How's that for alliteration? I'm visiting my uncle and cousin in the south of France for a few days and took the train up yesterday from Madrid. Train time makes for great knitting time and I finished up the second mitten for my roommate's birthday. The only problem is that I think that the bumpy movement on the train made for a looser gauge and the top part of the second mitt is a bit larger than the first. I may decide to fix it up later on, but for now we're counting these as DONE.
Pattern: Susie's Reading Mitts Direct Link or Rav link.
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted
Needes: US 7
Mods: Bigger needles + size M instructions = size XL; no picot edges - instead used the open aka provisional cast on and a purl turn row on the cuff, later going back and sewing the provisional stitches to the inside. I personally feel like this makes for a nicer inside, less of a seam against your wrist. Finally, I used a stretchy bind-off of K2, *slip 2 sts back to left needle, k2tog, k1* (repeat * to *).
And since it is FOs (plural) in the title, I suppose I should also show off these:
(Original photos by Sionaland)
I finally and REALLY finished up the twisted socks.The right one now has a purple toe (as seen by the middle photo) because I had to go back and add more length (again). I'm not even going to talk about all the complications / modifications I had with these socks, because I already have. But they're done, so thank goodness for that!
By the way: Whoever said you couldn't make two identical noro socks clearly does not have the same size feet as me! Aside from a tiny bit at the top of the cuff, and the re-done toe, these are identical stripe by stripe!
If the weather clears up (it's a little cloudy this morning) I'll be sure to take pictures of France... and of cats, who are all over me (including crawling under my covers last night) and I'm loving it!
It would appear that my twisted socks are done, right? WRONG. While I am wearing two completed socks, the first one (which would be the left one) is too short. I added another pattern repeat to the right and it fits much better, as illustrated by the photo* below:
If you look closely, the right sock seems to fit much better to the contours of my foot, while the left sort of bulges as it attempts to stretch to fit. So while they look done, I'll be taking the toe apart today and redoing it - AGAIN, mind you.
If you haven't been following the Midsummer Day's Dream series over on Lighting Little Fires, you should go check it out. My entry is up today, on traveling and knitting, along with another crafter's entry on tatting and backpacking.
*How many times more will you have to listen to me apologize for crappy pictures taken in Spain? Not that many, actually, since I will be headed back across the pond in 17 days! Don't get me wrong, it's been great, but I'm definitely looking forward to being "home" too. Anyway, it's raining this morning, so sorry for the bad photos.
Yesterday I "Knit in Public" (you know, 'cause I never do otherwise...) with the lovely ladies of MadridKnits in the gardens of the "Templo de Debod", which-as you can see in the background of the above picture-overlook most of Madrid.
Ayer tejé en público (cosa que nunca haría de otra manera, jajaja) con las mujeres fantásticas de MadridKnits, en los jardines del Templo de Debod, los cuales tienen unas vistas de casi todo Madrid, como puedes ver en la foto de arriba.
I also attempted to take "artistic" photos of the glove I finished up:
También intenté sacar unas fotos "artísticas" del guante que acabé mientras tanto:
But it mostly looks like my hand is attempting to fly away from me.
Pero a lo mejor aparece que mi mano quiere intentar volar.
In any case, if you want to read my report on our knit in public breakfast, check out the post here (in Spanish only, sorry!)
De todos modos, si quieres leer la crónica del día internacional de tejer en público, haz clic aquí (en español, por supuesto).
Just so you don't think that all the problems I had with the first twisted sock killed my desire to knit the second, you can see that I did, in fact, cast it on.
But in between finishing the first and starting the second I also cast-on this:
And as you can see, bound-off too. (Only the one... it's only been a day and a half after all!) After so many socks as of late, I forgot how fast worsted weight can work up! And compared with the noro, this yarn (Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted) is sooooo soft.
Pattern: Susie's Reading Mitts
Needles: US 7 / 4.5mm
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Mineshaft
For: Leire, one of my roommates here in Spain who will have a birthday in July.
Mods: Used bigger needles and size M instructions for an XL-ish size, omitted the picot edges, using a provisional cast-on, a purl row to hem the bottom, and a stretchy bind-off after the last purl row over the fingers (k2, *sl2 to left needle, knit two previously knit stitches together, k1* until only one remains).
This morning, while drinking my coffee, I had an awful thought... What if I just frogged this sock? Slipped the needles out and pulled it all apart, put the yarn aside for another project? Maybe a project that could actually be SEEN and appreciated, like a pair of mittens or gloves? At least then all my hard work will be seen and not stepped on...
But can I really undo 5.5 months worth of hard work??
Esta mañana mientras tomaba mi cafe, se me ocurrió una idea terrible... ¿Y si deshago este calcetín? A lo mejor puedo usar la lana para un proyecto que la gente verán, en vez de pisar tanto trabajo, por ejemplo unos mitones o estos guantes, ¿a que sí?
Pero no sé si puedo deshacer el trabajo de 5.5 meses...
Yeah, sure noro, you make a pretty sock. I mean, just check you out:
Sí, noro, te pareces muy bonito como un calcetín. Pues, mirate:
Pretty, but I've probably had more problems with this (relatively simple) pattern than any other.
Muy bonito, pero he tenido más problemas con este (bastante simple) patrón que nunca.
Problems, more or less in chronological order:
1) Hubris. I started these at knit night, without the pattern in hand, partly because I knew that someone else would have it on them (we're working these together as a KAL) and partly (mostly) because I figured it was simple enough that I could figure it out myself. (HA)
2) Over-yet-under-written pattern. Go take a look at the pattern. It has 6 different sizes. Which is great... but it makes for a REALLY long pattern, with a lot of different numbers being thrown at you. It also has 6 stitch definitions and 8 pattern notes, before you even begin. Now, considering that I glanced very quickly at the pattern when starting I read the stitch definitions and thought "huh, that's odd, where does the twist come in?" Because if you glance at them quickly this:
Twisted-slip rib (worked in the round)
Round 1: [K1, p3]. Rep across.
Round 2: [Sl1, p3]. Rep across.
Rep Rounds 1 and 2.
See Pattern Note 4 below about working decreases in this pattern.
Yfwd: Bring yarn to the front, as if to purl.
Slp: Slip st purlwise. If working right side row yarn is held in back. If working wrong side row yarn is held in front. See Pattern Note 1.
Might make you think that all slip stitches are done purlwise. But if you look very carefully, you will see that the abbreviation for a slip stitch in the twisted-slip rib notes is marked as "Sl1" NOT "Slp"... indicating a knit-wise slip, NOT a purl-wise one...
3) The yarn... oh the yarn. Pretty? Without doubt. See above. But as I mentioned before it is a thick and thin yarn, which to me really isn't great for socks. And it's a single ply!!! Like the mini mochi that felted in the washing machine... I don't have high hopes for the washability of this yarn. How many times do I have to learn the same lessons?!
4) Heel /Gusset decreases: Heel first: the purl stitches at the end of the RS rows? does not compute. I feel like it would just make it harder to pick up the stitches, although I've heard other people say they loved it... maybe I'm just not getting it. But the gusset decreases: every third row?! Maybe if I wore men's size 13 shoes and had a super high arch... but since I have ridiculously small feet this would probably end with me decreasing the gusset into the toe.
5) The toe construction. OK, I admit that I was probably rushing it last night, after a while all this purling and slipping gets pretty boring. So I might have stopped a teeny bit before I normally would for a toe... but the way this toe is constructed (and yes, I get that it helps keep the shape) is way too fast / short for my liking. So I had to rip back and add some more to the foot before re-doing the toe. But again - my own hard-headedness prevails: I did the toe as per the instructions a SECOND time. And it's still a bit short, but there was no way that I was going to rip it out again.
A ver... me cansa mucho pensar en escribir todos mis problemas con este calcetín otra vez, en otra lengua... y las de MadridKnits ya los conocen bien. Pero si tienes alguna pregunta sobre mis problemas, no dudas en dejarme un comentario.
ETA: did I mention that this is only the first one?
no creo que haya mencionado que este es sólo el primero, ¿no?
I realize that the poor ambient light made for not-very-great pictures of the noro yarn yesterday... so this morning when the sun was actually shining, I took the above photo. If you *still* can't see the thick and thin blobs, I have noted a few of them on the original picture. (Click the picture to go to the flickr page and scroll over the picture to see notes.)
Happy Knit in Public day! Last night at knit group I finished up the above sock, mojo destined for my swap partner. It is still missing it's after-thought heel but it doesn't really even need one.
We were joined by la sexta noticias who interviewed us about our projects and how knitting was becoming popular amongst younger people. It's in Spanish, but it's less than 2 mins long if you want to check it out.
Siona, one of the madrid knits founders, sent me this picture of me being interviewed!
To avoid Second Sock Syndrome I cast on another sock:
No one said it had to be of the same pair, right? These will be the twisted socks in Noro Kureyon Sock... which I'm not really convinced by. We've had some bad weather here so it's hard to get decent pictures, but in this one:
You might be able to see the thick and thin nature of the yarn, which to me is not really great for socks.
Just in time for the good weather...
Justo para el verano...
Forgive me the goofy looks on my face... timer + running to pose = not enough time to figure out how to smile.
Pattern: Seneca by Jared Flood (aka brooklyn tweed
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Aran Solid, 10.5 balls = 1071 yards (I bought 15 total, according to pattern requirements...)
Needles: US 7 to get stitch gauge - but not row gauge (see below)
I made a lot of mods to this sweater, not least of which is the neckline:
If you check out the original here on rav you might be able to see the difference. Mine is missing the cable closest to the neckline. My row gauge was so much bigger than that called for in the pattern that I had to eliminate it entirely in order to get the yoke to fit properly.
Other mods: sleeve increases were spaced as if for the XS sleeve (mine is a S), all the way up the sleeve, with one knit row between the last 2 increases. This also gave me an extra inch or so of sleeve, which I generally need (but always forget) anyway.
I have one somewhat serious complaint about this pattern... and that is that it was edited far beyond the normal / necessary. I have tons (and I mean TONS) of respect for Mr. Tweed and his ability to fashion some of the most gorgeous garments I have ever seen... but if I were a less experienced knitter I would have been at a loss when it came to the end of the pattern. There were NO finishing instructions. Sure, he tells you to use a sewn bind-off for the collar, but there is no mention of what to do with the under-arm stitches that have been left on holders!! I personally turned the sweater inside out and worked a three-needle bind-off - and I'm sure a graft would have much the same effect - but I'm surprised that with how meticulous he is to other details that this would have been forgotten by him. (AKA I think it is over editing rather than him forgetting.)
In any case, it needs a much better blocking than I can give it here, as can be seen especially around the sleeve cuffs. But in general I am just THRILLED with this sweater and cannot wait for autumn weather when I can actually wear it!
One more goofy picture, for the road:
First off, my apologies for the mac-quality, low-lit photos.... but I just wanted to do a quick try-on to see where this was at.
Primera cosa: disculpa las fotos de mala calidad... sólo quería probármelo rapidamente para ver qué tal está.
So, this sweater is *almost* done! But I have a decision to make now. As you can maybe tell, the sleeves are a bit long... but better long than short! If I follow the pattern to the letter, I should be adding another repeat of the first cable chart (which is 12 rows) + another 5 short-rows + another 12 rows to finish the decreases and collar.
Este jersey está *casi* terminado. Pero ahora tengo que decider: como puedes ver, las mangas son largas, pero prefiero larga más que corta! Si sigo con el patrón tal y cómo está escrito, debo poner otra vez el primer diseño (lo cual acaba con 12 filas) + 5 filas de WT + 12 filas para disminuir el cuello.
From another angle: (Otra foto:)
I can't decide... I think 24 more rounds (+ the short rows) is too much... but I worry that it also won't be enough if I totally eliminate the chart too.
No puedo decidir... creo que 24 filas más (más las 5 de WT) serán demasiado... pero tambíen me preocupa que no sería demasiado si quito el último diseño tampoco.
starting over for my swap partner...
empezando de nuevo para mi pareja de intercambio...
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.
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.
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!
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??
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!
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 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....
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
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?
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.)
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!
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:
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!
