First, I am absolutely adoring the October Rockin’ Sock Club pattern, Lenore. Just take a look at this completely inadequate photo:
The lace is unblocked, and the colors are very difficult to capture with a photograph (especially with a cheap camera and a very very makeshift “studio”), but I have not loved a sock pattern this much…ever.
Casting on for this was my reward for finishing the unending Grasshopper socks, and it was worth it. The lace at the top of the sock was fun and not difficult at all, even when a YO fell at the end of the DPN, even though the author (Stephanie Pearl McPhee, the Yarn Harlot!) notes that it may be. The colors of the yarn are gorgeous and subtly shift from black to red with occasional ventures into plum. There will definitely be more of the Raven line in my future.
Second, a podcast I’ve had in iTunes forever but have just started listening to: Escape Pod. Excellent science fiction delivered to your podcatcher of choice weekly.
I may not mention it often, but I really love podcast novels. I grew up reading voraciously, but physical books don’t mesh well with knitting (unless it’s textbook sized, or I figure out a really clever way to keep it open) or housework, or a great many other things. In the next few days (I hope), look for a sidebar list of some of the ‘casts I’ve really enjoyed.
I’ve been meaning to post for a week or so, but unexpected bad news had me down for quite awhile.
Springwater Fiber Workshop, in Alexandria, is closing, unless they can gather enough in pledges to stay open. This breaks my heart, as it’s an organization that’s grown important to me over my short acquaintance with them. I learned to spin there, and I’ve been working on my agoraphobia, going to some of the knitting and spinning group meetings there. I really hope they manage to find a way to stay around.
In actual Tina-knitting activity, there are two projects that have been finished for a great deal of time that need blogged, and one I just finished. First, my favorite:
The Imperial knit hat for TD-0013. This was a fun project, and I got some practice in knitting in the English fashion – I’m usually a continental knitter. I wasn’t completely happy with the finished product, however. It’s too tall, and I’m thinking of reknitting it in a fingering weight on smaller needles. It would change the charts, but I could compensate for that, and I think it would look better overall.
I also wish I had a better photo, but I mailed this out in October (yeah, I’m a bad blogger), so all I have is a blocking shot. I need to work out a better way to block hats, but I so rarely knit them. I seem to be a sock girl, through and through.
Next we have a pair of socks I finished last month, the Summer of Love 
Lace socks from Blue Moon Fiber Art’s Rockin’ Sock club. I accidentally “modified” the first sock and left out the inch of plain stockinette after the ribbing, so I matched it on the second sock, so I didn’t have to rip out the first sock.
Incidentally enough, the third (and just finished) project is the April sock from the club, Knee High to a Grasshopper.
This was not my favorite knitting. I will admit it now. It was at times tedious and frustrating, and only stubbornness got me through the first sock. After that…well, one sock isn’t very useful, so more stubbornness got me through the second. I’m not a fan of toe-up socks, and learned with this one that I’m also not a fan of socks knitted on two circulars. But trying new things is why I joined the club in the first place, so I have another pair of socks that I wouldn’t normally have chosen to knit. I can’t love them all.
So…now I can start on the October sock. I’m actually…*gasp*…more or less caught up with the club. I know, we’re all amazed.
Opening text:
Okay, well, it’s not text. But it’s the beginnings of a mini-saga, so how else should it open?
Imperial Cog motif from this site. I’m also going to be using the Stormtrooper Helmet pattern from here. Yarn is Dale of Norway Falk, which I picked up from Webs.
Knitting this on a 16” US 3 Knit Picks metal circular. I’m kinda wishing they had introduced the wooden ones when I’d ordered it, but it’s only a minor quibble. I’m really liking the wooden DPNs – wood just feels better in my hands than metal.
Everyone, get your minds out of the gutters. Now!
So normally knitting projects got set aside this weekend for a new endeavor. May I present not one, but two works in progress?
Knitter Ally and Knitter Katie!
Spent the weekend visiting my family, and Ally (on the left, in pink) asked if I’d teach her to knit. What aunt would say no?
One trip to Ewenique Yarns later, I had some pink Lamb’s Pride and a pair of short size 9 needles. I sat down with Ally after school and started teaching. I did find out pretty quickly that getting used to both holding yarn and needles seemed a bit much, so I put the needles away and started with finger knitting a chain. Much better, and she was really enjoying herself.
Of course, this is when Katie asked to learn, too. I was a touch hesitant – she’s only five, while her sister is almost eight. But I figured she could at least tie knots, if nothing else. After some suggestion from Dad on how to help her visualize it (involving Ariel, the Little Mermaid, swimming in and out of a cavern), she was making her own chain!
The most amazing thing is that they both sat still for nearly an hour – Katie for 45 minutes, Ally for an hour and a half. Knowing them both, that’s unheard of!
The next day I cast on for Ally again, and she did a few rows entirely on her own. Sure, I started her with twenty stitches, and she ended up with 28 before long, but every beginning knitter does that. I’m still proud of her! I just regret that I don’t have a picture of her knitting. However, I should be back this weekend, so I’ll take a picture then.
So, do I get forgiven for not having any knitting of my own to show off?
I have a project I want to get started on. I want it to be done soon, I want to knit it, and it really should, honestly, be done soon. But I can’t start. Why?
I can’t stop overthinking the thing – it’s a gift for a dear friend, and being done by request, so I want it to be perfect. It’s based on this hat (which is in turn based off this hat), but I don’t know how much I’m going to change. I know the earflaps are going to go, and it won’t have the lining from the original hat. Also, I know the TIE Fighters are going to be replaced with something else (the Imperial cog has been requested), but I don’t know if I like the hat-sized chart I have (see here), or how it will balance with the Stormtrooper helmets. And since the helmets are the most important part of the hat, at least to me…
I don’t even know if I’m going to use the Pirates base pattern, at this point. It’s crazymaking. But it’s because I’m too OCD for my own good, seriously. I’ve spent a great deal of time with Knit Visualizer and a calculator.
Does anyone have any suggestions, comments, or a guide to designing colorwork hats?
At least, after getting deeply into a project that seems to suck out my brain and wonder why I even started it. Even more so if it’s a case where I start multiple complicated techincal projects at the same time. Currently on my plate at the moment:
- Making the blog look good again, which actually led to:
- Switching web hosts (don’t ask how it led to it. It just did, trust me)
- Writing a complicated PHP/MySQL database application for…tracking virtual clothing
- Preliminary planning for a system rebuild
And the best part? I had given myself a “brain vacation” this weekend, after turning my brain to cheese with the clothing project on Friday. Of course, then I had to rewrite some code that got eaten by a bug in Second Life. Followed by helping a dear friend set up a TeamSpeak server. That I didn’t mind. I just hope she forgives me for being braindead a lot during the process. I thought I’d spend Sunday doing photography and just entering things into the clothing database, but every few outfits I’d find something I’d forgotten to take into account. And therefore, would have to do some more programming.
Yeah. Not a lot of knitting done this weekend. There was also large amounts of sleeping, all during daylight hours, and some actual downtime. Adamas has stayed it its drawer. I started the August sock, but the first ball decided to puke up yarn guts, so it took awhile to make it all better. I’ve just finished the first section.
With that, I’m going to go do a small bit of blocking and get some sleep. I’m really, really sick of still being awake at almost 10am.
Sometime this week the next shipment from the Rockin’ Sock Club came! So, to avoid being spoileriffic, go to the cut to see more.
Pattern: Rockin’ Sock Club’s Solstice Slip by JC Briar
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight, colorway Firebird
Needles: US Size 1 (2.25 mm)
The only thing I’d do differently with these next time? Okay, two things. First, I’d make the legs longer. Secondly, I’d do without using toothpicks as cable needles.
I’ve put Adamas on hold for a bit so I can finish up socks. I’d like to actually catch up with the Rockin’ Sock Club, and this puts me a good deal closer.
Honestly. Lace knitting. Medications that make me loopy. They do NOT mix.
I suppose the public service announcement here is: if you shouldn’t be driving while taking it, then don’t knit lace while taking it.
This message brought to you by the Adamas Shawl, Xanax, and our special sponsor, lifelines
I’ll also note that, probably for similar reasons, I thought this was a good time to design a database for my clothing in Second Life. And because I’m not insane enough, a MySQL database with a PHP front-end, and ideally with the ability to hook into it from Second Life itself.
Yeah, I aim high. I’ve done something *like* it before, but not on this kind of scale. Yes, I *do* have that many virtual clothes.
It is, however, now almost 9am. I haven’t slept, so I think I’m going to put the to-be-recycled ink cartridges in the mail before I try again. How very kind of them to give me free recycling envelopes. *rolls eyes* Since the twin-pack of ink (black and color) was expensive enough to make me think it must be made from the blood of virgin unicorns or something.
…And my mind just took a very, VERY wrong turn. Blame a conversation with a friend that was far more detail than I ever needed or wanted to know.
Insert comment about goggles and their lack of usefulness here.