toe away zone.

am working on the toe.

on my second time ripping it out.

keep reading pattern wrong.

third time's a charm, eh?

did someone say pictures?

I'm really not sure if all is well with this... but without further ado...
here is "the sock" (and yes that's a paperclip being used as a marker)


a close-up of the heel and gusset

sometime it's the little things...

I'm still working 'the sock'. Turned the heel ... completed the gusset and now I'm working on the foot. But a minute ago I notice a slipped stitch a few rows down! OMG!

But I fixed it!

Maybe not a huge thing in the grand scheme of things ... but it made me smile.

ok...

Thanks to Dave for your comments on my previous post. You reinforced what I'd already decided to do, which is try to only make ankle socks this time. I'm using the same yarn, Wool-Ease Dark Rose Heather. Last night I couldn't look at it, but today, I'm doing ok.

I'm on row 4 of the ribbing. I'm going to do it different this time - only have ribbing at the top then do stockinette for a bit before I try that heel again. I really like the fabric that the sl 1, k1 pattern makes.

Knitting sure does test a person's resiliency, doesn't it?.

just a brief note …

well, the practice sock is no more. I miscounted when turning the heel then couldn't see where/how to pick up the stitches.

This is the part of knitting that I hate and I don't think I'll get used to it.

four rows forward, one row back…

Making my first sock is so far an interesting experience. It's a challenge in so many different ways. The small needles. Fatigue of my hand muscles and such. The biggest challenge for me is 'trusting the pattern'. I like that phrase. (I found it here.) I want all the steps to make sense as I read the pattern. Each time the pattern say 'do this then that' I'm wondering 'why'. I think that's because the book doesn't have any pictures and I'm only going by the pattern text.

I don't have any pictures yet, but I seem have all these loose loops. It's not the whole stitch, but but half the stitch. I'm wondering if it's the result of overcompensating for trying to avoid ladders. Anyway, it's worse on the right side. I worked the leg of the sock inside out, but forgot to invert when time came to work the heel flap. So, I'll have to do the same thing for the next one so they at least match.

Right now, I'm going back one row because somehow I added an extra stitch/loop. I hate when I do that because I don't even know HOW I manage to do it. That happened when I was working on my first project and I thought I'd nipped it in the bud. I guess I got too excited when time came to work the heel flap. lol

so… about 14 rows left to do of the heel flap… then come the thrill of turning the heel!

Thanks for listening!

I've got the blues.....

and the reds!



More of Dave's yarn that I purchased - Blue Skies and Strawberry Daiquiri




Isn't it loverly?



um ... would this be considered 'yarn p0rn'???



ttfn!

practice makes ...

well, I don't know what practice makes. Hopefully, a practice sock. Yes - I'm trying it out with some worsted yarn I have - on k2, p2 ribbing at the moment. And from what I've read, I'm apparently working inside out, but I kinda like it that way for now as I work on the ribbing. I can invert it later.

Ok, I know there's probably only a handful of people reading this blog but can someone please explain something to me?

Most of the patterns for working in the round say this:

Place marker and join. K2, p2, etc...

but never do they explain the term 'join'. I spent a good amount of time yesterday looking at multiple forums, the wonderful Sock Class site and various other sites with pictures and videos but I can't seem to find the answer to my question. Is 'Join' a separate step on its own or does it happen when you start the stitch pattern. The way it's written in the pattern, it looks like something totally separate.

Instructions on the Sock Class say "Join the last and first stiches to complete the circle."

Call me dense, but I'm not understanding how to do this.

Also, there's the question of where to place the marker. You've got the needle with the last cast on stitch, the needle the with the first cast on stitch then you got your free needle. I guess when I figure out the join, I'll know where to place the marker.

my first attempt at lace - FINISHED!

It wasn't the 'Ta-Da!' moment I'd thought it would be, but I'm glad it's finished. The bamboo dpns made the difference but the yarn, pretty color but I hate working with it.

On the good side, in addition to the book I mentioned previously, I bought two bundles of joy yarn from Dave's Cabin Cove Mercantile. I do love the colors he creates. I'll post pictures when they arrive. Hopefully, possibly, maybe my first attempt at socks will be with this yarn.

today...

...is my birthday. so ... I ordered this book:



yay!

such loveliness...

Here are pictures of the yarn I bought from Dave plus an extra purchase.












Thanks, Dave. I love them both!

In other news...not much new on the knitting front. Still working on the scarf and the lace. Not much to see there just yet.

ttfn!

what a difference!

I got my bamboo DPNs (size 6). I was so anxious to try them out, I gave the lace another try (4 rows) ... hardly any split yarn, no frogging (yet) and less frustration. Wadyaknow!?!

aaaaand I received the hand-dyed yarn that I bought from Dave (pictures coming soon) and I love it. Much better in person. I can't wait to give it a try. ... *thinks* hm ... I do have 3 extra dpns ... *still thinking* ... "double your pleasure, double your fun..." It's also possible double the frustration. But it's all about learning, right?

I'll let you know if I succumb to the temptation.

see ya later, alligator!

out of sight, out of mind ....

My knitting needles are in a box (out of sight) because last night I was out of my mind with frustration.

The Little Arrowhead Lace is not a hard pattern and on the 'Molly's Headband', it's done within 19 stitchs for the part of the pattern that repeats. So why do I repeatedly end up with 18 stitches? I don't know. I know how to knit, purl and yarn over and with the help of videos from KnittingHelp.com I can do the increases and decreases. So I'm deducing that the problem lies somewhere with my continuing to lose count.

This puts a serious crimp in my dream to be able to knit socks.

Well, I still like the pattern ... so all is not lost ... with the obvious exception being my mind.

TGIF!

just a small note ...

ALERT: non-knitting content ahead ...

I saw a rainbow on my way to work this morning. A nice way to start the day, dontcha think?

a red lifesaver ... no, not the candy

In case you were wondering ....see that little red thread? That's my lifeline for this little project. I insert my needle at that row then rip back to it. I forgot to add this photo to my previous post.

Also...

This is a better photo of the first scarf I made. I think I cast on a little tightly 'cause it's kinda curvy. I like it tho. Gives it a little character. Hmm... I have to do something about those ends.

I'm froggin' it ... but only a little bit...

I like 'Molly's Headband'. I really do. But it seems to be fighting me. I don't know if it's the metal needles, the yarn that keeps splitting or my ability (or not) to count but I've had to start moving the lifeline up every couple of rows. I had to rip it out again yesterday.

It's a beautiful pattern that I want to do again. I'm just perplexed as to why I keep making the same mistakes. It hard to fix or avoid errors if you don't even know what the problem is.

I bought some yarn from Dave that I'm hoping to make another headband with. (Check out his new store: Cabin Cove Mercantile. Go. Now. ) I'll probably buy some bamboo DPNs to use with his yarn for my next try to see if that will make a difference.

So, to relax, I am working on the blue & white sideways garter stitch scarf. Size 10.5 needles are a nice change from size 6.

ttfn!

*sigh*

all the lovely progress I made yesturday ... I had to rip back to my life line TWICE! I was just making too many mistakes. Not horrible ones, but enough that it was messing up the lace pattern. But I'm not giving up. . . but I am knitting more slowly. . . that seems to work better for me. But I am liking 'Molly's Headband'. It's my first stitch pattern in knitting and my 2nd project. Not too bad, I guess.

ttfn!

I think I like it

It's not perfect, but I think it looks nice so far. If you see a little red thread ... that's my lifeline. I'm sure to put another one in when I start the decreases.


a close up


another close up


you can see the lace! woo hoo!


you can't really see the color on the photo. It's a much deeper purple.

lacy fun

I went to the store and bought some size 6 DPNs (metal, not bamboo ...and only because it's all the store had) and a small skein (purple) of sport weight yarn and have been working on the 'Molly's Headband' pattern. I've never worked with sport weight yarn or needles this small before.

My first I-cord - it's very cool to see it form. But I did the first 15 rows of the pattern and somehow ended up with not enough stitches ... so I tried an increase to make up for it but two rows later I still didn't have enough ... (see photo below)




... so ... I ripped it back to the top of the I-cord and started again. This time, going a little more slowly and being conscious of not making the stitches so tight and I made it thorough the increase section much better. I'll have some photos later, but I wanted to share more progress ( or lack thereof ) before I forgot.

I like this pattern. It's not hard to understand but it's challenging enough that I feel like I'm learning something.

ttfn!

practice makes lace...

I couldn't wait until I had the right yarn or needles so I've been practicing on the first part of Molly's Headband with my 10.5 bamboo needles and worsted weight yarn. I'm so excited that it actually kinda looks like the pictures. But I never realized before how tightly I knit. Some of the ssk's were a challenge. But fun!

I've gotta new mag

I received my trial issue of Interweave Knits. Aside from the beating it got from USPS, it's a very cool magazine. I love all the resources and ads throughout the magazine and it's fun discovering new yarn, patterns, and yarn stores online.

Most of the patterns are a little intimidating, but I was quite taken with a couple of the 'Sweet Somethings' listed on page 106 - In particular, Molly's Headband and Penobscot Silk Scarf. Both seem possible for me to at least give them a try. ... after I finish my latest scarf, that is. (Yes, it's still the blue & white one.)


my beat up but very cool first issue of Interweave Knits!

ttfn!