sock porn for knitting voyeurs.

Monday, July 10, 2006

The new p-word is...

(Looking for the sock yarn and needles contest?)



...Perdita!

perditaoff2
Perdita from Knitty Summer 2006
Started and Finished: July 6, 2006
Schaefer Anne, 7 af (tonal reds)
US 1 dpns (2.25mm),2
6 grams total weight (incl. beads & buttons)
8/0 beads, size S (5 repeats)

Very fun, very quick knit. I used some leftovers from my Evening Stockings for a Young Lady, and think I could make 2 more. I will definitely look to this pattern again for leftover thin sock yarn, I like it a lot. I can see it being a really fun quick gift too. I used 8/0 beads since they're what I had on hand-- they are red with a metallic inside (I'm sure there's real terminology for this). This was my 1st time using a bead stringer (again, lack of terminology)-- it is SO much better than making my own out of wire since the "hole" the yarn is strung thru pops back open and doesn't just get flat to where I have to cut it off.

This was my 1st time working crochet edging and though it worked, my "buttonholes" were a bit misaligned :) No matter, secret's just btw you me and the chickens, kay? I need to learn how to crochet... there's just too much cool stuff out there that I feel I'm missing out on.

I have reconciled myself with the fact my camera (Canon S410) does not do justice to reds without a flash, and then looks... well, flashy. Here's a non-flash (so, no variegation shows up) pic:

perditaon
good shot of the tiny scar on my left hand, too*

Aside from the beaded cuff, lots of little things around here lately...

leftclover
Cloverleaf sock, left leaning (PDF!!)

sicleheel
Short row heel à la Priscilla Gibson-Roberts (Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy)

I love her short row heel, no wrap and turn AND no holes (really). I used it in the rpm pattern (thanks for all the comments, yall!)... Purlwise has an EXCELLENT photo tutorial on how the heel yarnovers and stitches are worked, btw.

A German heel on the Opal Krokodil socks...

opalk
Yarrow Ribbed Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks. I'm glad I worked the heel for practice and its interesting, but I probably won't choose to work it again, I see a bit of a gap where the work is turned on the short row decreases (more pics if when I finish them).

and a felted postcard, before...

SI

and after.

SIa
Felted Space Invaders postcard
US 7's
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes; coal, hush and avocado
chart from knitmygrits

I was totally taken up with the idea of a felted postcard when I saw one on cpurl17's blog, and I've dug the space invaders scarf/chart for forever so it was a logical choice. :) I should have made my floats looser, not thinking they'd felt up tightly in the wash too (duh), but all in all I'm pretty happy. I took a hot iron to it on wool/steam setting and helped push down the edges (the "after" pic was actually before the hot iron treatment). The "card" ended up being about 6x8 or so.

I knit the chart as written, knitting each 1st st for a garter st border. I went and picked up those side rows and knit 4 rows of garter st to help tamp down the curling, I should have done the same on the "top/bottom" of the chart as the colorwork pulled in differently there. 2 trips thru the washing machine on hot with some laundry did the trick, the WOTA felts up well. It could have used another, but I'm impatient. I used a bit of fusible interfacing on the backside to help the card hold some "stiffness" before I sewed the card part to it, I think it helped. It adhered well to the felted fabric, felted floats and all.

One of these days I'll knit the scarf in double knitting, can't afford the yarn I want yet :)

And finally, for all those Smiths/Moz fans out there (who knew there were so many Smiths loving knitters? Or tomboy knitters, for that matter...)-- an incomplete shot of my Smiths/Moz vinyl collection (I ran out of stairs):

mozstairs

If you've seen my sock yarn stash, you'll understand I'm a bit of a collector, always have been. When I was younger, I wanted to hang these up on a wall in my grownup-house in glass or polycarbonate display cases-- I loved the look of each cover. The sick bit is I don't even own a turntable anymore. :)

My favorites are the bootlegs (the idea of *bootleg VINYL* is so appealing to me, knowing what a pita it is to press vinyl in the first place) and the colored vinyl discs-- those ones are mainly imports, except for the purple "tomorrow" Morrissey single.

tomorrow, will it really come
and if it does come, will i still be human?
all i ask of you is the one thing that you never do,
will you put your arms around me, i won't tell anyone...


Oy, teenage angst and the lyrics of *my* wonderful woman weekend.

***


*when i was really young, i remember sitting on the covered concrete backyard porch in my las vegas home, my mom walking in and out of the screened door as she paced with the giant cordless phone against her shoulder and ear, talking to a friend. i had this dog named eskimo (we called him momo) that my dad had found in an alley behind his work at one of the casinos, poor dog belonged in alaska with his thick, heavy coat... not nevada. as my mom traipsed in and out, i decided i needed to "ride" poor momo, who promptly sat down as i jumped onto his back beneath his shoulders, sliding me to the ground and managing somehow to cut my hand. its not this memory that the scar holds though--

i remember, at the exact moment of sliding off the dog and cutting my hand, realizing that someday i would die. that everyone would die, and in that moment i knew exactly how huge and permanent death actually is. i felt for a second a bigness i still can't wrap my mind around, and started crying startled at the idea-- holding onto the dog's mane and weeping into his coarse fur with a bloodied hand.

27 comments:

Erica said...

Perdita looks great, as do all the socks. Crochet isn't all that hard to learn. I'll admit to dabbling in it off and on.

HPNY KNITS said...

you have been a busy bee! everything looks great.

soapy said...

what a nice shade of red! Love it looks great! so do the socks!. You've been quite the busy bee lately....;o)

adrienne said...

Love the socks :) And perdita is so pretty!
(and I know quite a few people who would be GREEN with envy if they saw your vinyl collection. just amazing.)

sheep#100 said...

The socks are looking just awesome.

Annie said...

You have been very busy! Great stuff, and congrats on the rpm socks! Woo hoo!

Anonymous said...

So much knitting! I wish I had that much time.... It's all lovely. I totally understand your problems with getting red yarns to photograph well. I've used red-eye reducers, and that helps a bit.

Rhonda the Stitchingnut said...

Nice work! Beautiful socks also, as usual. Crochet is easy, I did it for 30 years ... and now I'm into knitting. The DH calls it a "Fantastic obsession!" [I married a smart man] Love reading about your childhood memory ... as time goes on.

Alyssa said...

So much to comment on...
Perdita looks great.
I absolutely love those socks - the colors and pattern are great. Nice Opal socks and the felted wash cloth is very cool. I made the two sided scarf for my husband a couple years ago and it was well worth the effort.
And I am in awe of your fabulous Moz vinyl collection. Yowza!

Jennifer said...

Perdita is very cute, and the socks are so pretty.

Ah, the Smiths. I haven't listened to them in ages, but when I was a teen, they were in heavy walkman rotation.

Anonymous said...

wow, nice heel; i'm going to look that one up; i'm really happy with my own short-row sock heel, but am having a hard time finding one that is easy to teach to other people. it's a pretty detailed process and even demonstrating it is confusing for newbies!

Dave said...

Love the orange cloverleafs -- striperfection!

Karen said...

A knit postcard! What a great idea. Very cute!

The socks, as always, look great!

Alyson said...

This may not be news (as I tend to be way behind on a lot of knitting tricks) but for beading, dental floss threaders are fantastic. It's basically the exact same thing as a beading wire - I used to make my own too, by the way - but much easier to find. (Trips to Walgreens are more convenient than trips to the craft stores.)

Knittypants said...

Perdita is lovely, and so are your socks.

What a nifty idea, a felted postcard, it's great.

Melissa said...

You've been busy!! All of the pictures look great!

Karen said...

Perdita is lovely, as are the socks.

As soon as I whittle down the WIP list, rpm is the next sock on the needles. :)

Anonymous said...

Those crocodil socks look really neat. Almost like self-patterning houndstooth!

And I'm jealous of your Smiths vinyl collection, despite not owning a turntable either.

lexa said...

Neat stuff, as usual! Wicked record collection. Your dye-swap yarn is cool! I have to try that pattern, too.

Anonymous said...

I know that feeling. That "OMG Someday I'm going to die and be gone" feeling.

I found it sometime after my grandmother passed. . .used to have panic attacks.

It's funny but no one really thinks about it. At least, not the people I've asked. :/

PBnJ said...

Space Invaders - cool! And on a postcard too!
I'm impressed with your record collection. I seem to like to collect things too. :)
And as usual, your talent shines through in your beautiful socks...

tatjana said...

Yay!!! Space Invaders!! My mom would get so mad whenever she found me sitting all zombie-eyed in front of that game...especially when she realized that this is what I meant by 'I'm doing math homework...' ;) Wikkid card and I LOVE the Perdita!

Ducktastic said...

Your socks are gorgeous! And I love Perdita - definitely worth learning to crochet for.

Also, RPM is next on my to-knit list, such an awesome pattern!

Stacey said...

You are quite the collector! :)

Pretty heavy about the hand scar - it's amazing what we remember about certain events and how we look back at them later!

meowdancer said...

YaY!! The Smiths (tick another one off for a Smiths-loving knitter). Perdita is gorgeous! You have given me inspiration to try the pattern out. Knit on!

Anonymous said...

Your toddler socks are great. I love that Wyvern pattern! It's on my list to knit. I want to do the perdita too. I know just the yarn to use, as soon as I finish the socks that are OTN at the moment...

Delicious Candy!* said...

I don't knit, but your Smiths collection is definitely enviable. Nice Work!

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