something about a saddle.

Still haven't fixed my pc yet (a combination of baby + open computer = bad and a project below); I'm still on borrowed time but I couldn't stay away :)

Instead of having any boyfriend pics to share (turned the heel, they need the cuff now), I have been furiously working on a little something for the "warm up the dutchicans" project. Kelli and Sarah are throwing a virtual handknit baby shower for Kristi and her 3 (!!!) babies to be, and I just couldn't resist.

(Link to in progress sweater here in case Kristi wants to not see just yet!)

I couldn't resist for a few reasons-- first and obvious, babies! Three!! (something snapped in me when i had my kid, i was never like this before... i mean, kids were cute and all but eh, you know? now, a kid gets within a 100 yards of me and i start squealing and making faces. can't help it, its not that bad of a vice to have except it makes me want to have more of my own.) Also, I recently thought a close female relative of mine was pregnant. She left a message on my answering machine-- call me! its important, big news!... me and my baby brain immediately jumped to the conclusion she was pregnant and I pored over baby patterns for days, waiting for her to call me back; I'd come up with an almost complete plan to swaddle the kid for the first few complacent years in handknits. Well, big news was a new *puppy*, letting the air from my sails just a little bit :)

Finally and selfishly, this was the first pattern I used to knit a sweater for my son, over 2 years ago now. I learned to knit (actually no, Debbie Stoller taught me to knit. if i ever meet her i plan to thank her, what a gift she's given me)... I learned to knit when I was pregnant, intending on making teeny tiny things for the life inside, well at least when he was clothe-able. Big pregnant, I dutifully learned knit and purl, made a garterstitch bookmark, and put knitting away til my son was born. When he (finally) decided he didn't need to be held 8 days a week, I picked it up again and decided he needed a sweater and that this pattern would be perfect. I double stranded some light fingering weight wool (non-machine washable, and i admit now a bit coarse) and pumped out the same sweater in about 3 weeks :) It was an ocean on my son, age 4-6 months then, and didn't fit him til he was 2+.

Anyway, I thought it would be a great trip down memory lane to knit it again and it was... its good to know where you come from and send on some good handknit vibes in the process.

(for the curious-- a link to the pic of that first sweater. it would fit my kid right now, but after i took this pic i held it up to him and asked him to try it on... he shook his head and hands, "nah. no. no baby, thanks." :))

***

Gearing up for the orange-only month ahead, I made a few purchases for projects I'm wanting to tackle...


Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, 3 in wild orange
for Sherwood, Knitty Fall 2006

I *loved* this pattern when I saw it, like gasping freight train love. (just a little better, or maybe a different category, than eating mac and cheese naked love.) I ordered the cotton fleece from The Lorien Store, which has *the* best pricing on CF I could find online-- regular retail is about 8.50/skein, they sell it for 5.75 and are running a 10% sale on in-stock items. Really an amazing seller, quick and responsive. (The Sheep Shed Studio sells seconds --five times fast!-- of CF for 3.50/skein, only a few colors and i'm not sure what constitutes them as seconds... they're the same place with the cheeeep mill end rovings.)

I rounded out the order with something I've been coveting a while...


Black Louet Gems Pearl (and koigu I had in stash)...

I know I asked months ago if yall thought black and this colorway of koigu would look good together for Eunny's Chuck's Cabled Socks pattern and the majority said no, but I went ahead and ordered it anyway :) I don't have real plans to knit the pattern yet (and its locked away in my cold hard drive!), but I'd like to be able to on a whim. Seeing them together makes me like the black/gold combo even more (my big halfbaked plan is to knit the *cabled* portion in the variegated koigu!)

I hope to get a little more colorwork experience down in October though...


Knit Picks Gloss in Dusk and Pumpkin
(the dusk isn't coming true to color on this borrowed pc, its darker that what i see)
also a new set of 2.5mm dpns-- i like the weight! (but think i'll knit these on circs)

I'm planning on using the Gloss for Cookie's Red Herring pattern from the latest Knitty during October... I'll knit them as mirrors, one blue foot and one orange foot. Just because :)


l to right: Schaefer Anne, Socks That Rock lightweight in Fred Flintstone, Knit Picks Essential in pumpkin

The rest of the lineup... Not sure what will make it, but the Anne will make a great pair of toe-up tiger eye lace socks (eye of the tiger was my favorite song as a kid!), the BMFA socks that rock will be another (::cough::) pair of Pomatomus socks, and the KP Essential will be Cable Net from (yeah, again)-- the latest Knitty.

Phew. Off to try and finish off the boyfriends (hehe, i'm going to call all socks boyfriend socks! too fun)... I'm still without regular pc access so I'm still slow on getting emails and such back now. Hopefully soon! :)

radar: off

No updates for a bit, my cpu fan has died and I'm sure I'll be able to fix it, but not soon-soon (its only been 4+ days? and I logged into bloglines for the first time since to find, wait for it, 1348 unread posts??! I hate to tell yall but I marked all as read, I'll need to just be out of the loop for a while! Someone send me some juicy gossip when I get back-- even though I already heard about the tilli tomas pure and simple at sarah's yarns for $20! I think it may work for Tamarah from the latest Knitty, think I'll need 2 skeins? What a score if not, even if I used KSH for the mohair/silk.) :)

In the meantime, go on and help Alyson find a perfect sock, lace and/or one skein pattern for her burgeoning stash. She's giving some of it away, even though I don't think you can really have too much sock yarn, can you? :) She's giving you til the 27th (yeah! soon!)

Also, if you've knit a project using a vintage pattern, help a purrl out and send her some pics! She's looking for non-published shots of handknit projects knit from og patterns, and is throwing around some yarny goodness for the best one. Her deadline's just a little later, friday the 29th.

And... by the time I get back, you may have been able to knit some booties or a baby sweater, so why not knit some for Kristi's *triplets*??! (can you imagine?? eeeee!!) Kelli and Sarah have teamed up (in this day and age, blogged up?) to "warm up the dutchicans" and get a bunch of handknits to the incubating darlings (did i mention, three?? at the same time?? so.much.baby.love!!)... and they're even making a contest of it, with entries for each handknit you send in to be forwarded on that can win you some rad knitting stuff.

Hope to come back with some finished boyfriend pics, and a preview of my "orange october" projects (i'm only knitting projects with orange in them for my birthday month, all new projects too!) before the first! :)

ttys, no comments needed!

one point five.

Whew. These Ronald McDonald's took *way* too long...



Toe up 60 st DK socks, PGR style
Started: August 15, 2006
Finished: Sept 21, 2006 (!!)
Henry's Attic Kona Superwash dk, dyed with koolaid and easter egg dyes
US 2 dpns (2.75mm), 4

Not much to say but woo! they're done :) Oh yeah, and this (which totally eclipses my handknit pair):


Hang Ten 70's (?) vintage kneehighs

Sort of like that old girlfriend who's better at (insert here) than the current. My mom gave me this pair back from her heyday as a disco bunny (she had rhinestones on her glaases thru the 80s, too)... I actually have 2 pair-- the other's blue yellow & white, but I've lost a mate so there's only one of those. Currently the lonesome is a cozy for something special, I couldn't bear to not use it since its so fun. These socks are my kid's favorite socks, he hikes them up all the way to the crotch and holds onto their tops while slipping on the hardwood floor-- the closest we're going to get to thighhighs in the near future, Yahaira! ;)

Previous posts on toe up McDonald socks:

August 17, 2006
August 24, 2006
August 29, 2006
September 17, 2006


...point five?


new meaning to camel nevermind. color's closer but still not right, texture's blurry.


less blurry in the light of day, color much more off.

One boyfriend sock down, one to go. I knit until the skein was done (literally! ends woven in i had about 6" of yarn left over from the top). These are for a 10.5" long foot, and I started the heel after completing row 3 (i used the PGR heel & toe for these-- knit 5 rows even after completing the toe). I was able to knit the cuff all the way up to row 4, then ended with 7 rows of k1 p1 rib.

I love it, the cable and rib panel looks great, and I like Alice's pairing of k1 p1 at the top (i always default to k2 p2, but this sock is so fitted i'm not worried about it staying up and actually was hoping for it to be a bit looser that far up, which i think the k1 p1 does). I used the "graft off" top from SS: PnF to bind off the top, but here's a link to a photo tutorial of the same (they call it a "faux kitchener bind off"-- its really easy if you've got kitchenering down.) I used it for those dk weight socks, above-- I think it looks better on finer yarns (or maybe it was just me this time), but the bind off on the dk weight socks looks wonky. I've used it before on lighter weight socks and didn't see any slantyness like I did this time.

When knitting the short row heel, I took some pics because this always thrills me when I get here:


delicate little line inside the heel


outside of short row heel, no holes (i'm stretching the fabric).

I get such an icewater thrill when I see those stitches from the sole angling upwards.

But then again I'm a dork like that :)

the thing about yarn.

I have this thing about yarn. (I know what you're thinking, you're reading *this* blog and saying to yourself, we all have a thing about yarn! :) I have *that* too, but this one's a little different.) I read where others collect souvenir yarn-- yarn they look at back home and think of rolling waves, arctic hinterlands, tennessee highways... As someone who Goes Nowhere, all of my yarn is souvenir yarn. I could easily tell you not only where I got it from, but what I was thinking when I bought it and even more... I could tell you about that moment in my life. Pawing the stash takes on an archeologic quality; merino hieroglyphics jump out at me as I start new projects.



When I bought this yarn, I really wanted the purple. I didn't buy it because it was too close to my heart... to the one whom the purple would have been perfect for, the one I couldn't knit for any longer. So I went with the blue, and when it arrived all I could think about was the purple not chosen. It didn't go away, the should have been purple echo, and I kept the yarn in the stash away from eyes not wanting to be reminded.

Fast forward to a few days ago, and I saw this pattern I *needed* to knit (Boyfriend Socks, by Alice Bell-- I popped on her blog by way of her Knitty Exchequered pattern) and figured that the yarn had lived in denial purgatory long enough *and* would be perfect for it.

As I went to cast on though, it just kept haunting me, the yarn that should have been purple. So I did as any knitter lacking sense would do-- I overdyed the perfectly good, professionally painted skeins. Purple. :)


(After all that, my camera can't capture purple. Bummer.)

So now its not blue, and its not purple... an in-between not-either. Just like it should be. Reclaiming it feels really good, and so does giving it new associations and a new story instead of the one of loss it had before. Plus, I think its going to make a really rad pair of boyfriend socks! :)



In other news, I was missing knitting socks-- a lot a lot. The stockings don't feel like socks anymore and just feel neverending, and spinning is great but there's nothing like socks. I want to finish these soon, they were supposed to be a quickie pair and they've languished now for more than a month...



Simple Socks, PGR style.

These are following PGR's "formula" from Simple Socks: Plain and Fancy exactly-- my first time using all of her pattern elements (extra rows after working heel before starting cuff ribbing, plain stockinette foot, etc.) Looking good, way bright but fun nonetheless. I even lined up the stripes as best as I could. I have to remember to shoot the sock that inspired these; I have a great vintage pair of non-handknit socks that Mom used to wear and were gifted to me during my teen years that I think you'll get a kick out of.

All these socks don't mean I don't still love spinning, of course :)


(undunked; twist not set yet)

I still have more on the bobbins of this roving and MUCH more to spin up, its fun but I had a heck of a time using the bottom bobbin holders on my Ashford Joy as a "lazy kate" for plying... they didn't spin easily and I kept having to jerk them a bit (and break my singles! ugh!) After a round of swearing I won't subject yall to, I went and wound the remaining singles into center pull balls and plied from them... which would be great except towards the end, they just started tangling and collapsing unto themselves and forced a few more choice words out of me. I think I may follow Theresa's tek and make myself a homemade lazy kate, someday.

Another reason I am working back up to spinning...



Soapy sent me a wonderful RAOK spinning present; a big box full of fiber for me to play with. So unexpected and sweet; I need to pick up more bobbins, I think :)

Speaking of RAOKs... I was thinking about how much easter egg dye I still have and that I probably won't use it-- anyone want some? I probably have 25+ 6-tab paas packs; enough for 2 people to get their easter egg dye on. First 2 who leave a comment and ask for it-- its yours :) I also have an extra copy of Spin It by Lee Raven (I received 2 copies, one from my swap with Heather and another from my mom who heard I was spinning)-- it mainly focuses on fleece prep & spindle spinning (instrux on making a cd spindle too), lmk if you're interested and I'll also send some of the brown sheep roving and superwash merino to play with too, if you want-- everything you need to get hooked like me. First comment again, I'm feeling unimaginative today :)

edit, monday afternoon-- everything's been spoken for :) i'll pop off emails to stariel, beckyboo and jen a little later today; knee deep in cereal, curious george and boyfriend socks at the moment.

Finally, filed under the "am i turning into one of those" department... the new threadless shirt I ordered. Sheep. That's all I have to say.


Threadless tshirt print, "insomnia" (and my affiliate id!) New this week (Sept 11).

I almost want to ask if its too much, but then again I don't want to know.


psst! anne! i haven't dropped off the face of the earth with my wheel attached, yet :) with all this spinning it just feels like i have "nothing" to say, but when i sit down to say anything i get these ginormous posts when i realize i do :) thanks to everyone who was worried, but no worries though! i need to post more often just so i don't have to run on for so long...

i went to see the yarn harlot and all i got was...

A pair of clear clogs! :)

I have to say that Hollis and the staff of Full Thread Ahead really really REALLY did well in their hosting of Stephanie, you know... the yarn harlot :) From their odd sounding but fair check in system that gave you an idea when you could get your book signed (among 300+ people, this is a good thing!), to having plenty of chairs, setting up a "concierge" to hook people together, lists of eateries and just all around good planning-- oh yeah, and I'm not just saying all this cos I won a pair of clear clogs or anything ;)

Actually it was my socks but not my feet that won them-- the owner of my rainbow trekking 100 pomatomus socks won them in one of FTA's unnecessary but absolutely fun giveaways and graciously gave them to me (they didn't have honking men's sizes, i think he has more handknit socks to show off than i do!). I dunno, they're fun but will I wear them "out"? Not that I like to hide my socks or anything, but I just don't see myself wearing them much :) I loooove my socks, but mainly peeking out the tops of my cons. Maybe as the weather cools and I'm forced out of my stinky tevas (why i wasn't wearing handknits saturday! i'll be wearing them til there's frost in the afternoon, til i can stand it at least), I'll look to buy a pair of "girl's shoes" or something I can wear with a (gulp) skirt... I have lots of long socks on the brain for the cooler months ahead.

Proof I was there...



More proof? Perhaps you were one of the kind ones who didn't bodily turn around when they heard the braying donkey laugh behind them. I admit it, I laugh like a donkey... not all the time, but as I get going I don't realize it til I see people turning around, wondering who is choking on a chicken bone in the back rows. I forgot to bring a camera, glad I did... I think I would have just had a cf card full of tiny dogs and beautiful women from Los Altos on it to sort thru today.

Instead, I have some of the spooky, hippo spawn roving instead...





Loribird and Rachel suggested using stockings for dying the roving, which I will be forever grateful for and never ever would have thought of myself (the merino superwash is so soft, it just wants to float apart). I used the only stockings I had on hand, black thigh highs of course (not those, silly!), so I couldn't "see" the dye in the pot-- quite fun to open them up like christmas morning or that First Time with the one you love. I was glad to see the white as I always hope for some variegation when I dye "solids".

A little of it spun up....



Delicious. I felt myself squirming with "raspberry beret" playing in my head watching it work up... Prince makes me squirm, I admit. So does spinning from the fold-- there's no real "white" sections this way, just light cranberry and awesomeness. There's about 200 gm of roving that I'm going to attempt to spin thin and 2-ply for socks, maybe enough for long socks even :) We'll see.



I finished one "knuck" listening to Stephanie and half of one on the train ride home, they're going to be much shorter than written (pretty much the length you see here, I've run out of yarn-- not a big deal, its below the wrist, so its fine). The orange is the navajo plied merino superwash I showed last time-- it's quite dense and is making a very very dense fabric, much too much for the 3.0mm needles I'm using but in a good way. I had to put them down as my hand started to cramp a bit, being so tightly knit. I was going to save the orange yarn for October; did I tell you I'm going to only knit with orange yarn in October? It's my birthday month and a perfect present to myself, I think.

I'm debating on what to put/embroider on them... I don't want anything like "sock pr0n" or "knit xxxx" just cos. I'm really liking the idea of the word "make" but can't think of what to pair with it. I also like "hand made," really embracing the idea of that lately. What would you put on your pair of knucks? (If you're thinking about making them, do it! It goes really fast, is well written, and they're really cool. Pamela has a space on her forums just for knucks, a great gallery, and suggestions for knuckle words. There's also the Knucks KAL for inspiration. I did use glove length needles for the fingers, which saved my sanity a little bit.)

One more thing that made my Saturday spectaular (at least one thing I can share!!)



I received my threadless "recycling" tshirt! :) Socks, sheep, argyle y lightning... I love it. I also love all of yall that ordered thru my threadless affiliate link (there it is again, I admit!)... is it weird to order another of the same? For you know, when this one falls apart? :) They still have "plenty in stock" in my size... ahem, women's XL if you were curious. Killer thing? I ordered another shirt that was only available in men's sizing, that size? M. Its the same pretty much, women's fits better as its not a straight body and isn't as long, but still! Women's XL = men's M?! I hate shopping for clothes, I'm built like a linebacker around but I never feel like one til I have to go shopping.

have a week that was almost as good as my Saturday, and send me "finish your stockings" vibes! :)

henry's attic superwash merino roving

looks like brains


wants to be navajo plied (may be just me! navajo plying addict, apparently)


makes me love acid dyes.


i'm a total acid dye convert here, from a long while of food grade only (kool aid and easter egg) dying. no question. i always thought that food grade was better around my toddler and more easy/clean in my tiny kitchen, but not really. i can easily dye even when he's awake, getting a load of dishes clean as the water comes up to temp even.


other reasons to like acid dyes:

* cheap. i would use anywhere from 4-8 packets of koolaid/easter egg tabs per *section*/ounce of wool... about $1-2/oz of wool (on sale). with the acid dyes, a little (like really, a sprinkle!) goes such a long way and is cheaper in the long run. 2% of wool weight = about 2.5 grams of acid dyes for 4 oz; buying in 1/2 oz increments, it's about .81/4 oz of wool (regular retail).

re: regular retail + acid dyes... they usually run about 4.50 for a 1/2 ounce size (dharmatrading). knit picks just started selling jacquard dyes for 3.99 for 1/2 oz, free shipping on +$40 as always.

BUT! support a small biz outfit and get a better price from divaknitting! :) the most expensive OUNCE she carries is just over $4 (looks like they average about $2/oz), and it gets cheaper the more you buy. she doesn't have the range of dharma trading, but what prices! :) I didn't buy my acid dyes from divaknitting (did buy some Opal, shipped same day!)... but i will next time :)

* easy. water + dye + vinegar + heat. same as food grades. (really.)

* better color range. i am a bright color fan fo sho, but sometimes you don't want pastel or neon. acid dyes get you this.


reasons you shouldn't fear the acid dye:

* "it says ACID!* ... well, yeah. it takes acid to set (vinegar), but it won't melt your arms off or anything. (believe me on this one!)

* "in my kitchen?! i cook there!" ... i had to buy a separate pot for dying-- found at my local goodwill, about $6. i use a plastic spoon for moving the yarn and a tiny baby feeder spoon for measuring out dyes, all just for dying. i keep the kitchen foodstuffs up, sealed and away from my "work area" (i do practically everything over my sink, which is located right next to my stove), just like i have to with a toddler who likes to use trashcans for climbing :)

* "my place is too small." ... man, i think i win this one :) granted, i only use small project sized batches at a time (4-6 oz of wool, leave the production to the big boyz!), but even then with an empty clean sink i manage just fine. solid/semisolid dyes go all into the pot at once, like a casserole. when i do multis, i was always a dip-dye girl and lined up mason jars in my sink to dip yarn in and around... used my tiny kitchen counter space to wrap yarn in saran wrap to steam. i hang drying yarn over my sink using U-clamps-- the whole process take up about 3' of space, more for multis (just to be able to spread it out and wrap it up).

* "syntha-what?" ... i use dawn dishwashing detergent for a rinse, no synthrapol. rumor has it it has a neutral pH and is similar in chemical composition to synthrapol (and i can buy it when going on a soda run).

* "i don't have a scale!" ... shh. don't tell monica. i don't weigh my dyes all the time (though i'm coveting a palmscale now, so this may change!) i am dying only for myself and small projects at a time, not worried about repeating colors, so i just go for it.

sometimes i will break out my soehnle myra scale (that is great for weighing +5 gm and splitting balls of yarn, but maybe not so much when trying to find the difference between 1 and 2 gm!) to give myself an idea, but its not necessary.

a tip from my past if winging it isn't for you, buy a "finger scale" (first site i found on google)-- the old me says they're pretty accurate at weighing out small gram sizes, are cheap and if you have a "head shop"/smoke shop/place where young people loiter outside in your town, you can find one locally.

i can see myself becoming more interested in the precision aspect of measuring and recording dye amounts, but i'm happy with my learning-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach right now.

(edit, 9/11 for reader comments: Sherry W says...

"If you're worried about breathing in the powder, a disposable fine particle dust mask will work fine. Look for ones for drywall sanding at the hardware store. Also if you place the powder in the liquid (and don't pour liquid on the powder), it wets the dye faster and reduces floating bits, too.

Hate vinegar smell? Try lemon juice concentrate (citric acid) instead. They have a similar PH level, so you can use it at about the same measurement as vinegar.")



(i know its time to cut the lists short when the bullets get longer y longer... i'll leave you with this instead:)



spooky.


ps! i'm going to see the harlot tomorrow :) i'll be the really shy one with superlong, uncombed hair wearing nothing handknit (i think). cookie's calling for a show of hands on who's going, and has a neatstreet jabberwocky contest going on, too.

Days of mini-posts and roses.

i. "what i did on my labor day vacation."







I spun *all* weekend. Even outside in the sun (yo quiero mi Joy!!), watching my kid play with other little people. The white turned into the pink navajo plied skein, the black in navajo ply and another little hat in the making, and the brown/white is 2 ply.

Is navajo plying the best thing ever??! Survey says, yes! :) Its not terribly awesome looking at this point, but my goodness my guinness is it a miracle to watch and supercool to execute! Makes me almost not be afraid of ::gulp:: crochet as much.

I dyed the navajo plied white skein in acid dyes, pink and a twitch of black. I think it may be a nice (gasp) HAT for me, sometime. The brown/white should stripe in places and remain marled in others, I'm thinking a hat for a big head or a chunky mittens would be best (90 gm and not soft enough for scarf stuff).


ii. "my mailman missed me."







Brown Sheep roving mill ends, from The Sheep Shed Studio.

$7.50/lb, a pound each of "medium brown with wide stripes" and "grey with black dye error." Dude. (The brown/white 2 ply above was from the roving pictured here). All are uninterrupted looong strips of roving, no breaks... except for the little extra more-brown bit at the front of the brown/white picture-- that was quickly felled in my first navajo ply attempt. No pics, the horror!

They even tossed in a 3 oz+ sample of some caramel colored top. Very cool, and very fast shipping (received via parcel post about a week after the order was placed, parcel post can be hit or miss though.) I only paid $2 extra in shipping than what was paid to the post office, a good deal figuring everything was packaged in plastic and had to be boxed up, etc. (It seemed high at the time, but really isn't.)

iia. "what i did with my knitty honorarium."


Henry's Attic "Silk & Ivory" 50% wool, 50% silk
2000 yd/lb unscoured, 1 lb cone
aka "carrera"


Henry's Attic 64's superwash merino roving
5 lb (!!) bag
aka meow!!!

The honorarium I received from my Summer 2006 knitty pattern went to help pay for all this undyed glory here :) It just arrived and I'm in love.

Someone have good links or tips on dying roving? Pretty please, mangosteens on top? My ultimate goal in spinning is to spin my own sock yarn someday... :)

I love you, knitty.


iii. "i still knit!"



Blue wool tweed handspun cap
Started: August 29, 2006
Finished: August 31, 2006
US 4 dpns, 4 (+ a spare addi when it got too big!)
Handspun dyed with acid dyes

Last time I checked, that's not my kid's head. No no no no NONONO, he doesn't want to wear it. Oh well. Too bad I've already started another (the black, above) :) I see a lot of top down hats for my big headed kid in the near future, nice way to eat up the practice yarn without guilt.

Btw, Whip Up's September Whiplash challenge is "hats" and they have some decidedly awesome knitter/crocheter slanted prizes this time around (can you say yarn, knitting books?)...

As for my too long for socks project...



Uh, yeah. These are *pre-rip* back to the knee... I just started knitting them again after working on the blue hat during last week and spinning all the long weekend, and I realize my intention of creating a super-tight knee, while it worked in theory and practice, makes for a very uncomfortable object when wearing them for more than a second and a half. (Oh, and a hoot in watching me try and cajole them up over my "jaunty" calves too.) So, this is my pre-rip to the knee pic at the same place I was more than a week ago, but eh-- what can you do? :) I'll be ripping the longer one just to where the one on dpn's is, to give you an idea of my pseudo-pain. (Not really a big deal, I want to be able to wear them at least once, so its worth it to make them wearable. At least I'm not knitting them both at the same time!)

I also started working the leg on the addis so I could easily try them on as I went along, but I find it takes me soooo muuuuch loooonger to knit one sock on 2 circs than I'm used to (used to 2 on 2), and its driving me a little mad. I may just put them back on the dpn's and knit them onto addis during the rounds I want to try them on.

I'm still undecided about the buttonhole tops-- purrl (who knows way more about this than me!) says that the holes won't help me as the stockings will eventually stretch and the repositionable snaps on garters help alleviate that... but I like the idea still! I still have a loooong way to go though, so we'll see! But I am awfully glad for the advice, just what I was looking for! :)


iv. who, me?

"Best Sock Blog" via Lucia's "Addict's Choice Knitting Awards"

"Yarnival" contributor: Vol. 1, graciously hosted by Eve

Linked on the Victoria and Albert Museum's website, via their fashion/knitting collection page


ps... gratuitous kid pic.



Could I help myself? No. :)

Am I jealous his form is prolly better, and he looks better sans pants? Maybe :)

Did he have to help me pick up the spanish/english flashcards? Yes :)



...the non-staged pics are the best, even when they show the house in disarray. Monkey see, monkey do indeed-- I'm raising a spinner here!

Have a good week yall!