Cookie, Ysolda, Plucky, Oh My!

I'm sure other Bay Area peeps have more exciting pics of the 2 yarny events I attended this weekend, especially since I realized I didn't take any for today.  Well I did, but it wasn't yarn.  I did take a few last night though.

A Verb for Keeping Warm hosted an event, with not one, but 3 knitterati, Cookie A, Ysolda Teague, and Sonya Philips (aka KnitSonya).  I don't have a pic of Sonya, but those are her art pieces in the background in the pic above.

It was such a well-attended event, but toward the end of the night as the crowd trickled down, those left could relax.  Ysolda & Cookie could also relax with a couple of A Verb's sample hats.  Cookie's is by Cocoknits, who was also there.  I got to meet Julie of Cocoknits & she is a blast to talk to.

Ysolda talked about how she started her designing career and about her forthcoming book which will be an awesome take on using the dress-making approach to sizing which doesn't assume that when people get larger in certain areas, that they also don't get taller or grow larger shoulders or armhole circumferences. 

The sweaters above are a few of her samples.  What was tremendous about her is that she had 2 sample sizes, one in 34 (which is her size) and the other in a 48 (or up or down a size in that range).  It was so exciting to hear what she envisioned for her book detailing her approach that sizes & how her book will be set up with the patterns that will be included. 

And on that plate amidst Ysolda's sweaters are the adorable owl cookies made by KnitSonya for the event.  They were delish too!

I made sure I blocked my Ishbel beforehand so I could wear it to the event.  You can sorta see it on me in the first pic w/Cookie and Ysolda.

I want to thank Kristine, Adrienne, their Verb staff and WonderMike for a wonderful night.  I get to continue my Verb love with my second Pro-Verbial club kit that arrived in today's mail. 

 
Since I don't have any pics from the Plucky Knitter trunk show, check out Marisol's blog post.  Lots of squishy goodness.  And it was great to meet such a nice indie dyer as Sarah.  I think we're so lucky to have really good and really nice indie dyers out in the yarn industry. 

What I will show for now is the very first Plucky Knitter MCN sport skein that I bought from Churchmouse Yarns & Teas on Bainbridge Island on my way to Sock Camp a couple years ago.  Being a Jane Austen fan, I couldn't resist the colorway name, Mansfield Park.  It's been marinating in the stash as I debate between converting the skein into fingerless mitts or socks or a beret, but I'm on a fingerless mitts kick, so I may just wind this up soon.

Drive By Post

We've got 2 milestone birthdays, so this'll be quick (links to be added later). But as usual, I'm showing latest Rockin' Sock Club kit after a couple STR projects.


November 2009 RSC kit
yarn: BMFA STR lightweight in Blackbird
pattern: Raven Swirl by Cookie A
needles: 2.25 mm KP nickel-plated dpns
left sock


Unintential mod:
Extra repeat of the cuff. I actually had done way more repeats, but did not rip back all the way. Working on the right sock now.


yarn: BMFA STR lightweight Rare Gem mill end from the Once in a Blue Moon sale
pattern: Traveling Woman
needles: size 6 & 8
mod: 3 reps of Chart A
13 g leftover

Inspired to cast on after Stitches West by Cockeyed the Sockateer.


Love the March 2010 RSC kit.


I'll probably do Irishgirlie's pattern w/this shipment of yarn and do Janel's with some other spring colored STR in my stash.

Multi-themed weekend

It's been quite busy with the usual President's Day holiday weekend being combined with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, the start of the Winter Olympics, & NASCAR season. The number of knitting projects I've got going seems to match this weekend's multiple events too.


For the Ravelympics which is scheduled for the Winter Olympics, I cast on for my second Shawl that Jazz in the Beached LSS I bought at Sock Camp last year. I decided that I wanted a bit of meditative garter stitch so I could watch the Olympics with ease.


But before that, I finally joined in on our mini-STR February Lady Sweater KAL at work with Tapmouse2 and Calafia. They're practically done, while I'm struggling to not make more errors on my second FLS. This time it's in heavyweight STR in Korppi.

My first set of errors were not doing all my increases in the increase row while watching the premiere of Lost's last season. I should know better than to knit anything that requires even the remotest of attention when Lost is on. My second set of errors was repeating the wrong right side row of the gull lace pattern. With alternating skeins, it's a pain to rip back a couple rows to fix. Then there's the botched garter stitch edge in one little section that I worsened in an attempt to correct it. Apparently, familiarity breeds errors and not just contempt.


The only new pattern I've been working on is the Raven Swirl sock. I won't even start my 2010 RSC sock until this is done. I love this sock, but it would also go much faster if I devoted more time to it. As it is, I get a row or 2 in here & there. But I do love how it's knitting up.


On my quick, but distracting, pile is Monkey2's new K&K Cap. The first 2 were getting too small, so I knit up the medium size. Fortunately or unfortunately, I didn't swatch, so the hat's a little big, but that means she's got room to grow. It's in a turquoise Cascade 220 colorway that she would not let go of the last time we went to visit Purlescence Yarns.

I may need to knit up a second hat as Monkey1 decided to attach her freeform crocheted "snowflake" to the hat. It's very cute, but Monkey2 wants her hat plain.


Of course, the hat wouldn't be complete without a set of mitts to match. I'm almost done with a child-sized version of the Fetching fingerless mitts. I kept the row counts the same mostly, but CO 40 sts instead of the pattern's 45. Fits her great.

And that's not even all. Not pictured are Monkey1's second Regia Flusi das sockenmonster sock on which I'm practicing my lever knitting and my sister's second Bella's Mittens, this time as a convertible pair.

Tested by a Nebula

Sometimes, supposedly knitting a second sock at a "relaxed" pace doesn't always mean things go smoothly. I've had to tink & rip back so many more times on the second sock (the right) than the time-crunched test-knit-on-a-tight-deadline left sock. Apparently, relaxed doesn't mean I'm allowed to lose my focus on the pattern. But I'm happy the pair is done.


Nebula by Cookie A
pattern size medium
Dream in Color Smooshy in Wisterious
size 2.75 (US 2) Knit Picks nickel-plated dpns

only mod: less pointy toe


With the long holiday weekend, I get to get a bunch of knitting done & finally finished my first Cat Bordhi secret sock as well. The foot construction is her new sock architecture to be released via book form at Sock Summit.


The varying blues & blacks of the STR Rare Gem lightweight I bought at Sock Camp reminded me of how the Pacific Ocean changes colors as you gaze at it from a tropical beach - from the turquoise & aqua shades near the shore to the dark blue of the deep ocean, to the black shadows on the surface caused by the clouds overhead. So I ended up nicknaming the Rare Gem My Deep Blue Sea. I then decided the Crest of the Wave pattern (using the chart in More Sensational Knitted Socks) more fitting than the 2 Cat patterns I initially had in mind for the leg.

Pixies, Roses & Stars

I don't mean to be all about the sock knitting, but I somehow started way too many and I'm in the mood to finish some so my WIP number is closer to my comfort level.

Did I mention Rogue Roses is a fast pattern? That and it's in medium weight. The only issue I have is because I didn't start the second sock at the "same" spot in the color progression and knowing my gauge for the second leg would be different than the first, the second leg vertically flashed, with much of the orange, even tempered with the pink, ending up in the front. It's a bit uncomfortable for me, but not so much that I want to rip it out & start over. Also, the foot patterning of the second ended up close enough to the first.


Recap:
March Rockin' Sock Club Kit
pattern: Rogue Roses by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot)
pattern size: medium
yarn: Socks That Rock medium weight in Gertrude Skein
needle sizes: 2.50 mm KP metal dpns (for the inside of the picot hem) & 2.75 mm KP metal dpns for the rest orf the sock
no mods otherwise


Also completed is my Pixie Park plain vanilla sock. Started on our Disneyland trip and worked on off and on since then, with a few rows of practicing the Yarn Harlot's lever method here and there. I finally got around to finishing off the toe. Since it's my only vanilla sock WIP, the second sock will also be worked on intermittently with the occasional row or 2 of lever knitting.


The Yarn Harlot's sock recipe
STR lightweight in Pixie Park
size 2.25 mm KP Harmony circs (got my replacement for the one that broke)


Part of the reason why the second vanilla sock will be done at a casual pace is that I need to pace myself with this sock.


Nebula by Cookie A - available on her website today!
Dream in Color Smooshy in Wisteria
size 2.75 mm KP dpns to get 8 spi
Left sock in the medium size
No mods as this was my test knit
test knit period for test sock: April 14 to April 19


With all the twisted stitches and cabling, the test knit period was a little tough on my hands. So to avoid hand fatigue and to try to address my other issues with Smooshy, the right sock will be going at a more leisurely pace.

Despite the lovely color palette and squooshiness of the yarn, I have a distinct dislike for knitting it into socks for some reason. I love Dream In Color's worsted weight, but the Smooshy requires a lot more work than I want to do to get the gauge or the fabric I want. Unfortunately, I succumbed to the lemming rush for this yarn when it became much more widely available and bought way too many without knitting one first. I am somewhat at a loss as to what to do with the rest of my Smooshy stash. I've got a bunch for Jeanie, but that's a stole. I seem to be okay with knitting Dream In Color Baby (uh, whenever I get back to the second half of my MS4), so I am assuming I should be okay knitting the Smooshy as a lace yarn.

I also am having an aversion to destash for some reason. I have not had a bad swap or cp (custom purchase) in either my makeup or knitting experience, but my inner voice tells me that I am due for one. So I am avoiding destashing for a long while, if not permanently, unless it's with close knitterly friends. The only option for the rest of the single skeins for now is to use them doubled to make hats & fingerless mitts instead of socks.

C is for Cookie

I got my signed copy of Cookie A's book today!


The pattern I sample knit for Cookie:


Lindsay (Rav link)
Hand Jive Nature's Palette in Walnut - 2 skeins
size 2.50 mm KP Harmony dpns

Love the pattern. Not as simple as her Monkey socks, but with the triangular shapes, it had that certain feel. It was actually a pretty quick knit for me despite doing k4togs & ssskp's on the KP Harmony's. I would've preferred my KP nickel-plated but I was aiming for pattern gauge. For my own pair, I will definitely go with my metal dpns.

My pic of the first sock I knit for her:


Pic of the other side of the sock:


I was jamming in the sock pair for her deadline, so I forgot to take a pic of both socks. But I did remember to take a pic of the latest pair I knit from her patterns, one I can share. I have one more I can share after May 1 and another pair I can share after her second book gets published. That's right. She's working on her second sock book. Woohoo!


Hedera socks
Fleece Artist merino wool in Lily Pond
size 2.50 mm KP nickel-plated dpns

Unintentional mod: Didn't move 1 stitch on each side of the instep for the gusset decreases thinking I didn't need to decrease as much. I was wrong. So my gusset doesn't look as pretty as the pattern.