The Monkeys are finished!
I just have a couple of things to say before the pictures…
Awhile ago, I found out that my piano teacher, Bethany, was moving in July. Since she had been so gracious to my beginner self in my lessons, I thought I should make her something before she left. So, I thought I would make some socks for her. However, she reads this blog, and since I still wanted to post pictures of my progress, I just pretended that I was making them for me. But I was so happy that I finished them last night that I decided not to wait until tomorrow night when I will give them to her to show them off. So, HERE ARE THE SOCKS I MADE YOU! Hopefully they will actually fit you. Just to let you know, too, my feet were clean when I modeled these. Okay, so without further ado, the fair few pictures of the socks:
I just had to put some shoes on with them, and what better than the most awesome flats in my possession? (I wonder who gave those to me..ahem..Anna..)
I guess you can tell I really like these socks. It’s too bad that I made these in mind of giving them to someone else, because I would totally keep them if it was just for the challenge!
I guess you could think of knitting pairs of things (like socks) as a round-trip journey. As of 4th period in school today (during a corny film about medieval castles, to be exact) my needles and I reached the destination of said journey. Now we just need to get back home again. I broke one yesterday while I was knitting, cause I guess my hands just put too much stress on it, but at least I’ve still got two left over from the last set that I had, so I’ll still be able to have live stitches on 4 needles. This first sock was pretty enjoyable to knit, after I got used to the teeny needles, but I doubt I’ll be making more for awhile. There’s something about socks that just takes me forever, it took five days just to get most of one finished. I don’t understand why I can finish something intricate like a shawl in less than two weeks, but drag on the making of a single pair of socks for…I don’t know how long. Maybe I’ll get more into socknitting later in life, maybe when I open my dream coffee/yarn shop in a city outside the US and need something small and portable that can be put down and picked up when necessary.
Meanwhile, I’ve been struggling along with this:
Bethany’s trying to teach me to play the song that Georgiana Darcy plays in Pride & Prejudice, and it’s been fun so far, I just can’t play both hands at the same time past the first two measures (and even then I have to go really slowly). Oh well, I’ll get it eventually.
Remember what I said about the Monkeys earlier, about how I wouldn’t be working on them for awhile unless I had a sudden burst of craziness to knit socks? Well, I think that that burst has definitely come, after lurking on the Craftster knitalong for this particular pattern of Cookie A’s many beautiful designs. Yes, I know that it was sort of designed to be made with pretty handpainted yarn, and the majority of people who have made these have used that, but seeing as I don’t really feel like going out and spending $22 or so on two hanks of Koigu or something else luxe like that, I am still working them in some simply brown 4 Ply Soft. Most of my afternoon has been spent knitting on these, and I progressed past the heel (in Eye of Partridge stitch–I’m particularly proud of that bit since it managed to make durability so lovely) and am now a few rounds into the gusset. I’m not that into the stitch pattern, but it is really easily memorizable and has got a kind of fluidity to it.
Other than that, I really haven’t got much to talk about…I guess I’ll just be working to get to the foot and then the toe, then who knows what? I probably won’t be able to cast on for the second one for awhile, seeing as I’ve still got more pressing projects to be working on right now.
is finished!
Yes, that’s me modeling it, seeing as the recipient won’t get them until July. You can also kinda see a reflection of my computer screen in the desk–I had been reading Ysolda’s latest blog entry right before I took a bunch of different photos to try and get a really good one. I really, really like this pattern. I might even have to make myself a pair sometime! The cotton-blend yarn does kind of make the three cable rounds a little bit less than elastic, but hopefully blocking will change that. I also had to do a round of slip-stitch crochet in the bind-off edge, because it was a little loose and threatening to roll down despite the purl stitches.
I also did the bottom panel and started the front of Tab’s messenger bag. The size 15 needles are really cumbersome to work with, because they’re HUGE, not to mention about a foot long each and really loud aluminum (I got them from Bi-Mart the fall before last when I wanted to make a drop-garter-stitch scarf–I think they were a couple of dollars. Bad choice…I’ve learned since then to invest at least a little more than that in the needles I buy). I think that especially with larger needles that tend to be heavier as straights, I infinitely prefer to use circulars. But, I used a really cool random stripe generator to get the sequence for the bottom, and it’s fast with the bulky yarn.
I’ve been killing a lot of time reading knitting blogs lately, and that made me start thinking more and more how boring my blog is compared to, say Eunny Jang’s, or the Yarn Harlot, or Brooklyntweed. I know that I’m younger than them and that I shouldn’t let their awesome talent make me put myself down, but when I see the things that other people make (like finishing an intricate colorwork pullover using fingering weight yarn and tiny needles in less than a week, or not just actually finishing a pair of socks, but making many, many pairs of beautiful ones), my finished objects just seem kind of simple and dumb. Oh well…I guess this knitter will keep on knitting and maybe one day she’ll be as good as the people she looks up to.
Sorry for the blurry picture, it was really hard to photograph these because they cast a glare from just about every camera angle (that and I own a crappy camera). Basically all I did was just print downsized versions of the original photo, put packing tape on both sides, and cut his head out. I’m pretty sure that my swap partner will be able to ‘intimidate her subordinates’ when she wears these. Now I just have to figure out the medium and large-sized items I’m going to make!
I also made a couple of owl swap goodies:
Recognize this little bird? It’s Owl from Winnie the Pooh! I did the same thing for these as for the Dwight earrings, except with different colored beads (obviously). And here’s a wallet I made with stash Cascade 220–it looks plain on the outside, but when you open it up, there’s the ingenious owl cable!
I had never done this motif before, and it was really fun. It really looks like owls, doesn’t it? I also made up a way of making it seamless–knitting the inside panel first, then picking up stitches from the bottom and then as you work that panel, picking up a stitch at the end of each row from the owl panel and decrease it at the start of the next row. I am definitely going to be using that technique again. It’s been a little bit nervewracking doing two swaps at once, but now that things are mostly coming together, it’s gotten to be more fun. And to think, later when I receive my packages for these, I’ll have my very own set of owl-themed crafts, AND Office-themed crafts!
The truly dashing ‘Dashing’ have been reborn.
I am also infinitely happier with what I am seeing this time around. The fabric even feels softer (okay, that may have been due to the frogged and reknitted yarn, but oh well) and the cables and length definitely see more Austin-ish.
I was reading over the past few posts on here yesterday and I realized that there’s something wrong with the time that WordPress says that I’ve been writing posts…all of them say that they were posted a day later than I actually wrote them, and it says that they were published in the middle of the night. I’m not reallly sure how to fix that, because this is going to say that I posted it on Saturday probably sometime when I’ll be sleeping, even though really right now it’s Friday afternoon. I guess it’s not really something to worry about, though.
Season 3 of ‘The Office’ is done! I can’t believe it…last night’s episode (the finale) was amazing. I’m so happy for Pam! She deserves Jim more than Karen does. I hardly get to see the actual episodes when they air because of timing problems on Thursdays, but hopefully that’ll get better. Now we’ll just have to wait until September! Meanwhile, I’m contemplating for what to make my partner in an Office-themed swap on Craftster.
Also, the BGRGH was finished on Wednesday evening…here’s a photo that should give you an idea of how truly BRIGHT the thing is:
Now I just hope Random Guy thinks it was worth the $20 that he’s slowly paying off.
ugh…
This is my progress so far on the BGRGH (I’m calling it that from now on cause it takes too long to type out the whole thing). I am using Red Heart ‘Soft Yarn’ in Guacamole doubled on my well-used Clover #10 1/2 sixteen-inch circulars.
When I was a novice, naive knitter, I knitted with 100% acrylics like Red Heart Super Saver from Bi-Mart. Yes, I’ll admit it. I have also developed a certain loathing for that cheaply made fiber spun from no dye lot petroleum, that is sticky and squeaky to knit with. I know I may sound like a fiber snob, but I really DO NOT like synthetics AT ALL.
After discovering the wooly and cottony and whatever else world of natural fibers, there was just no going back. Also, I think the yarn ball doesn’t like me cause the center-pull end keeps coming out of the skein in huge tangled masses that are insanely hard to get straight, and the last knit stitch of my ribbing and cables is consistently looser than ever other stitch except for the purl stitch immediately following, which is even more irritating. At least I’m getting paid to do this, but Random Guy has also chosen to pay my $20 in $1-a-day increments, which is starting to annoy me because I want to be paid off in time to pre-order a copy of the new Harry Potter. As of today, he owes me $18.
I’m dying to get back to the Mitts, so I’ll go as fast as I can on this stupid hat to get it done. Speaking of those, I ripped the first one last Wednesday during a discussion in youth group and cast on again and worked a few rows (probably not the best time to do that though–my #7 double points are loud and clicky aluminum, but I love them just the same). I’ve still got to figure out the modified cable rounds for them though so that they’ll actually be the right length this time.
Speaking of works in progress to start and finish, that is.
Here is my finished (but still unfelted, obviously) swap handbag posing with an actually finished version I made earlier this year. It’s based off of the Sophie pattern from MagKnits, except I did a garter stitch handle instead of two i-cords twisted together. It’s been awhile since I made the other one in dusty pink Cascade 220, so I had definitely forgotten how ridiculously huge you have to make things to get them to be a nice size after felting. I’ve been leaning more towards the idea of appliqueing a cute little owl on the front once it’s all fulled and shrunk than embroidering, because I happen to suck at embroidery. I also rediscovered how much I hate working garter stitch. There’s just something about it that irritates me, maybe it’s that somehow my normally even stitches become erratic and irregular especially when I’m working just a few stitches, or that despite just knitting every row, it’s very tedious. It was just fine for me when I had just learned how to knit, and didn’t know how to purl or knit in the round, but now, having had two years experience with needles in my hands, I do not like it AT ALL. But, it’s all over now, so now my size 10 1/2 circulars are free to make the Bright Green Random Guy Hat.
Now to the Mitts.
These are not at all turning out how I anticipated. It turns out that my row gauge is bigger than the one in the pattern, making the normally nice, rounded cables longer and narrower, and I think I’m somehow running out of yarn. The pattern said that each glove takes approximately 71 yards, and each of the skeins I bought have 80, so it should work out, right? I don’t know how it got like this, but I don’t like where it’s going. I guess this almost-finished mitt is off to the frog pond to be re-knit with less rows in between everything so I can save yarn and make them shorter than their current, almost elbow-length. I doubt that any guy would really like to wear fingerless mitts that go up to his elbows, even if they were nice ones like these.
Tabatha and I took a trip to Boersma’s (my new favorite yarn shop) today. The stuff you see here is two hanks of Reynold’s Ole-Ole, which I’ve never worked with before (or even heard of) but it was the next best alternative I could find to Cotton-Ease for the Dashing, which has eluded me at every place I’ve searched. The actual color is a little bit darker than this, but it is a really nice, soft, cottony blend, which will work well cause then Austin won’t have to wait until winter to wear the mitts without overheating his hands. It’s kind of lacking in elasticity from as far as I can tell, but maybe the ribbing will help a bit.
I’ve also been commissioned to make Tab a messenger bag (I’m basing it off of the Candy Stripers bag in SNBN). So, when we were there she picked out some Lamb’s Pride Bulky and buttons to fasten the front.
I love all the colors she chose, and the buttons, but I’d definitely have to say my favorite is the ‘Oatmeal’ skein at the top. We’re still trying to work out a stripe scheme, but I think she wants it to be a solid black bag with the other colors on the front flap and strap.
I also finished Emma (YEA!!) after much reading. I thought it was pretty good, still not as good as Pride & Prejudice, but it’s Jane Austen, so it couldn’t have been bad. I didn’t really like Emma’s character all that much, and I think that my favorite character was the shy, elegant Jane Fairfax. Now I can truly and honestly compare Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley: to me, Mr. Knightley does seem the superior in good sense, but it did seem a bit weird that he fell in love with Emma when she was 13 and he was 29.
And, you can’t really surpass the charming- and dashing-ness of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, but I am still willing to give Mr. Knightley a chance.
Even after this really long and kind of slow novel, I’m still in the mood to read more Jane Austen. I think I’m hooked on her 1800’s romantic comedy. Maybe Mansfield Park, next?
The last few days, my brain has been so abubble with new ideas and plans for projects that I can’t even count them all.
I’ve been thinking more and more about trying my hand at designing a sweater to submit to Knitty, and have drawn up a sort of mental schematic in my head of what it might look like, but I haven’t really put anything on paper yet. I’m thinking pullover, definitely top-down in the round (I detest seaming…I could hardy put up with all of it for Mrs. Darcy) with an empire waist and yarn-over sleeve increases, delicate cabling through the long sleeves and bodice, and maybe even a little more lace (my new addiction!). As for yarn….well, that’s where the hesitation comes in. I have so many things to make before a certain deadline (i.e. the bright green hat for random guy before the school year’s over, the Dashing before the end of July, the yellow handbag for swap sendouts, &c.). I also do not have enough money during one month to get yarn for the hat, the mitts, AND the sweater unless I get cheapo acrylic from Bi-Mart or Fred Meyer for all of them (which I most certainly don’t plan to do…I traveled that road as a knitting newbie, and I am so glad to have discovered natural fibers). I’m thinking that when I do actually start on said sweater, I want it to be in something with nice drape and stitch definition, but still be durable. Any suggestions?
What is this, you ask?
My pathetic progress on a Monkey, that’s what. After my previous stalled attempt at a pair of Hederas (Hederi?) last summer, I have discovered that maybe socks just aren’t the thing for me. It kind of makes me sad, though, cause some of the most beautiful yarn I’ve seen has been sock yarn, and some of the prettiest knitted objects have been socks. Is there anything else you can do with that stuff besides making things for your feet? I don’t know what it is, but I think I just don’t have the patience to knit 64 stitches in a round on tiny #1 needles and only have an inch of fabric to show after 10 rounds. I do like the pattern on the cuff, though. I think these will be more of a fall-back WIP, that I maybe work a few rounds on when I’ve got nothing else to do, unless I suddenly have a burning passion to finish them in a very short time, in which case I would be knitting every single spare second (which has definitely happened to me before).
