Mikknit

I spent some time organizing/consolidating the stash yesterday - I’d noticed that the knitting bags on doorknobs and coatrack situation was getting a little ridiculous. Good heavens do I have a lot of yarn. I’m sure that wasn’t even 1/4 of it that I handled yesterday and it filled a good-sized Rubbermaid bin. There’s still more out on the front porch and another bin or two in the gigantic mess sewing room, too. Oy. And the two skeins of organic wool and two skeins of Peace Fleece DK that I bought at Northern Dyeworks in Ashland last weekend. I need to take some time to separate out all the sock yarn and then sort everything else somehow. Since almost everything else is wool and most of it’s worsted weight, I’m thinking that things should be stored by project, maybe tied together into a bundle or something within the bin. Who knows what’ll strike my fancy when I finally get to it.

And of course I just went and bought more yarn today - I caught one of the cats gnawing on the cable of my size 1 Addi Turbos, which were being used for the sock in progress. Bad cat! I’d seriously set it down for about 2 seconds while I clicked on a link. I am justifiably irritated by this, since it renders the needle virtually unusable, but it’s tempered by the justification for finally ordering some of the KnitPicks needles to try out. I ended up ordering 3 24″ size 1 (one to replace the chewed needle, two more to either keep on hand to have another project going or as a gift), a size 4 and a 6 from the Options line as well as cables for them, and to bring my order up to $40 and get free shipping I added a few skeins of Wool of the Andes. Three skeins of Amber Heather and two skeins of Firecracker Heather. The first for another pair of Picky Pants for Arlo (I frogged two pairs the other day, since they were too short and never stayed up anyways), the second for something small for me. I was thinking hat, but maybe a pretty cabled gaiter or something.

Of course, there was also some stash expansion on Monday - my first package from Scoutj’s Indie Swag Club! So awesome. I’m going to put it behind a jump in case there’s someone reading this who hasn’t received theirs yet.

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I set a Socktoberfest goal for myself of knitting socks for the kids. It’s really pathetic that I’m burned out on it after only one pair of socks. I suppose this is representative of why I suck at setting and achieving goals - the pressure gets to me and I cave.

Really, I just need to work on something else for a bit to take the edge off, but that’ll probably turn into full-fledged avoidance of the task at hand.

Case in point - Grace spent both Friday and Saturday nights at my mom’s place since my sister was in town. I was working on a sock for her but had to set it aside because I didn’t have a clue how long her foot was. In the meantime, I cast on a hat for Renee’s project to collect knitted items for the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Finished that on Sunday (while watching the Packers lose, boohoo) and figured I was fine to get back into Grace’s socks. Well, I worked on them for a bit last night, turning the heel according to the information in Sensational Knitted Socks, and decided that the heel didn’t look right *at all*, so I ripped the whole sock out. I started to cast on for a top-down sock instead but got distracted by the movie that DH decided to watch - Dead Man.

Who knows if I’ll actually get that sock done, or even re-started. I might just dive back into my Peace Fleece sweater (or restart it, now that the Perfect Sweater Pattern is available). After all, it *is* getting cold here and a girl needs a warm, snuggly, and BRIGHT ORANGE sweater to keep her warm. Right?

Someone please tell me that I’m not bad for abandoning my Socktoberfest goal, hopefully temporarily, in favor of something less sock-like. Anyone?

Sewing!

My friend’s baby shower was yesterday and since I didn’t have enough lead time on the shower to knit something, I carved out some time in the sewing room and came up with this:

I hate to say this, but it’s causing a little bit of babylust.

I used the New Conceptions Baby Essentials pattern in size 0-3 months. I LOVE this pattern - it goes together so quickly and it’s very cute! The stripe fabric is a cotton/poly (I think) blend and the black is hemp/cotton jersey. I love the hemp jersey, it’s such a comfortable thing to wear!

Also made this:

Warm and snuggly for a Minnesota winter

Ducky flannel on one side and snuggly soft velour on the other. Very snuggly indeed.

And now, I hear fussing over the baby monitor. My break is over.

Since we’re celebrating Socktoberfest and I’ve been trying to get a post written all week (and failing, obviously!), I’ll go ahead and share my sock history for you, such as it is.

• When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative?

I made my first pair of socks in 2001, I believe - either late winter or spring. I remember this only because I worked at AT&T at the time and remember grousing about it the entire time - I believe my exact words were “It feels like I’m knitting with string and toothpicks”. I taught myself from a pattern purchased at Creative Fibers

• What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?

My first pair was knit in Regia 4-ply, color 5218. They made a few trips through the dryer, so they’re a bit on the short side now, but it’s just as well as I didn’t knit them with negative ease - they were too loose anyhow. They rarely get worn due to poor fit, so they’ve held up just fine

• What would you have done differently?

I would’ve knit them a little smaller so they fit better! I also would’ve done more ribbing - the cuffs were awfully short.

• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

For knitting, I love Cherry Tree Hill. For wearing, probably Socka, Lorna’s Laces, Silja… the list goes on.

• Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I’ve never crocheted socks and I probably won’t - I don’t do much crochet these days as it really hurts my hand. I prefer the two-circulars method over anything else. I’ve done DPNs and Magic Loop, but neither is as fast and easy for me as two circulars.

• Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I prefer short-row heels for my feet - they seem to fit much better than flap heels. However, I’ve figured out that in order to make flap heels work for me, I just have to make them shorter. Duh.

• How many pairs have you made?

I’ve lost count, but it’s got to be somewhere around 40 by now. I could try to figure it out but that’s asking for a big headache. Last time I counted was around a year ago, maybe a bit longer, and I was at 30 pair then. At the rate I go, 40 is a safe estimate.

I did manage to add a pair of socks to my tally this week - I finished my first pair of kids’ socks! I knit them for Grace and she loves them. Once I can catch her (she’s outside playing with some of the kids who live in my mom’s building), I’ll have to get a picture of her wearing them.