Slaying the Sockupine

I have an ailment. Second Sock Syndrome. I didn't start off having problems finishing a pair of socks. I used to sew up a toe and cast on the cuff of my second sock with no hesitation. Perhaps it is because I have less time for knitting lately. I think it might also have something to do with all the beautiful sock yarns that beckon me whenever I go yarn shopping. In the past couple of years sock yarns have really gotten exciting so there is always something that I want to start knitting with. With three lonely single socks and all my DPNs occupied in my knitting bag I decided I had to take some action. I got 2-At-A-Time-Socks by Melissa Morgan Oakes and promised my sweetums a pair of socks. That way I have a commitment I have to keep, ya see?

The whole process looks a lot more complicated than it is and involves a 40" circular needle. If you can conquer a Mobius this is a piece of cake. The main problem I am having is that I am using both ends from one ball of yarn so there is a nasty snarl in the middle. I think I could have probably dug up enough info online to learn the technique without the book but the pictures do help. We will see how things go when I get to the more challenging parts (turning heels, etc.). Overall this seems to be a faster way to pop out a sock and it does ensure that both socks are the just same and that you get both (or neither) done. Still, as a traditionalist I kind of miss juggling my four bamboo double points, inevitably sitting on the whole mess and stabbing myself, and searching for the lost one that the cat stole or rolled under the couch. There is just something endearing about the sockupine that I may never be able to completely give up.

Size Does Matter

The first time I made the Phyllotaxis Tam by Norah Gaughan it was great fun but it turned out too big. I have a perfectly average sized head- I have double checked. And no, I did not knit a gauge swatch, so don't even start with that. I have been wanting to do the pattern again because the top of the hat is a really fun series of right and left slants and a friend's birthday is the perfect opportunity to show off my skills. I decided to use Taos yarn by Crystal Palace and I really like how it turned out. Unfortunately this time I decided that I needed to knit the child's size since the other was much too big (for me and her) and now this one is too small. It fits, mind you, but it looks way more like a beanie than the classy cloche that the author intended. Well Hell's bells, I'm done with this one folks. The next time I want to investigate a phyllotaxis I will go ponder a pine cone.

Cuckoo for Koigu and Cram Cream

I'll explain all this Koigu next time but for now suffice it to say that this is the first time I have actually owned Koigu and it is lovely yarn indeed. I have been wanting to make the Charlotte's Web shawl for years now and finally have the opportunity! Yeehaw! Additionally I decided that I needed a little more cute in my life and ordered a few rolls of Cram Cream tape to jazz up my packages, laptop, etc. These days my life is pretty much a pursuit of cuteness and I couldn't resist. On the site I got them from one was listed as "koara" which I also found maddeningly cute. Before I give you a toothache I'll go but remember, que tu es mignon! You're Cute!

My Life in Fiber

The stash is an unusual thing. People who do not have one do not understand why you would accumulate mass amounts of yarn of all types, colors, weights, and fibers and continue to shop for and covet more. They wonder why, when you see a project you would like to tackle, you don't simple go to your basket or closet and pick out some yarn that you already have to make it. Now other arts and crafts require that you keep supplies on hand if you are serious about them but the stash isn't simply a collection of supplies. It is a tangible history- a rainbow braid that can take you back through all the months or years or decades you have been a devout fiberista. Each skein is a marker of some event or time or project and also holds the possibility of becoming something more.
I thought about all of this while I was untangling and sorting through two gigantic stash baskets earlier this week. Because of work and illness I haven't had as much time to knit lately as I like. This organizing project was something that I had been putting off for a long time but once I got started I felt like I was looking through a photo album of my knitting history. At the bottom of the baskets were balls and bags of Fun Fur from when I very first started knitting and it was new and all the rage. I think I had a scarf in every color made of that stuff. There were a lot of skeins of stiff acrylic from before I had discovered the importance of yarn with at least a little organic matter in it. Then came the beginning of my true addict years, after I had discovered wool and alpaca and angora and mohair. I have a ton of little bits of precious remnants of those first few balls I bought at the "real" yarn store. It's not enough to do anything with really but I've kept it. There's the vibrant pink mohair that I was so enamored with despite its price only to discover after knitting up a scarf that mohair and my bare neck aren't a good combination. I still adore that yarn. There is some Homespun that I made a scarf for my Grandaddy out of because it is so soft and easy to wash. He lived in hot west Texas and didn't have many occasions to wear a scarf. When he died I got it back with his smell on it so I know he wore it at least a couple of times. There are a lot of things that I had grand plans for that have yet to develop. On the very top of the basket there is the nubby purple wool and silk that I got on a little road trip with Kay and Betty when we ate some great pie. That's going to be a cardigan.
So the stash is more than just clutter in my house, or a cushy place for the cat to sleep, or miscalculations about how much yarn I will need for a project. It is a reminder of all these years that knitting and everything that has come with it has been such an important part of my life. It reminds me of my friends, the warm things I have made for my family, and the things I have taught myself to do that I never imagined I would be able to accomplish. For that I am willing to have a bit of clutter.

I Am the Egg Man

My brain feels fried as an egg. I haven't been writing because by the end of the day lately I just want to melt into the couch. I did get my first spring flowers planted this weekend and went on a yarn expedition with some buddies. Of course, even after all the gems I added to my stash I have still been chasing one elusive catch, Lana Grossa Royal Tweed. I want to make a sweater out of this stuff but it's apparently been discontinued. Of course, if it was just a plain old worsted I would just get something else but it's got an interesting kink to it that most reminds me of Lion Homespun (much hated or adored I know). I don't want to make the sweater out of Homespun because that stuff sheds and pills like a cat in summer. How is it that you can come across 50 year old yarn for sale but not 8 balls of a yarn from 2006? I even considered ordering it from Germany but they didn't have enough of one color. In the meantime, while digging through the annals of Lana Grossa history to find out if there was a chance of finding it I came across some of their sock yarn that I promptly added to my "Much Coveted" list. I really like it knit sideways like that and I haven't been impressed by that before. Since today was crappy and I couldn't fulfill my yearning for yarn I bought two pairs of shoes. Now I just have to find the time to actually go somewhere and wear the shoes and knit something with all this yarn.

Brrrrly Spun

Brown Sheep Burly Spun in their most perfect marled green. I have used this green in other weights and can't resist it. I decided I needed to make a scarf on size 19 needles which is speedy but hard on the hands. What can I say, as with high heels and hair dye I suffer for fashion. But as I said it was fast. That's one skein there. The Burly Spin is um... burly.

Little Big Eyes and the Holey Hat

I have been spending a LOT of time online lately trying to promote my art/craft stuff and make some contacts. One thing that is always interesting to me is that when people see my felted animals and dolls they always say how happy and cute and sweet they are. I myself am not always the happiest person all the time. Strangely though, even though I have set out to make some kind of creepy things most of them are pretty much just cute if a bit strange. So the past week I've been through the wringer. Today I decided I would treat myself and went to the yarn store (the fancy pants one) and got myself some Manos del Uruguay that I have been coveting for a few months. I have been thinking that I needed a new hat and found this cute pattern that for some reason reminded me of a beehive. I also went and bought myself flowers. You can probably guess by now that part of my discontent has to do with a boy, right? So I settled in this evening and got out my luscious Manos rolled up into those little cake shapes that come off the ball winder and got down to business. The hat starts at the crown and increases out and down. It starts with 12 stitches. 12 is a lot for a little circle at the top. There's a hole about the size of a silver dollar in the top of my hat. I checked the corrections on the website and there aren't any mentioned. So for now not being able to handle the math involved in recalculating the number I need to add in with all the increases etc. in my current battered state I have cast aside my much anticipated project. And I went back to work. On my newest doll. It was time for me to do her hair and face which is one of the best parts. Even in my crappy mood I didn't give her a scowl or any tears. She's a happy bug eyed little gal with a wry grin. So I guess a part of me is always happy and cute and sweet. I just sometimes lose sight of that.

I Need More Hands

No one has ever told me I looked like anyone famous before and then in the last six months three people (one a complete stranger today) told me I look like Meryl Streep. I find this very strange.
The socks have yet to be dealt with. I did go see if I could find another ball of the same yarn so I could maybe save the second mismatched sock and just make two pairs of the same color but there wasn't any more. So what do you do? Well, I got some new yarn and cast on a new cardigan of course! And started beading a necklace. And I am working on a felty custom piece too. So it's more schizocrafting as usual. Oh yes, and I am working on "spa cloths" for mum's new bathroom. When you put in a couple of hours knitting up a washrag you don't call it a "rag". It deserves a more dignified name. So this new cardigan got started because I was looking for patterns for a cardigan for my alpaca yarn from my trip and have not found a pattern for that yet but did find a pattern for a different weight yarn that I really wanted to make. This means that the alpaca is still waiting in the bag cause I haven't found the perfect pattern for it and now I have a new bag of woolies. Holy goat if there is ever an earthquake they are going to find me under a giant pile of yarn, dolls, and cat toys smothered by my own foolish vices.