Snake Surly

March 5, 2008

limpid pools of blue

Last year at Stitches, I got two skeins of Brooks Farm Acero. The green skein immediately got knitted up into socks for Nathan. He wears them around the house all the time, and they've held up beautifully. They haven't shrunk or stretched or faded, and I've never had to pick a pill off of them. They're some of the best socks I've ever made.

Since I got two new skeins of this magical yarn THIS year at Stitches, I figured I ought to use the blue stuff I got last year. I cast on and immediately remembered that I *loved* knitting this yarn. There's not a lot of bounce to it due to the silk content, but it is so damned plush and luxurious.

Anyway, check it out:

No, that is not a crappy photograph, the yarn is actually pooling like that. This is the second start of this sock. I knitted about three inches last night and frogged the pooled mess in disgust, cast on at a new place in the yarn, and it's STILL pooling. All of the beautiful light blue is clumped together. I complained about it to Nathan this morning, and he said that maybe I should start at the other end of the skein of yarn, so I did. Now I have a sock going at each end of this ball of yarn, and they're BOTH pooling in the exact same way. Grrrrrrr.

Oh, well, at least they're going to match.

Posted by Kate at 2:24 PM | Comments (4)

March 3, 2008

go fetch

I feel awful bad for you guys who are stuck in the snow and stuff. It probably doesn't help when I tell you that I went out to the porch to photograph the Fetchings that I just whipped up for my grandmother, I had to take my sweater off because it was so warm. I've been photographing all of my yarn pr0n out on the porch this week because there is some tree out front with lovely while blossoms peeking beguilingly over the deck.

p.s. Why is it so hard to photograph red yarn? Would some competent photographer please clue me in on this? Do you have to sacrifice a live chicken to the gods or something?

Posted by Kate at 8:17 PM | Comments (4)

February 7, 2008

In which I discover that it is hard to photograph the top of your head

This was the best I could do.

But at least the damned thing is done and it fits a human head and I like the colors and I didn't drink myself into a stupor while flailing around trying to find the error in the chart. Now I just have to weave in 5 gajillion ends and figure out how to block the sucker.

Isn't it cool how the top of the hat goes with the living room rug?

pattern: Toque #1 from 45 Fine and Fanciful Hats to Knit
yarn: Cascade 220 and Lamb's Pride worsted (all stash, hooray)
needles: US #8
errors in pattern: one great big fat one
gins and tonics needed to soothe my shattered nerves: three, plus some wine

Posted by Kate at 2:42 PM | Comments (5)

May 7, 2007

take two (and call me in the morning)

Here's the toe of my first attempt at a toe-up sock (and the second attempt in general at a sock with this yarn). It's not too bad. I'm using the recipe in the new Interweave Knits. Lemme tell you, the Eastern cast-on SUCKED. I've done a figure-9 cast-on before, but this was a lot trickier. It does, however, have the benefit of having a nice tight toe with no gappy parts. (I do have a beef with the pattern, though. The pictures accompanying the article clearly show two pairs of attractively ribbed socks. The pattern is for a plain stockinette sock. I could have figured out how to rib the sock with not a whole lot of effort, but it still irks me that the photo is misleading.)

I will spare you any photos that may or may not exist of Nathan being amused by the shape of this fledgling toe.

Since I took this picture yesterday, I've gotten to the heel. I've never done a short-row heel, and there was a bit of a learning curve. The heel has now been ripped out twice, but I think this third time is going to be okay. I hope.

[edited later: DUH, there is a pattern for the ribbed socks on the next page. But STILL, they should a picture of the knitted item on the page with the pattern for it!]

Posted by Kate at 1:44 PM | Comments (3)

May 5, 2007

socks that make you go "hmmmm"

This is *so* not right. I can't believe that Nancy Bush would write a bad pattern, and Carrie just made this and liked it, so there must be something wrong with my knitting. The pattern is for women's sizes 8-9, and I'm a 7 1/2, so I was prepared for it to be a little big. I tried it on Nathan, however (his feet are small for a guy), and the heel is all baggy-n-stuff on him, too.

(this is my foot in the photo - please disregard the un-pedicured-ness of it)

See? It's all bunchy at the heel. I have nobody to blame but myself for the holes near the gussets, but I can't understand why the rest of the heel looks so crappy. I'm thinking I might abandon this whole pattern. I really don't like the "seam" down the heel, and I really do prefer a heel that's slip-stitched all the way across the whole thing. Maybe a nice plain toe-up sock?

(The yarn, by the way, is fabulous. It's a teensy bit splitty, but otherwise I love it, especially the super-saturated color.)

Posted by Kate at 2:17 PM | Comments (3)

May 4, 2007

all around my sock

Hey, I finished those Jaywalkers. They are fabulous. Of course, they don't fit me, but my mom sure was happy to get 'em.

Next up: Madder Rib socks from Knitting Vintage Socks, using Mountain Colors' Bearfoot. It's pretty fab. In other sock news, I've washed those socks I made with Brooks Farm Acero several times now. Boy, that yarn wears nicely. It's not pilling at all, and it's just getting softer. Too bad they don't make it in pink.

Posted by Kate at 12:32 PM | Comments (3)

April 23, 2007

presto change-o!

This looks like a dustbunny skewer:

and this looks like a delicious pink kidsmack haze ruffle:

I decided to do some stash-busting and turn those three balls of kidsmack into Birch. It's a pretty easy knit, but please, please, please remind me next time I pick up some mohair how much I HATE knitting it. Augh. It makes me crazy. But it sure is pretty.

Posted by Kate at 4:14 PM | Comments (6)

April 17, 2007

success, I guess

Well, I completed the Jaywalker (large size on #1s). It's a little too big for me, but I think it'll fit my mom just fine. (The ends will stay un-woven-in until I try the sock on her in case I have to make the foot longer.) Now I just need to make the mate and find some nice yarn for another pair for me. I adore this pattern. It's *so* fun to knit.

We went up to Orland this Sunday to surprise the Momster for her birthday. It was an awfully nice day. I brought Skully, and it was much admired. How is it that this sweater looks great on both Nathan and my mom? (Really, isn't she cute?)

Posted by Kate at 4:51 PM | Comments (4)

April 12, 2007

WWGD?

I *really* want to have a pair of Jaywalkers. I love them. But mine are driving me inSANE. Lemme tell you a little story.

First, after casting on, I lose one of the skeins of yarn and then discover that Knitpicks has discontinued that colorway. Thanks to the magic of the Internets, somebody on Knitter's Review Forums has a spare skein to trade me. Cool!

So I knit and knit, admiring the leg of the sock like you wouldn't believe. The stripes are perfection. I knit most of the sock waiting in lines at Disneyland. Finally I get to the heel, slip the sock on my foot, and the sock is WAY too small.

So I cast on with the other skein on #2s. WAY too big. I frog and re-cast on with the #1s again, this time making the larger size. Awesome! The leg fits beautifully, even though the stripes aren't as pretty. The heel looks lovely, it turns perfectly, then I stick it on my foot (last night), and it's sort of ginormous. I keep knitting. Now the foot is pooling, and not in a good way.

So I ask you: What would Grumperina do? She'd rip it out for the fourth time, I know she would. I know people with slightly bigger feet than mine who'd groove on this sock in a big way, but can I gift a pair of socks with crazy pooling? They look like Ethan colored them with crayons. He's four. He can't stay in the lines. And besides, this colorway is MY PERFECT COLORWAY. I want these socks.

Arrrgh.

Posted by Kate at 8:43 PM | Comments (4)

March 11, 2007

the good, the bad, the intarsia

Remember that skull I knit? It was seriously flawed, but it still looked kinda cool. I got me another skein of Lamb's Pride and started the other sleeve. This time, I sort of know what I'm doing.

The new skull looks better. A lot better. So much better that the other one no longer looks kinda cool. In fact, it looks AWFUL. So awful that I'm ashamed to photograph it. It looks like it had some tragic accident. It's all jaggedy and its cheeks are sunken where early on I didn't make new bobbins, but instead stranded inappropriately.

It looks SO BAD. This sweater is going to be the death of me, I swear.

Need drinkie.

Posted by Kate at 9:19 PM | Comments (1)

March 7, 2007

Anyone? Anyone? Lamb's Pride?

Does anybody happen to have a skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky, color M-05 (onyx), dyelot 0484? Just sitting around? Useless? Without purpose?

Well, I can give it a good home. I've run out of yarn for Skully. And it's not like I'm just barely done. I have a WHOLE FUCKING SLEEVE left. I do not understand this. I'm getting gauge. I bought enough yarn.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

I didn't tell y'all (it was too painful) about the other day when I ran out of yarn for the Interlocking Balloons scarf. When I went to Stitches, I bought another skein of Misti Alpaca, but in a different dyelot. I mean, I HAD the scarf with me, I compared it to the new skein, it looked fine, and then when I was about six rows into the knitting, I noticed a VERY distinct change. Nathan *really* wanted to wear the scarf, so I finished it, but it still rankles me. In fact, last night I dreamed that I found two skeins of Misti in the right colorway. Boy, was I crabby to wake up and realize I'd dreamed it.

Anyway, shall I risk this again? Should I just buy the first skein of Lamb's Pride I see?

Aaaaargh.

Posted by Kate at 1:40 PM | Comments (2)

November 16, 2005

Finished Object Wednesday

Dude, I totally finished the Manos scarf. Now I just need to get it shipped off to Seattle.

It's pretty darned nice, if I do say so myself. It's the Braided Mischief cable pattern from Scarf Style. I used two skeins of Manos, and, boy, did the cables suck up the yarn. I contemplated adding a third, but I was tired of knitting. And we tried the scarf on some random man who'd wandered in the store, and it looked nice on him.

Here's a picture. Hee hee. Grace, you rock my world. Margar, don't tell your mom.

Finished!

Gee whiz, Manos sure is scratchy on sensitive skin. That's all I'm sayin'.

Posted by Kate at 5:49 PM | Comments (3)

April 21, 2005

still life with incorrect stitch count

Not that I can really see that far
but ten feet away from me on the floor are some items

a beautiful ball of pale pink merino
attatched to a US7 needle
with some mistake-riddled knitting on it

the other needle is there too
along with a wadded-up photocopy of a pattern
and the book it came from

am now having drinkie

Posted by Kate at 8:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack