to rip or not to rip?

I started this blanket as a charity project a few days ago and, well, I'm not loving it. I thought the self-striping yarn would look great with a rippled pattern, but here's the result so far.



I feel that the textured ridges are conflicting with the coloured stripes so that neither shows up well. It looks messy to me. I'm wondering if I should rip now and come up with an alternate stitch pattern or continue and see if it's less jarring when there's more of it.

a mess of WIPs

OK, look out. I have finally figured out how to link to my pictures properly. If I ever have anything to show you, prepare for stunning visuals.

Sadly I am still drowning in WIPs and there's really nothing that begs for visuals at this moment. My recent decision to join a charity knitting group is not helping the situation at all as it has resulted in the casting on of a baby sweater (soon to be joined by a hat and booties), a blanket and a pair of wee tiny socks. Add this to my sweater, the husband's sweater, Taylor's second sock, the Instanbul socks and the shawl and you have a whole mess of...well, I don't know what. Let's just call it a mess, shall we?

I am re-entering gymnastics hell this weekend with the younger daughter's second Ontario Development Program event. Following that will be the older one's provincial championships at the end of the month, and then Number Two will have two other garden-variety competitions. I see a lot of sweaty-handed knitting in my future.

a detailed discussion of the toe-up socks

I didn't mean to scare anyone away from toe-up socks with my last post. I was merely venting my frustration with a project that was not my cuppa tea. In an attempt to prevent further discouragement I will recreate hereunder my top 10 list from yesterday with more detailed comments.

10. They're too big.
Obviously my fault for having small feet. No, because it was my first toe-up effort I wasn't sure where to start the heel and obviously waited too long.
9. They give me elf toes (see #10).
This is partly a result of their being too big, but also the toe shaping is wrong for the shape of my foot. My toes are fairly straight across but the sock toes are pointy.
8. The colours are dull.
Luck of the draw. This is the yarn I was sent with the kit.
7. One is bigger than the other.
See comment for #10. Also it was a misguided attempt to make the second one fit a little better than the first, and also a misguided attempt at making them less fraternal than they would have been had I done them the same size. As it turns out only the toes are mismatched, which may or may not be a good thing.
6. There are holes in the ankles.
I am pretty good at eliminating holes in traditional flap-and-gusset heels, but because these were my first short-row heels I wasn't sure whether holes would be an issue. They were. If I were planning to ever do this again I would find some extra stitches to pick up somewhere. Somehow.
5. There are ladders.
The ladders are only in the first sock, which was knit on four dpns. As I had so little interest in the project, I didn't bother moving stitches from needle to needle as I usually do to prevent ladders. For the second sock I used five dpns, which minimized the problem.
4. The toe is too pointy.
Covered in #9.
3. The heel sticks out behind me.
This is at least in part due to the oversized nature of the socks (in other words, I made them too big). I have no idea whether the heel would be a reasonable shape if the socks actually fit.
2. I don't like the unribbed cuff.
This is a design feature that is not to my taste. I could have done an ordinary ribbed cuff but decided to follow the pattern and see how I liked it. I don't. Henceforth all my cuffs will be ribbed.
1. The heel seams look sloppy.
Again, I don't know if this is my fault or the nature of short-row heels. I am particularly bothered by the fact that the heel seams look different on the right and left side of each sock.

I didn't have fun with this project and therefore didn't make my usual futile effort at achieving perfection. I didn't like having a woolly cup hanging off my needles instead of a tube. It just felt wrong, like I was knitting a feedbag. Nothing about it was difficult, just...wrong. I like the firm architecture of cuff-down socks with a heel flap. These socks feel too unstructured, free-form, aimless, undisciplined. Like they need to go backpacking in Europe to find themselves and come back with a nice grown-up mature heel that is ready to settle down and become of pillar of the sock community.

Top 10 reasons to despise my toe-up socks

10. They're too big.
9. They give me elf toes (see #10).
8. The colours are dull.
7. One is bigger than the other.
6. There are holes in the ankles.
5. There are ladders.
4. The toe is too pointy.
3. The heel sticks out behind me (see #10).
2. I don't like the unribbed cuff.
1. The heel seams look sloppy.

And that's just the top ten. There are others.

Oh well, I can now note on my knitting resume that I have knit toe-up socks and I can't think of a single reason to ever do it again.

little bits of progress here and there

Still plugging away at those WIPs. You want to hear the fastest way to stop me in my tracks? A mistake. I just hate them. I hate knowing they're there. I even hate knowing they used to be there. What I'm hating about my WIPs at the moment is those little uglies that lurk in the shadows of former mistakes, like when you repair an error and the stitches end up a little loose from all the fiddling. Or when you pick up a dropped stitch along the edge, where it really won't matter because the seam is going to gobble it up anyway, and you somehow manage to pick up the wrong loop or something and the resulting stitch looks a little bit wonky.

I am going to force myself to get back to these things today. I know that after a few more rows these uglies will fade away. But right now they're jumping up and screaming obscenities at me.

I mean it, I really am paging Dr. Freud. This is getting serious.

Talk about a Freudian slip. I wish to draw your attention to a correction to my post from earlier this week regarding my odd dream. In my disclaimer I meant to state that I do NOT (negative) know Ms Pearl-McPhee personally. NOT, I tell you! Astounding how the spirit of Dr. Freud will nip you in the butt when you toss his name around lightly.

Credit goes to the husband for pointing out my latest Random Act of Stupidity.

another Plain Old Sock

The yarn is Jawoll Cotton Superwash and I used my usual 2.00 mm needles. I haven't been able to try it on Taylor because she is, as usual, at the gym, but it's a little bit too small for me so it should be just right for her. Knock wood.
Now I have to make a mate for this one and finish the mate for the toe-up, and those will be the last plain socks for a while (subject to change without notice of course). I am having lace cravings.

paging doctor freud

My favourite course in university was one called Psychoanalysis and Literature, in which we applied the principles of Freudian dream analysis to works of fiction. Of course we covered the obvious ones like Oedipus Rex and Sons and Lovers as well as less traditionally Freudian stuff like Heart of Darkness. As an aside my professor very wisely suggested that we never reveal our dreams to anyone because by so doing one gives the world a peek into an unconscious that perhaps one would prefer to keep under wraps. And besides, is there anything more boring than listening to someone else's dreams? So with that excellent advice in mind, I intend to plunge ahead and relate a dream I had last night.

I dreamed we were visiting the home of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, who was not home at the time, and we kept accidentally breaking things. As far as I can recall our final tally was two drinking glasses, one cereal bowl and a sliding closet door pulled off its tracks. We were in the process of confessing our crimes to Ms Pearl-McPhee, who was obviously not impressed but was being very kind about it nonetheless, when I woke up. Disclaimer: I do not know personally know Ms Pearl-McPhee and am no way expecting an invitation to her home. Especially after this.

So there you go, Freudians, I have laid bare my unconscious. Have at me.

And as for reality, well, you didn't expect me to stick to those two projects, did you? Yesterday I excavated the long-neglected Faroese shawl from the depths of the WIP heap and discovered that it's one of those magical projects that never gets any bigger no matter how long you knit (or how long you ignore it, come to think of it). And today I cast on the second of the toe-up socks. This brings the Permitted WIPs to four: the husband sweater, Taylor sock #1, toe-up sock #2 and the shawl. But I do get points for not casting on anything else.

Got two books in the mail today too: Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts and Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. Very different, both look interesting. But if you think I'm going to be compelled to cast on any more socks before I've finished these two, well, you may be right.

on knitting and restlessness

My knitting is keeping me from Knitting. Surely you know what I mean but I'll try to explain anyway.

I have a corner of my bedroom between a night table and a bookcase that is designated for WIPs. In an effort to keep this area from looking like a junk pile, extra yarn and equipment are strictly prohibited. If it is not in use for a current project it goes down to the Rubbermaid bins in my basement exercise room. This corner of the bedroom contains two knitting stand thingies and one large tote bag, and all WIPs should be contained within their confines. They are not. They are piled on top and tumbling over the sides (truth be told, I suspect that if you scraped off the top layer you might find some empty space within one of the stands but that is an excavation for another day).

The reason for the disorder is as follows: I have too many WIPs. And the reason I have too many WIPs is that there is too much yarn in the world, too many people to knit for, too many things I haven't done, too many things I want to do again, too many techiques I haven't tried, too many kinds of needles and ways to use them, too many books and free patterns and things to design and "unvent". And having an attention span the size of a flea's brain, I want to do them all at once.

At the moment I have shaved the WIP pile down to the following: three pairs of socks, two sweaters, one shawl and one soon-to-be-frogged scarf. Everything else has been stashed or ripped out. I am trying to reduce even further by -- get this -- finishing something. To begin with I am focusing on the husband's sweater and the daughter's socks. They are plain stockinette and boring as heck. But I am trying to force myself to finish at least these two projects before casting on anything else. And this is how knitting is keeping me from Knitting. I am certain that there's an earthshaking, life-altering project out there that I could happily wallow in if only I didn't have to survive forty-seven coma-inducing miles of stockinette first.

You know, those skeins of Bernat Super Value are really huge. Once the husband's sweater is done there will be a whole lot of free space in that heap...

looking for reasons not to knit (?!)

The nice young couple next door -- you know you're getting old when you refer to "nice young people" -- have just had twin daughters. I am trying to talk myself out of knitting something for them for the following reasons:

1. I have way too many WIPs already.
2. I have a feeling they'd find a handknit gift weirdly personal.
3. The babies might well be teenagers by the time I finish two of whatever.
4. I would have to buy yarn. No, wait, that's a good thing.

You know I'm going to do it, don't you? Well, at least I'm going to buy the yarn with the very best of intentions.

Still slogging away on the back of the husband's sweater. Plain stockinette, very dull. I'm trying to stick to one project in hopes of finishing something but of course the result is that when I'm fed up with that project I don't knit at all. Which really is not resulting in a whole lot of progress.

Random Act of Stupidity for week ending March 11

spousal sweater back
Originally uploaded by shesitsandknits.

It's been a while since I last posted an official Random Act of Stupidity. I recently finished the Leftovers Socks and in fact am wearing them today. I think they're my favourite socks so far. And now I've resumed work on the non-Olympic project, a sweater for the husband in ever-luxurious Bernat Super Value. Not my fault, he doesn't wear wool and didn't want a sweater at all if it was going to cost him a day's salary. So I present herewith a photo of the back so far. Please disregard any dog hair or other debris on the carpet.

Have you spotted the Random Act of Stupidity yet? It all began when I managed to add 9 1/2 plus 6 1/2 and end up with 15 1/2. I had planned to do a half-inch of green above the top beige stripe so the armhole shaping would not begin right at the colour change. But imagine my surprise when my tape measure informed me that 9 1/2 plus 6 1/2 actually adds up to 16, and it was time to shape the armholes already! Of course a thinking person might have decided to knit the half-inch of green and make the sweater a whopping half-inch longer, but not me, no sir, that would upset the balance of the universe. I had decided that the length to the armhole was going to be 16 inches and there was to be no turning back. I commenced the 5-stitch bind-off at the armhole, for some reason using the beige for those five stitches and then switching to green. Why, you ask, did I not change colours at the beginning of the row? Because then I would not have a random act of stupidity for the week. The result is that the bottom of the armhole is beige on one side and green on the other. Will it matter? Likely not. It will be under the arm and will probably be camouflaged by the seaming. Is it driving me nuts? You betcha.

vacation musings

A few observations inspired by my five days in Florida...

1) The Magic Kingdom is more fun than knitting. No, really. I barely thought about knitting while I was there, though I did manage to crank out about 2 1/2" of a sock for the firstborn (in Jawoll Cotton Superwash - 49% wool, 35% cotton, 16% nylon - which could become my favourite sock yarn). And that's my OKC for today.

2) I would be happy to take up residence in the Haunted Mansion. Unfortunately my family wants to live in Space Mountain instead. I suppose they could come over to visit from time to time.

3) It takes two full days and somewhere around $600 for a family of four to do the Magic Kingdom justice.

4) The traffic around Tampa is quite appalling. Especially when you have a 7-year-old with an upset tummy in the nice clean rental car.

5) A beach is less enjoyable when one is outgrowing ones bikini. One must haul ones ever-expanding backside into the gym one of these days.

6) A "gated community" does not deserve such a lofty designation when the gate is dangling off its hinges.

7) Mickey Mouse is very short and has feminine handwriting.