Cotton is bad for socks...

But oh, so good for the soul.

My parents, at a loss with what to get me for Christmas, sent me yarn. (I love my parents.) While talking to my mom, I mentioned that I would need to start knitting cotton socks soon, since I'm planning on moving back to Arkansas, where my stash of wool socks will be pretty useless. My mom relayed this to Dad, who, of his own volition, went to a yarn store and bought me yarn. Some of it's wool, some of its cotton. Two particular balls were Schachenmayr Nomotta Crazy Cotton. 100% cotton, fingering weight. Yarn that I know my parents bought for me to turn into socks. So I am. Otherwise, they may start having doubts about whether they're buying me "good" yarn, and never send me any again. Plus, I love the colors.

The downside to cotton socks is they have no natural stretch. I already plan to string elastic through the top, so they'll stay up, and, the fit is a lot more particular than any other pair I've ever made. Working toe-up, they were getting too tight, so I unvented the toe-up heel flap. (this is nothing new, but all the patterns I saw were size 0, fingering weight, and I couldn't figure out the formula. to apply to my own socks. So I guessed.) If anyone's curious how I did it, increase every other row until you're ready to start the heel, work a short row heel over the original number of stitches, (I had 44, so the heel was over 22), ignoring those that you've increased on. Once you've finished the short row heel, continue working back and forth, and knit the last stitch of the heel onto the added stitches. I like it. It has the added benefit of creating a deeper heel, which may be more aesthetically pleasing.

Feather and fan lace pattern, adopted from Kaibashira from Magknits, without the purl rows. Size 2 needles, 44 sts.

It may also be the season for hats...

Hat #1:

Fair-Isled argyle hat. I knit this in a night to have it ready by Christmas morning, so all of the details are a little fuzzy. (Somewhere around 95, 96 sts, needles, somewhere between 4 and 6). But it got done, at 1:30 a.m., and the recipient seems to really like it.

Hat #2:

Modified Shedir from Knitty's breast cancer surprise issue. Modified for larger needles and yarn, downsized to 96 sts on size 5 needles.

Hat #3:

Modified from the Ski Beanie from Son of Stitch 'n' Bitch. Let's see... yarn substitution, altered the stitch count, added regular ribbing at the bottom, didn't do the two-color thing, knit it in the round instead of flat... maybe this was more inspired by, rather than modified from. Anyway.

Hat #4:

Not technically a Christmas present, but done nonetheless. Celtic Beanie from Son of Stitch 'n' Bitch. For my husband. This first time I showed him the pattern, he said he didn't like it. That didn't make any sense, since he loves everything Celtic. Further questioning led to the admission that "he wasn't really sure if he didn't like the pattern, or just couldn't see past the god-awful colors it was knit in." (Really. Turquoise and lime green? What guy would wear that?) I started knitting anyway, on the theory that if he didn't like it, I would take it. I had to rip back the top once already, since I modified it for smaller yarn and needles, (incidently, if you want to do that, and knit with a DK weight, you can add another pattern repeat, but you ribbing will be slightly off) and it was too short. Whcih doesn't normally bother me, but when you're talking about a double-knit, and therefore double warm hat, it doesn't make any sense to have it not cover the ears. But it is done once more.

As an aside, this was my first time double knitting. I really like this technique, although it's really only good for hats and scarves, it's much easier to maintain the right tension than regular fair-isle... but it takes for fucking long to get through a row. So maybe not using it again any time soon.

All hats were knit out of Knitpicks Merino Style in Coal, and the reds used were the Strawberry color. The photos were all taken in front of the bathroom mirror, using the mirror to look at the picture. At least one was cropped because it made my eyebrows look like they were eating my face.

'Tis the Season...

for handcoverings, apparently. Cleverly laid out from left to right in order of done-ness.

First up, on the far left. A pair of spiderman mittens for a friend's four year old. Knit from Knit Picks Merino Style in Strawberry and Black, size 3 needles. Basic mitten pattern, half figured out on my own, half cobbled together from other sources. Spiderman webs taken from the Yarn Harlot's blog, from about three years ago. These are completely done.

Second, a pair of mittens for a friend who gets cold hands while jogging. Since she didn't like my solution to that (stop jogging and you won't get cold hands), she gets mittens. Same yarn as above, size 4 needles. Very clever with the colors in them, I think. Pattern, my own. I don't know if you can see it with the picture, but there's a larger cable running down the center between the two-toned ones. These are also done.

Third, a slight modification of Knitty's Fetching. Again, a friend, this one with medical problems that make her cold all the time. Hopefully, these can give her a little bit more warmth while still letting her do her daily things. Same yarn as above, the Strawberry color, size 4 needles, added a bit more in length. Status: One needing ends woven in , one about halfway done. Deadline: Christmas Eve.

The last two are the ones I'm least worried about. They really don't have deadlines, as one's for my mom, the other for my husband, who should be used to me giving him gifts on the needles. The blue are the Broadstreet gloves from Knitty, minus the mitten flap. Yarn, Knitpicks Sock Memories, I believe, in the Yukon colorway (it no longer exists), leftover from my own Broadstreet Mitts. One glove is done, the other hasn't been started.

Beer gloves from Son of Stitch n' Bitch. One needing ends woven in, the other hasn't been started. More details later, when they're actually done.

By the way, I know the picture is wonky. I tried to lighten it up enough that you could at least see the cable on the beer gloves.

How to Train Your Mate

My husband, while always being supportive of my knitting habit, takes very little interest in it. He's the sort that only needs one scarf, one hat, one pair of gloves, etc., so there's usually not much for me to knit for him. He will accept what I give him, and love it and wear it, but doesn't have a pressing need for whatever it is. Because he doesn't want stuff that often, when he does request something, there's a week-long conversation about what exactly he wants, so it can be perfect. Which I think mostly makes him regret asking me in the first place. But the dear boy is trying.

Last night, he gave me a copy of Son of Stitch 'n Bitch for my birthday. He then told me to read the section mentioned on the back about why you should never take your mate yarn shopping, then promptly took it away and started flipping through it. "I like that, I like that, I like that..." about seven times. (Side note, very clever of him to give me a gift that reduces my nagging him about what he wants.) One of the things was the "Beer Gloves," cabled fingerless gloves designed by Kurt Fausset. I commented, jokingly, that "he only liked them for the name." Him: "No, I really like the cable pattern." Catch that? Catch that? Boy knows what a cable is! And used it correctly in a sentence! So, for positive reinforcement, he got a kiss.

As a side note, I really like the book. I think it's extremely telling that my husband found seven things in there that he likes. My only complaint, aside from a very nifty sweater that is crocheted and therefore means I can't make it, is all the beer in there. There's the beer gloves, the beer pillows, and it seems like most of the photos are set in bars, with the taps right near by. Not that I object to beer, it just feels like they're trying to hard. "Look, we're a manly book! Look how manly! Beer! Beer equals manly!" So there's that.

I'm a Process Knitter!

My husband came into the bedroom the other day, as I was sitting on the bed, surrounded by a lot of remarkably untangled yarn, winding it up to knit into a scarf. When asked, I told him that I was ripping out a scarf that I never wear to make a new, better scarf. He looked at me and said,

"I think that lately, you've been ripping out more than you've been knitting."

Thinking over my current works in progress... Dude may have a point.

This is the scarf that sparked the comment. Originally a remarkably similar scarf from my brief foray into weaving. The tension was off, it was too wide for me to wear, and too uneven for me to give away. Ripped out (actually kind of fun. Pull on the bits of fringe until the lengths of yarn pop out and leave the curly bits), and being knit into a garter stitch scarf for a friend with relationship problems.

This is another scarf, possibly the only scarf I have ever knit with the full intention of keeping it (I'm not big on the scarves.) Started life out as the leftovers from my wedding veil, dyed to the pretty pink color, then almost completely knit up into PandaBonzai's Anya scarf, before I decided I didn't have enough yarn to make it properly, then ripped. Current incarnation: a modified version of the same scarf.

Third: Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan from Interweave Knits fall '07. This yarn began as the failed Arr-gyle sweater, then was mostly knit up into Starsky Jr. When I ran out of yarn, I gave it a close look and decided that the sweater was probably intended for 14 year olds that don't have DDs on their chest. Ripped. I'm not going to have enough yarn fro this incarnation, either. I'll either buy more yarn, and finish it, or rip it out once again and knit a whole new sweater. There's no telling. There's no picture because I didn't want to drag everything out. It's a black sweater. At a certain level, they all look the same, at least when the picture's taken with the quality digital camera I use.

In addition, Dad's socks, now finished, have been ripped back several times. Once when the first sock was done, and I decided I wanted ribbing, not stockinette, and both were ripped back because of increases and cuff length.

I don't know if this is all because I'm growing as a person, and not holding on to projects that I'm not happy with, or just because I don't have any money to buy more yarn, and am trying to make the yarn I have last as long as possible.

Socks and Scarves

Dad's first sock is finished. It turns out that I wasn't so much in the knitter's black hole as I was amazed by how much longer it takes to knit a sock for my dad's size twelve men's foot than for my size eight women's. But it is finished. I'm a bit concerned about the leg fitting, but am extremely confident about the foot being the right size. Why? Last time I saw my parents, I measured their feet for just such a purpose. Still, I was worried. Socks react differently on a foot. They stretch. I did ask some friends to try the sock on, but I don't think they thought I was serious. So I made this to help me.

A cardboard replica of my dad's foot, based on measurements. Obviously, it's not exact. My dad's feet aren't that flat, that brown, or that cardboard-y. But it should be close enough and it makes me feel better.

Having finished the first sock, I did not immediately cast on the second. I managed to justify this to myself: I needed something that I could knit on without thinking, and the toes of socks are fiddly. Plus, the yarn for the second sock has already tried to be a sock, and having failed, it is sitting in the living room with a toe attached to the ball, and needs to be rewound. So I started this instead:

Scarf of modified seed stitch (idea from Crazy Aunt Purl). More on this later.

Note: This post was actually written a couple of days ago. Problems with blogger, then my computer, then me... and it's here now. But the scarf is about halfway done, and more yarn will be procured at some point to finish it.

Black Hole of Knitting

I kind of skipped out on Christmas presents last year. I was on my own for the first time, far away from my family, and feeling sorry for myself, and did not get anything for my parents. (My friends were taken care of by my husband, who enjoyed his employee discount and picked up a lot of weird things that our friends would like.) I don't think I even sent them a card. This year will be different. I have plans, oh yes I do, and I am determined that this year, my parents will have presents hand-knit by me as an example of how much I love and appreciate them.

To avoid the road to hell (paved with good intentions, you know), I not only have a plan, but I have started working on it. Dad will be getting socks. Hopefully, two pairs, one plain and boring, one fancier and brighter.

The boring one is currently on the needles. Black, 3x1 ribbing. For my dad's big feet. (That's not entirely fair. I'm pretty sure his feet are an average size for a man, but I'm used to knitting for my average-for-a-woman size, so they seem huge. These socks currently measure 8 inches long. They need to be 9.75 inches long before I can start the heel. They have measured 8 inches long since I put them down last night and all through my knitting this morning. It's the black hole of knitting, made worse because these socks actually are a black hole. At any rate, they're black and the middle of the sock is a hole. Work with me here.

Were these socks for myself, they would already be past the heel and partway up the foot.