Finally finished

These socks were supposed to be done months ago. MONTHS ago. Just another ad for Knitter's ADD folks!


Yarn: Um, some navy blue sock yarn? The label is in the middle of the last ball....

Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks


Modifications: Oh, thousands. Modifications to make them the right size were countless. I didn't like the full length of the leg, so I cut out 30 rounds. The length was going to be for a foot size smaller than that of the intended recipient, so I added 10 rounds. However, the toe was the major problem. I didn't like the length of it - if I have something patterned I want to continue the pattern more than I want a plain toe. So I did decreases every round instead of every other - a look I generally prefer. I had to rip out the toes twice in order to get the length right (don't try picking up navy stitches in poor lighting. Unless you have a large glass of wine nearby).

Lessons learned: After completing the first heel, I learned what that little spool of yarn I'd thrown aside was for. Needless to say, only 1 heel is reinforced :) This was also my first heel flap cuff down that wasn't done in a bulky yarn (for a sock to later be felted).

Stash enhancement photos coming soon!

Why buy clothes....

When you can spend all your money on fabric to make clothes?

Or multiple orders of the same yarn because you forgot you'd already ordered it a month ago. Something to be said about slow shipping....I now have enough Regia Nations to make 3 pairs of socks. Or maybe a pair of knee highs.

Musing

Potential. I think women in general see potential (maybe men too. Not being one, I can't speak to that). For instance, my shelf of yarn. When I look at the collection of wool and cotton and mohair and nylon, I see more than just the colors and textures and fibers (though the colors are pretty distracting). I see more than the work that went into making each yarn. I see the work going into them to make something new - another step in the transition from wool on a sheep's back to a sweater on my back. I see socks, scarves, shawls, sweaters, and undefined finished objects. The more dangerous place to focus on potential is relationships. As I filled in a friend on what happened last year, I think about this. I think about it alot when I'm writing songs, as I'm stuck in a bitter relationship song rut. There are other references - skin and bones of love won't make a meal. You can never love enough for two people. You can never change people. You can stretch them like a rubber band to make them hold you, but as the years go by (and the rubber undergoes irreversible transitions to a more brittle state) the initial infatuation dies up and they snap. And you fall. Sometimes you fall hard. You learn not to fall in without looking, and that the only person you can change is yourself. And that sometimes it's not worth it to change yourself. It's better to spend time with those who accept who you are and make no complaints that you are too dramatic, too clingy, too demanding. It's better to stand up and say, "I deserve better. I'm not demanding, I'm saying I'm worth more than this." When you are endlessly impressed that you get a phone call every night, you realize you spent 5 years settling. You spent 5 years neglecting yourself and maybe that's why you haven't been happy. You've been going through the growing pains of re-learning to prioritize yourself before others. And it's a good thing. To look around a new place and see all the potential for what you could do for yourself. The things you want to create, the changes you want to bring, the lofty goals. It's a good realization. And about time.

Stash enhancement

There's been a mad rush of stash enhancement lately (and a rediscovered desire to take more pictures)

From Sundara Yarns:

Beautiful colorways - always sells out fast!

From La Petite Knitterie:

The green yarn is some of their hand-dyed yarn. They have a beautiful selection of colors - rekindled my interest in dyeing yarn. The black and grey is for a Debblie Bliss sweater - hugely on sale and in the right guage!

From Unraveled:

From their fishbowl sale. I finally broke down and bought some Koigu KPPM, probably for some socks. I still haven't decided what to do with the black and red - but I loved the colors.

From Carodan Farms:

I'm half German, so I've been thinking about making my mom some German socks :) Since everyone seems to be running out of the Nations yarns, I went ahead and got some. In theory, it's only August. December is a long ways off.

From Buy.com:

After seeing this posted by Grumperina, I went ahead and ordered it. I'm a big fan of Nancy Bush's books - having Vintage Socks and Folk Socks already. It just came today, and I'm looking forward to browsing through it over my morning (ok, afternoon now) cup of tea.

Sadly (sort of) - there's more to come. I broke down and ordered from sweetgeorgia yarns (though I'm wondering if my order fell through the cracks - I haven't received an invoice yet. Has anyone else ordered from them?) and some Regia Canadian Colors (my Kinderscheissdeutsch was good enough to figure out the order form, and they accept Paypal!). And then there's the trip to the Bay Area next weekend...

Path to Kniterations

Let's go over some of the more amusing ways people have found my blog:

Search for "knit doll clothes" leads to this post.

Search for "obscene knitting" leads to this post.

Search for "you've had a bad day song" leads to this post. (I'm guessing the user was somewhat disappointed)

Search for "generate a paystub" leads to this post.

Any my old favorite? Kate rubber T-shirt. I can't figure out where that led them :)

Help!

After years of everyone else doing it, I started working on Clapotis (which I have to look up every time and still haven't been able to say properly). It's been a love-hate project - love the yarn and stitching. Hate because, well, it's taking forever.

And now it has a problem. You can't really see it from here:

But it developed a hole. So, I cut some spare yarn, wove around the hole, and then tied knots:

The question is - was that the right thing to do? How do I secure the knots? The yarn itself is somewhat slippery, I'm not convinced the knots will hold. Any ideas?

Road trippin'

Teresa and I took a little road trip down to La Petite Knitterie in Ladera Ranch. I'd never been before, but they were having a sale and also have amazing hand-dyed yarn. As I'm planning another foray into yarn-dyeing, I couldn't resist. I've been buying alot of sock yarns lately, so it was no surprise that I bought another couple of skeins yesterday. At some point I'll actually finish some socks instead of buying more yarn :) I also managed to pick up some silky tweed to substitute for one of Debbie Bliss' patterns - Rio. In spite of the overwhelming amount of projects I have in mind (I started transferring them to a little notebook to take with me to yarn stores - I'm only through sweaters right now), I'm staying focused and trying to finish the WIPs I have.

We'll see how that goes.

Flashin' my stash

I know I'm ages behind, but I finally have all (well, most) of my yarn out on display. One of my favorite things about my new place!

And a bit of my sock stash: