Not So Smooth

I occasionally get messages complaining that my knitting always looks better than that of the writer.  Seriously folks, this is because I cheat.  I tend to only show you the pretty stuff.  The stuff that isn't working out?  That gets tossed against the wall and sworn at and then ripped.  But just so you know it happens, here's an example of something that isn't working out. Now this had promise.  The stitch pattern is pleasing, yarn is lovely, the beads are shiiiiiiiiiiny, and the silk thread is interesting to work with.  See?  Far too pretty to throw away. But this [...]

August 29, 2011|

Sock Summit Part IV, In Which We are Menaced by the Deep

The last time I came to Sock Summit, I rather over scheduled myself.  I booked a class for each class period, I planned to attend some of the after class activities, and I intended to explore the area a bit.  I should have known better.  I am only social in small doses, and I must retreat to a hotel room/car/cave to recover in between.  I'm sure this isn't the most flattering aspect of my character, but I don't seem to be able to do much about it, so I work around it.  Last time I ended up finding another student [...]

August 1, 2011|

Not Quite

It has been a rage-y sort of day.  The kind where you stub your toe and burn your tongue and somehow don't quite manage to rinse all the conditioner out of your hair and all of your clothes are itchy and all the sounds in the world are too loud. I'm firmly convinced that the only way to remedy such a day is to go back to bed, take a nap, and try again later. Alas, I didn't follow my own advice. Instead I tried to take pictures of the most recent socks.  In the heat.  On The Boy.  In [...]

June 19, 2011|

Snag

So we all do it.  Or at least I hope we all do it.  This morning I realized that I'd worked part of one row of the sock much much looser than the others.  Now for some things this might not matter or might come out in the wash.  But this is a sock, and I didn't want to leave a place that could wear our or irritate the foot. But of course it was many many rounds back, and I didn't want to rip. So if you ever find yourself in this unenviable potion (you of course won't because [...]

June 8, 2011|

A Small Change of Plans (or How I Came to Shove Pointy Metal Sticks into Expensive Electronic Equipment)

The plan had been to show you the sock from last time (now slightly taller, how shall you contain your excitement).  To this end, I whacked the sock on a blocker, clipped it in place, opened the curtains, and clicked away for a minute.  All pretty standard stuff.  Such actions are quite a normal part of my life these days.  I've stopped questioning them.  Then I took the card out of my camera, wandered over to my computer, and shoved it in.  Again, I've done this hundreds of times. But this time something felt wrong. The card didn't stop moving [...]

May 21, 2011|

Not Quite According to Plan

You'll recall my friend Alphonse.  He's been a perfect house guest for the the last several weeks.  Doesn't make a mess, doesn't eat all the chocolate, doesn't hog the washing machine.  Totally charming fellow.  It's time I put him to work. Yesterday, I cast on for my entry in the ongoing 'fluffiest hat in the history of the world' contest. Now because I am a reasonable and responsible knitter, and because this was a new yarn, and because I wanted the end result to fit my head, I had dutifully done a swatch before I cast on.  Admittedly it was [...]

March 29, 2011|

Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No

It seemed like a good plan at the time.  It really did.  The lovely Lauren, she who is kind enough to model for me so often, needs a hat.  We discussed hats and the colors and shapes in which hats can be made.  We measured.  I marveled at the size of her head (really, it's 2 inches smaller than mine, I'm so jealous).  I swatched.  I cast on.  I knit. Then...then I realized that the thing on my needles sucked.  It wasn't 'a little rough.'  It wouldn't 'all come out when blocked.'  It didn't need 'just a few more rows [...]

March 10, 2011|

Apparently I Just Can’t Knit

Yesterday saw the (slightly more vicious than was perhaps strictly necessary) ripping of the two-headed hat.  This morning I cast on for the second version.  Yesterday's hat used 8 repeats of the stitch pattern.  A bit of measuring and swatching and needle swapping had led me to firmly believe I should remove 2 of those repeats.  Now just to review, 8-2=6.  Do keep that in the back of your mind as we go forward. This morning bright and early I sat down to cast on the the second version of the hat (the 'bright and early' bit may have been [...]

January 9, 2011|

I Really Should Know Better

You know that little feeling...that subtle nagging feeling that says 'that might not be quite the right size?'  Yeah.  I should really learn to listen to that feeling.  The hat I was working on?  The one I was three inches into?  The one that seemed to be just eating up yarn?  Yeah.  I tried it on.  It was too big.  I gave it a tiny gentle tug.  It grew and grew and grew.  A second later The Boy came by and stuck his head in there along side my head.  That's really not a good sign for a hat.  It [...]

January 8, 2011|
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