Again with the Afterthoughts

Alright, here's the picture of the finished sock. Yes, it's still only one sock. I tend to get sidetracked, but I definitely do intend to complete the second one. No second sock syndrome happening here; the second sock is on the needles.

And a close up of the heel. (Sorry about the slight blurriness; low light, slow aperture speed doesn't make for perfectly clear pictures unless the camera's on a tripod... it wasn't.)

Notice the loose stitches at the corners? That's the only flaw with this sock and it's one I can live with. The next sock I do with this heel will be perfect. I think I will either pick up a third stitch in the corner or I'll make certain I knit those corner stitches extra tight. As I said, though, I can live with this.

I've also started another project. Hush now, stop reminding me of all the projects still on the needles; I know. I couldn't resist this one. The yarn was already in my stash, so it's not costing me any extra cash. For any of you who have the book "Wrap Style", I'm working on Guinevere. It's a shawl/wrap that has a unique shape, wedges, really, that form sort of a half circle. The pattern calls for Rowan Kid Silk Haze, which I could have used seeing as I have some in my stash, but I'm working it Skacel's Lace Merino and a strand of Crystal Palace's Kid Merino. That's giving it a "fuller" look, but still resulting in a lovely, lightweight wrap. In black. Which you don't work on in poor light. I tried to take a picture of it, but it just looks like a black blob at this stage. I'll try taking a picture when I'm further along... or for sure when I have it finished.

It's worked from the neck down and the hem up; it's done in two pieces which are finished off with a three needle bind off. Right now, I have about 8" worked. For the hem, I'm thinking about casting on using seed beads on every other stitch. That would give it a little bit of weight around the bottom edge, as well as just a little touch of glitter. We'll see how that works out. If you've ever put beads in a cast on edge, let me know; I'd appreciate any hints you might have for me.

I will leave you now with what I look at every morning from the living room window. Every fall, the coots come down from the mountain lakes to winter on Okanagan Lake. They remind me of little corks bobbing on the water. They dive to feed off the weeds in the water, and when they come back up, the "pop" out of the water, like submerged corks. They're fun to watch.

Not easy to see them, I know, but all those little black dots are coots.

So.....no pics today

I finished one of the Regia cotton socks. Did I mention how much I like that yarn? It feels really nice on the ball (100 gm ball), feels nice knitting it and feels just as nice on the feet. And I love the colours. The one I knitted up (one sock, mind you) makes me think of a Mexican fiesta or something. It's got orange, yellow, white, green, brown... very summery, fun colours.

It also has an afterthought heel (which, I discovered, is also known as a peasant heel). That worked out perfectly. You should see it.

So, why am I telling you about it rather than showing you? I took it to work with me yesterday, put it with the sock yarn so anyone coming in could see how the yarn knits up. And left it there.

I was going to take a picture of it so you could see how well it turned out, but now I won't be able to show you until Friday, my next day off. I will tell you that I'm very happy with the way the sock turned out. I'm glad I tried the afterthought heel again. This time, I picked up two extra stitches at each corner and knitted one stitch together with the first and last stitch on each side. Does that make sense? One side of the sock still has a bit of a loose spot, not a hole really, but I can live with that. I've got the second sock on the needles, but for today I'll be working on the Opal sock (pictures soon, I promise) and the last of the reversible hats.

Sunday Afternoon, and I'm Not Watching Football

John's watching it. I don't understand the game; I sit and knit, usually, while he watches (or listens to) the game. Today is no different. On Friday, my boss commented that we need a basic pattern for a man's toque (stocking cap for those of you who are non-Canadians) in a chunky or worsted weight yarn. I volunteered to write up said pattern. We decided on chunky yarn, so I took two balls of Paton's Shetland Chunky home with me and proceeded to knit up one hat that night. Yesterday, I typed up the pattern and then decided to try it in a larger size and on a circular needle.

The pattern will be available at the store tomorrow for a small fee. Here's how the hat turned out:

I tried it out on the nearest available man, who just happened to be John; it got his seal of approval. He doesn't wear toques, but did say he'd wear one like this. He said it fit well, not too snug, not too loose.

When I got up this morning, I decided it was much too nice a day to spend it completely indoors. It's cold out, but sunny. I had one cup of coffee, then bundled myself up, grabbed the camera and went for a walk. The snow was scrunchy under my feet, with ice crystals glittering in the sun. I took pictures again, but won't subject you to all of them. Here are two, though. The first is of the lake in front of the house. I just couldn't resist that scene. It looks so cold and yet, with the sun shining, it's just so beautiful.

And then, there's this one. At this time of year, there's not a lot of colour outside. The sumac is one exception. The heads of the sumac are a deep red, all that's left on the shrubs. I couldn't resist; and I couldn't resist playing with the picture.

I didn't touch the colour settings, though. They really were that bright, with the sun shining on the heads (I'm not sure if they're considered to be flowers or not, but they're beautiful).

Now, back to my knitting. I'm playing with some Regia cotton, trying a sock with an afterthought heel again. This time, I'll make sure I don't make the foot section too long. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Christmas Cake

With that big day coming fast, I thought I would share this recipe with you.

Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Lemon juice
Nuts
1 Gallon whiskey

Directions:

1. Sample the whiskey to check for quality. Take a large bowl.
2. Check the whisky again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
3. Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 cup butter in a large, fluffy bowl.
4. Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again.
5. Turn off mixer.
6. Make sure the whiskey is still okay. Cry another tup.
7. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner.
8. If the fried druit gets stuck in the eaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
9. Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
10. Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something.
11. Who cares? Check the whiskey.
12. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
13. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
14. Grease the oven.
15. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.
16. Don't forget to beat off the turner.
17. Throw the bowl out the window.
18. Check the whiskey again.
19. Go to bed. Who the heck likes fruitcake anyway?

I'm sure many of you have seen this already, but it's still a good one. My niece sent me this recipe a few years ago and I've noticed it's circulating again. If you've never seen it, try it. It's sure to be a success. *grin*

Mostly Non-Knitting Content

Today's not really a knitting day, as much as I'd like it to be. I was working with some super bulky yarn last night and earlier this morning and I can feel it in my right wrist. So, it's time to take a break from knitting... a short one, trust me!

With the atmosphere in the house being less than optimal (no, don't even ask), I decided to take the camera and meander through the woods behind the house. The crispness of the winter air was very refreshing. There's not a lot of colour out there at this time of year, but I was determined to take a few pictures. On one of the pictures, I even removed whatever colour there was.

Stroll with me...

Enjoy your day, all of you.

Afterthought Heel... afterthoughts

I've done knitting the socklet with the afterthought heel, taken pictures of it, and analyzed the pros and cons of this sock in particular and afterthought heels in general. Are you ready?

Done with the toe, a standard toe knitted to 16 stitches and then Kitchenered (don't you love changing a noun into a verb?)

The stitches have been picked up and the waste yarn removed. I started out with 56 stitches for the sock. Each side of the heel should have had 28 stitches, but one side had 27. That wasn't really a problem; I simply made one more stitch on that side.

Starting to knit the heel. I worked 2 knit rounds before starting the shaping, then continued in the standard shaping technique of working decreases on one row and knitting the following row.

Of course, I had to try it on. How else could I tell when I'd knit the heel to the right measurement for finishing?

The finished heel. Not bad at all, really. Yes, there's some holey-ness at the corner of the heel, but this IS just a sample sock, right? I needed to know how it would work out just doing the heel first. From here on in, I can perfect my technique.

Here's the other side of the heel. Again, there's quite a hole there. Now that I'm aware of that, I can easily pick up an extra stitch in each corner and knit it together with one of the corner stitches. That should fix that problem, don't you think?

And the sock on my foot. It doesn't look half bad, in my humble opinion. The only problem is, 56 stitches on 3 mm needles, using dk weight yarn is a little loose on my foot. As well, both the toe and the heel measure 2" each. That's a total of 4". I made the foot section a total length of 6.5", making the entire sock 10.5" long. That's no problem if your foot is 10.5" long; mine's 9.75", so this sock is a bit too big on me. No, let's face it, my foot swims in this sock. It's a good thing it's just an experiment at this point.

So, now for the pros and cons. This would be a great heel for my socks. It fits my foot quite nicely and it's deep enough for my heel. Conversely, it's much too shallow for John's foot.

It's a great way of completing the sock without interrupting any patterning you may work on the cuff and instep as you can simply continue knitting all the way down without having to disrupt the flow of the knitting.

On the con side, other than this heel not being ideal for every foot, I can't really think of a lot of cons. Perhaps the only con, in my estimation, is that you really need to know the length of the heel and toe in order to work the main part of the foot. Maybe I'm just not familiar enough with this heel yet to figure out how to lengthen or shorten it, as might be necessary.

I liked working this heel and will probably use it, but not for all the socks I knit. For John's socks, I'll stick with the standard heel and gusset shaping. I will definitely keep the afterthought heel in my repertoire, though.

Note: Sorry about the colour change in the photos. It's not the camera, it was the angle at which the pictures were taken. The sock is, in actuality, more towards the green colour in the upper pictures than it is blue, as in the latter pictures. Interesting how just a change in angle, and lighting (there's a skylight just above our bed) can change the colour the camera perceives.

Le Sock... so far

Beadlizard, in her comment, said she was going to enjoy watching me make the afterthought heel, so I decided to post frequent update pictures. Susanne commented that the sock leg didn't look very long. Susanne, you're right. I decided to spare myself a lot of knitting and time by making them/it ankle socks. Your suggestions, by the way, make sense and I have filed them for future reference. Thank you.

Ok, so this is where I am on the sock right now...


The instep (or top of the foot)

The sole. The heel will be where the green waste yarn is.

I've started the toe in a contrasting colour and will have it done later today. I'll take frequent pictures of the heel in progress and will post them over the next day or two.

Oh, Beadlizard, I think you're right about BGW's second treasury. I've already got post-it notes throughout the book on stitch patterns I think would be great in socks. All sorts of ideas are going through my mind as I page through the book. Like I said to John the other night, I need more hands to do all the knitting I'd like to do. That, and time.

I'll end this morning's post by letting all of you know how much I appreciate your comments, input and suggestions. There are times it almost feels like a "Sit and Stitch" session. I love it! Thank you, all.

Just a thought

Or perhaps an afterthought?

I've never done (but have read about) an afterthought heel in a sock, but after seeing the ladies in the knitting class at the store doing their Christmas stockings with that heel, I decided to give it a try. This afternoon, I cast on for a sock, in dk weight yarn so it will work up quicker than 4 ply. I've read the directions and I'm giving it a go. I'll keep you informed as to how it works out.

Here's the sock so far...

See the dark stripe? That's where the heel will be put in later. All afternoon, my mind's been mulling over the measurements. Two inches for the toe, two inches for the heel? Most of my standard heels are 1.5 inches. Should I go with that measurement for this one, too? Does that mean the knitting for the foot should be 3.5 inches less than my total foot length? Or should I play it safe and allow 3.75 inches?

Those of you who've done socks with an afterthought heel may feel free to advise me on this one. It's a learning experience for me. I'm not even sure I'll make the second sock, but if this one turns out well, I will. I've decided to do the heel and toe in the same colour I used for my waste yarn. Both yarns, incidentally, are Sirdar's Country Style DK and the sock is done on 56 stitches, with 28 for the heel.

I also finished a top down hat today. I found the directions at I'm Knitting As Fast As I Can. It's a great technique which enables you to use ANY yarn at all to knit a hat. And the best part is, there's no swatching! I love it! Here's how my first attempt turned out.

*grin* I like it, but when I put it on and I've got on my warm sweater and my snow boots, I look perfectly equipped for life on the farm. (My apologies to those farm folk out there.. I mean no disrespect at all. I grew up in farm country.) I simply don't look great in toques.

Adventures on a Thursday

Well, ok, it wasn't really an adventure but we decided to take a day for ourselves and, literally, get out of town. We drove to Vernon for the day. For those of you unfamiliar with this area of the country, that's about a forty-five minute drive. The weather report said snow wasn't expected until that evening, so we decided to take the opportunity and just get out. We didn't see sunshine, but at least it didn't snow (it was pretty cold, though).

We did want to get a Vernon newspaper to see what kind of opportunities (job and housing related) were available there. We did that and read the paper over an early lunch at a little cafe, "Lunch Matters, Breakfast Too". After lunch, I made it a point to check out Neverending Yarn, a yarn store just down the street from the cafe. I like going there just to see what they carry that we don't. I hadn't planned on buying anything, but.....

I now have a complete set of the four Barbara Walker treasuries. I found the second treasury at the store, and simply HAD to buy it! I'm thrilled with it. I've already got ideas for several more pairs of socks. I also purchased a big ball of Opal sock yarn. I've bought the Opal cotton before, but had never seen the regular Opal sock yarn before. It feels softer than the Regia. I'm looking forward to knitting with it, but I'm trying to exercise my self-control by not starting any more projects (other than the Feathery Stole) until the four reversible hats are done. So far, so good.

The snow flurries started just as we pulled off the highway, onto the road we live on and soon turned into a regular snow storm. It didn't stop all night, apparently. I wanted to get a nice picture of what we see from the living room window, but in all honesty, a picture that shows very little but gray and white is kind of boring, monotonous. So I took a picture of my snowmen instead. John put this little display together last month. I think they look very festive with their "frosting".

I don't think we'll be doing much driving today. The roads, especially the side roads, are reportedly pretty slippery. It may well be the perfect day to stay home, start a fire, do some knitting, some baking, some cuddling. Now, if only we had the house all to ourselves.

One more FO for 2005

It's fun watching my Finished Objects list growing a little more before the end of the year. When you actually keep track of what you finish, it's surprising how much you can create. I know I knit a lot, but I really hadn't realized just how much I did finish this year. And today, I added one more thing to that list: the Soho scarf from Exquisite Little Knits.

I made a couple of minor changes to the scarf, like making it a little wider than the original pattern... and working completely in garter stitch, rather than purling one stitch at the end of each row in the center section. I did that because I didn't like the way the third section was picked up (a definite seam). Now, I love the scarf!

As well, I did the cast on for another project from the same book. As some of you may remember, for my birthday earlier this year, I spoiled myself and ordered some yarn from Handmaiden yarns. One of them was called Angel Hair, 70% Kid Mohair, 30% nylon in a colourway named Autumn. It's a gorgeous combination of lime green, yellow, orange and corals... truly beautiful. It's been tucked away in my stash since August, but last night, one skein made it's way on to two chairs and became a ball of yarn. It's amazing how gorgeous the colours looked on the skein. When wound into a ball, it looks like a dog's breakfast. But, that aside, it's knitting up VERY pretty.

The pattern I'm using is one called the Feathery Stole. It calls for Rowan Kid Silk Haze (I do have some of that, too), but I thought it would be very effective in the Angel Hair. What do you think so far?

Notice the needles? They were another gift to self... Lantern Moon needles. Beautiful needles for a beautiful yarn.

One last thing... I'm going to be posting a couple of pictures to the store's blog. You have to go and check out what Cathy (one of my co-workers) knitted up. Check it out here.... Art of Yarn

This and that

It's Monday evening. There's a repeat of CSI on the tv behind me. I'm not usually at my computer at this time of day, but today's just been that kind of day.

You saw a picture of the beret I knitted for John; today, I finished a second one for a store sample. They've been felted, but are not quite dry yet. They're resting on separate heat registers for now. I did try to get a picture of the hat, pre-felting, on John's head, but he wasn't terribly enthusiastic. Here are pictures, though, pre- and post-felting. They turned out nice and thick and plush. I think they'll be very warm indeed.

The black beret is made with Paton's Classic Wool, while the burgundy-ish one is Galway, in a burgundy/tan tweed. I will try to get a picture of John wearing his beret.

And then, there's the sock from my SSSS exchange partner.

On a dreary, wintery, hovering around 0C (32F) kind of day, doesn't that sock just scream sunshine and happiness? Now, to get a couple other projects done so I can get those socks on my feet rather than just looking at one finished sock and one ball of yarn.

The yarn is one I'd never heard of before... Vesper Sock yarn by Knitterly Things. It's 100% Merino wool, very soft, very cushy. The colour way is Aqua Melon. Interestingly, on the label, the word colour is spelled the Canadian/English way, not the American way, which would be color.

Now, back to the Soho scarf. I've frogged it and am re-knitting it. I really don't want a simple scarf pattern to get the best of me, yanno? Thanks to the Knitlist, I have some excellent suggestions as far as the cast off goes. The standard "leap frog" cast off just isn't right for this project.

Almost December

Can you believe that November is almost gone? It seemed like yesterday was the beginning of the month and now that month is almost over. Wow!

I've been knitting away, as usual. Last night, I finished knitting this...

...for John. I do intend to get a picture of him wearing it, both before and after felting. The pattern (Fibertrends) is an 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper, so you have a good idea of how big this beret really is. It's huge. I have one more to knit for the store. Once I have that one done, I'll felt both of them. I must admit, they're fun to make.

Since I was off yesterday, John and I decided to go out for a while. One of the places we went to was the library, where I found this lovely little book.

As I told John, it really isn't a book I want to purchase, but it is a nice one to look through for inspiration. As a matter of fact, I was inspired by this pattern.

Remember my cashmere scarf? The Zigzag one? Well, I decided I really wasn't happy with that pattern for that yarn. For one thing, it was way too long and curled a little more than I liked. So, last night I frogged it. And this morning I started the Soho scarf from Exquisite Little Knits. I'm loving it in the cashmere. It's so soft, so nice to work (play) with. It's designed by Iris Schreier, who also wrote a book about multidirectional knitting. She's also got a Yahoo group of the same name.

This is how it's looking so far. I think it's a good pattern for this sumptuous yarn. It won't be a very wide scarf (about 4"), but considering the fact that it's cashmere, I don't think it needs to be. I've already discovered that cashmere is a nice warm yarn to wear around the neck.

On another note, this week I received my Second Sock Syndrome Sock Exchange sock from Yahaira. I love it! I'll post a picture of it another day, but let me tell you... the yarn is stunning! Gorgeous bright colours that make you happy just looking at it. And the pattern she chose is perfect for the yarn. Sorry to make you wait for pictures, but it's time for me to get moving here. There's knitting to be done, yanno!

Pattern available

The shrug pattern has been posted for your convenience. It's in the sidebar as "Bernat Shrug".

I have the second of the four reversible hats finished and I love the combo. I'll post pictures of all four hats when they're done. I've started the third hat and am almost to the beginning of the crown shaping on the first half. They do knit up quickly, almost a mindless project.

That's it for today. Now, to get rid of this cold before it takes over....

Note: the link to the Bernat Shrug should work fine now. Darn that HTML... it sure is fussy... and case sensitive. My apologies. (11/24/05)

One more FO...for me!

And, it's a wearable FO!! I've had this pattern for a long time, knitted it once in the called for yarn (Bernat Chenille... yech!) and decided to try it again, considering the popularity of shrugs and all. This time, though, I did it in Sirdar's Country Style DK.

Thank you, John for taking the pics. I love creative photography.

It was a fast knit (less than a week is fast in my books) and only took 2 balls, making it less than $20 CDN. And it's perfect. I love the fact that I can wear it and still knit comfortably without fighting with the body of a sweater. I tend to get my needles caught in the excess sweater fabric, for some reason. John calls this my sweater without a body.

The pattern is an old Bernat free leaflet. It doesn't look like the yarn is available anymore, so I'm assuming the pattern isn't either. I suppose I could type it up for anyone interested in it (giving proper credit, of course). There is, incidentally, no copyright notice on the leaflet I have; no date, nothing.

Other than the shrug, I've got the second of four reversible hats half finished. I've just started the second half of what will be Trinity's hat. I discovered this week, thanks to Melissa and her daughter Kensie, that the infant size does not fit a one and a half year old. That means I'll be making one of each of three sizes, I'm thinking. The sizes are infant, childs, womens and mens. The mens size fits me quite nicely, so I'm thinking the women's size should fit my 8 and 5 year old grandsons. The children's size will fit Trinitiy.

Ok, back to knitting... or making cream of onion soup for dinner. Yum...comfort food! Decisions, decisions.

Just another Tuesday

...and it's snowing. This is the first snow of the season to be falling at this level. I don't really think it will last long as the temperature is rising slowly, but in the meantime, it's snowing and the ground is turning white. We can barely see the other side of the lake. It's the kind of day to light a fire in the fireplace and just knit, knit, knit.

Speaking of knitting, here's the little Harlequin hat, as promised. I'll be taking it back to the store later this week, leaving it there as a sample for a while. I've also decided to make three more, one for each of my three other grandchildren. I've got the yarn picked out and am just going to finish the project I'm working on for myself (which should only take another good day or two of knitting).

On Saturday, Sandra came to the store to pick up a hand salve I had promised her. Unfortunately, I wasn't there at the time. When I got to work yesterday morning, I found a manila envelope waiting for me. In it, I found this...

Sandra, thank you so much! I love them! And, interestingly, they're different from the books Priska gave me. I know I've said it before, but one of these days, I really want to try the Innovation socks (socks knitted on two straight needles and stitched together). One of these days...

Decision made!

I've been working, a bit at a time, on my Donegal Tweed cardigan. The front of the cardigan has been on my mind for weeks now; I haven't been able to decide what kind of cable pattern I wanted to use. I do know there will be a single cable on each side of the front. Last night, while once again going through my three Barbara Walker treasuries, I found the one I want. Actually, I keep coming back to the same one. That tells me it's the one I want.

For the first time in a very long time, I did something I always tell others to do, but rarely do myself...swatch. I did a swatch of the cable pattern to see how I would like it in my chosen yarn. I sat by the fire while John watched tv from the comfort of the bed and knitted up the pattern. Here's what it looks like....

I like it. John likes it. It will be incorporated in the cardigan.

As well, I finished the child's reversible hat yesterday. I don't have time right now to take a picture, but seeing as I have tomorrow and Wednesday off, I'll take a picture then. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. It will serve as a store sample for a little while and then, I think, one of my granddaughters might just get it. I have a feeling that the colours would look really sharp on Oceanna (the apple hat sure did suit her colouring). Incidentally, my daughter called yesterday to let me know that Oceanna is smiling now (6 weeks... right on time) and "talking"; you know, that lovely baby gurgling and cooing that every grandmother just adores.

And, Michelle? I'll have to try your suggestion (2 needle provisional cast on) next time I make that hat pattern, or any other pattern that calls for provisional cast on. Thank you.

Things learned, things done

I love learning. When it comes to knitting, I get very excited when I learn a new technique (new to me, that is) and it works! That's what happened this week. I was perusing Nicky Epstein's "Knitting on the Edge", which I do occasionally for inspiration. Well, this time, at the very back of the book, I came across a paragraph on the provisional cast on. Now, don't get me wrong. I've done provisional cast on before. About a year ago, I did the Harlequin cap (from elann.com) for John; it's done with a provisional cast on. I did the crochet cast on, but found that picking up the stitches was somewhat less than successful. At least, I wasn't really happy with the result.

See what I mean? Some of the stitches just don't look right. I could have taken it out, but at the time I couldn't really figure out how to fix it without frogging the entire thing. And I did not want to do that. After reading Nicky Epstein's directions for provisional cast on, I decided to try it again. I'm making a small version of the Harlequin cap (baby size) and am MUCH happier with the final result. Well, not quite final... the cap's not quite finished yet. When it is, I'll post a picture of it. Here, however, is a picture of the cast on edge.

Much better, don't you agree? I love it! The original cast on edge was done using the multi-coloured sock yarn and a strand of cotton yarn. It was easy to pick up the stitches (with solid red) and easy to pick out the cotton yarn. I used a dk weight cotton because I wanted the stitches to be easy to pick up and cotton because it was smoother, making it easier to undo.

I managed to get quite a bit of knitting done yesterday. I'm not sure how much I'll get done today, but I do intend to finish the little hat. I've also started another small project that I'd like to get done this weekend. It's a very simple knit; I'm about 1/3 of the way through the project already and I started it at about 4:00 yesterday afternoon. You know those almost mindless projects you can work on and still watch tv? That's what this is. I'll tell you what it is when I have it done.

As well, I finished John's socks yesterday. He was happily wearing them last night and has decided that he likes the fit and feel of this pair the best yet. That's great news for me because, for once, I made notes of exactly how I made them. From here on in, I can replicate those socks any time. I'm SO glad I started making notes of all the socks I make now. If you don't make notes, do it! It makes it so much easier the next time you want to make socks for the same person. The socks?

They're made with one ball of Online Supersocke, from the River Collection. I really like that yarn. It's got some nice colourways and is comparable to Regia in quality (our yarn rep told me that it actually comes from the same factory, is the same yarn, but with a different label and a slightly lower price). I still have a bit left over, a small ball about 1.5" in diameter.

I've been checking my stash every couple of days, monitoring the smoky smell. I'm happy to report that most of the yarn no longer smells like smoke. I've decided, though, that I probably shouldn't store my stash in the bedroom. It does look neater without the pile of yarn beside the fire place. As yet, though, I haven't come across the perfect place to store it. I'm leery about storing it in the garage, even though it is an attached garage. It would have to be stored in a Rubbermaid storage bin, or something like that, in order to keep any creepy crawlies out of it. At the moment, I don't have one. I suppose I could store it in a suitcase, but what's the best way of keeping it from smelling musty after a while? Your suggestions are appreciated.

SSSS Exchange sock... FO

The second sock syndrome sock exchange sock is complete. I'd post a picture of it, but I wasn't thinking too clearly this morning and have already sealed it in an envelope, ready to mail to New Jersey. It's a nice feeling, knowing that some of my work is now in Utah and will soon be in New Jersey. Interesting where your knitting can take you, perhaps not physically, but at least in thought.

On my sock needles at the moment is the remaining sock of a pair for John. The first sock was completed a while ago, and the second sock has been haunting me. It will be finished this week. I'm making a concerted effort to complete some of my UFO's. That list in my sidebar will be just a little longer by year's end. Then, I'll copy and paste that list into a file, so I can look at it occasionally and realize that I really DO finish things and I'm not totally unproductive when it comes to my knitting.

Oh! My yarn stash has been lounging in the garage (which is directly below our bedroom... enclosed). I checked it this morning to see how bad the smoky smell was and I have good news to report. The yarn that was tucked into the wood cubby (whatever that space for wood storage is called) really doesn't smell much at all. It seems that the yarn that got most of the smoke was in front of the fireplace. The worst of it was the Donegal Tweed for my cardigan. I've Febrezed it and have left it in the open and it doesn't smell much at all right now. I think it will all work out just fine in the end. The bedroom's smelling better, but, seeing as there's a lot of wood in that room, still smells smoky. The smoke smell just permeates the wood... quickly. It smells like we've had a fire going in the bedroom, which, of course, we did. In time, it will all be fine, thankfully.

There, I've eaten my toast with peanut butter. Now, it's back to working on John's sock (just finished the first round of the gusset) for a little while, before I have to get ready for work.

Smoke gets in your eyes...

... and in your stash... if you store it next to the fireplace... and the damper closes without reason.

So, how do you get the smell of smoke out of your yarn stash. Bedding, I can wash. Carpets, I can spray with Febreze (gotta love that stuff). Clothing can be washed or hung outside to air. But my yarn?? Any and all suggestions will be gratefully considered.

We slept in the garage last night.

In the meantime, I did finish the Leaning Ladders scarf. It's drying as we speak. I've picked up my cardigan again and hope to make some good progress on it today, in spite of having to clean our bedroom. But then again, I might not have time... we'll see.

Right now? It's time for a shower (to get the smoky scent off of me) and then go out and get another couple bottles of Febreze. Wish us luck.

Thar's snow on them thar hills

Yup, snow!

It's not the first snow of the season, but it's the most so far. If it keeps going like this, the ski hills will have a great year. I know that Whistler will be opening this weekend (where the 2010 Olympics will be held) and they've got good snow already. I'm sure Silver Star will not be far behind. Incidentally, for those of you who know this area a bit, Silver Star Ski Resort is in the range just behind the hills in the picture (sort of in and behind the v area you can see).

On the knitting front, I'm doing an experiment. I'm still working on the Leaning Ladders scarf, but I've also started another one, in a different yarn, with one change to the pattern. Instead of working one side in knit and one side in purl, I'm knitting both sides... garter stitch. I just want to see if I like it that way or not. I'll post a picture, comparing the two, once I have the garter stitch version knitted a little further. Right now, it's about four inches long, not really long enough to make a fair comparison.

I'm also looking at future projects (something I really shouldn't be doing, but if you can't dream about future projects, what's the use??). I was perusing Elann's website and came across a poncho I actually like. I'm considering it. I'm thinking about it. I might. I might not. I've printed up the pattern. Which one? This one. What do you think?

Oops... John just corrected me. The resort area I was pointing out in the photo is not Silver Star, it's Big White. Silver Star is outside of Vernon. My excuse? I don't ski... what do I know?

November 6/05

Another day, another pattern

Yes, I've written up another one. It's another scarf. I guess a part of me is still looking for that perfect scarf to go with just about every outfit I own. This one uses the leaning ladder stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's Fourth Treasury. Once you get going on the pattern, it's an easy one to read. I've already got close to 24" knit and I only worked on it for a while last night (and no, I'm not a really fast knitter... really).

Here's how it's looking so far...

Once it's done, I'll be blocking it. Though I don't mind the waviness of the left edge, I'd rather have it the same as the right edge. I'm working mine in Sirdar Country Style DK, which is an acrylic/wool/nylon blend on 4mm needles, but it could be worked in any smooth yarn, using the size of needles specified for the yarn. I was going to try it on larger needles than the yarn requires, but I do like it knit to the gauge required.

The pattern is available in my sidebar, as usual. If you do knit it, let me know... send me a picture of your finished scarf. I'd love to see it.

Dreary, dreary

It's definitely fall in the Okanagan. Today is one of those dreary days . You know the kind. It's raining. It's gray. It's difficult to get anything done because you're as restless as the sky is gray. I've been knitting a few rows on my second sock here and there. Then I get up and scan a few websites. Back to the knitting. Back to the surfing. A little cooking.. have to eat, after all. It's nearly 11 a.m. and that's how my morning's been. I just can't settle down on any one thing.

I'm trying very hard to get the mosaic socks done. Then, I'll finish the sock for the sock exhange. It doesn't have much left on it so I should be able to finish it today, too. I have one other project to work on over the next couple of days. One of my customers was having a problem with a pattern that I've done before, so she asked if I could help her get it right. I'll work on that for the next couple of days; it's a pullover with a lace insert around the arm openings. She could not get the lace panel correct. I'll be doing just the section from the sleeve shaping to the neck.

Here, by the way, is a progess picture of the mosaic socks. I like them. I can see myself using this pattern as a starting point for other socks.

Ok, on to a little more knitting...

P.S. It's now 1:22 p.m. and the mosaic socks are off the needle. Neeeeeeexxxxxt.......

Mosaic Socks... a review

The pattern, as posted in the Six Socks Knitalong group, is an interesting one. It caught me by surprise, actually. I was merrily knitting the leg part of the sock. After the mosaic knitting, you knit one round in your main colour, changing needles back to the smaller size. Then you go immediately into the heel. It's a modified strong heel. I read it over, sort of, then started knitting.

The usual heel is worked on half the stitches. The heel flap is worked on two needles, then you turn the heel, pick up gusset stitches and work around. On the modified strong heel, the heel flap and gusset is knitted along with the instep stitches until you reach a total of 60 stitches on the heel needles (32 instep, 60 heel), then the heel is turned. On a standard sock heel, the heel turning is perhaps 12 rows? On this sock the heel turning is much longer and follows the heel shape of the foot more closely.

I'm not sure if that's all comprehensible, but it works.

Once I finished the first sock, I was a little concerned about the depth of the heel (it's shorter than my standard heel flap) and the length of the sock (it looks really long... even Carol noticed that). However, once I tried the sock on, it fit perfectly fine. The second sock is well on it's way (I'm about halfway through working the heel) and I'll post a picture or two of the socks when it's done. No SSS this time... phew!

I may even use this heel again sometime.