I have not been well

Last Saturday, DD and the Grandsons visited. Both the boys had runny noses, Older Grandson was more obviously sick than Younger Grandson. But that didn’t stop him from getting into his usual mischief (he’s a two year old, very active boy). He was, however, more sooky than usual.

On Sunday night, I didn’t sleep well. My nose kept blocking and I couldn’t stop sneezing. On Monday I blew my nose all day long. By Monday night the cold had infected my sinuses and I thought I had partially inflated balloons inside my face!

As a consequence, not a great deal of anything has gone on here. A lot of time in front of the computer or the television. And a fair amount of time in bed – some of it sleeping, some of it tossing and turning!

During the week I missed two of my favourite monthly activities: a full-body massage and an embroidery class!

I have watched a lot of television, including the movie Finding Neverland, which I recorded when it was on during the day a couple of weeks ago. I have never seen the movie and really enjoyed it. I think Johnny Depp gave a sensitive, understated performance (unlike his characters in Pirates of the Caribbean, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Alice in Wonderland where he is completely over the top!). I don’t think I would watch the movie again for a very long time, if at all, because the magic of it would be lost in having seen it before.

I have done some reading – mostly of knitting reference books or quilting magazines. Last night I began Mao’s Last Dancer. I have not seen the movie and have only read the first two chapters so it’s a bit early to know what I think, although I have to say I really enjoyed the author’s description of his mother’s feelings on her wedding day.

I have snooped around Ravelry and added a couple of real life friends to my Ravelry friends! How extraordinary that they weren't already there – sorry R. and S. I discovered recently that I enjoy reading the notes my friends leave on their project pages – am I too weird?

I have done some knitting almost exclusively on a blanket which I will donate to a local animal shelter. I don't think the yarn is suitable (in colour or texture) for anything else. The yarn is Patons Cedar long discontinued, a pure wool boucle yarn that has no indication on the ball band as to needle size. I contacted a seller on Ebay who had a 1972 pattern for sale (thanks putney32); she says the patterns are knitted on 3.75mm (US 5)  needles which I find quite surprising as it is much thicker than DK yarn due to it's bouclé texture. I am knitting on 4.5mm (US 7) needles and it still gives a rather dense fabric, which is okay for blankets but a bit stiff for a jumper (sweater).
 
I estimate I have about four hours of knitting left to finish the blanket which will be about a metre (40”) square.

Tomorrow I am the tutor for an all-day workshop on knitting socks from the toe up. I was to have given this workshop last September but I was sick and it was postponed. I thought the tutorial notes was ready to go but on Wednesday I decided to completely re-write them for people who prefer stitch by stitch instructions – a most welcome suggestion from D. who reminded me that people would take the notes home but may not look at them for days, weeks or even months! So I have not written a pattern per se, I have written step-by-step notes, a tutorial in words.

I have also added notes for every row of the heel on how many stitches there should be on each needle so that participants will know immediately if they have gone wrong and ask for help then and there! When they are at home, they will only need to correct that row (assuming that they checked their stitch count at the end of the previous row).

The tutorial notes come to fourteen pages – I have written them for people working on 5 dpns, 4 dpns, two circulars or one circular. There are two appendices: one for the cast on and one for the bind off, both being used with permission from their original authors.

Apart from re-writing the notes and emailing back and forth with my two test-knitters/assistants (thanks C. and D.), I have test-knitted a sock using each of the four methods. Top row (left to right): 5dpns, 4dpns; bottom row: 2 circulars, one circular.

Do you know it is really hard to test-knit a pattern? One has to forget what one knows or assumes to be right and actually read the instructions! Who’d a thunk it?

UFOs are sometimes WIPs!

It seems a few of you, dear readers, were a bit concerned about the list of WIPs on my previous post. I see that many as a good thing, a sign of how far I have come. Just fifteen months ago I was a raw beginner as a quilter, some knowledge from reading but little real experience.

Now I have fourteen quilting related projects on the go. I know what each one is, where it is, why it has stalled and what I need to do next! I call that progress!

Since none of the quilting related projects has a deadline, I can relax -- as long as I am doing something to one of them most days I feel like I am moving forward.

But the knitting UFOs are a different story! How did I come to have four pairs of socks on my needles? I usually have more than one project on the go; but not usually more than one of the same type of thing!

But never fear, the sock issue will soon be under control. I have finished my “donation” knitting for the moment. I am quite pleased with what I have accomplished so far this year: 2 shawls, 2 pairs of socks (one a gift for my mother), 13 hats, 15 cowls and 15 pairs of fingerless mitts. Not bad, if I do say so myself!

Below are some photos of some of my latest items.

I don’t take photos of everything because one pair of mitts in a particular colour is the same as another pair of mitts in the same colour – same goes for hats and cowls. I knit the same basic patterns over and over – I can knit them quickly and mostly without thinking; that’s why they are called Elle Bee’s No Fuss patterns on my projects page on Ravelry.

I am the tutor for a “sock from the toe up” workshop on 16 June, so it’s timely that I need to concentrate my efforts on socks. First job is to re-knit the workshop pattern and edit as I go, then I can get back to the socks shown in my previous post.

I have a busy couple of weeks ahead but I will try to work on some of sewing projects. I am starting a new project tomorrow in class; we are making a lined bag. I’m very excited!

yarny gifts

Back in September, I was supposed to tutor a workshop on knitting socks from the toe up. It didn't happen because I was sick. A very dear non-blogging friend, D., was going to assist me with the workshop. She always has socks on the needles and normally knits her socks cuff down but she is willing to give other methods a try.

We met a couple of weeks before the date of the workshop to talk and to correct any mistakes in my sample pattern (which D. had test knitted). That day, D. realised that I did not have any hand knitted socks of my own.

A few days later these arrived in the post. They are Nanner Socks from "wendyknits" and the yarn is Julie Spins Superwash Merino (colour: Pickle). Unfortunately the socks were too small; I couldn't easily get them on over my heel. But I was very grateful to be the owner of such gorgeous, beautifully knitted socks.
About a week later, another parcel arrived from D. Inside were these socks in my favourite colour. They are Simple Socks by Cat Bordhi knitted cuff down in Hedgehog Sock yarn (colour: Hush). Before the weather got too warm for socks, I wore them on several occasions.

I am very blessed to have such a wonderful and generous friend. Thank you, D.

On top of that, Sally, who blogs at PomPom, celebrated her 2000th post with a give away. I didn't write the 2000th comment but apparently I am the person who has commented the most so I also won a prize. Thank you, Sally.

Some yarn-y goodness arrived at my place a couple of days ago -- sock yarn made in Germany by Schoppel Wolle. Sally wrote that she has never seen this yarn in Australia, so I can only assume she bought it on a recent trip to England. Looking at the packaging, I think the colour way is called Sputnik Welle (which translates, according to Bing, as "Sputnik Wave"). It is 100g of very soft hand-dyed yarn -- two strands dyed together to get identical socks. The packaging even comes with instructions to unwind the two strands without getting into a tangle! How cool is that?

in which I speak of socks

Last month, I was supposed to teach a full day workshop on knitting socks from the toe up. Unfortunately, I became very ill with acute sinusitis and was unable to stand, let alone tutor all day.

In the weeks leading up to the sock workshop I had, of course, concentrated on sock knitting.

In a previous post, I showed you my sample sock (seen again at right with my 20cm long dpns).

Before I even designed the sample sock, there was the pair I started in April and finally finished last month for the Wonderful Man.

Next, I cast on another pair of self striping / "fake isle" socks. I thought I might wear them but they are way too big for me. I had become so used to knitting man-sized socks that I automatically made them 72 stitches - much too wide in the foot for me!

Moda Vera Noir colourway Merlot

So, two days later, I cast on yet another pair of socks -- I had to keep practising Judy's Magic Cast On. For me, it's the trickiest part of the sock. The cast on itself is easy but knitting those first two rows can be a little fiddly on 2.25mm (US 1) needles.

The socks I cast on are Ribbed Ribbon socks (Ravelry link) by Wendy Johnson from her book, Socks from the Toe Up. These socks don't have the short row heel we were going to do in the workshop. However, I decided it wouldn't hurt me to try something new so I did the heel exactly as the pattern stated.

I knitted the first sock on two circulars (according to the pattern). I find it cumbersome - sliding the stitches from the plastic cable (where they often catch) on to the needle; and the needle-not-in-use always seems to be in the way.Give me dpns any time!

The combination of circular needles and a lace pattern makes for very slow knitting. It took me three hours to complete one pattern repeat of 24 rounds! With dpns and "plain vanilla" socks, I could finish the whole foot or leg in that time!

I also can't decide whether I like the socks or not (for many reasons):

1. I think they may be a couple of rows too short in the foot. They are perhaps a little too snug!
2. I think I'd like the toe area to be a little longer; perhaps twenty four rounds instead of eighteen.
3. The yarn (Cleckheaton Cocoon 70% merino, 30% nylon) has gone fluffy already and they haven't been worn or washed. I know it's baby yarn but it has the same composition as sock yarn - obviously it is spun less tightly! Why did I choose to knit socks from it? I only have self striping yarn or variegated yarn in my stash and didn't think either would do this lace pattern justice! Mind you, I don't think this yarn is doing the pattern any favours either!
4. I have gauge but my pattern looks clunky rather than elegant like the photo of the sock in the book (which I can't show you here for copyright reasons) or the ones seen here.

In our house, we have a saying: "If in doubt, don't!"

Because I couldn't decide whether to continue or rip out the Ribbed Ribbon Socks, I cast on yet another pair of socks on the Monday afternoon. It would have been good to have gone to the workshop on Saturday wearing a pair of handknit socks!

This third pair is knitted from Patonyle (the old 50g balls) which I bought at the Australian Country Spinners Mill Shop in 2008 and had almost forgotten.

In fact, the yarn didn't have a label but a search on Ravelry confirmed my suspicions. The pattern is "plain vanilla" because the yarn is self striping. I used Judy's Magic Cast On (32 stitches) and increased in every second row until I had 64 stitches. I knit until the foot instep touched my leg then did an hourglass heel (which is what I would have been teaching the following Saturday). Because it was late at night and I was tired and not well, I made a mistake and had to rip out the whole heel again. I went to bed that night thinking about socks.

When I woke on Tuesday morning, I knew the answer! The increase in alternate rows creates a narrow toe which doesn't suit the shape of my foot. I need a completely different shape, one more like a commercial sock.

And so I did the only sensible thing -- I ripped out the whole sock! If I had continued and ignored the toe, I would have regretted it and probably never worn the socks.

I still have to bind off the first sock and cast on the second, so it's just as well I didn't want to wear them to the workshop-that-was-postponed, wasn't it?

As for the Ribbed Ribbon socks - what do you think? Should I finish the pair, or count my losses and rip this one out?

a letter to my quilting friends

Dear Quilting Friends

I haven't given up quilting but I do have two full day knitting workshops to tutor in the next three weeks (17th September and 1st October) so please bear with me if this blog seems heavy on the knitting content at the moment.

Quilting posts will resume soon!

Lynne

knitted FO

Back in April, I started a pair of toe up socks for WM.

I learnt a long time ago to knit two socks at the same time to save gauge issues later!

I finished the first sock but the cast off was too tight so I put the sock away.

At that time, the toe and the foot of the second sock had been knitted.

Due to workshop I am tutoring next week, I thought I should unpick that too-tight cuff and finish it. In the process, I discovered the second sock which I hadn't even thought about.

So, on Tuesday night I turned the heel and knitted most of the leg.

Yesterday I finished the leg and knitted the cuff.

Both socks were finished after dinner last night and so the colours may be a little "off" due to the use of artificial light and flash.

the colour changes in the yellow are in the yarn not the photo!

WM is very happy with the socks; they fit perfectly - which I guess is the point of knitting socks from the toe up!

preparing for a toe up sock workshop

On Saturday 17th September, I am tutoring a workshop on knitting socks from the toe up. I am being assisted by two very experienced sock knitters, one of whom only knits toe up.

We will be using Judy's Magic Cast On (pending permission), some short-row shaping in the form of an hourglass heel from The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook by Lynne Vogel (2002) - used with permission - and finishing with Jeny's Surprisingly Stretch Bind Off (also used with permission).

I have written the pattern for our sample sock. I have test knitted the pattern for 5 dpns, 4 dpns and two circulars. I have asked one of my assistants to translate the dpn instructions for Magic Loop (I hope it's not too complicated) and have asked the other one to re-test the instructions for 5dpns.

Here is my sample sock. Cute, huh?
What do you mean, you can't tell what size it is? LOL

Here it is again - those are my 20cm (8") Knitpick dpns added for scale!

This sock is a little too small - it is knitted on 24 stitches on 3.75mm (US 5) needles using 8ply (DK) yarn. I have re-written the pattern for 32 stitches; that will mean more practice on the short row heel, which can only be a good thing, right?

sock story

I have knitted many socks.

I have tutored a workshop in knitting socks.

Why, then, can I not knit socks that actually fit me?

I have knitted four pairs of socks for myself.

The first were too big and were frogged.

Online Supersocke Cotton



The second were worn, but they were also too big and were frogged.

Tofutsies yarn













The third were knitted from the yarn from the first pair. The first sock fitted like a dream.



Waving Lace socks from "Favourite Socks"













The second sock, you may remember the saga, was knitted several months later on the same needles, with the same yarn, by the same knitter, and was Way. Too. Big.

The fourth pair of socks have languished for months waiting for the toes to be grafted.

Tidal Wave Socks from "South Seas Trading Company"













Why have they waited so long? I think the legs are too short and I'm not sure that the foot is long enough - it's snug, perhaps a little too snug!

I think I may have to frog back to the heel turning and add another pattern repeat.

As if that wasn't enough; last week I was cleaning up the knitting corner - it's the place where DD and I store UFOs, WIPs and hibernating projects. I found a small drawstring bag.

"What's in that?" I wondered, aloud, to myself.

You guessed it - a lone (knitted for charity) sock, waiting for its mate. *sigh*

I think I'm off to frog and/or knit socks.

of this and that and unravelling the mystery

warning - long photo-free post

Do you like my new-look blog? I found the sidebar made the place looked so untidy - it was almost depressing! And what better time for a bit of spring cleaning than the middle of spring? LOL

Last week, knowing that I had to return to both jobs this week [usually terms begin a week apart] I should have been preparing lessons. But what was I doing? Of course I was. A blog doesn't change by itself. First I had to find out how to make that table-link-thingy at the top there, then I had to write a whole lot of new posts and link them and then... well, I won't bore you with the whole pseudo-geeky story! Suffice to say I'm pretty happy with the new, uncluttered web-home!

Purple is my favourite colour but I'm thinking I might change the background to cream. Hmmm! I'll have think on it some more.

And, by the way, my lessons are all prepared! All sixteen hours of them - I may even have enough to take me into next week!

And the sock workshop? Well, we had about twenty attendees [I didn't actually count them]. We had some people knitting on 4 dpns, some on 5 dpns, some on two circulars and some on one - a challenge that was, I'm happy to say, successfully met due to the capable assistance of my friend D [who could knit and graft socks in her sleep] and the goodwill of the participants in helping each other.

Everyone seemed thrilled to have learnt a new cast-on [I know it as invisible cast on]. And those that mastered grafting were doubly pleased! And yes, most of the participants did finish the whole sock at the workshop.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! I love teaching/tutoring/facilitating and when it's related to my favourite hobby - what could be better?

"But what about the title of this post?", I hear you ask! Well folks, this may not come as a surprise to some, but back in June [on WM's birthday to be exact] I succumbed. I said I wouldn't but I finally caved in. Not because I didn't think it was a wonderful place - I knew it was. David Reidy [Sticks and String podcast] never stopped talking about when he got his invitation. He coerced, he cajoled, and still I stood my ground! It was me I didn't trust - too much time on the computer already, didn't need any new distractions!

But I gave in [I said that already, didn't I?] All because Kris - the Web Goddess - was coming to our Guild group to talk about the knitternet. We were asked to do it before she came and I finally caved in!

Oh, come on - read the title again! You can find me there as never2hot2knit but I warn you, I'm not there often! Too many distractions, too little time! *tee hee*