It Begins

Weighing In

I remember the first time I read about a knitter using a scale to weigh her yarn, to figure out how much she'd used with her project.
At the time it seemed pretty crazy, I must admit (and I assume you're thinking as much, as you read this.) Today, however, I was knitting the leg of my sock, trying to decide if I had enough to do another repeat, or if that would leave me short on the second sock. What better way to figure it out than to drag out the kitchen scale and weigh the sock and the remaining yarn, to figure out whether I'd used nearly half of the yarn, yet.

It was a bit more complicated than that, of course -- after all, I had to figure in the weight of the needles (rather heavy nickel-plated ones: 8 grams, for the record.) Fortunately I remember basic algebra well enough to do that sort of calculation. In the end, I decided I wouldn't risk another repeat; if I used more than another 10 grams of yarn, then I would be eating into the second half of the skein, and I still had a bit of cuff to do, plus the bind-off row. So I finished up the first sock and got set up for the second.

Meantime, I am still waiting for the arrival of the yarn to finish off Lizard Ridge. I know you are all as anxious as I am, to see the finished project (not to mention what I'm going to make with the leftovers...)

A Dame With an Appetite

I have always been a sucker for goofy personality quizzes. First thing when I got a new women's magazine, I would flip to the quiz and take it, even though I pretty much always ended up in the middle category. (We could think of it as the Baby Bear category: not too hot, not too cold, but juuust right.) So today when I stumbled across the Classic Dames Test online, I just had to try it out. Happily I ended up with Katherine Hepburn, my favourite dame of all.

Your result for The Classic Dames Test...

Katharine Hepburn

You scored 21% grit, 38% wit, 38% flair, and 17% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

I think the funniest part of all is that I scored 17% class! Ouch.

Fortunately the kind of leading man that this dame attracts is the culinary kind. My HLM made a spectacular meal tonight, with steak and mushrooms and mashed potatoes and the most perfect yorkshire pudding this side of Stratford-Upon-Avon.
You might be tempted to come over and share, but too late. It's long gone, by now.

Hope you had a good V-Day, too!

Here Be Dragons

A long time ago, I read a cool novel called Tooth and Claw, by a Canadian author named Jo Walton. It was a sort of Jane Austen-ey tale of manners and love and strife amongst a family of dragons. Not only was it unique, it was also really entertaining, funny, and engaging. I've never forgotten it.


When I saw one of the sock patterns in the January Rockin' Sock Club shipment, it reminded me of dragons, with these little spiny ridges up the top of the foot. I immediately thought of this Madelinetosh sock yarn that I had sitting around from Sock Summit (which those of you with longer memories may recall had previously been knit into an ill-fated wrap and summarily frogged.) The colour is such a perfect dragon colour, and really suited the pattern. I couldn't wait to start knitting them up, and immediately thought to name them after my favourite dragon novel. I am nearly to the heel and am really enjoying these ones. The yarn is so soft and the colours make me swoon with every inch I knit. The green is a little bit darker and mossier than the photo, but the purple is very true to life. I am so glad I get a second chance to knit up this yarn.

p.s. Don't worry -- the also-stunning January RSC yarn will be knit up in the other pattern with the shipment, so you will get a chance to see it, soon enough. Fear not, my lovelies.

My Vampire Boyfriend

In plenty of time for Valentine's Day, I finished the socks last night -- the second one practically flew off the needles. I suspect that it was just because I'd run through the pattern once on the first sock, and got more comfortable with it, and with keeping track of where I was. (Also, because I'm so ready to start the two patterns that came with January's Rockin' Sock Club, one of which I am about to cast on in mere moments.)


The yarn was so beautiful to knit with; I just love the colours. I can see in these photos that the variegation really does take away from the cable pattern, but I still don't think I'm going to overdye it again to even it out. After all, I'm the only one that will see them, for the most part, and I like them like this. Perhaps I'm also rationalizing, but I also think the cables are more apparent in person than the photo would imply.


I also wanted to give a close-up of the cable that goes up the sides of the sock -- in the pattern, she refers to it as the Bitemark Cable, since it has two little bite holes within every little twist (hence the Vampire part of the Vampire Boyfriend.) I know I mentioned before that it was a bit of a pain, since it had a seven-row repeat, which made it a bit trickier to keep track of doing both patterns at once, but of course the payoff is worth it, since it is a really cute detail for the socks.

Love.

The Way it is Progressing

Just in case you were worried that the Honeybee Cardigan was in hibernation...


It's been slowly ticking along -- not because it is overly complicated or difficult, but because I've been distracting myself with starting and/or finishing up several other projects along the way. When I sit down with this one, I prefer to do a whole repeat of the lace (six looong rows) all at once; that whole repeat takes a couple of hours, so you can imagine that I don't sit down with this one as often as some of the other projects I've had going on.

I am well into the yoke part of the pattern, and although it's my first time knitting a set-in sleeve all in one piece with the body (rather than knitting them all as separate pieces and sewing them together at the end) I am finding it fairly straightforward. I'm even looking forward to trying this sort of thing with some other projects I have queued up for the future.

Miles and miles of lace. Mmm... I can't wait until it's blocked.

More Bloody Socks

Just so you get a chance to see how nicely my overdyed yarn is knitting up, here is a shot of the lovely variegated yarn on the sole of my Vampire Boyfriend sock. Purdy, ain't it? Perhaps it seems sacrilegious to overdye Socks that Rock, but I'm sure that Tina would approve of a little experimentation in dyeing, even if it's over one of her creations.


The socks are still moving along -- I am nearing the finish of the first one. The pattern takes some brain power, however, since the cables along the side are on a 7-row repeat, and the larger heart pattern in the middle is a 20-row repeat. Thank goodness I know how to read my knitting, for those pesky moments when I forget what row I'm on, on either/both of them.

Knock wood, I should finish the first one tomorrow night. I hope so, anyway; I am already chomping at the bit to cast on both patterns from this month's Rockin' Sock Club shipment. So many socks -- so little time.

The Last of the Lizards

The final block is finally blocked. Now I just have to play with the arrangement until the yarn for seaming it arrives. This could get interesting.

And Then There Was One

Here is the second-to-last block for Lizard Ridge:

I am three-quarters of the way through the very last block, and have already ordered the yarn for seaming and edging. Care to guess what colour it will be?

I have also made some good progress on the Honeybee Cardi; it is now all in one piece and I am slowly moving up the yoke. Very happy with how it looks, so far. Soon, I'll get to pick out some buttons for a finishing touch.

Lastly, I am partway through the heel flap of the first Vampire Boyfriend sock, and am feeling good about how they are humming along.

Gosh, I feel so productive, all of a sudden.

I Vant to Drink Your Blood

I have started the new sock project -- My Vampire Boyfriend socks from Knitty -- and I am loving how the yarn is knitting up. The less-dyed spots are pretty sporadic, and really add some extra depth to the variegated red. Almost like spots where the blood got drained dry...

The only question remains... does my vampire boyfriend have dark hair, or blond?