Addicted to Colorwork

Hello:

R-rated sock pictures further down.  Proceed at your own risk.

When I got up this morning, at about 6:30, I could see the Cascades, the sun was not quite rising, and there was this thin bit of cloud over the top of the mountains.  I went downstairs to spin for one TV show.  Today it was "Elementary,"  I am all caught up on "Project Runway, All Stars," so I am watching other things I have stored on my DVR.  I don't save that much, just "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D," and "Dr. Who," usually.  But, last year after the BBC Sherlock Holmes show stopped, I decided to try Elementary, and decided that I really like it.  So, I spun and watched.  The spinning is getting much much better.  Better enough that when the show ended, I really wanted to keep spinning.  I need to finish up the afghan squares for my OWL for the HPKCHC, so I made myself go upstairs.  Wow, one hour had made such a difference.  The thin bit of cloud had become this weird wall of cloud/fog that was blocking our view of the mountains, and seemed to be moving down and into the lake.  It was still "sunny" on our side of the lake, but I had to wonder if the fog/cloud would move in over here.

It did not.  I started working on the latest afghan square, I have five 12 in squares to go.  When I looked up, an hour later, the cloud/fog had become this thin layer on the lake. Look:

It almost looks like ice on the East side of the lake.  But it was not nearly cold enough for ice.  It was this super thin layer of fog.

But, enough about my view.

I tutored today for 2 hours in the morning, trying to get someone ready for an exam where he needs to understand square roots.  Then, I stopped by VanesaPolo's house and visited with the lovely Emma.  She is just about the most perfect little girl.  She is tiny, but just beautifully proportioned, and really starting to fill out.  I forgot my camera, of course, so you are all just going to have to believe me.

After the visit, I headed back for another hour of tutoring, came home to make dinner, then went to my neighbor's house for knitting.  Well, stitching.  I brought an afghan square.

See this is what happens.  I finished those colorwork socks, The Bird, two days ago.  I want to talk about them, but I have already moved on.  Except that I haven't really.

Let me go back to those socks.

I found it way easier to keep the tension even than I thought.  I held both strands of yarn in my left hand (I am a continental knitter).  I simply "Picked" the color I needed from the two wrapped over my left index finger.  Occasionally, I would stop and gently tug the unused yarn to tighten it, then stretch the sock top so it wasn't too tight.  I am sure this was not the best or quickest technique, but it seemed to work for me.

The heel is a short row heel.  Since I was not happy with the last short row heel I knit, there were visible holes where I picked up the wraps, I decided to do the "Fish Lips Kiss Heel," instead.  I have to say that the directions are very easy.  It is much like a regular short row heel in the construction, it is just the "wraps" that are so different.  But, what a difference.  They are very easy to make, and I can not see any holes in my heel.

 The only thing I don't like is that the heel is pretty small.  The fish lips heel directions tell you to stop your pattern about 1 inch before you are ready to make the heel, and just work the back of the sock in stockinette for that inch.  This makes sense if you are doing a lace pattern.  But, I couldn't figure out how it would work for colorwork.  Unless I either cut the black yarn and reattached it, or somehow carried it across that one inch, how would I have both colors ready to knit on the front of the sock?  Both of those ideas seemed to go against the whole point of knitting an inch in stockinette.  So, I didn't do it.

Another change I made was the sole pattern, or bottom of the foot.  The original pattern calls for the same colorwork on top of the foot (the instep) and on the bottom (the sole).  I decided that I would do a checkerboard pattern on the bottom of the foot instead purely for speed. 

It did help me speed up the progress quite a bit.  Before the checkerboard, I was knitting about five rows a day.  Once I started knitting the checkerboard, I was able to complete ten rows at a minimum every day.  It's amazing to me how much faster I knit when I didn't have to look at the pattern.

The socks are cast off, well the toes were Kitchenered, the ends are all woven in, and they were put in the mail yesterday. 

I can't wait to start another colorwork project.  I really need to finish up the afghan.  Then well, it will be December, and I hope to make another Advent Calendar Scarf.  I will have to choose (or chart) something to be made in January.  Maybe a hat and mittens. 

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with an urge to do colorwork.

Crisp Cold Clear Eastside Stitchers

Hello:

The sun is rising later and later as we head towards the Winter Solstice.  If I am up before 7 am, it is dark.  Today, I could tell it was going to be clear.  We have had days and days and days of clouds and rain, so the clear blue sky is a welcome treat.  However, without the clouds acting like a blanket holding in warmth, it gets really cold (well, for us) on these clear days, and today was no different. 

When I headed out to Crossroads for the regular Wednesday Eastside Stitchers meet up at 4 pm, there was frost on my car windows.  I had to stop by the Post Office first (it's right across the street from Crossroads) to mail out my The Bird Socks to Moogie, as well as mail out an afghan square for the HPKCHC Weasley Afghan swap.  That is why I left so early.  However, I didn't get to Crossroads until after 5 pm, and when I arrived, I found Skeinherder, Wajio, and a new Eastside Stitcher, Impained, seated at one of the big round tables, knitting away.

What were they knitting?  And, who else joined in?

Skeinherder is still working on stocking ornaments.

Our newest Eastside Stitcher, Impained, brought a baby sleepsack, in some really chunky yarn.

I enjoyed listening to her talking with Wajio about Combination Knitting techniques.

Wajio wouldn't let me take a photo of her socks.  It seems that she has been spending her time ... spinning ... and not knitting, and she has not made much progress since last week.  I should post last week's photo of those socks.  It would serve her right!!

Tara1682 brought...

yes,  Tara is knitting ANOTHER Linen Stitch Scarf.  This is her fourth. It is for her swap target for the Eastside Stitchers Holiday Gift Exchange.  Lucky target!

CathieC brought a new swatch for the poncho she wants to make.  We had a nice discussion about math and knitting. 

JulieMustKnit has started a new sweater, the Katherine Pullover.  We discussed swatching, and how she isn't swatching.  Instead, she has started with the sleeve. This will act as her swatch.  It's a beautiful pattern.

CrunchyNumbers brought a sweater, too.  Ugh, I didn't get the name of the pattern.  It has some really cool cables.  This is one of the front panels.

Wireknitter brought a shawl to frog,

and a new cowl by Susan Ashcroft.

I brought an afghan square, but spent the entire evening winding a mess of Caron One Pound yarn into a neat ball.  Honestly.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a ball of yarn.

Princeton Triangle Club Cheerleaders

Hello:

I posted a photo that I got off Facebook of my son, Pookie, dressed in drag as a Princeton Cheerleader posing with other "cheerleaders" at the Princeton-Yale football game last Saturday with NJ Governor Chris Christie.

I didn't take the photo myself, I just copied it from my son's Facebook page.

Well, the photo has gone all over the internet, and even appeared in some online newspapers.  Ha ha ha.  They all have pretty much the same story.  Talk about plagarism.  They mention the Triangle Club, and that they have a long tradition of an all male "kick line."  They don't mention that the tradition comes from the fact that Princeton was an all male school until 1969 when they admitted their first women undergraduates.   The Triangle Club is the oldest all student college drama club in the USA.  The Triangle Club was performing their first show of the year, Zero Gravitas, last weekend, and performed in the half-time show partly to publicize their show, but also as a tradition at Princeton.

Anyway, here are some of the sites that carried the story.

NJ.com 

Business Insider  

Lord of the Net  servasschrama.com  

DailyPrincetonian.com  

Townhall.com  

some weird site called:  ar15.com  

15 minutes of fame?  ha ha they don't even bother to name the guys.

Peace,
f1bercat

Triangle Cheerleaders take over the Yale Band

Another Ugly Photo

Hello!

Last week on Fiber Friday, or maybe it was 2 weeks ago,  CodyJunk showed me how to do a Loop stitch with crochet.  This stitch is used for adding hair or fur-like loops of yarn to a project. 

So, I made a Lion Square and used this cool stitch to make the mane.  The photo stinks because I finished it tonight, so had to take it with artificial light. 

Ok, the mouth is crooked, but otherwise.  pretty cute!

I'm going to try to replicate it, and write it down, then publish another pattern.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with loops of yarn.

I'm so proud

Yes, that is my baby, top left of Governor Chris Christie.  Yes, he is in drag.  But, the Princeton Tigers beat Yale 59 - 23 to win the Ivy League Championship!

Why is Pookie dressed as a Tiger Cheerleader?  He is a member of their Triangle Club, the oldest college theater group in America, and the only group that writes, and produces a musical every year.  They were part of the half-time show for the game as an advertisement for their current production, Zero Gravitas.

Go! Tigers!

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with good cheer.

Fiber Friday with Phone Photos

Hello:

Yes, I did it again, I forgot my camera today for Fiber Friday.  In my defense, I had a Pre-Algebra Class substitute job this morning.  I remembered to bring 2 different projects, and my Happy Hippo, but, I forgot the camera.

Since I am not one to give up, I used my phone to take pictures of what we were working on.  I do not have a smart phone.  I have, what I like to call, a "stupid phone."  It is not only NOT smart, but it is 3 years old, which in phone years means it is ancient.  It works just fine for calls and texts, so I have not replaced it.

Anyway, who was there and what were they knitting?

Winterpromise brought a new hat, but I got a photo of the baby blanket she was working on.

I just love the lacy border.

CathieC is swatching for a poncho project she is starting.  She actually cast on on Wed., but then wasn't sure that the poncho would be wide enough.  We did some math using the schematic in the pattern, and the pythagorean formula where the length of the poncho over the arms was the hypotenuse.  It was fun, and you DO use that math you learned in middle school.

Constance49 brought a new shawl she is making.  This one is called Dinner in the Eiffel Tower.

Constance49 also brought another shawl, this one finished.  It is from a free pattern she got at our LYS, Serial Knitters.

Wajio is still on vacation, which works well for us as she shows up for Fiber Friday!  She brought her socks.  She told me not to take a photo, as they haven't changed much from Wednesday, but that isn't true.  She has finished the second heel.

BlueBerryMary is making a beautiful lace shawl.

I think I tried to photograph the name of the pattern, but ha ha ha I can't read it now.

CodyJunk showed up even later than I did.  She brought this amazing Yeti she had hooked.  I'm not sure why there is no photo.  But there isn't. Too bad, because it was really cute.

I brought the R-Rated Bird socks I am making for Moogie.  Both my heels are finished, and I have started the feet.  No photos of my work, as after Fiber Friday, I ran home, grabbed my stuff, and headed out to Bellevue College for some tutoring.

It is absolutely pouring rain right now.  I need to get some sleep, if I can with all of the pounding noise on the roof!

Peace
f1bercat
shaping the planet with WOOL

Late to Eastside Stitchers

Hello:

It started off very gray today, after all, it IS November.  This afternoon, however, the sun came out for a bit, and it was a pretty nice day.  I was called back to the afterschool "study hall" job again today, so I was way late to Crossroads for Eastside Stitchers.  I was a bit tired, too, and understood why Wajio and Skeinherder often leave early.  Working stinks!

So, who was there?  and what were they knitting?

Skeinherder is busy making holiday ornaments!  She is making these tiny socks.

I think she is ready for Sock Madness to begin.

Puzan is making another lovely cowl.  This one is called Sleet, and is by Lisa Mutch.  She is using Malabrigo Sock Yarn in Natural. 

Hvrdmnky had a Mom's Night Out! and joined us for a few hours.  Her twins were with us in spirit, however, as she was finishing up baby sweaters for them.

Tara1682 is almost finished with her Bias Before and After scarf by Churchmouse Yarn and Teas.  Actually, she has been making 2 of these scarves in complementary colors to be worn together. 

Wajio has finished the turn on her Fish Lips Kiss Heels for the socks she is making from her own home dyed yarn.

Look! Look! CathieC has finished her beautiful Racing Raindrops scarf by Churchmouse Yarn and Teas.

She might not block it, or just  block it very lightly as it is a perfect length and looks lovely just as it is.  She brought a new project for tonight's stitching, the MacArthur Park Poncho by Margaret Fisher.  She is using Classic Elite Yarn's Liberty Wool Light.

Wireknitter is making some Turkish Bed Socks by Churchmouse Yarn and Teas.

She also  brought her beautiful Windward Shawl.

JitteryKnitter was also making a cowl.  I didn't get the name, but she is using Koigu Sock and Cascade Heritage Sock yarn in black.

She was wearing the EZ Rib Warmer Vest.  What yarn did she used for this beautiful vest?  "Something itchy."

I brought the Maui Mitts and wove in ends.  No photo though.

GwenS and VanesaPolo, we are hoping you both will be up for a Mom's Night Out soon, too.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with stitching friends.