Not Having Fun

And Knitting and Crocheting are supposed to be fun. And relaxing. But they weren't either last night because the cuff wasn't working out.
Actually, while I was trying to beat the pattern into submission, Hubby was being very cranky at the Yankees for losing again. So I'm not sure whether it was my own annoyance I was feeling or I was getting the tension off of him.
To make matters worse, when he was letting the game spool in the DVR so he could fast forward through commercials he switched over to playing his Medal of Honor video game. Which was on a really tough mission so he kept dying. So both his activities were making him cranky. sigh.
It was all so annoying I considered fleeing the living room, but I didn't. Because I am a supportive wife.

Stupid Lace
The portion of the pattern I chose at the big pineapple was just not fitting gracefully into the 48 sts I had available. I couldn't balance it/space the touch points evenly.
I even got out paper and attempted to make a chart. Much scribbling and erasing was going on while Hubby was wishing someone would pay him millions of dollars not to do his job properly. And Samson decided to snuggle, but he didn't want pets he just wanted to have his head on my paper. (See why I almost left?)
I ended up busting out the 365 Crochet Stitches Perpetual Calendar I received for Christmas. There were some stitches that had potential.
Then I took another look at the doily pattern. The smaller pineapples have a more flexible start. Through some careful counting on the existing doily I determined it would be possible to fit whole repeats onto my 48 sts properly.
Yipee.
And at that point it as late enough to legitimately start getting ready for bed, so I was able to flee the living room and still seem supportive.
Yipee, again.

Cuff Progress
The new plan was implemented on the train this morning.
I was able to fit 6 repeats of the base stitches, which should equate to 6 pineapples.
The next hurdle will be figuring out how to end it. I really like that fan bit at the end of the doily. I think it will be a better ending than trying to cut the pattern off in the middle.
However, I don't want to have to go through the big pineapples to get to it. That would be too much cuff. Currently I suspect that I can jump ahead to the beginning of the fan and drop it in where the big pineapples are supposed to come in.
But goodness knows I've been wrong before.
I'm making rapid progress, so I might even find out on the ride home tonight.

Doing Math Was an Option

Which kind of blows, doesn't it?
I mean, I got into this craft for the notions and the yarn, not so I could crunch numbers. Sheesh, I stopped liking math sometime around high school geometry.
But applying the row gauge information I diligently wrote down to some new measurements of my foot might have prevented me from needing three attempts to get the heel correct on my current sock.
(Yeah, pictures, they would probably be helpful.) The current sock is out of Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn in the Elderberry colorway. I'm working it toe-up, which I recently realized, I don't usually do. In fact, I think I've only done one pair toe-up, the second pair I ever made.
Don't get me wrong. I like toe-up. I've advocated for toe-up. I just haven't used it much. So I don't have an idea of the depth to work the foot before starting the heel.
Which is odd, considering part of the point of going toe-up is that you are supposed to be able to try it on.
Cuff down, on the other foot, for those I know where I want the sock to reach on my foot/toes before I start the toe decreases.

Back to the Heel
Despite the number of times you have read me typing that I don't like short-row heels, I'm working a short-row heel. And I was trying the sock on. And the needles were reaching the front of my ankle, but the sock kept coming up short meaning I really had to stretch it to get it over my heel. (Cinderella much?) Which makes me kind of glad I wasn't trying to do a reverse heel flap. That would have been really annoying to pull out and rework. And I wouldn't know where to begin.
Well, actually, I'd probably compare it to a top down sock and try to start the gusset where the other gusset ends...
Anyway, my heels seem to be going in threes recently, so the third attempt was finally long enough. Snug but not to tight. (Oh, I was using a lifeline on the row before I started the heel shaping so when I had to pull back, tada, the kite string was there to catch the stitches.)
Right, pictures. Well the yarn is dark so I would need good sunlight to get a good shot and the train was late yesterday...

About the Cuff
However, I've given over on the sock leg for the moment. I want this pair to have a lacy cuff that folds over. I'm inspired by a doily I crocheted a few years ago (2004?). (A single doily. Doesn't work very well for having doilies under both living room lamps.) After I conquered the heel last night I dug the doily pattern out. Now I'm trying to figure out where to start in the pattern to get the portion I want.
People on the train this morning must have been wondering what I was doing today. Sitting there with a pamphlet, an ecru doily, my yarn and a crochet hook, trying to find the place on the doily that the pattern was referring too. I got two and a bit repeats this morning. I think I need to figure out how many touch points I need on the cuff of the sock to determine positioning. If I can get three repeats in it will probably work, otherwise I'll have to start at a different point in the pattern. Or, possibly, find a different pattern to use. Because, since I'm starting in the middle of the pattern, it is referring to working this stitch in that space. Spaces I don't have. So I had to guess and just work in different parts of the chain as I move around it.
In case you are wondering, I'm not working this attempt onto the top of the sock in its current state. I went to the other end of the ball and made a foundation chain. What I want to know (other than repeats and positioning) is how many yards the lace cuff will use, which will guide how tall I can make the sock. Of course I must also consider the possibility that if the cuff ends up hanging down 3 or so inches and I can only work a 2 inch leg, that might not work. And it would also really suck if I ran out of yarn before I ran out of lace. At least I already divided the original skein in half.

Speaking of weighing yarn...
Blue Jitterbug=36g, Purple Jitterbug=34g, Sol Joy=24g and Sanctuary=5g. The Purple Jits took 76 grams to make, so I have plenty in these scraps for another pair. And I have a whole unused skein of the Mardi Gras Jitterbug that can contribute to the cause as well. Hmm, I wonder how the Madelintosh Glazed Sock Yarn compares to Jitterbug gauge wise?
Ok, I'm just thinking aloud now. Actually I was thinking aloud somewhere around the lace cuff discussion.

Second Sock Same as the First

The second Purple Jitterbug Sock was finished yesterday. yipee!
It is the one on the right in this picture. As you can see the pooling around the heel flipped on this one and the blue is on top, which is what I'd been hoping for on the first sock.
Took me three tries to get this heel flap knit. First I was cruising along and realized 10 rows into it that I'd forgotten to switch to the other end of the ball.
Rip.
On attempt #2 I twisted the yarns together intarsia style for some reason. When I came back around to the main yarn after picking up the gussets I had a massive hole I couldn't close up because of the way the yarn was pulling from the linking.
Rip.
Attempt #3 worked out just fine. The correct ends of the yarn were used, no funny twisting was executed, and the correct number of rows were worked. The foot blasted along after that. All in all it took me 9 days to make these, despite not being on the train for most of that time.

Ahh, Family.
Actually, I did have some extra car knitting time on Thursday and Saturday.
Thursday was a milestone birthday for my mom, so Hubby and I tossed the puppies in the car and trooped down to surprise her. (She would probably tell you she turned 30, which would be really weird as it would make her younger than both me and my older brother, but who am I to question?)
The only people who knew we were coming were us, my brother and his wife, because the gig would have been up if my niece and nephew knew. We were supposed to go Wednesday, but that migraine finally materialized and I didn't want to get left on the side of the road if I hurled in the newish SUV (we got it in March). (In fact, I am currently so full of chemicals because I can't shake the stupid thing that I would probably qualify as a Superfund Site.)
Mom, brother and the kids were out galavanting when we arrived, so we hung with the SIL. When they got home, Samson peeked out the living room door. Mom says first she thought they got another dog, then she realized who that fuzzy face was and what his presence meant. She tripped over him and Baru trying to get to us because they were busy jumping on her.
A grand time was had by all (as you can tell by the size of Baru's tongue in the picture above left).
Well, everyone except Samson. Brother's dog, Bailey, was coming out of heat, so she was driving Samson crazy but wasn't responsive. Poor thing, second time he's had his heart broken. The only time he wasn't by her side was when he dove into the pool. Which would have been ok, but we had to heave-ho him out (the kids were in the pool boosting his butt and Hubby and Aunt K grabbed his shoulders) since he couldn't negotiate the ladder. Of course the first time they dragged him out he did an end run around us all and dove back in. Then we got smart and closed the gate.
In addition to Bailey, a yellow lab, they also have a Shih Tzu puppy named Spike. Cute little teddy bear thing. Kind of squirmy. And Samson and Baru totally didn't know what to make of him. They ended up deciding to ignore him entirely, which is probably for the best.
Hubby and Brother bonded by playing video games and drinking beer, the kids asked me for handknit socks (denied), and the dogs got underfoot.
What more could you ask for in a family gathering?
We came home Saturday so I could have time to recover and do laundry before having to go back to work Monday.
As it is a 3 hour drive, I had plenty of time to work on my sock in the car. I can do plain stockinette stitch in the car since I don't have to look.

Onward!
And I have already worked to the heel on my next pair of socks using Mountain Colors Bearfoot Yarn. It's amazing what you can accomplish when all you do is lay on the couch all day knitting. Hey, maybe these headaches aren't so bad after all....Remember those cotton socks I was thinking of reknitting? The white and lavender ones out of Lana Grossa Yarn? Well, I was wearing them Friday and my 8 year old nephew, who doesn't knit, commented that they looked big on me and asked if I had made a mistake. Sniff! In their defense, it was the end of the day. But, really, when something like that happens isn't it a clear sign a redo is in order? They are drying now (I did manage to do the laundry, so the day wasn't a total waste. Not that a day spent knitting is wasted), but they might meet a violent end soon. I just have to decide if I should just redo the foot or start over from scratch.
Actually what I would probably do it go back to the end of the ribbing and decrease stitches away. I mean, the cast on is fine.
However, my current sock awaits, so I must away.

The Correct Train Car

Can apparently make a world of difference in a knitter's commute.
Another Ravelr made contact yesterday. She found my anti-love letters to Metro North while blog surfing and realized we take the same train. She tracked me down in Ravelry and told me a group of knitters and crocheters congregate in the first car on the ride home! I always seem to end up in the last car (there are only 3) so was unaware of this. You would think my fiber radar would detect such a gathering, but obviously it didn't.
Yesterday I again ended up in the last car, but toward the end of the ride I gathered up my toys and went questing. I'm sure she thought something strange was going on, until I swung my Ravelry bag around for identification.
She was working on two socks on two circs. They were very vibrant because she was using up all her scraps. They will be very happy and unique socks when she is done.
Sock talk ensued and she complimented my bag and asked after the pattern. When I opened it up to show her the lining she was totally distracted by the lovely colors of my Sol Joy yarn. And then it was my stop.
I will have to make more of an effort on the ride home tonight.
Boss Man says this is the true potential of social networking sites.

Joy of Charlene Socks
The Summer of Socks 2008 officially began Saturday morning at midnight. I could have cast on when the bell tolled since I left Las Vegas Friday afternoon and landed at home at midnight. But I was tired and didn't have my stuff with me (which might count as poor planing).
Anyway, I'd been debating starting with the Alchemy Girlfriend Socks, but when the moment came I pulled out my long neglected Sol Joy yarn from Catalina Yarns that I bought at Adirondack Yarns in Lake Placid at Christmas time.
(The moment actually came late in the afternoon Saturday. We slept until 10:30 am, I had a chiropractor appointment, we ate breakfast and I spent some time swatching--again--with my BearFoot Yarn. I think I've finally go that sorted.)
I've decided to use some of the techniques I learned in the Charlene Schurch class, so I'm calling the socks "Joy of Charlene" to reflect both the yarn and the inspiration.
On a US2, I did a picot hemmed cuff and knit the cuff shut, I'm using a stitch pattern out of Sensational Knitted Socks, and I did the "sexy heel" we learned in class (which is more commonly known as the Cuban Heel).
I had a bit of a set back on Sunday because when I finally tried the sock on the cuff was waaayy too tight. I had read a suggestion to use a smaller needle (US1) for the inside bit to reduce bulk and I think that made my knitted cast on too tight. We were on Long Island Sunday and I didn't have a set of US1 with me (there's that poor planning again) so when I frogged all I could do was roll with the US2. But it fits fine now and I don't know the difference of doing it the other way.
I turned the heel on the train this morning. This heel has been sort of a strange experience. It is easy enough to work, but since you continue to work the instep at the same time, there isn't that clear delineation of progress from the leg to the flap to the foot that I'm used too. So I can't decide if it is going faster or slower than normal. Although I just finished half a sock in three days, which I think is accelerated for me and probably can be attributed to the train.
Now I'm going to throw a life line in it because there only seem to be 14 sts for the sole, which seems kind of skimpy but I can't tell yet whether the pattern will flow under my foot or just down the sides. So I'll drop in the life line and keep going and if the pattern does end up under my foot I'll be able to rip it out without endangering the heel turn and refigure which stitches to work in stockinette stitch for the sole.
I totally have to take a picture already. Well, I took some of the first version when we were on LI, but I haven't downloaded them yet. I claim I'm still recovering from my trip.
Ok, looks like lunch time is just about over.

Becoming Well Heeled

Saturday was day 2 of Charlene Schurch's visit to Knitting Central. She combined two workshops for us to make an all heel all day extravaganza. Ok, maybe I exaggerate, we didn't get rowdy at all (everyone was too focused on learning and knitting), but we did learn a bunch about heels.
(I believe the pink sock on the far left is just what I had in mind for my Mountain Colors Bearfoot socks. If I remember correctly the stitch used is even one of the ones I had picked out when going through my stitch dictionaries. Of course, in the book it is already translated to in the round. So I must get my hands on the pattern to confirm!)
We started with the Cuban Heel, which Charlene called a "sexy heel" which of course was the name we all had to use the rest of the time. I had not worked it before, but I think I saw the name in a contemporary pattern for stockings and it sounds similar to what the Tsock Tsarina calls the upside down wineglass heel on her Vintage Socks (which are way cool and I would love to make, if I was familiar with the yarn to be sure it wouldn't make me itch and knew the finished sock would actual fit my little foot. But I digress.). Anyway, the sexy heel was very neat and I think I will definitely be using it against my Sol Joy socks when I get around to making them. During the class I did the increases by knitting into the front and back of the stitch just to move along faster, but I think in practice I'll do a Make 1 increase by lifting the bar so I get the nice increase line for definition. (As we went from one heel to the next, it ended up looking like a little puppet mouth. Mine is the pink one on the right. Pam's is the multicolor one on the left.)
Then we worked a short row heel, with which I'm familiar but not fond since I always get holes along the miter line. But it was helpful to review picking up the wraps. When I groused about the holes, she had a chance to dis my Zara again. I actually don't think she was familiar with Zara because she seemed surprised to hear it was 100% wool. But it sounds like her tastes run more toward the rustic yarns, and she even admitted to liking pedestrian yarns. But, again, I was only using the Zara because we wanted a worsted weight or there abouts yarn for the class so you could actually see progress.
We also did a traditional heel flap sock. Of course, there was also discussion of structure and uses and stuff, that is—sadly—starting to fade a bit (unless that's just because I'm on my lunch break again and don't have my class notes or samples with me). Part of the heel flap discussion was on the practicality of continuing the sock design onto a heel flap and when you would want to do that (for clog wearers. I need to find a pair of comfortable clogs. So far all the ones I've tried on just don't cut it.).
I liked that she discussed what other designers have written about as well. She referenced Cat Bordhi's new book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters, a few times and compared Bordhi's Strong Heel to the Cuban Heel we learned. Although I was a little late to class due to staying up late because of the prom, so I missed a good part of that discussion. And before anyone becomes annoyed, I want to point out she always gave credit where credit was due.
In the afternoon we covered color work on heels. She discussed Fair Isle heels and a variety of ways to do striping. We worked a two color eye of partridge heel, which was stressing some of us out when we realized the pattern came out pink over pink sometimes instead of pink over purple all the time (in my case at least, those were the colors I was using). She pointed out that A) we were using big yarn so it was more obvious, and B) there is a bit of an optical illusion factor where your eyes will see the checkerboard pattern anyway.
We worked a pinstripe heel, which I did on my Yankee's Socks, but I don't remember if the execution was the same. I think the one we did in class was a heel stitch pinstripe so some of the stitches were slipped, where for my socks I did a two color heel working every stitch.
We finished off trying a Fair Isle pattern, which was fun. I'm planning a pair of striped and Fair Isle socks. I was going to do an afterthought bulls eye style heel, but I might have to reconsider and see whether the pattern would fit on the heel nicely.
The class wrapped up with a quick discussion of Elizabeth Zimmerman's fitted arch sole, which is wicked cool looking and I was very excited to try when I realized we'd be learning it. (You can see it on the pink and blue sock second from the left.) But by then it was almost 4 and after a whole day of learning stuff, my little brain was fried. To the point that, despite reading the pattern myself (M1, K1, M1) and having Charlene read it to me, I just couldn't understand why I had a yellow stitch in between my red stitches where it didn't belong. I finally ripped back and handed her my knitting and said "show me!" which I think the others appreciated. The problem, as it turned out, was that I was doing a KF&B increase when I should have been doing a M1 increase. sigh, which goes back to me being tired. The KF&B maintained/increased the stitches that were already there and actually moved me to far along, so my K1 was a yellow stitch. While the M1 increased between the stitches, so the K1 was a red stitch, as it should be. The "click" was almost audible.
We packed up after that and went home. I think I only knitting I did that night was on my Rainbow Swirl Socks. Something relatively mindless. :-) But I must return to that fancy sole sometime soon to test it out.

Duplicate Vision

The duplicate stitch on my Felted Ravelry ID bag is moving along quite nicely. I'm around the bottom of the ball and have the swooshy thing on the bottom and one swooshy thing on the side done. No pictures because I haven't taken any yet. I just have to close the loop and finish the slashes that go through the middle. I'm thinking the lettering will go quicker because it's a little more linear and straight forward. The stitches should follow logically with less counting since they will be forming letters. Or at least that is what I hope. The "ravelry" will be easy since it will be positioned in relation to the ball, my Ravelry ID could be a little trickery, especially considering I haven't officially charted it yet.
After the duplicate stitching is done, the next question will be what color to make the bottom. I had figured I would just work in green for the bottom as well, but now I'm not sure I won't run out. The bits I did already used almost a whole ball, and that's with the logo taking up territory. Anyway, I'm considering doing the bottom in black, since I should have left overs. The bottom is just going to get dirty anyway so maybe the black won't show as much.
And I have to decide how many rows to work the bottom. I was thinking 15 but I might to 30 to match the color blocks. I'll have to measure again.
I wonder if I'll get the duplicate stitch done before I have to leave for Philly Saturday...probably not. I'll probably be stitching on the train.
My other projects are a bit in limbo.
I had some blue Jitterbug left over from a pair of socks I made. Even after weighing it, I wasn't sure how far it would get me. So I started a pair of toe up socks. Taught myself Judy's Magic Cast On in the process, that is a cool cast on and I'm glad I learned it. Anyway, I was thinking they would be peds, but now I think I'll be lucky if I make it over the heel. I've been at the point of working a short row heel for at least a week, but haven't had any quiet time. And not much motivation since I won't have anything to show for it. I'm willing to do the leg in another color and/or yarn, but we haven't had Jitterbug at Knitting Central for a while and I haven't worked up my Sol Joy or Madelintosh yet. (Which is a good argument to get those out.)
At the same time I realize that I have to work up the other sizes of the Cat's Pajamas Socks which the pattern is fresh and I have momentum. So I cast on for what I think the large size should be. I'm just going to make an anklet so I can have someone try the foot on for me to make sure it works.
Still, I want some mindless knitting for when I'm proofreading or watching a TV show I actually want to see. Which is another reason to get out the Sol Joy (the Madelintosh hasn't been rolled). I was swatching with my ball of Bearfoot the other day, but I have another patterned sock in mind for that.
I actually got a good amount of the duplicate stitching done Sunday night. Hubby and I watched American Gangster. He put on the unrated, extended version without realizing it was 3 hours long! It was a good movie, but good grief, it was a school night. It didn't end until 11 pm. But it was more of a talky movie than an action movie so I didn't have to pay close attention to the screen. Unlike Stardust, which we watched Saturday, which was a very visual, swashbuckling kind of romp.
Anyway. Lunch time is over, so I should get back to work.