8 March 2010 · No Comments
So I sort of did it, but only sort of. The official goal was ‘don’t cast on any new projects.’ The unofficial goal (which seemed to follow rather naturally from the official goal) was ‘get lots of stuff done.’ I totally met the first goal. Despite severe temptation (we went to a fiber festival right at the beginning of the Olympics–this was not a plan designed to foster restraint), I didn’t cast on anything new.
Alas, I also didn’t get quite as much done as I had hoped. I did make some progress. I finished a pair of secret socks, and they’ve gone off to a magazine for their photo shoot, which I find both hysterical and deeply awesome. I finished the adumbrate mitts, wrote the pattern, and started the testing process. I finished the first of the greenhorn socks and wrote the first draft of the pattern.
The one thing I didn’t finish was The Boy’s xanthophyll socks. Almost, but not quite. It turns out these socks have scads more stitches than any of the other socks I’ve made. They’re just slow. Pretty, but slow. Luckily, this weekend we took a trip that provided many many many hours of knitting time, and now they’re done.
I’m still taking the medal. I’m using the whole experience as proof that it’s important to define your goals clearly. My official goal was ‘don’t cast on any new projects,’ and I met that. I might have had ‘finish every single ongoing project’ in the back of my mind as some sort of mythical extra goal, but that wasn’t ever really going to happen. I met the official goal, I’m calling it a success. (This is the likely-unnecessary-but-I-like-to-be-extra-careful disclaimer. The picture is created by Franklin Habit, provided by Yarn Harlot, and used with permission. Please do not write and tell me I’m stealing it, mkay?)
Come back later in the week for the finished (and free) pattern for adumbrate!
4 March 2010 · 1 Comment
Shamelessly pink, shamelessly lacy, shamelessly frilly. There is really nothing somber or serious or even respectable here. These mitts are nothing more than a confection. They are the knitting equivalent of marshmallows. They were cast on the minute the Olympics finished and completed in a few hours. I’ll turn my attention to more worthy things some time soon, but these were just the thing to make up for the uncharacteristic fidelity demonstrated during the Olympics.
1 March 2010 · No Comments
I enlisted the help of The Boy and waded out into the snow (really waded, it’s well past our knees in many spots). Turns out it’s surprisingly hard to find a pose that both shows off the knitting and keeps me from looking like some sort of sausage-fingered mutant. We eventually met with success, but we were cold and wet long before we got there. I’ll show you a shot of just the mitts now, but rest assured there are pics with actual hands in them coming shortly. The pattern will go up next week, and I’ll be back with a full report on my Olympic knitting some time before then.
27 February 2010 · 2 Comments
Turns out that bit about ‘when the snow lets up’ was overly optimistic. As far as I can tell the snow is never letting up. It will continue forever. Sled dogs and igloos are starting to sound eminently practical.
I had grand plans for taking pictures of the blue mitts (adumbrate…I’m thinking they will be called adumbrate). Alas, taking pictures of your own hands involves a substantial amount of fiddling around with the tripod, swearing, knocking the camera over, swearing, sitting still while the timer runs down, swearing, and just generally having a bad go of it. I can barely bring myself to do it when it’s sunny and mild outside. The idea of doing it in heavy snow while shivering just didn’t appeal.
I could (just) manage to toss a sock on a blocker, hang the thing on a tree, and snap a quick shot. Please note the snowflakes clinging to the sock and commend me on my nobility. Please also note the nifty way the gusset and heel go together.
I officially like this construction and will likely use it again. The pattern is written, but this one will be a while in the testing process. Because it is an unusual way to build a sock, I want to have extra testers so I can be sure the instructions are as clear as possible. I’ll likely put it out for testing in a week or two, and will post here to let you know where to go to volunteer.
26 February 2010 · No Comments
I used to think sock blockers were totally unnecessary, not much more than props really, something to make it look like you know what you’re doing. They don’t make your socks any warmer or softer or sturdier. Some people swear they help socks dry a bit faster. However, I try to wash at least a dozen pairs at once, and I’m not likely to buy a dozen pairs of blockers, so they’re not much help in that regard either.
It wasn’t until I started taking pictures of socks that I realized what they’re for. They’re for persuading your stitches to sit just right so you can get a pretty picture. Blocked socks just look tidier. I’m a believer. It’s not worth it for day-to-day wear, but it is if you want to show off.
It seems only logical that the same would be true of other knitted things, so I wanted to block my mitts. Alas, I don’t currently have any glove blockers. The things exist, though not in such profusion as sock blockers. There don’t seem to be a lot of modern versions, but there are quite a few older models on ebay and the like. I find the vintage wooden glove forms oddly appealing (though I fear they wouldn’t be of much practical use since they seem to have been designed for people with tiny dainty hands and I just don’t do dainty).
Not having proper blockers, I decided to rig something up myself. I hung the wet mitts from one set of needles, threaded another set through the bottom to hold them straight, added a few clips for a bit of weight, and worked the needles under a heavy box. It seems to have worked, though it lacked something in the ambiance department.
When the snow lets up I’ll try to sneak outside and get some pictures. I think I’ll likely put these out for free as first anniversary present. Look for them early next month.
25 February 2010 · No Comments
If anyone wants to help me out by testing the blue mitts, now’s the time. There is a thread over on Ravelry where you can volunteer. I’m deciding on testers Saturday night, and sending the pattern out on Sunday. You’d need less than 150 yards of sportweight yarn, and you’d need to be able to finish one mitt in a week (one mitt takes me about 3 hours).
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