crankygrrrrrl

work it!!!

give me a “blue steel”….no,no,no! i want…..”magnum”.

show me your stuff.

requisite butt shot.

um…sheldon? what are you doing?

**SHOCKING**

[THIS PICTURE CENSORED FOR THIS BLOGGING AUDIENCE]

**edited to add: i’m warning you in advance…this is a long post…i had to catch up on posting somehow!!)**

…but old sock projects are bringing me down. so, i need to finish up something soon, no? after i clear out half of these, i think only then i’ll start a new pathways sock.

single sock syndrome….sucks!

from l to r: dimple in cth supersock (not blogged); jackie o lace in cidermoon flurry; roza in lorna’s laces shepherd sock; bellatrix in claudia merino fingering; world rib in knitpicks new essential (not blogged); green cable in knitpicks old essential (not blogged); and slipped stitch in sock club yarn.

at last count i now have about 7 socks that do not have a mate. how sad! (how the hell did that happen?!?) i now bring you the sock WIP update:

*deep breath*

cute, dimpled, but lonely

dimpled is a simple slipped stitch pattern that i knit up when i was sick. i couldn’t commit to something so boring as plain stockinette, but my addled brain didn’t work so good ;). so i browsed vogue’s stitch dictionary (vol. 1) and picked this out. i find it a little drab. consequently…(dum-DA-DUM!!!)…SSS!!

oh, jackie!…er….jackie o lace

pretty. but a little boring once i got the hang of the lace pattern. i probably would have finished the pair had i not made the mistake of binding off too tightly on the first sock. i used the 2×2 tubular bind-off. i’ve been successful in the past…but for some reason this one isn’t stretchy. bleh.

roza, a little uptight (heh-heh)

roza was another travel sock. i really liked the pattern (by grumperina). i can’t remember for sure, but i think i went down a needle size or something cuz the damn thing is SNUG. i frown on it and do not wish to knit the mate. i envision frogging and making something else?!? or do i have the patience to pull out the weaved ends?

too wild and loose for me, bye bella

bellatrix. this was my travel sock to vancouver. in the original pattern on size 0’s the foot stretched too much. so i altered it so that i could still knit up the rockin’ yarn i paired with the pattern. so much potential…so perfect the marriage of pattern and yarn. but yet, bellatrix would not cooperate. way too loose around the ankle. i declare this yarn is too nice and deserves better. it should serve good and not evil anyway…

butter says the colors look like a globe…hence “world rib” socks”

the rib on the sock really isn’t so wonky…just looks that way in the pic. i’m done with the toe on the second sock…i’m still on the fence about the yarn on this one.

after the gansey high, i was jones-ing for cables…

i wanted to use up some of my kp essential, too. this is the older stuff. the solid green makes for a nice neutral background for cable ‘pop’…but the yarn is so bleh and i dislike the seed stitch between cables. i know. i should have ripped back….but i thought it would grow on me. my plan is to finish the first sock and knit another cable pattern on the next sock. who says that i have to knit the same pattern anyway? (trying it on for the photo shoot, i’m having 2nd thoughts about this yarn/sock combo. i’m in the mood for some cables again…and the yarn, though not as fun to knit with, may make a sturdy, durable and wearable fabric…hmmmmm….)

slipped stitch slipped my mind.

slipped stitch? i love this sock. just haven’t gotten around to knitting the pair.

oh. so. sad.

the new knit picks essential has been around for at least a year so this little review is definitely not timely. however, i had a chance to buy and try some of the newer, softer fingering weight sock yarn when knit picks was having their summer book sale. (incidentally, i got another lace book! huzzah!).

where was i? oh….yarn, like i need more sock yarn.

still, at the prices that knit picks sells their crack yarn, how could i not get a couple of balls to qualify for free shipping? and at the time they were also introducing a new cotton-blend sock yarn and adding colorways to their essential line…i wasn’t being irresponsible by buying all the different new yarns…so why shouldn’t i try to see if their economical yarn could become a real favorite??

i’ll stop rationalizing. but bottom line, i was just curious. so here’s my two cents:

the old essential, i believe, was manufactured in italy. i have a couple pairs worth of this thinnish and somewhat scratchy yarn. i do not enjoy knitting with it (and their simple stripes). others have said that the fabric softens with washing. but honestly, my knitting time is precious and i don’t want to waste it on yarn i could live without. i have almost one cabled sock completed with the old essential. i’ll probably keep it in my ufo pile because i’m enjoying the pattern.

the new essential, on the other hand, is manufactured in peru. it’s definitely softer with a looser twist, but has a decidedly plastic-y feel that reminds me of sometimes squeaky acrylic. i knit the yarn up with size 0 needles producing a spongy fabric that feels light. i really can’t complain; i like the feel of the yarn when i knit and the resulting fabric looks good. but will it hold up? i’m not so sure. i have a feeling it will pill in the wash. of course, i can try to avoid that by hand washing. but, who has time for that?

i picked up the ’special’ colorway of essential that they put on sale due to a sub-par dye run. i figured i’d try out the sale colors because they were described as more muted. now the colors were not glowing neon but i would say that the colors are still saturated. i will say that i don’t care for the color combo…but that doesn’t mean that you’re limited to knit pick’s color style…they have a bare line that you can color yourself. yeah!

in conclusion, as i approach the heel of my sock on my first trial run of kp essential….essentially, i like it. the yarn has the potential to be a good staple yarn, but i’ll be waiting to buy more essential until after i see how it survives the wash. (but damn the prices are tempting!!)

as always, pictures later…still no photoshop on my ‘puter.

butter has fixed me up a new computer and now i can start posting again!! hooray!! (thank you, babe!)…unfortunately, i still need to install a bunch of programs, including photoshop.

in my blogging absense i have been knitting feverishly on my stole (much to the dismay of my little army of single socks). i will eventually catch up with the sock knitting (and pictures)…but in the meantime, here she is, my arctic diamond stole:

i’m loving the lace…and i can’t wait for post blocking photos. i’ll give a better “fo roundup” when i get more time!

hello. may i introduce you to bellatrix? she is a crazy old broad and runs with the likes of lord volde- shhhhhh! lol…

[imagine a very blurry picture of bella on the plane...skybus! (not a bad flight...very similar to southwest's service...just not as perky).]

being a hp fan, of course i would want to knit one of the hp themed socks that have been floating around the internet. i dove into my stash with the fawkes, bellatrix and nagini (all .pdf’s) patterns in mind. when my eyes fell upon this yarn, i knew it was going to be bella!!

claudia handpainted yarn fingering weight in black walnut
2 skeins | 180 yds : 50 g | 100% merino wool

while i was reading the books i envisioned her coloring as a mix between elvira mistress of the dark and cruella de vil . you know, goth, pale, and burgundy lips with a sneer that never goes away. there are even small streaks of gray that show up every now and again. i thought the yarn and pattern were a perfect match.

man, did the sock stretch out when i started to knit the foot (i did the pattern toe up so i could maximize yarn usage). so i went down a needle size….well, the sock was still too big…so i modified the pattern a bit. instead of the 1-2-3-2-1 yarn over pattern, i switched to 1-2-2-1. this resulted in less stretch and a better fit. the bubbles were not as uniform, but i thought it added more chaos to the baby bella’s overall look.

altered bellatrix pattern

the yarn striped neatly up the foot, but after i turned the heel, it started to pool. no matter, this was one pattern i thought looked nice with color pooling.

still more that one sock to be finished with this pair! ugh….new pathways…. i’m coming!!!

just for the hell of it, i calculated my actual progress on my lace stole:

• arctic diamond stole: 50,042 stitches
• progress thus far: 21,484 stitches
• percentage complete: 21,484 / 50,042 = 43%

holy sh*t that is a lot of stitches! no wonder i stick with socks. okay, now let’s compare…i took a pair from favorite socks (interweave press)…

• cable rib socks (p.73): 24,560 stitches

this project is roughly only twice the number of stitches as a pair of socks, but it’s taking me so long!!! i need to progress because i won’t start a new pair of socks until i finish some of my WIPs.

computer is still broken. (sigh). butter has been kind enough to let me borrow his laptop. but alas, it does not have a CF card reader (at least i don’t think it has one). so, i am using my daughter’s camera/computer setup…

here is an unretouched photo of my stole on her very bright bed.

please excuse the mess, her room is my new second office until my computer gets fixed and/or i have time to file all of the stuff away (i’m working nights again). anyway, it doesn’t seem very long, does it? i may add an extra repeat if i have enough yarn. do you think it will be long enough after blocking? unstretched it’s about 17 inches long…

we have returned from our whirlwind vacation of vancouver and seattle. and may i say, if you don’t go and visit for the beauty, culture or sights, you have to go for the food!

i was a bad blogger and did not take many pictures. but no matter, upon our return my computer decided to flash me to blue screen of death. luckily, i can use my daughter’s computer…but alas, no photoshop for editing photos. since that is the case, i’ll keep this short and post my koigu (!!!) and travel knitting pictures later.

but i won’t leave you empty handed, knit blogging-wise. have i told you that i bought new pathways for sock knitters by cat bordhi?

a fantastic book!!

many other bloggers have mentioned this book. i personally love the book. anything new for socks is exciting for me!! like her previous books, cat’s writing style is easy and conversational. however, some people may find her instruction somewhat confusing. stick with it, though, and you will have a new arsenal of sock knitting techniques at your disposal. containing a number of new recipes for sock construction, it’s worth buying just to examine the architectural innovations. (i’m also a shameless groupie. buy the book, cat rocks!). she also includes instructional videos via youtube for some of the techniques used in the book. the video quality could be better, but i’m still happy to see the value-added content.

i need to work on this technique. i get ‘perfect tension’ except for the last stitch…so i keep falling back on figure 8.

i even found a kal via ravelry! it is called the new pathways knitalong. i’ll be keeping an eye out for their projects.

have you seen the book yet? what do you think?

i don’t know how to embed you tube videos….wait…lemme google it….

wow. (hits easy button). that was easy. butter sent this to me today. and i cried. what a baby!

happy feel good, don’t you think?

i mentioned in my last post that i have acquired some stash recently….and i’ve just gotten around to posting about it.

have you tried fearless fibers yet? i was browsing etsy one day and saw some to-die-for colorways. i pounced on two skeins of sock yarn….come on….are you surprised?!?! i’ve had a hankering for more subdued tonal colors because of a recent cable fetish. have you seen the august six sox pattern? (dear god!!). so present to you a generous 550 yards (yes 550!!!) of fearless fibers 100% merino superwash sock yarn:

fearless fibers sock yarn in brick house colorway
100% superwash merino wool | 4 oz : 550 yds
note: a little more orange in real life…

fearless fibers sock yarn in smoke colorway
100% superwash merino wool | 4 oz : 550 yds
note: more blue than i expected, but still very happy with it

i haven’t posted about the sock club recently, but that doesn’t mean i don’t have beautiful yarn from that too….the most recent is a 50/50 cashmere and alpaca (ack! allergies!?! lynne says that baby alpaca might not be too allergenic for me) blend that is gorgeous and soft. it is stored double bagged and hermetically sealed amongst the rest of my stash.

the sock club, july yarn
50% cashmere : 50% baby alpacal | 219 yds | 2 skeins

as you read this, i will be jetting to the west coast to vacation in seattle and vancouver!! it will be a short, whirlwind trip…do me a favor and cross your needles and wish for good yarn and knitting!

i really have been knitting, er, crocheting lately…just on the down low. here’s some crocheted dish cloths i made from my first taste of peaches and creme worsted weight

crocheted ballband dishcloth

crocheted ballband dishcloth for grandma kathleen
peaches and creme worsted in strawberry cream,
daisy ombre, sea mist and gumdrop
started: august, 2007
finished: august, 2007
hook: G or H
notes: made smaller for wringing ease

in the near past i’ve acquired a number of books and had a little bit of stash building….i’m going to start off with the vogue knitting book:

the best of vogue knitting: 25 years of articles, techniques and expert advice

i’ve actually had this book for a while. when i first received it, i thumbed through the pages and was turned off by the photographs from the 80’s. i put the book on my desk and peeked at it from time to time. slowly, i came to realize that i treasured this book. not only is it a piece of knitting history, but i also gives the reader “how to’s” for techniques from casting-on, to shaping and design, to binding-off.

this book contains no knitting patterns; it is more a reference. however, it doesn’t read like a knitting reference, as it shouldn’t,
since it is a collection of articles. but by the same virtue, it is difficult to find a specific technique if you just leaf through the pages. however, this may be overcome with the thorough table of contents and index.

you won’t sit down and read this book from cover-to-cover in one shot, but you will enjoy the timeless advice contained within the articles. pick this up if you want a quick shot of knitting reading, but i would not recommend purchasing it as an end-all, be-all knitting reference. this is a great coffee table book! i’m glad i bought it sight unseen!

i love mustang ganseys from six sox
STR in mustang sally (rockin’ sock club) by BMFA
4.25 oz / 360 yards ; 100% superwash merino
started: august 1, 2007
finished: august 12, 2007
needles: 2, #1 addi turbo circs
notes: decreased an extra two stitches in the foot

i was totally obsessed with the sock/yarn combination! i would be tempted to knit these again and sub out the heart or something a little more spicy….like a skull? anyway, for you sock lovers, i do recommend joining the KAL (through yahoo). it seems well organized and very informal. i am a lurker at the forums myself, but i do enjoy the daily posts.

ooooo! did you notice? huh? didja?! look up at the address bar!!! butter bought me my very own domain for my birthday!! (thanks babe!)… i think all past links should work fine, but if you are inclined, i would update any feeds!