Scaling up

Did you read the one about the Yarn Chicken that was actually a Dragon?  Well, between test knits and pattern writing knits, today I cast on another one!

This time I am using a worsted weight yarn that has a different texture to it.  When I picked the yarn up during the Knit Picks Cyber Monday, we can't tell the dates so we did it a week early, Sale, the plan was to use it for a blanket.  Of course, upon swatching TDQ decided she didn't like the texture so I am still in the market for yarn for her 2016 blanket, but that will have to wait as the yarn diet is on with a vengeance after my exceptionally large Christmas Haul!

The yarn itself suggests a needle of a US 7 or 8, I picked a size 3 (US) to knit this particular dragon. (mostly because I have enough double points in this size to make it work, I seem to be severely lacking in 4's.)

Today I started on the wing segments.  Just from eyeballing them I will need to use something in addition to the pipe cleaners that I have for the long wing support and the supports that end up giving shape to the body.  I need to search in the garage and find out where The Monster Man hid the household electrical wiring.  I know I have some of that and it might work, if not I am pretty sure I have some speaker wire from when I wired the house for sound. (Pre blue tooth for those of you that are more technologically advanced than Chez Yarn Diet...in my defense I ran the wires and put outlets in the walls, there is no speaker wire running across my living room floor!)

I won't name this dragon....she or he is  a gift for someone else.  I hope that she (or he) ends up as a stash guardian.  Who knows, if she, or he, works out the way I plan I might knit a third to guard my own stash from wayward boys!

As TDQ says you cannot harm a dragon with fire I will need some kind of water elemental to guard my bead stash!

In other knitting news, I have completed the first run through of a stranded sock pattern. I plan on knitting it one more time in the larger size before publishing it. I think it is a nice intro into stranded socks, no long floats, enough choices to keep the advanced knitter amused while still giving the learner knitter a chance to try out new techniques. 

Happy Knitting!

~M

Why Knit Socks?

There are two threads in the Loose Ends area of the Ravelry forum lately that I have been looking at occasionally the past few weeks.  "Things I will never knit" and "Things that I am glad I can knit".  Under the "Things I am glad to knit" there are several entries for very useful, one of a kind, filled my need when I couldn't get something to do what I wanted, type entries. (A mostly fingerless mitt to stop a very young child from chewing on, swallowing or maybe even choking on,  the bandaid that was on their finger for example) but there are a lot of entries that actually match the "Things I would never knit".  Blankets, scarves, lace shawls, fingerless mitts, the list actually was pretty similar.

The one clothing item that seems to bring the most discussion is socks.  People love knitting them, hate knitting them, are ambivalent towards knitting them. People love wearing hand knit socks, hate wearing hand knit socks or are ambivalent towards wearing them. 

I used to sit firmly in the camp of "Why knit socks when I can buy 10 pairs in a pack at (insert name of discount or big box store here) for next to nothing?"  Until I started knitting socks.

So why even try to  knit socks?

My first pair of socks were knit because I refused to be intimidated by a knitting pattern.  Socks in my mind were hard to knit, first they are knit with thinner yarn than most of the sweaters I had been making up to that point, smaller needles, in the round and then that most intimidating thing of all....you have to "turn a heel".  What did that even mean?

My first socks were not attractive.  I don't have any pictures but they were bright pink, either sport or worsted weight leftovers from a baby sweater, unshapely, uncomfortable and generally enough to make the cat laugh at my efforts!  But, as I said, I wasn't about to be intimidated by knitting, so I tried again and the second results looked more sock like and actually fit.

As time went by I discovered how many stitches per inch I found most comfortable and longest wearing. My first socks were knit from the cuff down, and that is still my "go to" way of knitting socks, especially as, after a while, the pattern became optional.  Not having to drag a pattern around with me while I was knitting and having a project small enough to slip in my pocket (or purse when I still carried one around) was a huge advantage.  With that basic pattern in my head I could try out new stitch patterns or techniques and have something useful when I was finished, instead of just another swatch floating around the house.

As time wore on I discovered that the hand knit socks my kids had lasted longer than the "buy many for a few dollar socks" from the store.  They fit better and kept our feet warmer in the winter.

So why knit socks?

Your reasons may vary, but here are mine :

1) They are a portable project.  You can carry it around with you to fill the time when waiting on other people.

2) Sock Yarn can be relatively inexpensive and easy to buy.  Compare the cost of a skein of sock yarn to the amount you will need for a full sized adult sweater and there is a huge difference in initial outlay!  Big Box Craft Stores have a (limited) supply of sock yarn and put it on sale regularly.  For less than admission to a movie, with popcorn and a drink, you can have hours of knitting enjoyment and warm feet afterwards!

3) Your commitment to the pattern can be short lived.  With nothing else going on, or if I am waiting for long periods of time on other people, I can knock out a pair of socks in just a couple of days.  Blankets, sweaters and scarves can all take up to months to finish.  And if my commitment to a certain stitch pattern doesn't last through two socks, well FrankenSocks are a thing!

4) You can experiment to your hearts desire with stitch patterns and colorwork.  Want to give lace or cables a try?  You can do that with socks!

5) They fit better than the store bought type.  Do you find that the top of your sock cuts into your calf after a day of wearing?  You can customize the top to make it fit just right.  Narrow feet? Decrease a few more stitches after the gussets. (I told you I knit mostly cuff down socks, reverse for toe up and increase less!)

6) They wear better.  I have two boys who wear work boots for some if not all of their school day.  Work boots are hard on feet and socks.  TOB has actually worn holes through store bought socks after a single wearing, but his hand knit socks last months before starting to show wear.

7) Turning the heel is knitters magic in action. It never ceases to amuse me.

8) Wool has it's own magical properties.  Wool will keep you warmer, but breathes so you don't overheat.  It will keep you warm while it is wet, so if snow does end up on the inside of your boots you will still have warm toes.

So my questions to you are:  Do you knit socks? Why or Why Not?

~M

I shall call her Kanaliha....TDQ will call her something else

To put this into perspective I have to tell you two stories.  The first goes something like this:

Once upon a time, in a house where knitting was a daily occurrence, there lived three teenagers. (I will only be able to say that for a few more days, the oldest one is about to hit 20!!!)  Of these teenagers, one, the oldest as it happened, would always ask upon the resident knitter's return from the mundane world. "Did you find any dragons?" and then act very disappointed when the answer was no.

In this same house was a knitter who seemed to enjoy playing a game of yarn chicken.  When she lost at that game she would become despondent, but when she won she would be on top of the world for the few minutes it took her to finish up the project and start the next one.

The last time the knitter won at yarn chicken she declared that she wanted a trophy.  Something to display when she won, and throw across the room when she lost.  So the trophy must be soft and non-lethal.

Alas, her search was in vain, and try though she might, the knitter did not find a suitable yarn chicken trophy.  Her skills not being up to creating that type of pattern, she moved on to other things but did spy an interesting pattern on Ravelry. So once the holiday knitting was over and the Christmas haul of yarn was logged in the stash, the knitter quietly pulled out her needles and yarn.

"Whatcha knitting?" asked the dragon yearning teenager.

"A yarn chicken" the knitter replied, having made sure that the pattern only showed instructions not pictures.

"Really?" asked the teen, peering intently at the page on the computer..."That will be a funny looking chicken, the web address says Kim's Dragon."

Kanaliha means chicken in Estonian (according to google) so I will call her Kanaliha.
 
 TDQ has declared that she will be called Chicken and that, according to her, is that!

Of course, you can tell she is a chicken by her yellow belly!

~M

Endings......

Today is a day of endings.

The end of December.

The end of 2015.

The end of yet another round of yarn chicken!  The log cabin style blanket project has officially been determined to be a draw.  2 for the chicken and 2 for me!

It all started with a bag of assorted colors of Big Lots Acrylic.  I bought it on a day that I had a coupon for 20% off an entire purchase and the yarn was marked at a dollar a ball.  I bought all they had in a beige, cinnamon brown, burgundy and black and proceeded to knit a couple of little charity scarves out of some of it and then uncovered it again months later to start a tv watching blanket as the colors would look good with the sofa.

Now, being the organized knitter that I am (NOT!!!) I of course knew how much of each color I had (NOPE!) and just grabbed balls out of that big plastic bag as I needed them.....And along came the yarn chicken.

He tugged and pulled at ends until he won with the cinnamon brown.

He tugged and pulled at the ends until he won with the burgundy.

He pulled and tugged, but lost (by less than a yard) with the beige.

He pulled and tugged, and tugged some more until he lost with the black.

The finished blanket is just one or two people large...I didn't measure it yet, was too busy washing and clipping all those pesky little ends....and does go rather nicely with the sofa!

I learned a few things knitting this very plain and boring blanket.  (I suppose the first should be to check how much yarn you have before you start, but I doubt that will ever be my strong point!)  Having spent years knitting shawls and seamless items I haven't had to do a lot of picking up of stitches, other than sock gussets, and having them look messy was annoying me, so I worked at learning a few different techniques and the back side of my blanket looks like this :

Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

So there is one ending that turned out just right!

Of course, today is also the day of reflection on the past year.  What went well?  What didn't?  What do we plan for next year?

I am always happy to sweep the last dirt of the year out the back door, and open the front door to see what things the new year will hold.  2015 was kind of a mixed bag.  Some, few, high points, some, too many, low points.  But, as a wise person once said, without the hardships we would never enjoy the highlights.

Here is wishing all of us a year filled with highlights in 2016.

~M

It was Christmas Eve at the Workhouse

When I was a kid, I think it was my dad would wander around just quoting that first line from a poem.  I have actually looked the rest of it up, and I found it horribly depressing so that is all you get from it!

It is not much of a workhouse around here.  The official Christmas knitting is all complete, including three sets of ornaments for an Advent Tree. (We won't mention that I am two trees short of a set, now I have 11 months to get the trees done for next year!)

I am tempted to knit another star, so that one can be the topper and the other hang on the tree.  We'll see how lost I feel in the morning when I don't have another little ornament to knit!

I did get my ex-mil's Winter Wheat finished in time to get mailed off to the West Coast.  The designer asked if the "largest person in the house" could possibly model it for her.  The boys voted and as the kids' dad was already here for his Christmas visit he got handed the sweater!

 He was a very good sport about it.  The sweater is a little small for him and quite a bit too big for myself or TDQ.  Maybe I will get pictures of it on ex-mil so that we can see if it really fits her!

It is starting to sound like I have nothing on my needles, which isn't true!  I still am plugging away at my boring garter stitch log cabin blanket.  The yarn chicken won our game with the darker brown and burgundy.  I won with the beige and we are tugging back and forth with the black that will be the outer border.  TDQ asked if I was almost done, which depending on how you look at it I am.  there are only 2.5 more segments to go.....unfortunately for me, they are the largest segments.  But I am determined to get it finished this year, so maybe, during our movie marathon Christmas I will cast it off and get pictures!

I also have a cardigan for myself on the needles, none of the kids wanted or needed sweaters this year so they are getting their traditional socks and a hat each.  I figure TDQ has stolen enough cowls and fingerless mitts to keep her going for a few more years!
 
I am still working on the "great stash elimination/organization" project.  Three boxes of yarn need to find a home, not good yarn, just old acrylics and odd balls that won't ever get used here.  Even the boys have tastes that run to silk and cashmere so there is no sense in keeping (hoarding) yarn that won't get used.  I did discover that when you actually enter your stash in Ravelry, if you are looking at a pattern it will suggest yarns out of your stash to knit it with!  Great feature that I had never seen before, because my stash was just my stash!  I am all the way through the lace weights, mostly through the sock weight yarns (that was stashed in lots of different places and I am discovering more as I go!) and probably over half way through the worsted and aran weights.  I used up some bulky weights making really thick cowls for charity knits, and hated every minute of that knitting!  So the rest will be joining the acrylics in a box and the next charity that is picking up in my area will get them.  Of course I left the hardest area or last, my ColourMart Stash has it's own little area and apart from digging out some things for TFB to weave with I haven't even started on that!

But that is a project to get back to next week, for now my garter stitch log cabin blanket and I are going to go watch movies with the kids!

Merry Christmas!  May your stockings be filled with all you could ever want and may the true spirit of the season live in your heart all year long!

~M

The Internet Ate My Blog Post!

Monday evening, I was so excited.

I had the blog post all ready to go....

A pattern ready to be uploaded...

And the internet ate them!

On Ravelry, I kept seeing these (albeit cute) pictures of Bob (That's Bob in the left hand corner) telling me that things were a bit shaky so..well here I hit publish and nothing happened.

It was late, I was tired, once Bob stopped licking my screen, I uploaded the pattern and went to bed. Which means I promptly forgot to tell you that my shawl pattern for my contest entry to the Fall 2005 ColourMart Lovers Knitting Contest is live and ready to buy!

It is a rather pretty shawl, if I do say so myself!  Which, of course, I do!  TDQ says it makes her think about Downton Abbey, although that was not my intent when I was designing it.  I just wanted something a little cozier than a lace weight shawl, to wrap up in while I knit. A little cashmere, a little merino, in a fingering weight without a lot of chart symbols to remember.

It has a few left leaning and a few right leaning decreases, but mostly centered double vertical decreases throughout the two very different lace stitch patterns.  With each pattern having it's own color, never any guessing as to which lace to be knitting.


Here's the blurb from the pattern page:

During the fall when everyone else is thinking of pumpkin spice lattes, all I can dream of is apple pie with cinnamon and caramel. Crisp fall apples with spices and sweetness all it needs is a little whipped cream and I am in my own personal heaven! This shawl evokes the comfort of warm apple pie. Knit in a light fingering or heavy lace weight yarn, the knitting goes quickly.
This is a modular, top down, lace shawl, knit using two colors of yarn. You can extend the width and length by adding repeats of selected charts, or by using a heavier yarn and larger needle.
Pattern assumes a working knowledge of charts, provisional cast on, left, right and centered decreases, along with yarn overs and twisted stitches.
Originally knit and designed for ColourMart Cashmere/Merino 2/15 4 ply during the Fall 2015 as a design entry in the ColourMart Lovers Group Contest, it could easily be knit with other yarns.

And some pictures for you!

TOB's fingerless mitts also make an appearance in my pattern store. 

Of course I had to knit them up just to make sure that the instructions I wrote out for him worked in his chosen yarn.  His will not have embroidery on them.  They are a pretty quick knit.  Not a "no time to knit something" but a "little time to knit something" gift maybe.

You still have a couple of weeks to get that Christmas Knitting done.

I am still a pattern repeat, killer bind off and two sleeves away from finishing up my ex-MIL Christmas sweater.  Even with that deadline looming over my head I have stayed current on the Advent Tree knitting...more about that later.

I have some knitting to do...how's about you?

~M

Not everyone has

I have mentioned before that TOB (The Other Brother) has become quite the knitter.  This evening he realized he does not have a project to work on during lunch and the ride time to and from school each day and decided that he needed to cast on a pair of fingerless mittens as a Christmas Present.

TOB : Is there a pattern you can give me?

Me - I can write you up one very quickly.

TOB: Ok, I want them to be red, and soft. Not too long in the cuff and no fancy lacy stuff.

Me - TOB, you are a very lucky boy.  Not everyone in the world can decide at 8:30 on a Sunday night that they want to knit a project in a certain color and yarn, have a pattern custom written for them and just go to the yarn store in the basement! 

Fifteen minutes later, yarn has been picked, pattern written up, he has cast on his project and has it in his project bag to take with him in the morning.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why having an extensive stash is a good thing!

~M