Ravelry, more then just free patterns

There are so many great things about Ravelry. The social network and access to patterns and information are the obvious ones, but I have found that the Sock Knitter Anonymous group has really challenged me and helped me. The December sock down challenge was to use left over yarn to make a different pair of socks. The most left over yarn I had was from the socks I made for my Dad so I decided to use that and make Mad about Plaid Socks. The problem was, what if I didn't have enough of the main color for both socks and the solution was knit 2 socks at the same time on 2 circular needles so that I would run out of the main color at the same time. I've never knit 2 at a time so I went to my LYS and bought Knitting Circles Around Socks by Antje Gillingham. There are some nice patterns in there including socks with beads which is the SKA January sock down challenge. I admit that I didn't actually read how to knit 2 at a time. I just looked at the pictures and then figured it out from there. The heel was a little tricky and I had trouble figuring out how to get back to knitting both together, but I put it down, had a good night sleep and in the morning everything was clear. It worked out so well and the socks are exactly the same, so I am thrilled with my new skill and will definitely knit 2 at a time again.

The other fun thing that has happened because of Ravelry is that I am a test knitter. Someone wants to sell a pattern but wants to make sure that it is written well and so I get to try it out. I am really enjoying it and love the break from knitting socks!

Podcasts

When I'm running I need to listen to fast and motivating music, but when I walk the dog I like to listen to podcasts. There are 3 that I listen to that I really like so I thought I would give a little review of them.

Sticks and String with David Reedy is the one I like the best. He follows a very regular format and has a nice Australian accent to boot. First we hear about the weather, which is actually interesting to me because I can't imagine Christmas being over summer break, then there is often commentary on cats or gardens or computers or something about the school where he teaches. Then comes the essay, which is my favorite part. Sometimes it's about knitting and sometimes it's social commentary and sometimes it's both. Today I listened to one from November about charity, and yes, it was about knitting too. Then he talks about what he is knitting and then there is a book or magazine review. My puppy can't walk that far so I don't always get to the review, but I don't buy a lot of knitting books so I don't mind missing that part. I'm about a month behind and hoping I can catch up when the girls go back to school!

Limenviolet sometimes talk knitting and sometimes talk about dating, working, or soap making. I mostly enjoy listening, but once in a while they get a little to chatty and off topic for me. Violet counted her WIP's and I think the number was in the 40's and now I like to listen and see how many she is actually going to finish! Lime is away at grad school (I think) and Nicole is filling in. I've only been listening since Nicole has been there, so I don't know if the podcast has changed.

Stash and Burn I don't listen to that much because I don't find it quite as interesting but I do want to say that these 2 women know what they are talking about. They remember what yarn they used with what pattern and who the designer was and lots of different knitting techniques (like which kind of decrease look best with different patterns). I can't even remember what yarn I'm using today.

Y Knit has the best production and makes me laugh out loud. What more can I say?

So if you want to learn more about knitting, or just be entertained, there are plenty of choices, just get over to itunes and check them out.

SSS

Single Sock Syndrome is starting to set in. I started socks for my daughter and finished one, then I started the November mystery sock for the Ravelry SKA group, and finally I started a pair of socks for my ice-skating coach who needs some extra warmth. OK, let's be honest and call it what it is: a knitting slump. I didn't even get mad a the dog for chewing up my favorite sock needle (maybe that is just love!). I was listening to a limenviolet podcast from a few months ago and Violet was talking about her unfinished projects. She stopped counting at 40. 6 of those are single socks (I guess you could make 3 mismatched pairs!). Her problem is not a slump, but maybe ADD! Usually listening to someone talking about knitting gets me excited to knit again, but this time it didn't work. I bought new needles to replace the ones the dog ate and even then I wasn't excited to get back to it. I looked at pictures on Ravelry of finished mystery socks and still couldn't get to the heel. And finally, today, after a lot of procrastinating, I took the dog out for a brisk walk and listened to a Y-Knit pod cast (probably an old one, I'm always trying to catch up) and I felt the dust bunnies leave my head and felt the twitch in my fingers for fiber and wood and I can't wait to start knitting again! Just typing for a quick warm up. What other ways are there to get out of a knitting slump?

Not About Socks

And not about knitting, but I couldn't resist introducing our new family member. Isn't he yummy? I'm not really a dog person but he is great. He was left on the side of the road in a box with his sisters and brought to a rescue shelter. Then a very smart woman named Kim dressed up in a dog costume and auctioned him off at a school fundraiser. I expected to go and get a basket of barbies or even a TV, but a dog? Boy did I get sucked in! For 3 hours he lay in a tiny basket and let everyone pet him while he just slept there. Although it was an impulse buy, I'm glad we did it. Later today, when he pees on the rug, I'll rethink that, but right now he is lying in the sun and I think I'll join him.

Are we sick of Socks yet?

I can't believe how I've been bitten by the sock bug! I have 4 pairs of socks that I am wearing regularly (and I don't even mind that I have to hand wash them!) and my daughter, Lolo, wears her micro monkeys and today my husband is wearing his socks to work. They are the perfect color and pattern for him. It a cold, wet, autumnal day and his feet will be wrapped in love all day! And my Dad wore his socks the other day (called to tell me that he was in his dress up jeans and new socks going out to dinner!) My oldest daughter, Pooh, hasn't said anything yet about being the only family member without hand knitted socks. I've been searching for the perfect pattern for her, but haven't picked one yet. Has anyone made socks for an 8 year old girl that they have loved? I better get going on them because the November SKA Sock Down on Ravelry sounds really interesting, a mystery pattern in 3 or 4 colors (slip stitch). I'm off to LYS today to pick out yarn. Ouch! Something bit me! Must be that sock bug again.

What we do for Love

I finished the No Purl Micro Monkeys for my daughter. She loves them so much that she wore them to school yesterday, which was also picture day. I doubt you will be able to see her socks in the class picture, but it was part of her pretty outfit. And I have to say this for her, one of the socks (the first one) is not a great fit and she still loves them. She has been known to have tantrums about socks before so I'm pretty surprised. She is definitely my biggest fan. See the cute sock blockers I made out of a plastic place mat I bought at Walmart for $.76? It has multiplication tables on it and my girls were really interested in them so I'm sorry I had to cut them, but at least I get to take better pictures of their socks. Yes, there will be more kid's socks!

Socks, for a change!

Well I did finish the socks for my dad, and I even made sock blockers for them using this tutorial, so they are packed up and ready to be sent. I also finished my orange Monkey socks for the September SKA group and I'm almost done with a pair for my daughter. Oh, and speaking of getting things done, I finished that 900 page book too!
The socks for my daughter are No Purl Micro Monkeys (sounds like I'm ordering at Starbucks) and the pattern is adapted from the Cookie A Monkey Socks, but the pattern is only an 11 stitch repeat instead of 16 and you knit all the purl stitches. This is where my summer of sock knitting came in handy, the adaption told you how to do the pattern with just 11 stitches, but didn't tell you how to do the heel and so it was my first time heeling it without a pattern. I did all right. I decided after the first one that it would be a little easier to get on if it was a little longer so I did that for the second one. Kid socks are so fast to knit! I almost think it could be my new addiction, but this week I actually wore 3 pairs of socks that I made and I want to wear handmade socks everyday! I guess my run on sock knitting is not coming to an end yet! Now to find the perfect shoes to show off my knitted socks!

Socks for my Dad

As it turns out I did not make my deadline. I have been working on socks for my father's birthday but I didn't finish them in time. Yes, I could use the excuse that we lost power for 4 days and so I couldn't knit at night like I usually do, but it really wasn't that, although I did manage to read a lot while the power was out and there was no TV. It is easier to read by flashlight then to knit by flashlight! I feel bad about it, but what can I do?

Let me tell you more about the sock because it is a very interesting pattern. I got 100 Knitting Projects out of the library and in it there are 3 patterns "for the special man," a scarf, socks and gloves. I really like the socks because they are dressier then most men's knitted socks. Because they are made with 4 colors and are done intarsia you don't knit the socks in the round but flat and then sew up side seams. I was worried about how it would work out and if the seams would be really uncomfortable, but I did a pretty good job (if I do say so myself) on the one sock that is finished.
I'm not sure if you can tell by the picture, but you knit down from the cuff and then work the middle 32 stitches for the foot and toe, then you take the first 16 stitches and the last 16 stitches and join them to make the heal and the sole and then the toe. Then you sew up the leg and foot seams. Voila! Socks!
There is something else I wanted to tell you about these socks. Last month I was at my LYS and I had just started the first sock and was working on the leg and I showed it to one of the amazing staff to see if she had ever made a sock like this and if it was going to really work with seams. She had not seen a sock made this way before and showed it to Wendy (who I had not met before). They both said what a good job I was doing and Wendy asked me where the pattern was from. I gave her my number in case she needed help getting the pattern. A couple of days later I got a message on my answering machine from Wendy saying that she saw the book in the library and liked the patterns in it so much that she was going to buy the book. She also went on to tell me again how great the sock I was making looked and that I should be really proud of it. I have saved that message! It was really nice of her to go out of her way to follow up with me about our conversation and to compliment me again and it made my day. Thanks Wendy!
P.S. I was just looking up intarsia (to make sure I spelled it right!) and there is a way to knit it in the round without carrying the yarn across. I'm going to have to try that sometime soon!

"No soup for you!"

It's poker night! I love poker! Oh yeah, poker is for the guys and, even though it's at my house (which I had to clean), I can't play. I should have asked Anne to go to the movies. Next time, OK Anne? Anyway, being sequestered to my bedroom gives me time to read and knit and blog. So not is all lost.

I realized that I never put up a picture of my Sunday socks and since I LOVED making them (and everyone who is in KY should go to Sophie's Fine Yarn and buy Lynn's pattern) I should post a picture. So here it is.

And with that said, I better get back to work. I have socks to finish for SKA, a birthday present to finish (shh, it's a secret), and an 800 page book to read before book club next week!

Deadline

I've been thinking about deadlines lately. I can't decide if it's better for me to have a deadline for my knitting projects or if the pressure of knowing it has to be done by a certain date puts too much pressure on me and I rush through it without giving as enough thought to the quality of the project. I don't have a huge number of WIP's, just 5. 2 Scarves that are for no one in particular so I've put aside and 1 blanket that I started last year and didn't know it was going to be such a long and boring project (maybe it wasn't really boring, but I just remember it that way). Those are things that I'll get to when I get to, but what if I set a deadline for them and actually finished them? But there are so many other things to knit. I just cast on for the SKA September sock down. It's orange socks and I'm using the Leaves of Whimsy pattern from the 2008 knitting calendar. I've been planning it for a month and couldn't wait to cast on! I'm really enjoying the yarn (Claudia's hand painted) and the pattern. The deadline for that is the end of October (if I want to enter to win a prize of sock yarn!). Then there is the most important WIP which is a gift for someone and it needs to be done this month. And that's what got me thinking about the deadline. I seem to be resisting working on the one that I really need to get done which means I might have to rush through it and do a mediocre job. It's a really interesting pattern that I'll tell you more about when I'm done so the only reason I can see for not wanting to do it is because I know I have to. Somewhere out there is a therapist couch waiting for me, don't you think?