You May Want to Cover Your Ears

Squeeee!!!! My invite to Ravelry came yesterday. Talk about the promised land! It's such a neat site, and very intuitive. I'm still feeling my way around, but I've got some profile pictures up, joined a few hundred groups, added a couple of projects, and queued a few things. And on days when I'm feeling particularly OCD, I could inventory my stash and my needles. (Hmmm . . . actually, the needle inventory is a good idea. I seldom have a list with me.) Anyhoo, those of you on Ravelry (which I'm assuming is most of the world because I was kind of a late joiner to the cult), my ID is GloamingOrchid, so stop by and say hello, please!

Socks in the Cities KAL



Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock medium weight in County Clare. I started these sometime in August of 2006 and finished 13 October 2007. I'm excited to have these done, as my grandmother's people are from County Clare in Ireland. I'll get a special thrill wearing them on St. Paddy's Day.



Vesper Sock Yarn in a sport/DK weight in Evergreen. I started these 3 July 2007 and finished 14 October 2007. These got to come with me on the Yarn Hop.

Continuing the Green Theme

Four years and one month after being promised for a birthday present, my mother's felted clogs:



(Obligatory before shot. Cat included for scale.)



Sadly, these puppies still have some felting to do. My father's feet fit into them confortably, and my mother keeps making noises about giving them to him. Nuh-uh. No. Nyet. I'll refelt them next weekend. Knitting these drives me slightly insane, and after the guilt of four years, I'm so relieved to have them (almost) finished.

Still Life with Fish, Bag & Yarn

Osiris poses with Piddleloop small project bag with Union Center Knits WhatNot Sport in Yesterday, purchased from Woolgirl.

Drive-by Blogger

All is still gloomy, although the sun did try an appearance earlier today, so all I have today is the current sock-in-progress: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock medium weight in County Clare. I just have the foot to finish and I'll have a pair.

Gloomy Now

Outside it is. All of a sudden it's the harsh reality of fall. Moody and gloomy, chilly and dreary. At least there's not supposed to be any rain for a while. I feel a little cheated. What about the halcyon days of fall, where it's sunny and in the 60s? I actually had to turn the fireplace on last night. I'm hoping to hold out against turning the heat on for a while. Proof it's getting colder outside, here come the hand knit wool socks!



The kits seem to be enjoying the new temperatures. They have been dashing all over the house, cross rooms, on furniture (knocking down unsecured items in their haste), up and down stairs. Leia enjoys jumping into the car when I get home.



Luke has taken to flopping down in dangerous places, like my kitchen rug.



There's really not much room in my kitchen for a rolling cat. This is if he's not attacking the fridge magnets.

Sock of the Day



Twisted Shiney in Filanon. I'm using the Traveling Vine stitch pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks. Siamese stitch markers from WeeOnes.

Ah, Fall

Today finally feels like fall again! Actually, it took until the afternoon for the sun to shine. I was a little worried there for a couple of days. It's not unusual to have a bout of warm temperatures in autumn, but I wasn't used to the muggy (I kept expecting a plague of locusts). Or the rain. I ended up driving through a mini lake on the way to work Friday. In my defense, it was dark. I offer proof of fall in Minnesota:



This is a tree on my way to work. I love how it looks like it was dipped in paint. For whatever reasons, this year I haven't seen as many brilliant turning of the leaves.

Sock of the Day



Finishing my Zen Yarn Garden theme, I present my bamboo/merino/nylon blend in Sunny Orchid. I'm using the Undulating Rib pattern, which, sadly, tends to drive me a little batty. I really like the way it looks, but I wish I had played with it a little more. Maybe on the foot. Someday, I will get to the foot.

Socks in the Cities KAL

I finished 2 pairs of socks this weekend. (Total for the week is 3 pairs.)



First up Fearless Fibers Superwash Sport Merino Wool in October. Started these 5 July and finished 6 October. These socks . . . well, I didn't expect them to stripe, for some reason. And some moments I love the colors, and others I don't know what I was thinking.



Next up: Simply Stockinette socks (pattern from Knit Socks) in Cascade 220 #9411 Olympic Rainforest Heather and #9445 Autum Heather for the heels and toes. Started 26 December 2005 and finished 7 October 2007. Well, at least it didn't take two years. The second sock gave me fits. I had to rip back in two different places because I didn't take decent notes on the first sock. Made the toes a little wider than the pattern called for due to forgetting to decrease when I should have and being too lazy to rip back. (Easy to make those sort of decisions on the first sock.)



No post is complete without a picture of my cats.

And the Week Goes On

Sock of the Day:



Zen Yarn Garden sportweight in Blueberry Swirl colorway. I'm using a stitch patten called Mist Drops. I found in the Barbara Walker guides (vol. 2, I think.) This pattern will take some tweaking on the foot. The current patten makes a bobble on the wrong side, which I think I can live with on the leg of a sock, but not on the foot.

Socks in the Cities KAL:



I finished the Fiesta Yarns Boomerang Rainforest socks. I am pleased.

The kits came and snuggled on my while I was knitting and watching TV last night.

Lunchtime Posting

Progress on the 1st sock of the Socks in the Cities KAL isn't a heck of a lot. I finished the heel flap (after having to rip out 12 rows because I forgot I was doing a garter stitch border), turned the heel, and I'm now starting the gusset decreases.



As I have so many socks started, and I probably won't finish most of them during the month, I'm starting a Sock of the Day feature. (Just so I can amuse myself really. If you want to be amused, you can count how many socks I post during the month, and then have me committed.)



I present to you Interesting Path, in Zen Yarn Garden's Toreador colorway from the Art Walk Sock Yarn Club. The yarn in a merion/bamboo/nylon blend. I love it. I'm quite proud of myself for tweaking an estabilshed stitch pattern (Winding Trail) and having it turn out really well.

Luke ended up on top of the fridge this morning.



I got tired of him attacking the magnets on the lower reaches of the fridge. He managed to amuse himself with a bit of ribbon from Woolgirl. (She wraps all your yarn in tissue paper and a slim ribbon. The cats love both.)
Leia was amused.

Catch Up (Again)

First up, Movie Socks:



Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Heavy Weight in Harlotty. Knitted from the cuff on down at Death at a Funeral. (Which was hysterical.)



Twisted Kabam in Ankh. Knitted from the gusset at 3:10 to Yuma. A great, tense cowboy movie. And both these movies had Alan Tudyk. I am such a fangirl!

Next up, a finished sock:



That's my Knittery 8-ply merino in Moonlight. I love the way the reversed linen stitch heel flap turned out. I love the colors.

Odds 'n' Ends:

I made my seventh order at Woolgirl, and as a result, I got swag:



I was not expecting so much stuff! This is one of the reasons why Woolgirl is one of my all time favorite virtual yarn stores.

I've also joined the Socks in the Cities Knit-Along. I'm hoping to finish a few more socks this month. First in line:



Fiesta Yarns Boomerang in Rainforest. The second sock is ready for its heel flap. With a little luck, this pair will be finished by the end of the week.

And finally, because they are just so cute, Luke and Leia:





Told ya they were cute.

Sock Down! (and Done)

There was a sock mishap.

This


became this


when I realized that sock was too small. Now I'm waiting to cast-on again while I try to figure out if adding 8 stitiches will be enough, or should I add 16? The pattern does not allow for any give, so I'll confess to being a tiny bit paranoid.

But in other news, I designed my own sock! (OK, closer to how not to design a sock, but I'm still rather pleased with myself.)


These went really fast (US size 4 needles will do that). I also wasn't sure of yardage, so I made the leg a little shorter than normal.


Note to self: When creating your very own sock pattern, stop and think ahead before the knitting (which is where I did most of the actual thinking about the pattern.) If I'd been thinking, I'd have set the leg pattern up so it would have worked on the instep without too much jarring. What I did to clease the palate was one repeat of Undulating Rib, which I love, but didn't really work. Although there was a cool effect that I want to remember to play with someday.


I love how the instep turned out, though. (Not shown to best effect on a bottle, but you get the idea.)


Eye of partridge (eye of peacock?) heel which is also on the toe. I also love the garter stitch on the heel flap. These features where inspired by Cider Moon's Saucy pattern. And I think they work in this yarn (Fiesta Yarns Boomerang in Iris) really well.

I have since washed the socks, and I'm thinking I'd probably go down a needle size next time, but the Boomerang was a great yarn to work with! And I loved the designing part, so I'd like to keep up with that. But I need to knit some other socks to get a feel for different structures. Right now, I'm doing my knitting for The Loopey Ewe's Quarterly Challenge. One pair of handwarmers down and I've started a baby hat.

Distractions

Oooo, looky! I'm blogging!! Will wonders never cease? (I hope not. I need wonder in my life. Soon it'll be all I can afford.)

So, yes, a little discouraged by my complete inability to manage money. Or food. Or exercise. Or anything that is considered to be a sign of a responsible adult, so I will distract myself and everyone else with photos of knitting accomplishments.

First up, finished items:


Clapotis in Malabrigo Amorosa
This only took about 2 years. I may be over my Clapotis addiction. This will be a gift for someone.


Finished pair of socks #1. These took less than a year. (Funny story: Last year, in July, after a 4 month knitting vaccation, I decided I wanted, no, I needed, to knit wool socks. I had 13 pairs going. Made the first of each in about 2 weeks I'm still working on the second socks. Only 2 pairs left to go, though. To be totally accurate, I had two pairs of socks started before I added the other 11. Gidgie stop laughing. I can hear you in Seattle. Where I currently am.)
Art Yarns Supermerino #105. This is my favorite colorway, I have it in 3 other variations of their yarns, too. (No, I'm not obsessive at all. Why would you ask? Gidgie, I mean it about the laughing.)


Finished 2nd pair of socks. Interlacements Toasty Toes in Poppy Fields. I love the orange in these socks, but it must be said that there is a lot of dye still in there. I soaked these 3 times after wearing and they still bled a little in the wash.


Third pair of finished socks. Black Cat Yarns Sock Hop in Mai Tai (Sorry, I got this yarn on eBay but the store and its website are no longer there.) These socks I wish I had knit on smaller needles. Because I have concerns about their durablitity, they are bedtime socks. (I live in Minnesota. My toes get cold in the winter months. Why am I explaining this?)

Next up, a couple of in progress items:


Because on my birthday last year (it's September 28th; I know you wanted to know that so you could mark your calendars), I decided I needed more socks to work on (it was my birthday, I can do whatever silly thing I want to), I started these. Mountain Colors Twizzle in Mountain Tango. This is a wool/silk blend, so I planned these for comfort socks. They are currently in my office at work for when I really need to destress.


Ever wonder how much knitting you can do on a flight from the Twin Cities? Most of the leg of a sock you're designing. Fiesta Yarns Boomerang in Iris. I love this yarn! I love this color. I'll try and remember to get a better picture tomorrow.

And just because:




The lovely ladies at Cider Moon keep sending samples with my orders. They're so pretty!

Forgive me, but I don't actually have time for a spell check right now.

About Last Night

Dear Stephanie,


Just wanted to say Thank You for last night. (And a big Bravo! to The Yarnery for a wonderful event. I love the bag.) I enjoyed the stories and the whole CHOKE thing, well, let's just say that will be my new thing to get the muggles off my back: "You're CHOKing me!" Of course, I might be forced to remember what CHOKE stands for. Cultural and Historical Oppression of Knitters Everywhere? (Why, oh why didn't I take notes?! Oh, right, I was knitting.) Anyway, that looks close enough. And I left pondering the importance of Accumulated Effect, a concept I had been taking for granted. Now I recognize its power.

I do want to apologize though for my behavior upon reaching the table. I am a shy girl, but I know that there is no need to go all fangirly when in the presence of one's idols. I know that "idols" and "heroes" are ordinary people, too, and as such, my equals. So, I can only explain my total inability to make eye contact and forgetting my book on the table to this: I was possessed by a frightened woodland animal.

Now, I realize that seems a bit out there, but hear me out. It was a long night. (Longer, I'm sure, for you.) I got there at 5:45pm, armed with coffee, water and a light snack. Stood in line for 15 minutes until the doors opened. Got my hand stamped and grabbed a seat. Knit for an hour. You came out and made with the funnies. Laughed and knitted on my Interlacements Toasty Toes sock for another hour and fifteen minutes.

Got up again and made my way to the line for the early signing. Stood in line for an hour and a half. Thank god for knitting! As someone next to me in line said, nicest line ever because we all had something to do. I wish someone had done a sock count, though. The line was good, and I made quite a bit of progress on my Fleece Artist Sea Wool Bordello sock.


(I should, perhaps, pause here to tell you that I have recently begun knitting again. We had been on a break.)

Now, I should say that the line was fun. I met a number of nice women from North Dakota. Good times.

Anyway, standing around for an hour and a half with no real food does not do the body good. Mary Lou tried to help by bringing around chocolate. Now, normally I'd call this behavior evil, but no sane person can call another evil when she gives you sock yarn just for pulling out the blue-wrapped chocolate.

So, the combination of the wool fumes (oh, I forgot to mention the mini-store), exhaustion for standing for an hour and it being 10pm by the time I got to you, worry about getting home to the cats

(I had said I should be home by 9pm) and existing at that moment on sugar . . . well, it left me vulnerable to outside forces.

So that should explain it. You did a very good job of trying to connect, but the frightened animal in my body just wanted to use that flight reflex. Sorry. I will endeavor to protect against such possessions in the future. Just as soon as I figure out how to.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you what I would have told you had I not been possessed by a frightened animal:

The whole whiplash syndrome you covered in the book, that was extremely helpful. I was in my second break from knitting after a frantic Christmas knitting season. I was wondering if I had lost the joy of knitting forever. But it was just Whiplash! I was so relieved. And I'm being careful about the rebound stash enhancement. This Zen Yarn Garden merino/bamboo/nylon in Sunny Orchid notwithstanding.

(Or those four or five other orders on the way.) But I digress. The Whiplash syndrome in Casts Off saved my relationship with knitting.

Thank you! Keep up the good work.


Sincerely,
Alexis

PS An addendum to that note I gave you last night. The one you put in your back pocket. I laughed so hard last night I snorted.