After the Ravelympics…what do I do now?

Well back to socks of course!

I finished my Rock Candy Commuter Socks.

Rock Candy Commuter Socks

Started: July 25th

Completed: August 27th

Yarn: Lion Brand Sock Ease in Rock Candy - way less than one skein

Pattern: My basic sock pattern - 1 inch of 2×2 ribbing, 6 inch cuff, eye of partridge heel, basic toe.

Needles: 1.5US Harmony dpns

Notes:  Like the socks.  Hate working with this yarn.

I have huge feet. And that is my "walking from the train staion to work & back" shoe in the background.

So a while back, when I started these, I said the yarn was “okay”.  But by then time I picked these back I up, I really began to really dislike this yarn.  I like the finish product and they will probably wear like iron…but I really did not like knitting them.  The yarn, to me, felt very dry & rough - I didn’t get any kind of softness from the “aloe” in it.  I will say I like the colours (I do need more muted socks) and there is a lot of yardage for the money - I still have about a half a skein left.  But if I’m going to spend my mornings & evenings stuck on a train knitting, I want something that feels nice, damnit.  So I’m in the “Just say no to Lion Brand” club.

I know my review wasn’t positive, but if someone would like the leftovers, let me know.  You could probably get at least a pair of shorty socks out them.

Oh these are pair #4 for the Summer of Socks

I’ve been suffering a bit of startitis at home - I sadly have no pictures yet though.  I started another pair of socks for CoffeeBoy - this one a bit more interesting than the last pair (but not much).  I’m making him a pair of Reverse Red Sox socks because, of course, he will not wear any socks that aren’t mostly white or brown.  So they’re white socks with red heels & toes - which is nice for me because I can make myself a real pair of Red Sox socks with the leftovers.

I’ve also cast on for another sweater, flush with success with the Opulent Raglan (THANK YOU by the way, for all the nice comments).  It started out as the Gathered Pullover (Ravelry link) from IK…but decided I didn’t really like the design as much as I thought I did.  So I think I might do the Tomato herringbone pattern on it instead, as I have Knit Picks Merino Style in red & grey.  But I’m going to try knitting it from the bottom up and make it long sleeved (or longer sleeves - I don’t know if I’ll have enough of the red for long sleeves.)

And of course I started a new pair of commuter socks

much brighter, don't ya think?

I got so excited when my monthly shipment from the Blue Hands Ravelry sock club showed up I forgot to actually take a picture of the skein before I rolled it up!  It’s so pretty!  It’s Mary Heather’s colour - Rainy Day - so I’m using her pattern on it, Tidepool Socks.   We’ll see how it turns out!

Hope you all have a nice 3 day weekend (if you have one) - we’re going to be redoing the kitchen.  Half of it is tore out - including the sink - so while it means I don’t have to do dishes tonight (woo hoo!) it’s going to be interesting trying to make coffee tomorrow morning.

I’ve paid my dues -
Time after time -

I did it!

I’ve done my sentence
But committed no crime -

And bad mistakes
I’ve made a few

I’ve had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I’ve come through

Yes, I finished!  In the nick of time!

Opulent Raglan

Started: August 8th

Completed: August 22 9:57pm

Yarn: Elizabeth Lavold Classic AL, 7.5 skeins

Pattern:  Opulent Raglan by Wendy Bernard

Needles: Size 6US & 5Us Harmony circular and dpns,

Notes:  I am so happy with this sweater, I could sing!

We are the champions, my friends!

This sweater turned out perfectly!  I did a few mods, the already mentioned waist shaping for one.  I made this a more close fitting sweater than the pattern calls for - I think it supose to be more of tunic, but maybe that’s just me.

Split hem

I changed up the bottom - I still did a hem, but split the front & back, so have a little bit nicer fit.

I decided against the sleeves - I think the original sleeves are cute, but not really something I would wear.  I went with 3/4 length sleeves with an inch of ribbing that matches the neckline.

I managed to get a photo shoot outdoors - it’s not too awfully hot here and my neighbors weren’t out and about for once.  Style accesseoires - my faveourite skirt (I would wear this everyday if I could - just a plain denim skirt I got at thrft store) and that fantastic necklace is one I bought from Amanda.

Bewb shot for the rubberneckes!

Sweater is still a bit warm to wear at the moment - I can’t wait until fall!

Ravelympics - Win!

I’ve taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it

Lots of my favourite people have done this on their blogs - Amanda, Pam and my fellow commuting knitter Britt (sorry I missed you on the train today - got caught in a meeting).  CoffeeBoy was a bit reluctant - he thought I was testing him and would hold against it him.  Whatever.  Since I don’t have my completed Ravelympics sweater yet (6 inches to go on the sleeve & then the neckline - woohoo!) and the best boyfriend ever bought us ticket to see Neil Diamond on Saturday (at Fenway! In the dugout!  Woo-hoo!), I figured it was as good as time as any to post this.

(yes he said I had to say that when describing him)
Question in bold, his answer in regular font, my response or thoughts in italics

1 - What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
That’s a loaded question.
(I don’t know why he wouldn’t answer this.  Silly boy)

2 -What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
You knit at the movies.  I never know if you are enjoying the movie or not.
(I explain it’s because I fidget too much if I don’t.  He still doesn’t get it.)

3 - What is something I have knitted, that you recall is good?
My socks.  Or the one sock you made for me that you didn’t finish.
Ha ha.  You just won’t let me forget that.
Or that blanket thing
What?
That shawl thing.
(He means my Clapotis.  Blanket…yeah whatever.)

4 - Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
no.  you have boyfriends buy you swifts.  It’s time consuming, that could be expensive I guess.
(Hee hee hee, if he only knew…)

5 - Do you have a stash of any kind?
yes.  porno mags. (laughs)  I don’t know, what is a stash? [I explain] I don’t think so.
(He does not have porn mags. I packed & unpacked all of his stuff when we moved..  I told him he has a tea stash, a guitar stash, a motorcycle stash…)

6 - Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?
no.
(good answer)

7 - Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Well i know you buy a lot of alpaca but I think your favourite is something you don’t buy because it’s too expensive like yak. (he means quivit)
(I probably would have said sock yarn or Malabrigo I think, but I don’t have a real fave yarn  I do love alpaca - but I think he just remembers how much I liked the alapcas at the wool festival)

8 - Can you name another blog besides mine?
Anthony Bourdain’s blog.  Can you name another football team other than the Patriots?
Yes I can - [I name several]  I do watch it with you.
(I think he doesn’t really understand blogs - he was asking me about them a couple of days ago (where do you find them?) & I sent him Bourdain’s blog link)

9 - Do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?
I don’t mind that, taking you to a knit shop out of the way maybe.  I took you to that wool festival [NH S&W] and I didn’t mind that.
(I don’t really ask him to go out of his way to go to a yarn store actually, I prefer to go on my own or with my mom/friends)

10 -  Do you understand the importance of a swatch? Please elaborate.
Are you talking about about a Swatch watch? Then no.
(I have explained them before)

11 -Do you read my blog?
no.  I used to read The Little Green House one, but you don’t send me the link to your blog
It’s on the bottom of every email I send! (we exchange several during the workday)
Oh, I thought that was just spam
Hrmph  I don’t care if you read it, I just don’t think you’ll find it very interesting.
The little green house blog is a very old one about our house in portland, before I even had a decent camera, mostly for our relatives)

12 - If I didn’t knit, what would be different?
I don’t know, I didn’t know you before you knit.  You’d make me talk about my feelings?
Ha ha.

And I sorta miss knitting socks.  All I have worked on is the Opulent Raglan.

But trying it on…yeah I’ll be okay working on just this:

Opulent Raglan

It fits so nicely and it going to be such a wonderful sweater for the winter.  I can even wear it next to my bare skin - I put the tank top on so I wouldn’t be showing off my buddha belly. The yarn is so lovely & soft, I think I may need to get more of this.

Opulent Raglan

So a few more inches on the body, then it’s Sleeve Land! I haven’t decided what to do about the sleeves, the bell sleeves are really cute but I don’t think they are something I would like very much.  I might just do some 3/4 length straight sleeves.

I’m also loving working with my Harmony Options on this - while I’ve used these for other items, it’s the first time I’ve used them on a top down sweater - it makes it so much easier to try on, instead of threading a scarp yarn through, I just knit with another cable & put the caps on the ends - voila!  No pulling out the cords, no worrying about twisting the stitches when I pick them up.

Tonight we have tickets to got see my favourite Shakespere play - Much Ado About Nothing - that is part of the Lowell concert series.  I’m pretty excited, I just hope the rain holds off!

More knitting to do…

Opulent Raglan

I’m about 17.5 inches from the back of the neck - woo-hoo!  I love this - the yarn, the pattern, everything about this sweater, I really hope it’ll turn out.  I tried it on the other night, yeah I had to make some mods (waist shaping for where my actual waist is for one) but otherwise it’s going well - I haven’t (knock on wood) made any errors on the cabling yet so I hope that will continue.

I actually haven’t been able to knit the last couple of evenings - a friends birthday on Tuesday (where much drinking ensued) and last night I saw Radiohead for the second time.  Whenever anyone asks me what my favourite concert of all time is, I always say Radiohead at the Gorge in WA - it wasn’t just the show (which was amazing) but the whole trip, we camped out so we didn’t have to stress about driving home afterwards, I was with friends whom I hadn’t seen in a couple of months as they were filming a movie in MT at that time & we managed to get a camping spot together, and just the over all feel to the weekend.  Whle last night was also an incredible show, it still didn’t beat the first time - especailly since we didn’t get out of the parking lot until 12:30 (show ended at 11), and didn’t get home until nearly 2 - worth it though!  I actually took today off, knowing it would be a late night so I’m hanging about the house today, knitting on the sweater!

I also got a Blackberry through work this week - man those things are addicting!  I can see why it’s call “Crackberry”.  I tried to take pictures with it of  last night of the show, but of course they didn’t turn out.  So I’ll leave you with one of me & my CoffeeBoy that did turn out.

Me & my dear CB

Off to knit more…maybe I’ll finish the body today!

Opulent Raglan

So I finished the yoke and split the sleeves off - working on this on my commute was the big help!  I had to redo the cable panel start up 3 times before I got it right though.

I realized, while working on this, I really miss working with worsted weight wool/alpaca, after doing socks for so many months.

Off to continue on  - I am determine to finish it before the 25th!

None of us are free until ALL of us are free

Students for a free Tibet

International  Campaign for Tibet

Thanks to PoMo Golightly & Pippi

I think that a combination of my higher participation on Plurk & Ravelry recently,  not very exciting knitting,  and the general summer laziness has resulted in not many blog updates.  I do have some interesting things going on though:

1. I have mentioned before that I quit smoking and have been trying to get in shape this summer.  They are both going…well they are both going okay.  To give myself extra incentive, I have signed up for the Boston Race for the Cure on my coworker Kat’s team.  I’m looking forward to it, even though I haven’t ran outside before and I hadn’t even been on a treadmill for 2 years until last week.  So I have a month to get to a point where I’m not embarrassed to run outside.   My donation page is here, should you wish to contribute (thanks Amanda!).  I’m glad I’m doing this - while my father passed away from a different cancer, I know of many brave people who are going through this and I want to help as much as I can.
2. I found out yesterday that my mom is coming to visit in September!  She’s never been to the East coast so I’m excited that she is actually coming out - she’s been promising for awhile now, but she finally bought her ticket yesterday.  It really made my day - I miss my family, everyone is back on the West Coast and seeing them twice a year just isn’t the same.
3. I hinted at some changes coming up - well CoffeeBoy’s job is making him crazy and he might either be sent to Japan for a year very soon (sooner than expected) …or he may be out of a job in December.   In any case, we might be moving out of Lowell soon, which makes sense since I work in Cambridge. (the commute is getting to me - I like having the time to knit, but 3-4 hours total a day in transit for the past 6 months is getting ridiculous)  I’ll at least be at my job until March but after that, who knows?  I might be back in Portland.
4. Okay, enough about life, you’re here more for the knitting.   Pair #3 in the Summer of Socks is complete.

Simple Stripey Socks

Movie Knittin’ Socks

Started: July 19th

Completed: August 2nd

Yarn:  Ashabee Fiber Oasis Bamboo/Wool/Nylon Blend in Junior Mints

Pattern:  My basic sock: 64 stitches around, 6 inch cuff, short row heel, basic toe.

Needles - Size 1US KP Harmonys

Poolin' toes. At least they match

Notes: Not much to say on these - I’ve made this basic sock so many times that I can do them in my sleep.  Or rather, in a movie theater, which is why I had cast them on before seeing The Dark Knight in the first place.  It was kind of nice to do a simple sock again, even if I’m also doing a simple commuter sock at the moment and have a million sock patterns in my Ravelry queue.  I still love this yarn, the bamboo blend is lovely and I like the stripey ness of it.

With these socks, I have made a total of 12 pairs (and one abandoned) so far this year.  Guess that commute is good for something!

And tomorrow…Ravelympics starts!  I think I may even pause on the my usual commuting socks to concentrate on Opulent - I don’t think I’ve ever finished a sweater in two weeks so it’ll be quite the challenge!

I got my first ever WEBS order and the new KnitScene this week

Opulent Raglan & Classic AL

This will actually be my Ravelympics project.  Even though I would be able to wear my (cotton blend) hoodie within a couple of weeks and the Opulent Raglan (alpaca/merino blend)…not so much.  But this yarn is so yummy, I can’t resist!

I haven’t done a WiP post in awhile - mostly because I think they tend to be a little boring.  Especially now, when all I’m doing is socks.

New Commuter Socks

And not only just socks, plain vanilla socks

The work at home/the movies socks

But really, there’s something soothing about working on a plain pair of stockinette socks.

So the top photo is my new commuter socks - I’m using Lion Brand Sock Ease for them.  A couple of folks told me to let them know what I thought about that yarn, as it is fairly new. My first impression is that it’s OK.  It’s very similar to Opal - not really that soft to work with, but not bad.  I think. like my 2 pairs of Opal socks,  they will hold up really well.  For instance, my Opal Parrot socks are holding up extremely well after 2 years of hard use and not particularly careful washing most of the time.  Anyway, the colors are a bit drab in this particular colorway, but since I have so many bright pairs of socks, something more muted is needed.   Oh and the aloe that’s supose to be in this yarn?  Can’t feel a difference at all.

The second photo is a sock I started before I saw The Dark Knight - I needed something to work on during the film.  It’s from Ashabee Fiber Oasis - her bamboo blend that I am crazy about.  My other pair of socks out of this is generally the first pair I reach for when I’m looking for something to wear, especially in warm weather.  The bamboo keeps my feet cooler than most of my pure wool socks and it just feels so nice on my feet.  I’m nearly done with this pair actually - only a couple more inches on the foot of the second - I just really love using this yarn.  Plus - nice stripes!

While I still love making socks (I counted my handknit pairs of socks - 18!  3/4 of which I knit in the past year!), I am now looking forward to August 8th.  Why?  Because I’m taking part in the Ravelympics!  And instead of keeping with socks, which I could easily finish in 2 weeks,  I’m going to challenge myself and make a sweater

Comfy yarn for a comfy hoodie

I had started a hoodie out this, then frogged it back in May - it didn’t look right and then I decided to take a break from sweater making.   So time to get it going again! :)  I’m going to be part of (who else) Team Rubberneckers - it’s the only group I really post regularly in on Ravelry.  I’m looking forward to it, even though I don’t normally watch the olympics.  But it’s all in in good fun.  Anyway, the pattern is Hoodie Sweatshirt from Hip to Knit - which if I remember correctly was the first knitting book I ever bought.  It’s mostly going to be the sea blue/green colour, but I want to trim it in the brown - I really love the way these colours look together.

One last thing before I leave, I finally signed up for plurk - so if you are on there, let me know!  I go by BabblingStacey there as well.