Thursday, March 27, 2014

Sock Show Thursday: Prescheduled Emergency Sock Update

Well now that's a descriptive title isn't it?  More clearly: I'm in California attending a conference this week so this is a pre-written and scheduled post about the Emergency Work socks.

These have just been sitting on my desk, worked on when the computer is taking 3 minutes to load something or I just need to listen while on a phone call, times like those.  There aren't a whole lot of those but I've made it through about 50 rows on the leg so far. Another 15 or so and I'll start the heel flap.  From experience, I can get through ~70 rows on the leg to do the size foot I want to do and not run out of yarn. I think I could probably get 71-72 rows in at most, but I'd really rather not get to the last three rows on the toe and be out of wool.














Size 0 (2.0mm) needles continue to be very small, particularly when compared to the size 1.5 (2.5mm) needles I was using for the Night Sky Socks.

The sock has gotten to meet a couple of new coworkers in the past few weeks, and it has my plants, all of which are robustly growing again to keep it company. I must remember when I hit the heel to dig out the other skein of wool and bring it into the office.  So, you know, in mid-May :-p

New socks on the needles when I get back!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Sock Show Thursday: Night Sky

While we usually call the sky at night black, there's still some blue up there and that is was seems to come out in this skein of Bugga! that I'm knitting up.

My fourth pair of socks this year has been flying right along, the joy of size 1.5 (2.5mm) needles and sport weight yarn. The fact that it's absolutely delicious yarn with cashmere in it and that I had a couple of heavy on the knitting, light on the needing to do other things with my hands days and I may well finish these up early this month. It's a good pick me up after last month's single sock completed. 

The yarn is Bugga! by the Sanguine Gryphon, though the dyers behind that endeavor split up and are now the Verdant Grypon and Cephalpod Yarns. I've been meaning to try both, as they are both still using the Bugga! base and have great colors, but I wanted to get through some of what I currently had first. 

I bought this while I lived in La Crosse, as I can tell by the fact that I took my Ravelry photo of it on the deck to that apartment.  Ravelry date of creations and backgrounds of photos, sigh, at least there's some metadata available. Of course, I also photographed my stash for Ravelry while in La Crosse and bought the majority of it while in La Crosse so that's a little less helpful but at least I can narrow it down a bit. 

Where was I? Ah yes, socks 

This is Pair 4 for 2014, Pair 61 on the needles total.  

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As you can see, I"m through one sock, 66 rows on the leg, and onto sock 2.  

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They're going very quickly and I'm hoping to get though it with some extra time to start on April's socks. I'm also to the point I need to wind up more yarn again so I have a couple of skeins at the ready.  Slowly through the stash I go! 


Monday, March 17, 2014

In the background

One project that hasn't been mentioned here is a cowl I knit myself over January-March. In an attempt to use up some of my alpaca yarn, I created this garter behemoth. Though it wasn't my intention, it ended up being about 12 inches wide and about 12 feet long. I can wrap it about 5 times around my neck.

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It was slow garter stitch on size 10 needles, one round knit, one round purl.  It was mindless knitting but at home only.  It was too big and shed too much to haul around with me.  I do try to avoid sticking anyone with my knitting on the train, though for the way I get avoided while I'm knitting, you'd think I had 18 inch needles all of the time.

And it figures, I've finished it up and now the weather is starting to be nicer again.  We might even finally be looking at all high temperatures  (if not the lows) above freezing.  A knitter could almost think about putting up her wool socks soon.

Almost...

Saturday, March 15, 2014

From the BMFA Dyepots

My new yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts arrive late last week.  This was a purchase that had been stewing for a while, I'd bought a gift card with a Christmas gift from my grandmother. I'd finally settled on these for the neck scarfs that the Philosopher has been requesting, when a rummage through the stash revealed a surprising paucity of options that were outside the color blue.  While there is still a lot of fingering weight yarn in the stash, most of it is in pairs+ now, meaning I bought it with the intention of knitting bigger items. Looking back through the all-used-up category of stash, I have gone through an awful lot of fingerweight yarn thus far.  Sometime I might even be able to easily fit all of the stash into its bins. I'm getting there!

Well, I'd be closer if I'd stop buying yarn, but the yarn in has been considerably lower of late and so I didn't mind getting this yarn.

I bought three skeins of BMFA Socks that Rock Lightweight. I don't think I've ever actually knit a skein of the lightweight, I really love the Mediumweight for fast and lovely socks, but I thought this would be a nice change and a little lighter for the neck scarves.

First up was a colorway that, really, I had to buy. It comes with the whole dating a Philosopher:

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Was there any way for me not to buy Metaphysical Angst?

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I also took the opportunity to pick up another Raven Clan colorway: Valkyrie.  If you've not seen one of these before, this was what happened when Tina of BMFA added color to black. I've got a shawl that I wear all the time that Sibling the Elder knit me about five years ago from another Raven Clan colorway. It's faded to lighter shades and felted a bit from all the wear, but it still looks lovely.

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I am hoping that the Philosopher will get equal wear out of this skein.

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And finally, also in keeping with things at Chez Hedgehog, this colorway is called Tea and Alchemy:

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The two ends are fairly different and I'm looking forward to seeing how it winds up

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Amazingly, there were no felines in the lightbox today. They were both lurking around while I was taking photos, and I have to tell you I found this the other day:


















But rest assured that everyone around Chez Hedgehog is healthy and continues to be furry. Pyewacket for proof this afternoon, lounging just up to the left of my computer.

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Her life is soooo hard.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Sock Show Thursday: February is Finished

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I did actually finish these on the 28th! It required some concentrated time on the train but they're done and ends will be woven in shortly so they can be washed and added to the Philosopher's drawer.

These are the Philosoten Socks. They were knit on size 1(2.25mm) needles out of Fiber Optic Foot Notes in the Catamaran colorway. I recommend clicking through on the colorway---I'm having a really hard time getting all of the subtlety of the color to show on  my camera.

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I knit the first one entirely in January and in the month of February managed to complete the second one. First of all, that does point to my having knit on a lot of other things during February: the pool cookies scarf, a giant alpaca cowl you haven't seen, the pink/burgendy afghan.  It also points to the crazy busy schedule at work--too often I just sat on the train staring out the windows.

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They're my usual 1x1 rib pattern, flap gusset heel, regular toe.  Pair 59 total.  The yarn continues to be a base I really enjoy and Kimber's (Fiber Optic's) colors are amazing and vibrant. They've been a welcome pop of color against the dreary outdoors.
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Gypsy provided the cat fur for this photo shoot.

It's probably the last pair of socks I'll knit for him for a while. No, nothing's wrong, he's just asked for some colorful bandannas that he can wear with his black t-shirts. I've made a diligent trek through Ravelry and we picked out some interesting patterns. I'll either be starting with a skein that I need to go rip out--I'd knit it into a Sockhead but neither of us are going to wear it and he likes the yarn--or that red/black Wollmeise that I bought earlier this year.

The emergency work socks continue apace and I've picked out some Bugga! from the stash for my March socks.


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Gratuitous Scarf Photo

Finally got the Pool Cookies scarf into the light box.

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Still slogging away at it...



Sunday, March 2, 2014

A Finished Sweater

I promised pictures of the green sweater.  I don't have any of me wearing it, yet, and that may have to wait as I'm sorting out shrinking it a bit, etc.

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This is the Madison pattern. I knit the 34" size, though in retrospect I probably should have knit the 32".  As you can see, I left off the second ruffle and the toggles--at least for now. I might be adding a closure.

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The yarn was Filatura Lanarota Wool Sprinkles from Smiley's in New York. I have a dozen skeins in brown as well. The base color is fine and I like the pops of red/blue/dark green but it does make this a more casual yarn. It's better for a sweater meant to be worn with jeans rather than a dress skirt.  It's wool, not superwash.

The sleeves fit really well, though they are long enough that I can fold up most of the cuff, so between my not adjusting the pattern (I do not have short arms btw) and the yarn growing...long cuffs!

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Cat fur provided by Gypsy.

It's a well written pattern, and she advises that you go for a smaller size, so that was on me. Also, I probably should have swatched.

Ahh well, big slouchy sweater works too.

A Redo

 I started this pair of socks on New Years Eve just before 2020. I finished them in May 2020 , amidst a lot of optimism about what I'd a...