Whatever Lola Knits

I'm Knitting, I Promise!

And I'm even knitting socks of all things! For the first time, I am kind of in love - socks usually leave me a little cold, a little bored, they are so...small. But these are squooshy and stripy and wonderful! This is the ever-popular Charade pattern in Hazelknits Ice Cream Sundae, the custom colorway developed for Hilltop Yarn. Isn't it yummy?

I was questioning the pooling a bit but it's so lovely, and you never would have guessed from the skein that it would happen:

Ah well, it's too nice to fiddle with, I like it just the way it is.

I have also been plugging away on the last big piece of my Flutter Sleeve Cardigan - the back and left front have been done for a while, now I just need to finish the right front, the seed stitch button bands, and all of the finishing. It feels like an insurmountable task, but I think I'll actually finish the right front fairly quickly, now that I've really gotten going with it. The left front was fairly speedy through the short-row shaping under the bust and only slowed when I got to the sleeve, but that's partly because I had to concentrate so hard on not screwing up the shaping. Since I've done it once, I can match the right against the left as a visual cue, hooray!

And of course, I have another baby item still waiting to be finished - my soon-to-be-born second cousin Jackson will hopefully arrive after I've done the seaming and intended embroidery on the front of his Presto Besto sweater:

I originally wanted to knit the front panel in white and then use the world's most adorable fishbowl buttons (I have the orange fishies, but the bowl is a translucent light blue color, not colorless), so that you can see them against the knitted fabric, but then I washed everything...and that Cascade 220 Superwash bled EVERYWHERE. I rinsed and soaked and rinsed and soaked and still, the bleeding dye. So I knit the panel in blue and figure that a giant J on the front will do nicely, very boyish. (and maybe I'll go ahead with the white panel anyway, my cousin will want to be able to change them out, right?)

(You may notice that I'm getting back in the swing of blogging - thank the recent shake-up at work for that. My old-new job that I had been doing for the last 30 days has been eliminated, and my new-new job that I was mapped into will likely allow for a little more breathing room...let's hope, anyway!)

Back From The Great Beyond

Don't worry, I've been knitting in addition to slowly consuming all that is Ravelry. Here is my meager progress on Glee:

Knitting goes slowly when you're doing it on size 5 needles--plus, this top-down business? I think it might be for the birds! I will admit that I've gotten very comfortable knitting raglans from the bottom up--just make three simple stockinette tubes, join at the armpits, decrease until you can't decrease no more. Easy-peasy, right? Watching this grow at such a glacial pace is excruciating, but there you go. (Pls note: tiny dachshund stitch marker and coordinating beaded stitch markers from the Craft Pirate, so cute! I never get tired of using them.)

I'm also trudging along on a Monkey sock that might become arm-warmers instead:

My gauge is further off than expected and they're a wee bit tight around the ankle--but resizing the lace would be a) difficult and b) time-consuming. I think I'll just rip back to the last stockinette round before the heel (by the way, did you notice my beautiful heel? There is great joy in the successful turning of a sock heel, I must say), slip one lace repeat onto a stitch holder for the thumb gusset and move on. That sounds fun, doesn't it?

And if you think my knitting blabber sounds forced, that's because it is. I am in a mid-summer knitting rut! Too many choices, not enough time! I'm sure it will get better, it always does...and in the meantime, there is Ravelry. If you're on there, my username is my real name--let's be pals, eh?

You And Your Autumn Sweater

I have finished things! It's true, I am not always just starting projects, but I am verrrry bad at remembering to take timely photos of the things I finish. Also, our house is small, low-ceilinged and in Seattle, which means that we will have no decent natural light until next April. Enter: The Bathroom Counter! I find that the light in our bathroom is most often decent enough for these kinds of photos, and less likely to be covered with a stack of mail (dining room table), a stack of magazines (ottoman in the den) or small appliances (kitchen, all of it). Click photos for better descriptions and/or notes--this will take you to my Flickr stream.

The Petal Bib from One Skein, knit in KnitPicks Main Line--the yarn I'll never run out of.

My First Mitten! These are for Allison, my former admin.

I think I mucked up the thumb decreases, but blocking will fix that, right? RIGHT???

I know that I followed the decreases perfectly on the top of the mitten, but it still looks awfully pointy. Do they make mitten-blockers?

The Unintentionally Patriotic Hat

Winter Hat, maybe for me? The matching scarf is in my car, and I was too lazy to go get it.

Melissa Calls This My Clubfoot Sock.

Here's the yarn I bought in Spain!

You will also find photos of the yummy yarn Quincy brought back from Scandinavia for me, and some recent sock yarn purchases. Rest assured that I have purchased FAR MORE yarn than is pictured here, because who would I be without that awful yarn-bingeing streak? A shell of my former self, I'm sure.

Socktoberfest Rears Its Triumphant Head

...and claims another victim!  I re-started my Mountain Colors Mountain Goat socks and am bound and determined to finish them sooner rather than later.  Last we saw, the sock looked like this:

Never mind the swirling/pooling action, forget the wild and loose cast on--look at how huge it is!  I should have put something in the photo for scale but oh well.  That was taken a YEAR ago, the week after we returned from our Italy trip.  Now the yarn has been transformed into two tiny and almost-equal balls of gorgeous mohair-blend sock yarn.  How almost-equal are they?  I eyed them as I was winding and managed to get the second ball within 5 grams of the first ball.  I am AWESOME. 

So in honor of Socktoberfest, here are my answers to Lolly's sock-related questions, a week late:

When did you start making socks?  Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative?  Or in a class?

I finished my first pair of socks in July of 2005.  Meredith and I began the journey together with a trip to Weaving Works, where we each bought a skein of Opal Uni and a Fibertrends pattern for a basic top-down stockinette sock.  The process was fiddly but much easier than I expected--I just had faith in the pattern and followed the instructions, and everything turned out fine.

What was your first pair?  How have they held up over time?

The Opal Uni socks were a good first attempt, but I would make a few changes if I were to knit them again.  First, a gauge swatch--I had plenty of yarn left over so I know there was enough for the swatch that should have been.  The knitted fabric ended up a big loose, and the socks fall down all the time.  I also wish that I'd gone with a 2x2 ribbed cuff (that's what Mer did) instead of the 1x1 rib--my 1x1 ribbing always looks messy.  I would also knit the gusset a little differently--knitting into the back of the picked up gusset stitches would have eliminated the holes I got there.  The socks have held up fine--I've machine-washed them many times and the yarn is still relatively soft...but the color has faded! 

What would you have done differently?

Probably knit them on US1s instead of US2s--that would have made a huge difference in the knitted fabric, and make them easier to wear in shoes other than my Dansko clogs!

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Having only knit a few socks and starts-of-socks, I don't know that I can accurately judge--but like I said, I'm loving that Mountain Goat business.  Cascade Fixation makes an incredibly cozy sock but it wreaks havoc on my hands and wrists when I'm knitting with it--the elastic component is so weird!  I love love love Knitpicks Sock Garden, but I've never knit socks with it, just my mother's Clapotis.

Do you like to crochet your socks?  Or knit them on DPNs, 2 circs, or using the Magic Loop method?

I've never tried crocheting socks, and it seems like the resultant product would be very...bumpy.  I've only knit socks on DPNs, and those work well enough for me.  2 circs seems like it would be more convenient--Steph, you have to show me how! 

One sock method/formula that I'm really interested in learning is the EZ moccasin sock--I love the idea of being able to replace the sole when it inevitably wears out.

Which kind of heel do you prefer?  Flap or short-row?

I've only done heel-flaps, but I've been reading short-row heel tutorials and it looks really cool!  I also like the looks of the eye-of-partridge heel, so I'll try that one of these days.

How many pairs have you made?

Counting the Opal socks?  ...One.  I've knitted several individual socks, but I've been stricken with Second Sock Syndrome more than a few times!  I suppose I should focus on finishing the Cascade Fixation socks before I get going on the Mountain Goat pair...so many socks, so little time!