Socks!

So I've finished my first sock - the cuff down, one-at-a-time one. I think I will get around to making the second, but it was really tedious. I did enjoy the whole heel/gusset part though. And putting it on - heaven! So soft and cushy. I think I understand the magic of sock knitting now.

And I started socks for the boyfriend. These are two-at-a-time toe-up socks and I'm making good progress so far. Definitely a better style of sock knitting for me.

(I sent him a picture, and he said, "It looks like a bra." Well, yes. At this point, I suppose it sort of does.)

I also started that little summer top, but haven't gotten very far since I've been focusing on the socks.

And, dear sister gave me a belated Christmas gift: yarn I had drooled over on my last trips to Webs.

Plotting a lovely scarf, or maybe a long, loopy necklace.

For now, socks! (I think they will also make great plane knitting tomorrow.)

When knitting solves problems

The other day, boyfriend and I took a walk by the river. It being a bit chilly, I wore my Frost Blue Tam (on Ravelry). Still, after a good 30 minutes, my ears were thoroughly chilled and hurting! Now that the weather is getting a bit warmer (though just a very little bit), I had gotten my bike put together a few weeks ago and was feeling ready to start riding again. But the thought of cold, painful ears made me want to hop in the car and turn the heat up....

So I did a little Ravelry research, and found that a few ingenious knitters created ear warmers that are compatible with bicycle helmets. (Thank you, ingenious knitters!) I chose the pattern that most suited my taste in its construction (no seaming and the ear parts are attached to a headband so they won't move around too much) and agreed with my extant stash (leftover Lion Brand Wool from my half-felted bag worked nicely and matches my silver and white helmet).

I cast on some time Saturday, quickly realizing that 1) I only have four (not five) size 7 dpns, and 2) even though I could convert the pattern to work on four, it was really fiddly.

I zipped over to knittinghelp.com and learned the Magic Loop technique. I'd been meaning to do this (it's necessary for the two-at-a-time socks I want to do), but kept putting it off. Definitely worth it.

I knit almost all Saturday with a few breaks thanks to boyfriend (and dinner...and Mario Kart....and a good book) and picked it up again this morning to finish the second ear part before our morning ride along the river.

I had nice, toasty ears, and can bike happily.

New projects

I've been working on some new things, but they aren't knitted objects, though they are related to knitting! Since I'm on a serious yarn diet this year, and despite my healthy stash, I was feeling that craving for more fiber....all those possibilities. I decided to recycle an old sweater (with more to come perhaps) that I haven't worn in a while. It was a black crew neck Cambridge Cable pullover from J.Crew, purchased a few years ago. I love these classic sweaters and also have one in a coral color and a v-neck in a gorgeous heather green. However, I think the black dye used didn't agree with my body very much and, hmmm, emphasized certain odors. So I rarely wore it, and also have another black pullover sweater that I wore much more often (also J.Crew - a cashmere long sleeved tee that I just love). So I looked up various tutorials on recycling sweaters, and got to work. I estimate that it's about a fingering or slightly heavy lace weight yarn that is double plied, and without having accurate measurements yet, about 1500 to 1600 yards or so. Given the weight it took me a long time, especially since this was the first sweater I've ever taken apart. Also, the color made the work more difficult, so it took me about two and a half days to ravel it all and wind it into balls. After about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, I just couldn't see well enough to continue. (And thank goodness for my ball winder - such a time saver!)

Finally, I started to wind the balls into hanks so I could relax the yarn and weigh and measure it. I start using the backs of two chairs to measure a two yard hank. Not the easiest method (my back hurt so much). I then tried wrapping the yarn around a 12 inch piece of sturdy cardboard. Too short. Then I used the bottom of a folding table that was closer to 20 inches. Still too short. I bathed those hanks in hot water though and hung them to dry; the shorter ones are definitely still wavy and need to be rewound into longer hanks and weighted as they dry. Yesterday I went to the hardware store and got some 1/2 inch PVC and fittings to make a niddy noddy. Well, I didn't account for the length of the T connectors (two inches each) and the first hank I wound was 80 inches around, instead of 72! I cut three inches off my center piece (for a total of 15 inches - one half-inch on either side ends up inside the T connectors, so it's the 14 inches of the center piece that shows, plus four inches from the T connectors - 18 inches total) and now it's just about exactly two yards. I also cut a shorter piece (at a total of six inches, minus one inside the T connectors and plus four from the T connectors is nine inches) for one yard skeins.

This was a pretty easy project, and the cost was minimal - and I really got two niddy noddies out of it (for one yard and two yards). For the PVC piping, two connectors and four end caps, I paid around $5, and then another $5 for a small hack saw. (A pipe cutter would've made this even easier, but they are pricey at around $15 each). It's certainly making the hank winding a whole lot easier and more precise (now that I haven the right measurements).

Now I'm rewinding some of the shorter hanks and have run into tangles. Sigh. (I also need a yarn swift to prevent this, but those are way out of my budget right now, even for the handmade kind.) After working as long as daylight would allow today, I'm taking the rest of the evening off. I'm not entirely sold on the process of recycling yarn from sweaters yet, but perhaps that's because of the yarn weight. I was considering recycling the yarn from the coral cabled sweater, but I do prefer DK and worsted weight yarns a lot more than fingering and lace weights. I have a sweater that's probably a worsted or bulky weight that I don't wear often anymore, so I might experiment with that one to see if a heavier yarn makes it more worth it for me.

Aside from the sweater recycling and niddy noddy building, I've been continuing on my sock, and have finally begun the foot! I got through the slip stitch heel and turning the heel and picking up stitches parts easily, so I'm much more encouraged about sock knitting. It was just that ribbing tedium for eight inches....ugh! Of course now I'll be knitting about five inches in stockinette, so we'll see how I feel by the end. Haven't worked out the sizing for the cropped jacket yet, but I really should get to that if I want to wear it to my dissertation defense as I've planned! I sent the dissertation off to my external reviewer last weekend, so in about three or four weeks I should have the last changes to make before the defense. It's hard to believe I'm almost (almost!) done. Can't wait to be Dr. Knitter, Psy.D.!