FO: Rib and Cable Socks

Remember how I said last week was pretty rough, and I was going to get to a more regular posting schedule this week? Um, I kind of forgot that when you have one really hellish week (followed by another only slightly less hellish one) there are generally a whole lot of things that you let slip which are suddenly about to fall into the looming abyss. There are others who are also feeling the pressure of being back in school. I'm still knitting, just not blogging. It's hard to get pictures of your knits when you leave before the sun comes up and don't get back until after the sun goes down! I may have to invest in a set up like Lolly's.

And actually, I haven't been knitting as much as usual, because I've been having some hand problems. A clarinetist always has problems with the right hand - we support the entire weight of the instrument (about 3 pounds) on the end of our thumb, not to mention the physical act of moving our fingers. Things like playing the contra bass (the action of which is stiffer than a regular clarinet), lots of extra rehearsals (three concerts in the last two weeks, plus all the dress rehearsals), and all the little daily things you don't think about until it hurts, like opening doors, and lifting groceries, and even gripping the steering wheel. I'm taking a bit of time off this weekend, so hopefully I'll heal.

Anyway, I finished mom's socks!

Rib and Cable Socks
By Nancy Bush: IK Fall 2005
Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Rosehip
Needles: US1

You can't really see the cables until you put the socks on, and then they're subtle and gorgeous. That's my hand in that sock. I'd have put them on for you, but my mom wears a size 6 1/2 and I wear a size 9, so that really wasn't an option. The yarn is incredible. I've got a bunch left over, too, from this and from Sarah's Jaywalkers. Anybody know what to do with one sock's worth of red and one sock's worth of blue-green? I'm thinking I might just go with Dobby socks. Or, wait until I've made socks out of the Bearfoot I'm saving for myself and then I'll have red, blue-green, and purple. Which still leaves me nowhere...

Rusted Root is chugging along. I'll be past the armholes tonight, and then probably racing to the finish. At this point it seems like every row takes forever because there are so many stitches! Dollar and a Half and I are taking a little break, just until I finish Rusted Root.

I'm going camping with the family this weekend, so hopefully there will be some great pictures to see next week!

Unblocked

I blocked the fronts and back of $1.50. Actually, it didn't take all that long after I last posted for me to get out my water bottle and pins. Apparently I just needed to whine about it.

It's an interesting thing, this $1.50.... I followed the advice on the KAL and knit the reverse stockinette stripes in a needle 2 sizes smaller than the lace, and it blocked flat, but the lace didn't open up the way it should have according to the pictures. It was pretty much exactly the right size already, which brings into question my gauge. But also, in the pattern writing and copy-editing. Because if you look at the schematic, you'll see that for the 40" finished size (which is supposed to be the finished measurment), the blocking measurements add up to 42". None of the sizes match the blocking measurements, in fact. I think it will all be ok. It's not going to be as fitted as I wanted, but maybe the extra will come in handy, because I often have trouble with buttons across the chestular area...

Also, I started Rusted Root. This is Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Watermelon. I'm doing mine like the brown sheep, that's without the lace panel and instead a swiss dot pattern. I'm super excited because I think this is going to be a fantastically wearable knit. I could have worn it to an audition today, in fact. I think the swiss dot pattern is going to make it much more versatile, and less young-looking.

Also, I bought the Patton's book I was lusting over from Lolly's blog and enough yarn in a dark olive color to make this vest, Aran Accent. It's going to have to get in line behind Rusted Root, Dollar and a Half, and mom's Christmas socks, but I'm seriously looking forward to it. I haven't done any serious cabelling on a sweater yet!

It's been a crazy week around here, and it's not quite over yet, but I hope to get back into the posting groove next week when things start to settle down. Have a great weekend!

Blocking Block

Somehow I just can't bring myself to do it yet. I've got both fronts and the back done on Dollar and a Half, and I keep finding excuses not to block it. I have to vacuum the carpet first, I say to myself, even though I'll block it on a sheet. I don't have a clean sheet. This, actually, is true. I don't have enough room. This also is true. Well, sort of true. My apartment, while not small, is not large either, and I don't have a really good out-of-the-way place to block.

So what's the hold up? The fact is, it's only going to get harder to block. I mean, when I get the sleeves done, the blocking the whole sweater at once is going to take up all of my free space for a couple of days instead of most of my free space.

Maybe I'm just losing interest in the $1.50. I mean, I want it. I like it. I like the yarn. I will wear it (provided it looks as good as I hope it does). But suddenly, I'm super anxious for my Knit Picks shipment to come in with yarn for Rusted Root. I'm contemplating starting the Deep V sweater. I'm cruising along on mom's Rib and Cable socks. I'm avoiding blocking.

And, I'm baking bread.


This is the first bread I've baked in my new apartment, due to an unfortunate incident involving a buckeye, a lawn maintenance guy, and some missing skin from the palm of my hand. (I was running and not paying attention, and stepped on a buckeye with the hull still on, twisting my ankle and launching myself face first at the ground and ripping some significant skin off the palm of my left hand while a lawn maintenance guy looked on. It was hot.) My apartment smells fantastic, and the bread is awesome. I've made this recipe before, but this is by far the best it's ever come out. Probably because I did a little tweaking of the recipe. Sweet and chewy and yeasty....
No high fructose corn syrup in this bread. It's going to make some incredible toast and PB&Js. Next up on the bread front - making my own sourdough starter!

It's fall alright

It's cold. Well, relatively. I realize we have a long ways to go yet before I can really call it cold outside. But when I went for a run this morning, it was definitely nippy. The wind was skittering leaves across the pavement, and crab apples littered the sidewalk. I wore jeans to school yesterday, and my school is not air-conditioned (speaking of which, what is up with that?) I love it. I love the bite in the air and the skittering leaves. I love the fallen crab apples and the way the squirrels are completely freaking out.

I love Fall.

Yummy vegetable stew

Things I don't love about fall are head colds. Yep, I think we can pretty much agree that while sweaters rock, head colds suck. I suppose that's the inevitable conclusion when you're sharing a contrabass clarinet with lord only knows how many people and you take public transportation on a daily basis. (The contrabass clarinet? Really big, really low. It's taller than me (I'm 5'5") and the reed is like a hunk of tree branch. Also, they may be the spawn of satan.) So while I'd love to be outside, inhaling the cool breeze and going out of my way to step on a cruchy looking leaf, instead all I want to do is lie on my couch, watch TV, and sleep. That's so not going to happen. There's this little thing called school...

I started my mom's Christmas socks, which means I'm almost finished with my Christmas knitting. Yes, I'm bragging a little. While all the rest of you are frantically trying to find enough hours in the day to finish everything you planned on making for Christmas, I'll be ever so cooly knitting along on some no-pressure, non-Christmas related project. Let this be your official kick in the pants to get going already!

Rib and Cable Socks by Nancy Bush from IK Fall 2005. Mountain Colors Barefoot in Rosehip

Dollar and a Half Cardigan is still in progress. Back and right front done. Half done on left front. No blocking yet. Snot filling head, must lie down.

FO: Dashing

I meant to post this a few days ago, but I've been incredibly busy dealing with school. It's good and weird to be back in school, and there are a thousand little things to keep track of. Thank goodness for planners. Plus, I need to eat, so there's cooking and shopping and planning for the cooking and shopping. And then there's laundry. Let's not forget the laundry.

Thursday two people who have had a huge impact on my life died - Madeleine L'Engle and Luciano Pavarotti. I'm no huge fan of Pavarotti, but his impact on music (both classical and pop, the definitions of which are currently being hotly debated in my American Music class) is undeniable. I do not discount what he has done to allow me to pursue my passion. And Madeleine L'Engle is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her books A Small Rain and A Severed Wasp are particular favorites of mine. Her words have been comfort and inspiration to me, and I am unspeakably sad to know that she is no longer on this earth.

On to happier things. Dashing is done!

Dashing by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: 1 ball Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran in #416
Needles: US6 dpns
Modifications: I kind of ran out of yarn, so I had to shorten the length of the fingers. If I had known I was going to run out of yarn, I would have shortened it somewhere other than there - like on the arm part, but even with careful calculation I came up short.
So these join the Gentleman's Shooting Socks in waiting for Christmas morning!

Forward

I finished the back of the Dollar and a Half Cardigan. I'm please with the way it's looking. I've been having doubts all week about the size. A sampling of thoughts running through my head: Did I choose I size too big? But the next smallest size would definitely be too small. It's the size on the model, and I REALLY don't look like the model. But what about all that stuff on Knitting Daily about sizing? So if that's the size the model is wearing, I guess there should be some ease to make it look best, so maybe this is ok with the smaller needles... but I could frog it and go down one MORE needle size....

Off the needles it looks much more the right size (pre-blocking) so that's the good news. I'll block it at the beginning of next week. I'd block it now, but Sarah is coming to visit me! I'm super excited. She should be here in a hour or so, and that means I'm going to need all of my floor space.

I hope you all have a great holiday weekend! I'm going to be hiking, and laughing, and movie watching, and wine drinking, and laughing, and interior decorating, and laughing, and shopping. Sounds like a fantastic weekend to me!