Crazy Veil of Leaves socks

It all started innocently enough. I was at a somewhat Local Yarn Store (LYS) and I noticed a new sock book. It wasn't just any new sock book though, it was the magical New Pathways for Sock Knitters Book 1 by Cat Bordhi. Wow. Let me tell you, the book will catch the eye of any sock knitter. I flipped through it a few times but kept putting it back down because I thought I didn't need another sock knitting book. But, there were interesting patterns and new ways of sock knitting included that I ended up getting it. The first pattern to catch my eye was Veil of Leaves. I don't know why, but that's the one that did it for me. I wanted to make them so much that I ended up just casting on for them in December of 2007.

I finished the first sock in record time. It was interesting. The heel damn near killed me, but I just kept going and got it done. I put on my new sock and felt... well... okay with it. It just didn't look as good on my foot as it did in the book. Not only didn't it look as good, I don't think it fit very well overall either. I was disappointed in it, and not sure what to do. I thought I should try wearing it a few times before making a final decision. So, I did and it never really ended up being a favorite. The short row heel wasn't as comfortable as a heel flap for me and they end up slouching a bit around the ankle after I wear it for a while. I put the project aside for a bit to clear my head. Then, I took out the magical book and did all the math properly. I decided to change a few things here and there to customize the fit. Hell yeah, I was ready to get down to that second sock now!

But, alas, the second sock isn't perfect either. :( I did fewer wraps, increased my wing stitches, decreased the total number of stitches after the heel, and started the toe a little later than in the first. That should basically make the world's most perfect sock for me. But, it's still just not quite right. I really dislike the short row heel, even after trying to modify it. It doesn't fit my foot very well. I'm a heel flap girl I guess. So I finished this challenging and new pattern only to find that I'm not as over the moon as I thought I would be. Oh well. I will continue to wear them and I will likely tackle other patterns in the book. But, I've got to figure out a way to make the heel more comfortable on my foot. I'm going to have to read through all of the information again and see what I can come up with. In the meantime, here's a pic of the socks for your viewing pleasure! :)

Dishcloth Central

Well, I'm not sure why, but Januaray became my month for knitting dishcloths. It all started when I accidentally stumbled across this Illinois Dishcloth pattern. I thought it would be a fun gift to make for some friends of mine. So, I charted the pattern out and got to work. It went so fast, it was practically instant gratification! I made 2 of them back to back so that I could send one to Tawah and one to Alicia. But, Alicia was born and currently resides in Pennsylvania. So when I saw there was a pattern for a Pennsylvania dishcloth on the same site, I made one of those to send to Alicia as well. I must admit, the Pennsylvania dishcloth was a bit boring to knit, especially compared to the Illinois one, but it went so fast that it didn't really matter. Overall, I love them and I hope my friends will love them too. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I only needed 1 ball of yarn to make all 3 items. The yarn I used was on sale at Jo-Anne's one day for under $2, if I remember correctly. What a great way to stretch a dollar! I was able to get hours of entertainment, plus a useful household item, for very little investment. Awesome! :)

Patterns: KnittingKnonsense.com
Yarn: Lily's Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn
Needles: Size 7

Mismatched Mittens

Ahhh mittens. I love them. It can get very cold here in winter and you must have something to protect your hands from the elements. I made a pair of mittens last year based off the Peekaboo Mittens found over at Magknits.
However, they seem to be hiding from me this year. I thought I put them in the top of my closet, but I didn't see them this year. Oh well. It seemed like a good excuse to make a new pair and so I did.

I found last year, that I never used the peekaboo on both mittens at the same time. I would occasionally poke my fingers out from one hand in order to open my purse, or grab money, or something like that. But, I never needed both. So, I decided I would make 2 different mittens from the same yarn. Here, they look identical, don't they?But, of course, I didn't call them Mismatched Mittens for nothing. The mitten on the left is a standard mitten. However, if you look closely, you'll find the mitten on the right is a peekaboo mitten. It's the perfect solution as far as I'm concerned. They are very pink and warm. I love them and I can't wait for it to get cold enough to wear them. Wait? Did I really just say that? It's official; I've been in Michigan for too long!

• Yarn: Plymouth Galway
• Needles: Size 6 and size 7 DPNs
• Pattern: Mine but with lots of inspiration from the Peekaboo Mittens and the general mitten guidelines found in The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns.

Rummikub Bag

Well, not long after I finished my first Veil of Leaves sock, I cast on for a small game bag. You see, we bought a Rummikub game for a family friend as a Christmas gift. It's a really fun game and Pam loved it! However, the down side is that it's a tile game that doesn't come with a bag. It is so much easier to throw the tiles in a bag and pass the bag around while playing. I made one for our Rummikub set when I first learned how to knit and it is ugly but functional. For Pam, however, I have a few more years of knitting under my belt and I was ready to design a better bag.

I love how it turned out! I used elements from several different sources while creating this bag. It has a bottom similar to the one featured in the Everlasting Bagstopper from Knitty.com. Then it has shaping similar to a bag in 25 Bags to Knit. Finally, I used a drawstring with tassels similar to the one seen on the cover of Last Minute Knitted Gifts. The great thing is, however, that I modified each of these elements to make it look how I wanted it to look. It is entirely my own design at the end of the day. It came out even better than I thought it would. To top it off, we tried it out the other night and it was perfect. Hooray! I love it when things work out right, don't you?

• Yarn: Plymouth Encore
• Needles: size 9
• Pattern: Mine

A Letter to Cat Bordhi

Dear Ms. Cat Bordhi,

I recently started your Veil of Leaves sock pattern from your book "New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book 1". The pattern intrigued me and I couldn't wait to just dive right into this fun, new sock. I cast on before completing the mate to another sock I finished months ago because I was just too excited! I made a small alteration right at the start because I really enjoy ribbing at the top of a sock, but then I began to follow your pattern as written. Things were progressing quite nicely! I liked following the charts for the leg and my sock was really coming along. Then, however, I came to the heel.

My goodness! I was NOT prepared for this. In your defence, it has been years since I've done any kind of short row heel. In fact, I did a short row heel on the first pair of socks I ever made and then I fell in love with heel flaps. I've been solely a heel flap girl for about 2-3 years now. Also in your defence, I did not start with the baby sock primer you feature at the beginning of the book either. I really felt that I could read through the pattern a few times and get through it without too much difficulty. But, imagine my surprise when your master reinforced heel section BLEW MY MIND! I had to read the instructions about 3 times to make sure I knew what I was doing. It was far more intense than I anticipated. Step 4 in particular was beyond my grasp. I'm still not sure how I ended up with the yarn in the right place and the correct numbers at the end of it all. The pictures probably helped the most, but it was mind boggling at first glance. What kills me about it now is that step 4 is probably the easiest section, but I just could not grasp it! I kept staring at the description and the pictures and saying WTF? inside my head. Luckily, I figured it all out and I finished my first Cat Bordhi master reinforced heel! I don't suppose you hand out medals for achieving such a magnificent feat, do you? If so, let me know! I desperately could use one!

Sincerely,

Helmut

FO - Crest of the Wave socks

Well, it's official! I finished my Crest of the Wave socks. Hooray!

So, in case you're curious, I did NOT work on them for a full 5 months. lol! I put them aside quite a bit and did a fair amount of ripping back as well. Overall, I'm quite pleased with them, especially the second sock. I made a few changes to the second sock and it made it even better. I added a few plain rows of knitting before starting my toe decreases and I used a larger needle so that I would gain some needed extra length and comfort. Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that my right foot is definitely bigger than my left foot and that I wanted to make sure one of the socks would fit it well. So, my socks are officially fraternal twins and not identical twins. Oh well. Over time, I imagine the "shorter" one will stretch out a bit and fit just as well. But for now, I like that they aren't exactly the same.

Pattern: Crest of the Wave from More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlotte Schurch
Yarn: Interlacement's Tiny Toes (fabulous yarn, btw! I would love to use it again sometime)
Needles: size 1, 2, and 2 1/2 DPNs made of different materials by different manufacturers... go figure!

Peacock Feathers Update

Basically, I've abandoned all other knitting projects in favor of this shawl. I did have to punish the project for 2 days for being tricksy, though. My count was off about 5 times in 2 rows. There was a LOT of tinking back and counting it out again and again and again. It was always a very silly mistake on my part. For instance, instead of doing a double decrease, I did a single decrease. Not good for my stitch count, I can tell you that much! A few times I was unable to ascertain where I went wrong, but I'm happy to report that it doesn't matter. I just completed chart 1A and inserted a new life line. I get to start on chart 2 next time! Hooray! Each row is getting longer and longer yet I'm still having fun with this project. I don't know how I'm going to stay motivated when my rows have an ungodly number of stitches, but I'm trying to stay positive and I'm avoiding such thoughts at all costs. I'll take a cue from 12 step wisdom and take it one stitch at a time. :)

Am I crazy enough for this?

Today I went to my favorite LYS and found they had a few of the Fiddlesticks patterns in their books. I've been eyeing the Peacock Feathers shawl for a while now but I just couldn't justify spending over $10 on a pattern I've never seen in person. Well, wouldn't you know it? They had it at the yarn store and it looks rather intense. It doesn't appear as though the pattern itself is crazy hard, but it's a LOT of knitting. There are many, many charts involved, too, which concerned me. I thought to myself, "I'd have to be crazy to try this!"

Lo and behold, I cast on for it today. I did a small practice swatch with some Plymouth Encore and it went surprisingly well. So, I just dove in. Oh and I just have to mention the needles I'm using. The pattern calls for a size 4 32" circular needle which is something I don't already own. Well, after looking at the circs available at the LYS, I decided to just go all out. They didn't have a very large selection available, I can tell you that much. They had Addi Turbos, which I love, for about $16 and they had Lantern Moon Destiny needles for $20. Normally, I'd probably grab the Addis, but I'm wanting to knit a lace shawl with these needles, so I figured I should get some form of wooden needle so the stitches will stick a little more. Lace weight yarn on aluminum needles = a lot of dropped stitches and cursing for me. So, instead I got the Lantern Moon needles. They are gorgeous! Almost too pretty to knit with. I got them in ebony . I almost bought the yarn the pattern called for, but I bought some Knitpick's Alpaca Cloud a while ago with the intention of using it for a shawl. So, that's what I'm using. I bought the light pink Peppermint colorway and I hope it comes out well. Honestly, I'm really hoping that I'm crazy enough to make this pattern period. It's intimidating for someone that can take forever to just knit a pair of socks! But, I'm excited to give it a go. Wish me luck!

I will need it. :)

One down...

You know, it's weird. The weather is basically perfect and I still have little desire to knit. I've barely been knitting since my last update. I'm not entirely sure what's going on over here. :/

But, I did finish a Crest of the Wave sock the other day. We lost power one night (for 13 hours) and I was able to Kitchener my sock toe closed by candlelight. It sounds romantic when I type it out, but really it was just a pain in the arse and made me really appreciate good lighting. I wanted to weave in the ends on the sock that night too, but in the end, I decided it would be too dangerous to do so with only candlelight to guide me. So, instead, it's sitting on the top of my knitting bag mocking me. One day, sock, I will finish you and that's not a threat; it's a promise! [insert evil laugh here]

Originally, I figured I would cast on for the mate to the Resurrection sock after finishing this Crest of the Wave sock. But, strangely enough, I cast on for the other CotW sock instead. I was watching a rerun of Top Chef when I cast on and I nearly finished the cuff while watching. (Can I just say that Tiffani was a really unlikeable person on the show? I mean, seriously, she came off as so evil! I don't usually trust the editors of reality shows, but when it comes to her... well, I'm not sure what to think. But anyway...) So while I haven't been knitting very consistently or for long periods of time, I've been hauling ass when I do pick up the needles.

I also cast on for a Shocking Pink Coif from knitty.com the other day, but it will be a Shocking Turquoise Coif if anything. The pattern isn't totally working for me right now though, so I don't know if I will continue to work it or just rip it out. Oh and I made a huge 8 and 1/2 inch square wash cloth the other day. I did it all in seed stitch and I really like how it turned out. It looks like it could really scrub the heck out of some dishes. Now I just have to decide if I should keep it or give it away.

Break

So, for some reason, I took a few weeks off from knitting. I know I went at least 10 days without knitting a stitch. It was weird. It wasn't an intentional break, but I guess I needed it. Luckily, I was able to get back into it recently. Yesterday I did a heel flap and today I completed the turn and finished about half of the gusset decreases on my Crest of the Wave sock. I'm glad I ripped it out previously because the pattern really does look very nice on the size 1 needles. I also cast on for a new project a while back, but I haven't made much progress on it either. A friend of mine sent me some possibly DK weight cotton yarn and requested that I magically transform it into a bag. It's based off the Everlasting Bagstopper, but with a ton of modifications. Basically, I love the construction of the Everlasting Bagstopper, so that's what I use from it. I finished the bottom and started the body of it already. It's dyeing my needles a fabulous shade of green that makes me think they're sick. Luckily, I have a set of needles that were turned into a lovely shade of red, so when Christmas rolls around, my needle collection will look a bit festive. Good times. :) Well, I'm glad to be knitting again for now and I really want to finish all the socks I've got going. I'd love to wear my Resurrection socks this fall! Must finish this Crest of the Wave sock so that I can get to that second Resurrection sock. :)