Shut Up & Knit!

Icarus Revisited

Pattern:  Icarus

Yarn:  Jagger Spun 3/8 Wisteria Heather

Needles:  US 8/5mm circular.  Bind off with US 10 1/2 / 6.5 mm tip.

Time Served:  06-06-09 - 06-10-09

Size:  92 inches across (more or less) and 44 inches down the spine (give or take).

Mods:  Changed/fixed the cast on and first few rows.  Knit the first chart once.  Knit rows 19-42 three times.  Knit rows 19-34 once.

Judgment:  Never again.  Knitting this shawl killed my knitting mojo.

Knit for: Me.  This was a Joan project that Angie, Squish, Nora and I joined in on because Joan was generous and fabulous enough to send us patterns and yarn.  We are truly spoiled.

I am glad that I went back and redid this one.  I use this shawl in place of a bathrobe/dressing gown in the mornings during cool/cold weather.  It's wonderful to pull around me and think about the ladies I knit this with.

(Click to Hugeify)

Because it's not a finished object post about a shawl unless you get it to see it nailed to a fence.

Speaking of mojo...

I have found my spinning mojo after several very frustrating days in which I could not get the spindle or fiber to work with me.  For reasons I'd rather not think about, I always do really well spinning while watching Harper's Island.

(Speaking of Harper's Island...  !!!)

Now if I could just find my knitting mojo...

Although, some yarn arrived yesterday that may help in the search.

Or kill me.

Only time will tell.

Happy Sunday, people!

Cranky, Socks & Shit

I am in a mood.  Ya'll have been warned...
Last week, I could not get a sock started to save my life. 
The yarn and gauge swatch worked with the pattern to confuse me.

I frogged.

Then I tried my old faithful no pattern 2x2 rib sock pattern and the yarn was spiraling like a motherfucker and I knew I could do better.

Frogged.

I got out a hank of yarn that's special to me, caked it and tried a picot edge with a provisional cast on since toe-up just wasn't working for me.  The picot edge worked for the first time in ages and I thought my sock luck was changing.

However, the fab looking picot edge was slightly less than fab because of how the colors were knitting up.  I hate that.  So I frogged.

All failed sock yarns were returned to the freezer and I figured I was just doomed.  Partly because it had been that kind of week and partly because my life seems to be populated by people who think it's all about them all the time.  That tends to add to the general sense of doomed here at ShutUp&Knit!... go figure.

Then my best friend sent me a box of (sock) love and made everything alright... like she usually does... with or without yarn.

The yarn is from the hated knitpicks people.  It's Felici in Atmosphere.

The yarn is soft, lovely and what I needed.  As you can see, I'm even over my need to be matchy.

I really thought about ripping the toe back, so it would be all dark blues, but I realized that I was okay with how it looked and that's what mattered.  Plus if I started to obsess over the heel, I would go crazy and the world just isn't ready for that.

Tomorrow, I'll be trying to find the happy or just lying to ya'll about the happy. 

We'll see...

Thank The Socks It's Friday!

I am so truly thankful that this horrible week is over.  I wish it had ended sooner, but I can't seem to figure out how to make that happen.

Yet...

Since I have nothing and a couple of the girlies asked about time spent knitting socks, here we go...

The socks from Sunday were knit last week and finished a week ago tonight.  They were washed/blocked that night, and posted on the day of socks.

During Doctor Who, also on that Friday night, I cast on for the Dulaan socks that I posted here this past Tuesday.  I spent my knitting/movie watching time working on them over the weekend.  They were finished Sunday night after way too many Star Wars movies.

The socks that Sandy and I posted Tuesday were finished, washed/blocked and mailed from here last week.  They arrived Monday and posted the next day.

The yarn for the Fraternal Twins socks arrived Monday and were started that evening during CSI.  I spent more time than planned on them Wednesday night, so there would be socks yesterday for Julie.

The baby in the photo was cast on Wednesday night because nothing says crazy sock knitter like starting a new sock during the 11 o'clock news.  I worked on the 2x2 ribbing while reading knitting blogs yesterday and turned the heel and did the foot last night... mostly while watching CSI repeats.  Btw, the cuff and foot are both 40 rows.  We're not talking huge socks here, people.

I cast on for baby #2 last night after realizing that kitchenering the toe needed to wait until I was slightly more clear headed.  Stop laughing.  It really could happen!  Some day...  in a galaxy far, far, far away...

By Sunday, they will be a finished pair if all goes according to plan.  If something goes wrong somewhere, there will be cat photos because this is a knitting blog.  ;^)

Happy Weekend!

Summer Passion Sunday Socks

Someone arrived here from a google search a couple of weeks ago.  Okay, it happens all the time, but this time they were looking for something that I thought might be worth talking about.  A nice change from some of the searches, believe me. They were looking for information about how to knit socks that matched up while using self-striping sock yarn.  I thought it was a good question and one that we all have sooner or later.

I think the key is to look at your yarn when you're casting on for that first sock.  If possible, casting on for sock #2 at the same time helps greatly.  I look at how the colors flow on the yarn and try to start in the same place on both socks.

In the case of this pair of socks, it was an inch or two into the yellow.  Because I knit them more or less at the same time from the same yarn cake, there is a bit of a difference between them, but nothing that I can't live with.

Anyway...

The pattern is mine.  It's the one by one rib version of my usual sock with the short row toes and heels.  Knit toe-up because that's the only way to fly.  I used US 4 DPNs because the yarn is DK weight... and beyond yummy, soft and fab. 

The yarn is XXL Duet Sock Yarn from A Swell Yarn Shop.  Color-way is Summer Passion.  I love the contrasting toes, heels and the bit at the top of the cuffs.  I couldn't help myself.  The cuffs are long enough to fold over and I still have a nice bit leftover.  I'm thinking Magic 28 socks when Knit Unto Others rolls around this fall.

I love how these socks turned out and am looking forward to wearing them if it ever gets cool enough for socks.  Good thing they make me happy as I'm having issues with TypePad today.  New layout is on hold because I am in a very bad mood.  Must go pet the pretty new socks and try to relax...

Fools Rush In

You know how it feels to be in love and what it feels like to see the one you love? 

Your heart beats faster, the hormones or phrmones or something kick in and all reason goes right out the window.

Yeah...

And we all make some kind of dumbass mistake because that's part of it, too, I think.

Meet my dumbass mistake.

Colors are off, of course.  /sigh

This is the Life Style wool sock yarn from the other week.

It's a short row toe.  I started with that tiny bit of white and just started knitting.  My plan was to find that same spot in the second ball of yarn and start sock #2 there.

As I was doing the short row heel, I began to wonder about how much yarn I had left because it really doesn't look like much.  It could just be a trick of the eye and/or how the ball is shaped, but I don't like surprises when I'm in love.

I was trying to ignore the fact that I had not seen another white patch of wool while knitting this sock.  At least, not in that spot.  Denial is not just a river in Egypt, people.

I looked at the second ball and didn't see anything helpful.  I ran it thru the ball winder because I refuse to believe that the sock gods would be so cruel.  I am hopeful and made stupid by love.

There is a patch of white yarn in a spot that might work.  However, it's at the end of the ball and facing the wrong direction.

Love is about compromise and working together to make other happy.  I am wondering if I can love a pair of socks that will not match.  Not even close. 

Still...

It could be worse.  I could love a hockey fan or something...