to purl, bring (working) yarn to back. Repeat from * across side
3. Then turn and do the same thing across this side (and so on and so on)

With an even number of sts, you should be ending each row with a slipped st and beginning each row with a k st. Try it with just 10 cast-on sts and see how cool it is! I’ll share the source info tomorrow, after I look it up in my notebook.

I've never done this with an odd number of sts, but you'd probably just want to work the alternate sides in an offset manner (e.g. begin and end side "1" with k1; begin and end side "2" with sl 1).

Hi Heather!

This is a post for Heather because she has reminded me of how much I love spinning and knitting. Thank you Heather!

I'm going to try to resurrect this blog.

I'm going to make a button that shows me to be a Knitting Olympic loser (don't worry, it wont be too self-deprecating).

Will it last? Will I continue to blog? Will Stuffedster ever get off the ground? Tune in next time to find out...

Love, e.