mamacate

I.O.U.

I owe you pictures.  My computer is back, just the same as ever, though I appreciate it more now.

But I owe you pictures.

Rogue

The hood is taking forever for some reason.  I'm enjoying this, but I am also ready to wear it.  And there's been some startitis (all from stash, thankyaverymuch).

Remember project spectrum?  Well, last day of April, here's my entry:

The sock yarn is my prize for being randomly selected as a winner in Sandy's blogiversary contest.  Cool beans.  I'm making a Claudia sock.  Apparently, the picot edging virus was transmitted via the yarn.  Sandy's doing the same.  On the right is a swatch for a maybe vest in Rowan Silken Tweed in copper.  I actually started it, and then for the first time ever, I found out why they always say "join in round BEING CAREFUL NOT TO TWIST STITCHES."  Doh.  A whole video movie's worth of knitting (Elizabethtown--odd), down the tubes.  Oh well, I think I'm going to go a different way with the ribbing anyway.

I'm back on the job with the cashgora.  Justine should have her final wedding shawl installment in the next week or two.

And despite not being fancy enough to be able to moblog like Judy, I did get a shot of the Most Excellent potluck lunch at the CT Sheep & Wool festival.  Note to self: knitters+potluck=really a lot of delicious, homemade, wonderful food.  Do not worry about not having enough.

Sunshine, food, knitters, and good conversation.  Good stuff.  Of course, everyone seemed to, erm, skitter off, after lunch.  I think they might have been avoiding me.  I couldn't even enable anyone into a (rather expensive, but still nice) polwarth fleece.  The kids had a blast up until the end when exhaustion caught up with them and there was a balloon incident (yes, it was me you were staring at with the two kids throwing themselves on the ground screaming, sigh).  When we finally got in the car, it was about 5 minutes before they were out cold.  Too much excitement.  Still.  The kids loved it, but it will be fun to go to NH and have some mom-time too.

I haven't had an official modeling of Henry's green sweater, so here's a pick from the fest that I like:

No, we didn't buy the sheep. 

Tomorrow is my first day as a regular employee.  I've been there since last February, but I'm strangely nervous.  Life is weird sometimes, isn't it?

Fibery Things at Which to Look

You'd think hooking up a USB cable and pressing the mouse a few times was an impossible task the way I avoid it.  But avoid it I do, so photos come sporadically, and blog posts only slightly less so.  In the interim, I enjoy the opportunity to distract my friends with "surprising" prouncements like memes that indicate that I am "a complete lunatic."  The "need food" theory as the determining factor predicting the assignment of Animal as muppet personality seems to hold firm (see the comments on the last post to find out who your lunatic friends are), though I'm intrigued by the fact that we're all the types who decide to reverse engineer a quiz that gives us an answer we don't like understand.

Anyway.  Pictures.

First of all, my better pal.  I'm one lucky gal.  Emma was my better pal, and that girl has impeccable taste and wide-ranging interests perfectly aligned with my own.

The final package arrived, along with her admission of guilt identity disclosure.  Thank you, Emma.  Thank you thank you thank you!

Now, on the right there is an exotic fiber variety pack from Scottish Fibres, which includes something called Coypu fiber.  I had, of course, to go looking it up, since I'd never heard of a Coypu.  Turns out it's an invasive species in the UK, sort of along the lines of possum fiber in New Zealand.  So I'm googling this information, and I make the mistake of sharing it with Rhys.  She waits a beat and says "Cate, FIBER is an invasive species," and then gestures to the overflowing project basket next to my chair.

What's your point?

Anyway, thank you Emma.  Not pictured are two delicious chocolate bars.  Sorry, I was too busy eating them while I took the picture.  The dyeing book is especially inspirational as the weather warms; I've ordered some madder and some alum so I can get going on this, and the book is greatly appreciated.  The sock yarn gave me an almost-irresistible case of startitis, and the Kaalund mohair made me sigh.  Most wonderfully, that cake of beautiful red yarn in the middle was dyed by Emma herself with cochineal.  How enormously cool, not to mention inspiring.

Thank you Emma, for being such a great better pal.  I loved my SP experiences, and I've loved my BP experience too.  My spoilee, by the by, was Jan of Be*mused, an incredible quilter and artist whose blog is always a feast for the eyes.  Jan, it was great to get to know you!

I appear to be participating in Project Spectrum in spite of myself.  I had no intention of signing up for this thing, and then I looked at my knitting.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea, but I tend to resist anything that prevents me from doing Exactly As I Please when it comes to knitting (note the absence of any sort of olympic medal on this blog).

So, the first month of Project Spectrum is March, and the color for March is Red.  Now, I confess to going on color jags with projects.  You can see last year's color scheme here.  So hey, I'm down with the cool kids because I'm knitting red, just like Project Spectrum said to do.  Go figure.

Starting from the top and going clockwise, that's my second Klaralund, this one in Kureyon, that I've been knitting rather languorously for a year now--it has been my mindless knitting project and I'll miss it.  It's off the needles now and is ready for seaming, which, if past experience is any guide, could take a while.

Next is Rogue, yes, I've finally given up on spinning for it (though I have more than 500m spun, I'm just not optimistic about matching the grist after all this time).  I got some nice Jaeger Shetland Aran on ebay, and here we go.  I'm using Claudia's mods for a cardigan, though I've already messed up the pocket (made a shorter hem but didn't start the pocket early).  Any reason I'll regret just picking up those stitches and knitting the pocket second instead of first?  I realize that almost every knitter on the Internet has already made this sweater, so I figure maybe someone has advice.

On the bottom and the left there is the Fleece Artist/Handmaiden goodies.  There were sales, things were bought, I have no comment for the press, except to say, "lookie!"  Pretty, huh?  The bottom one is 2-ply cashmere (I know) and will be a nice feather and fan scarf for work, and the one on the left is one of two giant skeins of mohair at 820ypp that I think is going to be Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style.  How could I not knit it with a name like that?  I love the colors of that yarn with all my heart, but was having a little trouble figuring out what to do with it.  Eleanor is a perfect match.

Speaking of Eleanor, this has resurfaced.

Even though I have 50 projects going, it's really not any worse than usual (sorry if you didn't know, I haven't been intentionally hiding these things from you).  I cast this on about this time last year, and sort of put it aside for, I kid you not, being too lazy to put the arms on stitch holders.  Since Marcia (dude, go over and give her some love for passing that test) and I are starting a "Knit While It Still Fits" KAL for those of us who are gaining weight at an alarming rate, it reminded me that my daughter is, in fact, supposed to be growing quickly, and therefore I should try to finish her projects within the decade.  I did everything past the armholes last night while watching Hitch (good movie, I know I'm the last person on the planet to see it), and it's nice to see it in a picture because it actually looks like I accomplished something.

Finally, in my red-orange (not purple) haze, this here bunnycrack is waiting in the wings

Until I finish this.

Two ounces of cashmere goes a long way.  I have about 1.5 times more than this on the other bobbin.  And I'm still loving it.

So Project Spectrum it is.  Stay tuned for the flashing of my sock yarn stash.  Don't get too excited, while not inconsiderable in size, it's not like I'm flashing my spinning fiber stash; I choose these things carefully, you know.  And a happy anniversary celebration tomorrow.  Fourteen years, baby.  I suppose now that we're past lucky 13, anything's possible, huh?

Snow Day

I have yet to surf through bloglines, but something tells me that I'll be seeing a lot of snow pictures today.  Here is  my contribution.

The front yard:

And the funny drift on the roof:

Yes, this is through the screen.  Dude, I was not going out there.

Actually, in the scheme of things, this was not that bad.  We got a little over a foot.

I also thought I'd post a few pictures illustrating how my kids are budding fiber artists.  Eleanor is already passing it along to the next generation:

Henry is fixing up the spinning wheel for me:

In knitting news, I have *ta-da* started the second Aran Sandal Sock.  (I should point out, given that Jo cringed in the comments about socks and sandals, that I will wear them with CLOGS, not sandals.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, LOL.)  I think I will have a pair of these.  I have also grafted the side of the sideways sock.  Good practice, and it looks fine, but ugh.  Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchener.   (Sorry, I couldn't resist. )

I plyed another 210 meters of BFL for Rogue, and, well, I don't like it.  Much of it was spun during the spin-in at Webs, and it's too tightly spun.  Ugh.  It's the right size, just a  different texture.  I'm thinking maybe I'll make that be the hood?  I also offered a skein of handspun yarn for the TSF door prizes, so I'd better get busy on that.

Like I don't have enough projects on deck, I ordered a skein of Brooks Farm Harmony to make Clapotis.  Since I think it's a tight squeeze (I would love to hear different) with the given pattern, since this yarn is thinner (more YPP), I will probably modify it so it is smaller.  I have also heard many people say they are using much more yarn than called for, so I don't want to take the chance.  And I couldn't bring myself to buy another $30 skein just to be safe.  Especially after having just spent $100 at Webs on yarn, needles, books, and a McMorran yarn balance.

Oh yeah, and a pot of pea soup and some homemade bread for tonight.  Just call me the domestic goddess.  Stop laughing.

Socks, Socks, Spinning, and That Damn Sweater (not necessarily in that order)

Hey, I have photos!  The new camera software has been installed on my work laptop (since my home laptop is developing a palsy and liver spots), and I have successfully downloaded photos.  How nice to have camera software designed since the industrial revolution!  You wouldn't believe what I had to go through with my old camera to get the pictures downloaded.  The only downside to the new camera is a big one: it has an even longer delay before taking the photo than the old one did.  What is up with that?  It's really terrible for kid pictures, because, you know, they don't stand still for a split-second, much less for three-point-two seconds or whatever it takes between when you click the shutter and it actually snaps.  Ah well, I suppose it will be lovely for knitting photography.

Speaking of which, I finished That Damn Sweater, aka the step-BIL's unfinished Xmas gift.  I'll have to get a copy of the photo MIL took of him trying it on, sans neck, Xmas morning, but here it is draped coyly over a chair.    I still need to wash and block it, not to mention wrap it, back it in a box, find out his address and ship the damn thing.  But it's off my conscience and off my to-do list, and for this, I am grateful.

This was a Lopi pattern (don't have the book number handy, sorry), and I used some yarn (the black) I bought in 1989 to make a sweater that never worked out.  At one point I had this sweater attached to a raveled edge of a piece of that sweater, and was just knitting and ripping at the same time.  Just call me Sisyphus.  The two shades of blue are Brown Sheep Bulky.

I made one pattern modification recommended by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts in Knitting in the Old Way specifically for yoke sweaters.  If you've ever worn one, have you noticed that they bind a bit when you lift your arms up over your head?  I guess that's because they're the same in front and back.  PGR has you do a series of short rows across the back and arms before starting the yoke patterning.  Not a big deal to do, and it does make for increased ease of arm movement--I tried it on this morning.  PGR also has a wonderful short-row technique that eliminates wrapping.  I especially like it for bulky yarns like this, because that wrap really adds bulk in a bulky sweater.  All that to say that Knitting in the Old Way is worth the money.  It's also the text book for my first Master Knitter class at Webs this spring, which is how I justified buying it.

So I know that all of a sudden socks are au courant.  I sweah, I was planning to make them before all this.  I don't know why I feel the need to say this, so what if I'm a knitblogging camp follower.  I mean really, I enjoy knitalongs for many reasons, mostly the ability to learn pitfalls and share experiences, but also because it's just fun to be part of something.  So that said, I'm now a happy joiner of two sockish memes:
  and .  Hey, as a knitter, it's not really so bad to be a sheep, right?

I started the Sock it to Me socks a week or two ago with some KPPPM I got in New Hampshire on an expedition to the Patternworks store (oh, the Koigu selection!).

The two skeins on the lower right are the ones I'm using for Sideways Sox Supreme from XRX's Socks, Socks, Socks.  I can't find a photo from the book online, but here is a partial photo of just the toes from the pattern author's website.  You can see the vertical striping.  I will be using the alternate toe, by the way.

I kind of like the subtlety of the color combination of the socks pictured in the link above (same as in the book), and I had hoped that my color combination would have the same effect, since the variegated yarn has some of the exact dark blue in the solid.  Unfortunately, that dark blue makes infrequent appearances in the variegated, so it really doesn't blend in the same way.  Slightly disappointing, but once I got used to it, it was okay.

So, I've finished knitting the first sock, and now it's time to do it again.  Oh yeah, and graft the whole thing together.  And make the toe.  The thing is this, though:  the sock is not completely symmetrical.  I don't know how well you can see it in this picture, but part of the heel shaping involves short rows through just the heel, adding thickness to  four of the stripes on either side of the bottom of the heel.  On one side, it adds to two variegated stripes, and on the other side, it adds to two solid stripes.  I think the designer decided on perfect symmetry of shaping rather than perfect symmetry of color, which I can respect.   So if I make two socks the same, I will have two identical socks, not two mirror image socks.  We will now trigger our obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Given the elegance of the design, I'm guessing this was an issue of pattern publishing, not an oversight.  But I'd like to make the second sock so it mirrors the first.

So, my feeble brain is having a little trouble figuring out how to do this.  Do I start the chart in the middle so that I'm seaming on the opposite side of the sock?  I think that will take care of the issue of the seams both facing inward (though if I graft well, it won't be an issue), but I'm thinking my stripes will still be identical, not mirrored, right?  So do I do that PLUS move the heel shaping over by one row, I think that would at least LOOK right.  The toe short rows would still be identical, but frankly that doesn't bug me as much, not sure why.  Or maybe I just need to completely reverse the solid and variegated rows, though that would mess up the top edging. 

So, does anyone with a geometry brain have advice on how I could make these socks truly mirror image?  I feel a little dumb, like I should be able to look at this and figure it out, but my brain keeps getting muddled.  That's a familiar feeling, so I won't worry too much about it.  I think I'll also email the pattern designer and see if she has any thoughts.  I'm sure this will be a good excuse to stall my knitting the second sock for at least a week or two.

Meanwhile, I've also become a sockapaloozer, and have been matched up with a secret sock pal.  Is it completely lame to be disappointed that she doesn't have a blog?  I just feel kind of disappointed that I won't get to see pictures of her showing off her new socks.  I suppose maybe she'll send me some by email.  That would be cool, then I could post them on *my* blog.  Well, whoever has me, be assured that your creations will be modeled for, erm, all the people who read my blog...okay, well, I'll post pictures and we can both look at them, okay?

So I've started a home-brewed sock pattern for my pal, using Cascade Fixation yarn purchased from One Fine Yarn (wow, amazing customer service).   The pattern stitch is from Barbara G. Walkers Third Treasury, and is called Daisy Cluster #1.  It's a little busy with the variegated yarn, but I am not sure I've given it enough of a chance yet.  It does seem to provide some anti-pooling effect, and I'm all for that. 

I am almost certainly going lose the ribbing on the top of the sock.  Since the pattern stitch is actually *more* elastic than the ribbing, the ribbing ends up poofing out instead of drawing in.  Not what I was going for.  Who knows, though.  I'm going to wait until I'm done with the first sock to decide (and I'll make the legs long enough that it will work either way), since there's this sort of fluted thing going on at the top with the combination of the wider ribbing and then the stretchy cast-on I used from The Twisted Sisters' Sock Workbook.  It might look kind of cool.  We shall see.

Finally, there's the handspun Rogue cardi.  I have not posted over at the Rogue knitalong, but I am actually keeping rather busy with this project.  I'm sure everyone else over there will be long-done before I even start knitting, but it hasn't dropped from my consciousness at all.  I have learned my lesson after knitting a handspun sweater in which my yarn suddenly changed grist when I took a long break from spinning to knit half the sweater.  This time I'm spinning it all before I start knitting.

Pictured here is one 150-meter skein, one 240-meter skein, and two bobbins of singles to make another 240-meter skein.  Well, the one on the left isn't quite 240 meters yet.  So I figure I'm maybe 40% done with spinning.

I had originally planned to dye this yarn (another reason to spin it all before knitting), but I've decided I love the creamy goodness of the Blue-Faced Leicester roving, and I'm going to leave it as is.  The more I work with it, the more I love BFL.  Long staple, so, so soft...I will be a danger to myself and my bank account when shearing and festival season comes around this year.  Heaven help me if I spring for a drum carder!

I do need to save some room on my to-do list for a project for my master knitter class.  My folk knitting class involves a project with a due date, and right now I'm thinking a traditional fair isle sweater.  So I know I'll need a good chunk of time this spring to work on that.

Well, back to the salt mines and the surveys...I hope to come up for air again soon, particularly to show off cute pictures of the kids spokesmodeling the lovely cotton cashmere yarn Jenifer RAOK'd me!