suggestive

I bet the first thing you think of is not a sock:
Seguro que lo primero en que piensas no es un calcetín:



but I promise, it looks much better on a foot!
pero ¡os lo juro que parece mejor sobre el pie!

finnegan begin-again

take 2, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

starting over for my swap partner...

empezando de nuevo para mi pareja de intercambio...

back to the drawing board

fracasado, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

As if I didn't know already that colour-work made knitting tighter... I guess these are not the socks that my swap partner will be receiving after all.

There is no way that this:



is going over any normal person's heel.


---------------------

Bueno: a empezar de nuevo... lo de usar dos colores hace la tela menos elastico y este calcetín no va a caber sobre el talon de cualquier humano.

guest posting

S1051033, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

If you would like to check out my guest post on the madridknits blogs, click here. Even if you don't read Spanish, you can check out the beautiful work of these wonderful ladies.

Si quieres ver el post que hice para madridknits, haz click aquí. Aun si no puedes leer el castellano, podrás ver el buen trabajo de estas mujeres tan maravillosas.

start your swapping!

swap sock, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Summer 2010 International Sock Swap starts today! I wanted to work within my (somewhat limited) current stash that I have here in Spain and my partner seems to like similar colours to myself (phew) so I decided to use up a bit of jojoland melody (the blue-green) left over from the Fire and Ice Socks I recently finished up (pictures on rav from these socks are much closer to the real colour) along with some undyed malabrigo sock I had to do some simple colourwork.

Yeah, we only started a few hours ago... but I wanted to get to a place where I could just do simple stockinette st for a while. I was lacking a project that was simple enough to knit along on while doing other things. And this week at knit group I will be guest-blogging about the meeting (in Spanish, of course), so I'm going to be needing something very simple to work on! This ought to do the trick... what with the afterthought heel concept it is simple stockinette for quite some time!

process versus product

process or product, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

The boy just left, which is sad... but aside from being violently ill (both of us) for the first few days we had a great time and in a few short weeks (ok, close to 8) I'll be back State-side permanently and then he won't be able to get rid of me!

These socks (Stricken by Cookie A.) are ones that have been on the needles (according to ravelry) since Dec 28, 2009. Yeah, that's right, just over 5 months. And that's still the FIRST SOCK. A plain stockinette, or simply patterned pair of socks can take me less than 2 weeks to knock out... generally I can knit them while reading, watching tv, riding the metro, etc. But these are the everlasting gobstoppers of socks. Which is ok. I mean, they are GORGEOUS and fiddly and require constant chart checking, so they are almost impossible to work on in any environment that requires my concentration elsewhere.

So... I have a question. Would you consider these to be "process knitting" or "product knitting"? I picked them up again this morning and got through two rounds, all the while thinking "am I in this for the process - because the charts are complex and interesting, there is no racing to finish, etc - or the product - which will be both functional and beautiful?" And I can't decide. The process is definitely one that keeps my interest for a lot longer than a simply constructed pair of socks, but often after just a few rounds I find that my wrists start to hurt. Yet I don't want to give up on them because they will be SO FREAKING BEAUTIFUL when I'm finally done.

Opinions??

Malta

Just got back yesterday from our adventures in Valencia and Malta... and boy were they adventurous! I was extremely ill in Valencia, and so we saw very little of it... in fact, I have no pictures whatsoever. And I have NO pictures of knitting or me knitting in any of these fancy places as I was either ill or exhausted most of the time.

But we made the best of Malta and saw as much as we could in the short time we were there... I would definitely recommend it, but with the precaution that it is still relatively undeveloped for a European country (they are part of the EU and use the EU currency), so you need to know a bit about what you are doing / where you want to go / what you want to see. BUT, and this is probably a bonus for a lot of North American travelers: English is one of the official languages, AND the people were extremely friendly, so when it was hard to find your way, etc, it was pretty easy to find help.

I promise, there will be knitting content... SOON. And the International Sock Swap is just a few short days away from starting, so that will keep me busy for a lot of the summer! Yay!

almost seneca, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Now that it's really starting to get hot in Madrid, I'm close to being done this 100% wool sweater. Ah, timing. It's going to need a good blocking too... the garter cuffs aren't quite doing the job on their own to keep it from rolling up. (Pattern is Jared Flood's Seneca, been in the works since last fall but was on hold for a long time for gift-knitting)

In other updates: the International Sock Swap has 49 members! And there are still 12 days until entries will be closed, so if you're interested there is still time! I'm really excited about this and can't wait to send out the partners.

Until then, I'm going to have a visitor starting this weekend and leaving June 1, so I'm going to be a bit absent... we're hitting the road (or the skies, rather) and heading to Valencia and Malta!

rico finished

rico finished, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Well, there they are. I don't know if you can see the differences based on this picture (not the best picture, but I'm in that "I'm fed up with these so let's just get on with this" stage) but the right one is definitely more difficult to get on than the left.

Anyway.... I don't want to get too deep into, but they're done! (I wasn't feeling great yesterday, so I stayed home and finished these up... now I have to run to the library and make up for yesterday's indiscretions.) And hopefully the boy will be able to get them over his heel (the left should be fine, lots of give... it's the right one I'm worried about), or I guess I get a new pair of socks and he'll have to wait a little while longer.

Pattern: Rick, by Cookie A, from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL
Needles: US1
Mods: Cast on 72 instead of 60, stopped the pattern on the foot after completing the slants, continued with ribbing.

who knew?

rick differences, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Who knew that one stitch (ssk vs k2tog) could make such a difference?! I started the 2nd rick sock Friday night, and they have mirrored patterns... and as you can see, the first sock is MUCH skinnier than the second. It's probably a good thing that you do the right sock first, because if I had started with the left sock I probably wouldn't have ripped it back and added the extra stitches. And then I would have had one perfectly fine sock and one that would be too skinny and too tight to ever fit an adult human.

As is, I'm still worried that the first sock is going to be too small for the BF. It does fit me though....

International Sock Swap!

OK, so after I posted the clarifications last night, a couple more people commented and said they were interested in joining, so this morning I made the ravelry group!

If you have already indicated interest on the original post, I sent you an invitation through ravelry. If you didn't, but want to join, it's open for ANYONE until June 1, 2010, midnight EST. All you have to do is fill out a SHORT questionnaire and send me a PM through ravelry with your address so I can give it to your secret swap pal.

If you are NOT on ravlery (why not!?) leave me a comment here and we'll see what we can work out.

Here are the details (also listed on the group page) essential to making this a success:

1) you must be willing to ship anywhere in the world.
2) swap will take place between June 1 and Aug. 31. If you don’t think you can complete and mail your socks before Aug 31, 2010, please do not join.
3) if you do join and something happens that impedes you finishing, please let us know asap! we will try to re-arrange things so that your partner still gets something!
4) once you have joined the group, please go to the “questionnaire” thread and complete the questionnaire. Everyone who has signed up by end of day June 1 (EST for the sake of argument) will be messaged, via ravelry with their partners ravelry name. This is a SECRET swap, so you will not necessarily be knitting for someone who will be knitting for you.
5) Although it states “International” there are no guarantees that you will receive or send a package to someone in a different country - it will be based solely on who signs up. I’ll do my best to match people internationally, but it will all depend on numbers.
6) New rules in Europe impose a 16% tax to the RECEIVER on packages deemed of more worth that 22euros (approx. $30 US), so please keep that in mind if adding goodies. I would suggest that any goodies included in packages on top of the socks be kept to $20 US or less, no matter where you are sending to / from.
7) Don’t use UPS internationally - they have extra charges to the receiver, especially if it goes through customs. No one wants their swap partner to have to pay to receive a package!!
8) Please read the “how to” post below for more information on this particular swap and links on how to make an afterthought heel!

YAY! I'm super excited about this, and I hope you guys are too!!

some clarifications

The other day I posted about an idea I had for an international sock swap. After talking to a few people I feel like I need to make some clarifications.

Until next thursday (May 6) I will leave the post open for people to comment on, in order to express your interest. Given enough interest (there are currently 4 of us, including me!) I will open a group on ravelry, and hopefully even more people will be interested in joining in.

The group will be open to join until June 1, after which I will partner people up. Then people will have until Aug 31 to finish their socks and post their packages.

August 31! that's the END OF SUMMER. And summer hasn't even begun yet! I figured it was a good date though, because most of us (at least in the northern hemisphere) won't be wearing socks until the fall again. So by the time the packages arrive it'll just be starting to cool off.

If there are any other questions, let me know! Otherwise, click over to this post and leave a comment, including your ravelry name and I'll send out notices next week if we're on!

Socks on Fire (and Ice)

FO: fire and ice, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Wow. I just realized that I haven't finished a project since Feb 25! That's more than 2 months! And those were the socks I made the bf during the ravelympics, so they were on a deadline. I guess that's part of the problem with having *ahem* five projects on the go. OK, one of them is on the other side of the Atlantic, so it doesn't really count... and now that these are done, it's down to three on this side of the Atlantic!

Details:
Pattern: Socks on fire (mine, available in the sidebar or on ravelry)
Yarn: Jojoland melody, 2 balls
Needles: US1

an idea

So I got this idea this morning, and I can't seem to shake it. Like when you get a song stuck in your head and all you can hear is the chorus over and over and over. So here's hoping that putting it out there will get it out of my head long enough to get some work done this afternoon!

The idea: an international sock exchange.
The concept: knit a pair of socks (toe-up or top-down, your choice) and include enough yarn for the person to make themselves an after-though heel, either in the same yarn or a pleasing contrast. This way you don't have to worry about making the sock a certain size - the person can try them on and work the heel themselves... it also gives you the chance to try the yarn you get from your partner! Include any goodies from your part of the world that you'd like to include and send it off to your partner.

I'd do the set-up, on ravelry, and the partners would be secret until receipt of package. I.E. the person you knit for isn't necessarily the person who knits for you!

What I need to know... is if anyone (on either side of the atlantic) is interested. Leave a comment on this post (sooner rather than later) indicating your interest and if you would be willing to support starting a group on ravelry (if so, include your ravelry name in the comment). If I get enough interest (say, at least 5 or 6 people) by the 6th of May (one week from today), I'll start working on the set up.

Please feel free to pass this along on ravelry / your own blog / etc! Just make sure wherever you spread the word to includes a link to this post so people can come here and comment.

For more info on the dates, etc., click here.

cookie a wants to make you crazy

striken, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So, according to ravelry, I started these socks on Dec 28, 2009. Basically four months ago, almost to the day. Granted, I've started - and completed - several other projects since then, but these have been on the back burner for quite a while... mainly due to the INSANE heel chart. I thought about ripping it out and just doing a regular slip stich heel... but the socks (Stricken) are just so pretty... and who doesn't need a challenge once in a while?! So I spent most of today, on and off, working my way through the rest of the heel... ON THE FIRST SOCK.

Maybe it's not really Cookie's intent to drive me crazy... maybe some would say I would already have to be to take things like this on?

six months!

six months, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

It's strange how much your life can change in six months. Half a year. Doesn't really seem like that long a time, but I can say with all honesty that the last six months have changed my life drastically... in a very good way, of course.

In the last 6 months I have had some really amazing experiences - I'm currently living in Spain to do research, I recently submitted my first article to a scholarly journal for (fingers crossed!) potential publication, and just under six months ago I met a great guy. Our six "messiversary" as we've taken to calling it will be in a couple of weeks. So these are his six-month socks. Or rather, one of his six-month socks.

If the volcano lets up and transatlantic travel resumes, he should be visiting me at the end of May, when I will (hopefully) be able to present him with the completed pair. I was actually supposed to head to England myself tomorrow, but that flight (along with just about any other headed to Northern Europe) has been canceled. So, I'll stay in Spain, get some more work done, and hope things clear up soon.

Pattern: Rick by Cookie A, from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL
Needles: US 1
Mods: 72 stitches instead of 60, 40 st heel, ribbed foot instead of pulling the slant back across (as can be seen on this gorgeous pair.)

madridknits

seneca sleeve, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I've been going to a knitting group here in Madrid, madridknits. It's pretty much the only time (except maybe lazy Sundays like today when NOTHING is open) that I get any knitting done. I started a sleeve for Seneca last week, which you can see the beginnings of in this post (yes I was wearing the same pants... for shame!) and which I finished up yesterday - and started the second - during an "extra" meeting. (They meet every Friday but decided to have a Saturday morning meeting too since some people have been unable to come Fridays for various reasons. I went to both, since I'm hoping that I'll be away this coming week - more on that in a minute...).

The sleeve is for my Seneca sweater ravelry link. I had to make a ton of changes, as I thought it was going to be WAY too big... I made much more gradual increases, except for an extra one right at the top of the sleeve so that I would get the right number of stitches and not have to worry about increasing when joining the sleeves and body.

In totally unrelated news, I have a trip planned to England this coming week. So far, not so good. Perhaps some of you have heard of a little volcano eruption in Iceland that is disrupting travel plans for most of Europe? So far things are only canceled until Monday afternoon, and my flight leaves Wed. evening, so I'm just sort of waiting to see what happens. Wish me luck!

lo prometido es deuda

rico meets debod, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

As promised, I went out yesterday and took my knitting for a walk. We ended up at Templo de Debod an Egyptian temple that was moved to Madrid in the 70's, I think.

This pattern is Rick from Cookie A's Sock Innovation, in Zitron Trekking. I've had a number of problems with this pattern, I started with the suggested number of stitches and had to rip back the whole thing just as a I was ready to turn the heel because it was so tight I couldn't even get it over the ball of my foot. So I added more stitches, redid the whole cuff and had turned the heel and started the foot... which - as you can see - has now been ripped back because the pattern wasn't matching up.

And another photo, so you can see the pattern on the cuff a little better:

still here

So I'm still in Madrid, feeling much better and getting lots of work done. Which is all great, except that I haven't been knitting much at all. I was working on the "Rick" socks (not a picture of my socks, but at least you get to see something) for the bf but ran into several snags... first time round they were waaaaaay too small (60 sts, most of them twisted? shoulda known), so I ripped. Then I added stitches and knit merrily along until I got to the heel. Worked the heel, left the original number of stitches for the top of the foot, and somehow the pattern still doesn't match up.

But, I am happy to report that I finally made it to a knitting group here in Madrid last night and spent a couple of hours happily knitting away with them. I worked on my seneca sweater (link to originally posted picture... sweater is now much bigger, having been worked up to the join on the body and started a sleeve last night).

So, if all goes well and I get to somewhere pretty this weekend in Madrid (it's beautiful out so I plan on doing some walking around in a park near the house) I'll take my camera and my knitting and take some decent photos. Until then I leave you with a picture of me, a roommate and her sister alongside Barceló's Elephant:

ignore the foreign country behind the curtain

fire and ice, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Hey look! A sock! Nevermind that I said that I would try to take pictures of knitting in interesting places around Madrid...

OK, so I said I would take pictures of knitting in interesting places around Madrid... but I was actually really sick this past week and spent a lot of time either in bed or seeing doctors. So most of the foot of this sock was finished up in waiting rooms. It was interesting to knit in public in Spain, actually... a lot of the elderly people were fascinated to see someone younger knitting. They seem to think that in Spain it is still mostly older women in little pueblos doing the handcrafting... although I think this group (whom I AM going to get to know at some point in the near future!) would have something to say to the contrary.

So, pictures of knitting hanging out around Madrid SOON. For now, the sock:

Pattern: Socks on fire! by.. me! rav link, or see sidebar for direct pdf download.
Yarn: Jojoland Melody Superwash
Needles: US 1

Mods: Added extra repeats (one I think) to the cuff.

I am feeling better and was going to try and do this in some interesting part of Madrid today... but it was raining and is still super overcast so I don't really want to get caught out in the rain... sorry!

la historia del tejer

So I made it to Spain, safe and sound, and have begun to make the rounds to libraries and museums that I think will be good for my thesis research. I had some problems getting into the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) at first, but all is well now.

Yesterday I went to two museums that are very close to where I am living and will hopefully be helpful for me research-wise (both have libraries as well as being museums). I went to the Museo de América and the Museo del Traje. (Museum of America and Museum of Clothing / Costumes)

Surprisingly, the Museo del América had quite a bit of fiber-related objects that I want to share. Unfortunately the Museo del Traje does not allow photography, so I don't have any pictures of that but they do have some AMAZING pieces of clothing that are more works of art than anything.


This is a drop spindle with yarn, from Peru, around 1400 I believe.

Click this picture to see notes on all the different knitting / fiber implements:




Knitting needles made out of gold. (I'd be worried about bending them...) Found in Columbia, dating from 200AD to 1000AD.


A sewing kit, with balls of yarn and knitting needles found buried with a mummy (who was also there but hard to photograph and somewhat grotesque... I have a hard time with dead things, ok?!) in Peru, dating to 400BC - 100AD.

I also tried to go to a knitting group last night which I'd like to join... but due to some annoyances trying to find the place and getting a call 5 mins after I got there which I had to leave right away to attend to, I guess I'll have to get to know them better next week!

experimentations

A while back the boy saw a picture of a mat made of felted wool balls that looked like river stones. It was really beautiful... and also REALLY expensive. So I did some quick internet searches and found this tutorial. Looks easy right? So we got some roving from a friend of mine who apparently has an attic full of roving, of the stashed-beyond-life-expectency quantity, and decided to try it out. Unfortunately we could only get undyed, naturally creamish coloured roving, but we thought we'd experiment anyway.

Warning: ours are NOT as beautiful as those portrayed in the tutorial:



Some of them turned out OK, once we got the hang of it. But they're not the right colour (although I think we could dye them post-felting). Anyway, it was a fun experiment to try out together! Also - large balls of felted roving take a LONG time to dry. I believe we worked on them either Wednesday or Thursday night and they're still wet as of this posting.

The only other fiber related thing I have to show right now is this:



Remember this blanket? I posted this picture back in July:



There is maybe another foot or so of actual knitting on it... I work on it in my spare time when I have some extras bits of sock yarn left over and no other projects on the go. It's a slow knit but an enjoyable one when I get to it. I have no intentions of powering through it, and couldn't even if I wanted to as the yarn comes only when I've finished another project and have left overs.

I guess that's it for knitting related news... I leave for a research semester in Spain on Monday and will be there for four and a half months. I'll try to take pictures of knitting in front of interesting Spanish monuments! ;)

sock contest

This is more of a reminder for myself, although if there are any budding designers out there you might be interested too... there is a sock design contest being hosted over at Exercise Before Knitting from now until mid-April!

Knitters without Borders

Just made my donation of half my pattern sales from etsy and ravelry from Jan 15 - Feb 28 to Doctors without Borders via Knitters without Borders. If you want to know more about Knitters without Borders, check out the Yarn Harlot.

olympic sockey

awesome socks for the olympics, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Another pair of socks for the boy, this time made as part of the ravelympics. Finished them up while watching the Canadian women's hockey team win gold last night!

Yarn is the left overs from the first pair, about .9 of a skein of Jawoll Silk.
Pattern is Rudy Got Sole.
Needles: Size 1 (US)
Mods: Only cast on 70 sts, rather than 80, and basically forgot to look at the pattern again after that. Did a heel flap, decreased to 65 stitches on the gusset... but they fit him perfectly, which is what I was going for!

EDITED TO MENTION: Those are the boys feet, he was super great about being a foot model and even attempted some pictures on his own. He didn't really understand it, but he was a great sport (get it? Olympics?) about it anyway.

snowcation!

Just over a week ago the mid-atlantic east-coast of the US saw unprecedented amounts of snow and we got snowed in for the better part of a week. So what did I do with my snowcation? Well, I already showed off the finished scarf-exchange scarf, but I also whipped up this hat:



Which is a total franken-hat, in that I had little available resources and had to sort of go with the flow. And when it was originally finished it turned out to be way too short so I added the extra orange stripe on after the fact... it's for the boy and he likes it, so I'm not going to worry about it. But definitely not my best on-the-fly pattern.

Other than that, I cast on a pair of socks (also for the boy) for the ravelympics during opening ceremonies on Friday night. No picture as of yet, but hope to be through the first one by the end of this week (or earlier, preferably).

Pre-snow I was in new york and one of my travel companions had looked up habu textiles pre-trip and I got 2 cones of this:



If you don't know where they are you'll never find them. The building is completely unmarked aside from street numbers and they're on the 8th floor in a room without windows.

scarf exchange scarf

scarf exchange scarf, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I joined a scarf exchange and finished off this scarf for my partner during this snowed-in time. There's not a whole lot else to do and internet is intermittent, possibly because of the weather, so I'm posting this as an "FO" even though it's not blocked and I haven't actually sewn the ends in... snow-boredom / cabin fever is beginning to set in...

Yarn: Cascade Baby Alpaca (2.5 balls)
Needles: US 10.5
Pattern: Vogue Stitchionary 2 - #68 "Avocado"

happy birthday!

earl grey-ish, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

The new(ish) boy had a birthday yesterday AND it was our 3 month-iversary. So I made socks!

These are the yarn harlot's earl grey pattern in Jawoll silk. I had to use just a toe's worth of a second skein, not because he has gigantically huge feet, but because the cuffs are super long.

He probably needed wool socks this weekend 'cause we got hit with the second biggest dump of snow this area has seen in over a century.

Here's me, knee deep (and not actually touching ground) in the snow:

Socksposé! The loved.

OK, finally. The "fun" post! Here, in no particular order, I will detail the sock yarns I have loved and why.

First up: Zitron Trekking XXL:



I love the way the self-striping of the Zitron worked with the pattern AND it has held up fantastically over a year and a half.

Storm Moon Knit's (now out of production I think) Twilight Sock:



These have fuzzed up considerably, but they're my comfort sock.

Malabrigo Sock Yarn:



I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOOVE this yarn. By far the softest sock yarn I have ever used and it just gets softer with every wash. My one complaint about these socks have to do with the heels (aka, why I chose to put this picture up). See the heel? How it continues the pattern right down? Complete with yarn overs? Yeah. Yarn overs + heel = bad idea. I think Cookie A makes BEAUTIFUL socks (these are her Twisted Flower Socks rav link) and part of that is due to the fact that the heel fits into the pattern seamlessly. But I've had to darn the heels on both socks and I think if I had just done a traditional-style heel that would never have been a problem.

Crystal Palace Panda Silk Solid:



Truth be told, I don't get a lot of opportunity to wear knee-high entrelac socks (shocking, I know) but the yarn is still shiny and beautiful after a few washings and I get so many compliments when I wear these. I'm sure, in part, it's due to the fact that people think I have to be out of my mind to have knit knee high socks (let alone in a pattern that many knitters find daunting to begin with) but I think it also has something to do with how great the yarn is. Oh, and these are the socks that met the harlot.

Schaefer Anne / Bamboo mix:



I said in my previous socksposé post that schaefer anne might not be meant for socks. And I'm sticking to that. Especially if left alone. But these were the first top down socks I made and I did it straight from the pattern. A blind "ok, if you say that's how you make a heel flap, I'll believe you" stab at it. And it worked. And that first heel that I turned I was AMAZED. IT WORKED. And I still wear these, regularly, almost 3 years later. It's the bamboo. The schaefer still attempts to felt to itself but the bamboo gets in the way. So they're a bit fuzzy but still fit and are probably the warmest socks I own.

Crash Into Ewe Jewel Collection



Only worn these a few times since they were finished just over a month ago, and every time I wash them I worry that the giant holes created by the pattern will get caught on something in the machine. But, so far so good. The colour has faded quite a bit considering they've only maybe been washed a total of 4 times. But I still think they're pretty and the sparkles haven't all fallen out, so that's good!

crystal palace

mini mochi, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I've been blogging about the sock yarns I've used and how I've felt about them. My first post about yarns I've disliked, drew the attention of a crystal palace employee who emailed me to talk about the mini mochi I used in my socks that felted. Although I probably won't use it for socks, they were kind enough to offer me 2 skeins of yarn to replace the socks. It's way above and beyond for a yarn company to even notice a little blog like mine, let alone offer a replacement, so I just want to say thanks to crystal palace for being a pretty upstanding yarn company. I know through a friend who owns a yarn store that some of the companies can be hard to deal with, but I've never heard complaints from anyone about CPY and now I know why.

I'm thinking perhaps a gathered scarf?

Socksposé! The livable.

The second in my series about sock yarns I've loved (or not), these are the socks that aren't really "loved" but are definitely still usable. I'll give my explanation as to why each of these fits in here rather than with the lovables.

First up: Strawberry Monkeys:



Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns* Panda Cotton Print + some extras
Why they're only "ok": I actually really liked the yarn, even though I'm not a big cotton fan. And I love this pattern (evidenced by the fact that I have 3 pairs of monkey socks and would make more if I didn't think it were a little ridiculous already)... but the problem lies in the toes. I have small feet. (Seriously, like size 6.5-7 depending on the shoe maker.) I usually have tons of yarn left over after making a pair of socks for myself. But yeah, I ran out of yarn only a few rows from the end of each toe. (Panda sock yarns come in a "one ball per sock" sized skein).
All that said, I still wear these on a regular basis and the yarn has held up well. The toes were finished up with a couple single strands of bamboo held together, which is actually not wearing as well as the actual yarn. But worst case scenario, that can be easily replaced.

Next: Jaywalkers:



Yarn: Schaefer Yarn Company Anne
Why they're only "ok": Well, one problem is the pattern. Since making these I've heard a lot of people talk about how tight the stitch pattern is. And it is. Again, I have small feet (see above), and these are EXTREMELY hard for me to get over my heel. I think there has been a small amount of felting, since the yarn has 25% mohair, but I would definitely recommend making the larger size in this pattern, even if you don't think you need to. As for the yarn, I think it's BEAUTIFUL, but probably better suited to shawls, etc than something you're going to put on your feet.

Finally: More monkeys!



Yarn: Crash Into Ewe Merino Sock
Why they're only "ok": I love these socks. I wear them all the time. But the skein (which, I don't fault the dyer for but rather her supplier of undyed yarn) had a TON of knots in it (I can't remember the exact number but I'm pretty sure it was close to ten). I've also had to repair both heels, one one time and the other twice. So, while much loved as socks, I'm a little disappointed in the strength of the yarn itself.

*Crystal Palace contacted me yesterday after the first post (as a comment on the previous post, so it's right there for all to see if anyone is interested) and I replied via email. I do sometimes throw socks in the dryer, if I think the yarn can handle it. I know, I know, I'm probably killing the lifespan of my knitted socks, but I still feel a little ridiculous hanging socks to dry. However, with the mini mochi I was a little more skeptical and tried my best to wash them in cold water and keep them out of the dryer. No knitter is perfect, however, so I can't say for sure that they *never* made it into the dryer.

Socksposé! The hated.

I've been brewing this post in my head for a while... I wanted to write up a review of the sock yarns I've used and loved... and hated. I don't know if it'll do anyone any good, but you never know, right?

I've also spent a long time trying to figure out how to order them... chronologically? By love/hate ratio? So today I bring you the hated. Socks that have not held up under relatively normal sock conditions. Socks that felted or fallen apart. I'll do my best to give the details that explain why I think things went wrong and how you can avoid a similar sock fatality.

First up: the Lacey Rib Anklets:



Yarn: Knit Picks Memories (now discontinued)
What went wrong: Well, first of all, this was the first time I attempted socks aside from the ones I made in a class and I decided to make a pattern up myself. Which was fine, but I only had one ball of this yarn (which was 220yds/skein) and so I had to make them fairly short in order to make a pair. So as it stands they were barely anklets anyway. After a few washes (and yes, probably runs through the dryer) they started to felt. In the end I couldn't even keep them over my heels.
The outcome: Garbaged. Sad but true.

Next: Socks on Fire:



Yarn: Araucania Ranco Solid
What went wrong: FELTED. Within a couple of washes I could barely get these on my feet, let alone see the pattern.
Outcome: Garbaged. I really liked these socks too.

Rainbow socks:



Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi
What went wrong: I'll give you a guess. YUP, felted. I even had a feeling when working with the yarn that it had that potential... single ply, lots of halo. I still love this yarn though, I think it's gorgeous and want to use the worsted weight to make another noro-like scarf. Just DON'T put it in the washing machine.
Outcome: Guess again... thrown out. I kept these as long as possible but by the end they were maybe 1/2 the size they should be and there was no way they were stretching over my feet another time. Sigh.


That's it for the hated. Look for posts about the "livable" and the "loved" over the next few days.

finally!

suéter profundo, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

The pattern for my 3/4 jacket is FINALLY finished and has been posted on ravelry for purchase. Click here for the pattern page or here to purchase for $5.00.

From now until the end of February, 50% of sales will be donated to Knitters without Borders for their relief efforts in Haiti.

one more gift

gloves, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

and a horrific picture of me.

These were made for the boy (yes, there is a new(ish) boy...) so they're a little big on me. They also have a special design feature... the index finger on the right hand has conductive thread in it so he can use the touchscreen on his phone without having to take them off.

Pattern was made up on the fly, yarn was Cascade Cash Vero DK.
Conductive thread is available on several websites but usually comes in large cones. If you just want to get a small amount I got mine here.