How can I resist?

Take a look at the sock pictures here.

I am half-way through the toe decreases on my fraternal socks.

I'm gonna start my first Pomatomus right after I cast off.

I am a sock addict. (Perhaps I've been bitten by a vampire sock knitter?)

Happy Halloween everybody!

My Secret Pal is Great

This is toooooooo cute! I love it!

I have been working too many hours in the past two weeks to keep my brain working straight. I finally took a couple days of vacation out of sheer necessity and spent some time with my sweetheart. I feel so much better and more able to concentrate. I think my boss could tell I had just about gotten beyond my ability to cope. Mind you, four hours working today and I was just about ready to spit. I just hate doing the same thing over and over again and not getting anywhere because I'm supposed to be telling someone else how to do it instead of doing it myself. Even though I know I'm going to get stuck doing it myself in the end anyhow. Apparently, I'm not good at writing specifications for other people to do what I do in my sleep.

Ok, enough complaining (living up to the name of my blog, right?) and more knitting. I have finally figured out what my most wanted book is. It's Knitting Around by Elizabeth Zimmerman. This is the book that supposedly has a sock pattern where you can replace just the sole of the foot. Even though I haven't worn out even one pair of my socks yet, I really want that book.

I have also given up finding a matching yarn for the Bamboo my SP8 gave me. I love the Regia Bamboo, but I got this picture of one of the patterns from Sensational Knitted Socks in a combination of the Bamboo and black. But I don't want to mix fiber blends and the Bamboo doesn't come in solid colors. I'm going to have to make my mix with something else.

On the needles (no pictures, sorry) are two pairs of socks. On the first pair I'm just starting to decrease the toes and the yarn is something superwash and self-patterning by Knitpicks. On the second pair I'm just starting to decrease the gussets after my very first German heel and the yarn is a solid JaWoll. Two clapotis - one for a friend in Gedifra Cubetto and one for me in Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud. I also started a yellow scarf for the red scarf project ... probably. Don't ask. They said it could be in any gender-neutral color, I have a skein of yellow that I am not ready to turn into baby hats and I figure someone out there hates the color red and will be thrilled to get it. However, now I have a deadline. I better figure out what it is.

So, now I'm off to get some sleep before another exhausting week of ... telling other people exactly what to do and, apparently, how to do it. I'm a bossy person, but I do not enjoy this for some reason.

Oh, yeah, and I promised my mother a black hat. Hmm.

Idiocy and other embarrassments

This is me figuring out that I did have enough yarn for another pattern repeat in the clapotis I've been knitting.

Yes, I feel like an idiot. I had stopped knitting this until I got around to putting in a lifeline. Then I knitted it to the end (almost) and decided I didn't have enough yarn. So I ripped out to the lifeline and knitted it to the end with one less repeat. Next I decided I must have way too much yarn left over, knitted what you see here - one repeat all by itself and still connected to the rest of the scarf - then ripped back to the lifeline and knit it to the end with the extra repeat back in there. It is finished. I am now knitting an identical one in a black and white colorway. Let's see how nuts I get from this.

The next two pictures are a tale of two pairs of socks. I bought myself a size 1 circular from Knitpicks and couldn't wait to try it out.

Would you misunderstand me if I were to tell you I'm thrilled and they should be running an add, "Tink Faster!" Really. I tinked three rows and it was almost painless. Needing to tink was not the fault of the needles.
These are the socks I let languish on the needles while I played with my new needles.

As you can see (maybe), I've gotten around the heel and it's all simple knitting until I get to the toe. These are my fraternal socks - I couldn't be bothered to match the pattern before starting. Not excited, am I?

I made another baby hat. This one's in cotton. I still don't get along with this yarn. (Yes, I bought it thinking it would become ... a clapotis.)


Oh, yes. I also made a button. Let's see if I can figure out how to use it.

Secret Pal 9 Questionnaire

Here's the Secret Pal 9 Questionnaire.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I hate Red Heart and Fun Fur. I don't really like self-patterning yarns.

My stash is decidedly missing anything in bulky weight. I like soft fibers, superwash sock yarn, hand-dyed stuff and exotic stuff. My stash is currently overwhelmed by Noro's ganpi abaka tape, for example. I bought a couple skeins of KnitPicks Suri Dream for my SP8 pal and had trouble parting with it!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I've got my circulars under control in a Basmati Rice bag. The rest of my needles are either in a pencil holder on my desk or in a drawer in the basement. Just yesterday I found where I had hidden my extensive stash of double-pointed needles. Happy me!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I consider myself intermediate. I learned from my Grandmother 30 years ago or so.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes. I just went and updated it.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

Lavender or Rosemary. I tend to give away all my candles. Soap is welcome, though.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Chocolate. Sweet Tarts. Fox's Glacier Fruits.

I prefer coffee to tea. I like Marmite a lot - on toast with butter. Mmmmm.

I really don't like fruit in my chocolate. Nuts are great, fruit ... no thanks.

If you're in England and buying (and since I've already got two items on this list that I only know how to find in England!) ... my Sweetheart is very partial to Wine Gums.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I'd like to learn to spin. My sewing machine needs work. I crochet a little. Mostly I knit.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I'd love a CD from the Arrogant Worms. Maple Music has a better selection than Amazon.com.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

Blue, lavender, gray, black, white, green, lemon yellow....great.

Orange, bright pink, candy apple red, bright yellow ... ick.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with a wonderful Englishman and a pushy white cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Scarves, hats and mittens are great. I'd never wear a poncho.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I seem to have a clapotis fetish. I usually make them scarf-size, but I've also made two full-size ones with knitpicks andean silk twist yarn.

13. What are you knitting right now?

I'm gauge swatching for some potential projects, I'm mostly done with a clapotis scarf. I've got a sweater that needs to be blocked before I can sew it together and put the neck and button-bands on. I'm knitting a one-skein cabled bag that I'm going to have to felt because the yarn is moth-eaten. Oh, and socks. And a hat. And ... no, I think that's it. Mostly.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Right now, I'm itching to try the knitpicks needles. I'd like a pair of the longest size 1's they've got.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I am very fortunate to have both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

3 months.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

My Sweetheart's birthday, I think. June 28.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Actually, I'm very partial to giraffes.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I'm seriously considering buying the blocking wires from knitpicks.

And I'd like Knitting Rules, since I've got the other two of the Harlot's books.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I need to learn to block. And I haven't tried my hand at multi-stranded work in ... over a decade. Maybe it's time to try a pair of socks....

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I'm a sock knitter, and I think I've got my measurements around here somewhere. These days, I use my hand as my guide for how long to make the leg and the foot before starting the toe decreases, so if my SP really wants my measurements, I'll have to take 'em again, I think.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 02/17

I sure hope this helps.