In Full Bloom

Stick a fork in me. I am so done! The flower halves have been reunited!

Quickie recap:
pattern: Twisted Flower by Cookie A!
yarn: Louet Gems Pearl in Willow 2 skeins
needles: KP size 1 (2.50 mm) circs
size: medium


Comments not already discussed ad nauseum in previous posts:

Apparently the skein for my first sock was short anyway on yardage as I had to use the leftovers from the second sock skein to do the toe on this re-knit.

On this last time, the sock obviously went faster due to a comfortable familiarity with the pattern, but also due to finding a cabling w/o a cable needle tuturial that worked for me thanks to Carrie. It's amazing that no matter how perfectly logical and well written the various tutorials are online, what it boils down to is what works for one's style & tension in knitting.

I love this pattern, but it's safe to say that after knitting what would be considered 3 socks, I won't be doing this pattern again in my lifetime. Well, at least for a very, very long time.

Off to ribbing island on my Something Red cardie and a Horcrux sock, though I'm already tempted to finally cast on for my STR club Solstice Slip socks. I should get back to my Menehune Cobblestone sock though.

Half Flower

I've probably gone off the deep end in ripping Twisted Flower sock #1 when I decided to tie a story in with the process. The legend of the naupaka popped in my head while contemplating to rip or not to rip. It is one of my favorite childhood Hawaiian legends. Nothing so tragic as the classic story of two lovers from different classes/worlds being torn apart with only a glimmer of hope of them ever getting back together again.

(The heel isn't perfect, but I love the stitch definition the Louet Gems Pearl gives.)


My favorite part of the legend being if you collect the beach naupaka (the commoner man) and the mountain naupaka (the royal lady) and put them together that you could once again reunite the two lovers.


So one day, Twisted Flower 1 will be reunited with Twisted Flower 2 and I will actually have a matching pair while someone on Oahu will be reuniting the mountain and beach naupaka together.

P.S. Toddler hat modelled by Cheer Care Bear (the soccer ball is MIA) knitted from the free pattern on the Charmed Knits KAL. I used the orphan blue (shade #219) and yellow (shade #216) Rowan All Seasons cotton yarns purchased from Article Pract's big sale last year. No orphan "bronze" or "gray" skeins, so my Ravenclaw beanie had turned into a Cal Bears beanie.

She called it!

Tapmouse knew I was in Project Manager mode when she called that I would finish this pair by the end of the week. What she probably didn't realize was that due to Monkey2's love of the Wiggles, I had that darn song "Do the Monkey. Ooh, ooh. Ah, ah. Ooh, ooh. Ah, ah. Monkey, monkey..." running through my brain the entire time.

Quick recap:

Socks that Rock Algae lightweight
Monkey by Cookie A
size 1 (2.50 mm) Knitpicks dpns
no mods


I'll have to re-take the picture for my Scout's Indie Swag June package, but you can see better ones in Scout's flickr group. In addition to Cookie A providing the pattern for this month's swag, she also chose the color for Scout to dye. When I told Tapmouse this, she asked if it was in the green color family, but I couldn't tell her 'til I got the package. Scout hides the actual color when she previews it in her blog. And what do you know, Tapmouse was right! It's green. A teal green, but still...green!

You can get a better looks at the pattern photo here since the hard copy printed out too dark to see the details of the sock.

So now that I'm done with my Monkeys I have no excuse for not working on my second Twisted Flower sock. I initially entertained the thought of leaving sock 1 as is with the leg knitted on size 2 (2.75 mm) dpns for a "large" and the heel & foot on size 1 (2.50 mm) circs for the medium, but the more I get into the second sock, the more I realize I need to re-knit the entire first sock. Aside from the nightmare option of cutting the sock in half and then knitting the leg as a medium then grafting it to the other half, I realized I should've reduced the number of stitches for the foot to 72 sts (the "large" again), not the 68 sts for the medium. Then there's the realization that I also should've done one more repeat on the foot before decreasing for the toes. I'm not fond of toe jams in shoes or socks, especially when I can fix the sock.


In between all this I'm still managing to get a couple rows on my Something Red here and there though I've slowed down since I got to the ribbing section. My poor April Y4S club second sock is being sadly neglected.

Oh, by the way, I got in Ravelry this week. My name there is Nartian. It'll be slow going loading my projects and stash into my notebook since I can't cheat and do it at work, especially since flickr.com is blocked from our network. I'll be sticking the Ravelry button on my side bar at some point.

Metering the WIPs

In a supposedly rational effort (hah!) to keep my wrists and hands from wearing out, I've been rotating the WIP's cause:

1) I've got cotton. Well, technically my Something Red is in a cotton/wool blend, but still:

The pic shows I'm on the 4th skein of Knitpicks Main Line since it comes in 82 yd skeins as Monkey2 is showing her ire on my handknits. I haven't cast on anything for her in quite awhile. Just kidding on the kiddie ire. That's just mommy guilt kicking in a little since Monkey1 is more likely to ask for specific crocheted & handknit items.

2) (Left) The stiff Yarn4Sock club camel/blend yarn combined with a left twist consisting of a ktbl in the 2nd stitch on the second (left) Balance sock makes for slow going. That and the softener smell on the second skein hasn't dissipated as much as I thought it would - my one and only pet peeve about this yarn. I can live with the stiffness 'cause the knitted fabric has an interesting sorta velvety feel, almost (not quite, but almost) like a silk tweed - the caveat being I still need to wash these socks after I'm done with the second. But it's amazing to me how much this smell bothers me so much. (I've googled and haven't found a knit blogger in the club that's posted anything about this unless my google-fu is not working.) I know I should've washed the skeins first, but I definitely will the next time I get yarn that bugs me in this way.

3) (Right) And I hit a mental block on the 2nd Twisted Flower sock and not just 'cause I started on the medium size instead of the large for the first sock. I've realized I've been thinking my feet are larger than they are. I've started 3 first socks (maybe 4?) in the large size and had to rip back since they all came out too big. 'Cept the Twisted Flower, of course, which only came out comfortably loose.

So I cast on again for the Monkeys, this time in STR lightweight Algae. I figured doing an easier Cookie A pattern would get me back in the groove for the Twisted Flower and the squishy STR yarn would give my hands the break from the stiffer yarns. I also love the speed of doing the pattern size ("medium") on size 1 (2.50 mm) KP dpns.

It's not Friday yet, but I did finish the second test sock so Monkey1 now has another pair of socks. (The other reason to motivating me to get the Monkey off my back - I had an FO!) Have oodles of Hill Country Yarns Superfine Superwash sock yarn left (I'll need to weight it), but definitely enough for another small second pair of socks:

Yarn: Hill Country Superfine Superwash sock yarn in Raspberry Sorbet
needle size: KP size 0 circs
gauge: 10 spi St st
pattern: a test one for Tyler

And continuing the sock yarn lemming mode, my Knittery yarns came in. I had ordered directly from them before I discovered Woolgirl carries them.

left to right: Passionfruit merino, Cherries merino cashmere, Lakeside Flora merino cashmere

Scrumptious stuff, especially the Lakeside Flora! Tapmouse can testify since I flashed this stash to her today.

WIP Wednesday

In a very Project Spectrum-y mood:

Red Riding Hood from Crochet a Day calendar February 21, 2006 (haven't found it online)
size G hook
No gauge or dimensions stated in pattern - so flying by the seat of my pants on this one. Also, got sloppy w/all those hdc's for the hood & too lazy to frog back to fix
KP Merino Style Hollyberry - 3 skeins so far. Should have enough to seam the back of the hood & the hood to the collar, but won't have any left for the ties. Debating on buying one more skein since this color is currently not on sale. Ptthhthh.

And I finally figured out why I don't think seaming in knitting is such a big PITA. It's cause seaming crocheted pieces is really a PITA. Well, single crocheting afghan squares is easy, but bulky. But for clothing...ugh.

Something Red by Wendy Bernard
KP Main Line in Red Velvet Cake (progress shot of 1 skein - photo not true to color in real life)
size 8 KP circs to get finished (washed & blocked) gauge

Learned how to fix a shifted YO due to a slipping marker after noticing it 4 rows later. However, I did have to re-start at one point when I totally didn't see I missed a YO increase way at the beginning 'til I was 15 rows in.


The second test sock so Monkey1 can have a pair (pic also not color correct) 'cause her Lorna's Laces Uptown went into the frog pond after a comedy of errors on my part since the Dublin Bay pattern isn't that difficult. I'll return to these when I think my karma w/this pattern & yarn gets better. Tapmouse can't believe I frogged, especially since I finished the 5" leg portion. But I didn't want to continue knowing I totally forgot about rows 3 & 4 of the lace pattern. Doh!


Still debating the wisdom of doing Twisted Flower sock 2 entirely on size 1 (2.50 mm) circs.

A few more FO's

Pair #4 of the Baby Ugg Booties:


I whipped up my last pair of DIY suede booties out of the Berroco Suede & Plush I bought at my first trip to Stitches West for a cousin who just had a baby. My sister is in town for a wedding, so she gets to play courier.

The Chevron Scarf is done!

Pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts ('cept I wouldn't recommend this as a last minute knit)
Socks That Rock Pisgah & Peacock medium weight from The Fold
size 5 needles

Monkey 2 woke up from her nap before I could finish steam blocking the scarf, so it's still slightly roll-ish.

Twisted Flower sock 1 is tentatively an FO:

I discovered in a thread on the flickr Cookie A Sock Creations group that a couple knitters have had to go up a needle size on the leg portion so that they could get the rest of the sock over their heel. I had planned on knitting my second sock all on size 1 (2.50 mm) KP circs instead of the size 2 (2.75 mm) Susan Bates for the legs and size 1 (2.50 mm) for the rest, but now I'm not so sure. In the meantime, I finished the first sock just to get my FO itch scratched. You can see where I ran out of yarn in the toe and had to switch to the leftover yarn a knitty.com board member graciously swapped to me.

Okay, so I'm not panicking

But first, if you're a Rockin's Sock Club member that's stumbled upon my blog and you haven't gotten your April package yet and don't want to be spoiled, do *not* scroll down. That is all.

Second, a little YPF. On top is a non-sock yarn! It's Yarn Botanika's cashmere in Pink Sand from One Planet. Yummy, yummy. One Planet gave me a free scarf pattern so that's what it'll be. :D

Bottom is Sundara's Cherry Blossom colorway in her sock yarn. Okay, so I lied to tapmouse that I wasn't going to get the Cherry Blossom, but I had a weak moment and am finally in possession of an elusive Sundara skein. So now that itch is scratched.


And why am I not panicking despite not being short-toed? A lovely knitty board knitter had some leftover Willow she offered gratis for my Twisted Flower sock so I can finish the toes for both socks ('cause I will be repeating this folly for the second sock). Now to figure out what to give her in return as thanks. I want to give her something really cute, but I'll probably go practical and useful. But in the meantime, this sock will be temporarily UFO'd...

'cause I got my Rockin' Sock Club package. Woohoo! I love this yarn. It's already been wound and am madly swatching away. I only own one 2.75 mm 24" circular needle, a Susan Bates Quicksilver which my lys stopped carrying 'cause she wasn't happy with their quality after the company started selling product at the big box stores. The Quicksilver is also a little grabby and combined w/the 81% superwash/19% silk blend of Silkie, I may end up too loose of a gauge anyway. I hope either of my KP circulars (2.50 mm size 1 or the 3.00 mm size 2) will work 'cause then I'm at a loss on where to get metal circs that 2.75 mm locally ('cause I don't want to wait for an online order). Addi's are of course out of the question 'cause they're the same size as KP's.


But oh, this yarn feels great. I would so love to get enough for a sweater, however crazy that sounds. Okay, off to finish swatching.

Someone tell me not to panic

'cause telling myself this isn't keeping that feeling from beginning to well up.

I haven't done any weighing or other scientific methods, but I just *know* I don't have enough. It's not like I can call Yarn in Alameda to see if she has another skein in the same dye lot 'cause she closed her business. Oh, to have the foresight to realize I would need 3 skeins for a pattern I decided to knit it into.

Logically my options are:
1) Post on the knitty swap section (and KR too?) and hope someone has a spare Louet Gems Pearl in Willow and that I'll get incredibly lucky that they have the same dye lot (80-1552-5).

2) Call Article Pract and whatever other lys in my metropolitan area that carries Louet and just buy another Willow regardless of dye lot and hope Louet is really consistent. It is a solid color afterall.

3) Knit the second skein I have all the way through in the medium size and see if 1) it fits (the lace is stretchier than I thought it'd be) and 2) I can do one sock w/one skein. If it works, then frog the first sock (sob!) and re-do it.

Oh, what to do, what to do!

Following my lemming urges

After seeing all those STR chevron scarves (pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts) on flickr, I finally decided to wind up my Pisgah (Peacock already wound from the aborted Monkey sock attempt) and pull out my size 5 KP interchangeables and cast on.


I'm happy with the way it's turning out:

I also decided that the Ozark Handspun hat I made last year would be no more. I realized I am so not a hat person and I didn't really want to give the hat away, so off it went to the frog pond and came back as a simple scarf. Size 17 dpn's are so quick.

Just a pic of my Twisted Flower sock showing the Willow color better. On row 10(!) of the leg pattern second repeat. The half w/o the twists & cables isn't bad and I can crank through those, but it's the part where I double check if I'm doing a twisted 1R (or 1L) vs a cable 1R (or 1L) that slows me down. And dropping stitches on this is no fun 'cause I get all stressed out making sure I've the stitches back on the right way for each row before I can continue.

And I finally got to see tapmouse yesterday and pester her with questions about Camp and fondle not just my goodies, but hers as well. She didn't just get yarn (I love her Mystic Kelp and Socktopus is cool in that Lorna's Laces Vera way) so I got to check out the patterns she bought and other stuff. My planned buys were one lightweight (Lunasea) and one Seduction (ended up being Typhoon Tina) and when I played with all the goodies, ended up buying one of the mill ends. I think the mill end (none have color names)is one of the chicken themed colorways, but I'll have to check.

Not at sock camp

but explaining to my friend that I'd bail on her wedding in Hawaii to hang out with a bunch of knitters on Orcas Island would've been a wee bit difficult. Although the wedding won't be 'til July, my budget wasn't going to allow for both trips this year. And I shouldn't really complain 'cause tapmouse got me more BMFA yarn!

In any case, I've been stuck on what to knit non-sockwise for Project Spectrum and so I finally got around to knitting the baby hat from One Skein. (Someone I know is bound to have a baby girl sooner or later.)

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca DK
needle size: size 6 Clover bamboo dpns
pattern size: 12-18 mo

The ball band rec said size 6 needles would give a gauge of 5.5 spi and the pattern gauge called for 5.25 spi. I got 5 spi. I guess I'm getting looser in my knitting 'cause I expected to at least get ball band gauge. Then again, it could be the bamboo needles since I'm looser on them then metal. So the hat is actually a little bigger than the pattern size which is okay. (Hat modelled on a size 2 soccer ball 'cause monkey2 was less than cooperative.) I still have a bunch of yarn left over from the skein so I'll see if I can knit the newborn size too.


The hat was a nice relatively easy knit to balance out all the focus needed for my Twisted Flower sock. And it was nice to have a quickie FO since this sock is so not going to be quick. Only on row 22 for the leg chart.