Dishcloth Diversions

First of all, many apologies for being so invisible lately; I'm going to Korea on a tour next week with an orchestra, and the rehearsals are keeping me waaaaay busy.

Meanwhile, you can see my current obsession piled atop the Lozenge Socks pattern. (I'm not UFO-ing those socks, but I needed to knit something fast on bigger needles. Mental thing.)


A friend of mine collects all things Squirrel. The famous Ballband (middle one) is from this book, but I added extra sts on the sides and did a couple rounds of crochet on the edge.

My friend's baby has started eating solid food, and my poor friend shows up to work with splotches of stuff on her shirts. I'm hoping these bibs will help, but I may have to make a burp cloth as well.

A pair of really orange dishcloths. I saw the music notes one on Hakucho's blog, and had to have one too!

Eye Candy Friday (belated)

Squeaky Clean after Bath

I hate all things size Zero...!

Pathetic progress report on the Lozenge socks here...turned the heel and went a teeny bit further...

I am totally never going to knit anything on size 0's again! I would much rather do some algebra and move it up to tolerable size 1's or ideal size 2's or even ultimate fantasy size 3's. I'm having the worst time keeping my tension even with these size 0's - a problem I've never had before. Also, my hand totally cramps up with minimal knitting, so progress is incredible slow. Argh! Is there anything I can do to make this last stretch of sock go faster? Any advice from you wonderful sock knitters out there?

...and the winner is...

First of all, thank you everyone for your wonderful vacation suggestions (and links!) My bf and I really appreciate the ideas you gave us; there are enough potential vacations in there for several years!

I also had a great time visiting all your blogs; some new ones there that I'm happy to know about! I've been swamped with work this week, but I promise to visit and comment on your blogs soon!

Here is the hat with the names on the papers...

To make it as fair as possible, I enlisted the help of my lovely assistant...

...and the name he pulled out...

Dipsy, of Dipsy Doodle!

Congratulations!!!!! Please send me your name and snail mail address so I can send you your prize!!! (my email is violiknit@yahoo.com)


(p.s. to answer "Ladybird" about what's in the Matzia: it's 2 sheets of matzah cracked into bits, you add some water, and when when the matzah bits are soft, squeeze out the water. Add 2 eggs, a pinch of salt, and mix. Add oil to a pan and spread mix into the pan like you would an omelette. I'm told it's traditionally served with apple sauce, and is also called matza brai.)

Thank you all for playing!!! I have a blogiversary in a couple of months, and will be giving away some prizes for that as well.

Contest Time!

Okay, here it is:

I need a vacation. I have been working like mad for several months. The thing is, I haven't been on many vacations...so I need your help! Please leave a comment in this post telling me one of your favorite vacation spots, and what you liked most about it.

The contest ends on Tuesday April 17th at midnight. On Wednesday, I'll put everyone's name in a hat, and randomly choose a winner.

The prize: 2 skeins of Regia Cotton Color (#5407) 41% superwash wool, 34% cotton and 25% polyamide. Perfect for warm weather sock knitting!

Thanks, and Good Luck!

Eye Candy Friday

Edible Eye Candy: I woke up this morning and my bf had made me this "Matzia" for breakfast. It's topped with Dulce de Leche...I love that stuff...yum...


The impossible can be possible: I managed to score one skein of Yarn Pirate sock yarn!!! Once her store is updated, the yarn sells out in a couple of seconds, so I would rate Yarn Pirate yarns as difficult to obtain as Vesper yarns. I'm hoping to one day get some Yarntini as well...it's also pretty hard to come by.

Since everyone seems to like these new Lace Addi's so much, I thought I'd give them a try too. I'm planning on knitting socks with the size 2 47" ones; I'm curious how comfortable they'll be...
Oh, and...
My next post will have a contest! Details soon! (as I promised, it won't be music-related)

Do I have a problem?

...yeah, so I bought some yarn recently...

Okay, I'm bad, I know! It is all sock yarn, so I'm not breaking the rules, but I think I've been using it as an excuse to buy truckloads more sock yarn than I need or will ever use-! Also, I've noticed I shop more when work gets busier (7 operas, 2 rehearsals and one recording session in the last 6 days...)

Going clockwise from the top: those 3 variegated skeins are Wool Dancer, from Australia, followed by Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the "Steelhead" colorway, a skein of A Piece of Vermont, Opal, more Opal, 2 skeins of Fearless Fibers (like the colors, but the yarn was damp when it arrived). In the center is a cotton/elastic yarn from Greenwood Fiberworks flanked on either side by some Lorna's Laces.

Good thing these books arrived, so I can attempt to make a dent in my mammoth sock yarn stash.

I finished the Broadripple socks! They fit my friend perfectly. (Side note: this same friend once came over to my apartment and saw my gigantic tower of a yarn collection. It was taller than her. She was speechless with shock for about a week. I think the experience has scarred her, because she's never been able to look at me the same again.)

Is there a "socknitters' block" like there is a "writers' block"?

Okay, I'm currently working on a pair of Broadripple socks from Knitty. This is for the same friend who has moth problems in her house, so I am using Cascade Fixation, as is called for in the pattern, because it has no wool. Just cotton and elastic.

I'm having some issues with the heel; I'm afraid it will be too baggy for her...she's very pettite, and wears a (get this) size 4 1/2 to 5 shoe. (Socknitters dream, no?)

While I wait until tonight so I can try these socks on her, I dug these out of the dark recesses of my UFO bag to work on: Gentleman's Lozenge Socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.

These are for my father, who wears a size 12, so these will take much, much longer...

Congratulations Miss Ewe!!!

And the winner of the contest is Kate, of Miss Ewe Knits!!!

Not only did Kate guess the right composer, Rossini, but she also was able to identify the correct opera "La Donna del Lago". It's a pretty obscure piece, and the fact that she was able to guess that from just those few pages is REALLY impressive!!!

Because of this, Kate gets a brownie point: in addition to the Fortissima Socka, she's also going to receive this set of 8 Glamscience gift cards/envelopes. Enjoy!



I'll have another contest soon, and just in case anyone felt left out, I promise to make the next one more inclusive for everyone :)

Eye Candy Fri+ Wee Contest

I thought I'd share with you what it looks like where I work...


This is the most heinously arm-cramping excerpt of an opera I played last night. It is CRAZY fast. I used my meteronome, and I can confidently say each measure equals 60. For you non-music folks, that means I have to one second to play each measure. (In this example, there are about 2 measures per line. All 4 pages (including the rests) take 68 seconds to play.

THE CONTEST: Be the first person to leave a comment giving me the name of the composer of this piece, and you win this skein of "Fortissima" Sock Yarn.

(hint: he's Italian)
Good Luck!

How did this happen?

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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I took this quiz that I saw on Hakucho's blog, and the answer had me laughing on the floor.

Socks #5 and #6

Here, finally, is a pic of my bf modelling his new socks! I tried doing the purl bind off on these toe-up socks, and it was way too tight! I ended up doing the sewn cast off, and it worked great! Some day, I'll do the kitchener bind-off, but for now, it seems so fussy to me...


I loved working with this Fleece Artist merino sock yarn, and I had a good amount left over (he wears men's size 10-10.5).

Oh, and I was also knitting some mindless plain vanilla socks during concert intermissions last week...

I used an afterthought heel because I didn't want to disrupt the pattern too much. These socks were toe-up as well.
Yes, I am one of those crazy people who has to have the stripes match...
The yarn is Regia self-patterning. There were a couple of annoying things about this yarn:
1) there was a knot, and it didn't reconnect in the same color sequence...I undid it and found the right place to re-tie it, but luckily, I finished the socks before I got to the knot. *whew*
2) the sections where the stripes are supposed to be solid colors (especially the orange and pink parts) were peppered with white chunks of undyed yarn (looked like a printer running out of ink).

I do like the colors a lot, and I've knit with other Regia Jaquard that didn't have these problems, so I hope the skein I had was just a dud. Again, I had a ton of yarn left over, which is good (I'm size 9.5 narrow).

Jumping on the Bandwagon

I'm a few months behind, but I'm totally doing this:

Sock yarn is excluded. Need I say more?

Oh, and this looks fun too (in lieu of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day):

Eye Candy Friday

Yet another African Violet pic for Eye Candy Friday. This guy's called "Slap Happy".

Slow Goin'

I think I must've caught one of these totally heinous bugs going around NYC...at any rate, it has slowed down my knitting output somewhat...

Nevertheless, I'm almost done with a pair of socks for the bf. The yarn is some Fleece Artist merino he brought back from Canada for me, and it feels great to knit with. It came in one skein which I dutifully split into two, but the colors got progressively darker and stronger during the second half of the skein, making for some fraternal sock action:


The colors are a bit truer in this pic:

The free pattern is here. I was curious about trying it because the heel flap is located at the bottom of the foot as opposed to behind the achilles part. (Where I did an eye of partridge anyway). I also started the sock using the Knitty Magic Cast On and I totally loved it! I have some sort of dysfunction when it comes to short rows, and I really liked this alternative.

Oh, and this would be the debut of my Schnauzer sock blockers (I have a pair of sheep ones too!) When the socks are finished, I'll get my bf to model them, though.

I need to study!

These came in the mail today: Sweater Workshop (I paid the extra $2 for the spiral-bound edition.) and Scandinavian Knitting.


I bought the Sweater Workshop because it is supposed to explain the Elizabeth Zimmerman Percentage System in a more user-friendly way. The fact is, I have sweater phobia. Of the two adult-sized sweaters I've knit, the first one was a total Frankenstein, and the second one, although wearable, was made with Lamb's Pride Bulky. It has mohair. Turns out that stuff sheds a ton, which is great if you consider mohair to be a necessary part of your dietary fiber because you will undoubtedly swallow lots of it as it flies into your mouth. *yuck*

Aside from some beautiful charts and patterns, the Scandinavian Knitting book had this one really cute picture of this girl knitting socks on a mountain top. Isn't her expression great?
(...and check out those clogs!)

I got an email from Sweet Georgia saying no new yarn will be produced for 6 months to a year due to travelling. I freaked out and scored this stuff here and here.

Eye Candy Friday

I got a new toy: a Darning Egg! It's made of spalted maple, which is a kind of petrified mold which causes those cool black lines. This will definitely make knit repair easier. (FYI: I got mine here.)

Bootie Call!

But first, the finished February Baby Sweater from Knitter's Almanac:

Yarn: Misti Baby Alpaca Worsted in "Tangerine", less than 3 skeins
Needles: size 7
Aim to fit baby 5 months old. (looked at sizings on my Debbie Bliss Baby Books for reference, and also crossed my fingers real hard)

What I wish I knew first...E.Z. mentions button holes after the yoke section is finished (sweater is knit top down). I looked at that wee itty bitty picture on the cover, and that black and white pic on pg. 16, and what do I see: there are buttons on the yoke. I had to frog. I was unhappy. I know, I should've studied more carefully. But, I figure, I learned my lesson.

I'm happy with how the seam and armpit section turned out (no bulk).


The button holes were a bit loose, so I reinforced them by slip stitch crochetting around the holes. (yes, it's a button hole, not a belly button....) I also single crochetted around the entire sweater, including the sleeve openings.

I also finished 2 pairs of bootees from 50 Baby Booties to Knit. These are my (and the mom's) fave. Yarn used is Dale Baby Ull (machine washable):

I seamed these guys up too. They're a bit bigger. Yarn is Pear Tree Alpaca.

A HUGE THANK YOU for all of you who gave nice comments about my bf's yarn shopping. He was very excited and happy, and is looking forward to the next time he gets to buy yarn for me. Thanks again all!!!!!

Better than chocolate!

Last week, my bf was playing in an orchestra in Ottawa (conducted by his former teacher, "Pinky", for those in the know), and so here are the lovely Valentine's presents he brought back for me from Yarn Forward:

3 skeins of Fleece Artist sock yarn in very drool-worthy colors, a yarn-gasmic Lady of the Lake sweater kit...
...with matching brooch!

And of course, because it's not Valentine's without a little sexxxxinesssss...
He got me this book as well! Woohoo! He chose all these things himself so I'm quite proud of him!

Don't worry, it's not all PRON in this post...here is a preview of my almost finished February baby sweater from E.Z.'s Knitter's Almanac. I tried blocking before seaming this time...

Recycling

Following the instructions for recycling at the back of Montse Stanley's Knitters Handbook, I embarked upon my most major frogging experience ever.

One of my earliest projects: a hat and scarf for the bf. The hat didn't fit him so well, and the scarf was too wide, so they weren't worn. Also, the yarn was full of twigs and splinters, and I naively thought back then that such things would fall out with washing (they don't).


Then I found a half of a vest meant for my Dad that I had abandoned because it was too small. (Gauge? What's that?)

All tied off and looking like moss green ramen noodles...

Washed and hung to dry in the shower...

What I used for weights...