Odessa # 2 finished, Glad Ragg socks started.

Odessa # 2 finished...

Odessa by Grumperina, Magknits February 2006
Started: Feb 26, 2006
Finished: Mar 1, 2006
Brooks Farm Four Play yarn, 50% silk 50% merino-- colorway #SW 038
Addi 16" US 5 (3.75mm)
Used 58gm of yarn, incl. pattern modifications (see below)... second hat's worth left in the skein.





Another Odessa, another dollar :) This is the second 2nd knit I've done from Grumperina, the previous pair being 2 pair of Jaywalkers (and the 1st Odessa done when the pattern went live last month.) It was my, "unwind and knit in the glow of stumbling during the Knitting Olympics," project.

My 1st hat is too small for my gigantic head, so I added a repeat to this pattern and also knit it in a heavier yarn. (My 1st was knit in calmer, which was a smaller gauge than the suggested yarn which I'm sure didn't help... but really, its my head size that did it in.) This one's nice and comfy for me, isn't too conforming (which makes the pumpkin look even larger), and I love the Brooks Farm Four Play. It felt a little-little sticky/dry knitting up, but I've also never knit with silk before so perhaps this is normal. Not a complaint, just a note. The yarn has a wonderful shine to it; not shiny like the stock pics on Brooks Farm's site, just a little bit of the light bouncing off of it.

In addition to adding a repeat (120 CO instead of 110), I noticed that the 1st YO looked larger than the subsequent ones (and emphasized by the fact it is at the largest point of my head, stretching out even more...) so I knit the starting k3, p2 rounds for 1.5" and then knit "k3, p1, *k4 p1*, k1" so when the pattern started the next round, the YO would "rest" on a knit stitch and not a purl one. I don't know if its really that noticeable or not, but the mod isn't and doesn't detract from the pattern imo.

I think the variegated yarn looks pretty cool, the pattern goes at a right angle in a fun way. I also opted for no beads this time since the beads I'd need would be way too big, I think. If I have enough yarn left over from the red Four Play I brought home from stitches (I'm planning gauntlets), maybe I'll take a trip to the bead store and make another hat :)

So of course I had to start another project...



Glad Ragg Socks from Yahoo Groups Six Sox Knitalong, Feb/Mar 2006 pattern
Started: Mar 1, 2006
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, endlot
8/0 "spring mix" beads from Baubles and Beads in Berkeley (five times fast!)
US 2 dpns for leg (will use US 1's for foot)

Apologies for crappy pic. You can't really see the lace anyway, and the beads do get a bit lost... next pic I'll use an insert to stretch it out a bit more. Its a fun pattern, even though I get a little irked at working the beads around to the front of the sock (they want to stay in the back and I haven't mastered exactly how to knit them on the subsequent rounds and not ahve to coax them back to sit on the purl bumps yet. YET!)

I'd forgotten how fun knitting on dpns can be. I covered quite a bit of ground already, I think.

Not enough to stop me from doing this though:


Socks That Rock, Carbon colorway-- mediumweight

All of the talk about the Rockin' Socks club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts has me hemming and hawing about joining. I don't know... its a huge outlay for something that'll be a "surprise!", not a "deal" (I'm a rabid bargain hunter by nature)... I balled this up for a quick pair of socks (I'm thinking 2 socks on 2 circs, 2x2 baby cable rib from Sensational Knitted Socks) to help me decide. I'd *have* to order the year since you get the free skein (trying to justify it into a deal-- my nature said the scorpion) but, ergh. That's a lot of sock yarn.

Speaking of a lot of sock yarn, I fulfilled a promise I made to myself about cleaning up and consolidating the stash after the kolympics. I took everything out, photog'd it (so I know what's in the black hole bin), and... there's too much. I've got to get rid of some of it, I've got to stop the madness.



(If you're truly interested in the mess that is my stash, I've organized my flickr album and one of the sets is my "stash set." Not for the faint of heart, and not the best pics either... mainly just an exercise to shame me into using some of this beautiful stuff.)

I figured, what better way for me to "try out" this whole "finish line knitting" idea I had during the kolympics than two birds-one stone it... I devised my own pseudo yarn diet. Its not a yarn diet per se, its a goal I'm setting for myself to keep my knitting on track. Sometimes chains are a good thing... :)

Starting now and until either a) The TKGA Knit and Crochet Show in Oakland on April 20, or b) I finish the below projects, I will not buy any yarn or yarn related products. I think it'll be "a"! :)

Projects:

4) "regular" projects, including things like pairs of adult sized socks, adult sized mittens/gauntlets, scarves.
4) "small" projects, including things like hats (hehe, I'm counting odessa towards the 4!), pairs of baby socks, or toys from the absolutely rockstar latest score of mine-- Unusual Toys for You to Knit and Enjoy by Jess Hutchison.
1) Sweater. Either Trellis from knitty, or Starsky from knitty, or Heirloom Baby Aran from IK Spring 2004...
1) Finishing of the Rib and Cable Sweater for my Knitting Olympics project

Part of the reason I'm making myself commit to this is I've already bought the yarn for Starsky from Knit Picks (Sierra in Cranberry) and an additional 14 balls of Wool of the Andes to knit JessHutch toys. I got an amazing order of Fleece Artist yesterday (Kasula-- for shawls I have no intention as of yet to knit). I am waiting on some molassesing yarn orders to arrive that equal out to another 32 balls of yarn (16 pairs of socks worth). And I already can't close the lid on my bin!

Another part is that having a goal, a pathway to knitting makes me feel pretty good. Picking out projects, the anticipation of finishing one and starting another feels comforting. I looked at the bin and felt almost lost, like there were too many choices and I couldn't make any-- which is pretty silly :)

So, there you go. I'm going to try and knit the Socks That Rock up by the end of this weekend, and make my decision then. I'm already leaning a heavy "no" on joining the club, and if I decide I'll have to bargain with myself again (forgo TKGA's market?)... Tough decision!

And I've got a huge box of yarn I need to swap, sell, trade, give away... later later. More sock knitting now (I missed knitting socks SO much!) :)