Frustration

I’ve been having problems with my internet connection. For someone who isn’t patient in the best of times, this is annoying, to say the least.

But, I have pictures!

This is the back of LouLa’s wrap dress. We haven’t been getting along, the wrap dress and I. There is some garter stitch around the armhole, which is supposed to be in the contrasting color. Yeah, right. Like I’m going to do three stitches on each side in a contrasting color. I haven’t done colorwork, but it seems to me that you either a) carry the other color along the back, or b) weave in tons of ends.

My problem with a): There’s way too many stitches for me to carry the purple color along the back.

My problem with b): Yeah, I briefly resigned myself to that. But, when you start a new color, it ends up that the new color is separate from the original color. When I went from the purple to the blue, I was ending up knitting three strips (3 stitches of purple, big panel of blue, three stitches of purple). Then, I decided to weave in as I went, which meant that the panels were connected. That still irritated me, so I frogged back and just did it all in the blue. If anyone has more experience with colorwork and can tell me the *real* way that I was supposed to do this, I’d love to hear it.

In any case, I’m working on one of the front panels, which is supposed to have the contrasting purple all the way up the side. I’m not doing that. I *think* I’ll be able to put the purple around the collar, since that’s done by picked up stitches.

On to happier things…

I’d like you to meet my newest sock:

This is Fleece Artist in Blue Lagoon. The pattern is the chevron pattern from SKS. I love this yarn. So far, Cherry Tree Hill and Fleece Artist are my favorite to work with. I’ve found that both of them are a joy, with beautiful colors.

I’ve been tagged…

and it’s taken me some time to figure out the seven random things about me.

Here you go:

1. I have an extra toe. Well, not really, but I have old-lady feet (no offense to my older audience) and I have a pretty big bunion on my left foot. I affectionately call it my extra toe. It’s not from wearing dumb shoes; I’m not that kind of person at all. It’s just part of my genetics, I guess. It’s made finding shoes that fit a challenge.

2. I swear like a sailor. But, only around my husband and very good friends.

3. I have no internal temperature gauge. I’m either too hot or too cold, rarely comfortable.

4. I hate the feeling of air on my skin. Even in the summer, when it’s 100 degrees, I’ll still sit on the couch with blanket over me. I can tolerate short sleeves, but not shorts.

5. I read *very* fast.

6. Like Liz, I have a baby tooth still. It’s on my lower jaw, in front. It’s still doing okay, but I expect that I’ll need it replaced with a spacer at some point in the future. I also only have two wisdom teeth. And, I lost my last baby tooth when I was a senior in high school. I have weird teeth.

7. I’m inherently lazy. Really, I’m happiest sitting on the couch, reading or knitting or watching tv.

Bonus:

8. My favorite people live far away from me.

I won’t tag anyone with this, since it seems like most people who wanted to participate have already done it. But, if you haven’t been tagged, and you’d like to be, you are officially tagged.

This weekend:

Work on the wrap dress for LouLa- I’ll post a picture when I get to an interesting point.

Continue working on new socks. I’ll won’t say anything more about them, but they are opposite from the Ugly Socks. I’ll post a picture, too. I’m not completely sure about the pattern I’m using, so I’ll wait until I have it finalized.

Robin Egg Beautiful

Pattern: Tank Top from Barefoot Knits
Yarn: Cotton Fleece by Brown Sheep Co. in Robin Egg Blue
Needles: KP Options Size 7
Modifications: It’s an inch shorter than the pattern called for and still was pretty long. Next time I will play around with the arm pit area; it’s a bit low cut as you can see in the second picture, and I’d like a little more coverage there. I was worried that it would be too big around, but it’s not at all. It’s a little loose, but there’s just enough room for her to wear it through the summer. I have grown to love seaming! It’s so fun.

The wrap dress is still going. It’s going to take some time, I can tell. There’s LOTS of stockinette, which isn’t a bad thing. I’m ready to do the heel flap on Ugly Sock #2, so that’s moving along nicely. I do have an incentive to get LouLa’s wrap dress done. My next non-sock project will be my Wicked sweater. Yay! I figured that I’d better get LouLa done with, since the chances of her outgrowing something are good.

Here’s a question: When I did the Baby Cardi, I seamed and then blocked. For the tank top, I blocked and then seamed. I have no idea why I chose one way over the other. Really, is there a better way? Does it matter? I’d like to hear what other knitters think, so write a comment and tell me your thoughts on the order of blocking and seaming.

Reading:

I just started Son of a Witch yesterday. I’d been reading some brain candy for the past week and resisted starting it. I have no idea why, it’s a great book. But, I did the same thing with Wicked. It took me some time to start it, even though I thought I’d like it. Weird.

9 Hours, 27 Minutes

That’s my final time for the Sock in a Day Challenge.

Here’s my final sock:

Horizontal stripes make even feet and legs look fat! They aren’t *quite* as bad as I thought, but I still don’t like them. The fit is actually pretty good, but the heel flap is short, even though I followed my standard formula of doing the same number of rows and the number of stitches. It feels funny.

While I could technically knit a sock in a day, I never would. The longest period of time I knit was for 2 hours and 28 minutes. My wrist didn’t like that at all. I may not keep track of my time with the second sock. It’s already on the needles and I’ve done the cuff, so I could probably be finished by next weekend. I have an entire Rubbermaid tub full of sock yarn that is calling to me. That’s a pretty good incentive to get this pair done.

I will be blocking LouLa’s tank top tonight, so the seams should be done by the end of the weekend. It might not be as big as I thought. I measured her chest for the wrap dress (which I’ve just barely started), and she’s between the size two and the size four. I ended up casting on for the size four, but the length will be the same as the size two. Since I used the size four numbers for the tank, it should be okay, even if it’s a little loose. I also made the tank shorter than the pattern called for.

On a scale of 1 to 10

This would get a 10!!

As the ugliest sock ever.  Okay, maybe not the ugliest,  but I would have to actually try to make a sock that was uglier.  The picture does it justice; it’s much uglier in person.  Trust me.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the colorway, combined with the lack of pattern.  It *might* be better if it were in a chevron pattern or something.  But, I kind of doubt it.

I think I had hoped that the stripes might be wider, which could have been cool.  You know, a’ la The Wicked Witch of the North.  Now, that would have been way cool.  Not these skinny, not quite stripes.  They are ugly and the sock looks dirty, even before it’s been worn.

I’m sad.  I have two skeins of LL in Jungle Stripe, which is purple and green.  I have a feeling I’ll be disappointed with it, too.  At least the colors will be interesting.

Series finale of Gilmore Girls tonight.  *sigh*  I love that show.  At least there will be some ray of happiness in my life while I’m knitting The Ugliest Sock in the Universe.

(I’m not at all melodramatic, this is really bad.)

ETA:
Thanks for the great suggestions! I tried the sock on last night, and I’ve decided that it wouldn’t get a 10, but rather a 9. It’s not *quite* as bad when it’s on the foot as when it’s off the foot.
I will try and use a different cast on when I do the Jungle Stripe, and I will definitely use a pattern. Probably a chevron or something from SKS. I’m hesitant to try Jaywalkers because of the fit issues many others have had.
Unfortunately, with my desire to get the sock(s) done, the tendonitis (sp?) in my wrist is acting up. It’s something from my years waitressing and it bothers me now and then. I’ll see how it feels tonight. Maybe I’ll block LouLa’s tank top and start on her wrap dress. Hopefully working on larger needles will help. I can’t forsee a night without knitting, though.

I need a deadline for this

The sock just isn’t speaking to me.  If I didn’t have a deadline, I would be very tempted to put it away and start something else.  The colors are boring, the pattern is boring, it’s just boring.  I know that I won’t wear it much.  This pair will be the last resort pair; the one I wear only when all of my other knitted socks are in the dirty clothes basket.

I even tried to fob it off on Josh.  Imagine, two pairs of socks in less than a month!  Unfortunately, he couldn’t get it on.

So, it’ll continue to be my SIAD sock.  I’m keeping track of my time, and I’ve put in about 3.5 hours on it.  I’ll start the heel flap in 10 more rounds or so.  My plan is to keep track of my time for the first sock and try to beat that time on the second sock.  That will give me some incentive to just get the pair done and over with.

My next pair will be bright and beautiful.

Catch Up

Knitting:

Thanks for giving me blog suggestions. Tonight is my time to catch up on stuff, so I’ll add those to my blogroll.

I have finished Josh’s socks. Yay! I am participating in the Sock-in-a-Day (SIAD) Challenge organized by my buddy Liz (check out her Venezia sweater). I was a little worried that I would have to start a new sock before I finished Josh’s, but I ended up getting the foot of his second sock done last night, and finished up the toe this afternoon. I’ll start the SIAD tomorrow, though I won’t be able to knit the entire day. I’ll keep track of my time and see how I do. I’m going to use this yarn:

It’s Pin Stripe in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock. I think I’ll just do a plain stockinette. I’ve never used any of LL’s striping yarn, so I’d like to see what this does without any fancy patterns. Plus, stockinette will help ensure that I’ll finish it in the alloted 18 hours. I can’t decide what I think of the color, but it interests me.

I took part in my first swap on the Knittyboards. It was a fabulous first experience. I sent an issue of Knit Simply that I wasn’t interested in keeping around to missameeames and I received this great package in return:

I told her to surprise me, and this was a great surprise. Seriously, can you believe I got all that for sticking a magazine in an envelope? Yeah, me neither. The monkey has already been claimed by LouLa. She took a two hour nap today with it, so I’m going to make sure it’s with her for all her naps. The monkey is sitting on three huge bars of chocolate. There were four bars, but I ate one this afternoon. There is the most adorable little Lexie Barnes bag and I’m totally going to scope out more of them online. And, I also got two crocheted book thongs, which are around the monkey’s neck.

I’m working on the second piece of LouLa’s tank top. I may finish it tonight, which means that blocking and seaming aren’t too far away. I think I’ll work on the wrap dress for her next. I’m saving my Wicked sweater, since I won’t be able to wear it for another 5 months or so.

Reading:

I finished Complications. It’s really a great book. The kind of book that would be fun to talk about at a book club or something. I’m almost done with comeback by Claire and Mia Fontaine. It’s about a girl who ends up in a treatment center for drug addiction and running away and it’s told by both the mother and the daughter. I was afraid it would be cheesy, but it’s not. I haven’t rolled my eyes to myself once. I’ve woken up quite a few times in the middle of the night this past week, which is why I’ve been able to read it so fast. Insomnia is good for something, I guess. Son of a Witch may be next on my list.

Non-Knitting/Reading:

A rhubarb pie made with rhubarb from my garden.  The best thing about this is that the crust is simply pressed into the pan, but it still tastes like a regular pie crust.  I made one earlier this week with strawberries for a coworker’s birthday.  It was so good, I decided to make one for Mother’s Day.  This one doesn’t have strawberries, but I love rhubarb pie, so it doesn’t matter to me.

Searching

The whole reason I started this blog was because I *love* to read knitting blogs.  I love them.  Really, many a Friday evening is spent reading blogs.  But, I’m looking for more to add to my blogroll.

Here’s where you come in, faithful (?) reader.

Post a comment with your favorite knitting blog.  I would prefer those that may not have a huge readership.  You know, it’s the blog that you check every day, just to see if there’s a new post.  It’s the blog that not everyone reads, but you think that the knitting world would be better if more people did.  Or, maybe, you want to keep it a secret and only give out the address to a select few.  Whatever your reason, I trust you and I would love a few new blogs to add to the blogroll.

Give me one, or give me more, I don’t care.

While I prefer knitting blogs, I’m open to (almost) any kind of blog.  Don’t hold back.

Knitting:

Eh, I did absolutely no knitting this weekend.  Seriously, not one stitch.  But, I have the front done of the tank and I’m almost ready to turn the heel on Josh’s second sock.  I’ll post pictures one of these days.

Reading:

I finished Nineteen Minutes on Friday.  I’ve started Complications by Atul Gawande, a National Book Award finalist.  It’s really, really good.  For me, it’s demystifying doctors and what they do.  But, he also writes about things that doctors can’t figure out, like pain, and nausea.  He’s scientific, but it’s still easy to read.  It’s one of those books that I know when I get to the end, I’m going to wish there was more.  As luck would have it, when I was looking for the link, I found that he’s written another book, titled Better.

I did it!

I finished the 12K!  I didn’t really ever think that not finishing was an option, but it’s still pretty cool.  It was harder than I thought, but easier, too.  There were 44,000 people racing, which made it hard at times.  Obviously, we didn’t all go at once.  I was with the second to the last group to go, based on my estimated finish time.  At first, I was able to jog along nicely.  But, as the race went on, the walkers took up the entire road, so I would have to weave in and out, which was a pain.  I didn’t jog the entire thing, but I think I probably did 5 of the 7.5 miles.  There were two small hills and one huge one and I walked all of those.  But, the actual distance wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.  There were bands playing all along the way, and tons of people, which made it fun and interesting.  In addition to a nice t-shirt of the event, I have a nice sunburn to go along with it.

Unofficial time:  1 hour, 45 minutes-That’s only a guess.  I’ll find out my official time later this week.

ETA: Official Time- 1 hour, 43 minutes. A pace of 13:55, which is slower than I usually go, but okay considering the crowd and hills. I’m totally doing it next year, and I may do a 5K this weekend. I feel just fine, though the muscles in my feet are sore. Weird. No blisters, no other soreness, just my feet muscles.

That was

then…

This is now…

It’s soooo much better! Sorry about the weird alignment. I messed around with it, but I couldn’t get it to do what I wanted. I need to finish packing for the big weekend. Wish me luck on the 12K!