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

Sign-ups for Summer of Socks 2008 have begun! Sign-ups close on May 15th and the knitalong runs June 21st through September 1st.

I didn’t participate in this knitalong last year but I thought it sounded like fun so I signed up.  And besides, you know me and the sock-knitting.

Also, how damn cute is THIS?!  It’s a ’stache for your stash.  Hehe.  Karrie is selling these ‘Stache Sachets in her Etsy store.  According to her description, they contain all sorts of lovely things to repel icky stash-munching beasties like moths.

I think I need to order one of them.  They’re too darn cute to pass up!

No new knitting-news to share today; I knit one row of the heel flap on a pair of socks for my husband last night and promptly fell asleep.  Maybe I’ll work on some lace knitting tonight…

I’m bummed.  In the process of updating my WordPress installation from 2.5.0 to 2.5.1, I managed to wipe my wp-content folder which of course holds all my templates and plugins.  I had my next-to-last layout backed up, but do you think I had the most recent backed up? Ha, no!  Of course not.  So for now I’ve uploaded this pretty temporary template while I design something else.  (Which may not be for a while, as I have several other people I need to design WP templates for first.)

Over the weekend, I finished knitting something that wasn’t socks…

Pattern: Springtime Tulip Fair Isle Hat by Deb Peterson
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic

Cute, huh?  This was my first attempt at fair isle knitting and I have to admit I’m a bit addicted now.  I took a class at the Neighborhood Knit Shop with Deb, and this is one of her original designs.  Deb is a fantastic teacher and I got he hang of fair isle in no time with her help.  I had enough yarn leftover to knit a second hat (which I started yesterday while I was home sick) and I’m already almost done with it.  For the second hat, I reversed the colors so it has yellow hearts and pink tulips.

I also had a class with Julie on Sunday.  I was so thrilled to finally meet her after we’d talked quite a bit on Ravelry.  The class was for the lace scarf Gust by Anne Hanson.  The yarn we’re using for it is Filatura Di Crosa Superior, a 70% cashmere/30% silk blend.  It’s absolutely fantastic but somewhat intimidating at the same time.  Thankfully Julie taught us how to add life lines to our projects, which provide some peace of mind.

I’ve finished 3 pattern repeats so far (the lace chart is 12 rows).  I’ll try to take another picture of the scarf with some better lighting soon.  It really is lovely.

While I was at the knit shop for class, picked up this pattern book that I’ve been wanting.  There are so many patterns in that book I want to knit… some of which I actually have the yarn in my stash for already, I think!  I can’t wait to get started.

My Bombshell sweater is at a temporary standstill because I’m a little confused on the directions.  I need to sit down and figure it out.  Maybe tonight…

My lovely Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel is all finished, assembled and ready to spin!

The Finishing Process:

The finishing process was really pretty painless.  I chose Minwax Polyshades, a combination stain and polyurethane.  Note that this is not water-based so you’ll need mineral spirits for cleanup and you’ll want to work in a well-ventilated area.  (I worked in our garage with the door completely open.)  This finish is very inexpensive.  You can find it at your local hardware store or WalMart.  I bought the larger can but only used about 1/4 of it, so the smaller can probably would have been more than sufficient.  The Minwax site recommends using a natural bristle brush to apply the finish.  I used small sponge-brushes and they worked well for me (and only cost about 59-cents).

The color I chose is “Bombay Mahogany”.  I’m a huge fan of red woods like cherry and mahogany.  I did about three coats on all the pieces.  I think the wheel itself (which is MDF rather than solid wood) might have gotten an extra coat.  It did take quite a while to dry completely but we were also having some very cool, damp weather while I was working on it so I think that was a big part of my problem.

The color turned out really rich and beautiful and I’m extremely pleased with it.  I’m hoping the polyurethane will help the wheel hold up for years to come.

Assembly:

Ashford supplied a very nice folder with their product which contains assembly directions, spinning directions, and two spinning/fiber-related magazines.  The assembly directions have next to no text-instructions, instead using drawings to explain the assembly process.  For the most part, the directions were pretty easy to follow.  Keep in mind that I’ve never in my life laid hands on a spinning wheel, yet I was able to assemble this one.  I think Ashford deserves high praise for their directions!

The only portion of the instructions that gave me trouble was step 13, where you attach a string, two springs, and the tension knob.  (I believe this would be the brake-band?)  Ashford supplied a piece of fishing-line to use for this, and my knots just kept slipping.  I gave up and used kitchen cotton instead, but I’m still struggling to get enough tension.

… And the Spinning Begins:

My very first attempt with spinning was a couple weeks back with some corriedale from CJ Kopec Creations. The fiber was absolutely beautiful but I made two key mistakes with it: first, I didn’t do enough pre-drafting of the fiber, and second, I didn’t have my brake band on the wheel adjusted right.  In the end I made a real mess of the bit that I spun so I decided to start over.  So here’s a short video clip of last night’s attempt:

For the heck of it, I decided to try some Sakina Needles BFL that I got from The Loopy Ewe.  This time I spend a lot of time pre-drafting the fiber.  It made a huge difference.

I also managed to get the brake band on the wheel adjusted.  I used a tip I read on one of the Ravelry spinning groups.  They suggested removing the spring on the left side of the wheel’s band and just use the one spring on the right side.  That made it much easier.

I spun the entire 4 oz. of fiber while watching Grey’s Anatomy and Lost.  I made two singles (though one is a lot bigger/longer than the other).  I’m going to attempt to ply them together tonight, I think.

I’m debating now on what I’ll spin next.  I have two more beautiful merino-blend rovings from CJ Kopec and I also have some gorgeous 100% merino from The Dyeing Arts.  I’m just a little nervous to switch over to merino because the staple length (from what I’ve read) is so much shorter than BFL.  Can I do it?  May as well try, right…?

Excuse me while I toot my own horn a bit, because I’m feeling pretty darn smart right at the moment.  Look what I did over the weekend:

Okay, so it’s only ribbing.  But it’s ribbing with purty colors.  Thanks to Deb’s class at The Neighborhood Knit Shop, I’m learning to do fair isle!  I’m really excited because that’s one of the goals I’d set for myself this year.

I’m typically a “thrower”, as were the two other people in my class.  Deb taught us to knit Continental style as well, so that we can carry one color on our right hand (English/throwing-style) and the other color in our left hand (Continental/picking-style).  It was extremely awkward at first, but once I got through the ribbing, I had the rhythm down.  After it “clicks”, the idea that you’re knitting with both hands really makes you feel smart too.

The bit in the picture above is where we were supposed to get to for our homework this week.  We’re going to get into the rest of the hat pattern next Saturday.  It’s an adorable pattern that Deb designed.  It has a row of tulips and a row of hearts.  I’m really itching to keep knitting on it because it’s really, really fun.  But I’m going to be a good girl and wait so that I don’t screw it up.  I just hope mine fits!  (I have a fat head big brain.)  Heh.

Round 3 of Sock Madness 2 totally kicked my arse.  I really thought this would be the round that I’d get knocked out.  Turns out, I managed to finish 12th (at 1:40 a.m. last night).  The first 12 finishers in each division are advancing this time around, so I’m going to round 4.

The pattern for round 3 was Slippin’ Stripin’ Socks.  They’re a slip-stitch pattern knit from laceweight yarn held doubled.  I used Knit Picks Shadow in Vineyard Heather and Jewels Heather.

The pattern called for size US 2 (2.75 mm) needles.  All my size 2’s were tied up so I decided to drop down to a US 1.5 (2.5 mm) needle.  That was a huge mistake!  My left sock (in the picture) is awfully snug because of it.  So I decided to knit the other sock on a US 2.5 (3.00 mm) needle instead, and it’s quite comfortable.  Maybe someday I’ll go back and knit a third sock, also on the US 2.5’s, so that I have a more comfortable matching pair.

I did work very hard on these socks though.  I even took them out with me Saturday night to knit while Nick played pool.  Earlier the same evening, Nick and I had gone out to eat (Cheddars, mmm…) and I knitted while we waited for a table and while we waited to order and till our dinners came.  Serious dedication, people!  (Not to mention I love the weird looks I get from people…)

I think this will likely be my last round of SM2 though.  In rounds 1 and 2, I think I finished around 10th place and of course I was 12th this time, so I’ve been very consistant.  I don’t think that’s going to cut it to advance past round 4.  I’m really okay with that though.  I’ve enjoyed the competition a lot, but all this speed-knitting of socks is just getting to be too much for me.  I have a bunch of other projects on the needles and in my to-do queue that I’m dying to start.  If I get knocked out the next round, I won’t be sad.  I’m ready.

Incidentally if you’d like to see some of the creative, colorful socks that others in the competition have been knitting, there’s a Sock Madness photo-pool on Flickr where you can see them all.  There’s some really talented knitters producing some pretty awesome finished objects, so go have a look.

Earlier in the day, I’d resigned myself to the fact that I’d probably not make it in time to see the Yarn Harlot here in Nashville.  I had to work late and I found out at the last minute that you had to have tickets to get a book signed.  But thanks to my wonderful boss (who I already knew was wonderful, but this just adds to the fact), I was able to leave work at 5:30 and made it to Brentwood in time to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee!

Borders was already full of knitters when I arrived.  I was thrilled to find familiar faces in the crowd — friends from sock club at the Neighborhood Knit Shop!  They even happened to have an extra seat for me in the second row of chairs.  We visited and of course worked on sock knitting.  I don’t think a single person in the crowd didn’t have needles in their hands.  It was great.

At one point, a woman approached me and asked, “Where do I know you from?”  I was startled for a second but then said, “Maybe Ravelry?”  Turns out it was Grandma Barb!  It was so nice to get to meet her.  It was also very weird to get recognized like that.

Stephanie gave a long talk that had everyone laughing nearly to the point of tears.  She’s truly the stand-up comedian of knitting.  (Who knew there could be such a thing?)  She also discussed some really fascinating research relating to how knitting helps relieve stress/trauma and how knitters and Buddhist Monks have super-powerful brains.  I’d love to relate it all here, but clearly I didn’t absorb quite as much of it as I wish I could have retained.  Hopefully she’ll talk about it on her blog, maybe after the tour is over.  It really was interesting.

Here’s a short clip from this evening, for those of you who couldn’t attend:

I also managed to get a ticket so I could have my book signed.

In hindsight, I really hope that I didn’t seem rude … or crazy.

I have this knack for becoming a complete moron when I meet famous people and people whom I admire.  (*ahem* We won’t discuss the time I met Hal Sparks…)

Stephanie was very nice and very patient, taking time to visit with each person in line.  She signed my book of course and posed for a picture.  In the photo, she’s holding my sock-project and I held the sock she’s currently working on.  I thought that was pretty cool of her.

Anyway, Stephanie, if for some crazy reason you stumble up on this blog post, thanks again — thanks for coming to Nashville, thanks for signing my book, thanks for the photo, and thanks for not thinking I was a total fruitcake!

I’m pretty certain that my fingers are about to fall off.  My Reversai socks for round 2 of Sock Madness 2 are done, done, DONE!  I made it on to the third round.  (Though I have a feeling that round 3 will be my last, but we’ll see.)

The pattern is a lot of garter stitch, making the sock reversable.  In theory this is really cool.  Heck, the completed product is really cool too…

However, doing garter stitch in the round on size 1 needles is a painful nightmare.  Keep in mind, when working in the round, garter stitch is knit one row, purl the next because you’re not turning your work.  All those purl rows made my fingers cramp like mad.

One thing I did learn from knitting these socks is that I am, in fact, a very tight knitter.  I always thought I was more to the “average” side gauge-wise.  When I started this pattern, there was a lot of discussion in the Ravelry Sock Madness 2 group that people were struggling to find needles small enough and yarn thin enough to get gauge.  One person even posted her first attempt at the pattern: a cuff that she could put both of her feet through.

I chose Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, which is on the thin side, and I cast on using US size 1 (2.25 mm) needles.  I never use such small needles; I nearly always use a US size 2 for all my sock knitting.  Turns out, I wouldn’t have had to go down to a size 1 anyway.  The socks fit fine, but they are more snug-fitting than my other pairs.  On the upside, the stitches are very tight and well-defined so the design of the pattern shows up great.

Just one more quick update on my socks for Sock Madness 2:

I’ve turned the heels on both socks and put them back on the circular needles to continue knitting them two at a time.  I’m hoping (::fingers crossed::) that I’ll finish them up tonight!  There are 4 people done in my division now, so that leaves 16 open spots.  I think I’ll make it!