This year, it looks like I'll pretty much be a Baby Surprise Jacket factory, as it seems EVERYBODY around me is spawning. Hurrah for 6-ply sock yarn and 4mm needles, say I...

An open letter to a skein of yarn

Dear skein of Austermann Duett, shade 51, which I have been unsuccessfully trying to turn into a pair of socks since sometime in 2010,

Where are you? I should like to turn you into a hat, in hopes of greater knitting-up success.

Best regards,
L. Masche

Socks and "obligatory" patterns

In the last few months I've managed to complete a few pairs of socks, about a few of which I'd like to write.


First off there are the Toirneach socks which I'd started last November, then put aside after about half an inch's worth of knitting, then picked up again in August. The yarn for them (some lovely BFL by Fyberspates) came from Dottycookie, who decided it wasn't her colour and kindly gave it to me as a present, and the needles were the result of a swap with a raveler living in Sweden. Many thanks again to both of you.

I've also finally managed to complete a pair of Jaywalkers, after various unsuccessful attempts. The yarn in this case is Regia World Ball in the Brazil colourway, knitted on 2.25mm needles with 84 stitches for the main pattern (see again the bit where I mentioned I knit VERY tightly). They're somewhat difficult to get on and off, but they fit nicely and snugly once they're on.

For the other "obligatory" pattern, I'm finally trying to make a BSJ, largely as a means of using up some of the acrylic that I bought early in my knitting career. (I am in the pro-acrylic-for-kids'-things camp.) No photo as yet; perhaps soon, once it's completed.

Resurfacing yet again...

I appear to be somewhat neglectful of this blog, but I should remedy this. Since I last posted, I've been mostly knitting socks. Lots of them. Mostly they've been successful, with three quite spectacular failures (two pairs utterly, utterly too small for their recipient - serves me right for knitting to my own size and then just trying to add 2cm - and one nearly-finished pair misplaced on a train or something).

Through all these socks, I've discovered various things:

• I knit *tightly*. My gauge with regular German sock yarn (the 75/25 420m/100g kind) is easily something like 10-11 spi, and, actually, I like it that way. Looser gauge doesn't feel quite right to me. Somewhat frustratingly, though, my tight gauge means more yarn consumption, so I'm frequently stuck with annoying amounts of remnant at the end of a 100g skein - not quite enough for a full second pair, sometimes not even enough for some fingerless gloves (in the case of larger sizes).
  
• I have short, wide feet (which I knew), and a high instep (which I didn't). This leads to a pronounced preference for top-down socks with heel flaps, though I'll soon try out some instructions for toe-up socks with heel flaps, in the case of limited amounts of yarn. What I've found unfortunately *doesn't* really work for me is, despite its genius, the Fleegle Heel. It seems to eat a lot of yarn, and still makes a heel that's slightly too tight for my instep, alas.
  
• Further to the subject of weirdly-shaped feet, I appear to be particularly evil to the backs of heels, so I am now very partial to Eye-of-Partridge heels. The extra reinforcement and cushioning are both very helpful, and keep my socks from wearing through stupidly quickly.
  

Recently, I attempted something vaguely approaching project-monogamy, when I hoped to get a scarf done in a particular timeframe for a friend of mine. That didn't *quite* work (I've finally been to the post office, though, and sent it off), but I was somewhat surprised by how quickly I managed to make progress by just picking up the same project every time rather than alternating. (However, where would be the fun in doing that on a permanent basis?)

In another departure from the usual, I've started my first shawl, a Multnomah in some very brightly-coloured and high-contrast merino from Drachenwolle. I've had the yarn for over a year, and have tried several different patterns with it, and have been harbouring a fair bit of yarn guilt over it, because I've just not found the right thing for it. Socks are not the right thing for this yarn, at least not as knitted by me, so I hope this shawl is the right thing.

Lastly, I received something lovely in the post today: some beautiful merino/silk, dyed by the marvellous Wollzupfer and handspun by someone we all know and love, who doesn't need to be namechecked here, but whom I think most readers will pretty much recognise instantly :-)

I think that's it for now. Pictures to follow of various finished objects, in the fullness of time.

Warm Hands

I recently took part, through the Drachenwolle group on Ravelry, in the Warm Hands project to send socks and other knitted items to a community of Innu in northern Labrador. These are the socks I gave to my friend Katherine to drop off in Toronto; hopefully they'll arrive in time. I also sent off the socks below, which have already arrived. Hopefully they will come to good use, and will be enjoyed - here is the post describing the first load of socks that arrived from the DW group!

kittycat!

I knitted a cat - grisig the cat - and thought I'd try to start actually blogging on here again. Have some photos :-)

Whoops, no, I'm still here.

Still alive, still knitting, mostly socks. Have recently discovered this method of making two socks at a time, which pleases me because it guarantees them to be the same length, and prevents second sock syndrome quite effectively. Overall, progress feels rather slower than just knitting around with DPNs, but I wonder if that couldn't be remedied by using a needle with smoother joins between the needle and the cable.

I've also experimentally started a Grandmother's Favourite dishcloth, using cotton twine acquired at a corner shop, just to see how it knits up. It's quite stiff, but I think that may make it more useful for cleaning. I think I will make more, though possibly out of other cotton yarn.

objects, finished and unfinished

My Irish-Hiking-Scarf-receiving friend is no longer unsuspecting. Handing it over on Wednesday, having no longer been able to contain myself (and knowing I just couldn't make it any longer without getting very very bored indeed). Hope he likes it!

Have got about three or four pairs of socks to make by the weekend. Eeeeeeeep. Had to frog one back quite substantially after it was blatantly too short despite my best efforts at estimating. Bah.

Oh, and I have snazzy new Brittany Birch needles. (2.5mm 5-inch DPNs, yay!) Shall put them to use shortly. You really can't have too many 2.5mm needles, can you?

Still alive!

I am a bad, bad blogger. I'm knitting, though, so I should really try to document this.

Currently on the needles:

• an Irish Hiking Scarf for an unsuspecting friend of mine in (yes, I know) bright blue acrylic. It'll be washable, and the stitches are actually coming out quite nicely. This one is semi-hibernating, as everything else is so much more urgent at the moment.
  
• a Just Like A Peasant Cap, for my "Auntie" Beate. Need to finish the sewing-up and finish knitting the band, then I can finally hand it over. There's loads of wool left over, so I think that might become mittens, at Beate's suggestion. She picked Rowan Cocoon, and it's... an experience. I'm not the biggest fan of that yarn as it's so loosely spun I'm constantly worrying about splitting stitches. However, it's quite a pretty yarn, and the colour, a dark wine-red, suits her.
  
• a pair of plain stockinette toe-up socks for my friend SL, in cashmere yarn she has provided for me. I need her to try it on again so I know what to do about calf increases. The second one should go much faster, I suspect, as I won't have to get her to try it on all the time.
  
• and I've just cast on my very first Monkey - this is my mother-in-law's Christmas present! She knows she's getting socks, so even if she looks here it's not like it'll spoilt the surprise ;-)
  

Projektleiterin tagged me with a meme a while ago, so I'll finally fill that in now.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:
I was at university, singing in... actually, only one official choir at that point. Also singing Finnish folk music, which could strike you as a tiny bit unusual in Southern California, I think I may have been in an opera as well, but I'm not totally sure.

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (in no particular order):

It's evening, so I'll write this for tomorrow.

• Get hair cut - I am giving up on pretending that I enjoy having long hair, notwithstanding all the people who tell me I should have it. I just totally lose patience with it at two junctures: around shoulder length (where it is now as I cut it to chin length in the middle of 2007, with various trimmings since then), and around bra-strap/shoulder-blade length (when it usually gets too heavy/flat).
  
• Listen to SL sing evensong at King's as she's a member of King's Voices, the mixed choir that sings when the main choir is off-duty.
  
• Go to choir (of the silly variety - I've got a serious choir and silly choir).
  
• Plot a forthcoming concert in the bar after choir. Er, the plotting is in the bar, not the concert!
  
• Knit more of the various things mentioned above, and possibly cast on rainbow socks for my friend Nico.
  

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Good chocolate, gummi sweets, GREEN BALLS, Salmiakki, matzo crack, nachos, various of SL's examples of Singapore street food.

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
First, I'd attempt to invest some of it sensibly. Well, as far as that goes nowadays. Then I'd probably go for the usual initial splurge on books, CDs, LOVELY LOVELY YARN (stuff like enough Colinette Tao to make a few garments, etc.), interesting long-distance train trips (Transsiberian, around Japan, Orient Express, etc.), and so on. And then I'd do really sensible things like give to charity, particularly ones related to environmental causes, and various other awareness causes.

5. Place I have lived:
The American South (Tennessee/Georgia/Texas)
Swabia
Southern California
This glorious island of irreality that I love (you'll know it if you see it)

Anyway, not tagging anyone as my readership numbers about three, I think! If you feel moved to do this meme, please do.

Home dyeing

I've just dyed my first batch of yarn. Well, that's probably a slight exaggeration. I bought some sock yarn (Cygnet Wool-Rich 4-ply) from the John Lewis bargain bin, and decided its colour (lilac solid) was insufficient. So, using these instructions, I dyed them in artificial cochineal on one end of the skein and blue food colouring on the other end. It's now a sort of maroon/blueish/brownish/occasionally lilacish colour, drying in the airing cupboard, and will be made into socks shortly (albeit probably very simple ones). Photos will follow when they're done. Quick note to add - the heating was done in the microwave - 2 minutes on High, 10 minutes on Simmer, then took the bowl out and placed it in the (empty) bathtub to cool.

Other knitting news:

• No real progress to speak of on the headband. Will try again later with another yarn, and am donating the yarn I'd used so far to a friend who's just learning to knit.
  
• No progress whatsoever on the hats for the imminent choir babies (different choirs, but both due in August AFAIK). This will be remedied forthwith.
  
• I'm teaching a friend of mine to knit. This is fun.
  
• I started an Irish Hiking Scarf (mind out, link to PDF) for an unsuspecting friend of mine. Nearly halfway done now. Yay!
  

headbands and baby hats

Currently working on: a headband, which looks not too difficult, and is helping me use up some yarn that's been driving me N-V-T-S (nuts!) lately. This one is intended purely for at-home wear. If it works out nicely, I'll make another one to wear in public.

Currently arghing over: a hat for the soonishly-due (well, August) baby belonging to one of the altos in one of my choirs. From trying to decipher the original Norwegian pattern, I *think* my mistake is to count 18 after knitting front and back of one loop; am guessing that it ought to be 17, or that normally the increase would be done by picking up the middle bar between two stitches (in which case 18)? Oh well, I'll try that a little later. Would really like to have it finished by Sunday, so I can hand it over to the prospective mother at the performance that afternoon. Here's hoping...

I can has frist psot, oh yeah

First posts in blogs are often pretty much meaningless. This one is no different.

In 1988 or 1989, in primary school, anyway, I learnt to knit. Badly. So I stopped. Having, however, fallen in love with yarn, I kept intermittently reading about it, but didn't have the courage to actually attempt to knit anything, certainly not while I didn't have anyone to show me. I suppose with some initiative I could have found someone, but I was busy doing ten million other things (TM). OK, I was mostly busy singing. Anyway, at the end of this past March, I finally decided to pull my finger out and just try again. Since then, I've made three pairs of socks, a few hats, and some birds (I really need to get better at embroidery).

I guess I'm just trying to document my attempts at making things, as I have generally been quite clumsy all my life, and am trying to remedy that.

Very helpful: Knitting Help
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