Go With The Flow from the toe...

Just back from a little family vacation. I just wanted to show you that if you put your mind to it...which I do often...you can do it!

A little "go with the flow" socks toe up, in koigu. I will post my thoughts on using this yarn, the guage, adjustments...everything soon...

It's nice to know that I am not the only one yarn squeezing...by the way...I am still doing it, even though I am knitting toe up! I need to know how much to leave for the top ribbing pattern!

Toe up and yarn squeezing.

So I caught a little startitis. I have no business starting anything else but I get excited when I see what everyone is knitting in blogland. I have been eyeing the most wonderful "go with the flow socks". I'm not sure what yarn I will be using yet, but I will make them. Take a look at Purly's. She is so clever knitting them toe up.
I can do this. Well, no I can't. But I went here and here and started a toe up sock, for practice.

I find myself hoarding yarn...like who does that? It sits in my stash, so precious to use, waiting for that project that is never worthy enough for it. So I grab an already wound ball of the luscious Koigu from the stash. I know...I have it...and have never used it! The horror of it all.
So here I am...toe up...


I must say that I am really liking this short row wrap stitch...much tighter for me than the YO wrap stitch. (It didn't take long to learn Aunt Joanne!)

This little toe up idea will solve many problems for me.
I always wonder if I will have enough yarn to do the pattern...will I only make it to the toe shaping and have to order another ball, match a dye lot, or just add a horrible colour for the toe?
So I start the yarn squeeze...squeeze the working yarn to see if you have enough. Every couple rows...squeeze it...then magically your hand calculates the yardage remaining....you know you do it. I can't be the only one. Well with toe up you will never wonder. You may have short socks, but there will be no yarn squeezing.

Blocking will fix it...

Don't you just love the "blocking will fix it" thought. We all know blocking won't fix it...blocking may help it look better, but it definitely doesn't fix it.
Careful tinkering...hooking...wrapping...yelling...cursing...praying...holding your breath...picking up the stitches, fixes it.
I must say, I am satisfied with the results. I tightened up stitches for a small length to make up for the slack in the yarn from k2tog. It's not perfect...but it is so close. Can you even tell where it is...I don't think so...I even had trouble...really. ( third diamond from the marker)


For those who suggested ripping in...normally I would rip and perfect it...but the thought of trying to get all those YO's in the pattern to line up...oh no. I just had to fix it...what was the harm in trying? I did it, and you can too...keep in mind a life line would have helped.
I'm not even in the thick of the lace yet!
That's ok, if I miss a YO or forget a K2tog...that's nothing a good blocking won't fix?!

Maureen in Rhode Island...I actually ordered the Blackberry yarn it calls for (I am always subbing yarn...this is a first!) Deep red is the colour.

If I just drop this stitch then...

Ok, the scarf was moving along just beautifully. I finished the first set of charts and moved on to the very easy chart #2. On row 27 the pattern wasn't working. I missed a k2tog somewhere. I found it on row 17...ten rows ago.
Do I just k2tog somewhere inconspicuous?

No I decided this scarf is going to be perfect. I have fixed mistakes before by dropping stitches and picking them up again correctly....well...it's not going so well. I need help/advice/direction...please anything.



Any thoughts...I just don't want to rip back 10 rows...we are talking 3000 sts...

I should have just k2tog somewhere inconspicuous...only I would have known...

I'm going to knit a sock now.

Sockapal2za's are done!

Just one more row...just one more row...ok, I'll just stay up to finish them. The sockapal2za socks:


Ready to go for a wash and get put away until shipping time.
Started: July 13, 2005.
Finished: July 25, 2005.
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton colour #24
Pattern: Broken Cable Rib Socks from IK webknits
Adjustments: I cast on 84 sts to make the proper size for the recipient. I also only did 3 repeats of the broken cable as opposed to the 7. My sockpal likes her socks short.
I definitely will be making a pair for myself in this pattern, I think in black!

Deciding I couldn't cast on a third time the other day for the Ene's scarf, I started some simple socks for my DH in some lovely knit picks yarn...

Of course, I did emerge victorious from the awful mess of the other night. I cast on and started again yesterday. Here is the progress on Ene's from Scarfstyle...only 13 rows in:

This photo doesn't really show the deep red colour at all...it is the colour of the photo's in the post below.

Silly girl. I don't know what was happening, but when I picked it up to start again, no problems. Not a one.
I am loving this knit. The pattern is gorgeous, and as many of you have commented, so it the colour. On the third attempt, the current attempt, I switched to US#6 needles. The pattern does call for this size, but I do knit tight and always have to go up a size. Well, I didn't like the stitches with the #7 on the first 2 attempts so I went down a size.

Cast on 375 sts....beware inevitable ranting to follow...

Ok, this is some kind of joke. I know the knitting gods have been fooling with some of you...but me...what did I ever do? I know the 375 cast on existed for this pattern...I kind of stayed away from it for a while. So, balls wound, I started to cast on.

1,2,3,4,5,...,25,..."stop hitting him"...35...40...100..."don't throw that you are marking the floor"...150..."please get a kleenex, that is just gross"...200...225...250..."what number am I on"...2 something..."don't talk to me know, please"...300 or so...350ish...I better count. *approximately 2 hours elapse* (please note, that it did not really take 2 hours to cast on...the little inbetween battles took up all the time!)

Ok got it 375 sts.

Row one of this divided/2 sided chart...."crappy needles"..."I hate the join on these"...almost there....mark center st..."No you cannot have chips it's 4:30 p.m."...What? Why do I have 6 sts left...I am suppose to have 4.
CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!
I am not casting on again...where is the mistake. Oh I see it...in the first 10 sts. Figures.
*start unknitting first row*
*Knit row again and purl second row*
Ok row 3....knit chart...hate these needles...I must get addis...what...what did I do...
**insert explicit here** any will do...
*rip apart...with force so that the yarn is unusable...then throw knitting in the corner*

I LOVE TO KNIT...really I do...

I really wanted the addi naturas, but my LYS doesn't carry them...so I went with regular addis...nothing beats a turbo! I love the join on these. I have never come across a needle with the same smooth join, really.

Attempt#2 at the scarf went a little smoother. There were screw ups and there were cover ups...there was no turning back.


AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Ok, I've been fudging around the stitches that I thought I kept making mistakes on...or there MUST be an error in the pattern that all of you who have knit the scarf have never seen....
No, no my friends, I have made a mistake. Don't even ask...it has been a horrible knitting day. I will conquer this scarf...I WILL!


I will only knit this project when the children are asleep...charts and children don't mix.
I will not be casting on the 375 sts again today.

THANK YOU everyone for all of your wonderful comments about Orangina! I look forward to seeing the other orangina's in the making...

He will just never get it.

I must admit, my DH has been trying to help out more. Even with my knitting! He loves being the "human swift". The ball winder is my sisters...I have "borrowed" it for a while. I have no swift. This makes skein winding quite difficult. So my DH has been standing in. He actually enjoys it...really. He gets in this crazy stance and combines it with robotic movement...I think the pure entertainment value of it all deters me from actually buying a swift and winder.
Tempted by the beautiful shawls being knit out in knitting blogland, I ordered yarn for Ene's Scarf from Scarfstyle. This project is one of the reasons I bought this book. It is gorgeous. I feel I am ready for it now. I actually ordered the yarn they called for in the pattern. You only use two skeins of Blackberry Ridge's silk/wool blend. The yarn is beautiful, but one of the skeins must have been tied by a beginner...really...it was a mess. So DH sets up his human swift and the first skein went fine. While winding the second one, DH exclaims...

THIS IS THE SKEIN FROM HELL

You must imagine macho Italian carpenter uttering these words...really...I didn't even know he knew what a skein was! We finally got our center pull balls...


Thank you Purly for the Meilenweit Cotton Fantasy...I will put it to good use!

My DH has also been getting the mail lately...he just doesn't get why someone would send me yarn, when I have a basket FULL of yarn here. (obviously he hasn't seen the other three baskets in our closet!). So he starts pulling balls and skeins out asking "well, what's this for?" and I would tell him what that ball/skein is for...I have many projects on deck. The he asks "Well, why don't you finished knitting the yarn in here before you get anymore?"
AAAAHHHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHHHHAAAAA! He is just so funny!

I think this last package confirms...

That's Mrs.Orangina!

Ok, with the help of Nona's tricks....move your mouse over the photo...as I say (a-la-yarn harlot) "I turned this...into this!"


Let me just say I really had mixed feelings about the project at various stages of it. Even down to the weaving in of the ends. I just wasn't sure if it was going to look right. Then I decided to block the ribbing...I know, you don't block ribbing...but look at this...LOOK AT THIS!

Started: June 7, 2005
Finished: July 19, 2005
Pattern: Glampyre's Orangina
Yarn: Lara's Endless Summer Collection in lavender #324. Hmmmm. Do I like this yarn? Well, it's ok. It has a nice shine to it, not like the dishcloth look of rowan 4 ply. The big problem is it is really splitty. REALLY. Like 1000 plys of yarn and if you catch one, you are done. Would I use it again? Probably. It wasn't so bad once you got use to it. I was also left with 2 balls. I did order according to the yardage for the 40"size 1116 yards which would be 8+ balls of Lara. So I used approximately 828 yards.
Adjustments: I did a couple of things in this pattern hoping to make the design look appropriate for my figure. I shortened the lace panels. I made the 40" bust size and the length of the panels are 14". Then started the ribbing (don't forget to decrease a stitch where the panels meet so the 3x3 ribbing works out...this is not in the pattern). I increased the length of the ribbing so my finished length overall was 21". I also thought I needed to tighten up the ribbing so I went down a needle size. In retrospect this was not necessary...the ribbing was too tight. It was hugging in all the wrong places. That's when I decided to block the ribbing a bit...kind of to my measurements. And voila...Beautiful! So for all of you well endowed women who were worried about wearing Orangina...go for it!

Thank you Tara!

Oh Tara, you are so wonderful! Thank you for the goodies...especially the cotton ease! I haven't been able to find this yet. I've been begging DH to get some from Joann's while he is in the states...but to no avail. I am loving this!

Now, what to make with it...hmmmmm....

And, a little preview of tomorrow's post...once I find the appropriate undergarments:

Things are just flying off the needles.

To avoid SSS (second sock syndrome), I will be casting of for my sock pals other sock this evening.
I have worked the 3x3 ribbing on orangina until I could take it no more. I am there....that spot...so close to the finish line. A little weaving in, and a little blocking....and then come the photos.
My Jo Sharp sweater is also coming along. Here is the front completed.

I am loving this yarn...the texture is gorgeous. Hopefully my math was correct...it does look like it will fit like a glove....maybe literally!
I also picked up some koigu in London when visiting with the Harlot.

I bought 2 of each colour...one has more pink...and one is more green. As I look through patterns, many take 3 skeins of koigu...any suggestions for 2 skein koigu socks? I know I've seen some beautiful lace koigu socks on someone's blog out in knitting blogland. Usually I prefer solid colours for textured work...but the colourway is pretty light in these so I think I would like to try texture or lace with it. Anyone?

I'm sure many of you have heard about Kerstin's loss over At My Knits End. Annie at Knitty Gritty is organizing a blanket where knit squares, sent by knitters, will be assembled for her SIL. The details are here if you are interested.

Sockapal2za sock goes on a trip...

So the sockapal2za sock and I went on a little trip this weekend...

Off to see the Harlot in London at the LYS. My sister, a fellow knitter...maybe not as passionate about knitting yet...and my mother...who read the book the night before we went...came along for the fun!
Can I just say that it was hot...not just hot but also humid. I'm talking hair-fuzzing-practically-raining-you-could-ring-your-clothes-out humid. I'm sure Stephanie was glad to see us other fuzzy haired ladies in the audience!
As soon as we sat down, mom started chatting with the lady sitting next to her who was knitting a sock. Turns out she was knitting a sockapla2za sock! What are the odds? She claims the sock she was knitting was not for me...hmmmm...I don't know... Cara was great. It was nice to meet another blogger in person. Here we are with our sockapal2za socks...

Notice the crazy fuzzy hair I am sporting!?

Stephanie was as hilarious in person as she is in her book. Everything she said was all to familiar. I am really looking forward to her next book. It was such a diversified group of knitters who came out to meet Stephanie. Young, old, middle aged, women, men and even a Harley rider! She claims to get strange looks when she sits and knits on the hog! Can't understand that! Here I am with the Harlot (couldn't take the hair anymore...had to tie it up) I am sporting the infamous birch on my shoulder...

May I say Stephanie, you look fabulous in this photo...I on the other hand, look very much like a crazed knitter. Look sockapal2za pal...your sock met The Harlot!
It was a great time, so nice to meet some other knit bloggers.

Of course...my sock pal now has one completed sock!

Let the Sockpal Knitting Begin!

I finally decided on a pattern for my sock pal. I am a little worried about knitting something crazy, she has no real specifications except for leg length. I decided to go classic...cables in a solid yarn and a "wearable" colour. Because she lives in a warm climate, I decided on the meilenweit cotton in a cream colour. "Broken Cable Rib Socks" is the name of the pattern from IK online...subscribers patterns.

Like many of you, I am really nervous about knitting socks to fit someone else. There will be frequent trying on here...we are close in foot size. So that's it...they are on the needles and looking lovely!

To Maureen in Rhode Island...you asked about this sweater....it is "Hazel" from Jaeger JB 34. It's actually teal. I used Debbie Bliss Cathay yarn.

Kathy...it was the Scarfstyle KAL where we "met"...the not-gonna-knit-a-green-backyard-leaves-scarf-knitters!

Leslie...the baby blanket wasn't hard, just time consuming...got a little boring to knit. To ease the pain of then making the band, I started the band while knitting the body of the blanket and stitched it on as I went. I would then leave the 6 sts you get down to for the triangles on a holder and go back to the blanket body...just switch it up to break up the monotony of the blanket!

Knit blogging, KAL's and sock stash.

I can't say I remember anyone teaching me how to knit. I do remember trying when I was much younger...my Meme knit, maybe she taught me how once...my mother knit a bit...maybe she taught me...my Grandmother knit and still knits a bit...maybe it was her...I don't really know...

A true Martha follower...I saw a lesson in one of her baby magazines. It was simple, like way too simple garter stitch squares attached to make a baby blanket and sweater. I was interested but not really in this garter stitch simplicity...I needed something more challenging. So I went to the nearest craft store and picked up a book that showed basic techniques and in the back was a pattern for a cabled zippered hoodie I wanted to knit for my baby in the making. Armed with this really sad knitting book from the 70's and some horrible acrylic...I started swatches and graduated to childrens slippers. I soon realized that the hoodie was way out of my league...but yet not unachievable. I eventually knit a little sweater...became hooked on Debbie Bliss Books...and started searches about knitting on the internet. I actually learned many new techniques on internet sites. Of course, I discovered beautiful yarns...and that you can bid for yarn on ebay! The first real knitting site I came across was Knitters Review. Interesting. I read the Knit Picks Review and ventured on to their site. The Scarfstyle book was the kicker. I ordered the book and some yarn...and eventually started the scarves. I loved learning all the new techniques...yet was stumped on some of the chart knitting so I once again turned to the internet. That's when I found the Scarfstyle KAL. I discovered a whole new world of KAL's and bloggers. Before long, this sad little blog was born and I became a serious blog stalker!

If you haven't joined a KAL for a particular project you are working on, search for one. They really can help you. You may learn a different technique someone has applied to the pattern that may work for you. It's also nice to see other people finishing the knit and how it looks on them...not just that model in the pattern!

I am almost as addicted to blog reading than I am to knitting! I am out there. I read many knit blogs and sometimes don't always find the time to comment...but I am reading them! I try to comment as often as I can because I know that it is encouraging. It's nice to know that others find knitting as important...as addicting...as relaxing...as challenging...and interesting as I do!

What's a blog enty without a photo...lookie lookie.....

A little order from knitpicks...and some Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton....loving this stuff! Hopefully some of this cotton blend will turn into my Sockapal2za socks! I also received Knitting on the Road. There are some great sock patterns in this book...I must get knitting!

A change in plans...

So I'm knitting away on SCP this weekend and not liking it. It's all too stiff...I couldn't understand why I was using smaller needles than what was called for to get gauge when I normally go up in size. Then it finally clicked in. Aran weight...hello...it was supposed to be DK! I guess I was a little distracted when I picked up the yarn. So I had to think fast.
I got out my pencil and paper and started calculating...no silly, not to change the pattern to fit the aran weight yarn...
This...

turned into this...

I decided to find a different yarn...better yet, a washable yarn for the SCP...and use this yarn for myself! I picked up a Jo Sharp book that focuses on this aran weight silkroad tweed (book number two) and picked out the "Rebecca" sweater.
It is simple with a braided cable down the front...mock neck...darted in the front and back for shaping...perfect...
I took the time to adjust anything to make sure it fits me...and away I went. This will be the perfect winter sweater!

Ribbing...ribbing...ribbing.

I know you've been wondering how Orangina is coming. Well, I made a few executive decisions. Knowing that the bulge of fabric before the ribbing would look hideous on me...I started the ribbing sooner. I decided that right under the bust would look perfect, I hope. Preliminary try on's say that this is ok. It does take away from the retro look of it all but it will give me more shape. I also went down a needle size for the ribbing to make sure it hugs at the waist.

Of course, this means more mind numbing 3x3 ribbing to do. Well, until my sock yarn arrives....

My heart goes out to all that have been affected by the bombings in London. May you have the strength you need as you journey through these difficult times.

Crazy socks!

Another completed pair!

Started: June 29, 2005
Finished: July 4, 2005
Yarn: Knitpicks Sock Garden in Zinnia
Pattern: Pretty much just made it up using the Knitters Handy Book of Patterns...mind you it is just simple ribbing carried down the instep.

I must tell you that my mom has been wearing her socks out of this yarn...even though its super hot, and they are wool...but I did make them...anyway, they are really blurring on the bottom...alot...keep this in mind when choosing this yarn. I don't think this soft merino is going to wear very well.

It's a BOY!

Finally...they got a boy! No pictures yet, because she went into emergency c-section...and they needed my camera...hopefully I'll post a photo tonight.

Speaking of boys...did you see the new Knitty? An issue for men! I think it is better than the last issue. I really like these sweater choices for my hubby.



One would make a lovely SCP. The smoking gloves may be more appropriate but I will not support the habit! I also like the belt, the mittens, the satchel, the baby boy cargo pants....many nice patterns this issue.

SCP on the needles and contractions...

Christmas Knitting has officially started! The first SCP (Secret Christmas Project) is on the needles.

For those of you following along, Spring IK 2005 page 52. I am liking this Jo Sharp Silkroad Tweed. Very nice texture. I must say that I am getting really good at charts...only a glace here and there...after this first repeat there will be no need for the chart!

Oh yes, the contractions are not mine...Maria has been having them during the night...that baby could be on its way! I better pack up the Baby Blanket in the beautiful box I picked up and get ready to go!