Previous sock purchases. Used up? Not entirely.

Yes, I have a lot of irons in the fire. Usually there are too many –and yes, it causes me to drop some of them once in a while. (Or every single one of them all of the time.) But I have been, low these 7 years of my knitting life, wanted to put just one more iron in.

Early on in my knitting life, I learned to knit socks. I loved it. In fact, it was one of the aspects of knitting that totally sucked me in. I know in my heart that if I had started out knitting scarves, I would have never kept it all up.

Back then, 7 short years ago, I swore to myself (that way, I was not committed…you know, accountability and all that…)  that I would replace every sock in my sock wardrobe with a hand-knitted one.

They fit better anyway, I told myself. They are portable, inexpensive, and contain just the right amount of complexity to keep a person interested.

I looked at my socks to see if I thought I could truly replace them all. After all, store bought socks are their own animal. I bought clogs and even some Keds slip on mules one size too big to make one particular pair. I heard that was a good idea.

I read book after book, bought yarn after yarn, made list after mental list of which sock patterns I would try out. And then….

I didn\’t do it.

The socks on the blocks (no, not sock blocks. go morbid)–not even all of them are shown here.

Oh, I made a few, but I did not accomplish the original goal. Not by a really, really, really long shot. Today, I still own all the same socks from that original wardrobe. And I am still wearing most of them. But they are 7 years older. Some are doing well, some are still just ok. Some are sort-of ok. Some are ill. Some are in critical condition. And some are in the sock-morgue. I cannot let any of them go, because that would mean facing emotional sock defeat.

So, now, 7 years later, wearing old and holey socks, I will finally begin the replacement of my socks. For real. Perhaps I may lose more along this journey; after all, who knows what frustration or roadside treachery awaits me? The fallen socks will be remembered along the way, but then finally released to that better place in the trash under the sink, where my shame will be hidden forever.

I may say a few touching words each time I drop one in, too. Like, \”Woo hoo! I have some new socks! I don\’t need you!\”

We will see.

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Let\’s begin here: above, you see — on the desk in front of me — a pair of socks I have been working on off and on since last summer. These are basic socks. I like to use US1/2.25mm dpns on fingering weight yarn for most socks. I like to drop the stitch count down to create  at least 10% negative ease (if not a little more), and I like to stop the sock length knitting early, to end at about 1/2\” short on my foot. I believe socks fit better with pretty snug negative ease around, but not too much too short. (Then they cramp your toes and make you paranoid that your big toe will pop right through!! Dang it!!) So…as an example, with this yarn on my needles of choice, I am getting 8 stitches to the inch in stockinette. I have a 9\” foot circumference, but for this pair,  cast on only 7.5\” worth of stitches: 60.

The particular pair of socks I am working on now contains very old Rose City Yarn Crawl yarn. I think I bought it at Twisted on Broadway in Portland. It was so squished up and old that the label is now lost. I believe it is Italian yarn, but made in Sweden. (Does that even make sense?!) It is a single ply merino wool (100%, possibly) with a cool sort of blurred solid strip that reminds me of candy corn.

The first one fits perfectly and I am nearly done with the second (been knitting while watching all the past episodes of The X-files, of course). I then plan to hit each sock in some order. I am thinking of re-visiting the beginning. A little trip down knitting memory lane doesn\’t sound half bad. Those are some seriously good sights and smells!!

And yes, I decided to do all this while continuing to work on a wedding dress. But isn\’t variety the spice of life?

Happy cozying,

Janelle

While I have been \”away\” from the blog (again….ahem….) I have been doing a great many things. I will reveal these moderately interesting things over time, but you may be wondering about Jo\’s dress.

Yes, she is still getting married, and yes! I am still knitting it.

Jolene admonished me, however, pretty early on in the knitting process that Andrew can never be allowed too see the dress — not even in parts — on the blog, or anywhere. After an appropriate \”duh…..\” from me, and an acknowledgement of my feminist daughter\’s tendency to adhere to some old traditions (I supposed I just learned that this is one of them), I agreed. Sort of.

I will share some pictures here, but only a few until the big day (which is yet to be determined by the completion of the dress… no pressure….) . And, as I believe that Andrew gets the blog postings from Facebook,  I will not be announcing new blog posts about the project on Facebook. Twitter and email notifications will still go out. I hope these precautions will satisfy everyone.

So far, I have completed the body of the top and the button band. I am now working on the sleeves. Having just re-read my last post, I see that I explained the dizzying array of needles and yarn for each piece of this project and the fantastical pain that getting gauge was! I am preparing to do all of that again for the skirt — and not looking forward to that piece! In fact, it is my belief that the diversity in needles, gauge and materials is likely the biggest reason not many knitters have attempted this pattern.

So far, no regrets on the materials I have selected. They are all working splendidly. And I have not had to re-measure Jolene.  (Whew!) Things seem to be going pretty well, except….

I have noticed a phenomenon during this project: anytime I work on the dress, math, gauge swatches, writing notes, taking photos, trying it on, knitting…I hold my breath. The whole time. Each time, I only realize I am doing it after I am feeling strangled. To come up for air, I have been doing other projects, too, which may put me behind, but who doesn\’t need to breathe!? I ask you!! If I end up staying up for sleepless night, re-living the writing of complicated 15 page research papers for AP English in high school? So be it! Some of my best work is done under pressure, but it must be done with a little side of O2.

The pay-off so far for all this hypoxia? The top FITS! It fits how she wanted it too. (Long breath here…I just noticed I was doing it again….dang it!!) I had to shorten the waist, which made me very anxious. and Jo lives about 2.5 hours north of me, in Seattle, That was a toughy. I cannot post a pic of that (yet). you will just have to believe me 🙂

Here are a couple of pics:

The picture above was taken \”on the blocks,\” before shoulder seaming and button bands were completed. The pic to the left is just a close up of the edging.

These are all I have for now. but more to come!!

So much to share from the summer, but for today, this is it!

Get your cozy on, it\’s winter!

Janelle, fellow rabid knitter

My engaged daughter, Jo, and I have settled on a dress pattern. It wasn\’t very hard, since she is most absolutely not a \”foofy\” girl. We both knew how the dress should really look, and the fluffier, more cupcakey dresses were easy to rule out. Barring designing one for her myself (*gasp! choke!* and *anxiety beyond belief!*), we knew that a leaner profile with simple and few details that reflect her easy-going little self was a must. It had to be elegant, of course, since it is a wedding dress, and transportable in the event that she and her hubby-to-be decide to get married abroad (which is on the table under \”thinking about it,\” with more on that possibly to come). Jo is also on the small and shorter side, so we can\’t have a dress that eats her in any way; length, busyness all had to be in proportion.

There were actually very few dresses that might fit this bill. At least, dresses that were strictly \”wedding dresses.\” In a stroke of luck, the very dress we both were thinking of jumped out pretty early on in the search process. In fact, I found it first without Jo\’s presence. But I \”knew.\” I emailed her the picture, which was returned with a squealing phone call only a few hours later. \”Mom! I have already shown a picture of the dress to 4 people! The people in Trader Joe\’s think I\’m weird!!\”

That was it.

I ordered the book the dress pattern was in. It is the Wedding Ensemble by Michele Rose Orne in her book, \”Inspired to Knit.\”

I love that it really appears to break down into manageable parts: a tee with a button-up back and a long skirt, both with lace trim, wide and narrow. All these things are pretty simple in their parts, and both top and skirt can be shortened if need-be.

What I didn\’t love after I received the book in the mail from Amazon and looked into the pattern further, is that it calls for 4 types of cotton yarn (in varying percentages of cotton) in 3 weights: #1 superfine. #3DK/ light worsted, and #4 Medium/worsted. ( I am using the US Craft Yarn Council system for these weights/numbers/names. For reference, you can find it here.)

To make things a tiny bit more complicated, two of the yarns are discontinued, and the \”light/DK\” yarn the pattern calls for is actually called \”sport\” and \”dk\” by different sources–eg. Ravelry vs yarn sellers. If it were \”sport,\” this would actually be classified as a #2 weight by the CYC, and not a #3.

Truly, all that matters in the end is is THE GAUGE, right? I can figure this all out. So I looked closely at the gauge and needles. Oops. I mean gaugeS and needleS. Plural. Really plural.

Maniacal laughter began playing in my head.

There are 5 sizes of needles called for in the entire pattern, ranging from straight ones to 32 inch circulars. These are used to get the various gauges for each piece of the pattern. For example, the lace (of course) has a differing gauge from the stockinette, and the heavier yarns of course have a generally bigger gauge than the smaller ones.

After I shook off the catatonic state that had frozen my face, I thought two things:

1. This deceptively simple looking pattern is the devil. Where\’s Jon Lovitz?
2. I will not let this pattern defeat me. (Especially if it is the devil. This is frickin\’ Lent, devil. You can\’t win during Lent.)

My conclusion is this: press on…as you probably just saw, with the \”frickin\’ Lent\” statement and all. And not just because I am red-headed, freckly Scottish-French-American stubborn, but also because I am curious.

Approaching this as a sewer, I realize (or perhaps, more accurately, I believe...) that the different gauges are to make the different trims to fit and lay properly. If it were fabrics for cutting and machine-made trims we were talking about, you could just cut them all to size. But when you are knitting every stitch of your own fabric, well, so be it.

If you, too, decide that you simply MUST make this pattern, I am going to try to help all of us. Let us unwind some of the confusion.

Here are my first findings, all on the yarns. I hope it helps–I noticed that only one person on Ravelry has actually completed and photographed this pattern.

After  Christmas hiatus, I am \”back,\” so to speak and ready to blog! News? Lots of it. Though, for proper anticipation, I will eek it out just bit by bit.

First, I am home right now due to a lovely sinus infection + bronchitis thing, and have been alllllll week. I have been suffering from a fab migraine and, since I can barely stand to look at light, (plus all the body aches and stuff that go along with all this…) I have been home from work all week, too. Great on a normal day, but it totally sucks when all you can do is lay on the couch in a state that feels like you are only a slightly smaller version of Jabba the Hutt, staring into a dimmed room. Your head feels huge and you feel like if you open your eyes, the lights will positively melt them….yeah, I added a Raider\’s reference just there, too. Whaddya want? I am just coming off of a pseudo-near-death experience. Surely my brain is addled. That\’s when I revert to memories of high

A fun time had by all

school and beyond. Sort of like a dry run of allowing your life to flash before your eyes, except in this version, I get to pick only my favorite pop-culture stuff.

I am certain there is some Mony Python or Princess Bride coming up…..

Anyway, news news news!  My oldest daughter, Jolene, and her lovely guy Andrew got engaged! It was on Halloween proper, too! That is her fav time of year and fav holiday, so Andrew had made plans to wow her on her special fav day in a pumpkin patch. But you know, best laid plans and all that? Well, as they drove down here to Vancouver from Seattle for some Halloween fun (and some of mom\’s free food) with my 5-year-old and 14-year-old, Andrew \”suddenly\” decided that they should stop at a local pumpkin patch for a little fun. Jo started freaking out that they were already late, etc, and they got into a little argument about it. But, Andrew insisted (and was driving) so they did stop and all was well in the end. Of course.

yeah…hams….

We had a great Halloween night and I got some fabulous pictures.

We knew about the impending proposal for a month or more, so I had time to think about what I would like to do for the bride and groom. So Jo and I got to talking over the weekend following Halloween and the subject of her dress came up. I said, \”I\’d like to make it for you.\” Then I said, \”I could knit it or sew it….\”

Our Halloween was like everyone else\’s.

Jo\’s eyes lit up. \”MOM! KNIT IT!!\” She said it as though that very idea had never occurred to her. Like no one in the history of the world had done such a thing. Plus, it is our special thing we do together, knitting is. I sort of cringed back a little, \”Are you sure you don\’t want me to sew it?\” I was thinking of time and experience. I even thought I could enlist the aid of my grandmother\’s memory to make the sewing just perfect.

\”No, MOM! Knitting is our THING!\”

There you have it. I am doomed. er….blessed beyond belief.

I wonder if this is Jo\’s version of a \”holocaust cloak?\”

New pattern: House Booties

 Since I have a few patterns in my Ravelry store now, and since any of them might make great gifts, I thought it might be appropriate to have a little sale.

From now until Wednesday, December 10th, all patterns in my store are 1/2 off! This way, anyone who might have missed out on previous sales has a chance to save, too!

I hope you have a relaxing, wonderful time making things for your loved ones this month!!

Fall Colors Fingerless Mitts

Green Giant Cabled Ski Hat

Fall Woods Quilt Squares Hooded Cowl

Slipperish Socks

Hello, knitterly friends!

Just a note to tell you that my newest pattern, House Booties, is now live and ready for purchase in my Ravelry store.

Make a pair for yourself, your family and friend, or just make a random assortment of sizes and place them in a basket by the door as a nice surprise for house guests as they enter your house during the Christmas season. A cozy hug for your feet is a nice surprise when the weather outside is cold and nippy!

Happy Knitting!

Just a quick note to say that Fall Color Fingerless Mitts is now for sale in my Ravelry store.  Make a pair for yourself or for you friends–or both!

And to celebrate, let\’s do a quickie giveaway!

Just for reading my blog, here it is: simply use the coupon code: \”FallColor\” (without the quotes, of course) in my Ravelry store now through end of day Saturday (Pacific Time) and receive a free copy of the pattern.

Thank you and happy knitting!

Janelle

Slipper Socks: MORE to come! 2 more styles coming up– and in the same pattern!

When you become interested in something–that is, so interested in the thing that it practically consumes you–it is inevitable that you will want to share your very intense joy with others. Of course, you probably want to temper this intense joy when meeting new people, so as not to make them think you are going to follow them home like some sort of aggressive missionary gone wild, but you want to share, nevertheless Even if your enthusiasm does leak out a bit too much sometimes.

I am extremely excited to announce that our wonderful new LYS, Urban Wolves Fibre Arts, here in Vancouver is giving me a chance to teach knitting classes at their shop. Excitement and all.

I have posted a class list for this month in the side bar. We are working on getting a KAL going with the Fall Woods Quilt Squares hooded cowl for Wednesday nights during knit night. However, if you would like to knit along with us in spirit, please feel free! Christmas is heading our way and it\’s time for some gifty knitting! (Those of you who have already finished your gifts or are nearly there, I bow to your amazing time management skills!)

Speaking of gifts… my classes for the last-minute gifts will be using my Green Giant Fingerless Mitts pattern and a new thick and very quick top-down slipper sock pattern, which will be finished up here shortly.

For these last minute gift projects, I have been experimenting with different yarns and needles sizes to see what sort of fabrics I can come up with and to see how long it takes to make each pattern.

A pair of the slipper socks in an 8\” foot circumference (about a women\’s medium) took just over 4 hours to complete and just 206yards/188m of Wendy\’s Aran yarn held double. I used a US5/3.75mm dpn to create a very dense fabric (4sts/inch in slightly stretched ribbing) that will stand up to walking around in the house. (Love those puns!) They have very nice body and shape, like boots.

Almost here!

I also tried out the fingerless mitts pattern in the Wendy\’s, held double on a US9/5.5mm. The hands need more stretchiness than the feet and I wanted to very closely match the original Green Giant pattern gauge. The resulting product winds up being a bit smaller than the original, but much more forgiving. The Wendy Aran also makes a shorter mitt, which I like, and a stretchier fabric than the original yarn for that pattern, which is the Lion Brand Hometown Super Bulky. The fingerless mitts took me only about 3 hours for a pair!

Coming soon!

And let me just mention: I am NOT a fast knitter!

The pattern for the Fall Color Mitts is nearly finished in testing and will be out next week. The matching tam for those is under construction and the slipper socks pattern will be available before the class begins. All will be in my Ravelry store. 

Oh yes…and my Whovian friends!! I have not forgotten the mittens– soon soon soon! Oh that I had a TARDIS…

Fall brings brisk days and a need for toasty hands!

Hello, all! Well it has been a wonderful fall here in the Great Northwest. Everyone has enjoyed some extended time outside lately. The sun has been out and Mother Nature has not exactly turned the thermostat down yet. Today seems to be taking a little turn, though, which makes people like me (Native Northwesterners not accustomed to any kind of heat and who feel more comfort in the cooler, grayer weather) have hope.

My class in Lyle, Washington went well. Like last year, lots of folks wandering about at the NW

Jo in Green Giant Ski Hat

Homesteading Fair, but only a couple wanted to sit outside in the lovely Eastern Washington air under a tent for an all-day knitting class. It was still a blast and the day was sunny but, out in the east, windy and crisp. Perfect. Plus, I got to spend some time with Jo, my oldest daughter. 

Thumb + acorn = cute!

I have loved all this learning so much, that I want to pass it on. To that end, I will be actually teaching a class specifically on stranded knitting in the round at my fabulous local yarn shop, Urban Wolves Fibre

My fav pumpkin coffee cup!!!

Arts. 

 Like last year at this time, I will be teaching a knitting class on September 20th at the NW Homesteading Fair. This is my second year doing this and I am really looking forward to it!

You may come to the class at the NW Homesteading Fair, which is free, to receive a copy of the Green Giant hat pattern, or if you do not live even remotely close to Lyle, Washington (and frankly, who does?!) and would never be able to make the class without the use of your personal private jet (I know you don\’t want to use up the gas….it is getting expensive!), you may simply use the coupon code: GGCSH in my Ravelry store until September 15th to receive a free copy, just for reading this

Jo says, \”I\’ll check YOU at the NW Homesteading Fair.\”

blog post!

This will run simultaneously with the Fall Woods Cowl promotion, which will end the same day. Heck! Let\’s just keep the fun rolling!!

And speaking of fun….