I don't make New Year's resolutions. Instead I'll come up with a few 'goals for the year.' What's the difference? Probably semantics, but if I say "New Year's resolution" I tend to forget about it by the end of January, even if it's something that it's not possible to complete in that time. New Year's resolutions have such a bad rap that they just seem short-lived by their very nature.
But I can't not make any plans for the upcoming year, it just seems too fatalistic. So I call them 'yearly goals,' which gives them some weight, and lets me take them more seriously. And procrastinate doing them longer.
I accomplished almost none of my goals for last year. In my defense, it was a pretty difficult year, and a huge chunk of it was taken up with other, more important things that left no time or energy for anything else.
There's a new year on the horizon, though, and it's time to revisit the as-yet-incomplete goals, see what I want to keep, and what I want to do new or differently next year.
2008 Goals
Celtic Icon Sweater. I really do want to finish this project. It's almost 2 years old, and I really like it. Besides, I'm tired of having knitting languish around not getting done. I can't look forward to new projects when I can't finish the old ones. So finishing this and the log cabin blanket are high on my list of priorities. I think we'll just call this finish old knitting and not get into specifics.
Tolkien Quilt. This is another one. This project was initially started in 1995 or 1996. It got abandoned for many years, I sporadically worked on it a couple times, then early last year I got it out and made a bunch of progress on it, only to again abandon it. I want this done, partly because I really like the idea of a Tolkien quilt, partly because I'm sick of looking at it but have invested too much time in it to just abandon it, and partly for the same reason I want Celtic Icon done - there are other quilting projects I'd like to do, that I can't justify starting till I finish this one. So this stays on the list as well.
My CD. Last year I got the idea to make a solo CD, just me, playing any instrument I knew how to play and doing all the vocals. Originally I was going to do this in our home recording studio, where I had previously been able to create CD-quality recordings. But when I went back to work on this in the fall, it wasn't going well, and I realized I no longer had the patience to futz and tweak with everything to get the quality recording I wanted. In addition, I'd decided to not keep it entirely solo, adding special appearances by talented friends, and that required even more technical knowledge, which I didn't have. My brother has a friend who has a recording studio, I got in touch with him, and found out that he charges by the hour, and doesn't care how long it takes me to finish it - which means it's a 'pay as you go' plan, and I can do as little or as much as I want or can afford. Initially I was going to start work on this in January, but an unexpected event has caused an unavoidable delay. However, I am determined to do this, as soon as time and finances allow. I don't know if I can finish it by the end of the year, but as long as I'm working steadily towards it, that's good enough for me.
One Great Vacation. I definitely did that. The trip to North Carolina and renting the beach house was one of the best vacations I ever had. I sincerely hope to do that again this year, if my financial situation straightens out.
Reorganize the house. I didn't get as much done on this last year as I would have liked, but circumstances were such that I really didn't get to start on it till late fall, and once I did, I did make great progress. There's still much to do, and that will be an ongoing project for a long time. But since I really want to do it, now that I have more time and energy for such things, it's definitely staying on the list.
Quit Smoking. This hovered around in my head all year but I never did anything about it. I still really do want to do this, so it's staying on the list.
Most of my goals from last year didn't get accomplished, and are staying on the list for this year. I don't know whether to be pleased with that - my goals are consistent, I must really know what I want - or to be disturbed by the fact that it appears I'm in the same rut I was in a year ago. But it is what it is, and those are things I still want to get done.
Those aren't all the things I want to accomplish in life, but I don't usually list every single thing on my 'yearly goals.' It's an ongoing goal to find a better job that I like, move away from this town, figure out what I want to be when I grow up, work on my personal neurotic tendencies, find inner peace, and generally enjoy life. Those things don't go on any lists, they are just always there, like eating and sleeping and paying bills and taking care of Tyler.
I guess I won't change the list much, since those really are still the things that are most important to me ... finish my languishing creative endeavors so I can start new ones, because there will always be new ones - and that's a good thing; and reorganize, clean and fix up my house and yard, because having a pleasant haven in which to escape from the world is vitally important to me.
I think that's a good plan for a year.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Sock Success
I did it ... I got the last sock done about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, the recipient family didn't arrive till 1:30, so it all worked out.
And, even better ... they all fit! I wasn't at all sure that was going to be the case by the time I was done, but they did. All in all, a big success.
Now I can get started on a project for myself! I have two options, equally tugging at me. One is a simple pair of socks like the ones I just made. I have only made myself three pairs of socks, but there's a problem with every pair of them. One of them is too big, because it was my first-ever pair so I was following the pattern exactly, and it was a generic "women's medium" - too big for me. The second pair I made out of a not-so-great sock yarn that has too much acrylic in it and is kind of scratchy, and also I made them a little too small (not as stretchy as merino) - they're short in the foot, and also the leg portion is too short and slides down into the tops of my boots. The third pair is merino, but not super-wash, so they must be hand washed. They are comfortable, but I know they will felt in places if I wear them inside my boots. I used to only wear them with my sandals, but the strap on my sandals broke last year, and I don't think I've even worn those socks for over a year.
Even though I am a sock-knitter, I have no good comfortable hand-knit socks for myself. And trying on these different socks while making them reminded me just how wonderful hand-knit socks feel. When I ordered the last batch of sock yarn, I ordered two balls for myself, in a self-striping pattern. I could just whip up another pair of these simple socks, and have something comfortable for myself.
Or, I could dive into this, which I've been dying to do.
I also ordered this with the last batch of sock yarn. I knew I wouldn't be able to start on it right away, needing to finish the Christmas socks first, but I also knew I had to have it. And I'm sure it's not going to disappoint - just looking through it, I'm amazed - the patterns are really awesome. And the uber bonus is that instead of the patterns being that generic women's medium, you can make any sock in the book to fit any foot, with any measurements. That is perfect, and I'm really psyched about getting started trying out these new techniques.
But first, I may actually take a couple days off. There was so much sock knitting in the last few days, I'm still not tired of it, but I think a brief break may be a good thing about now.
And, even better ... they all fit! I wasn't at all sure that was going to be the case by the time I was done, but they did. All in all, a big success.
Now I can get started on a project for myself! I have two options, equally tugging at me. One is a simple pair of socks like the ones I just made. I have only made myself three pairs of socks, but there's a problem with every pair of them. One of them is too big, because it was my first-ever pair so I was following the pattern exactly, and it was a generic "women's medium" - too big for me. The second pair I made out of a not-so-great sock yarn that has too much acrylic in it and is kind of scratchy, and also I made them a little too small (not as stretchy as merino) - they're short in the foot, and also the leg portion is too short and slides down into the tops of my boots. The third pair is merino, but not super-wash, so they must be hand washed. They are comfortable, but I know they will felt in places if I wear them inside my boots. I used to only wear them with my sandals, but the strap on my sandals broke last year, and I don't think I've even worn those socks for over a year.
Even though I am a sock-knitter, I have no good comfortable hand-knit socks for myself. And trying on these different socks while making them reminded me just how wonderful hand-knit socks feel. When I ordered the last batch of sock yarn, I ordered two balls for myself, in a self-striping pattern. I could just whip up another pair of these simple socks, and have something comfortable for myself.
Or, I could dive into this, which I've been dying to do.
I also ordered this with the last batch of sock yarn. I knew I wouldn't be able to start on it right away, needing to finish the Christmas socks first, but I also knew I had to have it. And I'm sure it's not going to disappoint - just looking through it, I'm amazed - the patterns are really awesome. And the uber bonus is that instead of the patterns being that generic women's medium, you can make any sock in the book to fit any foot, with any measurements. That is perfect, and I'm really psyched about getting started trying out these new techniques.
But first, I may actually take a couple days off. There was so much sock knitting in the last few days, I'm still not tired of it, but I think a brief break may be a good thing about now.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Sock Insanity: A Picture Book
On Saturday I still had a chance. On Saturday I could have stuck to my schedule and gotten this last pair of socks done on time. But did I? Nooooooo. That would have been too easy. Instead I distracted myself with other projects that did not have to be done by tonight, thinking, in my knitterly delusion, that there would be plenty of time to finish the socks, and that I would of course accomplish all my goals.
Yes, that's sock one not even finished this morning. But it was very close, and I completed it in short order, and started on Sock Two at about 8:30 a.m.
Then there was the Christmas interlude ... had to make dinner, eat, do the dishes, and open presents.
Today was an exercise in reality.
Today started like this.
Yes, that's sock one not even finished this morning. But it was very close, and I completed it in short order, and started on Sock Two at about 8:30 a.m.
About 1:45 p.m. this afternoon.
Then there was the Christmas interlude ... had to make dinner, eat, do the dishes, and open presents.
Greg got Zombie Babes ...
Tyler got a bag o' goodies ...
And I got Pirates 3 !!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course I've seen it, but of course I had to watch it again. I discovered that if I got a good rhythm going in time to "Hoist The Colours," it sped things along. By about 11:30 I had the heel done ...
... but then I moved on to the special features, which are extraordinarily good, and which made it very difficult to knit.
Unfortunately, by 12:23 a.m. me and the sock were dead. I just couldn't take it anymore. That was 16 1/2 hours today - granted, not non-stop knitting the whole time, but large, huge chunks of it. My eyes were crossing, my brain hurt, and my hands were about to desert.
I had to call it a night. I'm off to bed, and hope I can get the last 27 rows done tomorrow before the recipient family shows up in the afternoon. It's only 27 rows ... I think I can do it. If my hands still work in the morning. And if the recipient family stays true to form and arrive much later than the current prediction.
Merry Christmas. zzzzzzzzzzzzz ....
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Happy Solstice; Sock Progress
Happy Winter Solstice. The shortest day of the year, and the longest night ... but now the days begin getting a little longer, with the promise of spring and returning light, warmth and life to the Earth.
It's a deceptive little promise, with the worst of the winter still to come. But I'll take it. It's funny how things seem to meld one into the other that way ... the first turning towards the lighter, warmer part of the year comes even before the coldest chill of winter.
I had a setback on the last pair of socks (go figure), but I am still confident. Although I'd only started the toe Thursday night, Friday after work I managed to finish the toe, the foot, and the whole heel. Then looked at it and said, "This looks way too small." I must have a Goldilocks thing going on with socks ... this one's too long ... this one's too short. Where is the 'just right' one?
The thing was, I tried it on, and the length was even too short for me - and I have small feet. I didn't think the intended target, my niece, had feet as small as mine, she's certainly much taller than I am. So I had to put the sock on hold while I sent out an email request to the family in question to find out her shoe size, and judge whether I was in fact way off base or not.
I didn't get a response till this morning, and it turns out she does, in fact, have me-sized feet. Wears the same size shoes. The sock was still a little small, though, so I still ripped back to the beginning of the heel and added a 1/2" to the sock foot. I figured the miscalculation came about because my heel should have been 2" based on my row gauge, but was only 1 3/4". And I initially intentionally planned the sock about 1/4" to 1/2" shorter than the repicient's foot length, to make sure it fit comfortably snug. But after realizing that the length shrinks by a good 1/2" when it's actually on a foot, I decided that was a bad idea.
So I ripped back before the heel, added a little length to the foot, re-knit the heel this afternoon, and it's back on track and measures the right length. I didn't, however, finish the sock today as I thought I should to stay on target. In fact, I didn't even get to the leg or ribbing yet.
I'm not concerned, though ... it goes really fast when I put my mind to it, and I still have all day tomorrow and Monday - whole days, not just the hours after work. So I'm pretty confident I can still get this last pair done before Christmas morning, when the recipient family will be coming to my house. It may be late, late Christmas Eve night, but ... they'll get done.
Okay ... I think I can fit in a little bit more knitting before bed. Fortunately, after 3 pairs of socks in as quick a time as I could muster, I'm still not tired of making socks. Good thing, since I still have a surprise sock knitting treat after the holidays.
It's a deceptive little promise, with the worst of the winter still to come. But I'll take it. It's funny how things seem to meld one into the other that way ... the first turning towards the lighter, warmer part of the year comes even before the coldest chill of winter.
I had a setback on the last pair of socks (go figure), but I am still confident. Although I'd only started the toe Thursday night, Friday after work I managed to finish the toe, the foot, and the whole heel. Then looked at it and said, "This looks way too small." I must have a Goldilocks thing going on with socks ... this one's too long ... this one's too short. Where is the 'just right' one?
The thing was, I tried it on, and the length was even too short for me - and I have small feet. I didn't think the intended target, my niece, had feet as small as mine, she's certainly much taller than I am. So I had to put the sock on hold while I sent out an email request to the family in question to find out her shoe size, and judge whether I was in fact way off base or not.
I didn't get a response till this morning, and it turns out she does, in fact, have me-sized feet. Wears the same size shoes. The sock was still a little small, though, so I still ripped back to the beginning of the heel and added a 1/2" to the sock foot. I figured the miscalculation came about because my heel should have been 2" based on my row gauge, but was only 1 3/4". And I initially intentionally planned the sock about 1/4" to 1/2" shorter than the repicient's foot length, to make sure it fit comfortably snug. But after realizing that the length shrinks by a good 1/2" when it's actually on a foot, I decided that was a bad idea.
So I ripped back before the heel, added a little length to the foot, re-knit the heel this afternoon, and it's back on track and measures the right length. I didn't, however, finish the sock today as I thought I should to stay on target. In fact, I didn't even get to the leg or ribbing yet.
I'm not concerned, though ... it goes really fast when I put my mind to it, and I still have all day tomorrow and Monday - whole days, not just the hours after work. So I'm pretty confident I can still get this last pair done before Christmas morning, when the recipient family will be coming to my house. It may be late, late Christmas Eve night, but ... they'll get done.
Okay ... I think I can fit in a little bit more knitting before bed. Fortunately, after 3 pairs of socks in as quick a time as I could muster, I'm still not tired of making socks. Good thing, since I still have a surprise sock knitting treat after the holidays.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Onions, Revisited
You know how I whined earlier that Lakeside Collection told me my package wouldn't even ship till today? And so I had to scramble around, spend hours online trying to find a replacement gift (because no one else seemed to have the stuff I'd found at Lakeside and really wanted to give the 4-year-old in question), and then spend an exorbitant amount on 2-day shipping to ensure I got it by Christmas?
Guess what showed up today. The package from Lakeside.
I have very mixed emotions about this. On the one hand, I'm happy that I got my original choices for the kid in time for Christmas. On the other hand, I'm pissed that I had to go order something else to replace gifts I thought weren't arriving, and pissed at Lakeside for not having the sense to tell me what was actually going on with my damned package.
But I thought I ought to at least modify my last post to state that yes, they did, in fact, get the stuff here before Christmas. Even if they decided to keep me totally in the dark about it.
Not sure now what I'm going to do ... oh, I know. I'll postpone all decision making, have some rum, and knit.
Guess what showed up today. The package from Lakeside.
I have very mixed emotions about this. On the one hand, I'm happy that I got my original choices for the kid in time for Christmas. On the other hand, I'm pissed that I had to go order something else to replace gifts I thought weren't arriving, and pissed at Lakeside for not having the sense to tell me what was actually going on with my damned package.
But I thought I ought to at least modify my last post to state that yes, they did, in fact, get the stuff here before Christmas. Even if they decided to keep me totally in the dark about it.
Not sure now what I'm going to do ... oh, I know. I'll postpone all decision making, have some rum, and knit.
Orchids and Onions; Sock Progress
It has been my unfortunate experience that ordering online can be both a blessing a curse. Sometimes it works out great, sometimes not so much. I hate, detest, and abhor shopping in stores. I haven't been shopping in a regular store in years, except for a couple unavoidable emergencies. I go to the grocery store, and when absolutely necessary the local Rite Aid, and that's it. I order everything else online. Including every bit of my Christmas shopping. When I can start ordering groceries online, I may never leave the house again.
I try, whenever possible, to order from well known, reliable companies like Amazon. Especially when I've procrastinated holiday shopping and need to get stuff in 2 days. Like this year. Actually, that isn't entirely true. I did all my Christmas shopping online two weeks ago, and have long since received everything I ordered ... except for one thing.
Onions to Lakeside Collection. I ordered two things for my boyfriend's 4-year-old on Tuesday, December 11. I didn't figure I'd have to pay expedited shipping on anything to get it by Christmas, ordering on that date (and I didn't, every place else I ordered). This place didn't even offer any expedited shipping, and indicated a 7 to 14 day order delivery time, which is a little excessive - but Christmas Eve was exactly 14 days away on that date, and since I usually get packages within a week from most places, I figured it would be safe.
When I hadn't received any shipping confirmation a week later, this past Tuesday, I checked my order status on their website. It indicated that it hadn't even shipped yet. I figured by then I wasn't going to get the stuff by Christmas, and called (long distance - no toll free number) to cancel the order, so I could get something else that I could have delivered by Christmas.
This company told me that my package wasn't even scheduled to ship until today, Friday, December 21 - and that I could not cancel it. I said, "You're telling me that the package is still there, in your warehouse, in your control, and isn't even scheduled to ship for 3 more days - yet you won't let me cancel the order?" Yep. That's what they were teling me. "Unfortunately," they said. Unfortunately for me, that's to be sure.
So on Wednesday, December 19 I found myself online trying to find replacement gifts from any place where I could get them with 2-day shipping, so I'd be sure and have them by Christmas Eve. (You try opening presents with everyone, and telling a 4-year-old "Sorry, your stuff didn't get here on time because the evil little dark elves at Lakeside couldn't be bothered to ship my order for ten days"; and I wasn't willing to postpone Christmas for all of us until the stuff arrived).
I often order from Amazon, especially when I'm in a time crunch, because I know I can get the stuff by whatever expedited shipping method I choose, reliably. So I found a replacement gift there, paid extra for 2-day shipping, it arrived in 1 day - yesterday - and I was happy. When the crap from Lakeside shows up, I'll return it, make them credit my Visa, and put them on my 'naughty' list for future Christmas ordering.
But, while I was browsing around on Amazon, I found something I simply had to, had to, had to get for someone for Christmas ... and Amazon didn't carry it themselves, it sold through a third party who offered no expedited shipping and couldn't get it to me by Christmas.
I went on a quest to find another website where I might be able to get this thing by Christmas. It wasn't easy. I was surprised at the number of places who weren't offering any guaranteed holiday delivery as late as December 19. What is wrong with these people? Don't they know that some of us are slackass procrastinators, and will pay any amount of money for something we decide we just have to have 4 shipping days before Christmas?
But I did finally find a web site called Fair Play Games. They had what I wanted. Their prices were the best I'd found. They didn't offer 2-day shipping, but they use UPS - very reliable, especially around the holidays - those guys work insane hours, but they get people their Christmas stuff. They're like little Santa's Elves. Their uniforms should be red, not brown. The web site shipping information indicated that if I ordered on December 19, I would probably get the package on December 24. They didn't guarantee it, but I know UPS, and decided to take a chance.
I appreciated that they were up front about that - no misleading information, no hidden delays ("2 Day Shipping Only $15 - but we're not going to process your order until spring. But once we do, slam bang, you'll have it in two days!").
I placed my order at about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 19. According to UPS tracking it's scheduled to be delivered today. December 21st. Two days later. Oodles of time before Christmas. I found that not only amazing, but pretty darn good customer service. UPS is good, but what made this work is Fair Play Games actually shipped my order within a few hours of receiving it.
So - huge orchids to Fair Play Games. And if you're in the market for any gaming type paraphernalia, I highly recommend this place. Awesome service.
Now I just have to worry about the CD I ordered for my brother this past Monday - I didn't reqest expedited shipping, figuring Amazon would get it to me in a week ... and the tracking information is extremely vague, it didn't ship till yesterday and is somewhere in Pennsylvania. And isn't coming by UPS. I thought I was safe on that one, but ... maybe not.
I swear ... next year I'm going to have my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving. Really. And the knitting too. Honest.
Speaking of which ... I finished the second pair of socks last night, and started the third and last. Here's the thing. It took me one full month to make the first pair. Of course, I didn't have the fire of imminent deadline heating things up. It took me three weeks to finish the second pair (when the fire of imminent deadline began to crackle ominously that last week or so). Now I have four days to make the third pair. That's interesting. Accordingly, I have to have one whole sock completed by Saturday night to be on track. (I'm not knitting this pair two at a time - we'll save that adventure for another time).
So ... we'll see how it goes.
I try, whenever possible, to order from well known, reliable companies like Amazon. Especially when I've procrastinated holiday shopping and need to get stuff in 2 days. Like this year. Actually, that isn't entirely true. I did all my Christmas shopping online two weeks ago, and have long since received everything I ordered ... except for one thing.
Onions to Lakeside Collection. I ordered two things for my boyfriend's 4-year-old on Tuesday, December 11. I didn't figure I'd have to pay expedited shipping on anything to get it by Christmas, ordering on that date (and I didn't, every place else I ordered). This place didn't even offer any expedited shipping, and indicated a 7 to 14 day order delivery time, which is a little excessive - but Christmas Eve was exactly 14 days away on that date, and since I usually get packages within a week from most places, I figured it would be safe.
When I hadn't received any shipping confirmation a week later, this past Tuesday, I checked my order status on their website. It indicated that it hadn't even shipped yet. I figured by then I wasn't going to get the stuff by Christmas, and called (long distance - no toll free number) to cancel the order, so I could get something else that I could have delivered by Christmas.
This company told me that my package wasn't even scheduled to ship until today, Friday, December 21 - and that I could not cancel it. I said, "You're telling me that the package is still there, in your warehouse, in your control, and isn't even scheduled to ship for 3 more days - yet you won't let me cancel the order?" Yep. That's what they were teling me. "Unfortunately," they said. Unfortunately for me, that's to be sure.
So on Wednesday, December 19 I found myself online trying to find replacement gifts from any place where I could get them with 2-day shipping, so I'd be sure and have them by Christmas Eve. (You try opening presents with everyone, and telling a 4-year-old "Sorry, your stuff didn't get here on time because the evil little dark elves at Lakeside couldn't be bothered to ship my order for ten days"; and I wasn't willing to postpone Christmas for all of us until the stuff arrived).
I often order from Amazon, especially when I'm in a time crunch, because I know I can get the stuff by whatever expedited shipping method I choose, reliably. So I found a replacement gift there, paid extra for 2-day shipping, it arrived in 1 day - yesterday - and I was happy. When the crap from Lakeside shows up, I'll return it, make them credit my Visa, and put them on my 'naughty' list for future Christmas ordering.
But, while I was browsing around on Amazon, I found something I simply had to, had to, had to get for someone for Christmas ... and Amazon didn't carry it themselves, it sold through a third party who offered no expedited shipping and couldn't get it to me by Christmas.
I went on a quest to find another website where I might be able to get this thing by Christmas. It wasn't easy. I was surprised at the number of places who weren't offering any guaranteed holiday delivery as late as December 19. What is wrong with these people? Don't they know that some of us are slackass procrastinators, and will pay any amount of money for something we decide we just have to have 4 shipping days before Christmas?
But I did finally find a web site called Fair Play Games. They had what I wanted. Their prices were the best I'd found. They didn't offer 2-day shipping, but they use UPS - very reliable, especially around the holidays - those guys work insane hours, but they get people their Christmas stuff. They're like little Santa's Elves. Their uniforms should be red, not brown. The web site shipping information indicated that if I ordered on December 19, I would probably get the package on December 24. They didn't guarantee it, but I know UPS, and decided to take a chance.
I appreciated that they were up front about that - no misleading information, no hidden delays ("2 Day Shipping Only $15 - but we're not going to process your order until spring. But once we do, slam bang, you'll have it in two days!").
I placed my order at about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 19. According to UPS tracking it's scheduled to be delivered today. December 21st. Two days later. Oodles of time before Christmas. I found that not only amazing, but pretty darn good customer service. UPS is good, but what made this work is Fair Play Games actually shipped my order within a few hours of receiving it.
So - huge orchids to Fair Play Games. And if you're in the market for any gaming type paraphernalia, I highly recommend this place. Awesome service.
Now I just have to worry about the CD I ordered for my brother this past Monday - I didn't reqest expedited shipping, figuring Amazon would get it to me in a week ... and the tracking information is extremely vague, it didn't ship till yesterday and is somewhere in Pennsylvania. And isn't coming by UPS. I thought I was safe on that one, but ... maybe not.
I swear ... next year I'm going to have my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving. Really. And the knitting too. Honest.
Speaking of which ... I finished the second pair of socks last night, and started the third and last. Here's the thing. It took me one full month to make the first pair. Of course, I didn't have the fire of imminent deadline heating things up. It took me three weeks to finish the second pair (when the fire of imminent deadline began to crackle ominously that last week or so). Now I have four days to make the third pair. That's interesting. Accordingly, I have to have one whole sock completed by Saturday night to be on track. (I'm not knitting this pair two at a time - we'll save that adventure for another time).
So ... we'll see how it goes.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Back on Track; Death by Socks
So I lied a bit in my last post. When I said I had three socks left to knit. Apparently I completely blocked out the fact that I had the second sock of this pair half done, when I ripped it off the needles and threw it on the bookshelf. I finished the first of the pair last night, and actually got so far as crocheting the chain for the provisional cast-on of the second sock. I didn't remember it until I went to look for the ball of yarn to start picking up stitches in the provisional cast-on.
The brief wave of relief was quickly flattened by the further remembrance that the other sock was cursed.
It remained cursed for some time after I went back to work on it. Since I'd had to take it off the needles, I needed to count rows on the first sock so I could make sure they were the same size. Did that. Then when I re-started the second sock, I miscounted, and had knitted several inches past where I should have started the heel before I realized it.
Back to the frog pond. But this time I was smart, and learned a new skill. I threaded a 'life line' through the row I needed to rip back to - some of the same sock yarn on a tapestry needle, threaded through a loop of each stitch in the row. Then I could rip back just to the point where I needed to be, and easily put my stitches back on the needle without the risk of dropping any - with the bonus that they were all facing the right way. I have a problem when picking up live stitches of always needing to pick them up backwards (because that just seems to be the way they're always facing), and then having to knit the entire picked-up row through the back loop to get them oriented properly again ... just a bit of a pain. With the pre-rip lifeline, none of that. It worked great, and it was the first time I've ever successfully used it.
So ... I ripped back this sock again ... but this time I got it right. I went on to get the heel in the right place, and I'm now more than halfway through the leg ribbing, and then I'll be done! Wowsa.
If I had a little more motivation, I could probably have finished it tonight ... but I'm probably not going to. They will be done tomorrow, though, and I'll start the third and last pair. With five days to knit two socks ... eh, it's do-able, but it's going to be tight.
The brief wave of relief was quickly flattened by the further remembrance that the other sock was cursed.
It remained cursed for some time after I went back to work on it. Since I'd had to take it off the needles, I needed to count rows on the first sock so I could make sure they were the same size. Did that. Then when I re-started the second sock, I miscounted, and had knitted several inches past where I should have started the heel before I realized it.
Back to the frog pond. But this time I was smart, and learned a new skill. I threaded a 'life line' through the row I needed to rip back to - some of the same sock yarn on a tapestry needle, threaded through a loop of each stitch in the row. Then I could rip back just to the point where I needed to be, and easily put my stitches back on the needle without the risk of dropping any - with the bonus that they were all facing the right way. I have a problem when picking up live stitches of always needing to pick them up backwards (because that just seems to be the way they're always facing), and then having to knit the entire picked-up row through the back loop to get them oriented properly again ... just a bit of a pain. With the pre-rip lifeline, none of that. It worked great, and it was the first time I've ever successfully used it.
So ... I ripped back this sock again ... but this time I got it right. I went on to get the heel in the right place, and I'm now more than halfway through the leg ribbing, and then I'll be done! Wowsa.
If I had a little more motivation, I could probably have finished it tonight ... but I'm probably not going to. They will be done tomorrow, though, and I'll start the third and last pair. With five days to knit two socks ... eh, it's do-able, but it's going to be tight.
In other news ... what could be more fun than Death by Socks? I'd be an early casualty, I'm just not that quick a knitter (usually). But it's a neat idea.
Monday, December 17, 2007
We had weather!
Yes, it's abnormal here. I call where I live the "valley of no weather." It is a valley, geographically speaking. I mean, you can't tell when you're in it - it's not like I live in a big ravine or anything - but there is a rather large river that runs through my town and this whole area (in fact, I only live half a mile from it), and apparently, in the greater scheme of things, it's a valley.
So something in the geography of the valley - specifically this small part of the valley (it's a long river) - seems to create a lack of noticeable weather. Rarely severe storms in the summer, even more rarely snow in the winter, other than a scant dusting that melts by 2:00 p.m. Just calm, hot, clear skies in summer, and calm cloudiness in winter.
So this took me by surprise.
I have a big 4-wheel drive SUV. With brand new, gawd-awful expensive Michelin tires on it. I can generally drive through any amount of snow we might get here. Unless it's deeper than the undercarriage. The best tires in the world, no matter how many wheel drive you have, can do you no good if the tires aren't touching anything.
I looked for the driveway this morning, and couldn't find it. I walked out in it, and the snow was mid-calf deep. So I (very grudgingly) got out the snow shovel.
I hate shoveling snow, but I figured if I just sort of swept off the top layer, so I only left it about 6" deep, I could just drive through it.
I was about half way done with half the driveway when some guys showed up and offered to shovel it out completely for $15. I said, "Hell, yeah!" Then I remembered that I didn't think I had any cash. I asked if they'd take a check. They began backing away. I went to look. I had $7.00. I told them if it'd take them 5 or 10 minutes, while they shoveled I'd walk up to the convenience store on the corner and hit the ATM. They said sure. So I took off walking up the middle of the slushy street - because the sidewalks hadn't been touched, but at least the road had been driven on.
When I went out to shovel the driveway, I put on a t-shirt, and a fleece pullover, but not my heavy winter coat, because I knew I'd get overheated shoveling snow in a heavy coat. In my rush after I figured out I didn't have the cash to pay the shoveling guys, I left without putting my coat on.
So about two or three houses up, it occurs to me: I'm walking up the middle of the slushy street in sub-freezing temperatures without a coat on, to get to the convenience store on the corner and take money out of the ATM to pay a couple guys to shovel my driveway. Wouldn't it just be easier to shovel the driveway myself? Or maybe give them the $7.00 I had and tell them to just do half?
Nah. I hate shoveling snow. Walking, I don't mind. And it wasn't, really, that bad.
So I got the cash, paid the guys, got my driveway shoveled, and ... I hope we're done with that for this year.
So something in the geography of the valley - specifically this small part of the valley (it's a long river) - seems to create a lack of noticeable weather. Rarely severe storms in the summer, even more rarely snow in the winter, other than a scant dusting that melts by 2:00 p.m. Just calm, hot, clear skies in summer, and calm cloudiness in winter.
So this took me by surprise.
I have a big 4-wheel drive SUV. With brand new, gawd-awful expensive Michelin tires on it. I can generally drive through any amount of snow we might get here. Unless it's deeper than the undercarriage. The best tires in the world, no matter how many wheel drive you have, can do you no good if the tires aren't touching anything.
I looked for the driveway this morning, and couldn't find it. I walked out in it, and the snow was mid-calf deep. So I (very grudgingly) got out the snow shovel.
I hate shoveling snow, but I figured if I just sort of swept off the top layer, so I only left it about 6" deep, I could just drive through it.
I was about half way done with half the driveway when some guys showed up and offered to shovel it out completely for $15. I said, "Hell, yeah!" Then I remembered that I didn't think I had any cash. I asked if they'd take a check. They began backing away. I went to look. I had $7.00. I told them if it'd take them 5 or 10 minutes, while they shoveled I'd walk up to the convenience store on the corner and hit the ATM. They said sure. So I took off walking up the middle of the slushy street - because the sidewalks hadn't been touched, but at least the road had been driven on.
When I went out to shovel the driveway, I put on a t-shirt, and a fleece pullover, but not my heavy winter coat, because I knew I'd get overheated shoveling snow in a heavy coat. In my rush after I figured out I didn't have the cash to pay the shoveling guys, I left without putting my coat on.
So about two or three houses up, it occurs to me: I'm walking up the middle of the slushy street in sub-freezing temperatures without a coat on, to get to the convenience store on the corner and take money out of the ATM to pay a couple guys to shovel my driveway. Wouldn't it just be easier to shovel the driveway myself? Or maybe give them the $7.00 I had and tell them to just do half?
Nah. I hate shoveling snow. Walking, I don't mind. And it wasn't, really, that bad.
So I got the cash, paid the guys, got my driveway shoveled, and ... I hope we're done with that for this year.
By the way - the sock (yes, sock, solo) that I've been working on is almost done ... tomorrow I can finish it and start the second one. Only three more socks to knit before next Tuesday. Oh, yay.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Bad News: Socks. Good News: Men In Kilts
These socks are becoming the bane of my existence. I don't get it. I've never had this much trouble with one pair of socks before. What is wrong with this picture?
That's right! No needles!!
After finally getting both socks on the set of circs, I merrily knit away at the sock foot until it was time to start the heel. Even when knitting two socks simultaneously, when you get to the heels you have to stop and do one at a time. So I began the first sock heel two nights ago.
I'm not going to bore you with the gory details, other than to say that I was having a bad night. The end result was that at one point I had this huge gap between a couple of stitches - huge enough that had I continued knitting, it would have looked like a big hole in the sock at that point. I couldn't figure out what caused it, and very unwisely in my not-so-great frame of mind, I was convinced I'd dropped a stitch somewhere, so I decided to fix that by dropping a couple of stitches off the needle, let them unknit themselves, and chain them back up, thinking somehow this would solve the problem.
Nope. Not even a little bit. Instead I ended up with about an inch-wide section on one side of my sock unraveled several inches back, and all my attempts to chain them back up just left me with large loops of yarn that didn't seem to go anywhere.
I knew I'd blown it, and that it was beyond my ability to fix at that point.
It's possible that had I had the wherewithal to simply put the sock down, go to bed, and worry about it the next day, I might have been able to fix it. But for some reason my OCD was running high that night, and I couldn't leave them alone. So my 'solution' was to take that sock completely off the needles and unravel it beyond the mistake - a couple of inches of knitting.
After I did that, I decided it was time for bed. Nice way to leave things 'fixed.'
So. Last night I decided I was simply going to finish the socks one at a time, like in the 'olden days,' so I wouldn't screw them up anymore. I took up the sock that was still on the needles, and knitted it's heel last night. I completed the heel, and then laid the sock down to admire my work.
And noticed that the sock looked really too long. I checked my measurements.
The sock was over an inch longer than the measurement of the intended foot. It was too long. I'm lucky I noticed this at all, because I'm not so astute that one inch would usually jump out at me screaming, "this is too much!" But these socks already looked consistently funny to me anyway, because they're for a recipient who has much larger feet than me - about a size 9 1/2 compared to my size 6. But somehow, and very fortunately, looking at the overall length after the heel was done triggered some thought in my head to double check, because they just didn't look right.
I went scrabbling back through my notes, and realized I'd made a math mistake when calculating when to start the heel. Yep. The sock was too long.
I know socks are forgiving and all that. But one of the joys of hand knit socks is how well they custom-fit a foot, and how comfortable that is - and this is one of the things I bragged to my family about, which inspired them to be willing to accept hand-knit socks for Christmas this year. Being a little off here or there isn't going to hurt, especially if I was off in the 'too small' direction, as this mostly merino yarn is so stretchy. But having the sock over an inch longer than the receipient's foot isn't going to work, no way, no how.
More ripping back. I figured out specifically where I should have started the heel, took the sock off the needle, ripped back to that point, and put it back on. By that point I was tired and frustrated, and put them away for the night. I'm just ready to re-start the heel today.
Two nights of utterly wasted knitting time. The only good (?) thing about all this is now that I've discovered the socks were too long anyway, ripping the first sock back probably wasn't such a disaster, as it was going to have to be done anyway. I don't know how close I stopped to where it actually needs to be, but I don't even want to touch that one until I get this one finally, completely, and correctly finished.
Oy. But, there is one other piece of encouraging news. Since the recipient family in question has decided to stop by Christmas Day, I no longer have to have these socks (and the next unstarted pair) done by, oh, Tuesday or so. I have clear till Christmas morning to finish them. And at this rate, it'll take all that.
I haven't given up on socks yet, I don't know what made this particular pair so trying. But I will say that I'm no longer terribly keen on the two socks on two circs method. That is in part, I believe, what caused my problem with the first heel (although I admit it's not what caused my bad math). When I got to working on the one heel, it was like back at the beginning again, where I found it very 'fiddly' and difficult to work with, that other sock constantly being in my way and weighing down my needles. It made working that heel very difficult, to me anyway. And that's what I think caused the problem that ultimately made me think the only way to fix it was take it off the needles and rip it back several inches. I'm sure that would have never happened had I been only working on one sock.
Comparing one sock at a time to two socks at a time, I think things will actually go faster for me doing one at a time. There isn't so much fiddling around every time I reach the end of a sock row (which is only 30-some stitches, so it goes pretty quick). Sliding needles around twice as often, untangling two balls of yarn ... after having tried it, I think that for me, this method was just a bit too messy to be truly enjoyable. When working one sock at a time, I can sail through it - in fact, I knit fully half a sock from the very beginning on Thanksgiving Day, so I know how fast it can go.
Sure, I have a second one to make afterwards, so I'm not saying I can knit an entire pair more quickly doing them individually. But the process itself seems to proceed more easily and smoothly.
I'm not knocking it entirely. I still think it would be way cool to finish both socks at once. But everyone has their quirks. I never even tried knitting with dpns because I could just tell by looking at pictures of the process that I'd have stitches falling off the needles everywhere. All the tricks I read to avoid that seemed, to me, just too fussy and time-consuming, especially when with a method as simple as two circs, you don't need to worry about it.
But I've read in the blogs of knitters who are far more accomplished than I am, that they much preferred dpns, and couldn't stand two circs because they found that method too fussy, with those needle ends dangling down in the way.
So it's very much a personal choice and one's comfort level with messing and fussing. To me, I think, one at a time is going to be the happy medium.
That's not to say I'll never try this method again, just to see if getting a little more used to it might make it less stressful. But I won't be trying it again until I am knitting socks for myself, and with no deadline. Not a good time to work out a new technique, I think.
In other news, the Dread Reverend's band, Tara's Fire, had their first gig last night, and although I couldn't make it, my very short 3:00 a.m. debriefing was that it went extremely well. Woo-hoo!!! I'm glad, and sorry I missed it. (I know no more than that, because the band member in question is still asleep). But I did get a couple of pre-show pictures, of two of them anyway. The third one wasn't here to have his picture taken. Hopefully next show I'll be able to go.
Tara's Fire drummer, John:
The Dread Reverend: guitar, vocals, occasional bodhran, and general banter: (and yes, I did knit that scarf!)
That's right! No needles!!
After finally getting both socks on the set of circs, I merrily knit away at the sock foot until it was time to start the heel. Even when knitting two socks simultaneously, when you get to the heels you have to stop and do one at a time. So I began the first sock heel two nights ago.
I'm not going to bore you with the gory details, other than to say that I was having a bad night. The end result was that at one point I had this huge gap between a couple of stitches - huge enough that had I continued knitting, it would have looked like a big hole in the sock at that point. I couldn't figure out what caused it, and very unwisely in my not-so-great frame of mind, I was convinced I'd dropped a stitch somewhere, so I decided to fix that by dropping a couple of stitches off the needle, let them unknit themselves, and chain them back up, thinking somehow this would solve the problem.
Nope. Not even a little bit. Instead I ended up with about an inch-wide section on one side of my sock unraveled several inches back, and all my attempts to chain them back up just left me with large loops of yarn that didn't seem to go anywhere.
I knew I'd blown it, and that it was beyond my ability to fix at that point.
It's possible that had I had the wherewithal to simply put the sock down, go to bed, and worry about it the next day, I might have been able to fix it. But for some reason my OCD was running high that night, and I couldn't leave them alone. So my 'solution' was to take that sock completely off the needles and unravel it beyond the mistake - a couple of inches of knitting.
After I did that, I decided it was time for bed. Nice way to leave things 'fixed.'
So. Last night I decided I was simply going to finish the socks one at a time, like in the 'olden days,' so I wouldn't screw them up anymore. I took up the sock that was still on the needles, and knitted it's heel last night. I completed the heel, and then laid the sock down to admire my work.
And noticed that the sock looked really too long. I checked my measurements.
The sock was over an inch longer than the measurement of the intended foot. It was too long. I'm lucky I noticed this at all, because I'm not so astute that one inch would usually jump out at me screaming, "this is too much!" But these socks already looked consistently funny to me anyway, because they're for a recipient who has much larger feet than me - about a size 9 1/2 compared to my size 6. But somehow, and very fortunately, looking at the overall length after the heel was done triggered some thought in my head to double check, because they just didn't look right.
I went scrabbling back through my notes, and realized I'd made a math mistake when calculating when to start the heel. Yep. The sock was too long.
I know socks are forgiving and all that. But one of the joys of hand knit socks is how well they custom-fit a foot, and how comfortable that is - and this is one of the things I bragged to my family about, which inspired them to be willing to accept hand-knit socks for Christmas this year. Being a little off here or there isn't going to hurt, especially if I was off in the 'too small' direction, as this mostly merino yarn is so stretchy. But having the sock over an inch longer than the receipient's foot isn't going to work, no way, no how.
More ripping back. I figured out specifically where I should have started the heel, took the sock off the needle, ripped back to that point, and put it back on. By that point I was tired and frustrated, and put them away for the night. I'm just ready to re-start the heel today.
Two nights of utterly wasted knitting time. The only good (?) thing about all this is now that I've discovered the socks were too long anyway, ripping the first sock back probably wasn't such a disaster, as it was going to have to be done anyway. I don't know how close I stopped to where it actually needs to be, but I don't even want to touch that one until I get this one finally, completely, and correctly finished.
Oy. But, there is one other piece of encouraging news. Since the recipient family in question has decided to stop by Christmas Day, I no longer have to have these socks (and the next unstarted pair) done by, oh, Tuesday or so. I have clear till Christmas morning to finish them. And at this rate, it'll take all that.
I haven't given up on socks yet, I don't know what made this particular pair so trying. But I will say that I'm no longer terribly keen on the two socks on two circs method. That is in part, I believe, what caused my problem with the first heel (although I admit it's not what caused my bad math). When I got to working on the one heel, it was like back at the beginning again, where I found it very 'fiddly' and difficult to work with, that other sock constantly being in my way and weighing down my needles. It made working that heel very difficult, to me anyway. And that's what I think caused the problem that ultimately made me think the only way to fix it was take it off the needles and rip it back several inches. I'm sure that would have never happened had I been only working on one sock.
Comparing one sock at a time to two socks at a time, I think things will actually go faster for me doing one at a time. There isn't so much fiddling around every time I reach the end of a sock row (which is only 30-some stitches, so it goes pretty quick). Sliding needles around twice as often, untangling two balls of yarn ... after having tried it, I think that for me, this method was just a bit too messy to be truly enjoyable. When working one sock at a time, I can sail through it - in fact, I knit fully half a sock from the very beginning on Thanksgiving Day, so I know how fast it can go.
Sure, I have a second one to make afterwards, so I'm not saying I can knit an entire pair more quickly doing them individually. But the process itself seems to proceed more easily and smoothly.
I'm not knocking it entirely. I still think it would be way cool to finish both socks at once. But everyone has their quirks. I never even tried knitting with dpns because I could just tell by looking at pictures of the process that I'd have stitches falling off the needles everywhere. All the tricks I read to avoid that seemed, to me, just too fussy and time-consuming, especially when with a method as simple as two circs, you don't need to worry about it.
But I've read in the blogs of knitters who are far more accomplished than I am, that they much preferred dpns, and couldn't stand two circs because they found that method too fussy, with those needle ends dangling down in the way.
So it's very much a personal choice and one's comfort level with messing and fussing. To me, I think, one at a time is going to be the happy medium.
That's not to say I'll never try this method again, just to see if getting a little more used to it might make it less stressful. But I won't be trying it again until I am knitting socks for myself, and with no deadline. Not a good time to work out a new technique, I think.
In other news, the Dread Reverend's band, Tara's Fire, had their first gig last night, and although I couldn't make it, my very short 3:00 a.m. debriefing was that it went extremely well. Woo-hoo!!! I'm glad, and sorry I missed it. (I know no more than that, because the band member in question is still asleep). But I did get a couple of pre-show pictures, of two of them anyway. The third one wasn't here to have his picture taken. Hopefully next show I'll be able to go.
Tara's Fire drummer, John:
The Dread Reverend: guitar, vocals, occasional bodhran, and general banter: (and yes, I did knit that scarf!)
Monday, December 10, 2007
*%#$@!&$%^!!!! It's the TENTH!!!
What the heck happened to December? Last I checked it was still around the 1st, and I had most of a whole month till Christmas. Now I have two weeks to (a) finish the current pair of socks (and I'm still about an inch and a half from starting the heel); (2) make an entire other pair of socks; and (iii) do all my Christmas online ordering, which by waiting so late, I'll probably have to pay extra for quicker shipping to get them in time.
I really thought I had this all under control ... back around the 1st.
Oh, and since I have to mail the socks, I really don't have till December 23 or so to get them done. I have, like maybe 8 days.
Okay, it's about to become a serious knitting frenzy here.
But in the good news column, someone's actually reading the blog! I had comments! Thanks for the encouragement, and for the tip about the turkish toe - I'll definitely try that! I do prefer toe-up socks, but I'm always up for trying new techniques. In fact, I have some uber special new techniques to try as soon as I get these Christmas socks done. But more on that in a later post ... must ... knit ... more.
I really thought I had this all under control ... back around the 1st.
Oh, and since I have to mail the socks, I really don't have till December 23 or so to get them done. I have, like maybe 8 days.
Okay, it's about to become a serious knitting frenzy here.
But in the good news column, someone's actually reading the blog! I had comments! Thanks for the encouragement, and for the tip about the turkish toe - I'll definitely try that! I do prefer toe-up socks, but I'm always up for trying new techniques. In fact, I have some uber special new techniques to try as soon as I get these Christmas socks done. But more on that in a later post ... must ... knit ... more.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Year End Knitting Inferiority Complex
While sprucing up the blog, I went to see what all I had on my "2007 Finished Projects" page. I should have known better. I should have known what I've done (or not done) this year. But to see nothing but one dish cloth was just sad. How can I even call myself a knitter?
Oh, well ... there is that never-ending log cabin blanket which I did work on all year, despite refusing to declare it done yet. It will get an honorary place on the page, when I get a chance to take another picture of it.
At least I posted a picture of the one finished pair of Christmas-present socks I have so far. And if all goes as planned, I'll have two more pairs to add to it soon. At least, I'm supposed to get these done by Christmas - actually, earlier than that, in time to mail to arrive by Christmas. But it doesn't look like there's going to be much of anything else on my finished projects page this year. Sad.
I did put up a Christmas tree this year. That's not a given. For many years I didn't put one up or decorate at all. The first year my boyfriend lived here we decorated for Christmas, then last year I lost interest again so he put up a tree himself. This year of all years I was surprised I wanted one, since I'm pretty well dreading Christmas entirely. But I did. Mostly I just like the lights, at night, with the other lights in the room off - although it makes it hard to knit. Only because it's socks with tiny stitches ... I could probably work on the log cabin blanket in the light from the tree alone, I put about a million lights on a tree. My theory is, if you can't read by the light of the tree alone, there aren't enough lights on it.
Oh, well ... there is that never-ending log cabin blanket which I did work on all year, despite refusing to declare it done yet. It will get an honorary place on the page, when I get a chance to take another picture of it.
At least I posted a picture of the one finished pair of Christmas-present socks I have so far. And if all goes as planned, I'll have two more pairs to add to it soon. At least, I'm supposed to get these done by Christmas - actually, earlier than that, in time to mail to arrive by Christmas. But it doesn't look like there's going to be much of anything else on my finished projects page this year. Sad.
I did put up a Christmas tree this year. That's not a given. For many years I didn't put one up or decorate at all. The first year my boyfriend lived here we decorated for Christmas, then last year I lost interest again so he put up a tree himself. This year of all years I was surprised I wanted one, since I'm pretty well dreading Christmas entirely. But I did. Mostly I just like the lights, at night, with the other lights in the room off - although it makes it hard to knit. Only because it's socks with tiny stitches ... I could probably work on the log cabin blanket in the light from the tree alone, I put about a million lights on a tree. My theory is, if you can't read by the light of the tree alone, there aren't enough lights on it.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Two Socks on Two Circs - Success
I'm having quite the sock-fest at the moment. Saturday night I finished my niece's socks, and Sunday I started on the pair for my sister-in-law.
When I first learned to knit socks, I learned on two circular needles. I never even tried dpns. I really like this method, and have no desire to change. But when I first heard about knitting two socks at once on two circs, and being done with the pair when you reached the end, I found that extremely intriguing. I'd never really had a problem with 'second sock syndrome' till that color-stranded pair I tried to make for myself, but till then I'd only knitted simple socks in self-striping yarn. I wanted to try some more complex patterns, and I got the idea that the more complex the sock, the more likely I was to not want to have to start a new one all over after finishing the first. Anyway, being able to start two socks, knit, and finish two socks, and be done seemed like a grand idea. And there's the bonus of knowing they're the same size ... I didn't enjoy having to count rows, or try to measure a half-done sock to get it the same size as the other.
So I really wanted to learn this method, and when I promised to knit my brother's family socks for Christmas - three pairs in little over a month - I decided that was a good time to do it.
When I ordered the first sock yarn for the Christmas socks, I also got the book Knitting Circles Around Socks by Antje Gillingham, and was considerably unimpressed, for a number of reasons. One of them was that I prefer knitting socks toe-up, with short row toes, and this book does not include any instructions for starting two toe-up socks at the same time - only cuff down.
I seriously considered going ahead and knitting the family Christmas socks cuff down, just so I could use those instructions to knit them two at a time, but the longer I thought about it, the more I realized I really wanted to make them toe-up, and if I wanted to do them both at once, I was going to have to figure it out for myself.
So I did. And here's what happened.
I actually tried this first on my niece's pair of socks, by knitting one short-row toe on one circular needle, the other short row toe on the other needle, then transferring stitches until I had the two toes properly on the two circs to begin knitting. That worked, except that I'd made some kind of hideous mistake when I picked up the stitches from my provisional cast-on at the beginning of the second toe. I'm not sure what I did, but it looked like I had picked the stitches up wrong and they weren't twisted, but were just open loops - so I ended up with a row of open lace-looking stitches across the toe. Not necessarily a bad thing, except the other one didn't match it, and it wasn't what I wanted. I tried to fix it, but failed, and ended up taking that sock off the needles, ripping it out, and just finishing the first sock, then starting over and knitting the entire second sock.
This time, even though my method for getting two socks on the needle at once wasn't what caused the problem, I decided for some reason to try doing it differently. I did my first toe from beginning to end, picked up the stitches from the provisional cast on with my second needle, and pulled that chain out, having my completed toe on the two circs, ready to knit. I marked the 'provisional cast-on side' with a safety pin.
Then I just slid that sock onto the middle of the cables, took two ends of one of the needles, and knitted my second sock toe there. Since you're working back and forth for the short row toe, and only using the same two needle ends over and over, and never having to slide your work down your cable, this worked fine - the first toe just rested hanging on the cables in the middle out of my way while I made the second toe. So far so good.
Then I got done, and ended up with this.
The right-hand sock is properly on two needles, but the left-hand (second) sock has what should be it's 'front' stitches on the 'back' needle, and it's 'back' stitches sitting out there with no needle to put them on. It was, apparently, on the needles backwards. Initially I had no idea why that happened. I assumed if I started them both on the same needle, they'd end up finishing facing the same way, properly on the two needles. That didn't happen.
I tried several things to fix it. First I was convinced that if I simply took the two ends of that back needle, placed them tip to tip and slipped the stitches of that second sock from the left side of that needle to the right side, it would flip it around and have it facing the right direction. I did that, and it didn't work. It was still backwards, just on the other side of the needle. (apparently I suck at that spatial visualization thing - even having done it, I still don't understand why that didn't work). In the end I resorted to running a tapestry needle with a piece of yarn on it through all the live stitches of the second sock, taking it clear off the needles, and putting it back on the right way.
Then I picked up my stitches from my provisional cast on with the front needle, and viola! Everything set up ready to knit in the round.
Initially I had no idea why that happened, but glory and trumpets, just while writing this post and looking at that picture, I figured it out. I mistakenly thought I'd started the first sock toe on the back needle, since I'd picked up stitches from the provisional cast-on using the front needle. Nope. Short row toes are knitted from one starting point in both directions. So the front needle was the one I started knitting from AND the one I picked up the stitches from after the toe was done - it all starts from the provisional cast-on, going in both directions. So ... next time all I have to do is start the second toe on the same needle as the provisional cast-on, and this should work.
Spatial visualization failures notwithstanding.
Let me take a moment here to stress how very important it is that you make absolutely certain that when you start knitting, you are knitting with two ends of the same needle. If you don't, this is what could happen.
After my first round of knitting across both socks, turning, and knitting back, that's what I ended up with. Lovely! I thought for sure I'd been very careful to pick up the right needle end to start knitting - I even double checked! - but the needles suddenly get very maze-like when you've got two socks on them instead of one. And that's the only thing I could figure caused this mess. So I knew I had to unknit that and start back from scratch, but then appeared the next dilemma. In this tangled mess, I couldn't figure out which needle end to knit the stitches back on to, to get back to where I'd started.
I know, I sound so inept, you'd wonder how I ever knit anything ... how hard should this be? Well, whatever. Anyway, of course I chose the wrong needle end, so when I un-knitted the stitches, I still had a similar looking mess. I resorted to Rescue Operation A, used before - running a tapestry needle threaded with yarn through the stitches, taking it clear off the needle, then putting it back on the proper one.
After all THAT, and making very sure I had the right needle end each time I began to knit, I finally got it straightened out.
And by the end of the evening, I had two socks percolating along on my two circs.
So I DID figure it out ... umm, more or less. By trial and error. But it's working, and that's the most important part, for now. And I think I now have all the kinks worked out, and the next time can sail through this procedure without so many pauses for reconstruction.
I think I like making two socks at once, there's only one thing that caused me any grief about the process (once I got it all sorted out and was just knitting around). Working on the first sock of a side - the one on the right after you have turned your needles - is easy. The second one gets a little edgy, because there's no good place to put that first sock out of the way while you're working on the second. First I tried to keep it close to the first sock (I think I read that in the ill-fated Gillingham book - always keep the socks close together), but I found that just bound my needle cables up too tight, and I couldn't work comfortably. Eventually I started sliding the first sock as far down the cables out of my way as I could. That seems to work best, although it quirks up my cables in odd ways. This doesn't really affect my knitting, it's just that I end up with this strange knot of needles and knitting underneath my hands, distracting me while I'm trying to knit the second sock. I'm not used to seeing that, I'm used to my extra needle just hanging there nonchalantly, looking cool - when only knitting one sock at a time. This is far more "fiddly" to work with. I'm learning to just ignore what's not right at the tips of the two needles I'm working with, and that seems to be the ticket.
But, I figure it's like this. Almost any new knitting method is (to me, anyway) fiddly at first. It just takes some getting used to. I'm sure over time it will seem more and more 'normal' to knit this way. I admit at first it was so odd that I considered just biting the bullet and going back to knitting one sock at a time like we've done for many, many years. But after 5 or 6 rounds it began to get a little easier, I began to work out a bit of rhythm to it, and I think the benefits outweigh the fiddliness, so I'll probably keep trying this method for awhile.
I admit I was kind of astounded with it, once it started working. Every round or two I'd stop, lay the socks out in front of me, and say, "Wow - two socks at once!" But then again, I'm easily amused.
When I first learned to knit socks, I learned on two circular needles. I never even tried dpns. I really like this method, and have no desire to change. But when I first heard about knitting two socks at once on two circs, and being done with the pair when you reached the end, I found that extremely intriguing. I'd never really had a problem with 'second sock syndrome' till that color-stranded pair I tried to make for myself, but till then I'd only knitted simple socks in self-striping yarn. I wanted to try some more complex patterns, and I got the idea that the more complex the sock, the more likely I was to not want to have to start a new one all over after finishing the first. Anyway, being able to start two socks, knit, and finish two socks, and be done seemed like a grand idea. And there's the bonus of knowing they're the same size ... I didn't enjoy having to count rows, or try to measure a half-done sock to get it the same size as the other.
So I really wanted to learn this method, and when I promised to knit my brother's family socks for Christmas - three pairs in little over a month - I decided that was a good time to do it.
When I ordered the first sock yarn for the Christmas socks, I also got the book Knitting Circles Around Socks by Antje Gillingham, and was considerably unimpressed, for a number of reasons. One of them was that I prefer knitting socks toe-up, with short row toes, and this book does not include any instructions for starting two toe-up socks at the same time - only cuff down.
I seriously considered going ahead and knitting the family Christmas socks cuff down, just so I could use those instructions to knit them two at a time, but the longer I thought about it, the more I realized I really wanted to make them toe-up, and if I wanted to do them both at once, I was going to have to figure it out for myself.
So I did. And here's what happened.
I actually tried this first on my niece's pair of socks, by knitting one short-row toe on one circular needle, the other short row toe on the other needle, then transferring stitches until I had the two toes properly on the two circs to begin knitting. That worked, except that I'd made some kind of hideous mistake when I picked up the stitches from my provisional cast-on at the beginning of the second toe. I'm not sure what I did, but it looked like I had picked the stitches up wrong and they weren't twisted, but were just open loops - so I ended up with a row of open lace-looking stitches across the toe. Not necessarily a bad thing, except the other one didn't match it, and it wasn't what I wanted. I tried to fix it, but failed, and ended up taking that sock off the needles, ripping it out, and just finishing the first sock, then starting over and knitting the entire second sock.
This time, even though my method for getting two socks on the needle at once wasn't what caused the problem, I decided for some reason to try doing it differently. I did my first toe from beginning to end, picked up the stitches from the provisional cast on with my second needle, and pulled that chain out, having my completed toe on the two circs, ready to knit. I marked the 'provisional cast-on side' with a safety pin.
Then I just slid that sock onto the middle of the cables, took two ends of one of the needles, and knitted my second sock toe there. Since you're working back and forth for the short row toe, and only using the same two needle ends over and over, and never having to slide your work down your cable, this worked fine - the first toe just rested hanging on the cables in the middle out of my way while I made the second toe. So far so good.
Then I got done, and ended up with this.
The right-hand sock is properly on two needles, but the left-hand (second) sock has what should be it's 'front' stitches on the 'back' needle, and it's 'back' stitches sitting out there with no needle to put them on. It was, apparently, on the needles backwards. Initially I had no idea why that happened. I assumed if I started them both on the same needle, they'd end up finishing facing the same way, properly on the two needles. That didn't happen.
I tried several things to fix it. First I was convinced that if I simply took the two ends of that back needle, placed them tip to tip and slipped the stitches of that second sock from the left side of that needle to the right side, it would flip it around and have it facing the right direction. I did that, and it didn't work. It was still backwards, just on the other side of the needle. (apparently I suck at that spatial visualization thing - even having done it, I still don't understand why that didn't work). In the end I resorted to running a tapestry needle with a piece of yarn on it through all the live stitches of the second sock, taking it clear off the needles, and putting it back on the right way.
Then I picked up my stitches from my provisional cast on with the front needle, and viola! Everything set up ready to knit in the round.
Initially I had no idea why that happened, but glory and trumpets, just while writing this post and looking at that picture, I figured it out. I mistakenly thought I'd started the first sock toe on the back needle, since I'd picked up stitches from the provisional cast-on using the front needle. Nope. Short row toes are knitted from one starting point in both directions. So the front needle was the one I started knitting from AND the one I picked up the stitches from after the toe was done - it all starts from the provisional cast-on, going in both directions. So ... next time all I have to do is start the second toe on the same needle as the provisional cast-on, and this should work.
Spatial visualization failures notwithstanding.
Let me take a moment here to stress how very important it is that you make absolutely certain that when you start knitting, you are knitting with two ends of the same needle. If you don't, this is what could happen.
After my first round of knitting across both socks, turning, and knitting back, that's what I ended up with. Lovely! I thought for sure I'd been very careful to pick up the right needle end to start knitting - I even double checked! - but the needles suddenly get very maze-like when you've got two socks on them instead of one. And that's the only thing I could figure caused this mess. So I knew I had to unknit that and start back from scratch, but then appeared the next dilemma. In this tangled mess, I couldn't figure out which needle end to knit the stitches back on to, to get back to where I'd started.
I know, I sound so inept, you'd wonder how I ever knit anything ... how hard should this be? Well, whatever. Anyway, of course I chose the wrong needle end, so when I un-knitted the stitches, I still had a similar looking mess. I resorted to Rescue Operation A, used before - running a tapestry needle threaded with yarn through the stitches, taking it clear off the needle, then putting it back on the proper one.
After all THAT, and making very sure I had the right needle end each time I began to knit, I finally got it straightened out.
And by the end of the evening, I had two socks percolating along on my two circs.
So I DID figure it out ... umm, more or less. By trial and error. But it's working, and that's the most important part, for now. And I think I now have all the kinks worked out, and the next time can sail through this procedure without so many pauses for reconstruction.
I think I like making two socks at once, there's only one thing that caused me any grief about the process (once I got it all sorted out and was just knitting around). Working on the first sock of a side - the one on the right after you have turned your needles - is easy. The second one gets a little edgy, because there's no good place to put that first sock out of the way while you're working on the second. First I tried to keep it close to the first sock (I think I read that in the ill-fated Gillingham book - always keep the socks close together), but I found that just bound my needle cables up too tight, and I couldn't work comfortably. Eventually I started sliding the first sock as far down the cables out of my way as I could. That seems to work best, although it quirks up my cables in odd ways. This doesn't really affect my knitting, it's just that I end up with this strange knot of needles and knitting underneath my hands, distracting me while I'm trying to knit the second sock. I'm not used to seeing that, I'm used to my extra needle just hanging there nonchalantly, looking cool - when only knitting one sock at a time. This is far more "fiddly" to work with. I'm learning to just ignore what's not right at the tips of the two needles I'm working with, and that seems to be the ticket.
But, I figure it's like this. Almost any new knitting method is (to me, anyway) fiddly at first. It just takes some getting used to. I'm sure over time it will seem more and more 'normal' to knit this way. I admit at first it was so odd that I considered just biting the bullet and going back to knitting one sock at a time like we've done for many, many years. But after 5 or 6 rounds it began to get a little easier, I began to work out a bit of rhythm to it, and I think the benefits outweigh the fiddliness, so I'll probably keep trying this method for awhile.
I admit I was kind of astounded with it, once it started working. Every round or two I'd stop, lay the socks out in front of me, and say, "Wow - two socks at once!" But then again, I'm easily amused.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Sprucing Up; A Birthday
I was getting a little tired of the old blog. I decided it needed a little sprucing up, a Solstice cleaning, redecorating. I think this is much better. Now if I can just quit being lazy and start posting once in awhile.
I must be in sprucing up mode, I've been working on the house as well. Slowly cleaning up and clearing out. Thanksgiving weekend I finally got one mess cleaned up that had been plaguing me for a long time. My former TV area:
The new and improved version:
Makes a huge difference in here. Slowly, the place is starting to look liveable again.
I've also been making much progress on socks. I finished my niece's pair, and started the next, for my sister-in-law. I have more to say on that, and pictures, later.
The Dread Reverend's birthday was Saturday, and we had a little zombie-fest party. I got him "Day of the Dead," we had friends over, and they watched that movie plus others we had (Dawn of the Dead, Army of Darkness, I'm not sure what all else - not like we don't have quite a selection to choose from) and played the "Zombies" game.
I must be in sprucing up mode, I've been working on the house as well. Slowly cleaning up and clearing out. Thanksgiving weekend I finally got one mess cleaned up that had been plaguing me for a long time. My former TV area:
The new and improved version:
Makes a huge difference in here. Slowly, the place is starting to look liveable again.
I've also been making much progress on socks. I finished my niece's pair, and started the next, for my sister-in-law. I have more to say on that, and pictures, later.
The Dread Reverend's birthday was Saturday, and we had a little zombie-fest party. I got him "Day of the Dead," we had friends over, and they watched that movie plus others we had (Dawn of the Dead, Army of Darkness, I'm not sure what all else - not like we don't have quite a selection to choose from) and played the "Zombies" game.
Me? I just knitted socks the whole time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)