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June 4th, 2009
09:15 am - Walking the earth, just like Caine (*)
The "Shaped Triangle Shawl" by Katie Nagorney and Ann Swanson, from A Gathering of Lace,
knit in 100% silk laceweight handdyed by Fiber Fiend in the 'Mother Earth' colorway. Ravelry link
( Musings )
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May 28th, 2009
May 20th, 2009
02:13 pm - My eyes, they bleed
After too many times thinking this, I have to post it.
"Fug lives, and thy name is Maggie Jackson (Ravelry link)."
Some examples:
Most unfortunate trim placement ever
Raquel Welch would've been comfortable in this 'evening dress' in One Million Years B.C.. But who else would wear it?
Seriously, woman. WTF.
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May 18th, 2009
09:18 am - AWOL
I'm close to finishing up some projects: the Leyburn socks (my version), a small size Tulip Sweater, and I did finish the Ribby Shell (my version) I was working on, so what happens?
My camera, which I intended to take photos with this weekend, went AWOL. Missing. Gone. *Poof*.
So, they're really pretty, and maybe I'll get to post photos of them someday. Maybe this is just what I needed to get an upgrade on my ancient 4 megapixel camera.
Besides, you didn't really want to see pictures of my WIP, which are the Shaped Triangle Shawl in Fiber Fiend's Silk Laceweight in a variegated colorway called 'Mother Earth' (reds, browns, and greens) (because we all know unblocked lace looks like a pile of speghetti noodles) and Sahara in plain, unadorned cream.
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April 22nd, 2009
11:12 am - Socks, and even more tank musings
Look what the knitting floon has done! Motivation to take photos of the socks I've finished recently. And since I realize I haven't blogged about anything since last June, some other socks, too!
( Socks, socks, socks for my feet, with lots of pictures )
And more on the tank top saga...
( More patterns, as if I needed more )
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April 21st, 2009
11:07 am - It's hot, so there must be knitting
Ahoy, there. I know it's been a while since I posted. Not that I haven't been knitting, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not a knit blogger. Most of what updates I have been making have been going onto Ravelry (User: alix), but that's just project notes and photos when I can get around to taking them.
However, I started writing a 'real' blog post about my evening last night, realized it was mostly knit content that most of my friends list wouldn't give a crap about and thought 'you know...I have a blog for that purpose'. So here I am. :)
( Knitting obsession: high, along with the temperature )
Maybe posting here will get me off my arse to photograph my recently completed socks, especially since, as far as I know, none exist out there as yet for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) nathaniaapple's Stained Glass Socks....
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June 26th, 2008
10:28 am - Recent knitting-related items acquired
A few months ago, I had what I considered to be a stroke of genius for esmerel's birthday gift this year. One of those knitting-related things that I thought she'd really like and probably wouldn't just buy for herself, that wasn't yarn (both of which we're trying to cut back on): clear shoes to show off her hand-knitted socks.
However, after discussing it with the Purlescence gals, I was on a mission to find a very specific type of clear shoes: ones that would breathe. The biggest argument against the ones I was previously aware of, the Regia Transparent Boots, is that there was no ventilation, so your feet perspire, moisture accumulates, and soon you're walking around in soggy socks in clammy boots.
One page I found was ShoeBuy.com. Another was NexTag.com. I wound up buying a pair of clogs for her.
A week later, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) wendyknits posted about her new Skechers Cali Surfers. *facepalm*
I'm sharing this latter one especially because that's the pair I wound up buying (and if I had to do it over again, I probably would've gotten those for Ezzy). I like the fact that they're closed toe and closed heel, and they're remarkably breathable, although I have had a little bit of condensation towards the end of the day. They're still on-sale for only $15/pair with free shipping if you're willing to sign up with their shoe club.
If you're interested. :)
(Although in looking for links, I just found Clear Converse lo-tops. They have the same drawback as the Regia shoes (unvented->hot), but there you go if you think it's your favorite option
Another clear shoe summary page: Zappos.com, which found via this post on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) knitting earlier this week).
The other thing I picked up was based on an idea I saw someone else implement. I thought it was such a great idea, I copied.
Marking tags with string - For labeling my gauge swatches. Because I have a gauge swatch I did a little over a month ago now, and I can't remember what needle I used to knit it in. Which makes it completely useless now that I'm almost ready to knit the yarn. Write the needle used and what the yarn is and attach it to the swatch, and it's permanently marked.
White key tags for finished items being provided as a gift. The key ring allows you to attach it securely to the item somehow (maybe through a stitch), and the metal-rimmed tag gives you a place to write down fiber content, size (if applicable) and on the back, brief care instructions.
Oh, for the cleverness of knitters.
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June 25th, 2008
11:33 am - Zen and the Art of Frogging
There was a time when the thought of having to rip out a sock would reduce me to a state of 'Bored now!' If I had to do a major frog job on a sock, it generally got tossed back into the sock stew that is my stash bin until I could come to terms with losing that many hours of work.
Somewhere in the last four months, I've gone through a conversion. Gone zen. Made my inner peace with sock frogging. Because I haven't knit a sock since the Thraven Lenore sock back in February that I haven't had to rip a significant chunk out of: I had to completely rip out most of a sock with the Blue Parade when I had the wrong gauge; I ripped and re-ripped the heel of the Panda Cotton Socks while I experimented with one I was happy with, in addition to swatching lace patterns for the cuff, on the sock itself, until I settled on one I liked; and I ripped back about half of a finished cuff on the Chocolate Cherry socks until I figured out they actually fit. And I've barely batted an eye in doing so.
I think some of it is attributable to the fact that I'm not just following a pattern any more. I'm going off the beaten path into the realm of customization that requires a certain amount of trial and error, and a willingness to know when to cut my losses and backtrack.
It's not perfect. I have two pairs of 'finished' socks that are patiently waiting on additional work from me--the Blue Parade socks to decide whether or not I can live with the fact that I forgot to put matching increases on the calf of the second sock, and last year's Rockin' Sock Club Knee High to a Grasshopper socks, in which I need to pick out the bind-off and rip back the ribbing to add elastic into the top of the cuff so they'll frakking stay up on my leg.
But I comment on this at all because I wound up ripping back from nearly the heel to toe on my latest pair of socks, a variation of Wendy Johnson's Lucy Socks, because of a random comment someone made at Purlescence on Monday: "Those look bigger than I would expect a sock to look." Well, that was because I figured the STR Lightweight ~= Claudia Fingering in terms of gauge, and it wasn't.
Oops.
I could've switched to the smaller needles (US: 0 vs. the US: 1's I'd started on) and just kept going, but then the foot of sock #1 would be a different size than sock #2, and I couldn't tolerate that. So, out it came.
Rip. There goes almost a week of work.
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June 18th, 2008
11:43 am - Breaking radio silence with actual content: Everything Else
I haven't just been doing socks, it's just that socks are easier to knit and finish. Here's everything else I've been working on, some of which are actually done.
(Again, some of this is copy-and-pasted out of my Ravelry notes.)
(IMAGE HEAVY UNDER THE CUTS)
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( Jumbo Crayons Unoriginal Hat )
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( Blue Jay Brick Shawl )
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( Cascade Pima Tencel Sharks Ribby Shell -- WIP )
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( Manos Silk Clapotis -- WIP )
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( Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Shawl -- WIP, SPOILERS )
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June 17th, 2008
04:10 pm - Breaking radio silence with actual content: Socks
First off, if you haven't read it yet, go read Franklin Habit's "A Reminder for All of Us". It really resonated with me, especially today, as I've been feeling very vaguely out of sorts and out of place, but with friends feeling even more like what he describes. It touched me, and I want to share.
That wasn't what I was going to post about, though. I was going to post a 'hellooooo', and I know it's been forever since I posted (four months!) but there hasn't been much to report. I've come to grips recently with the fact that my desire to knit far outstrips my capacity to do so, so although I want to be working on about ten different projects right now, I can feasibly only work on two at a time (although I consider myself at four right now. No one said I was 100% logical).
But! One of the things that had been preventing me from posting was that I'd been dilly-dallying about uploading photos. I don't know why this seems like such an AWESOME CHORE to me, but it usually does (right up until the time I do it. And then I remember that it's not. Then promptly forget again.)
What I have for you today is part one of two of "What I've been up to since last I posted": the Sock Edition.
(Some of this is copy-and-pasted out of my Ravelry notes. Unlike some crafters, I'm not going to expect everyone has a Ravelry account, though. :)
(IMAGE HEAVY UNDER THE CUTS)
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( Thraven Toe-Up Lenore )
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( Basic Ribbed Toe-up Socks in Parade )
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( Panda Cotton Lace Sock )
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( Chocolate Cherry Feather & Fan Socks )
Tomorrow: Everything else I've been working on.
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February 8th, 2008
04:00 pm - Well, I feel stupid now, but at least I'm not alone
My last post which included the rant about how much yarn I had left after the first Lenore sock? Yeah, well, I'm kind of dumb.
Seems that somewhere along the line, Blue Moon started making Lightweight skeins (at the very least) in 4.5 oz. skeins--aka 128 grams, not the "traditional" or expected 100g skein for its size. Everyone at Purlesence expressed surprise at this, too.
If anything, my skein was light, because the finished sock was 50g (50g + 72g=122g).
But, yeah. If I'd known that, I would've been golden to do the full 6" of cuff called for in the pattern. And if it had been a 100g skein, I would've been right in my decision to short-change the cuff.
*facepalm*
Anyway. I've decided for my next sock project, I'm going to to Lenore toe-up using a skein of Thraven (teal and black), also from the Socks that Rock 'Raven' series, esmerel gifted me with at Christmas for myself. Combine my knowledge of constructing toe-up socks with the Lenore Lace pattern and the toe-up Jaywalker heel (from the 'published' pattern, not my homebrew), and I should be golden. The only concern I have is that the scallops on the top edge of the cuff may not take well to being reversed, but we'll burn that bridge when we get to it!
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February 4th, 2008
09:38 am - Cuff down socks are beginning to drive me batshit
Let's see why.
There was the pair of socks I made my father, when I ran out of yarn just after the heel turn on sock #2.
Now suitably paranoid, there was the socks I knit myself from Austermann Step (Petrol) where I had about a third of the skein remaining when I was 'done' (and wished, after the fact, I'd knit the cuff longer).
There was the first pair of Jaywalkers, knit from Socks That Rock--Lightweight, where I ran out of yarn 2" from the second two (and used the leftover Austermann Step to finish the sock off).
Now? I finished the first of the 2007 Rocking Sock Club Lenore socks. Having the experience with the Jaywalkers that the STR Lightweight tended to be a little 'short', and knitting US:10 socks, I skipped a repeat on the cuff in order to ensure I had enough yarn left.
After finishing the first sock, I weighed the remaining yarn:
72g
Off a skein that supposedly started at 100g.
There may have been some swearing.
Two things came of this. From here on out:
1) I am always going to weigh my skeins of STR before beginning a project.
2) I am going to try at all costs to do toe-up patterns, or to convert a cuff-down to toe-up if at all possible.
BLAH.
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January 25th, 2008
10:34 am - Personal bookmark, and sharing!
From a link found on wendyknits:
Tutorial on making knitting graph paper with Excel
This is timely for me. I've been sucked into the vortex of quick-and-easy knit projects (read: instant gratification, or as close to it as knitters can get) and knitting out of my stash, by spooling off sets of cabled fingerless mitts out of aran yarn.
First one I did was Slumberland's Warm Braid Cable Wristwarmers, from two strands of Mountain Colors Mountain Goat in the Rosehip colorway leftover from my Mountain Colors Elegant Textured Shawl (which I'm not sure I ever posted the picture of):
( Warm Braid Cable Wristwarmers Photos )
So jazzed up from the quick turnaround (I finished them in a weekend), I launched myself into a series of mitts based on Michelle Szeghalmi's Evangeline, knit from some Rowan Cashshoft Aran I had previously bought for a scarf I'm not going to make now. 8) I've done a set 95% faithful to the original pattern, and two since then changing it up because I didn't quite like how the first (or second) one came out.
But while I was knitting the second set, I started getting ideas of introducing fair isle into the cabling, then creating my own cabling pattern for it, and...well, I may have gone temporarily insane, because it would probably need to be done in fingering weight and would be anything but a quick knit.
Except I knew I needed knit graph paper if I was going to do it. :)
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December 6th, 2007
04:12 pm - I dream of Jeanie
(I wish I could claim the cleverness for the subject line...but that would belong to purls_beyond)
I am in serious, *serious* project crush.
Jeanie
The Winter 2007 Knitty just came out yesterday. Soon as I saw the pictures, I fell. Hard.
I'm not the only one, though. I added it to the Ravelry pattern database yesterday morning. This afternoon:3 projects, in 816 queues Baaaa, I say.
Must resist buying yarn...must resist buying yarn...*cries*
( Status, otherwise )
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October 28th, 2007
06:03 pm - What a little Ravelry will get ya...
Photos. As in, spent a good chunk of the afternoon (in between a minor re-org of the craft stash area) taking photos of my latest yarn acquisitions and WIPs, and getting them uploaded to Flickr and from there, to Ravelry.
Flickr: The Stash
And then the WIPs
( Toe-up Jaywalker, Pomatomus, Faroese-Style Shawl, and hey, look, black stockinette )
ashcake, if the Toast parts in those photos don't convince you... :)
( +3 )
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October 25th, 2007
03:32 pm - This thing still on?
Yep, I guess it is. :)
Just a quick pop in to say I'm still here and I am still knitting. Is anyone surprised there are no photos (yet)? And I came to realize that photos are what make a knit blog. Something to ponder.
Posting to say I've join the herd, and I'm on Ravelry: username is 'alix' (my preferred nom du Net, and surprisingly it was available!)
What I've been working on:
I've finished the toe-up Jaywalker socks I mentioned in my post a couple months ago, done in the Claudia Handpainted Sharks colorway (top)
I've started a pair of Pomatomus socks in the same yarn. One sock done, and a couple inches in to sock #2.
Still occasionally plinking away at the Ribby Shell. It's several inches of black almost-stockinette stitch, even if I took photos, you wouldn't see any changes in it. :)
The Mountain Colors Elegant Textured Shawl, in that colorway in fact, although my reds are a lot deeper than the picture. After months of doing socks in fingering weight yarn and 260 stitch rows of DK and let's please not forget lace on what is almost silk thread, I was craving a project that would knit up quickly in big yarns and even bigger needles. I've been lusting after that kit since Purlescence got it in last January, and with a sudden cold snap hitting the area earlier this month, it was time to do it. The pattern is a mindless double-row garter stitch (P-K-K-P) and knits up hella quick.
More on this later once I finish it, which should be no later than this weekend. :)
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September 11th, 2007
August 12th, 2007
09:27 pm - So, I'm re-inventing the wheel, but...
seltsame pointed out in comment on my last post that someone had already done a toe-up pattern of the Jaywalker socks.
*facepalm*
However, doing this has engaged my stubborn streak. I went back to the drawing board this morning, and based on the original, flawed interpretation of the toe-up heel, my gauge, and what I knew it needed to do/what the heel should look like, I came up with a second version which added a helluva lot more rows on the heel turn (18 compared to 8) and consequently also picking up stitches in the heel flap (32 rows vs. 16).
But according to the measurements taken having just re-started the calf, is dead-on: a foot of 9.75", and a heel flap of 2.75".
Victory is mine!
lynthia, you may want to print out the other pattern, though. It'll probably be easier, but we can check that next week. :)
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August 11th, 2007
10:13 pm - Mini-rant on designing
I'm in the process of converting Grumperina's Jaywalker pattern to a toe-up design. I'm trying to fold together Wendy's short row toe with the Jaywalker patterning and the toe-up gusset and heel flap of the second RSC 2007 socks.
It's been fun knitting along and discovering places where I could improve or fix the next time, and cheerfully fixing or making notes to fix later.
Except today, I finished turning the heel...and it is so not working. The heel doesn't seem like it's turned sharply enough, and the heel flap is only 1.25" long.
I'm going to have to tink back just about everything I finished today and start over. But not before checking Wendy's new toe-up pattern, which supposedly includes a version of the gusset heel which she may have converted to her fingerling weight (8 sts/in) gauge, which would likely make it work for this.
*sigh* I enjoy this though, right?
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July 30th, 2007
03:55 pm - In lieu of anything pretty...
I never did get the post I intended to make posted.
But, to save my other friends from my crafting natterings....
I mentioned in my last post having four potential projects to start: the Faroese-style lace shawl out of Blue Moon Silk Thread in Spinel, a highly modified (but simpler) version of the Tiger Swallowtail Shawl out of Angora Cottage 100% handpainted silk yarn in Night Dreams, Bambuzzled in Blue Moon Bambu in Sea Breeze and the Ribby Shell in Cascade Pima Tencel (black and teal).
I wound up doing the Bambuzzled first. ( Project comments )
I also did start the second 2007 RSC sock, ( cut in case people are still avoiding 'spoilers' )
Miscellany:
I've also cast-on for the Ribby Shell, which is currently my mindless "don't want to think while I knit" pattern at the moment. I love the feel of the Cascade Pima Tencel while I'm working. I'm roughly 4" into the body so far.
...and the Faroese-style shawl is on needles as of yesterday. I decided I needed something mildly challenging after all the repetitious stuff the last couple of months. I love Addi Lace needles, which I'm using a pair of for this project.
Lastly, I actually finished something else in the past month, a PoA-style Hufflepuff sweater ( Read more... )
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