FO and interuption to service

Today there is a Finished Object, a pair of socks, and a slight interruption to service. Our wireless died a week or so ago. We run Apples Timecapsule as our back up and wireless system and the Airport just died, no lights, no sound, no sign of life. Long story short is that we have had a week of no wireless, internet available on only one computer. I never thought I'd be miss technology but I did - mostly as the competition for the only internet-ed computer was stiff amongst the bears and cubs. Apple have been amazing and when they couldn't repair the Time-Machine they replaced it - which means a long back up session and using the ethernet cable to speed that up - and so no internet until that is done. I'll be back when it is done should be 24 hours or so with no technical glitches.


In the meanwhile - on Friday I finished Bears Socks, Revival in Bears Bunker, so I'm settling in to finish the other project on the needles - Tammy.

Take care
na Stella

The one where Bear finally gets a custom sock

Many years ago I began to knit socks, and like any knitting enthusiast I shared my hand knit socks with those I love. Bear has over the years received many many hand knit socks, some knit specially for him, some knit and that he wistfully yearned for so much so I decided he could have them even though I had not specifically cast on those socks for him. At some point in my sock knitting history I asked for a yarn for 'men' socks, and Vintage Purls delivered - with Bears Bunker. Over the years I have bought several skeins of Bears Bunker, I have even knit with it, and beyond that way back in 2009 I knit socks - but not for Bear.

So it is about time that Bear had socks in Bears Bunker .... or at this moment in time Sock.

The sock is done, and the second will be cast on tonight, Last night I wove the toe, and had Bear test fit the sock, whilst I love these dpns circs are much easier to try on socks with. There were a few worries with this sock, not about the sock itself or the pattern, but about the sock fitting Bear. Bear has cuter feet than I, he has squarish feet, with round toenails, and wider feet than I .... and the Revival pattern suggested sizing up by using a larger needle to knit the sock. Now in my world socks are knit firm, 9spi, on 2.25mm needles, and that is how it is. So I knit the sock as written, but on my sock needles (2.25mm) not 2.75mm and hoped for the best. The best being that the sock would fit Bear without cutting off all circulation to his back paws, the back up plan was that I would score the socks. The other worry was that as these were top down and at a much firmer gauge than the pattern suggested .. and with lots of twisted traveling stitches and mock-baby cables ... perhaps I would run out of yarn.

Happy ending in that the socks fit, he says they are 'firm' but not in a bad way, and I have 7.5g of yarn left over from the 50 grams I started with for this sock.

All in all a good result.
I'm off to look up my homework for the Jacey Boggs from Insubordiknit workshop that is being held this weekend.

One of these days I am sure my family will try and restrict my play time given how often I am not here in the weekends because of fibre things.

Stella

Look Snowflake!

Here in the south of the country we are in the midst of winter, so cold clear days, and 'crisp' mornings. Now 'crisp' is a local term that secretly means bitterly cold, ice and wind straight from the sea that can chill you thru the thickest of hats and gloves. At my house it has been snowing, well not really, as I have just the one snow flake - and a very pretty one. The yarn bombing on my gate has been added to, and I've been updated - this was a birthday gift with lace provided by several people!
As well as the sock today I have a new sock project to introduce and a new sock yarn....together with its pattern.

With a sock off the needles, and nothing in the way of easily portable knitting on the needles I thought it prudent to start something that was portable. Well that was the plan, Bear was next in line for socks so I provided several sock books and left him to choose. Bear choose a plain sock, plain toe, plain foot, plain heel, and 2x2 ribbed leg .... which was perfect, exactly the sort of sock project that I needed. Simple enough to be portable and mindless when I was out or distracted by life.


Except I didn't want to knit that sock. I didn't know that at first, I found a skein of Bears Bunker and converted it from Skein to cake, two cakes each of 50g. made sure it was sock yarn (superwash not vintage sock). About then I was catching up on my blog-roll and I saw the Yarn Harlot post images of exactly the sock I wanted to knit - something with texture and pattern and a challenge and yet something that wouldn't scare a Bear by being too girly or frilly or pretty. The sock is Revival and I'm being very literal in my inspiration, as I'm also working mine in grey. Bear approves - provisionally with a hesitant comment 'its not to much work is it?' Non-knitters just don't get it, sometimes simple and easy isn't enough.

Of course there is a reason I should be working a plain simple sock .... because I'm only a little way into the leg chart and already I'm frogging. The pattern is all twisted traveling stitches and baby cables - easy enough and doubly easy with pointy knitting pins. But ... I managed to mirror the pattern at the wrong point ... so ended up with a bit of a muddle ...... no problem, as I'm frogging down and knitting back up. I have already fixed one section this way .. and this will be done soon. Now that the direction of the chevrons are set the sock should be plain sailing.

This week was the second installment of the Vintage Purls winter sock club 2011 - so surprise yarn. I love this, every month during sock club - a neat wee parcel of yarn and pattern and other wee treats arrives for me to play with and stash. This is Hocken, same name for the pattern and the yarn. Hocken is a traditional name in Dunedin, streets, city fathers and libraries all carrying the name Hocken. The wee extra treat this time is a canvas bag with a sweet bird knitting graphic. This will get lots of use. The sock heel looks particularly interesting, perhaps if I had not already cast on for Revival I might have started this.

Things are quiet and busy, the first week back teaching in a new term so things are never quite where I left them. Friday I'll be teaching kids to knit at the settlers museum ... so if you are in Dunedin Friday from 10-12 - call in and say hi!

na Stella

Oh... ... .. .. . .

I don't have the right words, yesterday I was at work, teaching and there was an earthquake. On the fourth floor we felt it, the curtains swayed, computer chairs moved, we waited a while and then when the shaking continued for what seemed like ages, we left the building. We were not alone, the entire building emptied ... and after a while, when it was calm we returned to class. Latter there was a smaller aftershock, we all froze again but this time it was shorter and milder. Class finished and as staff and students mingled and got on with socializing and networking, and checked news .. I learned of the Christchurch quake. I taught the second stream of students that afternoon, some one set up a tv on the second floor and students who wanted to catch the news went and watched. It was all very sobering. Very early on the images and reports showed significant buildings downed, and people hurt. Three of my students, first years, away from home and in their first week of study decided to share a ride 'home' to Christchurch, I didn't want to stop them, how could I?

All afternoon the updates came, via emails, and links to news sites, and conversations with people who had news. My class finished at 5:30 and I went home, where we had a message from relatives that my brother and his wife were ok, latter I had a text from them - they were safe, had no power and water but were home, and together. Bear has relatives in Christchurch, we have not heard about them, a half sister and an aunt. Both have kin closer than us, family nearer .. we we are waiting and trusting ... it is all we can do. Today I was to have lunch with a friend from primary school, she was visiting from Christchurch with her two girls. Yesterday afternoon she cut short her trip and headed home, unable to make contact with her husband - I've not heard from her, she will be busy, this is their third big quake in six month, and I know she is tired and jumpy about quakes.

Today things were quiet, the news is at once both sad and filled with hope, there are hundreds of skilled people helping, the volunteers and offers of assistance are incredible. Governments from neighboring and more distant countries have sent and are sending planes and people, their help will be invaluable.

Last night I sat I sat, and knit, not a lot, I really didn't have the mind for it, just a little, and I thought that it was just as well the stitch repeat is only 12 stitches. I was distracted enough that remembering 12 stitches at a time was about all I was up for.

take care ... there are lots of sites with more information, and places where one can offer help, I won't link, you can all google.

na Stella

Two Hundred and Fifty Six stitches on each of four sides

results in a mighty long round of lace. I have avoided calculating exactly how many stitches a round has, a sort of knitterly avoidance, but I do realise that is why on an average nights knitting I will only 'work-around' the blanket four or five times. So today, there is more of the blankets slow progress, a simple low tech solution to a mistake that I just kept making, a finished project(yay!), and even more pens. Those things are absolutely as addictive as stashing fibre and yarn and patterns and books.

There are some projects that are easy and difficult at the same time, for different reasons. This blanket should be fairly easy, and straightforward, the center is garter, the next band is garter, and this band is in a simple 12 stitch lace repeat. All of that is perfectly reasonable to expect to be able to knit without to much in the way of stress or problems. So far I have reknit several sections of this blanket, in the past few days I have reknit the first few rounds of the darker grey band, again and again. For some reason I could not work 12 repeats of the 12 stitch lace repeat into 148 stitches. Simply I would get distracted and put the yarn over in the wrong place, or the decreases in the wrong place ... and I never found out until I was a stitch or seven out at the end. I tried stitch markers, but to place them on meant I had to work a round and slip each into place (I didn't have 48 stitch markers handy that could be clipped on). Eventually I sat and thought, there had to be a quicker and more adjustable way to mark the 12 stitch repeats without having to work a round. I threaded up a needle with a few meters of white yarn, and passed the needle back and forwards between every 12th stitch - it worked. I could easily pull out the yarn if I got to the end and was out by a stitch or two ... and work out which stitches on the previous round were sticking together, and looking like a single stitch.

That little 12 stitch guide was enough to get me started, I was away. Last time I knit this lace band it was in dark blue, and I am liking the more subtle transition from the mid grey to the dark grey. This time I am also remembering to knit the lace as garter stitch - last time I knit every round knit .. and the lace looked good, but different to what was intended. Things are looking good so far ..... fingers (and needles crossed).

The finished project was a wee doily, a lace linen doily that I turned into a ballet bun cover. I try to be a conscientious ballet mum, and send smallest cub along with her hair up ballet style. But those shear hair nets sold to keep buns tidy are frail, and easily torn and never to be found when one needs one. Her hair is so wispy it needs something to contain it. I wanted to make a Lacey bun-cover, and a doily seemed a good pattern. This tuned out larger than I intended, but I was able to thread elastic around one of the middle rounds of eyelet holes, and so create a ruffle (or fluffle as smallest bear calls it) beyond the bun cover.

And a photo being worn, pretty, she describes it as a little hat .. and I'd have to say her teddy bear has been spotted wearing it. An odd look really, a sort of Victorian maids lace cap in pink on a worn much loved teddy bear. I've been having thoughts about it as well. I might have to make one as a rosette to wear, what about double layered in several shades of yarn?

And pens, because a blog post without pens would be really odd now, somehwere along the line I acquired the orange one to the right in this image. I loved the orange one, and remembered Andy's Pens, where he sold me the (in order from right to left), Bright Yellow, Lime Green, Tweed, and Marshmallow versions. These arrived yesterday, and I'm kicking myself for not ordering the Jelly Pink, its all about the name really isn't it? And yes you are right, I don't need so many pens at once, but I think do I need to see them in a display on my desk, in a clear glass vase, to cheer me up. There really is something nice about using nice tools and equipment, and when the nice tools are simple inexpensive pens like this - I feel like I can indulge. I even ordered a turquoise refill from the same place (you didn't need to know that some refills come in Magenta, Turquoise and Purple, as well as boring old blue, blue-black and black did you?).

so I'm off to work my way around several hundred stitches, and stir the celery-bacon & barley soup, and generally settle down for a quiet Sunday evening.

take care
Stella

Knit, frog, knit, tink, knit, frog, knit, frog some more ...

That, my online friends is an accurate report of the weeks knitting. True to the blogs name there has indeed been far more frogging than knitting this week, and yet oddly I felt confident to start a new lace project ... and there was a new Vintage Purls Sock yarn club kit. The important part of that sentence is yarn, as in the club kits are no longer all about sock patterns but have extended excitingly into patterns that can be knit with sock yarn but are not socks. I understand there will be at least one sock pattern .. for the die hard sock knitters in her fan base.

So, today, the frog report, remember when a frog report was a fairly frequent part of every post, and the knit report, the new project introduction, and the planning of the Fair Isle Tam.

Frogging, and sometimes Tinking, was the major knit activity this week. Following last weeks post I did completely frog the blue lace band of the Sheltland yarn blanket, that was the easy task. I frogged straight onto a nostepinne, seemed a sensible move as I planned to knit it straight back up again.

Post frogging, the stitches sat waiting for me to slide them back onto the needle. I do like this shetland yarn, slightly sticky so it behaves it self, no stitches disappearing into themselves and running away.

But it was not so simple, I some how snagged one of the corners and could not drop down a few stitches and repair the damage. This was the garter stitch section where I had knit with two yarns to avoid purling, and the corner was where the two yarns were twisted together. Dropping down and picking up and understanding how the yarns worked up the corner, interlaced with each other and then worked away from the corner, well, that was apparently beyond me.

The ten or twelve rows I tried to drop stitches down and knit back up got increasingly more muddily and less like the other corners, the more times I tried, the more of a mess I made, so I frogged back a few more rows, until the corner was neat and started to finish the grey section again. Some times there is nothing else that will work but work it properly.

All that happened before Thursday, so when Thursday night came around, knit night I was at a loss about what to take to knit. I had no made much progress on a chart for my Fair Isle Tam, and I didn't want to risk mucking up the blanket any more. So I did what any sane knitter would do, 15 minutes before being due at knit night ... I opened Ravelry and hunted down a pattern. I wanted to knit a quick lace cover that smallest bear could use to tidy up her ballet bun. I found a Lace Luncheon Mat and printed it and grabbed pink linen and needles as I ran out the door. Appart from the fact it is going to be twice the size I need ... it is a good choice. Now I just need to frog it and knit it on much smaller needles ......

The tam is a knitters study project, and the second and last class is next weekend. That sort of put a little bit of urgency into sorting a chart. Inspired by Kate Davies and Spilly Jane, I am working towards a cute tam, not really fair isle but pretty and pictorial. I've assembled an assortment of knitting motifs from my knit books, and made a start. For now all I'm sure of is that there will be a couple holding hands .. and possibly a cat, or dog, or fox, or hearts .. or something equally twee. And no, they won't be knit in golden yellow, that is just the colour pencil that came to hand. Once I've planned to layout I will play with colours.

And the recent highlight of the stash was the addition of the first of 3 sock yarn kits from Vintage Purls. As usual a lovely colour and an amazing pattern, I might just use that lace to edge the Shetland yarn shawl. And of course there was chocolate, two kinds, dark my favorite and milk which is a favorite for sharing. Yarn, new pattern and lace, it really doesn't take much to brighten my week.

so .. I hope your week past and ahead has significantly less frogging and tinking than mine, and that some one does something nice for you on Valentines ..... there is already a nice pen here for me (more about that next post), and I've been making heart shaped pita breads for the cubs lunch boxes.

na Stella