Travel knitting
I have finished finals for what should be my very last semester EVER of undergraduate studies. As long as all professors involved get my grades in by December 30, 2007, I graduate and I am DONE. This means I have a LOT more time for knitting now!
We’re headed to France for vacation tomorrow, and I stood over my knitting boxes puzzling over what I should bring. I wanted Eris to be finished (it isn’t) so that I could wear it around freezing cold French countryside. Will suggested bringing it with me, but it still needs sleeves, then weaving in, then blocking, then adding the zipper. I don’t want to take that much time and that much yarn! At this stage, Eris isn’t exactly a portable project …
I’m thinking about frogging the “Sydney Socks” that I started to make while I was on an airplane for bazillions of hours going to and from Sydney. I think I want to do the Monkey socks (like everyone and his or her dog) but I can’t make up my mind. Whatever form or pattern it takes, that project will go with me. If I can find the socks I’m making for Mom, those will come with me too.
I think that I’ll take Something Purple with me, too. I’m still on the first skein of yarn, so this is definitely at the pack-and-go stage.
I’m just so glad to have time to knit again!
What’s this - new knitting?
Why yes, it is! This week’s cast-on, again brought to us by Southwest Airlines, the BWI Airport taxi system, and soon to be sponsored by the Washington, D.C. metro system*, is my second attempt at Jaywalkers. I’m really hoping that these socks don’t end up as a donation to Southwest Airline’s lost and found. They’re intended as a Christmas gift!
Other pictures are at Flickr, and I’ll post ones showing more progress once I actually have some. Still, this isn’t bad for about 1.5 hours on a plane and in the taxi!
The five-year-old next to me on the plane was fascinated by my knitting. I was fascinated by him, because he looked at my yarn and needles and asked, “What are you knitting?” Very impressive, little man! His mother said she doesn’t knit, so extra impressive.
Then he looked at the yarn cake and exclaimed, “That’s a lot of yarn! You know how much yarn I think it is? I bet it’s a 100!”
I told him (and his surprised mom), “You know what? You’re exactly right. That’s about 100 grams of yarn.”
I think that made his five minutes.
*This sponsorship has nothing to do with proposed Metro rate increases, trust me.
Sydney Socks
I had two weeks between the end of my summer semester and the beginning the fall semester. Amazingly enough, the timing worked out for us to spend most of those two weeks in Sydney, Australia, for the wedding of one of my husband’s good friends.
The travel time from Houston to Sydney is about 23 hours, not including delays. And yes, we had some. Remind me to tell you about the one with the airplane getting a “Door Open” light during takeoff, coming back to the ground, slamming on the brakes, and blowing 8 tires.
Thus these socks, a combination of a broken rib or twisted rib or something rib sort of cuff, and the start of a simple cable for the body of the foot. It’s a little fun not knowing exactly what you’re doing!
Blogathon, Potterthon, and a Horcrux
Have you heard about Blogathon? It’s a way for bloggers to band together and raise money for charities. This year I’m part of a group blog called Potterthon — you guessed it, all about Harry Potter. Don’t worry, though: we have a strict spoiler-free policy for Deathly Hallows!
We’re going to take shifts during Blogathon to entertain the masses while we raise money for First Book. Here’s the mission of First Book, straight from their website:
First Book is a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. We provide an ongoing supply of new books to children participating in community-based mentoring, tutoring, and family literacy programs.
You can still support Potterthon by going here and registering to sponsor us.
I’ll start adding my posts in later today, and I have a feeling that I’ll be focusing on knitting patterns. I do love knitting patterns, you know.
Speaking of knitting patterns, I did NOT get my Horcrux socks finished in time for the big ol’ Harry-fest in the middle of this month. I have one sock finished and the other sock started, but there just wasn’t enough time to get the second one finished. Maybe I’ll work on that today as part of my Potterthon …
I’m also tempted to whip up some sort of knit wizard hat and slap it on Clive, just to see what the poor cat would do!
Horcrux Socks: Crazy shot
I am amazed by one thing right now: how something as seemingly simple as Ravelry can make me want to update my knitting progress records, keep knitting, and find pictures from three years ago to upload back to Flickr. Yes, I have been hunting down old knitting pictures, posting them to Flickr, and then entering a project with those pictures. All because I just want to remind myself that my knitting HAS accomplished something! It kind of gives a girl hope, if you know what I mean.
Some of that hope spilled over into the Horcrux socks. I’ve been picking this up and knitting a while longer while I’m reading for school or watching television. I’ve almost finished the first one (yay!) and now just have to keep going so I get the pair done for July 21st. (SQUEE!)
[Aside: Stupid school. I’m glad that I should finish in December so I can concentrate on important things like knitting more.]
As for these socks, I think I like how they’re turning out. I probably should have gone down another needle size, to a at least a 1. i’m using a US 1.5, and I think this might have a little too much stretch. We shall see, though …
Horcrux Socks!
Originally uploaded by dormousie.
I’m late joining the party on Six Sox Knitalong for the Horcrux Socks, but of course I had to make them. I saw these one someone else’s blog and decided that this is what I needed for the end of the Harry Potter book series in July. I was going to knit my version in some Socks that Rock, and THEN Adelle surprised me with the gift of some Ravenclaw Sock Yarn from Scarlet Knits. Add in a plane ride to and from Norfolk, Virginia, and we suddenly have sock progress for the first time in forever.
I have more progress that I’ll show later, but I’m so excited about actually knitting again. I had a two week break from school and managed to finish the hem on Eris, start Something Red, and then pick up these socks. I need to remember that I can actually knit while I watch television instead of just sitting and doing whatever on the computer.
Anyway, these socks are on US 1.5 needles, and here’s hoping it’s a gauge that’ll be tight enough for my foot since this is supposed to be a stretchy pattern. We shall see!
Eet ees mah sock chapeau.
Still learning French, you see. I should probably focus my French learning on the part of my wedding vows that will be all in French, but whatever, right? It’s not like the wedding is two and a half weeks away or anyth– … right.
So it’s the last day of October. I joined Socktoberfest so I could get motivated to finish socks, but has that worked? Well, the motivation has been there but not the time. I have a sock swap pal still hanging out there who doesn’t have her sock yet because the needles and yarn have hated me so much i had to find another kind of yarn and needles entirely. Really. I was using KnitPicks shine and circs, and I had to switch to this fine gauge crochet thread and double points. ARGH.
But I’m making progress, so maybe that’s good for something. I feel horrible for the sock swap delay. I should have known better than to sign up for a sock swap right before my wedding! Add in being sick and moving and drowning a car — well, October was crazy.
Hither and yon
I can’t believe I never posted about receiving my Hurricane Sock party gift! This wedding planning has robbed me of my brain as well as time and money.
My sock sister was the so talented and super-organized Becky, and she definitely spoiled me! I had bright green flip flops for my plodding around Houston in our 90 degree September days, Crystal Light Pink Lemonade for being refreshed, and yummy almonds for snacking. And then … the sock. The beautiful “Broken Branches”, adapted from Yukon Leaves by Becky herself, knit in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Manzanita (now known as “I’ve Survived Damn Near Everything”). :-) Oh, and let’s not forget the knitting bag that the sock and yarn were in, complete with page-protected pattern and a beautiful little stitch marker. I was amazed at the attention Becky paid to every little detail. Wow!
I had it with me on the plane yesterday morning in case I needed something to knit on the flight to Baltimore. I was going to spend the day/night with Adelle, stalking Pete Yorn. Will’s away in Finland, so what else would we do? I also had a handful of patterns and fistful of needles so I could start my sock for the Second Sock Syndrome Swap. Know what I didn’t have? The yarn. I was in such a rush to get out the door that I left it in the living room. *sigh* So instead I hand-wound my skein of Lorna’s Laces and got started on my Broken Branches sock … except I twisted the stitches. Clearly I shouldn’t knit before 10 am!
RPM … finished!
Look at RPM, being all ballerina-like and flitting around the room. It’s just so happy to be completed!
Fun pattern, fun yarn (Socks that Rock in Lagoon). I did the smooth heel and shaped toe options, something I’ll be sure to let me Hurricane Sock Sister know. I kind of wish that I’d dropped to a US 1 needle, at least for the ribbing. The 1.5 was good, but I think it would have been better with the 1.
Her foot is slightly longer than mine, though, so I’m hoping this works out well! She can rest assured, however, that this sock has been thoroughly examined by Inspector LeMew.
Now on to the next sock … Adelle has clearly done some brainwashing here.
Sock-obsessed
Clearly my mind is not my own. There’s no other reason that I, the girl who can’t keep up with socks, the girl who loses socks, the girl who rips and rips and rips socks … would sign up for another sock swap.
RPM is almost done — just need the toe wrapped up — and my presents for the Hurricane Sock Party have been bought, so of course I need something else to knit for! No pictures just yet because I want to actually get RPM finished before I take another picture .. it’s almost like a jinx or something. Anyway, THANK YOU for the comments and encouragement on it. I’m going to be so thrilled to finish a second sock … even if it’s not the match to the first sock I knit. :-D That’s why this Second Sock Syndrome swap is perfect for me!
The SSS questionnaire is under the cut …
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