I’m always telling people at SnB to do a gauge swatch - as much as a pain in the royal ass as it is.  So I diligently gauged this one and was happy to find that I was on target with size 2 needles.  Looking through the pattern I knew there would be a ton to learn with these socks.  So armed with my laptop I set out to tackle my poppy socks!

Hitting row 2 was the first challenge - k2 cc, p2 mc - swapping back and forth between contrast and main colors.  I’ve had a tiny bit of experience with this when I did my cuff on the watergarden shrug, and set out to tackle 2 handed knitting.  Holding the contrast color in one hand and the main color in the other - I knit the stitches in English method using my right hand and purled using Continental method using my left hand.  Actually this is pretty simple and I got right into the swing of it and quickly through the 5 rows called for.

Now onto the Bobble row - ok so the last time I did bobbles they were a miserable failure.  (Even the felting didnt eliminate that failure!)  These made more sense and I’m a bit more daring now so I was convinced I could handle them.  After a few bobbles which include k5, turn, p5, turn, k5 I figured it was a great time to learn backwards knitting and try and eliminate all of the juggling and yarn tangles that were showing up.  I found several tutorials that made sense, but I think the best one was Knitting Backwards on my old standby of knittinghelp.com

Bobble row completed I started on the pattern.  Yet another learning opportunity - how to deal with the strands.  I found two great tutorials online one step by step:  http://deepspaceknit.blogspot.com/2007/11/tutorial-woven-fair-isle.html and this awesome video: http://www.philosopherswool.com/Pages/Twohandedvideo.htm. Knitting in hand, laptop in front of me, I managed to really get the whole two handed two color thing and was on my way.

About half a poppy pattern through I started to worry about size - would this really fit?  I swatched - but that sneaking feeling that they werent quite right.  Trying to get the inch or so over my foot confirmed that gauge or no gauge these socks would be too tight… I fought being discouraged and went about the big frog.  I told myself that it was ok because I could just practice all that I had learned again and really get it right.  Once more I start on bigger needles.  I actually surprise myself and get back to where I was in only a few hours (over two days).  Onward!

I’m motivated and moving along at a really good clip - these socks are so so pretty.  I’ve got the hang of the two colors, carefully not making my strands too long, and not pulling too tight.  I try the sock on and its fitting well.  The heel went really well - and the pattern was easily managed.  Still fitting as I go…I feel like I’m sailing through the pattern and am thrilled to get to the toe.  Everything still fits great.

How hard can the toe be?  The toe is a series of more popies.  Not difficult pattern wise, and I didnt think I was pulling too tight - but I get about half way through the toe and decide to try - my suspicions again correct the toe just feels funny and too tight.  Frog frog frog…at least it was only a half of the toe.  Lets adjust once more, the pattern calls to go to a smaller needle on the toe - I opt not to and reknit…I get to the end and try again…nope still dreadful.  Hmmm pattern modification again - instead of the stranding which seems to be choking my toes, I continue the pretty pattern of the heel all the way through until the end.  Beautiful sock…finally finished and ready to try…gotta tell you…this is probably one of the most beautiful socks I’ve ever seen…but it is also the most uncomfortable sock I’ve ever tried on!

Can you hear me screaming from where you read?  This sock has pretty much done me in.  What would normally be just second sock syndrome for this pair is instead a F*ck the second sock syndrome.  There is absolutely no reason on this earth that I will ever even consider making the mate to this sock.  Not only that - it has pretty much killed my pair of socks a month goal -

I admit that I learned TONS making this sock - and thats always a good thing.  But color me (nice pun huh) totally unenthused with socks for the moment - the poppy socks were a total buzz kill.  Now the question of what to do with just one sock other than admire it every once in a while hangs.

Oh well…next project please!

We spent hours going through photos and magazines and patterns until she picked the one she she wanted. Of course like everything I knit, we needed a few modifications - a little longer and dont attach the tie - actually less modifications than I usually wind up making in a lot of things I knit.  Then it became a matter of finding the perfect yarn.  The goal was a true navy, finally found in Adrienne Vittadini at Sakonnet Purls - on sale no less!  Fantastic!

So other than a random cable here and there I’ve never taken on a “cable knit” sweater, let alone one that was entirely cables - ahhh the combination of mothers love and aspirations of being a totally fearless knitter threw me right over the edge.  For the record, I toyed with the idea of learning how to knit cables without the cable needle on this project and quickly gave up on that whole notion…that having stitches off the neede as an actual part of the process was just too much!  Once I got the hang of the pattern it actually went fairly quickly and I was thrilled by the way the yarn knit up.  The stitches really show and the garmet is going to be amazingly soft.

The back went pretty well and everything seemed to fall right into place.  The bonus was it knit up pretty fast considering that my usual other project is a pair of socks on tiny needles!  So on to the front sides.  For the life of me I dont understand how some of the patterns are written! Why can’t it just be straight forward. I’m pretty good at interpreting patterns, but this was just confusing from the start.  I’m totally struggling with it - every time I think I make sense of how it should work, it doesnt stay that way!

I’ve managed to keep to keep the pattern going, but I hate feeling like the first and last few stitches of every row may or may not be right!   Arrgh so much for “incorporate each stitch into the pattern as you add it” or something like that.   Usually most patterns make sense to me even if you take it row by row as you go…Knitters frustration at its worst!  I love the way the sweater is coming out, but I am just hating the pattern!!!

So on a visit home this weekend Steph poked fun at me asking why her sweater wasnt finished - and that of course it would be challenging, after all it was for her!  I held up the back and it really will be a beautiful fit.  She really likes the way its coming out - Motivated I jumped right back in and finished the right front, but there was definite swearing under my breath!  So at this point I’m moving onto the sleeves hoping that this part of the pattern will make more sense!

Left and Right Fronts

I’m waiting for that fantastic sense of accomplishment at finishing a garmet that realy challenges me, especially on this sweater because I will have totally earned it!

Bubble Wrap Socks
pattern by sockbug, (free on ravelry)
knit in cascade heritage
two at a time on magic loop

I fell in love with this yarn when Dee and I were baby girl yarn shopping. The yarn was soft and had a nice squish to it. The colors weren’t something most people would put together right off the bat, but to me they just made sense

I’ve made socks that had a pattern in them before but often the yarn seemed to take over and the pattern itself got lost. This stitch pattern was a simple repeat and I could easily knit these two at a time. The bubble wrap pattern really showed up beautifully in the aqua that the foot was knit in.

These socks are warm and really comfortable.

Circle Socks
pattern by Anne Campbell, (free on ravelry)
knit in Chestnut Bay Fibers Sock yarn
two at a time on magic loop

Finding kindred sock knitters at our Taunton Stitch ‘n Bitch was so easy - who am I kidding they’re guilty of feeding my sock obsession to the point that I can’t imagine not having a pair of socks on the needles at all times. We decided that we should start a sock KAL - after all addiction is at its best when shared with your friends. Wendy, Cheryl and I decided to take on the Circle socks - this pattern begged to be knit with a crazy variegated yarn. The green and purple just jumped at me on a trip to Black Sheep Knitting and it screamed so loudly it barely spent any time in my stash before it got on a pair of needles. The pattern itself looks much more complex than it really is and it was so much fun to see the different dimensions of the circles take shape.

Wendy, Cheryl and I were headed off on a yarn crawl one week
shortly after finishing our socks and discovered we were all proudly wearing them the same day - birds of a feather huh?!

Bosnian Toes & Turkish Heels
pattern by Lucy Neatby, Knitters Magazine Fall 2008 knit in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock

I went nuts when I saw this pattern in Knitters. I didnt care what it took I had to try them. Thankfully I convinced Wendy and Cheryl to join me on my journey into sock insanity. This was not an easy pattern at all. The holes are made by pulling several stitches over one stitch. It took a bit of work to figure out how to get them looking like holes instead of smushed up blobs. My other issue was with what size to make. This was also my first experience with size zero needles - a bit of a challeng in and of itself.

After a few false starts I was on my way and once I was on my way. While there was absolutely no possibility of knitting these two at a time, when I finally figured out the pattern it went pretty fast. Cheryl modified the pattern and added one more repeat of circles to add to the length - I did the same thing and am glad that I did. I adore the way they came out - but there is very little give to the yarn and getting the heel on is kind of a pain becuase they’re tight - once on though they’re super comfortable.

2009 Personal Sock Challenge
I’ve decided that I’m taking my love of sock knitting seriously for the new year. I’m going to shoot for a pair of socks a month. My Bosnian Toes and Turkish Heels put me in the mood as they were started and finished in the month of January - so off I go!

February begins our basic sock KAL for the Taunton SnB and I’m right on schedule with pair two for the year. Stay tuned!

So just what have I been knitting (and finished) anyway?

Jag’s Hat and Sweater
Realizing how much fun knitting small things was and hearing from a friend that her son didnt have a grandmother who knit for him I set out to knit a darling little hat for Jagger that his mom fell in love with from itty bitty hats. We had so much fun choosing the yarn. It didnt take very long at all which of course fed my love for immediate gratification. There was so much yarn left that I just had to mimic the stripes and make a scarf to match.

Of course the best part of the project was getting this adorable photo.

Telullah Georgia’s Baby Sweater
Next up on the active projects was a baby sweater for my friend Dee’s baby due to arrive this winter. The day that Dee found out she was carrying a girl we ran to the yarn shop to pick out girl patterns and yarns. Despite Dee’s obsession with all things pink, she selected this beautiful variegated lilac, mint and blue dreambaby dk. So soft. The pattern was a lovely cardigan with a peter pan collar - oh so proper don’t you know - I mean Dee is British after all. While knitting this sweater, my internal battle of “is it too small”, vs. “I want the baby to have an Auntie Heléne sweater right away” kept repeating in my head. I stuck to my size 0 - 3 months and found that all the pieces all knit up pretty fast. I loved working on it. Sewing it together however, was another story - Yikes how many freaking seams do you have to mattress stitch on this thing. It was totally endless - but not as endless as Dee’s pregnancy started to feel to me (and to her of course!) - I was so excited for this little baby to get here. My finished sweater sat neatly in its little bag, waiting for me to sew the buttons on - that way it was still a work in progress don’t you know.

Georgia Mae arrived earlier this month (formally changing her name from Telullah - her in-utero name). Showing me instantly that she shared her mothers obvious wit and sarcasm by mocking my inner voice that worried about sweater size and weighing in at a delightful 9 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 22 inches in length - now thats a baby! Immediately in love I couldnt wait to see it on her. Ok I admit to being very relieved too - she still has room to grow in it for a little while (very little I’m sure) - way too cute - there will be more knitting for this child!

Princess Mitts
While poking through my stash I came accorss the Freedom Spirit yarn I purchased last fall
promising to make myself some fingerless gloves. I loved the yarn, and the princess mitts pattern deciding it had been years since I did a cable and it was time to give it another shot. I admit that I am living in these things this year. I live that I can still have access to my fingers, I also admit to being just too damn lazy to even think about wanting to take on a pair of gloves.

Watchcaps and Fingerless Gloves
So Bruce is one of those men that doesnt wear sweaters - which made having to deal with that whole boyfriend sweater curse thing much easier (for those non knitters the curse says once you knit your boyfriend a sweater he’ll break up with you). He does on the other hand wear hats. I always feel a bit badly that he never wants anything knit for him and constantly ask if he’s sure there is othing he wants. Finally, he told me I could knit him a hat to keep in his truck. The Marsan watchcap was perfect, as was the ultra alpaca that I chose.

He proudly wears his hat over when we went for dinner at his kids - and his grandson, Tyler promptly swipes the hat deciding that it is the perfect costume accessory to be a ninja. It was clear Tyler had no intention of surrendering the hat, so I told him that if he promised to wear the hat to keep him warm, and not just for ninja acivities that he could keep it. I love this kid - his response which was, ok, but I need matching gloves like the ones you have too! I couldnt say no and found a great pattern for fingerless mitts to complete the set. I’m happy to say I see Tyler wearing everything all the time.

Of course I had to replace the hijacked (or would that be ninjajacked hat). I start out on Bruce’s second hat. Mid cap, Bruce decides to propse and we run off and elope. The cap wasnt finished until he was my husband and therefore has interesting history attached to it. We have now totally eliminated the whole boyfriend knitting issue entirely - but he still doesnt wear sweaters.

Weekend Jacket
I havent only worked on smaller projects over the past few months. My biggest project completed so far has been a weekend jacket that I saw in Knit ‘n Style this winter. I had finally found the perfect simple jacket to edge with the Prism Cool Stuff that I had spent a small fortune on over the summer. I discovered this awesome soft Berocco Cuzco yarn that I knew would be warm and best of all wouldnt even hint at itching. The obvious challenge was seeing all the stitches in the black yarn - the pattern was this modified seed stitch where every other row was just a purl row. Simple enough in theory but I swear this is the project that threw me over the edge into needing reading glasses on most of the time now when I knit (stupid 4o something eyes). I’m crazy over the edges with the cool stuff - although I still have a ton more of it and once again have to find the right pattern for it. I’m really happy with the way this came out and am anxiously waiting for the weather to be a bit warmer so I can put it to good use.

Well at least now I feel like I’ve caught up in preserving my projects for blog posterity as thats the recap of whats been on the needles…well not including socks. You see socks have become a a sub obsession of my general knitting obsession, so much so that they will require a post all thir own.

So…I am now declaring my blog once again open for business - in case anyone missed me - and even if you didnt!

First up was a hat for my daughter Nicki. She had found this yarn a few months ago with the intention of knitting a bag - but her love for knitting is far overshadowed by her love for photography (more info in the life and humor section of my website). There was no way that I could let this luscious sheep shop yarn just sit, especially since Nicki thought a Tam would be a perfect hat for her to have now that she is living in New York City. This was done in a few days and a joy to work on. I’m anxious to get a photo of her wearing it - but this will do for now.

At the same time I’ve been working on a little sailboat sweater for Maria’s son Logan who is due this winter. I havent had too much experience with baby clothes and I’m really getting a fast appreciation for them. They’re so cute, and fast because they’re so little - talk about gratification. This is just about done (but I took this photo last week when I wasnt as far along), need to finish sewing and do the collar.

I would have been done with this but I got sidetracked with a pair of socks. I should remind myself to always have socks on the needles - they’re such a great portable and quick project. I’ve had this sockotta in my stash for a while and was anxious to try it as I hadnt worked with self patterning yarn before. It didnt occur to me to try and match up the yarn before, probably because I didnt know how the stripes would knit up. After a few rows on the toe, I adjusted the yarn to get the colors to match up. I started out strong, took a bit of a break (getting that 5 or so inches on the foot done seemed to take forever) but once I got going again I didnt want to pick anything else up. Love the way they came out!
Now that they’re done I’ll finish Logan’s sweater!

Last on the needles in the quick projects category is a Loopy and Luscious Scarf. On my last series of yarn crawls I fell in love with some Be Sweet Magic ball and mohair - the colors and feel were just soft and dreamy. I couldnt resist - and while I’m thrilled with the way this is coming out, I am reminded why I swore off of mohair after a kid silk haze experience several years ago. Uggh! thin thin yarn on big big needles - I’m insane but I really like it. It will just be one of those pick up when I really feel like it projects.
I have a ton more little projects in my sites - this quick gratification thing isnt to bad!

Fabric Place in Framingham
I’ve been here a few times before I moved, but for some reason never really remembered it as a yarn destination - I may not have been alone, as the word is out that they are closing. Maggie and Dee and I headed over to see what deals may be around. Truly a shame that it wont be around much longer because there really was a good selection of yarns. The only drawback was a lack of sales help with knowledge of the department. Of course I made a few purchases:

Berroco Cotton Twist in totally my colors
no clue what it will be, but when has that stopped me!

I also picked up some really beautiful Sirdar Snuggly and the cutest sailboat sweater pattern for Maria’s baby Logan who is due this winter.

The deals there will only get better as they get ready to close - what a shame.

We did try to head over to Knitting Pointers in Milford on a detour toward home, but missed it being open by about 10 minutes. I had been before briefly, it was a nice little shop, but want to explore it again.

Next detour that we missed at the mercy of the clock was The Yarn Shop in Uxbridge - this place just looked fantastic. So good that Dee and I wound up driving back out there a few days later (Maggie - I swear I am really really sorry!!!!!!)

Uxbridge is the home of Berroco, and this store had a really great selection of it. They weren’t limited to Berroco - they had a really nice range in everything from sock to chunky yarns. Totally worth the out of the way drive. The owner was friendly and helpful, while still giving us lots of room to explore on our own.

I couldnt leave without some more baby yarn - this time for the baby girl Dee is having in the winter.

Plymouth Dream Baby

The plan is to combine it with this Berroco Comfort DK. How adorable will this be!

I couldn’t resist this Cascade Heritage sock yarn. It was so soft. May be a strange combination but I’m thinking of using them together in a pair of socks

Finally I picked up this Lang Yarns Nubia - it just felt so rich and perfect for a fall sweater.

The last stop on my latest string of yarn crawling was The Beauty of Yarn in Providence. A little tiny shop but with a nice selection of yarns and accessories. I got a really warm welcome from the owner who was willing to answer questions or let me explore on my own without pressure either way. This shop had a few yarns I hadnt seen elsewhere, things like the jelly yarn that was all the rage to knit up bags. She also had some really different colors (brighter and even a few that were almost neon). There were some really interesting projects knit up that were not standard for yarn shops including a wide brimmed summer hat and bathing suit. I did pick up a bit of Knitting Fever Paillette on sale that I know will be the perfect accent to something one of these days.
As usual, each purchase left me more inspired to go start some sort of new project - which explains the 5 projects now on needles.

Yarn crawling has left me with one question though - why are so many yarn stores not opened past 4:00 o’clock; why do so many close early on Saturdays or not open at all on Sundays? Is it just me or does it seem really silly? Anyone?

I moved down a size and went to smaller needles and started out again. In an effort not to overwhelm myself, and perhaps for a bit of amusement, I frogged only one skein of yarn at a time from my massive Juliet Cardigan as I knit the new one. I immediately fell in love with the sweater all over again and actually liked it more with its tighter stitches. It was knitting up pretty fast and I was starting to feel much better about the whole fiasco. Especially when I compared the two tops and could see I was on the right track.

As usual it became a bit of an obsession - I was off work for a few vacation days and knitting so much that I actually had to take a break to give my hands a rest! Of course I went yarn store exploring - but by then I had a reason - I needed to find the perfect buttons! Knit Purl in Providence came through with these fantastic wooden buttons with pink in them.

Motivation, the return of my mojo, and rested fingers - yep I was ready for the home stretch. I breezed through the last few inches and sailed through making the button loops and sewing the buttons on - I was weaving ends as I went so that was done too. What do you know a perfect fit and a sweater that I’m thrilled with!

I’m back to loving knitting again. Of course now there are about a dozen projects I want to take on - but at least I have the confidence to do them now!

Anyway - this was framed by the register and gave us quite a good laugh. (quick google helped me find this and give proper credit to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s “At Knit’s End, Meditation for women who knit too much”)

1. If you get enough of it, yarn can act as house insulation. 

2. Yarns get discontinued. Think about that, then buy accordingly.

3. Nobody is ever going to understand how seriously you take knitting if you don´t have lots of yarn as proof.

4. Yarn has absolutely no expiration date.

5. Hairless cats appeared in Toronto in 1963. What if that happens to sheep? What if it spreads? What if all that is left in the world is what you have?

I could probably come up with another 5 reasons - who am I kidding, every obsessed knitter could come up with at least another 5 - feel free to comment and share yours!

The top knit up really fast and I was totally enjoying the mindless factor. The sweater is knit top down so I was able to try it on and make sure the armholes were long enough and keep going. It was a bit stretched - as only a heavier weight yarn and larger needles could be but I kept going. I will admit to this sneaking feeling of dread the more I did though. I cast off the final stitch on Friday night - all excited to find the perfect buttons. It looked big on the needles, but I figured it was just because it was all in one piece - I tried it on - total hugeness. Had I even entertained asking my 6′2″ boyfriend to try it on I’d venture to say it would be huge on him too - but lets face it - he’s just all man, the sweater was ice pink and it was just never going to happen. Seeing it swim on him while amusing would not eliminate the fact that it was just gigantic! What the !*&(@# - Could someone please tell me where my knitting mojo has gone?!

I actually threw it in the washer and dryer, figuring even though it was acrylic blend it would regain some of its snap from being weighted down on the needles…nope to quote my friend Dee who walked in just after it came out of the dryer “Wow its just massive isn’t it?!” While Dee’s lovely British accent and choice of words made it all sound so much more tolerable when she said it, truly when you come right down to it - it is just another knitting UGH! (funny - but totally pathetic!)

Seriously look at this thing - I mean its very pretty and all in spite of its size.

I took a correctly sized sweater made when I had my knitting mojo - even when I take into account that one is a short waist pullover and the other is supposed to be a longer cardigan the ridiculous factor, as embarrassing as it is - must be shared.

If there were knitting police, I swear they would either be writing me a ticket or revoking my needles or something. I just dont understand it - I’m careful, I swatch, I read the directions, I even check for errata..so tell me exactly how I came up with a sweater that is big enough to be a blanket for two people!

One more deep breath. I have a plan. I’m going to use a size smaller needle and one size smaller pattern. I will try on obsessively as I go, even if that means running a lifeline so I can try it off the needles. I’m frogging the big one and transforming it into one that fits. I may even knit directly from the oversized mess for that matter! I will not be swayed - you can’t have my needles, I will find my knitting mojo - who knows, maybe its buried in my stash somewhere?!