To swatch or not to swatch

Swatch of course. One should always swatch. But when you've completed a pair of socks (48 stitches) and you're about to start another with almost the same type of yarn (a little heavier), you think you can get away with intuition alone.



Then you read the pattern on the label and the following thought process takes place: "Hey, you're only using 44 stitches, but the pattern on the label says you need 56 stitches for a medium size sock. Does it take 12 stitches to go down one size? Ummm. Let's just go up to 50 stitches and see how that fits".



So I ended up knitting an oversized sock, which I would have had to rip down anyway because the toe looks twisted (figure 8 toe) . But now it's obvious that 44 stitches were good.



I should know better and swatch. And if I choose not to (stubborn as I am), I should disregard labels and rely on my intuition. Here's how my ripped down toe looks like:







It's pretty, but my M1's are all biased to the same side, causing my toe to twist. The other M1's I know of that can be symmetrical leave a hole. So I'm ripping and starting again with the trusted short row method.

One pair of socks

I finished my Socka socks. It's so cold out there that I'm wearing them over long johns (no snow, Michele, we were lucky).






I might need some elastic thread to keep them up when wearing them on their own. The kitchener bind off is great, but I need a little bit of tightness to keep my socks up.

Blocked Frankenbag

Blocking the bag was not easy, I did not have the right size nor the right amount of cardboard boxes, but I like the results:










I know that as soon as I stuff it with all my junk it's going to lose its shape anyway.



Here's a picture of the laptop case. I finished it right before our trip and I had not had the opportunity to post a picture:






I'ts a little big, but my husband says it's OK, so I'll not redo it.

First Socks

The Sock it to Me site says "first socks" when you mouse over my name, but in reality, these were my first socks ever:





I started them in 1998, and I never really finished them. See, when I started my first sock I was knitting very loosely (my first attempt at dpns), but by the time I got to the second sock my stitches were too tight and I did not notice until it was too late (I had already turned the heel). The only solution was to rip and and start again with larger needles, but I never got to it. My mother, always a kind spirit, found the unfinished pair among my stuff in Mexico and finished them for me without noticing my dilemma. So even if they are finished, one of the socks is still too tight to wear. They were knit from the cuff, and I don't know how to fix them. I'll keep them in case I ever figure that out.



As you can tell, I had become disappointed with socks until I read of toe-up socks. My second socks were the Kool-Aid-Scope self striping adventure (during which I had to learn how to do the Kitchener bindoff because my cuff was still very tight). So the Socka socks are actually my third pair.

Speaking of which, my pretty self-patterning yarn started doing weird things, but I was in denial and kept knitting:







But along came a KNOT and I knew I had to rip, find the right place in the sequence and join. So I pulled out yards and yards of yarn fom the skein until the right color came out, only to realize that the yarn had been knotted backwards. Argh! My skein was a mess, but I went back to the store and they wound it for me again, so I can keep knitting with the colors in the correct order. Did I mention before that the people at Yarns etc were nice and helpful? I'm not sure I can hide the ends in the middle of the sock, though.



The Frankenbag is finished, but it needs some blocking:

Frankenstraps

Remember the Frankenbag? I'm working again on the straps:







Here's a picture of my spinning wheel, finally at home and in working condition (I hope).






I still haven't tested it, maybe I'm putting it off because I'm afraid it will not work... Well, at least it looks good, doesn't it?

Two knitalongs

You might have noticed that I joined two knitalongs that do not call for a specific yarn or pattern. For the
ReKAL, I'll attempt to felt the following sweater:




And for the sock it to me, I plan to finish my Socka socks:




I already had one sock finished when I joined the sockalong. Is that cheating? I have yarn for at least three other pairs: LionBrand Magic Stripes, Cascade Fixation and my own Kool Aid concoction, so I guess more socks are coming.



And I leave you with a picture from my last trip. What do Spaniards love to do whenever they visit their homeland? Carve a ham!

He's back!

My husband finally came back from Spain. I was getting lonely, it's great to have him back. Another good news is that I have my camera back and I'll be posting pictures soon. I've almost finished the second socka sock, and I've made great progress with the boring straps for the frankenbag. I also want to make a "before" picture for the ReKAL. I'm thinking of felting an old sweater. My only concern is that it's only 80% wool. Will that felt?



The Shadow Knitting book is fine, but all the patterns require very thin needles (2-3 mm). I think it should have included a pattern or two for those who prefer thicker needles. Of course, I love knitting with thin needles, my real problem is that the patterns call for yarns I cannot afford. But that happens to me all the time. You can visit the author's website, she has some good pdf files with free patterns and explanations.

Here's my Fox!

I'm using a webcam, and thus the pictures in this entry aren't good. I don't know what possessed me but I couldn't stop knitting until I finished this scarf:






I returned the unused skeins to the store today. And I also went by Borders to use up a gift certificate I got for my birthday. Here's what I got:






And now that I'm done with my obsession I can get back to normal knitting. I finished today a socka sock:







And I'm still working on that eternal garter strap for the Frankenbag.

Bernat Fur Out

That's my cheap yarn choice for my fox. I'm not following Knitty's Vegan fox, though I love that pattern. Instead I'm making it all up as I go, and that's because the yarn substitution makes me go from 10 mm to 6.5 mm needles. Rather than doing the math, I prefer to play it by ear. I also have limited choices when it comes to needles. I'm not buying 6.5 mm dpn's, so the feet are not going to be knit in the round. But, strictly speaking, my fox is more of a vegan item, because no animal materials are involved, unlike the original pattern. Though let me add that I am not a vegan, and that I am only using one type of yarn because of my cheap nature.



I have already knitted the hind quarters. My camera is with my husband, who is still in Spain, so there will be no pictures for a while. Fur out looks like a stuffed animal and feels like one. Here's a picture I stole from the Bernat site (hey, at least I'm not linking to their server):





The color is "Foxy Grey" (is that destiny or what?). It's squeaky to knit with, especially with my plastic needles, but I don't mind the squeaking. It's not as soft as the original yarns the Knitty pattern calls for, but it's still soft enough for a garment. Keep in mind that anything that's knit out of this yarn will look like a plush toy, which is exactly what I want, but I'm not sure about what other uses this yarn could have. I bought four skeins, and it looks like 1 1/2 skein will be enough. I hope the store will take back any skeins I don't use.



As for my spinning wheel dilemma, it still looks like the bobbin and flyer move at the same speed, but there is no way to know for sure unless I actually try to spin. All I have now is soy silk and my intuition tells me I should start with wool. Therefore, I'm putting my spinning experiments on hold until I get some rovings.

My new toy

Happy new year, everyone! I had two nice flights back home, without incidents, in spite of checking an extra large box covered with tape and tied with strings. Does anyone remember my September whim?




I was, of course, stopped at customs. Who wouldn't be, when you're carrying a suspiciously huge cardboard box? They x-rayed it to confirm that I wasn't lying about the contents and they let me through. I was very relieved, since opening the box, unpacking it and then re-packing it would not have been fun.




I had put it apart in Spain in order to transport it, but I unpacked it yesterday and put it together right away. I used some cotton string as a belt. That works all right for the bobbin but I might need a rubber belt because the flyer is slipping. I thought you could use a single belt with two loops on a double drive wheel, but I'm not sure anymore. I have a library book with me but it's not very helpful regarding belts. I also have this link but I need more specifics. Suggestions, anyone?