I must say, I was very disappointed this year when daylight savings time was moved into November. One of my favorite ever stories revolves around the time change...

In late October of 1980, my Mom was in labor--with me. Many, many hours, all done without the help of drugs. I was a big baby and I'm sure it was a hard delivery. She watched the minutes tick by and took solace in the passage of time since each hour was an hour done and one she wouldn't have to do over again. She continued to push for hours with little effect and while she was resting for a few moments during contractions, when a nurse walked into the room with a stool. She popped it down on the floor and took the clock off the wall and set the time back and hour for daylight savings. My mom yelled at her because now she had to do that hour all over again.... I can only imagine how she felt!

Now that the rules have changed--the time change won't ever coincide with my birthday again! How disappointing!

I finally got around to taking a picture of the Garter Rib Socks:

I love them!

And I worked this weekend on the Pretty Pirate Firestarters:

My favorite detail is the way the ribbing continues between the heel and gusset:

This has been a surprisingly quick knit considering its on size 0's. The pattern is really addictive--I'm guessing I'll have this first sock done in the next day or two!

Posted by fruitychick at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I'm nearing the finish of the Garter Rib Socks:

Only a few more rows of ribbing to finish up the second cuff and then I'm free!!

While my hands were a little crampy yesterday from knitting gung-ho on these for far too long, I decided to scout around for the next pattern. I wanted:

1. Something that would work well with a handpainted yarn
2. Something a little more interesting than the garter rib stitch but not so "interesting" it required constant care and feeding of a chart.
3. Something knit at a slightly larger gauge than the lorna's laces. I love you, lornas laces, but you make for slow sock knitting. To take the edge off, I require something a little larger. If I had any STR Heavyweight here, I'd probably whip out a superfast pair.

After getting side tracked in ravelry for a few, umm, hours, I finally found the Firestarter Pattern from Yarnissima. (link there is to the kit but the pattern is available for free. I can't remember where I downloaded it though--the link is on the Ravelry pattern page though.)

Despite the resurgence of one of the scariest movie memories of my childhood due to the name, I absolutely love this sock. It is exactly what I was looking for--great detail without too much going on.

Then came the great yarn decision. I swear I do this every time its time to cast on for a new pairs of socks. I get all the yarn of the gauge out and pile it all up to decide which colorway to use. I realize it is ridiculous to spend so much time deciding what yarn to use. Obviously I love it all or I wouldnt have bought it...

Last night, I had a pile of about 10 skeins left after some weeding out. I turned to ask Mr. Fruitychick (who hates when I ask him yarn advice because he never knows the "right" answer). After glancing at the yarns for half a second, he said "the pink, black and gray one."

At first, I was shocked. How could anyone take such a decision so lightly? No thought, no squishing the skeins or agonizing over them for an hour wondering how each would work up. I wanted to ignore his choice (this is why he never wants to weigh in, I'm sure) but then I realized: it is just yarn. Sure, it may be Yarn Pirate Pretty Pirate but it is still just yarn. What am I agonizing about? If I hate it, I can always rip it out.

So I grabbed the skein and started winding....

I'm ready.

Posted by fruitychick at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ugh. I hate making mistakes. Especially stupid ones that I could have avoided with about five minutes of preparation/checking.

Like spending quite a while online finding the perfect tutorial for the tubular bind off for my Garter Rib Socks. I printed, I prepped, I was totally ready as soon as the Munchkin took a nap.

Doh! that would be 2x2 rib on that sock....not the 1x1 thats necessary for the tubular bind off. grr...I did my usual stretch bind off (with a larger needle:k1, *slip stitch back to left needle, k2tog* repeat) instead:

Notice the crappy join there on the bind off? Whats up with that?

Then I immediately cast on for the second sock to avoid the dreaded second sock syndrome.

Looking good, right? WRONG! thar be 72 stitches in the new sock and a mere 64 in the original.

RRRRRIIIIIIPPPPP......

Oh well. at least I hadn't gotten too far before I realized the yarn wasn't striping quite the same. I ripped back to where the toe ended and I'll restart the garter rib foot tomorrow.

So heres a question I often ponder:

Do you "improve" your second sock? Say you realize you could have centered the pattern better on the top of the foot or your short row heel didn't need to be so pointy? I'm not talking disasterous mistakes....just improvements.

The garter rib socks have both of these problems...they aren't enough for me to rip them out but they could be better. Of course, any improvement I make will make the socks not quite match. I'm sure no one else would ever notice but.....you know....they wouldn't exactly match....

So, do I improve the second sock or leave them to wallow in their imperfectness together? misery does love company, after all...

Posted by fruitychick at 08:10 PM | Permalink

I've been chugging along on the garter rib socks whenever I get a few minutes to spare and they are coming along nicely...I think another inch or so then I'll start the regular ribbing at the cuff.

You can kind of see the change in stripe sequence where I changed needle size. I usually go up a size an inch or so into the leg of the sock. It is my personal pet peeve when ribs/patterns aren't evenly stretched down the sock so I change needle sizes to make myself happy...

I've also been doing a little spinning....still working on that Celebration from Spunky Eclectic. I get a double helping of each month's yarn because I like to have enough to complete a (somewhat) substantial project with the yarn I make. Of course, I haven't actually knit with my handspun....but I'm about to change that.

I've been swatching...and I'm in love.

This is a little design I've had in my head while I've been spinning up this yarn. Its super simple but I think it highlights the handspun's long color changes quite nicely (and also disguises the few thick and thin spots in the yarn).

I still haven't decided on the final design. Either a v-neck pullover or a zipped cardigan. Either way, it will have deep corrugated ribbing at the bottom and at the cuffs. The other yarn is Rowan Yorkshire Aran Tweed, which I like ok. I have a skein of Debbie Bliss tweed I might also swatch up if the mood strikes.

Theres also a little project I've been working up...dyeing some of my own yarns. I get a lot of inspiration from munchkin's kiddo books. They are full of such amazing color combinations--here is my first skein:

The colors come from the Dr. Seuss books and the base yarn is a really soft Merino-Tencel Blend (from Paradise Fibers). I can't wait to start knitting it up!

I also caved and signed up for the Sumptuous Sock Yarn Club by Zen Yarn Garden. I just couldnt resist the potential of silk and cashmere sock yarn. yum!

Posted by fruitychick at 05:30 PM | Permalink

The weather here in Texas is riding that ridge between air conditioning and no air conditioning. Its necessary during the day but during the night, its usually a little chilly with the fan blowing on me.

Sounds like perfect nighttime sock wearing weather!

Last night, I wore my Cotton Socks...knit what seems like ages ago but was really somewhere around the beginning of 2006. Honestly, I really dislike these socks--I dont know what I was thinking knitting cotton socks. They feel great for the first 3 minutes and then their give just gives out and they start to fall down. I dont think it was a matter of my knitting or my gauge (though I dont rule that out), I think its just a matter of cotton sock yarn's general suckiness. Just my opinion...I know there are others out there that like it but not this little chickie.

Here they are, pulled up to within an inch of their lives so they could at least look pretty in the photo.

Yikes! Look at that AWFUL kitchener stitch.

It actually looks a little better in the picture than it does in person, where it looks like I just gnawed the fibers into a knot.

At least my sock knitting skills have improved somewhat...I turned the heel o nthe garter stitch socks yesterday and I'm headed up the leg:

I can't claim all the credit though...I did have some help:

Posted by fruitychick at 11:01 AM | Permalink

I think I might need to join some type of support group or something. I've become totally addicted to Ravelry...

I spent the morning taking photos of the (sadly) small amount of stash I have here with me in le crappy apartment. Its amazing--even with this small amount here, I've realized just how much I had forgotten. Like this:

I love this KPPPM. Its so colorful. I ordered it from an online yarnshop and, by mistake, got two different dyelots but, you know, I think I like them just the way they are: matching but not exact.

I also fell back in love with this tilli tomas sweater kit:

The yarn is for the Simple Knitted Bodice. I bought it quite a while ago and it got buried in the depths of the stash where it was quickly forgotten. I even have a second tilli tomas sweater kit as well..

I think I am really going to enjoy doing some stash digging when I'm reunited with it in (hopefully) a few weeks once we get moved...

until then...all I have is some pictures of the old tubs-o-yarn.

On the left is the sock yarn and on the right is the rest of the yarn stash (both as of Februarish). My fiber stash isnt pictured but its about an additional 4ish tubs. I can't wait to go digging in there and find all the great yarns I know I already have!

Posted by fruitychick at 10:02 AM | Permalink

I love getting mail--especially when its fiber related! I got two packages this week: my Hello Yarn Fiber club and my Spunky Eclectic Fiber/Sock Yarn Club.

Spunky Eclectic:

I really love being a member of both the sock club and the Fiber club. I find it absolutely amazing how differently the same colorway looks in a sock yarn and a fiber. This fiber, by the way, is named Aspen after the colors of the region. Its and incredibly soft merino/tencel blend. Lovely!

Hello Yarn:

I couldn't capture all the lovely colors in a single shot, so heres two shots of the fiber. Its a Merino wool and its incredibly soft with rich colors. I can't wait to spin it! I'm almost a little sorry I started new spinning last night!

Speaking of--I'm playing catch up with most of these clubs since I'm only now getting a bit of regular spinning time. Right now, I'm working on the July shipment of the Spunky Club--named Celebration. When I first opened the box, I was, honestly, a little unimpressed. The colors just didnt seem to go and the large amounts of black and white in the roving just didnt appeal to me. But then I saw lots of other people's spun up and just fell in love. A real lesson in how an ugly roving can be a pretty yarn and a pretty roving can make an ugly yarn.

This is a little overspun but I'm ok with it. I'm either going to chain-ply it to keep the colors in tact or just run it through the wheel backwards and keep it as a laceweight yarn with very long color repeats. I wanted to mainted long color repeats either way, so I didnt split the roving at all down the middle. Its my first time doing it successfully and I'm really enjoying seeing the gradual color changes.

After finishing Munch's Hallowig, I realized I only had one real project on the needles--time to cast on for something new!

This is my second try with this yarn. The first attempt was just a poor pattern choice: it had eyelets and a little laceyness to it and the yarn was completely overwhelming. I really love the garter rib (from sensational knitted socks). I think it breaks up the colors just enough to have a nice mottled sock.

I also cooked up a little something last night--an old standby: Pasta Pizza.

And a little something special for dessert: Strawberries with White Chocolate Sauce (try #2):

Yum! Recipes are in the description over at flickr!

Posted by fruitychick at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)