Bye-bye Sock

I found Hubby's tie clip!

And it wasn't in a pile of puppy poo. It was stuck to the seatbelt in the SUV.

Frankly, I'm surprised he missed it as it was fairly close to the clip and I know he wears his seatbelt. Anyway, we swapped cars this morning and I found/felt it as soon as I tried to strap in.

I don't know which is more exciting: that I found the clip or that I can stop examining Baru's droppings!

Actually, what is exciting is that I can stop watching the dogs for signs of distress thinking they ate an inappropriate metal object.

Sock Sizing
Ok, so, knitting. Hubby might have regained a tie clip but he has unknowingly lost a sock.

I always like to have a sock on the go, even if I'm not actively working on it. Kinda like a knitting security blanket.

I started these socks for Hubby back on March 6, which was the day before I started the all consuming sweater. Considering I can usually knit a pair of socks in two weeks and this one was still missing a toe, I obviously haven't been giving them much attention.

I settled down Wednesday to start busting them out before the next all consuming sweater comes along.

The foot was 60 rows from the pick-up, which meant it should be time to start the toe shaping.

Since I didn't want to disturb Hubby, who was very busy with school work, I trotted upstairs to compare it to other socks I've made him.

What Gauge is This?
Imagine my surprise when the new sock was considerably smaller than the old socks!

I mean, I think the size difference looks considerable.

Especially since the rouge one and the blue one (not the blue with orange) are both made from Austermann Step yarn. (The blue/orange pair is Trekking.)

The new sock was 64 stitches, which is what I used for the last pair of socks I made him out of Berroco Sox (dirty, so not available for the photo shoot). Those socks fit him fine. The socks in these pictures are 68 sts each.

I was so baffled that I went back downstairs and headed straight for Hubby. Either it was the unfinished sock in my hand or the look on my face, but he just stuck his foot out from under the table without even pausing in his grading.

Oddly enough, the new sock fit. Ok, it seemed a bit snug, but it fit. A testament to the stretchiness of knit fabric.

This is so cute. I asked Hubby how it felt. He said there was something wrong with the toe because he couldn't feel the fabric! bwahahaha. I said, "There isn't fabric to feel. I haven't finished it yet." Which shows you how deeply focused he was.

I debated going forward, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

I checked the gauge and I'm getting 8 stitches per inch. I should have cast on 72 stitches.

I considered going with the 68 the other pairs used, but thought I'd play it safe and obey the gauge.

So I ripped out the whole dang sock and started from scratch.

I had a similar fit issue with the Green Step socks I recently finished for myself. They fit, but seemed snug. Since they were for me (and I'm lazy), I just went with it.

Part of me wants to blame the yarn, "They've changed it somehow." But I know that's wrong. This red skein was purchased at the same time as the blue one.

I guess it just goes to show, you should always check your gauge and calculate your cast on fresh even if you've worked with the yarn before.

Like a Scene from 'Marley & Me'

I'm home with a migraine today. (Starting to feel a little better, thanks for asking.)

Shortly after Hubby left for school he called me and said he left his tie clip on the bedspread. He wanted me to grab it "before one of the dogs ate it."

I didn't think a tie clip would be appetizing enough to eat, but these are dogs that chew up Pelligrino caps and once ate part of an empty Guinness can, so maybe he had a point.

Of course the first thing I had to do before I could start looking was kick Baru off the bed.

Hubby was like, "Baru is up there? It's already gone." He sounded really upset.

Still I snapped, "Then it will come out in the yard." Because, you know, I was trying not to hurl from the shooting pain of my migraine.

I'm feeling a little better now. I've torn apart Hubby's side of the bed, hoping it would be in the cover or on the floor. No such luck.

Now the thing is, if they did eat it finding it in the yard won't be so easy.

Samson is very discreet and always goes poo behind the bushes. This will make it hard to get to his poo.

Baru, on the other paw, poos whereever the mood takes him. Fortunately, Baru is also the more likely culprit since he is a glutton and was upstairs alone for a while this morning.

We were outside just now (beautiful day if the sun wasn't driving rusty nails into my eye) and I was wandering around (in my pjs!) breaking up any fresh looking poo with a stick. Very dignified.

Still no sign of the tie clip.

I'm hoping it turns up in Hubby's pocket or book bag or something.

But just to be safe I have to ask: How long will it take for them to digest it?

Stash Enhancement!

The problem with having finished the Schleppy Sweater (oh, didn't I promise you wouldn't have to hear about it after it was done? sorry!) was that the magpie part of my brain was like, "I can buy new yarn now."

Seeing as I'd used up a sweater's worth of yarn.

Heaven forbid the stash get depleted at all.

I did say the yarn diet was diverted.

My plan was to buy just one little ball of Zara for the next sweater I'm going to design.

But you know how that goes. Once the door to purchasing yarn was opened a whole bunch of other skeins rushed in. It's like trying to eat just one potato chip or piece of chocolate.

Koigu KPPPM
In colorway P460 dyelot 170, shown above. Because I'm a sucker for blue.

And this looks like a pretty stone.

I thought I'd waxed poetic about yarn with stone like colors before, but it wasn't jumping out at me. I thought it was when I bought the Mountain Colors Bearfoot that I was using for the Peacock Socks.

Anyway, when I was little I had a storybook about a girl who had to move and was really sad because moving sucks. She had this rock that looked really dull and normal when dry, but if you put water on it the colors came to life making it beautiful. It was like a magic rock. And it helped her make friends in her new neighborhood.

Couldn't tell you the name of the book, but I really liked it. And sometimes blue and brown yarn like this makes me think of that book. So I had to buy this yarn.

Another factor was that last month we got in a supply of that Cascade Heritage sock yarn. Nice solid colors and I was debating using it for argyles for Hubby. But I was trying to be good and not buy yarn. Well, over the weekend the yellow, which I liked best and was going to be my base color, was gone. So I got all pissed off and bought the Koigu before it was all gone too.

Lana Grossa
The next two yarns are Lana Grossa Fantasy Stretch, which is a cotton/wool/polyamide/elite blend. It seems to have a little elastic in it (the elite?) because it has some spring to it.

The brown/grey/white one is colorway 8352, which is for socks for Hubby. It looked like boy colors to me. I don't know if he will like cotton socks. We'll see what happens.

The green/blue/white one is colorway 8336, which is for socks for me. Obviously.

As I mentioned once before, I feel obligated to buy cotton sock yarn to encourage manufactures to keep making it.

I wonder if I should work Hubby's cotton socks with a princess sole to?

Done: Schleppy Sweater!

Betcha didn't think you'd ever see that post title, did ya?

As you might have surmised, this means Hubby did not make me do yard work on Saturday. This allowed me to just park myself on the couch and make one mighty push to finish to the exclusion of all else. (Well, aside from trying to catch up the laundry.)

And not only is the sweater done—it fits! And fits rather well, if I do say so myself.

Really, the whole "fitting" thing was up in the air for me the entire time. I guess I should have trusted the math. Or the process and the math.

This means I really do know how to measure myself correctly, measure a gauge swatch, do a bunch of scary math, and end up with a decent sweater.

Do you know what else it means? I'm feeling rather smug and insufferable at the moment.

I understand this is when some knitting or other yarn related disaster will strike.

Oh, hey does that horrible tangle last night in my skein of Austermann Step I'm using for hubby's socks count? I hope so.

It also means that I'm already plotting my next self-designed sweater. hehehe.

But I have to swatch first. And I'm trying to quickly read Paden's Knitwear Design book so I can cross reference it with Righetti's Sweater Design in Plain English.

You know, add to the confusion a bit.

Project Stats
(Does it matter that I'm not consistent with that subhead?)

Project name: Schleppy Sweater

Source: A TravelingAnn Designs original. Making it unique and one of a kind! wheeeee!

Yarn: Zara Print Tweed in colorway 5110. It took 8 balls and a wee bit of a ninth, which really ticked me off. I had to dip into it for the collar. It's possible that if I hadn't done a mock turtle neck I wouldn't have needed the ninth. Of course, if I hadn't done the integrated mitts I might not have needed it either.
I weighed the sweater using the kitchen scale (what? Like you haven't?) and it was 401 grams. (This will come into play for my next sweater.)

Needles: Us 3 and 5

The most brilliant part of the sweater, aside from the fact that it fits and looks good, is those integrated fingerless mitts.

So fun to be able to pull them down when I need them. Ahh, instant warmth.

It took me about a month to make, including the initial math crunching. It might have taken less time if I hadn't knit three sleeves.

Collar Contortions
The collar took me a lot longer than you would have expected.

Or not, since I always have to do things the hard way.

I have a wee bit of shaping in the front so it wouldn't choke me. That is, instead of working the front and back the same, I put a dip in the front.

Since I don't like picking up stitches at necklines, and I was working in the round anyway, I decided there must be a way to work short rows or something.

Despite the fact that I know how to work short rows from my sock knitting experience the collar was a train wreck.

(The picture is on the way back out. It looked worse in person.)

I put the center six stitches on a holder, then worked flat back and forth, then tried to work back up. Ick!

I think the problem was I didn't wrap and turn. Instead I either K2Tog, K1 or P2Tog, P1 (depending on the row, obviously) then turned, slipped the first stitch and worked the row. This decreased the stitches, but gave me nothing to pick up on my way back out.

When I saw how icky it looked I just yanked it right out. It was only 12 rows, after all, and I'd wisely strung another lifeline before I started.

For the second, final, attempt I just bound off the stitches like a normal knitter. It was very easy to pick up as it was five stitches on one side and six on the other (I worked one row even in stockinette stitch and decreased the extra stitch away before starting the ribbing). So I could have saved myself some trouble if I'd just done it the regular way off the bat.

I did not change to the US3 for the collar ribbing since I didn't want it to be too tight.

Not that it mattered.

I bound of the last stitch, slapped a locking stitch marker in it, excitedly tour of my pajama top, pulled on the sweater, and bonk! It wouldn't go over my head.

I gave it a little tug, thinking perhaps a lifeline was hooked.

Nope, the bind off was too tight.

I must have made a little whimpering sound or other sound of annoyance because Hubby commented on the fact it didn't fit. (If he laughed I managed to block it out.)

It was a simple matter to pick out the bind off and switch to Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast off as documented in this Knitty.com article.

Me, Being Slick
Which usually leads to trouble. As evidenced by the collar business.

Remember how the other day I did all that crazy stitch jiggering to avoid having to sew shut a hole in the armpit?

It worked, but I'm not sure it was the best solution.

Oh, it feels fine when I'm wearing it, but I was examining it in the mirror and it doesn't look terribly secure.

The stitches look rather stretched and I wonder if that will put extra strain on them and shorten their lifespan. I can see them snapping and the side unraveling. There will be tears and I'll have to rip back the yolk, picked the dropped stitches up, and knit some kind of gusset.

This is, however, what the math told me.

I think it would have been better to have bound off stitches, or some little gusset thing, or something to relieve the strain in that area.

When I make another one—because I really want to. Several actually. I can do a striped one and maybe a solid one with cables, and....—I'll have to address that. Binding off doesn't seem the answer, so I'll have to figure out a gusset.

Ok, I believe that is everything. I wore it yesterday and everyone said it was lovely. I had it at the store Sunday, just to show off, and everyone there liked it as well.

Would you like to know a secret?

I haven't finished weaving in all the ends. I wore it and all the ends aren't woven in. I'm such a rebel.

I think it's going to take as long as knitting the thing did. I got all the body ones done, but the sleeves are still waiting. I'll have to focus on that tonight.

I Drew You a Flower

Schleppy Sweater: Plugging Away

I'm on row 26 of the yolk.

Still over 200 stitches on the needles.

In around 20 rows I'll start the neck shaping.

I endure.

If the weather is nice the weekend I think Hubby is going to make me do yard work with him.

That will cut into my knitting time.