Distractions

I've been thinking a lot about the projects I want to take on the drive from Chicago to San Francisco. Nothing too crazy, but whatever I take has to last about 3 weeks, since that is how long it will take for our things to arrive. Since I'll be looking for a job, I will also have a lot of free time on my hands. I am envisioning lots of knitting time.

I meant to do a guage swatch for the Sunkist Cardi, pack the needles and yarn, and work on it in the car. Once I started I couldn't stop though. I'm loving the yarn, even though it's cotton and it's freezing here. There are subtle variations in the color, and it is so soft.

Today I created a pile of possible projects for the trip. It is laughably huge. Currently, I have four sweaters on the needles, including the cardi. One is almost finished and the others have been sitting for a while. The pile also includes numerous other projects. Since we also have to fit a lot of our belongings in the car, I'm going to have to cut back a bit. Did I mention we have a very small car?

At Long Last

This purse has been sitting around, 95% complete, for months now. All that was left to do was to finish one of the straps, and then connect the two together.

When I saw this recycled silk yarn on sale at a local yarn shop, I knew I had to try it. I had seen a pattern calling for it, and it looked fun. It was an enjoyable project, but by the time I got to that last strap, I had lost interest.

For one thing, the yarn is difficult to knit with. It is very beautiful and has an almost oily feel, but there is no give. Also, this is a little too hippy for me--I probably should have considered that before starting. The yarn also sheds like crazy. I'm still finding little bits of fiber in the strangest place, not to mention all over many of the knitting projects that have shared the same knitting bag with this purse.

Last week I rediscovered it. The finished bag is very pretty, so I am happy with how it turned out--finally. I overlapped the two straps, instead of grafting the stitches as the pattern called for, and attached a vintage button to the top. I'm not sure what, if anything, this will be used for since it is very floppy, but it feels good to cross it off my list.

Socks: The Pair

The second sock has been completed. I worked on this sock whenever I had the chance, and it was finished fairly quickly. Especially compared to the first sock which took 4 months!

The socks are not without issues. For one thing, one is larger than the other. This is especially noticeable in the ribbing. They are both a little big in general, but not so bad that I won't wear them. There are also little mistakes throughout both socks--none of which is too noticeable. I'm not sure I've mastered the Kitchener Stitch either, but the toes turned out ok, so who knows?

I never did a guage swatch for these socks, so that may be where some of my problems lie. One of the reasons for this is that I didn't have the next size smaller needles, so I just decided to wing it. Probably not the best idea, considering I am a somewhat loose knitter. Also, these are the smallest needles I've ever knit with, and I think the thought of using smaller than a size 2 turned me off at the time.

All things considered, I love the socks and I learned so much working on them. It's always fun to learn a new technique or two.

I'm already planning my next sock project. I've been looking for a pattern for some Trekking XXL that I picked up around Thanksgiving. I was originally going to use this for a pair of mittens, but I've changed my mind. Last night I found the perfect pattern (named Rhodie, and found here), but the method involves using 2 circular needles. This would involve buying more needles and learning a new technique amidst all my packing and general moving craziness, so I'm not sure. Maybe I will try to convert it to DPNs. I also have some Fleece Artist, which I want to use for a pair of Jaywalkers, so maybe I will focus on those instead.

The drive to San Francisco is coming up in a week and three days. Let the countdown begin! This week I am going to choose my projects for the drive. As long as I can avoid car sickness, I will be knitting practically nonstop for 4 days straight. That is definitely something to forward to!

More on the Sock

First... I finished my sock! I'm very excited and proud. I keep trying it on and admiring it. I immediately cast on for the second sock, and I'm making great progress. I'll post a picture when the second sock has been completed. Hopefully, it will not take as long as the first sock did.

Second, I've decided to join Project Spectrum. Project Spectrum is an exploration of the color wheel with specific colors for each two month period. The February/March colors are blue, white and grey.


I am on a very strict budget due to my impending move, so at least for the first two months, I will be knitting from the stash. I have some slubby, hand-dyed yarn which I think would make a pretty drop stitch scarf. It is blue and green though, so I'm not sure if that qualifies. I also have some GGH Amelie, which is kind of fuzzy and very soft. I only have two balls though--maybe a pillow. There is also my Hourglass Sweater--I got sidetracked from that some time ago.

I'm focusing on blue, because I do not have any white or grey in the stash. There might be some off-white though. I'll have to get creative--which is the whole point.

Sock Progress

I made a lot of progress on my sock today. It even joined me in listening to Bush give his spiel.

Now that I've restarted it, I have to say that it is exciting. When I first started knitting, I wondered why anyone would knit a sock. It just seemed tedious and illogical. Why not just buy a $5 pair? Then I started reading other knitter's blogs, and I thought I'd give it a try.

While it has been tedious at some points, I've also learned a lot. I'm on a roll and hoping to finish this sock soon. I may or may not knit the second sock, but I can't wait to tell people (non-knitters) that I knit a sock. I can only imagine their reactions.



BTW... yes, that is a hole by the heel flap. I missed a spot when I was picking up stitches. The plan is to stitch it shut when I'm finished.

My First Sock

I have been knitting this sock since early September/late August. It has been so long, that I can't remember when I started it anymore. Originally, this was going to be my "bedside table project" that I would knit before going to sleep.

For any number of reasons, there hasn't been much progress. About a month ago, I started a book that I can't seem to put down. Needless to say, there hasn't been much bedside knitting since.

I've also been somewhat uninspired by the pattern. I rediscovered the sock today and tried it on. It does look nice, although I'm not sure about the colors. It's a good first sock though I would imagine. The yarn is like string, but feels ok knit up.

I keep telling myself to get through this pattern, because I have some Fleece Artist yarn that I want to use to make some Jaywalkers. The colorway is much nicer than the one I'm currently working with, and the yarn feels great.

I'm nearing the home stretch for this first sock, and I've regained interest for now. Hopefully, I will finish before something more exciting comes along. I don't know if the second sock will ever get knit, but at the very least this has been a good practice.