Zero Hour

I finished Michael's birthday socks.  That's two socks.  Plural.  One for each foot.

They were finished at 10 pm tonight.  Also Michael's birthday.  That still counts, right?

I had the pattern somewhere, but it's missing.  Probably buried somewhere in the disaster that is my unfinished project pile.

Made with Superwash Merino by Flying Goat Farm that Michael picked out at Rhinebeck.  I don't know the colourway, but he saw then skein and decided that it looks like the sand and the sea, and that reminds him of Australia.  So these are the Sand and Sea Homesick socks.

I came dangerously close to running out of yarn for these.     

I made it though.  Who doesn't love a good game of yarn chicken.  The second sock may or may not be a row or two shorter than the first one.

I'm sure they'll be fine.

It's a lovely Christmas we're having this spring...

This is the first Christmas Jack doesn't have a finished sweater.  Considering it's currently 67º, I don't think he minds so much.  It's mostly done, just needs half a sleeve.  He'll have it next week, when it will actually be cold enough to wear it.

I'm choosing to blame the weather for my lack of knitting this season.  It's quite difficult to get into the spirit when it's this warm and humid and there hasn't been a single flake of snow yet.

I did finish the Noro Topper I was working on for my client/friend.




I gave it a nice warm soak and laid it on the mat to dry.

That took a fair bit longer to accomplish due to the weather, but it managed to dry just enough to get boxed and wrapped and picked up by the elves for delivery.

Made with Noro Silk Garden in color #211 Turquoise Fuchsia.  This was not the yarn called for so the pattern demanded some revisions, but it came out as expected and should hopefully fit quite nicely.

This brings the total Christmas knits to an appalling THREE.  That's all.  Just three.  Two pairs of socks and this poncho.

It's Christmas Eve, and this is the first one in years that I won't be crying into my wine and knitting at the dinner table.  The yarn will work itself into a finished project at it's own leisure this year.

Sweaters will come when they are needed, socks will be ready in due time, and everything else will fall into place.

For now, I'm off to lay under my Christmas tree and not worry about due dates.

Happy Solstice.

Only 10 Days To Go.

I finished Michael's other Christmas sock.

Now he has two.  And since he also has two feet, this is the perfect amount.

Pardon the images.  I have no time for photography.

Fiber Optic Yarns Merino Sport in color Northwoods.  I've named them the Cosmic Socks.

Broken Rib recipe, with reinforced heel.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

I've been neck deep in the Christmas knitting for quite some time now.  For some reason, I've been unable to make any real progress.

I've managed to finish only ONE project in all this time.  Granted, it is a Christmas project.  But something tells me just one isn't going to be enough.

Heading off the in-progress list we have Jack's Christmas Sweater 2015.  Just missing the sleeves. And he doesn't want a vest, I already asked.

We have Michael's Christmas socks.  Er... Michael's Christmas Sock.  Just the one for now.  Second one isn't even cast- on yet.  Maybe tomorrow.

And another Christmas Stocking.  Or at least a Christmas Stocking cuff.

These are Jack's Christmas socks.  Just my standard recipe, no frills.  They have the distinct honor of being only project I have actually completed.

I also have some things that are Christmasy only because it's December, but aren't actually Christmas knitting.  Like this sock.  These have dreams of becoming Michael's birthday socks, a birthday which happens to fall the week after Christmas.

Last up is a last minute gift for a dear friend and client.  After a meeting with her a couple of weeks ago, she handed me 3 full shopping bags of yarn telling me she just doesn't have the time.  In one bag I found a sweaters worth of Noro, a pattern, and the start of what appeared to be the bottom ribbing of the back piece.  Rather than finishing the sweater for her, I opted to use my creative license.

Sometimes we knitters change patterns when knitting for ourselves.  Longer/shorter sleeves, larger/smaller bust, longer/shorter waist, etc.  Rather than something that wouldn't fit her the way she prefers, I chose something that would be a little more lenient on sizing.

Pics to come, on the off chance that she sees this post.  I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed making it.

In case anyone is curious, this is how I imagine I'll look by Christmas Eve...

The Greatest Day of the Year

The Sheep and Wool Festival is a sort of Mecca for artisans.  On the third weekend in October we make our pilgrimage to Rhinebeck, New York to partake in all things yarn.

There are sheep, and rabbits, and goats, and llamas.  Dogs bred to herd such fibre bearing creatures.  Spindles, and looms, and wheels.  Needles, and notions, and swifts, and winders.  And yarn of all content.  Cashmere, Angora, Merino, Alpaca, Shetland, Highland, Peruvian, Australian, Icelandic.

With all of these choices, on 144 acres (I looked it up), it's amazing that I managed to only come home with this.

I look forward to this weekend all year long.  I try to put myself on a yarn diet (and usually fail) just so that I can go batshit crazy buying everything I see in Rhinebeck.

It's become a bit of a tradition to stop at Fishkill Farms on the way home.  That's where the apples and pumpkins seen above come from.  

Any good apple picker knows that the good ones are always at the top of the tree.  That means you need someone to catch what you pick.

There are very few things that warrant standing in line for 45 minutes at sunset on a cold, blustery October evening. A Fishkill Farms box of piping hot apple donuts and a few cups of hot apple cider is on that list.  After that, it's time to head home and start counting down to next year.

Planning all the projects to use up the yarn, and all the recipes to use up the apples just helps the drive go faster.

To Block Or Not To Block

Last week, a fellow knitter told me she didn't really understand blocking.  I get that.  I didn't block any of my earlier knits.  The things I made when I was just getting into knitting didn't really require blocking and the fiber I was using wasn't responsive to it.

I'd try to block my projects, they wouldn't change, and I decided this whole blocking thing was just a fiddly extra step that didn't actually need to be done.

I was wrong.

Here's a Brush Creek Shawl I made for Rhinebeck, pre-blocking.

I used a gradient kit from Black Trillium Fibres in Quartz.

It's a lovely shawl with lots of yarn overs and k2tog/ssk to add detail.  Now let's see what happens after a little bath.

The shawl soaked for about 30 minutes in some wool wash and warm water.  After that, it got a good wringing in a fluffy towel and laid out for blocking.

Already much bigger.  The wingspan is approximately 4 feet, and the hight is nearly 2.

The yarn overs are more apparent.

And we can see the center line through the middle.

To Block Or Not To Block.

Definitely to block.  To swatch or not to swatch still needs some convincing.

I Was Told There Would Be A Motorcycle

The face mask for fall weather motorcycle riding came along rather quickly.

I asked Michael to model it for me as I estimated his head is approximately the same size as the intended recipient.  And are both bearded gents.

Knit with sock yarn, this took a bit of time but was still much faster than a pair of socks.  It has some short-row construction for the nose and a bit of a mesh stitch over the mouth. 

It's way too big for my small head, but Michael says it's comfortable and doesn't make his mouth sweat when he breathes.  That's a plus.

I made it a bit longer than the pattern suggested to allow for tucking into a riding jacket.

Hopefully it's warm as the weather is turning colder and the bike still isn't ready to ride.

I think it'll look badass with a black jacket and black helmet.  Double plus.

And So It Goes...

I thought I had a fairly decent handle on things.  I thought I had my startitis under control.  Then I realized there's less than 3 weeks until Rhinebeck and I didn't really have anything Rhinebeck-worthy to wear.

I dove into the stash, browsed some patterns, and came up with the Brush Creek Shawl.

I cast on, and got about 30 rows in before I realized I was horribly incapable of counting accurately, and  tore the whole mess out.

I cast on again, and realized I'm not horribly incapable of counting accurately but I am horribly incapable of reading accurately, and tore the whole mess out.

I'm using a gradient kit from Black Trillium Fibres that I got back when I was on that cowl jag.  The color is "quartz" and this is the darkest of the 5 shades.

I'm almost to the charts on the pattern, and up until now I was certain I could finish it for the 17th.  Now I'm not so sure.  They're quite daunting.

Also, I've had to put the newest blanket on hold for a bit.  I did make some progress, though.

It's getting there.  And so far it has no completion deadline.

I should find some wood to knock on.

Season's Greetings

It's (almost) that time of year again.  According to increasing Facebook posts, Christmas is just under 3 months away.

Every year I say I'm going to knit Christmas stockings for my family.  Every year I don't.  I had an idea that I would buy a felting yarn and then embellish the stockings with buttons, maybe some embroidery, and everyone would get a different color.  It would be easy.  I could definitely make 5 really big socks over the course of a year, right?

I probably could have, but now I'll never know.  I found a pattern I really liked sometime early last year and stored it away.  I got the yarn I wanted at the Wool Walk this spring, certain that by this December I'd have 5 of them ready to go. I downloaded the pattern, put my starting yarn on the swift, and eagerly got the needles and notions I would need.

Then I looked at the graphs.  There are 3 different patterns to choose from.  They are all worked over 104 stitches and repeated for 78 rounds.  And that's just for the "leg."

I would absolutely NOT have 5 by December.

I used Cascade Yarns 220 Heathers for this project.  That's a worsted weight 100% Peruvian Highland Wool.  These are knit on size 3 needles.  The fabric is exceptionally thick with very little stretch, which is perfect for stuffing with holiday goodies, but not so perfect for hand muscle health.

I'm absolutely in love with this one, while simultaneously dreading making another one, let alone four other ones.

The plan is to have each of our names professionally embroidered onto the cuff.  I think I can definitely make one per year without wanting to cry.

Startitis

With the completion of the last minute hat and the unplanned blanket, I seem to have come down with a case of Startitis.  There's another project that's been on the needles for months, but that's still having a nice bath and isn't ready for its photo shoot yet.

I've managed to limit my exposure to just two projects.  Three if you count a second sock.  But that's really just a continuation of an existing project.  

One is a gift for a good friend's birthday next weekend.  

This is a face mask for fall weather motorcycle riding.  Knit with Zauberball Starke 6 in color #2100. It's a 6 ply, so it's cozy and tough.  And machine washable, which is important for a face mask.

Also on the needles is yet another tiny human blanket.  This tiny human isn't even on its way yet, but it will be and it never hurts to get a jump on things.

This lovely is made with Polka Dot Sheep Tenderfoot 80/20 in color Beargrass.  This blanket is going to take me approximately one lifetime to complete, so I'm glad I'm getting a bit of a headstart.  The construction is wonderful so far, albeit slow going.

Think it's a blanket yet?

And of course there's the sock.  I knit the first one ages ago and then got distracted with other fun things.  I just fished it out of the WIP bin and figured it's time to make it a pair.

I'm sure at one point I had the band to this, but it's gone now.  If memory serves, it's a Paton's Kroy Sock.  

Anyone want to place a bet on how close the baby is to arriving before I finish the blanket.  I'm not delusional enough to think that starting it this soon means it will be done ahead of time.

That's just crazy talk.

When Bad Things Happen To Good Yarn

I had about a day and a half to make a hat.  That's very doable.  No problem.

I went to my LYS, got the yarn I wanted to use, and promptly cast on.  I knit just about half and decided to put it down for the night.

I woke up the next morning, laid in bed for a bit, and got ready to finish up the hat before it needed to be with it's recipient.

Nothing could have prepared me for the horror that lay before me.  Needles destroyed.  Cable all but missing.  Yarn in scraps on the floor.

It was a yarn bath.

I mourned the appropriate amount of time, scolded the canine assailant, and cast on for the second time. I now had but a few hours to finish.

Done, bagged, and ready to be gifted.  I may have had to take this picture in the car on the way there.