Train In Vain

Punk Rock Commuter Socks

Punk Rock Commuter Socks

Started:June 20th 2008

Completed July 24th

Yarn: Lotus Yarns Punk Rock Sock Club shipment #1 The Clash

Pattern: Used the Thuja stitch pattern

Needles: Size 0US Harmony dpns

Notes: A couple of firsts for me.  For one thing, this was the first sock club I joined - I was so excited for a punk rock sock club that I kept refreshing to make sure I got in. (Melanie, please do another one!).  And another first was this was the first time I used size 0 needles on anything - it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be, although I did break all of my first set of size 0s before I could even start these.  I am very pleased with these socks, I think the Thuja pattern worked very well - it made such lovely stripes.  I CO 72 stitches, made a 6 inch cuff (my personal fave), did a regular short row heel so as to not screw up the striping that much, and a regular toe.  I’ve become a fan of short row heels on hand dyed yarns - it looks very nice and keeps from pooling.  I did get a bit of slotches on the toe, but that’s to be expected.

look at my heels!

I should have perhaps used some nylon in the heels & toes, as this yarn is 100% merino, but ah well, I’ll survive.

This is my second pair of socks for the Summer of Socks - I think I’ll have at least 2 or 3 more before the Ravelympics 2008 where I’ll finally break out of my sock mode for a sweater I started, then frogged back in May.

Now I feel like blasting some Clash & jumping around to break in my new socks!

 

Ah-yi-yi!

Sorry to go all radio silence on this blog and in commenting in the blog world, but it’s been quite a week. I have some yarn purchases & some new WiPs & FOs but first…what’s been going on.

First of all, easily the best thing this week was finally meeting TheOtherAmanda!  Ever since a Secret Pal swap over a year ago, we’ve stayed in touch but attempts to meet have failed.  I mean I moved to the same city as her, it’s not my fault she moved away before I got here ;).  Then another time she was in town, I was in Houston for a conference.  So we finally got to grab a cup of coffee together (after we found the darn place) and chat - and of course I did not take one picture.  Still, I hope we will get to meet up again for a bit longer - I had to get back to work, she to her conference.

Also that same day, I was waiting for the train back home and I also got to meet Beth95, who spotted my Raverly bag and struck up a conversation.  It made the wait time for the train much more pleasant!  Gotta love that Raverly swag, bringing knitters together!

So now for the tough part of the week - I made the decision to quit smoking.  Again.  See, I did pretty well 2 years ago when I talked about it on here…then I met CoffeeBoy and I got hooked again.  It’s gotten pretty bad, especially over the past year and enough is enough.  It’s been pretty tough this time around, but I have a great support system both online at the Raverly Rubberneckers (which finally convinced me to quit) and in person with CB and my wonderful coworkers.  Of course, it does make it difficult because CB does smoke, as does my closest friend at work, but they have been great.  In fact, my coworker (I’ll just call her Kat) listened to be completly break down in her office on the first day over something not even important.  So while it’s been rough, I’ll push through.

And I picked a hell of a week to quit - work has been stressful and then CB & I have a life changing decision to make in the coming weeks that I don’t want get into until the decision has been made.  It’s not necessarily bad, but it is going to shake things up in our lives quite a bit.  No, I am not pregnant nor are we engaged, which seems to be the immediate thought.   I’ll probably have more details next week.

So that’s a quick update, I’ll try to actually get some pictures for the next post.

Oh before I forget - thanks to all who played along with the movie quote fun!  I seemed to have stumped some people!  So here’s the answers:

1. A Fish Called Wanda - my favourite scene!  Funniest movie ever!
2. Gosford Park - I love this movie, though I know no else who does.  It was like a dream come true….wonderfully funny chatty movie with all my fave Brit actors in one movie - Clive Owen!  Helen Mirren! Maggie Smith!  Stephen Fry! It was hard to find a quote, but I love this one from Dame Maggie Smith.
3. Sense & Sensitivity - I think everyone already knows my Austen geekiness.  I’m also mad about Emma Thompson - her diary from the making of the movie is fabulous!
4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - another one that was hard to find a quote from that didn’t totally give it away.
   
5. Much Ado About Nothing - not only my fave Shakespeare play, my fave adaption.  Except for Keanu Reeves.
6. The Thin Man - this one was tough, but I LOVE this movie - I love old movies and this one is so funny and quick witted.
7. Persuasion.  I could have quoted Capt Harville’s entire speech - it’s so beautiful.
8. Nightmare Before Christmas - Yep, I’m still a goth girl/Tim Burton nerd.
9. Singles - Eddie Vedder’s big line.  I just related to this movie so much when this first came out, though I was a couple of years younger than the main characters.  I still love it to this day.
10. Deadwood - I remember watching this scene with Wolcott’s monologue for the first time and just being blown away.  So creepy & scary, with the music and the murderous look on his face. I mean, I could have probably quoted anything from Deadwood - it’s such a brilliantly written show and I love every single character on it.  Even Cy.

Thanks for all who played along…more knitting updates over the weekend coming!

 

Movie Quote Fun!

A while back, Melissa posted another fun little meme on her blog - quotes from her favourite movies.  I thought it was a lot of fun but put off doing it because I didn’t think I could narrow it down to 10.  But after catching one of my favourites today on TV (the #1 quote actually), I had to try.  I probably could have gone on & on but these are films I will always watch if they happen to be on TV.  Can you guess them?

(Note: #10 is actually from my favourite TV show, the most brilliantly written show ever and that particular quote is probably one of my favourite pieces of dialouge so I had to put it in.)

Stacey’s Favourite Movies

(no particular order)

1. “no because to call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!”
2. “I suppose it’s fun having a film star staying but there’s always so little to talk about after the first flush of recognition.”
3. “Neither of us have anything to tell. I because I conceal nothing and you because you communicate nothing.”
4. “Is that a rabbit in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
5. “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.”
6. “I haven’t the time. I’m much too busy seeing that you don’t lose any of the money I married you for.”
7. “If you only understood what a man suffers when he takes a last look at his wife and children. And watches their boat while it’s in sight and says, ‘God knows whether we will ever meet again.’”
8. “I am the shadow on the moon at night / Filling your dreams to the brim with fright”
9. “A compliment for us, is a compliment for you.”
10. “Past hope.  Past kindness or consideration.  Past justice.  Past satisfaction.  Past warmth or cold or comfort.  Past love.  But past surprise?  What an endlessly unfolding tedium life would then become.”

Have fun!  We’ve been hiding out in the theatre this weekend - today was Batman (brilliant, but it breaks my heart to watch Heath Ledger - he was amazing), tomorrow will be Hellboy and maybe another if the weather doesn’t break!

At least I get to knit - another new sock on the needles!

 

Monday Summer Socks

I finally finished the most boring socks pair of socks for my first pair of the summer.

CoffeeBoy socks on my feet

CoffeeBoy’s Coffee Socks

Started: June 20th

Completed: July 12th

Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss, Porchini, most of two skeins

Pattern: Generic Sock, eye of a Partridge heel, regular toe.  Added nylon thread to heels & toes

Needles: Size 2US Harmony dpns

Notes:  I finally finished these.  They were so boring - the pattern, the colour, the size, etc.  It’s the only thing I worked on while in Portland because I knew it would be difficult to get motivated to work on them while at home.  The saving grace is the yarn - I really love working wtih Gloss, even though I’m worried about shrinkage/felting with it.  But CB is happy to have a new pair of handknit socks, so I guess it was worth it.  He won’t notice the errors I made on the heel (I don’t know why I had such a problem with it this time).

I also finished one sock for my mom:

Mom's Rockin' (and Poolin') Socks

Luckily, she has smaller feet than CB or myself so the foot part went really quick - I turned the heel Saturday night while in a bar with CB (yes I was knitting, I was bored) and finished it by Sunday evening.  I don’t really care for the pattern (Rockin’ Socks from Blue Moon that my mom also purchased - I told her I had plenty of sock patterns, but she insisted.  I know it’s just a basic sock, it’s just not my basic sock) but since my mom started it, I figured I should just finish with it instead of ripping it out.  I did change the short row heel from the pattern - I just used the one I always use - and did a star toe for the first time.  So I guess I’m not really following that pattern, am I?  I’m worried about casting on for the second one - it’s obvious I have a different gauge than my mom and while I don’t mind pooling or fraternal twin socks - my mom probably won’t either - I would like them to look sorta similar (striping on the cuff).  I guess I’ll try it with the same needles and go down a size if it isn’t working.

Thank goodness I have a sock for myself on the needles that I love:

Clash Sock #1

My current commuter sock from the Punk Rock sock club.  I think the Thuja pattern works really well with it - I love the striping. Just a slight bit of pooling on the toe & that’s it - you know I don’t know why I’ve become obsessed with pooling, I never used to pay attention to it before (I guess I can thank Ravelry for that) It’s also my very first sock I’ve used size 0US needles on, which I didn’t think I would like, but I actualy do. It takes a bit longer but worth it; these socks will hold up nicely.

 

Book Meme

Since up in my heading I mention “reading” I thought I should have a post on books. I’ve been on a bit of a buying kick.

recent book purchases

I’ve bought these since early May - some I bought in Portland because they were great deals ($3 for Wendy Knits, $2 for Running With Sissors). You’ll notice a couple of things:

1. I get really into authors - when I read one book by them (Michael Pollan, Cokie Roberts, Augusten Burroughs), I usually immediately buy another, if not all of them.
2. I’m behind the times - The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Founding Mothers, and Running With Scissors were all super popular while I was working at Borders, but I didn’t read them until now.
3. I’ve really been into nonfiction at the moment but I do like a bit of brain candy once in awhile.
4. These don’t include audio books - I just bought the new David Sedaris audio of When You Are Engulfed In Flames (best title ever), plus I bought a couple of Stephanie Pearl McPhee audios - Casts Off and At Knits End

Currently I’m reading Dry - after finishing Running with Scissors on the plane, I had to get the second one. I’m trying to finish Ladies of Liberty but I think I put it down too long.

Melissa recently posted a meme on her blog that I loved so even though I’ve gotten away from doing them, I had to do this one. I won’t tag anyone, but I hope others will do it - I really love reading book lists.

Guess who my favourite author is. Just guess.

1. One book that made you laugh: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchet. It’s my go to book when I’m sad.
2. One book that made you cry: I think there have been several so I’ll go with Little Women
3. One book that you loved as a child: So many. I was such a reader. I’ll go with The Cricket In Time Square. Or Bunnicula. I was really into talking animals. I still read a lot of “kid” books.

My "kid" books collection. With added Shakespeare!

4. One book you’ve read more than once: There are tons - I am always rereading books. I try to read To Kill a Mockingbird at least once a year - hands down my favourite book of all time & I always get something new out of each reread.
5. One book you loved, but were embarrassed to admit it: The Stephanie Plum mysteries. I always read them within a week of their release, though this was the first time I’ve actually bought the hardcover - I was going to give it to my sister but she bought it already.
6. One book you hated: Of Mice & Men. Though I like other Steinbeck books
7. One book that scared you: The Shining by Stephen King it’s the only book I remember reading that I actually had to stop reading because I kept hearing noises and it scared me so much. Remember that episode of Friends where Joey had to put The Shining in the freezer? Yup, that’s me.
8. One book that bored you: Usually if a book bores me I stop reading it. I do think I slogged through Bleak House by Dickens.
9. One book that made you happy: Vince & Joy by Lisa Jewell, someone I think should be more popular than she is.
10. One book that made you miserable: Wuthering Heights is the first thing that comes to mind.
11. One book that you weren’t brave enough to read: Crime & Punishment because of the length, although I have read the unabridged Les Miserables and Anna Karinna
12. One book character you’ve fallen in love with: Fredrick Wentworth from Persuasion. My iPod Nano is named Fredrick. My other iPod is named Darcy.
13. The last book you read: Running with Scissors is the last one I’ve finished.
14. The next book you hope to read: After Dry, I plan on reading In Defense of Food.

Well that’s it! Let me know if you decided to do this meme - I would love to read it!

 

I miss Oregon.

Yep, home from Oregon. I had a wonderful time - I miss Portland so very much. I know we will be back there at some point but it’s hard sometimes - I love my house there, I miss my family & friends and just the general Oregon-ness. Not that I hate MA at all - I really love parts of it - but Portland is my true home. It took moving across the country to realize that I think. Unfortunatly the one down part of my trip was the fact I’m allergic to the state - I could not stop sneezing & I think it’s turned into a cold. Joy!

I should be doing some work from home, but I’m trying to catch up with emails and blog reading (you know, really important stuff). And I want to share all my vacation & yarny adventures with you all - sorry for the long post but you can scroll through to see the pretty pictures

First, I spent about half my vacation with my family about 2 hours south of Portland. It was very relaxing, even if the 4 kids and 6 dogs was a little much by the end of the visit. I love them so much though.

My family watching their fireworks. I think this was a particularly noisy one, which explains all the ear covering going on.

I got to visit Ben Franklin, which, while it might look like a regular craft store, has an amazing selection of yarns - Cascade, Noro, Debbie Bliss, all the big names. I only purchased some sock yarn I hadn’t tried yet (shocking I know) and Lion Brand to boot.

It’s their new sock yarn, Sock Ease in Rock Candy, and it does seem really nice. I haven’t been a fan of most Lion Brand yarns, but I did like their sock yarn. This was the first time I’ve seen it.

While I was visiting, my mom decided she does not like knitting socks. Which is fine, it’s not for everyone of course. The thing is, at Black Sheep Gathering last year, she bought 3 skeins of STR. Guess who was the lucky recipient of her yarn?

They are mill ends, The one the right I know is Pink Granite, but I’m unsure of the other name.

She had started one sock, which I will either finish for her or simply rip it out & start again for her. I don’t know the name of this colour either.

She just asked I make her more socks, which I will gladly do.

The rest of the trip was hanging out with friends - CoffeeBoy & I had a fun karaoke night and 4th of July BBQ with a couple of friends (Hi Carmel!), dinner at an amazing tapas restaurant (Toro Boro) with other friends (Hi Amanda!) and I got to see some of my knitting buddies - I had a fantastic dinner with Rebel, Kate (and lovely husband) and Kellie at Rock Bottom - which was the perfect place because before hand I got to visit my old store to talk to the like 5 people I still know who work there. I unfortunately didn’t get any pictures at dinner - I know I shouldn’t feel weird about taking pictures. We had a nice dinner & chat - it was great to see Rebel & Kate again and finally hang out with Kellie, who I only met really briefly last year.

The next day I went to lunch with the always wonderful Melissa. As an added bonus, she offered to give me a tour of her work place beforehand. How could I resist? Dudes, she works at the same company as Knit Picks!

Wall of KP yarns

Readers will know that I love Knit Picks - I do several orders a year and I almost always have at least one KP project on my KP needles. So getting to see all that yarn in person? Priceless.

New Imagination Yarns

I was already planning on placing an order soon for some of the new yarns and seeing the new colours & yarns in person - the Essential Kettle Dyed yarns are gorgeous! - I have to.

Thank you again Melissa, I had a great time!

After lunch, I headed back to the house but I decided I had to make one more stop before we left Portland.

I wanted to go when we were in Portland over the Winter holidays, but they were closed the exact time I was in town. I’ve missed it so much. While I do like the other Portland yarn shops well enough, Twisted is my true love. I could not ask for a better yarn shop - they have plenty to satisfy my sock yarn addiction and all my other favourite yarns. It just felt like “my” LYS.  I was even greeted by name - which was a nice surprise as it wasn’t like I spent all that much time in there and I’m not a big chatter (shy), not to mention it had been nearly a year!

So I did some major damage

Yes, my STR from mom is in there too. I don’t want to make this post even longer, so I won’t post each skeins seperatly, but I’ll link to my Ravelry entry for all the close ups. What I bought: sock yarns: Ashabee Fiber Oasis in Junior Mints, Painted Skeins in Graphite (with bits of silver!) and STR in Lunasea. Non sock yarns: Alpaca with a Twist Highlander (to make another Panta) and Peaches & Creme in Dalmatian to make a little bag.

I think I need to learn to knit faster.

So I should actually get something done - unpack (more than just my yarn), catch up on work, clean up a little. It’s nice to be home, but I think my heart is still in Oregon.

 

Holiday!

It’s been quite a holiday so far! Lots of food, drink, good friends, RockGroup games (I will one day master the drums, though I did get to pretend to be Shirley Manson, Jon Bon Jovi and Black Francis, which was very fun) and, unfortuanaltly, very little knitting and blog reading. Very little computer time as well but it’s a bit freeing not checking my email (especially work email) constantly. In any case, I’ve reached the halfway point in my vacation, so I shall return soon with yarn purchases and knitting stuff, but here is some images from Portland so far.

My attempts of getting a decent fireworks photo.

Oh how I miss the Northwest. This just screams Portland to me.

A new haircut. Odd shot of mostly our living room wall, but I kinda liked it.

 

Sad office week

It’s been a bit of an upsetting week at work - there were several unexpected layoffs yesterday, 10 people (out of an office of about 60 I think - it’s hard to know how many people actually work in the office) that threw us all for a loop.  Luckily, no one from my department (at least that I work directly with) was laidoff but many people, some who had been here for 10+ years, were affected.  It’s really sad and I’m not sure how to feel - first of all I’m pretty new and I haven’t worked with a lot of these people directly, like many of my close friends have, and I feel almost guilty for just getting hired and many more experienced people getting the ax.  That’s the way of the business world I guess, but doesn’t make it any easier.  One of the girls I’ve become friendly with - she’s a knitter - was not someone I would think would be affected, as she is the only one who does that particular job.  It’s hard being here.  Those in my department (there are 4 currently at the office, one is on maternity leave) went out for lunch and drinks just to discuss it yesterday - it’s nice we’re so close but on the other hand, sad because our dept was not directly affected like so many others.

Sorry for the ramble, but if I can’t do it here, where can I?

I might be away from the blog for a bit as we are going to be heading back to Oregon for a holiday (not great timing, given what’s happened at the office but we planned it back in April).  But it will be a relief to get away for a bit and I desperately miss Portland and my family.  I just don’t know how much I’ll be able to post but I should have some nice FOs to show off.  Probably socks. And maybe some new yarn from Twisted.  Probably sock yarn. I think I’m stuck in groove with that. :)  Anyway, I’ll be in OR from July 1st through the 8th, part of the time in Eugene with my family, part of the time in Portland.

Have a good week everyone!

 

CrossCommuter Socks

Finished these last week, but I’m finally posting them. I kept putting them off because I wasn’t as happy with them as I have been with my socks.

CrossCommuter Socks

Started: May 29th

Completed: June 19th

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, Nightwatch

Pattern: Crosshatch Lace from More Sensational Knitted Socks

Needles: 1US Harmony dpns

Notes: I am kind of eh on them - I got sick of the pattern and they are a bit small on me - all my fault, I somehow made the foot too small, which is strange because I have made countless socks for myself. Ah well, they are pretty. I may just give them to my mom.

Sorry for the washed out shot, but it gives an interesting look at the pattern. Yes those are my stripey socks under them.

Smooshy is a lovely lovely yarn - I really like working with semi-solids. I don’t think I’m as gaga over it as everyone else in the knitting world, but it is a nice yarn. I think I might have liked this pattern & yarn better on a larger needle size, like a 1.5US or 2Us.

I used the Reversi heel again - I love how it looks. The rest was just my regular sock pattern - top down, CO 72, 2×2 rib for an inch, cuff is about 7 inches, Reversi heel, regular toe. Not much else to say about them. It always seems to happen this way, I finish 2 projects at the same time and one I always like more than the other. Poor socks.

I started another pair this weekend for my “home” project.

Another boring pair of socks for CoffeeBoy, this time out of Gloss in Porchni. I’m actually a lot farther along now, I took this picture yesterday morning and worked on it all day, watching some Deadwood dvds - man, I miss that show so much. I caught the first episode on HBO last week and have been wanting to rewatch it all week. In any case, it’s a simple stockinette sock - I tried to get him to agree to a pattern or cables or even some stripes but no. Just plain brown socks. Sigh. But he does appreciate the socks I make for him - he wears the first pair at least once a week and always looks at me sadly when I’m working on other socks at home. So I guess it’s worth it, though I keep looking longingly at my hand dyed yarn while I’m working on them. I even offered up my All Raveled Up Sock Club’s CodeMonkey for him!

It’s actually a little darker than this, but definitly more “guy” colours. But CB wouldn’t go for it. Ah well.

Plain brown socks it is then.

 

(Stacey is) A Punk Rocker

(as you might guess, this post contains photos of the June shipment of Lotus Yarns‘ Punk Rock Sock Club. You are officially warned)

I like to think of myself as a punk rocker, though maybe on the inside more than the outside (I recently took out my eyebrow ring that I’ve had for 12 years - am I a grown up now? The horrors!) I adore the Ramones and others from the 70’s NYC Punk scene, and, of course, the 70’s British scene. 2 fantastic books to check out if you love the punk scene - Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and England’s Dreaming by Jon Savage - fantastic books. Which brings me to my current Commuter socks

The Clash! When Melanie mentioned this sock club on her blog, I jumped all over it (embarrassing fact - even thought I was dead tired, I stayed up late to make sure I got into this club , refreshing her blog every couple of minutes when midnight hit.) This is really my first sock club and  I am so happy I joined. This yarn is lovely and it’s my first time using size 0US needles (yes, I bought more, after snapping the others - can I tell you how paranoid I am all the time now?) I’m using the Thuja pattern - I’ve been going back & forth with a pattern for this and just decided to go with an old standby. I am seriously happy with this - it might take awhile, but it’s worth it.

The LA punk scene more your style? Try We Got the Neutron Bomb by Marc Spitz which includes Redd Kross (personal fave - there’s unasked for suggestion for ya Melanie! ), the Runaways, X, and of course Black Flag and my secret boyfriend Henry Rollins.

I. Love. This. I love the colours! Honestly, pink, yellow and orange would not make me think of Black Flag, but wow, Mel really captured the Loose Nut album cover. Amazing.

Pretty pretty pretty

Can I really start yet another pair of socks? Sigh. No. I’ll just have to knit my current WiPs extra fast.

Yep I still have more sock stuff to post about, an FO and a WiP, probably tomorrow.