Digitessa

It only took me over a year to finish the pair, 4 months after I finished the first. Which is why this was in my UFO-in-denial project. I kept it as a WIP on my Ravelry project page and only once-in-awhile put it to sleep. But Nathania's call for a UFO Smackdown on Twitter & a Facebook group got me going. So glad I did.


pattern: Digitessa
yarn: Wollmeise 100% merino sock yarn in Digitessa (the yarn & pattern came together in a kit)
needles sizes: 2.50 & 2.75 mm KP circs


Yarnissima (Marjan) isn't lying when she says this pattern is demanding.

Modifications:
Because my row/round gauge was shorter than the pattern spec, I ended up at a different spot on the top of foot chart. I had failed to make clear notes on the first sock, so when I did the second (finally), I didn't quite get it to match. :p

And to alleviate any problems in getting the sock on, I switched to the larger needles on Chart 5B instead of Chart 6 as suggested in the pattern. That's right, there were at least 6 charts for this design. I won't complain though as the alternative would be to have the charts printed in teeny-tiny font which would've created issues for me if I had to enlarge them on a copier.


So now that my UFO-in-denial is done, I cast on the second half of my Mystery Stole #4 (aka the Serendipity stole) a year after I finished the first half. Sense a trend? Hopefully I'll finish this second half before the year is up.


Also done is my spinning class with WonderMike. I may not be drinking the Kool Aid yet, but I do appreciate all the skill and hard work that goes into hand splindling. It does seem to be quite an attractive craft as Monkey1 asked me to show her how. I may need to sign her up for a class sometime 'cause my teaching her is like the blind leading the blind at this point. :p


So to distract her from my lack of spinning skills, she and Monkey2 got to split the wares in Woolgirl's Hello Kitty Valentine's kit. I get to keep the yarn (Curious Creek Fibers in a special Woolgirl colorway & yardage) and project bag of course.

I was killing time

'til I got my test knit assignment, aside from slowly working on birthday brother's cardigan.


pattern: Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat
yarn: Paton's Classic Wool in Grey Mix
needle size: 7 KP circs
hat size: adult

Larger needles meant larger row gauge and so only had to do 1 more pattern repeat for the adult size and I also kept the same cast on number. Also replaced the k2tog's in the crown decrease for ssk's like I did with Monkey2's version. I found this suggestion to keep decrease slant the same as the cable crossings cruising through the myriad of finished Hermione hats in Ravelry. I'll have to dig through this list again to figure out who I copied that idea from.


Pattern: Who?
yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Dark Grey Mix
needle size: 7 KP circs
hat size: adult

No mods. Still needs to have 1 or 2 pairs of button eyes sewn in.

I knit the hats with no one in mind to give them to and am wondering if I should keep them since I didn't choose a machine-washable yarn. If no one else, the Monkeys can always wear them.


So for awhile, I'll have nothing exciting to show yet 'cept for the BMFA Peru (oops! Thought I had bought BFL. My bad.)in Bleck I'll be using for Samro's test knit.


Oh, and one more thing. I almost forgot this was arriving. From Woolgirl, the Hello Kitty Halloween kit. Jen never fails to delight.

A few FO's

While my friends here and there were getting ready for Stitches West, I finished a few things.


Noro striped Scarf
Silk Garden in #244 & 268
size 8 KP nickel-plated circs
Tubular cast on and bind off w/kitchener stitch - these methods rock!


Maine Morning Mitts
Silk Garden in #244 & 268 left over from the striped scarf
KP size 8 nickel-plated circs

The second mitt came out a little shorter due to the thick/thin nature of the yarn, so if they don't even out after a wash & will re-knit an extra row onto the second mitt.


Fetchings
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Wine leftover from my Twist cardigan
size 6 KP nickel-plated circs
mods:
Added 6 more rnds to hand before thumbhole
Added 4 more rnds after thumbhole
Added 3 more rnds to thumb
No picot bind off, just a normal one


February Lady Sweater - medium
Miss Babs Worsted in Pookie - 2 yowza-sized skeins
mods:
kfb instead of M1's for the raglan increases just for fun
slipped the edge stitches wyib for the garter bump
Nancie Wiseman's modified one row buttonhole from her The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques

Modelled pic later after I finish showing the sweater to Woolgirl Jen & Ms Babs at Stitches West later today.

Last Pair of Socks of 2008

Barely.


Pattern: Slipped Stitch Rib Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Elderberry from a lys in Sacramento when they had a brick & mortar presence
needle: size 2 (2.75 mm) KP circs
sock size: Mens 13N (thank goodness for the "narrow" part)
Mod: skipped the garter stitch edge on the heel flap - too fiddly for me

Now on to my current sock WIP:


Pattern: Merlot Vine Sock by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Twist Fiber Art in Arial
needle: 2.50 mm KP circs

Keeping the short row heel due to the ombre striping nature of the hand-dyed yarn. Otherwise, rather prejudiced against the short row heel due to fit issues.

And now I digress into gifted yarny goodness:


Tapmouse gave me a test skein of mmm-Malabrigo Gusanito in Azul Seco for x-mas. She got it from Imagiknit in SF. Clearly, Imagiknit's got a direct line to the folks at Malabrigo since they also had the test skeins for their other new yarn, Dos, which I'm not clear is another sock yarn or not. I'll have to re-read the Malabrigo Junkies thread on Ravelry to refresh my memory.


And look! Another awesome colorway from the mad dyeing genius that is Tina of Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Irishgirlieknits gave this skein as a b-day present. Now I have to start an unofficial campaign to ask Tina (politely!) to put Sea Mar up on the website so I can return the favor.

Thank you, my sweet knitting buddies!


Lastly, I was so tied up in holiday stuff that I totally forgot I qualified to be in Woolgirl's Wooly Woolgirl Club. I received the kit right on Christmas Eve and was confounded 'cause I thought I didn't have another order due. LOL! Love all the goodies and the special holiday-themed hand-dyed Leili yarn.

Wishing everyone a Hauoli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year!

One of those scatterbrained posts

These stinkin' cute pair of socks for Monkey2 are done. Monkey1 will get a matching pair since I bought an extra kit from Woolgirl.


Woolgirl Sanrio & Friends sock club
White Oak Studio fingering weight yarn
Playtime socks
size 2.5 mm KP dpns
modified 56 st count


I also managed to knit another hat that is still not appropriate for Squid's brother. This time, I made it too small. Doh!
Mission Falls 1824 Wool
size 8 KP circs
A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend
mod: 10 sts less cast on than pattern

I didn't think that when I downsized the pattern, the crown decrease area would've been that much shorter. I wonder if the designer's got a lot longer row gauge 'cause I didn't think I decreased the stitch count that much to make that significant a difference.

In any case, my hat knitting karma continues to suck 'cause I started Bounce this weekend and after figuring out why I had such the brain freeze on this pattern (methinks there's an errant asterisk in one of the set up rows), I cannot for the life of me correctly repeat the 2 stitch pattern at all. So my hat knitting is on time out for a while. Maybe I'll knit gift scarves & fingerless mitts instead.


On the happy side, a small but pretty order from Woolgirl. I am late to the Flat Feet party, but I was hesitant to buy one since the one I saw being knit up at Sock Camp seemed kinda thin. But the colors are fun and it will be interesting knitting this novel yarn. And I just love the Dashing Dachs sportweight skeins I got. Salt Marsh is pretty (though I want to add Harvest Mouse to the name due to hanging out with the biologists at work too much) and Incantante is utterly gorgeous.

I just read the first 2 paperback books from the highly popular Twilight series books by Stephanie Meyer and would love to knit the Incantante in a Twilightish theme. I will admit that once I got over this series being in the Young Adult/Teen category, I actually enjoyed them. I was remiss in not researching the book before I bought it on a whim, aside from the vague knowledge that it was about vampires. JK Rowling or Ann Rice, the author is not. There are portions of these books that need more judicious editing, but I blame that on the whole "new JK Rowling" expectation. Next time I will check the online book reviews first, especially Amazon.com. The first listed reader review for Twilight is so snarkily funny.


On the not-happy side, there's a matching hole on the other side of my Mariilinda sock. Monkey 2 is lucky she is cute. She couldn't explain what she did, other than it got stuck on something.


So what's a knitter mom to do but cast on another pair of of socks (STR Rocktober).

Almost there

Hint 8 of my SotS-iii:


Finished hint 8 on Tuesday. Only 58 more rows with 50 more beads for Hint 9 to go. I thought I could make it, but with an eye doctor appointment, wedding rehearsal (the monkeys are flower girls), and other chores, there's no way. I decided I'm not going to kill my knitting self to finish it by Sunday for our friend's wedding. But it's such a nice color that work well for the holidays or any other fall event, it'll definitely get used.


While I waited for Hint 9 during the week, I worked on Monkey2's Playtime socks from Woolgirl's Sanrio & Friends kit. The colorway from White Oaks Studio is just too darn cute!

Quick, quick, sloooooow

Quick 1 - Monkey1's "fingerless" glove:


yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra handpainted from Stitches West 2008, I think. I have another pair of skeins that are a lighter version that I got the year before. But it may be vice versa.
pattern: from Ann Budd Knitting Book of Patterns - child large/woman's small glove
needle size: 2.75 mm KP dpns

The yarn is lovely to knit up. Not fond of all the ends I'll have to weave in, so I'll leave that chore to do while hanging out at Monkey1's soccer practice. Monkey1 has an inflated sense of my knitting speed 'cause when I showed her the first one, she said "Where's the other?" Nothing like having my own Task Manager.

Quick 2:


Love this Gumdrop sock. Love the pastel colorway. No mods whatsoever knitting the medium size on 2.25 mm circulars.


So so slooooow!


It took me all holiday weekend plus the extra day we took on Friday (Monkey2's pre-school was closed) to finish hint 2 of my SotSiii. Yeah, yeah, it would've been faster if I didn't knit the glove & sock, but they were more fun. Still, it doesn't bode well for my speed for the rest of the hints, especially since I can't work on this during soccer practice. Beads, laceweight yarn, folding chairs, and errant soccer balls are a recipe for disaster!

But I am consoling myself with how stinkin' cute this Wool Girl Sanrio and Friends sock club kit I got today!


The monkeys have dibs on the Hello Knitty stickers, but the rest are are all mine! Well, the non-Pochaco & Keroppi bits are negotiable. The yarn will definitely be knit up into socks for Monkey1. Then I'll have to see if I have enough left over to knit up something for Monkey2 or e-mail Wool Girl Jen if she has something similar or leftover.

PS. That particular sock club lottery with the 50/50 odds of getting in that happened a couple weeks ago? Yes, I'm in the 50%.

Officially off Sleeve Island

...for now. Gotta love long holiday weekends when I get 2-2.5 hours each way for some focus knitting time. While I'm almost at the end for Grace (blocking, sewing, collar), Monkey1's Lindy Hop is nowhere near done since I still have to do the front.


I also made some progress on my Cleopatra's Stocking. It took me awhile to get used to the pattern, but I'm still not used to the left twist as it's not the yarn over that I keep losing, but the regular stitch.


But I'm loving the quick knit that is the Spring Forward sock from a fellow sock camper, Linda Welch. The STR Motley Hue I'm using reminds me more of a SF Bay summer than a typical one, especially when the fog rolls in and the bay gets all choppy. Miserable as all get out if one was out there on a boat, but really cool looking in that moody Gothic novel kind of way.


The sock does go nicely with the new Namaste Newport bag I got in Charcoal from Woolgirl. I love this bag. Perfect size, classic color. Perfect. And it came with it's own little white cloth bag like those fancy high end bags do!


Of course, I can't just get a bag, so I finally ordered a couple little skeins of Pigeon Roof Studios in Pink Lady light (so cute!) and knitspot's fine cabled fingerless mitt pattern. ( I'd like to use some of my sock yarn for gift mitts.) And Jen threw in a couple wool wash samples (Soak being one) and lip balm. I always love those little extras Jen throws in.

A pair of Leaflings

These were totally quick to knit. My typical sock pose:

I don't know why I do that sock pose 'cause it just makes my large calves look even larger. But if I really cared, I'd pose my feet differently. But I did want to show the shaped toe option:


Shaped toes are fun, especially when someone (like the designer) does the math for me. At one time I was going to do Suzanne's neat toe option, but in my focus to finish the pair before our next Rockin' Sock Club kit came in the mail, I forgot about it. It's too bad 'cause Suzanne's modification is really cool-looking.


And hopefully there isn't anyone else in the Woolgirl Hello Kitty sock club or if they are, they've go their kit already or don't read my blog since I totally blew off the spoiler alert warning. But since I won't put the pic up in my Ravelry stash 'til later this week, I should be okay. If not, my bad.

And the total non-sequitur shot of one of my Handmaiden Casbah skeins I bought at Purlescence Yarns. I had intended to post this as a YPF last Friday, but I accidently deleted it and was too lazy to add it back in. Anyway, so, so yummylicious! The other skein is green and would've been too-too Christmasy if I took a pic of both skeins together. The green skein will become socks, but this lovely skein will become a cowl. Since I chopped a good chunk of my hair and my neck is now exposed, it'll need some protection on those foggy mornings and cool winter days.

I've been good about not winding it up and casting on right away, but I don't think I will be able to resist the urge too much longer.