Technical Difficulties

I have been trying to post for several days now but kept running into power issues. You may have heard that we had some pretty severe storms here in Western Pennsylvania last Thursday. It took me an hour and 15 minutes to make the nine-mile trip home from work -- only to discover that there was no power. I packed a bag quickly and then turned around to stay at my parents' for the night. The power did come back on at home at about 4 in the morning, but then last night we came home from dinner out only to discover it was out again -- and somehow neither of us had managed to remember to bring our house keys (we'd gotten out through the garage), so we were completely locked out. Fortunately my parents were still awake, so we spent the night in my brother's room. Now everything appears to be back to normal, and I can finally tell you about the most recently completed pair of socks:

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt (Interweave Knits winter 2005/Favorite Socks)
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (100% merino), colorway P531, two skeins
Needles: two US 1 (2.5 mm) 12" Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: June 21/August 8
Mods: same as the last pair

You probably remember the story of the first sock of this pair, so I won't recount it for you again here. It took me a little while to locate another skein of this (as far as I can tell) discontinued colorway, and you can see that the two skeins were clearly from different dyelots:

I'm pretending I don't really care, although I'm going to wash the darker sock a few times to see if it'll lighten a bit so that the difference won't be nearly as obvious.

This was the third pair of Embossed Leaves I've knit, and I think I'm done with this pattern for the time being. I still love it, especially how fast it knits up, but I'm pretty sure I could knit this pattern in my sleep now and I'm ready for something a little different.

Guess what else is done and is blocking?

That there is my garter, knit in crochet cotton. I washed it, pinned it, and sprayed it with a little starch so it will hold its shape. Once it's dry, I'll sew it together and put in the blue ribbon and elastic so I can give you a truly final report.

Knitting on the shawl continues (and I've spared you another picture because it looks much the same as it did the last time you saw it, only larger). I'm now in the middle of my 13th repeat of the main chart; I made it through approximately 11.5 repeats with my partial skein, which leads me to believe the pattern vastly overestimates the yardage needed for this shawl. For laceweight yarn, it specifies 750 yards for a small shawl (12 main chart repeats) and 1200 yards for the large shawl (17 repeats). I had nearly enough for the small shawl with a skein that was less than the 437 yarns it would have been had it been complete. I'm now much more hopeful that I'll have enough yarn for 18 repeats (18 being a significant number in Judaism, so therefore quite appropriate and symbolic for my wedding).

Now that I have power again, I'm off to catch up on my e-mailing and blog reading. Hope you've had a good weekend!

Finished: Embossed Leaves #2

First things first -- down to the business of the latest FO.

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt (Interweave Knits winter 2005/Favorite Socks)
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (100% merino), colorway P429, two skeins
Needles: two US 1 (2.5 mm) 12" Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: June 27/July 8
Mods: I used a regular long-tail cast on and joined for working in the round from the beginning, worked twisted rib for one inch, and did not cut the yarn after turning the heel.

Love these! The Koigu is an absolute dream to work with, and I loved not only the feel of the yarn but the lusciousness of the color. These socks are actually shades of muted greens and charcoal grays, somewhat difficult to capture on camera. Amazingly, I saw almost no pooling in these socks; what little there is can't really be seen if you aren't looking for it.

I have not yet frogged the original sock of this pair (or so I thought); thanks to a very helpful comment left by Amber, I was able to find another skein in P531! One day soon, therefore, I'll have another pair of Embossed Leaves to call my own.

Today was Stitch 'n Pitch and I have only one word for it: HOT! There are no pictures of any of the knitters or their companions because we were all rather, um, damp. I did manage to cast on and knit about an inch and a half of a new sock:

This is the TOFUtsies I bought for myself in Hilton Head. I'm just going a simple garter rib because I didn't want the colorway to compete with the pattern. I'm finding it strangely satisfying not to have to think about lace or where the yarn over should go.

I am, however, getting a little lace fix with the other project I recently cast on:

This is the beginning of the cardigan from Kate Gilbert's Pea Pod Baby Set (pdf). It's knitting up supercute and it's very hard to put it down without completing a chart. Its intended recipient isn't due to make his arrival until November, but I have a feeling this sweater will be complete long before then!

Meanwhile, we just found out some other friends of ours are expecting a baby -- due in January, sex not to be known until it's born. I think another Baby Surprise Jacket may be in my future!

One of Those Moments

Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize you've done something really dumb? Something so dumb you asked yourself how it was you'd spent all those years in college and grad school only to wind up not being able to read a label correctly? I had one of those moments yesterday.

All during my knitting time yesterday, I was cruising through my first Koigu Embossed Leaves sock. By the time I was done with dinner (yes, I knit during dinner, you got a problem with that?) I was through six and a half repeats of the pattern. I figured I'd be able to finish it up during lunch today, so I put it down in favor of Aidan's sweater for my evening knitting.

By the time I was ready for bed, I was feeling very satisfied with myself because I'd managed to finish the second sleeve of the sweater but for weaving in the ends. (You want to see a picture of that, don't you? Okay, here you go.)

I'd been knitting in bed, so before I could go to sleep I took the sweater and bag 'o yarn back up to loft/craft area. As long as I was up there, I decided to grab the second skein of Koigu for my socks, since I was so close to finishing up the first one and didn't want to get caught with knitting time and no yarn at work. I opened the sock yarn drawer of my little yarn storage unit and reached in for the Koigu -- and that's when I made the unfortunate discovery that caused the *palmhead* moment.

You see, I had been knitting with the wrong Koigu this whole time. Several months ago I'd purchased an orphan skein of Koigu from the discount basket at Knit One with no real project in mind, but I thought it could at least serve as heel/toe contrast for a future pair of socks. It was a similar colorway to the yarn I'd intended to use (not surprising, since I seem to always tend to pick out the shades of blue and green), but not similar enough that I could get away with having one sock in each colorway. For some reason, when I pulled this first skein out of the drawer, I didn't think to check the tag to see if it was the right colorway, nor did I even notice that it wasn't sitting next to a second skein that was identical.

So this is what we have now. One nearly completed sock in P531 ....

And the start of a sock in P429, which is what I'd thought I was knitting with all along.

It's a good thing I really like this pattern, and that the pattern goes quickly, and that the yarn is pure heaven to knit. Since I'm so close to being done with the original sock, I think I'm going to put the stitches on scrap yarn and save it, just in case I come across another skein of P531 (anyone have a spare skein in their stash?).

Tonight's agenda, after vacuuming and scrubbing the bathroom for this weekend's houseguests, is weaving in the ends on Aidan's sweater and then knitting the miniature socks for the front panel. At least this time I know that I'm using the right yarn.

Finished: Embossed Leaves Socks

Still playing catch-up, but these are the last pair of completed but un-blogged socks.

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks by Mona Schmidt (Interweave Knits winter 2005/Favorite Socks)
Yarn: Louet Gems Fine/Sport Weight (100% superwash merino), colorway Fern Green, one skein plus part of a second
Needles: two US 1 (2.5 mm) 12" Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: May 20/June 10
Recipient: My future mother-in-law, for her birthday
Mods: I joined for working in the round from the beginning, shortened the cuff to 3/4", and did not cut the yarn after turning the heel

I loved this pattern, strange instructions notwithstanding. The yarn I selected was a little short in the yardage, I grant you, but it makes for incredibly squishy socks. These are a little on the thick side, so I'm not sure if the recipient will be able to fit them into shoes, but that only means she'll wear them around the house and therefore will be able to show off the patterning all the way down the sock.

I am already planning a pair of these for myself, in some Koigu I picked up not long after starting these socks.

Last night I decided I was ready for a little break from the sock knitting and cast on for a new sweater for Aidan. I'm using a basic baby sweater pattern, but I'm working in some color to make a replica of a jacket for what is destined to become Aidan's favorite baseball team. Can you guess which team that might be?

Tonight it's time to start the raglan increases and get the main part of the sweater going. I can't stand the cuteness -- and only for this little one would I make all those color changes and have to weave in all those ends!

There's Something About Knitters ...

(Psst! Are you looking for the contest?)

So, to get back to the subject, there's really something amazing about knitters, isn't there? You were all so sympathetic when I came up short on my future MIL's socks and had some great suggestions. Several of you suggested calling the store to see if they had a spare skein they could send me, and that's just what I did. Today during lunch I rang up Bloomin Yarns, and I believe I talked to the owner. She did indeed have a spare skein of Louet Gems in Fern Green and will be putting it in the mail to me by tomorrow at the latest. Somehow in giving her all my information she deduced that I was the person who had blogged about my trip to the store (a friend of hers had Googled the store and come across my post). She was so nice and accommodating, and I'm so happy I decided to patronize Bloomin Yarns rather than ordering from Louet directly. Once that skein of yarn arrives, it'll be short work to finish up the second Embossed Leaves sock.

Meanwhile, I've thrown myself fully into socks for my mother for her birthday. I think they may be knitting themselves. I started them Sunday and here they are as of a few minutes ago:

Pretty much the entire foot and toe of the first sock was done yesterday, and that cuff you see there? That's all today's knitting. I'm two rows away from the heel. If I knit really furiously tonight and tomorrow, I may just have them done before we leave for vacation -- which would be a good thing, because obviously I can't work on them in front of my mom. And no, these won't count for the contest!

Shortage

Had circumstances been different, this would have been a post about a completed pair of Embossed Leaves socks. Unfortunately, I've run into a little yarn problem -- specifically, not having enough of it. Here's where the yarn ran out:

This would be approximately 5.5 repeats of the lace pattern (of 7.5 total). Clearly I didn't take into account that the 100 g rule for a pair of socks might not apply to a heavy fingering weight or even sport weight yarn, as this yarn is labeled.

So, these clearly are not going to be finished today or likely any time soon. This yarn was purchased at Bloomin' Yarns, which is rather far away from my house, and so it would require a special trip there to get more (as far as I know, neither of the yarn stores near me carries Louet Gems). The way I see it, I have two options: (1) make time for a trip out to the store to buy more or (2) order some more online (which would have to wait until after we get back from vacation in order to prevent it arriving while we're away). Actually, I suppose there's also a third option: knit an entirely new pair in another yarn.

In the meantime, I've cast on for my mother's birthday socks -- in the same yarn, but obviously they will be much shorter in the leg to try and save yarn. Does anyone happen to know if a short-row heel uses less yarn than a heel flap and gusset?

Tomorrow: a big announcement. Watch this space.

Foot or Hoof?

This sock is probably the fastest lace pattern ever. Look! A completed sock!

I cast on this sock Sunday night, didn't work on it at all except for a couple rounds on Tuesday (because I was working on finishing up the Grasshopper Socks), and finished last night while watching the Lost season finale. As I was knitting the toe, I wasn't liking it. I found the p2togs at the end of each needle to be fiddly, and I thought that the toe looked better suited to a hoof than a human foot. Plus, I've never been wild about toes that end up with only a small number of stitches and the thread pulled through all of them; call me nuts, but I love to kitchener.

However, as soon as I was done and the ends were woven in and I tried on the sock to see how it looked with the lace pattern stretched out I found that I loved it. The purl stitches complete the last leaves on the sock and it makes for a very unique look. It also fits well, surprisingly so. And, conveniently, following the pattern as written makes a sock exactly the right left for the recipient's foot (and mine, as you can see).

I've already cast on for the second sock and have completed the cuff. With the long weekend coming up, I should have no problem finishing these up in the next few days. Then perhaps I'll cast on a pair of these for myself -- since I've already pretty much memorized the pattern. I already have the yarn picked out: this gorgeous Koigu that I picked up at Knit One last weekend.

Finished: Grasshopper Socks

Pattern: Knee High to a Grasshopper by Chrissy Gardiner (April Rockin' Sock Club shipment)
Yarn: Silkie Socks That Rock (81% superwash merino, 19% silk), colorway Walking on the Wild Tide, one skein
Needles: two US 1 (2.5 mm) 12" Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: April 4/April 21
Mods: used a twisted rib for cuff (k1 tbl, p1) and bound off normally in pattern

I am in love with this yarn -- that's the short and long of it. The pattern is okay, and toward the end of the second sock I was on autopilot, but I'm finding like so many others that these socks are a bit on the slouchy side. I followed the increases in the pattern because (and I know you've heard this before) I have rather shapely calves. The result is that the leg of the sock fits my leg, but I still did a twisted rib cuff and bound off regularly for a tighter fit at the top. If I knit these again, I'll omit the leg increases and do the normal 1x1 rib for the cuff with the sewn bind off the pattern specifies.

Actually, if I knit this pattern again, I think I'll try it with k2togs instead of p2togs, because I really like the "wrong side" of the fabric on these socks.

I wound this skein into two roughly equal center-pull balls to prepare to knit these socks so that I didn't have to worry about running out of yarn on the second sock. I did this by putting the skein on my swift and counting the number of individual strands of yarn there were at the one point of the swift. Then I tied a bright piece of yarn to that part of the swift and counted each time it went by me as I was winding. I stopped and cut the yarn after it went around half as many times as the total number of strands I'd counted at the beginning. Although the balls were slightly different in size, I had plenty of yarn for each sock (there's a bit left over of both) and, more importantly, I wasn't stressing out about my yarn running out.

Now that those socks are done, I only have one pair of socks on the needles -- the ones for my future MIL. I did indeed rip the socks I'd started and I rewound the yarn. Sunday night I cast on for a pair of Embossed Leaves socks (from Favorite Socks), and they are going ridiculously fast, especially considering I spent nearly all of my knitting time yesterday finishing up the Grasshopper socks.

(That's a lava lamp modeling the sock, for all of you who may be wondering.) I am ready to start the heel, and I am loving this pattern -- much more so than the sock I'd started before. I am planning to knit this sock they way I'd normally knit one, i.e., I am not going to cut the yarn after turning the heel as the pattern says, but rather knit across the heel and pick up stitches along the heel flap as usual. I also started knitting in the round from the very beginning, instead of knitting two rows flat and then joining in the round (has anyone figured out what that notch at the top of the cuff is for?) By now I wouldn't say I have the pattern memorized, but I certainly understand the logic of it and only need to reference the pattern every now and then. Judging from how quickly the leg of the first sock has knit up, I'd say I'll have a pair completed before we leave for vacation next Friday.

Thank you for all your kind comments on J's sweater (and for not making fun of his silly face!). I'm pleased that it came out so well and that I successfully avoided the sweater curse! Technically, I already had the ring on my finger when I started knitting it, so some might say I was immune to it, but you never know. I'm fully confident going into knitting a second sweater for him, although there was an interesting development regarding the yarn last night. I pulled out a skein and examined it in natural light, and what appeared to be a dark charcoal gray in the store now looks like a gray-tinted brown. I actually rather like it; it's very muted and neutral, and it's likely to appear to change color depending on what else it's paired with. It remains to be seen if J will like it or if he'll want me to return it for a real shade of gray.