Sorry, can't show you what I'm knitting
I'm whipping through a pair of socks for Cookie, who is so brilliant and talented that she has sold so many designs she no longer has time to knit them up herself! Oh, how I wish I had that problem. Hah!
Anyway, I'm on a very tight deadline so they're all I've been knitting since the package arrived last Monday. I've finished the gusset on the second sock so I think I'll have the pair done over the next few nights, but to insure it I'm carrying them everywhere with me so I can work a few stitches/rows here and there whenever I can catch a stolen moment.
As usual, working solely on one project really gets things done! It's funny that I'm continuously surprised to find this out. You'd think the first time I was able to finish a project in a week (or a weekend) that the "AHA!" moment would have sunken in, but somehow it hasn't . . . literally every time I am still surprised at how quickly I can finish something, and I always think, "Hum, maybe I should do this more often!" If only I weren't so fickle.
It's also surprising just how much sock knitting I can do on the subway and subway platforms. Even with this highly-patterned sock, I was able to do a full 8 rows during one commute when I was lucky enough to get a seat (believe me that is very rare!). I'm thinking I should maybe carry a sock around with me always, in order to make a dent in the ridiculous sock yarn collection I've amassed over the last few years. Hum. Will have to seriously consider that one!
Speaking of which, the second sleeve on Gathered was almost done when the sample knitting arrived. I intend to go right back to it and finish that sweater after I send the socks off. And after that, I'm going back to Katherine Hepburn -- when I put her back down last time, I had finished the knitting, sewed her up, struggled and finally finished the buttonholes, and tried her on. She fits, she looks good, and she took one fewer skein than I expected. All that's left is weaving in ends and sewing on buttons (I even already bought them!). I might have 2 sweaters finished by the end of this week! And actually, now that I think about it, the second Koigu ruffled sock lacks for only a ruffle . . . so it could be 2 sweaters AND a pair of socks! That's nuts! (and brings us back around to the great thing about having lots of projects going at once -- you can finish 4 in a week with little effort!)
Where have I been!?!
I got sucked into the post that ate my brain (Ravelry link), that's where. I spent almost all my free time this past week reading through the 4,000+ posts about the Mystical Creation Yarns debacle (summarized on this website if you don't have Ravelry access) -- I just couldn't tear myself away! After a few pages' worth of posts, when I realized just how many there were, I knew I had to pick up something to knit while reading. I had been half-heartedly knitting on a Gathered Pullover which happened to have been left near the computer . . .
4,000+ posts later:
Yup, almost an entire sweater. I can hardly believe it myself. Adam kept trying to pull me away from the thread and yet every time I updated him on the latest unbelievable turn of events, he had to admit he, too, wanted to know what happened. So I kept reading. And knitting. I finally finished the thread yesterday at about 1:30am, took this picture and posted it to the thread, and went to sleep. Got up this morning determined to actually finish this sweater, it's so close! It will forever be associated in my head as the MYC fiasco sweater! I am just about done with the sleeve cap on the first sleeve now, and intend to keep knitting and hopefully finish the sweater this week. We'll see how that works out.
Oh, you want project details? I'm using Classic Elite Princess in color 3403, a silvery grey heather. This yarn lasts forever! So far I am only on the 5th ball, and I'm more than 2/3rds done. It's kind of unbelievable, really. The yarn is quite nice, too, it's a funny dry texture that's somehow very cozy and soft at the same time. I am expecting it to bloom a lot with washing and it'll probably get even better. This is my first time using this yarn and I definitely see myself knitting with it in the future!
Over last weekend I also finished the first Vesper sock:
Toe up again, with a short row heel again, plus a small gusset. I know, apparently I've been converted to a toe-up sock knitter. Never say never, right?
I made these a bit longer than my usual socks because I figured there was no reason not to -- especially with self-striping yarns, it is so easy to figure out just how far you can knit, I decided it would be silly not to! All I did to find out was count the stripe repeats I had already knit, then rewind the remaining yarn while counting THOSE stripe repeats, then figure out where halfway was and knit till I got there. The second sock will hopefully be exactly the same. When I get around to making it, that is.
I really like this yarn and definitely see myself ordering it in the future. The thing you can't see online is the variegation in each stripe. I tried to capture it in daylight but my camera skills leave a lot to be desired, hopefully you can see what I mean in this shot:
See how each stripe is actually shades of the color? Not at all what I expected but so pretty and subtle!
FO: Watermelon Socks
I'm on a finishing kick over here! (not that you'd know it from my Ravelry page)
Last night I finished the second watermelon sock and I LOVE THEM! They're ridiculous and bright and happy, and therefore perfect socks.
The fit is a little off on these, I probably should have short rowed more on the heel to make it narrower and taller, and these do not have a gusset so they are quite tight across the heel. No matter though, I will certainly wear them! In fact, I'm wearing them to work today!
The bind off I'm also unsure of - I did a sewn bind off and while it looks great on and is stretchy enough, it looks strang OFF the foot and is kind of bothering me.
Project specs:
Pattern: Toe up socks, 60 sts around with short row heels
Yarn: Yarntini Strawberry Daquiri and Koigu P539 for heels
Needles: US size 1
Started: October 2, 2008
Finished: March 21, 2008 (actual knitting time: 10 days)
Up next in socks:
Vesper Sock yarn in Neopolitan! I'm starting these today!
