Well, Hello There!

Oh, yes, I'm still around.
Did you think I'd forgotten that I had a blog?
Er... well, not exactly.

In any case, I'm posting largely to celebrate the fact that I have reached the 2/3 mark on my half-hex Laminaria.

I got the yarn about thirteen months ago, (as part of a shipment that pretty much established a laceweight stash. My stash otherwise is largely sock yarn...) and planned all along that Juniper Heather Shadow, three skeins, would become a half-hex version of Laminaria, which is one of my favorite shawl patterns. In fact, it is probably going to be perpetually in my queue, I'm just that fond of the blossom and star stitch combo. I've made it thrice, so far, although the third rendition is being bound off, and another exploded Lam is in progress.

And of course, as I reported last post... some three months past!--I started a KAL on Ravelry... well, everyone was supposed to start Aeolian in September. 'Tis October, and I am still finishing Laminaria. In justice, the potentially inadvisable half-hexing scheme ensured that I have approximately 1,000 stitches at this ultimate point!

The last bits of the edging have been a bit of a wrestle with Murphy's Law--do I have enough yarn? Do I have enough yarn? Sure I do--Are you sure you have enough yarn? You are double-stranding for the bindoff! Do I have enough yarn... I think so...

I have mused in previous posts about things I would like to make... I clearly dream big.

Well, right now, once I finish Laminaria, I suppose I'm going to cast on for Honeycomb, and once I finish my mini exploded Lam, I'll be switching out with the #6 tips and casting on for a Citron in Patons Lace...

I also have an exploded Aeolian on the needles, one that I don't mind the beading so terribly on.

Not to mention innumerable socks, and three lace projects that are... let me say... hibernating, and one that has been decidedly abandoned.

Oh, and I haven't mentioned that I discovered both the Laris Designs group and the IntSweMoDo group (The International Sweater-a-Month Dodecathlon), and thus I have been stalking beautiful gloves and sweaters... I think you know where this is going...

I am downright plagued by the fecundity of my inspiration!

As an aside, I would like to mention that the medium I've been writing a lot for lately has formatting such that there's line spacing between paragraphs vs. indentation, and it looks like that's almost automatic now for me... weird!

In any case, I actually held yarn in my hands earlier, considering a purchase for the Poet Pullover...

I do wish I could catch the apocryphal Finish-itis rather than being constantly plagued with its pestilent cousin Start-itis! I desperately need to.

I'm [not] British. I know how to [fill my] queue! (und meine stricknadeln!)

[Mis]Quoting none other than Arthur Dent of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film. (One of the few films, even of the few I've watched before I've read the book, that I liked better than the book). And cobbling together a German phrase-probably horribly...

So... I have too many projects on the needles, period. I did finish a Monteagle and the Shetland Shopper bag I'd had on the needles for months since I last saw (since a Mason-Dixon project is mentioned in this sentence--) y'all. I have no pictures of those, although they do mean I have only one bag project on the needles.

Categorized:

Bags:

• Black Hole bag in pink #10 crochet cotton, #10 needles, i-cord handle in orange/brown/white twist Sugar'n'Cream on #2 dpns

Dishcloths:

• Some sort of double knitting/knitting two stitches together twice over? technique I got from Montse Stanley's knitting guide back last summer in red, white, and blue striped Sugar'n'Cream on #7s. (Digression: I'm intending to take German instead of Spanish if I can find a course, and for some reason, after checking the gender of knitting needles, I'm having to resist translating random words and phrases into German. "zwei Maschen rechts zusammen stricken zweimal..."? last "sommer"?)
• Crocheted flower dishcloths; they're really sort of a swirling hexagon. I made one and two more centers, then didn't finish the second one and left the third one with only a center bit.

Hats:

• Inspired by one of Kelley Petkun's podcasts, probably from late 2008, I cast on another Koolhaas (for myself, since I don't have any handknit hats) in pale yellow JoAnns Sensations Tesoro, on the same #5 16" circ I used for my dad's Koolhaas at Christmas time.
• Not a hat at all, but in the same yarn, Fetchings that I originally intended for a Christmas present for my English teacher, but they're not done, and she's retiring this year. But I still might give them to her as a end-of-year present to use later...

Lace:

• Scarf from VLT in crochet cotton leftover from Tala on #4s. Not progressing very fast because I can't seem to memorize the lace or at least get away from the chart a bit.
• Semi-circle shawl from VLT in Knit Picks Gloss Bluebird (Knit Picks just got in some new yarns! Yay! New lace yarns which are tempting me... and more cottons!) on #6 circs: put on hold because I was trying (and still haven't finished) a pair of truly diabolical, I tell you, slippers where I made unwise yarn/needle combination choices and didn't have a #6 16" circular needle.
• Melon stole/scarf from VLT in Knit Picks Bare Merino Lace died dyed with Orange KoolAid into a mottled pale orange color: rather boring to tell you the truth.
• A stole from AGoL in Yarn Place Graceful I bought at the last Wool Gathering. I'll tell you more about this in a future post, for now suffice to mention that it does need some time to get into any sort of pattern on it because it's cobweb weight yarn.

Miscellaneous Crochet:

• Throw from a February/March or January/February issue of Crochet Today from several years ago, a UFO on an I hook.
• Svanhilde, the last of the Doilies with a Twist series; I'm not sure if I have enough of the cream crochet cotton, but I don't care to buy another ball for just the last few rounds.
• ****f of my own design--Shh! secret project for a yarn shop contest!

Socks, of which there are way too many:

• On #000s, a sock from MSKS in some sort of knit-purl block pattern in laceweight merely for the challenge... (KP Shadow in Redwood Forest (discontinued) left over from my Swallowtail)
• On #00s, Jade/Eucrite. Lion Brand SockEase in Rock Candy. My own design. Hopefully the pattern is coming soon.
• Also on #00s, a cabled design in the same yarn in Toffee
• Also on #00s, DK 2-socks-at once. (KP Essential Peacock Multi)
• On #0s, a cabled sock I'm calling Finglas after a LOTR Ent; pattern from SKS. (KP Essential Pine)
• Also on #0s, the Coriolis socks (More Coriolis diaries? I may need some more Terry Pratchett via Stephen Briggs to get me motivated on the plain knitting for the toe; the first toe was mostly reknit while I was miserably sick to the audiobook of Making Money) (KP Essential Riverbed Multi)
• Also on #0s, umm... The Estonian socks were finished, and I'm saving the next project (which is in the same yarn as the Estonian socks--I have a little stash of that Cascade Heritage) for a future post, like the above lace project.
• On #1s, "Rilhilmina", my bizarre name for a Chevron sock, as seen in SKS (Reynolds Swizzle in a similar green to the Essential Pine, with CMY colored stripes, but that it's more of a bright blue than a pale cyan)
• Also on #1s, the apprently unfinishable and frankly misnamed "Mlle. Gillenormand", my own design. Although I named it after a Les Mis character, the design looks more British than French... (KP Gloss Black)
• Also on #1s, "Paganini" in Mountain Colors Bearfoot Firestorm; a shop sample from my LYS (which happens to fit my foot...)
• Intended to be on #1s, a design of my own devising, possibly titled "Honshu" in an old colorway of KP Felici
• Intended to be on #1.5s, Baby Cable Rib socks from SKS in KP Dancing Hula (the yarn is discontinued, but Patons Stretch Socks is similar)
• On #2s, Spiral Boot Socks in deep purple Reynolds Soft Sea Wool. I don't much like moving the stitches, so this is going slowly, though I am finally in the ankle pattern portion.
• On #3s, Arrow from the 8 stitch section of SKS in KP Parade, my last socks in this unfortunately discontinued yarn.
• On #4s, I-should-have-cast-on-the-second-sock a lacy pattern in some Telemark in Drift, ordered when it first came out, that I tried to use for the 2 in 1 DK sock pattern but frogged.
• On #5s, actually, an old UFO of gloves that I started working on again for Christmas but haven't worked on much since.
• Supposed-to-be-on #5s: EZ's Wearable Art Stockings in Patons Classic Merino, but they aren't exactly working out so well.
• On C hook: UFO of Button-Top Socks in the old version of Bernat Sox. The first was finished in, I think, 2006, while listening to Lyddie on audiobook... Wow. That's old.

A grand total of: 29 projects (although this includes the "intended" projects). Yet, startitis comes with spring, and I have more projects I want to make, or dream of starting...

Whilst I was sick, I did make a couple of projects--crocheted Bluebird lace socks from Just Socks which I call the "Soul Cake Duck Tuesday Socks" (a Discworld holiday similar to a certain spring holiday of our own) and the knitted (obviously) "Cathedral" mitts from Gothic in Knitting New Mittens and Gloves (What is the next Knitting New... book, I wonder? I've loved both books in the series so far, although they are slightly different styles). Gothic took me about 4 hours of work, and the SCDT socks were crocheted in 2 afternoons/nights. Yarns: (guess which one when to which project, I dare you) Bernat Sox in Hippie Hot, KP WotA in Winter Night (which I ordered to evaluate it's navy-blue-ness (and, yes, I am totally addicted to parentheses; it's a running joke for which I blame my good internet friend Schmergo's version of a certain snakey antagonist)))

What projects do I dream of starting (and thus fufilling the title of this post)?

Well, in the sock department, I probably have at least 200 sock patterns (though this is probably only about half of the total I want to make) queued in my 30 page queue of 600, 700+ items on Ravelry, and I do have, as mentioned in my before-posting penultimate post/after this post antepenultimate post over 50 balls of sock yarn with associated patterns picked out. So, no new sock queueing for me. Must not do that...

I am wanting to basically go through Knitting New Mittens and Gloves and knit every single thing in there--perhaps the next two projects would be in Knit Picks yarn, to be ordered:

• Sheltie in KP Suri Dream and WotA. Suri Dream in maybe Cascades or Aquatic or Wildflowers; WotA in oh, maybe Cobblestone heather.
• the-cover-fingerless-mitts-whose-name-I-can't-remember-and-for-once-I'm-not-on-Ravelry Filigree in the new organic cotton worsted weight probably in Malted Milk. And maybe the shorter length in Ginger?

I also got the book of Swedish Mittens out from the library, and am thinking about ordering Selbuvottar, so that would be more mittens. There are also plenty of free mitten and glove patterns on Ravelry that I have in my queue.

For some reason, I've wanted to make all those brioche berets from the brioche site, but I'll have to get yarn. I'm going to use the Bernat Felting wool I tried unsucessfully to use for the basic beret to make a pair of (or a variation thereof) EZ's Mitred Mittens. One of the brioche berets will probably be my next hat, and at some time a tam, and Fern Glade, and possibly some more hat-hats (like Koolhaas) such as topographie.

I, the inveterate sock knitter, am actually thinking about sweaters and vests.

Firstly, the vest came about because after seeing the Silky Wool at KnitWits yarn shop, I absolutely must make something in it. So, perhaps Honeycomb with the pattern from the Austrian socks on the front? I want Veridian, although I also love the other colors. Tweedy, heathery, I love that sort of thing.

There is also a possibly appealing vest in the current Spring Knitty, and I think I'll try a fair isle type vest before a Fair Isle sweater, though that may come after a rectangular project and a tam... Doris Chan's crocheted vests (and sweaters, which I'll mention in the next section) are lovely, and if I can find a good yarn for it, I might make Flower Power from her lace book.

Sweaters? Several things brewing in my head:

• I've wanted to make Tangled Yoke for ages, and now that my school mascot is an eagle, I'm thinking of knitting an eagle, the school verse, and some Elvish into the sweater, probably in Knit Picks Palette, but it'll probably wait till the summer.
• I first got hold of Mason-Dixon Knitting: Outside the Lines while knitting Ice Queen in CPY Kid Mohair (Merino? Ach! I can't remember any of these names! After referencing Ravelry, I realized that the mohair content was misleading me)Merino. So, I'm wanting to do the Cardi Cozy in a deep foresty green, with either Kid Merino, or possibly Elann's Kid Silk Haze sub.
• While inventoring at KnitWits yarn shop, I found that they had 5 skeins of a denimy color of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, and I thought about a slightly U-necked, saddle shoulder sweater (will that work) with the Seaweed pattern I used for one dishcloth... It's a thought.
• The idea of a gansey has also been brewing in my head--Jess's Gansey, and I've gone so far as to research the Frangipani gansey wool. (Hint: If you are in the US, it very well could be cheaper but slower to order from the UK rather than the US source. It seems it--£18 for the cone of wool + £7 international air mail shipping = £25, which, according to Google, equals about $36.50 on 19 March, 2009, rather than the $65.00 Kirtland's Yarn Barn in Virginia is asking for a cone) Possibly in green... (I like green, and I seem to want green sweaters.)
• Plenty of crocheted pullovers and cardigans from Everyday Crochet. I made up a long list a couple months ago of KP yarns to use with some of them.

And then there's scarves, which might help me to use up some cheap yarn I bought to make Christmas presents that never got made, and a bunch I just want to make period. Although this one cotton boucle from Araucania I saw at Knit Wits looks like it would be good for Meandering Stripes (in one color, though), I think Yarn Place yarn would be better than KP yarn for many of the Knitting New Scarves scarves, plus, I intend to order another cobweb weight yarn for another project, which brings me to the final category, lace...

I've seen five, yes five!, shawls since the beginning of the year:

• Dragonfly from IC Winter 2009, to be made in one of Yarn Place's cobweb weight yarns with the D hook.
• Fountain Pen Shawl from IK Spring 2009, similar to two shawls that I've made and enjoyed immensely, with its top down from the back of the neck construction. There are lots of new KP lace yarns...
• The Sweet Lily Shawl, also from IK Spring 2009. I'm just sayin', some of those new colors are tempting me...
• Shipwreck Shawl, from the Spring Knitty. I didn't notice it at first glance, although I liked the thumbnail (why are they called that anyway?)--for some reason I thought the cover picture was the Aeolian shawl (?!). This is made in a thicker yarn, such as Gloss Bare, and requires stringing a lot of beads... hmm
• Aeolian Shawl, from Spring Knitty, by the same designer as Laminaria! Beaded Estonian lace, but in desert-y motifs this time. I'll probably choose a deserty color therefore!

Knitting in another language:

I'm fascinated by the German language, and while trying to figure out how wumbs on Ravelry did a sock heel over the language barrier, I happened upon an old German-knitting-word-of-the-day-month feature, "Stricken Sie Deutsch?" on Claudia's blog, starting here. It might just be helpful if I happen to some how (it's quite unlikely) get Stephanie van der Linden's book in its original German format. Plus, maybe I can understand German knitting patterns now.

That reminds me that there are several sock knitting books coming out that I want (and I thought that the publishing market had probably had its fill of sock knitting!)--Cookie A's Sock Innovations, Wendy Johnson's Knitting Socks from the Toe Up, Stephanie van der Linden's Socken aus unser Welt (spelling/word choice is dubious, I'm typing that title from memory), and a book involving Japanese stitch patterns (which seem to be quite interesting and I seem to be developing an interest in ethnic knitting) in socks that I heard about on Knitter's Review while searching for that sock heel.

Other crafts:

Various events seem to have conspired to start me on a (hopefully fruitful) quilting/patchwork kick. Firstly, I have no interest in knitting a Mason-Dixon log cabin blanket, but hearing about Kelley Petkun's caused, I think, the idea of log cabin blocks to start brewing in my head. Then, she's piecing a block in public on her blog. Then I'm assigned a math project relating the Seminole Indians and their patchwork, quilting, and geometry, and then I decided to piece the center of Grandmother's Flower Garden block for that project. I think I'm going to try to piece a quilt top this summer, and maybe knit a sweater(am I crazy?)(!).

The mention of BSC Lamb's Pride reminds me that I have ambitions of making nalbound slippers in Lamb's Pride Bulky in one of the slightly mottled colorways. But I think I need a bit more practice first.

I've also seen two sock patterns for hand-spun sock yarn over the past few months (one was Blackrose in winter's Knitty, and the other was in Spindlicity) and that makes me want to spin. Spinning the lambswool I bought at... hmm my first Wool Gathering(? I think) on my Schacht Hi-Lo (thank you, Google!) was pleasant or at least rather fun, but the other wool I bought isn't nice to spindle spin--the grey is sticky and thus hard to draft, and the heathered forest green(which I'd call tartan colorway), I think a Corriedale, is a longer fiber length which I also find difficult to deal with. It probably needs a different drafting technique which I'm not ready to adopt on a spindle. I really think I'd spin better on a wheel, but it's kind of out of the question right now.

Then there's weaving, which I got into through my interest in spinning a few years ago. Unfortunately, I want a floor loom with lots of shafts, which is even more expensive and even more unlikely.

I've also run into temari in several places, which for some odd reason is associated with pysanky in my head, and this has given me a slight urge to go and make thread balls and color eggs.

And my mom and I also talked a little about sewing up some of our cloth stash over the summer, so that may be in the works.

St. Patrick's Day (and I forgot to wear green...) reminds me of tatting since I tatted a clover several years ago, which got me thinking about a tatted headband (would that even work? Perhaps a choker type necklace instead?) and then onto drawing pseudo-Celtic knots. I haven't tatted very much at all, and not very recently.

Then, that reminds me of macreme, which I also have dabbled in. (although the only thing I've made is a small bag in Sugar'n'Cream)

There is too much inspiration!

And I have written an excessively long post, which hopefully included most of what I wanted to include in it!

Auf Wiedersehen!
("goodbye" in German)

Postscript: And now my labels/tags have reminded me that I thought about cross-stitch and getting a "Swedish weaving" huck towel kit while in Hobby Lobby the other day (and they seem to be getting in some more new sock yarn--I read the shelf tags), which further reminds me of that humongous latch hook lighthouse and the locker hooked log cabin rug I have in progress.

Post-postscript(PPS): I remembered that I intended to mention that besides green, I seem attracted to browns these days. I got a lot of yarn the other day at Knit Wits, including a darks/brown colorway of JaWoll, Berocco Sock in a brown-y colorway, a southwest colorway of Jojoland Melody (Note to self: the lace/cobwebweight is Harmony, the worsted, Rhythm), and before that, the first Heart and Sole I bought from JoAnns was in Toasted Almonds, which is very brown, and I bought a camo colorway of Bernat Sox for the Whitby Lace Socks from Just Socks (disregarding the fact that that's a Lion Brand book and this isn't LB yarn).

PPPS: And loom knitting! I seem to want to branch out into different sock techniques--wanting to try magic loop (needle: check), 2 circs, 9" Hiya-hiya circs, loom knit socks (for which I want a Decor Accents loom), and crochet socks. Since they are my favorite thing to make...

PPPPS: This is the second spring I've had maniac too-much-inspiration/too-many-things to do syndrome. I have a different Bernard Clayton (Have I got his name right?) book out of the library-this one on soups, and I'm thinking of cooking... and gardening too!

"Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises."

So said the late, great Elizabeth Zimmermann. And so I did yesterday, so long as I could see.

It is quite unbelievable...

The remnants of Hurricane Ike, somewhere between a tropical storm and a Category 1 hurricane level swept through Cincinnati, Ohio, and the surrounding areas yesterday afternoon. While I was happily knitting away on Aearlinnod, learning about tapestry, knotted pile, Scottish, Alaskan, and historical weaving and experiencing Convergence vicariously through Syne Mitchell, raging winds were ripping shingles off roofs and limbs off large trees. When I went out for a bit, the sustained wind seemed to be about a 6-7 on the Beaufort Scale; we must have had 10-11 force gusts. No, I'm not hurt, nor my immediate family (a bit discomforted from lacking electricity, as my hometown does as far as I know). There were indeed a few fatalities in the tri-state area.

I think I'm running a bit short of yarn for Aearlinnod. I have four long rows and the bind-off to do and my ball of yarn is about the size of a large clementine orange.

Anyway, if you were affected by Ike in any way, my prayers go out to you.

...and school uniforms, with lots of socks

Guess what?

...


...


I took a picture of my "disastrous" error in Aearlinnod last night as I started some more tinking, and forgot to grab the camera! So, no pictures!

I'm a bit fed up with school uniforms, and I'll tell you why:
For the last 6+ years, I've had to wear either blue or khaki bottoms and light blue, red (originally pink), or white tops. This year, once more, involves uniforms: navy, khaki or black pants (and pants only, no skirts whatsoever, or shorts, or skorts, or whatnot) and light yellow, light blue, white, royal blue, or navy blue (I think) tops. School starts Tuesday.

I figured out today that I have more than 400 items in my Ravelry queue!

Anyway here's all the socks in progress, descending needle sizes:

• U.S. 5's: Wearable Art Socks (my first fair isle style knit)
  
• U.S. 4's: Open Lace(6) from SKS
• U.S. 3's: Arrow(8) from SKS
• U.S. 2's: Spiral Boot Socks from Interweave Knits Summer 2007
• U.S. 1's: secret sock project that is my own design. will not be pictured. May submit it somewhere.
• U.S. 1's: Oriel(12) from SKS
• U.S. 0's: Mock Wave Cable Socks from Favorite Socks
• U.S. 0's: Charade
  
• U.S. 0's: "Estonian" Socks from the Vogue Knitting Ultimate Sock Book (different from the ones in Folk Socks)
• U.S. 00's: DKed socks
• U.S. 00's: My own design in Sock-Ease

That adds up to: 11 sock projects. My, my, my, my, my. My, oh, my, look how the time flies, look how the world changes in the blink of an eye, my, oh, my, see how the years have gone, see how the hmmm-hmmm, my, oh, my. Sorry there. I reminded myself of a song.

We Greatly Apologize for a Lack Of Posting...

This happens to be the eighty-first post on Arachnera's Web, and I believe I am approaching, if not past, my second blogiversary. Eighty-one happens to be the square of nine, which is the square of three. What my point is in pointing that out to you, I don't quite fathom, but I like the fact that 3⁴ is 81, the number of this post.

I know I have been neglecting you--after school got out, I haven't had consistent internet access, but that's really an excuse, because what I've really been doing is reading fanfiction, some of it really bad, hanging out on forums, and drooling over some on-sale Kureyon. I've drafted perhaps five blog entries in a notebook while I was not at an internet connected computer, but these never got typed up.

In the time between the last post and this one, I have:

• Finished the Austrian Socks
• Knit the Everlasting Bagstopper
• Finished my Swallowtail Shawl (had I started it in last post?)
• Started Laminaria, which I am calling Aearlinnod (Sea-song in Elvish)
• Nearly finished the Entrelac Socks (Knitting on the cuff right now)

Unfortunately, I don't have much time left on the computer, so I will have to truncate this entry for now.

I AM still here...

Yes, I'm here. I've been on Ravelry a lot lately. I've completed a pair of socks, but not the Bavarian socks, and I don't have a picture of them. Regardless of that, here's a picture of something that has been complete for a while and needs to be blocked:





My snowdrop shawl!

I've been wearing this all day, so that's the reason it's wrinkled. Plus, as mentioned above, it needs to be blocked.


P.S. (ETA) Happy Thanksgiving!

Calloo! Callay! Oh Frabjous Day!

Ever read Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass? Well, the poem Jabberwocky:
'Twas brillig and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gymbal in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe

Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The teeth that bite, the claws that snatch
Avoid the ??? and shun
The frumious bandersnitch
.....
something about vorple swords

Calloo, callay, oh, frabjous day!

And that's all I remember. Well, anyway, the USB cable today presents to you:






My shipment from Knitpicks back in July. I am making socks (And could use a beta knitter!) out of the Felici, which is second from right in the top row








My unused sock yarn as of August 1, 2007. (Now I have started a sock in the Essential tweed, which is the blue yarn in the photo. The yarn in the upper left is hand dyed with Kool-Aid.










Doilies from Patricia Kristoffersen's Doilies with a Twist:

Left: Rosa in DMC Baroque, Ecru
Center: Doily #6, the same that's on the cover. I don't recall the name...
Right: Irene in Royale crochet cotton, Mint







A not so well lighted picture (plus an error with the flash) of the hand dyed KnitPicks Lace Weight I am using for a slightly modified version of Hazel Carter's Shetland Sampler Stole from A Gathering of Lace. I'd call the color Dusty Rose or Raspberry Sorbet.








Here is the sock in Felici, my own design (that's where I'm looking for a beta knitter!), taken several days ago (This sock is now finished)


And now let's see if Blogger and my exhausted camera batteries will let me upload any more pictures...






Another of my own designs, this the one being made of Essential Tweed












A Locker Hook rug I (was) working on. I think it's lingering in UFO status....












Guess what technique was used for this potholder....









Nalbinding, that's what! (Self designed nalbound potholder, in Mauch Chunky Kiwi w. Lion Brand Landscapes Rose Garden woven through it.)

An assortment of projects: The shawl back when it was in progress, my first sweater, and a bag I am making from the pattern in SnB Crochet (There seemed to be an error in the pattern, also, I ignored the instruction to turn)









A random pair of finished socks (actually, the ones I mention in this post) modeled by one of the few sweaters I like in this fall's VK










Have any of you received your KnitPicks October catalogs yet? I'm curious as to what all colorwork projects they have. I have Sweaters from Camp out from the library, and I've never done Fair Isle knitting before, and it just blows my mind!

Also, I am knitting a Tomten jacket-in acrylic. I may have more to say on this, so stay tuned

-Arachnera

P.S. As I keep hinting, I'm looking for a beta-knitter/proofreader for my pattern... Leave a comment, or email me at arachnera_at_gmail.com if you're interested...

Lace CRAZY!

Note:
Okay, before we get to today's main content, let me note this:
Camera: Check
Computer: Check
USB Cable: Uh, oopsies...
The USB Cable is absent and thus will not be bringing you today's photos.

Friday:
It all began a little over a year ago, probably the weekend before Wednesday, August 30, 2006's entry "TTY, or a parody of Tortured Tangled Hearts". And it ended perhaps half an hour to fifteen minutes before midnight on Friday, September 14, 2007. It thus took a year and a half. You query, what am I talking about? Well, Arachnera brings you, as of today, the finished (but yet to be blocked) Snowdrop Shawl. (Take a peep at the above note for why the picture is missing...)
Stats:
1 100g skein KnitPicks Bare Merino Laceweight (880yds), natural
U.S. size 6 straight needles
1 dpn, size 10, 10 1/2 or 11 (I don't remember exactly what I used)
1 yr, 1/2 month.
This shawl was proudly modeled at the Wool Gathering.


Saturday:
The day of the Wool Gathering! There will most certainly be more socks on the way, because I got three skeins of sock yarn there. I also bought 3 oz. Wensleydale sliver in a deep green with red and blue fibers, 1 oz. Fox Fibre Vreseis cotton in a medium brown color, and 4 oz. Romney(?) roving in charcoal gray. Check later for more updates on what happens with this sock yarn.

After we got home from the wool gathering, I must have had the "startitis." Yes, oh, yes, I started socks like mad, but one was frogged. Now I have four pairs of socks "in progress." I listened to Lion Boy, by Zizou Corder.

Sunday:
Listened more to Lion Boy. Started a sock on U.S. size 1, set of 4 dpns, in the KnitPicks Felici Hummingbird I received this past July.

What happened to the other skein of laceweight I bought according to the Yarn Harlot's estimated quantity? Ah, well, I picked up A Gathering of Lace from the library, and having been looking around, I have decided that I absolutely love several of the Shetland lace shawls. (Such as the Unst Bridal Shawl, the Princess Shawl, and the Spring Shawl here.) as well as several of the American Alpaca Company's shawls (The Whisper shawl, the Winter Wonderland Shawl, the Misty Morning Shawl, the Forest Path Stole, and the Reflections Stole). (Three free lace patterns that intrigue me, but are being saved for a later date: Eunny Jang's Print o' the Wave stole,{totally irrelated, but I do believe I like just about any Eunny Jang design. Kudos to Eunny!} Orenburg style shawl{As a sidenote, be forewarned that the Orenburg shawl is a huge PDF file due to its pages of charts), and Daisies shawl) Anyway, I'm thinking I might try a slightly modified version of the Shetland Sampler stole by Hazel Carter from A Gathering of Lace. {I keep going off on tangents, or as my teacher calls them, rabbit trails, but anyway, have you seen Sweaters from Camp? I've never knitted Fair Isle, but that book made me want to try} So I dyed the other skein with Kool-Aid this weekend.
This did not turn out as I intended... The color seems to be a pale pink/dusty antique rose, rather than the reddish purple I was hoping for. I used 1 packet grape and 1 packet fruit punch on 1 100g skein of yarn.

Monday(Today):
I have knitted a good deal on those socks in KnitPicks Felici. I am at the time of this blog entry almost finished with the seventh repeat of the 12 row pattern, and past the heel, where I am doing an afterthought heel, albeit with a scrap yarn knitted in. The yarn seems to have some subtle variation in color within the solid section that reminds me (I am not an authority on this sort of thing, having never really properly experienced kettle dyed yarn) of kettle dyed yarn. I may give you a pattern for this.
Also, on the web today, I listened to KnitPicks Podcast 20 while knitting on my socks. This was my first podcast, and I chose today to try one because I had finally remembered to bring my socks today! And what did I start thinking of as Kelley Petkun was talking about short rows and I was working on my socks? This entry, from all the way back in January (!) from the Yarn Harlot's blog. Fortunately, Ms. Petkun does not have any power over my knitting, though it was a bit more difficult to pay attention. I may put up the patterns to my two sock designs, however, they are highly based off Sensational Knitted Socks patterns, so if they do get up, they will not have extensive information. By reading my blogs listed in the sidebar (Note to self: Fix Eunny Jang link), I came across this sock pattern which I will have to try sometime.

For no particular reason, if you were wondering, I kind of lagged out of Runagogo, but I may just make another effort now that cooler weather has started once the new session starts.
Unfortunately, I have got to go now.
Happy Knitting,
Arachnera

P.S.: Fall Knitty's out!

'Round Cape Horn, and Headed for Valparaiso

The title probably makes no sense, and until I did what I was refering to in the title, I was going to title this post after a line in Jabberwocky, but I impulsively wanted to to title the post this.

Although I don't feel like going to the trouble of creating a progress photo at this moment, I worked madly on the Snowdrop shawl, minus the headache that had bothered me before, and reached the repeat after the point! So I am "'Round Cape Horn and Headed for Valparaiso," Valparaiso being the *halfway* marker on the second edge of the shawl. It is a weird looking thing, with the one side all scrunched up on the needle and the other hanging loosely.

I have gotten back to a more familiar computer, so if, if (!) I had my camera with me and the batteries had been charged earlier and I had remembered the USB cable, I would have given you some pictures, but all that did not occur. On that topic, this computer recently went through some problems, so I have lost all my bookmarks and am using IE rather than my beloved Foxfire right now. Also, I have been having line break/paragraph tag problems, er, difficulties, all day in Blogger, don't know why, but this post may look strange.

Last time you heard that I was waiting for a shipment from KnitPicks; well, the package arrived last Friday, along with the July KnitPicks catalog.

What did this package contain? Here, have a looksie at the list:

• 2 50g balls Risata in Dusk



• 2 50g balls Felici in Hummingbird



• 4 50g balls Essential; 2 in each of 2 colorways, Meteor Twist and Peacock Print



• 2 50g balls Palette in Rainforest Heather



• 4 50g balls Dancing; 2 in each of 2 colorways, Hula and Rumba



• and finally! Favorite Socks: 25 timeless designs from Interweave

I had some plans for the Dancing and for Felici, involving the Four Stitch Ribbing patterns and the Chevron Patterns for Self Striping yarns in Sensational Knitted Socks, but I didn't know what I was going to make with the other yarns until I got Favorite Socks. Plans:

• Risata: Meida's socks by Nancy Bush (Hooray Nancy Bush!), go over and visit Grumperina to see some pictures and her thoughts.



• Essential Meteor Twist: Mock Wave Cable socks by Ann Budd. I don't feel like finding pictures, but they're the ones with the rickrack/zigzag pattern made in a blue tweed yarn in the book



• Essential Peacock Multi: Possibly the Cable Rib Socks; I don't remember the designer. However, there may or may not be a problem with pooling. We'll just have to see.



• Palette: Candace Eisner Strick's Austrian Socks. I loves twisted stitch goodness; find more with Eunny's Bayerische Socks and the Chalet (?) Socks in Nancy Bush's Folk Socks

Several other patterns are lovely, but they didn't fit my yarn or needles, or just didn't stand out to me immediately. One thing I noticed is that the Felici Hummingbird colorway (view here) is strangely reminiscent of the yarn of my first socks, 100% acrylic-only, what, started back at the end of 2004?-in the Jazz Hot colorway of this yarn.

Okay, I neglected to mention this in the last post, but as of that so-called unlucky day, July 13, 2007 (a Friday, see), this blog turned a year old. So happy blogiversery!

New at the library:
First, a quick look at my new book:

Favorite Socks: 25 timeless designs from Interweave

Rating: 9/10
Why?
I didn't find many spectacular projects that stood out to me, but I love 'um all anyway, with few possible exceptions.

Do not deal misses (got Weldon's Vol. 5 out from the library and between that and some translation key between UK/US terms in crochet, I couldn't resist saying miss!):

Take a good look at any and all of the patterns I mentioned above, also the Hidden Passion Socks, Eastern European Footlets, Padded Footlets, and Resoleable socks. Look at all of them in fact.



I haven't gotten a look at this one yet, other than Cat Bordhi's preview page, but I am oh so eager to get my hands on this book! Which one...



So many people were waiting on that magical date

JULY 21,2007 for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. Yes, and if you somehow read the same newspaper article as I did, you might have heard about somebody growing their hair out and bleaching to look like Lucius Malfoy (! *Here Arachnera raised eyebrows, may have formed o with mouth and had a bit of a laugh over the matter because beyond unruly bangs and green eyes, neither of which she wants to change, she doesn't look like any character.) And yes, I have read the first six books, although only recently (How I do like the Half Blood Prince-to clarify, the person is probably my favorite character-don't know why.), but I was personally much more excited about....

July 28, 2007

because Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters came out! I want to get my hands on this book, but I'm going to wait for the library, if the PLoC&HC can possibly get the book. I would also like to have a look at Victorian Lace Today, but PLoC&HC doesn't have that, or subscribe regularly to any of the Interweave Press magazines (except possibly Beadwork, which isn't exactly my area of expertise though I generally look over it.)



Now for the magazines I got out from the library on Monday:



Threads, August/September 2007

Ah, hmm... Threads is evidently on a big vintage clothing/vintage pattern kick this issue (Witness this list of articles, which I didn't mind but didn't love either due to aninterest (Inspired by The Outcasts of 19 Schyller Place, I invented a word) in vintage stuff), but what I wanted to see was the make it quick article on aprons. Thinking perhaps if I can get my Janome out and sew up some of the fabric stash that I may try to find a suitable fabric for an apron.



Another sewing project I wanted to make...

Well, I am officially out of time, and I believe this is already a long post. Hopefully I can tell you my opinions on Vogue Knitting Fall '07 next time.

Knit on for now!

Add, subtract, and shawls

I've mentioned the local coffee shop before and today I found out that the kitchen is being enlarged. But I also found out that one of a neighbor's cherry trees was chopped down. The same one I have picked cherries from 2 or 3 summers.

Speaking of math, you ought to know you need a break when you start reading "4" instead of "r" as I was doing today in math class.

I have long admired Grumperina's progress photos on her Mountain Ash shawl, (Well, maybe not long-long, but it sounds good!) which I hear was recently completed. (Such as this one:)
So, I think I'll borrow one of the Yarn Harlot's pattern photos and show you where I am in the Snowdrop shawl.(BTW, my image is marked differently than Grumperina's because I used Paint rather than fancy Photoshop)

Yes, indeedy (Where did I pick that up?) I have only five rows of snowdrops in the main section to go (40 rows)








(I'm getting a little fed up with the Blogger image alignment thing, but oh well...)
I also have something to show you that I did this weekend. I used a piece of 1/2" 100% nylon organdy ribbon, nail polish, a seam ripper, the smallest between needle in my multi-size pack, reddish/pink yarn and the book I learned to tat from (Reader's Digest Complete Guide to needlework). Keep in mind, however, that these pictures wear taken with a scanner, so you can't see too well. The two with white background had the scanner closed and the one with the black background had the scanner open.


















Only attempt such feats if you have good eyesight, good lighting, and a fair amount of patience.

Be on the lookout for a few changes in the appearance of the blog!
Have a nice day!
Arachnera

(P.S. That was a non-meaningful reference to a song, yes.)

Seen these?

Okay, there are pictures of a very lovely sock here. And those socks are the ones featured at the Tsock Tsarina website here. What's with the long hyperlink? I haven't many knitting related things to say. I am working on the second sock of the Ash Gray Braid and Garter Bead sock; the shawl now has.... Well, let me work the arithmetic, so there's more here than just a tiny entry.

1*2=2
3*2=6
5*2=10
7*2=14
9*2=18
11*2=22
Total: 2+6+10+14+18+22=72 snowdrops.

So, I have knitted 72 snowdrops. I've been reading a lot lately, and not knitting too much. I just hit random keys that brought up Outlook Express. Huhh?? As I said in a comment, I have been calling it Foxfire when it is actually Firefox. Odd.

Hmmm....

Today is 9/6/06. There are exactly 10 days until...

The Wool Gathering

This event takes place in Yellow Springs, Ohio. 10 days! Yes, I wish to go. This will be my first fiber festival. And...

I hope there might be Kromskis there.

Yes. I saw my first spinning wheel back in June/July(?) when I went to here for the first time.

As to the shawl:

I have gone back to the Yarn Harlot's entries from 2004 and read her stories of the invention of the Snowdrop Shawl. In addition, the Snowdrop Shawl is now almost 41 snowdrops worth of knitting. Unfortunately, the rows are now over a 100 stitches, not necessarily too long, but not short and quick.

TTY... (Or a parody of Tortured Tangled Hearts)

Here is a parody on a Dixie Chicks song:

It does not, I guarantee, make fun or bad comments about them.

However, it was the song that suited my purpose.


But you must keep scrolling down.



Muhahahaah!






Down.



Tortured, Tangled Yarn (Tortured Tangled Hearts)

Well, there was a little tangle (Well there was a little falter)
In that none center-pull skein (At the alter of confession)
As I was a-windin, (Down on its knees)
It brought me to my knees (True love did fall)
After several minutes of (After thirty one days of)
Ineffectual pulling, (Sleepless nights)
I gave up and (She woke up to)
Left the room (End it all)
With 880 yards in that skein(With "I love you" on a fresh tatoo)
All tangled up (Engraved upon his chest)
It took several hours and much work (She tore her name right off his heart)
So here's to the untangler! (So here's to the unblessed)

Oh, yarn, oh yarn, you fickle thing (Oh love, oh love, you fickle thing)
Such beautiful colorways and lovely skeins (Such pretty words and golden rings)
It was a mistake to wind without a swift (It was a broken dream right from the start)
Bless the tortured tangled yarn. (Bless their tortured, tangled hearts)

Well, if you do this, (Well, a blast of confusion)
Be sure you're willing (Coupled with delusion)
To commit time and trouble (Makes the best layed plans)
A shawl's worth the work (Sometimes fail)
To me, but perhaps not to you (They wined and they dined)
So be warned, this don't do. (Had peace of mind)
I wound and wound (She bought a gown)
And wound some more (And he rented tails)
For a spongy ball of yarn. (But the might cloud of destiny)
I started the shawl (Came drifting through the gates)
And created 5 snowdrops to date. (And busted up what could have been )
(A perfect hopeless case)

(Repeat chorus twice)

Oh yarn, Oh yarn, you fickle thing,
Such silky fibers and pretty string
It was a tangled dream right from the start
Bless that tortured tangled yarn.

Oh yarn, Oh yarn, you fickle thing,
Such beautiful colorways and lovely skeins
It was a broken dream right from the start
Bless the tortured tangled yarn.


I was trying, as you might guess from a bit of a reference in my rather bad parody, to make this pattern from here with this yarn from here. (BTW, the link to the pattern will open a PDF, which could possibly cause a case of slowness of the computer.... So if opening PDFs is a problem, go to the "here" link for the pattern and it is the second project linked on the right side that the author designed. ) I can do better than this, but I didn't. Curious question: am I doing something wrong because my shawl looks more finished/less messy than I think it ought to?
Also: The yarn splurges are indefinately cancelled.
I am very busy with schoolwork. Oh the pull of WIPs!