Limbo

I am in limbo ....

I feel like I am gloating between projects waiting for the next thing to happen.

I have finished my partner's socks for the HSS6 but am holding off until I hear she is ready to send her box to me - which is on hold as she is helping a friend complete obligations due to a serious illness.

I have finished my 'toes' for the ODD socks round robin socks - we have the list of our fellow knitters, but have received no address for the person we are supposed to send our projects to ... each of us working just a part of the sock pair but by the end we have completed the stitching for 1 pair of socks although in reality 5 pr were made.

I have swatched for the Mr. Greenjeans sweater from knitty.com for the Kat's Sweater KAL for the "Eastwich Stitchers" on Ravelry. It begins tomorrow ... but still I'm waiting very anxiously. Looking over the pattern today I see that by the time I get to the bottom of the sweater I will be knitting over 300 sts ... I have a feeling its going to drive me batty - although working it as a group it should add some motivation and keep me on track. Hopefully I will have the proper amount of yarn (I forgot to take into consideration the yarn needed for the swatches)

ah -- and then there are the socks for Becca's graduation which for some reason I can get back to -- I have lost my place in the pattern and misplaced the second hank of yarn for it ...

HSS6 UPDATE

Yes! I'm only 2 days behind on where I planned to be with the sock -- good thing I figured in a cushion ...

I have finished the heel expansion stitches - so tht there is enough room for the heel to turn at the bottom of the sock ...

now it is onto the leg and the cuff -- with the super stretchy cast off!!!

Yipee!!

Hogwarts Sock Swap 6

Finished both heels -- although I had to veer away from the original pattern to do it ... I have issues doing w&t short-row heels on toe up - don't know what it is, it just happens ... so did basic short row where you skip doing the last st of the row and just pass the last st worked back onto the working needle after the turn ... easy peasy ... then on the gusset you knit the last live st with the first waiting st then M1L.

Interesting stuff. Made a couple of big holes but those were easy enough to pick tighter ...

so photos you might ask?

Hate to spoil the surprise for my partner but I'm kind of proud of the heels ... the colors look much better in person than they do in the photo - this makes it look more orange than in real life, and with the flash it washes it all out.


well I'm a little behind on the socks ... due to trip to MOA yesterday to get son's new glasses & half day gone missing since I had to wait for the railroad spike to remove itself from the top of my head .... much better now.


after the heel turn, I start expanding for the ankle -- while working the pattern st across the front of the foot ... it winds up beginning on row 5 instead of 8 as I thought it would because of the arch expansion ... but as it actually works out well because then when I finish with the expansions and get ready for the legs they will start on the proper row.

I'm glad instinct told me to do what the pattern did not.

At first I was concerned that the heel seemed to be too shallow ... but with the expansion rounds it should work out fine.

The big concern now is - the size ... all I can do is hope they fit since my partner's feet are much smaller than mine so I can't try them on to make sure they will go over the heel ... keeping fingers crossed.

HSS6 UPDATE

Okay - total number of rows for today? 0

yeah that's right ... big goose egg.

I did do 24 rows (that's 3 repeats) and tightened up the gaps between the instep & sole needles where I had to leave some extra slack so there would be enough stretch to go over the heel ....

so what put the breaks on today?

short row heels .... wrap & turns ... both scare me because they are not so easy to "fix" if there is a boo-boo ....

so far I haven't had to use a "life line" but I will have to this time .... I will have to do it tomorrow though ... time to put on those "big girl panties" and jump in ....

This should be easy - but its been so long since I've made socks this way ... at least 2 exchanges ...

the last one I used Cat Bordhi's book and the one before I made a form of tube socks (no heels)

I can do this ... I have to do this ... its a great pattern and I want her to have it ....

then maybe I will make a pair for myself (for the kids to steal and wear out before I get them back, if I know them)

Naughty Day

Daily Goal: 4 pattern repeats = 4(8 row pattern) = 32 rows
Total Rows Knitted Today: 2

Yup that's it ... it started with the football game ... then it was the chili ... then it was the missing Boy Scout forms ... then it was the chili (yep again) .... then it was the knee I twisted by walking on my leg while it was asleep ... then it was cornbread ... then it was hubby's back (ok, this actually started by the football game, but didn't really get time worthy until later) ....

then there was dinner ... and the kids begging me to make blueberry muffins ... and then getting the kids ready to go back to school ... then there was the 1 hr conversation I just got off the phone about Girl Scouts ....

add it all up ....

and a whole, whopping 2 rows were completed today ....

I'm so far behind ... but on the bright side -- I figure I only have 3 repeats on the foot, so that is only 24 rows ... and the kids are gone back to school tomorrow ....

so I should have all day tomorrow to knit ....

right??

Hogwarts Sock Swap 6

I'm up late -- watching "Post Man Always Rings Twice" and getting the first round of pattern stitch done for my partners socks ...

I kind of goofed the toe up ... but I like the pattern that was made :-D

There is some issues with where the pattern jumps from one needle to the next ... I have to keep the pattern loose so it offers enough stretch to get over the heel (tricky part when you don't have the foot handy to try it on) and by keeping it loose I am findng that there is some gapping.

I'm hoping that as I finish the sock I will be able to tighten up the stitches in those areas and 'hide' my little boo boo's.

Dumbledore said he saw himself in the Mirror of Erised with a pair of warm woolen socks .... I hope these socks will be worthy for even him.

HSS6 UPDATE

okay - I have the pattern picked out ... it is just my partners size ... I've looked at it done in all sorts of varigated yarn and it should be the perfect pattern ... my problem now is what color to dye my partners yarn (I know she will probably see that I'm dyeing her yarn, but you never know how things work up until its completed).

two last minute tickets for my hubby and his mother to help arrange his aunt's funeral is going to put a damper on some of my plans -- but I can rethink things to make it all work. The toughest part is the "row marker" ... I have seen so many options online that I'm not sure which way to go.

Normally I tend to make my own stitch markers for my partners ... and I do hope they all have liked them ... but I'm not sure where to start with the row markers.

I've seen the clickers .... I've seen the kind you spin the numbers ... I've seen the kind that look like bracelets where you use the links to count ... and I've seen ones that look like earrings that can double as stitch markers as well (although I'm a bit shy on these ones - I used some this summer and found they tend to fall out as the work is put down).

hmmm, I will have to see what I decide on :-)

SOCK SWAP TIME~!!!!!

Okay -- just to give everyone a heads up (and hopefully it won't get lost in all the politic posts)

Hogwarts Sock Swap 6 is taking sign ups

We have a new HeadMistress
We have a new Deputy Mistress
We will have new Heads of House

Now all we need is YOU!!!!

Drop in at the old hss5 website (its being revamped for the new exchange) for the details ...

We are hoping to have enough time for stitching so we can get owls off in time for Valentine's Day delivery, since HBP deals so much with Love and facing feelings hidden deep within.

Please - if you have participated in the past, or know someone who has -- are you are willing to take the first plunge into a swap ... stop by the page.

Hogwarts Sock Swap 6

set so that packages arrive by the Christmas holidays, and with a Deputy Mistress in charge - they are collecting interest in doing a 6th sock exchange!!

Whoo hoo! soon names/addresses will begin to be collected in two places:

the Ravelry Group
the Hogwarts Sock Swap 5 page (soon there will be a new link to the new group page, but you can get the basic info there)

If you are a past member, I urge you to sign up once again ... this is the Half-Blood Prince round! I would love to see an overwhelmingly Slytherin presence there.

Lets not let our favorite Potion's Teacher down - okay, he wasn't that great as a DADA teacher, but in Potions he was awesome!

HOT DAMN!

Finally got my partners socks finished ... but I want to give them a bath before they go off to her.
the color is such that I can't tell if it has picked up any dirt or not -- but since I have been doing all sorts of not-clean work since working on them I'm going to assume I may have transferred a trace amount.

I have gotten a hold of some wool wash, so as a treat I think I will use that to clean them in.

Here's hoping my colors don't fade or run.

Photos later ... maybe when they are drying on my blockers. I hope they don't take too long to dry.

Show N Tell: toe up sock bind offs

Okay -- didn't want to lose this video before I have a chance to cast off .... Cat from "LetsKnit2gether" shows several ways to bind off toe-up socks.

I like toe ups because you can try the sock on as you go so you know everything is coming out correctly... so you make the toe box the right width & angled proper ... also that the bottom of the foot is the correct length, that the heel has the correct rise ... and most importantly (the issue I've run into with my partners socks) that the leg can make it over the heel!



but unfortunately ... the last pair (and first pair) of toe ups brought me to tears because I didn't know how to cast off. I tried the 'bind off loosely" technique but it still didn't work.

Thank you Cat!! Now I know things will work out proper.

Show N Tell

Colored section #1
the orange is the life-line which will be pulled when the socks are done .... I could do it now, but I think I'd rather wait.

This section is done now so I feel its ok if my partner gets a sneak peak.

dye job gone awry

well not really ... I like what I got, but it was exactly what I was hoping for.

they should make some lovely socks -- it will have a wonderful one of a knd pattern to it.

I label these skeins "Close But No Cigar" color ways ... because while the skeins were colored the same way, at the same time, same dye-lots - they marled differently ... but they should make a beautiful effect once knitted up!

Okay so here's what I did .... I did a test swatch and kept careful records of ratios of colors (so I could make the batch bigger), colorant:water ratios, "cooking" times.

This particular dye lot used 11 parts blue to 2 parts purple Paas dye, to 2 cups water for 1/2 oz yarn, cooked for a total of 12 minutes. then cooled to room temp and rinsed then hung to dry.

here is how it was supposed to look:

This is what I got instead:

here is a comparison of what I got ... left to right (brightness is off):

1) the color I wanted (deep navy)
2) the rainbow batch used to see who colors would blend
3) the color I got (deep navy dyed over just blue)

as you can see -- they are all very nice (and youngest daughter has already claimed the rainbow mini skein for a sock)

as you can see - its considerably brighter than I wanted but it should still give me a good effect even if it isn't the exact one I wanted.

these were pure yellow paas overdyed onto onion skin dyed yarn ... the paas was microwaved and the onion skin was cooked in a crock pot for a whole day (I really needed more onions skins than I had to make it deeper ... but you use what you've got)

As you can see the color runs from a subtle onion to brighter yellow - it should flash wonderfully giving it a metallic look!

I've been told that it could be that the yarn has simply taken all it can of the dye and it can't take anymore ... I don't know .... I haven't heard of such a thing but I suppose its possible.

New Button

Okay I've got a new button done up for the next Sock Swap ... the HSS5.

HOGWARTS SOCK SWAP 5

SIGN UPS ARE NOW HAPPENING for past students of the swap .... if this is you then you should already have the Headmistresses email address.

New Students can begin to sign up next week.

OFFICIAL SITE:
Hogwarts Sock Swap 5: Dumbledore's Army

I hope to see a lot more Slytherin's this term ... we were a rather small group last time, but still managed to pull off winning the House Cup (yes we are still proud) ... of course there was a house that only had 2 members (had to feel a little sorry for them).

C'mon everybody -- lets sign up and have some great Quidditch games this round!!!

Hogwarts sock swap 4

photos of my outgoing package ...





The Toe socks! they were supposed to be opposites on each foot, but when I redid the toes I didn't pay close enough attention so both feet have the same color pattern.

Hogwarts Sock Swap - Incoming!!

Okay I finally got the photos downloaded from my daughter's camera (mine was unavailable) so I thought I would post a photo of the socks my partner sent me:


Sorry its so dark - she has an old camera and if I use the flash it is way too bright and just washes all the color out of the photo (I did try one hoping - but it was just one big white spot).

I don't know what kind of yarn she used but it is sooo soft. She made them loose enough so that my feet aren't being strangled, but not so loose that they slide into my shoe. Do wish the ribbing was a tad tighter, but the tops are very comfy though so I think if it were tighter it would probably make my legs feel throttled.

She also sent me a big knitted book mark that is like a PushMePullYou of socks ... lol ... one half is green the other silver ... she also felted me a bag that looks very much like a cauldron - it is very cute. Sorry no photos - we were on the way to a Brownie Girl Scout event and were in a rush ... and now the daughter wants her camera back.

Owl arrived

got my package from my partner yesterday, but will wait to post big on it when I get the photos downloaded.

Oh my Stars

blesings, blessings, blessings ....

hey its better swearing than S.O.B. - only I don't usually abbr. it.

I haven't moved everything from my summer 'take it's (usually baggies) to their winter spot (usually just a single giant baggie) -- and the little ones had fun on my side of the bed where I tend to park everything because I like to knit in bed ... sorry, tmi.

But the kids also use my side of the bed to put anything they want me to look at - so it has bits of stuff from school .... hubby likes to put mail that he doesn't want to lose on my side as well (usually tucked between my craft boxes) .... and if when the kids want to cuddle they get in on dad's side but scoot out mom's side - don't ask me why ...

any ways, inevitably what ends up happening is my semi-organized area gets bumped/knocked/ or otherwise abused and stuff starts to collect on the floor ... and since I learned a long time ago to pick and chose my battles, esp when it comes to the kids, all I ask is if they knock something down to pick it up.

Well this morning I had to kind of eat my own words....

last night I was working on a special project for my two partners (one for HSS4 and the other for ACX), they are a great idea and they fit both themes so I had to start making two -- no I'm not quite done with the socks yet .... I'm dreading taking out the toe sections ... but I've got at least a couple ideas as to how to fix them - one of which is just to crochet the toe sections..but I'm sliding here aren't I?

So I was working on the specials and I had dropped some stuff while reaching for a different sized crochet hook ... only hint ... well I could have swore I picked it all up ... wouldn't you know it? I missed one baggie that fell --

I found it this morning ... with my foot.

I was in a hurry and heard that sickening crack under my foot ... thought it was my wooden cable needles -- I hate that sound ... its one of the reasons wood needles aren't my favorites ... but I would never turn them away esp the larger ones (hint hint).

Well - there was nothing I could do ... I had lost track of time and had to go outside with the youngest to wait for her bus -- its raining this morning and it is still dark as night out there ... we have coyotes in the area but where she waits at the end of the drive is just outside the dog's collar's range ... I'm sure the dog would endure the shocks to guard the girl but why risk it when I can stand out there and make sure it doesn't happen.

so I checked and sure enough I had knocked down some paper work last night as well that I wasn't aware of and it had covered a baggie which must have gotten knocked down during the football game - I may have done that too without realizing it --

On one hand I'm happy it wasn't my wooden needles that broke ...
on the other hand I'm pretty pissed at myself ... another knit gauge gone -- only this time it was my favorite and practically new KnitPicks one! Snap the corner right off -- right thru the second size 2 hole!

I'm so sad right now. I would love to say 'its a good thing their cheap' .... but I'm not sure I want to put a bunch of money on the card to order a new one (always order min for free shipping :-) ... I've already ordered a bunch of stuff getting readying for late fall/winter.

QVC owns my butt right now ... oh and Herrschners too.

Oh well - will have to complain later ... got too much to finish.

still have to figure out how to do Indiana Jones w/o the leather jacket ... and one Wonder Woman outfit w/o being too 'busty' for the youngest ... and how to keep oldest girl from stealing my new witches hat (it has feathers, veil and purple spider on it ... very cute).

well ... first I get my exchange obligations out of the way - they are due first.
then costumes.
then Yule
then I can deal with credit cards
then I can look into getting a new knit gauge, if I decide I really need one. I mean its still functional ... I just won't be able to use it to size a few needles. I'll probably tape it together for now. wonder if I've got some super glue ....

"See first that the design is wise and just: that ascertained, pursue it resolutely; do not for one repulse forego the purpose that you resolved to effect." William Shakespeare

Okay so I have been working on my partners socks .... I'm about 95% finished. And I have noticed that I have stretched out stitches in a couple of areas -- not really holes just stretched stitch loops that can be easily fixed but at the moment look really nasty.

I think I know exactly what the problem is and I can more than likely avoid it during the last 5% ... but it will mean some stitch tightening and possible duplicate stitching to pull those last bits together - I was planning on doing a bit of dup anyways just to make sure nothing popped of during wear&tear anyways, but it was going to be an extra special thing out of politness rather than necessity.

now I'm getting nervous that my partner won't like her socks.

I've got new photos of when they were about 82% done ... but they show too much of the final design and I'm kind of leary to post because my partner might see them before I get them in the mail.

I keep thinking - 'if I got these, would I like them?' - I always answer yes ... but then I wonder if I'm not just being biased. My girls are going gaa gaa over them ... so that's a good sign. My youngest wants me to make a pair for her in Ravenclaw colors - my Gryffindor daughter (the 16 yr old) wants me to make her a full set of socks, hat, scarf & mitten. right, I'll get right on that -- as soon as you clean your room.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning and ask myself why I didn't just revert back to my roots and crochet the last 10% ... I would have been so done by now. Actually I've never crocheted a sock before, it would be interesting.