Books

Dear Blog,

A few days ago I received two knitting books in the mail. Neither of these books, I think, were meant to be read from cover to cover, neither of them contain patterns. Both of them are solid, large, hardcover, resource books. The Principles of Knitting, which I've merely flipped through so far, is basically an encyclopedia of knitting techniques. My favorite bit to tell people is that it's got more than 7 different ways to cast on and bind off. (I started counting but got bored. It's loads though. ) I like it because this way if there's something I've forgotten how to do, not only can I look it up - even when the internet is being flakey - but more likely than not I'll get more than one answer, and an explanation as to why one would be better than the other in certain circumstances.

The other book is the fleece and fiber source book. This one I am reading from cover to cover.  I'm still really looking forward to buying a spinning wheel and starting to learn how to spin, so fiber and sheep and everything wooly is just on my mind. I want to know what breeds to buy, what types of fiber preparation is best, and which wool to spin what way and to knit what items. The idea that some breeds of sheep produce wool more suitable for one kind of end product, and other breeds produce significantly different wool... Well I find it fascinating. And not only is the book well written, it was designed for those of us who like to see and touch things. Every page is laid out like a little scrap book with pictures of the sheep, the raw fiber, and spun and knitted samples. I'm sure if they could figure out a way to let us feel each sample they would do it. And I'm not going to lie. I'm really really enjoying looking at the pictures.

Optimism

Dear Blog,


Today I want to write about my finished Dragon Dance socks. I finished them on the 2nd, but I could have finished them way sooner if it weren't for my eternal optimism.

It all started after I passed the gusset decreases in the 2nd sock. Trying it on I noticed with minor annoyance that it was tighter than the first one. "Stupid guage" I muttered to myself. "Why Can I never knit both socks consistently? " But I didn't really think much of it. I've resigned myself to the fact that my gauge varies pretty wildly and theres nothing I can do about it. I kept knitting the foot and comparing the sock to the first one, noticing with growing alarm the unavoidable difference in size. The 2nd sock was considerably smaller/narrower than the first. I fretted and fussed, but kept knitting, always thinking that it would work out. I got as far as the last toe decrease, realizing that my big toe was still sticking out even though I did them the same way as for the first sock. By this point any sane rationally thinking person would have had to give up and realize defeat. But oh no, I pulled some lame ass added toe rows and kitchener stitched the ugly thing together. Wasn't until I tried the "Finished" sock on that I was forced to admit that the whole thing was squeezing my foot like a hungry boa-constrictor.  So I ripped everything out back to the gusset decreases. (turns out I decreased too many rows and had 10 less stitches on the needles than I should have. )  I re-knit the whole foot which actually only took around 2 days, and now the pair is finished and done. It feels so much better to just fix mistakes rather than trying to kid yourself into thinking that you can live with them.


On another note, today is the one year anniversary of my Vampire Boyfriend Sock project, so appropriately I am finally casting on the 2nd-sock for that pattern. Let's see how long it takes me to finish this sock of cabled goodness :)

Until Next
Cheers

SEP WIP

Hi Blog,

September is slowly fading away, and I've been knitting pretty consistently. Got two active WIPS right now. First up is the jeweled cowl.

Not a lot to say about it. It's insanely easy, the hardest part is putting on the 14 beads every other row, and thats more fiddly than challenging. I did kinda twist it while joining in the round, so it's a bit of a mobius strip, but oh well. I think it'll still be lovely when its finished.

I even knit a few rows on it while out drinking over my vacation. Just to say that I did it. Beaded lace in a bar? Why not!

Second up is the Dragon Dance Socks. These are knitting up in record time. The first sock was finished in mere days, and I'm already working the heelflap of sock #2



I expect these will be cast off in no time.
Cheers

THEO

Dragon Dance Saga

Hello blog,

I have something extra yummy to show you today, curtsey of my very good friend Jeanne. She went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival earlier this year and picked me up a skien of yarn. Not any skien of yarn mind you, Socks That Rock Medium-weight.

This yarn is Soft, Luscious, Plump, Juicy... In short it's gorgeous. The skien is in one of my favorite colors - bronze-orange. And the color-way is named 'Dragon Dance.'
Really I don't know a stronger word for 'perfect'.

Obviously I couldn't resist swatching it up. I've got a few projects going already, but since my main project right now is beaded lace, I figured a simple sock pattern would be OK. Some of you might be asking me why I would start another sock when I have yet to finish the Vampire Boyfriend Socks that I cast on in October last year. Those people obviously have never touched STR.

I picked a simple ribbed sock pattern. Mostly because I wanted something simple to keep in my purse, and because I didn't want a complex pattern muddying up the lovely color way, but also because one of my favorite bloggers, Glenna, just finished a pair recently from her own sock recipe.  I'm taking my socks everywhere, including but not limited to yesterday's five mile hike through Patapsco State Park.

You can't see it in this photo, but I'm actually standing on top of a small waterfall.

Until Next
Cheers

FO : Good Day Sunshine

Dear blog,

I am pleased to be able to tell you that my Lavender shawl is now officially done.  I cast off on September 4th, and after a few days of waiting it is now patiently blocking on my sister's table.  I'm glad to be done with it. Don't get me wrong, the pattern wasn't that hard (though not my favorite), and it wouldn't have taken me so long to knit if I weren't so perpetually busy all the time.  I'm also not sure how I feel about the yarn choice. Alpaca with a twist... Not as soft as it could have been, and a little stiff. plus the slight yarn halo which I can never decide how I feel about. It was a huge 800 yard skien so I still have way more than enough to make something else with it. I doubt I even used half of the yarn.

Anyway, I've already started my next lace project (more on that later), and am looking at casting on a new pair of socks today. So stayed tuned.

Until Next

Cheers

Boutique

Dear blog,

Today I visited a very trendy and new knitting boutique in my hometown, Maryland.

They lady there was very nice and friendly, and the yarn was very tempting. I only meant to pick up some DPNs, but I also ended up getting a small little yarn treat.

Once again, I've just graduated so hopefully there will be more time for knitting again soonish. I'm 6 rows from the end of my Lavender shawl, so stay tuned for that future FO.

Until next
Cheers

Side Note

Nearly four years ago, I was still a relatively new knitter. I'd been knitting for just over a year, and I had moved out of my parents house and gone off to college. By all accounts, college was pretty cool, but the thing I miss most about it, is the LYS that was an easy 2 mile walk from where I lived. I was introduced to spinning in that LYS. Spinning on a drop spindle. And while I fell in love instantly I knew that the drop spindle was not for me. I knew that I was destined for other, larger, spinning tools. I simply didn't have the time or the money for such a large indulgence.  Since then I've graduated, joined the Navy, and gone to school all over again. I promised myself as a graduation present from A-school, I would finally buy that wheel.

Now, don't get too excited. I haven't actually graduated yet. But my graduation is a mere 3 months away, so I've already started to plan. Reading books, watching videos, joining Ravelry groups. And I discovered something. In these last four years, my tastes have changed.

I always thought that when I did eventually buy a wheel, it would be the Ashford Traveler.

Aesthetics are deeply important to me, and I find the castle-style wheels to be the most attractive. Ashford is a deeply respected name, and of course, it falls into the nice $500 price range.

But in my recent research, I have found that while a majority of knitters learned on, or owned a traveler at one point, they all eventually upgraded to other wheels. I'm not currently looking to own multiple wheels, I just want one. So I started looking into the slightly more expensive wheels.

One big priority I have now is that my wheel needs to be portable, and so out of all of the wheels out there, the very very new schacht sidekick is starting to call out to me

The downside is that it's new, so there aren't a lot of people who have one yet, or people who have serious complaints about it. But it seems to have everything I want. Stability, quality, and portability.  The only real complaints I've heard about it come from knitters who own 5 or 6 different wheels, and these knitters tend to be very nit-picky about very small things. As a complete beginner, I know that I'll probably imprint on whichever wheel I learn on and love it completely. This wheel is nice because if I ever want to upgrade, the Schacht Matchless is completely compatible with it, so I wouldn't have to buy all knew bobbins and stuff.  Sure, the Sidekick is more expensive, but I've been knitting for a long time now and I'm confident that I'll be spinning even longer. They say that the Schacht wheels are like the sports cars of the spinning world. 

I think I can live with that.