The Speed of Socks

After my trip to the LYS last week, I started a sock for the Moose, then I did a sock for the Roo, and repeated the process. By Thursday morning, I had two complete pairs of socks, and my children now happily wander through the house with striped warm feet. They wear them with the pajamas at night, which makes me think I need to make more so they stay nice and toasty.


I am delaying my gratification in knitting my alpaca hoodie. Instead, I dove into my miniscule stash (I am odd--I only keep yarn around for projects in progress or projects to be) and came up with several skeins of navy blue Encore which were destined to be a Hogwarts scarf. I really have no need for a double-knitted, 10-inch wide scarf here in SoCal, so I frogged the scarf and started a top-down, loose-fit raglan for the Roo (growing room, you see).

I started by making a gauge swatch--25 stitches wide and 25 rows long--and then I used Knittingfool's sweater wizard to come up with a pattern for the sweater. It's all based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentage method, but I, the math teacher, did not feel like doing all that math myself. So far, I have only had to make one major modification in the neck. I cast on using US size 6 needles instead of size 5, and I increased the number of stitches to be cast on so it would fit more easily around her head. All this is so she can have a Weasley sweater like the ones Molly makes for her children and for Harry every Christmas. If you need a good picture of one, go to Alison's blog. She even has her own pattern there.


Here's why I opted for a raglan. Though I love seaming sleeves and sides of sweaters, I find setting in the shoulders tedious. It probably has something to do with where I place my increases. It will come with time and practice which only means I get to do more knitting!

Two Steps Forward...

and one step back. This pretty much describes my knitting this week while I've been out of school. Let me spin you a yarn...

First, there was Icarus. Yes, I'm working away on it, but the super long rows are making it tedious for me. I started the last pattern repeat and got about halfway through it before realizing I was going to run out of yarn somewhere in the edging. So I had to frog an entire day's work. Thank goodness for that dental floss I put in there! The next day I started the edge, but kept switching between charts 2 and 3 instead of sticking with chart 2. I tried to knit chart 3's row 7 at least twice where it didn't belong. I think I must be desperate to move on to chart 3. Obviously more frogging was involved. I successfully finished chart 2 on Thursday, and my reward for doing that was starting a new sock.

I had to start a new sock because here are my County Clares I finished earlier this week:


They have cables at the top a la Fetching, they are worked in 4 x 1 ribbing down the leg and foot, they have what I consider a "normal" toe, and the afterthought heel. They also obviously need to be blocked.

Yesterday, we had to escape from the cleaning lady. The kids and I don't like to be home while she's here, because we feel like we're in the way. We went out to breakfast, and after eating, entertained ourselves by reciting the names and performing the hand motions for all the states from Maine to Wisconsin. I'm sure the other diners thought we were nuts. It's a memory device called Motion USA used in our 2nd grade class to help the students learn the names of all 50 states. The kids' favorite sign of the moment is Wisconsin. You use your hands to form a triangle and hold it above your head, and it's supposed to remind you of the Cheeseheads. They find it extremely hilarious. After breakfast, we went to the chiropractor and to the library. Then, we went to the yarn store. Oh my!

I had my Christmas gift certificate from my school secret sister, and it was burning a hole in my pocket! I have lots of new treasures like Trekking for the Moose, which is already turning into a sock,


Trekking for the Roo,


and some yummy alpaca


which is going to turn into this for me.


The pattern is from Knitting Pure and Simple. I don't normally wear hooodies, but I really want to try one, and I'm hoping this will scratch the sweater itch I've been feeling lately. If not, I'll probably do the Perfect Sweater from over at Mason-Dixon.

Moose's sock is a result of my rebellion against my Lisa Souza Mardi Gras Sock! Merino. I have started and frogged a sock in that yarn about 5 times this week. I just can't find a pattern to suit me that works up small enough to fit me. I decided (duh!) it must be a gauge problem, so I also broke down and bought some US size 0 Addis so I can try again. I really want to knit Lombard, and I hope this solves my problem.

The DCA and I finished the wrapping last night, and I finally feel ready for Christmas. All that's left to do now is to pick up the ingredients for all the Christmas dinner yummies, so we're off to the store to do our last-minute shopping. I'm sure we'll have lots of company!

After that, I'm going to sink into the sofa with Icarus and the Trekking sock, play some Christmas carols, listen to my children playing, and get lost in the wonder of Christ's entry into the world.

Where Did November Go?

So, in my last post I announced Icarus had been banished, Clapotis had been pulled from retirement, the Jaywalkers were complete, and the *b-Marie* socks were underway. Much has happened since that day, and it also seems that I owe some eye candy, so here goes...

First, here, on the right, are my completed Socktoberfest Pomatomus socks. Scout created the colorway, and I've absolutely enjoyed wearing my autumnal socks made from her fabu yarn over the last month. I may even keep them around through the winter!

Next, on the left, are those pesky Jaywalkers in Lisa Souza's Joseph's Coat colorway. I must say I enjoyed knitting the first one, but the second one definitely led to second sock syndrome. It's a great pattern from Grumperina, and I'm glad I tried it. It will probably be my only pair of Jaywalkers though, because I'm finding them a bit baggy in the ankles for my liking. They make great lounging socks though--absolutely lovely with my jammies!

I scored some awesome Koigu in the mail from Yarnzilla last Friday. It was destined for Maude, and I raced home from piano lessons with the Roo before heading back out to a birthday party that evening just so I could check the mail. I spent my time at the party avoiding small children and swatching for Maude. The other parents looked envious because I had something to do. They should learn to knit too!

The Roo and I have co-opted a phrase from the movie Over the Hedge to explain how we feel about Koigu. You have to check out Hammy the squirrel. He has a great line in the movie that he utters in a childishly sweet voice when he wants a treat that has been taken away: "But I love the cookie." After we both oohed and ahhed over the Koigu in its box and lovingly petted it, we looked at each other, and almost immediately said together, "But I love the Koigu." The Roo does almost a perfect imitation of Hammy, and it completely sums up our love for my new yarn. I know I have created another yarn addict in exposing my youngster to Koigu at such a tender age, but it's better that she develop an appreciation for luscious yarns than be stuck in forced acrylic ignorance as I was at her age. It's my prerogative as her mom and knitting mentor!

Now for this week! Each year, the teachers at my school are required to attend the regional ACSI conference in Anaheim. It always falls during Thanksgiving week, and school is closed for the entire week to accomodate our trip. The students all get homework to make up for the 2 or 3 days they miss because we're out of town and growing as professionals. The DCA and the kids meet me in Anaheim on the closing day of the conference, and we usually spend the next day at Disneyland riding as many roller coasters as possible.

As you can see, my Clapotis is finished. It went along in the car on the way up to Anaheim on Sunday, and kept me occupied during the two general sessions and four seminars I attended on Monday. I finished dropping all the stitches Monday night at the school staff dinner and wove in all the ends afterwards in the hotel. As a reward, I actually wore it Tuesday because it coordinated well with the sweater I packed for that day. The Lisa Souza Silk Merino is toasty, and I would use it again for another project. My only wish is that the colors were more evenly matched between the skeins. They are all from the same dyelot and dyed on the same day, but each skein was slightly different from the others. I know it's due to the vagaries of hand-painted yarn, and I also know I could have fixed it by knitting a few rows with each skein and carrying the yarn up the back. I just didn't see how it would work very well with the edge on Clapotis. I'll just toss it casually over my shoulder, have a croissant, and worry about something else, like whether or not I will ever finish Icarus.


I did cast on my *b-marie* yarn in the Snicket pattern, and got about halfway through the cuff on sock #1. That's about where I decided the pattern and the yarn just weren't a good match. I couldn't see the lattice pattern, because it kept getting lost in the stripes. I have opted for a plain vanilla sock instead, which I like very much! They remind me of zebras! I started this pair on Monday night while I was in Anaheim. They provided me much entertainment during the Tuesday general session, and they kept me from being overly frustrated with the lines during our annual trip to Disneyland on Wednesday. I think I'll use Snicket for the skein of Socks That Rock County Clare that's calling to me from the sock yarn stash...


So after a long day at Disneyland on Wednesday, we headed home on Thursday morning and managed to avoid all those crazy Thanksgiving Eve drivers on the I-5. Maude was born as we drove out of Anaheim. It is a quick and rhythmic knit, and I am enjoying every stitch. She seems a bit small, as I mentioned before, but I have never been good at gauging the size of a shawl as it grows. I'm hoping she grows by leaps and bounds in the next several repeats. I do, however, have an extra skein of my yummy Koigu just in case I need to make Maude a bit wider than the pattern calls for.

After all this, I wake up today and realize it's the DCA's birthday, 22 days until the Moose's birthday, and 31 days until Christmas. I'm glad I got a lot of Christmas knitting done this summer, because I would probably be panicking that November is fading fast. Now I just have to be a responsible knitter and put the handmade gifts in the mail. There's still plenty of time for that, right?

I may be scarce again next week too, because I have to grade all that home study work I assigned and the first trimester ends Friday. There's nothing like last-minute grading and report cards to eat up all my knitting time. I might have to be teacher-y and responsible during my planning time at school this week just so I can grab some moments of sanity with my sticks and string here at home. Maude will make it all better!

Socks-travaganza

For your viewing pleasure, I present some Saturday socks! I'm terribly sorry for the delay in posting pics of my socks--my digital camera needs batteries, and I finally broke down and borrowed the DCA's. (Please excuse the glaring whiteness of my legs in these shots--although I live in Cali, I am still the whitest person I know!)

Exhibit A: A plain vanilla pair of Trekking XXL.
These worked up so fast on my circs after I finally gave up trying to start them toe-up and with a pattern. They appear much darker in natural light, but as you can see the colors are yummy!

Exhibit B-1: Hoya Socksa.
This pair is an original design (I think). The colorway is Scout's Storm Surge, and it reminded me of Georgetown, my old home away from home. I tried to make a pointy lace pattern reminiscent of the clock tower on Healy Hall, but it's not very visible from a distance.

Exhibit B-2: Hoya Socksa Close-Up.
It's slightly better in detail, but it's not as pointy as I imagined. That's okay, though, because I can now add "sock designer" to my knitting resume.

Exhibit C: Socks That Rock Highway 30.
This is the pair I started at the Sonic Youth show and then had to re-start the next day when they turned out too big. They were an incredibly fast knit on DPNs, and I loved the feel of this yarn! I can't wait to get started on my pair in County Clare.

Exhibit D: Jaywalkers in Lisa Souza Sock Merino!
This is my work in progress. The colorway is Joseph's Coat. I've been telling people at church that these socks are biblical so it must be okay for me to knit in church. I love the stripes on the leg, but I'm not too keen about the pooling on the foot. At least that part will be hidden inside my shoes most of the time.

As I work on patterned socks, I am learning that I really prefer plain vanilla socks for knitting. They are so much faster, and they appeal to my need for instant gratification. Patterned knitting slows me down, and I would prefer to have more to show, like a sweater or a shawl, from so much work. It won't stop me from trying patterns though--I do need a challenge every once in a while.

For now, I will go sit on the couch, knit more socks, watch some Sooner and Gator football, and wait patiently on the mailman to see if my swag from Scout is in this afternoon's mail. Bring on that Socktoberfest yarn!

Let the Games Begin!

The oregano socks are complete at last! I love them and really want to keep them for myself, but I don't wear much green, so they will be handed off to my friend at church in the morning. I know she will just adore them! Everyone who sees them tells me they are beautiful, so it must be true...

Brenda's pattern worked very well with the colorway--you can still see the twists in each cable and the detail in every lacy inset. The lace insets even inspired me to try designing my first pair of socks. I have some of Scout's sock yarn in a colorway called Storm Surge that contains lovely shades of the blue and grey of my alma mater, Georgetown. My new pattern idea includes some pointy lace insets reminiscent of Healy Hall, so I think the pattern will be named "Hoya Socksa" in honor of the school.

Let's pause for an educational moment:

The following is borrowed from the Georgetown University New Student Guide.

“What Rocks” at Georgetown University

No one seems to know exactly when or how the term Hoya Saxa was first used at Georgetown. Many years ago there was a team at Georgetown called the “Stonewalls,” and it is suggested that a student applied the Greek and Latin terms and dubbed them “hoya saxa”—what rocks! Hoya has since become the nickname for Georgetown’s athletic teams and students.

Hoia is from the Greek word hoios, meaning “such a” or “what a.” The neuter plural of this word is hoia, which agrees with the neuter plural of the Latin word saxa, meaning rocks; thus we have hoya—substituting the letter “y” for “i.” Before 1900 every Georgetown student studied both Greek and Latin, so there was no need to explain in print what the expression meant.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog entry...

My Black Bunny Fibers indigo laceweight arrived this week. I intended it for Icarus, but the pictures in Interweave show it in very fine gauge suri alpaca. Instead, I may return to my original Print O'The Waves plan to showcase Carol's beautiful blue dyework. The waves just seem more fitting for the stormy blues and greys in my yarn (more of those GU colors!). I am looking for more suggestions though, so if you know of a great pattern for 880 yards of yummy laceweight, please let me know!

The Trekking XXL socks have been frogged yet again, and this time they have been reborn as a pair of plain vanilla top-down socks. The dark Trekking colorway wasn't letting any pattern I tried to show up, so the latest incarnation is just stockinette stitch. They will be my movie and t.v. socks for a while so I can concentrate on the show. Through all this, I learned I am just not a toe-up girl, because the style wasn't working for me. I know there are toe-up devotees out there who claim it is the best method imaginable because you can use up all your yarn, but I am like Wendy. I am just more satisfied by starting from the cuff, turning into the homestretch at the heel, and anticipating the decreases at the toe which signal the completion of a sock.

I was a very responsible middle school math and science teacher this week. I used my time wisely yesterday (both of my Science classes had tests and my homeroom had P.E.), and I wrote lesson plans for my next two units in Science and my assignment sheets for next week. I also graded all of this week's assignments last night before I finished off the oregano socks. This is very important, because I now have the rest of the weekend to do nothing but knit, knit, knit! I don't think I have ever managed to do that since I started full-time teaching. I guess I just needed the proper motivation provided by my fiber and pointy sticks!

I'm off to play with my yarn!

And, oh yeah: Go Hoyas! Go Gators! Go Sooners!

The Invasion Has Begun!

I am inundated by a flood of UFOs. Non-knitters may think I have started to believe in aliens, but most knitters know about this common problem. I am declaring war on the UFOs, and I am living in a self-imposed exile with my projects which need completion. There will be no casting on of new garments until these lovely items have exited the workbag.

The first Black Bunny Fibers Oregano sock has been completed. I spent yesterday afternoon and evening working on the leg of the second sock. This afternoon, I will be working the heel flap, heel turn, and gusset. I love Brenda's pattern, and I am thinking of using it again to make myself a pair of socks in a colorway I adore. I have other projects, however!

Here is your first glimpse of the Mohair Travel Shawl:This project has been underway for about two weeks. I have finally accepted that I must actually go to buy at least two more balls of Kid Merino just to finish this lovely cloud of pink goodness. I called Bonita Knitting yesterday, and they are setting aside the last four balls in this colorway for me to pick up after work tomorrow. I am thrilled to bits that they have some left. I suspect I will now have leftover yarn, but I think it may become a lacy scarf if I do. Isn't the edge lovely???

This is my zig zag scarf. The pattern is my own design. My apologies if it's really an un-vention and you've seen it before. I spent a couple of hours one evening playing with the yarn and figuring out how to make a short row, garter stitch scarf which I wouldn't mind wearing. The scarf in progress is the result of my labors with the needles, a notebook, and a pen.

The scarf came about because pink yarn was on sale last week at Two Sisters & Ewe, and I just had to pick some up. If you use the sale yarn to make a breast cancer scarf and then donate your completed scarf back to the store, they will sell it at the Susan G. Komen Three Day Walk this fall and give you store credit for the amount of money you spent on the yarn. All proceeds from the scarf sales will go to the walk. I couldn't resist the opportunity to help out, but it does mean I have yet another project on the needles. The Roo is working on a scarf of her own. I'll try to post a picture of hers when it is nearing completion.

The newest project is a toe-up trekking sock. I keep frogging it and re-starting it, but this time, I think it may stick. I intend for it to be one half of a pair of braided cable socks for me. I'm not holding my breath though, because this is the 4th or 5th incarnation of this particular sock.

My reward for finishing all these UFOs will be casting on the Clapotis. I am truly itching to start it, but I know I won't really enjoy it unless it's the only thing I am working on during that time. I don't want to be distracted a bit by anything else when I finally start.

And finally, we have the DCA's completed Fuzzy Feet. I finished knitting them weeks ago, and I finally got around to felting them in the wash last weekend. The weather has turned a bit cooler over the past couple of days, and he has been seen wearing them on occasion. He says they are toasty, which was the general idea. I would make a pair for myself for this winter, but I just don't want to face another pair of socks knit on size 10 needles. It's just a bit too wonky for me.

School with my new class went very well this week, and I am enjoying teaching all the math and science. It looks to be a truly marvelous year!

A Stash Is Born!

The DCA's black socks are finished. Pretend there's a picture of them on the page. He (or more likely our cleaning lady) has stashed them I know not where, so they were unavailable for their appointment with my camera. I grafted the last toe on Tuesday evening and then immediately cast on the toe-up socks in Trekking XXL. The Trekking socks provided much entertainment during a computer training period about the school's new web site on Wednesday. BUT, new sock yarn arrived on Wednesday, and they were quickly tossed aside.

The latest star of my stash is Black Bunny Fibers sock yarn in the Oregano colorway. I cast on for them Wednesday evening using Brenda's Pembrokeshire Pathways pattern. My in-laws are visiting this week before school starts next week, so we hit Sea World on Thursday and did the obligatory tourist thing at the Moose's request. I spent the day walking and knitting around the park. I got lots of interesting looks, but I wasn't bored while we waited for shows and rides. Sometimes, sock knitting is the best entertainment you get in an amusement park! These lovely socks are destined for my friend whose favorite flower is a green carnation. The colorway has every color possible from her favorite bloom, and I thought of her while knitting it on Thursday.

I almost threw the BBF socks aside on Thursday, because I hit the motherlode in the afternoon mail. My shipments from Blue Moon and Lisa Souza both arrived, and I'm enamored of my new fiber! I took the skeins in to my LYS today and wound them on their swift and ball-winder. The staff love the colorways, and I think I may have become a certified sock yarn enabler. Clockwise from the top they are: Lisa Souza Max in the Wild Things colorway (I have two other skeins too, and they will soon yield a Clapotis), Blue Moon Socks that Rock in Highway 30, Lisa Souza Sock! Merino in Joseph's Coat, more Sock! Merino in Mardi Gras, and Socks that Rock in County Clare. Feel free to admire my treasures. I know I sure do!

Today's mail yielded a little something from Wendy of Knitty D and the City. I correctly answered the Ben on a Bench question in her blog and am now the proud owner of some truly beautiful stitch markers. I love them! I might put making stitch markers on my list of things to do--ok, probably not. Thanks so much, Wendy!

And last, but not least, for your knitting enjoyment, I have FOs.
These bags I knitted up back in June are finally and completely finished. I spent the afternoon weaving in ends and sewing on i-cord straps while we watched the Sooners beat the UAB Blazers. They are from the free sample pattern at the Philosopher's Wool web site. The bags also visited the LYS today, and they--or something like them--may become the star of a Fair Isle class in the near future. The pattern is a great introduction to the Fair Isle technique. If I didn't already have so much I want to do, I would probably try adding a sweater to the queue.

It's time to go back to those Oregano socks--or maybe the travel shawl!

Riding the Waves

Both of my Wavy scarves are done! Aren't they lovely? The pink and purple one on the left is for LNO, and the multi-colored one on the right is mine. I can hardly wait for the weather to cool off so I can wear it!

I'm making slow but steady progress on the DCA's black socks on two circs. I know certain knitters must just fly along using this method, but I feel slow and clumsy using it. I guess I'm just a DPN girl...

In the latest news, I have joined my first Knit Along! It's the Black Bunny Hop Along hosted by Knitty D and the City. I love the idea of this one because I get to knit anything I like as long as I use Black Bunny yarn. I bought my sock yarn today, and I'm starting to talk to Black Bunny about some yarn for my first laceweight project. I hope to be working on the Print O' the Waves Stole by Eunny Jang. I can almost feel the fuzzy goodness now!

The Alpaca Is Thrilled...

...and so am I! The Alpaca Arrowhead Stole is finally finished. Moose's giant Pooh was gracious enough to model the finished object for us.

Once upon a time in May, I stepped into my LYS intending to find some yarn for my first attempt at a sweater. I fell in love with this lovely violet-blue alpaca worsted. At first, I tried to force it to be a tunic sweater much like the one I just completed. It did not want to be a sweater; it wanted to be an Aran shawl. After a few days, the yarn changed its mind yet again, and it no longer wanted to be an Aran shawl. This time it wanted to be an Arrowhead Lace Stole, and I allowed the yarn to have its way. After several false starts--the width had to be just right--the stole was finally underway. The alpaca has been patient through my many cheating moments as I stole time away to work on other projects--especially the lilac sweater. It had grouchy moments too, and I could hear it calling me from where I stashed it. Now, we are living in harmony as the alpaca has been converted to my lovely shawl, and I will have something warm and toasty this winter.

Since the alpaca is off the needles, I've decided to ignore those pesky socks and slippers and dedicate some time to knitting a mini-Clapotis for LNO, the daughter of my friend. Her birthday is in November, and I want to have her present stashed away well before the big day and to give myself enough time to finish it since school is starting soon. Sometimes teaching really interferes with my knitting time. (It's really just a test run for my own Clapotis while I wait for my Lisa Souza Max yarn to arrive. I want to be in the groove and knitting smoothly for the real thing!) Here's my problem:

I am not too keen on how the pink is "pooling" in the middle of the scarf at the moment. (For some bizarre reason, it looks much better in the picture than in person.) I tried to stop the pooling by doing another repeat of increase rows, but that made the mini-Clap too wide. Ripping it back to one fewer set of increases makes it too narrow. The Clapotis pattern doesn't seem amenable to easily switching skeins of yarns, so I guess I'm stuck with it. I'm glad it's not mine, because it would make me crazy. I'm hoping that opening up the dropped stitches may lessen the pooling effect. I am also trusting that a pre-teen just won't care about small things like color pooling in her scarf.

It's a FO!

And, no, it's not the Navy kind, thank goodness!

The neckdown pullover tunic is finished! It's really finished, with the ends woven in and everything. This is the first adult-sized sweater I have ever knit, and it's mine, I tell you, all mine! Mwuhahaha!

My new tunic is knit from the top down in the round and has raglan sleeves. It is a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern, and it contains miles and miles of stockinette stitch. If I ever make this again, I am definitely going to include some kind of pattern to end the monotony. Okay, so tunics aren't so fashionable, but let me tell you, it is truly comfy! It will be the perfect fall sweater for curling up with my knitting, a good movie, and some hot cocoa!

Now I am off to pay attention to the black socks or to the Alpaca stole (the Alpaca is grouchy because I have been ignoring it in favor of the sweater). Before I go, check out this item which is trying to worm its way into my queue: The Weasley Sweater. The kids are on a Harry Potter kick, and I may do a Molly Weasley and knit them some sweaters for Christmas. Don't worry! I'll ask before I make one in maroon.