I have issues

Well, that should be obvious by now, but when I say issues, I mean knitting issues. Two, to be precise.

Issue the first:
Knitting with cotton - three strands of heavy worsted weight cotton - hurts. My wrists hurt, my fingers hurt. For such a simple project (Absorba, the great bathmat), there's a lot of pain involved. With just two 'strips' remaining, I'm confident that I can knit through the pain to a pleasant FO. No pain, no gain, right?


Issue the second:
Row gauge. I swatched like a banshee for the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I got stitch gauge, but not row gauge. Fine. I can do math (even calculus, shh!), so I can futz my way through to an acceptable product. I cast-on the back, made some minimal calculations and modified the pattern accordingly. Back complete.


I love the darts.


So warm.

I went to cast-on the front left and hit a wall. I've got no clue how to modify this pattern to accommodate my row gauge. Further, I'm not sure how row gauge affects this pattern. See, the patterns asks you to cast on the cuff of the sleeve and knit the sleeve up through the raglan shaping. That's fine. I can do some fancy math and make the increases work out. But then, oh then. You continue into the shaping of the raglan and at the same time you begin work on the front. In this manner, you increase every single row to create a semi-circular left front. Understand? No? Check out the pattern. Will the front be too long, overlap too much? What's going to happen? Aieee! Can I modify the pattern and if so, how? Can I modify my row gauge and if so, how? Will I ever have a finished sweater that fits me, me, me?

Clearly, distractions are in order.

Distraction the first:

A very bad picture of my socks from Sockapalooza. Better pictures available from Yarn Thulu. These are beautiful socks, just the right height and they came with other sock-knitting goodies. Lucky for me, I got over the sock nausea, huh?

Distraction the second:

Cute kid. Clearly dressed by Daddy. Note the clashing pinks in the stockings and onesie, combined with the orange of the fleece vest. I love this outfit.

ETA: I found a somewhat useful link to row gauge issues. Basically, Kate says knit the fronts with your gauge (they will overlap more/less depending on row gauge) and make the back match. So I will sally forth on the left front and see where it takes me. It may mean ripping the back to ensure it matches the length of the front (but since my stitch gauge is spot on, who knows?).

Finished object, the first

As life settles back into a routine that doesn't include writing a dissertation, I hope to update my little world on some of the projects I've completed. First up, I offer an actual photo of the socks I knit for my sockpal.



It's up on Ravelry, too (I'm Jeneric, for those interested). Specifics can be found there. I loved knitting these socks and will almost certainly knit a second pair to keep, perhaps in a pale pink to add a cheery touch to the cold winters coming my way.

I make no promises, but I will try to photograph several other completed projects and, if you're good and don't stick things in your mouth, I'll even show some in-progress things. Is it really that obvious that I live with a toddler?

Knitter's Nightmare

I woke last night in terror. I couldn't remember the date and I thought surely I had missed the Sockapalooza4 Mail date. My brain whirred. It was Monday, tomorrow was Tuesday. When was August 2nd? Let's work backwards. What was today? Today was, ah, well, Monday, yes I know, but the date? I couldn't remember. Think, McFly, think! Eventually I remembered that Monday was July 30th and July has 31 days which puts August 2nd on Thursday. Fantastic! Plenty of time to box up the socks that I finished a month ago. And didn't blog about.

Sigh. It's been busy around here. I'd show you what I've been working on, but it probably won't upload well and it's interesting only to Ecology geeks, like me. Yes, the thesis is written (150 or so pages. It's tought to keep track) and will be sent to the committee today or tomorrow. My attention is now on writing a presentation for ESA and my defense.

Cross your fingers and toes and if all goes well, I'll have some FO and WIP pictures soon.

We interrupt this silence

for a quick FAQ and update on the knitting.

Q. Have you been knitting?
A. Of course. Sadly, the knitting is not daily but I try very hard to squeak in at least 15 minutes of knitting when I can.

Q. What are you knitting?
A. Good question! I had good intentions to continue plowing through Eric's Na Craga, but when the temperatures starting topping 85, I cried uncle and cast aside the 100% wool sweater for smaller, portable, light-weight things.

Q. A wise decision, but you never answered the question.
A. Ahem. Yes. Well, you see, there's been a snafu. I have successfully completed one sock for Sockapaloooza. See?
Pattern: Spiral Boot Sock, by Veronik Avery from Summer 2007 IK
Yarn: Brooks Farm Acero, in blue
Modifications: Not a darn one!

I have cast-on for the second. See?

But alas, I know I will run out of yarn. I carefully divided my skein into two even balls. I knit feverishly while in several airports over the course of two days. As I turned the heal on the first sock, I knew with every fiber of my being that I would not have enough yarn. Brashly, I carried on, dipping into the second ball mere inches away from the toe.

I contacted Brooks Farm about purchasing more of this yarn. As I suspected, this dye lot sold out at Maryland Sheep & Wool. However, they are dying another batch soon. I intend to purchase one skein to complete my sock. I know it will not match and frankly my dears, I don't give a (beaver) dam. These socks will not be for my sock pal, I will keep them and love them as my own. I will knit my sock pal another pair - perhaps this very same pattern - in yarn that I have purchased sufficient quantities of.

Q. A good plan. Why were you in airports for two days?
A. Visiting East Lansing, Michigan where I was interviewing for a postdoc opportunity. Which I got. Which means I have to write, write, write and defend this summer. Hopefully by August. Which means few knitting posts.

Q. Ah, so really, it's not me, it's you?
A. Yes, it's me. My fault that I won't be writing much of anything knit-wise in the coming weeks. Take solace, however. It appears the sock-knitting nausea has passed. And that's a really fantastic thing.

A first time for everything

(The onesie says: 'Mama is a yarn ho.')

Maryland Sheep & Wool was fantastic, overwhelming and satisfying. I didn't knit a stitch on the trip down or back, nor did I knit during 'down times' at the festival. Why? We drove mainly at night (and I did a lot of the driving) and when you have a 6-month old, there are no down times. Let's look at the haul, shall we?
First up, some wool in a blue (blue mist) that matches Baby Jeneric's eyes and will make a spectacular hooded jacket from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby.
Next, we have Solana, a red Brooks Farm yarn that I coveted and tried not to buy. It's more than I usually spend on yarn, but the color and texture will make a fantastic Sunrise Circle Jacket. This marks the first first - buying the yarn I love and not skimping. Will it make a difference in the final object? We'll see.
Finally, Acero, more Brooks Farm yarn, this time a blue sock-weight yarn, destined for my Sockapalooza4 pal. I love the Spiral Boot Socks from Veronik Avery in the Summer 2007 IK and this yarn is going to make a fantastic pair.

I have to come clean, though. The patterns calls for 3 skeins of Reynolds Soft Sea yarn, which at 1 62 yard per skein, totals 485 yards. This skein of yarn is 420 yards, which is about 65 yards short. Will I make it? Will I have to rip back to shorten the leg? Should I have just purchased two skeins? (probably!)

The second first thing was that I actually admitted to being a blogger! Inadvertently, I encouraged a random knitter to purchase some of the same red yarn that I was purchasing. She got in line behind me and struck up a conversation. At one point, she asked if I had a blog and instead of lying (which I normally do!), I said yes. Of course, being the doofus that I am, I didn't say my name or the blog, but Kristy, of Eleven Stitches is a very put-together person and handed me a business card with her blog information. Go visit and check out that drop stitch sweater she knit. It's her own pattern and looked amazing in person. It's also thanks to Kristy that I picked up the sock yarn.

As Brenda Dayne would say, it's time to Cast-on.

Sockapalooooza!

The 4th round of sockapalooza has begun! I signed up as a declaration of war against my sock nausea and I'm coming out fighting! I've surfed the usual suspects, including Knitty, MagKnits and the Interweave Knits website. While my decision isn't final, I am leaning towards the spiral boot socks by Veronik Avery in the yet-to-be-released Summer 2007 issue of IK. Yarn shopping/splurging will occur this Saturday at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

On the flip side, my sock pal has already sent me something - an e-postcard of Babs, the knitting obsessed chicken from Chicken Run (who else loves everything that comes out of Aardman Animation?). I can tell this knitter has good taste and will create a fantastic pair of socks to warm my feet this fall.