FO: Toe-up Purple Socks

Pattern: Toe-Up Socks With a Difference by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn:Ellen’s Half Pint Farm
Needles: US 1

FO Friday!!!! I’m finally getting this post up after about 3 months of having the project done. Go me.

I love the increase to the heel on these socks.

My lovely friend YarnKettle and I took a magic loop and toe-up socks class at our local LYS. It was all in one, not one class on magic loop and one on toe ups. It was two sessions and like the dummy I can be, I had the wrong time for the first one. THANK the stars she called me up to say she was caught in traffic or I would have been very sad indeed. I don’t have a link to her finished socks from the class because girl makes a ton of socks and I only have so much time to search. Plus she probably finished them like a week after the last class.

I had tried toe-up socks before the class and liked them, but magic loop and I just did not get along. I tried magic loop for other projects before and then promptly dumped her sorry butt because I don’t have time for fussy techniques that are more work than they are worth. When I saw the magic loop class offered, I decided one more booty call was in order, but this time a booty call with an education.

Getting ready to watch classic Doctor Who in the backround.

The teacher was…well, I’m not sure. I learned a lot from her, but I wasn’t thrilled with her style. She often took projects out of the students’ hands to show us how to do whatever it was we were struggling with, rather than let us do it ourselves. While that’s not bad and is a valid teaching method, I prefer to try the technique with the teacher watching to gain muscle memory. She also kind of trashed double points because YOU’LL POKE YOUR EYE OUT and they are confusing. Yes, they can be similar to eating at a Chinese buffet with a dozen chopsticks at once, but when you figure it out you feel awesome and can kill anyone who would take your dumpling with one of those chopsticks. And I never poked my eye out, a chin maybe or um, my chest, or a hand, but never an eye. Of course, I do wear glasses so maybe that’s why.

Anyway, I learned the magic loop method with this class, and baby, we’re getting married! The stars aligned our timing was right and the technique forgave me all my transgressions. I feel like I’m knitting a bit faster with the one needle rather than the 5. Oh don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be using my double points on the side. It is an open marriage after all, but I totally appreciate the relationship now and am committed to my magic loop baby more than just a mere booty call.

Okay, I think the filler I used on the molding this morning has gone to my head.

The heels and a mess

Anyway, so these are the socks I made in the class and I really, really like them. Remember a couple FOs ago, I said these socks were the best fitting socks EVAR! I was wrong. These socks are the best fitting ever. The pattern is super easy to understand and it just fit my foot like a dream. I think the only problem I had was mis-measuring my foot making them perfectly fit the Husband’s size 12 (men’s) foot. Yikes! He would have taken them, but hell no. The yarn is Ellen’s Half Pint Farm and I just love their yarn. Thankfully I still have a few skeins left and maybe I’ll make the Husband socks from those, but I doubt it. I’m not that nice.

I love the color

Bird Master Eggplant Xylephone

After reading Monday’s post, I realized that I was crazed and scattered. I think that’s the state of my brain right now between nerves, finishing up with work, figuring out classes, and general craziness. I need to start making some lists to help sort everything in my head.

In knitting news, I’m just about done with the shall, Maluka. She’s off the needles and I just need to wind in ends. Next up hand warmers and socks for the Husband. Otherwise, knitting has been slow, but good. I have knitting this weekend so I really need to remember to print out the sock pattern and maybe finally figure out the pattern for my hand warmers. Some day I’ll even get my latest FO up. Someday.

I feel like I have a very deep and philosophical post percolating in my head, but I can’t remember it for the life of me. Of all the things to forget, that one’s fine. I’d hate to forget to finish a project for work or feeding the kid, who by the way is now potty trained! Mostly. 9 times out of 10 she successfully asks to use the potty. The other 1 out of 10…KABOOM! Pee or poop everywhere. She’s like a tiny bomb spraying pee over everything she walks on. Or sits on. The poop sort of stays contained until it isn’t and then ew. No, super ew. Fortunately, she is still willing to do pull ups for gymnastics or going out when we aren’t sure of a potty.

Aren’t you so happy you came to read today?

FO: Doctor Who Bag

Pattern: The Little Coco Bag by Kate Atherley
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport
Needles: US 7 (maybe? I didn’t write it down)

Welcome to another installment of FO Friday!!! Yeah, it’s been a while.

The finished product!

I finally finished and photographed the Doctor Who bag! It’s not that it was a complex or difficult pattern, but I kept putting it aside between steps. Knit the bag and stash it away a couple months before felting. Now that it is felted, stick it in a corner for a long time until you get to sewing the lining. Now that the lining is done, do something else for another month before you stitch it in. If I had actually stopped my dithering, it would have been done much sooner. But dither I did.

My phone holder inside the bag.

I used The Little Coco Bag which I found on Ravelry. It is simple, easy to understand, and really creates a beautiful bag, but in hindsight, I would have done a different pattern. Having the loops go through the fabric of the bag rather than be part of the top made  the lining appear a bit odd to me, because it’s not closer to the edge. It’s not bad, just odd. And to be fair, it is growing on me (which means I’m totally wishy washy).

So pretty.

For anyone who is not cool enough to have watched the Tom Baker episodes of Doctor Who, the pattern is same as his famous scarf. Well, the original, anyway. I used the leftover yarn from the Doctor Who scarf from several years ago and followed the scarf color pattern. I did halve the number of rows for each color because I was doing stockinette rather than garter and I was also worried about not having enough yarn. I had plenty.

What it will look like when I wear it. Do you not see the cool spewing from this bag?

I bought fabric called Timey Wimey from Spoonflower to continue the Doctor Who theme. I of course couldn’t just do a simple lining. Why would I do that. Instead I created my first ever pocket and added a slot for my phone.

Pocket!

I still want to add a clasp to close the bag and need to add Velcro to the fabric that goes over the phone, but it’s done enough to use. I’m super happy with how it turned out. I haven’t used it yet, but plan to soon. The best part? I only lost about a gallon of blood sewing it together!

Someone helped model the pre-felted bag

More photos can be found on flicker.

All About Shawls

Hey! It’s Friday. What? Were you expecting something?

Remember a few weeks ago how I decided to rip out a shawl I had been making for months? I’m still ripping it out. Holy crap is it a pain. I’m trying to wind back 3 strands not always of the same color without making a knot (and I’m quite talented at making knots when I frog). I think I only have a 3rd left. Then I will be knitting that again. Only prettier.

A few weeks ago, I was trying to figure out what shawl to make and posted a poll. People actually voted! I know, I’m as shocked as you. 16 people voted and the results are:

• Silver Leaves Shawlette (6 votes)
• EZ 100th Anniversary Camping Half-Cirlce (5 votes)
• Cotton Baram Boo Kudzu Shawlette (4 votes)
• Maluka (1 vote)

Poor, poor Maluka.

So. The question now becomes, do I listen to the voters and go with the Silver Leaves Shawlette or do I ignore the majority and go with a different one? Don’t be sad, but I’m going rebel! That’s right, a rebel without a clue! See how free and alive I am by ignoring what you all said?

Well, okay, not quite. The more I looked at them, the more two of the shawls just really connected. Of course, they were the least voted on shawls. I like to think that it’s because I’m an individual and dance to the beat of a different drummer. More like,  Zumba to the beat of a different drummer. A very horrible and crazy drummer.

I’m going to make the Cotton Baram Boo Kudzu Shawlette (4 votes) first. One of the photos on the Ravelry page just resonated with me; and since,  I have always wanted to try to make something with beads but haven’t done it yet, I thought now was the time.

Is this not beautiful?

As of right now, I’m going to make it with the gray yarn I bought at Rhinebeck.

X, Mommy! The yarn looks like the letter X!

The color may be too dark for the design, so I still need to swatch it out to make sure it’s the right yarn for the job. Otherwise, I have a bazillion other skeins. One may work. Maybe one of my greens. We’ll see.

I also really, really like poor, unloved Maluka (1 vote). It’s just simple and clean and I love the 3 lace stitches in the edging. It will most likely be made with leftover yarn from Knitpicks. Assuming I have enough left.

I’ve used at least one skein from this picture.

So, I’m sorry voters that I’m completely and utterly ignoring your responses. Just pretend that it’s backwards day and that I’m actually making the winners but saying I’m going to make the losers. I really do love all 4 shawls so I suspect the other two will be made sooner than later.

And special thanks to Tryslora and Yarnkettle for leaving comments. Hearing your perspectives really helped. Tryslora gets gluten- and carb-free cookies and Yarnkettle gets cookies that taste good!

Knitting in public

Before I start rambling I have to tell you I’m typing this on my iPad using a wireless keyboard in the living room while watching a movie from Netflix. The future is here, people! Of course I thought that last week in class when they handed out clickers in my chem class. Flying cars are next!

So, on to the ramble…

OP takes gymnastics once a week. She’s actually pretty good and I suspect she’ll be in the 2020 olympics. Of course, she’ll only be 11 in 2020 so she’ll be the youngest olympian gold medalist. She’ll also win the Kona Ironman at 9 and be Doctor President. At this age, the class requires one parent on the floor acting as the child’s coach. Which is good for the teacher, but bad for the parents. It’s a lot of work running around after kids who want to climb on everything they shouldn’t. To counteract the total exhaustion, the Husband and I alternate weeks. That is, one sits and watches while the other gets to reign in a crazy 3-year-old who is super excited to be there.

I love when I get the week off, because I have a full hour to knit! The thing that amazes me is no other parents knit or crochet. None! I’d expect at least one other person to be playing with fiber. I mean there are dozens of parents and even some grandparents. Maybe I just have a large percentage of friends who knit or crochet so my expectations may be a little skewed. Still, it would be nice to have another gymnastics parent to talk yarn to.

That is, assuming they talk to me. I very rarely have anyone approach me when I knit in public, so may be it’s a moot point. I must look very scary when I knit or maybe I just look deep in thought. Do other crafty readers get approached much in public?


Everyone will talk to you if you wear fake green hair!