My Neck is Warmer than Your Neck!

Well, I still haven’t started on any socks with the nice koigu I bought, but I am making some tiny practice socks with some cheap acrylic yarn using the book, “2-at-a-time Socks”, which teaches the mystery that is 2 socks simultaneously one ONE circular needle!

So far it’s a little baffling, but I’ve managed to knit two tiny cuffs so far. The yarn keeps getting tangled which makes it sort of annoying, but maybe I’ll figure out a good way to keep the balls apart as I get more experience with this method. I’m already wondering how on earth I’ll be able to do the heel flap and gusset, but I guess it will make sense as I go along. I hope I end up loving this method because it will surely cure my Second Sock Syndrome!

I’ve also finished my neckwarmer with the Cascade Baby Alpaca yarn I bought. I followed THIS pattern and I’m thrilled with how it turned out! The yarn is so cozy and warm and I’ve already worn this neckwarmer on several bike rides. It really keeps the chill out and I don’t have to worry about long scarf ends getting loose and flapping around as I ride.

Now I’m working on a matching pair of fingerless mitts to go with them. I’ve already got one of them done, and I hope to finish the other soon!

Hmm… what else? Oh! I had a crazy dream last night where I dreamt this amazing pattern for this cute crochet babydoll-style top. I had drawn it out on paper and started writing up a chart for it, and deciding what kind of decorative crochet edging should go along the sleeves and what kind of stitch would consist of the bodice… and then I woke up. I completely forgot what the pattern looked like and I felt a little sad when I came to the realization that I’m not a designer… and even if I could remember what it looked like, I wouldn’t be able to actually make it.

It was an inspiring dream, though! Who knows, my memory might return and I might be able to at least sketch what it looked like. I bet my friend Cecily would be able to help me deconstruct it!

Getting Projects Done…

Well, I haven’t fulfilled my sock itch yet, but I did buy some lovely orange Koigu yarn that is destined to become biking socks! For some reason, I feel a little reluctant to actually cast on. I always feel a little intimidated casting on for a new project – especially with yarn as thin as this. It’s like part of me already senses the hours of work ahead of me and balks a little. So, for now,  I’ve mostly been squishing the yarn and appreciating it in cake form.

I did promise myself that before casting on for socks I had to finish one of my other works in progress. I kept to my word and finished my 2nd Hurry-Up-Spring Armwarmer, to go with the first one that I made a year ago!

I guess my knitting has improved because the 2nd one felt much easier to knit and I didn’t mess up on the placement of the thumb like I did the first. However, I realized halfway through that I must have been using a larger needle size than I did on my first armwarmer (either that or my hands have learned to relax considerably) because the stitches looked much bigger. But I wasn’t willing to rip back so I plunged ahead and finished the thing anyway. Now, seeing them side by side, I can see that they are, indeed, two different sizes. Fortunately, it’s not as noticeable when I’m actually wearing them. It’s just that one feels a little more snug than the other.

Anyway, I’m just glad they’re done with.

I have to say that Noro is now one of my favorite yarns… at first I deemed it to be too scratchy and rough, but it really does soften up when knit, and when I wore my armwarmers around one day they felt cozy and warm and not scratchy at all. And the colors are just lovely. I’m already wondering what my next Noro project might be…

I also finished a quickie project the other night – a neck-warmer. My friend Feaver sent me a link online to a shop that sold neckwarmers and commented on how it’d be cool to learn to make one. I agreed, and decided to try one out. It’s basically just a really short scarf, so it flew off my needles.

Speaking of needles, I actually started this project as an excuse to try out my new Lantern Moon rosewood needles that my friend Cecily got for me! They are the most amazing knitting needles I have worked with. I thought I was happy with bamboo… until now! Thanks, Cecily!!

Anyway, I digress. Here’s my finished neckwarmer which I made using Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends Yarn:

I love Alpaca yarn and was excited to see a “cheapie” yarn with Alpaca fiber at my local Michaels. But even though it feels soft to the touch, it’s incredibly itchy against my neck…

Itchy or not, I love the idea of this cozy little neckwarmer, so I’m already planning to make another. This time in orange, and in a much softer yarn: Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky. Yum!

I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Sock Itch…

I have an urge suddenly to knit socks. I made one single sock about a year ago, with crappy yarn, just to prove I could learn how, and my interest in socks waned after that. I finished about 75% of the second sock but then let it sink to the bottom of my “project basket”.

Now I suddenly want to knit socks again, only I want to knit yummy socks with nice yarn. But part of me wonders if this will be folly. Surely, second sock syndrome will hit me again and I won’t be motivated to finish what I start. And, let’s say that I do finish… well, in that case, can I be sure I would even WEAR said socks? I’ve found that of all the hats and scarves and sweaters I’ve made, I’ve never actually worn any of them other than for project photos. And I’m worried that if I make nice socks that I’ll feel like my feet are unworthy of wearing them, or I’d be too paranoid about getting them dirty.

So I’m going to try and come up with a compromise for myself. First, I need to finish the crappy sock set I started a year ago and be done with it so it’s not at the back of my mind. Secondly, I need to finish my second Hurry Up Spring arm-warmer to prove I can, indeed, finish a pair of something.

Then maybe I’ll allow myself to dabble with socks again.

I have way too many unfinished projects that are starting to gang up on me and demand attention even though I’d like to forget some of them exist. Mainly, my mom’s never-ending-scarf that I started well over a year ago and failed to give her at Christmas 2006 and again at Christmas 2007. It’s becoming the bane of my existence. Just row after row after row of k1p1 ribbing. It’s like pulling teeth. And I still have one more skein of yarn to use up. Will it ever end?!

About a month ago I almost snapped and decided to frog the whole thing, all 4 feet of it, and make a NEW scarf with a nice lace pattern that would keep me entertained. Thankfully my husband intervened and told me in no uncertain terms that I was crazy for even considering it. So I have to keep going. And going…

My husband is currently out of town at the moment and while he’s away, I decided to knit him some nice fingerless “Beer Gloves” from the book Son of Stich’N Bitch.  Again, I started the project simply because I’ve never done gloves before and wanted to learn how. (Even though, when I showed my husband the pattern a couple weeks back, he said they looked like hobo gloves and he doesn’t understand dressing like a hobo, especially since we have so many real-life hobos living on our street at any given time). I just pretended I didn’t hear him and when he left town, I  went ahead and started on the gloves anyway, certain that he would come back home and fall in love them at first sight.

Well, the more I work on the first glove, the less I think this is likely. The more I knit, the more the thing seems to grow and sag. I mean… the ring finger opening shouldn’t be wider than the thumb opening, right? And the palm seems so long it’s beginning to look more like toe-less socks, rather than fingerless gloves. Let’s not mention the huge ladders running up the sides due to my first attempt at knitting in the round on two circulars. And, why do I keep insisting on knitting with this Plymouth baby alpaca dk yarn even though everything I’ve made with it to date has been a disaster?

Even so… I’m gonna keep going. Well… I’ll finish one at least.

Secret Pals and Works in Progress!

I’ve been pretty swamped so I haven’t managed to update until now. First off, I recently signed up for a Secret Pal thing on the Knitty message boards It’s basically a thing where you get to spoil someone with knitting related gifts and you get spoiled in return! I won’t reveal what I sent my person, just in case they stumble across this blog and find out who I am, but I will post what I got from my own secret pal (who rocks!)

First, I got some lovely scented candles (Lavender and Spiced Pumpkin – yum!) and a journal with my initial that matches the lavender candle!

Next, I got some handy accessories including a nifty row counter, and a fringe maker – perfect for scarves!

Then, I opened this cute little box to find an assortment of handmade stitch markers!

Here’s a close-up. Aren’t they great? I love the turtle one!

And last – but certainly not least – two skeins of soft  sportweight alpaca yarn from Blue Sky!! These would make great socks, don’t you think? When I first saw them I thought they were pale blue, but in certain light, they look lavender. And they smell like lavender too, from being packaged with the candle! So soothing!

Here’s a close-up of the lovely yarn.

Thank you sooo much, SP! You’re the best! I wonder who you are…..??

Now, for works-in-progress… haha, I have about a million things. I love starting projects… finishing them not so much. Below the cut are a couple pics of projects I have recently completed, and one that is taking me an eternity!

This past Christmas, I made a good friend of mine a scarf from the Plymouth Alpaca yarn I mentioned in a previous post. Pretty basic: 6ft long, 8 inches wide and K2, P2 ribbing. But I was happy with how it turned out and he says it’s nice and warm!

I also made a scarf for my dad because he could not find one in a store according to his specifications: 5 inches wide, 6 feet long, and with vertical stripes of varying widths in black, purple, and gray! So I made this for him – I knit it lengthwise on circular needles, in garter stitch. He wears it all the time. ^_^ Here it is:

I also tried making my mom a scarf for Christmas, but alas, it was not completed in time. In fact, despite the fact that I work on it everyday, it’s still not even halfway! It’s cashmere Mountain Colors in the Ladyslipper colorway and it’s very thin yarn (sock yarn, perhaps?)… and the fact that it’s K1,P1 ribbing on size 6 needles isn’t helping the speed factor. But it will look nice when it’s done… probably in time for next winter, ha!

Here’s a close-up

I’m also working on a few other things, but I’ll post about them later. I did complete one more thing recently – a hat for my husband made of my beloved Plymouth Alpaca yarn:

Unfortunately, while this yarn works great for a scarf, it doesn’t do so well as a hat. It’s just too saggy and even though I tried making it small, it’s still too loose for his head! I tried felting it slightly, but it didn’t help too much. And this is my second attempt at a hat and this is the second time it’s turned out saggy! Oh, well. Now I know to avoid 100% alpaca for hats…

Here’s a pic of it in action:

Well, that’s it for now! Next time I’ll post about my Cobweb scarf, Skull & Crossbones Sweater, and counterfeit crochet handbag!

Project Progress

I’m currently working on a couple projects so I thought I’d share them here.

First – socks. I’ve always been intimidated by their complex shape, so I never thought about trying to learn how to knit them. I probably would have put it off even longer but my local yarn store had a sale (because, unfortunately, they are closing down) and I bought some nice wool sock yarn on discount. But I didn’t want to have my first sock attempt on nice wool, so I bought some cheap acrylic yarn at Michael’s and followed an online tutorial.

Things started out well. I made the cuff/ankle part without any problems and even turned my first heel!

But then, disaster struck as I started the gusset and I noticed some wonky stitches. When I tried to drop and repair them, things only got worse.

I realized I would have to rip out a bunch of my progress and redo part of the sock. I was really nervous about this because I’ve never unraveled a three dimensional knit piece before and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to catch all the stitches… Here’s a pic of my sock operation.

Luckily the fix went well and I’m almost done with my first sock. I’ll post pics when I’m done!

Second is a project is a winter hat for my husband. I already tried making him another hat that ended disastrously. It basically ended up being way too big and floppy and wound up looking like a toilet seat cover.  This time, I’m using my favorite yarn: Plymouth Yarn’s 100% Baby Alpaca Grande. It’s so wonderfully soft!

I’ll post pics when that’s done as well.

Third – my Knit-Wits manga. Right now I’m in the middle of polishing the script. Here’s the synopsis:

Bernadette is about to start college but she has no idea where she wants to go with her life. Having a powerful lawyer for a mom pressuring her to get into an Ivy league school isn’t helping matters, either. When Bernadette discovers and befriends a bizarre group of people in her neighborhood, she soon gets swept up in the joys and pains of the needle. The knitting needle, that is! It turns out there’s a local yarn shop with a wacky, weekly knitting club. And it’s more zany drama than she ever could have imagined. But what will Bernie’s ultra-feminist mom say when she’s discovered participating in the dreaded domestic arts?

The synopsis is likely going to be tweaked to reflect the weirder, wackier nature of the story. Originally, I planned the story as a slightly more serious drama about a girl trying to figure out her place in the world and how she deals with pressure from her mother. But I’m always writing stories like that and I wanted to just throw all seriousness out the window and just make a really funny, irreverent comic with the same broad theme, but taking itself less seriously. I may even end up changing the title.

Below is a sample page I did a while back when the comic was more serious. This scene won’t even be taking place in the current story – but I thought I’d share it anyway.

And here is one my favorite characters from the story – Sangria. She knits voodoo dolls and uses her knitting needles to inflict punishment!

That’s all the updates for now!