It’s hard to be disciplined

I want to hurry up and knit my socks and my EZ garter-stitch blanket, because I really want to start a new project…the Pimlico Shrug from Knit 2 Together.  I got the book from my library, and just as with most knitting books, there are only a couple patterns I would want to knit, but I like the book.  I love Tracey Ullman, so just reading about how she got into knitting was interesting, and there are other anecdotes in there.

I like this shrug.  I googled it to see how other people liked it, and it got good reviews.  I also found out from reading of others’ experience with it that I probably don’t want to make it as long as the patterns calls for because it ends (and often cups unattractively) at the derriere.

I am not fond of the eyelet pattern.  I saw someone do a knot pattern, which looked attractive, or I may look through my Barbara Walker book for a nice pattern.

I’m a practical knitter.  I ooh and ahh over shawls, but truly, I am not a shawl person.  I like the coziness and warmth of being wrapped up in something, but I dislike things that have to continually be fussed with to stay put.  So, shawls and wraps are out.  But a shrug is a different story.  Especially this one which doesn’t fit tight all over, but draps and billows around the body.

I’m also wanting to tackle leggings or tights.  These, too, serve a practical purpose.  I am trying to whittle my expenses to the bone.  And one way is to keep my heat turned down in the winter.  However, I’m very sensitive when it comes to clothing.  I don’t like wearing it, for the most part, and I hardly ever have pants on.  I can tolerate shorts better than long pants, and I can tolerate knitted pants more than woven pants.  So, if I can knit myself some leggings or sweat pants, maybe I can tolerate having them on.  Since they will be made out of wool, I will be warm and I can turn the thermostat down.  And having that pimlico shrug to wrap myself in while hanging around the house (as well as going out) will also help me feel cozy and warm and hopefully won’t be intolerable.

Argh, socks!

So, due to my new discipline, I can only work on two projects at any one time.  I’m on the third piece of my EZ garter stitch blanket, which is almost done, then just one more piece and then the seaming.  My other project is a pair of socks that were languishing half done.  I do them two at a time on double points, and I turned the heel on one of them (the other one is done up to the foot when I would start gusset increases).  After turning the heel, I tried it on and it’s too tight.  The stitches are stretched to their limit.  Dang!

Now, the stupid part about this whole thing is that I was doing these socks toe-up, and I had been trying them on as I went.  I swear I am the only person who can try on something, like toe-up socks or a top-down sweater and have them not fit in the end.

So, I am not up for ripping those socks back all the way.  So, I am going to leave them languishing for a few days and then I will rip them, ball up the yarn, and then put the yarn away for a couple years until I can bear to look at it again.

So, I’m sock mood, so I started another pair.  I have a couple sock books from the library, but honestly I can’t stand following patterns.  They just put me in the mood to knit socks, not necessarily knit the socks in the pattern.

I’m so weird.

Here are the pics

The

The last pic is a bit fuzzy because I was doing a closeup shot, and it magnifies everything apparently, even my shaky hands.  But isn’t it gorgeous?  It’s so round (I love a three-ply), and I can’t believe I made a three-ply fingering weight.  Considering that my first yarn was too big to pass through the orifice, this is a nice change.

I took my yarn to work so everyone could ooh and ahh over it.

I also plied up a bunch of shetland that I had sitting on the bobbins forever.  I made a two-ply, and it’s thinner than sock weight.  My plan for that yarn is gloves.  I spun it worsted, but it was a batt, so it should retain a little bit of woolen property.  I’m hoping it’ll be a nice warm yarn to keep my hands toasty.

Squee!

Dear Readers (do I even have more than one?), I have a small skein of my first “real” three-ply (not Navajo-plied) yarn hanging in my bathroom.  I spun it on my spindle, and plied it with the help of my new Golding Lazy Kate.  It’s beautiful!  It looks to be sock yarn size, which is fabulous, because I wanted to be able to spin a three-ply sock yarn, because three-ply wears better.  This was destined to be a scarf, but I might end up using it for socks, but there’s nothing wrong with making a scarf out of fingering-weight yarn.

I like my Golding kate.  It works well.  It did hang up quite a few times, and thank goodness my plies were firmly spun, otherwise they may have broken.  But the rods spun freely pretty much.  I had a bit of a problem figuring out how to hold each of the plies, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy.

Oh, my skein is so beautiful.  It’s pink fiber I bought at Black Sheep, and it’s monochrome, but the dye has taken up more in some spots and less in others.  *sigh* I love this yarn.  Actually, I think I have eight ounces of the fiber, so I could very well get both a scarf and socks out of it.

I can’t believe I spun plies fine enough to make a three-ply sock yarn!  I love three-ply.  Two-ply is so overdone.  Every handspinner makes two-ply.  They are all told they have to ply their yarn because singles will bias (which is untrue), but they don’t want to take the time to spin up three bobbins’ or cops’ worth of yarn, so the default for almost every handspinner is two-ply yarn.  But my understanding is that two-ply is great for weaving, but for knitting, you want a rounder yarn.  That would be either a singles or a three-ply.

Also, here’s a little unsolicited advice from yours truly.  Sometimes it is recommended that when you ply, you hold the yarn up so that it dips into a U shape and see if it stays straight and doesn’t curl back on itself.  Supposedly, when it’s straight, it is balanced.  Well, yes and no.  It is balanced if it hangs straight, but that should be AFTER wet finishing.  And I have found that yarn loses a lot of energy in the soaking water.  I plied my yarn so that it curled back on itself.  I wasn’t trying, I just plied it a little tighter than I wanted the finished yarn to look.  And it came out pretty good.  It’s not dry, yet, so I won’t know how it’s hanging.

I hope to have pictures tomorrow.  I am out of batteries, and since my camera eats batteries for lunch, I bought rechargeable batteries.  However, every time I get my camera out the batteries are dead.  I don’t think they are charging properly.  I’m kinda pissed, cuz I paid good money for that damn charger and those stinking batteries.

But ya know, who cares when you have beautiful pink three-ply sock yarn that you spun yourself hanging in your bathroom.  Life is good.

My lazy kate has arrived!

Well, I got my Golding lazy kate for spindles today, and I gotta say, I think the pictures on the website are misleading and misrepresentative.  It’s so much better in person!  I don’t know if I’m just not good at perspective, but it seems way bigger in person than it appears in the pictures.  This thing is sturdy.  You won’t have to worry about it traveling across the surface you have it on.  It will stay put.

It’s also beautiful.  The wood is as smooth as a baby’s bottom, and it’s just so lovely.  I haven’t spun with it yet, because I only had one cop.  So, I slipped it on the kate, and I will have to spin up two more cops (cuz I’m doing a three-ply).  Once I’ve officially used it, I can give a more thorough review.  But just looking at it, it’s great!  I can’t wait to ply with it.  Plying on a spindle may actually be enjoyable now and not a chore.  Huzzah!

I succumbed

I am still plowing through my EZ garter stitch blanket that I mentioned two posts ago.  I’m still really enjoying working on only a couple projects at a time.

I also realized that I missed spinning, so I started spindle spinning some pink fiber I bought from Black Sheep Gathering in June with a new spindle that I bought there as well.  I will blog about the BSG sometime.  I’m having camera issues, so I need to get pics of my purchases first.

Anyway, as I was spinning away I again had the thought that I like spinning on a spindle very much, and I almost think maybe moreso than spinning on my wheel.  I feel constrained at the wheel, like I have to stay seated there.  With a spindle, I can sit or stand or even walk.  Yes, I have walked and spun at the same time.  It’s doable, and fun!

However, when it comes time to ply my spindle-spun singles, I hate it.  I always say to myself, You should’ve spun those singles on the wheel, then you could be plying away happily.”

There are several methods for plying with spindles, and I don’t care for most of them.  I like the andean hand-plying technique best, but it’s suited for small amounts.  It’s not meant for a full spindle’s worth.  And other techniques involve winding the yarn off the spindle and into a ball.  I don’t like the extra step.  I’ve tried slipping the cops onto knitting needles, but that’s not been satisfactory, either.

Well, over a year or so ago, I came across a lazy kate for spindles made by Tom Golding.

I have two of his spindles, and they are not only exceptionally beautiful, but they spin well.  They are among my favorite spindles.  And of course, getting his lazy kate will ensure that the spindles fit.  I’ve been trying to be more conscientious about how I spend my money.  And usually, when a big ticket item is involved, I put it on the back burner.  I don’t buy it impulsively, in other words.  If I still want it weeks or months later, then I figure it will be a good purchase.  Well, I’ve been wanting this lazy kate for over a year, so I figured now is the time to get it.  I am really excited and I can’t wait for it to arrive!

If anyone has a favorite spindle-plying technique, please leave it in the comments.

The scarf

If you are the intended recipient of the scarf, please look away.  No free previews.  You have to wait until you open the package.

Boy, that back burner is getting full!

I decided to postpone the skull-and-crossbones sweater for a bit.  I’m digging through my UFO’s.  I decided to finish my EZ garter stitch blanket.  I’m on the third piece, and there are only four pieces, so it shouldn’t be too long.

I looked back through my archives to see when I started talking about the blanket, and it was July of last year!  Golly.  That’s really out of hand.  I think my new discipline will pay off really well.  I’ll finally get projects done in a timely manner and I won’t have so many projects that languish in the basket for a year.

If the sewing up of this blanket isn’t too heinous, then I might make a couple more family.  I made afghans for my mom and my sister one Christmas (crocheted), and both of them have since gotten new furniture with a different color scheme.

I like this blanket.  There’s something soothing about garter stitch, and you have to remember to slip the first stitch and purl the last stitch of each row, so you can’t zone out completely, and when you turn the corner with short rows, that’s fun.

Does yarn have mojo?

OK, I’ve ripped out the yoke of the skull-and-crossbones sweater that I’m designing at least 4 times!  I didn’t like the increases and chose a different kind.  I didn’t like the way the neck looked.  I forgot that there is a reason I prefer half hitch (backward loop) when casting on in the middle of a row, instead of knitting on.  I think my yarn has bad mojo.  I’m seriously tempted to go buy new yarn for this project.  I have a theory that yarn that sits in your stash for too long starts to go bad.  It has been passed over time and again, and it just wants out of your life forever.  It’s totally misbehaving, this renegade yarn of mine.

Argh.  I’m going to rip the yoke out one more time and try again.  I think I’ve worked out all the kinks this time.  Oh, and this is complete seat-of-your-pants knitting.  I’m not using any software.  I’m using paper, a calculator, and a lot of guesstimating about where to place the skulls.  Ought  to be interesting.  If I finally get this thing finished, I will wear it every single day regardless of the temperature or dress code.

Yikes!

I just realized that if I make a cardigan with stranded knitting, I’m going to have to steek it.  Uh-oh.  But you know what?  I’m going to do it.  I’ll do crocheted steeks.   I’m not afraid.

I’ve got my gauge swatch, and my charts and I’m raring to go!  Wish me luck.