sock porn for knitting voyeurs.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Finish it up!

It started just like any normal day after finishing a project (btw, I am so flattered at all of the comments about my "evening stockings"... I love them almost too much to stuff them in a pair of sneakers, and really had a blast sharing them with yall)-- I wound my yarn...

LSbirdball
Lisa Souza Sock! in "bird of paradise"

Isn't that going to be a RAD pair of pomatomii??! Back in the day (pic to follow, keep up!) I'd have called them max tripx0r socks, muy psychadelic. These were the rave in the desert, pantlegs bigger than my waist, glow in the dark beaded arms, chun li hairstyle* and glitter *everywhere* days (and 10 years ago! oy...), just for a little context ;)

So I went to knit my gauge swatch and cantfindmyUS2dpn! I generally only have one set per size of all my needles (dpns and circs), and this was a blow. I did find a pair of US 2 bryspun dpns, but my gauge was so off... the sticky plastic needle didn't really get me to tighten up and it just wasn't going to work. (Incidentally, I like using the bryspuns on the "socks that rock" yarn, it slides much easier than the Lisa Souza does, just b/c of the plying I'm sure.) So I go to look for my US 1's and they're still in my entrelac sock of doom... ergh. I think I could get gauge on my US 1.5 addi circulars, but I really didn't want to use circs for this project... I even tried using my tiny 3.0mm Susanne ebonies (got the same gauge with the Bryspuns! so no go)... and went to go rip out and wind the entrelac sock back into a ball for later.

I just couldn't do it.

I think its a combination of guilt (lovely sock, almost done ... and guilt about my laziness in just wanting the dpn set for another sock), and also reading about whipup's report of the "finish it up" meme (I'm not a meme person, I'm not that interesting and I ramble enough without direction as it is...), but I finished the entrelac sock.

entrelacdone

I'm glad I did! I feel so accomplished... it feels like I finished a sock in 2 days instead of (more). I am going to wait to put the afterthought heel in so I can be sure its the same as its pair. There really wasn't that much work-- just the section after the afterthought heel. I am a bit worried of the foot length... I think it'll be an inch short, maybe I should have knit the men's size. I think I'll be trying to compensate by knitting a deeper heel... hm, dunno.

So on with the finish it up thing-- I dug out my unfinished Shimmer shrug from knitty winter 2003 and finished it!

shimmerpima

Shimmer shrug from Knitty
Started: ?
Finished: June 4, 2006
Cascade Pima Tencel, #1353 colorway (cornflower blue) -- 7 balls
US 5 & 6 circular needles
M size with S size arms

I am a bit ashamed at how little there was to do-- I finished it over 2 days (Sat & Sun). I started this as a relatively new knitter, so there are some glaring things-- when adding on a new ball of yarn, I held both strands together and knit with it, and then went to pick the old ball's strands up and knit them into upper rows (I think? I have no idea) and have blips in the RS that are noticeable/messy. I also remember knitting the arms longer than they were called for, wanting the ruffle to hit my knuckles-- um, after blocking? the arms hang a good inch past my fingertips. Heh... I think I'll be unknitting the arms (somehow!! new proposition for me). But its DONE, and actually is wearable as is (except with a bit of a bunchy arm).

Weird thing is-- when I went to open the bag the shrug was stored in... (I'm embarrassed to say, but we're all friends here, yeah?) this smell wafted up at me. Like, not a good smell, sort of a dried fish smell. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW OR WHY... but yeah, it was faintly stinky, a weird stinky. Its all been fixed with a wash in kookaburra, but oy, weird. (None of my other yarn smells, at least.)

And because I'm on a bit of a roll here down memory lane-- I remembered way back when to prom and this very similar smell :) I wanted to wear a not-prom dress, and goaded my date to drive me to LA's Chinatown district to buy a cheongsam style dress (eh, yeah I'm Japanese). First of all, I'm a big girl-- I think 40" bust and xxx" hips, and it was an *ordeal* to find a dress among size 1's to fit me. Finally, small store but 4 stories high I found one-- on the 3rd floor. The building was wooden and you took the stairs up... first floor was the food market, with dried fish and a full Chinese pharmacy along the long wall, second was knickknacks, third was clothing and more knickkacks, and fourth was...? I don't think I made it that far. Anyhow, found a dress, brought it downstairs and paid, went home. Sitting in my date's small pocket rocketish car, there was this fishy funk and we were all ... ?!?!

My dress smelled. Like cured fish.

The car, after the 2 hour drive home and baking in the desert, begun to smell like fish too. I didn't notice in the store since, well the whole place had that dried fish funk smell (not bad dispersed over 4 stories, but concentrated into a satin dress?? Oy.)

Needless... it was drycleaned out, and I can't remember prom much (didn't drink, just wasn't too memorable).

For fun, a pic...

prom

This is a picture of a picture from a wallet sized, 10 year old photo :) I have mercifully cropped my date out b/c he took the *worst* picture... one closed eye and everything... and I don't want to splash his pic around since I haven't seen him in forever. Still was a sweet guy & I didn't want to embarrass him with a bad pic. I should have cropped out my head-- back in those days it was all about the brown red lipstick too :)

Eek. No laughing, too much anyway.



*edit: apologies, original google image link had some nsf pics.

11 comments:

Stacey said...

Hee hee. Old photos are fun to look at. The dress is pretty though - I like the bright color.

Ya know, you could have put the sock on scrap yarn or holders.... :) but good for you for finishing it. I can't wait to see the start of your P sock in those colors!

lexa said...

It looks like it was a very beautiful dress!

Glad you finished the sock instead of ripping it! I needed a short circ that was already in use on a UFO the other day. Instead of finishing that UFO, I cheated and fudged a different circ for the neckband!

Alyssa said...

That sock yarn is gorgeous! And so was your prom dress:)

Melissa said...

I love the picture. You are gorgeous. I went through that lipstick phase myself...Revlon Toast of New York...lol
I love the sock yarn!

Rachel said...

I know that smell. My g'ma used to send silk jackets, dried fish, and shrimp chips to our family all in the same box. Glad it drycleaned out because the dress looks great!

Knittypants said...

Lovely dress. Nice finished sock and shrug, too. Sometimes things have to sit a while before they get finished.

Dave said...

I'm looking forward to the bird of paradise potamii -- it will be interesting to see how the colours and pattern get along.

Those entrelac socks are gorgeous! I do hope you finish them some day! Oh, and that they fit :-) !!

Elspeth said...

The shrug looks great! If only I hadn't given up on my A Good Bias .. I think the prom dress was great too!

Zonda said...

Love the yarn and can't wait to see the socks! Good for you on finishing the shrug and the sock...can you pass on that finishitis please...some of us could use it ;)

Chris said...

Wow, congrats on yer finishing frenzy!

That picture is actually very lovely. :) Not to worry.

April said...

my prom dress was a baby blue polyester halter dress with my date in a matching baby blue tuxedo. you clearly win in the prom dress contest. :)

the entrelac socks are stunning although the thought of knitting them makes my brain hurt.

i want to make that shrug NOW.

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