Heeheehee...

A little of this, a little of that...

Resurrecting the blog to post a few photos.

Oh, look! I made some socks!

I started these as a gift for a boyfriend, but when I broke up with him, they became a retirement gift for my uncle. Ex-boyfriends can buy their own socks!

Toe decreased by two stitches (one on each side) on every row, afterthought heel decreased in the same manner as the toe. And there you go. Socks.

Santa Baby...

'Tis the season to be knitting... and destashing. I've decided to use up some of my odds and ends of yarn by knitting a few small things for the US post office's Letters to Santa program. I'm not doing well financially, myself, but I'm sure some of those letters will ask for things I can provide, like a new hat or mittens. If you're reading this, please consider doing the same!

I'm 35 years old, that ain't the end, sure ain't where I began...

What's 35 supposed to feel like? It's about 35% of the time I expect to live. I have $5.97 in my checking account, and $9 in my wallet. It's been a long time since I had anything like a "career", and even longer since I could pretend I liked my job. I'll have my master's degree in December, but I'll also have considerable student loan debt. I've got gray hair around my ears and pimples on my forehead.

I'll skip any commentary on the state of my love life, because there's nothing much to say about it. I'm noticeably overweight. I've got some nice friends, some of whom I actually speak to in real life. My apartment is a wreck, and the longer I wait to clean it, the less I want to tackle the job. My passport expired, and I never renewed it. I've recently discovered yoga. I have several knitting projects half-completed. It's not glamorous. It's just what I've got. It could be worse. It could be better.

What comes next?

Still On My Toes

This is the toe I referred to a couple of posts ago. The decreases are simple. K2tog on one round, then ssk on the next. On the first round, you join stitches A and B, while on the next round you join stitches B and C. Or, to put it another way, imagine you have four stitches. On the first pass, k1, k2tog, k1. On the second pass, ssk, k1. On the third pass, k2tog.

If you prefer to use stitch markers, rather than relying on your ability to eyeball the correct location in the row, try this: Place a locking stitch marker at the beginning of the round, and half way through it, so you have one locking stitch marker on each side of the toe. Knit to two stitches before the marker, k2tog, and repeat. On the next round, knit to two stitches before the marker, ssk, and repeat. Now move each stitch marker one stitch to the left, and repeat the last two rounds.

If you're having trouble visualizing how this works, just cast on a few stitches and give it a try. It makes a nice, smooth toe or heel, with no gaps or lines.

Must. Kill. Cats.

Woke up this morning to loud, obnoxious music from the street. Entered living room to find that, some time during the night, little cat A and little cat B (but probably mostly B) found my half-knitted Lorna's Laces sport weight sock in a beautiful and DISCONTINUED color, dragged it into the kitchen, looped it around a couple of chairs, and dropped the remaining wad of yarn in the water bowl.

After some yelling, I put the yarn wad aside until I was emotionally capable of dealing with it.

Have been picking at the yarn wad bit by bit. Kitties chewed my nice, pretty wool into at least four pieces, and I still have a giant, tangled wad to pick through.

Good thing these were meant to be ankle socks. But still. This is twice this happened on this same sock.

Must. Kill. Cats.

Also, I picked the wrong day to de-caffeinate myself. Slept half the day, have a headache, and the cravings continue.

Help!

Socks, Decreases, and Twists

I've been working on a pair of top-down socks with an afterthought heel, and I found what I thought (and still think) is a pretty good way to decrease for the toe and heel. In the past, I've typically decreased two stitches on each side every other row, but doing that always results in those square lines on either side of the toe. This time, I k2tog on one row, then ssk on the next, always using the resulting deacreased stitch from the previous row as one of the two working stitches in the next row. That is, if I have, for instance, four stitches (somehow working circularly!), I would k1, k2tog, k1, then on the next row I would ssk, k1, then on the next row I would k2tog. This has the same general shaping effect as ssk followed by k2tog, followed by a non-increase row, but without the slight, pointy gap that occurs when you do that row after row and then fold the fabric at exactly that point. It looks great, but when you graft across the tip of the toe, you end up with a slight twist in the fabric, since that one important stitch that results from each decrease is kind of like the short side of a rectangle. That is, you've got the front stitches, and the back stitches, and then each decrease stitch is a short side. Then you have to make one short side part of the front of the rectangle, and the other short side part of the back of the rectangle.

This isn't making any sense, is it? I swear, it works out in the end.

I know the explanation is a bit dense. Pics will follow in the next post, when I show the finished socks.

Knitting a Tube on Straight Needles

I read recently that you can't knit a tube on straight needles. Yes, you can! And I don't mean that whole double-knitting-with-two-strands thing.

Cast on an even numbers of stitches. (Okay, use an odd number if you want to, but an even number will make things easier.) Knit one, slip one purlwise with the yarn in front. (That's K1, S1P, if you need an abbreviation.) Repeat these two steps to the end of the row. Turn the (straight) needle, and repeat the row. Keep going for a few more rows, and you'll see what I mean.

It's slower than working on dpn's or circs, and you'll probably end up with a looser fabric, but it really is possible.

If a knitting needle falls in the woods...

If I don't do the set-up rows, is it still a tubular bind-off?

It's... a hat!

Th only Christmas gift I knitted this year. Made with Cascade 220.

To-do list

Knitting "chores":

Rip out "practice hat" made of pink Cascade 220, roll yarn into ball. Not sure if I'll wash it or just store it. This yarn became practice yarn, which I use when trying to work out a pattern. This hat? Kind of didn't work.

Rip out half-made sweater. It's been on the needles for a long, long time. My first sweater attempt. It's not working at all. I need to admit defeat and try again.

Finish throw blanket. This project was fun at the start, but now I'm bored. Maybe I'll just let it dit on the needles for a while.

Start gift blanket. I usually enjoy trying to work out an original pattern, but this one may have me beat. Not sure how to achieve what I want to achieve with it, but don't want to give up, either.


Fun planned knitting:

New hat. Can't find the pretty blue beret I made last year, so, of course, the only solution is to make a new one! Have a skein of purple Cascade 220, and another skein of black. I'm thinking purple, with cables.


Not sure which category this falls into:

Sort the stash, discard old swatches, plan holidat projects. I'm scared. I'm very scared. This is the sort of thing that leads to planned projects which never come to fruition. It also leads to shopping. Help!

Throw-Blanket-To-Be

Just received 19 balls of Knit Picks Shine Sport in the mail. Why - WHY - did I think it would be a good idea to make a blanket out of this tiny yarn?

I get excited about little things

I've worked out how to knit a tube on straight needles by double-knitting with a single strand. Someone is getting a scarf made this way for Christmas. Not sure who, but I have to show off my new skill!

To-Knit List

Saw a woman on the street with a very cool cableknit beret. Trying to figure out how to reproduce it. The knitting math is melting my brain.

Have a sock that's been on the needles for ages. Tired of it, but can't bring myself to abandon it completely.

Have a throw blanket that's been on the needles for over a month. I do it in bits and pieces, but... I can't believe I'm saying this... knitting has not been a priority lately.

Owe someone a combination blanket/housewarming present. Anyone got any intarsia charts or other creative ideas for a Beatrix Potter- themed item?

Updates

I'm still here, and still knitting! Other things have taken up quite a bit of space in my brain, and I've run short on time and energy for blogging. Piccies of recent and ongoing projects will follow, if only to remind myself that I do, sometimes, manage to get things done!

The new quarter began this past week, and once again I'll be in classes every Tuesday and Thursday night.

My Willy, a cat I had for about 10 years, died of congestive heart failure about two weeks ago. He had been sick for about two months, so his death was not a surprise, but I had hoped he could stick around a little longer.

My doctor says I've got irritable bowel syndrome. I thought it was celiac disease (tests confirm it's not) and tried a gluten-free diet for a while. I did feel a little better after cutting out gluten, and considered doing it again, celiac or not. However, I found that when I cut out gluten, I have to cut it out completely. Once my body has adapted to being gluten-free, a small amount of gluten in my food will cause a headache and a bitter taste in my mouth. It's easier (and a whole lot cheaper!) to maintain some gluten in my diet. I was, at least, introduced to the yumminess that is flax bread. It's pricey, but worth the splurge now and then.

My mom had a tumor full of pre-cancerous cells removed, and she seems fine now.

Had a minor bang-up with my car, which was already in pretty bad shape. Have gained some weight, mostly as a result of screwing around with my diet and different meds for months. I like my new apartment, except for a few minor problems. I could use a pedicure. Aaaaaand.... that's about it.

I swear, this explains everything

http://www.xkcd.com/597

Still here

No, I haven't abandoned the blog. There's been a lot going on lately, and blogging hasn't been high on my to-do list. Still knitting, though. That's not on the list, either. Doesn't need to be. I just keep doing it!

Go... what?

In honor of Memorial Day, will someone please tell me the origin of the phrase "Go knit a flag?" Or at least, what it means?

Puts my puny efforts in perspective

There are lots of people who knit for charity. Cari Clement took it to a whole new level.

Rwanda Knits

Through a USAID grant to our sister Rwanda-based NGO, Rwandans Allied for Peace and Progress, Rwanda Knits has enabled over 1,200 women to earn a living through making and selling their knitted goods. The organization has provided over 600 knitting machines and training to women in 17 associations throughout the country. The project has been described as one of USAID Rwanda's most successful income-producing projects. Today these associations have formed 29 knitting cooperatives who are registering as primary cooperatives, soon to be forming the country's first Secondary (umbrella-type) Artisan Cooperative.

That? Is awesome. And they're not just selling their products abroad. They also knit sweaters for the local kids' school uniforms.