Mandi Knits   » Knitting, spinning, crafts, and being a geek.

What’s on my needles…?

I had been working on a baby hat (gift for a friend) before the wedding. I’d put it aside and yesterday I finally picked it up again to finish it. Something didn’t seem quite right though. I looked at it, then put it on my head. Sure enough: it fit me. Now, I realize babies have big heads, but this is way TOO big. I have a gigantic, fat head (store-bought hats never fit me), yet this “baby” hat fit me. ::sigh:: So I guess I’m going to frog it and try again on smaller needles. I guess that’s what I get for not swatching.

After that bit of discouragement, I decided to cast on a new pair of socks (also a gift). Socks just make me so damn happy. Just simple socks. There’s just something wonderful and peaceful about knitting round and round on tiny DPNs (I’ve decided I much prefer DPNs to Magic Loop). It’s soothing to me.

I’m using Knit Picks Felici for the first time. I’d heard both good and bad about it, but I’m loving it so far. It’s so much softer than the Lang Jawoll that I was fighting with on my previous pair of socks. I also like the wide stripes it creates as you knit it.

I’m knitting it up with my US size 2 ebony Lantern Moon Sox Stix (have I mentioned how much I love those things?) and it just feels great in my hands. I’m following the basic 7 Stitches Per Inch pattern from Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd (my sock knitting go-to book) but I’m throwing in garter rib for the ankle and instep to fancy it up a bit.

I was thinking today, and realized: I’m a process-knitter (rather than a product-knitter). I knit because I enjoy the process. I think that’s why ripping something out and starting over doesn’t bother me as much as it does other people. Sure, I enjoy the finished product (whether it’s a gift or for me) but what I really love is the time I spend making the item. I enjoy the rhythmic repetition of the knits and purls. It’s soothing to me. Sometimes when I knit for other people, I actually feel selfish because of the enjoyment I got out of making the gift. Are you a process-knitter? Or are you more of a product-knitter, who knits because they desire the finished object (a new sweater, socks, a hat, etc.)?

I’m a product-seamstress. I sew because I want a new dress that’s unlike anything I can buy at the store — not because I actually enjoy the act of sewing. (Actually, sewing infuriates me quite often.) That’s probably why I have so many sewing-UFOs (translation for the muggles: “un-finished objects”). But knitting… that’s my meditation, my happy-time.

Sock knitting has been on hold briefly but I’m definitely ready to get back to it. I have so many sock yarns and patterns I want to try.

<— I completed my set of sock blockers with an order that came in the mail from The Loopy Ewe yesterday. I now have a set in sizes medium, large, and extra-large. So that should cover all the family members and friends that I plan to knit socks for. I also got some Soak Wash and a bit of Cherry Tree Hill yarn from there. (I’m a total Loopy Ewe addict now.)

Mostly I’ve been working on my “cold at work” shawl. It’s kind of a hybrid of the shawl pattern from Greetings from the Knit Café and Bev’s Dishcloth Shawl. I’m using size 9 Addi Turbo circulars. Unfortunately, I only had them in a 16-inch length, so now the shawl is getting too big and I’m waiting on my longer-length Addi’s to come in the mail. I’m also running out of yarn (I’m using Schaefer Yarn’s Sandra) — I had 1 skein of it and 2 more on order, but the ones I ordered haven’t come in yet. So I guess this project is going to go on hold.

Meanwhile, I have a baby gift for someone that’s about 90% done but I’ve been putting off finishing it because the last part involves short rows, and I wasn’t sure if I could do it. Well, since I put it aside, I’ve learned to knit socks — so now I’m feeling a lot more confident. So I may try to wrap that project up tonight or tomorrow. Then I’ll get back to my sock knitting and I’m also needing to make up some dish cloths and scrubbies.

Erica and I had a heck of a good time at Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday Night. It was quite an experience. We met up with Erica’s friend, Kelly, and her two friends. So it was a rowdy girls-night-out.

Here’s a picture of us waiting in line on the sidewalk outside the theater waiting for the show to start. —>

(Note the fab eyelash scarf that I knitted! It was really cold, so I wound up wearing it wrapped around my arms while we waited in line.)

Once we were in the theater, everyone shared their props with us — I wound up with a Spongebob party hat, a gold party-blower, and a mini-size squirt gun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember any of the callbacks, but some of the people sitting right behind us certainly did, so that was fun! I can’t wait to go again next year.

I’m currently installing OSX Leopard on my MacBook Pro. W00t! I’m so excited! (I am the domestic geek, after all.)

Today is also an exciting day because this evening marks my first trip to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’ve been a fan since high school, but my hometown didn’t do the whole midnight show -thing. So tonight, I finally get the opportunity! I’m going with one of my very best friends, Erica. She a huge RHPS fan too, so it’s sure to be a good time.

I even knitted for the occasion!

I mean, why buy a feather boa when you’ve got eyelash yarn? I used Lion Brand Fun Fur and Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky to knit this up. Originally I’d meant to make the scarf skinnier, but now I’m happy I didn’t because it’s looking like it’s going to be a cold, rainy night. ::shivers:: I also bought iron-on transfer paper for the ink-jet printer, and I made t-shirts for Erica and I too.

The last few splurge-purchases I made online came in the mail yesterday:

I wanted to include both those photos because honestly I was a little disappointed with the hank when I opened the package. The colors didn’t look as vibrant as they had on The Loopy Ewe website. Or, perhaps not so much as “vibrant” — but there’s white spots in the middle of areas that should be dyed. But after I wound the yarn into a center-pull ball, I perked up — it looks much prettier! This yarn is definitely going to be socks for ME. Hehe.

I also finally broke down and bought some sock blockers (also from The Loopy Ewe).

WOW what a difference they make in the way the socks look. I’m definitely photographing my socks on blockers from now on. And I’m also definitely taking the time to block socks before I give them as gifts. They look SO much better this way. I think I’m going to order a size large in the sock blockers as well because all my friends and family seem to fit into one of those two sizes. The neat part is — the blockers are so cute and beautifully finished that they’re decorative as well! They have little holes at the top to hang (which I intend on doing as soon as I find some nails long enough). Fun!

My knitting hasn’t been especially successful the last couple of days. I think I mentioned that I cast on Cherie Amour twice and frogged it twice. Lace apparently just isn’t my friend.

Then last night I cast on a new pair of socks for my mom. I had planned on making her two pairs for her birthday in two different styles. I’d finished the first sock for the first pair, and I figured I’d start the first sock for the second pair, so I could switch back and forth when I got bored looking at one color/pattern. I got about 20 rows into it and didn’t like the way the yarn was looking in the pattern I’d chosen (a lacy pattern again) so I frogged it too. UGH. I went back to knitting the second sock for the first pair instead. That, thankfully, went well.

I guess maybe I wasn’t meant to have more than one project on my needles at a time.

If I had yarn-budget, I’d have surely blown it this month. (Incidentally, I need to start budgeting my hobby-spending, I think.) But anyway, check out the yarn haulage from yesterday:

Isn’t that a lovely sight? In the front row is my order from Knit Picks which arrived in the mail yesterday. I got 10 skeins of their Felici sock yarn (4 clay, 2 Arugula, 2 pebble, and 2 Aurora) and I also got 4 skeins of Wool of the Andes in Claret Heather (to make the Irish Hiking Scarf with).

Then, in the back row of that picture, we have my haul from the Schaefer Yarn Co. trunk show at The Neighborhood Knit Shop last night. That is where I went wild:

Schaefer Heather
Colorway: Coretta Scott King

I’ve used Schaefer’s Lola sock yarn before and it’s great. Heather is a thinner sock yarn, and seems softer (to me). I got this particular one because I thought it was a nice, masculine colorway. I don’t have a lot of masculine-colored yarns and I thought with gift-season approaching, maybe I could think of a special someone to knit socks for with this.

Schaefer Helene
Colorway: Jane Addams

Helene is 50% cultivated silk, 50% merino wool. I have NO idea what I’m going to do with it — but it was so soft and silky, so pettably wonderous, that I HAD to have it.

When I was standing in line to make my purchases at the yarn shop, I was petting this yarn. When I was stuck at a red-light on the way home from the LYS, I was petting the yarn. When I got home, I made my poor husband pet the yarn. It’s just… YUM.

Maybe I should make a lovely lacy scarf with it, so I can pet it all day long? Ha ha. We’ll see I guess. This one is just going to live in the stash for a bit, I guess.

Schaefer Sandra
Colorway: Jeanette Rankin

This is the other yarn from last night that I fell madly in love with and HAD to have. I actually purchased three hanks of it (I only got one of the other yarns I bought). Unfortunately, I only got one and had to order the other two though. Hmph.

Anyway.

The photo doesn’t do this yarn justice at all. It’s baby-soft colors with a thread of iridescence woven through it. It’s heavy, and drapey, and wonderful. I’m thinking it would make a lovely shawl.

… and finally …

Schaefer Susan
Colorway: Minnie Pearl

This was actually the first yarn that I picked up at the trunk show. It’s 100% cotton and very shiny and lovely.

I debated on getting it, till I picked up a copy of this pattern. They had a sample of the scarf in the store, and it was absolutely beautiful. So I guess I know what I’m doing with this!!

On a slightly different note, I also received my order from Hello Yarn in the mail the other day. I got some roving and a drop spindle so (theoretically) I can learn to spin. Thankfully it also came with lots of detailed directions. Unfortunately I’ve just been too “duh” this week to be able to concentrate on reading the directions and trying it. Maybe over the weekend. I hope I can get the hang of it.

So…

Other than buying more yarn, I have been knitting too. But not very successfully.

I cast on my Cherie Amour sweater for the second time last night. The first time, I blamed my issues on the cheap circular needles I was attempting to use. The second time, I cast on with Addi Turbos (my new love, needle-wise). I knit five rows. On the sixth row, I counted the stitches — I’d apparently forgotten to do some yarn-overs, because I was 3 stitches short already. ARGH! Now, I could just scatter some increases in to try and “fix” it, but when I’m only a few rows into it, I hate to start fudging things. Instead, I’m thinking I’m going to frog it for the second time, and hope that the third time is the charm. But I think I may wait a few days to cast back on — because once again, I’m lacking focus this week (apparently).

So instead, I think I’m going to go back to the socks I’ve been working on. I’m about 75% done with the first sock of the pair. They’re a Christmas gift, so I want to get them done because I have some other Christmas gifts in the queue too.

And maybe I’ll start knitting up the Sandra yarn that I bought last night. I’m thinking of using this pattern. Just something simple.

I think I have enough yarn to keep me busy for a LONG while though!

I spent much of my day today knitting. (What a great way to spend a weekend!!)

My goal for the weekend was to finish my Lola Walking Rib socks. I’m almost there. Last night I finished knitting the first sock, and this morning I grafted the toe. I cast on the second sock early in the afternoon, and I just finished turning the heel and decreasing so I can knit the foot. So I’m almost there!

I made the leg a bit shorter than was called for in the pattern, so they look a little disproportionate in pictures, but in person I think they look good. It’s only the second sock (aside from baby socks) that I’ve knitted, so I’m happy. I think this pair is going to a Christmas gift for my grandmother actually.

Speaking of gifts — I’m hoping to knit quite a few of my Christmas gifts this year. These socks will be the first homemade gift I’ve finished making so far this year. I have another gift for someone else about 1/3rd of the way finished. I want to make up cute tags for my knitted gifts too, so I can put washing instructions and such on them. I’d hate to give someone a gift and then have them feel bad if they washed and dried it and wound up with a felted wool mess. Heh.

Check out what came in the mail today!!
<—

It’s lovely merino sock yarn from Whorled Peace. The colorway is Royal Blue over Wasabi.

I just love the subtle color variations. I have a tendency to always buy sock yarns that are drastic color variegations, and while that’s great, for some patterns a more solid or semi-solid yarn is much better. So when I saw this particular semi-solid, I HAD to have it! This one is going to have to go in the stash for a little while though, because I need to focus on gifts and I want this one for myself… heh.

I started reading Laurie Perry’s (a.k.a. Crazy Aunt Purl) Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair last night. In the beginning, I was nearly in tears. Later on, I was actually laughing out loud. It’s such an emotional, heart-felt book. The part (so far) that cracked me up the most was her explanation of ‘Advanced Cooking ADD’ — what a RELIEF. Now I know there’s a name for the disease I’ve suffered from all my life! (Hehe.) I’m only about halfway through the book, but I’m enjoying it SO much. I can’t wait to go meet Ms. Perry and have my book signed a week from Monday!

Anyway, aside from the gift-making, I have some projects in the works for myself too: I’m supposed to be going to see a midnight show of Rocky Horror Picture Show next weekend, so I decided I need to knit myself a skinny eyelash yarn scarf (a pseudo feather boa) for that. I’m also planning to pick up some ink jet iron-on transfer paper to make a custom t-shirt with the RHPS lips logo on it. Or at least, that’s my plan. We’ll see how it goes…

… So many projects, so little time.

In case you haven’t been told, it’s officially Socktober. There’s just something about sock-knitting and autumn that apparently go together.

For me, it’s autumn, sock knitting and pumpkin-spice flavored coffee. (Mmm.) Thanks to advice from the Caffeine Addicts group on Ravelry, I decided to pick up a french press last night. Admittedly, you can taste a difference in the coffee. Nick isn’t a fan of coffee anyway, so it’s perfect for making just enough coffee for myself.

Anyway…

I cast on my first Magic Loop sock the other day. I’m using the basic guidelines for the 6-stitches per inch sock from Getting Started Knitting Socks, but I threw in a 1×1 twisted rib for the cuff.

These socks are (hopefully) going to be a Christmas gift for someone.
Unfortunately, though, I had to take the first sock (in the state of finish shown in the picture) off my needle and put it on hold so I could cast on my first sock for sock-club:

Tuesday was my first sock club get-together at The Neighborhood Knit Shop. It was a neat experience for me because I’ve never gone to a knitting class or to a sit-n-knit. I met lots of nice women, and I tried hard not to be so shy. Thankfully everyone was very welcoming and friendly. I’m hoping to maybe go hang out at the shop on Saturday or Sunday and work on my knitting. (Have I mentioned how much I love my LYS?)

The pattern we’re knitting for our first sock club sock is the Lola Walking Rib pattern from Schaefer Yarn. I made a lot of progress during the two hours at sock club … unfortunately, it was all wrong. (*headdesk*) Near the end of the evening, I was admiring one of the other ladies’ socks that she’d been working on. I asked what pattern it was because it looked a lot different than mine — she said it was the same pattern everyone was doing. Uh oh.

Turns out, I’d skipped the 1.5″ at the top that was supposed to be ribbing, and I’d gone directly into knitting the walking rib pattern. DUH. Thankfully I didn’t feel quite as stupid when three or four other women chimed in and said they had made the exact same mistake.

I went home and frogged the entire thing and started over. I managed to stay up late enough on Tuesday night to knit to where I had been before frogging (but this time with the cuff). Last night, I worked on it till I got the heel turned, and now I’m ready to start knitting the foot. So it’s progressing!

I wanted to make sure and mention: if you’re interested in knitting socks, Lime and Violet posted the first part of their new sock knitting tutorial the other day. I read through it and the directions were absolutely great and very easy to understand, and the accompanying photos helped illustrate the directions perfectly. So if you’re interested in knitting socks but scared to give it a try, go read through their tutorial!

I also (*squee*) have a bunch of knitting-related fun coming up at the end of the month:

• Tuesday, October 23rd — Schaefer Yarn trunk show @ The Neighborhood Knit Shop (4-8 p.m.)
• Saturday, October 27th — Harvest Days & Fiber Festival in Murfreesboro (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.)
• Monday, October 29th — Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair book signing with Crazy Aunt Purl @ Barnes & Noble (7 p.m.)

… Seriously, how fun is all THAT?! I’m especially excited about the fiber festival. Unfortunately their website is down (which is why I didn’t link it), but they’re supposed to have shearing and spinning demonstrations as well as having lots and lots of local vendors. As an aspiring fiber-animal-owner and spinner, the demonstrations really interest me a lot. And of course, as a knitter, I can’t wait to check out some local yarns!

Finally, I’ve been doing some fun shopping again, so in a couple days I should have some fun new yarns and other goodies to share with you all. I can’t wait! Darn waiting for the postman…

It’s official! We’re married!

Nick and I tied the knot on Saturday, October 6th. The day went flawlessly. All the craziness and stressful planning paid off several times over. The ceremony was beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled as much as I did when I walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm with my father, and saw all the faces of our loved-ones in the pews. And then seeing Nick — it was the most emotional moment I’ve ever felt. The reception was SO much fun too. (I hope all our guests had as much fun as we did!)

My favorite part of the day had to be the horse-drawn carriage ride. It was great because it was just Nick and I snuggled together in the carriage. It gave us some private moments between the ceremony and the reception to just glow and bask in the idea that we had finally become man and wife. It was also amazing because as we rode all over downtown Erie, people cheered, waved, and yelled “congratulations” to us. Kids hung out of car windows to wave. As we rode passed the Star 104 radio station, they turned on their outdoor loud speaker to shout their well-wishes. It was so neat — complete strangers offering such kindness.

Believe it or not, I spent the week prior to the wedding finishing up a “Fill a Coffee Mug”-swap for Craftster. It was my first ever swap, and it really helped me keep my sanity! I didn’t get a chance to photograph my swap items, but my swap partner posted some great photos on her Flickr here.

I’m starting a sock knitting class at The Neighborhood Knit (blog) shop on Tuesday. They have a nifty “Sock Club” going on, and I signed up for it before we left for the wedding and honeymoon. As part of the class, we got copies of the new Cat Bordhi book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One.

In preparation for Tuesday’s class, we had to knit the two pairs of practice socks from the book. The first sock is a top-down baby sock, and the second is a toe-up baby sock.

I had to warn Nick right away that I wasn’t knitting baby socks because I’ve got a case of baby-rabies or anything! Just because we’re married doesn’t mean I’m itching to start a family (yet!). Ha ha.

Anyway, I knitted the top-down socks (pictured) first. I used size 3 DPNs and Adriafil Knitcol yarn (colorway #43). I screwed up and left out a couple rows in the first sock, so they wound up being two different sizes. (DUH.) But it was just for practice, so I wasn’t too concerned about it. (Besides, it still looked pretty good on Gracie!)

I knit the first toe-up sock last night, and I cast on the second one this morning. I’ve never knitted toe-up before. At first I was going to attempt to do it via the Magic Loop method (because that’s what we’ll be doing in our class) — however, learning two new techniques/styles (toe-up and Magic Loop) all at once was just too hard, so I switched back to my trusty DPNs. I struggled at first with the figure-8 cast on but once I got the idea of it, it turned out to be really easy! I actually like the toe-up method quite a lot: it seems like you get a better idea of what your sock is shaping up to look like.

For our sock class, we’re going to be knitting the Lola Walking Rib Socks pattern. I’m anxious to learn the Magic Loop method. The ladies at the LYS swear by it, saying its much fater than using DPNs. I just hope I can catch on to it!