Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Tin Man

Yep, I fell apart a bit.  I've been distracted by all of the usual holiday tasks and consequently have had a lot less knitting time.  I've fallen behind on photos and such, too, but I finally have some to share of my penultimate Oz Sock Club kit - featuring Tin Man!

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The kit contents:

This is definitely one of my favorite kits!  The project bag is large with drawstrings to close it.  The heart-shaped tape measure is attached to a long cord, presumably for wearing around your neck if you choose.  The decorated red heart tin came with some little Hershey's kisses inside, and the little metal notebook holder has a spring-loaded cover that's held shut by the matching metal pen.  All very useful swag!

The pattern made me want to cast on immediately!

It doesn't look complicated, but it looks interesting with the different textures and matches so well with the yarn.

And the yarn:

Macaron MCN by Wool Candy!  The MCN is for Merino, Cashmere, and Nylon and it feels wonderful.  I love the muted colors and I have a feeling these will be another pair of socks that get a lot of wear.

But I restrained myself.  I haven't finished my Lollipop socks yet; in fact I haven't even worked on them in weeks since I'm trying to wrap up some Christmas gift knitting.  So the Tin Man socks aren't anywhere near the needles yet, but I might get to start them sometime around the New Year.

Mitten Distractions

I've been a bit distracted by some necessary destruction to keep our house steadily heated through the winter...

...so the blog posts have fallen a bit behind.  But of course I've still been knitting and I started yet another project.

Fiddlehead Mitten #1

Fun and colorful mittens from the kit I purchased at Stitches Midwest 2010.

I got to work my first i-cord cast on and I'm pretty sure I'm going to find a way to use it again in future projects.  It's slow, but it makes a very neat edge.

i-cord cast on edge

And they're stranded, so I've been practicing my 2-handed knitting again with the background color in my right hand and the pattern colors in my left.  I still haven't mastered the tension in my left hand, so I've been using an inexpensive Knitting Thimble to help me along.  Instead of using it to separate multiple colors, I run the single yarn through both guides to help keep it from slipping too loosely on the left side.  It might be an odd way to do it, but it's really helped me keep the yarn in my left hand without constantly fiddling and trying to find a good way to hold it.

Inside out

I haven't quite finished the outside of mitten #2 yet (they're lined with another smaller mitten inside) so they haven't been blocked.  My stitches aren't as even as they should be, but I'm working on it and hopefully a nice soak and block will loosen them up and even them out enough.

I'm hoping to finish up the outside of mitten #2 in the next night or so.  With the Holidays and the end of the year looming these will probably have to be set aside for a bit to make time for deadline knitting soon.

Christmas Socks for Him

My knitting feels a bit out of sorts lately.  I think I feel like I should be casting on for Christmas gifts or something, but I don't really have a list of gifts to make.  So when Hubs (aka my Mr. Wonderful) pointed out that my Lollipop socks looked a bit like Christmas socks, it made me want to make him some Christmas socks too.

So I decided to grab some Socks That Rock Rare Gems Mill Ends with some green and red and join the  Kalajoki socks knit along in the Socks that Rawk!! group on Ravelry.

The yarn didn't really knit up how I expected (based on what it looked like in the skein) and they're turning out more gingerbread than red and green, but Hubs is pretty used to crazy pooling socks by now (e.g. Mr. Wonderful and Blue Jean Gems) and doesn't mind.  Fortunately, this pattern seems to stand up to the pooling well enough.

Now the Christmas Lollipop socks and these Christmas River Socks are definitely Christmas socks in spirit, but I/we have already accepted that I might not be able to finish both pairs in time to wear them for Christmas Day 2010.  Both have much longer legs than I usually work for socks, so if I do succumb to knitting Christmas gifts there's a good chance I won't have time for these.  But I finished the toe of his right sock last night and my first sock is ready for the toe decreases, so we'll both have one sock for sure.  Maybe the single socks will get hung up as stockings this year and they'll get their mates for next year.  They would definitely make for some bright and uniquely mismatched stockings!

Lollipop Socks in Progress

My Scarecrow socks took cuts in line and jumped on the needles first, even though the Lollipop Guild kit arrived first.  But the scarecrow yarn was such a perfect combination of Fall colors that it begged to be knitted right away.  The Lollipop Guild yarn was delightfully bright in the skein, but I was a little worried by the splotchy socks in the photos for the accompanying pattern so it was easy to put them aside for a bit.

I was afraid that the Lollipop socks might not find their way onto the needles for several months or more, but here they are.

Of course, this is the time of year where things get hectic and I have a hard time keeping up with photos, so I'm actually a lot farther along with these now.  And they're really long!  Either I've been consistently misreading some part of the pattern or these would be nearly knee socks.  They don't look like knee socks in the pattern photo and it doesn't seem like a large skein, so there must be some fault on my part. 

The leg was pretty long for me after just one repeat of the 77 pattern rows, but the pattern suggested repeating rows 30-77 again before the heel.  Needless to say, I didn't repeat.  And since it's only 370 yards of fingering weight yarn I'm a little concerned that I might run low on yarn as it is.  So when I reached the start of toe decreases on the first sock last night I set it aside.  I'd like to at least weigh the existing sock and remaining yarn to try to make sure I don't need to switch in some contrasting toes.

In the meantime, my Mr. Wonderful pointed out that these look sort of like a lit Christmas tree -- they have a lot of green with dots of all the usual colors from the strings of lights -- so these have become my Christmas Lollipop socks.  They've been knitting up faster than I would have thought, so if I don't get pulled into too many last-minute gift knits they should even be done in time.  We'll see.

Stuck in a Scarf Loop

I've had some projects lingering on the needles that are nearly finished but oddly daunting to get back to. Realistically, I don't want to haul 8 or more pieces of what will hopefully one day be assembled into a sweater around with me, so I do continue to cast on simpler projects for when complicated knitting/assembly just isn't practical.  Unfortunately, said simpler projects are also immediately compelling and they keep jumping off the needles while the daunting projects sit quietly nearby.

Enter the Dipped Infinity Scarf kit obtained from Stitches Midwest 2010:

It's worked in the round and has a simple stitch pattern that's easy to memorize.

It's made of lighter weight yarn held doubled with colors that transition into each other.

It absorbed almost every knitting moment I had for a week to the exclusion of nearly every other work in progress.

It's been soaked and hung to dry and I look forward to wearing it soon.  It's bright and cheery and I am curious how the concept of the scarf as a loop without ends to flap in the wind will work out.  It's also my first project with Stitches Midwest 2010 yarn.

I also made a teeny, tiny bit of progress on my Brea bag this week, which is mostly stalled due to sewing.  So not all hope is lost for the lingering projects -- I still hear their whimpering!

Finished Scarecrow Socks

I didn't quite make the October goal, but I did finish my Scarecrow socks on November 1st so it was close.

Pattern: 'If I Only Had a Brain' Socks by KellyK
Yarn: The Alpaca Yarn Co. Paca-Peds HT - Scarecrow: If I Only Had a Brain
Needles: US 1½ - 2.5 mm
Completed: November 1, 2010

I really fell in love with the colors in these.  They're just so perfect for Fall and they spiraled so nicely.  Even the pooling on the feet after the gussets charmed me.

I did stop working on the first sock before the toe just to make sure I'd have enough contrasting yarn for both socks, and while I didn't have a lot left over I did have plenty for the pair.  And the few modifications I made (detailed on my Ravelry project page) were just to snug up the foot.

Now they're washed and ready to wear.  They're destined to be worn for Thanksgiving this year, although they might jump on my feet a few times before then, too.  I don't think I really want to wait 2 weeks to wear them.

I Became a Test Knitter

When I was invited to test knit a pattern I knew I had to try it and I'm definitely happy that I did!  And after checking with the designer I have permission to display some photos:

It pushed me to try knitting a shawl, which isn't something I had tried yet.

It also gave me a chance to work with Malabrigo sock yarn.  I've knit with Malabrigo worsted before, but I have to admit it wasn't my favorite. 

They Sprouted Heels

Although they were finished already in September, I realized that I forgot to post an updated photo of the almost-socks that became socks.  They started something like this:

and sprouted heels to become these:

Pattern: Let it Be by Cristi H. Brockway
Yarn: Creatively Dyed Yarn Steele - Ixia
Needles: US 1 - 2.25 mm
Completed: September 26, 2010

But, through some mis-measurement on my part or by doing the math for the heel incorrectly, they're a bit short for me.  I suspect the nubbin of the afterthought heel should be more at the back of my heel instead of beneath it.

 

All of which is fine, though, since I have a lot of cheerful, hand-knit socks for myself and they should fit my Mom's feet perfectly.  They were fun and soothing to knit and I enjoyed trying out the different construction.

I also take it as a sign that this was just a skein of yarn that really wanted to make other people happy and wanted to be knit for others.  So it's a good thing it was also a skein that had a lot of yardage to give.

Muddying the Soaking Water

I finished the socks from my Black Cat kit early in October, but didn't actually wear them until this weekend.  The yarn left dark dye stains on my hands when I knit them, so I knew I wanted to give them a good soak before they spent hours turning my feet black.  I took some photos of the soaking progress to compare the pre-soak water with whatever dye might wash out:

Soak water with Kookaburra wash and vinegar added

Spook socks soaking

Water after the socks were removed from their bath

True to the warning that came with the kit, there was a fair amount of dye that washed out. 

The socks themselves are a bit lighter now, too, although I didn't get a photo.  I wore them with black shoes and they definitely looked a bit more brown than black in comparison, although still dark.  But I wore them all evening, and while there might have been a few faint traces left behind my feet looked pretty normal when I took the socks off hours later.

All in all my Spook socks fit well and are soft and comfortable and now that they're safe to wear I'm glad to have them in the hand-knit sock rotation.  Although given their company, maybe it should be referred to as the hand-knit socks arsenal now!  I have a lot of socks and a lot more sock yarn waiting to be knit.  Things could get interesting.

My First Swap

With a title like that I feel like the whole post should be in primary colors with rounded corners, but then my brain is just a little fried from a stressful week.

I haven't had as much knitting time lately and a lot of the recent knitting time was devoted to a test knitting project.  Said test knitting is now finished, but I haven't checked with the designer to see if I can post photos or discuss it yet, so it's staying hidden for now.

But I have a hard time posting without any photos, so there's this:

The contents of the package I received from my first swap!  The paper in the lower right is a note from the sender and the eyeballs in the center are candles.  The bunch of peanut butter cups aren’t Reese’s, so I’m assuming they're something local to the sender, and the cute mouse is a toy meant for my kitties.  Under the mouse is a cute reporter-style notebook and pen, and the package in the center has HiyaHiya Puppy Snips -- a knitting tool that I had never heard of but is tiny, useful, and adorable!  I probably wouldn't have picked either of the yarns for myself (which is half the fun of the swap idea), but I really like both and I haven’t tried either brand yet, so there's also two new yarns to look forward to.

So the swap was a total success for me, but that's only half of the swap.  I sent out a swap package, too, but to a different person than who sent to me.  It's a swap with fans of the Dizzy Sheep site with just a loose set of guidlines:

the “rules” (pretty flexible - more like guidelines)

1. stash-diving is applauded/encouraged (but you can purchase new yarn if you would prefer)
   
2. MSRP range for yarn is $15-$20 (but if you want to clear out more stash no one is going to stop you!)
   
3. yarn doesn’t have to initially have come from dizzy (but who doesn’t have more yarn from dizzy than they have plans for?) if you clear out non-dizzy yarn you just have room to buy more right?
   
4. including additional small items (esp dizzy themed items and fall/halloween - dizzy tricks and treats etc!) is encouraged.
   
5. Have fun and get creative (esp w/ rule number 4!)
   

And I'm pretty sure my swap "target" is out of town, so I won't know how my package went over for a while.  It was a fun way to destash some yarn and I hope she likes it, but either way it will probably be my last swap, at least for a while.  I found it hard to figure out what to send, how much to spend -- I know it will all work out well enough, but I was stressing about it more than I expected.  So: generally positive experience, fun to try, the stress wasn't really the fault of the swap itself, but not something I'll jump back into right away.

Scarecrow Socks In Progress

My socks from the Scarecrow kit aren't flying off the needles, but the first one is coming along.

I love how the perfect Fall colors spiral around the leg.

Of course, working the heel stopped the spiraling for a bit and introduced some pooling even though I used the contrasting color for the heel flap and turn and switched back to the main color for the gussets.  Obviously that means I'm farther along on sock #1 than the photos suggest.  I'm actually nearing the toe, and since there's just a little over a week left in October it also means I need to get moving if I want to finish these off for Socktoberfest! Where on Earth did the month of October go!?!

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Scarecrow (Halloween)

There are fewer daylight hours and a lot of distractions, but no real excuses for the silence.  I'm still knitting and, since the end of the year is quickly approaching to mark the end of my Oz Club subscription from Woolgirl, the kits are arriving even more quickly now.  The Scarecrow kit landed on my doorstep just a couple of days ago.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The kit contents:

There's a cute little pair of overalls that were stuffed with crinkly paper (like straw) and edible treats, a decorative scarecrow, a large spiral-bound journal, and a Scarecrow bookmark and gift tag.  The quippy extras included a Scarecrow button that says "I'm Tinking" and a pen featuring the Scarecrow that reads "Did the Wizard Ever Get Back To You About That Brain?".  I don't have a lot of use for the button, but I really like the pen.

The project bag is a dark, Halloween-style fabric with the Wizard of Oz characters.  It's big enough to hold a sock project and I really like that it zips shut to keep everything neatly contained.

The Paca-Peds yarn is perfect for fall; I love the colors!  This time it's a yarn that I already have in my stash (obviously in a different color), but haven't had a chance to work with yet.  I was (and still am) drawn in by the fact that there's a contrasting heel/toe mini-skein included.

Finished Black Cat Socks

I did keep up a pretty speedy pace and finished the second sock from the Black Cat Halloween kit over the weekend, meaning that I had a finished pair in a little under a week!  That's faster than my usual sock progress, although these did have my undivided attention.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

So here they are, not yet washed in any way:

I'm going to try to remember to get before and after photos when I do give them a soak, just to see how much dye bleeds out into the water, although I obviously rubbed some off on my fingers already while knitting them.  In some photos you might even notice some of the deep wine hue running through that isn't really visible without enough light.

It's not a complicated lace pattern, it's very symmetric, but I do like the hidden fish shapes in them.  I don't like doing yarn overs at the beginning of a needle, but I got in a groove and it didn't slow me down too much or bother me enough to shift stitches around to avoid them, so no real complaints.

Since I haven't soaked them I haven't worn them yet (I don't really want to look like I've been walking barefoot through soot all day if they are going to bleed more), but I'm looking forward to it.  They're dark and squishy and lacy -- all things that should make them work well with all sorts of outfits when I'm forced to abandon my sandals for the year.  I'm not quite there yet.

WiP: Black Cat (Spoilers)

I still fall victim to the occasional Woolgirl kit that isn't a part of a club series.  This time I couldn't resist the Black Cat Halloween kit and it, too, arrived last week... and then jumped right on the needles!

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The kit contents:

The black cat with the polka dot background is a pack of decorated tissues and the cute pumpkin and ghost fabric above it is a small tissue pack holder.  The smiling cat pyramid at the upper left is an old-fashioned style treat box (although mine was squashed pretty flat during shipping).  There's also the black cat notepad in the lower right, a cat charm/ornament, black cat gummies, and candy corn kisses.  I love the included project bag, which is nice and large with a drawstring closure.

I'm excited to try more new yarn that I haven't heard of before: Pico Accuardi Dyeworks Acid and Weed Sock!

But the kit also included a warning that the yarn would bleed some due to the dye process.  We'll see if that means it will also fade significantly in the first few washings or not.  At the moment, it's very dark, nearly black, but I can see hints of deep wine colors, too, with enough direct light.  And of course another adorable WeeOnes stitch marker that will be carefully added to my collection.


There's also a sock pattern included:

Poppies: The End

I finally finished my Poppy Fields Socks just before the Lollipop Guild kit arrived last week.

I don't have any desire to disparage the pattern or the designer, so I'll point out that the things that bothered me about the pattern might not bother other people.  But I also know from previous comments that people are curious why these were not my favorites, so this is a rundown of some things that made it a pattern that didn't work well for me:

1. I don't want to harp on this (and I know I've mentioned it before), but I don't like it when patterns give size(s) based on foot length/shoe size with no measured circumference.  I know that even a measured circumference is somewhat subjective (stretched, etc.), but it gives me a much better idea than foot length.
   
   
2. Because of the size issue and the needle size recommendation for the pattern I had a hard time sizing these.  Using the recommended US 0 needles with sport weight yarn seemed off to me, but I thought maybe it was for a particularly tight gauge, so I balanced it out by starting with the large size.  After knitting the toe and starting the foot I found that I had more stitches to the inch than the recommended gauge and the sock was going to be loose on me.  When I ripped it out and started over with US 1½ (2.5 mm) my gauge matched and the sock fit snugly on my foot... until the heel.  The finished short row heel was like a little cap for the bottom of my heel and there was no way that I was ever going to get my foot into the finished sock.  Since I had gauge and it seemed to fit well enough otherwise I didn't have any confidence that ripping it all out and starting over with the large size again was going to give me anything but a loose sock with a better heel, so I manufactured my own heel based on Yarnissima's brainless sock pattern.  Then I could finally get the sock on my heel, too.
   
   

Woolgirl Oz Sock Club - Lollipop Guild

I wasn't sure I could finish my previous kit socks (Poppies!) before this Woolgirl Oz Club kit arrived, but a dedicated push got them off the needles just before the new kit found its way to my doorstep.

************ Spoilers from this point on! ************

The kit contents:

There's a lollipop and a lollipop lip gloss in there, another little scrabble piece painted and attached to a necklace-length chain, and a larger drawstring bag with handles.  I have to admit that my eye is immediately drawn to the large Certificate of Death on the fabric, which feels a little morbid, but it's nice to have such a large bag with the drawstring to keep it closed.

And then there's the bright and highly variegated yarn, appropriately from Sunshine Yarns!
Pro: Most of the club kits, while certainly not boring, have been more limited to a specific color or color family:

So a bright rainbow yarn jumped right out in a very happy way.
Con: Then I saw the pattern photo.  It looks splotchy or sort of tie-dyed once knit up.  I'm afraid it might be one of those yarns that I love in the skein that I don't love as much as a finished knit.  But I'll try not to worry about that until I've already knit a good chunk of a sock to find out.  It's hard not to love it in the skein!

WiP Determination

Although I mostly like the finished appearance, my Poppy Field socks have not been a project I enjoyed knitting.  I've struggled with them and even considered abandoning the pattern after the first sock.  Even though I started them in early August, I've put them in time out several times and they've been lingering on the needles.  But, late last week I finally finished sock 1:

The poppy itself was fun to work

And since the next kit in the series is due to arrive any day now, I pushed myself to immediately cast on sock 2.  Admittedly, sock 2 has gone much faster since I didn't have to experiment with size and gauge and different heel styles.  I still made mistakes that required tinking and ripping (for some reason that happens a lot more with this pattern than most for me), but parts of it actually moved along rather quickly.

Poppy Fields - Sock 1, finished

I don't yet have any photos of sock 2, but it's on the needles and halfway up the leg now.  Barring a catastrophe it should be off the needles yet this week, maybe even before the Lollipop Guild comes knocking at my door.

I'm pretty good at letting go, so although the pattern might get buried in a dark, dusty corner somewhere, the socks themselves aren't facing pent-up ill will.  I'm looking forward to wearing them and showing them some love instead of flinging them aside in frustration.  I love the Miss Babs yarn and it clearly deserves much better!

Simple Soothing Socks for WiP Wednesday

I have a lot of projects lingering on the needles for various reasons, which isn't really a common occurrence for me.  But since I often want knitting to be relaxing, I started a simpler, more mindless project to work on in between dedicated efforts to deal with the trickier things.  So for the first time in a very long time, I'm working on simple stockinette socks - with a twist.

Peek-a-boo, it's a picot hem cuff!

I was intrigued by the round toe, afterthought heel, and double knit picot hem of Turtlegirl's Let it Be socks.  It seemed like a great pattern to showcase variegated yarn that had a lot to say on its own and I had yarn that wanted to do just that.

Struggling with Poppies

It's not certain that the Poppy Fields socks will be completed before the next Woolgirl Oz Club kit arrives.  These socks have been a struggle for me, which means I'm not always in the mood to pick them up when I have knitting time.  It also means I can't take them with me to knit when I'm traveling -- they require spreading out several pattern pages at a time, concentrating on what will go where, and in several cases so far, ripping out a good chunk and reworking something.

Size US0 needles and sport weight yarn gave me a much smaller gauge than the pattern recommended, so I had to frog the toe and start over with US 1½ - 2.5 mm.  Once my gauge was corrected I had to guess at the size based on foot length/shoe size with no given circumference, which is not my favorite (since the length of my foot doesn’t really affect how wide I want my socks).  I opted for the smaller size for a snug fit.

Poppy stems before the heel

The snug fit is good, but as you can see it makes for an interesting ridge where the stockinette toe shifts to the purl background for the pattern.

Blocking with Wires

I decided to invest in some blocking tools and outfitted myself with some interlocking foam mats, blocking wires, and T-pins.  I know I shouldn't need any of those things, but I'm hoping they help me to get on with blocking some of the knits that really need it in a more timely manner.

Having never worked with actual blocking equipment before, I decided to go simple and block my recently completed scarf.  It wasn't a piece that technically needed blocking, although it wasn't perfectly straight along the edges and seemed like it might benefit from it.  (More Stitches Midwest 2009 yarn successfully used, by the way!)

Somewhat curvy edges

Straighter blocked edges

1) First impressions: blocking can take an annoyingly long time to do no matter what equipment you have!  I didn't time it, but it probably took me a good 45 - 60 minutes and 6 blocking wires to get the scarf pinned out and relatively straight.  Maybe (hopefully!) it's something I'll eventually get better and faster at with practice.

Something to Give

I am a selfish knitter in that I still knit a lot of things for myself.  I know what I like, I can try things on as I go, and I know which mistakes will bother me and which aren't worth worrying about, which means it's usually pretty easy for me to knit for me.

I do really enjoy knitting for other people, too, but it's more of a gamble.  Other people won't always tell me if they don't really like something or if it doesn't quite fit and maybe don't understand that I'd rather try to fix it for them or replace it than see a hand knit item go unused.  Some people are more matchy or finicky dressers than I am, too.

So when Halos of Hope put out a request for hat donations for chemo patients in advance of Stitches Midwest 2010 on the Ravelry boards, it sounded like a great opportunity to knit something fun and bright that someone somewhere would like (and presumably choose for themselves from a stash of donated hats).

I decided to try out some cheerfully bright sock yarn that I bought at Stitches Midwest 2009.

The happiness of the Ixia colorway

Stitches Midwest 2010: Yarn Purchases

I'm just not quite with it yet this week, so I don't really have new project photos to share or stories rattling around in my head.  But since we were focused while we were still at Stitches, I do have photos of some purchases.  For today, I'll just let them do their own talking.

Fiddlehead Mittens kit - Greens

dipped infinity scarf kit -Blues

We were at Stitches

There was some unintentional blog silence while Xandermommy and I were at Stitches again this year. We just got caught up in things and actually spent very little time in our room other than when we were sleeping. We were on the go a lot and rarely near a computer and didn't even spend a lot of time knitting!

We did end up with a nice room at the end of the hall that was very quiet, which was definitely nice, and we ended up with views like this:

Saturday night

Sunday Morning

Although most of our view was more like this:

Still with a view of Ikea

And after our daily visit to the market on Saturday, the view inside the room was a bit like this:

Combined Stitches Midwest 2010 score!

Not quite the pile we had last year, but certainly nothing to sneeze at.  We were well within budget the first couple of days, even if we might not have quite ended that way when we packed up and headed for home.  We both found things we were specifically looking for and plenty of things that jumped out at us when we saw them.

And it was nice to get home around 5 PM this year, since we both had to roll out of bed and get to work this morning.  Back to the normal schedule that doesn't revolve around constant exposure to knitters and yarn.