They've been a long time coming...

When I met Lynn and a bunch of other knittyheads at WEBS she gave me some lovely sock yarn as a gift. I knit so many socks, she said, and she doesn't - obviously I would use this yarn in no time.

Well, that's not exactly true. It was October 2006. When I did finally get around to knitting the yarn the socks took me a month to finish!




Pattern: Yarrow Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Dicentra Designs in Abalone
Started: 7/1/08
Finished: 7/31/08

I'll pretend that I artfully posed the socks on the pile of moving boxes, but that is actually where I'm going to let them sit to dry. This moving thing is crazy!

The fact that the socks took me forever to get around to is actually because I kept having ideas (and ideas, and ideas) about what to do with this particular yarn. I wound it ages ago and then started being indecisive about my pattern choice. I think the Yarrow Rib, which I finally decided on, was a good choice. The yarn is fairly high contrast - yet strangely harmonious! - and any patterning would be lost in it.



So thank you Lynn for the fabulous yarn which will finally get worn as its intended object - just as soon as it gets colder.

Listening to: Wicked Game ~ H.I.M., September Sun ~ Type O Negative

Presenting... sock yarn!

My poor neglected blog! The last couple of week and a half have been filled with friends, way too much of a social life, and not too much knitting. Oh, yeah, and spinning.

I did complete my Tour de Fleece goal and finish spinning my birthday roving! I think in a little less than a month the birthday handspun can become my cross country road trip socks.



I made a true three ply for the first time - I plied most of the singles until the bobbin was as full as I could get it, then skeined that bunch and plied the smaller skein in the back. This is right after plying, I haven't wet and blocked the yarn yet.



I think it turned out pretty well - it's not as super-even as I would have liked but it was spun over multiple days and in a bit of a rush. And it really is pretty even, other than a few places where the roving was a bit sticky - strangely this mostly happened on the parts that were dyed dark blue. And as you can see the plying left a bit of a pool of yellow in one section. In any case, I'm sure the socks will be lovely.

Listening to: Creep ~ Radiohead, ...and the Great Cold Death of the Earth ~ Agalloch

Packing the Stash

Knitting has been largely preempted by moving lately. It's no fun, but it's the way it has to be.

I started packing and one of the first things to get packed was most of my stash. I've decided that if I pack all of my yarn I'll be less likely to start new projects and more likely to finish knitting the things I already have in progress. I'll save out a ball or two for the road trip but otherwise all the stash is being boxed up.

Tonight I went out to meet polarg for an evening of knitting and crepe eating. It was lovely.



Doesn't it look perfect? It was an awesome way to get my mind off of the moving at least temporarily.

Listening to: A Desolation Song ~ Agalloch, Credence ~ Opeth

Tour de Fleece

Lately there hasn't been all that much knitting going on, but there has been spinning! I decided to participate in the Tour de Fleece, even though I'm not watching the Tour de France. A goal of spinning a bit every day and finishing this 4oz bundle of fiber into sock yarn was just the motivation I needed! I've been turning this Spunky Eclectic superwash merino fiber that was a birthday gift from Cathy...



Into this:



Singles that I'm going to 3-ply to make fingering/sport weight yarn for socks. I'm a little over halfway done spinning the singles. Now off for another 2 hour spinning session while watching The Other Boleyn Girl - just for the costumes. ;)

RPM... sorta

The knitting has been slow lately due to real life. Yes, that pesky real life thing has reared it's head and I'm stuck doing all kinds of things except for knitting. Like... packing. Because in August I'm moving back to Seattle.

But last night RPM and I had a date with Torchwood and I finally finished!



Pattern: RPM... sorta
Yarn: Socks That Rock Mediumweight Mill End
Started: 5/17/08
Finished: 7/1/08

I've been into spirals lately...



So the truth is that I had an idea about what RPM was in my head, and that's what I knit. Not the actual pattern or anything, as you can probably see. I looked at the stitch pattern, promptly subtracted a stitch from the leg count to make it automatically spiral, and knit the rest of the sock without so much as a glance at the pattern until today when I went to find the link.

That's when I realized that the actual RPM has a short row heel and the spiral ribs continue onto the bottom of the foot. Ah well...

ETA: And then I noticed that she *also* has an option for a flap heel and no ribs on the bottom of the foot. Aija, great minds think alike!

Listening to: Miss Murder ~ A.F.I., Comedown ~ Bush